True Blue

Thanks Allon, I'll check it out from the library. I see she also a book about the Rape of Nanking (Nanjing). That is a story that is not well known in the United States. American know a lot about the Holocaust, but this was as bad, if not worse. I learned a lot about it when we visited the Memorial when we were in Nanjing. For those who haven't been tp Nanjing, here is the Trip Advisor information where you can see some photographs, read some reviews and get an idea of what is there. The Memorial is very well done and is well worth the trip. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294220-d1799087-Reviews-The_Memorial_of_the_Nanjing_Massacre-Nanjing_Jiangsu.html

I'm going to watch these next https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBoPzC67RMk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dgXTK1A1qY

This was a follow up documentary shown on PBS tonight. I found it on youtube.

Sorry Eseum, I didn't see your post and started my own thread. Mods can you merge my posts to this thread? I learned a lot from watching this documentary. How about you?

Simply amazing to read this in this day and age...... For some Americans and some Chinese, our society really hasn't moved too far from the racist attitudes reflected by (see my post in this thread) The Chinese Exclusion Act.... I understand the possible safety concerns that a language issue could create, but whatever happened to send him to English class and give him a chance?

Saw this powerful documentary on PBS tonight. Learned just how badly Americans treated the Chinese for many, many years. They don't teach this shameful story in U.S. History classes. They should. Here are some clips related to the documentary. Find it on PBS and watch it.

I heard this theory on a radio talk show and it actually makes some sense. It goes like this If Kim Jong Un, Trump and South Korea agree to play nice and North Korea gives up Nukes in exchange for a US troop pull out, then Japan will feel threatened with no more US presence in South Korea. Which leads to Japan building up its self defense force, Which is not something that China wants to see given every 2nd Chinese movie is about Japanese atrocities in WW2, So Uncle Xi is trying to stir the pot to see the US troops stay in South Korea..... Seemed a bit far fetched when I first heard it, but on further reflection.....???

I saw an article about this too. I wonder if it is Beijing Opera mixed with underwater recordings of the Loch Ness monster calling out to Bigfoot mixed with Beatles albums played backwards at half speed in reverse? (Or it could just be a recording of the wife yelling at me to put my beer down and drag the trash cans out to the curb.)

I'm not sure if this is relevant to your situation or not but I wanted to offer it up as I was in a somewhat similar situation a few years ago. If you are taking a cruise, check around as sometimes (even though the country's governmental web site may show that a visa is required for visitors) you may find out that a visa is not needed as long as you sleep on the ship and take ship provided excursion tours. Not sure about Greece specifically but wife and I went on a European cruise that included St Petersburg Russia a few years ago. Normally a visa would be required to go to Russia, but we happily found out no visa was required since the ship was only there several nights, we slept on the ship and we took ship provided excursions. check cruisecritic.com and some travel sites related to your trip if you are going on a cruise or some sort of tour to find out if a visa is really needed or not. If you are traveling on your own and not part of an organized tour you wont find any loopholes.

June visa bulletin is out. Now 3 months with zero movement in China Mainland born F1 visa line (unmarried adult children of US citizen) and only 1 month movement during past 7 months. We need just 8 days of movement but alas, All the visa prediction sites predict that we won't make it in July visa bulletin either. Our back is against the wall. Meanwhile the F2B visa (unmarried adult children of US permanent resident) line has sped by and already past my stepdaughters priority date for 2 months now and is expected to jump ahead another 5 weeks next month per the average of som visa prediction sites. We have written an opt out request for her to move back to the F2B visa line and emailed it to NVC per the instructions I received in 2 separate calls with the NVC helpline. I saw notes in another visa website forum (mainly Indian visa seekers) who dealt with this same issue several years ago stating that (1) the request needs to be in writing to both the NVC and by the top dept of homeland security official in the local country visa office (I presume this means Guangzhou or Beijing for China) and (2) it needs to be approved there by letter and that signed letter must accompany the visa applicant to the interview. I asked the NVC help line people about this and they told me it is likely a waste of time because until the priority date hits the visa file isn't even sent to the local office. The Indian visa forum basically said don't believe anything you hear from NVC and many who posted there had spent thousands of dollars in legal fees trying to speed things up with no good result. Does anyone here have experience opting out of the F1 conversion that occurs when the petitioner naturalizes as a citizen? If so, did you do anything more than an email from the beneficiary requesting the opt out ? If so what else ? Did you get anything approving the switch in writing? If so how long did it take.?

I didn't know this term "self transfer" either so I looked it up. Sounds like it is what Kayak.com and other travel web sites commonly refer to as a "Hacker fare". That is booking a trip and using 2 or more airlines that are not code share partners. Please see detailed explanations below from Sky-scanner web site. Also note: Not sure where you are going in China or if you booked ticket already, but Hainan Airlines was aggressively advertising new routes and had some attractive non stop flight fares when we last booked a visitor from China 9 months ago, so you might want to give them a look. ==========> From Skyscanner.com Non-protected transfers Non-protected transfers are flight itineraries that are booked separately with two different airlines that do not have a shared ticketing agreement. This means that the airlines do not have an obligation to honor your onward ticket if the first flight is delayed and you miss your connection. In most cases, you will need to pick up any hold luggage and check it back in for your next flight, as well as possibly changing terminals, depending on your flights. There is therefore a risk involved in booking these itineraries, and we would always recommend that you ensure that there is plenty of connecting time so that this risk is reduced. Remember that it’s also the passenger’s responsibility to check any visa requirements. For non-protected transfers, you will also need to clear security, customs and immigration in the connecting flight country before checking in for your next flight, and therefore a visa or transit visa might be required. Self-transfer flights Self-transfer flight itineraries are similar to non-protected transfers in that they consist of flights operated by different airlines that do not have a shared ticketing agreement. This means that the airlines do not have an obligation to honor your onward ticket if the first flight is delayed and you miss your connection. However, in the case of Self-transfer flights, your reservation is made via a travel agent who does offer some form of guarantee over any cancellations or missed connections. We recommend that you check the terms and conditions for the travel agent carefully before booking. Importantly if you do miss a connection or have a problem traveling, it’s essential that you contact the travel agent as soon as possible - airline staff themselves will not usually be able to assist with re-booking. Remember that it’s also the passenger’s responsibility to check any visa requirements. For self-transfer flights, you will also need to clear security, customs and immigration in the connecting flight country before checking in for your next flight, and therefore a visa or transit visa might be required.

I think it looks very elegant and commend her for an excellent choice. Chinese formal clothes always look great, IMO!!! On the other hand, many American "fashions" are too revealing or too glitzy and look rather low class. Just watch any awards show on TV and you will see 3 put of 4 "fashions" really don't look very good. Classic styles like the Chinese dress worn to the prom are always in good taste.

I've never been there but I saw the very famous musical movie when I was young and I always imagined it to be a very special place. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mloevRLSg0g

Allon - Thanks for teaching us about gout. I learned a lot. I had heard about it mainly in context of old books and movies about the old British Navy Sailing ships, which carried limes and citrus to help combat gout. The diet at sea included heavy doses of sugar cane (mainly dark rum which was consumed in large quantities) and a lack of fresh fruits and vegetables on the ship which also helped contribute to this painful condition. https://academic.oup.com/rheumatology/article/52/3/421/1776400

The key to so much of life is preparation, so prepare as this could happen again (always happens when we least expect it). Get a whistle and clip it to your key chainGet a small can of mace (pepper spray) and keep in your purse.If attacker comes (human or animal) you can blow whistle for help/stop the attacker or use the mace. Rehearse (practice) as to what you will do next time you have trouble. After you buy it, BE SURE you understand which end to point the mace or you will shoot the mace into your own face and make things worse. Be sure to keep the mace in a portion of your purse (maybe separate pocket) where you can quickly find it and if you are ever around small children, keep away so they cannot find it. Keep a good mind to your new home and maybe it will surprise you and be better than you expect. Do some research and find places of interest, new restaurants, things to do, beautiful nature to explore (remember the whistle and mace...I was out hiking once and encountered a big brown bear...I was scared and the bear was scared so we just backed away from each other very very slowly....) Where will you move to? Is it near where you live now? Is it a big city? or a small town? What will you do there? Do you already have a job lined up? Fortunately with the internet, you are never very far from (e.g. you can always access) your friends and family. Being near your son will be a plus. My wife and I have been waiting so long for my stepdaughter to come live with us...hopefully she can come soon...such a long wait for adult children of U.S. Citizens

Sadly this exists - http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/04/19/professor-celebrating-barbara-bush-s-death-deserves-to-be-fired.html(making over $100,000 a year paid by taxpayer dollars and no class taunting that "tenure" lets her say/do anything. But this story may have a happy ending after all. There is a chance (hopefully) that her "tenure" won't protect her and she can get a job mopping rest rooms at Star Bucks https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/04/18/barbara-bush-racist-rant-professor/529382002/ As for Barbara Bush - always a class act with the pearls!

Maybe start first by marking a "track" with paint or signs showing where the driverless cars will drive so everyone knows to be alert for them there. They might pay more attention. I know I slow down whenever I see a sign "Asian Market" as there are usually some distracted drivers in the area. (temporarily avoids mop slap)

You are like me - we are both stupidly trying to follow our country's immigration law and we are trying to abide by the nations laws and do things legally. You would think we would learn by now... Now had we both brought our relatives into the country illegally, the government would have benefits people tripping over themselves to provide taxpayer benefits without the need for any of those 4 hour 23 minute wait time calls. We pay the fees that fund the immigration offices, we should be able to get answers without waiting ridiculous amounts of time. I'm glad to see troops on the border. That's the way it used to be years ago and we didn't have so many issues.

Thanks for clarifying the question, Randy. She has plenty of time left on her 10 year tourist visa. Putting some timeframe to this, if her interview was say in August and it was too late for her to safely fly to USA due to pregnancy or if she gets further delayed say blue slipped for something or a RFE, she will need to stay in China and give birth in October/November Could she then use her tourist visa and GUZ approval to go back to the USA a year later (when the baby was better able to fly) and the get her green card? Or would she need to leave the baby to make a special trip then fly bacK? Having said that on every trip I've made to and from China there have been numerous very small (must be 3 months old or less) babies crying for the entire trip to or from China. Maybe not a big deal to fly so young but I'd like to avoid it if possible.

See related posts below by me here under Now no advantage for US citizen for background story. ...... Just checking on all our options and doing some contingency planning. Pregnant unmarried adult step daughter faces the possibility that after her Priority date comes up, she may be unable to travel to USA to get her green card because of safety concerns (pregnant, late in the term, long flight etc). What happens if her priority date passes, she interviews, passes and everything is fine but because of pregnancy late term she is medically unable to travel to USA to get her green card? Can she come to get it 6 months later? Can she wait 12 months? If she doesn't get it in 12 months does she have to start at the back of the line? Thanks for your help!

Anyone have relatives with F type (family F1, F2a or F2b) processing through GUANGZHOU recently? Can you tell me how long between PRIORITY DATE and final playoff interview (assuming no issues) be passed and relative able to travel to USA? With no movement on US Citizen line and still needing 8 days to reach priority date it is going to be very tight for unmarried (but very pregnant) adult stepdaughter to be able to come to USA. With the pregnancy, she can last safely travel (latest date) on the 1st week of August. I am trying to figure out if she will be able to come to USA to have the baby or if she will have to remain in China, have the baby, and wait another year until my new grandchild will be able to fly. There are several possible scenarios (1) the F1 line moves 8 days and her F1 priority date comes up on the June Visa bulletin (published around May 12th) assuming that she hustles, gets her med exam ASAP and goes to GUZ (also assuming no issues at GUZ) can still she make it through GUZ in time to travel to USA by 1st week of August? (2) same situation but assume no movement in the F1 line until July Visa bulletin (published around June 12th)... Again assuming she hustles, does everything ASAP and no issues at GUZ, is it likely she can make it through GUZ in time to travel to USA by 1st week of August? (3) Final scenario, assume F1 line doesn't move at all or reverts back or there is not enough time to get to USA by 1st week of August.... Can she come to USA by 1st week of August on tourist visa to have the baby and adjust status while in USA? She still has option to request a switch back to F2b unmarried adult child of green card holder under the child protection act (takes 3 months to process all the paperwork per my research on other visa sites) and the 2nd table on the visa bulletin shows she passed the F1 priority date for staying in USA to adjust status had she already been here in USA on a student or work visa. In other words, if she was already in USA on a student or work visa (she is not) her F1 family adjustment priority date has passed so she would not have to go back to GUZ to adjust but could do so by remaining in the USA. A lawyer I spoke to who has visa experience thinks (3) is too risky. But because tourist visa can cover medical tourism, he thinks we might have a shot with proper documentation from some U.S. Doctors as being U.S. Based Heath care that is medically necessary.

Now advantage (faster line) is to F2b green card holder. U.S. Citizen F1 line didn't move at all once again. Add yet another month to our wait, green card prediction sites, predict no movement next month either. Oh well, what can you do?

Number one piece of advice that I gave my wife for driving and will give my step daughter when she arrives and her fiancé whenever he arrives is this....... Pick a lane and stay in it. The people who weave from lane to lane get in and cause most of the accidents. On the highway stay in the right lane if 2 lanes and center lane if 3 lanes or more. Drive a little slower (say 5 miles per hour less) than speed limit. That gives you a little more time to react. Signal lane changes early then look, then edge over then look again in your blind spot before moving over. Anticipate where you are going at get in the correct lane to turn off early - well before the exit. If you can't get in the correct lane in time drive on past, make a u-turn and go back. There is nothing worth risking your life and the lives of others have that can't wait for an extra 10 minutes. Leave 10 minutes earlier for work and other appointments so you have plenty of time and don't have to rush. Don't speed up to run through every yellow light. Take your time and drive safely. Better to arrive safely than to risk hurting yourself, others and crashing your car to get there 5 minutes early. Old American saying, "people who drive like they are going through hell will soon get there" Practice highway driving on weekend mornings in lower traffic areas as there is less traffic and you can build your confidence and skill. Good luck!

There are not deportations during a trade war. We just pay a little more for our computers and Lao gamma bean sauce here in the USA and Randy and those in China pay a little more for Jack Daniel's and vitamins. As for a real fighting war, if one were to break out between Nuclear superpowers, I think we would all be more worried about survival than deportation. Me and the missus would prolly grab a couple of Sombreros and head for the Mexican mountains until we got the all clear to return. I think there is more chance we have to worry about little spacemen from Mars as neither the American nor Chinese elite want a war messing up their current financial money grabs.

I'm guessing you have the 2 GB $34 auto-refill plan. We have a 1 GB $32.50 no contract auto-refill plan from AT&T because my wife keeps the data off unless she is at home (then pulls Wifi) or if she has to look something up while we are out. The unused data rolls to the next month so we effectively have 2 GB if we ever need it. But my wife says "we doan need no stinking data plan Gringo" (Mexican accent required) so I just say "yes ma'am" and nod my head in agreement. We used to pay $35 to be on some Chinese lady's family plan in Maryland who recruited Florida Chinese to join. But when my wife found out she could save $2.50 a month, we didn't renew with her. Hahaha. We have the iPhone SE as well because wife thinks it's good bang for the buck and thinks the world rises and sets with Apple. We don't have the Samsung phone, but do have Samsung Refrigerator, washer and Dryer so I know they produce high quality stuff. I work at a University and word from the young techies in our IT dept is the new Samsung 9 is significantly better than the IPhone 10. Disclaimer: I don't have a cell phone so I have no dog in the fight. I have my wife's old iPad and a Windows 10 pc and my take is the apple software is good for talking to other Apple products but no USB port locks you into their very expensive memory or cloud storage prices. I use the iPad to write emails and surf the web and the Windows pic for any real work and to listen to music. Not an iTunes fan at all. I use a wonderful free very flexible Windows music player called MusicBee. Has 15 band customizable equalizer, sound enhancers, can pull in album pictures, lyrics, all the track tags, whatever you want and really sounds great through headphones, earbuds, laptop speakers or output to larger speakers and amps. Plus it plays anything, doesn't force to to buy stuff or hit you with ads and most important to me -----Won't delete your music library like Itunes will (fortunately I had a backup on my external back up disk drive). TB out