PeterRS

I think there can be no doubt this man was a hero - very much an unsung hero in the amazing rescue of the boys and their coach. He basically had to command a very motley army ranging from the best experts in the world to the villagers who donated their rice paddies for drainage of the water from the cave. How sad that he should have died so relatively young! I hope all will remember his words taken from the speech he made when accepting on behalf of the entire team of rescuers the Asia Game Changer Award from the Asia Society in New York - “I wish the entire incident would inspire everyone to start living for others. This small change could be a game changer for the world.” May he rest in peace.

Very handy post. But after all that has been written and reported about scams I cannot believe that anyone is still stupid enough to fall for this sort of nonsense. Using one's brain rather than one's dick helps, I presume.

This reminds me of the disastrous earthquake of between 9.1 and 9.3 on the Richter scale off Bandar Aceh in Indonesia and the consequent equally disastrous tsunami in December 2004 . Although the epicentre of that quake was 1,100 kms away, so great was its magnitude it was felt in Bangkok. Guests in the high rise Banyan Tree Hotel (then named the Westin I think) had to evacuate the hotel and residents in other buildings on Sathorn somewhat less tall also felt quite violent shock waves.

A few years ago I based myself near Fussen for a week. Perched on the hill, Schloss Neuschwanstein looks stunning although the bus tours now make driving up there a real trial. I preferred the much smaller Schloss Linderhof with its beautiful gardens and lovely rooms. Also nearby is the stunning rococo design of the Wieskirche.

I've been travelling in Germany for several decades, visited many cities and villages, taken trains, flights and driven in several states many times - and never once had any issue whatever. The castle is not Castle Disney, although the Disney castles seem to have used it very roughly as a model. It is Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, one of several castles built by mad King Ludwig II who bankrupted the state's treasury by bankrolling the mega operas by the composer Richard Wagner. He was murdered aged 40 in the Lake at the castle where he was staying.

"He cares for nothing but his own fame and gratification . . . There is room for debate on whether he is a rogue or a scoundrel, but not much about his moral bankruptcy, rooted in a contempt for truth. Dignity still matters in public office, and he will never have it. Yet his graver vice is cowardice, reflected in a willingness to tell any audience whatever he thinks most likely to please, heedless of its contradiction an hour later. He would not recognise the truth, whether about his private or politcal life, if confronted by it in an identity parade." No, those words are not part of the historic, utterly damning, "punishingly brutal" Report published today by a UK Parliamentary Committee into the character of and the lies told to Parliament by its former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. Worse, it has been infuriated by Johnson's attacks on the integrity of the Committee members and their finding that it increased his punishment. That Report, according to the BBC website, is basically about the fundamental pillars upon which public life - and society at large - is constructed. Conduct. Behaviour. Believability. Integrity. The Sanctity of Truth. The Contempt for Lies." Yet why has the Report and the content of my second paragraph come as such a surprise to the people of the United Kingdom over recent years? Why has it taken so long for them to waken up to the moral degeneracy of this man who four years ago was elected Prime Minister with his Party achieving a massive parliamentary majority? For if they had taken seriously the words written in my first paragraph, this buffoon would never have reached anywhere near high office, he would never have persuaded a majority that his sudden change of tune in promoting Brexit when beforehand he had been against it had been anything other than self-serving self-promotion without any heed whatever for the consequences, that he was in essence a coward, a cheat and a liar, Britain would not be in the mess it now finds itself in. For let's be honest, a quality his peers very obviously found lacking in Boris Johnson. The words in my first paragraph were penned by his former employer before Johnson got near 10 Downing Street, before his Party set aside their concerns about the bankruptcy of his moral character and handed him the highest office in the land. Max Hastings, a former editor of the right-wing Daily Telegraph, wrote them in a Guardian article on 24 June 2019. Johnson was elected Prime Minister by his Party just a month later. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-65913299 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/24/boris-johnson-prime-minister-tory-party-britain No, he's not dead - at least not yet. But as a member of parliament and as a Prime Minister, this liar's obituary is already being written.

She was one of a generation of great British actors like Vanessa Redgrave, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith and Dame Joan Plowright. Like many of those who are now better known, she started her career doing odd jobs and taking small parts in theatres around Britain. It was when she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1964 that she had some of her greatest stage successes, starting with Peter Brook's production of Marat/Sade, in what several critics claimed "changed British theatre forever." She came to attention of much larger audiences with her performance in the Ken Russell movie of D. H. Lawrence's Women in Love, a role for which she won the first of her two Best Actress Oscars. I particularly remember her in John Schlesinger's 1971 Sunday Bloody Sunday in which she played the girlfriend of a bisexual young man played by actor Murray Head. His full-on kiss in that movie with the doctor played by the hithertoo seemingly aggressively heterosexual actor Peter Finch shocked many. In 1992 she gave up acting to become a member of the British parliament. A strong socialist she seemed to have found her niche and remained in parliament for 23 years. She emerged from her Westminster duties triumphantly to return to the stage to play the role of Shakespeare's King Lear at the age of 82. It is believed by most that she was offered the honour of becoming a Dame but turned it down. It would not have fitted her strong socialist principles. The great actor died aged 87.

I am not taking sides in this discussion, but I do want to point out that with predictive spelling (correct term?) it is far from uncommon for it's and its, you're and your etc. to come out not as typed. This happens to me so often I rarely spot it. Naturally a check would pick this up - but who always checks the fine detail of their posts?

Describing Obama to Medvedev (during Putin's mandatory sabbatical as Russian President), Berlusconi said "he's young, handsome and tanned!"

I wish I understood some detail of the law in the US. I fail to understand why the various legal actions against Trump that have been talked about in some cases for years take such an inordinate amount of time to get anywhere near a law court. The attempt to manipulate the last election results in Georgia took place two and a half years ago. Yet despite the considerable evidence already made public, the case is dragging on and is still not ready to get to a court. Then there is the much older 2019 Deutsche Bank case where the Trmp Organisation allegedly failed to repy loans of $640 million +. I recall that Deutsche Bank was in a total internal mess at the time and that having stated it would not loan Trump any more cash, one of its departments did cough up a further $48 million - to help him pay off the $640 million! We also know that with appeal after appeal, whatever decision is come to in the case involving the documents found at Mar A Lago, a final outcome is not going to happen till after the 2024 Presidential election. With a Supreme Court packed with the likes of the dreadful sexual predator Clarence Thomas, that final verdict may itself be open to question!

I'm curious. Is ladyboy a name given to those men who wear outrageous make-up and lipsync in bar shows, or merely a boy who prefers to look like a lady and who may eventually have an operation to change sex? I recall quite a few years ago (perhaps a dozen) going with friends to a bar in Nana Plaza with a stage full of beautiful young girls who just happened to be boys (and most seemed to be in the 18-22 range). We had four over for drinks and they not only spoke some English they seemed extremely well mannered. Even a little hand wandering was not discouraged. None had breasts although we saw a few on stage who seemed to have started developing breasts. We did not take anyone off but felt that as we were tops they might turn out to be little different from twink boys!

A strange thread title, I agree, but one that is I believe quite apt. A few days ago Italy's Silvio Berlusconi died. A media mogul with an outside personality whose businesses had made billions (€s or $s makes little difference) and who owned one of the country's top soccer teams, was attracted to right-wing politics. In 1994 he was elected to the first of his four separate terms as Italy's Prime Minister. Despite many scandals with young women (some being hookers and at least one alleged to be underage), continuing to own and run 90% of national television broadcasting whilst in power, alleged links to the mafia, a plethora of legal actions against him and his companies which saw him convicted several times for abuse of office, false accounting and bribery of judges - with the outcome in at least six occasions being politically altered to "no conviction", and a host of other scandals, he was always able to keep the public on his side. He was very much a model for Trumpism. Like Trump he liked to give his critics nicknames. Britain's Economist magazine was one of his sternest critics. Berlusconi called it The Ecommunist. The magazine was also taken to court. No doubt Trump watched and noted what was happening in Italy. Another avid viewer must unquestionably have been Britain's now disgraced Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Having lied to parliament years after he had lied massively to the British public when he led the campaign to get the country out of the European Union (an act that has seen the UK economy with the highest rate of inflation in Europe since the oil crises of the 1970s and the country's economy suffering badly through loss of jobs with the transport, farming and hospitality sectors particularly badly hit, stalled investment spending and a host of new export and travel regulations infuriating many), he had to resign as Prime Minister last year and has in recent days been forced to resign as a Member of Parliament. His ruling Conservative Party is about to go to war over whether he will be permitted ever to stand again for election as a Member of Parliament. He did not set himself up as a model. But Berlusconi certainly started the rot now eating away at US and UK politics.

No! Not even in coutries around the region.

I think Rogaine is named Regaine in the UK. I remember a friend checking it on line with a well-known UK on-line pharmacy and being somewhat horrified at the price. Seems it has to be applied twice daily. He also told me it only promotes growth on the crown of the head and has little effect on premature balding at the front. Also heard that there are Regaine/Rogaine pills. But from what I have read minoxidil (the ingredient of Rogaine/Regaine) does not stop hair loss or encourage its regrowth. It merely reduces the rate of hair loss. Can anyone confirm?

I just discovered it is indeed a pic from a movie about the boys being at school - although nearer final year. The three starred in two 'school' movies - Encore and On Trial. On Trial is avaiable on youtube - but it's a typical low budget early 1980s Hong Kong film. The nice thing is that the long trousers the boys wear are all quite tight fitting over their cute asses! Also there is a scene when they are playing some sort of game with very short white shorts! Danny Chan had become famous as an actor and singer a few years before Leslie. Indeed he was probably Hong Kong's first pop idol. I liked his voice a lot and thought it was marginally better than Leslie's singing voice. There is one gentle ballad number he sings in the film - it starts at 1:24'25". He also sings the song during the closing credits. He liked fit gay young westerners and always had a group around him. Unfortunately he started on drugs quite early. In his last years he used to frequent a little known mostly gay club on Ice House Street just down from the Foreign Correspondents' Club. It was there one evening that he collapsed and fell into a coma presumed to be a result of combining narcotics with alcohol. His parents kept him alive for 17 months before finally allowing him to die. I frankly find little difference between the physiques of Hong Kong and Taiwanese young guys. I guess it's where you go and where you tend to see them. Certainly both can be incredibly attractive and handsome!

To whom are you responding? Certainly not me. Quoting from that member would help others understand your response, the more so given that the last post was mine and it was around 8 months ago!

And did @vinapu snatch the King or the Queen 😵

Taladafil which we know under the generic Cialis was discovered in August 1991 and approved by the US FDA in November 2003. To my understanding, with patents lasting 20 years, doesn't this mean the price of genuine Cialis should plummet by the end of the year?

My concern was that putting the entire article under one thread would just make it far too long for the average reader. By listing the Part numbers, I think it becomes clear that it is a series of posts and readers can dip in and out if they wish. With few posts under this section of the Board, I am not concerned about readers losing the plot, as it were! Please also remember Leslie's first major international movie Farewell My Concubine which won the Palme d'Or at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. In 2005 TIME magazine listed it as one of the Best Movies of All Time. Leslie is marvellous and the tragic ending often brings tears. Happy Together is a totally different type of movie. Two lovers travel to the Iguazu Falls in Argentina (only because in their tiny Hong Kong apartment they had a lampshade with a picture of the Falls) in an attempt to save their relationship. It is dramatic, gritty, violent and frequently moving. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or and its director Wong Kai-wai won Best Director at the 1997 Cannes Festival. Leslie's death was a complete tragedy. On the surface he had it all. A superb actor and singer, he once played 33 concerts on consecutive nights in the 10,000 seat Hong Kong Coliseum. Jean-Paul Gaultier designed some of the costumes for his last ever mega-concert series. It was at these concerts that he announced he was gay and had a long term partner. That relationship was by all accounts very important to him. What hardly anyone knew was that he suffered from and was being treated for severe depression. That one with so much talent and so many gifts should elect to take his own life shocked much of the world. In a 2010 CNN poll Leslie was voted the Third Most Iconic Musician of all Time after Michael Jackson and The Beatles. In a short suicide note he thanked his family, his lover and his psychiatrist. He added, “I can’t stand it anymore . . . In my life I have done nothing bad. Why does it have to be like this?” Had he lived he would be 66 this year. On a tangent, some time ago I found this photo on the internet. Can you imagine three cuter young Hong Kong guys? Actors Danny Chan, Leslie Cheung and Paul Chung in the 1981 Hong Kong movie On Trial. Danny and Leslie were closet gays at the time. All died tragically young. Danny of a drug overdose aged 35. Paul like Leslie committed suicide aged 30.

That certainly seems to be my experience when travelling in the region. Am I complaining?? 🤣

In my dozens of visits to Taipei I have never been to a massage shop. I have heard of lots of individual masseurs who come to your hotel. Most are available for appointment on Line. I have heard of these shops below. Not many twinks it would seem, but then most going for massages are after a proper massage with guys with a bit of weight on them. It also seems (although not sure) that afters consist almost exclusively of HJs if you have a massage on the premises. If you have a massage in the hotel, anything goes according to the masseur's agreement. I also believe professional massages are a bit more expensive than in Thailand with NT$2,500 (US$82) being the minimum plus tip. https://www.muddan.com/master-team https://kingsmanspapro.weebly.com https://www.theroyalspa.com.tw/en/team

I do not know - and am not asking - how old you are. But as you tell us you are not retired, I am a little surprised you find getting hard (or at least suggest it might become difficult to become hard) as you get older. Certainly this is true for some guys, especially those who might have medical issues. Since the brain plays a part in erections, I very occasionally used to find it hard (sic) to get hard. I once tried viagra and decided never to use it again. I found the blood pulsating in my temples very prominently and did not enjoy it. On the other hand, after a friend recommended cialis, I never had a problem. I use it rarely but whenever I do it works a treat - and goes on working for at least the 36 hours the makers claim. I have never felt a need to be a bottom and the guys I am with, including my partner, do not wish me to change from being a top.

Thank you @reader. I have written you a PM in the hope of resolving our differences.

As suggested, that was his persona. He kept it up pretty well for quite some time but occasionally let his guard fall and it became obvious he was neither Asian, in his 20s, nor did he run a company in Sydney as he claimed. I don't think any other poster uploaded photos of hotels where he had allegedly stayed but had blacked out everything in the rooms that could possibly identify him!

Years earlier I would occasionally visit Amsterdm on business. I was persuaded to try one of the saunas - would it be Night Thermos? I was surprised at the number of Asians and ended up having a great time with a young Indonesian.