Gaybutton

This evening, Sunday, May 18, was the final night Cherry's will be open at their old location. Tomorrow, Monday, the restaurant will be closed while they are moving everything into the new location. The new location will open for business on Tuesday, May 20.

Le Café Royale, Throb, and Splash today began major renovations. From what I understand the entire reception area, bar, and restaurant is going to be redone at Le Café Royale. New awnings are already going up. I also understand that the plans for Throb and Splash also include major renovations, to begin within a month. The plans include combining the two bars under one new name, yet to be announced.

I did not attend, but I'm curious. What did those of you who did attend think about the show?

Well, some people out there say I'm full of something, anyway . . .

Several responses to that post are mine. Since people so often respond to my responses, I'd rather not have to deal with it on both this board and also on Baht-Stop. I hope you understand that is the reason, the only reason, why I am locking this thread, so that any further responses will be on Baht-Stop, rather than here. It makes life easier for me.

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Patience Has Its Limits Rangoon - World frustration with Burma is beginning to boil over, with accusations of negligence and crimes against humanity. As the toll of dead and missing reached 134,000 the regime cynically kept away a French navy ship laden with aid, while proudly showing diplomats a model state relief camp for a few survivors. US President George W Bush extended sanctions on Burma, while British Prime Minister Gordon Brown denounced the junta's "inhuman" treatment of around two million survivors battling to stay alive two weeks after the storm hit. With the toll of dead and missing now 134,000, the pressure appeared to mark a shift in tactics in the face of the junta's reluctance to allow a full-scale emergency effort, despite fears more people could die of hunger or disease. "We have an intolerable situation created by a natural disaster," said Brown, whose country was the colonial power in Burma. "It is being made into a man-made catastrophe by the negligence, the neglect and the inhuman treatment of the Burmese people by a regime that is failing to act and to allow the international community to do what it wants to do." Wary of any foreign influence that could weaken its 46 years of iron rule in Burma, the junta has insisted on managing the operation itself and kept most international disaster experts away. But aid groups say the government cannot possibly handle the tragedy by itself, with hundreds of tonnes of supplies and high-tech equipment piling up in warehouses, bottle-necked by logistics and other problems. After announcing Friday that the toll from the tragedy had nearly doubled -- to 77,738 dead and 55,917 missing -- state television did not issue new figures on Saturday night. Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu wrote to Brown, Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, calling on the UN Security Council to authorise aid drops over the objections of the generals. He said the regime had "effectively declared war on its own population and is committing crimes against humanity." Jean-Maurice Ripert, France's UN ambassador, told a meeting of all members of the United Nations that the situation was turning "slowly from a situation of not helping people in danger to a real risk of crimes against humanity." Bush announced that sanctions on the junta would be extended for a year because of its "large-scale repression of the democratic opposition." The statement stressed it would not affect US humanitarian cyclone aid. Faced with the mounting criticism, the junta flew some diplomats and aid workers Saturday into the heart of the disaster zone - which has been all but sealed off to the outside world. "What they showed us looked very good," said Chris Kaye, Burma director for the UN's World Food Programme. "But they are not showing us the whole picture." One diplomat said: "It was like a steam-roller had gone through the entire delta region." The junta has blocked journalists from getting to the southern Irrawaddy Delta, the rice-growing region hardest hit when Cyclone Nargis hit on May 2-3, bringing powerful winds and massive waves that wiped whole villages away. But those who have got through have returned with tales of unspeakable misery, including from some survivors who said they had received very little assistance from the government. Survivors have also reported that the military was pushing them out of temporary shelter in monasteries, whose revered Buddhist monks helped lead massive anti-government protests last year that were eventually put down. Navy ships from France and the United States are positioned off the Burmese coast stocked with emergency supplies, but have not been able to enter. The regime is said to fear a possible invasion by the United States, which has criticised the military regime for keeping democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest -- and for its slow moves toward elections promised by 2010. The government said this week that 99 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots last Saturday in a referendum it said approved a new constitution which would bar her from office. Her party rejected the result and said the vote should never have been held amid the cyclone tragedy. The regime has scheduled round two of the vote, in the disaster areas, on May 24. (Agencies) ____________________ And this, from THE NATION: _____ Gordon Brown Hints at Aid Drops By By Jo Revill and Gaby Hinsliff in London and a special Correspondent in Burma OBSERVER NEWS SERVICE As millions face starvation and fears of cholera grow, Britain's Prime Minister rules nothing out Gordon Brown has raised the prospect of Britain carrying out unauthorized emergency aid drops into Burma as a last resort if its government continues to exclude foreign help. Amid evidence that cholera is already taking hold in parts of the stricken country and UN warnings that a 'second catastrophe' of disease and starvation could be worse than the initial cyclone, the British Prime Minister made clear that he would rule nothing out. Brown used an address to Church of Scotland leaders yesterday (17MAY) to accuse the Burmese junta of being an 'unnatural dictatorship' that cares more about its survival than its own people's. Privately diplomats see aid drops as a desperate last resort. One Whitehall source said there were 'huge problems' with such tactics. Experience shows that barely a fifth of aid dropped in such a way reaches the people who most need it, much of it rotting where it falls. The option will remain on the table in the hope of increasing pressure on the Burmese military government. It emerged last night that France is in talks about a possible delivery of aid. The French government said its Mistral navy helicopter carrier was in waters south of the storm-ravaged Irrawaddy delta, with supplies to feed 100,000 people over 15 days and shelter at least 60,000 people. Yet in this devastated land there remains little evidence of any government help. This weekend hundreds of people were lining the roads which run south of Rangoon, peering expectantly into passing cars and begging for help. 'We walked a long way to get here - our men are home trying to rebuild the house,' an exhausted-looking woman said, sitting among the debris of former homes. 'In the past five days we have received just a little rice and some condensed milk from the government. We wait here all day, hoping someone may bring some help.' All across the delta, carrying their few salvaged possessions in bundles, the new homeless travel by foot and by boat, navigating around the bodies that still clog the waterways of the Irrawaday, unclaimed and left to rot. The regime has sought to seal off the delta, setting up a grid of police and military checkpoints and turning back foreigners, including those seeking to help. The military leaders are determined to prevent the outside world from knowing the scale of the tragedy - or to discover that because of its own neglect this has become a man-made disaster, where starvation is now facing more than two million affected by the cyclone. Disease is also a growing possibility and doctors believe that cholera could take hold if the water supplies become very badly contaminated. Some doctors in Rangoon have already begun to try to treat children for it in case it does take hold. In an area near Kungyangon, south of Rangoon, where uncollected bodies are washed up in a paddy field, the stench of putrid flesh assaults the senses. One witness told The Observer they had received only a few bags of rice. 'Forty dead here,' he said. 'Most of them children.'

In that case you don't have to worry about reporting your address once you exit Thailand. You report again 90 days after you return to Thailand. If you clear customs in Bangkok, then yes, you must have a reentry permit. If you are going to remain in the international transit area, then you don't need a reentry permit because there will be no stamp in your passport that shows you have reentered. If you do want to clear customs in Bangkok for any reason, then you will need a multiple reentry permit. You've got me on that one. I don't know. What you would need to do is explain your situation to the Immigration office shortly before you leave Thailand and see what they say. If I were to guess, if you are talking about a month or less, then they would probably let you renew prior to leaving Thailand. More than that, then I would guess they will say you will have to go through the process again and obtain a new retirement visa when you return to Thailand. But I'm only guessing. I would also guess they would want to see your airline ticket if you are asking to renew significantly early. You're the first person to come up with that question, so we'll need you to let the rest of us know once you get an answer. 1000 baht for a single reentry permit. 3800 baht for a multiple reentry permit.

Do you know if this is a relatively new bar or one that has been established for some time? If it's been around for a while, and none of us even knew it existed, then that opens up the possibility of more gay bars in different Thai cities about which we also know nothing. How did you discover this bar? Also, I didn't quite understand what you meant by 'short time' and 'full off.' My interpretation of that is 'short time' means two hours in the bar's short time room. 'Full off' means you take him back to your place for 2 hours, or whatever the amount of time is. Is that correct? How much time is 'full off'?

The following appear in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: for photos see: http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_17_05_51_4.html _____ Police Check for Drugs in Sunee Plaza Area Soi Sunee Plaza in South Pattaya is well know for its gay bars, many of which employ underage workers. There is also a major drug problem in the area and local Police will often receive complaints from people who frequent the area. Responding to these complaints, Police Colonel Nopadon, the Superintendant of Pattaya Police Station organized an operation in Soi Sunee Plaza in the early hours of Saturday Morning. More than 100 staff members from bars inside the Soi were checked for the presence of illegal narcotics inside their bodies. 34 urine tests came back positive and these individuals were subsequently arrested and processed back at Pattaya Police Station.

This just keeps getting better and better! Only a few years ago it was quite rare to hear about raids on the bars. Now it's rare when you don't hear about them. Until recently, raids on Pattayaland were unheard of. Now we're hearing about them occurring more and more often. I guess those responsible for organizing these raids must think they're not already doing enough to drive away customers. I also like the fact that the bars can open, but they are 'advised' not to open. That's like IRS advising Americans that it's a good idea to pay their taxes. Great! Let's play, "Put the bars in a damned if you do, damned if you don't position." If I'm counting correctly, this is the sixth time since the first of the year the bars are being ordered, or in effect being ordered, to close. I'm surprised the bars are being harassed to this extent. After all, if they end up being forced out of business because of nonsensical closings, raids, ridiculous closing hours, and lord-knows-what-else, those in uniform who are somewhat less than scrupulous will lose getting their monthly 'tea' money. It's not just the bars. If the bars go, so will several hotels, restaurants, and many other related businesses. Well, maybe Pattayaland won't become wasted space. It would make an excellent location for a Thai branch of the Womens Christian Temperance Union.

It sounds very interesting, but awfully expensive, especially for that area. But apparently it's the only game in town, so there's not much choice. At least a game exists at all. Ubon Ratchatani is about an 8 hour drive from Pattaya, isn't it? Maybe a little less to Bangkok. So, it seems to me people will have to pay the price or do without.

The following appears in THE NATION: ____ More Protection for Buyers of Condos By Somluck Srimalee The Nation Published on May 17, 2008 Condominium buyers are to get better legal protection thanks to the amended Condominium Act, under which developers who do not deliver facilities as advertised will be penalised. The amendment will become effective on July 4. Surasith Sahasthamrangsi of the real estate business promotion bureau of the Land Department said at a seminar yesterday that the new Act would punish de velopers who used misleading advertising to boost sales. "If they can't deliver what they advertise, the Land Department is empowered to charge them with giving false information," Surasith said. The amendment followed complaints by buyers whose purchases did not include what was advertised. Most of the angry buyers were people who bought units before they were completed. From July 4, developers will have to submit advertising plans with their construction proposals. On completion, the Land Department will check if all is as advertised. Property Perfect's chief operations officer, Teerachon Manomaiphibul, said this law would hurt only developers who are inclined to cheat buyers. Meanwhile, experts said the amended law might hurt the resale market, as the provisional clause that allows foreigners or foreign entities to hold more than 49 per cent of condominium units in Bangkok, municipal areas and other specified areas will be scrapped. The limit will now be 49 per cent, without exception. ____________________ And this, from the BANGKOK POST: _____ Condo Act to Protect Consumers Aims to weed out shady developers KANANA KATHARANGSIPORN The amended Condominium Act will improve the overall condo market and screen out non-professional developers that take advantage of buyers, says Opas Sripayak, managing director of the condo developer L.P.N. Development Plc. ''The amendments will benefit condominium buyers as most of them will focus on consumer protection. Condominium developers should pay more attention to what the sellers promise,'' he said yesterday. He said a regulation in the amendment requiring developers to pay common area expenses for unsold units after unit transfers would put a greater burden on irresponsible developers who earlier tried to avoid this payment. ''L.P.N. will have no impact from the amendments as what we've done already will comply with them,'' said Mr Opas. ''This is the same for many listed and professional developers in the industry.''The Land Department will hold a public hearing about the amended Condominium Act next Friday before it becomes effective on July 4. ''After we talked with some developers about the amendments, what most of them were concerned about were odds and ends, not big issues,'' said Surasith Sahasthamrangsee, director of the department's Real Estate Promotion Office. The department was waiting for consideration from the Consumer Protection Board on condominium pre-purchase and purchase and sales contracts before submitting details to the Interior Ministry next week. The department hopes the board will help tighten loopholes in the agreements as it earlier received thousands of complaints related to unfair agreements. ''It [the contract] will be a standard for all condominium projects to use,'' said Mr Surasith. The amended Condo Act would require developers to keep all copies and versions of sale brochures or pictures advertised or sales letters publicised in any way at the juristic person office of the condominium for future reference, he added. ''Advertisements are part of a purchasing and selling contract. If there are many versions, all must be kept,'' he said. This requirement aims to focus on the common area that developers promise to customers, not on selling prices or promotions. In the past, some developers changed the common area for other uses, taking advantage of unit owners. ''The amendments, responding to many problems, aim to protect consumers. Formerly, the act had no provisions for punishment as it left the private sector to manage and solve the problems by itself.'' Mr Opas said L.P.N. planned to launch three low-priced CondoTown projects in the Rama II, Rangsit and Pak Nam in Samrong areas with at least 2,000 units each. Spending for these three plots would be around 200-300 million baht each. ''CondoTown will focus on a large community where a discount store is situated,'' he said. The location has more than 100 apartment buildings where tenants pay rent of 3,000 to 4,000 baht a month. During the first four months of this year, L.P.N. had pre-sales of 2.8 billion baht and it aims to achieve 11 billion baht by the end of the year. In the first quarter, it realised 1.2 billion baht and missed a target of two billion baht as government tax incentives took effect in late March and many buyers delayed purchases. However, the firm would realise tax benefits representing 4% of total revenue. It expected to realise 7.8 billion baht of revenue in 2008, said Mr Opas. Next month the company will launch the first phase of Lumpini Place Ratchada-Rama IX on a 15-rai site near the MCOT Junction with unit prices of 1.3 million baht. It will have a total of 2,000 units. ''A rise in steel prices caused higher unit prices of 2-5% so [prices of] units in the existing projects will be revised up,'' Mr Opas said. LPN shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 7.30 baht, up 10 satang, in trade worth 209.9 million baht.

Monday, May 19 is Visakha Bucha Day, one of the most important Buddhist holidays of the year. Tradition has it that on this date Buddha was born, reached enlightenment, and died. All banks and government offices will be closed, however it remains at the discretion of each bar (at least so far) to close or remain open and the bars get to decide for themselves, assuming they open, whether to serve alcohol. My guess is the bars will be open, considering the number of days they have already been forced to close this year. Be advised, though, all it takes is one highly placed government official to decide the bars should close. At the time of this posting, the bars are still allowed to decide for themselves.

Thanks, fedssocr. I did not see that version of the story. I think I will cry, HeartOfGold, because you're right. It does give Pattaya a bad name and it stigmatizes every gay who comes here right along with it. Obviously the vast majority of gays who come here are not pedophiles in any sense of the word, but in this kind of situation the facts don't matter. Only the perceptions matter and it affects everyone. I like the story about the person who tried to convince the court he was some other kind of "phile." That's right up there with the guys in the USA who try to get out of paying income tax by claiming it is unconstitutional. Works great, doesn't it?

The PATTAYA DAILY NEWS is also running an article about this. ( http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000005989 ). Unless you are reading an article I haven't seen, neither article says anything about where the apartment is or where he got the boys from.

Here are some excerpts from another old article of mine. As far as I know, the information is still the same: _____ Gay marriages are not legally recognized in Thailand, but many of the Buddhist wats will agree to perform the ceremony, and that ceremony is regarded as religiously valid. The decision as to whether to perform the religious ceremony is up to the Loong Paw. The Loong Paw is the head monk at the wat. Often, the Loong Paw is the oldest monk at the wat, but not necessarily so. The marriage is taken quite seriously by all concerned. This is a lifelong commitment made by the couple and, in the eyes of the Buddhist religion, the marriage is recognized and sacred. For the ceremony itself, a traditional costume is worn by both the 'bride' and the 'groom,' and there are plenty of places where the costumes can be rented. Your 'bride' will know where. If you want to have other guests in costume, that is up to you, but it is your financial responsibility. The rituals include preparing food for the monks who will be involved in the ceremony, giving ceremonial flowers to them, a few ritual items, such as candles and incense sticks, and putting money in an envelope to give to them. The local markets sell the traditional pots into which the food is placed. They also carry the flowers, food and other ritual items. The ceremony itself takes about twenty minutes. Nine monks perform the ceremony, including the Loong Paw. They will enter the wat and place themselves on the floor in front of the couple and invited participants. First the food, ceremonial items, and the money is given to each of the monks. Every participant is included in this ritual giving. The items are placed in front of each monk and the money is given, in a sealed envelope, and it is given with two hands. There will be bowing and ritual prayer chants. The Loong Paw will sprinkle the participants with water during the ceremony. The Loong Paw will tie white strings to the right wrists of the couple, to symbolize the binding together of the couple. During the ceremony the Loong Paw will give the couple a ceremonial bowl of water. The couple will exit the wat, pour the water over the roots of a tree, and say a prayer together. Then the couple will return to the wat and the ceremony continues. Final prayers are said, and the ceremony is finished. That also ends the involvement of the monks. At that point the participants simply leave the wat and nothing more is said to the monks. Now comes the wedding party, which can be held wherever you like. Everyone eats, liquor is served, and the participants will also tie white strings to the right wrist of the couple. A good time is had by all. Then everyone will leave, allowing the couple privacy following the ceremonies.

Friday, May 16: Opening rates: US Dollar: 32.16 Euro: 49.625 British Pound: 62.535 Australian Dollar: 30.14 Canadian Dollar: 32.00 _____ Closing Rates: US Dollar: 32.17 Euro: 49.695 British Pound: 62.565 Australian Dollar: 30.2125 Canadian Dollar: 31.995

The following appears in the Pattaya City News: _____ Crazed Man Seeking TV Stardom Steals Fire Truck in Naklua Police units were called into action in the early hours of Thursday Morning following reports of a young man who had attempted to steal a fire rescue truck from a station in Naklua. The attempt was successful and the crazed man, Khun Sitipon aged 36 drove away and eventually crashed the vehicle and was caught by Police. He explained that he was desperate to get himself on TV and decided to steal the truck so he would be on the news here in Pattaya. He is now behind bars awaiting a court appearance but is apparently happy that his dream of being on the news has been fulfilled. (See http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_15_05_51_4.html for photos)

Thursday, May 15: Opening rates: US Dollar: 32.18 Euro: 49.665 British Pound: 62.515 Australian Dollar: 29.8275 Canadian Dollar: 31.8875 _____ Closing Rates: US Dollar: 32.19 Euro: 49.95 British Pound: 62.57 Australian Dollar: 30.01 Canadian Dollar: 32.025

New storm head toward cyclone-devastated Myanmar AP Another powerful storm headed toward Myanmar's cyclone-devastated delta on Wednesday and the U.N. warned that inadequate relief efforts could lead to a second wave of deaths among the estimated 2 million survivors. The country's junta told visiting Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, however, that it is in control of the relief operations and doesn't need foreign experts. Samak visited a government relief center in Yangon and told reporters after returning to Bangkok that the junta has given him the "guarantee" that there are no disease outbreaks and no starvation among the cyclone survivors. "They have their own team to cope with the situation," Samak said, citing Myanmar Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Thein Sein. "From what I have seen I am impressed with their management." International agencies say bottlenecks, poor logistics, limited infrastructure and the military government's refusal to allow foreign aid workers have left most of the delta's survivors living in miserable conditions without food or clean water. The government's efforts have been criticized as woefully slow. The U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said there is a good chance that "a significant tropical cyclone" will form within the next 24 hours and head across the Irrawaddy delta area. The area was pulverized by Cyclone Nargis on May 3, leaving at least 34,273 dead and 27,838 missing, according to the government. The U.N. says the death toll could exceed 100,000. An estimated 2 million survivors of the storm are still in need of emergency aid. But U.N. agencies and other groups have been able to reach only 270,000 people so far. Dr. Thawat Sutharacha of Thailand's Public Health Ministry said Wednesday the junta has given permission to a Thai medical team to go to the cyclone-hit delta. If the team is able to go as scheduled on Friday, it would be the first foreign aid group to work in the ravaged Irrawaddy delta. The junta has said that it will allow 160 relief workers from neighboring countries to come to Myanmar, but it is not clear if they include the Thai medics or whether they will be allowed to travel to the delta. "The government has a responsibility to assist their people in the event of a natural disaster," said Amanda Pitt, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for Humanitarian Affairs. "We are here to do what we can and facilitate their efforts and scale up their response. It is clearly inadequate and we do not want to see a second wave of death as a result of that not being scaled up," she said. The news of a second cyclone was not broadcast by Myanmar's state-controlled media. But Yangon residents picked up the news on foreign broadcasts and on the Internet. "I prayed to the Lord Buddha, 'please save us from another cyclone. Not just me but all of Myanmar,'" said Min Min, a rickshaw driver, whose house was destroyed in Cyclone Nargis. Min Min, his wife and three children now live on their wrecked premises under plastic sheets. "Another cyclone will be a disaster because our relief center is already overcrowded. I am very worried," said Tun Zaw, 68, another Yangon resident who is living in a government relief center. Prof. Johnny Chan, a tropical cyclone expert with City University of Hong Kong, said the new cyclone would likely not be as severe as Nargis because it is already close to land, and cyclones need to be over sea to gain full strength. "There will be a lot of rain but the winds will not be as strong," he told The Associated Press. Getting to the worst-affected areas was getting more and more difficult, and the impending storm was expected to compound the misery of the survivors. "They are already weak," said Pitt, the U.N. spokeswoman. A new storm will impact "people's ability to survive and cope with what happened to them ... this is terrible." Soldiers have barred foreign aid workers from reaching cyclone survivors in the hardest-hit areas, but gave access to an International Red Cross representative who returned to Yangon on Tuesday. Bridget Gardner, the agency's country head, described tremendous devastation but also selflessness, as survivors joined in the rescue efforts. "People who have come here having lost their homes in rural areas have volunteered to work as first aiders. They are humanitarian heroes," said Gardner. Gardner's team visited five locations in the Irrawaddy delta. In one of them, they saw 10,000 people living without shelter as rain tumbled from the sky. "The town of Labutta is unrecognizable. I have been here before and now with the extent of the damage and the crowds of displaced people, it's a different place," Gardner was quoted as saying in a statement by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. In Labutta and elsewhere she said volunteers were giving medical aid to hundreds of people a day even though "they have no homes to go back to when they finish." Some survivors of Cyclone Nargis were reportedly getting spoiled or poor-quality food, rather than nutrition-rich biscuits sent by international donors, adding to suspicions that the junta may be misappropriating foreign aid. The military, which has ruled since 1962, has taken control of most supplies sent by other countries, including the United States, which began its third day of aid delivery Wednesday as five more giant C-130 transport planes loaded with emergency supplies headed to Myanmar. Lt. Col. Douglas Powell, a spokesman for what has been dubbed operation Caring Relief, said a total of 197,080 pounds of provisions have been sent into Myanmar on the eight U.S. military flights that have been cleared to go. Most of the provisions have been blankets, mosquito nets, plastic sheets and water. As the U.S. military's effort to expand its relief effort appeared to make major headway, Myanmar also agreed to attend an emergency meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers next week to discuss problems in getting foreign aid the country, Asian diplomats said Wednesday. Diplomats from the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Myanmar, were crafting the agenda for the meeting to be held Monday in Singapore, said two Manila-based Southeast Asian diplomats knowledgeable about preparations for the gathering. Singapore, which currently heads the ASEAN bloc, organized the meeting after getting a nod from Myanmar, which has committed to sending its foreign minister, according to one of the diplomats. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media. The European Union's top aid official said Wednesday he is not opposed to the idea of air-dropping aid in Myanmar but does not think it will work. "I am not against solutions which can help the people but ... I think it will not be the best solution," EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel told reporters in Bangkok when asked to comment on suggestions about unilateral air drops to circumvent the junta's restrictions on international aid. ____ Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines contributed to this report.

Perhaps not, but I don't think this man was with street kids. I think he was with kids from his own neighborhood. That's just a guess on my part, but that's the impression I get.

I don't know whether to laugh, cry, or just give up. I can't even remember now how many years I, and others, have been trying to convince people not to come to Thailand and start engaging in sex with under-age boys. I can't imagine that any of the people who have been arrested over the years were ignorant of the consequences, and yet they continue to think with their crotches instead of their brains. The part that angers me more than any of it is not the fact that they do this and get caught. If they are stupid enough to take the risk and lose, then my position is 'tough shit.' It angers me because the sheer number of arrests places a terrible stigma on those who come to Thailand and don't do this kind of thing. I can't help but wonder how many Thais, indeed how many people throughout the world, assume single gay farang in Thailand, especially in Pattaya, are probably pedophiles. How many totally innocent among you get hassled and harassed by customs officials when you reenter your home country? How many are questioned and are forced to undergo inspections of your notebook computers, cd's, or anything else on which pornographic images can be stored? I also get annoyed when I see people post that farang in Sunee Plaza must be pedophiles. Horse hockey! When was the last time you heard of anyone being arrested when they took a boy off from a Sunee Plaza bar? In nearly every one of these cases, it's a farang who was messing around with neighborhood boys or street urchins. That could just as easily be interpreted that farang who do not frequent Sunee Plaza are the pedophiles. Here's the latest: The following appears in THE NATION: _____ German Lecturer Arrested in Pattaya for Buying Sex from Two Boys Pattaya, Chon Buri - A German university lecturer was arrested here early Wednesday for allegedly having sex with two underage boys. Wolf Rudiger Engelke, 67, was arrested in the act with a 15-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy inside an apartment at 1 am. Alerted by informant, police raided the room and found the three inside the bed. The two boys said Engelke promised to give each of them Bt500 in exchange for sex. Police said the German is a lecturer of a university in Phitsanulok. The Nation

According to an article in the PATTAYA DAILY NEWS, the Thai Prime Minister is saying the reason why the Burmese junta is intentionally keeping out and slowing down foreign assistance for the cyclone victims is because they went ahead with the national voting despite the cyclone and they don't want the world to see the vote rigging that is occurring. Also, according to the article, those who wish to make donations can do so at the Sattahip Temple, where they are asking for light bulbs, galvanized iron sheets, canvas, dried foodstuffs, rice, and drinking water. The items will be delivered to Burma via the Thai Navy. The Thai Navy assures the public that the items will reach the people in need. The full article can be seen at: http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000005975

If you have been following the "Exchange Rate on the Move . . ." thread, you've been witnessing the strength of the baht weakening over the past several days. The Bank of Thailand is saying this weakening is only temporary. I will try to keep tabs on the daily opening and closing rates in the "Exchange Rate on the Move . . ." thread for you. The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Baht Softens Temporarily An ongoing softening of the Thai currency, the baht, against the US dollar is expected for a short-term basis while inflationary rate in Thailand is projected to continue rising on the back of increasing in oil and commodity prices, Bank of Thailand (BoT) governor Tarisa Watanagase said Tuesday. Mrs Tarisa told participants attending a Euromoney fair that the baht which had fallen to about Bt32.20 against the dollar on the onshore market now was considered lowest in the past two-and-a-half-month but the impact was still not too serious. There are still both buying and selling of the dollars by importers and exporters and the weakening of the baht would be temporary, said Mrs. Tarisa. The central bank will monitor the movements of the baht to ensure that it is not soften or strengthen too fast and the currency must move within the market demand and supply. On Thailand's economy, she said it grew more than 6 per cent during the first quarter this year with investment expanded 7.2 per cent during the period, exports up 21 per cent and the current account enjoyed a surplus of about US$3 billion. This year, the country's current account is expected to enjoy a surplus of around US$4-7 billion due to disbursement by the government, said Mrs Tarisa. The government-sponsored mega-projects will also help stimulate private investment in future. Inflation last month rose to 6.2 per cent as global oil prices continued increasing, she said, adding that the BoT would follow movements of goods prices closely. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Industry Minister Suwit Khunkitti said he was confident economic growth during the second half this year would surpass the first half on the back of solid economic fundamentals and fine investment atmosphere. The World Bank has now ranked Thailand 15th out of 178 countries among the most attractive countries for investment and the government will adjust investment regulations to facilitate foreign investors, said Mr. Suwit. He said the government has projected to invest on improving infrastructure at US$66 billion between 2008-2011. (TNA)

Wednesday, May 14: Opening rates: US Dollar: 32.19 Euro: 49.67 British Pound: 62.505 Australian Dollar: 30.1225 Canadian Dollar: 31.8925 _____ Closing Rates: US Dollar: 32.28 Euro: 49.685 British Pound: 62.53 Australian Dollar: 30.005 Canadian Dollar: 31.9425