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Thursday, April 5th, 2018

Another Way to Make Travel Even Worse

Author:     Terry H. Schwadron
Source:     DC Report
Publication Date:     Wednesday April 4th 2018
Link: Another Way to Make Travel Even Worse
Stephan:   For many years coming into the United States or going to an American embassy abroad has been a study in authoritarian government. It is very intimidating, and it is designed to be that way. But now it is reaching a level that even North Korea must envy. In the course of my life I have done a great deal of international travel, but my really experienced international traveler friends tell me that now they keep a laptop and phone somewhere out of the country where they regularly visit, and send whatever they need home over the internet before returning to the U.S. so that they never come into the country with either a phone or a laptop. After you read this article, if you regularly travel out of the country, you may do the same, and you should certainly warn any family or friends coming to the U.S. that they should be aware of what they will face. Particularly if they are coming from any but the 40 waiver nations (you can find the list by clicking through). I wonder if they have taken that plaque off the Statue of Liberty yet?  

If I read it correctly, the Trump administraton, defender of reducing government spending for all things but national security and military parades, now wants to screen the social media posts of every visitor to the United States.

All 14.7 million of them, including my family from Argentina.

I guess the idea is that you can’t be too careful about who enters through the nation’s airports, ports and roads. Someone may have become radicalized and want to harm Americans.

You might notice that some people come to this country to do business, to be part of cultural tours or to just to visit cousins.

I’m expecting my next overseas vacation will require sharing my fascinating Facebook and Instagram posts.

Overseas customs officials will be as just as rapt as American audiences about seeing pictures of my grandchildren and the picture of my jazz band playing at a Greenwich Village club.

Under rules the U.S. State Department issued last week, nearly all applicants for a visa to enter the United States—14.7 million people a year—will be asked to submit their social media usernames for the past five […]

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