Coppermantis wrote:
I've been to their snack bar. They told my class* that we could take anything we want, so I have a Fanta Orange and some Starburst wrappers on my bookshelf as mementos. /bragging

*A summer camp on Video Game design

Was this by any chance one of the summer workshops?

(I'm taking digital game design the next two weeks, mostly for the valve trip )

What happened to only censoring that one particular word?

vanSulli wrote:
What happened to only censoring that one particular word?

Last I checked that was the only thing on the censor

Unless omni has been busy again.

You know who you are. And hopefully you know not to tempt me too much.

p0rtalplayer wrote:

Coppermantis wrote:
I've been to their snack bar. They told my class* that we could take anything we want, so I have a Fanta Orange and some Starburst wrappers on my bookshelf as mementos. /bragging

*A summer camp on Video Game design>

Was this by any chance one of the summer workshops?

(I'm taking digital game design the next two weeks, mostly for the valve trip )

It was the ID Tech camp program, I was taking the Unreal level design course. I'm actually just about to leave for another such course (This time for programming though) so I'll be gone for a week. See you guys later.

if it weren't for being molested by the TSA.
and having a naked screening at the same time.

the whole of America is pretty much off of my visiting list.

Most people are just paraded through the metal detectors and whatnot.

vanSulli wrote:
I don't think its particularly likely they'd strip you naked or begin some kind of invasive search unless they thought you had something suspicious. Do you like to carry bombs? That might provoke some kind of strip-searching tendency in an agent.

Most people are just paraded through the metal detectors and whatnot.

With long lines where you have to take your shoes and hats and bags off

I haven't flown in more than 4 years...and I don't really intend to any time soon.

vanSulli wrote:
I don't think its particularly likely they'd strip you naked or begin some kind of invasive search unless they thought you had something suspicious. Do you like to carry bombs? That might provoke some kind of strip-searching tendency in an agent.

Most people are just paraded through the metal detectors and whatnot.

This is what is scanned daily from every detector. it's seen by a single person somewhere in some room, isolated.
This is why I shall never go to america until you lot sort your constant fear out. :T

we had train/car bombings a while back. was a terrorist attack. many dead.
and nary a shit was given the next week. we just pushed on through.
hell, the very next day, several people complained about trains not running!

sure, we respect the dead, and try to stop it happening. but americans seem to be gripped in uncontrollable fear, and the urge to be everywhere at once, and kill ALL the evil. gonna get america in even worse stuff.

Kizzycocoa wrote:

sure, we respect the dead, and try to stop it happening. but americans seem to be gripped in uncontrollable fear, and the urge to be everywhere at once, and kill ALL the evil. gonna get america in even worse stuff.

METAL DETECTORS, coming soon to a movie theatre near you.

Camera wrote:

Kizzycocoa wrote:

sure, we respect the dead, and try to stop it happening. but americans seem to be gripped in uncontrollable fear, and the urge to be everywhere at once, and kill ALL the evil. gonna get america in even worse stuff.>
METAL DETECTORS, coming soon to a movie theatre near you.

to my knowledge, these scanners are as mandatory as metal detectors.

Kizzycocoa wrote:

Camera wrote:

Kizzycocoa wrote:

sure, we respect the dead, and try to stop it happening. but americans seem to be gripped in uncontrollable fear, and the urge to be everywhere at once, and kill ALL the evil. gonna get america in even worse stuff.>>
METAL DETECTORS, coming soon to a movie theatre near you.>
to my knowledge, these scanners are as mandatory as metal detectors.

I can't dispute that, as again I haven't flown in many years. And I agree it's kind of over-the-top, doing it for every person.

...Wow. I just went to wikipedia to attempt to prove that America has had more terrorist attacks than England, but I was completely unable - there's just too many. They don't even keep them in the same article after 1970.

The problem here is - would you rather be effectively strip-searched, or take your chances that your plane will be blown out of the sky?

p0rtalplayer wrote:

I can't dispute that, as again I haven't flown in many years. And I agree it's kind of over-the-top, doing it for every person.

...Wow. I just went to wikipedia to attempt to prove that America has had more terrorist attacks than England, but I was completely unable - there's just too many. They don't even keep them in the same article after 1970.

The problem here is - would you rather be effectively strip-searched, or take your chances that your plane will be blown out of the sky?

Are you asking me whether I would rather be paranoid for the rest of my days because of an abysmally small chance of that happening, or if I'd rather enjoy my flight with the naive positive outlook that has helped me last thus far into my admittedly short existence?

I don't see what the problem with those images you posted are. They aren't revealing at all and don't give any indication of being able to be used for sexual or pornographic purposes; a grayscale picture that is only vaguely recognizable as human doesn't bother me much if any at all. Seriously: name one way that it violates you whatsoever. If I were you, I'd be more worried about keeping people from having cameras and the ability to draw, because its more likely that somebody might accidentally paint your likeness as a completely unrelated accident than somebody actually recognizing you in one of those pictures.

I agree with Sven, though... they're a bit much. The problem is, they work, and every so often, we catch people.

I feel, however, that there is a way (somewhere) that is more effective and will leave people's dignity and privacy in tact.

We also have a law that was passed under peoples noses saying that if you are expected of terrorism, officials take you straight to jail without a hearing or trial. It was never reported on the news, because I'm pretty sure that is controlled too.

And because of technology, the government can spy on you/us 24/7. They send drones up in the air to take videos of the ground, they tap into phone lines, and check IPs on your internet. There was also this thing I saw on the news that Ray Kelly (NYPD Chief officer) was happy that they were testing mini fly drones which send a live feed footage to the stations. These things act like they are in Star Wars, they flew around taking videos of people. Luckily, from the looks of it, it only could be controlled by a human on the ground. But I'm sure that will change. Your privacy is nothing against terrorism, and they got everyone thinking that. Hell, after 9/11, NYC now looks like China with officers in SWAT gear holding riffles on the street.

There is also a zillion other theories about this whole thing, and I'm sure some of it speaking out loud will send you to jail, but one thing is a fact; There is no such thing as privacy anymore or its very little. But the government is not all to blame, its the people who post their information on social media is what ruins it for everyone. Our government can freely use your information without going against any laws because you put it up there for everyone to see and use. And in their words, they are using that to keep you save.

reepblue wrote:
America is using this Terror scare to control people much like they did with the Russians during the cold war. It is mentioned everyday on the news, every transportation thing you ride on, you have people search you, and they keep saying the security is still too weak.

We also have a law that was passed under peoples noses saying that if you are expected of terrorism, officials take you straight to jail without a hearing or trial. It was never reported on the news, because I'm pretty sure that is controlled too.

And because of technology, the government can spy on you/us 24/7. They send drones up in the air to take videos of the ground, they tap into phone lines, and check IPs on your internet. There was also this thing I saw on the news that Ray Kelly (NYPD Chief officer) was happy that they were testing mini fly drones which send a live feed footage to the stations. These things act like they are in Star Wars, they flew around taking videos of people. Luckily, from the looks of it, it only could be controlled by a human on the ground. But I'm sure that will change. Your privacy is nothing against terrorism, and they got everyone thinking that.

Well, I'm not buying into the fear.

I refuse to look at the world as a black and white, good versus evil, right versus wrong game. Life is far too complex for that.

Additionally, to show how "patriotic" I am, I also believe that the Navy's new slogan A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD is the most subjective slogan I've ever heard.

It's not supposed to be a global force, and it simply implies that it's our (read: The United States) to be either the Global Police or the Janitor of Nations to clean up (and put our noses in) everyone's business.

If I didn't want to try to reform this country in the future I would probably save up all of the money I can and either go to Canada or Sweden.

vanSulli wrote:
Didn't mean to bring up such an argument; only to question why a few blurry unrecognizable pictures keep somebody from visiting another country.

I needed the mental workout.