The Beer Bar

From the NYTimes The e-waste industry is booming in Southeast Asia, frightening residents worried for their health. Despite a ban on imports, Thailand is a center of the business. Foreign workers sorting through piles of shredded e-waste on the premises of New Sky Metal in Thailand in September.Credit...Bryan Denton for The New York Times By Hannah Beech and Ryn Jirenuwat KOH KHANUN, Thailand — Crouched on the ground in a dimly lit factory, the women picked through the discarded innards of the modern world: batteries, circuit boards and bundles of wires. They broke down the scrap — known as e-waste — with hammers and raw hands. M…

From Bangkok Post A requirement for individual Taiwanese travellers to submit financial statements when applying for a visa to enter Thailand has been postponed until at least March, according to local reports. The Thailand Trade and Economic Office (TTEO) in Taipei announced earlier that the requirement for three months’ evidence of financial statements would take effect on Dec 1. The news angered Taiwanese officials and local travel agents, who noted that Thai citizens don’t need visas to visit Taiwan. That programme was extended on Aug 1 for another year, until July 31, 2020. The number of Taiwanese who visited Thailand in the first 10 months of thi…

This season's first Symphony In The Park concert will be Sunday, 15 December 2019 at Chula Centenary Park (BKK). Starting time is roughly 5:30. (In my experience the concerts do not start on time.). Most people bring a blanket or cloth and sit on the grass and make a festive evening of it all. Performances do get cancelled and rescheduled occasionally, so always best to check the RBSO site and Facebook for the latest. RBSO RBSO Facebook The current schedule of performances is: Sunday, 15 / 22 December 2019 Sunday, 12 / 19 / 26 January 2020 Sunday, 2 / 9 / 16 February 2020 Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park, 5.30 PM. onwards …

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocky_(mascot) The mascot of the University of South Carolina.

"While I still believe that Senator Harris is the strongest candidate to win in the General Election in 2020, I no longer have confidence in our campaign or its leadership." SAY WHAT? (Scratching my head to the point of losing hairs…) I don't understand these younger idiots, former Obama/Clinton acolytes. Please, someone please tell me, how do you praise Kamala Harris (your boss) in the subject of the sentence and then kick and trash her in the predicate? How does anyone define contradiction anymore? Absolute contradiction. Kelly Mehlenbacher's resignation letter going public is unfortunate for Kamala Harris, but not as unfortunate as Harris' inability to r…

I'm going to Maui in a few weeks! I read this amazing thread recommending a gay nude beach and I will definitely be checking that out. Any other bars or hotspots of note? I also don't know if this is too much to ask for but are there any luau shows it something similar in Honolulu or Maui that have really hot guys?

From Bangkok Post The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is planning to turn Silom, Yaowarat and Khao San roads into pedestrian-only zones on certain hours next month, as a part of its bid to boost tourist numbers and the local economy. Deputy Bangkok governor Sakoltee Phattiyakul said that Silom Road will be turned into a "walking street" between noon and 10pm on the third Sunday of each month. The trial period will begin on Dec 15 and will run until May next year, when it will be reviewed by relevant authorities. Continues at https://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/1803454#cxrecs_s

Michael Bloomberg Apologizes for Stop-and-Frisk: ‘I Was Wrong’ I saw the apology. He read it straight from a piece of paper. Does he honestly think the Black community is going to forgive him over some prepared speech? I don't think so. Some of these wealthy, egotistical male politicians are really stupid sometimes. There was no single person in Bloomberg's camp to tell him his apology MUST appear to come from his heart, and he absolutely must memorize his words and MAKE them sound spontaneous? What a FAIL. Let him spend his billions bad-mouthing Trump. Money well spent. But I don't see this candidacy going anywhere.

I have very little patience for TV news these days. I'm trying desperately to avoid ruining one more television in my house. Too many shoes thrown at the screens. Broken glass everywhere. I was never a fan of fat-ass Jeff Zucker, and I hate what he's done to CNN. I have always enjoyed listening to smart conservatives. And I'm so glad that certain "never Trump" conservatives are now available on other channels besides FOX. My new love is for Nicolle Wallace. I have been intrigued with Nicolle, and Steve Schmidt, ever since I saw HBO's "Game Change." A fantastic film. Sarah Paulson played Nicolle in the movie, and her performance was mesmerizing. I can't see …

The Bangkok City Administration is making a noticeable effort to raise awareness of crosswalks on Silom. In the three or four days the new bright blue and white markings have gone down in the vicinity of Patpong 1, it actually seems to be having a bit of an effect. DISCLAIMER: you still need to exercise all due caution.

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From CNBC US imports from China shrank more than 13% — but imports from Vietnam are popping Nobody expects Vietnam to replace China as the world’s major exporter, but the Southeast Asian country certainly appears to be taking some of China’s business with the United States. In the first nine months of this year, U.S. imports from Vietnam jumped 34.8% year on year, accelerating from a 5.8% gain in all of 2018, according to a Thursday note by consultancy IHS Markit. In comparison, U.S. imports from mainland China shrank 13.4% year on year in the January-to-September period, the note said. Tariffs were a major reason behind the decline in U.S. impor…

Nobody can help me with the following? There is only one model Always on my mind. After a career as pornactor under the name of Rocan, Gerry O'Connell, Alex Curtis ..he ended some time ago as Pepe Richter in William Higgins productions. He lived and maybe still lives in Havlickuv Brod. Does anyone ever meet him ? Does anyone knows what happens with him ? And best of course can anyone tell me if you can get it contact with him ? MANY THANKS

Google’s ‘Project Nightingale’ Gathers Personal Health Data on Millions of Americans Search giant is amassing health records from Ascension facilities in 21 states; patients not yet informed Google is engaged with one of the country’s largest health-care systems to collect and crunch the detailed personal health information of millions of Americans across 21 states. The initiative, code-named “Project Nightingale,” appears to be the biggest in a series of efforts by Silicon Valley giants to gain access to personal health data and establish a toehold in the massive health-care industry. Amazon.com Inc., AMZN -0.80% Apple Inc. AAPL 0.79% and Microsoft Co…

From Bangkok Post Neilson Hays Library celebrates its 150th anniversary with Bangkok's first literature festival Celebrated local and international authors will be in Bangkok for a series of talks, panel discussions and poetry readings as part of the Neilson Hays Bangkok Literature Festival, held to mark the 150th anniversary of Neilson Hays Library on Nov 16 and 17. Bookworms, bibliophiles and anyone else who's interested are all invited to rub shoulders with their favourite fiction and non-fiction writers as the historic library on Surawong Road, in collaboration with the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC), stages Bangkok's first literature fe…

After my next trip to Brazil, I will have enough miles to get free tickets anywhere South of the border, and probably Western Europe. I have an insecurity attack. Let's see if I can have some input here to help me to make a decision. Of course, Brazil is always a strong candidate. I am curious about Rio in holidays, but I am afraid it is going to be too crowded, hot and humid. I am in love with the weather over there in July, December could kill my romance. Colombia is also a strong candidate. I was thinking perhaps of going to Cartagena for Christmas and Bogota for New Year. I would also like Cali and Medellin, but I am the kind of traveller who likes settling…

Essex lorry deaths: Appeal to Vietnamese over victims' identities A very tragic incident this week, 39 bodies were found inside a refrigerated lorry attempting to cross the UK border. As the story unravels it appears many were young Vietnamese from the Ha Tinh region. Many boys and girls from the Thai bar scene are from this impoverished region. I personally know at least two if not more. To learn that their fellow villagers were willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to gamble their lives in illegal trafficking gives us an insight why others choose to sell their bodies in neighbouring Thailand.

One thread recently got very testy. Well, more than testy, it was down right nasty with more than one stooping to low levels. At no point should any member even threaten another member. Consider this a warning. Next time, a permanent ban will take place. And, to state in Trumpian fashion, "someone said" "it was suggested" and then cloaking that in not being a direct threat is absurd.

The way they made money off of Harvey Weinstein's victims is a scandal story of its own. Can't wait to see how many female TV anchors rush to have them as guests on their shows now. David Boies, who championed gay marriage and Al Gore before the Supreme Court, served as Weinstein’s personal consigliere and worked to squash threats and bad press. If you want the truth, it is often said, "Follow the money." Weinstein's money sure impacted some very famous people who pose in public as righteous, humanitarian leaders. Stomach sickening disgrace. Susan Faludi's book review is scandalous enough. I can only imagine all the details that are chronicled in, “She Said…

Not sure this event was getting press - or at least press on the English language sites - so in the VERY unlikely event that anyone might find it interesting I thought I would pass on that there will be some Chinese Opera performances 6:00 pm Saturday 2 November at CU Centenary Park. I can't speak to Chinese Opera, but Centenary Park is a delight. Well worth a visit. (And well worth learning about some of the engineering and flood management design that went into it. It's really quite impressive.) And it's free.

From Very Well Health If you want to reduce your risk of prostate cancer, research suggests that you may want to make more frequent date nights in bed, or simply engage in more self-pleasure. A study from the Boston University of Public Health found that more frequent ejaculation correlated with a lower incidence of a prostate cancer diagnosis. Specifically, the study spanned 18 years and looked at men between the ages of 20—29 years as well as 40—49 years. Men in the younger group who ejaculated 21 or more times per month dropped their risk of prostate cancer by 19 percent compared to those who ejaculated between four and seven times per month. And men in the …

My belief is that of, all of the places to visit in Thailand, Phuket is the worse. My last visit only elevated this belief. The place is physically dangerous and has more rip-off artist than Pattaya and Bangkok combined. I will not return.

From Bangkok Post Rehab plan 'failing' as THAI losses mount Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senneam has expressed concern that the loss-ridden national flag carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) may be in danger of running up net losses of well over 10 billion baht this year. He said the financial rehabilitation programme implemented nearly a year ago does not seem to be working, noting on Thursday that the airline reported a loss of well over 6 billion baht in the first half of this year alone. "THAI is now in crisis. Its financial status is in a critical condition. The question is, how well aware is the airline's board chairman about this matter,…

From Khaosod English Terracotta Warriors To March into Bangkok This Sept. BANGKOK — Envoys of the first Emperor of China’s ghost army will march into Bangkok next month. The Ministry of Culture announced on Thursday that the Bangkok National Museum will hold an exhibition “Qin Shi Huang: The First Emperor of China and the Terracotta Warriors” for three months beginning this Sept. 15. The exhibition will feature four life-sized warrior figures and a bronze chariot set, among other artifacts excavated from the tomb in Xi’an. Anan Chuchotti, Director-General of the Fine Arts Department, said the exhibition is the culmination of three years of negotiations …

In case people haven't already seen the news, the Royal Barge Procession will be October 24. It's the last official event of Rama X's coronation and quite a spectacular occasion. For people interested in such things, it might be worth planning a trip to Bangkok to see. For people who dislike the inevitable traffic and discombobulations these events inevitably cause, you are warned. As always for such events, Richard Barrow is a great source of information. Some preliminary dates are set, but the dates for the rehearsals are not reported yet. Expect crowds and sometimes the rehearsals can be a better opportunity to take pictures. Barrow has a map of potenti…