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Doofy · Dec 2, 2009, 09:36 AM

http://www.zentastic.com/blog/wp-con...or-tattoos.jpg

Remember not to have your hair coloured or have a shave (or grow a beard) between visits, kiddies.

nonhuman · Dec 2, 2009, 09:52 AM

I spent two weeks backpacking in Europe a couple years back. Didn't shave while I was there. Came back to the US bearded, and with just a single small-ish backpack for a two week trip. US Immigrations was not very happy about that...

shifuimam · Dec 2, 2009, 09:53 AM

Doesn't seem like that big a deal to me. Ask for ID (which a tat shop is going to do anyhow, since in the US AFAIK you have to be 18 to get a tattoo without parental consent), confirm identity, be wary of suspicious behavior.

Growing a beard and getting a tattoo is no cause for alarm, and I don't really think that's what the FBI is talking about.

Doofy · Dec 2, 2009, 10:07 AM

You've never met a tattooist, have you Shif?

Chongo · Dec 2, 2009, 10:08 AM

Getting a tattoo is a forbidden by many religions.

ort888 · Dec 2, 2009, 10:24 AM

I have a beard and I'm always scheming up new ways to harm society. You need to look out for us. We are out to get you.

dcmacdaddy · Dec 2, 2009, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by ort888

I have a beard and I'm always scheming up new ways to harm society. You need to look out for us. We are out to get you.

Right on my bearded brother!

Power to the (hairy) people!!!11!!!111

Umm, if having a beard and a tattoo qualifies you as suspicious then I am in big trouble. Oh well, I never really liked having all my personal freedoms.

SpaceMonkey · Dec 2, 2009, 10:51 AM

Can we simply ask people to take off their beards for inspection in airports, like they do their shoes?

The Final Dakar · Dec 2, 2009, 10:55 AM

These guidelines brought to you by: The 50s.

dcmacdaddy · Dec 2, 2009, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

These guidelines brought to you by: The 50s.

Yeah, it's like Reefer Madness all over again.

Our government really sucks ~~some~~ most of the time.

Dork. · Dec 2, 2009, 11:07 AM

I am actually hiding Osama bin Laden and Fidel Castro in my beard.

residentEvil · Dec 2, 2009, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by Dork.

I am actually hiding Osama bin Laden and Fidel Castro in my beard.

do the birds keep you up at night too?

SpaceMonkey · Dec 2, 2009, 11:13 AM

Originally Posted by Dork.

I am actually hiding Osama bin Laden and Fidel Castro in my beard.

It's important to remember that not all beards hide terrorists. Sometimes they hide good things like scrambled eggs, melted cheese, candy, cookie crumbs, and french fries.

Dork. · Dec 2, 2009, 12:06 PM

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey

It's important to remember that not all beards hide terrorists. Sometimes they hide good things like scrambled eggs, melted cheese, candy, cookie crumbs, and french fries.

It can be hard for the civilian to tell which beards are harboring terrorists and which simply harbor leftovers from lunch. Some beards even contain both. This is why it is important to report any beards, in order for law enforcement professionals to evaluate them in a larger context, and determine if there is a basis for further investigation (Which may include combing, braiding, or de-lousing, as appropriate.)

Arty50 · Dec 2, 2009, 05:04 PM

I grew a nice shaggy beard a couple of months back. When I walked up to TSA with my boarding pass and ID and wearing glasses, I got a "Whoa, you look a little different now" but that was about it. I guess I got a smart one. Or else he was mesmerized by the french onion soup hiding in my beard.

My favorite similar story comes from my old grammar school. A friend's little sister was going there and she's about a decade younger than us; she's the one who passed on this story. I guess in the intervening years since my friend and I had graduated, the school decided it was a good idea to hire a resident shrink. So anyway, one of her classmates was a natural blonde and showed up to school one day with her hair dyed brunette/black.

While spying on the children during recess, the shrink noticed this and called her into the office. The shrink then began to grill her over whether anything was wrong at home, if she was feeling depressed, etc. Keep in mind, this is an honors student from an awesome family and is pretty much always happy go lucky. She told the shrink as much and she also called out the shrink because about 90% of the blondes at the school aren't natural blondes, yet they don't get called into the office. I guess the esteemed head doctor didn't like that so much, because the end result was the girl got written up for violating the school dress code and had to dye her hair back to it's natural color.

We live in an awesome society.

ghporter · Dec 3, 2009, 07:16 AM

The Los Angeles FBI office needs a proofreader desperately. Putting both "tattoos" and "expressing an interest in targeting groups" in the same bullet statement is about the stupidest thing I've seen in print in a long time.

Most times I've gone through U.S. Customs I have had little in the way of carry on luggage, just a computer bag most of the time. But most of my experience has been either with air travel using an official (red) passport, or on a cruise ship, so Customs looks at folks traveling that way a little differently.

turtle777 · Dec 3, 2009, 07:24 AM

Insist on paying with cash...

WTF ?

... individuals requesting identical tattoos.

I knew it. All those ass-antlers are a clear sign of terrorrorism.(sic!)

-t

Doofy · Dec 3, 2009, 07:40 AM

Originally Posted by turtle777

WTF ?

Heh. All the tat artistes around here insist their customers pay cash... ...because half of them are laundering fronts for the Hell's Angels and the other half don't like paying tax.

Originally Posted by turtle777

I knew it. All those ass-antlers are a clear sign of terrorrorism.(sic!)

Let's not forget all those nasty marines popping in for a Semper Fi tat. Good job Barry is sending them all out of the country so as to ease the burden on the poor little tat artistes who might not be able to spot their devious behaviour.

Chongo · Dec 6, 2009, 08:55 AM

Originally Posted by Chongo

Getting a tattoo is a forbidden by many religions.

on a related note:Air Force Changing Tattoo Policy | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News

A spokeswoman for the Air Force Recruiting Service in San Antonio, Christa D'Andrea, said the regulation that took effect Nov. 25 has been dropped and the entire tattoo policy will be reviewed.

"It's an effort to standardize the policy for all members of the Air Force," D'Andrea said.

As many as 17,000 recruits who joined under the delayed entry program were potentially affected by the ban on right-arm body art. The Air Force said it did not want tattoos to be seen when an airman salutes. The updated policy also prohibited tattoos on either hand.

This week some recruits were told they had been disqualified under the new rule even though their tattoos had been approved under previous, more lenient guidelines.

The tattoo ban was first reported Monday by News10 and generated national attention and controversy.

D'Andrea acknowledged media coverage played a role in the decision to reconsider the tattoo crackdown. "It was unfortunate there were recruits caught in the middle," she said.

Enlistees who were not able to begin basic training this week at Lackland Air Force base because of the new tattoo policy would be rescheduled for future dates, D'Andrea said.

by George Warren, GWarren@news10.net

for our hebrew speaking members, what does this say?

Teresa and Josh Parker. Josh was initially told he was no longer eligible to join the Air Force.

ghporter · Dec 6, 2009, 09:10 AM

The Air Force got strict on visible tattoos a long time ago. Changing the rules this way is, shall we say "goofy," because the rules already stated that most tattoos could not be visible in uniform. This Hebrew tattoo is not a problem because it's in Hebrew, nor because of its size. It is only a problem because of its visibility.

Note that USAF policy explicitly stated from the beginning that the content and intent of a tattoo was irrelevant... But whichever numbskull with a field-grade rank it was that thought up and/or aproved this "visible when saluting" policy, it was "ill considered" at best.

msuper69 · Dec 6, 2009, 09:19 AM

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey

It's important to remember that not all beards hide terrorists. Sometimes they hide good things like scrambled eggs, melted cheese, candy, cookie crumbs, and french fries.

and sometimes doobies.

nonhuman · Dec 6, 2009, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by Chongo

for our hebrew speaking members, what does this say?

יהושוע

'Yehoshua', the Biblical version of 'Joshua'.

Chongo · Dec 6, 2009, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

This Hebrew tattoo is not a problem because it's in Hebrew, nor because of its size. It is only a problem because of its visibility

I included the photo because it was on the linked page, and I was curious to know what it said. I did know it is not the tetragrammaton.

Originally Posted by nonhuman

יהושוע

'Yehoshua', the Biblical version of 'Joshua'.

AKA Jesus
Thanks.