Marc in Calif

Makati is a very trendy and bustling newer area with some luxurious outdoor malls (e.g, Glorietta and Greenbelt in the Ayala Center area) for cruising, drinking, eating, and people watching. Like everyone else, local gay guys love going to the Makati malls to hang out, see/be seen, and have fun. It's always crowded. I stayed in a hotel right in the Ayala Center: Holiday Inn & Suites Makati. It was pretty nice. Using apps such as Grindr will help you find lots of new friends in this part of Manila and elsewhere.

And after seeing Parit's photo, our colleague Vinapu is planning a meeting with the courageous lad. 😎

Were these traditional massage places? For both women and men? Advertised as therapeutic and "legitimate" but still at least a couple of the masseurs would offer extras? I know you can't mention the specific places. Would they be easy to find online? Or can one learn about "extras" only from individual Grindr chats?

You actually do seem to care if they're smaller rather than large. You cared enough to say so. 🙃

You worry about Thai boys' dick sizes. You've stated so already.

An invasion of Afghanistan, with ALL the eventual changes and deaths, was intended to accomplish what exactly? Were you not aware of the history of foreign invasions of -- and externally coerced regime changes in -- Afghanistan? I certainly was. What did you think the so-called Operation Enduring Freedom would likely achieve, given the difficulties (and past histories) of foreigners accomplishing anything at all that lasted in Afghanistan? In hindsight, how did that turn out for you? And by saying "What the fuck else were we supposed to do?" about 9/11, you unwittingly disclose your actual motivation -- and the motivation of the US government and the 88% of Americans who agreed with Bush & Cheney, Inc.

You're always worried about something or other -- which is amusing for the rest of us. 😇

Please don't. It doesn't usually turn out well for you or for others! 🙃

The Indonesian providers you meet in Bali are almost universally not Balinese. The majority are Javanese and Sundanese; some are from Sumatra or Lombok. All are cut because they are typically Muslim or Muslim-adjacent. 😃 The VAST majority of native Balinese men are uncut, whether they are Hindu or Christian.

Why do I feel the need for a nice hot shower after reading this thread?

It's a hugely embarrassing issue if you think that merely showing a country's location on a map means inclusion in a particular region. Even your first map (from ontheworldmap.com) includes this legend beneath its SEA map: Description: This map shows governmental boundaries of countries in Southeast Asia. Countries of Southeast Asia: Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, East Timor, Brunei, Cambodia and Laos. Note that Japan, India, and Australia are also shown on your maps. I guess this means you conclude that Japan and India are part of Southeast Asia simply because that's the name of the map. 🙃

Perhaps the only truly noble accomplishment from the union between his mother and father!

I cannot find a single reputable map that includes both Hong Kong and Taiwan. Can you point me to one of your sources?

Doesn't matter how you long you've been there or what you've "heard." I've formally studied the region for more than 50 years. ☺️ What counts are the recognized geographic, political, and cultural definitions. Even the Southeast Asia Research Centre at the City University of Hong Kong agrees about the nation states that constitute the region. And I am most definitely NOT being "pendantic." I don't wear one. 😇 Here's more... The term "Southeast Asia" was first used in 1839 by American pastor Howard Malcolm in his book Travels in South-Eastern Asia. Malcolm only included the Mainland section and excluded the Maritime section in his definition of Southeast Asia. The term was officially used in the midst of World War II by the Allies, through the formation of South East Asia Command (SEAC) in 1943. SEAC popularised the use of the term "Southeast Asia," although what constituted Southeast Asia was not fixed; for example, SEAC excluded the Philippines and a large part of Indonesia while including Ceylon. However, by the late 1970s, a roughly standard usage of the term "Southeast Asia" and the territories it encompasses had emerged. Although from a cultural or linguistic perspective the definitions of "Southeast Asia" may vary, the most common definitions nowadays include the area represented by the countries (sovereign states and dependent territories) listed below. Ten of the eleven states of Southeast Asia are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), while East Timor is an observer state. Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer. Sovereignty issues exist over some islands in the South China Sea. Political divisions Sovereign states State Area (km2) Population (2020) Density (/km2) GDP (nominal), USD (2020) GDP (PPP) per capita, Int$ (2020) HDI (2021) Capital Brunei 5,765 449,002 77 12,003,000,000 $85,011 0.829 Bandar Seri Begawan Cambodia 181,035 16,718,965 92 25,192,000,000 $5,044 0.593 Phnom Penh East Timor 14,874 1,320,942 89 1,777,000,000 $5,321 0.607 Dili Indonesia 1,904,569 273,753,191 144 1,059,638,000,000 $14,841 0.705 Jakarta Laos 236,800 7,425,057 31 18,820,000,000 $8,684 0.607 Vientiane Malaysia 329,847 33,573,874 102 337,008,000,000 $34,567 0.803 Kuala Lumpur * Myanmar 676,578 53,798,084 80 81,257,000,000 $7,220 0.585 Nay Pyi Taw Philippines 300,000 115,559,009 380 361,489,000,000 $10,094 0.699 Manila Singapore 719.2 5,921,231 8,261 339,981,000,000 $105,689 0.939 Singapore Thailand 513,120 71,601,103 140 501,712,000,000 $21,361 0.800 Bangkok Vietnam 331,210 97,468,029 294 343,114,000,000 $8,677 0.703 Hanoi

The answer to "So what?" and "Who cares?" is that Drumpf and his operators and handlers covered up the Stormy situation (and others). And that they did this to help prevent news coverage that might have lost him the election. It involved criminal fraud and conduct. In indictment-ese language: Drumpf "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election." _____________ I encourage you to respond using no more words than I did in my response above. Challenge accepted? 😁

Few who know the Southeast Asian region well will agree that Taiwan and Hong Kong are part of it. Rather, they're part of East Asia. Big difference! 😇

I did not.

Under DeSanctimonious, such ads would be labeled as fake news and hysteria. They'd be banned from the media.

And he's known Trump as well as any other New Yorker for a long time. He knows the history -- including where the bodies are buried (figuratively, of course😇).

I saw Dame Edna's show many times here in San Francisco. Her ability to improvise quips, comments, and takedowns on the spot were always entertaining. She reserved her takedowns especially for audience members. My seatmate was once severely reprimanded for wearing her comforter to the theatre. We'll never forget that one. 😅

The original question was about free and open democracy in Southeast Asia. My answer included the fact that no SEA nation was "free and open." I simply described where different SEA nations ranked globally in the sphere of laws as well as political and judicial systems. Rights and religious freedoms aren't typically codified in political/judicial systems, so that's part of another question. You can see a detailed matrix of the major political/criteria at another site, along with a global ranking. Indonesia is still #1 for SEA, with the Philippines a distant #2: https://www.democracymatrix.com/ https://www.democracymatrix.com/ranking

I never said that Indonesia and the Philippines have vibrant democracies! The question posed was whether there are any "democracies" in Southeast Asia. So I presented an answer based on countries' laws and political/judicial systems, including the fact that Indonesia is ranked higher than the other SEA nations based on political/judicial systems. You can look here for a full range of criteria on a different website, including a detailed global ranking. "Corruption" is included under Independence of the government and Independence of the Judiciary: https://www.democracymatrix.com/ https://www.democracymatrix.com/ranking

Of course not totally free and open! In Southeast Asia, Indonesia is #1 and the Philippines is very closely behind at #2 in terms of relative democratic societies. Thailand and the others are far behind.