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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/20/2020 in all areas

  1. To be realistic, I do not think any traveling at all is going to be in my plans until there is a vaccine. Sure, international travel will be open before, but until then every country will probably institute a mandatory quarantine for all arrivals from foreign territory. I do not want to travel to any city to be in a mandated two weeks lock down.
    6 points
  2. My 2 cents... If you still haven't bought a ticket to Brazil...then WAIT...here it's a complete mess: lack of reliable sources of information, lack of tests, people doing whatever they want, Federal government (BOLSONARO) acting like dumbasses. Many people here are still thinking that it's nothing more than a bad flu thanks to how the information has been delivered by those people who should actually protect the ones who are not enough educated to fully understand the situation. Here it's completely down to the governors choices...every state here it's taking its own choices, some are in lockdown (RJ and SP for example, with SP being close to EU standards), some are doing nearly nothing. If you have already bought a ticket...90% chance that your flight is going to be canceled if it is scheduled to happen before the end of July. So i you wanna buy a ticket, or if you are rebooking a canceled trip, first of all keep in mind that your travel insurance, won't cover eventual medical expenses following incidents related to a pandemy...so even if you manage to come here before the end of July and you manage to get infected, chances are you're going to pay a ton of money to get a proper medical attention if you'll end up needing ICU. Second of all keep saunas out of your mind until at least October 2020 (if we're lucky).
    6 points
  3. Because I am a Horny Slut and love the sex I get in Brazil.
    5 points
  4. I cancelled all tickets, hotels, etc. through September. I will not purchase anything in advance to see where this thing lands. I would not be planning any trip for now as you don't know the future situation. I'd like to think we will be back to normalcy by end of summer. But, no one really knows.
    4 points
  5. That's my take also. Trump is an authoritarian leader and there are more waiting in the wings when his time has passed - always have been, always will be. Our problem, in my opinion, is authoritarian followers. Rather than comparing Trump and Hitler, I've long been more interested in comparing Weimar Germans with today's U. S. citizenry. And it's pretty clear that, like a sizable portion of Third Reich Germans, our citizens today are willing to follow someone who does their thinking for them and will promise them protection from outside forces: the "other". The more their fears of the "other" are stoked, the more tightly they'll cleave to their "leader". And they will act - and vote - against their own interests. You can see this pattern repeated under Hitler, who had loyal followers even as firestorms swirled around them. You can see it in the bodies on the ground in Jim Jones' Guyana. And you can see it in the Trump followers voting to do away with their own health insurance. As far as I can tell, there's a genetic component to authoritarianism, in addition to learned behavior. I believe this because of its historical persistence in the human race, and its appearance in many other social species. And I believe that there are times in the evolution of the human species when human survival may depend on the willingness of large parts of the species to blindly follow an authoritarian "leader". From what I've read, there's a persistent 30% - 40% of humans who are hard-wired to be unquestioning followers. And I believe that's why Trump has such a persistent base. His authoritarian followers want things made simple, they want to be protected from the "other", they want to "believe", and they will sacrifice their own interests to do so. I also believe that, while the Republican party, as currently constituted, may attract more than its share of authoritarian followers, the Democratic party has some too. My bet is that some of Sanders' most loyal supporters fit the mold, in particular the ones who would rather vote for Trump than for Biden or Warren. I've posted about some of these beliefs elsewhere, and I'm still trying to learn everything I can about these folks. I think that, while authoritarian "followers" may be necessary at certain times in human evolution and the gene will persist, this is not one of those times. There are more important human qualities that are needed now - some also with genetic components - such as altruism, empathy and compassion. How to help bring these qualities forward, while pushing authoritarian obedience to the background, is what takes up much of my attention these days. Sorry for the rant, yet thanks for the opportunity to do so.
    3 points
  6. Emirates is risking lawsuits if they take on this liability of "rapid test", and something goes wrong. I would not trust any airlines on health issues.
    3 points
  7. Totally agree. Why would you gamble recklessly until you know that you are protected, either through an effective vaccine or by proof that you carry sufficient protective levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies? Oh, and BTW, the situation with testing right now is scandalous -- and not only because we are doing inadequate testing of critical populations. My front line friends tell me that they are seeing unacceptable false negative tests on Trump's ballyhooed 15 min Abbott Labs test for acute infection and lesser but still significant false negatives on the (Roche and other laboratories') nasopharyngeal swab PCR acute Covid-19 test you have undoubtedly heard about. And the current panoply of tests for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies is a joke. The FDA has abrogated its responsibility for quality control on the antibody test by allowing virtually any lab to market its own homebrew assay. Many of those are completely worthless, showing high rates of false positive and/or false negative IgG assays. And the other extremely troubling but fundamental issue is that we really don't know at this time whether certain levels of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies are, in fact, protective. Guys, I can't speak to the extent or accuracy of acute and convalescent Covid-19 testing in other countries but, in my opinion, what we are seeing right at this moment in the U.S. is frankly criminal. Why would you even consider planning a trip right now, at a moment when we know so little about the future course of this pandemic in North America, Europe, and Asia, let alone in Brazil?
    3 points
  8. Actually Emirates is implementing what all airlines will potentially do in the future for international travel...Testing prior to flights https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/europe/emirates-becomes-world-s-first-airline-conduct-site-rapid-covid-19-testing
    3 points
  9. BigK

    Bosch

    I've read all the novels and agree with Lucky that Titus does not embody my image of Harry Bosch from the novels. But I've been able to get past that and I enjoy the Amazon series.
    3 points
  10. It is not a rant, my friend. Since the beginning of Trump, I have been trying to remember that he is not the problem. When a decrepit candidate like Biden talks about going back to normal, it sounds to me just like another version of MAGA. The racists and the fascists have always been there, since more than a century before Trump ascension. It is challenging to remember that Donald is not the problem, though. He is obnoxiously tempting.
    2 points
  11. I asked a member who feels the needs to reply to everything everyone posts to kindly NOT reply or respond to anything I post... I personally have a hard time comprehending what he is trying to say/get across every time he posts... Can you guess who it was... Not how message boards work. If you enter an interesting topic, members wanna respond and weigh in. You and others are likely to continue making contributions that stimulate discussion. I think what tipped the camel’s back for you is a post that actually generated added discussion about viral testing following my piece. The additional points were illuminating to me. It is too labour-intensive to sift, edit, self-limit according to anyone else’s quirky political theatre. You can put me on ignore. Rarely do posters use full quotes that are harder to evade. Or you can keep posting emoticons that, by the way, all (4) count as acknowledgements in the weekly, etc, tally. You do you. Believe it or not, my tongue is scarred from repeated biting. I have a pristine community reputation with no warnings or time-outs to date. Administration would likely view this request as petty, and only a narcissist would truly expect someone to accommodate it as it conveys essentially conceding that what they write falls short of a required standard. I am not going to turn off DM notifications but if you respond further I will likely only read it for personal entertainment. I suggest you don’t bother. <R>
    2 points
  12. RA1

    Ozzie take on toilet paper

    VIDEO-2020-03-14-22-14-10.mp4
    2 points
  13. Loved the video. I can do that too. It just takes me 9 hours to do the same repetition.
    2 points
  14. RA1

    Ozzie take on toilet paper

    The best answer that I have heard is that the public feels (felt) helpless and buying (strategic) supplies made them feel more in control. Best regards, RA1
    2 points
  15. TotallyOz

    Lucky Suggests...

    My first gang bang was in a bookstore. Well, kind of. I was young and had visited the big city of Nashville (hours from my house) and I saw this big book store sign for years and could not wait till I could drive to see what an "Adult Superstore" was. Well, I met his guy who took me home to meet others and lets just say, it was a painfully enlightening night.
    2 points
  16. Lucky

    Bosch

    Perhaps I should give it a try!
    2 points
  17. TotallyOz

    Bosch

    I did not like the choice at first myself. But, truly, he is a great actor and he is amazing in this role. The current season was released last week and I watched it all in 2 days. I could not take my eyes off of it.
    2 points
  18. You would be going to Brazil in the middle of winter when they may in the midst of their peak or right after... Honestly you may want to chill out, relax and look at going to Brazil in 4 quarter of this year when it will be summer and prices will surely go back down Also take into account you can literally fly anywhere you want to go but keep in mind what will be open/available for you to do... Saunas a still closed, beaches are closed, all entertainment is shut down all over Brazil currently
    2 points
  19. There have been a few journal articles that suggest the risk of losing our status as the global sovereign debt currency to China (of all!) may be what will finally wake us up to a web of interconnected ills.
    2 points
  20. Foreign relations is a curious beast. Cambodia has been in Beijings camp since the days of French colonial rule. King Sihanouk fled to Beijing after the 1970 coup which may well have had CIA backing. It was the US secret unsanctioned bombing of Cambodia that directly created the vacuum that led to the rise to power of the genocidal Khmer Rouge. Even after Vietnam invaded and liberated the country, the world led by the USA continued to recognise the murderers for another dozen years. The US even tried to persuade other nations to help rebuild the Khmer Rouge! President Carter in a policy continued by Reagan and Bush 41 called on other nations to cut off assistance and aid to Vietnam. How come the murder of about 1.5 million plus of its citizens would qualify the Khmer Rouge continuing in power? The Khmer Rouge then continued to represent Cambodia at the UN until 1991. Madness! Funny too that Vietnam is coupled with the USA and others in attempts to stamp out the covid19 virus. From what I read, Vietnam was way ahead of the USA in insisting on its people wearing facemarks and using hand sanitiser. This despite Vietnam having a weak healthcare system and small health budget. The leaders in Hanoi implemented their strategy during Tet, the same day as Chinese New Year before the end of January when there were no known cases outside China. Quarantine of those with the virus and tracking of contacts started long before Trump and his minions in Washington gave the virus the time of day.
    2 points
  21. Lucky

    Trump's Liberation Push

    The President of the United States of America is endorsing right-wing protesters who want to disobey the orders of Democratic governors during a national pandemic. No one wishes COVID-19 on Trump or the protesters, but don't they significantly increase their chances when they gather close together, many with no facial masks or other protection? Do they think that their guns will protect them from this disease? Troubling times are ahead if Trump continues to act so unpresidential. https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-04-18/coronavirus-protests-texas-maryland-wisconsin-cuomo (I guess the cigarette is meant to ward off the virus?) Social gun distancing!
    1 point
  22. Kirk Cameron ("Growing Pains") and his sister organized a virtual concert with all the funds raised to benefit Franklin Graham's Central Park "hospital." Kirk used to have a very nice ass. Now he is crazy.
    1 point
  23. Oh, Pete, you can try to can cherry pick statistics and manipulate facts but you can't hide your intentions. You and others here have used the "per 100,000" or "per million" representations of infections and death rates before because they present a comparable and standardized comparison between countries. And in fact, the UK has twice the death rate per million as the US. I think that's very sad but nonetheless true. And you conveniently ignore that the US began sending aid to Britain before Pearl Harbor in the form of destroyer naval vessels and aircraft. And you completely forget that American merchant vessels were carrying supplies to the UK before Pearl and the losses they sustained were horrific. And that civilian pilots from the US were flying British fighters alongside your countrymen before Pearl. NATO was designed to provide a shared cost of defending much of Europe and North America with a potent defense against future Russian--or other--intervention. Over time, however, European nations began cutting back on military spending and the burden fell inevitably on the US. We can argue the pros and cons of NATO in the 21st century but unfortunately there no substitute for it ready to roll out. And there are none on the drawing boards. We're all stuck with it. As to whether or not the US will make good on its commitment, I agree there are no iron clad guarantees but you have to admit it has a pretty good track record in such matters. And who else can you turn to except the two powers you mostly distrust (Russia and China)? And you're right, of course about China eyeing just about every nation south of its borders as potential expansion territory. If the US didn't cooperate with some other SE Asian countries and nations, who can provide a creditable moment of pause? On the whole, America has been a very good friend to Europe before and after WWII. It didn't forget it's allies--and enemies--in post war Europe. The Marshall Plan provided great aid in helping the region get back on its feet. Just as others are proud to be citizens of their homeland at this moment in time, I don't shrink away from being proud to be an American. The current administration won't rule forever. I
    1 point
  24. Or move to Vietnam where it's legal to make it
    1 point
  25. Lucky

    Fitness during CoVid19

    Good exercise video, SAS! It's just missing a key ingredient- the dildo!
    1 point
  26. I am not moving.
    1 point
  27. Londoner

    Goodbye

    Separation is hard for all of us but it is has always been part of human life; think of the families kept apart by war or by the demands of work. In these circumstances, we must accept that those we love may well depend on us and to continue to support them. And it's easier for us to do so now that we are globally connected. When I first met P seventeen years ago , it was much harder....even mobile phones weren't always available. I bought him his first one in Tuc Com, then only a quarter of the size it it is now. Now we can talk anytime we like by phone or on LINE. So I'm grateful, even if sometimes I feel sad when we finish our conversation. On a positive note, I'm confident that in four so months we shall be together with our loved ones.
    1 point
  28. The correct Trumpian term for non-believers is "libtards." I should know; I am one.
    1 point
  29. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is must-see TV on Netflix. It is a jaw-dropping docu-series about some very wealthy, demented people. I found it incredibly sad and pathetic, but nonetheless mesmerizing. You can easily imagine that every single person who agreed to be filmed most likely voted for Trump. This show is true HORROR that actually took place. I had heard about Joe Exotic when he ran for president. Late Night hosts made ample fun of him, but I had no idea he was a gay, big-cat breeder. He was a local "star" in Oklahoma who managed to seduce two, straight meth addicts to marry him (at the same time). This is not a TV show for everyone. It is a challenge to sit through, especially if you love animals. It's like watching a 24-car pileup on a busy freeway in slow motion with heads decapitating everywhere. Plenty of shirtless, red-neck, addicted, gun-toting misfits, living and doing business - total exploitation of wild animals - and pocketing millions in cash. You learn early on that Joe Exotic is in jail. You find out at the end that others may follow. The story is riveting.
    1 point
  30. 1 point
  31. TotallyOz

    Bosch

    Most definitely!
    1 point
  32. Perhaps Bernie Sanders is correct: Some people should not be allowed to be billionaires. Notorious gay billionaire, David Geffen, proves what an asshole he really is. David Geffen Takes Instagram Private After Tone-Deaf Post About Self-Isolating on His Yacht He thinks by removing his Instagram account, that alone will save him from looking like an orifice above the scrotum.
    1 point
  33. I know of one academic at Chula who will disagree with the suggestion that Thailand danced to the U.S.'s tune, with the suggestion of vassalage or client-state status. Particularly in its (Thailand's) own backyard. The royalists -- and this doesn't mean the monarchy, it means the conservative military and -adjacent parties, including the Democrats -- played their own "Great Game" and have pivoted and played various sides off against each other since the Colonial Era - and are the only ones to survive in the region. Now we are seeing exactly the same thing play out - but this time a flip of sorts back to China, led by the military junta which one might otherwise expect to be fist-and-glove (as it were) with the U.S. Thailand profited immensely by the Western boycott of Myanmar, and chaos and lack of development in Cambodia and Laos served Thailand's interests as well. Horrible as that may be. And lets not forget that model of Angkor Wat in the Grand Palace. Says something ........ (By the way, her name is Wasana Wongsurawat)
    1 point
  34. Only if you willfully ignore them. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/04/18/politics/fact-check-coronavirus-briefing-april-18/index.html https://www.salon.com/2020/04/19/in-an-exclusive-interview-robert-reich-explains-how-oligarchs-are-cashing-in-on-the-pandemic/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/19/hold-these-republicans-accountable-deaths-caused-by-recklessness/?utm_source=reddit.com https://www.salon.com/2020/04/18/trump-admin-awards-n95-contract-far-above-normal-price-to-bankrupt-company-with-no-employees-report/ But by all means, find some picayune thing wrong with a story above to justify ignoring 99% of it's correct reporting while doing backflips to justify "the President has total authority".
    1 point
  35. Lucky

    I'm looking for a man....

    My response to seeing the headline was "Aren't we all!"
    1 point
  36. Lucky

    Bosch

    I love the Harry Bosch novels by Michael Connelly. I have read them all. But I could not watch the TV show as the actor playing Bosch just did not fit with my image of him from the novels.
    1 point
  37. I wouldn't look into going to Brazil until much later this year...October, November, December may work depending on if we get a vaccine, they are able to stabilize the current situation, they open travel up across the board.... Brazil is getting slammed right now with cases due to the healthcare system and Trumps Portuguese speaking brother that leads the country... Keep in mind that Brazil is also a third world country with all the issues that includes... Pray that international travel gets back to some type of option THIS YEAR....
    1 point
  38. davet

    Pointe 202

    Or wear face condoms, aka dental dams? (cue up the worst, most ignored PSAs of the AIDS era)
    1 point
  39. Franklin is one of the biggest human turds on earth. His own father delivered one of the most quietly cutting condemnations I have ever heard. When a journalist asked Billy what he thought about his son calling Islam “very wicked and evil,” Billy simply replied, “I have many friends in that part of religion.”
    1 point
  40. Bucknaway1614502762

    Pointe 202

    My guys will need to wear condoms and they can wear me like a glove☺️
    1 point
  41. Walker

    Pointe 202

    And gloves...
    1 point
  42. Lucky

    Pointe 202

    My guys will have to wear condoms, face masks, and socks!
    1 point
  43. davet

    Pointe 202

    You'll need to expound, but maybe in the Asia forum.
    1 point
  44. davet

    Pointe 202

    There's not a huge seasonal change in temperature for Sao Paulo or Rio. They're both tropical or subtropical.
    1 point
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