PeterRS2

I disagreed with the implication "For years our governments in the West were aware about Khmer Rouge atrocities and yet , after they were overthrown by Vietnamese" I read that as for years western governments had known about the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge as they were happening between 1975 and 1978 since they occurred before the Vietnamese invasion. The fact is that few governments were aware of anything happening in those years as Cambodia as it was totally closed off. The few who were able to get out and tried to inform the world about the gencoie just were not believed! The knowledge of the atrocities did not come to light in the eyes of world governments until 1979.

I'd never use YouTube for lyrics of any type of music. There are plenty of lyric-specific sites to check on exact wording. This for Daydream Believer, for example - https://genius.com/The-monkees-daydream-believer-lyrics

I absolutely do not understand your logic! Nor why you are even bothered about it! Cambodia was a neutral country until Nixon and Kissinger decided it had to be brought into that war. Everyone knows that the US invaded Cambodia. Kissinger's "Operation Breakfast" followed by "Operation Menu" were the totally secret bombing campaign that started in 1969 and lasted until 1973, with half the bombs (mostly of the deadly cluster-type) being dropped in the final six months. By at least 2010, official records in the USA still stated that this bombing campaign never happened!!! During that period, the U.S. bombing of neutral Cambodia saw an estimated 500,000 tons of ordnance dropped on 113,716 targets in the country. https://theconversation.com/henry-kissingers-bombing-campaign-likely-killed-hundreds-of-thousands-of-cambodians-and-set-path-for-the-ravages-of-the-khmer-rouge-209353 The article continues - But Kissinger’s bombs also served as a recruitment tool. The Khmer Rouge were able to capitalize on the anger and resentment of Cambodians in the areas being shelled. Rebel leaders portrayed themselves as a force to protect Cambodia from foreign aggression and restore order and justice, in contrast to the ruling government’s massive corruption and pro-American leanings. That was the air bombing. If the murder of 113,716 civilians over four years is not war through invasion from the air, then someone is not thinking straight in my view. As all sources agree, Nixon and Kissinger specifically used semantics to call the later entry of ground forces from South Vietnam an incursion. This was in an ultimately vain attempt to keep the fact that it was in reality an invasion into foreign territory away from the US political establishment and more importantly the US population which would never have agreed to expand the Vietnam war (but it did get out, with subsequent deaths in the USA as a result). Incursion in this case definitely means invasion into foreign territory for the purpose of continuing a war. And from the Yale University site "Bombs Over Cambodia" - Nixon was facing growing congressional opposition to his Indochina policy. A joint US–South Vietnam ground invasion of Cambodia in May and June of 1970 had failed to root out Vietnamese Communists, and Nixon now wanted to covertly escalate the air attacks, which were aimed at destroying the mobile headquarters of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army (vc/nva) in the Cambodian jungle. https://gsp.yale.edu/sites/default/files/walrus_cambodiabombing_oct06.pdf And from PBS - In April 1970 without Lon Nol's knowledge, American and South Vietnamese forces crossed into Cambodia. There was already widespread domestic opposition to the war in Vietnam; news of the "secret invasion" of Cambodia sparked massive protests across the US, cultminating in the deaths of six students shot by National guardsmen at Kent State University and jackson State University. https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/cambodia/tl02.html

Cambodia. The secret US B-52 bombing campaign began in 1969 and was folllowed by the equally sercret incursion by ground troops in 1970. They were secret in that Congress had not been informed nor approved them. Nixon and Kissinger knew well as they had authorised it.

Oddly, when i tried to submit the original post, nothing happened. Same the scond time around.

I also liked Dayream Believer. Interesting, I think, that in 1967 The Monkees albums outsold all the Beatles and Rolling Stones albums put together. Davy Jones is still frequently included in lists of the Best Teen Idols of All time - usually around #10 - #20. I caught the pop bug when the Beatles and some solo artists appeared. Arguably the best song writer of the day was Burt Bacharach. Although his muse was Dionne Warwick, he wrote for many singers. Those Bacharach numbers I really enjoyed (some co-written with Hal David) were "Anyone Who Had A Heart" and "Walk On By" with Dionne Warwick and covered in the UK by Cilla Black; "The Look of Love" with Dusty Springfield; "Always Something There to Remind You" for Sandie Shaw; "Alfie" for Cilla Black; and "What's New Pussycat?" for Tom Jones. Incidentally the lyrics of another Dusty Springfield hit "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" were co-authored by a top music industry professional who used to live in Jomtien. One other number I kept on playing was Roy Orbison's "It's Over", a great song very well sung. And later Eric Carmen's "All by Myself". That was the one which got him into trouble. A classically trained pianist he loved Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto and the song is mostly lifted out of themes from the second movement. Unknown to Carmen, while Rachmaninov was out of copyright in the USA where it was recorded it was still copyright material in the rest of the world. As a result the Rachmaninov estate earned 12% royalties. Since the original song sold over a million copies, I reckon the estate must have earned seomthing like $100,000.

Unlike quite a few people, I actually liked the Monkees. Way back, I actually met through a friend the lead singer Davy Jones who was then still a teenager acting the Artful Dodger in the musical Oliver in London. He was gorgeously cute but having had four wives obviously very straight. Sadly he died some years ago when in his 60s.

Apologies, duplicate

Apologies, duplicate

I'd attempt to get a policy now without waiting another day. The problem for those of us in the older age bracket is that the older we get, the more diffiult it is to find any insurance policy. And those we can find often have multiple exclusions. With minor ailments requiring just a quick visit to a doctor I would not bother with cover. It's the major medical problems that need to be covered.

Sorry to disagree with the first part of your post. The fact is that very few individuals knew about what was going on in Cambodia after the US troops fled in 1975. A handful or so of individuals like the New York TImes reporter Sydney Shanberg did report on murder on a large scale. The trouble was that no one believed him. The world believed that after the total disaster of the illegal American invasion and even after the realisation that towns were being emptied of civilians, the Khmer Rouge were sending everyone to the countryside only to rebuild the agriculture the Americans had destroyed. Absolutely no one had any clue about the murder of well over a million of their people and the Killing Fields. This only came about after the Vietnam invasion when journalists were allowed back into the country. Even then, there were many who did not believe any regime would resort to such genocide. It is the Cold War that is essentially to blame for allowing the Khmer Rouge to hold on to Cambodia's UN seat until 1993. Many western nations share that blame even after becoming aware of the genocie atrocity. Throughout the Khmer Rouge period, it was backed by China. After the Vietnamese invasion, the rump of the Khmer Rouge party fled to Thailand. Thailand did not expel them as they saw them as a buffer between communist Vietnam. From Thailand it continued its fight with the Vietnamese until 1989. In 1982 it had aigned itself with several non-communist groupings which persuaded many in the west and thus the UN to believe that communism actually played little part in the future Khmer Rouge. Besides, by this time the west and China were making up their differences following Nixon's visit to Mao in 1971. Since historically China has basically hated the Vietnamese and would have nothing to do with what it regarded as Vietnam's Cambodia power grab, it would not recognise the Vietnmese backed government. When I first arrived in Asia in early 1979, China and Vietnam had just completed a border war which resulted in Vietnamese air space being closed. My flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong had to circle around the bottom of Vietnam. Prince Sihanouk had returned to Phnom Penh following the Paris Peace Accords in 1991. He was restored to the throne in 1993. Prior to being condemned to death in a 1970 coup led by the new Prime Minister Lon Nol who, it is well known, had been actively encouraged by American "interests", the Prince was revered almost as a God in Cambodia. His return was assisted by the United Nations acting with a view to a new Constitution being formed with democracy and peace as its backbone. After Hun Sen's party had again lost the 2003 election, Sihanouk tried to mediate with the parties. Ironically, as I imagine most reading this will assume, Sihanouk publicly backed same-sex marriage in 2004. Finally at the end of that year, he abdicated. He died of cancer in Beijing in 2012. In earlier posts I have talked about William Shawcross's superb book Sideshow: Kissinger, Nixon and the Destruction of Cambodia published in 1979 just after the world became aware of the genocide. This is a fascinating radio interview with a Chicago news channel where in May 1979 Shawcross discusses that book. https://studsterkel.wfmt.com/programs/william-shawcross-discusses-his-book-sideshow-kissinger-nixon-and-destruction-cambodia

I do not know this particular book but I am sure you know that Hun Sen was a mate of Pol Pot and a member of the Khmer Rouge. He fled to Vietnam after he realised that Pol Pot had started going after his own leadership and was afraid he might get caught up in one of the purges. As Human Rights Watch has stated, after he got the Vietnamese to invade Cambodia to put an end to Pol Pot's regime. he then consolidated a near four-decade long authoritarian regime, stifling political dissent and undermining democratic institutions. Many in the west lauded him for ending Pol Pot's madness. But he is certainly no saint! Peace Accords in Paris in 1991 resulted in around 20,000 United Nations forces from a large number of countries arriving in 1992 on a peacekeepiing mission. This basically meant the organisation running the country and preparing for elections in 1993. Most Cambodians were delighted when King Sihanouk returned from his exile in Beijing. Sadly the country's misery was not ending as many of the UN troops also brought with them HIV/AIDS. Vast amounts of money flowed into the country which was then beset by soaring inflation. And in a country which none of their commanders knew, massive corruption flourished among Cambodian officials. According to the BBC, Hun Sen's forces did all they could to disrupt the election through a massive campaign of violence and intimidation. Yet Hun Sen and his party lost that election with 38.23% of the vote against the winning 45.47%. But Hun Sen was always a schemer, he knew how to win and he was not going to give up power at any cost. The UN caved in to his arguments and two Prime Ministers were appointed, Hun Sen being one and the son of Prince Sihanouk being the other. That power sharing lasted until 1997 when Hun Sen managed to get rid of the power sharing principle and took sole control of the country. As reported by the BBC prior to the 2018 election - critics say that this has come at the cost of a shrinking and increasingly repressive democratic space, where corruption, environmental destruction, and violent land grabs have been allowed to flourish unchecked. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44966916 Re the level of corruption, sad to say Cambodia ranks 141 out of 142 countries worldwide in the World Justice Project Rule of Law. Among lower-middle income countries, Cambodia ranks 38th out of 38. In this regard middle-income countries include Egypt, India, Vietnam, Morocco, Jordan and others (see the final footnote on this site). https://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/documents/Cambodia_2.pdf

I assumed you were referring to tourists.

Medical care in Thailand is indeed very good, but it has become increasingly more expensive. I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that the doctor's fees at public hospitals have soared for expats. Until two years ago, I paid 200 Baht to be seen by a doctor at King Chulalongkorn Hospital. Now the fee for non-Thais has soared to 800 Baht. Still relatively inexpensve compared to western countries, but it comes with a lot of hassle and queuing. In Cambodia there is a good network of hospitals but medical insurance is essential for elders.

So you sugest Taoists, Sikhs, Mormons, Orthodox Christians, Jews etc. are banned from entry? According to internet sources, that is completely false.

The 'tightening' up of pro-Islamic cultural issues really started in Asia at the time of the Iranian Revolution which kicked out the Shah in January 1979. This led to a noticeable increase in the power and political activism of Islamic authorities in both Indonesia and Malaysia - and I assume also in Brunei. In fact it spread worldwide. And that, as I have written before, stemmed directly from the actions of the CIA and Britain in deposing the duly elected Prime Minister of Iran in 1953 in favour of returning the megalomaniacal, self-serving unelected Shah, the man who accepted billions in cash and armaments from the USA and would later turn against it. With Trump, aided by the crook Netanyahu who manages to escape justice by continually resorting to war, steering the USA back to war with Iran, the Islamic forces there have been given a new lease of life. While we cannot undo what was done in 1979, hopefully this time the world will not be engulfed by yet more Islamic activism. As for the Indonesian Human Rights Minister stating that the nation is not ready to accept LGBTQ rights, this reminds me of Hong Kong. The British colonial government had for decades refused to move on any form of acceptance because, it claimed, Chinese society (which made up well over 85% of the population) would never accept it. That was total b/s. After homosexuality was brought to the front pages of newspapers following a number of scandals in the late 1970s/early 1980s, the government accepted its own Law Reform Commission Report to finally do away with the 19th century English law mandating punishment for sodomy. It took until 1991 to consign that law to the trash can. Was there a peep out of the Chinese media (Hong Kong had 4 English newspapers/journals and more than 50 in Chinese)? Nothing! It was accepted without any fuss or any demonstration. Chinese society did not care.

Depends on your budget! I'd suggest the kindle version as it's a lot cheaper 😃

Would you like to see the long one???

Sounds like you have a bit of a one-track mind! Perhaps I was not clear but you seem to have picked up on a very minor point. Of course friends are for lifting you up and whom you also lift up when they are going through bad times. Friends develop an instinct for what the others are going through even before they tell you.

Just to clarify, the two boyfriends I mentioned in my earlier post both had their own jobs and neither needed nor requested cash from me, even though like others I paid for meals out etc. The only time I volunteered to pay for something was our anniversaries. For these we always went somewhere in Asia or Europe and I paid for the air tickets and hotel.

My first visit was in 1983 when there were perhaps a couple of gay bars. I liked the beach, but rarely returned until Australian friends of mine would go and I would join them for a few days. We'd then stay at the Rabbit Resort by the beach. The last time was for New Year at the end of 2013. I also have Swiss friends who live in a gated community just outside the city whom I used to stay with occasionally but they are not at all gay and without transport it was difficult getting into the city and back. On about 4 occasions I have been solo and stayed at the lovely Le Prive on Thappraya 1. It is such a nice cosy retreat I cannot understand why more do not stay there - apart from perhaps having to take a tuk tuk and it is pricier than most of the other hotels I see recommended in this Board. Once I went to see an old Hong Kong friend of almost 35 years who had not long to live. For the others I was on my own. I liked visiting a couple of bars, Happy Boys being one. But like you I really prefer big cities and have not been back to Pattaya for about 9 years.

Just a note about joint bank accounts. In all my 47 years living in Asia, I was eager to visit and learn more about culture (and boys) in so many of the countries. Yet my first real boyfriend was from the country that I really had no interest in visiting. Cannot recall now why I felt that - nothing to do with the Pacific war or anything like that - but when I first visited Tokyo during my second year, I immediately loved it. And was soon in a relationship that resulted in getting to know a lovely group of young Japanese friends which made a very pleasant change from the foreigners with whom I spent some of my working hours. If I could afford it, I would happily move to Tokyo for the rest of my days. In a job that was linked to the civil service (in that we had to obey civil service rules in Hong Kong), I was not permitted to visit Taipei until I changed jobs in 1986. When I first visited Taipei, martial law was still in force and there was almost no gay scene. Frankly I did not enjoy my first few visits, but then a bit like @jimmie50 I met a Taiwanese and was immediately smitten. The more I learned about Taiwan, the cultures, the food, the gradual opening up of gay bars and then a great gay sauna near the station (sadly the building was condemned after the dreadful 1999 7.4 earthquake), the more I loved it. And with so few foreigners working in Taipei, all my friends were Taiwanese. I have always loved travelling and being based in Asia has been a fnatastic bonus, not only for exporing this continent but due to my work also travelling regularly to other parts of the world. In those two relationships, although we did have a joint bank accounts, we also kept our own separate accounts which I think is very important. If for any reason a relationship breaks down, each party has to have something to fall back on, the more so when the relationship is in a different country. I was in both cases much younger than @jimmie50 (no longer, though!) and perhaps not quite as committed to the foreseeable long term.

You have written this before - and it is bascially nonsense. After 26 years I still love being based in Bangkok. It's not for everyone and if it is only the sex that motivates those who do move here then you may be right. But I know expats in Bangkok who are rarely bored and with lots to look forward to. It's obviously up to each individual as to how he sees his life playing out and where best that might be.

Interesting! I wonder how many of us actually have real friends as opposed to people we are acquainted with, meet from time to time, chat with, enoy their company and so on - but who are "just people we know" well. As for friends with whom we are able to share information about all that we do in life including some pretty intimate details, I know I only have a few.

I particularly recall the overcharging by taxis from the airport. First, even though you had given the driver the name of your hotel, they would take you to a small cabin-like house near the airport to find out where you were staying. If you had not pre-paid your accommodation, they would then spend a long time trying everything they could to persuade you to stay in a different hotel (where presumably they earned substantial commissions). I later hired a car or van. I can't recall taking more than one tuk tuk when i was caught in a bad rainstorm. No doubt I was overcharged but I needed to get out of that rain! If you had a vehicle, getting around was relatively easy.