internationaltravel

internationaltravel https://www.dailykos.com/news/internationaltravel News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Mon, 27 Jan 2020 23:06:21 +0000 Mon, 27 Jan 2020 23:06:21 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Trump’s Trade War, Policies & America’s Gun Epidemic Take Toll on International Travel Receipts https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/9/12/1885075/-Trump-s-Trade-War-Policies-America-s-Gun-Epidemic-Take-Toll-on-International-Travel-Receipts By Karen Rubin, <a href="http://news-photos-features.com/">News & Photo Features</a> On a bike tour through South Dakota’s Badlands and Black Hills through repurposed rail trails and mining towns, among the delightful people who hailed from Vermont, Missouri, Colorado, Maryland and Illinois, was a fellow who described himself as a libertarian who quoted Mark Twain, who, I was reminded, was a travel writer: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime,” Twain wrote in “The Innocents Abroad.” I have a theory that 95 percent of the unshakeable Trump supporters have never traveled outside their region, whose ideas and beliefs are easily shaped by Fox News and rightwing propagandists. I thought, too, about the National Archaeological Museum in Athens which I visited on the Global Scavenger Hunt, a 23-day, around-the-world mystery tour, which connected the dots between migration, trade, innovation, prosperity and the rise of democracy. Among Trump’s destructive policies – to the environment, to the planet, to the economy, to world peace and prosperity – has been all that he has done to undermine international travel, starting with his unconstitutional and racist Muslim Travel Ban and his malicious reinstatement of travel restrictions to Cuba. But it is more than world peace and the progress of civilization – it is the precious economy (and his 2020 election) which Trump has put at risk. Indeed, travel and tourism, which generated <a href="http://ustravel.org" target="_blank">$2.5 trillion for the U.S. economy in 2018, supporting 15.7 million American jobs</a>, is the canary-in-the-gold-mine of economic indicators. Lost in the appropriate hysteria over the tariffs and trade wars and the adverse impacts on farmers and global recession, is the fact that international travel has traditionally produced a positive trade balance helping reduce the trade deficit. International tourism is up everywhere but to the United States. The Washington Post cited figures from the World Tourism Organization, a United Nations agency, showing the number of <a href="https://www2.unwto.org/press-release/2019-01-21/international-tourist-arrivals-reach-14-billion-two-years-ahead-forecasts" target="_blank">international tourist arrivals around the world</a> reached 1.4 billion last year, a 6 percent increase, with a further 3 to 4 percent increase forecast for this year. But in the first half of 2019, the number of international visitors coming to America has actually dropped 1.7 percent, according to the Commerce Department’s <a href="https://travel.trade.gov/view/m-2017-I-001/index.asp" target="_blank">National Travel and Tourism Office</a>. ) A big reason for that is a significant drop in Chinese visitors. “A new battlefront has opened in the trade war between the United States and China: the $1.6 trillion American travel industry,” the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/business/trade-war-us-china-tourism.html" target="_blank">New York Times reported</a>. “A Los Angeles hotel long popular with Chinese travelers saw a 23 percent decline in visits last year and another 10 percent so far this year… And in San Francisco, busloads of Chinese tourists were once a mainstay of one fine jewelry business; over the last few years, the buses stopped coming.” In New York City, where China is the second-largest source of foreign visitors and Chinese tourists spend nearly twice as much as other foreign visitors, the number of Chinese tourists fell 12 percent in the first quarter. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which largely depends on foreign tourists to pay its bills, has seen the share of its 7 million visitors a year coming from abroad falling from 34 percent to 28 percent. “Trade wars with China could cost the country 1.9 million inbound visitors and $11 billion in spending between 2018 and 2020, according to Tourism Economics, part of Oxford Economics. Through July, travel from China is down 3.7 percent compared with last year, according to Commerce Department figures. That’s on top of a drop last year, the report says,” the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2019/09/06/more-people-are-traveling-world-than-ever-number-coming-america-is-dropping/" target="_blank">Washington Post reported</a>. U.S. global long-haul travel market share is on a four-year slide since its previous high of 13.7 percent in 2015 – a tribute to all the Obama Administration did to ease access and promote visiting the USA – falling to 11.7 percent in 2018. The decline in market share represents losses to the US economy of 14 million international visitors, $59 billion in international traveler spending, and 120,000 U.S. jobs. But the market-share drop is now forecast by the <a href="https://www.ustravel.org/press/report-us-fall-overseas-travel-market-share-continue-through-2022" target="_blank">US Travel Association</a> to continue, dipping under 11 percent by 2022. That would mean an economic hit of 41 million visitors, $180 billion in international traveler spending and 266,000 jobs. “International travelers actually help reduce the trade deficit,” said Tori Barnes, executive vice president for public affairs and policy at the U.S. Travel Association, a trade group. “There isn’t as much thought given to the services industry being an export,” but, she added, it is a significant one. Trump’s trade war with China is one big reason for the drop in foreign travel receipts, but Trump’s policies, his bullying of allies like England, France and Germany which are traditionally key generators of travelers to the US, his Muslim Travel Ban, anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric degrading foreigners, his America First policies pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement and the Iran Nuclear Pact have turned off many from visiting. Foreigners don’t feel welcome and/or want to show their opposition to Trump. Another reason is rampant gun violence. Foreigners do not feel safe. After the most recent spate of mass shootings in at the Garlic Festival in California, in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso and Odessa, Texas, more countries – Japan, Venezuela and Uruguay – joined Germany, Ireland, Canada and New Zealand in issuing travel warnings against visiting the United States. China warned its citizens about traveling to the United States in June, naming gun violence, robberies and theft as risks, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/08/06/gun-violence-america-prompts-growing-list-countries-issue-travel-warnings/?noredirect=on&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1" target="_blank">the Washington Post reported</a>. Uruguay, warned of the “the indiscriminate possession of firearms by the population” and told travelers to avoid taking children to crowded places like theme parks and sporting events. New Zealand’s travel advisory warns “Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by foreigners…A number of politically motivated attacks have occurred in recent years, causing multiple deaths and injuries.” Ironically, considering that Trump’s Customs & Border Patrol are denying entry to the US of climate refugees from the Bahamas escaping the devastation of Hurricane Dorian, the Bahamas government had taken note of the number of black men murdered by police, advising “all Bahamians traveling to the U.S. but especially to the affected cities to exercise appropriate caution generally, In particular young males are asked to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police. Do not be confrontational and cooperate.” This is Trump’s Brand USA. “Most Americans believe the U.S. should be the world leader in everything—and with all the incredible things you can see and do in every corner of this country, that is especially true of international tourism,” US Travel’s Barnes said. “But reclaiming our market share is not just a matter of pride—it is economically vital, and can help sustain our GDP expansion when we’re seeing some other headwinds on the horizon. Recapturing our market share should, by all rights, be a national priority.” World Tourism Day is September 27 and tourism industry and community development leaders are coming together at the United State Institute of Peace in Washington DC for a day-long forum, “Impact Tourism: Giving Time, Talent, & Treasure,” which will focus on how tourism businesses, travelers, and organizations are successfully giving back to destination communities around the world. The philosophy is already on view in the way cruise lines came to rescue Bahamians escaping the devastation of Hurricane Dorian. (To learn more and register, visit<a href="https://sustainabletravel.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91ef1f577a3f7dfc5ee2c3c14&id=91118149d2&e=dfb9e0ad98" target="_blank" title=""> WorldTourismDayForum.com</a>.) _______________________ © 2019 News & Photo Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. For editorial feature and photo information, go to <a href="http://www.news-photos-features.com/">www.news-photos-features.com</a>, email <a href="mailto:editor@news-photos-features.com" title="">editor@news-photos-features.com</a>. Blogging at <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/blogs/NewsPhotosFeatures">www.dailykos.com/blogs/NewsPhotosFeatures</a>. ‘Like’ us on <a href="http://facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures" title="">facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures</a>, Tweet @KarenBRubin rss@dailykos.com (NewsPhotosFeatures) China ChinaTradeWar Economy GDP GlobalTravel GunViolence InternationalTourism internationaltravel Tourism TradeDeficit TravelIndustry trump Trumptariffs TrumpTradeWars USTravel USTravelAssociation USTravelorg _1885075 Thu, 12 Sep 2019 16:14:29 +0000 Alert: US citizens re-entering the US (and CPB) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/12/27/1822051/-Alert-US-citizens-re-entering-the-US-and-CPB Download the Mobile Passport app from the App Store. We just got to LAX Bradley Terminal, and the Customs and Border Protection line looked to be ~3 hours. The currently unpaid US government workers there were trying hard to be helpful, and one thing that allowed people to save 2 hours was downloading the aforementioned app. Unfortunately, WiFi or phone signal to download the app is not good once you are in line. So do it in advance, and you can save yourself some time (and reduce so of the wait of others if you had to use their scanners). And be nice to the CBP people — they are working but not being paid at the moment. rss@dailykos.com (Greg306) CBP govtshutdown internationaltravel Recommended _1822051 Fri, 28 Dec 2018 04:54:56 +0000 Ugly American Trump Personally Killed At Least 40 Thousand Jobs in 2017 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/1/25/1735962/-Ugly-American-Trump-Personally-Killed-At-Least-40-Thousand-Jobs-in-2017 As much as dirty Donald Trump epitomizes the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_American_(pejorative)">ugly American</a>” and every negative connotation that unflattering title entails, he is the personification of a very significant number of the ugly Americans the rest of the world, and no small number of decent Americans, despise. Trump and his ugly “America first” acolytes could not possibly care less what the rest of the world, or other Americans, think of the uncivilized cretins Trump represents, but that is not the case for the highly profitable American tourism industry. In fact, exactly as <a href="http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/24/fear-trump-costing-tourism-industry-11-billion-90000-american-jobs.html" target="_blank">predicted </a>shortly after Trump’s poorly attended inauguration, everything about Trump will be harmful to the economy and those predictions have proven accurate for many sectors of the economy. The tourism sector realized immediate economic harm. Although much of Trump’s economic damage will not result in immediate job or business losses, that is not the case in the tourism industry. World travelers contemplating trips to America were immediately aware that Trump’s America, like Trump himself, will not be a very friendly place to visit and no-one in their right mind can blame them. Those travelers began shunning America before Trump was allowed to occupy the White House after hearing his foul mouth drone on for several months about America first. Now, the industry is reporting that since Trump took office, as many, many experts predicted; “inbound travel dropped by 4 percent and tourist spending declined 3.3 percent.” Those percentages translate into losses of tens-of-thousands of American jobs and roughly $4.6 billion in tourism dollars spent in American communities. It is noteworthy that those tens of thousands of jobs lost do not reflect “downstream jobs” lost by people serving the 40,000-plus now-unemployed Americans, or the billions of dollars in lost wages and tourist spending driving local economies. The National Travel and Tourism Office <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/tourism-u-s-down-trump-took-office-costing-4-6-n840326?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma">reported</a> the bad economic news that they and other groups dubbed the “Trump slump.” The report said that the unnecessary slump “translated to losses of tens of thousands of jobs and $4.6 billion in spending in 2017.” According to experts, “Trump’s travel ban proposals and his anti-immigration rhetoric, and heightened security measures have worsened the U.S.’s (sic) image in other countries.” Tourism experts knew three months into Trump’s White House occupancy that there would be Hell to pay for Trump’s ugly American rhetoric and actions. In March, Tourism Economics president, Adam Sacks, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-travel-slump-2017-story.html">said</a>: “It doesn’t take very much uncertainty or antipathy to influence decisions away from a given travel destination. Ultimately, destinations and companies are in the business of building a brand and a message that is welcoming .… All the ‘America first’ rhetoric in various policy areas like trade, diplomacy and immigration is conveying the exact opposite.” That was Mr. Sacks' prediction in March; in September he <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/19/travel/tourism-united-states-international-decline.html">said</a>: “It’s not a reach to say the rhetoric and policies of this administration are affecting sentiment around the world, creating antipathy toward the U.S. and affecting travel behavior.” To add insult to economic injury to America, because of one vile man’s mouth; “The U.S. slipped to No. 8 from No. 7 on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Countries list <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/us-news-unveils-best-countries-rankings" target="_blank">released </a>on Tuesday.” That <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2018-01-23/people-around-the-world-approve-of-company-ceos-more-than-world-leaders" target="_blank">report </a>“attributed the drop to Trump being more unpopular than any other state head or company CEO, and to the U.S. becoming more politically unstable and less progressive and trustworthy.” All because of one man and the malcontent racists, evangelicals, xenophobes and various bigots supporting him. In what is sure to be a failure, the U.S. Trade Association intends on embarking on a “Visit U.S.” campaign they hope will “encourage international travelers to choose the U.S.” <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-international-visitors-20180102-story.html">According</a> to Johnathan Grella, the trade association executive vice president: “A very big portion of the coalition's work is to promote more balanced rhetoric. We want to get to the place that the administration says we are closed for terrorism but open for business.” Obviously, Mr. Grella has not spent any time listening to Trump or he would have realized the absurdity of expecting Trump or his administration ever being interested in, or capable of, presenting “more balanced rhetoric.” Trump and a significant percentage of the population are not only disinterested in “balanced rhetoric,” they oppose it like “the ugly Americans” they are at a very fundamental level. Still, at least one major American city and tourist destination is being <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/04/19/l_a_s_everyone_is_welcome_ad_welcome_tourists_afraid_of_trump.html">proactive</a> in touting itself as “decidedly anti-Trump.” It is doubtful there will be a national campaign advertising that “This isn’t Trump’s America” or that “all international visitors are welcomed to visit America,” but that is precisely what Los Angeles is promoting. Something the tourism industry might not consider is that the preponderance of prospective foreign travelers are not as concerned about running into Trump or terrorists as they are terrified of the fanatical gun zealots, radical evangelical extremists, racists, and xenophobes that support an ugly American like Trump. An equally disgusted number of prospective tourists have no interest in spending their hard-earned vacation money in a country that refuses to care for its own citizens and hates “foreigners.” And worse, foreign tourists are well aware it is dangerous to visit any nation with a government that empowers radical religious extremists to target several groups for discrimination based on their sex, gender identity, marital status, and sexual orientation. Add to those disincentives to visit America, the concerted mindset among Trump supporters that anything not American, not English speaking, and not white is inherently evil and it should assure the tourism industry that their economic troubles are going to get much worse with or without Trump. The rest of the world is now fully cognizant that Trump’s “ugly American acolytes” make up a substantial percentage of the population and they are angry and they are not going away no matter what Trump does. It is true that every administration can affect the economy and have an impact on international perceptions of America, but this Trump slump is a fairly new phenomenon for a couple of reasons. It was accurately predicted prior to Trump’s poorly attended inauguration, the downturn in tourism was immediate and sustained, and Trump has continued unabated terrifying and insulting the rest of the world. Of course the economic damage in lost tourism is down to Trump and his vile mouth, but it cannot be overstated that the rest of the world’s population understands that without a population rife with “ugly Americans,” Donald Trump would be promoting a new reality show, not America as a tourist destination to be avoided at all costs. rss@dailykos.com (Rmuse) Economy Immigration internationaltravel jobkiller Jobs Tourism TrumpSlump _1735962 Thu, 25 Jan 2018 20:49:33 +0000 Fear of Trump Cost Tourism $2.7 Billion in Three Months https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/9/23/1700851/-Fear-of-Trump-Cost-Tourism-2-7-Billion-in-Three-Months Donald Trump has not accomplished anything worthwhile during the eight months he’s been living in the White House, but he has pissed off the rest of the world and insulted America’s closest allies and trading partners. It is no surprise then, that foreign travelers, and their nation’s leaders, have <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2017/01/30/time-to-boycott-vacations-to-the-us.html" title="">suggested</a> not traveling to American if for no other reason than the animus raging among Trump’s America for non-white, non-Christian, and non-American human beings. Of course foreigners are as terrified of the gun culture in America as they are Trump’s aggressive customs and border brownshirts, but they are also not enamored with the idea of spending their vacation time or dollars in a nation with a nativist dotard that despises foreigners. Back in March during the “extreme vetting” threat from the Trump White House, tourism industry experts warned there would be a heavy price to pay when foreign vacationers, and business travelers, stopped coming to America. As it turns out, those “warnings” were understated according to new data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The new data represent just the first quarter of this year and the figures are where experts predicted they would be back in March when they worried about a “<a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-trump-is-ruining-americas-biggest-export-industry-2017-03-03" title="">Trump slump</a>” wreaking havoc on international travel to America. The Commerce Department <a href="http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/view/m-2017-I-001/table1.asp">data</a> confirmed the industry’s fears and since Trump has only behaved worse since the first quarter, it is highly likely their worst fears have really yet to materialize. Whether it was embarrassing America by insulting our allies and trading partners, or terrifying the life out of the rest of the world with threats of nuclear war, there are fewer reasons for anyone to visit America today than there were in the first quarter. According to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/19/travel/tourism-united-states-international-decline.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&smvar=q3eg&_r=0" title="">report</a> in the New York Times: “New figures released by the U.S. Department of Commerce show a drop in international visitors to the United States by close to 700,000 in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the previous year. European countries were down 10.1 percent, and Mexico was off 7.1 percent in the quarter.” It’s likely that Trump and his nativist supporters are saying good riddance - who needs international tourism? Since the tourism industry is America’s <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-trump-is-ruining-americas-biggest-export-industry-2017-03-03" target="_blank">biggest export industry</a>, it’s no stretch to say a lot of people not only need, but depend on international tourism. Those same Trump devotees probably celebrated that there was a 7.1 percent drop in Mexican tourists coming to America. But those “Mexicans” are visiting tourists spending their hard-earned money in America; they are not immigrants. And combined with that 10.1 percent decline in international tourists, particularly those from Europe, they represent a significant loss in income for America’s tourism and hospitality industry and the jobs they provide. Exactly as predicted back in March, analysts estimate that the “immediate decline in tourism represents a loss of $2.7 billion in spending” in America on products and services provided by American businesses employing American workers. Although it is not easy to verify that Trump’s immigration ban, threats of a wall, animus towards non-Americans, extreme vetting, or his promise to “rough up” foreigners contributed to the $2.7 billion decline in tourism, there are results of another survey pinning the tourism decline on Trump. It is no coincidence that the new Commerce Department data tracks perfectly with the Trump-inspired decline in United States favorability around the world. According to a Pew Research Center <a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2017/06/26/u-s-image-suffers-as-publics-around-world-question-trumps-leadership/">survey</a> conducted in June, only 49 percent of people surveyed in 37 nations had a positive view of the United States. Contrast that figure with the 64 percent “positive view” at the end of President Obama’s term in office. It is glaringly obvious that the costly slump in tourism is all down to the repugnant piece of work in the Oval Office. Add to that comparison the fact that during the first quarter of 2013 after President Obama’s re-election, international tourism <a href="http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/view/m-2013-I-001/table1.html">increased</a> by 6.4 percent. According to the president of Tourism Economics, Adam Sacks: “It’s not a reach to say the rhetoric and policies of this administration are affecting sentiment around the world, creating antipathy toward the U.S. and affecting travel behavior.” The New York Times reported that according to the responses it received to a Facebook post on foreign travel to America, “European readers overwhelmingly cited the Trump administration and its policies as reasons for avoiding or canceling trips to the United States.” One British respondent wrote: “We are British Muslims and live in London. We wanted to visit N.Y.C. this summer but decided against it simply because we felt we wouldn’t be welcome there and didn’t want to waste precious holiday time in case there was a problem at passport control at the airport.” Other European respondents cited gun violence and their personal safety as reasons for avoiding America like plague, at least until they feel they aren’t risking their lives just to visit America. A Danish woman wrote: “I have always dreamed of visiting the US. But the rise of gun violence and political chaos has made me cancel all future travels to the U.S. until I can feel safe as a tourist.” Various international travel experts confirmed that since January “the U.S. is falling behind” as an international tourism destination. That was the assertion by the president and chief executive of the <a href="https://www.ustravel.org/" title="">U.S. Travel Association</a>, Roger Dow, whose nonprofit organization promotes foreign travel to the United States. And according to a World Economic Forum <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TTCR_2017_web_0401.pdf">report</a> released in April, “the United States fell two spots in its rankings of the top 10 most popular countries for tourism in the world.” All of these statistics were predicted due to Trump’s ascension to the White House and the latest reports only covered the first quarter of 2017, and the situation is only going to get worse for the industry. Tour operators such Intrepid Travel reported that to date, they have experienced a <a href="https://www.intrepidtravel.com/us">24 percent decrease</a> compared to the same period last year. However, trips to Canada are up 40 percent so it is not an economic issue, it is a political, safety and social issue. As the regional director for Intrepid Travel noted, something has to change. Leigh Barnes wrote: “Given the current political and social climate, now is an especially important time for the travel industry to stand for open borders, inclusivity and the celebration of diversity.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter what the travel industry does or says or stands for; the problem is the hate-based Trump administration. The chance of Trump allowing open borders, inclusivity, and the celebration of diversity is less than zero. It is, after all, his and his vile supporters’ staunch opposition to diversity, inclusivity, and open borders that is killing the tourism industry. If the predictions made in March are any indication, coupled with the first quarter statistics, it is likely that fear of Trump will certainly end up costing significantly more than the <a href="http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/24/fear-trump-costing-tourism-industry-11-billion-90000-american-jobs.html">predicted</a> $11 billion and 90,000 American jobs in his crusade to make America far too dangerous for foreign tourists to visit. rss@dailykos.com (Rmuse) America DonaldTrump Economy Immigration internationaltravel Jobs Tourism _1700851 Sat, 23 Sep 2017 15:57:06 +0000 British-Iranian BBC journalist denied US entry—She was born in Iran so she could be a... (you know) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/1/22/1473098/-British-Iranian-BBC-journalist-denied-US-entry-She-was-born-in-Iran-so-she-could-be-you-know British-Iranian BBC journalist Rana Arhimpour tried to fly from London to the US to attend the birthday party of a relative. From then on, things didn't go well. In a <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35363763">BBC report</a>, Rana tells her story. Here are some excerpts. <blockquote> About a week ago, I decided to make a last-minute visit to the US with two of my cousins. My brother was planning a birthday party for his six-year old son and we thought it would be fun to turn up and surprise them. All three of us have dual British and Iranian citizenship and with our British passports we are entitled to travel to the US visa free </blockquote> Rana knew there would be new U.S. restrictions for dual citizens of Iran, Syria, Iraq and Sudan, but thought they would not yet be in effect. Still, she decided it would be best to double-check. She started with the US embassy in London, then the UK government foreign trade advise website, then to personally calling Washington officials, who assured her (99%) there would be no problem with her making the trip. She filled out forms for ESTA - the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. ESTA allows citizens of 38 countries, including most of Europe, to travel to the US without a visa for up to 90 days. But she never heard back from ESTA until three hours before her plane was to depart. Already at the Heathrow Airport, she was denied boarding because she was born in Iran. Rana recounts the event: <blockquote> The next hours were spent in shock and distress. We finally collected ourselves and decided to get a taxi. My two-year-old daughter was tired and she was being difficult. I was tired because I am 30 weeks pregnant and all of us were extremely upset. Sitting on the floor, waiting for the taxi, I could no longer hold my tears back. I didn't know that my cousin, who was photographing my daughter, had captured that moment. </blockquote> <div class="center-block dk-editor-embed" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/ranarahimpour"&gt;@ranarahimpour&lt;/a&gt; My fully &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/British?src=hash"&gt;#British&lt;/a&gt; daughter can&amp;#39;t attend her &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/American?src=hash"&gt;#American&lt;/a&gt; cousin's bday cos her mum was born in &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iran?src=hash"&gt;#Iran&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;a href="https://t.co/8Rt1aHLlTD"&gt;pic.twitter.com/8Rt1aHLlTD&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Rana Rahimpour (@ranarahimpour) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/ranarahimpour/status/689505595368566784"&gt;January 19, 2016&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;"> <div class="remove-embed-content">x</div> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a href="https://twitter.com/ranarahimpour">@ranarahimpour</a> My fully <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/British?src=hash">#British</a> daughter can't attend her <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/American?src=hash">#American</a> cousin's bday cos her mum was born in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iran?src=hash">#Iran</a>. <a href="https://t.co/8Rt1aHLlTD">pic.twitter.com/8Rt1aHLlTD</a>— Rana Rahimpour (@ranarahimpour) <a href="https://twitter.com/ranarahimpour/status/689505595368566784">January 19, 2016</a> </blockquote> </div> The responses Rana received were mostly supportive, but some lovely ‘Mericans’ jumped in and said that since she is a Muslim — she should be “banned from entering the US.” <a href="https://globalvoices.org/2016/01/19/british-iranian-dual-national-documents-on-twitter-denied-entry-into-u-s/" target="_blank">News outlets</a> picked up the story and Rana believes her experience “struck a chord for many Iranian, Syrian, Iraqi and Sudanese dual citizens.” The US travel provisions will prevent other journalists and even aid workers from entering this US.   It’s a sad story. It’s a sad state of affairs, when a country made up of immigrants, with exception or our Native Americans who were already here, would shut out friends and allies, mostly due to selfish, greedy, bigoted, racist, fear-mongering shitheads like Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Republican extremists. And it’s fair to say that if any of those three takeover the Oval Office in 2016, we can expect to be hated by most of the world as we were with George W. Bush—and we can almost be guaranteed a war(s). Because that’s how they roll. Pledge to vote this November, and in every election you can. rss@dailykos.com (Leslie Salzillo) BBC bbcjournalist British britishiranian DailyKos DonaldTrump duelcitizenship electronicsystemfortravelauthorization esta GOP internationaltravel Iran Isis ranaarhimpour Refugees Sudan Syria Syrian usvisa _1473098 Fri, 22 Jan 2016 14:51:23 +0000 IAN: 5-7-14: Caedy's Bucket List https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/5/6/1297387/-IAN-5-7-14-Caedy-s-Bucket-List Follow me below the fold to see the Top 10 Places on my Places to Go Internationally Bucket List.  Where do you want to go? <blockquote><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/71829982@N00/5713737626/" title="Itzl Alerting by nodigio, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2310/5713737626_1fa725a5fe_t.jpg" width="100" height="75" alt="Itzl Alerting" /></a>As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, or other such things that could keep us off DKos. It's also so we can find other Kossacks nearby for in-person checks when other methods of communication fail - a buddy system. Members come here to check in. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, etc.), we and your buddy are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here.  We care! <blockquote>We have split up the publishing duties, but we welcome everyone in IAN to do daily diaries for the group!  Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news! Ok, we have a current diary schedule.  If you would like to fill in, either post in thread or send FloridaSNMom a Kosmail with the date. If you need someone to fill in, ditto. FSNMom is here on and off through the day usually from around 9:30 or 10 am eastern to around 11 pm eastern. </blockquote> Monday: <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/user/BadKitties">BadKitties</a> Tuesday: <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/user/bigjacbigjacbigjac">bigjacbigjacbigjac</a> Wednesday: <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/user/Caedy">Caedy</a> Thursday: <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/user/weck">weck</a> Friday: <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/user/FloridaSNMOM">FloridaSNMOM</a> Saturday:<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/user/broths">broths</a> Sunday: <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/user/loggersbrat">loggersbrat</a></blockquote> If you'd like to be part of the Itzl Alert Network, please leave a comment asking to join, or send us a message asking to join. We'd love to have you. The bigger our network, the less likely someone will be stranded all alone. rss@dailykos.com (Caedy) bucketlist Europe IAN internationaltravel ItzlAlertNetwork PlacestoGo Recommended Top10list Travel _1297387 Wed, 07 May 2014 04:55:17 +0000 Michelle Obama In Mexico and Her International Agenda https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/4/14/857191/-Michelle-Obama-In-Mexico-and-Her-International-Agenda ~Note: Just about everything you'll read after this point is completely biased since I am a huge fan/supporter of Michelle Obama, so if you're looking for objectivity, this isn't the place to find it :o) Also, there is a little fawning over the fold because I think she's Awesome, so if you don't like that stuff stop reading now~ <object width="640" height="385"><param value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4_F2OLJ7vf0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=FFFFFF&color2=FFFFFF&hd=1" name="movie"></param><param value="true" name="allowFullScreen"></param><param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess"></param><embed width="640" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4_F2OLJ7vf0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=FFFFFF&color2=FFFFFF&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="385"></embed></object> <blockquote> Mrs. Obama's international platform will support the President's global engagement efforts with an emphasis on engaging young people around the world. <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/04/14/previewing-first-ladys-visit-mexico">Previewing the First Lady's Visit to Mexico</a> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Muzikal203) Agenda childhoodobesity Children Education FirstLady internationaltravel Mexico MichelleObama Videos _857191 Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:20:39 +0000 Travel Abroad: Then and Now https://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/8/657870/-Travel-Abroad-Then-and-Now I just received an upbeat colorful portrait of a Nov 4, '08 election-day overseas snapshot from a friend who is traveling in Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok -- the same places I travelled five years ago. The differences in the way people responded to our "American-ness" is striking.   rss@dailykos.com (emmeka) Americansabroad Bangkok Barack Obama BarackObama internationaltravel Iraq War IraqWar KualaLumpur Optimism Recommended _657870 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 06:19:00 +0000