61–70 of 113 posts
Is there anyone who has lived in one of these South American areas like Belize for a long time able to confirm any of this system of paying bribes to police officers at traffic stops? Also, is his statement about police 'planting drugs' just so much self serving nonsense, or has anyone ever had a police officer actually do that? The entire essay sounds somewhat specious to me...
you wouldn't do it in chile.
I find reading articles like this exhausting. I've got to imagine being a criminal/sketchball while on the road in whatever country you're in is equally exhausting. Is it not just possible to travel abroad, carry proper documentation, a bit of cash, and enjoy yourself? Does every situation really require constant vigilance to knowing when to run or not, how to make eye-contact, when to make excuses, etc.? Perhaps I'm…
I had a similar situation in Rome, Italy of all places...was shaken down by a subway officer for having 'invalid stamps' on our subway passes (they were obviously completely valid). If we just paid a fine of xx euros directly to him, everything would be just fine...otherwise, he'd need to take us to the station, delay us (we were military and in the country for a NATO conference) to the point we'd miss our meeting. B…
"If your contraband is drugs, offer them a small hit while talking. It re-enforces, subconsciously, the idea that the dope is your possession and that they are partaking due entirely to your good will. If you are transporting sex slaves, then I must say first that I cannot possibly condone your chosen occupation, but -offering each one of the policemen a taste of the goods may well seal the deal without any additiona…
Maybe it's the same ghostwriter.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had a similar situation in Rome, Italy of all places...was shaken down by a subway officer for having 'invalid stamps' on our subway passes (they were obviously completely valid). If we just paid a fine of xx euros directly to him, everything would be just fine...otherwise, he'd need to take us to the station, delay us (we were military and in the country for a NATO conference) to the point we'd miss our meeting. B…
How does this work in the presence of recording equipment in people's pockets? Was he even a real subway officer?
Johns tale grows more epic every day and I am really looking forward to the comic/graphic novel. McAfee is a true adventurer and I hope the injustice of his ordeal is broug to light.
I find reading articles like this exhausting. I've got to imagine being a criminal/sketchball while on the road in whatever country you're in is equally exhausting. Is it not just possible to travel abroad, carry proper documentation, a bit of cash, and enjoy yourself? Does every situation really require constant vigilance to knowing when to run or not, how to make eye-contact, when to make excuses, etc.? Perhaps I'm…
I had a similar situation in Rome, Italy of all places...was shaken down by a subway officer for having 'invalid stamps' on our subway passes (they were obviously completely valid). If we just paid a fine of xx euros directly to him, everything would be just fine...otherwise, he'd need to take us to the station, delay us (we were military and in the country for a NATO conference) to the point we'd miss our meeting. B…
The trick is when you go out for a day to keep your wallet empty of cash, simply have your cards in there but no money.
I've travelled just about anywhere like this and the 'sorry man, no cash' works fine every time (I have some in my back pocket but I'm not going to tell a guy like this about that).
I also instantly lose any ability to speak a word of the local language and my English, so they're going to have to explain everything to me in Dutch (fat chance of getting more than 2 words across, within minutes they'll be reduced to sign language and scribbling pictures on pieces of paper). This takes a long long time. It usually does not take more than 5 minutes of this before they'll move on to the next target, their time is valuable.
When they get off shift they will have to pay their boss his part of the take, if you are hurting their figures by taking more time than average and it looks like you won't be paying or can't pay they'll shift their attention to someone more profitable.
To date this trick has been used and verified to work in: Romania, Poland, Italy, Colombia & Panama. What those countries have in common is a police force that earns relatively little money and very little oversight.
Small time corruption eradication starts with you, the tourist. If you're going to be a fat sitting duck and you pay up too easily when you've done nothing wrong then you carry a part responsibility for keeping things that way.
The Romanian police was actually really funny, they started off with 1500 Euros in fines (my crime actually was better described as 'driving with a foreign license plate'), quickly dropped to about 100 Euros and then when they found out that I didn't have any money centered on impounding the car. When I readily agreed to that they sent me on my way...
I positively hate corrupt police. Don't pay them.
I've been to 93 countries. All continents. Places travellers would normally not contemplate visiting. All independently. I've _never_ had to bribe someone. In all the years of doing this, I've had an official try to shake me down maybe 5 times. I think McAfee's advice is way off.
I've only been to 30 countries. And I've had to bribe a police officer at a traffic stop for not wearing a seat belt. Was about $5 which I think is extremely cheap to bribe a cop for. In Toronto it would be wayyyy more. I've also been told by a local to stick a $20 bill in my passport to avoid problems going through customs because we had expensive computer equipment on us and were in a rush for our next flight. I re…
Have you actually bribed a Canadian police officer?
I find reading articles like this exhausting. I've got to imagine being a criminal/sketchball while on the road in whatever country you're in is equally exhausting. Is it not just possible to travel abroad, carry proper documentation, a bit of cash, and enjoy yourself? Does every situation really require constant vigilance to knowing when to run or not, how to make eye-contact, when to make excuses, etc.? Perhaps I'm…
I've been to 93 countries. All continents. Places travellers would normally not contemplate visiting. All independently. I've _never_ had to bribe someone. In all the years of doing this, I've had an official try to shake me down maybe 5 times. I think McAfee's advice is way off.
> In all the years of doing this, I've had an official try to shake me down maybe 5 times. Corruption in most of these countries is a negotiation game that is conducted implicitly. That's why playing dumb is so effective--if you don't know the rules of the game, you can't play, especially if you don't share a language. So, for every time where someone has forcefully pressed the point and made it clear to you that a b…
And that really is the best defence.