Gaybutton

Further details, along with several photos, are posted on the PATTAYA DAILY NEWS web site. See http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000002665 Here's the article: _____ PATTAYA PORNO WEBSITE CLOSED DOWN AND FILM MAKERS ARRESTED The Pattaya Constabulary are in the process of investigating and collecting evidence on sex websites being operated in the Pattaya area. One in particular that is being run as a joint Thai-farang operation was raided at 00.30 am, on 6th.April. The previous day, the police had obtained an arrest warrant and proceeded to check out an apartment in Argyle Apartments, located at 338, opposite to Pratumnak Soi 5. On entering the apartment, they found pornography and video equipment for making porn and all kinds of sex equipments, as well as VCDs and photos. The police also found three men in the room: Mr.John Gilbert Bowen (60) from America, Mr.Kyle (last name removed) (30) American-Canadian and a Mr. Paul Sangsuwan (25) a Thai-American. The police, upon further exploration of another two rooms, found one room had been decorated as a large, fully equipped, studio with lights, flash equipment and a big video camera for taking movies and photos. They also found sexy dresses, black leather hot pants etc. to clothe their actors and actresses. Significantly, the porno filmmakers had placed Buddha images in the corner of every room to make sure that every photo or video they took would show the Buddha images in them. They also made the actresses dress up in Thai costumes which they made them take off, piece by piece, while taking the video. The police, on checking some video movies, found that the filmmakers were using katueys dressed up as woman (as shown in the photo). These had starred in some very raunchy, sadistic and wild movies, which had then been uploaded to the internet (the website cannot be mentioned here for legal reasons) Following the securing of the evidence, the police then arrested the three men, and took them to the police station. Mr.John Gilbert Bowen admitted that he had rented the apartment in question some 5 months ago and confessed that he had set it up as a large, sophisticated studio to make X-rated movies and also to set up a website, mainly to run it as a large business with his friend. He had hired Mr. Kyle Mark Micgram, who is also his closest friend and a specialist in photography, to operate the business together. They had then hired bar girls or katueys to act in the movies. They had also made short film clips as examples of the movies and had advertised them on the website, so that if people were interested, they could order the movie. Mr. Paul, who is Thai-American and speaks fluent English, is in charge of looking for girls to star in the movie and to be the interpreter during the operation. Mr.John Gilbert Bowen said that his was not only the website that is dedicated to the porn business; there are literally thousands of them. As most of the customers of these porn sites are foreigners, Bowen considered they should not be illegal. If the police want to arrest him, he continued, then they should arrest those who run every other porn website, as well. However, the police were not of the same opinion, and informed the porn makers that the practice is completely against the Thai law and was especially offensive to the Thai people and its culture. The porn makers will be charged with making videos of an offensive and sexually explicit nature, sent to court and will then be passed on to the Immigration Department who would deport them to their own countries. The police added that they are fully aware that there are many similar porno websites in Pattaya, operated by both Thai and farang, which will be cleaned up as soon as sufficient evidence is amassed.

Here's the latest, from the BANGKOK POST: _____ YouTube Users Escalate Battle (BangkokPost.com, Agencies) - In-your-face users of the YouTube video-sharing service have placed at least seven new video attacks on His Majesty the King on the website in the two days since YouTube disappeared the one that triggered a blackout in Thailand. The attacks on His Majesty also got cruder and ruder early on Saturday, and all referred to a government attempt to block views of the illegal videos by users in Thailand. Earlier, YouTube indicated it would help Thailand block access to certain pages that contain clips offensive to its revered monarch instead of blacking out the whole site. But YouTube listed seven crude videos attacking the monarch in its search engine as of Saturday morning Thailand time, each with a sample photo and a description. Each of the videos had dozens or hundreds of comments, almost all of them censuring or attacking the users who had uploaded them to the user-controlled video archive service. The appearance of newer, cruder videos made it clear that Thai government publicity for YouTube, in the form of front-page statements and the ban on YouTube, had merely served as a red flag to the anarchic segment of Internet users that always flocks to such free-speech issues. The YouTube problem poses a major dilemma for the government, which does not have the ability to impose a total block on YouTube - although seeing the site is difficult for many users in Thailand - and which only escalates the issue every time it discusses a ban. Communications Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom told the Reuters news agency on Friday that the idea came during a phone call with a California-based government liason officer of Google Inc, which owns YouTube. The site had refused to pull out a clip insulting His Majesty the King. That refusal led the military-backed government to entirely block access to YouTube on Wednesday. "He said pulling out those clips would not be an effective way to stop the damage, since users could re-post them again," Mr. Sitthichai quoted his conversation with Google's Andrew McLaughlin, the firm's senior policy counsel. "He said a more effective way would be to block certain pages not to be seen in Thailand," said Mr. Sitthichai. "It will be a few days before we lift the ban on the entire site."

I agree that it is probably a mistake to try to pursue someone at his place of work. You made it clear that you are interested, but he did not contact you. I think you should have left it at that and moved on. Maybe he's gay and maybe he isn't, but let's suppose he is. That doesn't mean he is interested in an older "farang." Maybe he already has a "farang." Maybe he has a Thai boyfriend. Maybe he doesn't find you attractive. Whatever it is, it seems that he is letting you know that he is not interested as politely as he can and since you say he is now avoiding you, then if you keep showing up you're becoming a nuisance to him and it's ruining any possibilities. If he calls, then he calls. If he doesn't then he doesn't. Either way, I agree with the suggestions to back off now and leave him alone.

The underlying and, I believe, the most important point is that you have to be very careful of online hookups. While most are probably perfectly safe, there are always a few criminals around, ready to take full advantage of people who are doing their thinking with their crotch rather than their brains. If you are going to meet someone through an online hookup, then it can't hurt to be as safe as possible about it. After all, you don't know who these people really are or even if they are giving you their correct name. If it were me, I would want to take all the usual precautions, such as seeing his ID card and first making sure of his age. I would have all of my valuables, wallet, credit cards, ATM cards, passport, airline tickets, etc. stored in a room safe or lobby safe before he ever enters my room. I would have only as much cash on me as I would need. If it is to be a situation in which you are paying the boy, then I would have the amount you are going to give him available without having to go into my wallet to get it. I would ask the hotel desk staff to check the ID card and make sure that it is really his. I would also have the hotel staff hold his ID card until I personally accompany him to retrieve it or they call my room and talk to me before they give it back to him. I would also make sure he understands from the outset that I intend to have the hotel staff hold his ID card. If he balks or gives you the "I lost the ID card" or the "I forgot to bring it with me" story, then I'd tell him sorry, but no dice. No ID card, as far as I'm concerned, equals 'forget it.' Also, there is no way I would let him sleep in my room unless I knew him really well. Quite often, the boys who are there to be thieves make off with what they can get while you are asleep. Then there is the shower routine. If you are going to shower before getting into the reason why you brought him to your room in the first place, I would have him shower first. It's a lot harder to make an escape while you're still wet from a shower without arousing suspicion. When you're done with your sexual encounter, if he starts trying to get you to take another shower, tell him you'll do that after he leaves. Don't forget, a boy from an online hookup is even more of a stranger than a boy you "offed" from a bar. If there is a problem with a bar boy, then you at least have a chance of tracking him down. If a boy from an online hookup steals from you, then you have almost no chance at all of ever finding him again or doing anything about the theft even if you do succeed in finding him again. A line I liked from the film, "The Guns of Navarone" was when David Niven said to Anthony Quinn, "You don't trust anyone." Anthony Quinn's response was, "That is why I have lived so long."

If I remember correctly, Madame Ed's (formerly Adam & Eve) in Pattaya also offers body-to-body.

I am well aware that I am often criticized for posting so many stories about someone losing large amounts of cash from a hotel room or condo theft, but I'm going to keep right on posting these things in hopes of helping to prevent it from happening to someone who reads this board, especially if he is about to make a first-time trip to Thailand and intends to carry a large sum of money. I can't figure out why anyone would keep large amounts of cash in his hotel room in the first place, whether in a safe or not, when it is so easy to carry travel checks and/or an ATM card. Nevertheless, it seems as if no more than a month or so ever goes by without reading about yet another such theft. Why anyone would withdraw more cash than he needs for a day or two, and then keep it in a hotel room goes beyond me, but people keep doing that. It is incredible to me that people would carry more cash than they can afford to lose, but . . . . In this story, the guy didn't even have his cash in a safe. He had it in a suitcase! Here's the latest story, from the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: _____ Hotel Room theft Costs French Family over 500,000 Baht Police Major Pongsawat from Pattaya Police Station was called to the Carlton Pattaya Hotel on Tuesday Night after a Hotel Guest reported a suspected theft from his room. The victim is Mr. Daniel Pappas aged 51 from France who explained to Police that he had returned back to his room after a night out and found that items had been stolen from inside the room. 4,500 Euro

Ok, now I know what to look for. If I spot one somewhere, I'll let you know.

I always enjoy it when a poster assumes everyone else knows what he's talking about. Well, I don't. I have never heard of this 'blackberry' and I don't have any idea of what it is. I'll bet I'm not alone in that. How about someone explaining . . .

I just returned from several days in my boyfriend's home province. While we were there he wanted to go to the local induction center. A couple of his friends lost out on the lottery and it was induction day. It was an incredible sight. There were at least five-hundred boys there (and not one of them wearing a shirt) going through their induction. Their families and friends were there too, along with vendors selling everything you could possibly imagine. It was almost a circus atmosphere, with only the inductees looking forlorn about the whole thing. How it all works and whether it is possible to buy one's way out of it depends on which province the boy comes from and what kinds of connections he has. There is nothing standard about any of it, which makes sense to me considering the fact that buying one's way out of it is illegal. From what I understood about that particular province is that it is possible to buy one's way out, but heaven help you and your wallet if it becomes known that the money is going to come from a "farang." In that province a boy apparently can buy his way out, but it all has to be done and arranged prior to the lottery. If he loses in the lottery and nothing has been prearranged, then he can start singing "You're In The Army Now" because that's what's going to happen. Different provinces play the game in different ways. I suppose if you have a Thai boyfriend, then you have some decisions to make as well. If it is possible to buy his way out, is that what you want to do, or get involved with at all? Should he take his chances with the lottery like all the other boys? If you are going to buy his way out for him, can you be sure you are being told the truth about how much money you have to cough up? I'm not so convinced that the pay-off price is as high as some are given to believe. Most of these boys come from poor farm families and very, very few have a "farang" to pay their way out. Where are they supposed to get that kind of money? My sense of logic tells me that the price is far less, so that at least enough of them can buy their way out to make it profitable for whoever gets the pay-off money. If only one or two can buy their way out, then that's not much profit for the corrupt officials when they could get a lot more if they charge less. Then again, since my sense of logic has nothing to do with it and Thai logic is the logic used, then your guess is as good as mine.

"Anyone who hates children and animals can't be all bad." - W.C. Fields

When you are in Thailand, it won't take long to pick up on some basic Thai. You can also take lessons while in Thailand. Even if you are going to be in Thailand only on a short holiday, you might be surprised at what you can learn even if you only have time for one or two lessons. If you let us know which city in Thailand in which you will be spending most of your time, several of us can probably make some recommendations as to a good teacher. You also can probably take lessons in your home country. Many people do that. English is taught as a second language in most Thai schools, so a great many Thai people can at least handle some very basic English. The good news is that even people who come to Thailand for the first time find that communication with Thai people is almost always much less of a problem than they anticipated.

A close friend of mine has personal cards, just like business cards, with his name and phone number written on them. When he finds himself in such a circumstance, he simply hands the card to the object of his desire and hopes for a call. That avoids embarrassment to both parties if the recipient is not interested. It seems to work pretty well for him. Even a handwritten piece of paper should get the message across. Maybe a little note, preferably written in Thai, that says something like, "Please call me. I would like to invite you for a drink," or whatever message with which you feel comfortable. Personally, I would prefer the handwritten note instead of a card. It seems more personal than handing someone a card. I think handing someone a card indicates that you do this sort of thing all the time with lots of boys. I don't think that would work quite as well, although my friend seems to do just fine that way. If you can get someone to show you how to write a brief message in Thai, so much the better. Another possibility depends on whether circumstances permit trying to flirt and seeing whether he is responsive.

On the same thread, I loved the response posted by OzMan BKK, which is: "I was so concerned about this new imposition on farang that I rushed straight down to my local 7-11. I asked the young chap behind the counter if I could check out his dongle. We are meeting tonight for drinks."

I already fell for Wowpow's April Fool hoax. I don't think I'm going to fall for this one too.

Nothing to worry about there. You don't actually believe I give a damn about Earwig's rantings, do you? He claims I'm hated elsewhere. True or false, his problem is he forgot that I would first have to care what he thinks about anything at all. Thinking of any kind seems to be a real problem for him. I'm sure he's beloved on Sawatdee. He's right about one thing, though. None of his posts would see the light of day on this board at all, if it were mine. He can think what he likes abut how great he is, but there are a few differences between his posts and mine. You won't find any of my posts using terms such as "fart-stop" or "gaybottom," or "Memories Mafia." You won't find any of my posts that include drawings such as (__o__), like a ten year old kid. You won't find any of my posts that plagiarize other people's work and then try to say inclusion of a link at the bottom of all of his posts constitutes attribution. Of course, it was not a link to the actual article, but only to the web site on which the article appears, something he did not do the first time he was caught plagiarizing here. But how could he? In that one, he tried to change the wording so that it would appear his personal 'contacts' supplied the information and none of his links included a link even to the web site from which the article was obtained. Gay Grampa caught him red handed with that one. You won't find any of my posts that name drop, self-aggrandize, or try to make myself appear as someone important when I'm not. You won't find any of my posts threatening people. You may think he's funny. Ok, yes, positively a riot. A true asset to this board. Meanwhile, people keep telling me he's a worthless piece of slime.

Well, you've gotta admit . . . if you have to die, that's one hell of a way to do it. Think of the odds. In all of human history, and the billions upon billions of people who have ever lived, how many bounced from a trampoline and ended up swallowed by a hippo? Even Torquemada wouldn't have come up with a death like that. I guess there's a first time for everything. How would you like to have been the person who had to explain what happened to the poor guy's family?

That's where you and I differ. I think it is a very big deal to omit a credit, especially when the omission is designed to intentionally deceive and try to take credit for someone else's work. If you had taken the time to do research, write it up, and post it, how much would you appreciate seeing it appear on another board and seeing EarWig, or anyone else, trying to take credit for it? I also disagree with you about enlivening the board. If the board needs enlivening, do you truly believe that deliberate deception ought to be considered a means by which to do it? Personally, I'd rather see a board on which readers can depend on people trying to post reliable, accurate, useful information, obtained honestly and legitimately, with credit being given where it is due. If that makes a board less lively, then I'll take less lively. If this board is truly in need of livening up, I see no reason for any of it to come from EarWig's constant crap.

The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: Click the link for photos: http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_31_03_50_2.htm _____

Whoa! Hold the phone! I hope you don't think for even an instant that I am supportive of EarWig's plagiarism, or anything else about EarWig for that matter, in any way, shape, or form. I think I need to remind that I am not the owner of this board. GayThailand is the owner of this board. I'm only a moderator and GayThailand's decisions supercede mine, whether I agree with him or not. If I had my way, EarWig and all of his nonsense would have been gone from this board long ago. But it is not my board and I don't get to have my way when it comes to EarWig. As far as I'm concerned, from among every post I have ever seen from EarWig or LetMeTellU or anything else he calls himself, I've seen maybe two or three that I ever thought were worth a damn. This plagiarized post is definitely not among them. GayThailand makes the rules here, not I. He and I agree on most things, but not when it comes to EarWig. Other than that, GayThailand and I get along just fine. Earwig apparently has GayThailand's admiration. As for me, EarWig has only my contempt.

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ No Takers for Tsunami Early Warning System By Achadtaya Chuenniran Phuket Not a single hotel in Phuket province has hooked up with the satellite-based signal receiving system because they do not trust its efficiency, and because of the cost - more than 400,000 baht, or about $13,000. Provincial authorities have met local hoteliers twice, urging them to install tsunami early warning system gear so they can get the early warning signal directly from the Nonthaburi-based National Disaster Warning Centre (NDWC), which relays the warning via the satellite. So far, no hotel has installed the equipment. Phuket governor Niran Kalayanamit said hotel operators are probably convinced that they can depend solely on the tsunami warning towers built by the province. "They shouldn't think installing the satellite signal receiver was unnecessary." The province has 19 tsunami early-warning towers. Arun Kerdsom, Phuket's disaster prevention and mitigation chief, said hotel operators had complained about the high cost - 400,000-500,000 baht - to install the equipment, a figure disaster officials dispute. "At first, we hoped to see at least five hotels invest in the devices under a pilot project. But that did not happen. Not a single hotel in Phuket has shown any interest in hooking up so far. "Of the hotels in six southern provinces along the Andaman coastline, only one in Phangnga province has connected to the system," said Mr Arun. The province is trying to come up with other tsunami warning methods as well. It could provide pagers to communities to receive tsunami warning signals, he said. However, Smith Dharmasarojana, chairman of the National Disaster Warning Administration Committee, said every hotel in a tsunami-prone coastal area should install the satellite signal receiver. He said the receiver would be connected to the hotel's fire alarm system, which would ring the alarm as soon as it received a warning signal. "Hotel operators should not rely solely on the tsunami warning towers because guests will not hear the warning sound if they are in their hotel rooms. If the signal is sent through the fire alarm system, everybody will hear it," said Mr Smith. He said each device costs 200,000 baht, not 400,000-500,000 baht as the hoteliers claim. Krissada Tansakul, chairman of the Patong Hotels Operators Association in Phuket, admitted that none of the hotels, some 100 of them, along the famous Patong beach, had installed the equipment because they were not confident in the NDWC's early warning system. Hoteliers were still haunted by a false alarm activated by the centre in 2005, when thousands of tourists and villagers ran for their life after hearing the tsunami siren. "We will install the device only after the state disaster warning system is fully developed," said Mr Krissada. "The equipment is costly and we want to make sure that it is worth the investment." At the moment hotel operators in Phuket are relying on a "manual warning system", he said. "Our staff will activate the in-house emergency alarm as soon as they hear the warning sirens from the tsunami warning towers. All the guests will be safe from the tsunami this way," he said.

The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: _____ New 230 Million Baht Underground Car Park to be Constructed at South Pattaya Temple We have received details of a new underground car park which is due to be constructed underneath the recreation ground of Pattaya School Number 8 on the corner of South Pattaya Road and Pratamnuk Road. This information has come direct from Khun Niran, the Mayor of Pattaya who has already approved a budget of 230 Million Baht to construct the underground car park which will be able to accommodate over 600 cars and over 1,000 motorbikes. The construction is expected to be a three level car park and on ground level, a new sports ground will be constructed along with a school canteen and a school library. This will provide much needed car parking space for those who frequent the South Pattaya area, especially at night. Construction is due to start shortly.

Considering the fact that the very same poster has done this before on this board, and was caught, are you surprised? "You can fool all of the people some of the time and you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." - Abraham Lincoln

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I don't know what point you are trying to make without providing some sort of description as to what constitutes handsome or good looking in your eyes. For example, many people like muscles and lots of definition. For others, that's precisely what they don't like. Some people say a cute face is what they look for first, but what is cute to some is ugly to others. Some people like the "rough trade" type. Others like the more feminine type. It's all a matter of individual taste, isn't it?

Maybe if they had a Thai driver's license . . . . I wonder what they would have been charged if they were katoeys from Uzbekistan.

I was in the police station on an entirely different matter about a year and a half ago when a group of about twenty lady-boys working Beach road were brought in, fined 200 baht each, and then released. They were acting as if the whole thing was nothing but a big joke and they were almost having a party in the police station. As soon as they were released, they were right back out working Beach Road again. The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: for photos click: http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_28_03_50_4.htm _____ Police Round up Ladyboys Working on Pattaya Beach Responding to numerous complaints from Tourists regarding transsexuals on Pattaya Beach, a group of Police and Police volunteers rounded up 19 of them in the early hours of Wednesday Morning. These ladyboys will often engage in anti-social and criminal activities on the beach such as assault and robberies. Because this group were not seen committing a crime they could only be fined 200 Baht each at Pattaya Police Station before being released. Most of them were seen reassuming their positions on the beach as they search for potential foreign customers.