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Can't Get an Erection — This Could Be Why A recent study found that this virus could remain in penile tissue months after recovery. A recent study published in the World Journal of Men’s Health may have discovered a link between the COVID-19 virus and erectile issues. The study, conducted by scientists and researchers at the University of Miami, discovered for the first time that traces of the virus could be found in penile tissue. The most concerning part of the discovery was that these traces were found long after recovery, suggesting the virus may remain active in mens’ genitals for several months. Researchers are concerned that this could possibly cause future erectile dysfunction (ED) or other issues. “Our research shows that COVID-19 can cause widespread endothelial dysfunction in organ systems beyond the lungs and kidneys. The underlying endothelial dysfunction that happens because of COVID-19 can enter the endothelial cells and affect many organs, including the penis,” noted study author Dr. Ranjith Ramasamy, who is an associate professor and director of the Miller School’s Reproductive Urology Program. “In our pilot study, we found that men who previously did not complain of erectile dysfunction developed pretty severe erectile dysfunction after the onset of COVID-19 infection.” For the study, Ramasamy and his team collected penile tissue samples from two men who’ve had penile prosthesis surgery for ED and also previously had COVID. One man got very ill from the virus and was hospitalized, while the other had only experienced mild symptoms. Penile samples were also taken from two other men who had undergone an ED surgery, except these individuals had never contracted COVID-19. Both of men who had recovered from COVID-19 showed signs of the virus within their penile tissue — and both also showed signs of endothelial dysfunction, which is widespread blood vessel dysfunction. “This suggests that men who develop COVID-19 infection should be aware that erectile dysfunction could be an adverse effect of the virus, and they should go to a physician if they develop ED symptoms,” said Ramasamy. Research has previously suggested that many other conditions may be linked to COVID, such as increased risk of heart disease or neurological symptoms, so unfortunately these findings are not out of line based on what we already know. Ramasamy also said the study revealed evidence that COVID-19 can invade the testicles of some infected men. “These latest findings are yet another reason that we should all do our best to avoid COVID-19,” adds first author Eliyahu Kresch, a medical student working with Dr. Ramasamy. “We recommend vaccination and to try to stay safe in general.”

UK slides even further down rankings of most LGBT-friendly nations in Europe ILGA Europe's Rainbow Map is released each year on IDAHOBIT, to track the progress of LGBT+ rights across the continent. (ILGA Europe) LGBT+ rights in Europe have reached a concerning “standstill” and the UK continues to slowly decline, according to the annual Rainbow Map rankings. This year’s Rainbow Map revealed a “widespread and almost complete stagnation” on LGBT+ rights across Europe, reporting “almost no positive legislative change” since last year. The Rainbow Map has been published by LGBT+ organisation ILGA-Europe every year on 17 May for the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) since 2009. It gives 49 European nations a percentage ranking based on 71 criteria broken down into six key areas, including equality and non-discrimination, hate crime and hate speech, and legal gender recognition and bodily integrity. Two additional criteria were added for this year: non-binary recognition and legal gender recognition procedures for minors, both included in the gender recognition and bodily integrity category. The UK was once the highest-ranked nation in Europe for LGBT+ rights. Now, it’s not even close This year, Malta topped the rankings for the sixth year running with 94 per cent, ahead of Belgium in second place by almost 20 per cent. Malta, Belgium and Luxembourg have now occupied the same top three spots for the third year running. Scandinavia also did well, with Norway, Sweden and Denmark all placing in the top 10. The countries at the bottom of the ranking are also the same as in 2020: Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia, scoring just two, four and seven per cent respectively. Poland has also continued to be the lowest ranking EU member for the second year. The UK fell further down the rankings, coming in tenth place with 64 per cent, compared to last year when it ranked ninth with 66 per cent, and eighth the year before. Until 2015, the UK was rated the top place in Europe for LGBT+ rights in the ranking. ILGA cited growing anti-trans rhetoric, delays to banning conversion therapy and criticism of LGBT+ curriculums in schools as reasons for the UK’s decreasing score, in their annual review. However, it also praised the Scottish government’s Hate Crime and Public Order Bill, an employment tribunal ruling to protect non-binary people from discrimination and Northern Ireland winning full marriage equality.

you're confusing that with the "action for corruption" which has indeed always been on the agenda

From The Thaiger Action against corruption in Thailand is now a “national agenda” and a 20-year plan, backed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, is set to be rolled out to promote transparency in the Thai government, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced today. On a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 being “highly corrupt” and 100 being “very clean,” Thailand’s score is 36, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index by the global coalition Transparency International. Each year, the organisation ranks countries by their levels of public sector corruption. Out of 180 countries, Thailand ranks 104. South Sudan and Somalia both ranked last as the most corrupt countries. Prayut mentioned the Thailand’s ranking on the Index during a broadcast today, adding that the Thai government is working on solving the problem of corruption in the public sector. To help with plans to improve transparency, government agencies in Thailand are told to complete a self-assessment by Integrity and Transparency Assessment. The results will be used to improve the management of government agencies. “I’d like to encourage all Thai citizens in government offices in every department nationwide to take part in improving Thailand’s transparency to meet international standards by jointly completing the transparency assessment online via NACC website or ITAS application from now until May 31, 2021.” https://thethaiger.com/news/national/pm-prayut-chan-o-cha-announces-20-year-plan-to-take-action-against-corruption

All I can say is he is total stupid not to make basic homework checking what is going on before making such a substantial desicion to relocate to Phuket,Every YouTube video shows that Phuket collapsed as turist destination many locals left back to their villages and the rest who stayed there are struggling. the current situation in Phuket is distressing . If you need a proof :

From Reuters By Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Thomson Reuters Foundation * Lockdown seen fuelling chemsex parties among gay, bi men * Campaigners warn of risks from unprotected sex, drugs * Chemsex users seeking help find scant official support BANGKOK, May 18 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Beam, a gay sex worker, used to go to a “chemsex” party about once a month before the coronavirus pandemic shut Thailand’s bars and clubs. But since then, the drug-fuelled gatherings have become much more frequent. As Thailand grapples with a third COVID-19 wave, campaigners are warning of the health risks posed by an apparent increase in chemsex - where mainly gay and bisexual men meet to take drugs such as crystal meth or GHB and unprotected sex is common. Beam, 34, who also works as a porn actor and regularly meets his clients at the parties, said changes to people’s working routines under lockdown had made the gatherings more popular. “It’s now a golden opportunity for partygoers,” Beam, who asked not to give his full name to protect his identity, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Chemsex users are at risk of drug addiction or overdoses, as well as mental health problems, campaigners said, and Thai media have recently carried reports about chemsex-related violence including physical assault. As in other parts of the world, where authorities have voiced concern over the phenomenon, the parties are widely advertised on Twitter and gay dating apps like Blued and Grindr. At Bangkok Rainbow Organization, an LGBT+ NGO, the president, Nikorn Chimkong, said chemsex was “now a new normal” and that the trend was evident in an increase in inquiries about the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) anti-HIV drug. He said about 30 or 40 people per month contact the group every month nowadays to ask about the drug, a once-daily pill that protects people from becoming infected with the virus. That compares to less than 10 before the pandemic, with the majority taking the pills before chemsex parties, he said. LACK OF SUPPORT Three current and former chemsex partygoers, and experts supporting users, said Thai public health providers lack the knowledge needed to support those seeking help for chemsex use. Elsewhere in Asia, too, there are no harm reduction programmes that simultaneously address the risk of drug use and the sexual activity of gay and bisexual men and transgender women, found a recent report by APCOM, a health advocacy group for gay and bi men. In Europe, where surveys in Britain, Spain and the Netherlands have found that 30-45% of gay and bi men have engaged in chemsex at least once, doctors warned in 2019 that the practice was refuelling epidemics of HIV in urban areas. Earlier this year, Britain increased penalties for GHB following two high-profile trials, one of which detailed the drug’s use in the rape of almost 50 men. In Thailand, where gay sex and drug use is widely frowned upon, people who want support for chemsex issues are often reluctant to seek help for fear of being stigmatised, campaigners said. “There are very few service providers that make users feel like they are another human being,” said Midnight Poonkasetwattana, APCOM executive director. “These are the groups that we must provide services for in order to reduce their risks of HIV.” ASSAULTS, OVERDOSES One place that does offer help is KRUBB Bangkok, a gay social club and community centre, which opened about nine months ago and provides chemsex counselling services for gay men. Sergeant Shaowpicha Techo, a psychologist at a Bangkok health centre who also sees patients at KRUBB, said he was seeing up to a dozen patients per week compared with one or two before the pandemic. Thailand does not have official statistics on chemsex, but the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said up to 90% of gay and bisexual men who have used their healthcare services have experimented with chemsex. Most are aged between 20 and 40. Anggoon Patarakorn, deputy director of the government’s Princess Mother National Institute on Drug Abuse Treatment, said he had not noticed a surge in chemsex during the pandemic, but acknowledged officials did not yet have expertise on the issue. “We’re not giving special priority (to this group) at this time, but we may focus on them more in the future,” he said. The Royal Thai Police’s anti-narcotics bureau declined to comment. News reports of assaults and fatal overdoses at chemsex parties prompted a group of campaigners to form a network called Safety Net in June last year to support chemsex users. Aiming to raise awareness among government officials and health workers, it is also working on a first aid handbook for users including advice on what to do if someone overdoses. Arthur, a 32-year-old actor and model who asked to be identified only by his nickname, has had less work during the pandemic and said he had been attending chemsex parties more often as a result. But the regular drug use took a toll on his mental health and he is now seeking treatment and helping Safety Net. "I have hurt myself (from cutting) and attempted suicide many times in the past," he said. "About five of my friends have died from drugs ... and now I want to help other people." (Reporting by Nanchanok Wongsamuth @nanchanokw; Editing by Helen Popper and Rachel Savage. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit news.trust.org) https://www.reuters.com/article/thailand-lgbt-drugs-idUSL8N2BP44C

exactly, and as @PeterRS remarked at the end of his (very interesting) Kong Kong story the political will has to be there, which clearly is absent here. This is put up for show, with the long time frame there is no risk of any immediate "damage" to the golden goose and in a year or less the whole thing will be entirely forgotten Such "initiatives" have happened here before haven't they? To what effect? Zero as everyone knows

A report from Thailand Overseas Americans Are Desperate To Get COVID-19 Vaccines Audio story from National Public Radio's Morning Edition: Millions of Americans live abroad in places where vaccine rollouts are slow and cases rampant. They're pleading with the U.S. government to send surplus shots overseas. The answer so far is no. But now the White House has taken notice. https://www.npr.org/2021/05/18/997783450/overseas-americans-are-desperate-to-get-covid-19-vaccines

With the current exchange rate....yes Mexico has a LOT of places to find what you're looking for as well....

shock for me , I thought it always was

SO everyone knows....going to the USA only requires an Antigen test. Can book an appointment with this drug store chain (and others). 120 reis, results and paperwork while you wait, approx 20 mins. https://www.drogaraia.com.br/agendamento/covid19

Bangkok will suit you well, tons of bars with boys to choose from tons of twinks as well just a bit pricy compared to brazil though

I consulted about July ... my interpretation is that I’m still going to be jerkin’ it solo.

Why do you think anyone can know what the situation in July will be? In pandemic times, talking about July is science fiction.

Fingers crossed Trump will tell them to inject it!

2 months to vaccinate all thais?

Now what has one of the most popular disco numbers of the 1980s to do with Gay Icons? I wonder how many are aware that this song comes from a Broadway musical? "Chess", written by the chess-loving Tim Rice who in the 1970s had made himself a nice fortune as the lyricist for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Evita" and then later for Disney with lyrics for Elton John’s “The Lion King”, opened in London in 1984. To write the music, Rice commuted to Sweden to discuss the idea with the ABBA boys, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. They liked the idea. In the view of many, including me, the resultant music remains one of the greatest Broadway scores of all time. Sadly, though, internal Broadway feuding and international rapprochement as Gorbachev's star was rising, rendered Tim Rice's book and lyrics about a Cold War love affair set alongside a chess match between a Russian and an American all but redundant. It struggled along in London for three years but then collapsed spectacularly on Broadway with a loss of over US$6 million. Some years later Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Aspects of Love", his first post-"Phantom" musical, lost $8 million after it too died on Broadway, thus becoming Broadway's most expensive flop up to that time. This was eclipsed by the massive $60 million loss when “Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark” also collapsed in 2017. Broadway can be an unforgiving beast. Included in the original London cast of “Chess” were Elaine Paige (Grizabella in the original “CATS”) and actor/singer Murray Head who had featured in the first full mouth-to-mouth on-screen kiss with actor Peter Finch in John Schlesinger’s 1971 movie “Sunday, Bloody Sunday.” If Broadway IS New York, now it also belongs to the world. Musicals had always toured internationally, mostly in locally produced versions often quite far from the Broadway originals. When Andrew Lloyd Webber teamed up with the struggling gay London producer, Cameron Macintosh, though, a new idea was born: cloning musicals. Macintosh realized that audiences in Sydney, Berlin and Tokyo not only wanted to see a hit show, they wanted to see exactly the same show as audiences in London and New York. Thus the musicals' franchise was born. The result: everyone involved in their shows - "CATS" and "Phantom of the Opera" (and let's not forget that Cameron had also produced on his own two other blockbusters, "Les Misérables" and "Miss Saigon") - started achieving profits earlier producers could not even dream about. A few years ago Forbes Magazine estimated Macintosh’s wealth at over US$1 billion! As the relatively recent book "Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway" by Michael Riedel illustrates, the relationships between theatre owners, producers, directors, PR teams, performers and critics have usually contained far more drama offstage than on. Perhaps less so in its beginnings during the Great Depression when all audiences wanted were bright lights, glitz, glamour, chorus girls - and more chorus girls! Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II changed all that. When the curtain went up on their first collaboration "Oklahoma" in 1943, the audience literally gasped, for this show and four others that followed from the same team transformed the musicals' genre from musical comedy to serious musical theatre, with real story lines and real people living all but real lives. A string of great musicals followed, starting with "West Side Story" by the gay quartet of Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), Leonard Bernstein's gorgeous music, the book by Arthur Laurents and stunning choreography by Jerome Robbins. Others included "My Fair Lady" and "Fiddler on the Roof". Thereafter the Dance Musical came to the fore with the brilliant - and gay - Michael Bennett conceiving and directing "A Chorus Line" and David Merrick producing "42nd Street". But soon Broadway itself was threatened with one of the world’s mega-disasters. The sexuality of those on Broadway has always been the stuff of gossip. The distinguished British actress, the late Dame Peggy Ashcroft once said, "Of course I knew Laurence Olivier and Danny Kaye were having a long-term affair. So did all of London. So did their wives. Why is America always the last to know?" Perhaps it's the Puritan streak in America that encourages people to look the other way. Those who faced up to reality knew full well that Broadway and the Broadway musical had always relied on gay men, gay girls and a few theatres-full of bisexual men and women for its success, and the toll of those who died in the early years of AIDS was horrifically high. It was not just the male dancers and the dozens of boys in the chorus who were dying by the week. Directors Michael Bennett ("A Chorus Line”), Tony Richardson, Joe Layton ("Barnum"), song writer Peter Allen, Larry Kert who played Tony in the original "West Side Story" and the lead in Stephen Sondheim’s “Company”, lyricist Howard Ashman, choreographer Michael Shawn, publicist Frank Nathan - the obituaries just went on and on. In memory of all those who died, I would like to pay my tribute by including here the Anthem from "Chess", with its beautiful melody sung fabulously by the Swedish singer Tommy Körberg whom I saw in the original London production. Benny's smile at the end says it all! But after all the crying and all the funerals, the Broadway musical picked itself up. To this day it continues to present some of the finest entertainment in the world. More recent shows are again the talk of the town – “The Lion King”, “Wicked”, “Hamilton” and others along with revivals like “Cabaret” at Studio 54 which I saw some years ago with the androgynous Alan Cumming superb as the Master of Ceremonies. Before the pandemic, 70% of all New York visitors attended a Broadway show. That equates to more than forty million seats sold - just to tourists! So I salute Broadway and its musicals as my final Gay Icon. Of course there are dozens more. But I wanted to keep the list relatively small. Some have said I should have included Liberace. He was indeed very gay and very much an icon. But was he not more of an icon for the middle-aged ladies who attended his Las Vegas extravaganzas and made him the highest earning artist in the world? I could certainly have added living icons like Sir Ian McKellan and Bette Midler. Since coming out at the age of 49, Sir Ian has been a champion for gay rights. I love the true story of his visit to Singapore in 2007 to perform "King Lear". Taking part in a live morning radio show, he was asked what he would like to see in Singapore, "Can you recommend a nice gay bar?" he quipped. The programme controller had a fit and pulled the plug on the rest of interview. The ‘Divine’ Ms. Midler owes much of her fame to gay audiences. After all, her career more or less began when she sang regularly at the famous Continental Baths, New York’s huge gay sauna, often accompanied by the young Barry Manilow on the piano. But they are still alive, thank goodness, and so do not fit with a series looking to the past. Perhaps another reader will contribute