Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Two things that amused me today

The first one:
My friend Fiona sent me this, knowing how much I would appreciate it:






Canadian accused at U.S. border of 'stealing American jobs'



A B.C. sales representative who markets equestrian products in Canada was barred from crossing the U.S. border to attend a trade show last month by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer who accused him of trying to steal American jobs.
Copyright 2009 CBC All Rights Reserved





The Second I snitched off of my friend Suki, who posted it on Facebook.




Seriously RAD.

17 comments:

Colleen said...

Stupid Americans(in reference to the border hoo-ha). I can say that because I'm Alaskan, and Alaska isn't part of the US right?
(I wish)

Oh, that video gave me a lot of laughs!! Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Dude, that just completely made my day.

shihtzustaff said...

On the Coast is looking for people who have had similar experiences. You should send a link to your blog about what happened to you to onthecoast@cbc.ca

Maybe you and dogs will get some fame!

StefRobrts said...

As an American I can only say that I am SO embarassed by my country.

Tracy said...

Quoting my kids:
"That movie was AWESOME! Can we watch it again?"

pam said...

That was the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. Thanks.

Unknown said...

HA HA HA HA HA HA I needed the sheep giggle today. Thanks!

PoochesForPeace said...

Americans are not stupid, THAT person who happens to work on the border and happens to be American is stupid. There is no reason to be embarrased of a whole country because some people in it are stupid or ignorant- stupid/ ignorant people are everywhere. Having faith and making positive change in your country is the way to make it better, not puting it down :)

Anonymous said...

I know nada about the sensitivity of sheep but was that use of them hard on them or was it just another day for them of being herded around by dogs? That said, the video was amazing and the people and dogs were certainly having a good time.

I agree with PoochesForPeace - that border guard and the one you encountered do not represent me and I hope they do not represent the USA. But their stupidity sure doesn't give us a very good image. I'll refrain from guessing their political affiliation.

ΓΈ said...

Stories like this seriously piss this American off! I understand that border agents should be trained to refuse entry under certain grounds. But it truly sounds like this border guard went 'rogue.' Fingerprinting? For real? This guy--who by all accounts sounds like he is contributing to American jobs--is now going to be hassled every time he comes in the country? That's crazy.

There seriously should be agents that test the performance of other agents. The wife of a colleague wasn't allowed to board a flight in Vancouver heading back to Honolulu where they live. Her passport-egads-had a stamp from the most populous Muslim country, Indonesia. She does research there. Spooked the border guard, I guess. She flew out of Victoria the next day and did customs in Honolulu instead, where no one batted at eye at an Indonesian stamp. Crazy. This crap shouldn't happen.

Great video, although I thought the dogs should get a starring credit as well!

Anonymous said...

A guy at the dog park (also in sales, but tech) had the exact same thing happen to him about a month ago...guard revoked his Nexus pass and everything. I'm hoping to run into him soon to make sure he heard the story. I will almost guarantee it is the same border guard. Some people should never be given any power. They just make stuff up.

Those crazy old brits and their sheep. What would they do if they didn't have dogs? That was hysterical. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

The border patrol thing is dumb. It does, however, work both ways. We (a US firm) regularly had to hire Canadians to sit and read comic books for $35/hour in 1990, while our US installers installed piece of equipment for Canadian telecom firms. There were no Canadian vendors of this equipment, no Canadian installers, and these firms employed 1,000's of people in Canada because of our equipment. I occasionally get grilled, but not usually searched, by Canadian Customs for brining my personal camera into Canada. No.. I don't usually take photos for money, and never in Canada. I'm not saying it isn't dumb both ways, but it's... not a one way thing. d

Mo said...

The Canadian trying to cross the border into the USA, did not have adequate working permits, working papers, that are required to do the job he wanted to do. Thus, the customs officer refused his entry.
This is fact.

PoochesForPeace said...

Amen Stacy! Where's the regulation!If this one guard is repeating the behavior it is surprising his ability to do the job has not been re evaluated- it should be!

Unknown said...

A friend sent me that video last night- I watched it, and then had to comfort one of my border collies, Murphy, who was petrified by the sound of the whistle. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

Did you know that Border Collies are smarter than 50% of Americans?

StellaStar said...

hahahaha! I LOVE that video. I bet Woo, Tweed and Piper could do that if you got sheep. Right?