Text 29707, 40 rader
Skriven 2006-05-15 05:03:56 av Bob Ackley (1:2905/3)
  Kommentar till text 29576 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
Ärende: WWII revisited
======================
Replying to a message of Ward Dossche to Bob Ackley:

 >> The stated reason for the decision was the hassles they get in the US.

 WD> I travel multiple times to the US every year and my personal
 WD> observation is that there is less hassle than let's say 10-20 years
 WD> ago for foreign visitors.

 WD> Personally I'm more bothered by the attitudes of Americans while
 WD> traveling, they consider airplanes as a city-bus and behave
 WD> accordingly.

 WD> I still love the questionaire I need to fill out on the plane prior to
 WD> landing. Questions such as:

 WD> * Have you been a member of the Nazi party in Germany between 1933 and
 WD> 1945?   [I was born in 1950] * Do you wish to enter the US with a
 WD> criminal intent? * Have you ever actively participated in acts of
 WD> terrorism?

 WD> And other beauties of the same kind.

I suspect that somewhere in the fine print is a statement to the effect that
a false answer to any question is a considered a felony.  Then, should they
happen to catch someone doing something verboten, and they said on the form
that they wouldn't, they can prosecute for whatever s/he was doing (assuming
it's a crime in itself) PLUS a felony charge for lying on the form - or, if
whatever the act was is not a crime s/he can still be charged with a felony
for the lie on the form.

While the questions seem stupid (and IMO they are), there's a reason for them.
One has to wonder why they're so worried about octogenarian or nonagenarian
former Nazis, though.  One would think that current members (and wannabes)
would be of more concern - note that the US already has or had a Nazi party
comprised of its own presumably native citizens (it used to be based in or near
Syracuse, Nebraska, and was headed by the self-styled fuehrer Gary Lauck; his
operation also provides/provided Nazi paraphernalia and publications).

--- FleetStreet 1.19+
 * Origin: Bob's Boneyard, Emerson, Iowa (1:2905/3)