Novak Djokovic's Vaccine Stance & Visa Troubles

[tennisville]

All countries control their borders and allow who they want, that does not make them a dictatorship. IMO, there needs to be more control here in the US. How do you think 9-11 happened? If a country has been in multiple lockdowns (like AUS), one can understand how stringent they might be with who they allow entry to especially during a public health crisis. Again, none of this is news to tennis players. They all knew how strict Aus was going to be. You have a choice to suck it up and deal with it or sit this one out.

All countries control their border based on rules. I know this is hard to understand but if you are controlling your border without any legal justice and totally based on your whim, that is called a dictatorship in our culture. Maybe you are okay with dictatorship but that doesnt mean its correct

They. can be stringent based on their rules but if the court believes that Djokovic meets the criteria of the rules, then I am sorry to tell you he should be allowed to enter

Also I am sorry but yes, I am definitely not going to suck it up and side with a government that puts other human beings in a locked up cell for 9 years and imprisons people who come to the country for medical treatment.

 

[Kieran]

All countries control their border based on rules. I know this is hard to understand but if you are controlling your border without any legal justice and totally based on your whim, that is called a dictatorship in our culture. Maybe you are okay with dictatorship but that doesnt mean its correct

They. can be stringent based on their rules but if the court believes that Djokovic meets the criteria of the rules, then I am sorry to tell you he should be allowed to enter

Also I am sorry but yes, I am definitely not going to suck it up and side with a government that puts other human beings in a locked up cell for 9 years and imprisons people who come to the country for medical treatment.

I wouldn’t describe it as a dictatorship. They’re certainly extremist in their policies but remember, they set their laws, so therefore their laws are legal, in their country. They’re entitled to set the criteria of entry. I wouldn’t like to live there right now, but calling it a dictatorship is a lot like the people who called Trump a dictator - it’s a bit of a stretch…

 

[tented]

I wouldn’t describe it as a dictatorship. They’re certainly extremist in their policies but remember, they set their laws, so therefore their laws are legal, in their country. They’re entitled to set the criteria of entry. I wouldn’t like to live there right now, but calling it a dictatorship is a lot like the people who called Trump a dictator - it’s a bit of a stretch…

True. A genuine dictatorship wouldn’t allow anyone to cross their borders. Being strict, as Australia has been, doesn’t automatically make them a Cold War USSR or Cuba.

 

[kskate2]

All countries control their border based on rules. I know this is hard to understand but if you are controlling your border without any legal justice and totally based on your whim, that is called a dictatorship in our culture. Maybe you are okay with dictatorship but that doesnt mean its correct

They. can be stringent based on their rules but if the court believes that Djokovic meets the criteria of the rules, then I am sorry to tell you he should be allowed to enter

Also I am sorry but yes, I am definitely not going to suck it up and side with a government that puts other human beings in a locked up cell for 9 years and imprisons people who come to the country for medical treatment.

It' s not that hard to understand. You have your opinion and I have mine. Neither is incorrect. You don't like the way Aus is running their country and let me guess, you are probably a Novak fan.

I was referring to the tennis players sucking it up if they wanted to play there. As for locking people up for 9 years, do you know why? Do you have access to those records and can authenticate the validity of that information and determine that the government is acting improperly? I don't think you do. Try having all the facts before you pass judgement and call someone a dictator.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I live in Australia and I can tell you it is not a 'dictatorship' go try and live in China
I have never read soo much crap in my life about Australia because of a tennis player who tried to get with the incorrect paperwork and now we are a nation of dictators. LOL!

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

The clear message I have taken from this is Novak didn’t have all his ducks in a row, and he still doesn’t. If he did, it wouldn’t have made it this far. If he had a valid exemption reason, we wouldn’t be here. If his visa and documentation were in order, we wouldn’t be here. Regardless of what criteria he met for TA to approve his playing in Australia, he clearly didn’t meet government guidelines to play in Australia because if he had a leg to stand on we wouldn’t be here. If he is holding on to information that he should have been forthcoming about at the start of this, well that is on him. I don’t think he is or again we wouldn’t be here. He’s lucky they are even entertaining giving him a shot at defending his right to be there, and they didn’t just say leave.

 

[kskate2]

I live in Australia and I can tell you it is not a 'dictatorship' go try and live in China
I have never read soo much crap in my life about Australia because of a tennis player who tried to get with the incorrect paperwork and now we are a nation of dictators. LOL!

Thank you Margaret. Finally some sanity and reason amongst all the crap.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Thank you Margaret. Finally some sanity and reason amongst all the crap.

No worries....I cannot wait till this is over and we can get back to tennis.

 

[Kieran]

Any idea what time this match - I mean, "legal shitstorm" - begins? Is it possible that I wake up tomorrow morning to a result? I usually wake up at about 7am, Irish time, if that helps...

 

[kskate2]

Any idea what time this match - I mean, "legal shitstorm" - begins? Is it possible that I wake up tomorrow morning to a result? I usually wake up at about 7am, Irish time, if that helps...

The TTC said it was happening at 6pm Eastern time. What time is that for you, midnight?

 

[tennisville]

People here are seriously okay with a government locking people up for 9 years and imprisoning people who come for medical treatment. That is a government that does not care about basic human rights

I know that just because it doesn't affect you doesn't mean it exists

This is the last I am going to talk about this, me being a Djokovic fan or not has absolutely nothing to do with people being treated in inhumane conditions for close to 9 years

For me this is bigger than Djokovic and the Australian Open. For me, it is about people being treated fairly and having basic human rights. No one in that detention facility has that

 

[Kieran]

The TTC said it was happening at 6pm Eastern time. What time is that for you, midnight?

That’s New York? 5 hours behind us, so 11pm. Not bad, thanks!

 

[Kieran]

People here are seriously okay with a government locking people up for 9 years and imprisoning people who come for medical treatment. That is a government that does not care about basic human rights

I know that just because it doesn't affect you doesn't mean it exists

This is the last I am going to talk about this, me being a Djokovic fan or not has absolutely nothing to do with people being treated in inhumane conditions for close to 9 years

Who are you talking about, imprisoned illegally for 9 years?

 

[tennisville]

Who are you talking about, imprisoned illegally for 9 years?

âEveryone asks about Novakâ but Mehdi has languished for nine years in Australian immigration detention

The Iranian was 15 when he arrived by boat in Australia seeking sanctuary. Despite formal recognition as a refugee he hasn’t been free since – he turned 24 on Friday

www.theguardian.com

There are others as well in that hotel with similar stories. I am more worried about them than I am about Djokovic
This is about basic human rights

 

[tennisville]

Also dumb question, why am I not able to block kskate?

I should have control on not seeing a post of a person who believes the government is right in detaining a human being for 9 years

 

[kskate2]

I live in Australia and I can tell you it is not a 'dictatorship' go try and live in China
I have never read soo much crap in my life about Australia because of a tennis player who tried to get with the incorrect paperwork and now we are a nation of dictators. LOL!

Speaking of China. I went there the year before all this stuff started. I flew into Shanghai from Chicago. Before we even went on this trip I did the research and told my group we need to go to the local embassy in our region and apply for a visa. The cruise line told us we didn't need to apply for a visa because we were staying in China less than 72 hours. The cruise line did tell us what to bring and present to the authorities when we landed. Me and my group were in the immigration area for over 3 hours before they finally let everyone through. We were going on a cruise and the cruise line told us what information we needed to present to the Chinese authorities to be granted access. Guess what, the Chinese officials were not impressed w/ the documentation and weren't going to let us in. Then some other flights came in w/ people going on the same cruise and they had the same issue we did. Ultimately, they granted us a 24 hour VISA so we could transfer to the ship. Once we got onboard because of some maritime rules, we had to apply for an expedited visa as we were going to South Korea and then to Beijing. The cruise line took our photos and submitted the visa apps remotely. When we got to Beijing, everyone else was allowed to leave the ship except us. They called us about 3 hours after the ship docked and told us we had to present ourselves to the Chinese officials in the terminal so we could have our visas approved and stamped. By the way, the expedited visa was $140. Our travel advocated for us and we were given a credit back for that on our ship acct.

 

[kskate2]

Also dumb question, why am I not able to block kskate?

I should have control on not seeing a post of a person who believes the government is right in detaining a human being for 9 years

In case you didn't know, I'm an admin silly rabbit. And unlike Australia, I own and run this site. For you, it is a dictatorship. We have rules here that posters must follow or they will be shown the door. Sorry, you can't block me. Try that on another site.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Speaking of China. I went there the year before all this stuff started. I flew into Shanghai from Chicago. Before we even went on this trip I did the research and told my group we need to go to the local embassy in our region and apply for a visa. The cruise line told us we didn't need to apply for a visa because we were staying in China less than 72 hours. The cruise line did tell us what to bring and present to the authorities when we landed. Me and my group were in the immigration area for over 3 hours before they finally let everyone through. We were going on a cruise and the cruise line told us what information we needed to present to the Chinese authorities to be granted access. Guess what, the Chinese officials were not impressed w/ the documentation and weren't going to let us in. Then some other flights came in w/ people going on the same cruise and they had the same issue we did. Ultimately, they granted us a 24 hour VISA so we could transfer to the ship. Once we got onboard because of some maritime rules, we had to apply for an expedited visa as we were going to South Korea and then to Beijing. The cruise line took our photos and submitted the visa apps remotely. When we got to Beijing, everyone else was allowed to leave the ship except us. They called us about 3 hours after the ship docked and told us we had to present ourselves to the Chinese officials in the terminal so we could have our visas approved and stamped. By the way, the expedited visa was $140. Our travel advocated for us and we were given a credit back for that on our ship acct.

My husband and I have also visited China and we had similar trouble with documentation some years back,I can understand your point.

 

[Kieran]

Also dumb question, why am I not able to block kskate?

I should have control on not seeing a post of a person who believes the government is right in detaining a human being for 9 years

Who do people block people anyway? Just argue it and to hell with the difference. Kskate is alright, there’s no problems with her posts.

Thanks for clarifying who you meant. I don’t know the reasons they give for this, but the US detained people for a long time too. The US isn’t a dictatorship…

 

[kskate2]

Who do people block people anyway? Just argue it and to hell with the difference. Kskate is alright, there’s no problems with her posts.

Thanks for clarifying who you meant. I don’t know the reasons they give for this, but the US detained people for a long time too. The US isn’t a dictatorship…

That's OK Kieran. I think that's the first time in the history of this board (10 years?) that someone wanted to block me. LOL!