Free Republic

On Thursday, the State Department raised its global health advisory to level four, its highest level. The new advisory encourages all U.S. citizens to avoid international travel due to the global spread and impact of the Wuhan coronavirus. U.S. citizens who are currently abroad are encouraged by the State Department to immediately return to the United States, if possible, or prepare to remain abroad for an indefinite period of time. U.S. citizens who live abroad are also encouraged to avoid international travel at this time. "If you chose to travel internationally," the State Department warns, "your travel plans may be...

Full title: Tom Fitton: 'Air Pelosi' – What you don't know about the lucrative travel our leaders enjoy on your dimeWhen President Trump denied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi use of a military aircraft for a CODEL (congressional delegation trip) to Afghanistan recently, he called the public’s attention to wasteful taxpayer-funded congressional travel. In his letter to Pelosi blocking the trip, President Trump mentioned the 800,000 federal workers going without pay. The real irony is that U.S. government workers in Afghanistan, who were among those not being paid, worked for two weeks to plan the trip – and on a holiday...

We were thinking about going overseas, worrying about the usual stuff travelers from Washington fret about — a weak dollar, suntan lotion, visa requirements, shots and inadvertently disclosing secret information. Fortunately, we recalled some instructions we got a while back from the National Security Agency — the super-secret cryptography operation at Fort Meade that monitors international communications — explaining the do’s and don’ts of “defensive travel.” The agency reminds super-spooks that even “if you plan to travel . . . for vacation,” you’ve got to submit a “UFT” or Unofficial Foreign Travel request, which is Form K2579. Most of all,...

Rarely are currency exchange rates as good for the American dollar as that of Asian countries. In Asia, the American dollar carries a lot of clout and with the recent devaluation of the USD; it is a good thing that these countries offer an excellent trip for so little cost to Americans.

US tightens ban on Cuban cigars WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s administration has tightened a ban on Americans importing Cuban cigars. "There is now an across-the-board ban on the importation of Cuban-origin cigars," said a notice released this week by the Treasury Department (news - web sites)'s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Previously, the rules allowed Americans licensed to travel to Cuba to bring back to the United States up to 100 dollars' worth of Cuban goods, including cigars. That loophole was closed in the latest regulations. The anti-Cuban cigar rules were already...

If you, or someone from your family, have any plan to visit the US in a near future, I strongly suggest you to continue reading this text, where I describe the experiences I had in LA International Airport, late Feb 24, 2002. My name is Ricardo Abude E. Da Silva, I'm an Electronic Engineer graduated in 1982 and today am managing our family´s businesses in the farming sector. My email is ricabude@cpunet.com.br . Throughout my 42 years of age I've travelled several times to the US, both on business and tourism. Late Feb 23 I embarked in Rio heading to...