h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

...can't help being amused and frustrated at hearing on 'Today' this morning that the US are going to restrict UK tourists on the Visa waiver scheme to those who have 'biometric' passports.

Since I paid for a new 10 year passport last year, I'm annoyed that the US will not welcome my tourist dollars without making me go through the hassle and expense of getting a new passport.

Why am I amused? Well, this is all about 'homeland security' (the legislation, laughable, is the 'Patriot Act'). Let's remind ourselves - all the planes involved in the September 11 2001 attacks originated from WITHIN THE US. All the terrorists journey's originated from WITHIN THE US. (The Washington snipers, originally suspected of being terrorists, turned out to be US CITIZENS.)

And yesterday, George Bush announced an amnesty against the tens of thousands of people annually that the US seems unable to stop simply walking across the borders from Mexico and, to a lesser extent, Canada. Gee, I wonder if those people had biometric passports...

As usual in these cases, it's the ordinary person who is hugely incommoded by the new measures, whilst it will cause relatively little difficulty for the determined terrorist.

Way to go, America!