Jaunted

Tags: Passports / State Department / → All Tags

This Time We're Serious: It Really Is Time to Get that Passport

If you're one of those slackers waiting 'til the last minute to get your U.S. passport, now's the time to get cracking – the State Department's new rules go into effect June 1, requiring all travelers to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean to carry a passport.

Of course, most of you probably already have a passport if you're frequent travelers, but until now a birth certificate along with a driver's license was actually enough to travel throughout North America. Starting next week you'll need the real deal.

If you're traveling by land or sea, you can just get one of those wallet-sized passport cards, which only cost $45, compared to $100 for a regular pass. Just remember, if you're flying to any of these countries (or anywhere else), you need the real passbook.

Related Stories:
· Apply for a Passport [State Department]
· Passport Cards Just Aren't as Cool as Passport Books [Jaunted]
· Who Wants a Passport? Nobody? [Jaunted]

[Photo: clappstar]

Tags: Passports / State Department / Recessionomics / → All Tags

Who Wants a Passport? Nobody?

We already knew cash-strapped Americans are in no rush to vacation outside of the country, but now we've got official data to prove it. The State Department says it expects to issue just 12 million passports during the current fiscal year (Oct. '08 – Sep. '09). That may sound like a lot, but it’s a full 25 percent less than the number of passports issued the previous fiscal year.

The good news? That means your passport should be coming quicker than ever—current applicants are getting theirs back in three weeks or less. The bad news is that the State Department has started getting rid of many of the contract employees paid to process the applications. (Aside to President Obama: May we propose subsidized vacations as part of the economic stimulus plan? No passport applications = job losses!)

Despite the decline, you still shouldn't leave your passport app 'til the last minute. Officials expect demand to rise again, especially as new passport rules go into effect this spring. Starting June 1, Americans driving back from Mexico or Canada, or returning from a Caribbean cruise, will have to show a passport or other high-tech ID card to cross the border. (Previously a birth certificate along with a driver's license would do.)

· Passport applications plunge as recession chokes off foreign travel [LA Times]
· Passport Applications [State Department]
· Passports Coverage [Jaunted]

Photo: [clappstar]

Tags: Dangerous Travel / State Department / Photo Ops / Muntazer al-Zaidi / Shoe-Throwing / → All Tags

Good Luck Visiting The Iraqi Shoe Monument

But is there an old woman in it?

An Iraqi town has erected a monument to the journalist who threw a shoe at former President Bush, although conditions on the ground in the war-torn country may preclude a steady stream of visitors.

Muntazer al-Zaidi, a journalist who grew up in Sadr City, was just a broadcast journalist at Al-Baghdadia TV before he chucked his shoe at the visiting president -- a local sign of disrespect. Now the city of Tikrit, near Saddam Hussein's birthplace, has immortalized the shoe in a sofa-sized statue -- even while al-Zaidi is in jail awaiting trial.

Iraq sure could use a tourism boost: The State Department currently considers the country "very dangerous" (no kidding) and, while it has not stopped issuing visas for Iraq, it strongly cautions against visiting there. It's too bad, because we'd love to take some gag photos with that shoe.

Related Stories:
· Shoe monument for man who threw footwear at Bush [Reuters via Yahoo!]
· Iraq Travel Warning [Travel.State.Gov]
· Iraq coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: DayLife.com]