Morry Gash/Associated Press Supporters react after learning that the Olympic Games will not be held in Chicago.Did Chicago lose the chance to host the 2016 Olympics because of airport security issues?
Among the toughest questions posed to the Chicago bid team this week in Copenhagen was one that raised the issue of what kind of welcome foreigners would get from airport officials when they arrived in this country to attend the Games. Syed Shahid Ali, an I.O.C. member from Pakistan, in the question-and-answer session following Chicago’s official presentation, pointed out that entering the United States can be “a rather harrowing experience.”
President Obama, who was there as part of the 10-person team, assured Mr. Ali that all visitors would be made to feel welcome. “One of the legacies I want to see is a reminder that America at its best is open to the world,” he said.”
But Mr. Obama’s assurances may have not been enough to assuage critics like Mr. Ali. A few hours later the Games went to Rio de Janiero.
The exchange underscores what tourism officials here have been saying for years about the sometimes rigorous entry process for foreigners, which they see as a deterrent to tourism. Once the news came out that Chicago lost its Olympic bid, the U.S. Travel Association didn’t miss an opportunity to point that out, sending out a critical press release within hours.
“It’s clear the United States still has a lot of work to do to restore its place as a premier travel destination,” Roger Dow, U.S. Travel’s president, said in the statement released today. “When IOC members are commenting to our President that foreign visitors find traveling to the United States a ‘pretty harrowing experience,’ we need to take seriously the challenge of reforming our entry process to ensure there is a welcome mat to our friends around the world, even as we ensure a secure system.”
International travel to the U.S. declined by 10 percent in the first quarter of 2009 according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. To lure visitors back, U.S. Travel has been pushing the Travel Promotion Act, which recently was passed in the Senate and is awaiting action in the House, to create a campaign to strengthen the image of the United States abroad.
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Did Chicago lose Olympic bid due to US passport control?
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Tagged chicago, country, current, games-syed, harrowing, olympics, pakistan, question, questions-posed, the-sometimes, toughest, united-states
An Afghan immigrant pleaded not guilty today to plotting a New York City terrorist attack with bombs made from beauty-supply chemicals and was ordered held without bail.
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Colorado man pleads not guilty to terrorism charges
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Tagged airport-shuttle, bought-products, colorado, current, denver, Hollywood, key-ingredients, najibullah, pakistan, plea, rush, target-mass
America's top commander in Afghanistan warns that more troops are needed there within the next year or the nearly 8-year-old war “will likely result in failure,” according to a copy of a 66-page document obtained by The Washington Post.Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) — while Afghan security capacity matures — risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible,” U.S. and NATO commander Gen
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Tagged afghan, afghanistan, article, commander, congress, current, newspaper, pakistan, politics, secretary, strategy, summer, united-states
BEIJING — Chinese officials retreated on Thursday from a plan to install so-called anti-pornography software on every computer sold here, saying instead that Internet cafes, schools and other public places must use the program, but that individual consumers will be spared. The industry and information technology minister, Li Yizhong, said the notion that the program, called Green Dam/Youth Escort, would be required on every new computer was “a misunderstanding” spawned by poorly written regulations
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China scales back plans for anti-pornography software filter
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Tagged green, installation, mandate-on-june, online, pakistan, provincial, said-the-notion, the-government, united-states, youth-escort
A man who left jugs of water for immigrants is sentenced for littering. Priorities are subjective, aren't they
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Was he littering or helping fellow human beings?
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SHEIKHABAD, Afghanistan — The threats come at least once a week in the dark of night, Zaiba Habib Durrani said. The caller vows to kill her or disfigure her face with acid.
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Afghan woman defies threats, discrimination to run for re-election
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DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan – Pakistan's Taliban chief, who has led a violent campaign of suicide attacks and assassinations, has been killed in a U.S. missile strike, Taliban commanders and Pakistani intelligence officials said Friday. But one Pakistani official said no intelligence agent had actually seen Baitullah Mehsud's body
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CIA missile strike reportedly kills Taliban chief
A Pakistan News · Deuce Bigalow European Gigolo A Pakistan News Deuce Bigalow : European Gigolo (2005) is the sequel to the 1999 film Deuce Bigalow : Male Gigolo , from Happy Madison Productions.
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borEEED – Where bored people go. » Deuce Bigalow European Gigolo …
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Tagged dvd, european-gigolo, gigolo, happy-madison, italian, pakistan, pakistan-news, rob schneider, sequel, the wedding crashers, the-1999
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