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From Bangkok Post HANOI: As an LGBTQ activist, legal whizz-kid and Vietnam's first openly gay candidate running for a seat in its rubber-stamp parliament, Luong The Huy is determined to lead long-lasting change for the country's marginalised communities. Huy, 32, is one of just nine independent candidates running for Vietnam's National Assembly in elections to be held across the country on Sunday and wants to boost the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, who have long felt discrimination. But getting his name on the ballot in the communist, one-party state was no simple task. At the last elections five years ago, more than 100 independent candidates -- including dissidents, a taxi driver and a pop star -- tried to run, but just a handful made it through the gruelling selection process. Now that he's made it this far, he's clear about what he wants to achieve. "I want people's voices to be heard," Huy told AFP, sitting in his Hanoi office beside a framed poster bearing the slogan "Human rights are for everyone". Huy, who is currently director of Vietnamese NGO iSEE, which aims to empower minority groups to protect and promote their rights, has been campaigning for a decade to improve the lives of the Vietnamese LGBTQ community. He once addressed a session of the UN Human Rights Council and was listed by Forbes as one of the 30 most inspiring people under the age of 30 in Vietnam. But despite studying law -- Huy got a scholarship from the US's Fulbright Program to study at the University of California -- he says he has struggled to bring policy to the people who matter in Vietnam's opaque governmental system. "If I'm a member of the National Assembly, that path will be shorter, easier and more convenient for the community groups we serve," he said. Vietnam is seen as relatively progressive on LGBTQ issues compared with some other countries in Asia. But although the country lifted its ban on same-sex marriage in 2015, it stopped short of full legal recognition for those unions, and a long-promised transgender law to allow legal gender changes has not yet materialised. In schools, misinformation about sexual orientation and gender identity is widespread and some children are taught by both teachers and parents that being gay is a mental illness, according to a Human Rights Watch report published last year. Continues at https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/2119567/vietnams-first-openly-gay-candidate-seeks-change-with-parliament-run

From The Thai Enquirer Opinion: Remember when the PAD wanted to close the country’s border? By Cod Satrusayang After the 2006 military coup that sent Thaksin Shinawatra into exile, the yellow-shirt People’s Alliance for Democracy argued for closing the country’s borders in response to international criticism. The country, the PAD argued, needed to shut its doors to foreigners while it cleaned house and eradicated the scourge of Thaksinomics and those that were disloyal to the crown. Many people scoffed at the idea but hardcore PAD supporters held onto the notion with many of these same arguments surfacing again during the People’s Democratic Reform Council protest in 2013/14 – the same protest that led to the Prayut Chan-ocha coup. Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, we finally have an inkling of what it would look like to shut down the country’s border. In short, economic disaster. Without tourism and international trade, our industries and services sector has withered. Our GDP contracted by its largest margin ever in 2020 fueled mainly by shut borders and a lack of international arrivals. What must be said is that the brain trust of the PDRC and the PAD that argued for shutting borders wanted to subject our country to these economic ravages willingly in the facile hope of “cleaning house” and “reeducating the population.” Think of the economic suffering that we are witnessing currently because of this pandemic. Think of the spiking suicide rates, the families falling below the poverty line, the countless hospitality jobs lost, the countless businesses closed, because of our country closing its borders to fight the pandemic. Now imagine a group of people so hellbent on ideological zealotry that they would subject the country to these ills voluntarily. Perhaps it is time that we as a collective whole unsubscribe from the dogmatic pursuit of purity demanded by those so loyal to the cultural and political institutions that demands such zealotry. Thailand must evolve into a 21st century country. Our situation demands it, our people demands it and our collective future demands it. We are situated on the Southeast Asian crossroads, caught between competing superpowers and ideologies. We cannot afford to cling so steadfastly to the past without considerations for the future. While it is important to understand where we come from, it cannot dominate our future so thoroughly that it undermines our progress. There are people who would tell you that being Thai means relinquishing all identity but those that are subservient to the feudal system where power is concentrated in the hands of a few. Those are the same people that would have so willingly led us to our destruction. It is time we move away from dogmatic beliefs and allow pluralism, debate, introspection and, yes, questioning of what it means to be Thai. Until we do that, until we allow that, we will always be on the bring of self-destruction. And we will be led by people who think that through privilege and access, that they know better than the rest of us. https://www.thaienquirer.com/27785/opinion-remember-when-the-pad-wanted-to-close-the-countrys-border/

From The Nation Expats can register for Covid jab from June 7 Foreigners living in Thailand can register for their Covid-19 jab at the nearest vaccination station from June 7 onwards, Natapanu Noppakun, deputy director-general of the Foreign Ministry’s Information Department tweeted on Friday. "To register, they can use either their passport or social security number at hospitals that have their medical records or at hospitals designated by the Public Health Ministry,” he said. Vaccination for different groups of foreigners is as follows: Diplomats, international organisations and their families Around 7,000 names collected by the Foreign Ministry will be sent to the Department of Disease Control (DDC). This group can get vaccinated at their hospital, or at 2-3 designated hospitals for those who do not have health records. Foreign government agencies May register staff for vaccination with the Foreign Ministry's Department of Consular Affairs. Foreign nationals married to Thai nationals/family members of Thai nationals / retirees in Thailand / business people/foreign investors in Bangkok Bangkok: On-site registration at vaccination centres under the Council of University Presidents of Thailand. Other provinces: The Public Health Ministry will allocate vaccines to local vaccination centres and foreign nationals may register at hospitals with their health records. Foreign students The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation will arrange for their vaccination under the Council of University Presidents of Thailand. Migrant workers The Social Security Office will coordinate with employers on vaccination for this group. Thai students planning to study abroad Register online with the Department of Consular Affairs. Chulalongkorn University will arrange for this group's vaccination on June 3-4. https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001143 ============================================== COVID UPDATE (21 March) -- There have been 3,481 new infections announced today and 32 Covid-related deaths in the past 24 hours. 951 of today’s new cases come from Thailand’s prisons. STATE OF EMERGENCY UPDATE -- Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is proposing an extension of the nationwide Emergency Decree for another 2 months. At a meeting today, the CCSA and Public Health Ministry noted that it may take until the end of July to bring the latest Covid wave under control. The last declaration of a State of Emergency has been in place since March 2020 and was set to expire at the end of May as the government can only declare the status for up to 3 months at a time.

How can I become a priest overnight???

this is the study linked on the previous page by 10tazione that I was referring to https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6002055/

Hmmm....San Marino is scored but nothing indicated for Vatican City

Broken, beat and scared as The Stones say but nothing that won't heal given time.

missed it! when will the next one be up?

I'd never noticed how much time I spent on my phone and how comforting it is. Like what did we do in cafes before we had phones?

First day bars were open. Was walking home. A guy stands in front of me with a knife and demands my phone and my wallet. Drunk me tried to punch him at which point a guy behind me punched me in the back. The the two of them started kicking me while I was down. A neighbor heard the noise and came out at which point the two guys grabbed my phone - which had all my cards in it - and ran off. Welcome to life after lockdown.

So sad for Venezuelans...I see on news reports some have made it to the US from Mexico...I don't know why we don't give them legal refugee status like Cubans.