My conspiracy theory is that CEOs also have real-estate investments and the office rentals fattens their pockets through indirect channels. Add to that the vested interests of the automotive industry and oil industry and infrastructure industry, and it's not in the interests of the power structures for people to settle outside of over-populated cities. Humanity spread over a larger surface area would mean less fake scarcity and a more balanced cost structure. Which doesnt help the rich.

Don't they use machine learning?

You canâ(TM)t have charts without people even making an attempt to follow scientific advice without screaming bloody murder. And while there might not be charts for the US, experiences in countries like South Korea and Australia have shown drastic improvements when mask mandates were followed and currently showing an uptick in mass spread as soon as group gatherings were allowed again - because the mandate is masks AND social distancing.

Here you go. The world is not such a terrible place: https://twitter.com/mjasay/sta...

There's a big difference between legality and enforcement. Drugs (including weed) are illegal in Thailand. But you'll find weed lounges on several islands. Just don't carry anything outside. Prostitution is illegal in Thailand. I'll let that stand on its own. I'm not equating prostitution to being an LGBT individual - merely point out that just because something is illegal doesn't mean the government is up in arms chasing individuals who even "feel" different. Tourism brings in a f-ton of money to all these economies, so they let foreigners be unless the said foreigner is working extra hard to rub it in their face and trying to "de-legitimize" their culture somehow - however bigoted the culture might be. And as you pointed out, LGBT have strong legal protections in the USA. Yet it would be ridiculous to say that LGBT individuals are safe everywhere in the US. To say that the US is somehow a safe haven for LGBT merely because of "law" is insane to me. Culture matters more and there's plenty of places that could do WAY better in the US. I find more parts of Thailand to be more tolerant to foreign LGBT individuals than the US even if they don't enjoy the legal protections as they do in the US. Not just Thailand - Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea all do better in my opinion ie you aren't at risk of being pummeled by someone random. And yes I have met LGBT individuals in China and Russia as well and they managed just fine. Having said that, to each their own. For some the prevalence of bigotry (legal or otherwise) and hatred is an admissible risk of traveling and they learn to navigate that space. For others, maybe not.

Wasn't comparing them to the West. They are clearly different cultures, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Was merely saying visiting these places is an amazing experience. Yes, LGBT individuals wouldn't have the exact same freedoms as they would in say, San Francisco, but even as a straight person, I wouldn't have the same freedoms I enjoy in my country of origin either - mostly because of differences in culture and mindset - I would even dress differently in certain cultures. This continues to be true whenever you go to a different culture - and tbh, sadly, even in America there are still places LGBT individuals would not enjoy the same freedoms as they did elsewhere in the country. These issues are not unique to the said countries. We don't have to agree about EVERYTHING to be able to enjoy other cultures. It's ok to enjoy some aspects of it, while vehemently rejecting others, and of course, doing the rejection in a way that does not jeopardize our own safety. If we can do that, we can study many different cultures first hand (minus the media hype/distortion) and we can decide for ourselves what we like or don't like about our own culture and go about improving it or merely reflecting on it. We don't have to live in a binary accept all/reject all world. Much can be experienced/improved by finding common middle ground. This is merely based on my personal experience and the experiences of the several I have met during my travels INCLUDING LGBT individuals.

Good for you. Ignorance is bliss.

I went back several times. Itâ(TM)s not common for them to chase after people for bad reviews. If you read the article - these were exceptional circumstances. This is just a clickbait/flamebait headline. You can look at Booking.com or other sites and youâ(TM)ll find plenty of negative reviews.

It's dangerous to be a foreigner in a lot of countries, even if they do seem nice
I agree. Whether or not you want to take that risk is really up to you. I get that laws/and culture is different everywhere. For example in the US, I could be thrown into prison for speeding way above the speed limit (at least that's what I've been told - no experience). In India, a couple of $$ will get you off the hook (in fact this is true in most of South Asia). Being of a certain color might not go down well in the red states (maybe, no personal experience here). There's places you don't want to go to in San Francisco (a friend was mugged in broad daylight on 6th street). As for romancing local girls, yes there's plenty of such stories in SE Asia and elsewhere and people know these risks and still take them - that's their call. A friend was drugged in Thailand by a girl and his shit stolen - wallet, cards, phone, all gone. Risks are a natural part of traveling and of course one needs to be aware of things before going to places. A quick google search will reveal most issues. This is true EVERYWHERE because cultural and legal differences exist everywhere. I've traveled the world over 2 decades and yes I've had a few encounters but nothing super terrible and it's a risk I'm prepared to take and if things go south, then that's just how it is. I have no regrets though. If I have a chance to do it all over again, I totally would. But that's just me.

Oh I forgot to add, China/Russia/North Korea are not the middle east.

Umm I can find plenty of bad things including skewed legal systems even in the Western world - I don't think any part of the world is immune to this. But if we zoom in the bad stuff, we essentially ignore all the good stuff. Thailand IS a good place to visit (admittedly in my own opinion, but I do find many others share this opinion otherwise Thailand wouldn't have such a big tourism industry - I think it's one of their biggest industries), because, apart from the natural beauty and local culture, it brings together a wide variety of people from many parts of the world and as such expands the experience - and it's cheaper than the west (much cheaper) so a small saving could go a long way towards funding experiences in South East Asia in general. And just as an aside, Russia and China are both AMAZING places to visit - I haven't been to North Korea yet - mainly because it needs you to hire a local travel agent and its an expensive affair but I will definitely try and visit if and when I have a bigger budget and my curiosity gets the better of me. I've seen a few youtube videos of people traveling and vlogging in North Korea and it looks quite interesting. I can confirm from personal experience that both China, and Russia have gorgeous landscapes and China's big cities are an exceptional experience.

My wildly uneducated guess is, there might have been some prior verbal threat/confrontation from his end which led to this blowing up. I've left negative reviews too - didn't have the cops running after me. But if you demand something, and threaten to ruin someone's reputation if your demands aren't met, then you're likely to get picked up when you do - because that will tantamount to defamation. Granted I don't have all the facts, which is why this is just my guess. It is quite possible that this is as unfair (and illegal) a process as the press makes it out to be - but again I don't have all the facts.

It's actually a fun place to visit. South East Asia in general - Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam is a standard circuit most backpackers will do - and it's easy to go from one to the next. They get A LOT of visitors from all across the world, so one gets a good mix of people and cultures and makes for a fun exploration. And cheap, relative to the West. Media in general distorts our perception of the world. It's very different in person. Just my two cents based on my own personal experience. I understand if you disagree.

I think you could take any country and make observations of backwardness in one sphere or the other. It should not reflect on the entire culture and people. Plenty people from around the world visit Thailand (and the rest of the South East) and have enlightening/fun/whatever-they-came-there-for experiences. One would be remiss in missing these experiences.

Thailand is an amazing country and I recommend everyone visit at least once. This specific case does seem extreme and out of character for Thailand. Iâ(TM)ve been there several times and left occasional bad reviews (but mostly good reviews because that was the experience) and Iâ(TM)ve never been pulled to task. Thereâ(TM)s probably more to this story than we are being told. Still extreme though.