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The irony is that restricting American citizen’s travel rights is a very communist thing to do. This will be devastating to average Cubans just trying to get by. New Cuba Travel Restrictions

She may be complicit. Her selfies project more Stormy Daniels than Singing Nun ... and with two Frenchies to support at any personal cost in an endless economic downturn ...

It’s quite possible that it can be both. Putin pulls strings. Trump does things for his own self-preservation and self-gain. The two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. And of course, we know how Orange Foolius just wants o undo anything that Obama did, out of jealousy and spite. The older white Cubans in Florida are dying out, but they vote in strong numbers and they still vote for and donate to the GOP. The younger ones are less likely to do so. The Cubans on the island, many if not most who are brown and black, love Obama and hate Trump.

that's the whole idea as goings in the soi were more interesting than goings in the bar perhaps 98 times out of 100 IMHO

Thailand is getting more expensive to live in, with the exchange rates and general inflation and booming real estate especially in bangkok. I can only imagine based on living in KL that if u want to live comfortably in the city, 30k wont cut it. 80k would definitely put you in the upper midddle class comfort level, especially if u no longer serving any loans. I myself are paying a little less than half my income for loans. Of course spending on entertainment would add considerably to that amount as well. Food is thankfully still very cheap in this part of the world, but imported branded goods isnt as cheap as you can get in the western countries.

Great place - I have been there many times. Try it, you'll like it -

Wow, seems so surreal to see Americans surrendering their freedom to travel anywhere like this... I know Cuba don’t held a lot of touristic appeal to the typical American but nonetheless can’t believe how a authoritarian decision is accepted by your congress.

This move is Drumpf trying to lock in the South Florida Cuban-American GOP vote for 2020, with the help of that ratfucker Marco Rubio. ”For Trump, pleasing Rubio and his Miami base—a stronghold of conservative Latino voters—is key to a 2020 victory in the battleground state of Florida, where he beat Hillary Clinton by a mere 113,000 votes in 2016. Florida is home to some 1.2 million Cubans and 190,000 Venezuelans. “Trump doesn’t care about Latin America. It’s all about domestic politics,” said William LeoGrande, an expert in U.S.-Latin American relations at American University. “Trump thinks he won Florida because of the Cuban American vote. Rubio convinced him that that’s what made the big difference in Florida.” Rubio’s influence over Latin American policy is highly unusual for a senator. While Cuban-American members of Congress have long held outsized clout when it comes to foreign policy toward Cuba, Rubio’s reach extends further afield, in particular to Venezuela, which has served as a close ally and economic lifeline to Cuba for decades. On January 22, Rubio—flanked by Florida Governor Rick Scott and Florida Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, a fellow Cuban-American from Miami—went to the White House to call on Trump to support Juan Guaidó and the Venezuelan opposition. The next day the Florida politicians got their wish. The United States, followed by 20 other countries, recognized Guaidó as interim president. “I can’t think of another moment when such a crucial aspect of foreign policy was outsourced to a senator on such a critical decision as to recognize a dissident as the president of a country,” said Greg Grandin, author of Empire’s Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and Rise of New Imperialism and a professor of history at New York University. “It’s pretty audacious and it’s pretty unusual.”… .…In recent months, he has pressured the White House to put Cuba back on an international terrorism list, impose sanctions on Cuban officials, and end U.S. travel and academic exchanges to the island. Last year, at Rubio’s urging, the United States withdrew most of its diplomats from Cuba. The real feather in his cap will be if the Maduro government falls in Venezuela, which could have devastating effects on Cuba, since it relies on subsidized oil from Venezuela.” https://newrepublic.com/article/153115/marco-rubio-trumps-shadow-secretary-state

How hypocritical of Trump. Most readers recall that early on when Trump took office, he visited Cuba with his family (at taxpayer expense). His supposed official visit (sight-seeing vacation) did not create much news because he did not meet with any Cuban political officials. The few comments made by Trump about the visit was to say that Obama should not have eased restrictions for Americans to visit the island nation. In other words, Trump "had his ice cream", so to speak - (his free family vacation to Cuba) but to hell with anyone else who might want to visit there. What a useless swine that Trump is!

In addition to what you posted (thanks), here are a few articles, etc. that graced my Facebook pages today. Thought I'd add since they, too, are quite pertinent. https://nyti.ms/2XA9PHL (I had three other websites to consult; unfortunately they failed to work; thus I deleted.) Sorry!

Daniel Thaiger's truck is moving to Silom (Silom Soi 8). I think their regular schedule is Tuesday-Sunday 4:00 - 10:00?. One day a week they used to be at Sathorn Square, but they are no longer going to be at Sathorn Square at all. They are good at updating social media on when the truck is off doing special events and not where it should be. Worth checking if you intend to go. The brick-and-mortar shop in Thonglor remains. Facebook

I stopped by again last night after seeing the show at Xboys on the next soi. I saw the old mamasan/manager and spoke to him. He said there would be a show around midnight tonight (Wednesday June 5th). I asked if sexy show, he said yes. It’s late but I’ll possibly check it out. Hopefully it’s the first of many, as I enjoy the shows at the boy bars nearby.

That’s true. But I do. I keep very detailed records —- primarily because I don’t trust this fascist administration. Also, I have a list of the banned establishments. Basically, it’s anything that is not a private establishment. It includes many popular tourist spots, like the rooftop of the Ambos Mundos Hotel (where Ernest Hemingway stayed) and the Nacional Hotel. It’s beyond ridiculous

Lagoa might have the best facilities in Brazil (not 100% sure about this actually, when compared to 117 or 202 now) but it has the worst layout ever. You're never able to get an idea about how many, who are and where are the garotos inside the sauna, so you actually need to do an active search. If you stay at the tables by the pool you cannot see what happens in the corridor and in the bar, if you stay un the bar you cannot see what happens in the corridor....and so on. In Brazilian saunas I usually like to spend my time at the bar watching the guys to make a decision, in Lagoa it's not an easy task IMHO.

The Bangkok Screening Room (in the Woofpack Building) is having a LGBT+ Film Festival July 2-7. FILM LINEUP: Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco (USA) Being 17 (France) Clément, Alex et tous les autres (France) Family in Transition (Israel) Freak Show (USA) Mapplethorpe (USA) My Own Private Idaho (USA) Rafiki (KENYA) Saving Face (USA) Taekwando (Argentina) Wild Nights with Emily (USA) More info: BSR Event

Eastern Europe is probably more suited for you.

I never felt safe in Santo Domingo. I'm tall, white, and look wealthy. Not a good look for SD if discretion is your style. I went once and swore I would never return. There were boys insisting on helping with luggage at the car rental parking lot. We were told if you refuse their help and don't tip them, they might slash your tires. That was the first turn-off. I don't recall falling in love with anything else. Signs of severe poverty were everywhere. My heart ached for the people I saw. We stayed in a luxury hotel but it felt like the weirdest juxtaposition. I did not love the hotel experience at all. Dark hair and dark skin is not my thing sexually, and I don't seek large cock when I'm interested in sex. So I was bored silly. My travel partner was a size queen, and dark was his fetish before AIDS got him. He was thrilled to be in SD, but in the end, he preferred Rio. He thought Brazilian men were more handsome. He loved handsome faces about as much as he loved large cock.

My Own Private Idaho was one of my favorites many years back. I loved River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves. The movie was by Gus Van Sant and really enjoyable for me to watch. I also loved Robert Maplethorpe's photography and look forward to seeing the movie. I have all of his books and when I was in photography school many years back, I meet many people that worked with him and learned a bit about his life. I never met him as he died before my time, but I do remember the controversy surrounding this exhibition and of course the first thing I did when I heard about it was try to find any books I could about it or him. I didn't know about the movie.

MENU WORLD g1 Globe Sports gshow videos SUBSCRIBE NOW MY ACCOUNT EMAIL ENTER > MENU WORLD Adopted at age 5, Brazilian is deported after more than 30 years in the USA Despite the Brazilian authorities' refusal to grant travel documents, the US government forced Paul Fernando Schreiner to embark illegally on Brazil; he does not speak Portuguese and has no relatives in the country. "He should not have to suffer a second time," says foster mother. By Associated Press 05/06/2019 20h08 Updated há 25 minutos Paul Fernando Schreiner in Niterói - Photo: AP Photo / Leo Correa Paul Fernando Schreiner walks around a room with few furniture, wondering if today will be different from all other days. Niteroi's air humidity troubles him, it does not look anything like the dry heat of Phoenix, Arizona, where the 36-year-old man lived when he was deported from the United States last year. Conversations are rare for Schreiner, since he does not speak Portuguese and few people speak another language. But language is just an issue: the food and even the sports Brazilians accompany - Schreiner likes football more than football - do not fit. Inside your head, every day is a struggle against boredom, loneliness and despair. "I am anything but Brazilian," said Schreiner, who was adopted in Brazil by an American family three decades ago. "I'm an American." The US government disagrees, underscoring the increasingly harsh line the Trump government is taking with legal residents deemed deportable. Undated photo courtesy of Roger and Rosanna Schreiner of his adopted son Paul Fernando Schreiner - Photo: Courtesy of the Schreiner Family via AP US immigration authorities went so far as to expel Schreiner that they may have violated Brazilian law and made it virtually impossible for him to exercise his alleged Brazilian citizenship. For US adoption groups, the forced removal of people like Schreiner violates basic human rights and amounts to a threefold increase: the affected were abandoned when children in their home countries are abandoned a second time by their adoptive country and then are sent to a place where they have no family, do not speak the language and have few skills to survive. "He should not have to suffer a second time," his mother, Rosanna Schreiner, says tearfully from her home in a suburb of Seward, Nebraska. Roger and Rosanna Schreiner talk about the deportation of their son Paul - Photo: AP Photo / Nati Harnik Schreiner never naturalized as a US citizen, but lived as an American for 30 years. He was legally adopted at the age of 5, had a birth certificate in Nebraska, a Social Security number, and paid taxes. US adoption groups estimate that between 35,000 and 75,000 adopted in the United States could be in such a situation today, many incorrectly believing that they are already citizens. The Children's Citizenship Act of 2000, signed by President Bill Clinton, aimed at simplifying the process, making the citizenship automatic for children adopted abroad. But there was one exception: for children already in America, only those under 18 were eligible when the law came into force. For a matter of only six weeks, the law did not apply to Schreiner. The petition for citizenship based on green card eligibility was also ruled out: when he was 21, Schreiner was convicted of statutory rape for having sex with a 14-year-old. After spending nearly eight years in prison in Nebraska, Schreiner was able to rebuild his life. He moved to Arizona, began working in pool cleaners and carpenter firms, and developed close relationships with Jason Young, a pastor at Heritage Baptist Church in Goodyear, a suburb of Phoenix. "He was working, getting used to life after prison. So I get a phone call one day saying that he was in prison again, this time through ICE, "said Young, referring to Immigration and Customs. "I answered something like, 'Are you kidding me?'" Detention of immigrants When agents surrounded his truck at 5 o'clock in the morning when he left for work on October 23, 2017, Schreiner was not entirely surprised. Shortly after his legal problems began in 2004, he was notified by the ICE that there was a deportation order against him. But a removal order did not always lead to deportation during the administrations of Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama. Schreiner also had the support of Brazil. "The official position of the Brazilian government - expressed in the Child and Adolescent Law - is that adoption is an irrevocable act, which gives the adopted child the same rights as those who live with their biological parents," Alexandre Addor Neto, then Brazil's consul general in Chicago, wrote to Homeland Security in 2004 in response to a US request for Brazil to issue travel documents for Schreiner's deportation. Schreiner uses his computer in his room in Niterói - Photo: AP Photo / Leo Correa "The Brazilian government does not issue travel documents for the purpose of deportation of a Brazilian in this situation, unless that person freely expresses his clear and unequivocal desire to return to Brazil, which was not the case of Mr. Schreiner" the letter he said. After Schreiner's arrest in 2017, Brazilian officials again denied the US government's request for documents to deport him. Weeks turned into eight months at an immigrant detention center in Florence, Arizona. According to Schreiner and his father, Roger Schreiner, Brazilian consular officers in Los Angeles, who has jurisdiction over Arizona, said that he could refuse to board a plane. 'Wanted criminal' Then, on June 12, 2018, Schreiner was agreed and informed that he was being deported. "Brazil is a corrupt government and will let you in," Schreiner told an ICE agent that he did not have a passport. Schreiner said he had heard that if he made any confusion, he would be put in a "burrito bag," a kind of fair jacket used to restrain prisoners. In a statement, ICE only said that Schreiner had been deported and declined to comment. Handcuffed and accompanied by two agents, Schreiner said he was taken on a commercial flight from Phoenix to New York. However, in New York, American Airlines employees did not want to board Schreiner on the flight to Rio de Janeiro. The only documentation that ICE agents had for Schreiner was a "certificate of nationality" that the Los Angeles consulate, yielding to US pressure, had issued. He listed a single name, "Fernando," and the arbitrary date of birth that Schreiner received when he was adopted. "He is a wanted criminal in Brazil," the agents told the air authorities, who gave in and let him on board. Once in Rio de Janeiro, there were more questions. Undated photo provided by Roger and Rosanna Schreiner shows his adopted son Paul Fernando Schreiner (right) alongside the other family members - Photo: Courtesy of the Schreiner Family via AP For several hours, Schreiner said US agents and the Brazilian federal police had discussed whether they should let him in. After a series of phone calls and heated conversations, Schreiner was taken by a gift shop to the front of the airport. He had the handcuffs loose and the agents left. Brazilian federal police have not responded to several requests from the Associated Press for comments. In a statement, Brazil's Foreign Ministry said the consulate in Los Angeles was "instructed to formally confirm, before the US authorities, the Brazilian nationality of Schreiner, who had a final order of deportation against him." "I do not understand how someone living in the US could be abandoned like this," said Segisfredo Silva Vanderlai, a 68-year-old pastor with whom Schreiner lived. "It was thrown away like human trash." Memories and regrets Schreiner does not remember much of his early years. His parents adopted him from an orphanage in Nova Iguaçu, a Rio municipality full of favelas controlled by heavily armed narco-traffickers and paramilitary groups. "I remember my older sister picking up trash cans for me and finding bananas and other food to eat," Schreiner said. "I remember fear, running and hiding from older children with guns." 'I'm not Brazilian, I'm American', says Schreiner - Photo: AP Photo / Leo Correa At one point, Schreiner and his sister ended up in a house. It was there that her sister was taken away by people Schreiner only remembers as "bad men" and never heard of her again. Schreiner said he ended up in an orphanage where he was sexually molested, trauma that led to bed-wetting until adolescence. Life on a farm in Nebraska with four other foster brothers was happy, though Schreiner struggled with his identity. Because of this, his parents said they postponed his becoming a US citizen until he was older and able to fully participate in the decision. "It was a big miscalculation on our part," said Roger Schreiner. "It never occurred to us that any of our children could go to jail." Uncertain future Almost a year after being deported, Schreiner is still in limbo. He was unable to obtain a Brazilian birth certificate, an RG or a CPF needed to work. Entering the country through the back door with a citizenship certificate that refers to him just as "Fernando" has been an obstacle for civil registration officials. Another is that there is no original record of his birth, a common situation of adoptees and other poor people in Brazil. Vanderlai and others have tried to help Schreiner navigate the bureaucracy. His best hope, if he gets a Brazilian passport, is to try to immigrate to Canada, where he speaks the language and would be closer to the family. "The deportation is for illegal immigrants," Schreiner said. "I did not ask to go to the US and I did not cross the border."