AndreasHG

Iran seems destined to become a second North Korea, with a deeply radicalized, staunchly anti-Western, hereditary government (but whose founder was blown up in an American military attack), with 208 to 209 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves and more than ever determined to consolidate the regime with thermonuclear bombs. Imagine how vicious Kim Jong Il would have been if his father, sister, and niece had been blown up by H.S. Truman. What could possibly go wrong?

LOL yes I do, running on a Microsoft Surface! And as far as they have been available, I also used Windows phones (Ericsson and then Nokia Lumia). Then I had to switch to the iPhone. yes, I'm that old, if this is what you mean! 😊

Some are, some are not. For example, Cohibas are exclusively made in Cuba, unless counterfeited. Romeo y Julieta sold in Thailand are both made in Cuba by Habanos S.A., or made mostly in the Dominican Republic by Altadis U.S.A. Below the link to the Cohiba importer in Thailand. https://cigaremperor.com/

Have you ever been to Cuba? What you ignore is that the whole world with the exception of the USA trades with Cuba and the real limit is not the "bloqueo", but the lack of competitive internationally tradable products offered by Cuba. These are some examples. Iberostar has a significant presence in Cuba, operating around 18 four- and five-star hotels across key destinations like Varadero, Havana, Holguín, and Cayo Cruz operated by the Cuban Armed Forces typically in JV with Spanish companies. Cubanacan operates a major chain of hotels, resorts, and villas across Cuba (e.g., Brisas Santa Lucia, Club Amigo Ancon, Hotel Copacabana), usually in JV with Canadian companies. In 2021, Cuba and Mexico created the joint venture IncuBio S.A., located in the Mariel Special Development Zone. The Mexican firm Industrial Expomayab invested in Flexocaribe, a joint venture focused on producing flexible packaging for food and cosmetic products in Cuba. Diageo and Corporación Cuba Ron SA formed a joint venture to distribute Santiago de Cuba rum internationally. Cubana de Aviación, the national airline of Cuba, has operated French-German Airbus aircrafts, specifically the A320 and A330 families, since the mid-1990s to support international routes. Air carriers from all ove the world fly to Cuba: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Air Canada, Air Transat, WestJet, Iberia, Air France, Air Europa, Turkish Airlines, Swiss Air, World2Fly, Iberojet, Copa Airlines (Panama), VivaAerobus (Mexico), Aeromexico (Mexico), Conviasa (Venezuela), InterCaribbean Airways, Sky High Aviation Services, etc.. As most American you believe that the world upholds American laws. That's laughable. Each sovereign country has its own rules. Even Airbus, which sells tons of aircrafts in the USA, can trade with Cuba. And yet, Cuba can't feed its people that are emigrating in scores.

That's exactly my point. Cigars are the only competitive product Cuba currently has to offer. And not because of the "bloqueo".

Go in any Tobacco shop in Europe (and here in Thailand), and find plenty of Cuban cigars. Not all companies deal with the US. Especially national distributors such as supermarkets and importers do not give a dime about US laws. And if they can sell cigars, why not anything else? Whisgars - Thailand’s Pre-Eminent Whiskey and Cigar Bar (https://whisgars23.com/)

Cuba can trade with Mexico, Brasil, Argentina, Chile, Canada, the whole European Union, China, Russia, Belarus, Turkey, the whole Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar), Australia, New Zealand just to mention a few. Where is the beef? At the time of the "revolution" logistic had clear limits. Today tropical fruit is flown from all over the world into Europe. Where is the Cuban tropical fruit? With regards to the lack of evidence "that Cuban doctors are subpar", it's just testimony of how good the Cuban propaganda machine has been so far. It costs hundred thousands of dollars to train a doctor, money that Cuba simply doesn't have. Try to enter into an ordinary hospital for ordinary people in Cuba, if you can.

Cuban doctors? Which Cuban Doctors? Have you ever dealt with Cuban doctors? Cuba doesn't even have the X-rays to operate the hospital X-ray machines. Do you have any idea what kind of training Cuban doctors receive? They study textbooks from the 1950s, only see photographs of medical equipment from the 1950s. and don't do any pre-graduate practical training because Cuba doesn't have a cent to spend on training. The age of the cars you see mostly on Cuban streets is the same as that of the medical equipment seen in ordinary Cuban hospitals for ordinary people. Half of Cuban "doctors" studies involve ideological training, because the regime requires Cuban doctors to be good communists before they can practice any medicine. And don't you dare bring up the story of the American "bloqueo" (blockade), please. Since the communists took power, sanctions or not, Cuba has no longer had anything of value to trade internationally. The communists transformed what was once the thriving "pearl of the Caribbean" into a nation of beggars dependent on international aid for survival. They just need to pragmatically grow their legitimate businesses, starting from oil extraction. If they had to resort to drug dealing for survival, it's because Maduro was giving away their oil for free.

And rightly so. The Maduro government was best known for handing over the Venezuelan people's oil wealth to Cuba for free and at heavily discounted prices to China and Russia, while the Venezuelan people starved and emigrated en masse. Aren't economic mismanagement and corruption a form of oppression? Kudos to the United States and the Trump administration for restoring some economic freedom and commonsense in Venezuela and, hopefully, soon in Iran as well. Regarding political and religious freedoms, it's up to Venezuelans and Iranians to earn them and, above all, defend them day after day. The United States has already done too much. ****Oversized font reset to normal****

We've heard this story before about Iraq, Libya, Syria, Panama, Grenada, Venezuela... ...And the opposite story concerning Ukraine, which was supposed to fall within two weeks. The truth is that it only takes a handful of men to launch missiles around the world, and Iran's supposed "determination" is limited to just that: a handful of men with nothing to lose.

A proficiency test in Thai is also required to get permanent residency in Thailand, and also in most of the European countries, to the best of my knowledge. Certainly, this is the case in my home country.

Alan, let me start by making clear that I am not a fan of Mr. Trump. I am European (continental) and as most (probably >95%) of the Europeans I have a very low opinion of the man. But I am also a freedom lover. And as such I can't but rejoice for the determination with which the Trump administration is going after tyrants around the world. For me, it's not about being anti-Trump at all costs, but about judging his actions on a case-by-case basis. And in this case, I support Trump 100%, no ifs, ands, or buts. In fact, I would like Europeans, my country in particular, to do more to support the United States and Israel at this delicate moment. I am also aware that democracy is never a gift from heaven. If Iranians (and Venezuelans) want to live in a democratic society, they must earn this right and defend it tooth and nail, day after day. If they repeat the mistake of electing a coup-plotting corporal (Chavez in Venezuela) to the presidency, or entrusting government to an extremist mullah (Khomeini in Iran), they already know where they will end up. The United States can't turn a politically illiterate bunch into staunch defenders of the rule of law. I believe that Delcy Rodriguez pragmatic and business-oriented government is better for Venezuela, than Maduro's ideologically zealot and a-priori anti-American government. I therefore expect the United States and Israel to pursue a similar formula in Iran. For Iran, pragmatic businessmen in military uniforms are better suited to solving the country severe problems than dogmatic mullahs seeking martyrdom. As for "boots on the ground," Mr. Trump just released a statement saying he doesn't rule them out. I wholeheartedly hope they aren't necessary. At present, this is just another sword hanging over the head of the Ayatollah regime.

I understand the practical problem of accepting two bank statements. I saw how long it took the immigration officer to add the balances of two bank accounts for just six days. I can't imagine the hours of work required to do this for 365 days. But if the balance of one of the two accounts remains relatively stable and/or the days for which the two balances need to be added are few, it is not a miracle but ordinary administration. With regards t Drjack54's comment, he stubbornly keeps on missreading the situation. I was not lucky because the SP accepted the additional account. As a matter of fact, it was the SP officer herself who told me that if I didn't have an additional account I could not successfully apply for the VISA. That's when I showed her the SCB app on my phone and rushed to the bank to print out the balance and certification letter. And with that, I hope Drjack54 has finished talking nonsense.

Not just Iranians. All freedom-lovers have reason to rejoice.

To be clear, I still got the visa (30 days) on the day of my first visit to the Samut Prakan office. But I was very stubborn and lucky. The problem is that they don't publish a clear list of the documents and information required to successfully apply for the different types of VISA under different circumstances. Not even the staff at the reception knows exactly what the applicants will be asked for once at the counter. The very kind girl at the reception desk told me I needed the old, superseded TM30, but she did not mention the landlord's identity card and phone number. This forces applicants to return again and again and increases the workload for the office, which has to start over every procedure from the beginning every few days. And every time the applicant returns to the office, he/she has to go back to the bank first, to get an updated statement and a new certification letter. Is it possible that no one realizes how ridiculous this situation is, how detrimental it is to the office and burdensome to the applicants? And how easy to implement the solution is?