Gaybutton

That would be a nice dream, wouldn't it? If that was the case, then people would be snatching them up. Unfortunately when the article says, "The condo market for mid priced condos (under 5 million baht) is down 80%," that means sales are down, not prices.

Thank you for your detailed post. First, the moderator at Thaivisa is both right and wrong. Only within the past couple of years did Immigration start referring to it as a retirement visa and now they also stamp the word "retirement" on the visa itself. However, the form you fill out to obtain the visa is an 'extension of temporary stay' application. I've attached a copy of it below. Yes, most banks do require you to obtain the 'letter for Immigration' from the branch at which you originally opened the account, so it does help to try to open your account at a convenient location. If you move, you can always close your account and open a new one at another branch. It is my understanding that Immigration accepts the bank letter up to one week prior to the day you apply for the visa, although they do prefer the letter and bank passbook update to be dated the same day you apply for the visa. Ok, that's two people so far, lvdkeyes and buckeroo2, who went through the process and were not asked to supply anything other than the proof-of-income statement from the embassy.

Well, there's a great reason to persecute, ruin lives, and even murder. What do people like this asshole do, get themselves graduate degrees from the Hitler Institute of Humanity? Why is it so incredibly common for people like that to end up in positions of authority in so many governments throughout the world? Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Ceausescu, Papa Doc Duvalier, Milosovitch, to name just a few. How do people like that get to be people like that?

Whether popular or not, few boys seem to hold on to the money. As you said, most either squander it or send most if home to mama, who squanders it herself. For many of these boys, saving money is a totally alien concept. I've certainly seen plenty of times when no matter how much money the boy has today, by tomorrow it's gone . . . all of it. The sending money home to mama thing is so deeply ingrained in so many of these boys, they're willing to live in what by our standards would be considered deplorable conditions, with little to do and even less money to spend doing it, so they can send as much money home to mama as they possibly can. A very common problem a farang encounters when he makes one of these boys his boyfriend is the expectation that he will start taking care of the boy's family financial problems. Some farang are wealthy enough to do that without much difficulty, but if you're not so wealthy or not willing to do that, then you better set ground rules about it right at the outset of your relationship, before you fall into that trap. Once you start providing 'help' there's no end to it.

Of course it's better, but it still stinks. The boys I know don't view it as a good job. They view it as the lesser of the evils.

First, I'd like to correct your aviation terminology. It's not a direct flight. A direct flight is any flight with at least one stop before you reach your destination. You don't have to change planes, but there will be at least one stop. The LAX-BKK flight is a non-stop flight. That means there are no stops between your point of departure and your destination. To my knowledge, Thai Airways is not presently considering reinstating the New York-Bangkok non-stop flight. Also, to my knowledge, there are no plans to end the Los Angeles-Bangkok non-stop flights. As a matter of fact, a friend arrived on that very flight just three days ago. He said he loved it and it was a long flight, but very nice.

It's not difficult for me to answer. With very few exceptions, most bar boys tell me they hate it.

The part that makes me angriest is that most of those drunks throwing water at motorbikes are drunken farang. Pattaya has an ordinance against that. If you are driving a motorcycle and somebody throws water in your face, you can have them arrested. The problem is not really the 19th of April, the day the whole city is crazy. You might as well assume you'll be doused that day. However, on the days leading up to Songkran, as most of you know, a lot of water splashers are out there as much as a week in advance. If any of them throw water while you're trying to drive a motorbike, that's when you can do something about it. Two years ago there was an incident in which a farang was throwing water on people and he had actually put a strong acid in the water. He injured a young Thai boy with it. He was arrested and there was plenty of publicity about it, but I never did see any follow-up as to what eventually happened to that farang. My guess is he had to pay plenty to get out of it. Be careful of nuts like that. It's just incredible to me that some idiots out there actually enjoy doing something that can really hurt others. I don't know what brain malfunction people like that have, but fortunately those kinds of incidents are isolated and rare. Splashing people with ice water is also verboten in Pattaya. Last year nobody tried to douse me with ice water and I didn't see anyone splashing people with it. That doesn't mean it didn't happen at all, but there was certainly quite a lot less of it last year. In any case, you can expect some sporadic water splashing to take place beginning about April 12. It will increase a little each day until April 19, the main water splashing holiday in Pattaya. By the way, there is a simple way to avoid getting doused on those days if you ride in a baht bus. Sit up front with the driver.

I don't mind that so much. You're probably not old enough to remember, but many years ago, of all people Tony Curtis played in a crummy movie called "The Son of Ali Baba." He was famous for saying, in his Brooklyn accent, "Yondah lies the castle of my faddah." Somehow, neither he nor the movie made it to the Academy Award nomination list. I think one of the best phony accents was Vivian Leigh in "Gone with the Wind." Here's a bit of trivia I bet you never noticed. In "Ben Hur" the director, William Wyler, intentionally had all the Judeans speak in an American accent and all the Romans speak with a British accent. He did that to set them apart from each other.

I don't think anyone else does either. I have yet to read what any economist says or meet anyone who has a working crystal ball. I've always felt that renting is throwing money out the window, but other people feel completely different about it. On the other hand, the way things are going I wouldn't buy anything I couldn't afford to pay for as long as there is a likelihood of losing it if your source of income goes belly up. The problem with an inquiry such as yours is that if people respond, you're going to get all kinds of conflicting answers. How do you judge who's right? In the end, it all boils down to "up to you" and hopefully you'll have good luck.

Why would I include Central and South America? I don't think Slackersam had Europeans living in Central and South America in mind when he wrote his post.

I give him a lot of credit for owning up to what was done to the Rohingya boat people who were cast adrift at sea to die, after having been beaten on shore. But he still has a long way to go before he becomes Thailand's Obama. If nothing else, at least the 'Government of the Month Club' has gone dormant . . . for the time being.

Maybe that's because there are fewer Europeans . . .

Not necessarily. According to Thai law, as I understand it, if no prostitution was involved you were technically legal. Of course if the police decided to make an issue of it, then you would have had to convince a judge there was no prostitution involved. That might have been difficult to do. However, I agree with you. You were lucky.

Ok, 2 weeks to go in the contest, here is where you stand as of February 13. The following people have exceeded the 150 eligible post minimum and have their names in "the hat:" KhorTose - 173 posts Steve1903 - 176 posts GaySacGuy - 204 posts Shebavon - 205 posts Astrrro - 248 posts Laurence - 292 posts Slackersam - 281 posts Pattayamale - 318 posts fountainhall - 435 posts lvdkeyes - 437 posts MonkeySee - 763 posts

I saw it. I also forgot that I saw it. Not that it matters, but I included all the details in this post.

I don't think the average Thai is ignorant of, or needs to be reminded of, the dangers of drinking and driving. I don't think that's the problem. I also don't think banning liquor sales at gas stations is going to solve a thing. I think the authorities are taking the wrong approach. I believe that anyone who really thinks those kinds of tactics are going to stop the drinkers is living in Fantasyland. The drinkers are going to find their liquor elsewhere. What I believe the authorities ought to do is to start a campaign to convince people to have a designated driver.

The following appears in the PATTAYA DAILY NEWS: for photos see: http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000008430 _____ PATTAYA POLICE CATCH KUWAITI MAN ABUSING 14 YEAR OLD BOY On the evening of 12th February 2009 Pattaya police caught a man from Kuwait red-handed while he was forcing a 14-year-old boy to have sex with him in his hotel room. At 9.30 pm, Pol.Lt.Col. Teerawat Numanit and Pol.Lt.Col. paisal U-domdech Chairat who had been working together to track down this suspected paedophile received information that a man had taken a boy from Walking Street to a hotel room in the North Pattaya area. A police squad rushed to investigate. At room 421 of the Leelawadee Hotel , Petchtrakul Road, Moo. 6 Naklua, Banglamung, the police found Mr. Abrahimmy Alnasrallah [40], from Kuwait, trying to drag a boy back into his room. Police rushed to help the victim who was later identified as Satit Keawchu-ngern [14] or Kai. Alnasrallah who was in a drugged state, was surprised to see the police and ran to his car and tried to drive away but the police managed to stop him and bring him back to his room. In the room police found 8 tablets of Yah Bah, 4 grams of Yah Ice, 6 tubes of dry pressed marijuana in a clear plastic bag and BT30,000 in cash together with drug paraphernalia. Police confiscated everything as evidence. Kai, the victim, was also under the influence of drugs and told the police that he was approached by Alnasrallah at 3.30 pm on the same day in the South Pattaya area and offered him money to have sex with him. He said he agreed to be taken to hotel room because he needed the money. When they arrived in the room Alnasrallah forced him to take Yah Bah and started to beat him. He was then forced to have oral sex and was beaten more while Alnasrallah was having sex with him. The boy claimed that he was raped and was in pain so he tried to run out of the room but Alnasrallah had followed him and was trying to drag him back to the room just as the police arrived. A very stoned Alnasrallah denied to police that he had raped the victim. With all the available evidence the police didn’t believe him and they also suspected him of committing similar crimes previously. Alnasrallah was taken to Pattaya police station and handed over to the investigating officers. He will be charged of the possession, consumption and distribution of drugs and the physical and sexual abuse of a person under 15. Kai, the victim, was sent to Banglamung Hospital for examination and treatment. ____________________ And this, from PATTAYA ONE: _____ Kuwait National, Caught with Drugs and Accused of Raping a 14 Year Old Boy Arrested in Joint Tourist Police and Narcotic Police Operation On Thursday Night, Special Investigators from the Tourist Police in Bangkok and Narcotics Officers conducted a joint operation following a tip-off that a Kuwait National had allegedly assaulted a minor and was also in possession of a considerable amount of narcotics. Police Lieutenant Colonel Teerawat from the Tourist Police and Police Lieutenant Colonel Paisan from the Narcotrics Suppression Bureau and officers from both Police Divisions rushed to the Leelawadee Hotel in Naklua following reports of a commotion in room number 421. Police arrived and saw a foreign man attempting to drag a young boy into his room. The boy was screaming for help and officers immediately called out for the foreign man to stop hurting the boy. The suspect then attempted to escape but was detained by Police. Mr. Abrahim Al Nasrallah aged 45 from Kuwait was taken back to his room where 8 Yabba Tablets, 4g of Crystal Methamphetamine and 6 packets of compressed Marijuana were found along with drug taking paraphernalia and 50,000 Baht in cash. The young victim aged only 14 showed evidence of bruising on his face and was taken to Hospital where it was confirmed that the boy had been the subject of penetrative sex and an assault within the last 12 hours. The 14 year old boy was also under the influence of narcotics and claims the suspect forced him to take drugs before the pair had sex, an allegation denied by the suspect. Mr. Al Nasrallah was charged with rape and assault of a minor, possession with intent to supply of a class 5 drug, possession of a class 1 drug and is also under further investigation relating to previous cases of sexual abuse of minors. He was handed to Pattaya Police investigators who will now take over the investigation.

If last night was any indication, the place is a gold mine.

Personally, with something like this I think it is better for people to simply post about their favorite bars and, if they wish, include their reasons why those are the favorites. The problem with a poll is that you have to select just one bar when there may be more than one that you particularly enjoy. Without listing every one of the bars, then it becomes even more subjective. Listing the "most popular" bars may not even include the favorites of many people here. Also, where is it written that everyone even likes going to the bars at all? Some people think the only way to entertain one's self at night is the bar scene. Some people don't care much for any of the bars and prefer to find their boys through other means. I'd be willing to bet that the bars I like most wouldn't even be on the list. However, as I said, if anyone wants to create a poll, feel free . . .

Pa. Judges Admit Jailing Kids For Cash Plead Guilty To Fraud For Taking $2.6M In Kickbacks To Send Teens To Private Detention Centers (CBS/ AP) Two Pennsylvania judges charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send youth offenders to privately run detention centers pleaded guilty to fraud Thursday in one of the most stunning cases of judicial corruption on record. Prosecutors allege Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juvenile offenders in lockups run by PA Child Care LLC and a sister company, possibly tainting the convictions of thousands of juvenile offenders. The judges pleaded guilty in federal court in Scranton to honest services fraud and tax fraud. Their plea agreements call for sentences of more than seven years in prison. They were permitted to remain free pending sentencing. The gray-haired jurists said little at Thursday's hearing, and declined to comment to reporters afterward. Prosecutors described a scheme in which Conahan, the former president judge of Luzerne County, shut down the county-owned juvenile detention center in 2002 and signed an agreement with PA Child Care LLC to send youth offenders to its new facility outside Wilkes-Barre. Ciavarella, who presided over juvenile court, sent youths to the detention center while he was taking payments, prosecutors said. For years, youth advocacy groups complained that Ciavarella was ridiculously harsh and ran roughshod over youngsters' constitutional rights. Ciavarella sent a quarter of his juvenile defendants to detention centers from 2002 to 2006, compared with a statewide rate of one in 10. Among the offenders were teenagers who were locked up for months for stealing loose change from cars, writing a prank note and possessing drug paraphernalia. Many had never been in trouble before, and some were imprisoned even after probation officers recommended against it. Many of the youths didn't have attorneys. Ciavarella has specifically denied sending kids to jail for cash, and had indicated he would not go through with the guilty plea if the government offered that as evidence. Thus prosecutors left out any mention Thursday of a quid pro quo, presenting only enough evidence to establish that crimes had occurred. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubron said after the hearing that the government continues to allege a quid pro quo. "We're not negotiating that, no. We're not backing off," he said. The prosecutor said it will be up to U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik to settle the matter. Kosik could reject the proposed sentence as too light if he decides there was a quid pro quo. "I think there will be significant disagreements as to what the facts are," Zubrod said. "Was there a connection between the payments and the money, and young people going to prison? Those are issues that are going to be addressed later by the court. There's going to be plenty of time to fight about that." The judges were charged on Jan. 26 and removed from the bench by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court shortly afterward. Fifteen-year-old Bernadine Wallace was sentenced to a month in lock-up for a threatening note she posted on her MySpace page, reports CBS News correspondent Seth Doane. "I was thinking to myself, 'I don't deserve this. I don't think that I did that much wrong. I'm not a criminal'," she said. "You saw the judges come out of court today. How were you feeling?" Doane asked Wallace's mother. "Angry," Flo Wallace said. "How did they get to walk out with all these charges? When she went in front of them, she got out of shackles." Kurt Kruger, now 22, pictured at left, had never been in trouble with the law until the day police accused him of acting as a lookout while his friend shoplifted less than $200 worth of DVDs from Wal-Mart. He said he didn't know his friend was going to steal anything. Kruger pleaded guilty before Ciavarella and spent three days in a company-run juvenile detention center, plus four months at a youth wilderness camp run by a different operator. "Never in a million years did I think that I would actually get sent away. I was completely destroyed," said Kruger, who later dropped out of school. He said he wants to get his record expunged, earn his high school equivalency diploma and go to college. "I got a raw deal, and yeah, it's not fair," he said, "but now it's 100 times bigger than me."

It seems safe enough to me. It's served in restaurants all over Thailand and I never hear about anyone getting sick from it. As a matter of fact, most of the time when I do hear about someone getting food poisoning, it happens at farang-owned restaurants.

When you create a poll on this board, look above the text box as you're writing your post. You'll see "Poll Options." That's where you click to create a poll.

Maybe they have started blocking some of those sites. I used to enjoy http://www.ratefun.net . For a few weeks, however, I can't access that site. Either the site went down or it's being blocked.

Here is the PDF file mentioned above: