Gaybutton

She did say that, but it's not her decision to make. This wasn't a civil matter. It was a criminal matter and that makes it up to the prosecutors and the courts, not her, whether or not to proceed no matter what the wishes of the victim may be. Sometimes it seems as if big names and big money are what you need to get out of trouble. Michael Jackson comes to mind. The incident may have taken place many years ago. The victim might not want the case to proceed. But the fact remains that Polanski, who supposedly was a responsible adult at the time, should have to stand trial and if found guilty go to jail like anybody else.

How about that? And I was so sure the only one on this board who ever heard of it was me. Izzy Kadetz - in my opinion the only "don't miss" place in all of Cincinnati (unless you also enjoy Mt. Adams). Actually there is a place you can get a semi-acceptable Reuben in Pattaya. I don't remember which soi number, but if you go south on Jomtien Beach Road look for a small restaurant called Rich-Man, Poor Man. They can make a Reuben. But if you want it on rye, you better bring your own. They don't have rye bread there. It's not the greatest, but it's better than nothing. If there is anywhere else in Pattaya to get a Reuben, I don't know about it unless you make it yourself.

Well, you do notice I used "I think" a few times, don't you? For all I know he may have been talking about the Izzy Kadetz Deli in Cincinnati. But HeyGay will be along soon enough to let us know if I interpreted him correctly.

My most sincere apologies for standing you up. If the boys in those last two photos would like me to make up for it, let me know . . . "I dated a girl who was old. Ooooh, was she old! How old was she? She was so old, when she went to school they didn't have History." - Rodney Dangerfield

By judges. As far as I know, there is no jury system in Thailand.

Ok, now I think I understand. I think you are saying someone has been gossiping this all over Sunee Plaza and he has been naming names and ruining the reputation of someone who, as far as I know, has only been questioned about this incident, has not been convicted of anything at all, and although he has been arrested, he has thus far not yet even been charged with a crime. Yes, I would agree with you that if someone has been doing that, then he's definitely in the wrong and anger directed toward him would be justified. I think what you are trying to say is to advise people they can talk about anything they want, but at least leave people's names out of it until they have actually been charged with a crime or the names have been published in the media. I agree that naming the person being questioned and investigated is a very wrong thing to do unless and until he has been charged with a crime. I agree that simply being arrested and questioned does not make him guilty of anything and someone is going way out of line if he is busy ruining this person's reputation. I don't understand why someone would even want to do that.

Who's Harry Potter . . . ? Any relation to Col. Sherman T. Potter? Thank you. To me, at my age the greatest aspect of having a birthday is being still alive to see it. It's not that I'm old, but it was embarrassing when I lit the candles on my birthday cake only to have the police show up and tell me bonfires are not allowed. And I appreciate you wishing me all the best. However, being the unselfish person that I am, I'm willing to share. I don't need all the best. Some of the best will do very nicely. I will be happy to distribute the rest of the best. First come, first served . . . Of course, I don't know when I will die, but I know when I want it to be. Regardless of the year, I want it to be the day I otherwise would have paid my income tax. Let them worry about it.

That's where I think you're going wrong. You're saying that as if that's the way it is supposed to be. If something going wrong spoils the entire next day, it's because you are letting it spoil your day and you are choosing to feel that way. Sometimes things go wrong, including sexual encounters. That's life. You can let it spoil your day. You can also choose to get over it, forget it, move on, and try to have a better next day.

Isn't everybody? They say age is just a number. It's not the number of years, it's how you feel. Right now I'm a wreck . . . I am getting old. When I get on Gay Romeo and manage to find somebody who wants to meet me, I ask where he is. I keep getting the addresses of nursing homes. I did get a few gifts, though. The most useful gift I received was a box of prunes. The most appropriate I received was the gift certificate for a funeral home. It's not so bad that I'm so old I can't get dates, but I'd at least like an opportunity to know if I need Viagra. I'm so old I thought buying a talking inflatable doll would help. Wrong! It said, "Not on the first date." I'm so old that both my hands are riddled with arthritis. Well, there goes my sex life . . .

There are certainly several bar boys who love me. I know they do. They tell me so . . . every time I open my wallet.

I have no idea who you mean by a one-man crusade or why you think many people truly give a damn about it in the first place, but none of the people you are referring to are my sources of information. The fact is the man is dead, was found hanged, and the incident is being investigated as a possible murder. Another fact is someone has been arrested in connection with it. What is it that anyone would be angry about? If someone dislikes what is being said, he is perfectly welcome to post his own version of the incident.

I'm somewhere between retirement visa eligibility and death; I hope closer to the former. So where's the fireworks? The dancing in the streets? The stock markets worldwide closing for ten minutes? Oh yes, I forgot. Those are scheduled when the day comes for the latter . . .

Not a lot of experience, but yes, I do have experience and I know what I'm talking about. Without going into detail, I have visited prisoners on four separate occasions in four separate facilities.

Certainly there is the risk factor to consider when deciding whether to retire early and/or whether Thailand is the place where you wish to retire. You can try to guess what things will be like years from now. You can also guess whether you'll even be alive years from now. To me, there are some things in life worth the risk. For me, Thailand has been worth the risk. I would rather risk and lose than years from now regret not having taken the risk.

No, that's not true. They do provide food, but all the jails have a canteen store at which people can purchase additional food and various items for the prisoners. It will be delivered to them. Prisoners can only receive items purchased from the canteen store and, of course, the package is thoroughly inspected before the prisoner ever sees it.

You can get the Thai retirement visa at age 50.

I did. I thought it was a water fountain . . .

I had the same problem when I was living with a boyfriend. My solution was simple. I told him any food I find stored on a shelf instead of properly stored in the refrigerator will be thrown out. And that's exactly what I did. He didn't like it, but after I threw it out anyway a few times he finally got the message.

Here's the first thing that I'm putting on my "I Don't Get It" list. The article says: ". . . offered the chance to clear the debt by performing indecent, sexual acts, with largely foreign clients. Photographs and videos of the incidents would then be uploaded onto the internet . . ." ". . . Mr. Bunphasong subsequently informed police about various clients involved with the operation . . ." Unless I'm missing something, this indicates to me that the foreign "clients" at least knew they were being photographed and videoed. Whether they knew any of it was going to end up on the Internet, I don't know. Also, if Bunphasong is now informing police about various clients, that indicates to me he knows who they are and has contact information that he most likely verified. Why on earth would these "clients" allow that to happen? They let themselves be photoed and videoed while indulging in these incidents? They gave Bunphasong personal information? Am I getting this right? It's bad enough they are doing this sort of thing at all, but if I'm understanding this correctly, then they must be crazy or stupid or more likely a combination of both. Don't these people know if something ever happens, the first thing Bunphasong would do is turn in every one of them in an attempt to save his own skin? Don't they know that by allowing photos or videos, then they're virtually lining up to be caught? That has to be one of the top ten on a 'stupid' list. But good! I think tdperhs is right. Even if they manage to escape Thailand, it's only a question of time before they find themselves trying to explain their actions to a judge in their home countries.

I hope you're right and I hope they're already gone. I also hope it scares other pedophiles from either coming to Thailand for the first time or returning to Thailand.

Yes, there is a place at which he can be given a free room and free food if it is discovered he is living in Thailand under false pretenses - jail. Why would Thailand or an embassy provide any kind of support system for a farang who is broke and has no place to go? I suppose he could always try going to a Wat and becoming a monk. Failing that, if he has no money and no way to obtain any money, he would have little choice other than going to his embassy, explaining his situation, and hoping for some sort of favorable outcome. As far as I know, the embassies are not responsible for extending what would amount to welfare for someone who is living in a foreign country and then finds himself broke. I know of no such obligation. And certainly Thailand has no obligation to provide financial assistance. Also, if it turns out that he is living in Thailand under false pretenses such as lying about his income, which may explain why he is broke in the first place, then going to Thai authorities or the embassy could easily result in making his situation even worse. The only practical solution I can see for someone in such a situation would be, while his passport and visa are still valid, to try to get a job that could provide him with a work permit and sufficient income to legally remain in Thailand. Failing that, then as far as I can tell: "The days of our kind are number-ed." - Nicol Williamson (Merlin), 'Excalibur'

Yes, when you're dealing with a corrupt official there's no denying that you're right. What should have taken place was, assuming the man was in Thailand legally even if it was the 30-day privilege and also assuming he had the necessary paperwork, a 1900 baht fee to convert to the 90-day visa and a second 1900 baht fee to convert the 90-day visa to the retirement visa. That's how it is supposed to work and I have personally witnessed it being done that way by that retirement visa officer who has been with the Pattaya immigration office since forever. I don't think that particular official is corrupt in any way. So, what should have cost the man a total of 3800 baht ended up costing him 17,000. He got scammed.

Well, if it happens to be the right boy, I can think of worse mistakes to make . . .

Your guide told you right. That's one of the first ones I learned during my first trip to Thailand. I also took a guided tour of the more famous temples in Bangkok during my first trip. Of course, every two minutes we're putting on shoes, taking them off, putting them on, and so on. I asked the guide to explain the tradition of removing one's shoes when entering a temple or a home. I expected to receive a lecture about significance of feet, matters of respect, religious rites, and so on. Well, I received no such lecture. What I did receive in response to my question about why shoes must be removed was, "Keep floor clean."

Wow! If that immigration officer ever gets caught pulling a stunt like that, he's not just up Shit Creek without a paddle. He won't even have the boat. It seems like a risky scam to me. What's to stop someone from getting the fixer to put the 800,000 into his account and then skipping out with it? I wonder how much the fixer charges for this "service."