Gaybutton

You know how I answer that question? I say, no, but my wife also doesn't know I beat my mother. Yes, it's about time for bed, I suppose. Is that a hint that you're volunteering to join me? If that's a yes, just remember that I'm not a big tipper . . . By the way, "You know what I say when someone tells me 'Have a good one'? I say, 'I've already got a good one, but I could use a longer one." - George Carlin

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Still No Justice for Aung San Suu Kyi By: GORDON BROWN, Prime Minister UK Published: 19/06/2009 Today, Friday June 19, is the 64th birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi. The fact that she remains under arrest is tragic for Burma and for all those throughout the world who believe in democracy and the rule of law. The trial of Aung San Suu Kyi is an absurd mockery of justice. The real injustice was not that someone broke into her compound, but that she was imprisoned in the first place. Aung San Suu Kyi has now been imprisoned for 13 of the last 19 years since the party she led won the last elections in her country. More than 2,000 others are imprisoned across Burma for sharing her commitment to a better and brighter future for the long-suffering population. Even in the face of such injustice, Aung San Suu Kyi has always supported the path of peace and reconciliation. But the regime has consistently spurned her offer of dialogue and reconciliation. They want to isolate her from the people of Burma, for whom she has long been a symbol of hope and defiance. Her refusal to buckle in the face of tyranny is an inspiration. But words of support are not enough. The region, the EU and the UN are all urging the junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi. So far all requests for moderation have been spurned. In the face of such obstinacy the world must now act. I believe there are three things we must do. Firstly, we need support the countries of the region as they step up efforts to secure democracy and reconciliation. I have been struck by how Burma's neighbours have led the world community in calling for Aung San Suu Kyi's release. We need to translate this outrage into ongoing political pressure for change. Secondly, we need the UN Security Council to reinforce its calls for Aung San Suu Kyi's release and to support the secretary-general's efforts to bring about political progress through an early visit to Burma. Thirdly, we should impose a new set of tough sanctions that target the regime's economic interests. We will be pushing for stronger European Union action in this regard. Such a step would hit the business interests of the generals and their cronies. I also believe we should identify and target those judges complicit in the recent political show trials. The growing sense of outrage and the unity of the international community behind this message should mark a turning point. The regime is at a crossroads. Long-promised elections in 2010 will remain a charade while political prisoners are being tortured, ethnic minorities are persecuted, the media muzzled, freedom of speech and assembly are non-existent and Aung San Suu Kyi is silenced. The regime can choose to ignore the clamour for change. But this will only condemn the country to deeper isolation, poverty, conflict and despair. Or it can choose the path of reform as the region has urged. Burma is rich in natural and human resources, at the heart of a dynamic continent. Democratic reform would unleash the country's enormous potential. Britain and the international community would be ready to extend the hand of friendship. If the Burmese generals rethink their ways, we will be ready to recognise and embrace any genuine reforms they make. Some may question why Burma warrants so much attention. There are other countries where human rights are ignored or people live in poverty. But the Burmese junta stands virtually alone in the scale of its misrule and the sheer indifference to the suffering of its 50 million people. How we respond to this injustice will send a message about our resolution to tackle similar injustices across the globe. To those that stand for human rights, freedom and democracy, our message remains clear - you are not alone.

Bush Hopes Closing Guantanamo Won't Risk Security By GENARO C. ARMAS, Associated Press Writer Genaro C. Armas, Associated Press Writer ERIE, Pa. – Former President George W. Bush said Wednesday that he hopes that his successor's plans to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will not compromise domestic security. Bush, though, maintained during an appearance in northwestern Pennsylvania that he would not criticize President Barack Obama, though he did discuss his policies. "I will just tell you that there are people at Gitmo who will kill Americans at the drop of a hat," the nation's 43rd president said at a dinner held by a group of business leaders in Erie. "Persuasion isn't going to work. Therapy isn't going to change their mind." Bush has made just a handful of public appearances since he left office in January, though his hour-long session before a friendly crowd of about 1,600 touched on familiar themes in reminiscing about his eight years in the White House. The topic of Guantanamo Bay arose during a question-and-answer session, in which e-mailed or submitted questions were screened and chosen by a moderator during the event. "I certainly hope not," Bush answered when asked if he thought Obama's plan could compromise security before adding, "I told you I would not criticize my successor." Bush reminded the audience that he had also remarked during his presidency that he thought the detention facility should eventually close, and that detainees should be able to have hearings — referring to military tribunals. "I just want to make sure that when people have a hearing ... we don't have to give away our secrets in order to protect you," he said, drawing applause. On Iran, Bush said he was troubled by its leaders' use of the Revolutionary Guard, the country's powerful military force, and that he was concerned about cries that the recent national election was a sham. Bush demurred when asked who could lead his own Republican Party in the 2012 presidential race, saying he would wait until at least after the 2010 midterm elections. "Invite me back — I'll give you my opinion," he said. Talk about the economy and the recession took up much of the evening. He said U.S. businesses — and not the government — will be the engine to a financial resurgence. The free enterprise system "will work again, which gives me great confidence if government just releases the ingenuity of the American people, if we provide incentives for people to take risk ... we'll come out of this thing better than before," Bush said. He was roundly applauded after giving an immediate answer to a question about how to make the manufacturing sector more vibrant. "Low regulations, no frivolous lawsuits and export markets," he said, before also adding support for research and development tax credits. Among those in attendance in Erie were former first lady Laura Bush and Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, a Republican and supporter of Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush. A Bush spokesman declined to comment when asked how much Bush was paid for the appearance.

You know where you're most likely to find chubby lady-boys? Look for some of the mama-sans and some of the comedic bar show performers.

Does this mean you're canceling your plans to open a Chiang Mai branch of the Women's Christian Temperance Union?

I doubt you'll find very many posters on this board who would disagree with your stance anyway.

You certainly won't have any problem finding chubby farang. May I suggest you post your profile (and photos) on Gay Romeo ( http://www.gayromeo.com )? You'll have plenty of responses.

Amen, Brother, amen!

I went with "Currently Unattached but looking." Actually I'm somewhere between that and butterfly. I like being a butterfly and I'm not really looking, but if the right guy comes along, I can see myself establishing a relationship again. It would be difficult, though. Most people say a relationship takes a lot of work. I'm really not interested in that kind of work any more. Not at my stage of the game. It's just not something I am really seeking.

Now you're talking my language . . .

They require you telling them or showing an address. They don't ask for proof. They also don't send out written monthly statement unless you request it.

Certainly that would work if you have a Thai bank account. Not everybody does. I have been trying to convince people to open a Thai bank account during their next visit if they don't already have one. The banking regulations change rather consistently and it is becoming more and more difficult for farang to open a Thai bank account without a non-immigrant visa. Not long ago all you had to do to open a Thai bank account was to walk through the door with a valid passport and 500 baht. Times have changed. Even if you are able to open a Thai bank account, without a long-term visa several banks will not permit you to get online banking. It can't hurt you to have a Thai bank account, folks, and having one can save you from an awful lot of headaches. I don't know why, but I often have quite a difficult time convincing farang friends who repeatedly come to Thailand to take the time to open an account, but some keep putting it off. "I'll do it next trip." By that time you may not be able to. If you are going to listen and open an account, don't wait. Do it as soon as possible, if it is even still possible. If you need to transfer money into your own Thai account or into a boyfriend's account (if you don't have a Thai bank account or online banking) while in your home country, now you can do that with PayPal.

They might as well be. I have to deal with this mess now. The part I like best is that this project was implemented to relieve the traffic problems on Sukhumvit. I haven't noticed any less traffic on Sukhumvit and I didn't think Sukhumvit traffic was much of a problem in the first place. But as a result of this fiasco, instead of using this bypass, now people are heading to Sukhumvit to avoid the bypass! Just getting to the bypass is a major problem. By the time you can get there from any Sukhumvit intersections that lead to it, you could easily have traversed the entire length of Pattaya on Sukhumvit. Great! In their eagerness to relieve traffic problems, now they have created two traffic problems and relieved nothing. I can't even imagine what the traffic nightmare will be like if there is an accident. It used to take me less than 5 minutes to get from my home to Sukhumvit. Now it often takes 20 minutes, or sometimes even longer. All of this was unnecessary. There were no particular traffic problems that even needed relief. I suppose the next step will be to build a bypass for the bypass.

Thank God.

Battered Tourism Sector Seeks Urgent Government Help BANGKOK, June 17 (TNA)- Amid a sharp drop in tourist arrivals to Thailand, the country’s tourism agencies were alarmed and strongly urging the government to provide urgent measures to rescue the beleaguered industry. Tosaporn Thepbutr, deputy-chairman of Committee on Tourism and Sports, said the Association of Domestic Travel (ADT), the Thai-Chinese Tourism Alliance Association (TCTA) and Thailand-Japan Tourism Promotion Association on Tuesday submitted a complaint letter to the committee. They charged that although the government had announced tourism as a national priority, to date no concrete measures have been implemented by concerned-agencies to boost the country’s tourism industry. So the premier himself should intervene to resolve the problems. Thailand’s tourist arrivals sharply drop to a critical level, Mr. Tosaporn said, in June alone, the number of tourist arrivals has dropped from 165,000 in the same period of 2008, to 27,000 in 2009 due to the Influenza A(H1N1) outbreak, or 33.45 per cent year-on-year. Mr. Tosaporn said that with the falling number of tourist arrivals from almost every nation, except from Iran and Hong Kong, the earlier estimated arrival levels of 11 million tourists projected by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will be unlikely to achieve the target. "The causes of the sharp drop in tourist arrivals are attributed to the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) in November and December, and recent domestic political turmoil, combined with the current outbreak of the H1N1 flu,” Mr. Tosaporn said. (TNA)

The following appears in the PATTAYA DAILY NEWS: for photos, see: http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000009495 _____ PATTAYA RAILWAY ROAD PROJECT DECLARED OFFICIALLY OPEN The new Railway Road Project was officially declared open by Pattaya City Mayor, on 15 June, 2009. The road is designed to ease congestion in the city. However, residents have expressed concern at potential confusion and delays due to the fact that the road will be one-way. On 15 June, in Soi Siam Country Club, in the vicinity of Pattaya Railway Station, Mr. Ittipol Kunpluem, Pattaya City Mayor, held the official opening ceremony of the new Railway Road, which will run alongside the railway for 16.5 km, starting in the east, next to the Nongprue Municipality, and ending in the west by the Pattaya City border. Initially, the road will be one-way. Mr. Ronnakit Eakasing, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya City, said, to start with, drivers may become confused as to which was the correct direction; however, the city has provided police officers and volunteers at 15 spots along the way to help give guidance and point road users in the right direction. Clear road signs have also been erected along the road and its intersections. Mr. Ittipol Kunpluem said the Railway Road Project had been supported by a budget of Bt313 million, with the purpose of reducing traffic problems in Pattaya. He asked for co-operation from road users to respect the rules of the road by only using it as a one-way road, even though it might cause problems, initially, during the morning and evening rush hours. Police Colonel Somnuek Junket, Banglamung Police Superintendent, assured road users that, initially, the traffic police will be lenient with errant road users who make mistakes due to the confusion of the road system. However, the Colonel stressed that this period of leniency will only be temporary and from July, road traffic regulations concerning one-way driving will be enforced. The residents of both Soi Nernplubwan and those along the railway road, however, are none too pleased with the arrangements, complaining that the one-way system makes the traffic worse. In addition, they complain, the traffic lights are not working properly and sometimes cars have to wait for a great deal of time for the lights to change, even when the road is empty. They are particularly incensed if this hold up should happen during peak times of 7.00 am, and 5.00 pm. Officials, however, were quick to reassure the concerned residents that, before too long, everything will flow smoothly and what they were experiencing were only teething pains.

It all depends on your point of view. I could never be happy living in Bangkok, but I love living in Pattaya. To me, one of the best things about Thailand is the diversity of available living choices. There is something for every taste. Many love Chiang Mai. Many love living out in the countryside boondocks. Many love Pattaya. Many love Bangkok. Many love smaller cities. And there are still plenty of places besides just those. It all depends on what you are looking for . . . and what you are trying to avoid.

That is a very good point. I certainly wouldn't consider stricter enforcement of existing laws as harassment of foreigners. Regarding immigration, Thailand has cracked down on use of visa runs to circumvent immigration laws. For those living in Thailand legitimately, some of the rules seem a little bizarre, but there is nothing new in the actual laws concerning the rules. There have been all kinds of brouhahas over the years that came to nothing. My favorite was a couple years ago when everyone thought they were going to have to produce a map showing how to get from the Immigration office to their place of residence. As for the retirement visa, I have not been asked to produce anything any different from what I have always been asked to produce. As a matter of fact, there is even less to produce than there used to be. Only a few years ago you had to produce a medical certificate in order to get the retirement visa. That is no longer required. However, the requirement to produce a new proof-of-income statement every year is relatively new.

Thank you for that post, Bob. You just saved a lot of people from anxiety over the age determination problems. I'll bet a lot of people are going to print out a copy of that ID card and chart and carry it with them when they come to Thailand.

If you do as I do and form an "I Don't Get It" list for Thailand, it won't take long for you to need an additional high capacity hard drive just to store the list. I have no idea how to answer your questions about other countries, but I do know that part of Thailand's rationale is they don't want foreigners buying out their country. The part I don't get is they will allow foreigners to buy 49% of the condo units, but a foreigner cannot buy a house. I would think if a foreigner lives in Thailand and can prove he lives here, then allowing him to buy a house for his own residential purposes wouldn't be such a terrible idea, but that's the way things are. Now that PayPal services Thailand, maybe it would be to your benefit to consider having your boyfriends open a Thai bank account and transfer whatever amounts you give them via PayPal.

I'm a Firefox user. I prefer it to all the other browsers. The only time I ever use another browser, namely Internet Explorer, is to access Bangkok Bank's online banking. For some reason their system does not support any other browser.

Billyhouston is correct about the "543 Rule." Add 543 to 2009 and you get 2552, which is the current Thai year. As for the age of consent, technically it is 16 in Thailand if prostitution is not involved. However, you might have a difficult time convincing the police and the Thai courts that money did not exchange hands. We always advise people to make sure your young friend is at least 18 years old. Precautions about that include making sure the boy has an ID card. Don't fall for the "I lose it" or "I leave it in my room" nonsense. If he can't produce his ID card, don't take him. Even the bar boys are required to have their ID cards available on the premises. Also, make sure the ID card actually belongs to the person showing it to you. There have been incidents in which an under-age boy borrows a friend's ID card and sometimes it can be difficult to be able to tell from the photo whether the ID card is his or not. Another thing you can do is plan your stay at an established gay or gay-friendly hotel at which you know the desk staff will check the ID card before allowing the boy to enter. In Pattaya I recommend either The Ambiance or Le Café Royale. Both are in the heart of Boyztown and both will carefully scrutinize the ID card. They deal with these concerns every day. If you want to go a step further, assuming this is your first trip to Thailand, feel free to post a message asking for help from those of us who live here. Several of us would be perfectly happy to send you a PM offering to personally take you around to the bars and/or have you join us at the beach and show you the ropes.

Very simple. I was right there and saw for myself.

This really isn't racism, but from among themselves a great many Thais will do whatever they can to keep their own skin as white as possible. That is simply a cultural thing within their own race. They see light skin as more attractive and as a sign of greater affluence. However, someone of other actual races is not something I've ever seen or heard perceived as anything negative in Thailand. To me, that's one of the great things about Thailand. There is no overt racism of any kind that I've ever seen here.

I'm curious as to where you see them. I guess I must be blind or something, but I've never spotted them.