A museum I could sped weeks wandering around.

The Smithsonian museums.
I'm trying to think of anything worth traveling around the world for.
There are some pretty nice things - Yosemite, Big Sur, Southern Utah,
the Getty in LA, Broadway theater, etc, but the Smithsonian is a must.

 

It didn't apply in HK last December. I'll be rather pissed off if they
start doing that.

I was surprised at having to have a retina scan and a finger scan at
Japanese immigration. Having got to Japan it was a bit late to consider
refusing. I may well have reconsidered going to Japan if I had known
about the updated checks.

I do agree with Champ about the States though. It is such a bloody
rigmarole and the implication of being treated like a criminal just to
get in the damn country just pisses me off. It's a shame as I would
love to go back to the States but not until they decide to treat
visitors as people rather than criminals half way to the gallows /
electric chair.

I wish they'd just come up with a consistent way of assessing security
so you know whether you have to get half undressed / half unpacked in
order to take two steps through a sodding archway.

 

I've seen the shuttle go up twice.

--
Adie (replace spam with nickname to reply)
YZF-R1 : FZ1N : RD350LC
(anyone would think I was partial to Yamahas)
MRO#11 BOTAFOF#7 BOTAFOT#130 DIAABTCOD#17 MIB#24 YTC#16
BOB#15 ex-UKRMMA#22 BOMB#11

 

Both times? Wow. You're a bloody Jonah, you are. The Timo of the shuttle.

 

Apparently, Apollo was the first capsule an astronaut could stand up
in.

Provided he was shorter than 5'10", and didn't have his helmet on.

 

You guys are just strange. I agree that it's something of a PITA, but
these days it's really not much hassle. And as for being worried about
the ID aspects, WTF? If you want to visit the US, I just can't see why
a little bit of administrative red tape should put you off.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, petrolcan

That's where my money would go too.

 

For those of us who are more than a bit anti-authoritarian and fume
just waiting at a red light, the thought of someone rummaging through
your underwear because you want to cross an imaginary line in the dirt
is abhorrent.

"To live outside the law, you must be honest." - Bob Dylan
The corollary, "if you're honest, you may live outside the law," would
seem nice, but is unobtainable.

 

Is pretty much my take on it.

Their country, their rules.

 

Can I file that away and quote it, the next time someone whines about
Israel's Law of Return?

--
des
'Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never
voted for President. One hopes it is the same half'
(Gore Vidal (1925 - ))
<http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/>

 

What you can't see is why they, and I, view it as more than just a bit
of administrative red tape.

 

Watching a Shuttle memorabilia prog last week, I was struck by the
reliability of the thing, all things considered. Two vehicle losses,
both quite preventable, isn't bad going for all the flights made on top
of a controlled bomb and re-entry into a furnace.

 

"First they took the..."

 

No, that's why I'm interested to know why. Would you care to expand?

 

Even when you don't have your passport?

 

Well speaking for myself, part of it is simply anti-authority. More
and more of the aggro in the world seems to be caused by people
inflicting their will on others, usually without good reason. And more
and more I resent not being allowed to do what I want if it doesn't
affect anyone else. Thomas' quote of Pastor Niemoller is apposite.

Even more so I hate the USA's treatment of the rest of the world,
which makes me particularly reluctant do follow any order given me by
a merkin.

Part of it is to with invasion of privacy - the point made elsewhere
in the thread.

Part of it is simply that in my book you don't take someone's
fingerprints unless you suspect them of having commited a crime, and I
resent that implication.

I accept that, as Stephen puts it, it's their country - their rules.
But AFAIAC it's a bit like Land's End. Some bastard has grabbed a
beautiful piece of land for himself (themselves) and now wants me to
pay through the nose/jump through hoops to visit it. Well bollocks to
that. It's my life, my decision.

 

OTOH, The Olde Sod is far in advance of us in the use of GATSOs and
other intrusive cameras.

We've been fingerprinted for driver's licenses for a long time now.
1984 was 27 years ago, more than a generation. Orwell never imagined
DNA profiling, and Bin Laden really did win on 9/11 by making
government intrusion into our lives so much more palatable.
But as obnoxious as it is, the hassle of immigration when you get off
a plane is a temporary nightmare, and you shouldn't let bureaucrats
deter you from things you want to do.

 

That's a fair point. I suppose it all depends on how much you want to
do them. Our last big holiday was a month in Alberta and BC, so next
time, in a couple of years, we'll probably look towards our antipodes.
After that we'll have to see.

 

Colin has phrased it quite nicely. I don't like being treated as if I
am a criminal just because I want to visit another country. The
presumption is what I dislike - simply because I am not a criminal and
have no intention of visiting anywhere to commit a crime. *If* I was a
terrorist then I would expect that a country I wanted to attack would be
taking sensible and proportionate *intelligence led* measures to try to
stop me.

Let's be honest - the Americans had the most awful wake up call on 9/11
and they had been sloppy, inconsistent and basically negligent when it
came to understanding the threat from fundamentalist Islamic terrorism.
I fail to see why their failure - and their resultant appalling foreign
policy adventures - should mean I have to be treated like a criminal if
I wish to step on their shores. It is supposed to be "the land of the
free" - being finger printed on entry makes it the "land of the half
convicted criminal" for me.

The Americans (and other nations) are perfectly happy to take my tourist
money out of my wallet but are not prepared to take sensible actions to
treat their visitors like decent people - something most other countries
do without any issue whatsoever. Plenty of other countries have their
fair share of terrorism and domestic problems but don't resort to a
fortress mentality. Like Mr Champion I am equally fed up with being
treated like some of leper in order to re-enter my own country of birth
and residence.

I appreciate there is an element of me depriving myself over a principle
you and others don't consider troublesome but hey we're all different
and I can live with not visiting America. Plenty of other places to go.

 

IRIS. Now a little video-camera gives me permission to come back
to the UK, in less than 5 seconds, without having to queue behind 250
Pakistanis, Indians, Australians, Americans, Chinese, K1W1s, etc...
....and without having to produce my passport!

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/t...heuk/usingiris/registeriris/caniregisteriris/

Of course, having told you lot that I'll now find the queues are
as long there as at normal entry (there are two IRIS lanes at Heathrow;
only once have I arrived at the booths to find both occupied -- downside
is that you hang around longer for your luggage...).

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".