Visa story: "I doubt your correspondent was even being discriminated against particularly because of the recent american incursion: I knew an american who obtained Syrian visas at the Lebanese border more than once last year and had to wait up to 10 hours one time. It's just bureaucracy -- they fax the passport to some office in Damascus, who knows when anybody's going to bother picking it up? And to your other correspondent: I don't see how sexual arassment is relevant to "discrimination against americans" in syria -- syrian women get harassed too, especially if they don't wear a hijab. And she got ripped off? Well what do you expect, most Syrians won't earn in a week what an American would earn in a few hours. Paying too much is part and parcel of being a tourist wherever you go, and your privileged position as a westerner in Syria far exceeds the tribulations of being overcharged sometimes. You can walk into any club or restaurant whenever you like, come in and out of the country with relative ease, and even express your political opinions quite freely -- compared to Syrians. Westerners (including americans) are overwhelmingly privileged compared to Syrians, not discriminated against."