351–360 of 445 posts
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That's not a metal detector, it's a system designed to scan for tagged items. My problem with the scanners is that they are invasive AND ineffective. They aren't protecting me, but they do train me to complacently subject myself as an innocent, not-charged-with-a-crime citizen to pre-emptive searches. That's just not alright by me.
So invasive you'd rather have a guy grab your junk?
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>On a final note. I'm Irish and lived (US) here 12 years. My family and I can move to Ireland at any time without worry for some of the larger barriers; visa and language. An aside, but why did you move from Ireland to the US? I'm semi-seriously considering moving to the UK or Ireland, not out of any "argh america is literally hitler, i'm out" impetus, but to be closer to my girlfriend's family and for adventure.
The short (and unhelpful) answer is that I didn't intend to move here. I came here for a long vacation of sorts (quit dev job in Ireland, swore never work in IT again, first stop on taking a year out to travel the world...). I was at a point where I'd over-stayed tourist visa and was getting ready to move on and then I met a girl...
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Actually, if we could get 50% of all engineers and technophiles to flee the US, the insanity would have to stop. (How would they continue to pay for it?) May not be a terrible strategy going forward if the US starts looking like an end-stage Weimer Republic, especially since people will have to flee anyway.
Keep in mind it's an end-stage Weimar Republic with huge military power and operational nukes.
And while the US could implement many aspects of fascism (particularly government control of industry that is nomially help privately, which is alredy the case for telecom), a war for global domination is not likely one of them.
> I give up. The terrorists have won. Or maybe you could recognize that flying is a privilege, not a right, and that you have other options if you want to make a stand in your beliefs, such as picking a different airline, going to your destination by some other means or, you know, not traveling. These entitled smug conspiracy theorists who act like prima donnas irritate me. "The terrorists have won" because you had t…
Comments like yours make my blood boil. > flying is a privilege, not a right Is taking a train a privilege, not a right? Driving? A bus? Would you be okay with TSA-like screening procedures before any such sort of transportation? What makes flying so special? People have bombed trains, cars, busses, etc before too. > "The terrorists have won" because you had to go through a machine? I think it's time for the OP to st…
Yes to all. If you're not quite sure how to determine if something is a privilege, just see if it's mentioned in the Constitution. For example, the "pursuit of happiness" is a US right. Driving a car is not (you need to get a license and that license can be revoked).
Just because you grew up with such conveniences doesn't make them a privilege, although they have the effect of giving a sense of entitlement to people who've lost sight of what's important.
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You're welcome here in Uruguay... but I think it's a case of "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence". And while we do have liberal emigration policies, the bureaucracy involved cannot be underestimated. There are another things going on that you will find violations of your privacy - Uruguay has a nationwide ID program with fingerprinting (and probably DNA in the near future). We don't have cameras or b…
You're 100% correct about the incredible amount of bureaucracy for getting residency in Uruguay. After almost a year of waiting, and being told it would probably be at least another six months to a year to have my residency completed, I gave up and moved to Paraguay. Getting permanent residency in Paraguay was fairly simple. I completed it in about seven months (partially because I needed to wait for my FBI backgroun…
There is an extremely simple solution: leave. I've not lived in the US for almost two years now. I've only had to travel back twice in that time. Meanwhile, in the same time I've visited France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany multiple times. None of those travel experiences were nearly as unpleasant or stressful as my two trips to the US. Furthermore, the technology communities that are growing up in these pla…
A lot of countries are scalating in surveillance because there is the perception that US is trying to desestabilize a lot of governments with this disclosed programs. And, of course, could be for real, so the country where you land could eventually be desestabilized in a few years, and things will get ugly (look at middle east for a hint).
And, as a foreigner. your privacy on the global internet is ensured to not be respected by US intelligence agencies, at all. Not that it would make a difference in a few years, but still is something to take into account.
The only place on the world where you can have a chance to revert this trend is US, staying, voting, being active, chances are pretty slim, but better than the zero you get if are outside.
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I don't like them either, but why are they invasive?
A few reasons: - They actively image your naked body. Metal detectors do not. - They record said image of our naked body for an indefinite amount of time. Metal detectors do not. - A human views the image of your naked body, and makes a subjective assessment of whether or not something suspicious has been detected, based on a wide range of parameters. A metal detector is a simple on/off detection based on an extremel…
Imagine you wanted to fight a decision later in court ... assuming that's possible ...
> I give up. The terrorists have won. Or maybe you could recognize that flying is a privilege, not a right, and that you have other options if you want to make a stand in your beliefs, such as picking a different airline, going to your destination by some other means or, you know, not traveling. These entitled smug conspiracy theorists who act like prima donnas irritate me. "The terrorists have won" because you had t…
The government began to make claims about traveling being a "privilege" in the 20th century. The Soviet government used to claim the same thing, so perhaps the US government took a lesson from them.
Traveling is a right, regardless of what power any government exerts to claim otherwise.
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They could see you from a satellite so you should never go out on sunny days? Where does it end?
You asked a question. I gave you an answer. If you have a problem with that, try breathing into a paper bag for a while and see if that helps you calm down. This technology could be plausibly misused for security purposes, and then perverted for political purposes, just like previous security technologies/bureaucracies have. That shouldn't make you upset at the people pointing it out. Instead, direct your outrage at…