Gaybutton

I, for one, could do with a program like that. How much do they cost? Probably beyond my means, but you never know. I've about had it with diets. The most I've ever lost was on Weight Watchers. The trouble is, once I go off these diets I always gain the weight right back, and then some. I'm not ready to spend the rest of my life on some sort of diet, so I'd like to find something that actually works and is easy to go back to if you find your spare tire inflating again. I've seen several people who have spent quite some time taking fat burning pills, but they don't look any leaner to me. I've spent most of my life battling weight problems and, quite frankly, I'm tired of of the battle. I see so many people who eat more than I do and/or eat the very same foods I eat, get no more or less exercise than I do, and they're thin and I'm fat. So, if something like this works and is available in Thailand, I'd like to give it a try. I'm going to do something, that's for sure, but not yet another bizarre diet that I know I won't stick with.

I've seen them both in Carrefour and Foodland and yes, since they are imports they are expensive.

The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: _____ Mobile Phone Shops at the Tuk.Com Center Raided by District Licensing Officials We joined Police Captain Prasert from Pattaya Police Station who was backing-up a group of Banglamung District Officials from the Business Licensing Unit, as they conducted a raid of second-hand mobile phone shops at the Tuk.Com Center on the South Pattaya Road. Checks for operating licenses including specific licenses relating to the sale of mobile phones were checked and after the operation was over, one man was detained after his shop was found not to have the correct documentation. Khun Prachayar aged 27 was taken to Pattaya Police Station and then Banglamung City Hall for processing. A number of other shop owners ran away when they saw the officials arriving and Police will follow up these individuals at a later date.

You see? This is one of the things I love about message boards . . . people sharing information and good, quick responses when people ask for information. I very much appreciate that, Rogelio. I'm guessing you are talking about the grocery store in the Siam Paragon. Is that where they sell them? Next time I'm in Bangkok, I will definitely be shopping for one. Thank you very much.

Better still, let us know your thoughts while you're still here. There are Internet cafes all over the place. If you run into any problems or have any questions, many of the participants of this message board are readily available and happy to offer help and advice any time anyone needs it.

Often, it's not the item itself, but the brand. For example, my toothpaste preference is Arm & Hammer's Peroxicare. I have never found any in Thailand. I also miss minor items, such as certain spices. I like Lawry's spices, and there are none in Thailand. I like Maxwell House coffee, and if any is sold in Thailand, I have yet to find it. I like to use the packaged Lipton Onion Soup for cooking, but I've never found any in Thailand. I like corned beef hash, but have never found any of that here either. Sometimes certain items can be found in Thailand, but because of import costs they are prohibitively expensive, so I only buy them once in a great while. For example, imported fresh fruits such as peaches, plums, apricots, and cherries can be had in Thailand, but they are quite expensive here. Don't expect to get real Georgia peaches in Thailand, though. There are also restaurant types I miss. I'd love a really good New York style deli to open in Thailand, but I doubt that will happen in the foreseeable future. Certain types of appliances can be difficult to find in Thailand. I used to have a bread machine when I was still living in the USA, one of those machines with which you can bake your own bread simply by adding the ingredients, turning it on, and leaving the rest to the machine. I have been trying to find one in Thailand, but have had no success locating any. I wish I had brought mine with me, but I didn't. I have often been surprised, though. It is not unusual to be looking for a certain item for months, sometimes even years, and suddenly you find a place that has it or find someone who knows where to get it. In most cases I have been able to find adequate alternatives that can substitute for what I miss, and there's really not that much I miss in the first place, but I'd still rather have the actual item than a substitution. I think in most cases you'll be able to find most of what you're looking for in Thailand, but you'll probably have to shop around for some items. There will probably be some items that you won't find at all, not even substitutions, but you might be pleasantly surprised at how few those will be.

I am not familiar enough with Phuket to answer, but in Bangkok, assuming you do not wish to "off" boys and have to pay for sex, I suggest trying the Babylon Sauna. Their web site is http://www.babylonbangkok.com/home.asp . In Phuket, I suggest going to the Connect Guest House in the Paradise Complex and talking with Ulf, the owner. I'm sure he will be happy to provide you with advice for Phuket. Connect also has a web site at http://www.beachpatong.com/connect/index.htm . For someone your age, if you enjoy discos, those are also good places to cruise. Other than that, most of the cruise areas with which I'm familiar have plenty of boys, but they are there to engage in prostitution, which means you will be expected to pay for it. Perhaps others can give additional advice.

Now you're talking! Seriously, though, I think everyone should have a right to a fair trial, with a non-biased, non-prejudiced jury, and I think these men should be entitled to that. I certainly have no disagreement with you about that issue. Obviously, even if juries existed in Thailand, I would not be a good candidate for their jury because I do believe these men are guilty and would be coming into it prejudiced. However, what I or anyone else believes doesn't change the facts. Maybe there really is an explanation and maybe they're not guilty of any wrongdoing at all. So, you're right. At this stage it's all allegation and they are suspects who have not yet been found guilty of anything. Unfortunately for them, they're the ones who will now have to prove to a Thai court that they are not guilty of the allegations. I believe, but I'm not sure, that you don't get off on technicalities in Thailand, such as police searches without search warrants. In any case, I'm glad I'm not in their shoes. When I wrote, "When will they ever learn?" I was trying to bring out that despite repeated arrests and repeated warnings on the web sites, there are still an extraordinary number people who come to Thailand and try to get away with it. Whether these men are actually a part of that number remains to be seen.

Not in Thailand. In Thailand you're guilty until proven innocent. Suspects? Technically, yes. Meanwhile, according to the article, their own embassies provided records of child abusers. I think it's a fair guess that they were on those records. Child pornography and video equipment for making porn were found in their apartments, and the Child Protection Centre of Pattaya filed complaints, but I'm prejudiced. Well, yes, I guess I am. Of course, I concede the possibility that these men, from three different countries, were set up with cooperation from their own embassies to do so, but somehow I doubt that scenario is likely.

The article doesn't say whether they were arrested in connection with male or female minors, but since all four arrests occurred in Pattaya, it wouldn't be far fetched to guess that at least some of these were gay pedophile arrests. The article appears in the BANGKOK POST: http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/tops...s.php?id=117531 _____ Four Foreign Paedophile Suspects Held in Pattaya Bangkok (dpa) Thai police arrested four suspected paedophiles from Britain, Finland and the United States over the weekend at the notorious beach resort, initially charging them with abduction of minors. Police said on Monday they arrested the four men on Sunday, after complaints from the Child Protection Centre of Pattaya. They identified the men as British nationals Maurice John Praill and Stephen James Ellison, American Glenn Richard Allen, and Finnish citizen Ilkka Ylikojola. The arrests were by the Crimes Against Children and Women Suppression Division, which carried out the arrests. All four were arrested in police raids at their rented flats in Pattaya, which has become notorious in the past decade for its nightlife and sex industry. Child pornography and video equipment for making more porn were reportedly found in the four men's separate apartments. If convicted, the four face up to 20 years each in prison. "We made these arrests by coordinating with the embassies of the UK, US and Finland, which have provided records on child abusers from their countries," said Pol Maj-Gen Kamronwit Tupkrajang, commander of the special police division. All four suspects were initially charged with abduction of minors but may face further charges as the investigation into their activities in Pattaya unfolds, said Pol Maj-Gen Kamronwit.

I found the following story in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS to be quite interesting: _____ Local Pub Owner

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. There is a Tesco Lotus Express right around the corner from the Pinnacle Hotel in Bangkok. It's the same thing as any 7-Eleven. As a matter of fact, I didn't think it was as well stocked as a 7-Eleven. There are 7-Elevens practically everywhere you look in Pattaya and I don't see anyone complaining about them. There are also a large number of Family Marts in Pattaya and they're the same thing. So, what's the big problem about yet another franchise, other than the fact that Pattaya is already over-killed with convenience stores? These convenience stores don't even sell the same products the complaining vendors sell. I don't get it.

Touch

I haven't been to any of these venues and I was not aware of this web site until you posted about it. However, upon reading what is on the site, whoever authored it seems to know what he's talking about. It all seems to be worth a try.

In both cases you did exactly what, in my opinion, you should have done. My guess is the boy in Hat Yai knew why you were giving him the heave-ho, but I'd guess the boy with the phone in Bangkok left completely puzzled as to what he had done wrong. I'd guess it never even occurred to him that the person who took him "off" doesn't really appreciate it when right in the middle of a sexual encounter the boy answers the phone and holds a conversation. Have you ever had a boy actually initiate a phone conversation in the middle of a sexual encounter? My, how stimulating! I finally learned to ask boys to shut off their phone once we were wherever we were going. Many of these boys have never been taught anything about telephone etiquette. Many "farang" have probably noticed that most of the time the phone conversation simply ends, without so much as a bye-bye. I'll bet I'm not the only "farang" who suddenly realized he is talking to himself because the person with whom he was talking simply hung up.

Speaking of food items, in Pattaya I've learned that if you shop around at the various food markets, such as Carrefour, Tops, Friendship, Foodland, etc, most of the time you can eventually find most of what you're looking for. If they ever get it built, a Villa Market is coming to Pattaya, where there should be even more (and a thank you goes to lvdkeyes for telling me about Bangkok's Villa Market) because they carry quite a number of import items. You're not going to find everything you want, but you can come close . . .

Try this for size: Your post included personal information about someone. He has already made it clear to me that he did not appreciate it. On this board you do not post personal information about anybody, period. If he wants it posted, he'll do so himself. That's just one violation. There were others as well. Your post will not be reinstated. As I said, if you really are going to try to get bar owners to make positive changes, then you'll have full support from me. However, if your posts are going to cause the same kinds of problems as you used to cause, then those posts will be eliminated. In the future, starting right now, if you have a problem with the way I moderate this board, take it up with me by PM. We're not going to have public arguments about it and if you try I'll eliminate those posts too.

You folks can take my post as an unwarranted sneer if you want to. That's your decision. I'm quite impressed that you think you can read my mind. The truth is that I meant what I wrote. I really will support EarWig if he can do something to get the bar owners, even if it's just one, to make positive changes. I said that and I meant that. If you don't believe that was my intent and you wish to assume that I meant anything different from what I posted, that's your problem.

On this very thread I wrote, "How about that, EarWig, a miracle (and on the Ides of March too) . . . you actually posted something about which you will have my support, if you can really pull it off. Maybe the bar owners will listen to you. They don't seem to be listening to anybody else." As for the rest of your post, you have your opinion and I have mine. I don't much care what you or anyone else thinks I meant by my post. "The world must construe according to its wit. This court must construe according to the law" -Sir Thomas More, 'A Man for All Seasons.'

I thought I answered it. Didn't I? It seems pretty clear to me . . . "I have advised them to extend the show not only nakedness but some fun dancing and action as well. No one will make there fortune if the staff are miserable and happiness comes from the Top. Ill have to start charging for my advice on how to make a fortune in Go Go bars Ive just had a phone call from Nui who use to be the Mamasum of Crazy Pub asking what he should do to make a good Go Go bar he wants to take over the small shop and next to it opposit Krazy Dragon and the half of the restaurant as I reported 6 months ago now bought by KAOS, as a Go Go bar."

An unkind sneer against such a well thought out post? Whatever gave you that idea? I know of nothing I wrote that ought to be interpreted that way. I believe I already wrote that EarWig will have my full support on this if he can pull it off. Don't you think, as I do, that EarWig is going to be able to get the bar owners to change things? While we're at it, why don't you point out where I said anything about "all the bar owners"? Nothing has been deleted. As for what a moderator would be harsh about, well . . . that's a matter of opinion, isn't it?

Ohhhhh. And here I was thinking the bar owners were waiting for you to come back and show them how to do things right. "Ive just had a phone call from Nui who use to be the Mamasum of Crazy Pub asking what he should do to make a good Go Go bar" That is what you wrote, isn't it? Well, that's at least one bar that will be an especially good one as a result of your advice. It will, of course, be the most popular bar in town.

I don't know why you feel that way. After all, EarWig is going to change all that. He's going to advise the bar owners. Surely we can expect these changes to take place in the very near future.

I agree with that, but I also think it is a mistake to stereotype the bar boys to the degree that everyone simply assumes that all bar boys are dishonest, come from the farm, and the only thing they want from a relationship with a "farang" is money. All bar boys are uneducated farmers who want nothing more than money from a "farang." Boy "A" is a bar boy. Boy "A" is an uneducated farmer who wants nothing more than money from a "farang." I concede that is the case with the majority of bar boys, but I don't think that syllogism is valid. There is also still that minority out there. The trick is finding them.

First, a tip-of-the-hat to Geezer for pointing this out to me. A Dr. Suwit Wibulpolprasert, special advisor to the Minister for Public Health, has come up with an interesting idea: If Thailand doesn't receive flu vaccines, part of what is likely to happen because of the Thai government's policy on pharmaceutical patent breaking, then just hold foreign nationals hostage until they do receive them. Now that's an idea . . . Hey! I can think of worse things that could happen. If Thailand really decides to do something like that, they don't have to hold me hostage. I volunteer! This is being discussed on Thaivisa.com ( see http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=110793 ) The article appears in the WALL STREET JOURNAL ( http://users2.wsj.com/lmda/do/checkLogin?m...ain_europe_asia ) And here it is: _____ Time for a Thai Apology March 13, 2007 It turns out we're not the only ones concerned about Thailand's radical statements in the halls of the World Health Organization. The U.S. government has now lodged a formal protest with Bangkok, requesting an apology for Dr. Suwit Wibulpolprasert's call to seize foreign nationals in the event of an influenza outbreak. The good doctor proposed holding Western tourists hostage until Bangkok received needed flu vaccines. Dr. Suwit's comments at the WHO's January executive board meeting in Geneva "appear to contravene the spirit and provisions of the revised International Health Regulations," Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt wrote in a letter dated March 7, referring to the WHO's rules on how countries cooperate to curb the international spread of diseases. "Voicing support for these counterproductive policies at a multilateral, intergovernmental meeting...can impair global influenza preparedness efforts." This isn't the only bad public-health idea Dr. Suwit has supported. As a special adviser to the Minister for Public Health, he was an important voice advocating the government's recent seizure of foreign drug company patents. As Ronald Cass explains, that decision could potentially undermine a carefully struck balance between protection of private property and provision of emergency drugs in times of crisis. The implications stretch far beyond Thailand's shores. The military government in Bangkok isn't accountable to the Thai people through elections, and neither are their political appointees. Thais deserve more eloquent and enlightened representation in the WHO.