Gaybutton

Wouldn't you also have him pay for the damages?

Note from GB: I like the part about the one packet of dried prunes. Perhaps the shoplifting spree made them a little bit constipated. Also, in Thailand, the first floor is the second floor. The floor on ground level, which most of us refer to as the first floor is referred to as the ground floor in Thailand. The next floor up, which most of us refer to as the second floor, is referrred to as the first floor. Confused? The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: _____ Couple Caught Stealing Over 20,000 Baht's Worth of items from Carrefour. A case of shoplifting now from the Carrefour Shopping Center in Central Pattaya. At 10pm on Saturday Night, Police Lieutenant Colonel Santi from Pattaya Police station was called by staff at Carrefour who requested assistance in dealing with a couple accused of stealing over 20,000 Baht

The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS: Photos are available in the original article: http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_25_12_49_3.htm _____ 5 Dead in Drunken Road Crash in Banglamung. Police Sub-Lieutenant Natapon from Banglamung Police Station was called to the Sukumvit Road in Naklua in front of the Pattaya Steel Center to deal with a serious accident resulting in multiple fatalities. He arrived along with rescue workers and was met with a scene of utter devastation with bodies lying in the street and one was still trapped in a Black BMW 323i. A total of 5 people inside the car lost their lives in one of Pattaya

BANGKOK, Dec 26 (TNA) The Asset Examination Committee has found ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Khunying Pojaman guilty of the latter

shoo

Last night a friend gave this to me. I got a great laugh from of it. I hope you do too:

Thank you for that. I do accept and appreciate it. Since you have now done what I feel is the right thing to do and apologized, I'll stop being among the people who post attacks against you on this board and elsewhere, although I kind of hate to step out of my role as the Wicked Stepmother. Merry Christmas. The war is over.

The thread started off asking about hotels in or near te Sunee Plaza area. Now we're getting far away from there. So as not to confuse Davidjewel, some of the accommodations now being discussed are far outside of that area. Also, if you simply ignore anything Pearl69er posts, you'll be just fine. When he says, "I think not," I agree.

You will probably find what you are looking for at http://www.utopia-asia.com/tipsthai.htm

You may be close to correct. Several low-fare airlines have already asked to go back to Don Muang ( see: http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1121 ). Based on what I'm reading here, I'm not surprised. Forty years in the making, and this is what Thailand comes up with.

For those of you who wish to know as much as possible about seating on the various airlines, I suggest having a look at the following URL: http://www.seatguru.com

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ New Airport Faces Partial Shutdown Mistakes, Graft Found in Almost All Contracts AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK Poor construction at Suvarnabhumi may force parts of the new airport to be shut down for repairs. This would open the way for the recently abandoned Don Muang airport to be re-opened to serve Bangkok's air traffic needs. Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um said yesterday that following a recent report on the problems facing Suvarnabhumi airport, it was likely that part of the new facility would have to be closed and Don Muang airport would pick up the slack. Some people had suggested the airport, open less than three months, be completely closed for a revamp, with flights being redirected to Don Muang until the improvements are completed, Mr Sansern said. He was opposed to that. Trying to move everything back to Don Muang would cause chaos. The Council for Democratic Reform _ now the Council for National Security _ asked about the readiness of Suvarnabhumi airport just after the Sept 19 coup, but executives of the Airports of Thailand (AoT) had insisted the airport was ready for the scheduled Sept 28 opening. Opening the airport before it was completed had inevitably led to problems. If the opening had been delayed to allow work to be finished properly, the airport would have started on a more solid footing. The new AoT board appointed after the coup has discovered physical and managerial problems at Suvarnabhumi airport. Board member Yodyiam Theptranont, who heads a sub-panel investigating the problems, said the repairs would take a long time. He could not give a timeframe. Mr Yodyiam's report to the AoT board outlined a lengthy list of complaints and deficiencies, along with a list of recommendations on fixing the problems. The report attributed the faults to substandard construction, poor management and manipulation of designs and materials. The report said the airport's information technology facilities were incomplete and the upper floors of the car park building have no drains, causing rain water to flow into elevator shafts. Over 1,000 lamps had already burned out and not been replaced. Mr Yodyiam said AoT lacked an official with direct responsibility for the airport's construction, which had posed an obstacle in getting swift repairs. Another AoT board member, Tortrakul Yomnak, said many areas need repairs and a partial closure was likely. Chaisak Angsuwan, director-general of the Civil Aviation Department, said that due to the persistent problems, the department could not issue a permanent licence for Suvarnabhumi airport. It would, however, extend an interim aerodrome certificate for the airport for another six months in January, he said. Mr Chaisak said the airport needed to meet all physical and operational requirements before it could be given a permanent certificate. There were many cracks in the airport's taxiways, some serious and some not, and repairs would be time-consuming, he said. Many operations staff also have no expertise in using their equipment. Adm Bannawit Kengrian, chairman of the National Legislative Assembly's committee on Suvarnabhumi airport, said his panel had discovered mistakes and irregularities in almost all the airport's contracts. Names of those believed responsible would be announced in two weeks. Specifications in some contracts had been distorted, he said. Salaries paid executives of the Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel were unusually high. Despite its claimed five-star status, the hotel had plywood doors. An inexperienced contractor operated transformers that supply power to visiting aircraft and six transformers had burnt out. The cost of digging ditches around the airport was inflated to three billion baht and hiring security guards to five billion baht. Any contracts where corruption was found would be scrapped, he said

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Where Did Our Tsunami Cash Go? Western Countries Send Complaint to Police after Loss of Money Donated to Identify Victims Seven major Western countries recently submitted a joint complaint to the Royal Police Headquarters alleging that money intended to help identify tsunami victims had been stolen, according to informed sources. The sources, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the subject, said funds contributed by Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and France amounted to almost Bt60 million. The money was donated by the citizens of those countries, who wanted to help victims of the tsunami that killed more than 5,000 people in the Phuket, Phang-Nga and Krabi areas. The source said more than 60 per cent of the funds were wasted and disguised as travelling and other miscellaneous costs. "To be frank, someone has stolen our citizens' money," said one of the sources, who has followed the victim identification process from the beginning. Thailand Tsunami Victim Identification (TTVI) was established by the international community in January 2005. With its disaster victim identification (DVI) operation, TTVI is considered the largest such multinational operation ever conducted. At one point there were at least 600 officials from Thailand and 30 other countries to help the victims. In a joint letter dated November 22 addressed to General Kowit Watana of the Royal Thai Police, diplomats raised two pivotal issues: the status of DNA data of over 400 bodies and the bodies of over 400 missing victims which have not been located. "Without any additional new information or discoveries of further bodies (now very unlikely), these last remaining bodies and missing people are sadly unlikely to be reconciled," the letter read. The source said the Public Health Ministry had constantly refused to hand back DNA data. "We want the data to be returned to the centre for further testing and matching," said the source. The issue was raised in the letter in a more polite way. It said that during the first 10 days after the tsunami, approximately 2,000 bodies were released to relatives. Among them, the diplomats believed, were some misidentified bodies. At the time, nobody wanted to raise any questions as efforts were concentrated on helping the tsunami victims. The diplomats also urged the Royal Thai Police to help ensure that DNA analysis is completed by tomorrow, the second anniversary of the tsunami. Since the letter's submission, there has been no response from the police or the Foreign Ministry, which was given a copy of the complaint. The most damaging part of the letter was the request to have an internal audit concerning the funds. The sources claim to have reliable information that the funds contributed by the seven countries were misused. It requested an internal auditing by "a reputable and qualified private accountancy company" covering the period from January 2005 until the present time. The sources said the US government had agreed to meet the costs of the audit using the funds available in the tsunami-related cooperative agreement with the TTVI and DVI, which began in January 2005. The letter said that "any such misuse would be an especially sensitive and distressing matter for us all, given the generous-spirited and cooperative nature of the whole DVI operation". According to General Amarin Niumsakul, assistant police commissioner-general, the letter from the envoys alleging misuse of funds was a serious allegation, which he said could be a misunderstanding. Deputy police commissioner-general General Achiravit Suwanphesad said the funds were used not only by Thai officials but foreign experts as well. The joint letter, which was also addressed to Foreign Minister Nitya Phibulsonggram, was signed by Sweden's Lars Erik Backstrom, German Ambassador Dr Christoph Bruemmer, Dutch Ambassador Pieter Marres, Swedish Ambassador Jonas Hafstrom, British Ambassador David Fall, US Ambassador Ralph Boyce and France's charge d'affaires Pascal le Deunff. This is the first time that such a large group of Western countries has questioned the integrity of Thai police in an official letter. The Nation _____ To view the letter, click the following link: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/specials/monday_letter.gif

So far I'm still fortunate enough not to need it, so I don't know very much about it, but I do have a couple of suggestions that come to mind. The first is to see your doctor. The side effects you describe sound potentially dangerous to me and there are alternatives, such as Cialis. I wouldn't take it again without consulting your doctor. The second suggestion is to base your use of it according to timing. One thing you could do would be to spend one evening simply scouting the bars, making notes to yourself as to which boys you probably would want to take "off." After you have your list, the next night, or even the same night, if you know in advance which bars and which boys at which you intend to "off," now you can time your taking of the Viagra before even entering the bar. If the boy has already been "offed" or turns out to have a pierced tongue or some other attribute that you dislike, you can simply move on to the next one on your list.

And a Merry Christmas to you too. You're entitled to your opinion, but I never did like when someone chops a business apart and expresses his view as fact instead of as an opinion. Howard's happens to be the hotel of choice for a great many "farang," and that includes many who can easily afford to stay anywhere they wish, in the lap of luxury. Perhaps your concept of what constitutes a 'decent' hotel differs from the opinion held by others. Most people I know who have stayed at Howard's return there every time they visit Pattaya and wouldn't even consider staying elsewhere. Sometimes I wish they would. I often pick up my friends when they're staying at Howard's and the soi is not the easiest street to drive. The hotel is inexpensive. If you're expecting a 5-star hotel at that price you won't get one, but most people I know consider it an excellent value for the money and are quite satisfied with the rooms. The gentleman asked for a hotel in or around Sunee Plaza and Howard's is one of the best available in that area. How about letting people try it and judge for themselves instead of coming online, registering here, and making your first post on this message board for no apparent purpose other than to demean a perfectly good accommodation.

We went to the News Cafe again a couple of nights ago, this time five of us, and again we all greatly enjoyed it. While we were there two more friends entered and said they came because they read the review I posted here. Today I was at the beach and ran into them. They both said they like it very much and went a second time, this time with their Thai boyfriends. The boyfriends also enjoyed it. One of them highly recommended the "toast skagen," item number 2 on the menu as an appetizer. I'll be sure to give it a try next time I'm there, which will be soon, for sure. This restaurant is quickly becoming a "must" on your list of places to eat when visiting Pattaya.

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Storms Create Southern Disasters Chumphon (TNA) Two more southern districts along the Gulf of Thailand have been declared disaster zones while strong waves continue to pound the region and damaged houses, officials said. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation warned the southern provinces the high waves will continue until New Year. Anucha Moekkhawet, the department director, said that the coastlines of provinces along the Gulf of Thailand will remain endangered for another week at least. Pathiu district in this province was declared a disaster zone Saturday by the provincial governor after mighty waves as high as four metres initially destroyed six houses. The Royal Thai Navy has set up a 24-hour relief center here to help people impacted by the waves. Another disaster zone was declared in Chaiya district of Surat Thani province after waves eroded seven kilometres of Sai Kaew beach and more than 30 temporary shelters of fishermen were washed away along with a number of fishing boats. Army officials yesterday inspected villagers in Tha Chana district of Surat Thani who were affected by powerful waves and found that many of them were suffering from stress, headache and high blood pressure. Soldiers built retaining walls from some 4,000 sandbags more in a bid to fend off the waves. In Songkhla province near the Thai-Malaysian border, military engineer units helped the villagers build breakwaters of rock to prevent the waves from destroying a Thai Muslim cemetery located near the beach. A lecturer at a Bangkok university blamed the El Nino weather phenomenon for the unusually high waves that are ravaging the coastlines of southern provinces along the Gulf. The lecturer said a crash between the cold air mass from China and warm sea water in the Gulf had created unusually strong surf that surged against the Gulf of Thailand coastline, creating problems in many areas.

A highly popular gay hotel in the Sunee Plaza area is Howard's. You'll find all the information at the following URL: http://www.howards-pattaya.net

And a special thanks to you for providing this web site. Happy holidays to all.

BANGKOK, Dec 23 (TNA) Worries over new reserve measures on local banks aimed at curbing short-term capital inflows coupled with the upcoming holidays, are likely to depress both the Thai baht and the stock market next week, according to a report issued by Kasikorn Research Centre. The report said the baht -- which slipped to Bt36.41 against the dollar late Friday -- is expected to move within Bt36.20-Bt37.00 per dollar next week due to various factors. These factors include reserves to be made by commercial banks in anticipation of large withdrawals by customers ahead of New Year while investors are still concerned about the direction of Thai currency and overseas banks closed because of the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Late Monday (Dcember 18), the Bank of Thailand (BoT) shocked both the currency and equity markets with its announcement that foreign inflows would be subject to a 30 per cent reserve requirement. But Pridiyathorn Devakula, deputy prime minister and finance minister, clarified Tuesday night that the order would not be applied to foreign direct investment (FDI) and equity investments after the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index tumbled 14.84 per cent and over Bt800 billion in value was wiped out in the market's largest one-day loss since the SET established 31 years ago. The SET composite index, closed at 680.31 points on Friday, down 7.6 per cent from a week ago, is expected to continue retreating next week due to persisting worry about the central bank's new measures. The BoT is scheduled to announce key economic data for November next Friday. Most investors will be absent from the market due to the year-end holidays. (TNA)-E111

Despite the fact that Hedda and I disagree on this, if he was a lawyer I would indeed want him as my defense attorney. A good attorney will provide the best possible defense for his client, and I can't think of anyone who could do it better. What some fail to realize is that it's actually possible to disagree with people and still hold the greatest respect for them.

Two Faces, in Jomtien Complex is hosting a Christmas Eve charity party. The details are in the file below. I copies their flier verbatim. Obviously it was not written by a native English speaker, but I think you'll get the idea. This is the flier that was distributed at the beach. I'm sorry, but I do not have any information other than the flier. I do not know what charity is to be the recipient of the proceeds or what percent of the gross will be donated.

Just one. Most of the time when boys order a drink, it's a soft drink. From what I have been told, they get a 20 baht commission for a soft drink and get nothing for a hard drink or beer. Also, I believe, but I am not sure, that the drinking age applies to customers, not to people working in the bar. As I said, I am not sure on this one, but it is my understanding that as long as a boy is at least 18 years old and is drinking as an employee of the bar, then no law is being violated. That makes no sense at all, so that's why it's probably true. Nevertheless, perhaps someone who knows more about it can clarify it for us.

Well, golly gee. And all this time I thought I was an incomplete dunce.

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Phuket Struggles to Handle Excess Waste Garbage Overload Puts Resort Island in Crisis ACHADTAYA CHUENNIRAN Phuket _ Provincial officials are struggling to prevent the island province from being flooded with garbage as an increasing amount of waste has placed the resort island in crisis. The province's waste incinerator, with 250 tonnes-a-day capacity, cannot cope with the 450 tonnes of garbage a day, said Nakhon Phuket Municipality chief Somjai Suwansupana. She blamed inefficient garbage sorting for the high volume of waste and the poor operations of the incinerator as organic waste hindered the incineration system. Previously, the municipality hired a private firm to sort garbage but it did not work out. It now plans to build a second incinerator, Mrs Somjai said. The burner costs around 1.3 billion baht which, she says, is affordable given the municipality's revenues. Besides, she said, the municipality is preparing to ask for a government subsidy. However, an environmentalist is cautioning against the plan, which is seen as a short-term measure. Piriyut Wanapruk, director of the Development of Environment and Energy Foundation, said the island needed better waste management to reduce garbage. He said authorities should encourage local communities to sort the garbage because different types required different methods of disposal. The foundation, which conducted a study on Phuket's waste management found that the waste was composed largely of organic waste, or ''wet garbage,'' leftovers and other residues from households and hotel kitchens. This waste is causing a problem for the incinerator because its dampness requires the burner to use more electricity, resulting in lower efficiency. It must be buried, but the island's landfill is inadequate. In an attempt to reduce the amount of rubbish, provincial officials have asked two municipalities _ tambon Thep Kasatri and tambon Choeng Talay, to join a pilot project to make use of the garbage. They are being urged to turn the organic waste into fertiliser. A first fertiliser factory was built last year in tambon Thep Kasatri and a second is expected to be constructed soon in tambon Choeng Talay. To solve the problem long run, the province must curb the increase in its garbage each year from 7% now to less than 5%, Mr Piriyut said.