Leaderboard

I just returned from a one month holiday trip to Thailand. Since there are very low numbers of international tourists in Thailand at this time, I decided to focus my travel on some of the very popular southern areas on the Andaman Sea. These regions are usually overrun with sun seekers and are heavily crowded in the high season, so I thought this would be a good time to take advantage of lower hotel costs, and of not being swarmed with tourists and day trippers from the nearby resort areas. The last time I was in Thailand before this was in Jan/Feb 2020, just two years ago. It was on this trip that I met N. For nearly two years since that last trip, I had been planning to see N again on my next trip. In the interest of anonymity, I will refer to my friend as N in this report, by initial only. Because I did not see other boys during this most recent trip, this report mostly covers our travels together. Sorry, but no details of boy bars and massage shops, as I did not visit any. For this current trip, I intended to see only this boy for the entire month in Thailand. He pushes all my buttons, and I said why not? This is the first time I have had only one boy stay with me for my entire holiday. Although I didn't spread my baht amongst many boys as is usual for me on my trips, I surely made a very large difference to this one boy's finances. I did tip generously in hotels, taxis, etc in most cases, but the only tips given to a boy was to N. As luck would have it, the Bangkok bars were ordered closed again before I arrived in Thailand in early January. With the ever-changing rules, and opening times teetering back and forth, I hadn't planned to be bar hopping on this trip anyway, so I didn't really miss making my usual rounds of the nighttime haunts and go go bars. I had applied for the Thailand Pass in December 2021, and I entered through the airport with no issues. I won't bore you with the details, as the entry process, paperwork requirements, the blue chairs at Suvarnabhumi, etc have already been reported in this forum by other members. I entered the country under the original 7 day Thailand Pass program, but with the amended version requiring two PCR tests, one upon arrival, and a second test on the 7th day. Under the amended rules, the second PCR test was to be paid for by the Thai government. N had taken two ATK tests 3 weeks apart before my arrival, and sent me emailed photos of them, so I felt confident that he was being safe, and taking the required precautions to avoid the virus. Upon arrival, and before exiting the baggage claim area to face the gauntlet of awaiting private car drivers at the airport, I purchased a DTAC Sim card in the baggage claim hall, right after passing through immigration. To answer a previous question from a board member, I did see a True Sim card kiosk in the baggage claim hall as well. I didn't see an AIS kiosk, but I wasn't looking for them. Surely they would have a presence there too, as they are a major telecom player in the Thai marketplace. Insurance - I bought a 100k USD policy from a US company before the trip. I know only 50k was required, but I wanted the higher limit, and the price difference was minimal. The policy I chose was also a "cancel for any reason" policy. I'm usually not inclined to purchase travel insurance, as my health insurance plan covers me overseas anyway. But since the Test & Go program required it, I opted for a decent US based plan. I considered the options, and figured that it would also cover any pre-paid hotels and or flights I might have to cancel if testing positive for covid during my travels. I compared insurance policies on Squaremouth.com before deciding on which one to buy. The policy I chose gives me 90 days after an event to submit a claim. I thought this would allow me plenty of time to sort it all out at home, if it came to submitting a claim. My Test & Go hotel was The Quarter Silom. The driver took me in a private car to Paolo Hospital in Saphan Kwai, where a nurse came out to the car for the obligatory swabs, then off to Silom. The time at the hospital was about 7-8 minutes. The Quarter Silom is in a very good location on Soi Tarntawan, nestled in between Silom and Suriwong Roads. It is a new hotel, and very clean. It is not a place I would normally stay due to the small rooms, but they offered a 6 hour PCR test window package for a very low price, along with a private car from the airport, and breakfast was included. The fact that the only meal in the Test & Go package was breakfast gave me confidence that they intended to usher me out of the room before noon the following day. Upon checking in about 1 AM, the boy at the front desk asked if I needed anything else, and I jokingly said "Yes, I'd like two cold Singha beers, but I know you won't allow me any alcohol per the Test & Go regulations." I only wanted a shower and about an hour to wind down before a long awaited sleep after crossing through 12 time zones, on three flights to reach Bangkok. The boy at the hotel reception replied "the bar is closed, but just take what you want from the bar refrigerator, and we'll charge you in the morning when you check out". I got my nightcap of two cold Singha beers from the bar fridge. Amazing Thailand!! The next morning after breakfast was delivered to the room, I called reception, and they confirmed that my test was negative, as I expected. N had already emailed me. I sent him an SMS, and he was in my arms less than 45 minutes later. My plan was not to look for luxury in a Test & Go hotel, but for a fast PCR test turnaround time, and to be on my way after a few hours of shut eye. The Quarter Silom was very close to my next hotel, so the taxi the next morning was only about 60 baht. Upon check out, a Quarter Silom hotel employee introduced me to the Bolt car and motorbike taxi app. He called a Bolt car for us to move to the next hotel. Bolt is similar to Uber, with some very attractive prices. A Bolt car for us in some cases in Bangkok was no more expensive than skytrain tickets for the two of us would have cost, to cover the same distance. I believe Bolt is subsidizing their shorter rides to generate business, since it's a fairly new service. I suspect prices may go up in the future, once they have established a solid customer base. The total price for The Quarter test & go package was 3,899 baht inclusive of the room, a 6 hour PCR test, a private car from the airport, and breakfast. I booked the package through Agoda. I checked out, and into the Furama Sathorn, into an executive suite. Very large quarters, and a beautiful view of the Bangkok skyline, especially at night, from the 12th floor room. I only book rooms with balconies, as I enjoy sitting in the open air in the morning for a bit after I wake up. We sat on the balcony a couple evenings as well. Only staying in rooms with balconies eliminates a large percentage of available hotels for me to choose from, but I don't like being trapped inside, behind glass windows. The breakfast buffet at the Furama was included in the room price. The food was a mix of Thai and western fare, changing each day. Clear plastic food service gloves were provided for guests for touching the spoons, tongs, and opening the food warmer bin lids at the buffet tables. As with masks, many customers ignored the hotel request to wear the disposable gloves when filling their plates with food. Much as I like Bangkok, a few days on both ends of my trip is usually enough for me. To me, the big city is not a beautiful place for a holiday. I like to visit a different area of the country on each trip. N and I stayed at the Sathorn Furama for four nights before flying south. Here is the view of the city skyline from the balcony of the Furama. A perfect view of the Maha Nakhon building. If you look closely, you can see a number of people out on the glass platform at the top of the skyscraper in one photo. To be continued...

The long, deep, surprisingly versatile history of bottoms: From Ancient Greece to modern misogyny The history of bottoming and the wider history of the patriarchy are one and the same, scholars told PinkNews. (PinkNews) The year 2022 started with a bang – a gangbang, to be exact. On 9 January, the Californian OnlyFans user known by the handle breedlacumhole checked into a Los Angeles hotel. Next to a no-frills white lamp and an oak side-table, he took 75 loads in 20 hours. The stunt stirred weeks of jokes and controversy throughout Gay Twitter – but to João Florêncio, a senior lecturer for the University of Exeter and the author of Bareback Porn, Porous Masculinities, Queer Futures, it was a textbook example of how bottoming culture is changing. When people think of bottoming – performing the receptive role in sex – it’s not uncommon for them to think of stereotypes for gay men. Think limited edition Lana Del Rey vinyl, watching Call Me By Your Name, sniffing poppers while streaming Charli XCX, avoiding Chipotle. But bottoming actually has a surprisingly versatile history. Historians, researchers and sexual therapists have all explained how bottoming has long acted as shorthand for submission, shame and, at its core, how the patriarchy views women and those who receive as nothing more than “passive holes”. “The history of bottoming – or how bottoming has been historically thought about or imagined – is inseparable from the patriarchy,” Florêncio told PinkNews. “All homophobia is inseparable from the patriarchy because homophobia is a form of misogyny. You hate gay men because they are closer to women, as if they betray masculinity by being penetrated.” Bottoming, Florêncio said, is the act of being “occupied” while topping is to “invade”. Notice the difference? “Historically, gays were the bottom,” Florêncio explained. “The top was not gay, they were men and just like all other men.” Florêncio feels that this isn’t surprising: “We had to invent a culture with what was there, and what was there was straight culture. “So, even in our sexual behaviour and gender presentation, our identities are in response to that binary frame of heterosexual culture, of being masculine and feminine.” Ancient Greece didn’t subscribe to gay or straight labels Bottoming can be considered as two different things. There’s bottoming as a physical, sexual preference and act, and bottoming as a personal identity – something that people can say is who they are. When looking at the history of bottoming it’s inevitable to start with the Ancient Greeks, says Scott Oatley, a sociology PhD student at the University of Edinburgh. Oatley has researched in-depth how the Ancient Greeks thought of and experienced anal sex. In short: they loved it, but it was the top who came out on, well, top in their dynamic. Ancient Greeks believed in neither heterosexuality nor homosexuality – instead, they categorised all sex as either passive or active. The person penetrating always won. “Same-sex relations were both legally and culturally accepted, and commonly engaged in within Ancient Greek and Roman societies,” Oatley told PinkNews. “Positionality and power are two key concepts that defined ancient understandings of same-sex relations,” he added. “The person to penetrate was dominant, the person to be penetrated was submissive. “Sexual acts were a zero-sum game – the person penetrating always won.” Symposium scene, circa 480-490 BC, decorative fresco from the north wall of the Tomb of the Diver at Paestum, Campania, Italy. (Getty/ Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Archaeological Museum/ DeAgostini) The closest thing in Ancient Greek culture to the modern bottom was the “erômenos,” Oatley said, an adolescent male who couldn’t grow a beard. Their ‘tops’, meanwhile, were typically older, bearded men called “erastês”. You can see the power play even in the words themselves. The meaning of erômenos is passive (one who is sexually desired) while erastês is active (to sexually desire). “To be penetrated was to be placed within the inferior and feminising position,” Oatley explained. Some men would even practice intercrural sex (between the thighs) to avoid being penetrated and therefore feminised. There was, however, a lot of nuances within the stigma. “What was immoral for the Greeks was not bottoming but being passive in your pleasures,” Oatley continued. In other words, the act of bottoming itself wasn’t strictly considered non-masculine – being passive was. The ways men could avoid being perceived as passive was to be “active” outside of the bedroom, such as by marrying and procreating – men could still receive and be considered manly men, Oatley said, as long as they married and reproduced. The Romans were more hardline in their views and had a similar workaround. Seeing the world – and women – as things to be conquered and ruled, ‘authentic’ men were considered to be “impenetrable predators”. In other words, a top. To get around the idea, the Romans saw the penetrated person (women and enslaved, younger males) as of a “lower social status”. To have consensual anal sex with a freeborn man (someone not born into slavery) was even criminalised – but it was the passive person who would be prosecuted, rather than the “active” man. This stigma, again, ran deep into the words used at the time for the acts. Men who were anally receptive were either derogatorily called a “cinaedus” and seen as defective, or dubbed “pathicus”, a term for masochists who derived pleasure from penetration regardless of gender. Neither meant the person was queer as such, rather they desired to be a receptacle for sex. Beyond the Greeks and Romans, feminine men have not always been considered less than. In 18th-century Britain and France, for example, the Dandies, peacocking guys who worshipped appearance above all else, were considered hot studs to straight women. Even the word “gay” in the 1800s typically referred to aggressively straight womanisers and heterosexual brothels rather than homosexuality. “The concept of homo and heterosexuality are, in the scheme of human society, a novel concept,” Oatley noted. “Homosexuality was first coined in English in 1892, with heterosexuality coming a few years later.” The ‘feminine gay’ stereotype, which today is linked to stereotypes around bottoming, is very much the historical outcome of centuries of patriarchal attitudes towards being a passive partner in sex, and a wave of anti-sodomy laws from the 1500s. For years, the public image of a gay man was like that of Oscar Wilde: floppy haired, ‘feminine’ and, to society, degenerate. Oscar Wilde, Irish writer, in New York in January 1882. (DeAgostini/Getty Images) As the AIDS crisis loomed, queer men split into ‘tops’ and ‘bottoms’ Queer men, tired of being tied to effeminacy, embraced “hyper-masculine” ideals in the 1970s, Florêncio explained – think bulging beefcakes and leather daddies with Sharpie-black moustaches – to “fight the idea that gay men were like women”. Then the AIDS crisis seized the world and provoked, even more, the stigma of men receiving, as well as bringing the need for the terms “top” and “bottom”. To receive was seen as dangerous by those uneasy about the virus ripping through their community. Considering it a safer route, many men vowed to never anally receive again, kindling the need for absolute descriptors such as “top” and “bottom”. A group of men relax on the street during the Gay Pride parade in New York City 1982. (Barbara Alper/Getty Images) Born out of anxiety and the historic humiliation attached to womanhood, “that led to what we would now call ‘bottoming shaming’ or ‘bottom shame’,” Florêncio added. “So, in the 1970s, you could say that when ‘men were men’, there was a lot of versatility. Entering the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, those sexual positions polarised because of the cultural narratives around HIV.” Straight male adult entertainers of the time captured this sharp split well, Florêncio added. Those who went “gay for pay” tended to top given that the position is more comparable to the pentetator role in straight sex. They would say topping didn’t make them gay because, much like the Greeks and Romans, “if you’re the one f***ing, you’re not gay,” Florêncio explained. “You’re still a ‘real man’. You’re only gay if you take it.” The future of bottoming? The heroic vampire ‘power bottom’ who ‘drains tops’ Looking to the future of bottoming, Florêncio said that medical leaps in the treatment of HIV and AIDS, such as the HIV-preventative pill PrEP, have helped soften the stigma of bottoming. With HIV no longer akin to a death sentence, a new bottoming identity has emerged: The “hyper-masculine power bottom“. “The figure of the power bottom, anecdotally in gay culture, is both desired and feared,” Florêncio said. “In some ways, they’re like vampires. The bottom at the centre of a gangbang is the most typical porn scene of all time… until you see how the bottom is portrayed almost like a hero. “All the masculine traits – endurance, heroism, athleticism – is now being associated with bottoms. They embrace being f**ked, which used to be seen as emasculating and make it super manly by almost becoming superheroes – the power bottom. “The power bottom is, in a way, an anomaly, but one that is admired. Everyone wants to be a power bottom.” Hangups around masculinity remain, though, as “all tops are scared of power bottoms, they’re drained by them”. (Envato/Organic Fruits Peaches by Dream79) Ness Cooper, a clinical sexologist based in Norfolk, agrees. The act of penetrating is not as entrenched in power as it once was. “Before it always used to be that the submissive bottom was only there for their dom’s enjoyment,” Cooper said, “but often with the discussion of limits and likes and dislikes, it’s clear that those going into submission also gain satisfied enjoyment from their partners.” Things are, in short, becoming a lot more nuanced. Sex is not simple, Cooper said, especially when it comes to the “social-psychological impact” these expectations can have on us. “Things have greatly changed in what being the receiver really means now, and many people are moving away from just being a passive hole,” Cooper stressed. As bottoms rewrite themselves to be dominating and masculine, even tops are doing the same. The flipside of the power bottom, Florêncio added, is the “blouse”, a femme top. Is this necessarily a good thing? Florêncio remains unconvinced. We still haven’t quite shaken off the sexism that entrenches queer language: “We’re still trying to make sense of what we do with a language that isn’t ours,” he said. Take the relatively new phrase, the “bossy bottom” which, according to crowdsourced LGBT+ dictionary Queer Undefined, refers to “a man who is receptive in anal sex but who gives direction during sex in an aggressive or dominant way (bossy).” For someone who bottoms, even if they do so in a traditionally “masculine” way, still cannot avoid being shamed as the spectre of misogyny continues to raise its head. Queer culture remains stunted by the fault-finding, power-hungry patriarchal world around it. “Even in the power bottom we see a lot today,” Florêncio warned, “as much as it embraces penetration – the more they are f***ed, the more of a man they are – it also clings to masculinity: the lack of emotion or connection, being rough and being as athletic as Superman. “The more dicks you take, the more of a man you become. The power is in the pride. You take still it, as they say, like a man.”

From Thaiger / Guardia In a Singaporean news broadcast on the Winter Olympics, it wasn’t the coverage that got the attention of viewers, it was what was happening in the background at the Beijing bar. Behind the Channel News Asia correspondent were two men passionately kissing, a taboo for Singaporeans where broadcasting laws prohibit LGBT content and homosexual relationships between men are illegal. Although the kiss was removed from a version on CNA’s website, a video of the kiss has been seen over 825,000 times on TikTok and a popular Chinese social media network Weibo. One TikTok user wrote “This is actually an act of revolution”. https://thethaiger.com/news/regional/singapore/singapores-lgbt-content-ban-slammed-after-gay-kiss-caught-in-news-broadcast

Well, I used to stay in Saphan Kwai, and frequented the numerous local Thai entertainment venues around Pradipat Road instead of going to Silom. Often the only farang I would see during a night out in Saphan Kwai was in a bathroom mirror. One night I found myself in Silom, and the the boy wasn't keen on going to Saphan Kwai with me, so he suggested a local short time hotel just a few blocks away. Back then, I think the room was about 250-300 baht for two hours. So short time hotels do serve a purpose. Now that the nightlife areas have shrunk considerably in the last 20 years, and have nearly disappeared in Saphan Kwai, I stay in Silom, so I have no need to hire a short time room any longer.

My impression of the scholars writing about bottoming have never actually had the experience. I wonder why they assume that "power bottoming" is a modern thing.

Just an update on this - I talked to lots of hotels in the Silom area and in other areas reagarding a Rapid RT-PCR test upon arrival that will hopefully secure the option of going out at the late evening of the same day (Landing in Suvenabhumi at 3PM). All Silom/Sathorn hotels told me that is not an option, one of them told me that it used to be an option but the hospital that covers the area - BNH hospital - recently stopped doing Rapid RT-PCR. Having taking that into consideration, I started exploring out side of Silom and in many other areas that are covered by other hospitals, the rapid test is an available option (Specifically I checked Siam area and Sukhumvit Area). So, first night is booked in the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok in the Siam area with a rapid test option. I found several hotels that offer that. If anyone is interested in rates and info, I'm attaching the brochure they sent me.

Every time I hear we need a higher birth rate, I think of the growth of human population and wonder where we will put them all. We're already near the carrying capacity of planet Earth with clean air and water harder to come by as our population grows. Is this really the time to add another billion or two humans to the draw? Sounds like the main argument in favor of a growing population is increasing the ratio of more-productive to less-productive humans and, looking at that metric alone, one could make a case for higher birth rates. But, as long as we continue to deplete the planet's resources at the current rate, we'll all hit the wall in the foreseeable future. It could be that countries willing and able to redistribute income equitably among their citizens (shades of socialism! 😳) will find a way to grow modestly and still make sure young and old all have enough to get by. But unrestrained economic growth, combined with institutionalized inequality and finite natural resources, doesn't seem to bode well for any of the less economically productive members of society. Of which I count myself a proud, if endangered, example.

From Pattaya Mail By Barry Kenyon There have been several complaints to Pattaya Mail that some local and foreign-based insurance companies have been guilty of misinformation when advising both tourists and expats. What follows is a summary of the requirements of both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Thai Immigration. The rules are very different for those foreigners entering the country as opposed to those seeking an extension of stay once here. Applicants for entry, mostly Test and Go and Sandbox aspirants, are required to obtain a minimum US$50,000 cover to cover the period of their visa. This can be solely Covid-related or general medical insurance or a combination of both. The obvious exceptions are work permit holders who come under the health ministry’s social insurance scheme without separate cover. But most extensions of stay obtained at Thai immigration offices do not require an insurance certificate. Nor currently are they required to show proof of vaccination, contrary to some internet reports. As examples, holders of 30 days visa exempt stamps or 60 day tourist visas do not need insurance to claim their extra month. Nor do eligible foreigners applying for the two months “Covid” extension, although this well-used facility is on life support already as the March deadline looms. The obvious exception to all of the above is the contentious O/A retirement visa (awarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the subsequent annual renewal (given by Immigration). These both currently require a separate general health insurance of at least 400,000 baht inpatient and 40,000 baht outpatient, to be upgraded to US$100,000 or 3 million baht from October 1, 2022. There will also be a new facility for O/A visa holders to use self-insurance if they are refused by insurance companies, although the fine print of do-it-alone is yet to be announced. But the O/A visa rules do not apply to other expats such as retirees with an initial O visa, holders of marriage or family extensions of stay or Elite card holders. Some commercial advertisements on the internet seem to be deliberately blurring the distinction between retirees holding different kinds of permission in order to maximize insurers’ income. However, it is true that holders of the little-used Special Tourist Visa (which offers a stay of up to 9 months) and the OX ten year visa (introduced in 2016 but complex and bureaucratic) do require health insurance for both entry and extension. The immigration bureau hotline confirmed that there are currently no plans to extend medical insurance beyond the parameters listed. However, the goal posts can certainly change and there is discretion vested in immigration bureau and individual officers when it comes to handling a particular case. Equally, generalizations by commercial income generators such as “all retirees need insurance” or “you need insurance to stay in Thailand” are speculative baloney. https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/insurance-companies-exaggerating-cover-requirements-for-thailand-388716

4. one is so horny that can't wait until gets to hotel 5. shy to be seen by hotel staff or other guests as serious debauchee, gay at that, or stays in hotel prohibiting guests or charging for them .

Thaiger.com has some advice on this and recommends two or three local (Bangkok)providers. My concern was that some policies have a seventy-five year age limit....however, Thaiger found a couple that don't have an age limit. I'm ultra-careful and so my intention is to use my own UK travel insurance but to back it -up with a local company that specifically mentions quarantine and is "Covid-Pass friendly."

Since his photo was included in this article, I thought I should point out that most biographers agree that Oscar Wilde never engaged in anal sex. He did , however, enjoy watching Bosie perform on his young "panthers."

I had a similar question regarding an insurance policy I was considering purchasing for my recent trip. Before buying, I emailed the insurance company and asked if they would pay for a hotel quarantine. They answered me within about six hours. The answer in my case was "if a health authority or government orders you into quarantine, we will pay the cost of your stay regardless of whether it is a hospital or hotel". You may want to ask before purchasing a policy, as there are many different companies, and most of them sell different levels of coverage.

For anyone looking for a less expensive option, I used The Quarter Silom hotel on Soi Tarntawan for my Test & Go hotel last month. The package was 3,899 baht inclusive of the room, a PCR test with results in a 6 hour window, a private car from the airport, and breakfast. I booked it through Agoda.

@abidismaili The 2 main providers I have found with coverage specifically for the Thailand travel market are below, but the terms are coverage for medical costs. If you are admitted to hospital even if assymptomatic i believe you should be able to claim that, but if you are ordered to quarantine in a hotel (hospitel) then they would only cover the medical expenses like PPE and doctor checkups and scans at most. Make sure you read the full policy statements, from my reading the Luma policy provides better coverage. AXA is very explicit about only paying out for medical neccessity and inpatient care. I have not found any policy that will cover all costs of hospitel for assymptomatic positive cases, so essentially we are expected to pay that out of pocket. https://www.lumahealth.com/travel-insurance/covid-insurance/covid-insurance-faq/ https://www.axa.co.th/faq-sawasdee-thailand-inbound

If you can do Torrents, the full 60-minute Episodes are available on Gay-Torrents.net Free site. You just need to register. Great web site of BL Series, DVDs and Porn...

Agree it’s best to use an ATM (try to use one in a bank lobby, during the day for best safety). An exchange kiosk at a mall or airport is giving to be a far worse rate most likely even after accounting for ATM fees. You can check with your bank to see if they have any partnerships with Brazilian banks to waive ATM fees. For Americans - I highly recommend signing up for a Charles Schwab checking account - it’s completely free with no minimum balance and they offer unlimited reimbursement of ATM operator fees worldwide. I just keep a nominal amount in it for withdrawals while traveling and top it up from my main bank via Zelle as needed.

When I first came out, I was a bottom only. I had a lovely Brazilian BF and was passive. But, when I found out he cheated on me, I refused to let him fuck me again and I became the top. That has been consistent for about 30 years now (but much more flexibility with a LTR).

I am the opposite. When I miss Thailand I take out some of my neatly starched clothes from my last trip and savour the smell of freshly laundered holiday clothes! Reminds me of getting ready to go out on the town!

From Pattaya News Health Minister reportedly not keen on easing of Covid restrictions, especially legally reopening nightlife and bar industry Bangkok, Thailand- Recent statements from the Public Health Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul seem to contradict statements made by the head of the Department of Disease Control earlier this week about easing Covid-19 restrictions even as cases rise but hospitalizations and serious cases remain very low. According to statements made by Mr. Anutin yesterday, February 7th, 2022, he has stated for people to “not rush to conclusions” about easing restrictions and seemed to pour cold water especially on the legal reopening of the nightlife and entertainment industry, which has been technically closed since April of 2021. The industry has been allowed to convert to “restaurants” in the interim but this has still had many rules, certifications, and restrictions that business owners claim cripple their income and industry, including a ban on dancing and an unpopular 11:00 P.M. national closing time even in popular tourist zones like Pattaya and Phuket. Mr. Anutin reportedly stated, according to Thai media, that there were “no plans” for reopening this industry anytime soon, despite ongoing outcry from business owners in this sector. Critics of the closures claim the ongoing restrictions around nightlife and entertainment are mostly political and have little to nothing to do with Covid-19. The CCSA, however, denies this and says they only care about people’s health and believe these venues run as “normal” are still a major threat to the spread of Covid-19. Anutin has also repeatedly expressed annoyance around lack of mask-wearing compliance in public, especially among foreign tourists, which also appears to shed doubt on the possibility of easing outdoor mask “mandates” set by provincial governors. This also comes as the Thai Prime Minister, Prayut Chan O’Cha, stated in a speech yesterday that Thailand needs to learn to “live with Covid-19 normally.” Regardless of what appear to be contradictions or different statements from different agencies, the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration, or CCSA, confirmed that they will be meeting to hear proposals from different agencies and organizations around Covid-19 restrictions later this week. TPN notes that Mr. Anutin’s opinion, although it carries heavy weight, is only one of many, and the Prime Minister chairs the CCSA and any final decisions on easing of Covid-19 restrictions. Mr. Anutin has, however, stated that the Ministry of Public Health DOES plan on changing the way the ministry presents Covid-19 information, changing focus to serious hospitalizations and deaths vs. cases. It is unclear exactly when this change would take place, however. There is, however, no promise that any restriction would be lifted or announced, including the much-despised “Day 5” required test for tourists entering Thailand on the Test and go program. We will keep a close eye on any and all final announcements this week or possibly early next week. https://thepattayanews.com/2022/02/08/thai-public-health-minister-reportedly-not-keen-on-easing-of-covid-restrictions-especially-legally-reopening-nightlife-and-bar-industry/

Until last Saturday, anyone wanting to visit Hong Kong including Hong Kong residents had to go into a 3 week quarantine programme to which was added a 1 week period of "observation". Unsurprisingly, visitor numbers and even those with family members in Hong Kong have stayed away in droves. Last Saturday the 3-week quarantine was reduced to 2, but I know several people who have been desperate to return to their businesses for many months but refuse to do so until the quarantine period is relaxed. The irony is that despite such strict quarantine, numbers of new cases reached their highest levels yesterday since the pandemic began. Some mild, asymptomatic or vaccinated people are being sent to the quarantine recovery centre at Penny's Bay. In effect, this is little more than an up-market concentration camp. Because of this, many people, especially young people, are resisting getting tested. As one young resident stated, the government "single-mindedly obsesses with getting back to zero Covid" in order to please Beijing. Prof. Ben Cowling, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong, believes the number of reported cases is considerably lower than the actual number. What a mess! https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/07/hong-kong-reports-highest-number-of-covid-cases-since-pandemic-began

I am adding this here although it's partly a response to posts made yesterday in this forum - An error at the start of his short programme ensured that Yuzuru Hanyu did not come top of the short programme qualifiers. It seemed to me from the moment he stepped on to the ice, there was something wrong. His usual bubbly smile was gone and he appeared much more serious. Perhaps this is partly the result of his having to miss most of last year through a series of injuries including a major one to his ankle. Yet at the Pyeongchang Olympics he again returned just after an ankle injury had kept him out of competition for several months. There he went on to beat the world record for the short programme. It was also very odd to see him sitting on his own as his result was announced. Every other skater had at least his coach alongside him. The gay former skater Brian Orser has been Hanyu's coach virtually since Sochi. He was nowhere to be seen, although he did sit with another of his pupils. Sitting on his own, it was almost as though Hanyu knew the time had come to pass the baton to another to become best in the world. He came in 8th overall. Top of the qualifiers was not surprisingly Nathan Chen of the USA. Hanyu's fellow Japanese, the diminutive Shoma Uno, led the field for a while until he was overtaken by an unbelievable skate from an 18-year old compatriot, Yuma Kagiyama. But he was immediately followed by Nathan Chen whose programme beat Hanyu's World Record set two years ago. So Chen came top followed by Kagiyama in 2nd and Uno in 3rd. It will be hard for any to beat these three when it comes to the free programme, unless all make major errors. It's a little sad for those of us who have marvelled at Yuzuru Hanyu's astounding skating over the last 8 years. He remains a living legend in Japan and elsewhere. But the men's figure skating crown now belongs to others. I will still be looking out for the Korean sensation Cha Junwhan who came 4th. If he's on form I can see him getting a medal.

This picture reminds me of Jeff Stryker.

Anti-Semitism is, in my opinion, real enough and pervasive. However, when an Israeli Ambassador claims that the word "solidarity" is itself anti-Semitic, or that a factual report from a respected human rights organisation that took four years of research to collate, is anti-Semitic merely because he doesn't like the findings.... it is time to use the word more accurately. By the way, everything that Amnesty International reported I saw with my own eyes when I was there between 2004 and 2017. And more.

maybe masturbate before going to bed if the wet dreams bother you?

I called several hotels, none offered that. You remember which hotels offered you that? Landing at 3PM. Earlier means taking shitty flights. A risk I am willing to take.

It is revealing that the media (even here in the UK) consider a remark by a TV personality more newsworthy than Amnesty International's report on Israeli apartheid. Or perhaps more welcome.

Could not agree more. To the Nazis the Jews were a race, a race to be exterminated. Dictionary definitions in the 21st century are meaningless.

RIP. He was a visionary. So ahead of his time.

that's my experience as well. I like straitish guys who are in it for money and they seem to understand that improvement on second session leads to many more engagements. If they start slacking , usually honest warning that it was not overlooked improves their performance. I must admit that in first 8 trips ( with exception of trip 4 ) I always offed untested specimens and never repeated in classic butterfly style but then I learned my lesson that tested guys are much more reliable than untested lottery ones

I got robbed twice at ATMs. But, I still used them I was just more careful over the years.

There seems to be no limits to which the leaders of Myanmar will go in order to tighten their grip on power. From Channel News Asia / Reuters Fearing junta, hundreds of Myanmar parents disown dissident children Every day for the last three months, an average of six or seven families in Myanmar have posted notices in the country's state-owned newspapers cutting ties with sons, daughters, nieces, nephews and grandchildren who have publicly opposed the ruling military junta. The notices started to appear in such numbers in November after the army, which seized power from Myanmar's democratically elected government a year ago, announced it would take over properties of its opponents and arrest people giving shelter to protesters. Scores of raids on homes followed. Lin Lin Bo Bo, a former car salesman who joined an armed group resisting military rule, was one of those disowned by his parents in about 570 notices reviewed by Reuters. "We declare we have disowned Lin Lin Bo Bo because he never listened to his parents' will," said the notice posted by his parents, San Win and Tin Tin Soe, in state-owned newspaper The Mirror in November. Speaking to Reuters from a Thai border town where he is living after fleeing Myanmar, the 26-year-old said his mother had told him she was disowning him after soldiers came to their family home searching for him. A few days later, he said he cried as he read the notice in the paper. "My comrades tried to reassure me that it was inevitable for families to do that under pressure," he told Reuters. "But I was so heartbroken." Targeting families of opposition activists was a tactic used by Myanmar's military during unrest in 2007 and the late 1980s but has been used far more frequently since the Feb 1, 2021 coup, according to Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, senior advocacy officer at rights group Burma Campaign UK, which uses the old name for the former British colony. Over the past year, security forces have killed about 1,500 people, many of them demonstrators, and arrested nearly 12,000 people, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a monitoring group. The military has said those figures are exaggerated. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/fearing-junta-hundreds-myanmar-parents-disown-dissident-children-2483011