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The following appears in THE NATION: _____ ATMs to Get Security Boost Published on March 16, 2009 Banks Act as Fraudsters Shake Confidence; Bt100m Stolen Is it really safe to use an automated teller machine? Probably not. According to police data, ATM fraud has caused an estimated Bt100 million in damage so far, with the latest case earlier this month seeing multiple victims in Chumphon losing Bt3 million. To stem the rash of thefts, banks are quickly spending on reinforcing ATM security to restore customer confidence. But cardholders also have the responsibility to protect their own accounts. Imagine this: As you withdraw cash from a rigged ATM, an electronic data-skimming device already inserted inside the card slot by thieves steals personal information from your card. Simultaneously, a tiny spy camera hidden somewhere inside the ATM booth watches as you punch in your personal identification number (PIN) on the keypad. Then, the fraudsters only need to produce a counterfeit ATM card and drain your account with your own PIN. Experts say the older models - still making up about 20 per cent of the nationwide ATM base - are more vulnerable to data skimming than the new types. Of the 30,000 ATMs deployed countrywide, 60-70 per cent already have anti-skimming devices installed costing Bt4,000-Bt7,000 each. The remaining unsafe units will soon be similarly equipped. According to the Thai Bankers' Association, all member banks should complete ATM security measures by June, while old ATMs, which do not support anti-skimming devices, must be replaced or fully upgraded. Member banks failing to comply with the deadline will have to take responsibility for any financial losses caused by skimming. Phole Dhanashoti, presi-dent of the ATM Services Business Club, said yesterday every bank should be able to meet the deadline as it takes only two to three months to finish fitting devices. Yongyuth Pisiviloth, senior vice president of Siam City Bank (SCIB), a member of the ATM club, said his bank had completed anti-skimming equipment installation for 70-80 per cent of its 1,600 ATMs. Besides the anti-skimming devices, banks also need to install closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) at every ATM to act as a deterrent by capturing images of fraud perpetrators. It still remains undecided if banks operating ATMs will have to shoulder the financial responsibility for data skimming at their units as issuing banks are currently liable for customer compensation. Prasarn Trairatvorakul, president of Kasikornbank, admitted that his bank had to reimburse customers even though the crime was committed at another bank's ATM. "We need to install anti-skimming equipment at every ATM to be effective," Prasarn said. Soon, banks will have to upgrade their magnetic-stripe ATM cards into chip-embedded versions to make data stealing harder, to stay one step ahead of the criminals. Monitoring abnormal transactions is another method to deal with the conmen, said Luecha Sukrasebya, executive vice president of TMB Bank. But the best way is probably to increase customer awareness of the danger, with emphasis on cardholders keeping their PINs a secret. A Bank of Thailand source said one of the safety guidelines is to install surveillance cameras at all ATMs, particularly those located in risky areas.

Be that as it may, that seems like the logical place to start trying to track him down. If they still know how to contact him, I wouldn't expect them to just hand over his information, but they might be willing to contact him for you, let him know you're trying to find him, and give him your contact information. Then it would be his decision if he wants to contact you. It it was me, I would go to their office if they even have one. Quite often in Thailand, a little "persuasion" money changing hands helps considerably. Anyway, that's a lead and it's more than you had when you first posted your request for help finding him. If they don't have information about him, maybe one of the boys who still makes films for them knows him. If nothing else, they might have his hometown address. The bar where you met him might also have it. If you can't find him, maybe a little trip to his family home might produce the desired results. If nothing else, I have no idea how much a detective costs in Thailand, but it would seem to me a Thai detective wouldn't have much of problem at all tracking him down. No matter how you do it, knowing the way things work in Thailand, if you've got the money to spend doing it, then one way or another you're going to find him.

Maybe it's just in Thailand, but when I click on that link I get: _____ Forbidden You don't have permission to access / on this server. Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an Error Document to handle the request. _____ I did a Google search for Island Caprice videos and several other sites came up. These links worked, although I didn't spend any time searching for that particular young gentleman: http://vod.penisbot.com/studio/2364/Island...305&ct=2644 http://www.gayasianshop.com/site/result.asp?std=329 Several more web sites appear and work just fine on a Google search, but the Island Caprice site gives me the error shown above.

I received it. I'll be happy to meet with you when you're here.

Not long ago someone on the Gay Ting & Tong board was trying to track down a young man. On that thread I posted some suggestions. Here is a re-post of the significant portion of that post. Maybe it will help. By the way, on that thread somebody did recognize him and the person looking for him was able to get the contact information: _____ He doesn't look like a boy I've ever seen in Pattaya. If he's Thai, he might be a Bangkok bar boy, if he's a bar boy at all. You might also try looking at some of the gay personals sites to see if he's advertising himself. I don't know if this would be a good idea. I can certainly see why this might be a very poor idea, but I've seen it done. You could take his photos, place them on various gay personals sites, use "Does Anybody Know Me?", or something like that, as the screen name, explain in the profile that you are not him, but are trying to find him, and maybe somebody will respond or maybe he'll respond himself if he finds out about it. The problem would be in using someone's photos without permission, but since these photos are already on the Internet anyway, maybe that wouldn't be much of an issue at all. Some gay personals sites are totally written in Thai. You could get a Thai person to search those sites and/or place "Does Anybody Know Me?" ads in Thai for you. Outside of that, the only thing I can think of to personally try would be, next time you're in Thailand, take copies of the photos to different bars. If you're lucky, maybe one of the bar boys or mama-sans knows who he is and how to contact him. If you're really willing to spend money to find him, you could always try hiring a Thai private detective.

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Ping-Pong Bomb Thrown at Suthep by Reds on Visit to Pathum Thani Published on March 15, 2009 Protesters Burn Abhisit, Suthep in Effigy Outside Meeting Venue Anti-government protesters yesterday threw a small, home-made bomb at Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban's motorcade, injuring a cameraman for the NBT station at the College of Local Administration in Pathum Thani. About 500 red-shirt protesters gathered at the college in the morning burning effigies of Suthep and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as Suthep was to hold a meeting with local leaders of Pathum Thani. They chanted and booed the Abhisit government. When Suthep's motorcade arrived, they threw eggs at his car and hit a Channel 5 cameraman. After the meeting, as Suthep was leaving the college in his car, the protesters threw eggs, shoes, water bottles and a home-made explosive device known as a "ping-pong bomb" at his car. The explosion injured Chatchai Gaybui, a cameraman for NBT, in the stomach, drawing blood. A staffer of the college was also assaulted. Suthep ordered police to bring the culprits to justice but did not issue a deadline, saying police did their duty well in the face of malicious acts. "Police reported that there was evidence that the red-shirt protesters were responsible for the violence. Peaceful protest is all right, but throwing objects and bombs is illegal. No one minded them booing. I condemn the act because it tarnishes the country's image,'' he said. Suthep said he would arrive in Surat Thani on an official inspection today and would face any public resistance in any area. Meanwhile Social Development Minister Issara Somchai met with resistance from red-shirt protesters in Si Sa Ket. Issara was explaining policy to permanent officials and local leaders in the province about special allowances to seniors while the protesters accused the Abhisit administration of snatching power from an elected government. The protest did not turn violent as police kept tight security. Issara said he was neither afraid nor worried because he had expected such an incident. "It is a political phenomenon, and they have freedom of expression in a democratic system as long as they don't throw things and hurt people,'' he said. He said he had told officials not to break up the red-shirt protest but to prevent it turning violent.

Ok, have it your way. Accidents are caused by people out there who wanted it to happen. Do you plan to respond to my statement about someone crashing into my car means that I too must have been engaging in accident-causing behavior? You forgot to include anything about that in your previous post. I guess I must have been, though. The way you are putting it, anyone who drives at all is now engaging in behavior that can cause an accident. After all, if the driver never got behind the wheel, then there would never have been the accident. The last accident involving me occurred while I was stopped at a red light. The car behind me crashed right into me. But you're right. It was my fault. I intended for an accident to happen. If I hadn't stopped for that red light or decided not to drive at all, maybe that accident wouldn't have happened. Come to think of it, I intended for an accident to happen the last time I was walking. I tripped over an obstacle on the sidewalk. I definitely intended for that accident to happen. I was engaging in accident-causing behavior. I was walking, but looking at something in a shop window at the same time. I plead guilty.

What makes you so sure I was referring to the Pope? Seems to me your own bias is showing with that statement. I might have been referring to anything ranging from a Rabbi's robes to Mormon underwear, even the orange trappings of a Buddhist monk, or plenty of other types of "interesting clothing" reserved for religious purposes. The fact is, I was referring to the specialized trappings of all the organized religions.

One of the things I always enjoy is reading a post written by someone who has no idea what he's talking about. Very sorry, but the posts on this thread mentioning similarities between what Mexicans do and what Lao boys do are perfectly valid, despite your dislike of Americans. A post like yours reminds me of an old short-lived American television comedy called "Fair Exchange," in which a teenage girl from the USA and a teenage girl from England become exchange students. The girl from the USA is well-liked by an old grouch in her British neighborhood, but he constantly puts down Americans. One day she gets fed up with it and asks him, "Am I the only American you've ever liked?" He responds with, "There was one other." "Who?" she asks. "Benedict Arnold." While you're technically correct in that prostitution is illegal in Thailand, a law is only as good as its enforcement. Obviously, Thai authorities do not enforce prostitution laws other than the under-age aspects, but they definitely do enforce the laws about aliens working illegally. While you're laughing about the idea of Laotian boys having up-to-date passports, guess what. You're dead wrong. Nearly every one of them do have up-to-date passports. I've met plenty of Laotian boys over the years, working in the bars. They might have been working illegally, but every last one of them always had valid, up-to-date passports. You wrote, "Nine times out of ten I would suspect that the farang wouldn't have a clue about the nationality of the boy anyway." Really? Unless the farang fails to check a boy's ID, why wouldn't he? Chances are if a boy produces a Thai ID card or a Laotian passport, he's not from Bulgaria. You wrote, "Checking any ID to check age wont be possible." You're going to have to explain that one. Why wouldn't it be possible? It would be quite easy.

Really? How many people do you know who drive and try to have an accident? And I guess if one of those "intentional" drivers just happens to crash, and what he crashes into just happens to be my car, then I too intended to have an accident. My friend, there are times when you would be better off quitting while you're behind. This is one of those times.

Good luck with that one.

First, work permits do not transfer. They are issued to individuals, not companies. A work permit transferring would be the same a driver's license transferring. It doesn't work that way. As far as obtaining a work permit, if you have never done that before I suggest consulting a Thai attorney. You're not going to get reliable information on a message board. If you have a 60-day visa, what you have is a tourist visa. You can't get a work permit at all with a tourist visa. You might be able to change your visa type at the Immigration office, without having to leave Thailand and apply for the appropriate visa, but that would be for fee. You really need an attorney for what you're trying to do. May I ask what kind of work or what kind of company you're thinking about buying?

The problem is the people who think that only the Jews are successful businessmen and also think that all Jews are successful businessmen. People say that as if it's some sort of conspiracy. The part I have never understood is why they end up hated for it. Suppose instead people started saying the Buddhists are the successful businessmen. Would they end up being hated for it? I guess if you become a successful businessman, the last thing you would want would be to be associated with any particular group. Imagine if people were saying the Ku Klux Klansmen are the successful businessmen. To me, people who use this as an excuse for hatred have managed to come up with the most absurd possible reason to hate.

Was this part of your line of work? It must have been interesting, and also sickening.

I don't agree with his post at all, but regarding that comment, the way he uses it within his post, I believe he was being sarcastic, not serious.

It's fine right where it is and I think this forum is the most appropriate for it.

How many have you met . . . . . ?

To me the solution is quite simple. The gun people in the USA keep saying they have a constitutional right to have guns. I think that's debatable, but fine with me. Let them have all the guns they want; their children too. No toy guns. Let 'em have real ones. No problem. Just ban bullets.

I don't think anyone is disputing that. Once it's in the media, yes of course it's fair game. Whether Palin brought her daughter into it or not, and whether the daughter is an adult or not, the issue is Palin, not her daughter. I think the children of politicians should be left alone. The chosen career of their parents is neither their own fault nor something over which they have control. I think they are entitled to their private lives, scandalous or not, without being plagued by the media that would otherwise totally ignore them.

Damn! That's too bad. Oh well, my second favorite has always been Maxwell House and that is sold here in Thailand. Based on what people have said about Moccona, that's going to be the next coffee I'll try. Maybe I'll like it even better than Maxwell House. What's really a shame is that so many restaurants serve Nescafe instant. As far as I'm concerned, that tastes more like sewer sludge than coffee. I have no idea why they all serve Nescafe, but that's what most restaurants, with the exception of better restaurants, give you. And they even charge for a second cup of that stuff.

I fail to see your point. How are unintentional accidents comparable to intentional multiple murders?

I'd bet just about anything the "we" part is what ruined it for you. I advise re-applying, this time without any "we." Let him go himself. Don't have him show pictures of a wedding ceremony or anything at all to even hint he is gay. Have him show only the documentation they ask for. Don't add things they never asked for. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if this time they grant him the visa.

In the USA I always liked the coffee served by Dunkin' Donuts the best. I don't even like donuts, but I would always buy their packaged coffee. They sold it there. Dunkin' Donuts is right here in Thailand, but so far it has never occurred to me to even stop in and try seeing if they sell just the packaged coffee to brew at home. Anybody know?

Well, so far it seems to be great for provoking wars, justifying murder and torture, wearing interesting clothing, molesting young boys, and acquiring more money than Madoff ever dreamed about. "The only good thing ever to come out of religion was the music." - George Carlin

That's hard to say. Usually it does cool down a little bit this time of year, but not all that much. The comfort level is going to depend much more on humidity than temperature.