Gaybutton

Not too late at all. Your information is very helpful. Thank you for the post.

Thank you for that very helpful post. I haven't been to Cambodia yet. Sooner or later I'll go. I've saved a copy of your post. Do you happen to have links to those hotels, etc?

Would kids be able to purchase it during other hours? I've heard several versions of the reasons, none of which make much sense to me. The best part is you can't buy alcohol in grocery stores during those hours, but 7-Elevens sell it readily during those hours.

My stance on under-age sex has nothing to do with my argument. Yes, I am vehemently opposed to pedophiles, pedarasts, or whatever else one wishes to call it. I also consistently warn people of the consequences if caught engaging in under-age sex. But I am also opposed to misrepresentation of facts and attempts to frighten people about things that do not exist. Some people are trying to portray scenarios they are just conjuring up as if they do exist. Facts are facts, no matter what my personal stance happens to be. So, I'll repeat the facts: 1. No farang has ever been arrested for being a customer in a bar that employs under-age boys. 2. No farang has ever been arrested based on CCTV tapes in a bar. 3. No farang has ever been arrested as a result of taking a boy off from a bar. To the best of my knowledge, the only farang arrests for engaging in under-age sex have occurred when a farang picks up a boy off the streets or starts luring neighborhood boys. If I'm wrong about any of that, I'll be glad to eat my words as soon as someone can demonstrate that such arrests actually have occurred after all. People keep coming up with scenarios that simply never have happened and, so far, there is no indication those scenarios ever will happen. To me, it makes much more sense to talk about things that do happen rather than portraying things that could happen or don't happen as if they happen. Am I saying it's perfectly ok to throw caution to the wind? Not at all. I think people are nuts if they don't make damned sure about a boy's age before taking him off from a bar, picking him up at the beach, picking him up at a shopping center, picking him up from the streets, or picking him up from anywhere else. I also think people are nuts if they meet boys through personals sites such as Gay Romeo if they take the boy for sex without first making sure about his age. I don't believe in frightening people with a bunch of bullshit that never occurs. Alaan's post above is, to my mind, a perfect example of what can happen when people consistently post about things that never occur to the point that people begin to believe it. He expressed concern that he might be present in a bar when a police raid occurs and could end up arrested simply for being in there. Meanwhile, the fact is that no such arrest has ever occurred and there is no indication that such an arrest is ever likely to occur. As far as I know, the worst that has ever happened to a farang when caught up in a raid was a passport check, and that happened only once, and it wasn't even in Sunee Plaza.

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Booze Ban Delay Riles Activists Sanan Accused of Conflict of Interest Published: 25/03/2009 Anti-alcohol activists are demanding the removal of Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart as chairman of the National Committee for Alcohol Consumption Control, citing a conflict of interest. Maj-Gen Sanan on Monday decided to seek a Council of State ruling on the legality of a ban on alcohol sales during next month's Songkran festival. The move was seen by activists as a delaying tactic to prevent the ban from taking effect before the festival from April 13 to 15. The Alcohol Watch Network and its allies yesterday released a statement saying they wanted Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to take Maj-Gen Sanan's place on the committee. "Since the issue is so important and affects a lot of people, the prime minister needs to look into it himself," said Khamron Chudecha, coordinator of the network. "Moreover, under the United Nations' alcohol control guidelines, a person with a conflict of interest should not be allowed to take part in the policy-making process." Maj-Gen Sanan owns a vineyard in Phichit province that produces wine for sale under the Shala One brand. The cabinet yesterday decided to let the Council of State consider if the proposed ban, to be issued under the 2008 Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, was in conflict with the 253rd announcement of the 1972 coup leaders, which states that any regulation on alcohol sales must comply with this announcement. Mr Abhisit said the cabinet was concerned the two laws could be in contradiction. The cabinet would again consider the ban proposed by the Public Health Ministry at its next weekly meeting on Tuesday, he said. Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Senneam said the government was likely to ban liquor sales only on April 13, the first day of the Songkran holiday. He said cabinet members had different views on calls to impose a complete ban on alcohol sales during Songkran in a bid to reduce road accidents caused by drink driving. Imposing a one-day ban was seen as a reasonable alternative as road accident casualties were always high during long holidays, he said. However, it was feared the ban could seriously hurt the country's tourism industry. If that was not acceptable, the Interior Ministry could help minimise road accidents by asking disaster prevention volunteers and community leaders to set up road checkpoints to warn motorists against driving while under the influence of alcohol. The government must do whatever possible to bring down the number of annual Songkran fatalities from 300 to 400 killed to about 200, Mr Thaworn said. Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbodee yesterday denied the ban on alcohol sales was being delayed to favour liquor companies. Mr Manit said his ministry was pushing for the ban because a study showed that 80% of road accidents during long holidays were caused by drink driving. The ministry believed banning alcohol sales during such periods would help reduce road accidents.

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Anything is possible, especially if you're paranoid enough. But is it likely? Probable? For the sake of argument, let's suppose your scenario is exactly what happens and people get arrested in their home countries because they were caught on tape in a Thai bar that employs under-age boys. Do you have any evidence at all of this ever happening? Even one newspaper article supporting that theory? If you do, that's one thing. If you don't, then what's the problem? Can you explain to me how those same Australian police officers would know, by looking at those tapes, that the person seen in the bar is someone Australian? I have to admit that I didn't know a good method by which to determine someone's nationality is by looking at his image on a CCTV tape.

I can vouch for that. I know Jomtien well enough to know that he has absolutely no interest in under-age boys and under no circumstances would knowingly take such a boy off.

Not according to the IMDB movie database: "To avoid legal consequences, the crew delayed the filming of sexually explicit scenes until after actor David Kross' 18th birthday on July 4 2008."

Gentlemen, I'm putting the 'Whoa Nelly' on this right now. I think everyone here knows that there is no way I'm going to sit by and allow attacks to get started. In fairness lvdkeyes gets to respond to Bob's post if he so chooses. After that, please let's keep it civil so that I don't end up getting caught in the middle and wearing the black hat again if I lock the thread and/or start deleting posts. Fair enough?

Very simple. I'd discard him and I wouldn't give a damn about it.

Are they? I'm not so sure. I no of no arrests, hassles, questioning, or anything else as a result of those cameras. I think that's another example of creating a problem that simply does not exist. If anyone is ever arrested because of what is recorded on those cameras, that's when I'll agree with you. Again, the only time you have to worry is if you engage in sex with an under-age boy. As for the bars that hire under-age boys, I don't like it. I think it's wrong. I think a stop should be put to it. But the facts are the facts and one fact is there has never been an arrest of a farang in a bar who was simply there watching the go-go boys, having a boy sit with him, or even fondling the boy. Even the police seem to feel that it is not incumbent on a bar customer to check the age of the boy unless he takes the boy off. And, again, as far as I know there has never been an arrest of a farang when he took a boy off from a bar. Not ever.

The BANGKOK POST is running a poll: "Do you agree with Pope Benedict’s comment that the use of condoms could endanger public health and increase the problem of HIV/Aids?" You can see the results at: http://www.bangkokpost.com/poll/1293/oo

The Departed

I'm glad nobody thought I was talking about 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?'

Even if you don't care about a specific hotel, I can't imagine why anyone would avoid booking a hotel, at least for a night or two. For what reason would someone come to Thailand, a major long-haul trip, and then start looking around or a place to stay? What would someone write on his arrival documents when he gets to the part about his address in Thailand? 'Unknown?' 'I don't know?' 'Don't worry, I'll find something?' Book the room. You could always cancel the booking, but at least have somewhere definite to stay upon arrival.

That's not true. There is absolutely no reason to start making those kinds of assumptions or to create problems that don't exist. A person could easily be visiting Thai friends who happen to have children and could be doing nothing more sinister than taking one of their boys shopping for something. I've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for that. A farang married to a Thai wife, and their children have a complete Thai appearance, never seem to have any problems. A straight farang could have a Thai girlfriend or Thai wife who already has children of her own. You could have a Thai boyfriend and his brother or cousin or friend is visiting. To assume you could be arrested for merely having contact with an under-age Thai boy is ridiculous. You don't get in trouble for merely talking with an under-age boy or even being with an under-age boy. You get in trouble for engaging in sex with an under-age boy. I know of no farang who has ever been arrested for talking with or even being with an under-age boy unless there was sexual activity. You don't need to be making assumptions that any contact at all with under-age boys is going to lead to arrest. That's simply not true and it doesn't happen. The article says, "they had arrested Mr. Paul Dixon [45], a British national, for having sex with a Thai male under 15 years of age." It doesn't say he was arrested for talking with the boy. It says he was "arrested by a police team when he ventured into the area in the early hours of the morning and propositioned a young teenager for sex." It's much more likely that the police, whether Thai or Australian, had been after him for a while anyway. My guess is they were able to overhear him offering money to the boy for sex and/or he had actually handed money over to the boy. In any case, according to the article he had actually propositioned the boy. In any case, you're not going to get in trouble unless you engage in under-age sex. However, I do agree that you are definitely safe if you avoid being alone with an under-age boy.

It can't hurt to make a complaint, but I have a feeling it will fall on deaf ears. Considering that the material is neither illegal nor pornographic, I really don't need some homophobic, over-zealous customs official, probably less than half my age, deciding for me what I can and cannot read.

It just might be worth it to get the boy a computer. If you both have Skype you can talk for free any time you want, for as long as you want. That's how I talk with my family in the USA and the connection is almost always perfect and actually even more clear than using a telephone.

I agree. An excellent film. It's a true story too. Yes, a lot of people were disappointed that Gran Torino was not the typical Eastwood shoot-em-up, but I definitely enjoyed it. He is a hell of a good director now. I read somewhere that Gran Torino is the last movie in which he intends to appear as an actor. He wants to stick to directing from now on. From among all his shoot-em-up films, my favorite was always Joe Kidd. I couldn't keep up with the body count in that one. A lot of the recent movies have been very good. I just saw one that's a few years old and I hadn't see it before. Primal Fear. It's a Richard Gere movie. I thought it was very good, but unfortunately I figured out the ending. I would rather have been surprised. I think one of the reasons I liked Gran Torino is because I didn't figure out the ending. Well, let's not tell people how these movies end. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen them. I'll suffice it to say the butler didn't do it . . .

I guess there's not much you can do about it, but that really stinks. I know of nothing that has ever been in any issue that could be considered remotely pornographic or otherwise illegal. Just somebody at Customs who decided all by himself that you can't have that material. I always thought it was this sort of thing that the USA is supposed to be against.

Everyone has his own opinion. I thought both films were excellent.

How could anyone possibly know that? None of us have a crystal ball. We won't know until the time comes. All anyone can do is guess. As for booking ahead, that is always recommended. What reason would you have for not booking ahead?

Two great events if you're going to be here:

I've sent both mail and packages to the USA many times, from Thailand. I use the local mail services and also sometimes send directly from the post office. The most it ever took for mine to arrive was 8 days. Usually it gets there in 5 or 6 days. I have no idea why yours took so long, but based on my experience the fact that yours took so long is quite unusual.