PeterRS

I was only in Amman for less than 24 hours, but my driver/guide was great and took me to several of the main sights. But the traffic was horrendous! I wish I had had a little more time to visit Wadi Rum.

I have never raised any objection to this topic. My only question was why it was deemed necesary to have a very large number of individual posts all on the exactly the same subject in one thread because it rarely happens elsewhere on the Board. The usual practice if that threads are continued by adding posts to existing threads. But isn't it rather funny that @ @khaolakguy defends this large number of individual posts when he himself wrote this last year - "Much better to add your question to an old and very relevant thread than to start a new one"

Agreed. We know some of its members were bribed by Thaksin. On the other hand, it banned duly elected Pita for exactly the same reason it removed Thaksin's brother-in-law. Very sadly for this country, Pita and/or his handlers had not done all their detailed due diligence or they would have discovered and declared the old holdings of shares at one time held by Pita. That was the basis of his disbarment. On the other hand, even if that ancient shareholding had been declared in advance, I am certain the elite would have found another way of disbaring him. He is presently in the USA and thankfully has vowed to return to Thai politics. I have a feeling that whenever the next election is held, his new party will gain such a big majority it will be difficult for the elite to get rid of him.

Thanks for that. I had forgotten about the brother-in-law, perhaps because according to the Constitutional Court he only served as the duly elected PM for 18 days in 2008! That same Court then found him guilty of violating the Constitution and banned him from taking part in politics for five years. His wife, Thaksin's sister Yaowapha, was also an MP and she was also given a 5-year ban. Strange now to think that neither ban had any effect at the time on Thaksin senior's popularity.

The Pheu Thai party is the third incarnation of the Thai Rak Thai party which her father founded. If the PM is ousted it can hardly be expected to continue. Sic transit . . .

I remember your post. But I thought circumcisions in Africa are more similar to standard circumcisions practised around the world. Are some similar to the sort of single slit that is practiced in The Philippines?

I like the way that article ends. Doesn's sound as though he will be much of a help to Orban in his anti-gay movement. Szájer also hopes that his name will not be “remembered only by the inglorious end,” even if the “orgy” scandal has turned him into a meme and has become a stain on his reputation he will never get rid of. “I want to prove that I am more than the caricature that has been made of me and that has made me famous, even around the world.”

It's a typical case of how the mighty are fallen with changing times. Thaksin senior came to power when the country was almost at its lowest ebb following the disastrous economic mess left by the government at the start of the Asian Economic Crisis in July 1997. Although he was a crook and should never have become Prime Minister - having parked over US$50 million shares in his company with his gardener, drivers and housekeepers who knew nothing about it, and then bribed the Constitutional Court - he was hugely popular in his fan base in the north and east. And being frank he did get the country moving forward economically again. Some of his policies were very beneficial, including the cheap health scheme for all Thais. But power, probably never far from his mind, took over. I suspect he never forgot what he must have perceived as a huge embarrassment when dethroned by a coup when out of the country. Then the media discovered about the lunchboxes filled with cash handed over to lawyers as his wife attempted to escape from her court charges. Fleeing first to Beijing and then Dubai, no doubt he assumed, as most in power do, that he could still retain his grip, the more so after two relatives took over the post of PM. But each was dethroned. In the meantime, the Hun Sen issue which has largely sparked the present crisis, started when Thaksin became a special advisor in exile to Cambodia in 2009. Hun Sen refused all attempts to deport him back to Thailand where he and his wife were facing court cases. His younger sister Yingluck came to power on the basis of utterly ridiculous policies - first car rebates for up to 600,000 new cars yet no new roads, a tablet for every child (a huge number arrived from China defective and most kids just used them to play computer games!) etc. Worst of all was a rice pledging scheme promising farmers a minimum price for their rice, a price that was way above the world average. This resulted in a huge scandal. Massive mismanagement and corruption led to this costing the government a total of around US$19 billion with Thai warehouses stuffed with rotting rice which could not be sold. Thailand lost its position as the leading rice exporter with Vietnam and India quickly taking over this position. After being tried and found guilty by the Constitutional Court, like her parents Yingluck also fled the country to avoid imprisonment. Before then, though, yet another military coup had taken the reigns of power. Now the Shinawatra influence in Thailand seems finally to be at an end. But this is Thailand. No one really knows what the future will bring.

This is an interesting article about the background to the particular form of circumcision in The Philippines. Apparently there is a circumcision season! Perhaps this should be obvious as it is during a school holiday break and the boys would have to heal before term started again. And one reason for almost every boy wishing the procedure done is to avoid what is usually considerable ridicule from their peers. Other reasons are more debatable - as in it helps ensure penile hygene and reduces the risk of urinary infections! Against that, one midwife points out that the foreskin is far from useless as it contributes to "lubrication during intercourse, safeguards the glass from abrasions and infections, and enhances pleasure for both partners." Not that these issues are likely to change anyone's mind in that country. Although the article does not make this point, despite the government making circumcision free, in the countryside it is often a mass circumcision ceremony by an unqualified or less than qualified medical expert. https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/arts-culture/filipino-male-circumcision-practice-medical-procedure-tradition-stands-strong/

From the Bangkok Post - Authorities on Koh Samui have ramped up security measures, inspecting all vehicles and individuals arriving on the island following the discovery of several suspected explosive devices in the southern tourist provinces of Phuket and Krabi . . . The heightened security comes in response to a series of incidents in Phuket and Krabi, many of which appeared to be connected and part of a broader attempt to destabilise southern provinces, authorities said. More at https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3059848/security-tightened-on-koh-samui-after-phuket-incidents https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3058642/bomb-squads-destroy-more-devices-in-phuket-and-krabi

Or take a trip to Khao Lak - you won't find many people there 🤣. But it's pricey!

I am sure there are areas nearby his present location. The late and much lamented restaurant La Table de Tee off Saladaeng (about 2/3rds along) may not have been a gay restaurant but many gay guys dined there and the maitre d' was gay. As long as it is relatively close to the present location I believe it is likely to draw in roughly the same crowd. Although not a gay restaurant, one example could be the French restaurant Le Bouchon which for decades was a fixture in Patpong 2. 3 or 4 years or so ago it moved quite far into the original Babylon sauna building off Sathorn Soi 1. It has since expanded and business is booming.

September in Thailand is generally regarded as in the low season. That's partly due to its still being in the rainy season. October is also usually bad for rain but for some reason many hoteliers now push it as the start of the high season.

Are you not talking about something that happened in Belgium 5 years ago? If so, what has that to do with Budapest Pride 2025? If not, then please provide more detail.

Hard to believe that nearly 20 years have passed since this iconic movie hit theatres around the world starting in December 2005. It was re-released in certain territories last week. Less hard to believe even today are the difficulties the film makers endured in getting Annie Proulx's short novel on to the screen. Director Ang Lee was on board from the start. The story about ordinary American cowboys who fall in love despite the serious reservations of one of the pair, however, was not popular with studios or with certain well known actors. Jake Gyllenhaal liked the script immediately. Other actors were approached about the role of Ennis, some even accepting. But all eventually turned down the role. The late Heath Ledger was initially thought to be not macho enough, but got the part because he had appeared in an earlier gay movie. Nominated for Best Picture at the 2006 Oscars, the movie lost out to what was politely called a piece of cheap trash titled Crash. Several critics derided the selection and called out the Academy for being homophobic. Hardly surprising as there had been many instances of Hollywood actually being homophobic. But the movie was a popular hit grossing US$176 million worldwide on a budget of around $14 million - and that was before DVD sales which totalled one million in the first week of sales in the USA.

The public protests have started. Yesterday evening a crowd estimated at 10,000 or more congregated at Victory Monument to hear a number of speeches, the main topic being that the Prime Minister must go. As reported in today's Bangkok Post, while veteran protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul said - "he doesn’t want to see the situation deteriorate to the point where another coup happens, 'I won’t object if the military does something.'" Worse was to come for the Shinawatra clan. Once the darling of masses of Thais, Thaksin Shinawatra has become part of the dialogue and it will not be what he wants to hear. "Saturday’s rally concluded with a pledge by Jatuporn Prompan, a former red shirt leader who is now an outspoken critic of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, that there would be more to come if Thaksin’s daughter clings to power." Dr Warong Dechgitvigrom, the royalist leader of the Thai Pakdee Party, mentioned past political movements that led to the removal of Thaksin, Somchai Wongsawat (Thaksin’s brother-in-law) and Yingluck Shinawatra. He warned that Ms Paetongtarn was on a similar path. “She should be alarmed seeing the crowds here today. If she doesn’t change course, she has no choice but to step down,” he said. “We are facing a prime minister with the DNA of a traitor, while our soldiers protect national sovereignty.” Protestors also turned their anger on any party which supports the Prime Minister. "In earlier speeches amid intermittent heavy rain at Victory Monument, other protest leaders said that not only Ms Paetongtarn, but any parties that support the coalition government, must go." https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3059860/protest-leader-we-dont-want-a-coup-but-…

The K-Pop industry is so isolated and very much a closed community. In the last couple of years it has been known, very sadly, for the suicides of a few top young stars. Most suspect that a few or more of the boys in the boy bands must be gay, but maybe that was just a fantasy. Now one of its stars has openly come out as gay. Halfway through his band's last concert in Los Angeles in April, the end of a major world tour, 24-year old singer Bain of the group Just B told thousands of fans, "Before I start the next song, I want to share something with you guys. I'm proud to be part of the LGBTQ community." It was the most public outing of any K-Pop star. He told the BBC that he was not nervous. He had known since the age of 12 that he was gay. When he joined the K-Pop trainee studio, he thought none of the others were gay. As he reached his 20s, he felt so conflicted about his sexuality. The one person he told was, rather surprisngly given the conservative nature of Korean society, his mother. She was initially sad but promised to support his choice, as did his fellow band members who had come to know. Since the announcement, Bain has become the new face of the Korean LGBTQ community. photo: BBC Korean/Jungmin Choi https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn5kx7wn1nzo

Great idea and great photo. This is another amazing photo of the crowds attending the march crossing Budapest's Elisabeth Bridge. Estimates of attendance vary between 180,000 and 200,000. Photo: Rudolf Karancsi/AP

There used to be a couple of guys who lived in the large apartment next to mine (they left aout 8 years ago). One was a regular at Telephone/Circus bar in the evenings meeting up with farang friends. The other cruised frequently in Silom Complex at Saladaeng BTS Station. He was quite a bit older than @Olddaddy is now (I believe) and I do not know how he was successful, but I would sometimes see him coming back in the lift with quite handsome guys.

TG has a dreadful reputation for the manner in which it purchased too many different types of aircraft and then pulling them out of service relatively quickly. Their 10 A340s purchased primarily for the American routes have not been operating since 2015. As the first only entered service in 2005, they should have been sold as quickly as possible for whatever the market would bear. Instead, with one exception, they remained rotting at various domestic airports. In 2022 The Nation reported that five were sold for a relative pittance, but even these aircraft remain stuck in Thailand! Three are on the tarmac at Don Mueang; six at U-tapao. Similarly with the six A380s. Instead of just keeping them maintained when pulled out of service at the start of covid, they have been left basically to rot at BKK. Even with other carriers putting some back into service, TG cannot because it will cost far too much just to get them properly maintained. I read somewhere that to make these aircraft airworthy will cost an absolute minimum of US$30 million - each! They are on the market in an 'as is, where is' condition and worth a small fraction of what TG paid for them.

I have just come across this thread and have to add I am more than a little confused. My fault, I'm sure, as I have not read every single post in detail, so apologies for that in advance. I had never heard the name Austin Wolf until I read this thread. I have never seen any video involving him. No doubt that's because I'm only interested in Asian guys. That he might - stress might - have made the vdo being discussed or just had it in his possession I find utterly disgusting. My reason for posting now is twofold. First, I noted this in a post by @Riobard on July 22 2024 - "Wasn’t there a poster here a while back that arrogantly disparaged layperson jury trials?" I do not recall that post but for clarification I did make one post myself on another thread regarding a programme made on British television in which a made-up case was tried before two juries of 12 men and women. The cameras took viewers into the jury rooms to hear the deliberations. The interesting point was that one jury found the 'accused' guilty and the other 'innocent'. It merely raised the issue of whether trial by jury is the most ideal form of obtaining justice. But the second point I want to make is that the sort of videos being discussed used to be quite common in Thailand. I cannot pinpoint dates but I guess until about 25 years ago there were porn vdo sellers who used to roam the gay beach in Pattaya. Among these were vdos clearly made in Thailand of older men with quite obviously considerably underage participants. I found one in a batch of vdos I had bought and it sickened me, just as I literally felt like being sick when around the same time I wandered into a Sunee Plaza bar where the boys sitting around the stage were definitely more than a little underage. Thankfully, I believe this form of disgusting exploitation has stopped - at least in tourist areas.

It's been known for years that one who has coveted the role of PM for some years is the former Deputy PM and one-time Minister of Health, Anutin Charnvirakul - never a fan of western foreigners living in Thailand. Even though he led his Bhumjaithai Party out of the government last week over the Cambodia situation, the likelihood is that he will be hatching some plot in the background.

Hun Sen is now turning his ire on the Shinawatra clan. He has accused the PM's father of feigning the illness that kept him out of prison, something most Thais had probably assumed. "Hun Sen claimed that Thaksin was not genuinely ill, accusing him of pretending to suffer from symptoms such as chills, shivering and other exaggerated signs — like being chills in a tractor, chills in a car, chills while eating and chills while performing — all staged to avoid court proceedings in multiple legal cases. "Hun Sen recounted that when he visited Thaksin on Feb 21, 2024, Thaksin showed no signs of illness. However, when taking photos together, Thaksin wore medical equipment typically used by patients, allegedly to deceive the public and Thai officials." Of the preent situation, "He claimed he had 'lost patience' with the Thai prime minister due to repeated insults, describing her comments to the Second Army Region commander as rebellious. He also expressed readiness for Cambodia to take military action if necessary. " More at - https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/3059273/hun-sen-says-thailand-owes-him-gratitude-threatens-to-expose-shinawatras

It is definitely a cultural practice and in the countryside often badly done. It's more a rite of passage performed just before boys reach their teens. Something like 92% of Filipino's have this done and from reports it is extremely painful.

I was at BNH last week for a bad bronchial cough. I was rather surprised that one of the tests they did was for covid.