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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

#291

Post by bane »

fsniper wrote: post #284
dragonwriter wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do you need ID to travel from L.A. to Phoenix? By commercial air, yes; in the US, you need ID and a matching boarding pass to enter the secured area of an airport, which is an essential prerequisite to boarding an airplane.

Then answer this bizarre question; Why would a person with the intention of doing some stunt use mismatching documents? If this person is a terrorist or some kind of outlaw, would not s/he use fake docs telling a story reputable to customs officers/TSA? I believe this security theatre is nothing but a money sink hole. Use whatever means are necessary to make transportation unpleasant to honest travelers if it does no…

It's the easiest question you can ask and one of the simplest security processes you can ever put in place.

Let's assume you are a bad person on the no fly list.

1) Go to an airport, hang around the bathrooms in the pre-security area. Wait till somebody drops a boarding pass. Board a plane and do bad things.

2) Go to an airport, have an associate who's not on the no fly list buy a boarding pass. He gives it to you. Board a plane and do bad things.

Both are scenarios that are stopped by simply requiring matching ID and are lower effort then getting fake IDs.

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

#292

Post by userulluipeste »

nevinera wrote: post #28
bsdetector wrote: post #19

> When I'm supposed to watch my words, I tend to say the wrong ones. No kidding. Volunteering that he was in Al Qaeda territory... to take pictures of plants. Saying he's a nihilist. Suggesting that the levees in New Orleans might break again while he's visiting. Having Jewish ancestry, but denying being Jewish because not religious. Also appears he was also traveling alone to many of these places, without any busine…

I can't tell if you're joking or not?

Regardless, if you'd asked him to send the suspect to Guantanamo Bay he would probably agree (and thank you as he should have thought about that first).

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

#293

Post by tjansen »

FreshCode wrote: post #156

As a white foreigner who has considered travelling to the US for a holiday or working in the Valley, these types of reports have a long-term chain reaction on my willingness to start thinking about packing my bags for the States. I wonder if the powers that be understand how far-reaching bad treatments of foreign travellers can be. Or maybe I'm just one developer and my sentiment has no effect in the long run. Do oth…

US immigration can be complicated, but if there is nothing that would raise flags in your passport, why don't you give it a try for holidays so you know what you are missing (and what not)? It's at least an interesting experience. I love staying in the US for holidays, even if I probably wouldn't want to work in the US.

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

#294

Post by enraged_camel »

thomasz wrote: post #146
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…

I would appreciate if you wouldn't cite the 'world socialist website - Published by the International Committee of the Fourth International' as a reputable source. Some of their articles are surprisingly good, but it's still the publication of an obscure trotzkyist sect.

In light of an article about prejudice, did you mean this comment to be ironic, or...?

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

#295

Post by jasonlotito »

ma2rten wrote: post #249

I hope I step on no ones toes here, but I am becoming more and more convinced that USA is simply a less developed country than Western Europe and Canada. - At least until recently people would still go bankrupt because of medical emergencies. - People have to save for lifetime to send their children to collage. - Politics is populistic. - The legal system is unjust in some areas (e.g. legal defense against bogus char…

I live in Canada for 10 years...

> At least until recently people would still go bankrupt because of medical emergencies.

On the flip side, they get the long term care they need earlier and more reliably. They can also get this care based on medical advice as opposed to political opinions. There is a reason I moved from Canada to the US for health care, and I've paid less for that care here in the US.

> People have to save for lifetime to send their children to collage.

Depends on where you want to send them. Send your children to MIT and see what you have to pay.

> Politics is populistic.

It's that way in other countries as well. You just tend to hear more about it because it's the US.

> The legal system is unjust in some areas (e.g. legal defense against bogus charges can drive you into bankruptcy).

Again, this can happen anywhere, and it the exception rather than the rule.

> Immigration decisions are arbitrary and unpredictable.

Immigration? Sure. We still let in more than most countries (every other country?). Or are you talking about border entry?

> Business has a large(r) influence in the government.

Larger? Hardly. Just as large. Do not think for a moment that large companies aren't entrenched in other governments as well.

Really, what it comes down to is this:

> If you are poor, most of the times you basic needs are still covered

And that's true in the US as well. Yes, not all parts of the US are equal. We have 50 states, all with their own rules and regulations that are completely different from one another.

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

#296

Post by grecy »

ma2rten wrote: post #249

I hope I step on no ones toes here, but I am becoming more and more convinced that USA is simply a less developed country than Western Europe and Canada. - At least until recently people would still go bankrupt because of medical emergencies. - People have to save for lifetime to send their children to collage. - Politics is populistic. - The legal system is unjust in some areas (e.g. legal defense against bogus char…

>USA is simply a less developed country

Of course it is.

In all of the below measures, the US is not at all comparable to Developed countries, and sits squarely within Developing countries.

infant mortality, child poverty, child health and safety, life expectancy at birth, healthy life expectancy, rate of obesity, disability-adjusted life years, doctors per 1000 people, deaths from treatable conditions, rate of mental health disorders, rate of drug abuse, rate of prescription drug use, incarceration rate, rate of assaults, rate of homicides, income inequality, wealth inequality, and economic mobility.

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

#297

Post by icedchai »

rbehrends wrote: post #141
icedchai wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

His father wasn't Jewish, either.

His grandfather was, so he has Jewish ancestry, which is enough for people in some parts of the world to consider him Jewish. (Even though he may not be Jewish in the eyes of the actual religion, it's not relevant.)

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

#298

Post by grecy »

misterjangles wrote: post #178
DanBC wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I learned not to say I was there to take a class. Just visiting. Hope to spend lots of money. Ok, have a nice day! Isn't lying to those people a really bad idea?

The border patrol could care less whether you are a broke student or a rich tourist. They are not interested in how much you plan to spend. So in that regard I would think you might as well tell them the truth simply because if you get caught in a lie then you would cause grief for yourself of no good reason. But if you are an excellent liar, then go for what're you want! Basically the border patrol are looking for t…

> The border patrol could care less whether you are a broke student or a rich tourist.

Not true at all. I'm Australian and I regularly cross from Canada into the US in my junker car full of snowboarding or camping gear. Every single time the border guards want to see bank statements, proof of employment, etc. etc.

They're convinced I want to stay in the US and leech off the system (which is nonsensical, when I could stay in Canada, which actually has a system)

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

#299

Post by berntb »

rfnslyr wrote: post #254
berntb wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey, you almost got the self irony... here is half a cookie. :-) More seriously: There is a serious position to have -- identify with the process of getting your opinions _less_ wrong, not with a particular set of opinions. In fact, there is no contradiction. Anyway, this is not the subject of the discussion.

What are you going on about mate?

I answered a comment which I assumed was ironic. I'd appreciate if the down voters or someone else could explain, if I misunderstood?

Edit: Without your comment, I would have assumed it was for my stupid joke. Ah, never mind.

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

#300

Post by metaphorm »

crusso wrote: post #211
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…

Anglophone countries that have the shittiest attitude towards border control these days Meh, any Western hand-wringing about the evils of Anglophones has to be counter-balanced with the fact that net migration to those "evil" countries continues at a brisk pace, often illegally.

large difference between the immigration process, which usually begins months ahead of time in the foreign country first, and border security for a visitor.

the U.S. has more open immigration policy than many other countries but it also has a really shitty and thuggish border security policy that is a direct consequence of the ongoing security theatre that we play at because of terrorism.

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