Slashdot Mirror
Bill Gates Denied Visa To Nigeria
Xight notes a Gizmodo story that is a few days old but hasn't gotten a lot of play. It seems that Nigeria recently denied Bill Gates a visa to travel there on his recent trip to Africa. The initial denial was "on the premise that they required proof he would not reside in Nigeria indefinitely, causing a strain on social services and a general nuisance for immigration." The comments to the post are worth reading too.
Wow I miss read that one...
I read it as "Bill Gates Denies Vista for Nigeria"
They would be very lucky if that was the case
"Bill Gates denied Vista to Nigeria"
For a moment I wondered if Microsoft was trying to do something about 419 scams.
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
...is if he plans to give away Vista CDs.
I know he's rich, but does he really have the power to deny credit cards to entire countries?
Bill Gates my Dear,
we are deeply grateful sorry to not be approval of your visa into the country of Nigeria. The reasons for not doing so are abundant in nature. Please to rectify the following dear concerns we have:
1) ur dick is 2 small. This pleases no Nigerian woman and is offensive toward the women. You think having average sized cock is OK? Regards, no.
2) we believe for you want to reside in Nigeria indefinitely, causing a strain on social services and a general nuisance for immigration. If this is not your meaningful wish, offer to us a letter in explanation.
3) You aren't really want to come to Nigeria, no? Tell us who you, in reality, are in person.
Nigerian customs will make you a real man!
Very Regards,
Nigerian Immigration.
If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
Hello, My Name is Bill Gates. Due to a recent administrative difficulty with the government of Nigeria, I himbly beseach your assistance in helping to move my $40,000,000,000 ass there. I will be so kind as to deposit a portion of this money in the account of your specification. Your assistance in this matter great isly apreciated, your servant, Bill Gates.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
who could possibly want to stay in nigeria indefinitely?
This kind of language is what [African] applicants for US visas face when denied US visas at the many US visa posts across the continent. I guess it cuts both ways.
"Bill Gates" isn't exactly an unusual name, and if he didn't submit the right paperwork, of course it gets denied; even if you're an evil, monopolistic overlord billionaire, you still have to prove your identity and your financial status. It's either that, or use the backdoors in Windows to approve the paperwork himself, which I guess amounts to the same thing.
(I suspect that his notoriety is kind of a nuisance for other people with that name, who probably have to deal with "stop clowning around, what's your real name" a lot. It's probably kind of nice that Nigeria treats the name as just a name).
On the other hand, maybe they just correctly reasoned through that Gates was retiring in 2008, that Windows is having problems, and that his company definitely is being an economic nuisance to Nigeria already.
Someone was just looking for a bribe, that's all.
Nigerian economy is in a crapper.
What in the world? Okay, this is just plain weird. First that they would deny Bill Gates a visa, I mean, unlike what many /.er's seem to think he's not exactly an evil guy or anything, it's not like he tortures puppies for fun or something. Second what kind of lame excuse is that they offered? I highly doubt Bill has any plans to move permanently to Nigeria (no offense to Nigeria but it's not quite the same as the US in terms of high end services) and that he would be a burden on social services is absurd, he's one of the richest people in the world, how could he strain social services?
This is by far one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen...
There are two kinds of fool One says 'This is old therefore good' Another says 'This is new therefore better'- Dean Ing
As an American who actually worked in Nigeria for awhile a few years ago, I can tell you what the problem may have very well been; he probably didn't give the proper cash "donations" to the right people.
I actually had some problems with getting in myself that my employer had specifically prepared me to deal with, giving me a supply of local cash and instructions to use it liberally to ease my travel process. 500 Naira in the right hands turned the officials from meddlesome and probing to very welcoming in record time.
The BBC is now reporting that Bill Gates has purchased the entire country of Nigeria. According to insider sources massive restructuring will occur in order to bring the property back into profitability. Layoffs are expected.
Maybe they suspect he is actually looking for assistance in retrieving his significant fortune from the security company, where it is guarded by a mad chair-throwing bald man.
I suffer from attention surplus disorder.
They just had to make sure Ballmer wasn't coming along- there is a chair shortage there.
It also gave them time to gather the hardcopies of their latest 419 scam^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hbusiness proposal for him to peruse.
All the nefarious world LOVES Bill and his sterling OS- once they found out that he wasn't denying Vista (as others have already joked about), the red carpet us rolled out: "Welcome MS!!! May our SPAM and phishes be your SPAM and phishes!!! BTW, got any spare botnets with you? Help us out, bro!"
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
A friend of a friend (OK, so this is probably just a joke...) is entering Australia for an extended work contract, and the immigration official asks him if he has ever been convicted of a crime in his country of origin. He replied, "I didn't realize that was still a requirement for entry."
If it's not a true story, it should be.
HexaByte - he's a square and a half!
Or should that be Google Cash?
Anyhow, here's the Google Cache.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
You are creating a visa. Cancel/Allow.
Most citizens of Africa and indeed, any "developing" country, have very difficult times obtaining US visas. The presumption of US visa officers is that you are an intending immigrant unless you show otherwise, ie, guilty unless proven innocent. Even if one provides paperwork like financial statements, etc, they are often thought to be forged, even if not. It all boils down to a quick interview of a couple of minutes at most where the officer has to review all documents and make a snap decision.
I guess Nigeria just wanted to give the US a taste of its own medicine.
-- Samir Gupta, Ph. D. Head, New Technology Research Group, Nintendo Co. Ltd., Kyoto, Japan.
Was Nigeria using signed ints to indicate an applicant's financial status? I could see Bill's balance causing an overflow and appearing in the negatives leading to misinterpretation...
-- Samir Gupta, Ph. D. Head, New Technology Research Group, Nintendo Co. Ltd., Kyoto, Japan.
Tongue in cheek, there, bud, this isn't going to make me lose sleep. If I needed acceptance from Slashdot, I'd probably wait and get loaded *after* coming here to post.
Hopefully I'll passing out soon, but not before I hit submit.
If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
It's not just visa officers: U.S. immigration law assumes that all who set foot on U.S. soil seeking admission to the country are intending immigrants, until proven otherwise.
Visa requirements are very much a tit-for-tat affair. If people from Country A need a visa to visit Country B, Country A will insist on a visa for visitors from Country B.
...laura who need a visa for Turkey last year, because Turks need a visa to visit Canada
Yeah, I tend to get grilled heading across the border. The US border guards seem to think my plan is to sneak in, and live in the US permanently.
Seriously. Dude. I'm already a citizen of CANADA. Don't flatter yourselves.
(note for the humour-impaired: I actually did consider the move before 9/11 - but today?? It's hard not to laugh at the border when they accuse me of this.)
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
Proprietary software will attack their IT infrastructure and soak away profit in the form of opportunity costs, computer security costs, saturated network bandwidth due to compromised systems and bot networks,
and attack carer mobility, self sufficiency, R&D, learning capacity, and growth ability of the people who work with the proprietary infrastructure.
Seriously, there is a reason why billion dollar data centers from google, to amazon.com, to wall street are using Linux and open source software in their data centers up and down the chain.
...lobbyists in Nigeria demanding more H1B visa workers.
Table-ized A.I.
Nerds can't be objective. One of the key defining characteristics is that they think they know everything, and along with that comes the need to spread the good word.
Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
...email from the Nigerian King who had banking paper-work problems. It also helps the friendship if you buy a little Viagra from him.
Table-ized A.I.
...they never got the millions of dollars they expected after forwarding all those messages about Bill Gates sharing his fortune.
Did I say overlords? I meant protectors.
How would you expect the Nigerian government know whether or not Gates wants to live in Nigeria or not? Maybe he actually is trying to illegaly immigrate there...
From: billgates@microsoft.com
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1106
X-Mimeole: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1106
Date: Fri, 05 Oct 2007 16:11:04 +0000
Dear friend,
This letter might come to you as a surprise as we have not met
before,but I believe that you would be compelled to help me after
going through the contents of this letter.
My name is William Henry Gates III, borned October 28, 1955. I am a
American entrepreneur, philantropist and chairman of Microsoft,
a american software companny.
Basically, I was involved in maintaining my statusquo as the richest
man in the world until August (2007), when a Mexican bilionaire called
Carlos Slim surpassed my wealthy in (1) billion american
dolars. He (Carlos Slim) did not stop at that; he also went on to
afirm that his monopoly would be larger than mine.
As at this momemt, I have grudgingly gone to Nigeria, in disguise, to
undertake seizure of a hiden part of my fortune, totalling an extra USD
$28,750,000,000 (twenty eight billion, seven hundred and fifty million
United State Dolars) that I obtained from several russian organizations
for facilitating scams, trojans and keyloggers business in Windows(tm)
systems. However, since I must fake otherwise, I can only
unlock the money in the local branch of my bank in Abuja, but I cannot
take the money back with me.
Hopefully, however, I can use the services of a Diplomatic Courier to move
this money (registered as official docments) out of Nigeria to America.
All you need to do is to claim this money from the Courier Company. You will
be required to contact the Courier Company that moved this money (oficial
documents) out of Nigeria to America. All neccesaries which can facilitate
andn enable you claim the money on my behalf will be forwarded to you as
soon as your consent to procced is received.
For your assistance, you will be entitled to 20% of the total sum. This is
over US $5,000,000,000 (five billion United State Dolars) for you, my friend.
Can you help me? Are you trustworthy? Can you handle this money? Are
you capable of handling this money? If so, please contact me.
I will send instructions on how you must make a (symbolic) small initial
deposit by Western Union or MoneyGram (at your personal choice) to the Courier
company which will be promptly returned to you, just to prove that you have
a working bank account that can receive the aforementioned large sum of money.
Please send me your account details and address so that we can make this
whole transaction as quick as possible.
Your sincerely,
Mr. William Henry Gates (the third)
They're afraid that if they let him work in their country, he'll take jobs away from other billionaires.
Table-ized A.I.
Give visa to Bill Gates? Cancel or Allow?
You can't take a dump in Nigeria without slipping a twenty to some joker. Nigeria is so thoroughly corrupt that they make a Bush-Cheney fundraiser look like a candy bar sale for your local high school chorus.
I scream. You scream. I assume that means we're both acquainted with the problem. We proceed.
OS Software is like love: The best way to make it grow is to give it away.
Take it easy
http://michaelsmith.id.au
...if you were planning on expanding an African-named Linux distro on the African continent. Ubuntu comes to mind. But Ubuntu could become a total non-starter in Africa due to the efforts of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
So maybe the Nigerians were just trying to nip that IT monoculture in the bud.
I'm in banking, used to work for the Professional Services division of one of the ratings agencies, and at that firm I was the only person willing to travel to Nigeria.
Even considering the people living there are doing the best they can with what they got - I have a lot of respect for the dignity of the ordinary Nigerians just getting on with life - it's a pretty crappy place.
My last two visits there THE POLICE tried to rob me, each time. And ordinary crime is far more pervasive and violent. Recently I read about an armed gang that raided a hotel lobby, fully knowing there would be business visitors checking in & out, with luggage, expensive laptops, mobile phones, cash and passports.
South and East of Lagos in the Niger Delta region, Europeans and Americans must travel with very heavy security, as abductions for ransom are appallingly common, to the point where we were issued cards with instructions for how our abductors could arrange payment. They aren't going to harm you, for many of the gangs operating there it's just a business! Killing is bad business. Returning live hostages yields cash.
Finally, there is a large North / South - Christian / Muslim divide, lots of tension that often erupts into violence.
If Bill Gates was really denied a visa to visit Nigeria, this was more than likely based on fears for his safety and how embarrassing it would be for Nigeria should one of the world's richest men be held for a Software Magnates ransom.
PS - While Africa's most populous country is hardly peaceful and not at all safe, I found it a strangely beautiful and compelling place.
A message from our sponsor
Introspection.
Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
No, not really. Finally someone actually enforces their laws. Bill should get no more special treatment over anyone else.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Speak for yourself, one of my ancestors was a document forger sent over on the first shipment, and I am damn proud to be descended from them (can you say, early software pirate) :P
...
Hehe, back-moderated some of your posts up informative and insightful ^_^
Keep making us laugh please.
...
Sorry about him, i think we just got internet access in our asylums or something.
This is a joke. I am joking. Joke joke joke.
What do you want to search for?
[>] Pictures, Music or Video
[>] Documents (Word processing, spreadsheet etc.)
[>] All files and folders
[>] Computers or people
[>] Ways you can torture me
You may also want to...
[O] Infect your system via IE
[/] Mess with sensitive system settings
[?] Continue with my annoying rant
\|
.o"b
.//\_
I went throught exactly the same thing when I went to Switzerland to study there for a year when I was a teen. They denied me a visa because they were afraid I'd stay there indefinitely. What I did was just stay there for two months at a time, then visit Germany for a few days to reset my turist-visa and come back. Every two weeks or so the immigration office would call my grandparents place (I was staying with them, they've been living there for like 30 years or something) and ask if we had any illegal aliens living in our house. They apparently still harrass my grandparents from time to time, even though both have changed their nationality to Swiss..
I kind of understand why this kind of thing would be a problem for a country like Switzerland, where in Zürich alone 20% of the population is of foreign descent, but how much of an incoming immigration problem does Nigeria really have?
Nigeria has social services?????
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
In Soviet Russia
Joke fuck-up YOU!
Are you a real Aussie? Never seen one get so touchy over bullshit before...
And our history with respect to indigenous Australians is not something to be proud of. Th sooner we scrap the colonial blemish from the corner of our flag the happier I'll be.
Software patents delenda est.
Hmm. Mistreating Australian aborigines carried on with a vengeance long after colonial rule was abandoned. And for all that things have got better for aboriginal Aussies in recent years, there's still a lot of mistreatment going on. And I know it's not a simple situation and I know there's no easy solution (the bottom line is that abo culture doesn't fit in with the `modern Western culture' of `white' Australia - just sort something out, eh?) - but you can't blame us Brits for it all, you know. Only /some/ of it. Anyway, you need us for someone to beat at sport.
I got the same treatment the first time I went to Canada, I'm British through and through and couldn't for the life of me understand why they'd wonder such a thing, it turned out it's because they felt I had too much money in my account (a question they asked at the beginning of their 3 hour interrogation of me) to be merely there for a holiday!
;)
I do wonder if that was simply bullshit however, and they realised after holding me for about an hour that they'd stuffed up royally and just needed an excuse. Still my experience is it doesn't matter the country, immigration and customs officials are complete and utter cocks whatever country they're from it simply doesn't matter, they all like power tripping and it wouldn't suprise me if this case with Bill Gates was just that - an immigration official wanting to make himself feel like he was actually worth something to the world by denying someone famous.
About the only country I haven't experienced asshole immigration officials was Norway but that's probably because there weren't any, when we landed in Narvik they literally let us straight off the plane into Norway without a single passport or customs check, I guess they figure that if we'd been allowed on the plane by strict British security then we can't be too dangerous to let off at their end, particularly when Narvik is the arse end of nowhere, inside the arctic circle and only got 2 hours of light a day at that time of year
My "heritage" does not include any criminal transportees. Though if it did, I would not be bothered. I'm a 5th-generation Australian. You have to be at least 8th to have that distinction. This is a racist joke, though I know we white people aren't allowed to take offence at such. And I wouldn't mind if it wasn't dragged out here every fucking time Australia was mentioned, and modded up +5 funny. Repeat a putdown often enough and it becomes abuse.
I can imagine now Balmer, Linus and Larry Ellison are going to work on another way to get rid of Gates... would have so convenient to get him kidnapped in Nigeria and then pay the kidnappers NOT to return him...
;) and Larry becomes the richest computer tycoon rather than playing leap frog with Gates...
Balmer gets Microsoft, Linux gets Balmer at MS
--- Users are like bacteria -> Each one causing a thousand tiny crises until the host finally gives up and dies.
"Bill Gates denied Vista To Nigeria"? My first thoughts were, why does Nigeria get so lucky and we don't? Must be someone offering him billions of dollars from a long lost relative.
Well Nigeria, I guess you don't get any money then.
*plays the Apogee theme song music*
"No matter how lavishly overpaid, civil servants everywhere are convinced that they are horribly underpaid - but all public employees have larceny in their hearts or they wouldn't be feeding at the public through. These two facts are all you need - but be careful! - a public employee, having no self-respect, needs and demands a show of public respect." ("Friday", 1982)
If you have to pay, it must be the right amount, given in the right way. Corruption has its own protocol, which varies from place to place. I don't know, but in this case it could even be that Bill offered too much, too openly.
"...a loudmouth frat boy type living off his father's name." Hey, tell him he could be President of the U.S.
Bill Gates should deserve the same treatment (in terms of what is asked) as any other mortal. This "do you know who are you speaking to?" attitude just plainly sucks, and bowing to it is the mark of corrupt governments. If he couldn't produce have the necessary documents to prove his economic stability (maybe his accountant's excel is broken), then he'd have bigger problems. As it turns out, he DID have the said documents, so what we have here is a non-story.
Why would Nigeria not want somebody who is worth 30% of their GNP living there? He'd be like their own personal gold mine. They could form an entire industry around just trying to separate him from his money. It could employ a million people and still be economically viable...
So? What the fuck are you trying to do, appeal to some sort of conscience? If you don't like it, GTFO.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Take a look at how everything is modded for this story, which is nothing more than a repeat from another site. Really this story is of no value here. It's nice that gizmodo covered it first though.
*sigh*
It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
I think he was misquoted. He was really referring to Bill Gates' Windows putting a "strain on social services and a general nuisance for immigration." Apparently Gates had a suitcase full of copies of Vista he was going to give away.
Heck yes. They can't get enough of cuckoo clocks, lederhosen and yodelling.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I'm an only child. Wait. You meant the prime minister of Australia. Damn it all.
...he didn't buy Nigeria and fire them.
rj
Perhaps he should just buy the country and evict everyone...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
It seems to me that there is a trend these days for the wealthy and the famous to either adopt or invest in Africa. I wonder what is really behind the trend? Is the continent of Africa going to be a new powerhouse of economic growth? The only time is seems countries were ever interested in this continent which IS the cradle of mankind was to steal millions of human beings(most didn't survive the middle passage)and subject them to slavery.
What do financial forecasters see in Africa? Can it be made into an agricultural, oil, and technological power(s)? Is it considered a new(but old) frontier for corporate greed? Will it be safe from the approaching global nuclear war for rich people,LOL!? What gives? I implore anybody who does end up reading this to seriously think about it? Don't get trapped in silly comments mode or stupid racist remarks which tells all that you have a small mind aswell as ****. To put it shortly, respond with intelligent comments only. Is Africa a new opportunity?
I had heard it was chic these days to be a descendant of one of the prisoners. I don't see why it would upset someone, its very interesting if you ask me.
And look good doing it too.
Nothing is inexplicable; only unexplained -Tom Baker, Doctor Who
Title of article says : B. Gates denied visa to Nigeria..
The contents it completely different... It says B. Gates was INITIALLY denied the visa (apparently because he didn't file the appropriate paperwork).. Come on.. Bill Gates is NOT a Gvt official, he doesn't have diplomatic privilege, so he is to submit to the visiting country's immigration laws like any other private citizen visiting..
The article says that basically, the required paperwork was finally filled and he did get his visa alright - since it sure wasn't hard to prove he had sufficient financial backing - and on that basis, he could probably apply for a permanent resident visa if he were to ask for one.
Granted, some guy at the Nigerian embassy must've had a fit filling in the visa denial form (or maybe he didn't know who Bill Gates is - or maybe he couldn't assert it was THAT Bill Gates)..
--Ivan
[Pruneau
It's 'a visum'. 'Visa' is plural.
Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
Why do we need visas in the first place? I don't see anything good coming out of them, just like customs.
EU citizens need a permit - it takes 200 pages of forms plus waiting for ever to get - even to do a temporary contract assignement there. Swiss, however, are free to just walk into France (where I had the misfortune to encounter them) or wherever.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Most of us are descended from the best and brightest who escaped the shitty hell of other nations...
That's nothing. Most of us Europeans are descended from Brutus of Troy, Jesus's child with Mary Magdalene, Charlemagne, and the lost tribe of Israel.
I think I remember hearing that Australia was the one who blocked the racial equality clause in the League of Nations document.
Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
*Doesn't RTFA, or RTFS -- standard :P*
Ahaaa.. so Bill Gates denied to give his credit card details to the Nigerians. And this is a story, how? This story would have been better if he actually did give them his credit card details
Wow if you read that as "viagra" what the hell did you write in your essay?
Give me their names and I'll go point the bone at them... Jackie Jackie will know where they live.
Semi-automatic amateur armchair Australian philosopher; conjecture ready at any moment...
It's offensive because the intent is to denigrate. There is a sneer behind it. So I respond in like manner.
The British tried to exterminate the aborigines. Australians just treated them badly, which is bad but not quite as bad as systematic genocide.
:)
Beating you at sport would be that much more satisfying if our flag didn't contain your flag. It's like we're 3/4 cheering for us, 1/4 for you. Yet we still win most of the time.
Software patents delenda est.
This is a racist joke
"Australian" is not a race.
neither are Black, Jews, Caucasian, etc
And this is relevant how? Are you just looking for things to attack Australia with? If so, please advise your nationality and I'll look up some things your country did a century ago that it should be ashamed of.
You got mine, but you missed his. His was more informative.
By the way: we both missed the drug traffic. I'm not going to make a mountain out of a molehill (?), but it's at least a factor.
Assume I was drunk when I posted this.
Uh, dude, how many Americans "escaped the shitty hell" of the United States to become citizens of Australia? I'd guess very few did.
My fiance's great-grandfather and his two friends wanted to escape the War to the USA. For some reason he had to initially stay behind so they got separated. Since he couldn't read English (he was Finnish) he ended up on a boat to Australia. He did very well here: his friends weren't doing so well in America so he got them both over and they ended up moving to Australia too!
(FWIW on the other side of her family the male-line came over on the First Fleet in 1788 - the man was an officer who married a convict woman. My own family tree hasn't been compiled but all my grandparents and almost all of my great-grandparents were born in Australia, AFAIK)
--
no sig for you. come back one year.
Nigeria has ~140 million people, more than any other country in Africa, more than any country in Europe except Russia (and just barely), more than any country in the Western Hemisphere except USA and Brazil.
-- "I never gave these stories much credence." - HAL 9000
Mr. Gates was probably wanting to visit so that he could collect a large sum of money that he learned about in an email. There's so much money there that there are people just dying to smuggle money out of country.
Inventor, Artist http://www.Rubber-Power.com
Perhaps you can help Billy with his visa then?
At least he didn't mutter "Whaddya need?"
--- The American Way of Life is not a birthright. Hell, it's not even sustainable.
Americans spend time thinking about Australians?
;-)
Seriously,
Chocolate, banks and mountains.
Not much else to think about
What he says is simply not true.
I've never worked for any government agency, but the course of some of my jobs, I have got to know quite a few people who do, mainly in public health, environmental protection, and scientific research. There is a high rate of idealism among these people. Most ofthem chose a government career because they saw it as a way to serve society. They are aware that they could be making more money in the private sector, and like anybody else they'd like to make more, but most I know do not see themselves as underpaid because they consider it an honor to do their job. Thy do expect a good benefit package, and generous leave, but under the circumstances it is not so unreasonable.
It's not that I haven't seen corruption in action -- I have. But it's foolish to make such a blanket statement -- or in some cases it goes beyond foolishness to self-serving propaganda.
There are two places where you see corruption. The first is in states where public service where the most people have bought into the idea that government work is a shameful occupation. This is a self-reinforcing attitude, because it discourages people of character from doing public service.
The second you see everywhere, right out in the open: corruption at the political level. People pay lobbyists for results, not access, although why anybody thinks peddling access is acceptible is beyond me. By acting as if it's not corrupt, they get away with it. Not that it impedes them much, but people invovled in this system don't like the idea of a civil service that operates by explicit laws, regulations and rules. They'd rather cut the "bureaucracy", but put more power in the hands of political appointees they control.
This whole anti-government thing, when its directed against government workers, is just self-serving propaganda. It may be that government should do less than it does, but big, intrusive government is not the fault of employees. Places with corrupt employees have corrupt employees because that suits the purposes of the politicians.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I find it amusing that you are telling someone off for being a grammar nazi when you yourself are trolling by cursing at another poster. If nothing else, you could have used milder language.
Bill has enough money to buy Nigeria, however it would be a bad investment.
Actually Boba was the accelerated growth in a petri dish. Jango was the source of the DNA.
Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
Some guys were talking about racism and Australia. Also, I'm from Sealand, which didn't exist 100 years ago! :P
(but seriously, remember the Maine? Yeah, I'm from the country that fell for that 100 years ago.)
Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
Right. So because the Australian government had racist policies a century ago, it's all right to abuse their great-great grandchildren. It's only fair.
And in America at that time, the Ku Klux Klan was in full flight.
As for Australia not signing a race equality clause in 1919; it's not nice, but at least they weren't being hypocrites. It was proposed by Japan, one of the most racist countries in the world then and now, because they wanted to be considered "white". They went on to enslave half of Asia and treat them like animals. Ask resident Koreans about racial equality in Japan. As for the treaty, the US would have felt obliged to sign it, but would still have excluded most blacks from the right to vote for 50 years. The US seems to think international treaties are useful to make foreigners fall into line, but presumptuous for other nations to enforce on the US.
Enforcing Nigerian Laws? That must be a joke! This country is full of self-contradictory laws fostering legal plunder. Why do you think this country is so poor? Bad Laws! (Bad Government & Bad Bureaucracy)
This story is just showing how stupid is bureaucracy. Government bureaucracy itself is just a gigantic scam, under the pretext to "protect" or "improve" the country. Nothing good for the residents of country has ever been accomplished by bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is vital however for the government and the politicians, as a tool for control and power, and often as a means to plunder money. To the eyes of the bureaucrat, the individuals, whatever they are citizens or immigrants, exists solely to serve and obey them. Once a while, the parasitic bureaucrat need to test its power by asking ridiculous requests or humiliating people to show how mighthy he is. "If you don't obey me, you go to jail. I am your GOD today!"
If you think US-Auz relationships are a little strained after reading this, try visiting as a Brit!
:|
.. but Christ, the Barrier Reef is beautiful!
I was over for a month last year - fantastic time, most people really friendly, beautiful country (culturally felt like a cross between UK and US, plus the famous laid-back humour).
However, we ran into one bloke in Sydney that launched a tirade about the "f-ing Poms" thinking they ruled the world, that they still owned Auz, etc. Was a real shock: I'd also thought the sport-related Pom jokes and vice-versa were lighthearted, but this got us wondering.
Still heartily recommend visiting: Sydney is polished, stunning and lively. Melbourne is more bohemian, lots to explore in the surrounding area (e.g., Hanging Rock). Cairns was ugly as hell, horribly humid