February 24, 2007

Come on up! Except for you. And you. Oh, and also, you.
  • I beg your pardon?
  • I had to laugh at this, after just reading "My Discovery of America " by Farley Mowat... if i was Canada, i would keep us out too!
  • It has really gotten bad. A coworker of my wife's tried last year to take his wife up to Canada for a short vacation. They were stopped and searched. Border guards spent hours going through their car and their stuff. They went through his wife's notebook, which had some journal entries and some personal writings. After driving halfway across the country to visit Canada they were turned back. Why? Because the border guards found some of the writings in the journal to be a tad too dark for their taste. No weapons, no questionable substances, no criminal records or watch lists, no threats of murder or terrorism in the journals, they just found her writing to be a little too dark. I should add that this woman is frequently wheelchair-bound because of chronic illness.
  • I would have liked it if they would have listed what their working definition of "fad" is. Is it a short-lived activity enjoyed by millions like the Rubik's Cube? Or is it a few people sitting on top of poles during the 20's? I typically think of a "fad" as something that millions of people do.
  • I'm afraid bernockle is trying to slip his comments across post borders without regard for the law. Please step into this room for the body cavity search.
  • I wonder how this (and the U.S. requiring passports to cross the Canadian border) will affect the people in Derby Line, VT, as the U.S./Canada border splits the town in half.
  • It's not some tit-for-tat thing because of the increasing difficulty of visiting the US? I know here that visa requirements and charges are partly set in relation to the other county's attitude to Chinese travellers. It's cheaper for me to get a visa than a US citizen atm for instance.
  • like Americans needed any more excuse to stay out of Canadia anyway? Maybe if they advertised the 6.2 beer more...
  • This is sad for murkins trying to head north, but sort of typical of what I would have expected to encounter heading in the other direction for many years. I say this from the relative warmth of a Dallas hotel, mind you. And I experienced aerosol cheese for the first time today. Scary stuff.
  • When my body cavities are being inspected, I am particularly glad that I now have an electric toothbrush.
  • Perhaps they're afraid we'll infect'em with a bad case of the terrirorst disease?
  • Well, I guess that counts me out.
  • It's not some tit-for-tat thing because of the increasing difficulty of visiting the US? Could very well be. Entering the US from a foreign country was a pain for me and the wife, and we're citizens.
  • Seems to me that Canadian boarder crossings have been somewhat difficult for at least 20 years. When I travelled there on business, I had been strictly educated in what to say to get into the country, but when I tried to get out, the metal dectectors were set so that they gave the alarm over the metal pins n my ankle and it looked for a while as though they would shuffle me off to The Room for interrogation. They finally let me board my plane, but I never had that happen before or since in any of my journeys through metal dectectors. It struck me as strange that getting out was more difficult than getting in.
  • The Minister's Approval of Rehabilitation sounds like an indulgence. I knew this was all about making more money for Canadia.
  • Well ha fucking ha. The class privilege is hilarious - but I'm rich! Doesn't that count for something? The war on drugs is only meant for poor people! So does the American privilege. I'm American! Can't they see that? Well, when I don't have to be fingerprinted at LAX, I'll be more sympathetic. As it is, I'm delighted Air New Zealand now has direct flights to Vancouver, which should enable me to bypass the United States' borders should I choose to cross that hemisphere.
  • Two more to be barred at the border (prior DUI's): George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.
  • What the article doesn't mention is how to easily get past Canadian Customs using simple pole-vaulting techniques.
  • Yes, but your pole has to be long enough to clear that big, long wall their wanting to build. tongue>>cheek
  • it is just a matter of time before agreements are signed with governments in destinations like Japan, Indonesia and Europe. I had a DUI when I was 17 years-old. I was told that the record of it would not exist anywhere after five years because of my age at the time. After reading this, I might become a slight bit nervous attempting to cross the border into Canada (hell, Ralph, how am I going to get to the commune if they pull this record up!??). More worrisome for me is the mention of Indonesia. I can't imagine traveling for 24 hours, only to be turned around because of that time you were arrested when you were 17. Of course, I would only have to slip some money across the table, but hell!
  • they're not their *sigh Somebody wack me with a Canadian pole, please.
  • OK, but I don't think Mr. Kowalski's gonna like it.
  • That is sad and creepy.