This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Guest Post: Why I Will Never, Ever, Go Back To The United States
Submitted by Michael Krieger of Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,
I have been cursed at a Chinese border. In Dubai, my passport was studied by three veiled women for over an hour and my suitcase completely dismembered. In the Philippines I had to bribe someone in order to get my visa extended for a few days. Borders, they can be tough, especially in countries known for corruption.
But never, ever, will I return to the United States of America.
- Excerpt from a must read article by Niels Gerson Lohman
Recently, one of my best friends from college had a horrific experience at the Canadian border. He told me he would write about his experience and allow me to post it on this site, so I hope to have that up in the near future. In the meantime, please take the time to read the story of Niels Gerson Lohman, a Dutch writer, designer and musician who had such a horrific experience at the border he has vowed to never return to these United States. This is an utter embarrassment and reminds me a lot of one of the more popular posts ever on this site: Why I’m Leaving America by Michael Fielding.
From the Huffington Post:
After a year of traveling, I had planned a last, short trip. I was going to take the train from Montreal to New Orleans. The travels I had been undertaking earlier this year had brought me to places that were meant to form the background of my second novel.
This trip, however, was for my dad. He, a trumpet player, loved New Orleans and had died a year ago. It felt like the first sensible trip I undertook this year. I had been searching for ways to forget about the last hours at his deathbed. He had been ill for 15 years and his body just would not give up. It was a violent sight. I had decided the trip to New Orleans would put an end to those memories.
The customs officer walked by and asked everybody on the train a few questions. Where they were from, where they were heading. The usual stuff. Everybody who was not a U.S. or Canadian citizen was to head for the dining car to fill in an additional green form.
I had not finished my novel yet, but my passport was complete. It was filled with pretty stamps. He did not like the stamps.
First, he saw my Sri Lankan stamp. The customs officer raised his eyebrows.
“Sri Lanka, what were you doing over there?”
“Surfing. Traveling. My best friend lives there. He is an architect.”
The officer flipped on, seemingly satisfied. Secondly, he found my stamps from Singapore and Malaysia.
“What were you doing over there? Singapore and Malaysia? Aren’t those countries Islamic?”
Looking over my shoulder, his eyes searched for his colleague’s confirmation.
“Malaysia, I think so, yeah. But not Singapore. It’s a melting pot. A very futuristic city. Airconditioned to the ceiling. To Singapore I went mostly for the food, to be honest.”
“Sure.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Nothing. And how about Malaysia?”
I explained flights departing from Malaysia were cheaper compared to Singapore. That I only went there for a few days, but also, a little bit, for the food. The customs officer went through some more pages. Then he found my Yemeni visa. He put my passport down and stared at me.
“What the hell were you doing in Yemen?”
“I went to the island Socotra, it’s not on mainland Yemen. It’s a small island closer to Somalia. A very special place, some call it ‘Galapagos of the Middle East.’ I think 85 percent of the plants and animals there, are indigenous.”
In the five hours that followed, I was questioned twice more. During the first round I told, amongst others, my life’s story, about my second novel’s plot, gave my publisher’s name, my bank’s name and my real estate agent’s name. Together we went through all the photos on my laptop and messages my phones had been receiving for the past months. They wrote down the names of everybody I had been in touch with. In my pirated software and movies they showed no interest.
“So… what’s the verdict?”
“We are under the impression you have more ties with more countries we are not on friendly terms with than your own. We decided to bring you back to the Canadian border.”
They brought me back. In the car, no words were said. It was no use. I was defeated. To the Canadian border they said:
“We got another one. This one is from the Netherlands.”
Yep, you got him alright cowboy. Thanks for embarrassing an entire nation.
The Canadian officer looked at me with pity. She asked if there was anything I needed. I said I could use some coffee and a cigarette. She took my passport to a back room and returned within five minutes, carrying an apologetic smile, a freshly stamped passport, coffee, a cigarette, and a ticket to the next bus back to Montreal.
This ladies and gentlemen, is what we have become.
Full article here.
»
- 70713 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
Simon is that you?
In Yemen, he went to the island of Scrota.
Where the down boys go. You know. He needed the money because the first novel wasn't available on Kindle yet.
I was already feeling defeated today and reading this really put me in the dumper!
What the hell have we Americans allowed our country to become?
DaddyO
I hear ya! Whodathunk you'd ever encounter a "must read" article at ZH that came from HuffPo????
Shit's gettin crazy, I tell ya.
Just got back from Canada this past weekend. Great hunting trip, we knew we were going to get flagged becuase of the shotguns we had in which we filled out all the proper paperwork before we left. We also were bringing ducks home and we had all the documentation filled out to do so. When we got to the checkpoint I must say I was embarrassed for my country. In addition to the guy being a dick hole he had no fucking clue how paperwork is supposed to be filled out. When they sent us to be searched we went into the office to get our paperwork "fixed" because we didnt have US customs sign our gun documents which you are supposed to do. There was no line, no structure, no order to this operation. After a few minutes of walking around we finally got our name on a list. When we were called we went up and they guy took our paperwork and asked us a few questions and had us sit down. He leans to the guy next to him and says "I have no fucking clue what this is or how to handle this, should I search the car?" The other guy say's "DO WHATEVER YOU WANT, ITS YOUR WORLD MAN". Yes thats right, do whatever the fuck you want, make up your own rules. They then sent us on our way when we noticed they didnt fucking sign the documents we had to have signed! What a fucking shitshow.
Every border office has the Obama portrait on the wall. The picture gets changed with each President. If that's not efficient enough, your standards are too high!!
Calling ACP, Superflex, Zaphod, et. al.!
That's the essential problem: it's their world and they can do what they want. Since the USA embraced fear as a national mantra and decided to hire a million security goons we have basically created the crazy world of security goon theater. They have nothing much to do that is real but they have limitless power and control so they can just do whatever in the fuck they want.
I got my international traveling earlier in life and now I'll just stay in California. This state has it's share of social problems but we have the world's best weather and the world's greatest scenary.
keep voting for the same 'members' of these monopolized political parties and it will continue unabated.
I remember hearing stories like all the time this when I was growing up in the 1970s and early 80s. Nothing new there.
Except back then, the country doing these things was the USSR.
The only comfort I have about this is that all the assholes involved represent the government (not my government, sadly) and not my country or fellow citizens.
This story is bullshit or vastly embellished. Check this quote out:
This Dutch dude is a fiction writer, correct?
And, "writer, designer, and musician". That just reeks like a flake.
Every 'writer, designer and musician' I know has a trust fund.
The first three occupations sound much better than "International Man of Leisure."
You forgot to add pumping a book he just finished, so he's looking for media profile and a reason to be interviewed to talk about this book, I mean, this travesty. Oh, and that poor dead trumpet player, 15 years of dieing violently? omg, I can't get the poor bugger out of my head so I'll just pop down to a city full of trumpet players as that will surely take my mind off it all. ... hey, don't smirk, it can happen.
Says more than anything about the US that anyone would find it so strange a police officer (or anyone else, really) would do so little for a stranger out of mere courtesy/hospitality without any apparent reason or obligation... a cup of coffee from the station's coffee machine, a cigarette from some officer's pack, and a bus ticket, maybe Canadian Custom's policy - is that really so strange to you? Btw, wasn't it an (US!) officer that just recently offered a pair of boots to an homeless guy, out of his own pocket?
Guy's name is known and he's a published writer (https://www.google.com/search?q=Niels+Gerson+Lohman), so the story is easily verifiable by US authorities and wouldn't be too difficult for them to expose him (and sue for damages) if he was lying, so what's the chance anyone in such position would bother risking that much trouble for... what, really?
Why were you junked? I read it and when I got to that part it sounded totally fake.
TSA? Border "guards"? Fuck you. Why not kick out Banksters?
And finally, the USA becomes Britain.
See, if he had only flown to Mexico first, and then just walked across the border, he would have gotten in hassle free. And been a lot closer to New Orleans as well, win-win!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhnUgAaea4M
America, fuck yeah!
That will be great for tourism in the land of the free. We do not need any tourists since the unemployment rate has fallen to 7.2%. Besdies, we need more border agents since each one spends several hours with every potential tourist.
Forward.
America? I seem to remember a country with that name. It was some years ago I believe.
This guy is OBVIOUSLY a malcontent who hates Merica, and the troops.
I mean, come-on... His first name is Niels? What kinda of people are named Niels?
He's a Dutch writer? What kinda of people are named Niels and are Dutch?
He's a musician? Did he have long hair too?!
AND, he's on a TRAIN?! What kinda of people ride TRAINS!??
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT HIPPY, AND GET A GODDAMN HAIR CUT!!!
NOTaREALmerican - I think you should have added a /sarc.
We've got a fucking Muslim President, Muslims all over our government and in our military, and this poor fucking guy, with a valid passport and coming from what should be considered our closest ally, can't get to visit New Orleans. That's really sick.
A guy can visit terrorist sites all day from his military computer, work as a psychiatrist in the military while still expressing hatred and contempt for our government, murder our own true military men on a military base, and have it be called 'work force violence'.
Dozens of guys picked up after 9/11 get 1st class trips back to Israel and/or Saudi Arabia before anyone finds out they were here.
There are hundred of similar stories, and they turn this guy away.
Honestly, I try to make humorous comments almost all the time on this site, but this is sick.
And, the post worrying more about getting out than in to 'merica is so fucking right to be scared, it's scary.
We are officially living under Martial Law, 'merican citizens can be gunned down by the 'merican government, etc.
And I wonder why the Xanax doesn't work anymore . . .
You know, smoking too much weed can lead to paranoid fantasies that can be kindled by main stream CORPORATE media manipulation. It serves to diistract you from the financial oligarchs who own our legislature and are actively looting economic wealth while the captured system allows fraud and corruption to be rewarded with fines instead of perp walks. The latest corporate trick is the new trade agreement, where we give away sovereign legal rights to international oligarchs. But keep looking for dem muslims, tool
Ah, when the truth is not nearly bad enough for some, let's make shit up too. Anyway, let us know when you have a video of Obama bowing on a prayer mat to Mecca (a real video would be super nice). I saw some tool yesterday on zh saying obama was not just a muslim, but was from Nigeria, instead of from Kenya, or at least from Indonesia ... anyway given recent events I'm guessing he's probably not a Sunni.
Yeah I've seen those Obama as Muslim pics and all those terrible Muslims he surrounds himself with...with names like Emanuel, Axelrod, Pritzker, Saltzman, Lew, Summers, Rubin, Shapiro, Sperling, Bernanke, Yellen, Kagan, Orzag, Ross, Sutphen, Plouffe, Borrin, Schapiro, Crown, Feinberg, Rattner...
It's a fucking outrage I tell you!
edit: FFS when bin Obama lived in Chicago he only had to trot across the street to prostrate himself towards Mecca at his local Mosque.
and: http://cryptome.org/eyeball/obama-homesec/pict32.jpg
Europeans take the train, but since he's Dutch, where was his bicycle?
"NOTaREALmerican, you rock! If this Commie "Niels" guy were a real Amerikun, he'd also support Sheldon Sieg Heil Adelson, who wants us to nuke Iran. First in the desert, to "send a message", and then in Tehran if they don't back off with their nuke development.
Funny though, how for a 'smart man', he overlooks that Israel can do their own nuking. Given their arsenal of hundreds of nukes.
See his talk here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/23/sheldon-adelson-nuke-iran_n_415...
And notice the patriotic cheer of the adoring and eternal-peace-loving audience.
/s
It's not people coming in that worries me, it's us being able to get out.
That's part of my beef with "allowing" illegal immigrants to come in.
If they're allowed to come in undocumented, then we should be allowed to leave undocumented.
It used to be possible to cross "the world's longest undefended border" (US - Canada) with no passport and no hassles. That all changed a few years ago. I will not tell you who changed it, when, or why. It would only hurt your feelings.
You can leave undocumented; learn to sail and get a boat.
Have you seen the southern border? Trust me, there's not much to worry about regarding actually crossing the border. It's the cartels on the other side that would concern me.
It would not be hard once the boarder fences are erected to keep people in.
Just ask the East Germans.
at least this guy wasn't a citizen - brown skin muslim looking usa born americans get the gestapo everytime they try to come home to usa -- but dont tell anyone here that because shit like that "dat is racist" and only an excuse poor black people make to get more foodstamps
Wily Jones of Halifax County, NC sheltered, supported and cared for John Paul when he was a young immigrant to the U.S. The great Naval Commander took Jones last name as his own. "Surrender? I have not yet begun to fight!"
That is the type of immigrant we need.
So do I....
What for, anyways ?
Becoming money addict ?
Mouahahaha
Obunga. Holder. Nepalitano. And the new burr-head "Jeh" is even worse. No longer the melting pot... it is ALL melting away... just as Chakka Obongo, loyal muslim POS, intended.
Riiiiiiiiiight. Its the muslims. Pay no attention to the corporate masters who own our legislature.
Sounds like one dipshit USSA union dumbass. Canada has them as well.
Sad, but I've run into the same sort in backwaters all over the world.
Damn Netherlanders....nomads, you know...small hands...smell of cabbage.
Cabbage gets the tulip smell off.
Well, as a male my response to questions about why there blah blah blah would just be "Great Tight Pussy". And female "Huge Throbbing Cocks".
i also thought that last part sounded like a cheap detective novel
...so the dame fetched me a smoke, cup of joe, and ticket to nowhere, all served with the smile of an angel.
too funny
In a real U.S. Customs office, you'd get a smack of leather glove across your face for asking for a cigarette.
Good. We don't need liberal quitters. We need people who will fight the fascist from the right, commies from the left, and corporatist all around. Take some of your kind with you when you leave.
Here, here...
Stand and Fight you whimps!
All these wannabe expats and weaklings that tremble at the first sight of a fight give me fits!
DaddyO
You forgot this part:
"He then inspected my knapsack which included various magazines such as "Popular Mujahdeen Mechanics", "Hijacker's Digest" and "Taliban Weekly". He then ran across my "Hot Girls of the Hajj - Special Edition" and went ballistic.
The nerve!
What wuss! I get that at Newark and I am from here!
they send you back to New Jersey?
And you should see how those Mexicans get interrogated coming into Texas and Arizona when the US Border Police look at THEIR passports.
Describe it to us.
What about American citizens who get harrassed 75 miles inland at the fucking border patrol checkpoints established on the interstates and US highways. Gone through 2 of them in Texas. Got through one cleanly, the other got me a felony charge.
This 33-second video will teach you how to eliminate that problem forever!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kmmEmsuFN4
Obama is tapping Merkel's phone. Yup, I think it's time to bag it in. Obamacare is going to fuck things up royally anyhow. Better leave quick before .gov decides to throw us in jail or FEMA camp for some fucked up and made up reason.
C'mon guys. Who really wants to live here anymore? There is no privacy and no escape from dot gov!
Re: There is no privacy and no escape from dot gov!
Oh, come one. Just one more election and think how much better things will be?
Red Team Blue Team fight fight fight.
Meanwhile, the top 10% - who own and operate Big-GOV and all the Big-Corps - are laughing all the way to bank.
Survival of the fittest means no middle-class, sorry.
I get the no middle class part. But the top needs a middle class to support the scam or their nice entitlements are not sustainable. The paper is already worthless and the Chinese et al aren't going to play with it much longer. Looked at bitcoin lately?
I think it is headed for a geosynchrous orbit. The PPT is still trying to figure out how to naked short it.
Your schtick is wearing thin...
DaddyO
Yours isn't...
Next thing will be the other way round. They'll be preventing you from leaving instead.
Absofuckinglutely!
Count on it! Snowden gives them every excuse they need.
Like I said, wait until the guns are turned inward.
Read: We the Living if you want to read a fantastic story that ends with a talented and intelligent girl bleeding to death in the snow while fleeing her oppressive birthland.
No need to, now. Thanks!
They are happy to let YOU leave. Your money, on the other hand-- well, that's a different story.
Who is this fucking beatnik surfer douche, Simon Black's half brother via the Portugese maid?
If he had let it slip that he had a relative who attended West Point and was an MI officer, then, yes.
Only a fool would knock Portuguese maids.
No shit, who would ever trust a well traveled novelist. Fuckin hippies, I'll tell ya what.....
we donte want dis freek he bee an ajitatter or some such troble maker.
he hates us cos we free and exseptionull nashawn if he had a brown beerd he was askin for waterboning enhanced interogasion if yer ask me.
scum
good job tsa and custom semper 5
get seal team 6 to hunt this aminal down
usa usa usa
Our hostile, foreign leaders got the template for the U.S.S.A. from their experiment with the U.S.S.R.
The Zydokomuna are not bound by borders. Those are reserved for the sheeple. You must have permission to travel from one corral to another.
Nice humor!
Too true though...
DaddyO
How da ya like these numbers Fancis!!!!
Some 37,1% of post-war management of UB (ministry of public security) employees and members of the communist authorities in Poland were of Jewish origin.
From wiki, after of course calling Zydokomuna: a pejorative antisemitic stereotype
I guess Correlation does not imply causation though
Most ofl the Jews in Poland were dead. It took years for enough Jews to turn up for the first rabbi to come back, and more years for the second Rabbbi to appear, who promptly started quarreling with the first...The Wall St. Journal had a funny article about the legitimacy of labeling a Vodka brand Kosher. The Polish people figured that anything inspected by a rabbi was more likely to be of good quality than anything the authorities inspected and certified as safe for human consumption. The second rabbi went ballistic since Vodka isn't certified kosher anywhere else in the world, it's Parva since it contains neither meat nor dairy, or something like that.
Now if only I could get Chinese food imports cerified kosher. You hear we are about to export US chickens to China to be made into microwave dinners for reexport to the US, labeled Made In USA?
apologies Mr. Lohman
If our government was a body part it would be an asshole.
For some reason we decided after 9/11 that it would be better to become a lunatic police state rather than accept the sympathy and cooperation of the rest of the world. We got Bush and the Patriot Act instead. Most Americans have never crossed a border so they have no idea what you are talking about. Most American view politics like they do football...yeah for our team, your team sucks....They really don't see where we are going nor do they know where we have come from. The people you dealt with at the border are just average Americans. they have no idea why you would leave your country to visit another. The fact that you are a writer, nay the fact that you can write, is another strike against you....that's just not normal you see.
I understand that you won't be coming back. I don't blame you. I certainly will not ask you to give it another chance....it would likely be worse. Many Americans are saying the same thing you are saying...never again. they pay a tax and leave.
The place will improve but not until we loses the privilege of printing the reserve currency. That allows our government to spend all the money it wants even if it always does the wrong thing....and it almost always does. They never pay a price or suffer a consequence so they must be doing their jobs correctly. Come back in 50 years, we will be different then (New Orleans will be gone though.)
I think most freedom loving Americans realize that you do not need to cross the border to get that kind of treatment.
A simple search of YouTube makes your point perfectly clear.
The rise of the Police State, long live the Police State!!!
The genie is out of the bottle and I'm not sure what will put her back in short of Revolution 2.0
I guess we'll know in the fullness of time.
DaddyO
About 20 years ago my girlfriend and I crossed the border into Buffalo to do some shopping. Long story short, the U.S. border assholes made us stand against a wall, with one watching us with his hand on his holster while the other stripped my car apart. Then we were escorted inside and had to empty our pockets, purses, etc. Everything but a strip search.
Never been back. Never will.
Can we come to your house?
c. 1982, when I was young and didn't think about these things, some friends and I decided to take a day trip to Tijuana, our plan was originally to buy some illegal fireworks (we weren't into drugs, this was the next best thing). We took off from the LA area and was down there in a couple of hours. Driving across the border into Mexico, no issues. We weren't even stopped at all, full speed through the border checkpoint. Spent the day in the shithole that is TJ (and was a nice preview of what LA would look like in 20 years or so)...didn't find any fireworks for sale. In fact, we got lost and just wandered all over town, pretty clueless. I guess back then TJ wasn't quite the dangerous city it is today, in any case, we weren't worried since there were four of us together in my car.
We gave up the chase for our illegal booty, and headed home that day. When we got into the line for coming back across the border, I couldn't believe how long it was. We sat and sat, and there were dogs prowling with JBTs looking over, under, and all over the cars while they sat. We weren't worried, since we knew we didn't have anything illegal with us (at the time, he he). I drive up the the officer when we finally get up to the actual checkpoint, and he looks me over - I was in my mid 20s, my friends even younger than me - and right away gets suspicious. After all, why would a bunch of teenagers be going to TJ if not to get some illegal bounty?
He asks me a question I hadn't though about, since all I had was my driver's license (in those days you didn't need a passport to go to Mx). He eyeballs me and says "What nationality are you?" I thought it seemed pretty obvious since I had a US driver's license and am White, Blond Haired & Blue Eyed... and I just blurted out "USA, I guess". I wasn't trying to be flip, it was just the first thing that came into my head. He responds, "You GUESS?" and ordered me to pull over to secondary inspection. They proceeded to tear my car apart, ripping the seats out and the whole nine yards, while I continued to tell them "You're wasting your time, we don't have anything". They kept this up for about a half hour or so, finally giving up and ordering us to proceed. I did get in my last dig "I TOLD YOU that you wouldn't find anything!". (Note, I wouldn't try this today, questioning their "authoritah" might get me arrested, or worse). We spent an hour or two putting the car back together when we got back home, while I swore I'd never cross the border into Mexico again - and I haven't.
I can only imagine how much worse it is since my escapade back in the 80s. No way I'd try that today. Besides, if I want to see TJ, all I have to do is go to Boyle Heights or some other wonderful "diverse" area of LA.
Hmmm, it might have been those funny wooden shoes he was wearing that aroused the suspicions of the border goons.
I also was harrassed after backpacking the world for three months.. 15 countries and the only one to mess with me was my own.
"Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"
Lol.
I just returned from Chile this afternoon. I was questioned, photographed, questioned, detained and body searched. I am a U.S. citizen with a parking ticket 34 years ago. They know I have NO record of crime, know who I work for and why I travel. They also told me today, they know I will not be irradiated and why. Strange world the U.S. is. I feel far more at home in Chile, where the cops have bars and grates on their windows to protect themselves from the public. Next time I am thinking of staying in Chile.
Did you perhaps forget to sign up for Obamacare?
They have his ZeroHedge transcripts on file!!
DaddyO
My tears of sympathy fall in a torrent, for the agonies this poor upper middle-class white male suffered while jet-setting around the globe. He martyred himself at the border-crossings, just like a saint.
/s/a/r/c/
Gag me.
You're right. Imagine he was brown and smelled like a camel. They would have stopped the train and done a cavity search on the guy and had the bomb squad dismantle the train.
Do you still like this country?
The difference is, the brown, camel-smelling guy actually might be a terrorist. The number of white Dutch terrorists are still numbered ZERO.
He has returned!
Saint Niels of Aarhus or Niels the Holy (Danish: Niels den Hellige; before 1157 - 1180); was an illegitimate son of King Canute V of Denmark and brother of Bishop Valdemar of Schleswig. He became a monk and was revered as a saint in Aarhus until the 18th century even though he was never canonized. He was probably named after his great-grandfather King Niels of Denmark.
Does it make you sad that other people can afford to see the world, and enjoy how truly fucking amazing it is?
You should try it. Football will still be on TV when you get back.
Glaubst mir.
After reading this, I have to admit....I dont care.
I dont care if these guys come into the US.
I dont care if they can go to New orleans. Or write a book. I just dont give a shit about foriengers bitching and moaning any more. Stay home. And while we are doing that, lets pull back our troops, our air forces, and our navies. Station them in the empty hotels these folks will cause to be vacant.
Lets see how things end up there.
I just dont care about them anymore.
yes, please pull the troops and bring them home and don't forget the Syrian "rebels" a.k.a US funded AQ
Yank the funding on them. I am sick of all of this shit. I don't care about Syria. I don't care about Islam. I don't care about Israel. I really don't care about punk kids from the Netherlands who globe trot for food.
The kid answers the questions of the border guy that he goes to countries that have people that want to kill us, because of the food.
I go across the city for food. This asshole expects his wise ass answers to just slide. Well, go back to Yemen for the hummus. I don't care about your free travel in my country.
Why do people travel? Generally speaking of course.
Come on. This is a thought experiment. It couldn't be to experience cultures other than your own could it? Nah, thats crazy.
What do you think?
delete
See how things end up? Happy foreigners staying at home, a worthless dollar and a civil war inside a broken USA. That's my prediction. (bitching foreigner)
Border Gestapo. It's all about power and who they can take their anger out on.
Just wait until the guns are turned inward to keep American citizens IN the USA rather than harassing those coming from without.
Once you get those SSSSS attached to your name, it is very hard to clean up...
Miss M junior finally got home from the public fool system. Mrs. M commented, "Where is our daughter?" because of how late she was to come home. I simply replied that maybe she was just fooling about with some other kids and that it is not a big deal. At the same time, I was concerned though. Well, as it turns out, everything was fine, in a way, that daughter got back home. I had to ask my daughter what happened.
Apparently, some kids stood up on the bus and the bus driver had to pull over and a standoff occurred. The kids don't like something that is going on there. It is very hard to get accurate information from an eight year old but I think that the kids rebelled against the policies of the state. I asked what happened to those kids who stood up and refused to sit down. Daughter stated that they were "written up".
After the malady was over with, the Russian Mrs. M looked at me and succinctly stated, "This country is a police state."
Indeed.
Why on earth do you let your daughter attend public school? That borders on irresponsible parenting.
I'm white, 50's, from Iowa. They cross-examined me at LAX because they thought I was an illegal immigrant - from New Zealand. I was hoping they would deport me. Then I could apply for asylum when I arrived back in Auckland.
I miss Janis Joplin
look the point he's trying to make is that USA is starting to be hated all around the globe. We're not talking about a bunch of crazy islamists nobody knows who finances them and angry coz half of their village got droned, they petrol robbed and they have to live with a psychopathic leader POTUS picked for them ... we're talking about the rest of the world, business partners getting sick of being cheated.
think about it america. I love american people, they are really nice and caring but come on, YOUR GOV SUCKS
You make some good points but you forget that "we" are the government, and when it fails us we're supposed to take the patrician caste that rules us "out".
You can't have it both ways. saying that you love Americans but that their Government is the problem. Well of course that is always going to be the case but now comes the hard part of "paying the pipe" for our neglect.
No. You CAN say you love Americans but dislike the government. Most people I come into contact with associate the American people WITH the policy of the government.
But what do you expect. Much of the world sees events the same as we do. Through the TV. So when they are shown throngs of idiots jumping in the streets waving flags chanting "USA! USA! USA!" of course some will come to associate us as idiots and totally supportive of shitty policy.
Yes, the people are responsible for "ELECTING" the government. And for forcing change, should we not agree. That is fine in theory, but in practice.........I only wish it were possible.
Your comment below is spot on.
A decade ago if I had read this article I would have jeered "If you don't like it Then move the hell out!"... Now?... Me personally?...
I'm of the opinion that it's not fair to soil other parts of the globe as we already have for so long, so I'm sticking around to try and make it a better place for the rest of the World before we do something else to make it worse -yet again. Karma's a bitch and we're about ready to take a nice big bite out of that shit sandwich we created for ourselves. The best part is when we destroy ourselves completely from within and are literally at each others throats, there's a good chance that we won't have the ability at that point to screw with anyone else outside our borders either.
I'm as guilty as anyone for drinking the "Kool Aid" that created this mess, and if you can't be truthful enough in saying that then you haven't been a serious "ZH" disciple or old enough to remember when we still had some semblance of justice left in this Country however narrow the definition has been for far too long.
Now I applaud anyone who is multilingual and has the skills and desire to create a new home for themselves and at the very least a better future. Just keep in mind the baggage that comes along with where you once came from.
This place is a basket case that deserves to be locked up permanently in a padded cell for what it's done to itself and more importantly the rest of the World.
I find it truly shocking that a low level governement law enforcer would be a dick and potentially abuse his authority. I bet this never happens elsewhere. Americans are the only assholes in the world and everyone knows it, right?
I have had some pretty shitty experiences that I took personally but also recognize that they may well be the exception. My concern is less about assholes working for our government (far too many to count), but the invasive power of our intelligence services. A friend was delayed in London because he was flagged by the US as a potential threat for, as it turns out, purchasing his airline tickets with the same credit card as some reloading supplies. Thats a pretty deep reach for data thanks to our recently passed credit protection laws which give them complete access to ALL financial transactions. I'm much less concerned about what our assholes are doing to foreigners than to us, just call me a bigot.
Really, you're shocked that a U.S. paramilitary semi-Law Enfarcement GED educated over empowered jerkoff would get his jollies by giving someone a hard time for no reason? Every been pulled over by a police officer in the past 5 years? What a fucking hastle, you are treated as if you ran over a truck full of newborn babies for gods sake, and god forbid you have a legal weapon on you or in the vehicle! The United States is turning into a fat bloated cheap whore with a bad attitude!
The United States is turning into a fat bloated cheap whore with a bad attitude!
Sorry, can't buy into that, the USSA .gov is turning into StasiCentralGestapo state hell bent on making sure you can't move freely about the cabin.
Don't clump the millions of good people who want nothing more than to pursue LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS...into this twisted mess of progressivism on steroids.
DaddyO
I guess you just kind of missed the whole sarcasm relative to my shock. Sorry about that. As far as fat and bloated i don't think America has really excelled beyond most other nations of the world. People with dependencies will tend to be a little more ugly than those without, so it will be getting worse.
Good, and stay out. We don't like pussies that will not stand up to totalitarian assholes.
Judging by the up/down tokes, I think only a few people actually read the second sentance.
A friend crossed the US border into Canada about 30 years ago now. The Canadian border agents were not going to let him into Canada until a body cavity search was completed.
His new nickname became 'bunghole'.
Stupid fascists on all sides, not just on the US side.
1997-1998 had the same experience flying to Toronto from the US..Canadian people were 'effing nasty...two trips same deal...'eff 'em...Toronto was great but getting through customs on thr Canadian side sucked...they were rude and stupid...typical gubbermint employees on a power trip....eh?
Quid pro quo.
I flew into Vancouver from the US in 1993. Didn't even think to bring my passport because the last time I had been to Canada was when I was a kid in the early 70's and it wasn't needed. Nobody checked for a passport on departure. When I arrived in Vancouver I was asked for my passport. I told them I didn't think I needed one and showed them my driver's license. Told them I was there for three days on a business trip to look at a company my company was thinking of buying. "Enjoy your stay" and I was on my way.
The Canadian border is a strange zone. Last trip, as I crossed back into my state, the US Homeland Security guy got a severely agitated look on his face and asked WHY I was in Canada with my KIDS??? Well I enjoy traveling with my kids! He is getting really pissed off looking at my passport which is FULL of stamps from foreign countries. Damn -- who is this guy? Kids? Passport stamps? A nice car? Holy Crap! A Terrorist??!!
He asked me what's my job? I said "Sales" at which point he is really pissed and sends me for "randon further inspection". I am not sure if the secondary search noticed the paraphernalia in my car from my local church, but the secondary took less than 30 seconds. Who knows.
These losers are just drunk on authority, and the fact is, all the white people passing back and forth from US / Canada just aren't generating any excitement.
My passport stamps create zero trouble at US airports. I am sorry about the experience of this guy. Sadly, stories like this are created every day by authoritarian thugs in USA. This crap doesn't happen overseas.
Happens in UK
And of course Israel who gave us all the patents courtesy of the U.K. that taught them everything who then gave it to the U.S.
Might as well call all three the "Bermuda Triangle" in the abuse basement of border security!
Do they still randomly demand your gmail account name and password?
Just as with any well constructed psych test: It's not that they need the information to check whether you've posted anything anti-semitic, they already know that.
They just want to see your reaction to the question.
The last time I travelled from UK to Canada I could have saved close to $400 by travelling through the US.
I paid the $400 extra
So did I. Actually over a thousand as it was a group.
I tried the same by flying to Vancouver directly (instead of via LAX or SFO), but didn't realise that I still had to deal with US customs and immigration. Like, WTF!?
If you flew from a foreign country directly to Vancouver CANADA, how could you even see the U.S. Immigration Preclearance area, unless your ultimate destination was the U.S? Maybe you took a wrong turn while deplaning?
US immigration operate in Vancouver International Airport. The flight I was boarding was going to the other side of the Pacific.
USA!! USA!! LAND OF THE FREE!!*
*Some restrictions Apply. Void where prohibited.
surgeons, doctors and some pharma persons
have a license to kill, so do certain politicians
, bankers and defense contractors. now the insurance
corporations want a piece of that action.
and security employees of the day. everyone either
wants a license to kill or a can to kick on down
the street, better news coming.
.
Nina Simone - I Think it's going to rain today
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSYgoC_Dgw4&list=RD028YcerSbxEWo
.
goes with this one ....
.
Small, Angry Man Yells at Trumpet Player in New York City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E62iA6KCIQ
.
revelations again.
Randy Newman - Short People
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NvgLkuEtkA
.
Randy Newman - I Think It's Going to Rain Today
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4c54PAzXrM
.
Pablo Picasso & Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue
http://vimeo.com/23077804
so you really are blind....or am I missing the relevance - if you are, I am impressed at your attempt at relevance - but methinks you maybe started typing in the wrong article...
everything is connected and the wrong
place of entry for your thoughts, live with it.
Well, as long as we're posting random videos, you might as well enjoy some good stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUzVUNJKiDc
what is the big disgrace with the
random concept? it must be to do
with fear of the unpredictable.
a security issue, see above post for
the disgraceful behavior and conclusions
of those compelled by the fear of the
suspect, unknown and uncommon.
.
Michael Scheuer: “We’re done like dinner.”
Posted on October 22, 2013 by Stacy Herbert
http://www.maxkeiser.com/2013/10/michael-scheuer-were-done-like-dinner/
.
the absurdity of post modern life!
random thought?
You're cool with me man, I'm just along for the ride.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJOIqmlI65Y
same here, great tune / s!
http://www.maxkeiser.com/2013/10/russell-brand-the-revolution-is-here/
.
here a taxi driver for the ride.
Mmmmm.....Mmmmm.......
The government class of the United States has arrived at a stage where they consider they are a government that has citizens. What you are seeing is a government that exists to protect its safety first and in the process it holds out an overhang of sorts for citizens, if there is any cover left over. But this is not new.
Most large countries have been doing this for years. (Just try to homeschool in Germany for example) It is just that most Americans are still in denial that the "land of the free" is now the "land of the used-to-be free".
Commie rat defaming the free-ist country in the world.
Drone 'em!
We will only be truly Free when we are in the safe confines of a Government FEMA camp. There will be a big sign reminding of that as we we exit the trains and are marched into our new government subsidized apartment complex.
ARBEIT MACHT FREI
http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/12700000/The-Front-Gate-of-Auschw...
A lot of innocent Jews died of typhus epidemics at Auschwitz -starvation too as the allies bombed all the supply routes and cut off supplies of medicine and food. I believe the ADL has a good claim for reparations against the U.S. for that. Auschwitz was a tragedy. Over 372,000 people died behind those gates. Some were actually murdered in cold blood by the Nazis.
You can bet there will be Obamacare in those FEMA camps, so it'll be worth it.
Meanwhile, while taking the time to read this post, 500 illegals strolled across the southern border waving at the friendly border patrol as they passed...
I read a blurb once upon a time that said that the border between the US and Mexico was open until 1961. You could just drive into Mexico and you could just drive into the United States. Made it easy for Mexican nationals to hoe beans in Kansas and beets in Ohio.
I just walked across the border in the summer of 2001, and then just walked back. Nobody checked on the way in, and some guy, sitting in an office chair wheeled himself out of his office 20 or 30 yards down a corridor that we were passing by and said "Y'all American citizens?" And we answered "Yup!" It was pretty open up until 9/11.
You forgot to mention the DHS Agent was busy on the phone with his real estate agent and stock broker making sure the money they took to look the other way is being properly laundered.
No that is not what America is. This is the piece of shit DHS Stasi that has been put into effect into this country since 9/11. Soon things will change and this once great nation will be free again. Until then, "stay thirsty my friends".