Ig Nobels Ceremony Moves To Europe Indefinitely, Citing US Safety Concerns (arstechnica.com) 255
Since 1999, Slashdot has been covering the annual Ig Nobel prize ceremonies -- which honor real scientific research into strange or surprising subjects. "After 35 years in Boston, the annual prize ceremony will take place in Zurich, Switzerland, this year and will continue to be held in a European city for the foreseeable future," reports Ars Technica. "The reason: concerns about the safety of international travelers, who are increasingly reluctant to travel to the U.S. to participate."
"During the past year, it has become unsafe for our guests to visit the country," Marc Abrahams, master of ceremonies and editor of The Annals of Improbable Research magazine, told The Associated Press. "We cannot in good conscience ask the new winners, or the international journalists who cover the event, to travel to the U.S. this year." It comes on the heels of our recent story that many international game developers are opting to skip this year's weeklong Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, citing similar concerns. Ars Technica reports: Established in 1991, the Ig Nobels are a good-natured parody of the Nobel Prizes; they honor "achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think." As the motto implies, the research being honored might seem ridiculous at first glance, but that doesn't mean it's devoid of scientific merit. The unapologetically campy awards ceremony features miniature operas, scientific demos, and the 24/7 lectures, in which experts must explain their work twice: once in 24 seconds and again in just seven words.
Traditionally, the awards ceremony and related Ig Nobel events have taken place in Boston at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Boston University. However, four of last year's 10 winners opted to skip the ceremony rather than travel to the U.S., and the situation has not improved. [...] [T]his year, the Ig Nobel organizers are joining forces with the ETH Domain and the University of Zurich for hosting duties. "Switzerland has nurtured many unexpected good things -- Albert Einstein's physics, the world economy, and the cuckoo clock leap to mind -- and is again helping the world appreciate improbable people and ideas," Abraham said.
The Ig Nobels will not be returning to the U.S. any time soon. Instead, the plan is for Zurich to host every second year; every odd-numbered year, the ceremony will be hosted by a different European city. Abraham likened the arrangement to the Eurovision Song Contest.
"During the past year, it has become unsafe for our guests to visit the country," Marc Abrahams, master of ceremonies and editor of The Annals of Improbable Research magazine, told The Associated Press. "We cannot in good conscience ask the new winners, or the international journalists who cover the event, to travel to the U.S. this year." It comes on the heels of our recent story that many international game developers are opting to skip this year's weeklong Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, citing similar concerns. Ars Technica reports: Established in 1991, the Ig Nobels are a good-natured parody of the Nobel Prizes; they honor "achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think." As the motto implies, the research being honored might seem ridiculous at first glance, but that doesn't mean it's devoid of scientific merit. The unapologetically campy awards ceremony features miniature operas, scientific demos, and the 24/7 lectures, in which experts must explain their work twice: once in 24 seconds and again in just seven words.
Traditionally, the awards ceremony and related Ig Nobel events have taken place in Boston at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Boston University. However, four of last year's 10 winners opted to skip the ceremony rather than travel to the U.S., and the situation has not improved. [...] [T]his year, the Ig Nobel organizers are joining forces with the ETH Domain and the University of Zurich for hosting duties. "Switzerland has nurtured many unexpected good things -- Albert Einstein's physics, the world economy, and the cuckoo clock leap to mind -- and is again helping the world appreciate improbable people and ideas," Abraham said.
The Ig Nobels will not be returning to the U.S. any time soon. Instead, the plan is for Zurich to host every second year; every odd-numbered year, the ceremony will be hosted by a different European city. Abraham likened the arrangement to the Eurovision Song Contest.
Any doubters? (Score:2)
Any doubters of the wisdom of this move should take a look at this video [youtube.com]. 15 minutes, but well worth watching.
Should've hosted it in a preschool in Canada (Score:2)
It would've been cooler if Harvard, MIT, and Boston University had opened a temporary joint campus in Montreal, preferably in a preschool or elementary school.
Montreal is close to Boston and can host big events.
A preschool has exactly the right vibe for something like this. It might not have a big enough room though.
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$diety, I wish I had mod points right now -- that's brilliant!
possibly a "quiet economic boycott" (Score:2)
There's also the issue of "quiet economic boycott" - boycotting an event but not saying the quiet part out loud: That you are staying home because the hosting country's policies.
If I were an award-recipient but had no other reason to come to America that week, I might come, or I might choose to say "sorry, I have other plans that day."
U.S. Citizens held for 43 hours (Score:4, Informative)
U.S. Citizens held Thursday for 43 hours after changing their flights.
https://www.newsweek.com/us-ci... [newsweek.com]
https://www.nbcchicago.com/new... [nbcchicago.com]
DHS is claiming they were released after 90 minutes. That is directly contradicted the accounts of the six people detained, by local police, and by phone records.
US immigration was always annoying. (Score:3)
I traveled to the US at least 2 times a year, usually 4 times a year, and a few years every 6 weeks. Did this for 30+ years. Not any more.
Every time I stayed for a week, arriving on a Sunday evening, and left on Friday night. Except a few times when I left on a Thursday night.
But each time, the border guy would ask the same set of questions, like a rude robot, which made me doubt the existence of common sense: you can see the travel data, you don't need Palantir.
That was pre and post 9/11.
Not going to risk Trump's minions.
Re:US immigration was always annoying. (Score:4, Informative)
No pre 9/11 they had a stupid questionary, but were always upbeat, and kept repeating "welcome to the greatest country on Eath" even as you rolled your eyes at them.
Re: US immigration was always annoying. (Score:2)
Hmm. That makes sense.
The Schengen countries don't do this. I noticed that if you entered Germany and your final destination was Sweden (for example) they wouldn't even look at your face. No wonder they have a "refugee" problem now.
Intrinsically Funny subject (Score:2)
But nary a Funny to be found on today's Slashdot.
Agreed. Too many guns and right wing nutters in US (Score:4, Insightful)
And a douche bag of a president who drops bombs next to schools and kills 135 kids [bbc.co.uk]. Should resign on the spot for that. No shame === No honour.
You are welcome in Europe.
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Insightful)
If you are very sure you haven't posted any memes about Trump or JD Vance in the last 6 years...
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Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Informative)
It's dangerous even being a US citizen. https://www.propublica.org/art... [propublica.org]
You wouldn't step foot in a country if the "police" walked around dressed like this. https://www.latimes.com/califo... [latimes.com]
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It is truly incredible that you think that what the OP was referring to in that picture were the *masks*, as opposed to, I dunno, the giant guns and tactical gear. You are so deep in the rabbit hole. And also hilarious that you point to those countries and think we don't fucking notice that you don't point to a Nordic country, or Spain, Italy, the UK, Germany...you're so pathetically transparent.
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Whatever happened to American Exceptionalism?
Now America aims not to be the best but to be on a par with India, Thailand, Russia and Mexico.
Re: Seriously ...? (Score:5, Informative)
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...assuming you're white, straight, and Christian.
This isn't 2024. Being white straight and Christian isn't even a defense anymore when being questioned by customs. There's literally countless examples of white people from friendly western countries being denied entry despite having valid visas or ESTAs.
Re: Seriously ...? (Score:5, Informative)
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Even white tourists with valid visa, etc have been arrested.
https://www.theguardian.com/us... [theguardian.com]
White female from the UK in the above link, for example.
Am not surprised there are many people who do not want to go to the US in the forseeable future.
Re: Seriously ...? (Score:2)
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Even if only 0.01% of valid visitors get abused upon arrival, that's already too much. Especially if there is a higher chance of enhanced questioning / interrogation before you are allowed to enter the country.
And if you get an accidental run in with ICE after you entered, I think there is a higher chance of just getting detained and put thru whatever long process before you get released or deported.
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I'm unlikely to ever visit the US again. My daughter and I had planned on going to Comic-Con at some point in the next year or two, and we both agree now that while the risk of detainment is rather low, it is non-zero. There are other places we can go, and being Canadian, there are plenty of places in our own country that we haven't seen.
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... heard the experience depends on skin color and luck...
Then you heard wrong. All people are in danger, skin color magnifies the danger. YOU are not safe.
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Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Informative)
Would you travel to a country that has threatened the sovereignty of your country with military action ? Would you travel to any country that is allied with a country that has threatened the sovereignty of your country with military action ?
Danes and canadians do not feel safe travelling to the US for obvious reasons, or at least obvious to anyone not trapped in the little american information bubble. And citizens of countries allied with Danemark and Canada also don't feel safe travelling to the US. And also refuse to do so out of solidarity for Danemark and Canada, and in protest of a country that has betrayed its allies.
What the US has done to Canada is as if your long time neighbor and great friend had suddenly pulled out a knife and threatened you with it. He might later appologise profusely, claim it was just a bad joke, or that he doesn't know what got into him. But the fact is that after this, you will never fully trust him again. Ever.
The ax forgets, but the tree remembers.
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Informative)
Bullshit. There are quite a few European and Canadian visitors who have been imprisoned just because. Sometimes for weeks.
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Informative)
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100% false.
Tell it to this white British woman https://www.theguardian.com/us... [theguardian.com]
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On the other hand, if you are walking down the street with skin color of which the Gestapo do not approve, you could spend the next 6 months in confinement.
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Insightful)
As a foreigner who never travelled to the US, theee are the risks I'm aware-ish of from reading and watching news both in my native tongue and in English, from both American and British news sources, were I to try and travel to the US.
To try and obtain a VISA, I'd need to provide, for the last 'n' years:
* All my social media account handles.
* All my email addresses.
* All my phone numbers.
* And for my active social media accounts, I'd need to set them to public.
I'm not doing any of that, so for that reason alone I wouldn't be trying to get a VISA to begin with. Many researchers and other people similarly wouldn't want to. So any event would, for that reason alone, miss a lot of VIPs.
Now, for those who don't mind doing that, they get to the US and there's the going through customs. There, we learn that:
* My phone, laptop, tablet etc. can be taken and their entire contents copied, for any reason whatsoever.
* They may request me to unlock my chat apps and look into the chat groups I take part in.
* If they find, either in their copy of my storage, or in the groups I chat in, criticisms of US policies, even tame ones, they may decide to refuse entry.
I don't like Trump and I speak negatively of several of his policies, both international and domestic. Ditto for Vance's, Rubio's, Hegseth's, RFK Jr.'s etc. And I talk a lot about those. News sources have shown cases of researchers who were refused entry because of memes. So why would I want to risk that humiliation?
Which is why the EU recommends people visiting the US with any kind of sensitive data to only carry formatted phones, laptops etc. with them, and to download their data from a cloud provider only after they've crossed US customs. The same policy, notice, they recommend to those visiting China.
And then, supposing I do cross customs and I'm in the US, then at some point, being a foreigner and therefore having friends who are also foreigners who live in the US, if I visit them (which I would), I run the risk of running into ICE, who have the legal right to detain me for days despite the fact I'd have a valid VISA, also for any reason whatsoever. Sure, after what might range from hours to days to weeks I would most likely be released. But why would I want the risk, small as it may be, of running into that headache, when I don't need to?
As far as I know, that's how most other countries perceive things. Is it accurate? No idea. But the widespread global opinion is that one only goes to the US if one really, really needs. Otherwise, it's best to avoid it. After all, there are dozens of other destinations with much better reputations on how they treat foreign visitors.
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Is it accurate? No idea.
It is accurate enough. If I didn't live here, I would not visit either. I don't even want to cross the border because returning has the potential to get really negative really quickly. I am white and not currently poverty stricken; although I do expect to be poverty stricken again... soon.
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Funny)
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If he produced and silly research then maybe, but he's not the productive type.
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Nothing to worry about, unless you happen to have J.D. Vance memes in your phone.
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And the people who have been arrested even when they had valid ID because La Migra, I mean ICE, agents "thought they looked fake"? If Native Americans with valid ID can be deported to Mexico even though they don't even speak Spanish then what is going to happen to a dark complected scientist who takes offense at Fatherland Security agents molesting his wife?
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a Canadian trying to renew a then recently expired visa was imprisoned in a detention center for 2 weeks
https://www.theguardian.com/us... [theguardian.com]
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So... there is a great deal about America that I love and respect. However, here are my safety-related reasons for never wanting to actually visit the United States:
- A sizeable number of police and other law enforcement agents don't seem to know the law, or ride roughshot over it. Sure, some people receive compensation for wrongful arrest, but I'd rather not go through the trauma in the first place. And we're not talking one or two here, but thousands or more such incidents, to the point where wrongful arr
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Informative)
Or you could simply be 5 years old and find yourself in a detention facility. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/n... [pbs.org]
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Informative)
"If one comes on a particular visa and doesn't violate its terms, one would be just fine"
It's so adorable that you believe that. May I remind you that ICE has arrested and incarcerated actual US citizens.
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don't feed the obvious troll
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May I remind you that ICE has arrested and incarcerated actual US citizens.
Even more "hilariously", they have incarcerated Native Americans and even "deported" (kidnapped and sent to a foreign country) them.
Everything is a ludicrous joke that is soooo incredibly NOT funny.
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Insightful)
What does it matter if they were eventually released? What business does an immigration agency have imprisoning U.S. citizens ... let alone murdering them?
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:4, Insightful)
The same business as any other police officer has in arresting (and shooting, if they feel threatened) people who interfere with their duties.
And they get to decide what constitutes interference, not some bored, ignorant, stupid housewife who read something on the internet.
I'm pretty sure interference with law enforcement is clearly defined in various laws. The courts have ruled that merely recording the police is not interference, regardless of what an orange turd claims.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/i... [forbes.com]
https://firstamendmentwatch.or... [firstamendmentwatch.org]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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The TDS argument is funny as hell. We all know about the racism, the bigotry, the misogyny, the groping, the rape, the felonies and the fraud. None of this is a matter of opinion, he either admitted to it himself, or it was adjudicated in court.
Yet, not supporting someone with so few redeeming qualities is somehow considered "deranged", and a clear sign of being indoctrinated? I think it's time to replace the lead plumbing in your house.
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The same business as any other police officer has in arresting (and shooting, if they feel threatened) people who interfere with their duties.
Except ICE isn't ordinary police. They're described as law enforcement officers, but their jurisdiction encompasses only a very small range of laws, related to immigration and customs (hence the name). Plugging multiple rounds into U.S. citizens who piss them off for some reason is not within their mandate.
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Re:Seriously ...? (Score:4, Insightful)
'Not the point. They're citizens, full stop. No ICE thug has ANY business detaining, arresting, interrogating, quesitoning, laying hands on, speking to, or in any other way darkening the day of ANY citizen fir any reason for any length of time. They made themselves irredeemable the day of that very first "immigration" raid in Newark, not even a day after the inaugeration, when they... YES... attacked and held US citizens who were working in that plant 100% legally. And then there was when they started ordering US citizens... in at least two cases, immigration lawywer for a double-dose of scumbaggery... to "self deport." Oh, and what about all the people with green cards and education visas they have attacked and kidnapped? Or how about the people they've straight-up murdered whilst they've been rampaging around?
So yeh... Fuck all the ICE thugs and fuck you for simping for the scum.
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If one comes on a particular visa and doesn't violate its terms, one would be just fine
There's literally countless stories of people being denied entry despite having perfectly valid visas and meeting all conditions of them. Only in the past couple of years though, so if you haven't read the news in the past 2 years I can understand why you have the opinion you do.
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's a legitimate safety concern. Is there a chance greater than zero of someone being illegally sent to a detention facility?
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Travel in Eastern Europe lately, or China ? It is a legitimate security concern, and there is a very NON ZERO chance of having immigration issues and needing as $$$ injection to resolve the situation. Seems the staus quo all over is the same. We've had a brief golden age but back to the mess that the world has been for ages...
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NON ZERO chance of having immigration issues and needing as $$$ injection
You knew the costs of travel-related vaccinations before you booked the trip. Or you should have at any rate.
Oh wait, you mean $BRIBE or $FINE, sorry, carry on.
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Except I would have expected issues in the places you list a decade ago just the same as today. What's different is us.
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Insightful)
Travel in Eastern Europe lately, or China ?
What's sad is that you're saying "see, China does it" like it's a good thing.
And that's the catch - you're right, I wouldn't travel to China, because I could end up SOL with no recourse and subject to political whims. And now that's also true of the US. Sure, it's probably going to be fine. But there are plenty of countries in the world where it will almost certainly be fine, so why wouldn't I spend my tourism dollars there instead?
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Insightful)
Whataboutism. This isn't the UK.
Re: Seriously ...? (Score:5, Informative)
It's nowhere near 12,000.
Here's a video [youtu.be] that explains the figures, not that I expect you to watch it, much less admit just how wrong you are.
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It's nowhere near 12,000.
Here's a video [youtu.be] that explains the figures, not that I expect you to watch it, much less admit just how wrong you are.
That video is 24 minutes long which would be difficult for people with an attention span that a goldfish would be ashamed of.
It is an interesting video though, for those who are interested. A good explanation of laws in the UK and US.
A quick explanation is that it's arrest for anything do do with the communications act, so that's any form of communication (post, telephone, television) and a small amount are via the internet... Beyond this only 12% lead to a conviction... of total charges, it's less th
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No one would know. All of those 12000 people never make it to prison. They get arrested and immediately released on bail. Quite a bit different to spending 6 weeks in an ICE detention facility being treated like shit.
Yeah I'll take hate speech in the UK over random travel to the USA any day of the week.
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By all the gods, threatening to burn down someone's house, whether they're inside or not, is assault and I have no hesitation to say that they SHOULD be arrested.
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:4, Informative)
How old are you that you think "commie" is an insult? If you're ready to use Reagan as a overton window point we can discuss where it's moved.
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How old are you that you think "commie" is an insult?
"From each, according to their ability, to each, according to their need" appears to be reasonable on the surface; however, any examination that is beyond cursory will reveal how odious of a system that is.
If you really want Communism to be taken seriously, define "need" and "ability" in rock solid terms that can not be changed by altering perspective or using logic to subvert the actual meanings that the words carry in normal conversation. Hint: It is impossible.
So you have an economic system that is easil
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You do realize that Hitler wasn't a communist right? He was on the OPPOSITE side of the political spectrum and is generally considered a Fascist.
Addressing claims that Hitler was a socialist [explaininghistory.org]
Political views of Adolf Hitler [wikipedia.org]
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:4, Insightful)
Read some news that isn't based in the US. Even Canadians are worried.
Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Insightful)
Read some news that isn't based in the US. Even Canadians are worried.
We're more than just worried - we're also heartily pissed off. Have you seen the figures on border crossings? US destinations that have been used to lots of Canadian business are suffering badly, with some long-time formerly stable businesses going out of business because they can no longer make a go of it. Not to mention boycotts of US goods and the severe pain being suffered by parts of the US liquor industry.
Here in Canada, even before it became seriously dangerous for us to go the US, we were boycotting and staying away simply because of the 51st state bullshit. ICE becoming full-on Fascist toadies just pissed us off even more, not to mention warning us to stay the hell away for safety's sake. And that was before the illegal, slapdash, bullshit war on Iran.
American corporate news is really gaslighting American citizens, with even the nominally left-leaning major news outlets soft-peddling just how bad the USA's reputation has become with people in other countries.
Re: Seriously ...? (Score:2, Insightful)
Thanks for using the term TDS so we can immediately see how unserious a thinker you are.
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Hahaha, I hope that felt good for you because you look the fool with all your strawmen, false characterizations, and name calling. I suppose I also have "TDS" though, what a laugh that you folks have to resort to such name calling because you can't wrap your head around how anyone would have a problem with your dear leader.
Re: Seriously ...? (Score:3)
After a quick sanity check (my Magic 8 Ball answered "My reply is no" to "Am I losing my fucking mind here?") I realized that your descriptions were derived
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It was the courts that halted the Keystone XL pipeline.
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Trump's 5th executive order in Jan 2017 was the one that triggered the Muslim ban which caused weeks of chaos and triggered many lawsuits
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Bleh de blah, Graham Linehan was released with all charges dropped and will likely win a lawsuit against the police. Meanwhile Alex Pretti and Renee Good were executed by ICE without trial, due process or any of that. If I had to choose I'd much rather be in Graham Lineham's position.
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Meanwhile, Pavel Durov gets nabbed in France.
Man with a publicly known arrest warrant gets nabbed in France with his prior knowledge that he was going to be arrested since he knowingly went to a place that had an arrest warrant out for him? Following the clearly defined laws of the land?
Graham Linehan gets nabbed in Heathrow by establishment jackboots
A man arrested for breaking the defined laws of a land and then immediately released on bail?
Yet in the minds of the special people that jet around the world to attend parody award events, the US is "dangerous."
Now compare that to the Brits who travelled to the USA on a valid Visa getting arrested by ICE and being put into a despicable detention camp for 6 weeks before being deported
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Re:Seriously ...? (Score:5, Interesting)
The problem is the "mostly". Being denied a visa in advance is the best case scenario. You could be refused entry after the plan lands. There's an in-flight questionnaire, and (apparently) in-person phone search is a possibility.
* Would I be refused entry because of a moderately unfavourable opinion on Facebook they'll only find while searching my phone? I don't write anything extreme, but who knows what's a problem and what's not?
* If I don't have a Facebook account, should I right now open one just for the purpose of having a clean profile that says nothing wrong and that will be approved? (How many people will go though this stinky hypocrisy?)
* Will I be refused entry for saying "I don't have social profiles"? (Which makes me look like I have something to hide.)
* Is it better to disclose a slashdot account than saying "no social profiles"? Would *this->message(), be sufficient to be refused entry?
I can't be sure, nobody really knows, and I obviously can't ask an US embassy for advice.
Travelling takes time and money. There is better use for both than taking a very small (albeit not zero) risk of spending a night in jail until next flight, and be separated from family in the process. We now have Zoom, and there are other places where people will feel genuinely welcomed.
For journalists the risk is higher, because they express opinions daily, and because the current administration hasn't been favourable to journalists in general.
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Yes clearly the "left" is currently running the USA and denying people entry based on speech.
You're the reason Obama introduced the no-child left behind policy huh?
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I am going to engage with you in good faith, although I suspect I may regret it.
You are arguing that if someone writes a post that "is a simple statement of the poster's perspective on [an] issue", then that in itself should not be cause for vilification. But a poster's perspective can be absolutely obnoxious. Their perspective may be a Nazi perspective or a pro-paedophilia perspective or a pro-slavery perspective. Just because something is said calmly or in a measured way does not make it morally neutral.
A
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You might want to research some statistics when discussing safety.
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https://www.usnews.com/news/be... [usnews.com]
At least it's safer than Peru
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"We're #47! We're #47!"
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"We're #47! We're #47!"
I'll bet if we really, really worked at it we could get up to 42.
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Re:This is stupid (Score:5, Informative)
Funny how the murder rate in the 25 states that voted for Donald Trump has exceeded the murder rate in the 25 states that voted for Joe Biden in every year from 2000 to 2020. [thirdway.org]
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It's not as if masked police can pick you up and detain you with no access to legal representation. Oh wait, they can. They did it to to legal US citizens as well.
The US constitution is not worth the paper it's printed on with the current administration. The fact that there is a risk that you can just be deported anywhere is just nuts.
Not to mention that crossing the border makes you feel like a criminal with finger prints and cell phone searches. Canadians and Americans used to cross the border just by sh
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The US is the safest place on the planet.
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH
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The troll mod may be unfair. he may actually believe that. Many do. But I don't think it has ever been true. I believe that at one point Switzerland was the safest place on earth, bar a few small pacific islands.
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I visited the USA in 2013 during the Obama administration. Are things better or worse?
Europe is off limits for travel in the near future; airspace over the middle east could re-route or cancel flights at any time.
So I have some vacation time later this year. South America or SE Asia is looking friendlier.
Oh and to the ICE agent denying my visa in 2029 reading this, please don't drag Australia into another middle east war.
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We'll forget about the Gestapo picking people up for now. If look at the stats, the migrants have a lower crime rate than the well-armed American citizens. Now who's the bigger danger, eh?
Re:Silly politcal granstanding all around (Score:5, Insightful)
... Trump is a moron elected by a very vocal minority of idiots....
Yeah. I wish that were true. Trump was elected by a majority. And his current support numbers are still around 38%.
https://www.economist.com/inte... [economist.com]
It turns out the number of idiots if really high. And the ones running the country and enforcing the 'laws' include a lot of 'em.
I would much rather go nearly anywhere in Europe.
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Yeah. I wish that were true. Trump was elected by a majority. And his current support numbers are still around 38%.
A couple things to consider on that:
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How do Trump voters constitute a minority?
Re: Silly politcal granstanding all around (Score:2)
A lot of people are not registered to vote. Many that are registered don't vote.
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By that logic, most if not all Presidents in the last 40+ years have been elected by a minority.
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Absolutely.
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1) A "price" is an amount of money expected in payment for something. A "prize" is a reward given for an achievement.
2) The article is not about the Nobel Prize [wikipedia.org], but about the Ig Nobel Prize [wikipedia.org], which are very much an American thing.
But yeah, screw 'em right? The universal response of the functionally illiterate lemming.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah. All meaningless stuff. Penicillin, DNA, transistors, batteries, X-rays, radioactivity, insulin, who needs any of that?
I'd go on to point out that the Nobel Prize in Economics is not actually a Nobel Prize, and that the entire article was not about Nobel Prizes to begin with, but I've spent enough time trying to fix stupid today already.
Re: (Score:2)
This is for the Ig nobel prize, not the Nobel prize.
Re:Massachusetts is Not Socialist Enough? (Score:4, Insightful)
I love how you characterize the mild leftism that is practiced in Massachusetts as people surrendering their liberty. Meanwhile in reality they have the same elections everyone else gets in this country never mind the fact that in "socialist Europe" they don't end up getting presidents who got less votes than the person they were running against like we get here.
Then there's the fact that MAGA is cheering while all our checks and balances are being eliminated by our current leader but it's supposedly the left that is giving up liberty? Nice one.
Re: (Score:2)
No, the "why" is that when government starts sending out masked goons to abuse and snatch people off the streets they start losing trust in government. When people start losing trust in government you get stuff like in your example.