I wanna touch the Aircarrier...

[Coligny]

NO, NOT FER YA CHEEZA EATA SURRENDUR MUNKEY...
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20100907zg.html


Picture: What a frenchman trying to enter a US base in Japan might look like.

[IparryU]

wow, really not a good idea...

[FG Lurker]

Maybe they're worried about someone coming onto the base and surrendering?

[IparryU]

Maybe they're worried about someone coming onto the base and surrendering?

Where is his white flag?

[(1VB)freels]

Trust me. That open base things isn't all the awesome. I live at Negishi and it's about a 5 at most. I think the best thing about it is the KISS cover band! That is all that there really is to do there. Sit there and rock out to some Detroit Rock City!!!

[Samurai_Jerk]

I've got a French friend who lives down in Kanagawa and used to go to Yokota with a buddy who is pretty senior in the Airforce. They stopped letting him a couple of years ago. Aparently there is worry about French muslim terrorists. I don't know why French muslims are any more dangerous than British one though. I thought it was weird but my French friend seems to feel it's justified. Of course he's somewhere right of Geert Wilders on the political spectrum.

[Coligny]

I don't know why French muslims are any more dangerous than British one though. I thought it was weird but my French friend seems to feel it's justified. Of course he's somewhere right of Geert Wilders on the political spectrum.

I was in a catholic highschool (yea, joke on me, I know...) right across the street of the Great Mosquee of Paris...
It was the hideout place to go with girlfriends when lectures were too boring...
(Mint tea 1 euro per cup, cookies I don't remember, so sweet that I couldn't eat a lot... but DAMN I MISS THEM).

TENSION, even on friday : 0
Nearly 1/3 of my friends where muslim, number of plane they hijacked: 0
one other 3rd were djooze... tension with the furst third : 0
Number of "what the difference between a jewish mother and a palestinian terrurist *" jokes per day : quite some

Number of french muslim terrurist : few
number of french non muslim terrurist : more than a fair share
(ever heard of action directe ? one time they even murdered the CEO of Renault which back then was like the second person to kill after the President of Republic to have everybody shitting their pants).

Now for the French military... For the higher ups, If the guy don't get into trouble with his hierarchy, you know that it's a rotten apple feeding on the same corrupted tits as the politicians. Guys of value like General Morillon -Bosnia-Kosovo- or Admiral Lanxade (yea that's were name of my old cat come from) usually make more enemies at home than outside.


* answer... with the Palestinian terrurist at least you can try to negociate...

[Greji]

I've got a French friend who lives down in Kanagawa and used to go to Yokota with a buddy who is pretty senior in the Airforce. They stopped letting him a couple of years ago. Aparently there is worry about French muslim terrorists. I don't know why French muslims are any more dangerous than British one though. I thought it was weird but my French friend seems to feel it's justified. Of course he's somewhere right of Geert Wilders on the political spectrum.

Actually, the third country nationals are not restricted, but it is more cumbersome then for a visitor from a country not on the list. The sponsor for the visitor must provide a request for admission to the Security personnel of the base, listing the date of the visit along with the request for permission. The visitor must fill out a form with home of record and local addresses and furnish copies of the information pages of the his, or her's passport. The sponsor submits the whole package to security a couple of days in advance of the visit and it will normally be approved within 24 hours. Pain in the ass, but doable.

[Yokohammer]

Actually, the third country nationals are not restricted, but it is more cumbersome then for a visitor from a country not on the list. The sponsor for the visitor must provide a request for admission to the Security personnel of the base, listing the date of the visit along with the request for permission. The visitor must fill out a form with home of record and local addresses and furnish copies of the information pages of the his, or her's passport. The sponsor submits the whole package to security a couple of days in advance of the visit and it will normally be approved within 24 hours. Pain in the ass, but doable.

Sounds like a restriction to me. Effectively.
As in, if I had to go through that to get into a movie theater, for example, I would never go to the movies.

[American Oyaji]

Sounds like a restriction to me. Effectively.
As in, if I had to go through that to get into a movie theater, for example, I would never go to the movies.

That is effect, the point.

[Mike Oxlong]

Japan Probe covers the story and adds some commentary...

[Coligny]

Japan Probe covers the story and adds some commentary...

As usual user comments make you weeps for mankind...

[Level3]

Yeah, he doesn't have the spare time to apply ahead of time like he obviously knows is necessary, since he got turned away last year, but he DOES have the spare time to make a scene, call a friend to make a bigger scene, and then pose for a funny photo and do an interview with the Japan Times, which he must have called in to arrange.

He can arrange to talk to the newspaper, but can't arrange to get a base pass.

Either that or he got turned away last year and was too stupid to L2FG and figure out exactly why French people weren't allowed in, and tried to enter again this year with the innocent stupid optimism of Forest Gump.

Either he was looking to make a scene and get in the news because les Americains offended him last year, or he's lazy and stupid. Or both.

Yeah, I'm going with both.

[FG Lurker]

Yeah, he doesn't have the spare time to apply ahead of time like he obviously knows is necessary, since he got turned away last year, but he DOES have the spare time to make a scene, call a friend to make a bigger scene, and then pose for a funny photo and do an interview with the Japan Times, which he must have called in to arrange.

Based on what Greji wrote above he would need a sponsor on the base to be able to get a pass. Somehow I don't think that is going to happen for a public event like this. (Hell, pretty good chance that he doesn't know anyone on the base that he could even ask.)

[Mulboyne]

I don't fault the guy for drawing attention to the issue. It's something the US Military is uncomfortable publicising and for obvious reasons.

Certainly, any time you open military facilities to the public there are going to be security issues. However, the restrictions imposed here are as much about politics as they are about security.

The main source of Islamic terrorists among America's NATO partners is Britain and they have been implicated in threats to US targets. However, Britain is the one NATO ally to fight in both Afghanistan and Iraq so any indication that Britons were not trusted by the US military would play badly. Germany has a large muslim population and, like France, opposed the invasion of Iraq. However, the US has military bases in Germany so a blanket restriction on the access of the German public would also be problematic.

Neither concern applies to the French so it's been deemed they do require security clearance. Given that politics has ruled out restrictions on other west European nationals who represent similar or higher risks, that seems like a poor compromise decision.

The French make up the second largest group of Europeans in Japan after the British. In Tokyo and surrounding areas, they may even be the largest but I'm not certain. This particular guy might have been aware from his previous experience that entry might be denied but it's doubtful whether that's widely known outside US military personnel and associates. Base personnel clearly judged it would be better to inconvenience a handful of civilians than to draw attention to their restrictions.

I have no right at all to enter US facilities but I'd certainly like to know in advance if I wasn't going to be allowed to turn up on the day to attend an event widely advertised as a public event.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I don't fault the guy for drawing attention to the issue. It's something the US Military is uncomfortable publicising and for obvious reasons.

Certainly, any time you open military facilities open to the public there are going to be security issues. However, the restrictions imposed here are as much about politics as they are about security.

The main source of Islamic terrorists among America's NATO partners is Britain and they have been implicated in threats to US targets. However, Britain is the one NATO ally to fight in both Afghanistan and Iraq so any indication that Britons were not trusted by the US military would play badly. Germany has a large muslim population and, like France, opposed the invasion of Iraq. However, the US has military bases in Germany so a blanket restriction on the access of the German public would also be problematic.

Neither concern applies to the French so it's been deemed they do require security clearance. Given that politics has ruled out restrictions on other west European nationals who represent similar or higher risks, that seems like a poor compromise decision.

The French make up the second largest group of Europeans in Japan after the British. In Tokyo and surrounding areas, they may even be the largest but I'm not certain. This particular guy might have been aware from his previous experience that entry might be denied but it's doubtful whether that's widely known outside US military personnel and associates. Base personnel clearly judged it would be better to inconvenience a handful of civilians than to draw attention to their restrictions.

I have no right at all to enter US facilities but I'd certainly like to know in advance if I wasn't going to be allowed to turn up on the day to attend an event widely advertised as a public event.

What he said.