They were probably dicking with you just to stick it to an American. Just be glad you're not in this poor girl's situation, lost to an Italian kangaroo court. http://abcnews.go.com/International/US/story?id=8118652&page...

I also thought it was very funny you had to answer a lot of stupid questions on a form. For example: "Are you a planning on engaging in any terrorist activities in the US. Yes/No". I mean, do they expect someone to cross the 'Yes' option because 'it's the honorable thing to do'?

When Australians go to America we like to tick yes, then cross it out and tick no.

Are you bringing any illegal weapons into the People's Republic? YES/NO

Great story, but I'm trying to figure out why you used this game. Was he being witty with that reply?

Yeah, the way he told the story, he was trying to be funny when answering the question.

Probably the straw that broke the camel's back. The guards 100% overreacted (but the yanks do live in a culture of fear and love their guns), but it's common sense to never, ever try to be funny with border guards.

She was in the CAR with him. How retarded are these border guards!

Women were also three times more likely to fear for their life, and twice as likely to be the targets of more than 10 violent episodes.

I did not (and will not except on minor technical points) cite Wikipedia. However, if you follow the sources provided you will unfortunately find that males are more systematic in their violence.

Here is "one stop shopping" for better data: http://www.springerlink.com/content/104903/?p=5df09b3b426847...π=0

There are two "modalities" of violence. Acute violence is "one off" violence. You can think of it as "the straw that broke the camels back" outbursts. Both men and women suffer from these situations (men more so, but women's actions tend to be more drastic... most female murders of males come from this pool).

Chronic violence is the "systematic" violence. Two of the major accepted causes are "violence as a method of control" and "violent personal tendencies". Sadly, both of these are highly predominate in males and relatively rare in females.

I hate to be the bringer of bad news: men and women are different on the inside as well as the outside. Contrary to the touchy-feelie attempts to feel better about modern society... we don't actually measure up to our dreams of a better culture. We are not "the same".

Worse, those who wish to close their eyes to the data are enablers. They prevent actual progress from being made by saying "but it just isn't that bad, let's work on something else". They claim that women "deserve what they get" because they didn't "get out of the situation" (not your comment, but clearly the intention of the earlier poster). They give societal weight to the violent, excusing their action, rather than be holding accountable those who lash out.

It sounds like you don't support violence and are angry that I would suggest that you do. Just realize that by trying to pretend that men and women act the same in similar situations that solutions to the problem are taken off the table.

From here I must take leave: I have hit my self imposed limit of 3 posts to any one thread. My goat has been gotten... now I must go get a new goat.

My father once was stopped and questioned by police after leaving a strip club. They asked where he had just come from. Not wanting to say he just left a strip club, he named a specific gas station. Unbeknownst to him, he had been stopped specifically because a man in a car the same model and color as his had just robbed that specific gas station.

See, white lies can come back to bite you in ass !

At the true border the Border Patrol is permitted to search for any or no reason, however at the inland checkpoint, such as on I-10 East of El Paso they are only permitted to search on the usual suspicion grounds that they could anywhere else.

I asked what that was all about. "Terror suspects - Arab rag-heads." he told me.

They were even making the father unwrap his turban (think of the film "Inside Man" here). When I was being checked by the Border Patrolman, I gave them my military ID, orders, DL, registration, and again had my uniform (with shield) hanging in the rear window, so wasn't being given any crap. I asked what that was all about. "Terror suspects - Arab rag-heads." he told me.

I understand your concern and frustration that she does not look like a terrorist, but really, what does a terrorist look like? Timothy McVeigh didn't look like a terrorist either.

I understand your concern and frustration that she does not look like a terrorist, but really, what does a terrorist look like? Timothy McVeigh didn't look like a terrorist either.