Gaybutton

"Better" sense of humor? Not better, just different from yours. Obviously I do not share your concept of humor. Thanks for clarifying your post. That part did indeed bring a smile to my face. I'll celebrate with a glass of red wine vinegar. Now that we've got that over with, maybe nobody will mind if we get back to the subject of the thread.

Considering that I rarely drink at all, have another look at your own post and see for yourself why I interpreted it the way I did. I would appreciate it if you would clarify that the posts on that subject are not deleted on the Gay Thailand board, but on the Sawatdee board. I'm probably a little over sensitive, but with the consistent accusations that I frivolously delete posts, I'd appreciate a clarification.

Thank you. If I misinterpreted your post, PattayaMale, my apologies. I still would appreciate it, though, if you would make it clear that nobody on this web site deleted anything. If I misunderstood, others did too.

PattayaMale, I just noticed on the Sawatdee board that you wrote a post saying that we deleted a post or thread or whatever on this forum. Would you mind telling me what was deleted? Did I misinterpret something? As far as I know, no posts have been deleted for months and we have not deleted any post you have written. Where is that accusation coming from and why would you post that on another forum rather than bringing it to our attention? I think a retraction or at least a clarification, written by you, is due to us on that Sawatdee thread.

Ok, no, not all banks operate online banking in the same manner, but the basics are quite similar. I do not have an account with Kasikorn, so I can't be 100% certain, but there are some things I know: 1. The ATM card for which you paid a fee is referred to as a Visa Electron card. It can be used for things such as store purchases, etc. A standard ATM card can be used only for ATM transactions. 2. There are some fees for internet banking, but those are mostly when it comes to paying bills online or money transfers. Other than that, there are usually no fees. 3. If you and your bf both have an account with Kasikorn, then yes, you can transfer money to his account without a fee. You'll have to check with the bank. Some banks let you set up transfers to other accounts online and some require you to fill out a form and submit it to the branch office first. I don't know Kasikorn's requirements for online transfers. You can easily do that at any Kasikorn ATM, though. 4. Many online bank services now permit interbank transfers, which means that you can transfer funds from your Kasikorn account to another bank. In other words, if your bf's account is with Siam Commercial, you can transfer funds to his account online with your Kasikorn account. But first you need to check with Kasikorn to see how they set that up. You may be able to set it up yourself online, but I don't know. Different banks have different ways of setting up that sort of transfer. I doubt you'll have any problems, but make sure before assuming anything.

I suppose so. I would think someone like him would know better than to be luring 12 year old boys for sex. For his sake, I hope the accusation is false. I question the parents. I'd like to understand what these parents are doing by letting a 12 year old kid out at hours when he could even be in Sunee Plaza, letting farang lure him into toilets. It's heartwarming to see that these parents have such concern for their child and are making sure they know where he is at night and what he is doing. I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the story, but I'm wondering how it came to the attention of these parents in the first place. What did the kid do, go to the parents the next morning and say, "Guess what I did last night."?

I wonder who that could be . . . . Oh well, I'm glad you made an exception today. What you are writing is opinion and not a fact, although it certainly can't hurt anything to behave as if it is a fact. I don't know what the bar owners are doing with their CCTVs. Do you know why I don't know? Because they haven't told me. So, I can only guess. Have they told you? Unless they have, then you too are only guessing. I'll be happy to change my opinion to concur with yours, and others who share your opinion, the moment someone is actually arrested or even questioned as a result of CCTV in bars. To my knowledge, so far nobody has, and all of this 'scary stuff' is nothing but nonsense and bullshit that people are simply making up. So, as long as you have it in for a "certain moderator," I might as well give you good reason. Ready? Show me any evidence whatsoever that any such thing is going on. Tell me about any incident in which someone was arrested, questioned, or harassed in any way as a result of those videos. As soon as you do, I'll be the first one to remove those glasses. Yes, I really think so. I know of nothing that has taken place that even suggests that anything sinister is taking place or that anyone has been a victim of a police or government sponsored set-up. Again, show me even the slightest shred of evidence that they are not "playing by the rules." What rules would you say are being violated? No. Why should they? All what is happening? I don't know of anything that is happening. What is it that you suppose is happening? What is it that you have any evidence of that is happening, beyond your personal paranoia? Paranoia and guessing does not constitute evidence. As far as I know the pressure is on to arrest the pedophiles. I can't speak for others, but personally I'm all for it. Based on everything about which I am aware, you don't have to worry about CCTV or anything else as long as the boy is at least 18 years old. Do you disagree? Anyway, SMILE - You're on Candid Camera . . . __________ As for the latest arrest, further details are in today's PATTAYA DAILY NEWS: See http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000006349 for photos. _____ PATTAYA POLICE ARREST BRITEX-LECTURER FOR UNDERAGE GAY SEX An ex-university lecturer from England was arrested in Pattaya on June 18, 2008, for having gay sex with an underage boy. Police held an arrest warrant to arrest the man at home, and despite his staunch denials of either being gay or luring anyone for underage sex, the man was taken into custody. On June 18, 2008, at 11am, Pol.Col.Nopadol Wongnom, Director of the Interpol Crime Suppression Centre and a police team went to arrest Mr. Malcolm Edward Falkins (68), a British citizen, at his residence in Tapraya Road, Pattaya, being charged with obscene behaviour towards a child under 15 years of age. Apparently, on the previous afternoon, the parents of the young boy, under the alias of Jack (12), had filed a complaint that, at the end of December 2007, their son had been lured into a Sunee Plaza bar toilet, South Pattaya, by Mr. Malcolm to perform an obscene act. The authorities had been keeping a close watch on the accused for many months and discovered that Mr. Malcolm was in the habit of luring young boys either to a hotel or his home to have what they suspected was underage sex. The authorities finally notified the police of their suspicions and asked the court to issue an arrest warrant. When arrested, Mr. Malcolm testified that he was an ex-private lecture at a UK university. He declared he was retired and had been living in Pattaya for 4 years and could speak fluent Thai. He denied that he was gay or had ever lured young boys for obscene purposes and would testify to that effect in court. Police, however, having strong evidence to the contrary, detained the suspect for further investigation according to the law.

Actually, that's not what the article says. The article says, "the suspect met the boy aged only 12 at a bar . . ." For all we know, he could have been sitting at a beer bar and the boy approached him from the street. Nothing in the article says the boy was actually working in a bar at all. Also, this is the second time the idea that a bar owner is giving CCTV tapes to the police has been mentioned. Just because you received an Email doesn't make it so. I know of absolutely no evidence that any bar owners are doing any such thing. None of the people I know, people who live in Pattaya and go to the bars every day, know anything about this. If a bar owner ever gets involved in something like that, sooner or later the public would find out and he would be out of business that very day. If you have any evidence that such a thing is actually going on, beyond receiving an Email, I'd like to know what it is. Unless your friend is privy to something that the rest of us neither know nor can find out, then he is, to put it as kindly as possible, mistaken. I also know of no arrests resulting from CCTV tapes from any of the bars.

I guess I'm behind the times, but unless you are going to do a hell of a lot of downloading I don't see the point. I'm using MaxNet ADSL for 1000 baht per month and the speeds I consistently get are plenty fast. Even what I download comes in quickly. What am I missing? How is that speed going to provide anything significantly faster than what I already have?

There's one slight catch to it: "Stay At any of over 2,800 participating Marriott hotels worldwide between 31 March and 30 June 2008."

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Consumer Goods Go for Full Price Rise; Taxi Fares Up By Petchanet Pratruangkrai The Nation Published on June 19, 2008 Consumer-goods manufacturers Sahapathanapibul, Unilever, Procter and Gamble, Kao, Lion and Colgate-Palmolive are pushing their prices to the currently permitted ceiling to cope with the rising cost of raw materials, a move which could drive up inflation alongside an increase in taxi fares. The Transport Ministry yesterday approved a 12-per-cent increase in taxi fares, effective this week. Commuters will need to pay Bt35 for the first kilometre, against the first 2km at present. The rate for subsequent kilometres will be raised by 50 satang per km. For example, the fare for 2-12km will be Bt5 per km, from Bt4.50 at present. A consumer group plans to petition against the move, citing that most taxis are powered by cheap natural gas and their drivers therefore have no reason to raise fares. As the Bank of Thailand highlights the possibility that inflation could hit 10 per cent this year, the six major consumer-goods makers, who control 90 per cent of the market, told the Internal Trade Department yesterday they could not maintain their prices. After their prices hit the ceiling, the manufacturers may also have to ask for the department's approval for a further price hike to cover rising costs, said Prapot Nanthawatsiri, president of the Thai Soap, Detergent and Personnel Care Manufacturers' Association. "It is very difficult for us to freeze prices as requested. For now, all we can do is to increase prices within the ceiling, but soon we may have to ask for permission for a further price increase," said Prapot. Despite stating that Saha Group, where he is a senior executive, would be the last to increase retail prices despite losses, he said detergents would be the first items whose prices will be raised - as more than 40 per cent of the products contain petroleum by-products as a raw material. Soap and shampoo prices would be the next to be increased, as 30-40 per cent of their raw materials are affected by the soaring price of oil. Internal Trade Department deputy director-general Vatcharee Vimooktayon is hopeful the producers will not raise their prices sharply, in fear of a smaller market share at a time of lower purchasing power. "The government should seek new measures to bring down the burden on consumers," Prapot said, suggesting that the government focus on food prices and fares.

The following appears in PATTAYA ONE (that's the new name for 'Pattaya City News'): for photos, see: http://www.pattayaone.net/news_18_06_51_2.html _____ English Man Arrested and Accused of Conducting Lewd Acts with a 12 Year Old Boy On Wednesday Afternoon, a team of officers led by Police Colonel Nopadon, the Superintendent of Pattaya Police arrested an English National based on an arrest warrant detailing allegations of conducting lewd acts with a minor dating back to December 2007. Mr. Malcolm Edward Falkirk aged 50 from England was arrested at his house in Soi 10 off the Thappraya Road and taken to Pattaya Police Station. He was joined by his Lawyer who was given details of the case. The warrant stated that the suspect met the boy aged only 12 at a bar in Soi Sunee Plaza, South Pattaya. It is then alleged that he took the boy back to his house and engaged in lewd acts with him. Mr. Falkirk denies all allegations of conducting lewd acts with a minor and will now hope to prove his innocence in Court over the coming months.

On the links you provided, when I click them I get: Forbidden You don't have permission to access https://www.imglobal.com/travelinsurance/in...fm on this server. Also, for those of us who were unable to attend, can you provide us with the details about the living will?

Tuesday, July 1 is a mid-year banking holiday. All main branches will be closed, but mini branches, located in places like Big-C, Lotus, etc, will be open. All ATM services should also be open. International transactions will also be closed July 1. Those of you expecting to receive funds internationally on July 1 will not receive them until Wednesday, July 2.

There is nothing new in this. I recall reading similar articles ten years ago. Assuming these findings are correct, I don't see how they will do us any good. The findings have no practical value to gays unless the rest of the world accepts these findings. I don't foresee that happening in the lifetime of any of us.

Prices have gotten higher in Thailand. Fuel costs are responsible for much of it. Gasoline is now over 40 baht per liter. At today's exchange rate, that's US $4.57 per gallon, folks. When I bought my car two years ago, I could fill it from empty for 800 baht. It now costs me over 1600 baht. I have noticed that prices that had never changed at all since I first started coming to Thailand are now going up. For example, there is a little mom-and-pop shop down the street from me, where the "mom" makes what I think is the best fried rice in Pattaya. It's always been 20 baht. Within the past week she had to raise her price to 25 baht. Now, that in itself won't break the bank, but it does represent the typical percentages by which prices are rising. Pork is an essential ingredient for a great many Thai dishes and the price of pork has always been incredibly inexpensive in Thailand. Now the price of pork has gone up and a great many Thais are up in arms about it. They can't afford it. The government's response: Buy chicken. I've noticed prices have dramatically risen, percentage-wise, for a great many grocery store items. Restaurants are raising their prices. Soon the baht buses and motorcycle taxi prices are probably going up. Truckers are threatening to halt operations as early as next week if something isn't done about diesel prices. The exchange rate has gotten a little better for most western currencies, but the inflation is quickly eating up the gain. The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ BoT Rules Out Urgent Meeting July 16 is next rate date despite inflation by Parista Yuthamanop The Bank of Thailand says there is no need to call for an emergency meeting to review monetary policy, even with inflation at a 10-year high. Tarisa Watanagase, the central bank governor, yesterday brushed aside the need for the Monetary Policy Committee to hold a supplementary meeting ahead of its current schedule. The MPC's next meeting is scheduled for July 16. Analysts expect the committee to push for an interest rate hike due to growing inflationary pressure. The consumer price index rose to a 10-year high of 7.6% year-on-year in May, driven primarily by higher fuel and food prices. ''If the MPC meeting is held out of schedule without a necessary cause, it will lead to market panic. And there will be suspicion that there is some unanticipated information [forcing action],'' said Dr Tarisa, who chairs the MPC. ''We will stick to the rules of the game that the MPC meets every six weeks. Market participants have already anticipated what the MPC's move will be at the next meeting.'' Local banks, including Bangkok Bank and Siam Commercial Bank, have raised loan and fixed-deposit rates earlier this month in anticipation of rising BoT rates. At its last meeting on May 21, the MPC kept the one-day repurchase rate unchanged at 3.25% but clearly adopted a more hawkish bias in light of rising inflation. Policy rates have been maintained at 3.25% since mid-2007. Dr Tarisa, who is facing growing criticism that the central bank has been slow to respond to rising prices and their impact, said inflation could break double digits at some point this year, depending on global oil prices. But average inflation for the whole year was expected to remain under 10%, she said. The consumer price index for the first five months of the year rose 5.8% from the same period last year. ''If oil prices continue to increase, it is possible that inflation could reach double digits at some point. But that depends on the base as well. There is some chance, but I think an insignificant one,'' Dr Tarisa said. She said that a mix of monetary, fiscal and foreign exchange policies was needed to address inflation. Fiscal policy, she said, should focus on improving the country's infrastructure to reduce the country's dependence on imported oil, while monetary policy targeted price stability. Policy interest rates were already the lowest in the region, according to Dr Tarisa, and were actually in negative territory if inflation was included. Public debt, meanwhile, at around 38% of gross domestic product, was relatively low and offered room for increased public investment. Dr Tarisa said fears that rising interest rates would undermine economic growth were exaggerated. ''If the MPC has to raise interest rates, there will not be much impact on spending and economic growth. We are fortunate that there is room in both monetary and fiscal policies. We have no problem with either the level of public debt or monetary sustainability,'' she said. Dr Tarisa noted that logistics and transport expenses consumed around 24% of gross domestic product compared with 10% for other countries, showing the large potential savings for the private sector if transport infrastructure was improved. Interest rates, meanwhile, represented only a small component of overall costs for companies, she said.

Speaking of security, the following appears in PATTAYA ONE (that's the new name for PATTAYA CITY NEWS. They've changed their name, for reasons unknown.) _____ Break-ins Continue here in Pattaya Break-ins are continuing here in Pattaya and both residential and commercial properties are being targeted as the higher cost of living here in Thailand appears to be forcing some to turn to a life of crime. The first case comes from the Soonlodee Garage located at the corner of the Tepprasit Road and Sukumvit Road. Police were called to an office at the rear of the garage early on Monday Morning. The back door to the office had been forced open and the owner claimed that 2,000 Baht in cash and two digital cameras had been stolen. The office was dusted for prints and many were taken from the scene and are now being analyzed by officers who will do their best to locate the thieves regardless of the lack of clues in this case. The second theft we are reporting on comes from the Town and Country Property Office located in South Pattaya. As employees turned up for work on Monday Morning, they noticed that a break-in had occurred and called the Police who soon arrived and checked the point of entry. The thieves had partially knocked down a concrete wall at the side of the office and entered through the hole in the wall. 75,000 Baht in cash and a hard disk containing important company information were stolen. Fingerprints and other forensic evidence was taken from the scene and Police will add this case to the many break-ins waiting to be investigated at Pattaya Police Station.

I have learned that no matter what you are told at any of these banks, if you go to a different branch or even talk with someone else at the same branch, chances are you'll get a totally different answer. That happened to me with Siam Commercial. When I first moved here I tried to open an account at Siam Commercial and was told you can only open an account if you hold a work permit. That made no sense to me, but that was what I was told. For two years I assumed that was the case until a friend told me he has an account with Siam Commercial and has never had a work permit. I went back to the same branch and was still told you mush have a work permit in order to open an account. Then I tried a different branch. 15 minutes later I had an account, online banking, and was told the other branch, where I had originally tried, doesn't know what they're talking about.

Not with Bangkok Bank, in regard to online banking. They're quite strict about it. They used to permit online banking with a tourist visa, but now it has to be a non-immigrant visa. Just why baffles me, especially considering that several other banks permit online banking no matter what kind of visa you have, but there it is.

I don't understand why you are using a real estate agent at all. Why? It's easy to find rental property via classified ads, billboards at grocery stores, etc. To me, using a real estate agent is wasting a lot of money for nothing. My suggestion is to try on your own first and use a real estate agent only as a last resort, if all else fails.

Some banks still permit you to open an account with a tourist visa, but it will be much easier if you have a Type "O" visa. Since you are planning out your retirement, I suggest not trying to cut corners during this stage, but spending a few extra dollars to do things the right way and avoid problems later.

To the best of my knowledge, any bank passbook will do, but it must be from the bank at which the "Letter for Immigration" is generated.

All of my neighbors are Thai.

I would not dispute what the British Consul says, but apparently, based on what you are saying, it applies only in Pattaya. However, if it was me, then despite what the Consul is saying about Pattaya, I still would not want to be the one experimenting to find out if he's right. As far as I know, no matter what the policy is in Pattaya, the rule does state that the money is to be in the account for at least three months. If that is correct, then Pattaya is looking the other way at that rule. If Pattaya is looking the other way, do you really want to risk that they'll be looking the other way the day you apply for your visa renewal? In any case, I would think if a person is wealthy enough to have 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account at all, then he probably has a lot more than that in his account for a lot longer than three months anyway. Of course, there is always the proof-of-income statement. Getting the proof-of-income statement is certainly simple enough for Americans. Apparently it is also simple enough to get one no matter which country you come from. I have neither read nor even heard any stories of anybody having any difficulty obtaining a proof-of-income statement from his embassy.

I'm one of the people who lives in a non-gated community. I don't think I'm any less safe than those who do live in gated communities. My home was broken into once. Meanwhile I have a friend who lives in a gated community, with security guards, and his home was also broken into. If a burglar wants to get into your home he'll find a way, no matter how well you have secured your home. You do the best you can. That's all you can do. Isn't that true no matter where in the world you live? Since the break-in at my home, I secured my home as best as I can. I feel perfectly safe. I also am fortunate that my neighbors all know me and we all look out for each other. If any of my neighbors spot anything going on, I know they'll call the police. I think it's a combination of how well the home is secured, the neighbors, and sheer luck. I certainly don't dispute the idea that a gated community with security guards is a deterrent, but just how much of a deterrent is anybody's guess. I think there's a big difference between how safe you feel and how safe you actually are.