unicorn

It would be logistically complex to just rescreen those whose first flight originated from a suspect country. What if the passenger originated in Libya, for example, and transited in CDG before his flight in the US? It could get quite messy. As I mentioned in a prior post, the countries for which one can go through US customs at the airport of origin are Canada, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Ireland, and the UAE. What's especially nice is that you can basically buy extra duty-free liquor if you like, and bring it in, since you've already gone through customs. The duty-free shops at those airport, however, will not sell Cuban Havana Club rum or Cuban cigars.

Not a very good reason. I suppose, theoretically, since you had to pick up your checked luggage to go through customs, a wily terrorist could transfer, say, a knife from his checked luggage to his carry-on. In that case, although his carry-on went through security at the departing airport, an item which is allowed in checked luggage but not in a carry-on could be snuck into the cabin. Also, the US probably also feels (probably correctly) that it's a higher-threat target, so doesn't trust every other country's security procedures. What if the original flight came from, say, Libya or Burkina Faso?

That was my suspicion from the beginning. We'll see soon enough.

It's a stupid pain in the ass, no doubt. Always allow for 3 hours for international connections when arriving in the US.

For an update, I got an e-mail from him on Wednesday: "Thank you so so much for the kind words and opportunity to support my cause. It's been terribly busy as far as work goes, so excuse my delay. I don't know when I would be able to find the time to meet up because I'm quite delayed with two projects i've found myself editing for and the deadlines are in two days, so I cannot say if we would be able to meet before then, but I wanted to at least stay appreciative of your time and your response. I can't thank you enough for taking your time to reach out to me and even offer support to me. That's massive, kind and generous to say the least. I hope you'll accept my sincerest appreciation for even the thought to do this for me. It's monumental. Take care. -Skyler" So maybe I'll hear from him later today or tomorrow, since the deadline is today. Here was my response: "Skyler, There's no rush. It's up to you. I will be at a medical conference in Irvine (I'm a doctor) from next Thursday to next Saturday, and then again out of town from the 18th to 24th, but the rest of the month is pretty free. It's a quick drive for me to get to Burbank--we often go to the AMC theaters there. We could meet at the Starbucks at Palm and San Fernando, or any other coffee shop of your choosing. Also, I'd be interested in hiring you as a magician for entertainment at a pool party I'm starting to plan for Saturday June 13th. The parties are lots of fun, with most of the guests in their 30s. Hunter Gallagher and Nick Mascardo are frequent guests at my pool parties, and we have shirtless bartenders and an open bar."

No, most countries don't make you do that when just changing planes. The US does make you go through customs and immigration on arrival from most countries (except Canada, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Ireland, and UAE), and to go through security again. However, one does not need to go through security again with domestic travel (or travel from those 6 countries).

Yes, that's one of his porn monikers. Here's his linktr.ee https://linktr.ee/Jkabobs

News Flash!

Unfortunately, LHR is the only UK airport which doesn't make people go through immigration in order to change flights. Obviously, changing airports also involves going through immigration, but even if you're doing the transfer within the airport at other London airports, including Gatwick, you need to go through immigration. AI Overview Yes, U.S. citizens need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to transit through Gatwick Airport, effective for travel from February 25, 2026. Because changing flights at Gatwick usually requires passing through UK passport control, it is considered entry into the UK, necessitating this digital authorization.

London? Easy connections? LHR is a mess, and if you connect in Gatwick or other London airport you'll need at ETA unless you're an Irish/UK/Manx citizen.

Well, not needing any hard evidence, the court of public opinion has spoken, and California has changed Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers' Day. Why wait for any evidence? Accusation = guilt. https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/03/cesar-chavez-day-renamed/

Yes, that and the fact that he's not as hard-up for cash as he claims. I'm not hard-up for cash, but I was happy to meet the LA Opera's Major Gifts Officer when he offered to talk to me and my husband about the LAO over coffee--and all we got was a cup of coffee. I was surprised to learn that corporate donations make up only 10% of its budget, and that they rely more heavily on private donors such as myself. We did tell him, though, that we were disappointed that they are redoing both The Marriage of Figaro and Turandot, after having done them just a few years earlier. Apparently I was not alone in expressing this concern. We did tell him we would be renewing our subscriptions and our donations again this year, but would not do so if they kept on doing repeats. Well, I must admit he's quite handsome--though we're both quite happily married (in his case, to a woman, of all people) and neither hitting on each other. https://www.linkedin.com/in/timstephensonpiano/

May I ask for the source of this information?

What percentage of these MAGA sycophants do you suppose have children/grandchildren in the armed forces? He calls our brave warriors "losers" and "suckers." " According to a 2020 Atlantic report, Trump reportedly made these comments when cancelling a 2018 visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France, calling it "filled with losers," and allegedly referred to 1,800 Marines who died at Belleau Wood as "suckers"."... https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/john-kelly-confirms-trump-privately-disparaged-us-service-members-vete-rcna118543 https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/ "When President Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, near Paris, in 2018, he blamed rain for the last-minute decision, saying that “the helicopter couldn’t fly” and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Neither claim was true. Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed...".

In my email, I specifically told him that I never have and never will cheat on my husband, and sent him two photos of my hubbie and myself, including one of our wedding pictures, and made it quite clear that I had no intention of hitting on him. I gave him my full name and address. He still hasn't responded, leading me to strongly suspect his pleas are a scam (already a bit difficult to believe without this confirming evidence). Many apparently are happy to blindly send him money, so easy pickings for him.

That being said, I'd vote for Puerto Vallarta (in Jalisco, the same state for which Guadalajara is the capital) being the most gay. It's certainly much more concentrated. The number of gay bars and restaurants may even be greater in PV than in MC. One would certainly say that PV is Mexico's "gay mecca." There are lots of luxury bus companies running the Guadalaja to PV circuit, and the road between the two cities (on the luxury lines) is quite good.

It's been over 24 hours since I offered both (1) the $100 coffee meeting, and (2) magician/entertainer gig for June pool party. No response so far, which makes me very suspicious that his story in asking for donations is a scam... 😉

Well, I sent him an e-mail. We'll find out if his story is probably true or not... 😉

My worst queueing experience was going through immigration for non-EU/EEA citizens at Lisbon Airport. Good thing I arrived at the airport 2.5 hours before departure. The line was over 1 km long and took almost 2 hours. Barely had time to reach my gate (no special line for business class, either).