I've been thinking about Dallen's description of the security measure
along the US/Canada border. While these measures may be used in some
locations I am fairly certain there are no laser sensors or other
detectors along vast stretches of the border. For one thing, this
would be nearly impossible from Maine to New York because the border
is quite crooked and hilly. Lasers require line of site. In
addition, I have seen many places on the boundary vista is taller
than a man, moose, or elk. Also, how are these sensors supposedly
powered, solar cells? And how do they communicate?
From the east end of Lake Superior to the West end of Lake of the
Woods, there are many canoeists with Boundary Waters passes,
available for $20, which allow them to cross the border freely. How
could the police distiguish between these individuals and illegal
crossers without stopping all of them?
Another type of pass, CanPass I believe, allows border crossings by
ranchers, farmers, and other individuals at locations other that
ports of entry. How can this be compatible with a trip-wire system?
The existence of heavy surveillance seems at odds with my own
experiences along the border as well. I have approached and
temporarily crossed the border many times in these remote locations,
on land and water. I have never been bothered by any official from
either country. A prime example is the foot trail that leads from
the US customs house where US3 exits New Hampshire to the Fourth
Connecticut Lake. The trail is located on the boundary vista and
crosses it several times.
BJB
--- In BoundaryPoint@y..., Dallen Timothy <dtimothy@a...> wrote:
> Jesper, Randy and others,
> When did Norway and Iceland become part of the Schengen group?
They're not
> part of the EU as yet.
>
> I have a couple of pictures of the Monaco-France border at three
different
> locations. I'll try to get them made into prints, scanned and sent
out to
> everyone. Actually this border is easy to spot if you're looking
for it.
>
> Regarding the US-Canada border. It isn't as lax as most people
think it is.
> While it doesn't have the fences and walls as in the case of the US-
Mexico
> border, it is heavily 'fortified' otherwise. Laser sensors all
along the
> border assist border patrol agents in finding illegal crossers,
including
> bears, moose, and elk--although the latter are usually not
arrested. When
> the lasers are tripped, ground patrol vehicles are dispatched to
search for
> crossers, and in more remote locations, helicopters are sent out.
If a
> person crosses the border away from an official crossing point and
doesn't
> report at the nearest immigration office, he/she could be fined
thousands of
> dollars and spend years in prison. Likewise, laws and regulations
create a
> rather difficult barrier as well, especially for people whose homes
and
> yards are bisected by the border. While there are few actual
physical
> barriers on the US-Canada border, there are significant legal
barriers,
> laser sensors, and patrol vehicles and personnel that make it a
fairly
> fortified boundary.
> Brian Butler mentioned his recent trip to the International Peace
Garden.
> I've done quite a lot of research in that area, and it's hard to
believe the
> terrible headaches that are created on a daily basis for the park
> superintendents and personnel managers--they're constantly fighting
legal
> battles, immigration-related personnel problems, country-specific
> environmental conservation issues, insurance claims, binational tax
> problems, etc. This is why the Peace Garden is unable to keep a
> superintendent on staff for more than a few years at a time--too
much legal
> fighting over and along the US-Canada border. From the tourist's
> perspective it is a peace garden, but from the organization's
perspective it
> is a constant battle--visitors don't see that side of it.
>
> Anyway, just a few observations on my part.
>
> Dallen
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jesper & Nicolette Nielsen [mailto:jesniel@i...]
> Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2001 11:10 AM
> To: BoundaryPoint@y...
> Subject: Re: [BoundaryPoint] More lax than US-Canada?
>
>
>
> Randy,
>
> Within the Schengen countries (Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden,
Denmark,
> Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Austria, Spain,
Portugal,
> Italy, Greece) as a rule there are no guarded borders, and you can
travel
> freely crossing the border whereever you want.
>
> Most miniature countries like Monaco, the Vatican etc do also not
have
> guarded borders. In fact it should be quite hard even to spot the
Monacon
> border! Can anybody produce a picture?
>
> Jesper
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Randy Finder <mailto:naraht@D...>
> To: BoundaryPoint@y... <mailto:BoundaryPoint@y...>
> Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2001 5:04 PM
> Subject: [BoundaryPoint] More lax than US-Canada?
>
> I was reading the article on the fences on InPk and the to be built
> on InBa. It hit me that at least to USAians, the other end of the
> scale is the US-Canadian border. However that still has guards. Are
> there other borders (perhaps inside the EU?) where the borders are
> treated more lightly and less well guarded than USCA?
>
> Randolph Finder
>
>
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