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From Bangkok Post Anti-govt protests continue in provinces Anti-government demonstrations by students and other young people were held in several provinces outside Bangkok on Saturday. Protesters called for a House dissolution, an end to intimidation of the people and the rewriting of the constitution. In Kanchanaburi, at about 5.40pm a group of about 50 young people comprising secondary school and university students in this western border province gathered at an open ground on Lak Muang road in Muang district. The protesters held aloft placards and banners with messages attacking the government and military dictatorship. They called for the House of Representatives to be dissolved to make way for a new election, for the government to stop all forms of intimidation of the people and for the constitution to be rewritten. The demonstration was peaceful. About 50 police and military personnel were deployed to ensure law and order. At 6pm, the demonstrators sang the national anthem and flashed the trademark three-finger sign with their hands. They yelled, "Down with dictatorship. Long live democracy" three times before dispersing. In Samut Prakan, near Bangkok, at about 5pm a group of students and people gathered at the open ground in front of the city tower in Muang district. Student leaders took turns on a stage to call for a House dissolution and for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to resign. At 7pm the protesters switched on the lights of their mobile phones and flashed the symbolic three-finger sign before ending the demonstration. In Phetchabun, at about 6pm about 10 youths staged a brief gathering in front of the clock tower in Lom Sak district of this central northern province to voice the same demands.

And, another cute one this weekend.

From the New York Times: WASHINGTON — The school attended by President Trump’s son will not fully reopen in September out of concern over the coronavirus pandemic despite the president’s insistence that students across the country be brought back to classrooms in the fall. St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, a private school in Washington’s Maryland suburbs, said in a letter to parents that it was still deciding whether to adopt a hybrid model for the fall that would allow limited in-person education or to resume holding all classes completely online as was done in the spring. The school will decide early next month which option to follow.

I guess for us, this procedure should be like a walk in the park.

4 of us went to the 10:30 show which opened with the B-Boys. Next act was a ladyman with tits lip syncing. I thought to myself, oh shit. Several 100b. notes were given as tips. There were about 8 -10 customers in total and I would guess they were Thais. Then the next few acts were all sexy boys with woodies, some protruding from the sheer shorts. Shower scene with 4 boys. The lady man returned for the finale and the drumming. All in all, a good but somewhat subdued show with less than half as many boys as before closing. About 10-12 gogo boys dressed. Drinks 200 b. Lots of new boys I hadn’t seen before. Sak was recently a monk and still had shaved eyebrows and very short blonde hair. For those who don’t know Sak, he has a prodigious erect member and quite friendly if you tip. Art looked buff on the gogo stage. I’ll return often and hope they remain open without tourists. Toy Boys was open with empty stage but three good looking guys outside and available. A-bomb boys open with 4 shirtless boys in jeans and a customer or two. No show..

Let's hear it from the teachers themselves: American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said: “Our blueprint serves as a stark contrast to the conflicting guidance, bluster and lies of the Trump administration. The input of educators and healthcare workers, as well as parents, is crucial in making any reopening plan work. They are the eyes and ears, and are indispensable in making any plan work safely and effectively. We hope this blueprint will be the start of a real discussion on reopening schools, universities and other workplaces that allows our workers and families not only to dream of a safe and welcoming future, but to realize it.” To gradually reopen, we need to: Maintain physical distancing until the number of new cases declines for at least 14 consecutive days. Reducing the number of new cases is a prerequisite for transitioning to reopening plans on a community-by-community basis. Put in place the infrastructure and resources to test, trace and isolate new cases. Transitioning from community-focused physical distancing and stay-in-place orders to case-specific interventions requires ramping up the capacity to test, trace and isolate each new case. Deploy the public health tools that prevent the virus’ spread and align them with education strategies that meet the needs of students. Involve workers, unions, parents and communities in all planning. Each workplace and community faces unique challenges related to COVID-19. To ensure that reopening plans address those challenges, broad worker and community involvement is necessary. They must be engaged, educated and empowered. Invest in recovery: Do not abandon America’s communities or forfeit America’s future. These interventions will require more—not less—investment in public health and in our schools, universities, hospitals, and local and state governments. Strengthening communities should be a priority in the recovery.

I stumble upon this club on twitter. Seems like a new club. Maybe our members in pattaya can do a site visit and report here. They also have FB page.

I had an appointment early this week for a Colonoscopy. I have not had any issues but being over 50, I wanted to get one to check for any issue. I wanted the insurance to pay for it so I got a pre-approval for 79,500 baht which is what the doctor said would be max. I spent one night preparing. I had to take Dulcolax at 7PM the night before and then AirX at 3AM. I also had drink PEG solution from 2-4AM. All of this was the night before and cleared out my system. It was a bit uncomfortable as I went to the toilet 20 times. But, I preferred to do this at home. The other option was to do the procedure in the afternoon and spend 4 or so hours in hospital preparing. I chose to do the night before. I got to the hospital at 7:30, checked in, left my wallet and cell phone with receptionist, and went back to the area to dress and prepare. They inserted a needle in my hand for the anesthesia. I opted to do the surgery with anesthesia (though they didn't say there was another option as I told them in advance this is what I needed). The doctor checked on me, they took me to the room, had me lay on the table on my side, hooked up all the vitals signs equipment and pulled the back of my pants down. The doctor talked to me for a minute and said not to worry, and I fell asleep. I woke up in recovery room. After 20 minutes, they brought me Au Bon Pain and coffee, juice and water. When I felt OK (around 30 min) I got dressed and waited for doctor. He met with me within 5 minutes and gave me a packet of photos of my ass and hole (I think he thought I wanted this for Grindr or something). I then checked at cashier and signed some paperwork. I was on the road before 11:30. So, in total, 4 hours in hospital. No pain. Two good doctors. Multiple nurses. I felt well taken care of and comfortable the entire time. I had no issues at all and was happy to get this test out of the way. Total cost: 35,000 baht. That is well under what the insurance had approved. I would give this place a 5 out of 5 star rating. The experience and professionalism were excellent and the level of English of EVERYONE I encountered was excellent.

It has been announced that the festivities on the Copacabana Beach will not be taking place. Will Carnaval be next? I cannot imagine the Sambódromo either in Rio de Janeiro or Sāo Paulo hosting the desfiles/parades. Supposedly the sauna/hotel Chili Pepper has permanently closed. No one here had posted anything but I was told that country passed a law that ended at the end of June 2020. Any renter of a space for residential or commercial purposes was able to cancel their contract with zero financial penalty. Now that places have reopened for the moment, it is sad to pass by my regular restaurants and not have them open for business. Not even for pickup and delivery.

I think the searchable record shows the New Deal started delivering considerable benefits a good time before the War started.

Trump decided a few weeks ago that he could help his prospects for re-election if he could get schools across the nation to reopen fully, regardless of the state of the pandemic in their community, regardless of the risks to students and staff. He has threatened to cut off federal funding to schools that refuse to reopen fully, and he proclaimed that he and Pence were pressuring the CDC to weaken its guidelines. At first, the CDC held firm, urging schools to practice social distancing, to require personal protective equipment, and not to reopen unless all safety precautions were in place. No longer. It changed the tone of its guidance, now stressing the necessity of reopening over the importance of safety. Now the CDC sings the song that Trump, Pence, and DeVos want to hear. The agency issued a full-throated call to reopen schools in a package of new “resources and tools” posted on its website that opened with a statement that sounded more like a political speech than a scientific document, listing numerous benefits for children of being in school and downplaying the potential health risks. It published the new guidance two weeks after President Trump criticized its earlier recommendations on school reopenings as “very tough and expensive,” ramping up what had already been an anguished national debate over the question of how soon children should return to classrooms. While children infected by the virus are at low risk of becoming severely ill or dying, how often they become infected and how efficiently they spread the virus to others is not definitively known. Children in middle and high schools may also be at much higher risk of both than those under 10, according to some recent studies. Thanks to Trump, the public can no longer trust the impartiality of the CDC. Under pressure, it revised its guidelines to please the president. Science will not “get in the way” of Trump’s political campaign. Any student or teacher or other school personnel who dies because of a premature opening will be blood on the hands of Trump, Pence, DeVos, and the CDC. The CDC and its director, Dr. Robert Redfield, are hereby enrolled on our nation's Wall of Shame.

Bangkok Hospital, Chiang Mai, want Bht 17,000 for a colonoscopy under moderate sedation. The Sripat Centre (Private Wing of CMU Medical School at Suan Dok) want a little less, but I don't have the exact figure to hand. Much cheaper than having it done privately in the UK.

There have always been gays in the military, including many, many high rank officers, @Lucky

From The Irrawaddy and Global Voices Out of work, out of options: Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand scrape by during COVID-19 Migrant workers at this construction camp work for a Chinese company but their pay has been docked and is always late. They don’t want to make any claims against their employer because they are afraid they will get fired. If they are thrown out of the job, they won’t be able to find other work and won’t be able to return home because borders are closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Chiang Mai, Thailand, March 2020. Photo and caption by Jittrapon Kaicome/The Irrawaddy --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article by Jittrapon Kaicome is from The Irrawaddy, an independent news website in Myanmar, edited and republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement. With the decline in the Thai and worldwide economy, businesses and factories have closed and migrant workers have been among the first people laid off. As Thailand has entered the worst economic recession in its history, migrants who normally work for daily wages are facing tough times. After Thailand announced an Emergency Decree to control the outbreak of COVID-19 in late March, the country closed its borders, leaving millions of migrant workers stranded in the country. Some workers were later able to head back across into Myanmar but many are still in Thailand, trapped without jobs and few options to help them get by. Myanmar migrant workers in northern Thailand are among them. These workers are also faced with the challenge of overcoming local language barriers. Many lack the technical and computer skills to access useful information and guidance or support. They have limited rights to access government social welfare schemes, including those intended to help people through the coronavirus crisis. Their lives hang on uncertainties. Along the Thailand-Myanmar border in Tak Province, villages went into lockdown and the crisis forced migrant workers from Myanmar to abandon their farms, becoming largely dependent on food handouts. They said the amount of rice handed out wasn’t enough to feed them, lasting only around three days. Twenty-six-year-old migrant worker Cho Zin Win said: "The villagers have come to buy sacks of rice on credit five times already, and it will take at least a year for them to pay back the installments." In the city of Chiang Mai (located northeast of Thailand) during lockdown, it became a common sight to see people, a mixture of local people and migrant workers, lining up for food handouts. A visit to one of the construction camps in Chiang Mai showed that business closures have forced the wives of construction workers out of their jobs as housekeepers at hotels, while only a few of their husbands have been hired. Some families have less than 1,000 baht left (US$32.08), but they still have to bear the burden of expenses and debts. By July, restrictions on businesses were lifted and most businesses reopened. But with the economic collapse brought by the coronavirus crisis, businesses are still unable to hire back many of their workers. Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in the country—if not more—are still unemployed and many are unable to adapt to the economy’s “new normal.” Continues with photos https://globalvoices.org/2020/07/22/out-of-work-out-of-options-myanmar-migrant-workers-in-thailand-scrape-by-during-covid-19/