Gaybutton

It seems that once you get away from Pattayaland and Sunee Plaza, the gay venues rarely succeed. I'm not sure why, but that's the way it's been. For a while, Soi Day-Night seemed to be up and coming, but most of the gay venues there ended up closing. For a couple of years there were several gay go-go bars on Soi Day-Night. Now there are none at all. There are still gay host bars both in Soi Day Night and the Jomtien complex, but I don't exactly see customers flocking to those venues. I wonder why that is.

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Khalid Admits Bangkok Terrorist Plots (Bankgokpost.com, Agencies) September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said that he had put into action twin plans to blow up Bangkok nightclubs and to take over and destroy an Israeli airliner at Don Muang airport in 2003. Neither plan was achieved, he told the military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay prison, but he had active al-Qaeda agents in place and was near plans for the two terrorist actions when he and Jemaah Islamiyah counterpart Hambali were arrested. At the military hearing in Guantanamo in which he took responsibility "from A to Z" for the 2001 terrorist attacks on America, the al-Qaeda idea man said: "I was responsible for planning, surveying, and financing for the destruction of many night clubs frequented by American and British citizens on Thailand soil... "I was responsible for surveying and financing for the destruction of an Israeli El-Al Airlines flight on Thailand soil departing from Bangkok Airport." The transcript of his hearing before a US military court at the Cuban base was released yesterday in Washington and obtained by BangkokPost.com on the Internet. The PDF can be obtained here: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/transcript_ISN10024.pdf or here: http://tinyurl.com/2xea4q Mohammad is known as a braggart. The US 9/11 Commission, established to report on the worst terrorist attack in US history, said he could be "inflating his own role". But Mohammad's claims about Thailand fit precisely with previously known facts. In June, 2003, police arrested a man alleged to be a member of al-Qaeda as he photographed the El Al counter at Bangkok International Airport at Don Muang. He was identified as Basir bin Lap alias Lillie, of Malaysia. Under questioning, it was discovered that the arrested man also had put the El Al office in Bangkok under surveillance. Lillie admitted to Thai police that he had also conducted surveillance on two Israeli-owned businesses in the Banglampoo tourist area known as Khao San Road. Another close al-Qaeda associate Hambali, the JI chief of field operations arrested in Ayutthaya in August, 2003, admitted conducting surveillance of the Israeli embassy on Lang Suan Road, in preparation for a possible bomb attack. In other testimony to the military tribunal, Mohammad said he beheaded Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, according to reports on Thursday. "I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl, in the city of Karachi, Pakistan," said a Pentagon transcript of Saturday's hearing, according to CNN. "For those who would like to confirm, there are pictures of me on the internet holding his head." He said that he planned "new or second wave attacks" meant to follow September 11, which targeted sites in California, Chicago, Washington state and New York City, but were never carried out. In addition to the two Thailand, the list of unconsumated attack targets includes the Strait of Hormuz, the Panama Canal, British landmarks including Big Ben and Heathrow Airport, the New York Stock Exchange, and US or Israeli embassies in Indonesia, Australia, Japan, India, Azerbaijan and the Philippines. Mohammed revealed his role in the slaying of the journalist during a hearing at the US prison Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The transcript was released on Wednesday but the portion on Pearl was withheld until Thursday pending the notification of the reporter's family. Pearl was abducted in January 2002 while on assignment in Pakistan. His body was later found and a videotape appeared showing his execution. The 26-page document, which removed significant passages to protect what the Pentagon said was classified information, quotes a written statement in which Mohammed claims to have been behind major terrorist attacks since 1993 and more than 20 additional, unexecuted plots. "I was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center operation. I was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z," he said in the statement, read by an unidentified personal representative assigned by the US Defence Department to assist him in the Combatant Status Review Tribunal hearing. "I was responsible for the shoe bomber operation to down two American airplanes. ... I was responsible for the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia." Mohammed was captured in 2003. He was believed to have been held by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at secret prisons around the world until being brought to Guantanamo in September. The transcript was from a hearing held Saturday to determine if Mohammed is an enemy combatant, a definition created by the United States for prisoners in the so-called war on terrorism. Guantanamo inmates were mostly captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan after the US-led invasion in late 2001 that toppled the Taliban regime in Kabul. Washington argues that the detainees cannot qualify as prisoners of war because they were not fighting for a legal, uniformed army, but that they need not be tried criminally because they were captured on the battlefield. During the hearing Mohammed conceded that he fits the US definition of an enemy combatant, a category that did not exist before the September 11 attacks. During one exchange with the tribunal's presiding office, Mohammed denied allegations that he told a reporter from the Arabic broadcaster al-Jazeera that he was head of the military committee of al-Qaeda, the terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden. "I'm not denying that I'm an enemy combatant about this war," Mohammed said, according to the transcript. The Pentagon says that the transcript is verbatim except for redacted sections. The presiding officer, a US Navy captain whose name was redacted, acknowledged that Mohammed had made "a written statement regarding certain treatment that you claim to have received at the hands of agents of the United States government as you indicated from the time of your capture in 2003 up until before coming here to Guantamo in September 2006." "To use your word, you claim torture," the captain said later. Mohammed alleged that the torture came from "CIA peoples." He said it occurred "at the beginning when they transferred me..." but the rest of the statement was redacted by Pentagon officials. Mohammed said in his lengthy statement of responsibility that he had made it at Guantanamo "without duress," and that he has sworn allegiance to Osama bin Laden "to conduct jihad." He admitted to being a "member of the al-Qaeda Council" and to have led the terrorist network's media operations, directed by bin Laden's highest lieutenant, Egyptian fugitive Ayman al-Zawahiri. "I was the operational director for Sheikh Osama bin Laden for the organizing, planning, follow-up and execution of the 9/11 operation under the military commander Sheikh Abu Hafs al-Masri Subhi Abu Sittah," Mohammed said in the statement, which was read into the transcript by his representative. He said that he trained the 9/11 hijackers. "I hereby admit and affirm without duress that I was a responsible participant, principal planner, trainer, financier via the military council treasury, executor and or a personal participant" in attacks including the slaying of two US soldiers in Kuwait.

In most of Southeast Asia, the US dollar actually gained some ground. Meanwhile, in Thailand the baht continues to strengthen against the dollar. The following are the opening exchange rates for March 16: US Dollar: 34.79 Euro: 46.12 British Pound: 67.265 Australian Dollar: 27.295 Canadian Dollar: 29.41 The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Dollar Firms after Wall Street Rebound TOKYO - The dollar gained ground against the yen in Asian trade Thursday, supported by a rebound on Wall Street that helped to restore some calm to other global markets, dealers said. They said players remained cautious after recent signs of trouble in the US sub-prime housing market and the unwinding of "carry trade" investments funded by cheap Japanese yen. The dollar climbed to 117.11 yen in Tokyo morning trade from 116.88 yen in New York late Wednesday. The euro firmed to 1.3227 dollars from 1.3221 and to 154.90 yen after 154.77. "Players bought back the dollar against the yen after confirming the rebound on Wall Street," said Masaaki Fukui senior market economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 57.44 points or 0.48 percent at 12,133.40 on Wednesday, rallying after dipping below 12,000 for the first time since November on concerns about the possible fallout from a weaker housing market. "But this does not mean dollar-negative factors such as the US housing market and the (partial reversal of the) yen carry trade are disappearing," Fukui said. The dollar was jolted this week by news that delinquencies on US home loans rose to a three-year high of 4.95 percent in the fourth quarter and to 13.33 percent in the risky "sub-prime" market. The yen has also recently been lifted by the unwinding of carry trades - where money is borrowed in countries with low interest rates such as Japan in order to invest in higher yielding assets elsewhere. "Players need to stay cautious for now while closely monitoring US economic indicators and keeping an eye on moves on the global stock markets," Fukui said. Among key data to be released later Thursday in the United States were producer price inflation for February, capital inflows for January and the latest Philadelphia Federal Reserve economic survey for March, dealers said. Agence France-Presse

I agree with that. While some of us may consider a cash gift to be tacky (but business people have managed to convince us that gift certificates are just fine), that is not the case in Thailand. I have even been to weddings at which most of the Thai guests gave gifts of cash. It has been my observation over the years that most of the boys don't even want any other kind of gift. I get E-mail all the time asking for gift suggestions and people are often surprised when I recommend cash. But that's what the boys want. Rather than take a boy shopping, you're probably better off simply giving him the cash amount you intended to spend. There is one exception. Most of the boys love getting a mobile phone even if they already have one, but it better be an expensive phone with all the bells and whistles. You can buy brand new mobile phones for as little as 2000 baht, but the boys seem to resent those rather than appreciate them. Just the other day someone was telling me he took a boy he liked shopping for a mobile phone. This boy had no phone at all. The "farang" was willing to buy a phone for him, but wasn't willing to spend more than a few thousand baht for it. It wasn't good enough for the boy. The boy wouldn't even accept it unless the phone had a built-in camera. They're not happy with a phone unless it at least has the camera and MP3 capability. Sheeeesh! I remember when the purpose of a phone was just to talk to someone who isn't with you. Today it has to almost be a way of life and personal entertainment center. If a boy has a phone, see if he goes as far as ten paces without it. Then try the impossible: getting him to at least turn it off during dinner or, better still, during intimate moments. How many of you were in the middle of a sexual encounter and then the boy's phone rang? I'll bet there was a slight "time out" while the boy actually answered the phone to talk to some friend of his. I wonder what the record is for how long a boy actually possesses the phone before he breaks it, loses it, or sells it. I have yet to see a boy have the same phone for more than four months.

I've said it before and I'll say it again . . . I don't make these things up: The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: _____ More Details Released for 80 Million Baht Vaseline Event on Jomtien Beach A further preparation meeting now from Pattaya City hall relating to an event which is due to take place on Jomtien Beach on 29th April. The event is called the

In my opinion, no, that wouldn't make sense. I would not agree that financial support should mean fidelity. The exception to that would be if he is living with you on a permanent basis. If you are his source of support and he is also living with you (which means that you are a permanent resident in Thailand), then yes, I think it would be reasonable to expect fidelity if, and only if, that was something both of you agreed to before he moved in. I also feel it is wrong to expect or even want absolute fidelity. If he wants sex once in a while with someone his own age, I see no reason to object to it as long as there are two stipulations. One is that he uses safe sex methods so that you don't wind up with a disease you don't want. The other is that I wouldn't want him to make a point of telling me about it.

For once I actually agree with EarWig, at least to some degree. That's the part about the deportment of the boys in the bars and the general atmosphere. I quite often post that I very rarely go to the bars at all anymore. One reason for that is boys looking bored out of their minds and virtually standing on the stage, at best doing their "one-knee-shuffle," staring at themselves in the mirror, and making almost no eye contact with the customers is not exactly my idea of whoopee. Ten years ago it wasn't like this. In most bars the go-go boys actually danced and appeared to be having a good time and really enjoying themselves. So did the customers. I've been in some bars lately where I almost wanted to ask, "Where can I view the remains?" If EarWig really can convince bar owners to bring back the type of fun atmosphere that used to exist, then I'm all for it. 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.

That's my whole point, Kregger. I really get annoyed with people who assert that these boys are nothing but prostitutes, as if that means they don't deserve to be paid full fare for their services and their lives have no meaning. Based on some of the posts I see whenever this subject comes up, I'm convinced that there is a significant number of "farang" out there who have convinced themselves that these boys exist purely for their own personal pleasure and that there is no reason to give them one baht more than they absolutely have to. That is what I am trying to argue against.

As of 10:30 AM, Thursday, the Ides of March, the exchange rates are as follows: US dollar: 34.82 Euro: 45.935 British Pound: 67.275 Australian dollar: 27.1975 Canadian dollar: 29.4775

I like Wowpow's post too. The area with which I disagree is the part about "Have different off fees for superstars, average and the less blessed." Not everyone has the same likes and dislikes. For example, many people are attracted to boys with a lot of muscle and definition. For others, that's exactly what makes a boy unattractive. Some people like a boy's "blessings" to be big and some people prefer them to be small or don't even care about size. Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I don't see how such a policy could work. I'm not so sure I like the idea of a small show every hour, though. It would be worth a try, I think, but I'm among the people who don't care for the shows at all. I'm there to watch the boys dancing (of course much of the dancing is the 'one-knee-shuffle'). When it's show time, that's when I usually leave. I like all the rest of his ideas, though. I especially like Wowpow's color-coding idea. Why didn't anyone ever think of that before? And clearly priced drinks too. Now that he mentions it, I can't think of any go-go bars that display drink prices.

If a boy stays with you overnight, then usually he goes home in the morning. Often, however, his customer likes him well enough to want him to stay with him that day, several days, or even for the duration of his holiday. When I said that calls for a new arrangement, it depends on what you and the boy are willing to do. You would be expected to pay his "off" fees at the bar if his stay with you will last into his working hours and expected to tip him for the time he spends with you. Some "farang" do things such as taking the boy to expensive restaurants, buying clothes for him, buying a mobile phone for him, etc, and they think that constitutes his tip. All of that is very nice if that's what one wants to do, but the boy still expects to receive his tip money for each day he's with you. After all, that's why he's with you. If you want him to stay with you for several days, I don't see anything wrong with making an arrangement with the boy, but let him know how much you are willing to pay and let him be the one who decides to accept or reject it. Only recently one boy I know spent ten days with a "farang." The "farang" treated him very nicely, taking him to expensive restaurants, to various shows, bought some clothes and shoes for him, etc. At the end of the ten days that "farang" gave the boy 500 baht, thinking he was being generous in light of all he had spent already. Meanwhile the boy had been expecting between 800 to 1000 baht per day. It was near the end of the month. While he had a good time with the "farang" he was left high and dry financially and couldn't pay his rent. The massage parlors are somewhat of a different story and the expectations are different from the expectations in the bars. Most of the gay massage parlors suggest 500 baht as a minimal tip for the boy, assuming the massage has a "happy ending." You ought to give the boy at least that much. If he was particularly good, then you might want to consider giving him a few hundred baht more.

I just loved this one. It's so typical. A problem exists. The problem is fixed. Now the situation is worse than it was in the first place. The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: _____ Soi Beokeow Community Complains to City Hall over Persistent Flooding Problems Khun Wirawat, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya received a group of residents and business owners from the Soi Beokeow Community who made a complaint regarding the state of the drainage system in the area and persistent problems with flooding which occur at the conclusion of every major rain storm that hits Pattaya. Recently the entire stretch of the road was resurfaced and new drainage pipes were installed. Since this work was completed the flooding problems have become worse. The group would like the Pattaya City Administration to take action and modify the existing pipes to ensure that the street does not suffer major disruptions during the forthcoming wet season months. Khun Wirawat promised to investigate the complaint without delay. __________ Where I live, about a year and a half ago both sides of the street were torn up to install a drainage ditch. My street is on an incline and we never had a flooding problem to begin with, but never mind. We never even know who authorized and paid for the work. But now we have our drainage ditch. Of course, the street was left in a condition that resembles a bombed out street in Baghdad and to this day has never been repaired, but by golly we've got our ditch!

Absolutely right. I think it is not only unreasonable to expect it, but it is unreasonable to even want him to do that. I can't think of any reason in the world why a young Thai man should be expected to deny himself a sex life, especially during the best years of his life and even more especially if the "farang" demanding it of him isn't even in Thailand.

That's right. It's in the eye of the beholder. In my eye, what I am beholding is a group of people who are coming up with every reason they can think of for paying far less than the going rate. I can only repeat what I've already said . . . these boys are the reason they come to Thailand and those same boys are the very people they're trying to use to save a few dollars. In my opinion, that really stinks. As for your question as to whether I think you are a cheapskate, the answer is no. I do not think you are a cheapskate at all. You asked them how much they want. They told you and you paid the price they asked. I see nothing wrong at all with that.

I believe it depends on the individuals involved in the relationship. If an open relationship is acceptable to both parties, that's fine. If it isn't, then the relationship won't be a happy one if one wants absolute fidelity and the other does not. Sometimes both parties want fidelity. I do believe it is unrealistic to expect someone in his late teens and early twenties to confine his fidelity to someone two to three times his age, especially if the "farang" is only in Thailand for short durations throughout the year. If the boy wants sex with others or if you want sex with others, and you are both willing to do that in a way in which both parties are comfortable, then the relationship has a much better chance of working in the long run. Regarding why some people don't mind the boy having sex with others as long as it does not involve another "farang," I see no reason why anyone should have to justify that feeling. If it makes the "farang" unhappy, it's going to make him unhappy whether he justifies it on a message board or not. If the boy having sex with other "farang" is something you cannot tolerate, then you're in the wrong relationship if that's what the boy wants to do. Whatever it is that makes both parties happy should be discussed, established, and agreed upon before entering into the relationship. Once you've done that, if you're lucky the boy might even adhere to what he has agreed to do.

Think whatever you want. You merit no apology from me and you won't get one. Old, yes. Fat, yes. Unwashed, no. If you can't figure out that I use that as a joke, then you've got a problem. I also did not say anything at all about how much you do or do not pay. I have no idea how much you pay. Whether you pay or not, and no matter how young and good looking you may be, if you "off" a boy then your age and looks do not equal "I don't have to pay as much as people who are older and don't look as good as me." I also appreciate your assertion that I'm trying to dictate to others what they should pay about as much as you appreciate my posts. I've already said that I'm not in a position to dictate anything to anyone. In the post directly above, we've got one person telling us we ought to be comparing how much to tip these boys to what people pay for food or whether they use their frequent flier miles. Sorry, but I don't buy any of that. To me, the bottom line is that these boys are the reason most gay "farang" come to Thailand at all. And yet we get post after post from people trying to justify giving them as little as possible. Personally, I do think that's cheap and I also think it really stinks. So yes, you're doggone right I'm going to say it's cheap. You, my friend, can think what you want and pay whatever you can get away with.

Trying to say I'm dictating how much you have to pay is absolutely ridiculous. I'm not in a position to dictate anything. If you want to be cheap, there's nothing much I can do about it, is there? You might at least admit that you want to get by with giving these boys as little as possible while satisfying you're own personal lust. Like I said, try any which way you want to try to justify it, but from where I sit it's nothing but giving yourself an excuse to be cheap and being proud of yourself for it.

The baht has appreciated once again and as of noon today the exchange rates are as follows: US dollar: 34.91 Euro: 45.925 British Pound: 67.21 Australian dollar: 27.1025 Canadian dollar: 29.5325

There are flights to Phuket from Bangkok every hour and several airlines have service between the two cities, so it should not be a problem for you. You also should not have to leave the main airport. Most domestic flights are still operating out of Suvarnabhumi.

Short time is when you and the boy go to your hotel room, take care of whatever it is you brought him there for, and then he leaves. Long-time is overnight. It's hard to be more precise about it. You don't determine his tip by clicking a stopwatch and timing how long he's been with you. If you go to breakfast, offer him breakfast too, for crying out loud. If he wants it. fine. If not, give him his money and send him on his way. If you want him to stick with you, that calls for a new arrangement. How much should you pay for a massage? If he comes to your room to give it to you, then I would think he ought to be paid the same amount you would pay for short time. If it is a boy you have "offed" and taken to your room, then if he gives you a massage along with everything else, and if it's a good one and lasts around a half hour or so, then I'd increase his tip by 200 baht. If it's just a short and sweet massage, then that's part of the "package" and I wouldn't see a need for a tip increase. Something that puzzles me, and I have written about this before, is that sex with these boys is the primary reason a great many "farang" come to Thailand in the first place, and yet many want to give these boys the least amount of money they can get away with. "Don't give him 1000 baht. Give him 600 or 700 baht," as if the few hundred extra baht is going to cause these people to go into bankruptcy. Meanwhile, these same people spend big bucks on the airfare, stay in hotels these boys could never afford, eat expensive dinners, drink as if Prohibition begins again the next day, but they get all bent out of shape if they think they're over-tipping these boys. To me, no matter how people try to justify it, it all boils down to being cheap.

Let's not forget that we're talking about Thai boys. I don't know why people are writing as if manipulation, lying and cheating is limited to Thai boys. I rarely have ever met any boy at all, Thai or otherwise, who doesn't do the same thing, and that probably includes most of us when we were that age. What did you expect? We even have so-called adults who post right on these message boards who sometimes are caught lying and cheating with the same immaturity. So, what's the big surprise about it?

To me, that says it all right there. Now he is calling you a liar too. Sounds like a true ingrate to me. Ask him if thinks he's going to get a better offer today. I would tell him you don't care much whether he thinks you're a liar or not. He's the one coming to you for money and you want to know how much it will cost. I would tell him you're not about to simply take his word for it. Tell him you're willing to get a neutral party to contact the hospital and ask. If that's not good enough for him, too bad. It's your money, not his, and you have every right in the world to decide how it is to be spent and every right in the world to check it out. If that bothers him, the I suggest telling him it's been nice knowing him, but he'll have to go elsewhere for cash.

Whichever version of the My Life story is correct, that's kind of secondary to what took place that night isn't it? Wowpow had it right when he said to carry your passport, or at least an acceptable copy, for the time being so that you won't end up having problems in case of another raid. That's what I'm doing and I rarely go to the bars in the first place. I can't guarantee it, of course, but I think if the end of the month comes without further raids, then it ought to be safe to leave your passport in your hotel room again.

There's a very simple solution to that: Find an orphan who is also an only child.

People say I'm a dirty old man. Damned right! And I'll be a dirty old man 'till I'm a dead old man. -- Redd Foxx