On Tue, Feb 26, 2008 at 1:39 PM, Badri Natarajan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> My point was only that it isn't that unusual even for democratic countries > to impose special immigration requirements on media. As may be, but are all writers "media?" When asked she said she wrote for her personal blog and was not employed as a writer, and still they gave her a journalist visa. With regards to restrictions on journalists, I found this paragraph in the article you cited particularly relevant: > "How dare you treat an American officer with disrespect?" he shouted back, > indignantly. > "Believe me, we have treated you with much more respect than other people. > You should > go to places like Iran, you'd see a big difference." The irony is that it is > only "countries like > Iran" (for example, Cuba, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe) that have a > visa requirement > for journalists. It is unheard of in open societies, and, in spite of now > being enforced in the > US, is still so obscure that most journalists are not familiar with it. > Thirteen foreign journalists > were detained and deported from the US last year, 12 of them from LAX. Countries like Iran, and India? > > Some time over beers let me tell you my adventures baiting the US > > Border Patrol while living in San Diego. I'm no fan of US immigration > > policy... > Sounds like fun..:-) My parents were not amused that I was using their car for it... but I now know that the US Border Patrol uses Porsches among other cars. All I did was drive along the closest paved road to the border, and turn my headlights on and off briefly. I was then followed, stopped, and threatened by uniformed Border Patrol agents driving a fascinatingly eclectic collection of unmarked vehicles. > Eg: Ecuador does not require visas for citizens of most Western countries, > but requires visas for Indian citizens (so far, quite standard), but there > is a special rule that people of the *Sikh* religion need to get visas, > irrespective of their citizenship. There's some pretty bizarre stuff > floating around.. That's totally bizarre. Though I was amused by this sign in a Bangalore bank: "No weapons are allowed inside the bank except for kripans by Sikhs." http://www.flickr.com/photos/haynes/871162228/ -- Charles
