Jingthing

Yes happily that is still possible although lots of people doing that had problems during the pandemic as they couldn't reenter. I would still suggest going for a real visa there if moving there permanently. For basic things like opening bank accounts. etc.

It might depend if the violence was aggravated by transphobia or not.

Different cultures have different norms in how they watch movies. I'll never forget the first time I saw a movie in downtown Chicago. No, I didn't object. That would have been crazy!

Share their genitals?!? You are obviously posting extremist and inflammatory homophobic garbage. You claim you are only analyzing this from an objective business POV. That really can't be fooling anyone. It's really sad that any LGBT topic attracts such extremist and vile hateful responses. But that's the way it is, I suppose. Also you have attacked me personally numerous times. The number of my posts is irrelevant. Counting posts is obnoxious.

I have much more confidence in the business judgement of Thailand tourism authorities than your obviously biased argumentations. Promoting LGBT tourism does not take away from promoting other identifiable segments such as Chinese. LGBT is not "small" at all for international tourism, in the sense that LGBT people travel internationally at relatively very high rates, and as a generality they are spenders. This is an international trend among more enlightened national tourism industries. Those that object are on the wrong side of history. Agree to disagree on this.

I am strongly considering getting a secured credit card at Bangkok Bank but because I can't find anything written about this in print or online, I have some questions about the actual experience with it. Hopefully there are members who have such a card that can inform. I want a local (Thai) card even though I have a U.S. cc. My purpose is mostly for travel although I assume if I buy products with it there are (hopefully!) more consumer protections paying by CC than with cash or debit card. I am not eligible for a regular Thai credit card as not working here (retirement visa). It's a shame that Thai banks don't offer regular credit cards to retired expats based on verifiable pension income. But even though that is possible in other countries, it is not in Thailand. Yes, Bangkok Bank is not the only bank offering secured cards, but BB happens to make sense for me because of the way I use that account. (I also have SCB and Kasikorn accounts.) Here is what an in person BB banker told me at a BB branch. The minimum to open is 50K baht. That money is locked until you close the secured cc account. If you wish to increase that rather low limit, you can add money to that account at any time, and your available credit increases to that level. So let's say you need 100K credit for an upcoming trip. Add 50K. Adding that money to the 50K does NOT increase your LOCKED credit of 50K permanently. Seemingly a great feature! (Hopefully I understood it correctly.) However if you open with more than 50K you can never lower it unless you close the account and open a new one. Which begs the question -- why would anyone open with more than 50K? The interest rate for balances is 16 percent. Visa was recommended as the better choice for travel purposes although not the only option. I forget to ask whether you are required to pay the full balance each month or if like regular cards there is a minimum payment required and the rest gets charged interest. I assume from their profit seeking POV that you can hold a balance. But not certain at this point. I forgot to ask about annual fees. That would be easy to find out. As I have the BB app on my phone I assume adding to balances and paying monthly bills will be a breeze. For anyone using this kind of BB card, do I have the details correct? What has been your experience? Anything else to add?

Thailand is on the right track welcoming LGBT retirees even more than they already have. It's a lucrative demographic and for any bigots that can't stand LGBT visibility Putin's Russia welcomes you to visit or stay permanently. https://www.cabi.org/leisuretourism/mobile/news/25295 LGBT travel market valued at US$211 billion a year Marketers urged to avoid stereotypes when targeting LGBT market The global value of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender travel market has continued to grow and is now worth over USD$211 billion in LGBT consumer spending per year, according to research released for the first time at WTM London yesterday (8 November). New international research undertaken in 2016 from the LGBT2030 program by specialist consulting firm Out Now, carried out in 18 different markets, shows how spending has grown over the last 3 years. The top global market, worth about US$61 billion annually, is the USA, followed by Brazil with $26.4 billion. The global value of LGBT travel has increased by an average of 2% per annum over the last 3 years, with only Argentina and Italy (for economic reasons) showing a lower spend. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lgbtq-tourism-market-worth-5685-billion-2031-travelgay The LGBTQ+ Tourism Market is Worth $568.5 Billion by 2031 The LGBTQ+ tourism market is a rapidly growing segment of the global tourism industry. In 2022, the market was worth an estimated $420 billion, and it is projected to grow to $568.5 billion by 2031. This growth is being driven by a number of factors, including: The increasing number of LGBTQ+ people traveling around the world. The growing acceptance of LGBTQ+ people in society. The increasing availability of LGBTQ+-friendly travel resources. As the LGBTQ+ tourism market continues to grow, destinations and businesses around the world are increasingly recognizing the importance of catering to this market. This is leading to a number of positive developments, such as:

I don't and I think they are too small if living here full time. However if I did I reckon I would go out more so that might balance the pros and cons.

Come on man! Vietnam should NOT be on this list because of visa options. Laos interests very few people. Obviously Phillipines and Cambodia are the main suspects. Also Indonesia and at least one province in Malaysia that has lower financial requirements. I agree with the OP. If Thailand pushes me out I'd go elsewhere. Good chance I would at least check out Cambodia but longer term the Phillipines or Mexico would probably be it. For those that say too dangerous well you don't move to a country you move to a specific location in a country. Pick a safer one. Not rocket science.

Its painfully obvious that you're biased against LGBT people being visible in the world. Your business arguments don't add up when it comes to tourism in a place like Thailand. Places with higher than usual numbers of LGBT people attract many others in many parts of the world. Look.at Puerto Vallarta. The most popular destination in Mexico for LGBT people and massively popular with most everyone else as well. You suggest Thailand is offering something special to LGBT people. Like special visa allowances targeted at nationalities. Nope. Nothing special is being offered. In fact less as there isn't marriage equality here.

It's really clueless to claim its easy money. Also it's a high risk job.

Stop gaslighting. The battle is not won.

On rare occasions if they've been exceptionally rude in communicating in the process. I still tip if very late or they're clearly incompetent. They're risking their lives and they bring us great convenience.

Exactly.

Not our troll. Your troll maybe.

What are you on about. He's allowed on ballots. He's an anti vax weirdo with appeal to Magadonians not Democrats. He has zero chance of being nominated. He's basically a troll.

Bernie didn't have the votes to even be nominated and AOC is not at that level at least yet. I think Biden has done a mostly decent job considering the unsolvable divisions in the country.

You think there wasn't lice back then?

You are correct that great progress has been made in many countries. In other countries there has been backtracking as in the US and more extreme cases like Russia and Sudan. Other than Apple what major corporations have gay CEOs? My pushback to your post is simply to disagree with your assertion that homophobia is over so there is no further need to fight for civil rights. Homophobia will never be over similarly to antisemitism and racism that will never be over. We see vile unashamed homophobia expressed daily on this very forum! Your narrative reminds me of right wingers saying racism is over in the US because Obama had been president. The opposite is actually true. Obama's presidency helped fuel a fascistic white nationalist backlash represented by trumpism.

They're not encouraging any behaviors. They are welcoming LGBT people to retire in Thailand as there are economic benefits to Thailand if more do so. That said its unfortunate that you hold such a bigotted view.

BTW RT is a media organ owned and controlled by the genocidal Putin regime

If he's running against Trump he could be a rutabaga and be the much better choice.

So you're mostly talking about trans people then?

Age is a number. She still seems sharp to me. I don't understand why she is continuing now, but up to her. In the sense that if the democrats win back the majority, she won't be the speaker again.

So that's your prediction about the future. We shall see. I am seeing dotard Trump convicted of multiple felonies and imprisoned. We shall see. As far as President Biden's actions here, it is not signaling, it is DOING.