Gaybutton

I think that's an excellent suggestion, but I think it would have to include the sois that lead up to Sunee Plaza as well, for it to be truly effective. In any case, your idea would at least go a long way to help clean up Sunee Plaza itself.

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That's good. Today you get to learn something new. "SOO" is pronounced as the first three letters of "soon." "SUE" is the name of of a boy immortalized by Johnny Cash, also pronounced that way. Flip a coin and take your pick. I know of no words in which "SOO" would be pronounced as the first two letters of "Sony." Do you (or is that pronounced 'yo' as in 'yo-yo')?

First, start spelling it correctly. It's "Sunee," pronounced "SOO nee." It is not pronounced "sunny" like a sunny day. Ok, so dwelling on the druggies and pedos reinforces a negative image of Sunee Plaza. So what? When the druggies and pedos are finally cleaned out, there won't be a negative image to reinforce anymore and no reason to "dwell" upon it anymore. I fail to see any valid reason why reporting facts and permitting discussion, whether a negative image is reinforced or not, should not be permitted. To do that would mean that we ignore the problems and pretend that no such problems exist, just like Ahmadinejad's claim that homosexuals do not exist in Iran. (Well maybe not. They kill the ones they discover.) Some forums, as in more than one? Would you mind telling me which forums have banned such posts? If some forums have banned these posts, does that mean that the rest of the forums ought to follow suit? Perhaps you're not the only person who thinks your way. I don't dispute that at all. I'm sure you're right. Strangely enough, there are also people who do not think your way. I'm one of them. In my opinion, the image of Sunee Plaza that these posts might convey is not the issue. The fact that bars still employ under-age boys and pedos still seek them out is the issue. You are going to have to carefully explain why this forum, or any forum, would be better serving the public interest by not reporting about the raids, not reporting about the pedo arrests, not reporting about drug arrests, and not reporting about under-age boys, whether they work in the bars or freelance, and the possible consequences of sex with under-age boys, before I would find myself in agreement with you. As a matter of fact, I am in complete agreement with every word KhorTose wrote in his post above.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if you turn out to be right. It's the old story . . . everything changes, but nothing changes.

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Seminar: Police Under Fire over Human Trafficking By Chularat Saengpassa The Nation, Hat Yai Published on August 18, 2008 South locals at a recent seminar on child prostitution and human trafficking point their fingers at police inefficiency and corruption. Student leaders in Hat Yai and Sadao, Songkhla, said they knew where brothels and karaoke bars offering prostitution were. How is it the police are unaware of this? they ask. The head of a youth and student council in Hat Yai said "Why don't the police arrest traffickers? "They keep targeting teenagers like us at road checkpoints with trivial charges - like our motorcycles have loose chains." Both districts are used by traffickers to "rest" girls and women before they are smuggled into Malaysia. The girls provide sex service to locals and foreigners during their brief stays. The women and girls - who are either forced into or willing to enter the sex business - are from Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and China. Chinese women - or those who speak Chinese or English - are popular among Malaysian or Singaporean clients. Willing local women are smuggled into Malaysia or Singapore through these channels. They may end up being taken to Europe where the traffickers can get more money for them. Between 2004 and 2008, 532 cases of trafficking were reported to Malaysian authorities. Almost 490 involved girls from this country. Both police in Songkhla and immigration police rarely launch investigations or arrest traffickers. Police occasionally receive complaints from trafficked women who escape from brothels. And, in almost every case, the first thing these women get is not help, but charged with illegal entry. A woman official said she always had to be careful about "which police officers" she approached for help. "We are never certain about police officers we deal with. Are they on the traffickers' side. But we have no choice. We need the police to make arrests." The woman said the police here elect to charge trafficked women with illegal entry before deporting them. A Yunnam woman escaped from traffickers, but police charged her with illegal entry. They barely interviewed her about the traffickers, explaining they had no Chinese interpreter. A woman's foundation eventually came to her aid, providing shelter and translators. There were never any arrests because she was unable to provide enough details about the traffickers and their operation. She had been kept at more than 10 different locations. Anant Dissara, chief of the provincial human-development and human-security office, said more and more women were voluntarily entering the sex business. They hoped to find a foreign tourist who would keep them as a mistress. Entertainment venues, where sex is secretly provided, such as karaoke bars or massage parlours, are mushrooming in both districts. He said male sex workers were in increasingly high demand in Malaysia. Sopha Kaewsanit, an activist, said she believed there was no way Songkhla police were unaware of these operations. She said van after van packed with young, good-looking girls were being allowed to enter Malaysia through border checkpoints on a daily basis without being questioned. "The police should have been suspicious, and detained them for questioning. But no such thing has been done. They know about everything going on, but take no action," she added. Songkhla police officer Lt Colonel Thanawat Phoojinda said tip offs usually came too late for action. The traffickers are swift. The new anti-human trafficking law authorises police to conduct raids or searches or make arrests without getting a court warrant. But, Thanawat said police needed warrants as an assurance that officers would not face counter allegations of wrongful arrest if no evidence or women turned up. Sadao immigration officer Lt Colonel Phiphat Phongphan said police could do nothing without warrants because they would be sued.

Yes, I can attest to that. I know of at least one person who tried to use another long-time poster's handle for unscrupulous purposes on the Pattaya Passion board.

MESSAGE TO GEEZER... Dear Geezer, First off, let me apologize for the trouble you have been having trying to log-in to our message board. I saw your posting on GayThailand. I have noted with increasing alarm the multiple handles that your moniker was receiving. I thought that perhaps it was someone trying to take over your name -- or a troll looking to do character assassination. Since you are a long-standing, well respected member of the gay message board community, I wanted to make sure that your good name was being upheld. Therefore, I purposely deleted all Geezer accounts except the original which is Geezer -- please note the capital G as it is important. Your password should be the same as when you registered it, but I cannot view it. I can however issue you a new temporary password if you can not access it still. Just let me know. You should also know that the reason I was so quick to jump on this is because it has been a recent hotbed situation. As Gaybutton can attest to, some trolls have been trying to take long-time users name and pretend to be them. Also, we at Pattaya Passion have a no tolerance rule for nastiness and troll behavior. I certainly hope we haven't lost your patronage of our board as we do certainly value your presence. Please let me know if you have any further difficulties or if we can be of any further help. Sincerely, Passion Patrol

That's your opinion, an opinion I do not share. Do you suggest we hide the truth and stop reporting these incidents? Are we to stop our 'whining' because you've unilaterally decided it serves no useful purpose?

So far the UK has made no decisions one way or the other. The armchair lawyers on the message boards are guessing, but so far nobody really knows what the UK will do in the long run or how long it will take before any decisions are made. Even if the UK agrees to extradition, if there is an appeals process available, who knows how long this can drag on. As far as I know, Thailand has not yet even formally petitioned the UK to extradite Thaksin. Also, as long as Thaksin remains free, if he has any reason to believe the UK will indeed agree to extradite him, he still can flee to a third country if he so desires, assuming he still has a valid passport. Who knows? Maybe he'll end up in Burma and will join the junta. Perhaps Cuba. I can just see him carrying a sign and shouting "Viva Fidel!" Hell, he's got enough money to buy an island somewhere and start his own country. I'm waiting for the Email from him that tells me he heard about my wonderful reputation and wants to put all his money into my bank account to help him get it out of Thailand, just like the Emails I get from Dr. Bwenkeke Mobujubu from Nigeria. Somehow, it's hard to visualize him ever being forcibly returned to Thailand in handcuffs. I suppose he could always buy the airline that would fly him back to Thailand and then ground all the planes . . .

Maybe you still can. 1-2-Call isn't the only phone card company in Thailand. DTAC also has a popular phone card system, as well as a few other companies. True Move and Sawasdee come to mind. Since you have to get a new phone number anyway, you might want to check companies other than 1-2-Call first and see if any of their systems will suit your needs. While 1-2-Call is the most popular phone card system in Thailand, and is fine as long as you're in Thailand, it loses its usefulness if you are not going to be using your phone for long periods of time. Obviously, for those who are only in Thailand for limited periods of time each year, unless you follow my suggestions above you're going to lose your phone number. Fortunately 1-2-Call is not the only game in town. There are other options, although I don't know their policies.

If you have business with the British Embassy, Tuesday, August 19 is the wrong day to go. _____ Protesters Plan Anti-Thaksin March to British Embassy Tuesday BANGKOK, Aug 16 -- The anti-government People‘s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) plans to march to the British embassy here on Tuesday to rebut critical remarks made by Thailand‘s fugitive ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra against the Thai judiciary system, a PAD core member said Saturday. Pipop Thongchai, a core leader of the PAD, said the protest coalitions members and supporters would march from the Makkawan Bridge to the British Embassy with the purpose of explaining to the international community that charges made by Mr. Thaksin against the Thai judiciary system were untrue. Mr. Pipop said he would also explain to the embassy that Mr. Thaksin, his wife Mrs. Pojaman and the ousted cabinet ministers are also facing charges pending in court. Booted from office in a bloodless coup on Sept 19, 2006, multi-billionaire Thaksin and his wife flew from Beijing to London, bypassing a court date in Bangkok, after attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. They failed to appear on Monday at the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to defend themselves against charges related to the Bangkok land scandal which occurred in 2003 while he was in power. In a statement faxed to media outlets in Bangkok on Monday from London, Mr. Thaksin cited his personal safety concerns and interference in the judicial process by political forces set against him among the reasons for his fleeing Thailand. The Court on Monday issued arrest warrants for the couple and also confiscated bail totaling Bt13 million (US$389,000). Praising the Thai judicial system on the case, Mr. Pipop said more foreign investors are now hoping to invest in Thailand because they are gaining more confidence in doing business in this country. He emphasised that the planned march to the embassy in central Bangkok would be peaceful. Meanwhile, national police chief Pol. Gen. Patcharawat Wongsuwan said he had ordered Bangkok police to be patient and provide security to the PAD members while the gather at the British embassy. Gen. Patcharawat said concerned Thai government agencies are now trying to extradite Mr. Thaksin to face trial here and that there is no need for the PAD to pressure the agencies. (TNA)

It's a bizarre policy, for sure. There are ways to avoid having that happen. The best, of course, would be if the Baht-Stop post is correct and all you would need to do is contact 1-2-Call to stop the spam. Another way would be to give your phone, or at least the SIM card to someone who lives in Thailand and you can trust, when you are about to leave Thailand. Have that person make a quick call with it once every two to four weeks. That will keep the number active. Another way is not to use 1-2-Call at all. If you get an account with DTAC, as long as you pay your monthly bill you won't lose your number whether you use the phone or not. The trouble is that can be a bit complicated. The only way a farang can get a DTAC account is to have a work permit. If you don't have a work permit, then you'll have to get a Thai to open an account for you. The monthly bill will go to whatever address in Thailand you want it to go. Assuming you would use the address of that same Thai person who opened the account for you, then he will receive the bill each month. If you have a Thai bank account, then all that would need to happen is for your friend to inform you by Email, or whatever, how much the bill is and you can pay it online, assuming there are funds in the Thai bank account. With DTAC there may be a way to check your balance online or set up an automatic payment plan via your bank account and online banking. I have not checked if that can be done. There may be other phone companies besides DTAC that offer an account. I don't know. You would have to check into that unless someone else knows and responds to this post. Maybe someone else can come up with other ways to handle this, but those are the only ways I can think of at the moment.

Personally, I don't intend to find out. It's one thing when they shout out, "Have Boy. Sexy Boy. Have New Boy." That, I can understand. But when they tell someone that a go-go show is going to start in just a few minutes, and then you discover that is a flat out lie, that's one venue that just lost any support I would have given, at least until they change their tactics. If business is so bad that they have to resort to conning people into entering and buying a drink, then that's a venue I can do without. I'm going to bring up the subject of doormen and touts, most of whom will say just about anything at all to get you to go inside. Some even block your path and/or grab your arm and try to pull you in. When they do that my response is to stop dead in my tracks and tell them to get out of my way or icily tell them to take their hands off me. That usually works. Two bar peeves of mine are the touts and pushy mama-sans. In all the years I've come to Thailand on holidays and have lived here, I have yet to understand the necessity for either, especially the overly aggressive ones. Both are on my "I Don't Get It" list because all they ever inspire me to do is go somewhere else.

That particular immigration office, Suan Phlu in Bangkok, has been the subject of complaints several times on various boards. If you have not read the latest incident, the one to which 2lz2p refers, click the following link. http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum...ent-t15593.html That post was written by TrongpaiExpat. I know him personally and I feel completely secure in saying you can believe the incident happened exactly as he said it did. It seems as if different immigration offices set their own policies. I have no idea whether there is any recourse if an immigration office is dead wrong. What I do know is I would avoid that particular immigration office whenever possible.

We began reporting about this man on this board when the news about him first broke. You night want to see: http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2102 An issue that often pops up is that these incidents make the news when they first happen, but we are rarely made aware of the outcome. This time we are seeing the outcome of his first trial, probably because it was such a high profile case. You might remember him as "The Swirl." But for him this is only the beginning. I wonder now if he thinks his pedo activities were worth it.

I just tried again and now it's back to working correctly for me.

Once again, folks, I don't make these things up. You've gotta see this one! http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000006919

You can read the article at: http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?A...B_TEMPLATE_ID=9

Is anyone else having problems accessing the Gay Ting & Tong web site? For the past three days now, for me it either comes in extremely slowly or doesn't come in at all. If I manage to get through, I am unable to post. In three days I was able to post one message, although I tried to post other messages. I keep getting a 'server timed out' message. I am having no problems accessing any other web sites.

Sheeeeeesh! The thread about the future of Sunee Plaza is turning into the Great Barny, Barney, Barmy, Balmy Debate. Ok, I give up. I won't use any of those words again in future threads. Now I'm sorry I used it in the first place now. I didn't know it was going to cause a brouhaha. While the rest of you debate about it, I'm kind of interested in what people have to say about their ideas concerning the future of Sunee Plaza. You remember that, don't you . . . the subject of this thread? As far as Barny, Barney, Barmy, and Balmy, and lord-knows-what, who cares?

Now that it's past 7:00 PM, the story appears in PATTAYA ONE: _____ 2 Seriously Injured in Crash as Brakes Fail on Coach full of Russian Tourists Just after 10.30 on Wednesday Morning, Police from Dongtan Sub-Station located on Jomtien Beach made their way to the scene of a road accident involving a Coach full of Russian Tourists and many other vehicles. Rescue Units were also sent to the scene of the crash which occurred on the Thappraya Road which leads to Jomtien Beach. Two people were seriously injured in the crash which appears to have started when the Coach, operated by the DJ Transport Company and driven by Khun Somai aged 43, lost its brakes as it was travelling down the Thappraya Road towards Jomtien Beach. A total of 9 vehicles were hit as the driver of the coach struggled to control the vehicle which was gaining speed as it approached the Hanaman Statue curve. A man and woman were seriously injured as the Coach collided with vehicles waiting at the traffic lights at the Tepprasit Road intersection. The driver decided that he would be unable to traverse the curve in front of the Statue and decided it would be better for him to collide with concrete barricades located on the curve. His actions were commended by Police who confirmed that brake failure was the cause of the incident.

They usually post their latest news at about 7:00 PM. Right now it's 5:45 PM.

What you're going to have to do is keep an eye out for water delivery trucks in your local area. They almost always have their telephone numbers showing on the side of their trucks. Try to get two or three sets of telephone numbers because sometimes just when you need water, that's when they're not working or can't get to you for hours. It probably will have to be trucks local to your area. It's been over two years since I needed water delivery, but at the time, when just about everyone was going through a severe drought and needed the trucks, they would only work their local areas. I never was able to get trucks from other areas to deliver to my house.

Thai authorities are now going after Thaksin at full force. They are going for extradition and they're going after his money, although I would think Thaksin is smart enough to have made sure he has plenty that can't be touched. You can almost see the news media gloating and gleefully reporting the turn of events. I don't blame them. Many of you probably remember how the media was treated under the Thaksin regime. Now I guess they look at it as payback time. I can see pros and cons to a successful extradition of Thaksin. He still has quite a large following of supporters in Thailand. They would not take kindly to seeing their hero imprisoned. I wonder if putting Thaksin and his wife in prison would be enough to lead to the downfall of the current regime. The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Target: Thaksin By Post Reporters Authorities have moved to seize the assets, revoke the diplomatic passports and seek the extradition of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, Khunying Potjaman, who have skipped bail and fled to London. The Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) has set up a team to seek the extradition of Mr Thaksin and his wife. The OAG is also expected to apply for a court order next week for the seizure of the Shinawatra family's assets, worth about 76 billion baht - mostly now frozen at local banks. Deputy Attorney-General Chullasingh Wasantasingh is likely to head the extradition team, said Kosolwat Inthuchanyong, an OAG assistant spokesman. The application would be made under the terms of the 1911 Siam-Great Britain extradition treaty. He said the process should not take long because the possibility of seeking the couple's extradition had been examined in depth before they returned to Thailand early this year. Mr Kosolwat said the authority to seek their extradition rests with the OAG because the couple fled while being tried in court. "But if Mr Thaksin seeks asylum in Britain it will complicate matters," Mr Kosolwat said. In a hand-written statement faxed to media outlets, the ousted prime minister claimed he fled overseas because the justice system in Thailand was being meddled with and he might not receive a fair trial. Deputy Attorney-General Waiyawut Lortrakul, head of the prosecution team in charge of the Assets Scrutiny Committee's cases, said the prosecution had finished drafting the civil suit seeking to confiscate Mr Thaksin's assets. He expected the case to be lodged with the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions next week. Mr Waiyawut said the decision to seize the assets was made at a meeting of prosecutors and the National Counter Corruption Commission, which has taken over cases from the now-defunct Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC). Before the handover, the ASC charged that Mr Thaksin had dishonestly accumulated wealth while in office. The ASC, which was disbanded in June, had already frozen assets worth 69 billion baht held by Mr Thaksin and his family members in 16 bank accounts. Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag said yesterday the ministry will make it a priority if there is a request by the court or the prosecution to revoke Mr Thaksin's diplomatic passport. So far, the ministry had not received a request or documents relating to warrants for the arrest of Mr Thaksin and his wife, he said. "The ministry will look into criteria for granting or revoking diplomatic passports when there is a chance to ensure that it properly observes the law as well as the ministry's directives," he said. Mr Tej said the ministry will consider what actions to take over the extradition process when it has been properly informed of the situation and legal procedures. Sitthichoke Sricharoen, head of a legal team representing the ASC, said the couple's escape reflects their intention not to fight the charges. However, they can still defend themselves by submitting their testimony in writing. He also underlined that the charges against the couple are not political, but criminal. Dej-udom Krairit, chairman of the Lawyers Council of Thailand, yesterday lambasted Mr Thaksin for attacking the judiciary in his fax. Mr Thaksin claimed the legal procedures against him were like the fruit of poisonous trees and his cases prejudged. According to Mr Dej-udom, Mr Thaksin was the poison. He also urged police to post warrants for the couple's arrests at every port, airport and border checkpoint. ____________________ And this, from TNA: _____ Attorney General Filing Soon to Seize Thaksin Assets BANGKOK, Aug 13 (TNA) -- Thailand's Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is confident that within one week it will be able to proceed with the record confiscation of Bt76 billion in assets earlier frozen from the holdings of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his family on charges of having abused his power to make undue personal and family gains. Deputy Attorney General Waiyawuth Lortrakul, who earlier headed a subcommittee under the now-disbanded Assets Examination Committee (AEC), said the proposed confiscation of the assets of Mr. Thaksin and his family valued at Bt76 billion will be forwarded next week by Attorney General Chaikasem Nitisiri to Supreme Court judges dealing with criminal lawsuits involving persons with political status. The former premier had recently failed to appear in court and were believed to be seeking political asylum in Britain. The collected assets of Mr. Thaksin and his family were frozen in 16 bank accounts, including Bt18.1 billion at Bangkok Bank, Bt2.1 billion at the Bank of Ayudhya, Bt39.6 billion at Siam Commercial Bank, Bt1.4 billion at Thanachart Bank, Bt500 million at the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, Bt15.7 billion at the Government Savings Bank, Bt10 billion at the Islamic Bank of Thailand and Bt2.7 billion at the Securities and Land Depository Centre. They might become assets of the state in due course if the Supreme Court rule in favour of the confiscation of the foreclosed holdings of the former premier and his family. (TNA)