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Just don't travel there. I'm sure I'd be fine: I've been fine a dozen times before. That was before they decided that it was OK to demand passwords and so on.

by SCdF 9y ago

Just don't travel there. I'm sure I'd be fine: I've been fine a dozen times before. That was before they decided that it was OK to demand passwords and so on. Maybe now it would be worse. Or maybe my skin colour lets me off the hook. Regardless, I'd rather just not waste jet fuel on flying to a place that treats anyone this way. Your phone/tablet/laptop is, for better or worse, a gateway to your entire life. It contains your photos, bank account credentials, messages between friends, messages between you and your wife, photos between you and your wife… Random border thugs absolutely should not have the right to rummage through it in another room. There are plenty of ways to do meetings remotely. There are plenty of places in the world you can travel to for work meetups that aren't the US. Just don't travel there.

polotics 9y ago
Only rational explanation: the current POTUS is a closet ecologist, decided to use scare tactics to reduce needless CO2 waste. (unlikely, but still...)
- samat 9y ago
  This started long before Trump
- pjc50 9y ago
  The only ration explanation is that the policy is what it claims to be: racial and nationalist discrimination. After all, that's what the huge pre-election rallies were cheering.
cm2187 9y ago
For me it's less the risk of being search than the massive queues in US airports that turn me off. Feels like queuing for food in Moscow in the Soviet area, just to take a plane.
- LeifCarrotson 9y ago
  The Soviet era. But yes, I just traveled from Shanghai back to my home in the US. The queues in China were much, much shorter than those in the American airports. PVG posted a "25 minutes or less" target for all travellers to get through security and immigration. And they hit it, even at peak travel times with huge volumes of people. At American airports if you arrive less than an hour before boarding they might not allow you in until you rebook on a later flight. You could see it in the architecture of their systems: The American facilities have huge snaking queues designed for as much capacity as possible, which lead to obvious bottlenecks. And when you arrive at the front of the line, a gruff immigration officer in tactical gear doesn't look at the line except to say "No line jumping!" while they're taking 10 minutes on one individual. In China, there's just not enough distance in the line to allow a long delay to form, there's no single point bottlenecks to slow down the system, and helpful people direct you to the shortest lines.
  - Markoff 9y ago
    yeah, amazing China with longest flight delays in world, but yeah security check is pretty fast, for sure faster than in Chinese train station
    - whazor 9y ago
      Or even security checks in a metro station.
- pcurve 9y ago
  Flying into JFK from abroad, going through customs even as American is one of the more depressing things in life. It is such an unwelcoming sight and experience.
  - danielbln 9y ago
    I've only been through JFK a few times, but every time it was a swift and uneventful experience, in as well as out. Maybe I was just lucky though.
StavrosK 9y ago
People who have recently travelled to the US, what's the probability that you will be asked to unlock your stuff and have random employees search through it? Is it something that happens a lot?
- baby 9y ago
  It hasn't happened to me, but when I go to the US embassy in France they take my phone for the entire time I'm waiting there.
  - cr1895 9y ago
    The US Embassies in the Netherlands explicitely disallow you from bringing most electronics* and they say they are unable to store things for you. https://nl.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/amsterdam/access-security-notice/ https://nl.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/amsterdam/access... *It used to be no electronics, but now you are apparently allowed to bring a mobile phone provided you turn off Bluetooth.
    - baby 9y ago
      The US Embassy in Paris did refuse to let me in with my laptop. I had to run everywhere to find a place that accepted to keep my laptop for me :/ you definitely get a reality check as soon as you enter the Visa process with the US.
    - cesarb 9y ago
      The USA consulate in Rio de Janeiro is also like that. Of course, it's become a business opportunity: right next to the queue outside the consulate, there are several people who offer to store your electronics, for a price. Contrast with for instance the Germany and France consulates a few blocks over (they're in a single building), where as far as I know no such rule exists.
    - germanier 9y ago
      Now I'm curious. Does anyone know why they ask you to switch off Bluetooth specifically (and nothing else)?
zeveb 9y ago
> That was before they decided that it was OK to demand passwords and so on. I understand that it was not decided, that it's just a proposal (a terrible, stupid, terrible proposal — but just a proposal).

by SCdF 9y ago

polotics 9y ago

Only rational explanation: the current POTUS is a closet ecologist, decided to use scare tactics to reduce needless CO2 waste. (unlikely, but still...)

samat 9y ago
This started long before Trump
pjc50 9y ago
The only ration explanation is that the policy is what it claims to be: racial and nationalist discrimination. After all, that's what the huge pre-election rallies were cheering.

cm2187 9y ago

For me it's less the risk of being search than the massive queues in US airports that turn me off. Feels like queuing for food in Moscow in the Soviet area, just to take a plane.

LeifCarrotson 9y ago
The Soviet era. But yes, I just traveled from Shanghai back to my home in the US. The queues in China were much, much shorter than those in the American airports. PVG posted a "25 minutes or less" target for all travellers to get through security and immigration. And they hit it, even at peak travel times with huge volumes of people. At American airports if you arrive less than an hour before boarding they might not allow you in until you rebook on a later flight. You could see it in the architecture of their systems: The American facilities have huge snaking queues designed for as much capacity as possible, which lead to obvious bottlenecks. And when you arrive at the front of the line, a gruff immigration officer in tactical gear doesn't look at the line except to say "No line jumping!" while they're taking 10 minutes on one individual. In China, there's just not enough distance in the line to allow a long delay to form, there's no single point bottlenecks to slow down the system, and helpful people direct you to the shortest lines.
- Markoff 9y ago
  yeah, amazing China with longest flight delays in world, but yeah security check is pretty fast, for sure faster than in Chinese train station
  - whazor 9y ago
    Or even security checks in a metro station.
pcurve 9y ago
Flying into JFK from abroad, going through customs even as American is one of the more depressing things in life. It is such an unwelcoming sight and experience.
- danielbln 9y ago
  I've only been through JFK a few times, but every time it was a swift and uneventful experience, in as well as out. Maybe I was just lucky though.

StavrosK 9y ago

People who have recently travelled to the US, what's the probability that you will be asked to unlock your stuff and have random employees search through it? Is it something that happens a lot?

baby 9y ago
It hasn't happened to me, but when I go to the US embassy in France they take my phone for the entire time I'm waiting there.
- cr1895 9y ago
  The US Embassies in the Netherlands explicitely disallow you from bringing most electronics* and they say they are unable to store things for you. https://nl.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/amsterdam/access-security-notice/ https://nl.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/amsterdam/access... *It used to be no electronics, but now you are apparently allowed to bring a mobile phone provided you turn off Bluetooth.
  - baby 9y ago
    The US Embassy in Paris did refuse to let me in with my laptop. I had to run everywhere to find a place that accepted to keep my laptop for me :/ you definitely get a reality check as soon as you enter the Visa process with the US.
  - cesarb 9y ago
    The USA consulate in Rio de Janeiro is also like that. Of course, it's become a business opportunity: right next to the queue outside the consulate, there are several people who offer to store your electronics, for a price. Contrast with for instance the Germany and France consulates a few blocks over (they're in a single building), where as far as I know no such rule exists.
  - germanier 9y ago
    Now I'm curious. Does anyone know why they ask you to switch off Bluetooth specifically (and nothing else)?

zeveb 9y ago

> That was before they decided that it was OK to demand passwords and so on. I understand that it was not decided, that it's just a proposal (a terrible, stupid, terrible proposal — but just a proposal).