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That issue came up several months ago. You might recall there was a big to-do when the powers-that-be announced that bars would be closed if any staff members failed police drug tests. The bars raised holy hell about that because they said there is no way for them to be responsible for what their employees do when they're not working and it was far too expensive for them to test the employees on any kind of regular basis. I don't know what became of that, but obviously the police don't close the bars when employees test positive for drugs. However, the bars maintain that drug testing their employees is far too cost prohibitive.

I have, many times. Granted, at many airports you're on your own when it comes to claiming luggage, but I have indeed been to many at which they really do check your luggage tag against the stub in your ticket folder. In Thailand, however, I've never seen any kind of check at all.

That brings to mind another one that often happens to people, in keeping with Murphy's Law. You come to Thailand for a holiday and you finally find the perfect boy of your dreams . . . and it's the last full day of your holiday.

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ AoT Enlists Support to Tackle Airport Woes Police Cases will be Dealt with In-House Writer: AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK Published: 18/08/2009 Airports of Thailand Plc is calling on state security agencies to draw up new measures to deal with problems at Suvarnabhumi airport including baggage theft and alleged extortion of tourists. AoT president Serirat Prasutanond said the agencies were expected to come up with their proposals and submit them to AoT executives on Thursday. Mr Serirat yesterday met representatives from the police, customs and King Power, the operator of the duty-free complex at the airport, to discuss the problems dogging Suvarnabhumi. The meeting came on the heels of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's visit to the airport on Saturday to gather information first-hand on the troubles plaguing the airport. Foreign media outlets have reported in recent weeks on a number of foreign travellers being accused of shoplifting at the airport and held by police until they paid a bribe to secure their freedom. The airport is under the jurisdiction of Rachathewa police station. It was also reported tourists claimed to have been fined for breaking customs regulations for possessing more than one carton of cigarettes or one bottle of liquor. Mr Serirat said the proposed new guidelines would be forwarded to the Transport Ministry and the prime minister for approval. Mr Serirat said signs would probably be put up telling tourists when they are leaving the duty-free area and warning them to pay up for all items before leaving to avoid being arrested for shoplifting. He said a police office on the third floor would be renovated and equipped with the tools needed to facilitate police work so suspects would not have to leave the airport. Niran Thiranartsin, the airport director, said passengers were regularly fined for possessing more than the permitted amount of cigarettes and alcohol. In most cases, the cigarettes and alcohol were not purchased at the airport. Fines could be imposed if passengers were found in possession of more than the permitted amount. Mr Niran said customs and revenue authorities would have to come up with better regulations to deal with such cases. Pratheep Vijitho, the airport's deputy director for operations, said the two contracted operators handling passenger luggage at the airport would be required to employ better measures to prevent luggage thefts. The two are Thai Airways International and Bangkok Flight Services Co. More security cameras will be installed in the sorting area. He said the measures were expected to take effect on Sept 1.

I agree with much of your post, but I don't agree about this part. I don't see why you should feel that way or feel any guilt whatsoever. You gave the boy some money for his birthday, which was a very nice thing to do. But you're certainly neither responsible nor in control of what he did with the money. You can't even know what he did with the money. The fact that he was arrested doesn't mean that he took the money and bought ya ba with it. He may already have had the ya ba or some friend of his may have given it to him. For all you know, the money you gave him may have gone toward room rent, sending home to mama, buying clothes, or something else. You are in no way the cause of him ending up arrested. If he's on ya ba, he most likely would have ended up arrested whether you gave some money to him or not. These boys who are ya ba users manage to get it one way or another, even when they're flat broke. One of the worst aspects of the ya ba is the fact that these boys are under such peer pressure. If it wasn't for that, I believe most of them would have never touched the stuff in the first place.

That's one of the secrets about driving in Thailand. If you have a long car trip to make, then the dead of night is the best time if you want a good chance of avoiding the corrupt police road blocks. They don't seem to be very nocturnal. Also, when it's raining they don't seem to want to come out to play.

I think your theory is a little far fetched, but who knows? It could turn out to be that you are right. In any case, you're definitely right about the average 'punter' seeing only the friendly side of things. We don't often see the truly sinister side of it. We hear stories and rumors, but few of us ever really see it for ourselves.

Beats me. My eyebrows also raised at these numbers. I can't speak to the accuracy of the numbers, but obviously there were under-age employees, employees who failed the urine test, and arrests. I don't think the actual number is the important thing. I think the important thing is the fact that these things still go on, and if it's going on in one bar, then I'd say the odds are pretty good that it's going on in others. What bothers me the most is that some bars strive to make sure that none of this goes on, and when these things happen, it causes problems for the bars that are operating entirely legitimately. Once again, check those ID cards and watch your valuables. Ya ba costs money and obviously there are a number of boys who are users.

The following appears in PATTAYA ONE: for photos, see: http://www.pattayaone.net/news/2009/august/news_17_08_52.shtml _____ Underage Employees and Drug Takers Detained During Boy Bar Raid in Soi Sunee Plaza. Pattaya, August 17 [PATTAYA ONE NEWS] In the early hours of Monday Morning, Police Lieutenant Jumluk from Pattaya Police Station led a team of officers on a raid of the Villa Rouge Boys Nightclub located in Soi Sunee Plaza in South Pattaya, an area notorious for underage bar workers. Officers entered the premises and detained all employees and conducted a check on them. It was found that 23 employees were under the age of 18 and 35 employees failed urine tests, confirming the recent consumption of methamphetamine. Khun Duanggeow aged 50, the manager of the venue was arrested and he joined the other arrestees at Pattaya Police Station. The Manager was charged with employing staff under the age of 18 and the 35 employees who failed urine tests were charged with class 1 drug consumption offences. A full report of the incident will be sent to the Banglamung District Licensing Unit for their consideration.

Gay Men Attacked, Executed in Iraq, Rights Group Says BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Hundreds of gay men have been tortured and killed in Iraq in recent months, some by the nation's security forces, Human Rights Watch said Monday. Interviews with doctors indicate hundreds of men had been killed, but the exact number was unclear because of the stigma associated with homosexuality in Iraq, the New York-based watchdog group said in its report. "Iraq's leaders are supposed to defend all Iraqis, not abandon them to armed agents of hate," said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "Turning a blind eye to torture and murder threatens the rights and life of every Iraqi." Iraqi officials acknowledged that the nation's culture stigmatizes homosexuality, but said the government does not condone such attacks. Authorities are unable to provide homosexuals with special protection, said government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh. According to Human Rights Watch, which is urging a government crackdown, attackers target people on the streets or storm homes, where they conduct interrogations and demand names of suspected gay men. Many end up in hospitals and morgues, the organization said, basing its conclusion on reports from doctors. Men have been threatened with "honor killings" by relatives worried that their "unmanly behavior" will ruin the family's reputation, Human Rights Watch said. Killings, kidnappings and torture of those suspected of homosexual conduct have intensified in areas such as the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, the watchdog said. Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which is active in Sadr City, has joined in the attacks and defends its actions as a way to stop the "feminization" of Iraqi men, the report said. "We have testimony that indicates that the nation's security forces are taking part in the attacks," Long said. The group interviewed more than 50 people who gave accounts of abuses, beatings and stops at security checkpoints, he added. "These killings point to the continuing and lethal failure of Iraq's post-occupation authorities to establish the rule of law and protect their citizens," said Rasha Moumneh, Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch. A provision from the Saddam Hussein era endorses crimes committed "with honorable motives," according to the organization. The government spokesman said the provision was popular during the Saddam era, but is not used today. He added that there is a push to educate police about human rights. Attacks against civilians, including homosexuals, are not allowed, al-Dabbagh said.

Thank you. I haven't been on that bypass in years because it used to be very heavily trafficked with large trucks. I didn't know until your post that improvements have been made. I'll give it a try when I make my next trip from Pattaya to Bangkok.

I think the motorway. If you use the 'skyway,' which I refer to as the expressway, then you have to go through Si Racha and Chonburi to get there. At 3:00am it's no problem, but during the day, the traffic and traffic signal delays can take forever. The motorway has none of those. What I do is take the motorway until I pass the rest area. The second exit after the rest area takes you over to the 'skyway'. Getting to the 'skyway' from the motorway at that exit takes about three minutes. That saves a hell of a lot of time.

For what it's worth, my screen resolution is set to 1024 x 768 and works just fine.

Yep. Bumrungrad Hospital.

A very good point indeed. Here are some of my peeves, when they occur. Fortunately, most of these don't happen very often, but I'll bet many of you can relate to at least two or three of these: 1. When in the bar they're all over you, but in the sack they're duds. 2. When the very instant you ejaculate, they run to the shower. 3. When they tell you "I can do everything," but once you have them in private they do nothing and/or when you've requested something 'special,' they've agreed to it, and then won't do whatever it was you wanted. 4. When you get them to your room and they start giving you a price list for what they'll do. 5. When you get them to your room and they immediately turn on the TV and pay a hell of a lot more attention to that than they do to you. (pull out the plug just enough so that the TV won't come on, but it still looks plugged in. Then you can tell them the TV is broken) 6. When in the height of passion, their phone rings and they answer it, and even go into a lengthy conversation. Sometimes that happens repeatedly. 7. When it's perfectly obvious that all they want to do is get it over with, get their money, and get going. 8. When they've got to get drunk first. 9. When they cry and start telling you all about their family financial troubles and/or their former farang boyfriend who dumped them. 10. When they've injected their penises with some sort of concoction to enlarge them, and ended up instead with something grossly deformed.

Nearly 300 Illegal Taxi Drivers, Tour Guides Nabbed at Suvarnabhumi Airport BANGKOK, Aug 16 (TNA)

It's the same for me. I don't have any idea why gay_grampa's appears like that. If there is a way to get it to line up horizontally, rather than vertically, I can't find it. Better still, I don't even really know what that "0" icon is even for. It says "reputation." I don't know what reputation they're talking about or why it would even be important to anyone, but there it is. Voting on whether you like a post or not? I don't see how that would make any difference to anyone and very few people are using it. If that whole three-icon set could be removed entirely, I think that would be an improvement.

I'm almost afraid to try locking this topic and then unlocking it again, but here goes! If you find this topic locked, you'll know I still couldn't unlock it. _______________ Ok, I managed to unlock it, but I had to do it the hard way. I can click the Open Topic button, but I still get the same error. I can do it now, though, by going outside the thread and opening it from the main forum topic list. That's fine. As long as I can do it at all now, I'm happy. There you have it, folks . . . If you find a topic locked, you'll know I could have reopened it, but didn't.

GT reopened the thread. During the gathering after Allen's funeral I brought the problem to his attention. After he left he unlocked the thread. He thought I should also be able to unlock threads. I tried it on another thread, but I still can't unlock them. I can lock threads, but can't unlock them. The really strange part is neither of us know how this thread became locked in the first place. It takes more to lock a thread than accidentally hitting an icon. Neither of us locked it and I don't think and I don't think any other moderators locked it. He has been having problems with the people who do the board programming, to the point he said he had to get new programmers. But the new programmers so far haven't lifted a finger to try to fix these problems. It's not too much of a problem. As far as I know, this is the only thread that somehow unintentionally became locked. We don't normally lock threads in the first place unless we feel we have to, and then I don't recall a single instance in which we ever decided to unlock a thread after one of us had locked it. The problems and glitches are mainly on the moderator end. Most board users won't ever encounter these problems. For the average person posting, the board is working perfectly. But again, if anyone does encounter a problem please let us know. That way the programmers will fix it somewhere between now and the year 725916.

This thread is over three years old. Now that you've resurrected it, when reading through it I see that nothing has changed. People and governments may come and go, but Thai Logic goes on forever . . .

I agree. Many were Allen's former students, but even the vice president of Asian University and a dean from the university were there and spoke to the gathering about their time with Allen. I did not attend the hand washing ceremony the night before, but people who were there told me that even more Thais came and participated. Allen wanted his funeral to be a celebration of his life. He did not want it to be a sad occasion at all. Allen had even planned and paid for his funeral, and the gathering afterward, in advance. He wanted that gathering to be viewed as his final "meet-and-greet." I felt more as if Allen was hosting a party and he was the guest of honor. It wasn't so much that people were grieving about his death, but that they were happy about his life, how he had touched their lives, and how good it was to have been a part of his life and he a part of ours. That's the way he wanted it and he got his well deserved and well earned wish.

I just found something at the bottom of the main forum page, apparently for moderators, that says "OPEN TOPIC." I tried it. Here's the result I got: [#103119] You do not have permission to carry out that function. In other words, I can lock a topic, but I can't unlock a topic.

I locked the other board glitch thread to see if I could unlock it. Whatever you're seeing, I don't. I can't unlock that one either.

Apparently there are still some message board program glitches that need to be fixed, especially on the moderator side. For example, I see that the " Thinking outside the box" thread is locked. I didn't lock it. I don't think any of the other moderators locked it. I don't see anything in any of the posts that should have caused any of us to lock it. Usually, when one of us locks a thread we explain why or at least explain why to the other moderators. If nothing else, we normally at least post that we have locked the thread. None of those happened this time. I have no idea how it became locked. Even with my moderator status I can't get into it to unlock it. I tried, but no 'unlock' choice appears on the moderator options list. There are a few other glitches in place as well. If you encounter any problems, please let us know.

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Police plan response for UDD petition handover Writer: AEKARACH SATTABURUTH Published: 15/08/2009 Police are ready to secure the capital when Thaksin Shinawatra supporters file a petition for his pardon at the Royal Household Bureau and opponents gather at the nearby Supreme Court on Monday. Acting national police chief Wichien Pojphosri yesterday said he had discussed a security plan with the Bangkok police, the 1st Army, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Royal Household Bureau. He said an official of the Royal Household Bureau will wait at the Wiset Chaisri gate of the Grand Palace, the location of the bureau, and red shirt demonstrators will not be allowed through the gate to reach the bureau. Pol Gen Wichien asked demonstrators to maintain order and warned them not to approach the Grand Palace in huge numbers. Police will not block red shirt demonstrators from approaching the Grand Palace but will form a line to separate them from blue shirt protesters who are likely to show up at the adjacent Supreme Court. They will turn up to back veteran politician Newin Chidchob. A court verdict is due on the same day in the rubber sapling graft case in which he is implicated. Bangkok police chief Pol Lt Gen Worapong Chiewpreecha has asked the armed forces to have soldiers on standby in case Bangkok police seek their assistance on Monday. Red shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) said the Royal Household Bureau contacted his group to coordinate the submission of the petition and this contact proved people had the right to petition for a royal pardon for Thaksin. He said the bureau has allowed the UDD to increase the number of its representatives who will submit the petition, from eight to 15. Monks will be among those filing the petition. The document will be submitted at 1pm on Monday. Then the representatives will join over 100,000 red shirt demonstrators at Sanam Luang. There, Thaksin will phone in to thank the rally-goers for supporting the petition. The gathering is due to disperse by 3pm. The UDD had invited former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and some privy councillors and expected their response soon, he said. Afterwards, the UDD would turn to movements to oust the Abhisit Vejjajiva government, Mr Jatuporn said. Thaksin fled a two-year jail sentence last year handed down by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions for abusing his authority to help his wife Khunying Potjaman buy a state-owned land plot near Ratchadaphisek Road in 2003. ____________________ And this, from THE NATION: _____ ROYAL PARDON FOR THAKSIN Civil Service, Chula Oppose Petition By The Nation Published on August 15, 2009 Twenty-nine seniormost civil servants yesterday issued a statement opposing a Royal pardon for ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra and calling on the government to prevent a petition by the red shirts for such a pardon reaching the King. The statement said the petition was designed to involve the monarchy in the political struggle and that regardless of the Royal discretion to accept or reject the petition, doubts would remain about the impartiality of the monarchy because the idea of such a pardon had been turned into a political agenda. It is the duty of every citizen and of the civil service to keep the monarchy above politics, it said. The 29 cosigners, all at permanent-secretary level, pledged not to allow such a politically motivated petition to tarnish the integrity of the monarchy, as it would, they said, if it was allowed to be presented. The 5000-strong academic community of Chulalongkorn University yesterday circulated an open letter on much the same lines. It reminded Thaksin to abide by his oath of allegiance to the King and call off the petition before it was too late. "The petition for a Royal pardon is clearly being manipulated for political gain contrary to relevant law and established court precedent and is thus tantamount to politicising the monarchy," the statement said. If a Royal pardon is truly the objective, then Thaksin is well aware of his rights and the prescribed procedures for him to petition personally for clemency, it said. It went on to make the following points: * Instead of abiding by precedent on the issue, organisers of the petition have intentionally tried to have their own way. * Thaksin, mindful of his oath, should intervene and stop his followers breaking with tradition regarding the monarchy. * If organisers go ahead and file the petition, the government ought to make a decisive move to rectify the situation by rejecting the petition on grounds of illegality and inappropriateness before it reaches His Majesty. Acting police chief General Wichien Potposri chaired a high-level meeting to beef up security around the Royal Palace in light of the red-shirt rally to file the petition. Wichien said about 450 police would be deployed on Monday to keep the peace at the Sanam Luang rally site, the Royal Palace and the Supreme Court, where a graft verdict is scheduled in the rubber-sapling case. Most of the red shirts are expected to remain in Sanam Luang while some of their leaders march to the palace, where about 15 of them, including Veera Musigapong, will submit the petition. They will present the petition at the Viset Chaisri Gate, where officials of the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary will acknowledge its receipt. Thaksin is expected to make a phone-in on Monday to the red-shirt rally, organisers said yesterday. "Thaksin wants to thank his supporters," Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Prompan, one of the organisers, said. The red shirts will turn out in full force for the peaceful rally, Jatuporn said, adding that they would stay away from the blue shirts scheduled to rally at the nearby Supreme Court. He said the red shirts would not become involved in the handing down of the verdict on the rubber-sapling case, even though it involved their faction leader Newin Chidchob. Organisers have promised to disperse the crowds once the petition has been presented. Jatuporn said, however, that although the red shirts would out of respect for the King drop the issue of a Royal pardon after petitioning him, they planned to continue rallying against the government.