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A big new French restaurant opened recently right in the midst of the Covid19 pandemic. It’s very attractive and brightly lit. I passed by but dont recall the name. Its got a prominent corner location and its not far from Dicks Cafe, which is also open. The former Man Beer bar on the other end of the Complex is the new home of the old Double Shot bar formerly in Sunee Plaza. The Elephant bar has also been gutted in Sunee. It feels like the proverbial rats jumping ship before it sinks, in the remnants of Sunee Plaza. I hope the new French restaurant is successful and am amazed at their gutsy move to open now..

I wanted to invite everyone who opposes a terrorist supremacist state, to join the fighters and protesters as much as you are able to.

Been away from posting for awhile.... this isolation thing is not working for me, but I can happily report that I am here, I am employed (!), and continue to prosper free of the shit from the demented "Daddy" site... (sorry, just had to throw the last thing in...) Musings of an ex-grad student: I hope that all of you are safe and healthy. This is a stressful and frightening time for everyone, and the uncertainty of where the pandemic is headed adds to our anxiety. Our schools are closing. Our favorite places are closed. Our communities are under emergency alert. We are told to practice “social distancing” to prevent the spread of the virus. And that is right — from a public health standpoint. But we cannot allow “social distancing” to be a metaphor for how we respond to this crisis and the profound social failure it reflects. This crisis threatens to amplify inequality in countless ways, and more than ever, we need to respond from a place of community, compassion, and solidarity. We should know some lessons from the history of crises. Elite groups always use crises to push “solutions” that enhance their power and profit. The same is already happening during this crisis, with Trump pushing tax cuts and bailouts that disproportionately benefit those who need no help, and angling to bail out his friends in the oil and gas industry as prices plummet. Private prison corporations continue to profit from the mass incarceration of immigrants and poor people in detention camps and prisons, where this virus will likely spread quickly, with devastating consequences. But we can also see the outlines of a more progressive response. Activists and social movements are demanding immediate steps toward free universal health care, paid sick days and paid family and medical leave, direct subsidies to those facing loss of jobs and income, an end to evictions, a moratorium on foreclosures and utility cutoffs, and emergency housing for all who need it. The coronavirus crisis is horrific, and even in its early days has led to great suffering, and widespread terror. But this crisis is not a time of retreat; it is a time to insist on, to organize for, an agenda of human rights and wealth redistribution. Has there ever been a time when the need for universal free health care was more essential — and more obvious? Or paid sick leave? Or for everyone to have guaranteed access to clean water and a safe place to live? So yes, please join me in washing our hands, and then raise them, to continue to fight for equality and justice.

White people can compartmentalize police brutality. Black people don’t have the luxury.

I am not denouncing Whites, I am not denouncing only police brutality. I am denouncing White privilege. The recent incident in Minneapolis and the countless examples of outrageous abuse (even you recognize the disproportionate number of Blacks shot by the police) are just the tip of the iceberg. Your defensiveness is not speaking highly of you.

If you think the only concern is police brutality, you are part of the problem.

except you're free to come and go, or not go, and, well, everything else.....

Link Complete end to lockdown on July 1 State of emergency likely to end June 30 The government has set July 1 for the lift of all business and activity lockdowns ordered earlier to cope with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), said the National Security Council chief. These include interprovincial and international travel, as well as the end of emergency decree and curfew. NSC secretary-general Gen Somsak Rungsita said on Thursday that the lift of restrictions would be a complete reopening of the country. Officials would next month prepare measures for the reopening. "Authorities will have serious discussions because after the emergency decree ends, other laws will be used instead," he said. "People's cooperation is important. This concerns the use of face masks, social distancing, hand wash and limited activities. As long as the disease is spreading worldwide, we will have to fight against it for a while." Gen Somsak said the executive decree on public administration in emergency situations would end in June and the ban on international travel would continue until then. The full reopening will come after the third phase of the relaxation to take place in June. The government's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) will on Friday finalise details on what businesses could resume and on what conditions under the third phase of relaxation in June. On Wednesday, his committee on business easing did not reach a conclusion on high-risk activities that were suspended and seriously affected the economy, he said. For next month, Gen Somsak said that curfew hours would be further shortened and more restrictions on inter-provincial travel would be lifted under the third phase. CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesil Visanuyothin on Thursday said more activities at malls would resume and athletes' practicing grounds would reopen. Operators and customers would be required to use Thai Chana mobile application for checking in and out of premises since the businesses allowed to reopen in this stage are medium- to high-risk ones. Prime Minister's Office Minister Tewan Liptapallop said movie theatres would not reopen because operators said there was no new movie during this time. "It is not because we oppose the reopening, but operators say there are no new films to screen at the moment," he said. He also said the government was considering financial aid for temples where all activities stopped including donations from the public.

Well that was fast. Not too sure how safe but Fraggata in Sao Paulo is also advertising they're about to open. From Facebook: Paragonya Wellness-Club / Biggest Gay Sauna in Zürich 7 hrs ·

The rage coursing through the streets of Minneapolis and other cities is born from hundreds of years of oppression, exploitation and violence boiling over. When we see this violence, but we must be clear-eyed about where core responsibility lies. Millions have seen clear video of a police officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck while others stood calmly by. When peaceful protestors took to the streets, state actions escalated the situation rather than calming it by responding with violence: assaulting, gassing and arresting protestors. Police even arrested a CNN news crew during a live broadcast, further undermining our first amendment rights. The state escalated the situation rather than calming it.

or as we with wretched manners who hail from that wretchedest of countries sometimes say, “Other than that Mrs Lincoln, how was the play?”

but...other than that...

Thanks, man....the quest for gainful employment kind of ate up a lot of time and energy but now that I can move on from that, I promise you will soon grow tired of me here (haha...) SOD (Sad Old Daddy's) don't know what they been missing!

Wonderful to hear from again! Try to post More Often, my friend.

This was from the aftermath of the previous time cops killed a black man in custody by asphyxiation as he begged for his life.

I have never been an Obama fan, bt I am missing him so much right now.

It lets police off easy to say it's only the racists. As in many countries, there's also a huge problem of general police brutality that's rarely mentioned. However, the general feeling of US police, military and the right is one of white supremacy and they have all the guns and "muscle". They could take over in a coup whenever they wanted.

From Khaosod English Otters Reconquer Thai Beach in Tourists’ Absence RANONG — Wiggling out from the water, rubbing their backs and bellies along the beach weren’t the usual crowd of tourists, but of rare sea otters. Residents of Koh Phayam in Ranong Friday spotted at least 10 smooth-coated otters playing on the beach, months after tourists left the island due to the coronavirus pandemic. “I’m so excited and happy to see them,” Jutharat Ladkaew, owner of a resort on Koh Phayam who posted photos of them online said. “Instead of sunbathing farangs and families vacationing, we have a new group of sunbathers.” Jutarat counted around 10 otters. They are believed to have swam from the mainland, around the wetland area near Kra Buri River which serves as a boundary between Thailand and Myanmar. “The otters are playing in the water, sunbathing in place of the farangs,” Sonchai Ui-tek-keng, president of the Tourism Council of Ranong said. “This shows that Ranong is so rich in biodiversity.”

It is really something that Drumpf makes G. W. Bush & R. Milhous Nixon look like really pretty good & competent Executives.

or question how much tip he expects for long time

don't worry , good news can be repeated in every thread

This is the best article I have read on who Trump is and is not. It's long, but devastatingly accurate: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/donald-trump-the-most-unmanly-president/612031/

Heard a good story on this on NPR and the birdwatcher's response in the interview was extremely classy, including that she didn't necessarily need to be stained by this for the rest of her life, but he wouldn't comment on whether she deserved to be fired. Which is very, very magnanimous of him given that she could have gotten him killed. I'd like to see her charged with filing a false police report. And IF she had mentioned a gun (she didn't) it should be attempted murder. I try to avoid the C* word, even though I appreciate the British way of using it a lot. It's fairly equivalent to the N* word. Besides, there's already a perfect way of describing this person: "Karen".

From The Nation The long wait for handouts Some 1,000 locals in Chonburi province were queuing up from as early as 1am on Thursday (May 28) at Soi Thappaya 5 in Banglamung district to receive handouts of food and consumer products provided by the Norwegian Seamen's Church Pattaya. The church distributes 2,000 packs of the handouts at 9am every Thursday to people who have been affected by the Covid-19 situation in Pattaya, the famous tourist city that has been shut down to avoid the outbreak. At around 3am, police officers from Muang Pattaya Station came to disperse the crowd as 11pm to 4am are curfew hours imposed by the government. However, a news source said that the crowd dispersed only temporarily and queued up again once the police had gone.

From Bangkok Post State of emergency likely to end June 30 The government has set July 1 for the lift of all business and activity lockdowns ordered earlier to cope with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), said the National Security Council chief. These include interprovincial and international travel, as well as the end of emergency decree and curfew. NSC secretary-general Gen Somsak Rungsita said on Thursday that the lift of restrictions would be a complete reopening of the country. Officials would next month prepare measures for the reopening. "Authorities will have serious discussions because after the emergency decree ends, other laws will be used instead," he said. ========================================================================================================================== From The Nation Thai economy could take more than 2 years to recover Standard Chartered Bank today (May 28) said it remains conservative on Thailand’s economic outlook, even as positive signs emerge with the possibility of a further policy rate cut to below 0.25 per cent. The return to pre-Covid levels of economic activity could take more than two years on the back of improving business sentiment as the economy reopens, the bank assessed, adding the government has been disbursing cash handouts to pandemic-affected households since April. Standard Chartered forecast Thailand’s 2020 GDP to contract by 5 per cent, with a sharp contraction of 13 per cent in the second quarter, followed by a gradual recovery in the second half of the year. "We expect another 25bps rate cut in the third quarter, taking the policy rate to 0.25 per cent. We also do not rule out further policy rate cuts to below 0.25 per cent, however. Negative rates are unlikely but not off the table,” added Tim.

His instagram and twitter account, in case you want to send him a marriage proposal https://www.instagram.com/mmikesiri/ https://twitter.com/mmikesiri

Here in the U.K. there is the feeling that international travel In the late summer and autumn will be more likely than It seemed a month or so ago. Airlines and travel operators are starting to advertise schedules from July onwards. In Thailand a big moment will be when alcohol can be served in restaurants and bars. The world is full of potential tourists who love Thailand who are eagally awaiting for conditions to permit a visit. Many affluent gays are definitely in this category. In Bkk and especially in the resorts, opening a bar will require much less capital Than previously given the huge availability of premises. I love to think that a trip to Pattaya during the period August to October will be possible to get my “fix” of the atmosphere and especially of Asian boys who will come back from Isaan drawn by the money. I am following the blogs about this on YouTube with interest !

Got that haircut today (first since leaving BKK) and I think the barber got more off my ears and eyebrows than he did off my scalp.