In article , OzOne wrote:

On Mon, 08 Nov 2004 15:47:26 +1100, Peter Wiley
scribbled thusly:

In article , OzOne wrote:

On Mon, 08 Nov 2004 12:36:57 +1100, Peter Wiley
scribbled thusly:
Get used to it.

Not a problem. We simply won't bother visiting the USA by boat.

PDW

By boat?
Pete, just wait until you try and get there by air.
You now ned to factor an extra day into your schedule to clear US
Immigration :-(

Yeah. That's one reason why I won't bother. Next time I want to go to
North America I'm flying to Vancouver. LAX was the pits *before* 9/11.

Shrug. No loss to me. I like the SW USA but there are plenty of other
places where I won't have to put up with anywhere near as much crap
just getting there.

PDW

Yep, I used to ski the US every year with family and friends, then
about 4 years ago I was travelling with my nephew who happens to be
epileptic but under control with medication.
He was pulled aside in immigration and his baggage searched and they
found his medication...in its box, in the blister packs and accused of
smuggling. He handed them the letter from his doctor explaining the
medicines, and the dosage required which explained the amount he was
carrying for the month he was to stay.
The letter was glanced at, then put aside as he was asked to accompany
the officers into another room where he was partially strip searched.

He was finally allowed to go.....WITHOUT his medication no matter how
he pleaded that he required it.
Fortunately, they gave him back the letter from the doc.
I was carrying one box of tabs for him as an emergency backup in case
his baggage went missing and this was enough for us to contact the Oz
Embassy, organise an appointment with a local doc and get another
prescription for the medicine which we had to pay for at a highway
robbery price compared to the subsidised cost in Oz.

I've had one quick week in the US after 911 and the bull**** that went
on in Immigration in the name of security, put me off travelling there
again anytime in the forseeable future as Canada and Eu are now much
better alternatives.

Yeah, my wife went over there as an invited speaker at a conference on
neonatal genetic disorders and how to detect them. Same crap. She got
targeted by the so-called random search routine, had her luggage pulled
apart, etc etc. Like a late 40-y/o Australian professional woman going
to an international conference is likely to be a terrorist - suuure.
The 'random search' routine apparently stays with you, too, because she
got checked over every time she went thru an airport.

Guess where she's not going again? She's just been over in China
advising them on how to set up a neonatal screening lab and the IAEA is
hiring her to set up another lab in the Philippines. Got a list of
publications a mile long and gets treated like crap in the USA. China
was a piece of cake and the Filipinos always look after her really well
- we set up their first screening lab back in 1997, I did the software
& hardware, she did the training and lab setup.

You'd be surprised at how many of my friends and acquaintances now no
longer holiday in the US either.

No, I wouldn't be at all surprised. Between the Patriot Act and
self-righteous dickheads on both sides why would you bother? I'm
actually tempted to go to Cuba but NZ is closer if I want to visit a
3rd World failed Socialist state :-)

Pity, it was fun educating Merkins.
So many are just like Joe.....but not as rabid.

I lived in the S-W and the people there were nice. I don't have a bad
feeling about Americans, quite the opposite in fact. You get a
different perspective when you're working somewhere than you do as a
tourist. Joe & I would argue politics over a few brews and get on fine.
The ones I really can't stomach are the self-righteous soi-disant
intelligent zealots who refuse to believe anything that conflicts with
their dogma. Joe has some of this but honestly, Jon & Bob have him
beaten hands down. Dave isn't any better.

PDW