Pimpbot

Its not just dumb Brit girls making jokes about bombs who are getting into trouble. Check out this guy who thought it would be funny to give the one finger salute to the Brazillian immigration officials. This is hot on the heels of the AA pilot who got busted for the very same thing a month or so back.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3470383.stm

I must say, I enjoyed his quote of "I'm an American citizen, I'm not a monkey". No monkey, just a dumb ass.

dunroving

Exactly. A monkey has more brains and less arrogance.

JeanDupont

Its pretty stupid of the Brazilians to go for a "tit for tat" measure against US citizens - as far as I know Brazil does not have a major security problem with Islamic terrorists like the US believes it has.

Do they really need to print and photo visitors?

Seems like a very heavy fine for a minor (in our eyes) offence.
I somehow don't think I will be visiting Brazil if they have such a poor sense of humour.

Its not like he "joked" he had left a bomb on a plane or anything like that.

Pimpbot

Regardless of how "tit for tat" it may seem to you, if you don't like the rules of the country, then don't visit. This screams of arrogance.

doctor scrumpy

Good for Brazil, show the arrogant yanks that despite the shite they are forced fed, they do NOT own the world. I get a pop up add for the texan twat spouting about how his foreign policy works...yeah if alienating every nation on earth is the policy it looks like it is working.

mattbutt

Good on Brazil for sticking up for its self, though I do hear that their process is nowhere as slick as the US immigration.

Although being a little pissed off for having to give my finger prints and mug shot entering here and being made to feel like a criminal, its a very slick operation ( at Newark Airport ) and caused no more delays that it would normaly take.

Though I wonder if the rest of the world took up Brazils stance immigration how this would affect the US's slightly paranoid procedure.

Jabba1

So, the Americans don't own the world huh? Funny, but as I recall, the British once thought they owned the world. As an American I can tell you that neither myself, nor anyone I know, harbors the opinion that America owns the world. I don't think this guy's gesture reeks of arrogance, just a lousy and poorly timed sense of humor.

jaytee

Reminds me of that British woman and mother who was posting asking for help after she'd broken all the immigration rules and gotten banned from the US. I think she claimed she did not know what she was doing?? Some people need some training on how to act outside of their own country.

doctor scrumpy

We never thought we owned the world, we KNEW we owned 1/6th of the globe ! The parts that were red were run from small rooms in Whitehall & all it took to deal with some uppity native like Saddam was a gunboat on the Euphrates.

Ah the happy days indeed !

supernav

F**k the Brazillians. making Americans wait 4 hours STANDING UP just to get to "get taught a lesson".

How would YOU feel if every Britsh citizen was forced to stand in some line as soon as you landed in JFK, just because the US is pissed at the British's right to make their own laws.

We'll see just how long this lasts, when valueable American money stops flowing in the area. We can get our whores and get laid elsewhere.

-= nav =-

doctor scrumpy

Another well reasoned arguement there Nav.

Rockgurl

They do make us stand in bloody line for hours on end, and make us suffer the indignation of searching us over and again, and god forbid you say one thing out of line at the POE, where you can be hauled off and effectively interogated even if you are a UK citizen. Not to mention the amount of times I've been ripped off in the US as a UK citizen in regards to everything from car loans to car rental charges, insurance etc. Each country has the right to protect itself the way it sees fit, so no-one really has the right to complain about it.

Ptarmigan

This is based upon a well established diplomatic principle that has a latin name which more or less means reciprocity. That means that if citizens of Brazil are forced to submit to certain procedures in the USA then citizens of the USA weill be forced to endure the same procedures there. This is the reason that visa fees differ by country, the US charges different fees based upon what a US citizen would be charged for the equivalent visa in another nation.

On the point of how people would feel if UK nationals were forced to stand in line elsewhere, I don't care if they are forced to stand in line, have their fingerprints taken or wear a chicken costume, if they don't like it they can always not go there, isn't that the advice Americans have been passing out in "Love it or Leave it" and "Right to leave" emails for some time?

CalgaryAMC

The US does not have a major security problem with Brazilian terrorists. Brazilian males are photographed and fingerprinted upon entry to the United States. I have no problem with either country's action; it is entirely their respective perogatives.

You on the one hand lambast the Brazilians for having a poor sense of humour and then suggest that a joke, albeit inopportune, is a serious offence.

dunroving

- actually, you're not far off the mark. I've stood in line at immigration and customs for over 3 hours on several occasions, watching other people walk through in minutes because they have a US passport or GC. I accept that's the way it is and get on with life. I'd have to be stupid to give the immigration officer the finger, just because "I'm a UK citizen, not a monkey".

- every country has the right to make its own laws. If US citizens don't like the Brazilian laws, then they should go home.