PeterRS

This is a particularly sad day. I am not a Catholic but i believe Pope Francis was a force for good in our world bedeviled by wars, dictators, self-interested narcissists and all manner of other madness. I recall seeing the excellent movie "The Two Popes" some years ago when it had been suggested that many cardinals wanted Francis, the name he chose, to succeed John Paul II. I believe one reason for concern at the time was the role he had played in the troubles in Argentina. What a huge pity that the world was saddled with the ultra-reactionary Benedict instead of the pastoral Francis! May this most recent Pope rest in peace, and may his Church realise that a return to ultra-conservatism in the choice of his successor would be a dreadful move. Our world desperately needs another Francis, John Paul 1 or John XXIII - and definitely not a Paul VI, John Paul II or Benedict XVI.

Xiamen Airlines has returned a new Boeing 737Max aircraft to the USA in part retaliation for the tariff hikes. Boeing has an aircraft completion factory in Zhoushan where it carries out final work on the 737Max prior to delivery. Boeing's CEO told a Senate hearing just before the tariffs were introduced that the company sold about 80% of its planes overseas. It has been reported that China has asked Chinese airines to pause purchases of airline-related equipment and parts from American companies. Look at the Zhoushan factory site and it estimates that China will need 7,240 new aircraft over the next 20 years. I'd imagine the last thing Boeing wants it to have that factory idle! Over to you Trump! https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/21/china-returns-boeing-737-jet-us-too-expensive-tariffs

SInce these are quite complicated charts to go through, seatguru can also give you exact seating layouts for each aircraft in each airline just by clicking on the airline here - https://www.seatguru.com/browseairlines/browseairlines.php Click alphabetically to get the airline you are interested in and you get a ist of their different aircraft types and seat layouts (this below is for Finnair and you get the precise layout - subject to @Keithambrose earlier comment about their occasionally not being fully up to date.) Then click on the aircraft type and you get the seat layout - this image is too long and so I only include the front half of the plane - The problem comes with major airines which may have 15 or more different aircraft types - including 4 or 5 different types of, say, a 777. Then you just have to check with the airline. But the airlines always have an out. They can change aircraft types for any reason and you as the passenger have virtually no control over reseating, especially if you are at the back of the plane.

So why all the questions about other countries over many months?

I wonder why @Olddaddy asks so many questions - and then chickens out of doing anything after others have posted suggestions. So a quesion for @Olddaddy - why not just go somewhere and find out? And then tell us about your experience. Travelling around Asia is not expensive (uness you always want stay at hotels like the Capella in Bangkok!) There are tops everywhere!

@Olddaddy is seeking the cheapest money boys, yet happily flies business class. Try economy and then you can give the boys larger fees. 🤣

Slightly off opic, I have been to Warsaw a couple of times. Never had much success. But had a great time some years ago in Krakow. The famous Jagiellonian University is based there and there seemed a lot of willing students. Lots of sightseeing from the city centre to the Jewish quarter and the Katyn Memorial marking the massacre of almost 22,000 Poles by the Soviet Union acting on Stalin's orders, now classed as a crime against humanity.

I fully agree with you! My only excuse is that I have been wonderfully fortunate to have had business class travel as part of my employment packages - except for one case where I was permitted first class intercontinental travel. After 40 years with all the comforts near the front (when not a few of my holiday travels were 'paid for' with free miles), it gets rather difficult to sit at the back of the plane on long trips. But I do take the cheapest economy tickets now for my trips to Taipei, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

For centuries, the English - and initially most of the upper classes - sent their children as young as 6 away to be educated at private boarding schools. These, it was believed, taught self reliance, independence and provided an excellent education which state schools could come nowhere near. Above all it provided the beginning of what was believed to be success in life. That belief followed the English colonists to the boundaries of the world. Beliefs! Where would we be without them? Only as each of us grows up most of us simply absorb the beliefs of our parents and their generation. In out later teens as we go out into the world and learn new facts, we may rebel against them. But they are almost always there subconsciously rooted at the back of our minds. And almost inevitably they affect our new forming belief system. There is a hugely perceptive article in today's UK Observer that almost for the first time dispels this myth. By taking young children away from parental love, boarding school actually destroys many parts of a child's psyche. Essentially the article and accompanying film comes to the rather fightening conclusion. Could the world's present state of wars and disasters be partly a result of some of the world's business and political leaders being psycholoigically traumatised by their boarding school experiences? That may sound far fetched, but the article follows seven former boarding school pupils and discovers that each has had often quite major issues adjusting to their lives afer school. Typical of the comments - "There wasn’t time for soft interpersonal skills, like negotiation. It was obey the rules, or be damned . . . Everything was geared up to strip you of your identity." "In my time boarding there were no incidents of sexual abuse, sadly plenty have those experiences. For me and many others, it was the abandonment, bullying and neglect, without being able to leave and rest, that left its mark. Psychotherapist Joy Schaverien identified the ABCD of Boarding School Syndrome: abandonment, bereavement, captivity and dissociation. Growing up in an institution without love, appropriate touch, surrounded by strangers – not all of whom are benign – sets you up for a life disconnected from your full emotional range. This is almost universal in my experience of speaking to hundreds of ex-boarders" Of two former Prime Ministers of the UK, "Take David Cameron. He described being sent to boarding school at seven as 'brutal and bizarre' and recalled 'frequent beatings'. He lost a stone in weight during a single term. Tony Blair tried to run away aged 14, making his way to Newcastle airport in a bid to escape. There are so many of these stories. Charles Spencer, brother of Lady Diana, made a huge impact when he wrote of his horrendous time. Last month, Winston’s Churchill’s grandson spoke out." "It was rarely aggressive and violent. Often, it was invisible. And there was no break or reprieve; no time to find comfort from family or community beyond the gates who understood what I was going through. I couldn’t make friends outside school – I had no chance to find my people. I was totally disconnected and alone." Even if you do not wish to read the long article, do watch the second link, a short trailer for the movie "Boarding on Insanity". Realise, too, that it was not simply the English who were sent away from families to boarding schools. Rupert Murdoch, Mark Zukerberg, Reid Hoffman founder of Linked In, King Abdullah of Jordan, Sheik Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani the Emir of Qatar, the former dictator the Shah of Iran . . . the list goes on and on. In the film, Professor Joy Shavarien writes, "Boarding school syndrome is a symptom of serious psychological distress." Plenty of families are dysfunctional in one or more of many ways. Were boarding schools any different? And could the boading school eperience affect the way our lives have been governed and affected in various ways? The answer appears to be a very definite "YES". https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/apr/20/breaking-our-spirits-was-the-plan-the-lifelong-impact-of-having-gone-to-boarding-school

That Vorayuth Yoovidhya remains at large after mowing down and killing a traffic cop while doing around 200kph along Sukhumvit at 5:00 in the morning in his posh car with drugs and alcohol in his system is a scandal the government and the police cannot - and should not be allowed - to live down. I believe some senior officials have been removed from posts and one or two others jailed. But this chapter of known deception - yes it was deception! - on the part of the authorities remains a frightful disgrace on the Thai Justice system. How they were allegedly unable to track down this criminal when sightings of him all over the world had appeared, even several times here in Thailand, is an indication of the stench of corruption in high places. And the pittance they offered the young policeman's widow was massively degrading on the mega-rich family. If ever there was a case where money talked louder than justice, this is it. I believe the latest word is that the statute of limitations has passed. Well, in my understanding, partliament can change laws. In this case it very definitely should. That man deserves to spend much of his life in jail!

I watched the film. I had a sense of foreboding from the start for I knew that what we eventually learn at the end has happened before - albeit in some cases worse. In the late 1970s/1980s the Pagsanjan Falls about 100 kms from Manila was a notorious place in The Philippines where pedophiles not only congregated, they were for the most part welcomed. They brought money to a very poor neighbourhood. Worst of all parents would openly sell their young underage children for sex for what to the foreigners was peanuts. This was well known and quite widely spoken about when I spent occasional long-week-ends relaxing at Manila's Philippine Plaza Hotel. Eventually the authorities put an end to this dreadful practice, but I do not recall when that was. I visited Nepal twice, once in November 1980 and again in November 2009. Each trip was for six days, three in Kathmandu seeing both the city and two of the main cities in the Kathmandhu Valley, Bhaktapur and Patan; and three in Pokhara where I wanted to see dawn break over the nearby almighty Annapurna Range. I had no interest in anything other than sightseeing. That was quite superb, especially the view of dawn over those extraordinary mountains, although whereas Pokara had been a small town with a hotel and some guest houses like the one I stayed at in 1980, by 2009 it had grown humungously into a city of over half a million. I cannot claim to have noticed any seeming relationships between foreigners and Nepalese, but then I was not looking for them! Certainly Nepal is desperately poor, and the situation must have become far worse ouside the cities following the two mega-earthquakes in 2015 - one in April estimated at more than 7.8 on the Richter scale and a second just 3 weeks later later measuring 7.3. I realise these occurred 8 or 9 years after that documentary film. but hundreds of thousands outside the main cities were made homeless and the destruction in the cities was extensive. Much of Kathmandhu's historic Durbar Square was all but destroyed. I imagine many of the homeless youths found their way to Kathmandhu in search of work. Why the Irish poet in that film was permitted without penalty to start unregistered charities to help Nepalese without any supervision is, I suppose, extraordinary. But we know that there are scamers everywhere and this would be up to the Irish government to handle. What is certain is that there will be other foreigners out to help young Nepalese - allegedly - but with sex as part of the deal. After all, it is known that Nepal was the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. With the age of consent being just 16, no doubt some of the backpackers of previous decades have been replaced by sex tourists. And this is such a shame for the Nepalese are a lovely. friendly peoples and they live in an extraordinarily beautiful country.

Very little, although the return flight leaves Hong Kong just before 10:00 pm. After a full day working in Hong Kong, after dinner with a drink or two on board it was sometimes wonderfully relaxing just to put the seat back and relax for an hour or so before starting the descent.

I find you virtually have to have one stop if you are to find the cheapest ticket in whichever class to Europe. I quite liked Finnair and the price is usually competitive, but only in summer does it get me to my UK destination with one stop. I agree about Emirates. I was only ever on their once daily A380 between Bangkok and Hong Kong when the biz class fare was only fractionally more than economy on TG or CX. I must have taken that flight at least a couple of dozen times and really loved it. Once they had brought back the service after covid, the biz class price went up 50%, but there was an offer recently at the old price. Now it is mid-way between the two. Still great value if you add in the airline's excellent lounge access, amazing flat bed seats, the best IFE in the sky and ease of check-in and priority arrival. Plus the booze in the stand-up bar at the back is all premium quality. The one problem with Emirates is biz class in their 777 fleet - 2-3-2 seating and a massive difference with the A380s. Given that Emirates Chairman has been aggressively outspoken with Boeing for the massive delays in getting the 777X into the sky, it seems Emirates now has no choice but to upgrade their old 777s. Like all airlines seem to be doing, as the 777X was viewed as the natural replacement for the A380. That used to be the explanation for the PAL acronym - PLANE ALWAYS LATE. After PAL went through some restructuring, the PR people tried to get the public to buy into PROMPT AT LAST. It never worked! Airline acronyms can often be quite fun. When SABENA was flying out of Belgium, its was SUCH A BLOODY EXPERIENCE, NEVER AGAIN. One of the best, though, was LUFTHANSA. LET US FUCK THE HOSTESSES AND NOT SAY ANYTHING!🤣

That's just not the way I read it, the more so given the context.

As usual the devil is in the detail. In other words, expect to pay more in taxes! "The amendments include provisions to let the BMA introduce new taxes and fees, including a pollution tax, hotel tax, cigarette tax, and even a levy on older vehicles, giving the city more autonomy to raise funds for development."

Maybe I cannot see something, but what is the difference? "Up to 7 days in advance" sounds similar to "from 7 days before arrival"

There is no non-stop between Bangkok and the city I fly to in the UK. So I've flown Qatar biz class regularly as it gets me there with just one short stop en route. There are generally reduced QR fares on offer around October time for the first months of the following year. Not last year, though. Recently had to do the trip on Cathay Pacific with a change in HKG and then another change to BA in London. Not being able to fly the semi-circle route over China and Russia made the HKG/LHR flight almost 14 hours rather than 12. The whole trip took around 25 hours against the usual 16. One intermediate change I can handle. I'll never do two again! I could have taken BA first to London but their planes on that route are old and very unpleasant. Cathay's new Aria Suites are so vastly superior they defy comparison.

Sounds like the quote about George Bush Jnr. who thought denial was a river in Egypt.

Without wishing to take anything away from @macaroni21's masterful analysis, I will query one issue about same-sex relationships. Victorian England with its strict surface religious morality was very different once one dug below that surface. There, it was basically true that anything was permissible sexually whether legal or not. For almost 3 centuries England had had a law outlawing sodomy for which the punishment was death. Early in the 19th century death was replaced by a long term of imprisonment. Then in 1885 the increasingly popular views of what we might term a moral and religious majority pushed through further legislation. This was primarily to contain what it regarded as male lust, in particular protecting adolescent girls rather than prohibiting same-sex behaviour. Indecent assaults on girls over 13 were not against the law at that time. Yet when the bill was introduced in parliament its scope had widened from making assaults on girls up to 16 against the law, thanks to an amendment this morphed into one making all "indecent assaults" punishable as gross misdemeanours. Yet the wording of this amendment was unclear. As a result, what became law was changed and suddenly had included consensual male-to-male same-sex acts. Had the terms of the act been rigorously applied to those who found male-to-male sex under the surface of society's morality, it is assumed that many tens of thousands, including many of the great and the good, would have found themselves in prison! Sex between women never featured in this law. This law was then widened to include all Britain's colonial possessions. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program of Human Rights Watch states that approx. 34 countries around the world have retained the former British colonial anti-sodomy laws. With respect, according to the 2024 Korea Research's regular survey 'Public Opinion in Public Opinion', 51% identify with no religion whatever, 31% with Christianity, and just 17% with Buddhism. Yet Confucian influence remains very strong and I am sure is one reason why South Korea as a whole is more homophobic than one would expect. Certainly, the three main Dynasties - the Silla, Goryeo and Joseon - showed much tolerance for male-to-male relations. This is very similar to China where for those at the top, having a male lover was not uncommon for millennia. And it was a Japanese bonze returning from a visit to China around 800 AD who brought the idea of monks taking young novices under their wings and eventually into their beds. This fashion caught on and many samurai warriors adopted the practice. The Shinto religion has no specific code of morals between humans and so appears to regard homosexual sex as merely a natural physical act to be enjoyed. Where South Korea, Japan and some other countries have turned against ancient practices is, I believe, largely a result of American influence in the post WWII period. Since South Korea (as it became) had only had a Japanese colonial government for most of the first half of the century, the Americans who took over greatly influenced certain elements in the country. For example, American doctors all but mandated that Korean baby boys be circumcised, a practice that has now fallen out of favour.

Two of mine kissed me before I had had time to brush my teeth! I suggest it is better to do so before they arrive and then to brush and rinse the mouth along with them after their arrival.

In my post earlier today about Julie Christie, I mentioned Michel Legrand's wonderful score which unquestionably adds to "The Go-Between"s effect on audiences. Legrand was of course a master of the art of composing for film. His great scores include "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" which won him his first Academy Award nomination. I feel his best score - and certainly best song - was for the 1968 "The Thomas Crown Affair" (the orignal and not the poor remake with Piers Brosnan) for which he won the Oscar for best song "Windmills of Your Mind". This has been covered by endless major artists. I just think the original sung by Noel Harrison is still the best. Great lyrics and scintillating music. Another 'great' is unquestionably Ennio Morricone. One of his masterpieces is surely "The Mission" set in South America at and near the Iguazu Falls as Church and State come to blows over colonisation. "Gabriel's Oboe' theme is utterly beautiful and haunting, the more so when set against the gruesome tale unfolding on screen. Unfortunately when you include visuals from the movie, the theme is not nearly so pronounced. So I include 2 vdos, the first with an orchestra; the second with visuals from the movie. Of the great film composers, we naturally must include John Williams (who owes at least some of his success to the classical composer, Richard Strauss!), Bernard Herrmann who scored many of Hitchock's movies, Franz Zimmer who has won two Oscars, the French Alexandre Desplat who has also won two Oscars and wrote the music for "The King's Speech", "The Queen", "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and the charmingly witty "The Grand Budapest Hotel". We should not forget some of the older composers like Nino Rota who wrote the music for "The Godfather" Parts I and II and a host of movies by the great directors Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini. And of course Burt Bacharach for "What's New Pussycat" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". Let'a also not forget some of those who wrote for a mix of serious and lighter movies, composers like the great Henry Mancini. The Pink Panther series, "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "Days of Wine and Roses", and my favourite, "Victor Victoria".

I agree with much of @macaroni21's analysis and thoughts. I would only question whether or not the US oil embargo forced the Japanese into the Pacific war. No doubt it was a major blow, but we also know that the Japanese had been waging war in China for years. The 1930s were a time of extreme militarism and planned expansion in Japan. Its 1931 occupation of Manchuria to gain that large part of China's raw materials was merely an event based on a totally fake narrative not unlike many before and after - including the Tonkin Gulf incident after which Congress quickly enabled President Johnson significantly to escalate the Vietnam War. The Japanese then started a full scale war in China 1937, quickly occupying much of East China. Although that war was to result in a form of stalemate, Japan then invaded Indo-China in 1940. That year it also joined the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy. Plans for a full-scale military assault on much of East Asia were by then well under way, long before Pearl Harbour. Its war machine needed vital raw materials and eyed especially Malaya for its rubber and the Dutch East Indies for its oil. It's hard not to underestimate the US decision to close the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping. This had a huge effect on Japan and must certainly have quickened its planning to attack several Asian countries. From what I have read, the decision to attack Pearl Harbour was to a certain extent an afterthought. It always knew its attacks on Asian countries would bring international condemnation, but given that Europe was engulfed in a War that looked as though it might soon escalate and the USA was neutral, it was assumed that European colonial nations would have little to spare to protect their Asian colonies. America was a different matter altogether but if secrecy to attack South-East Asia could be maintained, the US would not have time to mobilise its forces on the west coast in time to have much effect. Towards the end of 1940 Roosevelt then moved the US Pacific fleet to Pearl Harbour with the hope of restraining further Japanese aggression. To the Japanese that transfer to Hawaii was unexpected and must in some senses have seemed a major bonus. Knock out that fleet and there would be zero opposition to its East-Asian attacks. But they failed by not ensuring the US aircraft carriers were in port.

With a 6-decade career, the gorgeous actor Julie Christie is 85 this week. Exactly 60 years ago she graced cinema screens as Lara in David Lean's epic movie "Dr. Zhivago". That same year she was the undoubted star of the lesser movie "Darling". The film that has most entranced me, though, was her portrayal of Marian in Joeph Losey's 1971 "The Go-Between" with its wonderful cast including Edward Fox, Alan Bates, Margaret Leighton and Sir Michael Redgrave. Set in a large aristocratic country house during a blisteringly hot summer at the turn of the century, Christie plays the older sister of a boarding school boy of around 12, Marcus, who has invited a schoolfriend from a more ordinary background, Leo, to spend the summer holidays. Marian weaves her charms on the innocent Leo for she neeeds him for an urgent mission. She has fallen in love with one of the farmers, Ted Burgess - a definite no-no in those days - and wants Leo to be her 'go-between' taking letters to and from him. Leo himself has developed a schoolboy crush on Marian and happily agrees. The affair between Marian and Ted progresses. Poor Leo has no idea that they are love letters until one day he sneaks a look at one. He is utterly shocked and his reaction is seen by Marian's mother who has long suspected something was going on. The end result is that the affair is discovered when the mother drags Leo to the barn and discovers Ted and Marian having sex. This leads to a whole series of complications, one being that Ted kills himself. Among the worst is the total devastation felt by Leo. 50 years later he returns to the House, a somewhat empty shell of a man having been unable to form intimate relationships all his life. Once again Marian asks him to be her 'go-between' - and to find out why you have to watch the movie! Michel Legrand's hauntingly beautiful score only adds to the power of the movie. Before moving to Asia, I frequently had to visit London. Friends and I often used to have dinner in a small restaurant the Trattoria Imperia opposite the entrance to the London Coliseum, home of English National Opera. On one occasion Julie Christie was dining at a slightly raised table at the end. I wanted to tell her how much i enjoyed her performances - but chickened out! I didn't think it appropriate that a member of the public interrupt a star just because she was in a public space!

It has been some years since I booked anyone from the escort services. Each time I was pleased with the service and happy that the boys looked even better than their photos on the company websites. Also, they did what they promised they would do. This is part of the extensive website of the Danshi Gaguen (but there are others listed elsewhere in various Japan pages in this forum). On the Boys list page, you will see that there are icons stating what each boy will do. For example, on this page from the Boy's list (there are many more boys to choose from), you can see that only Hibiki will top. The following will bottom for you - Hibiki, Haido, Hikari, Hibit, Natsu and Takuto. Some have reported that these icons are not always 100% reliable. So you should check with the mamasan/manager before you make a booking. Most in Tokyo and Osaka will speak some English. This particular site is very detailed about how to go about booking, the times each boy works etc. My Japanese is extremely limited but those I have booked have had either limited English or would understand hand signs. The important thing is to treat them with respect. I have only ever asked for boys to come to my hotel. Every time they will be exactly on time or a few minutes early. This particular establishment says they have 15 rooms each in Tokyo and Osaka. Do not worry about boys comng to the hotel. I do not know anyone who has ever had any problem with this. Japanese give particular attention to cleanliness. The boy will always shower with you beforehand, but if you have been out for a sweaty day of sightseeing I'd suggest you shower before he arrives - and brush your teeth! Enjoy! https://lang.dgdgdg.com

Part of China's tit-for-tat tariffs include one that Trump no doubt did not expect and which has many in the US concerned. An article on the BBC website today highlights China's export controls on a range of critical rare earth minerals and magnets. This, according to the BBC "will deal a major blow to the US." This is something someone in Trump's manic circle should have realised. Back in 1992, China's paramount leader Deng Xiao-ping said, "The Middle East has oil and China has rare earths." Exactly what is rare earth? The article continues - The move has laid bare how reliant America is on these minerals . . . "Everything you can switch on or off likely runs on rare earths," explains Thomas Kruemmer, Director of Ginger International Trade and Investment. Rare earths are also critical to the production of medical technology like laser surgery and MRI scans, as well as key defence technologies. China has a near monopoly on extracting rare earths as well as on refining them - which is the process of separating them from other minerals. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that China accounts for about 61% of rare earth production and 92% of their processing. In response to tariffs imposed by Washington, China earlier this month began ordering restrictions on the exports of seven rare earth minerals - most of which are known as "heavy" rare earths, which are crucial to the defence sector . . . [All] companies now have to get special export licenses in order to send rare earths and magnets out of the country. That is because as a signatory to the international treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, China has the ability to control the trade of "dual use products". According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), this leaves the US particularly vulnerable as there is no capacity outside China to process heavy rare earths. A US Geological report notes that between 2020 and 2023, the US relied on China for 70% of its imports of all rare earth compounds and metals. This means that the new restrictions have the ability to hit the US hard. Heavy rare earths are used in many military fields such as missiles, radar, and permanent magnets. A CSIS report notes that defence technologies including F-35 jets, Tomahawk missiles and Predator unmanned aerial vehicles all depend on these minerals. It adds that this comes as China "expands its munitions production and acquires advanced weapons systems and equipment at a pace five to six times faster than the United States". "The impact on the US defence industry will be substantial," said Mr Kroemmer. And it's not only in the field of defence. US manufacturing, which Trump has said he hopes to revive through the imposition of his tariffs, stand to be severely impacted. "Manufacturers, particularly in defence and high-tech, face potential shortages and production delays due to halted shipments and limited inventories," said Dr Harper. More at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1drqeev36qo