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From: BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
Subject: Re: Elon Musk versus the intelligence community
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2025 03:54:48 -0000 (UTC)
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References: <l8ptujp80h1kk51hacn79rl8obp45c9vtn@4ax.com> <1043070022.765436885.131205.anim8rfsk-cox.net@news.easynews.com> <vspk0p$hf1u$1@dont-email.me>
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On Apr 4, 2025 at 2:47:06 PM PDT, "Your Name" <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:

> On 2025-04-04 05:28:07 +0000, anim8rfsk said:
>>  BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
>>>  On Apr 3, 2025 at 1:04:37 PM PDT, "Your Name" <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:
>>>>  On 2025-04-03 19:46:14 +0000, The Horny Goat said:
>>>>>  On Mon, 17 Mar 2025 21:40:28 -0400, Rhino
>>>>>  <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:
>>>>>  
>>>>>>  If I'm not mistaken, Queen Elizabeth II was an avid driver, having
>>>>>>  learned when she was a mechanic for military vehicles during WWII, but
>>>>>>  was not permitted to drive on public roads, at least as Queen. However,
>>>>>>  she loved to drive on the private roads on her estates, like Balmoral. 
>>>>>>  I distinctly remember seeing that depicted in a movie where the Queen
>>>>>>  (played by Helen Mirren if I recall correctly) was hauling ass around
>>>>>>  Balmoral in a Land Rover.
>>>>>  
>>>>>  She was more than a mechanic - she was a military chauffer. It would
>>>>>  be interesting to know how much of that was real and how much for the
>>>>>  camera since she was after all the Princess of Wales and the next
>>>>>  monarch after her father.
>>>>>  
>>>>>  As for your last point I saw the same movie (not surprising since I am
>>>>>  a massive Helen Mirren fan)
>>>>  
>>>>  The royal family are, and do, sometimes drive themselves on public
>>>>  roads, including the Queen before she stopped driving on public roads
>>>>  due to her own concerns about her age (on her 93rd birthday) affecting
>>>>  the safety of herself and other drivers. She did still drive for a
>>>>  while longer on private roads though. She also taught her children and
>>>>  grandchildren to drive.
>>>>  
>>>>  The current Queen / King is the only person in Britain who does not
>>>>  legally need to have a drivers licence nor even take the driving test,
>>>>  and also does not need a licence plate on their cars. The Queen / King
>>>>  also does not need a passport either.
>>>  
>>>  How does the Queen exempt herself from other countries' laws regarding
>>>  passports?
>>  
>>  Same way, the governor of Hawaii does.
>>  
>>  Ways and means.
> 
> The Queen / King does not have to follow the same travel requirements 
> as 'normal' people, e.g. getting passport visas, going through 
> immigration / customs / security, etc.

Again, each country sets up its own immigration laws and how heads of state
and heads of government are treated during official visits. The Queen of
England only has those privileges which the country she's visiting afford her.
She can't just show up in a foreign nation and say, "I'm exempt from needing a
passport" if that country's laws requires one.

With regard to the U.S., the monarch of Great Britain does indeed require a
passport, just like everyone else, including every other world leader. No, the
monarch doesn't have to stand in line and go through Customs but a valid
passport is nevertheless required.

One of the responsibilities of the Secret Service site agent at the airport
where the head of state will arrive is to arrange ahead of time with the
embassy staff to collect all passports from the official delegation and have a
Customs officer present when the flight arrives. The Customs officer then
stamps all the passports and clears the entire delegation for entry into the
United States before they even deplane. The same arrangement occurs in reverse
upon departure.

> The only other people on the planet who do not require a passport are 
> the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

That may be true in your country but it is not true in the United States.