I feel so much safer now that we are protecting our borders from dangerous journalists who might print the truth about our country to the rest of the world. This is quite a story of what she went through for checking the wrong box on a form. Unfortunately not a unique story.
Somewhere in central Los Angeles, about 20 miles from LAX airport, there is a nondescript building housing a detention facility for foreigners who have violated US immigration and customs laws. I was driven there around 11pm on May 3, my hands painfully handcuffed behind my back as I sat crammed in one of several small, locked cages inside a security van. I saw glimpses of night-time urban LA through the metal bars as we drove, and shadowy figures of armed security officers when we arrived, two of whom took me inside. The handcuffs came off just before I was locked in a cell behind a thick glass wall and a heavy door. No bed, no chair, only two steel benches about a foot wide. There was a toilet in full view of anyone passing by, and of the video camera watching my every move. No pillow or blanket. A permanent fluorescent light and a television in one corner of the ceiling. It stayed on all night, tuned into a shopping channel.
[…]
My crime: I had flown in earlier that day to research an innocuous freelance assignment for the Guardian, but did not have a journalist’s visa.
[C]ases such as mine are part of a systemic policy of harassing media representatives from 27 friendly countries whose citizens – not journalists! – can travel to the US without a visa, for 90 days.
UPDATE: For those wondering why I posted a story that’s three years old, it was a little experiment. All one needs to ask is, after reading the article without knowing when it was first published, how many of you could have believed it was published this week? Have things gotten easier/better/safer for those of you who travel by air since 2004? Have those doing the checking gotten more respectful/competent/helpful?
And for those who still don’t comprehend the concept of this site, it’s not a news site. We editors and John post what we find interesting. Period.
I am confused why the citizens of the 27 countries can travel here without a visa, but journalists cannot. Is it because they need some kind of a work visa due to them traveling here on business? No need to jump to conclusions I really am curious about the facts…
Add to my first post:
I did read the article now and understand the I-visa requirement is the cause. But what was our (USA) reasoning for the I-visa in the first place???
Welcome to the US we are the land of the hoSPITable
I wonder how things have changed in the last 3 years since this article was written.
I commented once before…
Happy with the patriot act? Do Americans know what it is? Of course they do! Duh!
Patriot Act: Search Wikipedia
America is a totalitarian two party system – the government regulates nearly all aspects of public and private behaviour if not though direct intervention but through continued propaganda and rhetoric. Compare America to other capitalistic totalitarian regimes like China and the many similarities between the two are striking.
Here is some trivia…
Q: When was the last Non-Party US president?
A: George Washington 1789
Q:When was the last US President neither a Republican or Democrat?
A: John Tyler 1841 – Whig.
From then until now just only two choices R or D
“You don’t vote for Kings!” – King Arthur ‘ Holy Grail
Cheers
John, you realize that if you keep publishing stuff like this, along with some of the other things I’ve seen in your blog, even more Americans are going to move up north to Canada.
It happens and it can happen to anyone at any time. I can safely say that I was “apprehended” at the border/entry point and detained as well. Fortunately for me I was detained for less than a day and given the option of paying a fine of $200 or getting on a plane and flying home. My crime? I had not checked the correct box on the form and didn’t have the required visa. The visa isn’t required for tourists.
Oh yeah, did I mention that I am a US citizen and I was flying into Canada? Got off the plane and was detained at the airport.
Now I know that when I travel to Canada I am a tourist, period.
I’m just glad it wasn’t as bad as her experience and I’m sure she is telling the truth.
Perhaps this is not as nefarious as one might think.
Normally i would presume that the Bush administration is trying to keep out those whose ideas they oppose and to wit, the news is littered regularly with stories of scientists, journalists, professors, etc. trapped in bureaucratic limbo awaiting visa approvals.
However, I suspect that the FBI has a massive backlog, given how they are trying to tighten the borders especially (and at the expense of our seaports) in our airports, and perhaps ironically, it is because these people are considered to be low-threat, they are given lower priority in the queue.
I further suppose that when dealing with the Mother of All Bureacracies (aka the EU) or any 2nd or 3rd world nation for verification of credentials surely adds to the wait time.
Just a thought from a liberal who refuses to become mindless paranoiac.
2 comments:
1) I can’t understand how a members of a civilized society can be so uncivilized. While Elena was in the wrong, there is no excuse for the hostility displayed to her – don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggested that people should fall over themselves to make her short time comfortable, but how about some common courtesy for a fellow human being.
What’s not presented in the article is some call to action – I don’t know, is what can I do about, apart from not visiting the US?
2) You grumble on tech5 about Valleyway reporting a Dec 2006 article as recent news, but report are presenting the June 2004 as news – shame on you.
Nonetheless keep up the usually good work.
If that picture is really the journalist in question, I think she was detained for violating the “wearing too much eye makeup” clause of the Patriot Act. That kind of look may be a big hit at the Monster Mash or a Halloween party, but it showed really bad judgment for her to try and go through Customs painted up like that.
#5 wrote “From then until now just only two choices R or D”
Well buddy, during the 2004 presidential election there were 6 or 7 different parties on the ballot where I voted. Just because they don’t have the support to get elected is your fault. You being those that support parties other than the two major parties.
The reason for this is you are trying to work from the top down. Your best bet would be at the state or even local level first, then congress and then once you have at least a few people in congress to support your candidate if he did when then you run for the top spot.
Welcome to AMERIKA – First door on the left, one cross each.
@Todd
Just a thought from a liberal who refuses to become mindless paranoiac.
Maybe it is time for you to became a mindful paranoiac.
1.) terrorism is designed to insight fear in the people they attack
2.) conservatives live in constant fear of terrorists
3.) conservatives have lost the war on terror
great job, losers!
Why are you posting an article from 2004 as if it is news?
Hello! Is ANYONE paying attention? This story is from 2004!!!! Talk about dredging up old news.
G
#10 "Well buddy, during the 2004 presidential election there were 6 or 7
different parties on the ballot where I voted. Just because they don’t have the
support to get elected is your fault. You being those that support parties other
than the two major parties."
That’s exactly my point GigG, it does not matter at all whether or not there were 5, 6 or even a 100 choices on the ballot you were voting on, what matters are that there was in reality ONLY TWO CHOICES.
Indonesia ‘Free’ elections during the Suharto regimen had MANY parties running for office but in reality only one party Golkar (Suharto’s party) would ever be in the majority and victorious.
Can you see the point now? It should be rather clear
Indonesians who were preparing for the first post Suharto free elections thought Americans were…well stupid…with the George Bush and the Florida Recount fiasco. As it was so much like all the previous Suharto elections.
This strengthened Indonesians view that America is just a loud mouth ass, a bully, never missing the chance to tell someone else how wrong they are and only America has the way and yet fails to accomplish it themselves.
This and so many other reasons are why so much of the world views America as a loud mouth ass and bully. They aren’t jealous of America as so many Americans have convinced themselves.
When the American people, as you so correctly state, start “…at the state or even local level first, then congress and then once you have at least a few people in congress to support your candidate if he did when then you run for the top spot.”
Lets see what happens when America steps down from the number one economic spot within the next 10 years if not sooner.
Cheers
Editor said – “And for those who still don’t comprehend the concept of this site, it’s not a news site. We editors and John post what we find interesting. Period.”
You should have gone with ‘oops’ rather than the lame tap dancing disingenuous explanation and insult directed at your readers for posting it three years after the fact. Should have said ‘a darn interesting story and no we didn’t see that it was three years old, our bad. It’s still interesting though.’ We comprehend when you make a mistake like when the Japanese flag was posted instead of the Chinese flag for one story a while back. Mistakes happen, oops happen, clowning and saying it didn’t happen doesn’t fool anyone.
Uncle Dave,
I agree and your point is very valid. This article would not have surprised me if it happened this afternoon. The end results of this administration may be best summed up as they were in the article,:
Dennis Roddy wrote in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Our enemies are now more important to us than our friends … Much of the obsession with homeland security seems to turn on the idea of the world infecting the US.”
In other old news, but that would not be surprised to read as news today :
Bill Clinton had sex with one of his employees. His wife, normally a leading feminist defends him.
Muslims hijacked a plane and crashed it into a building, killing thousands.
It is (rightly!) considered inflammatory and non sequiter to bring up old news over and over again, particularly without labeling it as old news. You would not print either one of these topics I printed above, because its old. If you have an article talking about problems with this country, or this administration, that are current (and I’m sure you would not find a shortage), then link them. and talk about them, and use them as a force for change.
3 years ago, someone who tried to enter the country on a tourist visa, even though they were not a tourist, got stopped – this is not news (I don’t even really consider it news when it occurred. Know the rules.)
#22, Jason,
3 years ago, someone who tried to enter the country on a tourist visa, even though they were not a tourist, got stopped
No one in this article tried entering the country on a visitor’s visa. They didn’t need one. The person in question had a British passport and as such did not need any visa to enter the country for up to 90 days. That same courtesy extended to several other countries and was reciprocated. I know, big word, but it means that Americans could also visit those countries without a visa.
The visa requirement was not well known and rarely enforced in other jurisdictions. Don’t forget, this was done to a journalist. By a country that crows about Freedom of the Press.
The two instances you brought up were specific. This case demonstrates a policy of the American Government and the attitude of public servants to people who are not criminals. Maybe if you should reread the article. Look for the policy things and then YOU decide if things have improved any. Such as how many INS agents it took to guard the three people being deported when there was a shortage of INS agents patrolling the border.
So things are the same as 3 years ago…. and this is news because…..?
So things aren’t getting worse then? I’m so confused.
Bring
Back
Fiefsom
!
crap. i meant fiefdom. peasants need edgumakation
From then until now just only two choices R or D”
There’s a pretty good chance that George Bush was elected because there were 10 choices on the Florida ballot in 2000.
Really, what’s wrong with treating journalist as terriorist, they usually are commies anyway – it’s all symantics or is it a synonym.
Arrogant, ignorant, selfess and hypocritical = journalist
She was on assignment for the Guardian for crying out loud…..what did she expect? 🙂
Fusion – forget it. You’re talking there to a sheeple – a smug, arrogant, clueless sheeple at that. Why bother?
#30, Because my ankle is bothering me and I can’t sleep. This isn’t as good as the big pink pills, but I try not to take them unless I’m really in pain. Hey, one of those and I become a Republican.
*
#28, traxx,
Arrogant, ignorant, selfess and hypocritical = journalist
Comment by traaxx — 8/9/2007 @ 11:57 pm
Very true when applied to specific sectors of the mass media. I’m thinking media outlets like the Washington Times, Fox News Network, New York Post, Times of London, and National Post.
And anything that glorifies the Journalist trade is interesting.
How ’bout some journalists doing journalism rather than crying about how poorly they are treated?
I have never understood why journalists think of themselves as a special class above everyone else.