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Why I Will Never Go Back to the United States

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Re: Why I Will Never Go Back to the United States

#131

Post by eloisant »

toolslive wrote: post #123

My boss (he's European) has 2 passports: one to visit the Arab world, Russia, ... and another for the US. At one point, I went with him to the US and he accidentally grabbed the wrong passport. Bingo! He was stopped and examined in great detail every time: before entering the tax free zone, before boarding, before entering the US.... It was surreal.

France actually lets you have 2 password for "incompatible countries". That's usually for Israel and Arab countries.

Maybe they will allow it for Arab countries and US too if this goes on.

Re: Why I Will Never Go Back to the United States

#132

Post by coldcode »

sigzero wrote: post #108
lylejohnson wrote: post #61

When I clicked through the link to this article, a window popped up asking me to sign a petition to reinstate Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. Given her recent vote in favor of the Patriot Act, that was an interesting warm-up act for the main article.

Pelosi is insane.

Generally insanity seems a requirement for anyone to be in Congress.

Re: Why I Will Never Go Back to the United States

#133

Post by icedchai »

rbehrends wrote: post #63
bsdetector wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The border patrol knew he was part Jewish, and that being the case, asked him why he went to country that was hostile to Jews, and he denied being Jewish. It's not about ethnicity, it's about telling the agents something they know is not accurate. This part, like the whole story, was a miscommunication. A better answer would be something like "Well I only have Jewish ancestry from one grandparent so I didn't think th…

Judaism has traditionally defined Jewishness as being matrilineal; i.e. you're Jewish if your mother is Jewish. Reform Judaism accepts bilineal ancestry, but on the condition that one has been raised as a Jew. So, yes, he was completely right to deny being Jewish.

If his dad was of Jewish ethnicity he should just have said he was part Jewish but did not identify with the religion.

Re: Why I Will Never Go Back to the United States

#134

Post by girvo »

alexeisadeski3 wrote: post #110
sleepyhead wrote: post #68

Had a similar problem when flying into NYC. With an Iranian visa stamp in my passport. "Why would anyone go to Iran???" the lady at the border control said. Then she wrote CTR on my immigration form (my imagination believes it means 'Check for Terrorist Record'). Then she showed it to a guy with a machine gun and he replied "Is he a fugitive or something?". Had to wait in a room to talk with some guy. I showed him my…

>"Ok you go can" Yoda is always the coolest security guard!

I think he'd be certainly More effective than the idiots running the show now.

Re: Why I Will Never Go Back to the United States

#135

Post by thaumasiotes »

alexeisadeski3 wrote: post #115
fenesiistvan wrote: post #55

Coming from Romania, I also had to face some extra control in US airports + we also need visa which is given also after an interview. Romania is a country with zero terrorism. I only wish US people to be treated in EU the same way they treat EU people in US.

Two wrongs make a right.

There are plenty of reciprocal visa policies; I understand that China charges US visitors a fee equal to the fee the US charges Chinese, and Brazil's horrific bureaucracy is also just trying to match what they feel Brazilians have to go through if they want to enter the US.

The concept sort of makes sense; I can envision a situation where tourists are appalled by visa procedures (especially if they're going to Brazil) and pressure their politicians to lighten up. The major flaw there is that most americans will never want a visa anyway, so it ends up being a largely invisible protest on the part of the other countries.

Re: Why I Will Never Go Back to the United States

#136

Post by neonhomer »

alan_cx wrote: post #51
w_t_payne wrote: post #13

Beautiful country. Wonderful, creative, friendly people. Horrible, over-complex, hostile bureaucracy. I am pretty sure I'm not going back, either.

Problem there is that the US loudly and fundamentally claims to be a democracy. If we are to accept that, then we have to accept that the government embodies the will of its people. Or, seriously consider that the US is genuinely no longer a real democracy. It is a real shame, as you imply. American people have done incredible things which contribute to the world in general in a positive way, and the country its self…

"Problem there is that the US loudly and fundamentally claims to be a democracy."

That is part of the overall problem currently in the US. It is not a democracy; it is a constitutional republic. The representatives are elected democratically, but the whole point of the constitution is to limit to the powers of the government. It seems that 99% of the government has neglected or forgotten that, and sadly most of the general population has as well.

Re: Why I Will Never Go Back to the United States

#137

Post by moocowduckquack »

V-2 wrote: post #101
moocowduckquack wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US's relationship with its immigrants has, I think, always been strained. I think the Navaho and others have been somewhat annoyed by all the pesky foreigners with their exotic christian outlook.

Were they "the US"? ;)

Not yet, due to a cunning use of flags. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTduy7Qkvk8

Re: Why I Will Never Go Back to the United States

#138

Post by wisty »

cstross wrote: post #24

Interestingly, in the developed world it seems to be the Anglophone countries that have the shittiest attitude towards border control these days. The US is notoriously user-hostile at the borders. The UK is doing its best to catch up in a Mini-Me way with the USA's Dr Evil, and is actually on course to become even more hostile than the USA -- the only mitigating factor is that the third degree is reserved for non-cit…

> Australia under Tony Abbot runs concentration camps for victims of famine, civil war on Nauru

They are called "refugee camps". And Australia has a reasonably high refugee intake. Unlike most countries, though, Australia resettles most of their refugees, so they aren't classified as "refugees" anymore. It's a pain finding the numbers, since everyone wants to talk about "refugees per head of population". There's hundreds of thousands of former refugees with PR or citizenship who aren't counting in Australia's "refugee population", because they've actually been resettled.

Though you'd be perfectly justified in pointing out that Abbott cut the refugee intake, quite dramatically. Or that beating up on "boat people" was just making them a scapegoat, trying to placate the wider concern about overpopulation and immigration in general (which politicians won't touch, because the Treasury Intergenerational Report says Australia needs lots of young immigrants to keep the economy going as the baby boomers start going gaga).

Re: Why I Will Never Go Back to the United States

#139

Post by rbehrends »

alexeisadeski3 wrote: post #117
rbehrends wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Judaism has traditionally defined Jewishness as being matrilineal; i.e. you're Jewish if your mother is Jewish. Reform Judaism accepts bilineal ancestry, but on the condition that one has been raised as a Jew. So, yes, he was completely right to deny being Jewish.

You expect every border patrol agent to know this?

If the border patrol agents use a person's presumed Jewishness as part of their rationale to deny them entry, they should indeed know what they're talking about. It's not something that they were forced to deal with; it was a reason they manufactured themselves (out of whole cloth, as it so happens).

Not being familiar with religious customs is not a crime, but then you shouldn't use your ignorance to adjudicate a case.

Re: Why I Will Never Go Back to the United States

#140

Post by girvo »

davidcollantes wrote: post #78

Do, really, immigration officers ask "What the hell where you doing X?" "Aren't those countries Islamic?" There are parts on this writing that are hard to believe, like they were written to sound like a novel, but I have never been on a situation like the one described, not even close.

I've had UK and Australian Customs officers be similarly incredulous over places I've visited. Honestly, those jobs don't seem to attract the "best and brightest". Nor attract those who even have a passing familiarity with geopolitics and geography. Sigh
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