Okay, our border checkers are less than hospitable. But once you’re in, you have lots of neat opportunities you simply don’t have elsewhere–like visiting Las Vegas and “accidentally” marrying Britney Spears.
Plus, no offense, but English food sucks and we have lots of cool restaurants. If I didn’t already live here, I’d want to visit.
CarnalK We are, but we’re using a Turkish title efendi
Or do you want me to call you: vleselijk [dutch] or dünyevy [Turkish]?
::enjoying my carnal anal burbs:: 
Sorry, I guess I got a little off-topic. I was actually referring in a more general way to the whole Dept. of Homeland Security and all that b.s.; I wasn’t trying to equate security with bureaucracy in all cases.
That was kind of my point, though. Do these kinds of thing really help? The implication was made in this thread that all these new security measures and curtailing of civil rights could have prevented 9/11. But the reason we failed to catch the perpetrators before hand was quite possibly because of the failure of the CIA and FBI to communicate internally and with each other. It wasn’t that they didn’t have the power to gather intelligence on the highjackers, it was that they failed to properly evaluate the intelligence they had. So how did we react to this failure of two agencies to communicate? By creating a third agency. Does that make any sense to you? That’s what I was referring to.
… plus I think terrorists entering the US won’t worry about not leaving before there VISAs expire.
What happens if for example I come into the US through NY and I go to Canada and go back home from Toronto Airport ? They will have me registered as entering the US but not leaving ! (Its been said that land routes don't have fingerprinting.)Bakhesh
I can assure you that it is unsafe to visit the United States of America.
I can further assure you that it is unsafe to visit any part of this planet.
Stay exactly where you are at all times.
In the morning, remain motionless until you want to go to sleep again.
Repeat as necessary.
Gee, what did Bangladesh do to you? It’s hardly representative of an evil dictatorship. Or did you just want a funny-sounding foreign place?
I can’t remember the exact timeline, but all border crossing points are supposed to be included in the system within a year or two. But Homeland Security has been remarkably unforthcoming regarding how they plan to deal with discrepancies such as the one you mention. Or what if the fingerprint network goes down for a few hours? Are they going to hold everyone in the airport?
If it bothers you enough I would think about moving if I were you, not all states do that for driver’s licenses.
The Patriot Act has been thoroughly vilified by folks on all sides of the political spectrum. I’ve seen and heard radio and tv shows talk about it much the same way that you are. I’ve read many articles about it and many posts on this board like yours. They all say the same thing. The Patriot Act is the most horrible, intrusive far-reaching legislation that the country has ever seen. Now that it’s passed, we all basically have no rights and can be wire-tapped without warrants and carted away by government officials at any time for any reason.
There’s only one little catch to all of this. None of it’s true. The Patriot Act does nothing outragous at all. I actually read it. It’s boring stuff. Terms are updated. They tweaked the rules for warrants. Now you get a warrant for a person, not a phone line of that person. In the world of cheap cell phones, this makes sense. A warrant is still required. Probable cause is still required. The government also needs to get a judge to sign off on each additional phone that they tap.
I don’t know how or even why this innocent change to the law became twisted in the minds of so many people to be the worst violation of our civil rights that has ever occurred.
You can’t even blame it on partisanship (although that’s probably some of it) because many conservatives and libertarians are against the Patriot act as well.
From what I heard on the news, the fingerprints and photos are going to be instantly cross-referenced with a computer database showing anyone here with terrorist connections, criminal background, iffy visa or passport, etc.
Of course, the government always lies to us about everything, so I’m sure the photos will really be used to create Photoshopped tabloid covers of us all marrying Brtiney Spears.
You people don’t understand.
Look at my clear explanation posted here.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=233285
Don’t doubt about it that I have this information coming from extremely reliable sources inside the US.
Salaam. A
** Debaser **
cite about the phone taps?
Also while your at it. Please explain how the part where they can hold people indefinitly without trial is ok and not a gross violation of the Bill of Rights.
Surely you jest. We are talking about a country that allowed the 9/11 highjackers to come in with all the difficulty of walking in to a grocery store.
Historically, U.S. immigration has been remarkably easy on the traveller. Fewer countries had a more liberal open door policy (which I believe was and is generally a positive thing for the USA.)
Rashak Mani, you wouldn’t be checked out by U.S. immigration at the airport, either, so how does it make any difference how you leave? There should be a record of you entering Canada, so you could prove it that way, I guess.
OK, somebody’s a little off the tracks today…
I’m also one of those people who thinks this will not stop a really determined suicidal organized terrorist who’s been careful to keep his record clean, but I also can’t get over the fact that the number of terrorist incidents in America has equalled zero in two years. Plots against the Brooklyn Bridge (look for articles on Iyman Faris) and other landmarks have been thwarted, not by this program exactly, but the point is the Bridge is still there, and we haven’t even had a suicide bomber in the most lightly policed mall. I don’t like everything Homeland Security is doing but their job is not to make me feel happy but to protect me.
Besides, the alternative would be IMO simply to not allow people from certain Middle Eastern countries, including Europeans whose ancestry is from there, into America at all. If you’re comfortable with singling out and frisking Muslim people only, fine. But the whole point of the policy seems to be that that’s a bad thing and that everybody from most of the world gets treated equally.
I like that. It makes me want to change countries (and citizenship) and then come home to visit alot.
The fallicey is right there. Being non Arab does not mean that your not a terrorist.
Homeland security would be ok if it did not violate the Bill of Rights.
Was there a plot in fact ? Are terrorists really lining up to get in ? If you being protected against false threats then your being played for…
Also what good will it do if the "homeland" is safe... but everywhere else US companies have to withdraw due to lack of security. Fortress America won't help your economy though it might protect those within. (This is a criticism of how the US is handling Terrorism outside their borders...)
I seriously doubt Homeland Security has had much to do in these 2 years. Especially since there are way more convenient targets elsewhere to be had. Osama is no fool... hitting the US wouldn't help his cause that much I feel.Rashak, this is GD. I wouldn’t cite something like that, with a name, if it wasn’t true. Here’s the CNN article:
Here’s the
Findlaw copy of the indictment (sorry, PDF file).
I WISH all these claims were false, because then I could be sure nothing could happen. But they’re not. And you haven’t offered any ideas as to what YOU would do if you were charged with defending your country’s security when there were clergymen giving sermons to hundreds of millions of people that you must be wiped off the face of the earth. “Don’t worry, be happy” is not an answer. Americans aren’t fatalistic like so many South Americans; life CAN be improved, things CAN be made safer, ideas ARE worth defending.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Mehitabel *
[And you haven’t offered any ideas as to what YOU would do if you were charged with defending your country’s security when there were clergymen giving sermons to hundreds of millions of people that you must be wiped off the face of the earth.
[QUOTE]
I suppose with “clergy” you refer to Imams “sermoning” here and there in the Islamic world?
If so, can you give me the names of those who have such a remarkable strong voice that their sermons can be heard by hundreds of millions of people? That would be handy. We would only need one pro country. You surely can see the advantages of such a system, no?
Thank you on forehand for your detailed information on this matter. I’m off now to start writing their scripts.
Salaam. A
Its how the US tries to make themselves safer and how the US defend ideas that worries me... guns and bombs are rarely the best answers to problems... if your American or Muslim.