Gaybutton

You're using logic making sense. That's precisely why I wouldn't be surprised if they do go ahead and pass this bill. In Thailand it is not at all unusual for the powers-that-be to come up with something that makes no sense at all and defies logic.

The part about bars being forced to stop selling alcohol is probably what caught your attention more than the rest of the article. The final two paragraphs of the following article state: "The new bill, which is awaiting approval from the military-installed parliament, bans alcohol sales within 500 metres of schools, temples and government offices. "That would prevent many bars and restaurants from selling alcohol, which means tourists might spend less money or just pack up for a neighbouring country, the Federation of Thai Tourism Associations said." I don't know how many bars in Pattaya would fall within the 500 meter limitation, if this bill passes, but it could happen . . . The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Asian Tourists Vote with their Feet Bangkok (Agencies) Official statistics show that tourists from the region have begun turning away, prompting concern the neighbours are avoiding Thailand because of continuing insecurity and political woes. The number of tourists arriving from East Asia dropped by 7.3 per cent in the first two months of the year, compared to the same period in 2006, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said. "Sensitive Asian tourists, from Japan for example, have been scared away from Bangkok due to security concerns," said Pornthip Samerton, managing director of travel agent Destination Asia. The TAT numbers showed a general drop-off in February among tourists from around the world, as overall arrivals fell six per cent from January. Arrivals were still slightly up from the year before. Pornthip said that many tourists may have reconsidered their travel plans following the deadly New Year's Eve bomb blasts in Bangkok that killed three and injured dozens. Since then, several foreign embassies have upgraded their travel warnings for Bangkok, citing the threat of more blasts. Meanwhile, a separatist insurgency in southern Thailand has sharply escalated, and the military that took power in a coup last September has threatened to invoke a state of emergency in Bangkok over political protests. "After the bombs, the political situation and the insurgency in the south have added to tourists' concerns. Meanwhile, changing regulations regarding foreign investments have had an impact on business arrivals," said TAT spokesman Chattan Kunjara na Ayudhya. Foreign investment has dropped off since the Bangkok of Thailand imposed tough currency controls in December, and the government in January proposed tightening foreign business rules. "Those factors led to a decline of arrivals, and those from Asia fell short of our targets," he told the AFP news agency. Tourism is a key money spinner for Thailand, generating about six per cent of gross domestic product. Las Vegas-based tourism consultant Globalyis said that Thailand could still expect to see an 8.0 per cent increase in overall arrivals this year to 14.9 million -- assuming there is no more political turmoil. "Any further incident in the country's capital or another popular tourist destination could trigger panic and drive away many tourists who may be concerned for their safety," the consultancy said in a recent paper. "Traditionally in the region, tourism revenues are directly correlated with political stability," Globalyis warned. "Reduced foreign investment could see Thailand lose out on tourism development in the coming years in favor of its competitive neighbours in the region," it added. Southeast Asia has seen increasing competition for tourist dollars, especially among Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Hong Kong. Tourism groups have also warned that Thailand could see its annual expected tourism earnings of 800 billion baht ($22.85 billion) slashed by 10 per cent because of a proposal to tighten rules on alcohol sales. The new bill, which is awaiting approval from the military-installed parliament, bans alcohol sales within 500 metres of schools, temples and government offices. That would prevent many bars and restaurants from selling alcohol, which means tourists might spend less money or just pack up for a neighbouring country, the Federation of Thai Tourism Associations said.

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Hundreds of Ethnic Karen Flee Burma Amid fighting Fresh outbreaks of fighting between Burma's ethnic rebels and armed forces loyal to the country's junta have led to more than 200 ethnic Karen fleeing to Thailand, Thai border officials said Sunday. The fighting began Saturday between a pro-junta militia and the rebel Karen National Union (KNU), forcing the civilians to cross the border into the western Tak province, said Thawal Pattanacharoen, regional border police chief. "The fighting went on all day long until early Sunday morning, and has forced more than 200 Karen to seek refuge in Thailand," Thawal said. Most of the ethnic minority Karen civilians had now returned home, he added, with only 60 left in Thailand, most of whom were women and children. He denied local media reports that up to 30 rebels from both sides had died in the fighting, which has pitted Burma's pro-government Democratic Karen Buddhist Army against the KNU. The KNU is the largest rebel group fighting Burma's armed forces and one of the few remaining ethnic insurgent groups yet to sign a peace deal with the junta. Burma, under military rule since 1962, has signed ceasefires with 17 other ethnic armed groups. Up to 150,000 Karen refugees already live in camps along Thailand's border with Burma. Many of them have been there for more than 20 years. Burma began a bloody offensive against the Karen a year ago. Human rights groups say the crackdown has forced thousands of civilians to abandon their villages and flee into the jungles. Agence France-Presse

Gentlemen, I don't think it is proper to bring a dispute someone may be having with one board to another board. I also do not think it is proper to post someone's PM, no matter what the reason may be. Nothing personal, pete1969, but your dispute is with the Sawatdee forum and this board is not the place to take it up. Quite frankly, if I had spotted this post in time it would have been eliminated. I do not set board policy here, but I think GayThailand would agree with me on this. I am locking the thread and will remove the thread if the owner of the Sawatdee Forum requests it.

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ INTERNET ROW YouTube Says It Is Ready for Compromise Offers to 'Educate' Authorities on Blocking Individual Videos Rather than Entire Site YouTube said yesterday it would offer to "educate" authorities in this country about how the popular video-sharing service works. Such an offer, if accepted, would enable the blocking of individual videos rather than the entire site. The YouTube site was banned in Thailand on Wednesday after a user posted videos mocking His Majesty the King. Meanwhile, Democrat Party deputy leader Alongkorn Pollabutr called on the government to take drastic action. "Blocking the website is not enough. We must find and punish the wrongdoer," Alongkorn said. He called on the government to request the cooperation of YouTube owner Google in tracking the culprit down. Alongkorn did not explain if his call for retribution meant taking legal action against the user who posted the video clip deemed offensive to the monarchy and, if so, how such action might proceed. YouTube spokeswoman Julie Supan said the company had spoken to Information and Communications Technology Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom about the ban and made the offer to "educate" authorities. "Minister Sitthichai reported his government is inflexible on the blocking of individual objectionable videos and that the ministry's technical people have difficulty understanding how to block individual videos," she said. "While we will not take down videos that do not violate our policies and will not assist in implementing censorship, we have offered to educate the Thai ministry about YouTube and how it works," she said. "It's up to the Thailand government to decide whether to block specific videos, but we would rather that than have it block the entire site," she added. The ministry is still deciding how to proceed. It is willing to consider censoring individual videos rather than the entire site. "We insist that the clips considered offensive must be removed from the website," said ministry spokesman Vissanu Meeyoo. "We will look into the technical possibilities of blocking individual Web pages without blocking the entire site," he added. The difficulty for censors blocking individual videos became increasingly clear as new clips continued to be posted this week. The site, accessed from Bangkok via a foreign server, now has at least 10 clips connected to the controversy. Although the user who created it has removed the original clip, some others are similar, showing pictures of His Majesty that are considered offensive in Thailand. But some were simple videos of individuals expressing concern about free-speech issues raised by the ban, part of a fierce debate that has erupted on Internet message boards here and around the world. Media-freedom watchdogs have condemned the ban, saying it underscores the military government's effort to censor political dialogue on the Internet. Thailand has blocked some 45,000 websites, according to the group Freedom Against Censorship Thailand. Most are believed to be pornographic, but the government has also banned sites linked to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as well as online discussions of the insurgency in the South.

The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: see: http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_07_04_50_4.htm for photos. _____ Major Police Crackdown on Criminal Elements here in Pattaya. Early on Saturday Morning, a major Police offensive to crackdown on known criminal elements here in Pattaya began. A group of over 200 Officers from Pattaya Police, Pattaya

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.