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Tech Conferences Moving North as Trump Policies Turn Off Attendees (financialpost.com)
The Collision Conference, one of North America's most influential technology gatherings, tweeted on Tuesday: "We've got some news. It's about Toronto. But we'll let Justin Trudeau tell you about it." What followed was a video in which the prime minister announced that Collision, which typically boasts 25,000 attendees, will be coming to Canada in 2019. From a report: "I'm happy you chose Toronto to host North America's fastest growing tech conference for the next three years, but I have to say, I'm not completely surprised," Trudeau said. "Toronto is a key global tech hub and an example of the diversity that is our strength." And Collision is not alone in coming north. At least two other major technology conferences have recently made the decision to relocate to Canada, lured in part by Toronto's burgeoning tech sector, but also driven by travel restrictions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, policies that have left organizers scrambling to accommodate those who can't visit the United States.
In mid-April, Creative Commons, an international non-profit dedicated to the legal sharing of digital content, held their global summit in Toronto for the second year in a row. "The political climate in the U.S., specifically the open hostility from the current administration towards many international communities, and the anxiety from those we work with about how they might be treated was definitely a deciding factor," said Ryan Merkley, CEO of Creative Commons. "What's most unfortunate is that this approach is so inconsistent with the views of the many collaborative communities we work with every day in the U.S."
At Access Now, a non-profit that organizes the RightsCon digital rights conference, Trump's travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries hit close to home. "One of our interns at the time was an Iranian citizen with a U.S. green card, and she wasn't able to leave the country to go to Brussels to help us organize the (2017) event," RightsCon director Nick Dagostino said. For years, RightsCon has alternated between San Francisco and a series of global venues, and after last year's event in Brussels, heading back to California would have been the natural choice. But then, people started telling Access Now that if the event happened in the U.S., they wouldn't show up.
In mid-April, Creative Commons, an international non-profit dedicated to the legal sharing of digital content, held their global summit in Toronto for the second year in a row. "The political climate in the U.S., specifically the open hostility from the current administration towards many international communities, and the anxiety from those we work with about how they might be treated was definitely a deciding factor," said Ryan Merkley, CEO of Creative Commons. "What's most unfortunate is that this approach is so inconsistent with the views of the many collaborative communities we work with every day in the U.S."
At Access Now, a non-profit that organizes the RightsCon digital rights conference, Trump's travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries hit close to home. "One of our interns at the time was an Iranian citizen with a U.S. green card, and she wasn't able to leave the country to go to Brussels to help us organize the (2017) event," RightsCon director Nick Dagostino said. For years, RightsCon has alternated between San Francisco and a series of global venues, and after last year's event in Brussels, heading back to California would have been the natural choice. But then, people started telling Access Now that if the event happened in the U.S., they wouldn't show up.
It's not even Trump. Companies have been trying to convince people to move conventions out of the US since the Obama administration.
The bottom line is that the TSA and ICE makes attempting to attend anything in the US far too annoying to deal with. Not to mention that the weather in the majority of the US is, at best, inconvenient. More conventions should move to Canada.
But don't blame Trump. This is something that's been in the works for a long time, and it's not Trump's fault. It's the US's fault in general.
Are we going to get polar bear replant in grab bags? Also should we be concerned with crazy speed limits (e.g. 60 on a side streets)? Also, I don't speak French, so would I be able to book a hotel? Also, I heard they put mayo on everything and Canadian Bacon isn't real bacon.
I lived in the US (studied, then worked); I have good friends there; I have a Swiss passport, so no problem for me at all entering the US. But I have chosen not to go there anymore, for the past two years (that includes at least one technical conference per year).
Two reasons for me: #1) I don't feel safe anymore in a country that has such an unpredictable and authoritarian police force, and #2) I don't think it is ethical of me to condone the current US policies towards foreigners (of which I am one), even though I would personally (probably) would have not problems while visiting.
I would love to go back, but will not do it while these conditions last.
The single most important reason the conference is going to Toronto is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
That's not just counting your chickens before they're hatched; it's more like counting your chickens before they've evolved.
This is like peace in the Middle East. Every generation or so there's an outbreak of hope that inevitably founders on the fact that parties that need to participate depend on conflict for their political legitimacy. That's North Korea in a nutshell.
Now I wish Trump well in this; he may not be the person I'd want across the negotiating table from Xi Jinping, but Kim Jong Un... that's just crazy enough it might work... a little bit, for a while.
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These are not tech conferences. Two of those are activism conferences, and Collision is near-tech.
Being that the loonie is about $0.78 to the greenback.
Except Trumps rhetoric has accelerated it. The companies may had tried to move it out of the US. But for the most part people around the world wanted to Visit the Mighty United States, not the Luigi Second Player country Canada. So these companies stayed in the US. Trump with his anti-forger rhetoric has made the United States seem unwelcoming to these foreign visitors. Even if there isn't any additional policy, the rhetoric and tweeting from the guy in charge, make the United States unwelcoming.
Now Trump was technically elected by the populous so this means there are a lot of citizens with this belief, which will not help people make the decision to go to and invest in the US or not.
Is it 100% Trumps fault... No, but he is a reflection of America and its values on the whole. A lot of this stuff happened during Obama and Bush. Partially due to 9/11 fear, Middle eastern Wars, followed up by the Great Recession. So with 9/11 we have an enemy and we "know" how they look like. Then when the recession hit everyone is fighting for work, so having additional competition isn't welcomed.
The Recovery of the Recession (which I will blame on Obama) wasn't very spread out, they were clear winners and looser, So while the economy was gowing there was a population who couldn't be lifted off their butts, mainly due to policies that do not understand that demographic. Who has been suffering for much longer are more apt to stay angry and lash out with additional stupid.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Canada has the best 21-days summer of every country in the world.
#DeleteFacebook
Great ideas and people come from all over the world. You'd know that it you weren't a crypto-racist with associated blinders.
I mean seriously. how many people coming to these conferences are in the handful of countries on the travel ban? I cant imagine its that many. This is just virtue signaling at its finest.
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
and yet, the ban doesn't cover any of the 4 countries where the 9-11 attackers came from (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Lebanon and Egypt). Nor does it cover the countries producing more recent terrorists (Afghanistan & Pakistan). It only seems to cover what the president would call "shithole" countries. But no, you must be right, it's all about terrorism.
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
Spoken like someone who has never lived in Canada...so let me enlighten you. When you enter Canada:
(1) You are not greeted with somber armed guards giving you stern looks and barking monosyllable words.
(2) You are not fingerprinted, photographed, or otherwise put through a "mild" police arrest process
(3) People actually don't care what color your skin is or which country you came from. All they care about is who you are and what you do. For proof, check out the Canadian Defense Minister and try to imagine how much uproar you'd get in US if the Secretary of Defense looked like him.
(4) Above all, observe how much more civilized the society is over there.
So why is it a surprise that modern conferences would feel more at home there than in the US?
PS For visceral contrast between the two countries, watch the video of the police take down of the suspect who had just rammed down two dozen people on the sidewalk: [Youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOW05IVejNE
Did you see any paramilitary police force in the video? Did you hear Canada raising the terror alert or people calling for banning whatever ethnicity that moron was from? Did you even hear his name or ethnicity while the crap was going down during the day?
Now imagine the same incident happening in the US. Heck imagine holding a cell phone in your grandparents backyard while your back is to the cops...oh wait, you don't have to imagine that last one; it actually happened.
The fact is that people almost all muslim countries on earth can travel to the USA. The ban is on a handful of countries that are rife with radical terrorists. If we were banning muslim countries we'd have banned the other 43 countries. idiots
The real idiocy here is that the much lauded Trump Muslim-ban is not on Lebanon, Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia whose citizens actually conducted and financed the 911 attacks. Iran? It is actually fun to watch Trump supporters try and explain that one away, it's like watching a severely constipated person holding their breath and pushing really hard while seriously contemplating digging it out with a stick.
Kind of funny punishing one of the states most vocal against President Trump.
It isn't like there is a different set of federal customs and border control agencies for california.
And calling it punishment is supremely narcissistic. Its not punishing anyone to spend your money where you feel most appreciated.
Perhaps that is true. However, there is also the issue that visas in general are harder to get even if you're not on the travel ban. I am an American, living in France and I know that some of my colleagues do not want to travel to the US (for business or pleasure) due to the hassle. This has to be reducing the number of people who want to visit for any reason. This type of feedback probably gets back to the people who run conferences and may have an effect on where they choose to hold them.
I know from personal my own travels that entering the US (even as an American) is a worse experience than entering France. The American border control just seems hostile - the way they question people, etc. I always feel unwelcome when returning despite their big signs saying "Welcome to the US". When entering France they just glance at the passport, stamp it and let you through (I'm sure they already pre-screened me somehow). Note that the hostility also exists when entering the UK- perhaps it is a general Anglo-Saxon problem.
This day in Slashdot history : US Losing its Scientific Dominance Posted by CowboyNeal on Monday May 03, 2004.
So as much as I hate Trump, this is not something new. He is just the one that sees that the bucket is filled faster and wil be the one that causes it to overflow.
But do not kid yourself. This is not a Trump problem, this is an American problem that is caused by both the right and right of right bi-party system.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
It's not really punishment, it's looking out for the safety of the attendees.
Crossing the US border is dangerous. You have few rights and your possessions can be searched or confiscated. You can detained for long periods of time without warning. Plus, the travel ban affects a lot of people who might want to attend, and it's hard to predict what the situation might be by the time the conference actually happens.
If they don't move they will lose out to conferences in other places.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
The Electoral College BTFO'd that sentiment. Just as they did about 5 more times in American history when the popular vote didn't favour the same candidate for President.
This is a rare decision for the Electoral College, but it's still normal for the United States government so far as I can tell. That's why all this kicking and screaming about Trump is annoying. Like no President has been caught doing potentially criminally bad things before, like no President was a divisive character before, that no President made stupid mistakes either in the past or during the presidency itself?
Work with the asshole instead of against them if you can't find solid evidence for impeaching, because otherwise you're only stalling the progress of *your own country* by fighting them every step of the way instead. It's a waste of time and taxpayer money if you're fighting about anything but how the country should move forward and progress.
Are these politicians so privileged that they've never had to work for a boss they hated?
Since Bush. This all started with 9/11.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
You can't discuss anything political these days without feeding a few trolls.
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"Muslim" isn't a race any more than "Catholic" or "American", you numpty fucking cunt.
There is no such thing as race within the homo-sapien species. Racism has never been exclusively biological and has often if not primarily had cultural origins. The more we assume that race is limited to skin color, the less we understand about contemporary racism faced by Muslims at home and abroad.
Perhaps you also believe antisemitism is not racism either, or are you simply inconsistent in your beliefs on racism and race in general?
-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
No causality is proven by any of that. How big a surprise is it that black people vote Democrat (to pick the easiest example)? None of the rest is any better thought-through, but I don't feel like responding to all that BS.
It's kinda funny that Trudeau cites "diversity" as their strength. Canada has a higher percentage of white folks per capita than the US, or at least has historically.
http://worthwhile.typepad.com/...
Their largest non-white demographic, unlike the US, is Asian. To some groups like BLM, that doesn't really even count.
Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
If you have to call it an "education system" something is wrong. There is no attack on education...people are just leaving the system.
I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
It looks like it's hard to visit Iran from several countries (US, UK, Isreal) unless in a group or approved business as well.
And "Admission is refused to women not wearing Islamic head cover, scarf, long sleeves and stockings."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
It's funny how so many countries that have so many restrictions in their own countries still feel able to judge the US for having a fraction of the restrictions.
Don't underestimate how tough and smart someone like Xi or Putin has to be to get where he was, just because his values are alien. These men are not the scion of the hereditary ruling dynasty, they're the end result of merciless political natural selection. You can beat them, but not through intimidation or bullshitting them into submission.
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Oh well, then. I guess the easiest solution is to hold conferences in Canada. Thanks for the insight.
"The ban is on countries that are currently exporting terrorism."
So Saudi Arabia, where most of the 9/11 terrorists came from is no longer exporting terrorism?
http://www.washingtoninstitute...
Here's an article from a couple years ago, but over a decade after 9/11 recommending that Washington work with Saudi to (and i quote) "diminish support for terrorism". Al queda is viewed as favorable / somewhat favorable by as much as 20% of the population there.
I'm guessing you haven't actually come back into the US in a while. It *is* dangerous. My wife and I came back from a lunch in Ontario's Fort Erie, and the Border Patrol person didn't hear what my wife, in the passenger seat, said in reply to one of his questions. I repeated what she said - for his benefit - and he jumped all over us, threatening us with federal prison for lying to a federal agent. I just repeated her answer - that's it. These fuck-tards can have your ass thrown in jail for the most trivial of things, in addition to what the OP said. That just about makes it a form of Russian Roulette. I consider that dangerous - to the point where if I don't have to come back into MY OWN COUNTRY, I'll take a pass on it.
That is not how it looks from the outside, dude.
I am from an allied country i Europe, and would definitely get a visa, but all else being equal I would actively choose conferences not in the US. And I know my hesitance is widespread, and lately increasing.
It comes down to a lot of compounding factors, many of them predating Trump, but his words and actions sure haven't helped.
The major peeve is the sheer hassle of the TSA and of getting a visa. Both have been ludicrous since 9/11, but the visa process has gotten even worse lately.
Then there is the fear of running into undeserved trouble when crossing. There are lots of stories circulating about crazy delays, returns, confiscations, computer/phone searches, and even holding cells.
All this generates a general distaste to the whole hostile image that the US border projects in later years. The travel bans and the way Trump talks about other countries have sharply heightened that impression, even to us who are not directly affected, to the point where, if you have a free choice, the natural reaction for many is simply:
"These guys are nuts. Fine, if they don' want me there, fuck them, I'll go somewhere nice in stead".
sudo ergo sum
Give it a break kiddies. Trump won. Fair and square. Get the fuck over it.
FWIW I've visited the U.S.A. twice during the Trump administration. In both cases U.S. officials confirmed my identity and citizenship through my passport, confirmed that I was legit in their computer, asked me a couple of questions about my planned activities in the U.S., "Have a good trip!", off I went.
The Customs dude at Blaine, Washington asked "Idaho? I thought everybody was going to Oregon for that?" when I went to see the eclipse last August. Is this the sort of customs/border/immigration nightmare people are talking about?
...laura
Look:
* We used to like visiting America
* The reasons for wanting to go are still there
* You changed some things that made the process of actually getting there a lot less appealing
* This has consequences for businesses that want to attract foreign visitors
* Someone had the gall to point this out to you
Deal with it.
sudo ergo sum