Gaybutton

The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: _____ Six Injured in Marine Plaza Hotel Blaze in South Pattaya On Tuesday Night, Police and Fire Rescue Workers received an urgent call to attend the Marine Plaza Hotel located on the Pratamnuk Road in South Pattaya after hotel staff reported a fire on the fourth floor and persons trapped inside. Upon arrival, fire fighters were met with a scene of chaos as hotel guests, mostly of middle-eastern origin were leaving the hotel and shouting up to compatriots who were trapped on balconies. The fire took hold at around Midnight and according to Fire Investigators began in Room Number 431 on the fourth floor. Thick smoke left many trapped and in need of rescue and although no fatalities were reported, their were six residents who were taken away in Ambulances suffering from smoke inhalation. It took firefighters 1 hour to control the fire which caused widespread smoke damage covering three floors. Eventually Fire rescue workers managed to rescue those trapped on Balconies which left Police with the task of investigating the fire and ensuring that the fire was not deliberate. Room number 431, where the fire began, was occupied by Mr. Khalid Hamed Musaba aged 24 from Oman who was taken to Pattaya Police Station where he provided a statement claiming that the air conditioning unit in his room suddenly caught on fire as he slept. He woke up and quickly left the room. Police took him back to the room after the fire had been put out but were not convinced that the fire started at the Air Conditioning Unit as extensive damage to the surrounding area and minimal damage to the Unit suggested this may have not been the case. At Pattaya Police Station it was put to him that he may have been smoking in the room but he continually denied these allegations and stuck to his original story. Further investigations are taking place to determine the exact cause of the fire. For now, Mr. Musaba continues to help Police with their enquiries and the Hotel begins the clean-up operation to repair four rooms which have been completely destroyed and extensive smoke damage in more than 20 rooms.

Well, whenever it finally does open I'll give it a try. Naturally I'll be there only for the waters . . .

BANGKOK, Nov 15 (TNA) Thailand's central bank --The Bank of Thailand --should take stricter measures to oversee the movement of the baht, after the local currency appreciated to 36.39 to the US dollar, the strongest in almost eight years, on Tuesday, the Kasikorn Research Centre said Wednesday. The leading think tank reported although the central bank only recently came up with additional measures to curb speculation on the baht (early this month), Thailand's currency continued to strengthen. So, money dealers and market observers expected the bank would come up with new measures to more closely supervise the baht's stability. KRC believed the baht would probably continue to appreciate, and rapidly, particularly if the American economy slows down considerably. Under the circumstances, the Bank of Thailand is likely to -- and should -- take additional measures to maintain the stability of the baht. One measure is to reduce the policy interest rate. The strengthening of the baht stemmed in part from a foreign capital inflow into Asian countries including Thailand due to the weakening of the US dollar. Another reason behind the stronger baht is that local interest rates remain higher than those of most countries in the region. So, should the bank cut the policy interest rate, it would help narrow a gap between local interest rates and those of other countries. It would help ease the foreign capital inflow into the country to a certain extent. KRC conceded the implementation of the interest policy might neither help slow the foreign capital inflow nor ease the strengthening of the baht if foreign investors had confidence in the economic and political stability in Thailand. It suggested that added measures to be taken by the bank to oversee the baht not be too strict because it could affect foreign investor confidence. Kasikorn viewed the bank should gradually increase the degree of controls to curb speculation on the baht, such as controlling more kinds of business transactions and seeking cooperation from financial institutions to report information in detail and with greater caution. (TNA)-E005

I think that would depend on the circumstances of his home life. If you have not already done so, why not sit down with him and discuss what his needs really are and what his family will expect of him, assuming they know he "has a 'farang' and take it from there?

I have made contact and was told that the sauna will open at some point in December. It will not be ready before then and they hope it will be near the beginning of December.

I didn't know that either. I'm glad you posted that. I think you just saved a lot of people from the possibility of a big problem.

I'm sorry your birthday was spoiled. I hope the next one will be a happy one. I know this is no consolation, but if I knew I would have definitely wished you a happy birthday. In a way, it is a happy birthday. In your previous posts I had a feeling this relationship would not work out in the end. I'm sorry it didn't, but for your sake I'm glad you got out of it before you were completely trapped. It may be difficult now, but you'll quickly get over it and be able to move on with your life. That may turn out to be the true birthday gift. I agree with gonefishing. While mutual trust is very important in a relationship, asking to examine someone's bank account is not appropriate. You had mentioned that you were financing his education. I do think checking up on that is appropriate because you're the one who was paying for it. But a person's bank account is a completely different thing. In any case, I think you have learned not to rush into a relationship with anyone and not to be so generous with someone you hardly know.

Note from GB:: I had originally posted this message saying that this hotel is at Sunee Plaza. LetMeTellU pointed out that is not correct. I had the location wrong. I sincerely apologize for my error. The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Six foreign Tourists Injured in Pataya Hotel Fire Pattaya - Six foreign tourists were injured after a fire raged through a hotel in this seaside town late Monday night, police said. Police said the blaze broke out at a room on the fourth floor of the six-floor Marine Plaza Hotel at 20 minutes past midnight. Eight fire engines took about half an hour to control the fire. Three tourists were injured after falling from the building while climbing out to their room balcony to escape the fire. Three other became sick after inhaling smoke. Police have yet to determine the cause of the fire. The Nation

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ All Calm as Baht Nears 8-year High Exports Should be Only 'Slightly Affected' The baht climbed close to an eight-year high yesterday, but the government's financial chief saw little to fear in regard to Thailand's competitiveness. "The strong baht will slightly affect exports, but there is still no concern. I believe exports will continue to grow as they have done so far. Currency appreciation has been common in the region," Finance Minister and Deputy Premier MR Pridiyathorn Devakula said. The baht opened at 36.50/36.52 to the US dollar before climbing to the day's peak of 36.38, a level unseen for almost eight years. It closed at 36.40/36.42, breaking the key resistance level of 36.50. Investors have sold the dollar in offshore markets after several countries said they would diversify their international reserves rather than hold mainly greenbacks. Dealers said the baht would edge up almost every day and likely pass Bt36 by year's end. Pridiyathorn said it was not that the baht was that strong, but rather that the dollar had weakened. The central bank has already taken good care of the baht's value, he said. Exports will expand 11-12 per cent in value next year, he said. Kirida Bhaopichitr, an economist in the World Bank's office in Bangkok, said the baht would appreciate further next year by 1-1.50. Usara Wilaipich, senior economist at Standard Chartered Bank (Thai), believes the baht will top 36 this year and continue upwards until the middle of next year. Kirida also said the economy would grow 4.6 per cent next year, slightly higher than 4.5 per cent this year, due to a slowdown in exports and moderate pick-up in domestic demand. The economy is likely to grow 4.5 this year, the slowest pace among Southeast and East Asian countries, except Japan. She said the high oil price, slowdown in global trade and uncertainty surrounding the government's policies could threaten the economy next year. Although the oil price has retracted, it remains high and is expected to average US$60 (Bt2,200) per barrel. The global economic slowdown, with growth of only 3.3 per cent predicted for next year, should cause world trade volume to improve 7.3 per cent. Private investment next year is likely to increase only 5 per cent, compared with 4.6 per cent this year, because business confidence has not fully recovered, due to high production costs. Kirida said investors, particularly foreign investors, had become more cautious and postponed their investment decisions until the government's policies became clearer. The Business Sentiment Index of Japanese companies operating in Thailand, put out by the Japan External Trade Organisation, has been in negative territory since May and declined last month. The Board of Investment saw net applications by foreign firms and joint ventures for the first 10 months of the year drop by half from the same period last year, to Bt260.4 billion. Kirida said public investment was expected to accelerate next year, due to the 11-per-cent increase in the central government's investment budget and 4.5-per-cent hike in state-enterprise investment for fiscal 2007. But next year's mega-project investment will be Bt366.1 billion lower than planned. Aberdeen Asset Management deputy CEO Robert Penaloza said most foreign investors felt more conformable going forward after key ministers explained the government's economic policies during their road show last week. Aberdeen is still overweight in the Thai market, with $1.6 billion worth of investments earning an average annual return of 14-15 per cent. From next Monday to December 1, his company will introduce the open-ended Aberdeen European Growth Fund. Anoma Srisukkasem, Somruedi Banchongduang The Nation

At my age I'm envious of a stiff wind.

It seems as if several people are interested in obtaining the Thai driver's license. There have been several requests for my article about how to get the license. If enough people are interested, I will be glad to set up a mutually acceptable date on which I will meet with a group of people who want the license and personally walk you through the whole thing, from start to finish, including helping you get the documents you need at the Immigration police office and taking you to the driver's license bureau to complete the process. The Pattaya Expats Club also has days set aside for people who who want the license. If anyone is interested in that, please send an E-mail to me at gaybutton@gmail.com .

Isn't that just terrible? How dare this board support gay venues in Thailand! Since the complainers choose to voice those complaints on other boards, and not this board, then I see no reason to pay them any attention at all. As I've said, no matter what a board owner does, somebody won't like what he does. Tough luck. If they don't like it, they don't have to read it. Many people do like seeing the advertising. It lets them know what's going on, and where and when. Most of the threads that contain ads are quite clearly titled. Those who don't want to read the ads can bypass those threads. Those that do want to read them can do so. I fail to see a big problem in that. Sometimes I think people complain only because they enjoy having something to complain about. You can bet that if this board hosted no ads at all, those same people would find something else to complain about. They probably will anyway.

The last time I spoke with Punya, about three weeks ago, he said that he is hoping to open by the end of November. That, he said, depends on whether the workers complete their tasks on schedule. He said Thai people have just as many problems getting quality, on-schedule work completed as "farang" do. Perhaps someone else has spoken with Punya more recently.

That depends on the family. I'll never forget when my grandmother passed away. The family vultures were at her house arguing over who gets what even before the funeral.

I don't understand any better than you or anyone else, but if I've learned nothing else through observations of what the currencies actually do compared to the predictions, it's that it seems nobody is ever able to accurately predict anything.

BANGKOK, Nov 14 (TNA) Thailand's baht currency unit appreciated to plateau at 36.39 to the US dollar Tuesday morning, its strongest in eight years, boosted by a dumping of the greenback and a capital inflow into the Thai bond market, according to a Bangkok money dealer. Pattaravadee Chinkulkitniwat, the money dealer of Kasikornbank Plc, said the baht had continued to strengthened in the same direction with the Japanese yen, which appreciated to 118 from 117.55 to the US dollar since the economy expanded more than expected. The strengthening of the Thai currency also stemmed from capital inflow into the bond market in large amounts. The next scheduled support levels of the baht is 36.30, 36.20, and 36 to the US dollar. "Today, the baht has appreciated in the same direction with other regional currencies including the Philippine peso, Singapore dollar, Taiwan dollar and South Korean won, which is the strongest in nine years," Ms. Pattaravadee said. However, she said, the Bank of Thailand would not remain passive in response to the current baht movement because the currency had appreciated too rapidly. The central bank had closely monitored the baht' s movement in the past. So, she believed it would come up with a measure to curb the stronger baht. Under the current circumstances, Ms. Pattaravadee said, she wanted exporters to count on financial tools such as forward or spot contracts to hedge against the currency exchange rate volatility. (TNA)-E005

For something as important and complex as this, the last thing I would even think of doing is listening to the advice of the "message board attorneys." I would recommend consulting an attorney both in your home country and in Thailand and let them be the ones who tell you how best to handle it.

It's hard to say which one is best. That is a matter of individual preference. However, whichever of the two, or any other Thanksgiving dinners around town, if you do not already have your reservations I suggest making them as soon as possible. These dinners get booked very quickly and the longer you wait the harder it will be to find one with space still available.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) Actor Jack Palance, who won an Oscar with his comedic self-parody in 1991's "City Slickers," died Friday. He was 87, said spokesman Dick Guttman, and died of natural causes in his home in Montecito, California, surrounded by his family. Known for hard, grizzled roles in numerous Westerns during his six-decade career, Palance gained a second wind of fame when he won the best supporting actor Oscar for playing Curly in "City Slickers." The actor clutched his Oscar in one hand and dropped to the ground for a round of vigorous one-handed push-ups. The Academy Awards crowd laughed and applauded as he said, "That's nothing, really. As far as two-handed push-ups, you can do that all night, and it doesn't make a difference whether she's there or not." It was a magic moment that epitomized the actor's 40 years in films. Always the iconoclast, Palance had scorned most of his movie roles. "Most of the stuff I do is garbage," he once told a reporter, adding that most of the directors he worked with were incompetent, too. "Most of them shouldn't even be directing traffic," he said. Palance was born Vladimir Palaniuk in Pennsylvania. His family was Ukrainian and his father was a coal miner. He was a professional heavyweight boxer in the early 1940s, but his career in the ring was halted by a stint in the military. Palance was wounded in World War II and received a Purple Heart. His acting break came after the war as Marlon Brando's understudy in "Streetcar Named Desire." He replaced Brando on stage as Stanley Kowalski, a working class construction worker with a fierce temper in Tennessee Williams' classic play. According to the Internet Movie Database, Brando asked the actor if he would work with him on a punching bag but wound up with a sore nose when Palance missed the bag and hit the superstar. Palance's portrayal of Kowalski earned him a contract with 20th Century Fox, the IMDB says. He went on to positive reviews in a film career that included "Young Guns" in 1988 and "Batman" in 1989. Palance also made guest appearances on numerous television shows, such as "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour," "Playhouse 90" and "Your Show of Shows." Palance was nominated for an Academy Award in 1952 after portraying the ardent lover who stalks a terrified Joan Crawford in "Sudden Fear." In 1953, the Academy nominated him again for his role as Jack Wilson, the swaggering gunslinger who bullies peace-loving Alan Ladd into a barroom duel in the Western classic "Shane." Palance also won an Emmy Award, for a role on "Playhouse 90," in 1957. He is survived by his wife, Elaine Rogers; two children by his first wife, Holly Palance and Brook Palance Wilding; his brother, John; sister, Anne Despiva; and three grandchildren.

I don't know, but I am guessing that the answer is yes. Tom, the manager, told me the reason they were not yet able to take credit cards was because of Thai banking regulations. A business has to be established for a full month before it is eligible to accept credit cards. It has been more than a month now, so they probably do take credit cards. Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask before making the assumption unless someone can confirm the whether they do or not.

I haven't seen them yet, but something I have been wondering about is what became of the city buses? Remember those? The red, green, and yellow lines, or whatever the colors were at 30 baht a ride. Has anyone seen any of them lately? I haven't spotted any in quite some time. Either I'm blind or they have simply disappeared.

As "Fuji," from McHale's Navy would have said, "Oy vey!"

Well, Ear Wig, I'm still waiting for you to answer my question about where you are getting your percentages from. After all, on another thread you wrote, "Everdentally the good heart is there, its just that you have a hard out side, protecting a soft inner shell, I dont assume anything, I have documented proof. I can always prove what I write, even though some of the articles have seemed to be pure fantasy to be always in the future true, even the last post you deleted which is the Gaythailands prerogative and I respect that." Those are your words, aren't they? Ok, you don't assume anything. You have documented proof. You also can always prove what you write. So, prove it. After all, we wouldn't want the super star of the Internet to come across as full of baloney and less than credible, would we?

I advise seeing a Thai attorney quite often and when it comes to wills, if you are living in Thailand I advise the same thing. Even if most of your assets are in another country, it still is advisable to see a Thai attorney and perhaps make a Thai will or at least make sure as to what kinds of complications your beneficiary might have to deal with in order to receive your bequest. Also, life insurance policies are available in Thailand. You might want to check into that. Something else to consider is the way assets will be doled out. As so many of you know, the typical Thai boys, even when they get into their 30's, 40's and so on, still have absolutely no concept of saving money. I have heard stories several times about "farang" who left virtual fortunes to the boyfriends and within a year the boyfriends were broke again. They went right through the money, as usual, despite the fact that it was huge sums of money. You might want to consider setting up a monthly allotment.

BANGKOK, Nov 11 (TNA) Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra--now staying in Beijing--has no plan to return to Thailand until the overall situation returns to normal, his legal advisor said Saturday. Noppadol Pattama said he had talked to Mr. Thaksin by telephone and that the ex-premier told him he did not intend to sneak into the country, but would fly to Bangkok and disembark at Suvarnabhumi airport in a dignified manner if he returns. Mr. Thaksin, toppled in a bloodless coup on September 19 while he was attending a United Nations meeting in New York, had given much attention to building the airport before its recent opening. He said he would prefer to step down at the airport rather than sneaking into the country secretly, Mr. Noppadol said. Rumours spread earlier that Mr. Thaksin would make his way into Thailand secretly, overland via China, or crossing into Thailand from a river in Myanmar, but these rumours were unfounded, he reportedly told his legal advisor. As a Thai citizen, Mr. Thaksin can return to this country any time he likes, but he has decided not to until the situation in the country returns to normal, Mr. Noppadol said. He asked people who had spread such rumours to stop doing so for the sake of reconciliation among people in the country. When asked whether there is a possibility that the former prime minister would return after the end of martial law, Mr. Noppadol said he believed normalcy in the situation was the key factor. He said Mr. Thaksin had told him that it was unnecessary to create unrest by using pressure in a democratic country and that he would quit politics as his family also wants him to spend more time with the family. (TNA)-E111