So...does bush's new torture bill make you think twice about visiting USA?

[tuvor]

From what I understand, as a foreigner I can now potentially be locked up indefinitely without reason.

Of course, it probably WON'T happen, but why would I want to enter a country where they've actively made it so that it COULD happen?

What's the general mood in here?

[CHIMO]

1. Probably

Won't happen.

I suppose that Arar thought the same thing. Or probably never had the thought enter his mind.

Then we will hear that if one doesn't have anything to be afraid about then we don't have to worry. Well all that junk talk left me with Mulroney "Trust me".

Don't have to think twice about it!

[Bragi]

2. I already avoid visiting the US

I have a family member there, so I go when needed for family occasions. If I have to go for business, I reluctantly do so. But I (and a lot of Canadians I know) have stopped making discretionary trips to the US in recent years.

In my case it has more to do with the repressive political climate and police state trappings in the US than actual fear of legal persecution, though anxiety about the loss of legal rights probably also plays a role.

In contrast, before the US became a repressive police state, my wife and I used to vacation in the US at least once a year, often several times a year.

Incidentally, most non-caucasian friends have completely stopped travelling to, or even through, the US. This includes a very senior bureaucrat of Middle East ancestry who will not travel anymore into the US because he has grown tired of playing the role of "suspicious potential terrorist" every time he travels in the US.

- B