EU bends over and takes it like a man...

[Troubleshooter]

The European Union and the United States formally agreed on Friday to let American border officials access the personal information of every European heading to America on commercial airlines, despite objections from members of European Parliament, which voted three times against the deal.

http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,63650,00.html

[depmats]

Why is this such a bad thing? It seems reasonable that knowing who is flying in and out would be a positive.

[Troubleshooter]

Originally posted by depmats
Why is this such a bad thing? It seems reasonable that knowing who is flying in and out would be a positive.

I wasn't saying it was bad or good.

I just tossed it out there for people to decide.

[depmats]

Thanks. My question wasn't really directed at you. I'm sure someone will be appalled and give some reasons that this is the "work of the debil", but I'm not so sure.

Does the agreement go both ways? Do European governments get personal information on every American flying into their countries? If I jump on SwissAir for a flight to Zurich, does this mean that Swiss officials will be busily going over MY government dossier?

[Clodfobble]

Brazil did that and it made them very unpopular among American tourists.

[DanaC]

No Marichiko its just us getting checked by America. *heavy sigh*

Y'know what? I am too drunk to post abot this now. were I to try I htink my post would be too heavy with expletives to be considered...friendly......and I would probably launch an invective against the American air bases here and the fact that significant parts of the Starwars defense apparatus are going to be staged here with no protection afforded to us ....despite the fact it will make us a potential target on America's behalf....ok I'd best stop now I can feel the bile rising in my craw and that's never good....

[Pi]

If I understand correctly there are about 15 different items US want to know, one of them my credit cart numbers and that I don't understand.
So I think if US is checking everything why don't Brazil or EU have the right to know everything about US-visitors

Originally posted by Pi
If I understand correctly there are about 15 different items US want to know, one of them my credit cart numbers and that I don't understand.
So I think if US is checking everything why don't Brazil or EU have the right to know everything about US-visitors

I couldn't agree more. Between the US and the European nations, the US is by far the more violent country, and if you judge by statistics alone Great Britain or Switzerland has far more to fear from a random American entering their country then we do from a Swiss or an Englishman. The one-sidedness of the agreement combined with America's national propensity to violence, makes me veiw this as little better than the act of an international bully on the school playground, pushing the other smaller nations around.

[Clodfobble]

So how do you account for the fact that terrorists could enter the country through seemingly innocuous countries? It's not the Swiss or the Englishman they're worried about, it's the Arab who flew into Switzerland first. Should we just be fair and check no one at the borders?

[wolf]

I believe it likely has more to do with the fact that there are very tall buildings in Europe that are still standing.

[jaguar]

Since that policy has gone into place, I've decided I will not, under any circumstance, visit the US, I know on this I am far from alone, I have also pulled out of some investments in the US for related reasons, frankly, fuck off, I don't expected to be treated like a criminal.

Border security, airport security, port security and anything else that has been beefed up is a fucking joke and anyone with 2 brain cells to run together can work out that it's nothing more than a feel good move by an incompetent administration incapable of dealing with the real causes of the War On Terror. Go ahead and violate your own citizens rights, fine but if you start fucking with mine, goodbye.

[Radar]

I can see doing this for international travel. I mean the country you are going to should know who you are, but the country from which you're leaving shouldn't be keeping tabs on you.

Sadly some people in America are too dim to realize that Americans have the right "to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures..." and that this right "shall not be violated" by the government. We have the right to travel anonymously without government asking for our identification. I have the right to go to a train station, airport, etc., hand them cash, and to travel anywhere domestically without showing a single speck of identification.

[lookout123]

Originally posted by Pi
If I understand correctly there are about 15 different items US want to know, one of them my credit cart numbers and that I don't understand.

i'm not saying i agree with doing it, but the theory on the cc's is that several of the plane tickets on 9/11 were paid for by the same cc through different vendors. with this they can cross reference that type of info.

[lookout123]

Originally posted by jaguar
Since that policy has gone into place, I've decided I will not, under any circumstance, visit the US, I know on this I am far from alone, I have also pulled out of some investments in the US for related reasons, frankly, fuck off, I don't expected to be treated like a criminal.

oh no, one more person who isn't fond of us, threatening not to visit or profit by owning shares of american companies.