From: Francis Hwang <sera@...>
Date: 2005-03-23T01:05:36+09:00
Subject: Re: [ANN] RubyConf 2005 Preregistration now open!

In spite of the ringing RubyConf endorsement I just mailed to the list, 
I also do have to say, unfortunately, that I sympathize quite a bit 
with Rob's statement. I'm a U.S. citizen myself, but I know quite a 
number of non-citizens who are now reluctant to travel here because 1) 
they don't want to subject to the level of monitoring or 2) they expect 
they won't be allowed in. (I've known some people to have to subject to 
delays of up to six months to get an entrance to the U.S. approved.)

So, not to be excessively demanding of the RubyConf organizers, but I'd 
like to humbly suggest that next year, a Canadian venue be considered. 
Both Vancouver and Montreal are quite nice, I hear. Though of course 
there's no chance of an OOPSLA overlap then ...

On Mar 22, 2005, at 11:00 AM, Rob . wrote:

> Thanks to the organizers for the work they put in to make RubyConf
> happen. Unfortunately I won't be attending this year, because I don't
> trust the USA govt with my f'ngerprints. On principle I disagree with
> any government holding b'ometric identification information on
> citizens or visitors, it gives them too much control over us.
> Corporate totalitarian systems like that of the USA may use such
> information, if they're not already, to aid in suppressing political
> dissent. Avoiding my details entering USA's b'ometric identification
> database was part of the reason I left the USA last year.
>
> I'll probably be attending EuRuKo instead.
>
> Rob

Francis Hwang
http://fhwang.net/