Gaybutton

John Walker Lindh comes to mind. Remember him? The 'American Taliban' who was caught fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan. He was a natural born citizen. On the other hand, since Arnold Schwartzenegger was mentioned, his politics might be controversial, but I don't think there is any doubt about his loyalties. He is not a natural born citizen. He can be governor of a state, but is ineligible to run for President. That's why I think retaining the natural born citizen rule is nonsense in this day and age. I also think the electoral college system for presidential elections is nonsense in this day and age, but passing amendments to the Constitution is extremely difficult to do. If either of those rules are ever changed, I wouldn't bet on any of us living long enough to see that day come.

It only matters because the USA Constitution says it matters: "No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States." I agree with you in that retaining this law is a little ridiculous in this day and age, but unless and until an amendment to the Constitution is passed, then like it or not, that's the law.

Send a PM to tdperhs. He stayed there quite recently.

An announcement has been posted on the Gay Ting & Tong Forum that Gwm4asian has passed away. See: http://www.gaytingtong.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7903 I am shocked and quite upset about this. Many of us knew him (photos are on the post) and he was one of the most likeable and charitable people I've ever met. He also did an enormous amount of work for Pattaya Street Kids ( http://www.pattayastreetkids.org ). I would recommend a donation to Pattaya Street Kids, if you wish, in honor of him. He would be most pleased with that. My condolences to his friends and family. I will really miss him.

I'm sorry about that. I have no idea what the problem could be, especially since I have not received any reports about anyone else having problems getting to the board. The only other thing I can think of for you to try would be to enter with use of a proxy server.

That brings to mind another potential problem. There is a risk that Immigration will refuse to grant extensions. While that is unlikely to occur, it is still a possibility. Immigration is under no obligation to grant extensions at all. In most cases they do without any problems, but I do know of people who applied for extensions and were refused.

I don't have any idea if this would work, but see if you can find out whether, during the last month of the triple entry visa, instead of doing something like an extension or a visa run to Cambodia or Laos, getting a reentry permit from Immigration and then going to Cambodia or Laos would extend the validity of your visa upon return to Thailand. Other than that, I can't think of anything else to try.

I haven't had any problems and no one else has said anything about a problem. Usually when things like that occur, a few hours later it's fine. Give it another try. Just in case, maybe you were entering the URL incorrectly. Here it is. You can either copy and paste it, or just click on it and bookmark it if it comes up: http://www.gaybuttonthai.com

Since apparently you wish to contact him for legitimate medical purposes, I'm not so heartless that I would deny it to you. I won't give out someone's Email address without his permission to do so, but if you want to send him a PM, I'll make an exception and give you another chance on my board if you want it. If you choose to re-register, I'll approve it.

If the rules have changed, I was not aware of it. If 8 months is the best you can get, there may not be a way around that if you wish to stay longer. I think your best move would be to get the best visa you can obtain, and then once you are in Thailand talk to Immigration and see if there is anything they can do for you. Also, it seems that different Immigration offices have their own perceptions of the rules. If you don't get anywhere at one Immigration office, I would try one or two others before giving up.

The one directly in front of Tui's and the two next ones to the right, as you face the beach, are in my opinion the best ones. Most boys who go to the beach seem to pick any of those three. The concession at Rit's Beach seems to be the most popular among English speaking farang, but if you're looking for boys, any of those three will do. If boys show up, but the ones you like are sitting at a different concession, you can always move or just go over and start chatting with the boy you like. If you invite him to come and sit with you, chances are very good he will be quite willing.

Despite the decline in numbers of boys frequenting the beach, the beach is still where I would start out. If boys are going to show up, the best time to be there is between about 1:30 to 3:00pm. When the boys go to the beach, most usually go to the concessions starting in front of Tui's and then the next three or four concessions to the right. After that, there usually aren't so many, but still definitely worth a look. Stroll along the beach or walkway from Tui's up as far as Rabbit Resort. If you make it as far as Rabbit Resort and still haven't spotted anyone interesting, make a U-turn and stroll back. Quite often more boys have shown up by then. While the beach is definitely not what it used to be, regarding numbers of boys, it's still hit or miss. Some days there are plenty of boys and some days there are none at all. You never know, which is why if it were me, I'd start at the beach. The Bamboo bar is a host bar. They're open during the day and boys will be there. In Jomtien Complex, you might try your luck at Question Mark and Two Faces. Ganymede is a likely spot. They're open during the day and they also have a nice sauna. You might also try the spots next to Dick's Cafe. Boys are there during the day. A little further up the road, toward town, there's the Sansuk Sauna.

Is there any particular reason why this was posted here four times today?

Are you kidding? When I went to school, they didn't even have History yet . . .

I got the others easily, but I have to admit the 1000 plus 40 question took awhile. I kept getting 5000 too, but I finally figured it out. Luckily, I'm a little beyond the age at which I would give a damn what my SAT score would be . . .

Don't worry about that. No matter how long it takes for you to get a new passport, Thailand and the boys will all still be here.

I would think twice about trying to get an education visa unless you intend to attend classes and really get that education. To do otherwise would be attempting to circumvent the system. If you were to get caught doing that, it would not only be the end of being able to stay in Thailand, but could easily affect your ability to obtain visas in the future. If you believe Immigration officials were born yesterday and don't realize that some people make that sort of attempt and/or they wouldn't check, you might be making a serious mistake. I would not recommend following advice from people who are trying to tell you to attempt to circumvent the system. If you are going to obtain a visa, obtain it legitimately. I said from the outset not to try to come up with bizarre ideas for trying to stay in Thailand for a year. I hope, for your sake, you adhere to that advice. I don't think playing games with Immigration is a good idea. You can bet if you were ever to be caught, Immigration wouldn't play any games. It's too great a risk unless you intend to use an education visa legitimately. Using a visa under false pretenses can easily lead to serious consequences. It would be a felonious criminal act and Immigration would take it very seriously. So would the Thai courts. My advice: Use only a visa you obtain legitimately. If you can't get the visa you want legitimately, then change your plans, but don't try to use a visa under false pretenses.

I think several of you missed Steve1903's last post in which he said he is still under 50 years old. That means he is not eligible for the retirement visa. I really don't know how you can manage to legally stay in Thailand beyond 180 days without a one-year visa. Steve1903, I recall that you live in the UK. I think the best thing for you to do, since you won't be able to get the retirement visa, is to consult the Thai embassy, and better still with a personal visit if you can, explain what you want to do, and see what they recommend. If you can prove you will have enough money to live in Thailand for that length of time, they might be able to do something for you. You may have to face the idea of altering your plans. You might have to opt for 180 days instead of a full year. That's a good long time anyway and you would either have more money available to spend or you could return the following year for another stay. But as far as being able to stay for a full year without the retirement visa, if that can be done I really don't know how. One thing I would not do is to even consider trying any bizarre schemes to stay a full year. Keep everything on the up-and-up. I remember when you were here the first time, when it was getting close to the time for you to have to return home, you sadly said you doubt you will ever be able to return to Thailand, at least not for the foreseeable future. Now you are going to be able to return after all. If a full year cannot be managed, considering there was a time you thought you could never return, be happy with six months if that's the max that can be granted.

I agree with the above. If you are going to stay for a year you definitely should try for the retirement visa. If you do not already have a Thai bank account, I suggest obtaining the visa in your home country. One of the requirements for obtaining the retirement visa within Thailand is a Thai bank account. Those are hard to get now without a non-immigrant visa. However, there is no requirement to hold a Thai bank account if you're obtaining the retirement visa outside of Thailand. Once you have a retirement visa, in order to open a Thai bank account, all you have to do is simply walk into a bank and easily open an account. I recommend doing that and putting as much money as you can into the account. If you use an ATM card from your home country, you're going to pay a 150 baht fee every time you withdraw money plus whatever fees your home country bank charges. With a Thai bank account, if you withdraw money from one of their ATMs there is no fee. If you withdraw money from an ATM from a different Thai bank, the fee is only 20 baht. Also, if your debit card is lost or stolen, it's simple to replace it. If the card from your home country is lost or stolen, you're in for a real hassle trying to get a new one, not to mention the length of time you will have to wait for a new card to arrive before being able to withdraw money again. I also recommend renting a condo. You'll pay about half of what you would pay in a hotel. Even in Pattaya there are condos to be found at prices of 15,000 baht per month and even less. If you want to live even less expensively, you can rent an inexpensive furnished apartment at prices as low as 3000 to 5000 baht per month. If you're not expecting luxury living, some of those apartments are not bad at all. In recent years many new apartment buildings have been built, but they're having trouble getting tenants. You might be able to find a very good bargain. If you have not made accommodation arrangements before you come, I would suggest staying at a hotel for your first week or two and spend time looking around for bargain accommodations. Also, many farang are living here on a tight budget. You might get accommodation suggestions from some of them if they're reading this thread. You'll also meet people once you're here who can help you. The two main things for you are a one-year visa and inexpensive accommodations. To stay for a year, you're going to need a one-year visa. Rules have changed around here and Thailand has made it very difficult to stay longer than 180 days per year without a one-year visa. The days of simply being able to do visa runs as many times as you want are now history. And don't forget - if you're staying long-term you are required to file an address report with Immigration every 90 days. That's free and simple to do.

Thank you very much Steve1903 and xiandarkthorne. It's very nice to see posts like yours for a change instead of the usual "I hate GB" posts. xiandarkthorne, what makes you believe I would think a photo of you would be a gag gift? I already have plans to have it framed and placed with my beloved nude photos of Ernest Borgnine and Doodles Weaver. I've been trying to get Michael (formerly GT) to pose for one, but so far he insists I don't deserve to be so intensely aroused . . .

"A teen comedy about a group of high-school students who form a band even though they

"You know what I do when somebody offers to buy me a drink? I say, 'No thanks, but can I have the money instead?'" - George Carlin

Excellent! 1/5 of a pitcher of Corner Bar's apple martinis would suit me just fine . . .

Goody, goody, goody! And my prize is . . . ?

2. Of which movie did its director say?