So So

[kyburg]

I'm making this trip to Australia this fall.

So I'm checking links.

We're going to need a visa, I discover. And like a good kid, I check the US State Dept's website for any travel warnings, and for information on the country I'm visiting. They have some links recommended, so I check them out.

Look what a 'friend' of the United States has to say about the place.

Some highlights:

"Australians should only carry sufficient cash for their daily needs, secure their valuables against theft and avoid displays of wealth at all times. Photocopies of valuables such as passport, tickets, driving licence and travellers' cheques should be kept separately from the originals."

Yeah, we hate the rich. We target them for all kinds of evil.

"Travel and medical insurance is strongly recommended for all overseas travel. Medical costs in the United States are extremely high. Visiting a doctor in the United States for even simple complaints could cost several hundred dollars for the doctor's appointment, pathology tests and medication."

Yeah, that's what happens when you outsource paying for health care to for-profit insurance companies, instead of paying taxes into programs that assist in out of pocket expense. And of course, just paying for things outright. And making sure everyone else does, too.

I also love the notation about the United States being subject to tsunami. Uh, when did that happen? We actually discussed that possibility in CERT class - and decided the threat was only for about four blocks along the coast here in Manhattan Beach. Beat feet for a quarter to half a mile, with plenty of warning. But nobody could recall anytime when it actually happened.

Yeah, greatest country on Earth. Keep saying that George.

I just keep remembering the 150 reasons one hates gringos, grin and bear it.

And quietly, laugh myself senseless.

Comments

[sputnik.livejournal.com]

Not too bad, except that Detroit get's listed first for high crime! What are the chances anyone will even visit here. I think you're much more likely to be a victim in NY or New Orleans.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Tsunami1964Calif.html :)

[kali-ma.livejournal.com]

I think that unfortunately the avoiding displays of wealth bit may be right on. I've lived in two of the cities mentioned and have myself been the victim of armed robbery and attempted robbery in both places, without even looking like I had any money. What strikes me as odd in that is the idea that there may be a place where one DOESN'T have to behave that way. I get this whole string of images in my mind here - going into a bathroom stall to count my money so no one sees, my grandmother turning the stone on her engagement ring inward to avoid attracting attention to it, and the like. Is there a place where people don't live this way? Can I move there?
But as for the rest - yeah, someone should warn them.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Okay, that's the year Jim was born.

I hereby dub him, "Tsunami Jim."

He'll love it.

[mattblakk.livejournal.com]

The visa I needed for Australia was managed by the airlines and included in the cost of the ticket. An ETA, I believe it was called, and was good for a stay of up to three months.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

I'm such a cheapskate, I'll likely get the ETA on my own - but first, I need to verify my passport is still going to be good. I think it's good until 2006 - I think. Hmm.

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

There is a stretch of the pacific northwest that has a faultline similar to that in the Indian Ocean. It has generated tsunamis in the past.

I'd be more afraid of tornadoes, lightning and fire ants than anything else here in the US. Fire ants especially, since they're all over the South. But they're nothing compared to the critters in OZ. Apparently the ones of note are the nonpoisonous ones- everything is poisonous and/or deadly there.

[theswede.livejournal.com]

Here in France I am some ten times as worried about that stuff as in Sweden, so here I usually don't flaunt my SLR camera when walking through the ghetto, but hold it in my hand instead.

[theswede.livejournal.com]

I've never been to New Orleans, and I spent more time in Detroit than in NYC. Call me crazy!

[sputnik.livejournal.com]

Really.