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CNN carried this segment on the topic a few months ago. http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/16/us/border-legal-rights-faq-trnd/index.html

From Belfast Telegraph Thailand is launching a fresh charm offensive to lure more pensioners to the Asian nation as Britons begin considering alternative retirement destinations outside of Europe in light of Brexit. The president of Thailand Elite, a government-owned agency tasked with running the country's "exclusive" visa scheme, told the Press Association that Britain's divorce from the EU was a chance to strengthen ties between the two countries. Pruet Boobphakam said: "I think that Brexit will give us an opportunity to even open more, or to introduce Thailand even on a broader scale ... you can live in Thailand for up to 20 years if you'd like to, therefore it would be a good opportunity for both countries, in terms of UK people and the Thai people." UK retirees who might otherwise look to settle down in warmer climes along the Mediterranean are facing uncertainty about their long-term rights in EU countries like Spain, where more than 300,000 Brits live, after Brexit. The collapse of the pound in the wake of the referendum has also reduced the purchasing power of sterling-denominated pensions across the eurozone. Thailand's 20-year residence programme, which was originally launched in 2003, does not come cheap, costing 600 US dollars per year (£481), on top of a 60,000 US dollar one-off fee (£48,138), although promoters say the low cost of living can help make up for the bill. It also offers 10-year residence for around 30,000 US dollars (£24,066), with perks like VIP transport services and annual health checks at a private hospital, as well as a five-year option for 15,000 US dollars (£12,033). http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/news/britons-encouraged-to-consider-thailand-for-retirement-amid-brexit-uncertainty-35599568.html

Edwin Edwards, former member of congress long-serving governor of the US state of Louisiana, became infamous for boasting about his popularity this way: "The only way I can lose this race is to be caught in bed with a live boy or dead girl."

From The Sun (UK) Narong Thaopanya, 21, was travelling on the coach from Bangkok to Sukhothai province in northern Thailand on March 30. He was overcome by a rancid smell when the blonde traveller sat behind him and put her sweaty feet on top of the chair to his side. Narong politely asked her to take down her feet but she refused to listen – staring at him and putting her legs up again. The army reservist recorded the woman – believed to be from France – and took pictures of her arrogant behaviour.’ “The smell from her feet was filling the whole bus – it was hot and made me feel sick, because her feet were next to my head.” https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/3278815/coach-passenger-shames-rude-backpacker-who-refused-to-remove-her-smelly-feet-from-next-to-his-head/

Legendary and long-serving Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards, commenting once on his popularity, observed: "The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy"

Depending on where your funds originate, this may be of interest particularly for US ex-pats and visitors. From Bloomberg News Thailand is no stranger when it comes to hot money. This time around, officials have a new dynamic to worry about when it comes to cooling inflows from abroad: Donald Trump. The Southeast Asian nation has seen $3.42 billion flood in this year, an influx that’s driven the baht to its highest since mid-2015. The problem is that any overt steps to curb gains in the exchange rate could draw the attention of Trump administration officials probing trading partners for measures that contribute to U.S. trade deficits. The current dilemma is a contrast with the years of Federal Reserve quantitative easing, when Thailand and other emerging markets took steps to slow capital inflows that made their exports less competitive. Ensuring against U.S. retaliation may mean either living with the baht gains or coming up with steps not linked to currency transactions. “Any easing back on foreign-exchange intervention by the BOT could result in further near-term baht strength, in the absence of any meaningful pick up in outflows,” Khoon Goh, Singapore-based head of Asia research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said Tuesday. “They are worried about baht appreciation. Cutting supply of short-term bills probably won’t have much of an effect.” Thailand chalked up the 11th largest goods trade surplus with the U.S. in 2016, according to data on the U.S. Department of Commerce website. It continued to post a current-account surplus in the first two months of this year after a record 2016 while the foreign-exchange reserves rose 5.2 percent to $181 billion, a sign the BOT has bought dollars to stem baht gains. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-05/thailand-gets-that-hot-money-feeling-but-inflow-curbs-are-tough

From NY Times Facebook Announces New Ways to Prevent ‘Revenge Porn’ The relationship may have faded long ago, but the intimate images you shared have not. If you’re lucky, your ex deleted them. If you’re not, the photos have sprouted up online. Victims of such nonconsensual posts, often referred to as “revenge porn,” now have some help in preventing their spread: On Wednesday, Facebook announced new artificial intelligence tools designed to keep such content, once flagged, off its site for good. “It’s wrong, it’s hurtful, and if you report it to us, we will now use A.I. and image recognition to prevent it from being shared across all of our platforms,” Mark Zuckerberg, the social network’s founder and chief executive, said in a Facebook post. The tools announced on Wednesday are intended to address a uniquely modern and pernicious form of harassment, often but not exclusively aimed at women, that has attracted increasing attention. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/us/facebook-revenge-porn.html

From Khaosod English BANGKOK — Six years after the eviction of the Suan Lum Night Bazaar, a development company Monday morning announced plans to construct a cluster of office, residential and retail towers on the site. To be completed by 2025, One Bangkok will be a mixed-use space built on the former location of the popular market across Lumpini Park at the intersection of Wireless, Rama IV and Sathorn roads. The 104 rai (166,400sqm) space will see the construction of five office towers, five luxury hotels, three “ultra-luxury” condos and four retail spaces. Green space will cover 50 rai (80,000sqm) of land, with an open-air plaza and spaces for art exhibitions included in the complex. http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/bangkok/2017/04/03/120b-mega-project-coming-site-former-suan-lum-night-bazaar/

Now if they could only persuade enemies soldiers to wear gold necklaces it would be a massacre, although I suspect many friendly fire incidents would quickly ensue.

Fans of ladyboys should be pleased to learn that the military sent two would-be recruits back to their jobs on stage in Pattaya. The nation's security is not expected to be at any risk. From the Nation Four transvestites added colour to the annual military conscription ceremony in the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom Tuesday.They reported to the event wearing women’s clothing. Since they have not yet undergone a sex change operations, the military conscription chief of the Muang Nakhon Phanom district put them on a list of men yet to be cleared for military service. After they were examined by doctors, they were sent home and told to come back with a medical certificate next year confirming they had undergone a sex-change operation. Thitawan Puengton, who arrived at the ceremony wearing a short skirt and a T-shirt with a plunging neckline, said she had been working as a cabaret girl in South Pattaya. She has had breast surgery. Panitnan Phubunya, 22, who came in a red dress, said she was working as a marketing official with a cosmetics company in Bangkok. Natchanon Saita, 21, wore jeans and a student shirt of Nakhon Phanom University, where she is in her second year. She has received breast surgery. Ketmori Suradee, 22, who wore a red strapless dress, said she is working as a showgirl at the Coliseum Pattaya and had undergone a breast operation. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30311286

Perhaps more appropriate title here would have been.... Why older gay men want younger men to have six packs

Perhaps the most popular photos that find their way onto this site are those featuring chiseled six packs. A BBC reporter set out to figure out why they're so wildly sought after and learned just how difficult it is to acquire them. The narrative ends with the observation: "...young men taking control of their lives, using the only thing they have left: their bodies." From BBC World Service radio http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04xd50k

There are no US carriers with direct service to BKK although most offer code-share flights with one or two stops. There's many non-US carriers with direct service with one or two stops.

From NY Times A seat in a subway car in Mexico City’s metro system caused a stir earlier this year. There were awkward glances. Visible discomfort. Baffled looks. Some laughs. And of course, the inevitable pictures from passenger’s camera phones. It was meant to be provocative, and it was. A seat was changed to look like the lower half of a male’s body, including the penis, part of a campaign by UN Women and the Mexico City government to raise awareness about sexual harassment on subways. On the floor beneath the seat, there was a sign reading, “It is annoying to travel this way, but not compared to the sexual violence women suffer in their daily commutes.” Article continues with pics and video: http://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/world/americas/penis-seat-mexico-city-harassment.html

From Khaosod English BANGKOK — Check out the capital city’s soon-to-be 24-hour library on April 7. Located in a four-story art deco building with nearly 5,000 square meters, the Bangkok City Library will finally open to public on April 7. The library is expected to be home to more than 20,000 books in Thai and foreign languages, including a Braille section. Membership is 50 baht for adults and 25 baht for students and children. However, the library in the first phase doesn’t yet include a borrowing service. The current opening hours are 8am to 9pm Tuesday through Saturday and 9am through 8pm on Sunday. The library will officially launch its round-the-clock hours later this year. It is supported by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, which launched the project in 2013 after being voted 2013’s UNESCO World Book Capital. The Bangkok City Library is located on Ratchadamnoen Klang Road near Khok Wua Junction and Khaosan Road. http://www.khaosodenglish.com/life/arts/2017/03/30/look-inside-bangkoks-first-24-hour-library-opening-soon/ CNN ran an article on Bangkok libraries in 2010: http://travel.cnn.com/bangkok/play/bangkoks-best-rooms-quiet-contemplation-375378/

If you fly Cathay Pacific's 777 fleet in economy prepare to feel the squeeze as the carrier trims costs. From South China Morning Post Cathay Pacific Airways plans to cram 10 per cent more passengers into economy class, adding one more seat to the existing nine per row, as Hong Kong’s flagship carrier tries to reverse its loss-making operation. The airline, which lost HK$575 million last year, will embark on a three-year overhaul of economy class, adding extra seats on Boeing 777-300 planes from the middle of next year. Leg room will remain at 32 inches, but passengers with bigger frames will want to note that the width of each seat will shrink by 1.3 inches to 17.2 inches. http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2083585/hong-kong-cathay-pacific-passengers-feel-squeeze-push-profits

The following article makes reference to the legislative action by the US House of Representatives described in post #31. The author reviews ways users affected may wish to consider. It covers virtual private networks (VPN), browser extensions that block third-party tracking tools on websites and more. From Popular Science magazine The government won't protect your internet privacy, so here's how to do it yourselfhttp://www.popsci.com/how-to-protect-online-privacy-vpn#page-6

From National Public Radio The House of Representatives has gone along with the Senate and voted 215-205 to overturn a yet-to-take-effect regulation that would have required Internet service providers — like Comcast, Verizon and Charter — to get consumers' permission before selling their data. President Trump is expected to sign the rollback,according to a White House statement. The measure is a victory for the ISPs, which have argued that the regulation would put them at a disadvantage compared with so-called edge providers, like Google and Facebook. Those companies are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission and face less stringent requirements. Congress' approval is a loss for privacy advocates, who fought for the regulation, passed in October of last year by the then-Democratic majority on the Federal Communications Commission. ISPs collect huge amounts of data on the websites people visit, including medical, financial and other personal information. The FCC regulation would have required ISPs to ask permission before selling that information to advertisers and others, a so-called opt-in provision. http://www.npr.org/2017/03/28/521831393/congress-overturns-internet-privacy-regulation

An editorial in The Nation, titled "Can Pattaya really 'drain the swamp'?", concludes with the following paragraph: "On the other hand, how about just getting serious and accept that prostitution is here to stay? Rather than parading around in fish costumes, let “Fun City” have its fun, but be civilised about it: Decriminalise the flesh trade, register the sex workers, and give them the healthcare, protection and social security they are due." http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/opinion/today_editorial/30310604

From Khaosod English BANGKOK — Explore love, friendship, desire and more aspects of gay men in the urban city through the eyes (and hands) of a Spanish artist. Our World features a series of cartoon-style paintings by Bangkok resident artist Dani Monfort Gil who depicts the gay men he’s met on the sidewalk and in the mall, some of whom he’s approached for their stories. Admission is free. The event opens at 6pm on Friday and runs through the end of April. Serindia Gallery is located on Soi Charoen Krung 36. http://www.khaosodenglish.com/life/events/2017/03/28/see-gay-bangkok-illustrated-spanish-artist/

Count on it.

Alexx, I always treat others as gentlemen unless they become otherwise. When you clarified a recent post about proposed changes in land law, I thanked you for pointing it out. That's what gentlemen do. However, you launched into an attack because the baggage scan article didn't meet with your approval. You know that you could have easily just gone to "stickmanweekly.com" and quickly located the original source, but you chose to make it personal. You reap what you sow. I'm willing to put this in the past. As I understand it, all members are equal here. It's generally been my impression that civility in manner is returned in kind.

Then why say it?

Despite your rant, the fact that bags of arriving passengers are going to be scanned is accurate. That it's Customs and not the AOT doesn't change that. I don't take posting instructions from you...for crying out loud.

From BBC Jordan Coe, 20, is reported to have been found dead in a heavy tracksuit after failing to return to his hotel. It has prompted speculation that the professional athlete, who is originally from Maddiston near Falkirk, died of heatstroke. His coach, Craig Floan, said the boxer may have been trying to lose a few pound before a fight. He had been due to fight Khon Bola, a Cambodian boxer, in the Muang district of Thailand on Sunday night. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-39400250