News flash they have days off and are granted passes and up to 30 day leaves. Of course they are tourists...they are not in prison.

Dimwit, we are talking about people WILLINGLY leaving their country as tourists, not an invasion force.

If you have no choice about it then you aren't a tourist.

theking:

No King - it is NOT IMMATERIAL :-)

The fact that you may not have needed to have a "paper passport" was simpley a matter of convenience arranged with a host country..

Your government signed a waiver on your behalf which facilitated this. Without that being in place - you ain't going to *any* country without a valid passport.

All that troop shit is not what we are talking about anyway - other nations do the same thing. It has nothing to do with folks visiting other nations as "tourists".

Hell.. I give up! He's too fucking stupid to absorb fuck all...


PS This level of idiocy that keeps coming up, is what makes me loose all fucking faith or any hope for the US people.

Actually if Bush gets re-elected I will loose all respect for every fucking american on this planet ... that will proove how dumb 50 + % of them are .

Oh fuck... we're on to his stupid 30 day pass "leaves" next..

Sad that is obviously the way you have seen the world King...

You actually got a passport or are you in the majority??

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

Another fat ass american ...

How do I view americans :

A good part of them are good hard workers ...

another part are stupid ass mofos (especially ppl from the south) that don't know shit about politic / geography and history . All they want is their friend chicken and hamburgers and they will be happy

Many miltary personell are allowed to choose where they serve in the sense that they volunteer to serve in Germany...Korea...Japan...etc. They willingly choose to leave their country to serve in various places and of course while there...as I have explained they act as any "tourist" does and see what they find interesting within the country. Many military personell especially like to serve in Germany and from there they visit much of Europe. There are millions of them that have done so.

thing is, we know where the US are ... a lot of us know the states and everything ...

You don't learn shit about other countries in US school . The US is just really self-centered .

They use a lot of countries to make themselves rich and one day everybody will just turn their back ... you cannot live like that for ever.

Bush probably don't even know how to place all countries on the map and he's president ... he haven't been to europe b4 getting elected and such ...

You know, you're not the first person to mention this. When I was in Jamaica I was talking to a couple of the locals who worked the resort and they told me that they see as many nucks as yanks there, sometimes more.

It's not that odd when you look at it, though... the carribean is warm in the winter, and up here it's REALLY REALLY FUCKING COLD. We need to break up the chill with a little sunshine and surf. :thumbsup

about cell phones, there are still several places even in NY where it's hard to get a signal ...

Europe, china and japan are much more advanced for cell phones ... ppl barely use sms over there still ...

What a fucking troll ... how much $ you think the US make from tourism ? Grow up kid

Panky:

Just to enlighten you. Considering some of these places are US territory, I'd wonder WTF you need any ID for.

I think you better just check on some of the others that are not US territory - I'd hate to rely on you getting out of Panama with just a photo ID and birth certificate. At the very least you'd need a Touist Visa/card tho that is even questionable.

We are talking about "valid passports" - not some tourist shit to places like Puerto Rico.

Actually their are other countries that you do not need a passport to travel to if you are a member of the American Military...and are already stationed within a...let us say...European country. From your duty station there are some countries that your Military ID and Birth Certificate are enough to allow travel...there are some that will require a passport.

Don't feed the troll ... he's just dumb

im antiamerican you forgot lol :)

I am past my mid forties kid...and what the fuck does " how much $ you think the US make from tourism ?" have to do with any of my statements. :321GFY...kid.

Canada and mexico ... the 2 nearest countries . Try to go to europe or china without a passeport ...

rickholio:

Yep! Valid point! :-)

I remember when I lived in the Carib - it dawned on me that every place I went I was dealing with Canadian folks! :-)

Tho there were a good few US people - mainly on casino stuff (and quite often on the "wanted list" because of this) - but they were OK people!

It means : OFF COURSE other countries make money from US tourism . As USA makes money from forgein tourism too ...

This is not a good example . Remove 100 % of the tourism in US and watch the economy ... it would have an effect on it for sure .

I have been to several countries in Europe without a passport as well as the Mid-East...and the Far East and some in the Americas. I have also traveled to some of them with a passport.

theKing:

Who the fuck is talking about the "American Military"??

We "were" talking about "tourists" - you got military on the fucking brain king.

It that your extent of seeing the world??

If so, shut the fuck up and quit trolling. It was a half sensible thread till you crept in...

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh

He got brainwashed by the military ... here is the problem now ... that's why he's so much of a troll

Travel agencies here say :

Clearly state you are a CANADIAN when you arrive somewhere, not an american ... service will be much better

That give a good idea of what the rest of the world think about americans

My point is the American military is a significant part of "tourism" in many countries...and that is a fact...which you want to avoid for whatever...misguided reasons you have in your wee little Webby mind. FYI...I do not take orders from the wee little minded people on the earth...so no I will not shut the fuck up.

When you are in the army you don't need passport, one of my best friend traveled in many EU countries during army and didn't have to carry one, but that's a whole different case. Normal citizen is IMPOSSIBLE to cross european borders without a passport. It is supposed that EU members can pass borders by just showing their ID, but in many cases this doesn't really apply.

wow i typed all these in 10 seconds

theKing:

You just talk shit - I really can't be bothered.

If you want to play semantics with "tourism" and "service personnel" serving overseas, we'd be here all fucking night...

Other countries do the same shit - so I'd think that more than levels the amount of "US military tourism" (eh?) that goes on worldwide.

That is my point...he was in the Military...but when off duty...on pass...on leave...he was a "tourist". Millions of Americans have done the same thing. BTW...passports are renewable...and many that have had passports do not any longer have a valid passport so I assume would not be included in the 20% figure that was presented (assuming that 20% is a valid figure which it may or may not be).

Soul_Rebel:

You trying to avoid the crossfire and get a word in edgeways Soul? :1orglaugh

theKing:

Still more fucking semantics... sheesh... it's monotonous ...

No country is going to fall apart if it loses 5% of its GDP - just like it wouldn't significantly affect an individuals financial stability to lose 5% of their personal income. It would be unfortunate, but you would carry on okay. American tourists aren't as important as they act.

And most of that 5% is not coming from Americans, but from a collective of visitors from many different countries. Americans might only contribute 1%.

If America makes the most moeny from tourism, then who is really dependent on who? If a country sends us more $$$ than we send back, we're the ones ultimately benefiting when the total is balanced.

Remember how fucked Florida was when international visitors decreased after 9/11? It was treated like an economic emergency and they were doing all sorts of marketing and promotions begging for tourism dollars.

lol yeah i guess

i drunk a whole champaign and instead of typing slow as shit as usual I type ultra-fastt :glugglug


anyway passport aint related about what webmasters believe about USA. Personally it's pretty much hard to tell what I believe about a big country that affects world life in many section in a post. I admire many things about Americans and there are several that bothers me as well. When I decided to get involved to business I prefered an american education and I didn't regret it.

This thread is about the biggest most egregious example of wandering away from the original topic I've ever seen.


Refresh: "Non American's, what's your view of the US?"



My answer:

I basically like the USA. I mostly like the people. Most of them are friendly, but like anywhere else there are a % of idiots and assholes too. I defy you to show me any country that is idiot & asshole free.

I do have stories about my dealings and meetings with several ultra-stupid Americans over the years..... but so too do I have similar stories about some very stupid Canadians. I've met all kinds of people while travelling, and thankfully most of them have been top notch, and that includes the US.

It is you that is playing the game of "semantics" because it is fact that being in the Military does not preclude one from being a "tourist". Tens of millions of Americans have experienced this.

My husband was in the military for over 5 years. He was stationed in Germany. We arrived to Germany thru the airforce...didn't need passports there...but we had them.
We traveled all of Europe. Out of all the countries we traveled, we had to show passports when we were in Calais, about to take the ferry to Dover. When we arrived to Dover, they waved us in like nothing. Other then that, no problem. I have also traveled to many countries, where you show the U.S. passport, they barely look at it and wave you by......

Before my husband join the military, he traveled with his countries passport . He needed visas for France, Spain, & England.

And to answer the thread question...I wasn't born In the U.S., but I like the U.S., and I like the people, and accommodations that this country offers people....basically Americans are nortured & spoiled....I like that a lot!

CamChicks:

That makes a change from a troll CC! :-)

Yea.. the stuff you mentioned earlier in that there is a net plus to the US in tourism is right. The US does get a lot of tourist traffic and even the US at it's current economic level sure ain't gonna go bust because of a drop in tourism.

Nanda:

Have you ever wondered about that? :)

I've come to the conclusion half these guys would not know a valid passport if it was thrust in their face :-)

It is significant, but localized. US military on furlough tends to cluster around their base... for example, look at the communities that spring up around US bases in places like Okinawa.

In a matter of speaking, it is a form of tourism. However, because these people come to the base, it forms a sort of DMZ where a *hint* of local culture creeps in, but not enough to give the 'tourist' enough to have a finer understand of where he's stationed. Okinawa is a prime example... the environment there is radically different to that of Honshuu or any other part of japan, because of the heavy western influence. The heavily-visited communities around Paju in S. Korea are another example.

It seems to me that these 'cultural fusion' communities are part of the problem with US visbility overseas. It's in these areas where military personel 'act up' (get into fights, rape girls, commit crimes) because that's where they mostly hang out. As a result, people who're already distrustful of western culture subverting their own can point to those areas and say "See? Look how evil the west is. They come and rape our women there. No other place in our great land does this happen!" This happens regardless of the truth of the matter, of course... like many things, perception is more important than the facts.

Anyways, the point of the whole 'travel' meme in the first place is that people who travel the world and get first hand looks at how other cultures live tend to be more liberal, moderate, and less quick to resort to war or other agressive stances against the rest of the world. It's harder to want to kill someone after you've met them. The insulating effect of these 'base towns' from the real cultures reduces dramatically the effect of exposure to those cultures on military personel... which is part of the reason why the US Mil likes them, I would suspect.

Conversely, people who actually go to other countries purely for tourism purposes are more likely to be genuinely interested in other peoples, and will therefore be more likely stray away from the border towns, getting to the heart of those cultures and learning/experiencing far more.

I do not recall saying anything about a country falling apart...my point was that many countries on the earth have as a significant part of their GDP American tourist dollars...which indicates that Americans do travel abroad...in significant numbers.

Sixpack Joe likes to say that Americans are untraveled...when I have pointed out that many countries have as a significant portion of their GDP American tourist dollars...and also tens of millions of Americans have traveled via the Military and have traveled even more as off duty Military personell. In addition many Americans that have held passports do not any longer have valid passports as their traveling days are over...for what ever the reasons. My suspicions are that in raw numbers (because of a large population) Americans are probably pretty much as well traveled...via various means...as are the populations of any other country.

rickholio:

Noticed that! :-)

There was a "base" on one Caribbean island where I was.

They guys never seen much of the place, but on the odd occasion they were "out" we used to invite them for a drink and a meal. Hell - they were just kids and very naive :-) But OK guys!

theKing:

That is still utter bollocks no matter how often you keep coming up with it.

The US has much more to lose in this area than almost any other country..

I can tell you that in my country...they know what an American passport and different passports in general look like....are you implying that they don't?????

Also, when we were in Europe, we would have the U.S. passports in our hands when we arrived at the border......and they would just say "Americans...." and wave us by....

While you are in great part correct...many others do not "cluster". My brother for example was stationed in Okinawa when in was in the Corp (he served in the Army as well as the Corp)...for a period of time and he and some of his friends toured a large portion of Japan. When I was in the Military and sent to another country...I toured as much as possible...as the opportunity arose (and of course I was not the only one that did so).

They do this to citizens of many countries.

Of course....European countries...unfortunately not Latino, Asian, nor Africans....

100

Nanda:

Sure!! :-) Some immigration people have not the slightest clue about any passport!

One of the weirdest stuff which ended up as a court case where I am was...

Two US IRS agents visited here in relation to the possibility of getting a US citizen extradicted for some fraud case.

When they were in front of a judge, the judge asked for their "credentials", authorisation papers and their passports.

One question lead to another in court and it turns out these two people (a man and a woman), actually entered the country with false passports (duh?).

They were then detained pending further enquiries where the police traced their movements, prior to the court hearing and turns out they also presented false documents to a couple of banks to open accounts - presumably for themselves, but under different names. This is a criminal offence here.

So.. first shows that immigration people sometimes have not a clue :-)

The end of the story was ... they were charged with "whatever" offences and given permission to leave the country, pending the main court case.

Of course they left for the US and never set foot in this country again. There are still warrants out for their arrest here and they will be detained if they arrive here again.

The press contacted.. think it was the woman when she was back in the US and she "offered" a comment along the lines "I never knew it was illegal" Duh?

The judge eventually agreed to the extradiction of the US "perp" and he was flown by Lear jet back to the US to stand trial.

So.. second point! :-) It shows you how amazingly stupid even IRS people can be when travelling abroad on govt biz and using false papers and committing offenses. I doubt they are working for the IRS now? :winkwink:

Add Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders