251–260 of 266 posts
Most of the H1B folks who are here for 3yrs don't live out of the bag for 3 yrs. If this attitude remains, the smart folks will avoid US entirely. This would make most Americans really happy. We don't want H-1Bs.
We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13745607 and marked it off-topic.
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An example would be a great way to support that assertion. When I applied for... it doesn't matter precisely what. I've forgotten, actually, but it was some piece of paper that foreigners need, and only foreigners. Anyway, when I applied for that I chanced upon an official who didn't have much sympathy for foreigners. I got my paper in the end, but it wasn't because of his helpfulness. Can you describe, as an example…
> An example would be a great way to support that assertion. An example of what? That the POTUS, who appoints the Homeland Security secretary, could, if they so wished, absolutely influence behavior and/or policy in the TSA? > Can you describe, as an example to support your assertion, what should have been in the speech How about something like: "Any malevolent behavior and unnecessary harassement to visitors from bo…
Realistic?
In 2007 I crossed the border on bus going from Montreal to NY. The girl I was travelling with was accused of illegal importation of fruits because she was carrying an apple for the trip.
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It is more complex than that. It is obvious to you that apples cannot bring any pests. Last time I checked you were an IT professional, not an epidemiologist; so please forgive me if I am skeptical of you abilities to judge whether the assertation up there is true or not. Actually, I am skeptical of the abilities of the average tourist to judge whether the thing they are already biased to do for their own comfort is…
Hilarious. I can take an apple from where I'm sitting to the Turkish border 2000+ km away without anybody batting an eye but somehow miraculously an apple in the possession of a traveler from Canada to the USA or the other way around is a huge danger. As for me being an IT professional: yes, that's my main occupation. But besides that I have a rather wide interest (as in pretty much anything that I can read that I ca…
1) Buy a Tesla car an send it hidden to China. 2) Take a Tesla car in China an send it to USA.
Both are totally different cases
Apples not only can carry diseases, they have an economical value also and this value can be surprisingly huge. The american apple sector means more than 3 billions of dollars each year. New fancy varieties supported by research and heavy marketing can represent a big chunk of this and have a strict copyright. This protected varieties can't be cloned or exported without a license of the company. Losing the control and exclusivity over your product valued in several million dollars is all except hilarious.
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More ill will and poor behavior doesn't result in things getting better.
Neither does lying down and taking it, oddly enough.
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Let's see: - many tens of billions extra will be spent on armaments (America first, sure) - nationalism is at a roughly 70 year high in the Western world - as is xenophobia - in many countries politicians of extremely dubious character are waiting in the wings with elections around the corner You're treating it like it is business as usual. And I can assure you that it is not. I haven't seen this kind of alignment as…
- The US is currently bombing 7 countries. Tensions are heating up in eastern Europe due to Russian aggression and NATO expansion in the region. This is happening no matter what just because the American empire is losing power and regional powers are attempting to flex more muscle. - I honestly don't find nationalism to be an inherit evil. Nationalism is a tool in the political playbook just like any other. I am not…
As for the rest, I see one silver lining around almost all of the clouds which is that Trump & Company are absolutely incompetent. That's the only thing that's keeping things afloat right now, if they get their act together all bets are off.
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Are you arguing that agricultural controls at land border crossings are ineffectual and should be dismantled? That seems to go against (what appears to be) global scientific consensus that controls like these are helpful in slowing the spread of invasive species. Or are you just arguing there should be exemptions for small amounts?
I am arguing that if there is no clear danger one should not go overboard, proportionality is what matters. The USA and Canada are to all intents and purposes one when it comes to this kind of control. There are some borders that have been constructed with a biological air-gap in mind but that's not one of them. This is one of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dari%C3%A9n_Gap And it is effective because it is both…
While I agree the enforcement can be over-zealous (I've seen it first hand), I think if it wasn't produce it would just be something else they'd nitpick. It's the mentality of the guards that's the problem.
And what type of system would you propose as an alternative? A threshold based on actual risk? Well then every type of produce is going to have different limits. And what about different sub-species of the same fruit? If Macintosh apples are a bigger risk than Red Delicious, surely they should have different limits. It's only fair. Now you're counting on a traveller (and border guard) to be able to know the difference between a myriad list of produce types. Good luck with that.
I'd argue, that such a system would lead to slower crossings, higher costs, and less focus on more important matters like security threats. The rule itself may be extreme but makes a lot of sense in the context of processing millions of travellers efficiently.
Just as with software, simple, easy to understand paradigms are usually better.
>If you're going to forbid apples you might as well forbid those otherwise it is inconsistent.
The line has to be drawn somewhere. In the interest of balancing risk and expediency "no produce allowed" seems like a perfectly reasonable rule to me. Even children can understand it. Heck, even non-English speakers could be made to understand it with some well designed signage.
Anyways, there are way bigger issues with border crossing rules and procedures. It just seems like an odd issue to be so passionate about in this day and age.
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I am arguing that if there is no clear danger one should not go overboard, proportionality is what matters. The USA and Canada are to all intents and purposes one when it comes to this kind of control. There are some borders that have been constructed with a biological air-gap in mind but that's not one of them. This is one of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dari%C3%A9n_Gap And it is effective because it is both…
Well put. Thank you. Absolutely crazy to think sending someone back because of an apple is in any way justifiable between two countries with such a long shared border.
While I'm sure there are exceptions, it's not in any way common to be "sent back" for this.
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To be fair, this phenomenon is not exclusive to the uniformed. For example, I've talked to numerous freelancers who, after having a long discussion on the matter, basically admit to overcharging their small-business-owning clients in various ways. They sell their clients 3000 euro WordPress sites with a custom theme where Wix/SquareSpace or one of the many solid $50 WordPress themes would suffice (or a plain custom t…
I think that interactions between - supposedly - consenting business owners and ordinary people at the mercy of those in uniform are not to be compared. The first have plenty of options, the second have none.