Gaybutton

And yet one more article on the La Cage web site. See http://www.lacage-pattaya.com Here is Mike's statement from the La Cage web site: _____ THE WHITE NIGHT BUFFET. I am very pleased to be able to report an exciting new development. After nearly ten years at the White Night Buffet, next door to the bar in Soi VC, Tony and Ken are retiring and handing over this well established restaurant to me. Tony and Ken have worked very hard over the years to make the White Night a firm favourite with visitors and residents alike. The much liked duo will be sadly missed. I am very proud indeed to be taking over such a well established eatery and have every intention of keeping the very successful buffet format as well as introducing some new ideas of my own. The Restaurant and the Bar, although next door to each other will remain two separate operations with very different atmospheres. Knocking down the dividing wall would ruin the ambiance of both units. However, the Restaurant will benefit from a much bigger drinks menu and the Bar will soon have a comprehensive hot and cold bar snacks selection, all freshly prepared in the White Night’s professional kitchens. There will obviously be some changes and one of the first will be the installation of air conditioning and very soon the restaurant will be opening earlier as well as offering a daily set menu as an alternative to the buffet. We are currently working on a new website for the restaurant but in the meantime I’ll keep you informed of changes here. The White Night Loyalty card will continue and all current cards will be honored. So to all customers old and new, please come in soon and say hello.” HAVE A LOOK AT OUR WEBSITE FOR THE WHITE NIGHT - http://www.white-night-pattaya.com

I knew nothing about this until I read a post by Garfield on the Pattaya Passion web site. The information about White Night is on their new web site, not yet complete as of this writing, at: http://www.white-night-pattaya.com

No. That is not what I wrote at all. Have another look at my post. What's the hard part? Ok, we'll use Jomtien's spelling. It is pronounced "SUE nee." It is NOT pronounced "sunny," like a sunny day. That's what I said in my post above. Who Boo Shoe Too Goo Do New Sunee. I hope it's clear to everyone now.

I have been there. Yes, it's top quality. It's about 1000 baht per person. It is available every night. If you can think of something to eat, this buffet probably has it.

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ 10,000 in Anti-Asylum Rally at British Embassy By THE NATION Published on August 20, 2008 More than 10,000 protesters gathered outside the British Embassy in Bangkok yesterday to demand that London return ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, Pojaman, to Thailand to face criminal charges. The protesters, organised by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), aggravated traffic conditions in Bangkok, as the British Embassy is located on Ploenchit Road in the heart of the city. The protesters arrived at the embassy at about 10.30am holding posters and shouting: "Thaksin, go to jail!" Police had to seal off roads in the area, including Wireless and Ploenchit roads. PAD leaders Chamlong Srimuang, Sondhi Limthongkul and Somsak Kosaisuk submitted a petition to an embassy representative at 11.10am. The protesters called on the British government not to grant political asylum to Thaksin. The petition said his request for political asylum in Britain must be turned down. "If Thaksin is not brought back to |face the charges against him in Thai courts, it will contribute further to the political and democratic deadlock and undermine the capacity to transform the public realm," said the PAD's letter, which was addressed to British Ambassador Quinton Mark Quayle. Thaksin and Pojaman jumped bail last week, to avoid the looming prospect of losing their Ratchadaphisek land-purchase case in court. They and their family have now settled in London and plan to seek asylum. On July 31, Pojaman was also sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion in stock transactions dating back to November 1997. The PAD protesters warned the British Embassy that if Thaksin's request were met, it would set a terrible precedent for other rich, powerful and non-democratic figures, both in Thailand and elsewhere. "The original meaning of 'democracy' is not merely majority rule, but rather the capacity to do things, especially the capacity to pursue change in the public realm. Through popular, legal and sovereign measures, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was recently brought to trial," said the letter. "Thaksin was charged with abusing his power as prime minister by securing inside deals on real-estate purchases for family members. This is the first time in Thai political history that a former prime minister has been brought to trial." The PAD also plans to organise a rally at the Foreign Ministry demanding that Thaksin and Pojaman's passports be revoked on the grounds they are now bail-jumping fugitives.

I always enjoy it when people both misquote me and also attempt to entirely change the context of a statement, and even do that multiple times. This is the second time you've done that in this thread and it still doesn't work. Are you planning to do that a third time? What I wrote was, "I see no valid excuse at all for bars to intentionally flout the law by hiring under-age boys. Doing so may satisfy the pedophile brigade, but look at the effect on everybody else." If you can't figure out the meaning of what I wrote and if you can't figure out that I never 'reported' that there are brigades of pedos in Sunee Plaza, especially in the sense by which you are trying to twist my use of the word "brigade," then I can only think you lack certain cognitive skills. If you really have to resort to misquoting and attempting to change context as a means of making your case and enhancing your argument, then your argument didn't hold much water in the first place. What do you want to do? Do you want to continue twisting my words or do you want to post a valid, reasonable, well thought out argument in favor of your position about ending reports of under-age boys, drugs, and pedos in Sunee Plaza?

I think that's an excellent suggestion, but I think it would have to include the sois that lead up to Sunee Plaza as well, for it to be truly effective. In any case, your idea would at least go a long way to help clean up Sunee Plaza itself.

Please be informed of our new Gourmet Set Menu serving from August 16. through 31 available at Casa Pascal Only Weekly Set Menu serving from August 12 ~ 25 available at both Casa Pascal and Poseidon. August 16 ~ 31 Gourmet Set Menu House Champagne *** Amuse Bouche *** White Wine Cackle Berry Chardonnay, Australia 2004 Beef Tatar enhanced with Korean Pear, Sesame and Quail Egg *** Clear Oxtail Soup with Tomato Tortellini *** Steamed Alaska Scallops with Crystal Noodles, Garlic and Spring Onions *** Raspberry Sherbet *** Red Wine Sea Horse Bay, Shiraz, Australia,2006 Roasted Pigeon, pan – fried Goose Liver and glazed Brussels Sprouts red Wine Shallots or Pan-fried Barramundi on roasted Baby Carrots, Kenya Beans and Cepes Mushroom Veloutée *** Rhubarb Tart with Apple Crisps or Selection of premium international Cheese *** Coffee or Tea Calvados, Grappa, Remy Martin, Williams Food only 1,450 Baht net (31.60 Є), Menu with Unlimited Beverages 2,900 Baht net (63.20 Є) <Weekly Special August 12 – August 18 > APPETIZER Tuna Tatar on Salad of assorted grilled Vegetables SOUP Cold Cucumber Soup with Dill and Walnuts MAIN COURSE Chicken stuffed with Prunes Polenta and Ratatouille or Oven-baked Sea Bass with Herbs, Olive Oil, Lemon and Vegetables accompanied by boiled Potatoes DESSERT Swiss Chocolate Mousse or Coffee or Tea <Weekly Special August 19 – August 25 > APPETIZER Shrimp Cocktail on green Asparagus and red Chicoree Salad SOUP Zucchini Cream Soup with Eggplant Crostini MAIN COURSE Poached Norwegian Salmon in Caper-, Tomato-, and Mushroom Cream Sauce Pilaf Rice or Pork Saltimbocca ( with Sage and Coppa Ham ) served with buttered Noodles and Tomato Sauce DESSERT Frozen Yogurt and mixed Berries Parfait or Coffee or Tea WINES White Wine : Monte Vino Bianco, Italy Red Wine : Monte Vino Rosso, Italy Food only 3-Course @ 580 Baht net 4-Course @ 680 Baht net Food & unlimited Wine 3-Course @ 950 Baht net 4-Course @ 1,300 Baht net *** All prices are including 7% VAT. Service tip is at your own discretion ***

That's good. Today you get to learn something new. "SOO" is pronounced as the first three letters of "soon." "SUE" is the name of of a boy immortalized by Johnny Cash, also pronounced that way. Flip a coin and take your pick. I know of no words in which "SOO" would be pronounced as the first two letters of "Sony." Do you (or is that pronounced 'yo' as in 'yo-yo')?

First, start spelling it correctly. It's "Sunee," pronounced "SOO nee." It is not pronounced "sunny" like a sunny day. Ok, so dwelling on the druggies and pedos reinforces a negative image of Sunee Plaza. So what? When the druggies and pedos are finally cleaned out, there won't be a negative image to reinforce anymore and no reason to "dwell" upon it anymore. I fail to see any valid reason why reporting facts and permitting discussion, whether a negative image is reinforced or not, should not be permitted. To do that would mean that we ignore the problems and pretend that no such problems exist, just like Ahmadinejad's claim that homosexuals do not exist in Iran. (Well maybe not. They kill the ones they discover.) Some forums, as in more than one? Would you mind telling me which forums have banned such posts? If some forums have banned these posts, does that mean that the rest of the forums ought to follow suit? Perhaps you're not the only person who thinks your way. I don't dispute that at all. I'm sure you're right. Strangely enough, there are also people who do not think your way. I'm one of them. In my opinion, the image of Sunee Plaza that these posts might convey is not the issue. The fact that bars still employ under-age boys and pedos still seek them out is the issue. You are going to have to carefully explain why this forum, or any forum, would be better serving the public interest by not reporting about the raids, not reporting about the pedo arrests, not reporting about drug arrests, and not reporting about under-age boys, whether they work in the bars or freelance, and the possible consequences of sex with under-age boys, before I would find myself in agreement with you. As a matter of fact, I am in complete agreement with every word KhorTose wrote in his post above.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if you turn out to be right. It's the old story . . . everything changes, but nothing changes.

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Seminar: Police Under Fire over Human Trafficking By Chularat Saengpassa The Nation, Hat Yai Published on August 18, 2008 South locals at a recent seminar on child prostitution and human trafficking point their fingers at police inefficiency and corruption. Student leaders in Hat Yai and Sadao, Songkhla, said they knew where brothels and karaoke bars offering prostitution were. How is it the police are unaware of this? they ask. The head of a youth and student council in Hat Yai said "Why don't the police arrest traffickers? "They keep targeting teenagers like us at road checkpoints with trivial charges - like our motorcycles have loose chains." Both districts are used by traffickers to "rest" girls and women before they are smuggled into Malaysia. The girls provide sex service to locals and foreigners during their brief stays. The women and girls - who are either forced into or willing to enter the sex business - are from Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and China. Chinese women - or those who speak Chinese or English - are popular among Malaysian or Singaporean clients. Willing local women are smuggled into Malaysia or Singapore through these channels. They may end up being taken to Europe where the traffickers can get more money for them. Between 2004 and 2008, 532 cases of trafficking were reported to Malaysian authorities. Almost 490 involved girls from this country. Both police in Songkhla and immigration police rarely launch investigations or arrest traffickers. Police occasionally receive complaints from trafficked women who escape from brothels. And, in almost every case, the first thing these women get is not help, but charged with illegal entry. A woman official said she always had to be careful about "which police officers" she approached for help. "We are never certain about police officers we deal with. Are they on the traffickers' side. But we have no choice. We need the police to make arrests." The woman said the police here elect to charge trafficked women with illegal entry before deporting them. A Yunnam woman escaped from traffickers, but police charged her with illegal entry. They barely interviewed her about the traffickers, explaining they had no Chinese interpreter. A woman's foundation eventually came to her aid, providing shelter and translators. There were never any arrests because she was unable to provide enough details about the traffickers and their operation. She had been kept at more than 10 different locations. Anant Dissara, chief of the provincial human-development and human-security office, said more and more women were voluntarily entering the sex business. They hoped to find a foreign tourist who would keep them as a mistress. Entertainment venues, where sex is secretly provided, such as karaoke bars or massage parlours, are mushrooming in both districts. He said male sex workers were in increasingly high demand in Malaysia. Sopha Kaewsanit, an activist, said she believed there was no way Songkhla police were unaware of these operations. She said van after van packed with young, good-looking girls were being allowed to enter Malaysia through border checkpoints on a daily basis without being questioned. "The police should have been suspicious, and detained them for questioning. But no such thing has been done. They know about everything going on, but take no action," she added. Songkhla police officer Lt Colonel Thanawat Phoojinda said tip offs usually came too late for action. The traffickers are swift. The new anti-human trafficking law authorises police to conduct raids or searches or make arrests without getting a court warrant. But, Thanawat said police needed warrants as an assurance that officers would not face counter allegations of wrongful arrest if no evidence or women turned up. Sadao immigration officer Lt Colonel Phiphat Phongphan said police could do nothing without warrants because they would be sued.

Yes, I can attest to that. I know of at least one person who tried to use another long-time poster's handle for unscrupulous purposes on the Pattaya Passion board.

MESSAGE TO GEEZER... Dear Geezer, First off, let me apologize for the trouble you have been having trying to log-in to our message board. I saw your posting on GayThailand. I have noted with increasing alarm the multiple handles that your moniker was receiving. I thought that perhaps it was someone trying to take over your name -- or a troll looking to do character assassination. Since you are a long-standing, well respected member of the gay message board community, I wanted to make sure that your good name was being upheld. Therefore, I purposely deleted all Geezer accounts except the original which is Geezer -- please note the capital G as it is important. Your password should be the same as when you registered it, but I cannot view it. I can however issue you a new temporary password if you can not access it still. Just let me know. You should also know that the reason I was so quick to jump on this is because it has been a recent hotbed situation. As Gaybutton can attest to, some trolls have been trying to take long-time users name and pretend to be them. Also, we at Pattaya Passion have a no tolerance rule for nastiness and troll behavior. I certainly hope we haven't lost your patronage of our board as we do certainly value your presence. Please let me know if you have any further difficulties or if we can be of any further help. Sincerely, Passion Patrol

That's your opinion, an opinion I do not share. Do you suggest we hide the truth and stop reporting these incidents? Are we to stop our 'whining' because you've unilaterally decided it serves no useful purpose?

So far the UK has made no decisions one way or the other. The armchair lawyers on the message boards are guessing, but so far nobody really knows what the UK will do in the long run or how long it will take before any decisions are made. Even if the UK agrees to extradition, if there is an appeals process available, who knows how long this can drag on. As far as I know, Thailand has not yet even formally petitioned the UK to extradite Thaksin. Also, as long as Thaksin remains free, if he has any reason to believe the UK will indeed agree to extradite him, he still can flee to a third country if he so desires, assuming he still has a valid passport. Who knows? Maybe he'll end up in Burma and will join the junta. Perhaps Cuba. I can just see him carrying a sign and shouting "Viva Fidel!" Hell, he's got enough money to buy an island somewhere and start his own country. I'm waiting for the Email from him that tells me he heard about my wonderful reputation and wants to put all his money into my bank account to help him get it out of Thailand, just like the Emails I get from Dr. Bwenkeke Mobujubu from Nigeria. Somehow, it's hard to visualize him ever being forcibly returned to Thailand in handcuffs. I suppose he could always buy the airline that would fly him back to Thailand and then ground all the planes . . .

Maybe you still can. 1-2-Call isn't the only phone card company in Thailand. DTAC also has a popular phone card system, as well as a few other companies. True Move and Sawasdee come to mind. Since you have to get a new phone number anyway, you might want to check companies other than 1-2-Call first and see if any of their systems will suit your needs. While 1-2-Call is the most popular phone card system in Thailand, and is fine as long as you're in Thailand, it loses its usefulness if you are not going to be using your phone for long periods of time. Obviously, for those who are only in Thailand for limited periods of time each year, unless you follow my suggestions above you're going to lose your phone number. Fortunately 1-2-Call is not the only game in town. There are other options, although I don't know their policies.

If you have business with the British Embassy, Tuesday, August 19 is the wrong day to go. _____ Protesters Plan Anti-Thaksin March to British Embassy Tuesday BANGKOK, Aug 16 -- The anti-government People‘s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) plans to march to the British embassy here on Tuesday to rebut critical remarks made by Thailand‘s fugitive ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra against the Thai judiciary system, a PAD core member said Saturday. Pipop Thongchai, a core leader of the PAD, said the protest coalitions members and supporters would march from the Makkawan Bridge to the British Embassy with the purpose of explaining to the international community that charges made by Mr. Thaksin against the Thai judiciary system were untrue. Mr. Pipop said he would also explain to the embassy that Mr. Thaksin, his wife Mrs. Pojaman and the ousted cabinet ministers are also facing charges pending in court. Booted from office in a bloodless coup on Sept 19, 2006, multi-billionaire Thaksin and his wife flew from Beijing to London, bypassing a court date in Bangkok, after attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. They failed to appear on Monday at the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to defend themselves against charges related to the Bangkok land scandal which occurred in 2003 while he was in power. In a statement faxed to media outlets in Bangkok on Monday from London, Mr. Thaksin cited his personal safety concerns and interference in the judicial process by political forces set against him among the reasons for his fleeing Thailand. The Court on Monday issued arrest warrants for the couple and also confiscated bail totaling Bt13 million (US$389,000). Praising the Thai judicial system on the case, Mr. Pipop said more foreign investors are now hoping to invest in Thailand because they are gaining more confidence in doing business in this country. He emphasised that the planned march to the embassy in central Bangkok would be peaceful. Meanwhile, national police chief Pol. Gen. Patcharawat Wongsuwan said he had ordered Bangkok police to be patient and provide security to the PAD members while the gather at the British embassy. Gen. Patcharawat said concerned Thai government agencies are now trying to extradite Mr. Thaksin to face trial here and that there is no need for the PAD to pressure the agencies. (TNA)

It's a bizarre policy, for sure. There are ways to avoid having that happen. The best, of course, would be if the Baht-Stop post is correct and all you would need to do is contact 1-2-Call to stop the spam. Another way would be to give your phone, or at least the SIM card to someone who lives in Thailand and you can trust, when you are about to leave Thailand. Have that person make a quick call with it once every two to four weeks. That will keep the number active. Another way is not to use 1-2-Call at all. If you get an account with DTAC, as long as you pay your monthly bill you won't lose your number whether you use the phone or not. The trouble is that can be a bit complicated. The only way a farang can get a DTAC account is to have a work permit. If you don't have a work permit, then you'll have to get a Thai to open an account for you. The monthly bill will go to whatever address in Thailand you want it to go. Assuming you would use the address of that same Thai person who opened the account for you, then he will receive the bill each month. If you have a Thai bank account, then all that would need to happen is for your friend to inform you by Email, or whatever, how much the bill is and you can pay it online, assuming there are funds in the Thai bank account. With DTAC there may be a way to check your balance online or set up an automatic payment plan via your bank account and online banking. I have not checked if that can be done. There may be other phone companies besides DTAC that offer an account. I don't know. You would have to check into that unless someone else knows and responds to this post. Maybe someone else can come up with other ways to handle this, but those are the only ways I can think of at the moment.

Personally, I don't intend to find out. It's one thing when they shout out, "Have Boy. Sexy Boy. Have New Boy." That, I can understand. But when they tell someone that a go-go show is going to start in just a few minutes, and then you discover that is a flat out lie, that's one venue that just lost any support I would have given, at least until they change their tactics. If business is so bad that they have to resort to conning people into entering and buying a drink, then that's a venue I can do without. I'm going to bring up the subject of doormen and touts, most of whom will say just about anything at all to get you to go inside. Some even block your path and/or grab your arm and try to pull you in. When they do that my response is to stop dead in my tracks and tell them to get out of my way or icily tell them to take their hands off me. That usually works. Two bar peeves of mine are the touts and pushy mama-sans. In all the years I've come to Thailand on holidays and have lived here, I have yet to understand the necessity for either, especially the overly aggressive ones. Both are on my "I Don't Get It" list because all they ever inspire me to do is go somewhere else.

That particular immigration office, Suan Phlu in Bangkok, has been the subject of complaints several times on various boards. If you have not read the latest incident, the one to which 2lz2p refers, click the following link. http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum...ent-t15593.html That post was written by TrongpaiExpat. I know him personally and I feel completely secure in saying you can believe the incident happened exactly as he said it did. It seems as if different immigration offices set their own policies. I have no idea whether there is any recourse if an immigration office is dead wrong. What I do know is I would avoid that particular immigration office whenever possible.

We began reporting about this man on this board when the news about him first broke. You night want to see: http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2102 An issue that often pops up is that these incidents make the news when they first happen, but we are rarely made aware of the outcome. This time we are seeing the outcome of his first trial, probably because it was such a high profile case. You might remember him as "The Swirl." But for him this is only the beginning. I wonder now if he thinks his pedo activities were worth it.

I just tried again and now it's back to working correctly for me.

Once again, folks, I don't make these things up. You've gotta see this one! http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000006919

You can read the article at: http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?A...B_TEMPLATE_ID=9