Speaker: Database Nation
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get yourself a temporary British passport over the counter
British Visitors Passports had photos and were valid for travel to a range of European countries. If the UK had joined Schengen, you wouldn't even need one as there would be no border checks.
The common denominator with countries that hassle visitors seems to me to be speaking English. Non-English speaking countries, even if they are otherwise police states, tend to wave visitors through with a glance at the passport. It's only English-speaking countries where they try and give visitors the third degree.
It's all theatre. I'm sure that actual miscreants know what border staff look for and present in one of the "safe" categories (family on holiday with kids, couple on honeymoon, man in suit on a regular business flight).
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Jono,
And while we're at it, I heard this on the radio yesterday: data security services company schills research showing NZers want bigger, better, faster biometric banking security because they phe4r teh haX0rz.
And the Atlantics Jeffrey Goldberg punks the Transport Security Administration , leading to a series of posts and reader mails about the farce of security theatre in the US.
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The common denominator with countries that hassle visitors seems to me to be speaking English.
English speaking and western just to add another qualifier. The most unpleasant nations in my experience to enter (and I've traveled a fair bit) are 1) USA 2) Australia (especially Brisbane) and c) NZ if arriving via Auckland.
The most welcoming are a) Malaysia (no forms anymore) b) Singapore (they smile and offer you sweets), c) Hong Kong which are all English speaking and non Western.
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I know it's too soon to speculate on what will happen in India after today's events in Mumbai.
But this seems an apposite thread in which to say: holy shit.
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Coming into Auckland is the only time I've had trouble at an airport, and even then no-one was particularly unpleasant; we just wasted an hour having our luggage pored through by a fairly apologetic customs agent.
I had no problems entering and leaving Heathrow a couple of weeks after the scare that resulted in the "no liquids on planes" rule, which was worrying in itself - as we wandered unimpeded out of the airport, we kept expecting to look back and see men with guns rushing to stop us...
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Coming into Auckland is the only time I've had trouble at an airport, and even then no-one was particularly unpleasant; we just wasted an hour having our luggage pored through by a fairly apologetic customs agent.
try having a bunch of stamps in your passport from known terror warned (© MFAT) / drug producing nations. Although to be fair that has only happened once. My major gripe with Auckland is the ordeal of repeated queues followed at the end of each queue by an unwelcoming walk-shorted sharp snarl as often as not. It's an airport I seriously dislike going through.
And both Brisbane and Auckland seem to have a variance in attitude towards anyone with a non Western face. I'm often arriving with folks from Asia and am appalled and embarrassed at the way they are treated by Immigration, MAF and the Police.
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And both Brisbane and Auckland seem to have a variance in attitude towards anyone with a non Western face. I'm often arriving with folks from Asia and am appalled and embarrassed at the way they are treated by Immigration, MAF and the Police.
There's not much rhyme or reason to it. I arrived back from China with my partner with three bulging bags, and we were waved through without an issue. OTOH, when she returned here after a visit in 2005, both her bags were searched from top to bottom, and she finally came through the gate two hours later after everything had been scrutinised and left for her to repack.
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Coming into Auckland is the only time I've had trouble at an airport, and even then no-one was particularly unpleasant; we just wasted an hour having our luggage pored through by a fairly apologetic customs agent.
I had the same thing coming back into Auckland in 1995. As much as its unpleasant to have a customs guy poke through everything in your bag, a dog identified my bag (I presume it was a drug dog, not sure what it thought it had, the bag had never had drugs near it as far as I know) so I couldn't really complain of incompetence beyond the dog.
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In the States you can pretty much start a new life with a new name wherever you want - at least that's the film cliche. Check into a hotel showing your Disney Club card, you know...
Ah, wouldn't that be nice.
In this USA, everyone from your cellphone provider to your dentist demands your social security number. I wonder how I can move to the Disney card one.
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Ah, wouldn't that be nice.
Yes, outdated movie cliche obviously. In fact the new cliche is that you can't hide from the all-seeiong eye of national security, a-la Enemy of the State.
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I presume it was a drug dog, not sure what it thought it had, the bag had never had drugs near it as far as I know
When I first arrived in Auckland, tired, poor, and as part of a huddled mass yearning to breathe free, a customs dog took exception to my handluggage, which was a small day pack.
One of it's main previous uses had been transporting my lunch sandwiches to work (the last use being several weeks previously). The entirely affable dog handler told me that the dogs are also trained to pick up anything MAFF might take exception to, such as potentially contaminatory foodstuffs (seeds, etc). The whole experience was very efficient, very low-key, and very friendly. In extremely marked contrast to LAX, which we had just transited through
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Enemy of the State.
Stumbled onto a bit of the repeat screening last night. Thought it was a documentary for a second, which shows how far the goalposts have moved since the last time it screened.
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I should say that, in my case, the reason why my travelling companion and I got our luggage rummaged through was that a couple of nice Customs men came up to us while we were waiting at the luggage carousel and started asking questions along the lines of "London, eh? Take any drugs there? Apparently they're really cheap over there." That last sentence isn't a joke, by the way. After a bit of a chat, they made some cryptic marks on our entry cards, which saw us shunted into the time-wasting, baggage-scrutinising queue. The only thing I can think of that would have attracted their attention is the fact that the guy I was with has a bunch of tattoos down each arm - he always wears something long sleeved when travelling internationally these days...
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Comedy Airport security moment...
Unfortunately, not my own story, but relayed to me by a friend....
As an employee (admin/medical) of the armed forces, traveling to Port Morseby from Australia in a group of other NZ + Aus armed forces personnel.... having hand luggage searched for knitting needles and toe-nail clippers.... whilst having the rifle over the shoulder completely ignored...
Because of course, we all know that anyone with nefarious intentions on a plane is going to go for the small pointy things, not the bang-sticks!
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Stumbled onto a bit of the repeat screening last night. Thought it was a documentary for a second, which shows how far the goalposts have moved since the last time it screened.
Yes indeed. "Holy crap, the Government can zoom down to street level!"
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When is a New Zealander not a New Zealander?
When they're a Somali Refugee who has had a NZ Passport for years, that's when.
Good old TV3 news last night had the very troubled women who holds a NZ Passport as a "Somali" and finished with the Korean born golfer Lee as a New Zealander and the ink isn't even dry on his Passport yet.
A little bit of the C word wouldn't go astray - Consistency I mean
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Take that, police state fascist overlords.
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That's uncanny timing.
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When is a New Zealander not a New Zealander?
When they're a Somali Refugee who has had a NZ Passport for years, that's when.
Good old TV3 news last night had the very troubled women who holds a NZ Passport as a "Somali" and finished with the Korean born golfer Lee as a New Zealander and the ink isn't even dry on his Passport yet.
A little bit of the C word wouldn't go astray - Consistency I mean
"All immigrants are equal, but some are more equal than others."
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As an employee (admin/medical) of the armed forces, traveling to Port Morseby from Australia in a group of other NZ + Aus armed forces personnel.... having hand luggage searched for knitting needles and toe-nail clippers.... whilst having the rifle over the shoulder completely ignored...
Great tale, but thoroughly believable. A couple of similar although with less potential teeth. In KL's budget terminal they check and confiscate clippers. The shop, once you are through the security, sells the same.
Although Denpasar takes it's security fairly seriously they seem to have a blind spot when it comes to bows and arrows you get sold on the beach as 'traditional' (they are only traditional in that they are a traditional way to fleece tourists), happily letting these into cabins. Many's the international Garuda flight where you can witness smiling cabin staff helping folks put these in overhead compartments. Quite odd.
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When I first arrived in Auckland, tired, poor, and as part of a huddled mass yearning to breathe free, a customs dog took exception to my handluggage, which was a small day pack.
I had the same thing happen, a very excited beagle jumping up at my backpack. It made me a little nervous but the handler just asked me if I'd had fruit in it in the last day or so.
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Auckland is the only airport I've ever had my bags searched. They also swabbed them and told me they contained "Strong traces of heroin and explosives". I can only assume it's a trick, because the bags had never contained either one, and I was not delayed much longer. Also, seriously, who is going to carry their heroin in the same bag as their explosives, and then take it through an airport?
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