Hijack This Thread

[RTH10260]

Oops! There was a passport in that pile of documents I just shredded.

Forty four times? I truly don’t understand how.

I know it is common in Europe, for hotels to keep guest's passports during their stay, but I didn't think that was a thing in the US.

I don't thinks so, it may have been in the far past. The hotels will want to see the passport or ID to verify that the guest has correctly filled out the government / police guest registration form. As far I am aware today these forms are just checked against the person-wanted list, n longer used to track the whereabouts of foreigners.

[AndyinPA]

We were on a Great Lakes cruise in September. The ship kept our passport the whole time we were there, giving it back when we needed it for Canada. I think that was extortion, though. Their key card vendor had just gone out of business, and if you wanted your passport back, you had to turn in your key card before you could get it.

I can remember the days when you just showed ID to get into Canada.

[Phoenix520]

It also may have been the school’s request. They were very close to the border. Wouldn’t want any of the older kids to slip away some night.

[keith]

Hotels hold it in Viet Nam. I cant remember if they did it in Cambodia or Sri Lanka.

In Viet Nam, I got the idea it was partly anti theft, but mostly monitoring of foreigners so they could detain you easily if 'need be'.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/28/us/c ... allas.html

CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago lost her bid for a second term on Tuesday, The Associated Press said, a resounding defeat that reflected widespread dissatisfaction from voters over her handling of crime and policing in the nation’s third-largest city.

Four years ago, Ms. Lightfoot made history as the first Black woman to be elected mayor of Chicago when she swept all 50 of the city’s wards. But she saw her popularity plunge during the coronavirus pandemic as Chicago suffered a spike in violent crime, with looting and destruction on its famed Magnificent Mile in 2020.

The two candidates to emerge from Tuesday’s first round of voting — Paul Vallas, a former public schools executive, and Brandon Johnson, a county board commissioner — will advance to a runoff election on April 4.

The race showcased the political divide that has emerged in some of America’s largest, most liberal cities, where hard-on-crime policies have increasingly resonated with voters.

[pipistrelle]

We were on a Great Lakes cruise in September. The ship kept our passport the whole time we were there, giving it back when we needed it for Canada. I think that was extortion, though. Their key card vendor had just gone out of business, and if you wanted your passport back, you had to turn in your key card before you could get it.

I can remember the days when you just showed ID to get into Canada.

I remember being asked if we were American, saying yes, and being waved through.

[raison de arizona]

The last time I was overseas, which was ten years ago admittedly, our Italian hotels kept our passports while we stayed there. Fwiw.

[Kriselda Gray]

me: Watch the video at

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/202 ... /102027600

Ancient medieval texts suggest a sea monster in Norse sagas called Hafgufa was a trap-feeding whale

Cool beans - thanks!

[AndyinPA]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... y-new-boat

A US ketchup manufacturer is making arrangements to provide a new boat to a man who ate the company’s signature condiment to survive being lost at sea for nearly a month.

The Heinz food company, based in Pittsburgh, has made contact with the saved sailor, Elvis François, about buying him a new sailing vessel after it launched a social media campaign which was titled #FindtheKetchupBoatGuy that quickly went viral. François had abandoned his old boat when he was finally rescued.

“We received thousands of likes, shares and messages of kindness in our search to find Elvis François,” a statement on Heinz’s Instagram page said on Monday. “It was an incredible group effort across six continents that led to the hundreds of articles and leads and our eventual contact with Elvis.”

Heinz issued a separate statement to the Guardian on Tuesday that said the company and François “are working out the logistical details of [getting] him his new boat” but otherwise didn’t elaborate.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... rt-weapon/

The mysterious ailment known as “Havana syndrome” did not result from the actions of a foreign adversary, according to an intelligence report that shatters a long-disputed theory that hundreds of U.S. personnel were targeted and sickened by a clandestine enemy wielding energy waves as a weapon.

The new intelligence assessment caps a years-long effort by the CIA and several other U.S. intelligence agencies to explain why career diplomats, intelligence officers and others serving in U.S. missions around the world experienced what they described as strange and painful acoustic sensations. The effects of this mysterious trauma shortened careers, racked up large medical bills and in some cases caused severe physical and emotional suffering.

Many of the afflicted personnel say they were the victims of a deliberate attack — possibly at the hands of Russia or another adversarial government — a claim that the report contradicts in nearly every respect, according to two intelligence officials who are familiar with the assessment and described it to The Washington Post.



Many of those afflicted were serving in U.S. embassies or diplomatic facilities or were traveling overseas when they fell ill. Children of U.S. government personnel also have reported symptoms.

But in the end, the final intelligence report found that medical experts could not attribute the symptoms to an external cause separate from a preexisting condition or environmental factors, including conditions such as clogged air ducts in office buildings that could cause headaches, the officials aid.

Over time, the state of medical understanding about the condition has evolved in ways that point away from a foreign adversary’s involvement, the officials said.

[Flatpoint High]

After 10 YeARS being cancer free, I have been released by my Oncologist!!!

[Patagoniagirl]

FANTASTIC, Flat point! Absolutely wonderful!

[sugar magnolia]

Whooo hooooo! I'm 2 weeks from being 1 year clear.

[Kriselda Gray]

Whooo hooooo! I'm 2 weeks from being 1 year clear.

[Kriselda Gray]

Eli Lily dropping cost of insulin to no more than $35 per month

Eli Lilly will cap the out-of-pocket cost of its insulin at $35 a month, the drugmaker said Wednesday. The move, experts say, could prompt other insulin makers in the U.S. to follow suit.

The change, which Eli Lilly said takes effect immediately, puts the drugmaker in line with a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, which in January imposed a $35 monthly cap on the out-of-pocket cost of insulin for seniors enrolled in Medicare.

President Joe Biden praised the move in a tweet, calling on other drugmakers to also lower insulin prices. Biden made insulin costs a focus of his State of the Union speech last month.

The American Diabetes Association also applauded the decision, and encouraged other insulin manufacturers to lower costs.

[...]

The cap automatically applies to people with private insurance. People without insurance will be eligible as long as they sign up for Eli Lilly’s copay assistance program.

[...]

The cap applies to all of Eli Lilly’s insulin products, said Kelly Smith, a spokesperson for the company. In addition to the cost caps, the company will lower the list price for several of its products, including Humalog, this year.

[Volkonski]

After 10 YeARS being cancer free, I have been released by my Oncologist!!!

Congratulations!

[Kriselda Gray]

After 10 YeARS being cancer free, I have been released by my Oncologist!!!

Great news, Flatpoint!

[Phoenix520]

Hurrah for all the cancer free announcements!!

[Foggy]

Oh, wow, great news, Flatpoint!

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Flatpoint's CANCER FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AndyinPA]

Yoohoo!

[Shizzle Popped]

I'm always happy to hear that somebody has hit the 10 year mark! Congratulations!

Mrs. Shizzle had a relatively minor fight with skin cancer about 15 years ago in an area that doesn't normally see much sun. She was on bed rest for a couple of months because it refused to heal properly. But there hasn't been any sign of a return.

[neonzx]

Congrats, Flatpoint, on hitting that milestone!

[Flatpoint High]

I'm always happy to hear that somebody has hit the 10 year mark! Congratulations!

Mrs. Shizzle had a relatively minor fight with skin cancer about 15 years ago in an area that doesn't normally see much sun. She was on bed rest for a couple of months because it refused to heal properly. But there hasn't been any sign of a return.

so happy to hear she's doing great.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Hooray for Ms. Shizzle too!!!