It will be hard to get enough unbiased information to answer that, but whatever the cause: Susan Tsvangirai is dead and her husband Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) is injured following a sideswipe crash on a road on the outskirts of the capital.
Prayers and Sympathy.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Even Gordon Brown didn't deserve this
It should be abundantly clear from previous commentary that this author is no supporter of Her Majesty's Prime Minister Gordon Brown (U.K.), but some things should be above personal politics and posturing.
A meeting between the P.M. and the President of the United States is one of them.
One, or perhaps both, of these Leaders of Global Stature has just demonstrated appallingly bad sense.
Your nations' foes laugh, sirs. Your nations' foes rejoice.
A meeting between the P.M. and the President of the United States is one of them.
One, or perhaps both, of these Leaders of Global Stature has just demonstrated appallingly bad sense.
Your nations' foes laugh, sirs. Your nations' foes rejoice.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
OFAC lists more elements of Bank Melli
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated 11 more companies held by Iran's Bank Melli under E.O. 13382 (against Proliferators of Weapons of Mass Destruction). UNSC Resolution 1803 was also cited in the designation.
It remains to be seen whether the current American administration has the continuing will to sanction Iran for its pursuit of nuclear weapons, but for now it appears that at least the extant legal justification is sufficient to take action this time.
Obfuscator-in-Chief Robert Gibbs, White House Spokesman, offered a morepointless and confused nuanced statement on the overall situation regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions.
It remains to be seen whether the current American administration has the continuing will to sanction Iran for its pursuit of nuclear weapons, but for now it appears that at least the extant legal justification is sufficient to take action this time.
Obfuscator-in-Chief Robert Gibbs, White House Spokesman, offered a more
Guinea-Bissau: a Killing and a Killing
The latest wave of instability to hit Guinea-Bissau has killed the army chief of staff, General Tagme Na Waie (in a bomb attack; likely ordered by the government) and then assassinated the president of Guinea-Bissau, João Bernardo Vieira (in an armed assault; likely reprisal by members of the military).
Both were fierce political rivals who had used force of arms against each other's power-bases in the past, and both were implicated in the massive corruption of the nation previously discussed here at CompHyp.
For now, the head of the National Assembly has been sworn in as interim President.
This is just a taste of what happens to a country when rivalries are fueled by an abundant supply of arms and narco-trafficking money.
Expect worse to come.
Both were fierce political rivals who had used force of arms against each other's power-bases in the past, and both were implicated in the massive corruption of the nation previously discussed here at CompHyp.
For now, the head of the National Assembly has been sworn in as interim President.
This is just a taste of what happens to a country when rivalries are fueled by an abundant supply of arms and narco-trafficking money.
Expect worse to come.
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Weekly N&C for March 2nd, 2009
The Dual Standard
In the past two weeks, this author has had firsthand experience with what has become the norm for international travelers between the United States and Japan; the application of systemic border control activities to air travel. In fairness, virtually the same systems are widely applied to any travel *to* the USA from Visa-Waiver countries and Japan has simply set a higher standard than previously existed on all ingress-egress by air. Here are some of the features of the systems encountered:
For a foreign national departing Japan, an exit card must be filed with Immigration Control. In the case of those with some form of allowed Residency (temporary or permanent), this is one piece of a two-part document called a re-entry card. More on the second part of that form, below. Resident Foreigners must also have current permission to exit and re-enter the country (a special passport seal, multiple use type being good for three years, which is functionally an administrative fee to cover the cost of tracking). Implicit in this whole routine is the fact that *all* residents of Japan of any nationality must have a registered address and a certificate thereof issued through the (local) government.
Both Japanese nationals and foreign nationals go through the ordinary passport inspection and search, by government officers of near-perfect manner and expediency. A substantial armed police presence is close at hand throughout the open (unscreened) side of the terminal. Metal detection and carry-on possession screening is all manual operation, with variable set-points for detection sensitivity based on a combination of random and risk factors, and there are all the most recent features for operator assistance on the X-ray systems (imaging; dual measurement; color enhancement; object shape accentuation)… none of which would stop a competent threat… but remember: this is on departure from Japan. The combination of very few threat factors originating inside the country and the nearly-always-laxer standards on exit than on entry pretty much explains why things are done as they are.
For an American national (re-)entering the USA, the possession of a current American passport creates what is functionally a “wave and smile” reception at Immigration Control. Traveling in the company of a foreign-national spouse presented only slightly longer in-processing -- so long as the foreign national of the pair / family had completed the now-mandatory on-line registration prior to travel and they possess a current-type passport with an implanted data chip -- the couple is permitted to go through processing together, and the only difference in treatment is the biometric data collection (digital photo and two fingerprints) required of the foreign national.
Perversely, the treatment of all travelers inside the USA by the now-federalized local security officers is far less effective and far more pretentious. A determined effort is required by couples traveling together to remain together through all the processing (a *must* if one of the group has a disability or language deficit requiring escort-in-transit), and anything but the most obsequious conduct by the traveler is grounds for high-handedness and attitude from the “officer”. Fortunately there are a handful of qualified Federal Officers just behind the front lines, and excepting those times where the security queue is badly backlogged (commuter flights on either US coast), those superior officers are more than helpful in overruling unreasonable conduct by the line inspectors. This is a very good thing, as the current legal situation allows passenger diversion, separation and detention on the whim of the inspecting officer… and if that whim is to treat a question or request as an insult to the officer, one can be in for a very, very hard time.
Foreign nationals traveling unescorted are also at risk to befalling such at the international point-of-arrival. Here is a case documented by Michael Yon of just such an occurrence.
One additional note on the foreigner’s experience on arrival to the USA: The Customs and Immigration form written by the arriving air-traveler only asks for the first address the individual will be staying at inside the USA… and can be the name of the hotel. This means that there is no functional tracking of foreign visitors within the country, and that matters most when there is no exit control to confirm a visitor actually leaves at some point.
Once one’s travels about within the United States have come to their conclusion, the last few steps out the door are supposed to complete the cycle. Once again, traveling with an American passport virtually ensures no significant exit issues at Immigration Control, but notably there is also no apparent exit control applied to foreign nationals either. As recently as three years ago there was an effort made to out-process foreign visitors by use of USA-VISIT computer terminals (similar to an ATM) placed near the departure gates where the individual would indicate that they had cleared Immigration Control and were ready to board their departing flight. No such mechanism was noticed on this trip. The only apparent record was the scan of the foreign national’s passport at the self-service check-in / baggage check at the Airline’s counter in the open terminal area. *If* that was integrated into the border control system, fine. If not, then we are back to the days of having no record of a foreign national leaving the control regime, which is a recipe for massive visa overstaying.
Physical security inspection of persons and carry-on items is similar if not identical to that done for domestic air travel inside the USA. This is the usual song and dance, with the usual “blind-squirrel-finds-an-acorn” chance of detecting a competently executed threat, but it does serve to catch potentially dangerous fools (which remains a far more likely risk than one well-planned and executed).
Upon this author’s return home to Japan, the usual Immigration Control for arrivals was there but sadly there are now three lane discriminations: Japanese nationals; Ordinary Foreign Arrivals; and Residents of Foreign Nationality (previously, Residents were processed in the same system as returning Japanese nationals; now only those of former Colonial descent “Special Permanent Residents” are allowed to do so). However, in the case of Residents of Foreign Nationality traveling with Japanese nationals, an effort is made to keep the group together -- by routing the Japanese national through the Residents lanes. I have no complaint about that; the key is to keep groups together somehow. In the Residents lane, the foreigner submits the second half of that Re-Entry Card document mentioned above, gets logged in with the biometric system (digital photo and two fingerprints, virtually the same as the USA system). Any accompanying Japanese national is then in-processed (sequentially, but close enough to help if the Resident had some problem) by passport inspection and a nice “welcome home”. If all is in good order, it is off to Baggage Claim and Customs. No big deal… well…
Here are the questions on the Re-Entry Card for Residents of Foreign Nationality. Do try to avoid imagining what would happen if the answer to #1 or #2 is “Yes”:
(1) Have you ever been found guilty in a criminal case in Japan or in another country? Yes / No
(2) Do you presently have in your possession narcotics, marijuana, opium, stimulants, or other drugs, swords, explosives or other such items? Yes / No
(3) How much money in cash do you presently have in your possession? (state amount and denomination)
Note for further comedic value: neither Japanese nationals nor Colonial-descendents (SPR) are asked such questions in writing, if at all.
Has anyone noticing the hole in the system yet, whether speaking of that in the USA or Japan?
Dual Nationality
An American dual-national enters and leaves the USA as American. No biometric requirement; no secondary questioning; no entry / exit control other than possession of a passport.
A Japanese “dual-national” (i.e. one in possession of Japanese nationality who has not renounced any other nationality they are entitled to) is by law Japanese anywhere under Japanese jurisdiction. No biometric requirement; no secondary questioning; no entry / exit control other than possession of a passport (now; used to be required).
Hypothetically speaking, dual identities would not work as the name on one of the passports would by definition not match the name on the travel itinerary, but obviously a well constructed false (or real but innocuous) identity used for both passports would pass. It just takes years, or state-sponsored misrepresentation, to legally obtain such documents.
In an ideal case, no misrepresentation is even required.
Now consider the potential for just such a move done by a competent foreign State or Actor, because Somali or Pakistani jihadis recruited through known and compromised groups like the Moslem Brotherhood front-organizations don’t count as competent.
If one ever needed an argument in favor of equal treatment of all persons crossing a controlled border, this is it.
Screen them all to the same standard, or one may as well screen none of them.
Screen them at land crossings and ports of entry as well as airports.
…and, if one can’t control one’s borders or coastlines, then enforce identification within the Nation and allow law enforcement to take fair and appropriate action against undocumented individuals.
It would be a wonderful thing if every nation could trust every visiting foreigner, but like many wonders such an ideal is simply not real, nor reasonable.
***
End Notes:
All end notes are embedded as links in the text.
In the past two weeks, this author has had firsthand experience with what has become the norm for international travelers between the United States and Japan; the application of systemic border control activities to air travel. In fairness, virtually the same systems are widely applied to any travel *to* the USA from Visa-Waiver countries and Japan has simply set a higher standard than previously existed on all ingress-egress by air. Here are some of the features of the systems encountered:
For a foreign national departing Japan, an exit card must be filed with Immigration Control. In the case of those with some form of allowed Residency (temporary or permanent), this is one piece of a two-part document called a re-entry card. More on the second part of that form, below. Resident Foreigners must also have current permission to exit and re-enter the country (a special passport seal, multiple use type being good for three years, which is functionally an administrative fee to cover the cost of tracking). Implicit in this whole routine is the fact that *all* residents of Japan of any nationality must have a registered address and a certificate thereof issued through the (local) government.
Both Japanese nationals and foreign nationals go through the ordinary passport inspection and search, by government officers of near-perfect manner and expediency. A substantial armed police presence is close at hand throughout the open (unscreened) side of the terminal. Metal detection and carry-on possession screening is all manual operation, with variable set-points for detection sensitivity based on a combination of random and risk factors, and there are all the most recent features for operator assistance on the X-ray systems (imaging; dual measurement; color enhancement; object shape accentuation)… none of which would stop a competent threat… but remember: this is on departure from Japan. The combination of very few threat factors originating inside the country and the nearly-always-laxer standards on exit than on entry pretty much explains why things are done as they are.
For an American national (re-)entering the USA, the possession of a current American passport creates what is functionally a “wave and smile” reception at Immigration Control. Traveling in the company of a foreign-national spouse presented only slightly longer in-processing -- so long as the foreign national of the pair / family had completed the now-mandatory on-line registration prior to travel and they possess a current-type passport with an implanted data chip -- the couple is permitted to go through processing together, and the only difference in treatment is the biometric data collection (digital photo and two fingerprints) required of the foreign national.
Perversely, the treatment of all travelers inside the USA by the now-federalized local security officers is far less effective and far more pretentious. A determined effort is required by couples traveling together to remain together through all the processing (a *must* if one of the group has a disability or language deficit requiring escort-in-transit), and anything but the most obsequious conduct by the traveler is grounds for high-handedness and attitude from the “officer”. Fortunately there are a handful of qualified Federal Officers just behind the front lines, and excepting those times where the security queue is badly backlogged (commuter flights on either US coast), those superior officers are more than helpful in overruling unreasonable conduct by the line inspectors. This is a very good thing, as the current legal situation allows passenger diversion, separation and detention on the whim of the inspecting officer… and if that whim is to treat a question or request as an insult to the officer, one can be in for a very, very hard time.
Foreign nationals traveling unescorted are also at risk to befalling such at the international point-of-arrival. Here is a case documented by Michael Yon of just such an occurrence.
One additional note on the foreigner’s experience on arrival to the USA: The Customs and Immigration form written by the arriving air-traveler only asks for the first address the individual will be staying at inside the USA… and can be the name of the hotel. This means that there is no functional tracking of foreign visitors within the country, and that matters most when there is no exit control to confirm a visitor actually leaves at some point.
Once one’s travels about within the United States have come to their conclusion, the last few steps out the door are supposed to complete the cycle. Once again, traveling with an American passport virtually ensures no significant exit issues at Immigration Control, but notably there is also no apparent exit control applied to foreign nationals either. As recently as three years ago there was an effort made to out-process foreign visitors by use of USA-VISIT computer terminals (similar to an ATM) placed near the departure gates where the individual would indicate that they had cleared Immigration Control and were ready to board their departing flight. No such mechanism was noticed on this trip. The only apparent record was the scan of the foreign national’s passport at the self-service check-in / baggage check at the Airline’s counter in the open terminal area. *If* that was integrated into the border control system, fine. If not, then we are back to the days of having no record of a foreign national leaving the control regime, which is a recipe for massive visa overstaying.
Physical security inspection of persons and carry-on items is similar if not identical to that done for domestic air travel inside the USA. This is the usual song and dance, with the usual “blind-squirrel-finds-an-acorn” chance of detecting a competently executed threat, but it does serve to catch potentially dangerous fools (which remains a far more likely risk than one well-planned and executed).
Upon this author’s return home to Japan, the usual Immigration Control for arrivals was there but sadly there are now three lane discriminations: Japanese nationals; Ordinary Foreign Arrivals; and Residents of Foreign Nationality (previously, Residents were processed in the same system as returning Japanese nationals; now only those of former Colonial descent “Special Permanent Residents” are allowed to do so). However, in the case of Residents of Foreign Nationality traveling with Japanese nationals, an effort is made to keep the group together -- by routing the Japanese national through the Residents lanes. I have no complaint about that; the key is to keep groups together somehow. In the Residents lane, the foreigner submits the second half of that Re-Entry Card document mentioned above, gets logged in with the biometric system (digital photo and two fingerprints, virtually the same as the USA system). Any accompanying Japanese national is then in-processed (sequentially, but close enough to help if the Resident had some problem) by passport inspection and a nice “welcome home”. If all is in good order, it is off to Baggage Claim and Customs. No big deal… well…
Here are the questions on the Re-Entry Card for Residents of Foreign Nationality. Do try to avoid imagining what would happen if the answer to #1 or #2 is “Yes”:
(1) Have you ever been found guilty in a criminal case in Japan or in another country? Yes / No
(2) Do you presently have in your possession narcotics, marijuana, opium, stimulants, or other drugs, swords, explosives or other such items? Yes / No
(3) How much money in cash do you presently have in your possession? (state amount and denomination)
Note for further comedic value: neither Japanese nationals nor Colonial-descendents (SPR) are asked such questions in writing, if at all.
Has anyone noticing the hole in the system yet, whether speaking of that in the USA or Japan?
Dual Nationality
An American dual-national enters and leaves the USA as American. No biometric requirement; no secondary questioning; no entry / exit control other than possession of a passport.
A Japanese “dual-national” (i.e. one in possession of Japanese nationality who has not renounced any other nationality they are entitled to) is by law Japanese anywhere under Japanese jurisdiction. No biometric requirement; no secondary questioning; no entry / exit control other than possession of a passport (now; used to be required).
Hypothetically speaking, dual identities would not work as the name on one of the passports would by definition not match the name on the travel itinerary, but obviously a well constructed false (or real but innocuous) identity used for both passports would pass. It just takes years, or state-sponsored misrepresentation, to legally obtain such documents.
In an ideal case, no misrepresentation is even required.
Now consider the potential for just such a move done by a competent foreign State or Actor, because Somali or Pakistani jihadis recruited through known and compromised groups like the Moslem Brotherhood front-organizations don’t count as competent.
If one ever needed an argument in favor of equal treatment of all persons crossing a controlled border, this is it.
Screen them all to the same standard, or one may as well screen none of them.
Screen them at land crossings and ports of entry as well as airports.
…and, if one can’t control one’s borders or coastlines, then enforce identification within the Nation and allow law enforcement to take fair and appropriate action against undocumented individuals.
It would be a wonderful thing if every nation could trust every visiting foreigner, but like many wonders such an ideal is simply not real, nor reasonable.
***
End Notes:
All end notes are embedded as links in the text.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
tadaima
loosely translated from the Japanese: "I'm Home".
Which means we are back in action here at CompHyp as of Monday's traffic and The Weekly N&C.
Thanks for waiting, folks. Yes, even you North Koreans. Now try not to drop this one in short (again).
***
For your amusement, a small personal note: The Entry Hall to Immigration Control at Narita New Tokyo International Airport has (over the entrance from the arrival gates) an English-language sign reading "Welcome to Japan" and a Japanese-language sign reading okaerinasai ("please be home"; functionally = "welcome home"). I always make a point of echoing back the set-phrase part of the exchange, tadaima, as I pass under it which occasionally results in a bit of cognitive dissonance on the part of observers... a glance at my photograph posted with this weblog might give you a hint as to why.
Which means we are back in action here at CompHyp as of Monday's traffic and The Weekly N&C.
Thanks for waiting, folks. Yes, even you North Koreans. Now try not to drop this one in short (again).
***
For your amusement, a small personal note: The Entry Hall to Immigration Control at Narita New Tokyo International Airport has (over the entrance from the arrival gates) an English-language sign reading "Welcome to Japan" and a Japanese-language sign reading okaerinasai ("please be home"; functionally = "welcome home"). I always make a point of echoing back the set-phrase part of the exchange, tadaima, as I pass under it which occasionally results in a bit of cognitive dissonance on the part of observers... a glance at my photograph posted with this weblog might give you a hint as to why.
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