Bob

I have no problem with being "quick off the mark" on this one. The Swiss authorities were furnished with the entire court file and a transcript of the proceedings. And, contrary to what Polanski claimed later and what his supporters have been saying all over the internet: (1) Polanski,under oath and in open court, admitted he knew the girl was 13 when he had sex with her; and (2) Polanski, under oath and in open court, acknowledged that there was no sentencing deal whatsoever and that he was fully aware that the judge could sentence him to many years in prison (the judge asked Polanski several questions to make sure that he knew that there was no sentencing deal whatsoever). As to what the victim (now an adult and much wealthier due to the money Polanski paid her) says now is irrelevant to me and to the prosecutors. What the victim said then (again, it's in a transcript you can read on the net) was that he drugged her, she said "no" more than once, and he proceeded to have his way with her anyway. This whole case, in my opinion, is another example of a wealthy pervert getting away with raping a child. If an "average" guy did it, he'd have gotten 10 to 20 years in prison (and rightfully so).

Switzerland or not, I'm forced to wonder who was paid to make this happen. Switzerland in essence has elected to break an entradition agreement with another country (US) to somehow protect this slimeball. Amazing.

I was trying to come up with something kind and sweet to say for your birthday; however, given my age (and I'm younger than you!), I can't think of anything kind or sweet to say. So, best I can do is: Happy Birthday you old goat!

I've read the last 3 or 4 but it's been a while. I do recall that the prior constitutions had a longer list of enumerated rights for criminal defendants; regardless, I didn't see anything in the latest constitution with respect to criminal defendants' rights that sparked any concern for me. Nothing's changed in the versions I've read with respect to the presumption of innocence and the burden of proof. You can find the 3 or 4 constitutions they've had in the last 20+ years just by searching online. The language is fairly easy to read although the language and reality don't always match up (for one example only, all of the constitutions guaranteed a "free" public education through high school.....but that's not necessarily the reality as some fees kick in beyond junior high - and that's one of the reasons too many poorer kids don't go to or finish high school).

Your understanding is incorrect about the Thai system (every accused is presumed innocent and he must be proven guilty - see Section 39 of the current Thai constitution) and, in Thailand and most western countries, the burden of proof in a criminal case is technically "beyond a reasonable doubt" (in the west, the "predonderance" level is what's required to prevail in civil litigation). That being said, I'm sure there are all types of various errors (unintentional and intentional) being made and my guess is justice is thwarted too often by appropriate payments to victims or others. We've all "heard" (often fed by rumor and internet hysteria) of terrible miscarriages of justice here and there but I'm not sure how often that actually occurs. In Thailand, it's almost impossible to know as the newspapers are fairly awful in printing accurate stories and, of course, they almost never follow up on what happened in a given case. Even in the west, the local press is usually pretty bad in reporting about criminal cases (I've seen reporters attend court proceedings and later read their stories - and too often conclude that the author either selectively heard what was going or was just plain ignorant about what was truly going on there).

The guy that died or his mobster father (Michael Spillane who was born in 1924 and died in 1976 and who was also known as Mickey Spillane) are quite different from the author known as Mickey Spillane (full legal name of Frank Morrison Spillane who was born in 1918 and died in 2006). Author Spillane is likely feverishly writing the scene where Mike Hammer comes pays you a visit for that one.....hehe.

I was somewhat surprised to find a retirement visa scam going on in Hua Hin (and my guess it occurs elsewhere as well). What happens is you find the local fixer who will "loan" the 800k baht to you for a week or two and, for that, you pay him/her a fee. He/she takes you to immigration where the fixer shares part of the fee with the immigration officer, you get your one-year visa, and then the fixer gets the 800k back from your bank account. The old guy who was financially strapped got this done this way to the surprise of some of the falang neighbors. As to how they would handle the alleged requirement that you're required to have the 800k in the bank for 90 days prior to a renewal is a mystery to me (but, if a given immigration officer is in on the scam, then I'd guess that nothing is really required if the price is right). In the case I mentioned, it was the old guy's first retirement visa so there was no 90-day time period required.

I've never heard of the long-sleeve shirt requirement either; however, it is proper protocol and respectful to wear a collared shirt (verus a tee-shirt)in a temple.

Just my two cents but it'll never stand on appeal. This judge based his decision on the concept that a definition of marriage being a union between a male and a female is "irrational." That's simply bonkers given, whether we like it or not, that's been the definition of marriage for centuries accepted by almost all cultures and nations. Knowing that there are "originalists" on the US Supreme Court, what do you think are the chances they are going to find that the people who drafted the contitution could even conceive of marriage as anything other than a union between a man and a woman designed for procreation? In my opinion, zero chance of that happening. One needs to separate out what one feels is morally or ethically right or wrong from what is or isn't "constitutional." They ain't always the same. Maybe someday the majority of citizens will view that same-sex couples are the same in all respects to traditional couples and, if that should happen, maybe they'll amend the constitution to so provide. But in my view that concept wouldn't currently fly at all.

Somewhat related to this is what appears to me to be a lack of any open affection between adult Thais and their adult children. For example, when I first visited the bf's home many moons ago, I was somewhat surprised that there was no affectionate greetings or goodbyes. In the west, we normally do that (often accompanied by at least a hug or kiss for your mother)and I was rather startled to see almost nothing between my bf and his mother (who he in fact loved). A couple of times during early visits, I'd even say something like "aren't you going to say goodbye to your mom!?!" and I'd usually get the "huh?" look from him in return. After more visits, it (the lack of affection) just became routine and normal for me. Another thing I've noticed and actually find endearing is how affectionate Thais are with their own young children and even the young children of total strangers. On more than one occasion, I've seen strangers approach a young Thai child and actually pick them up and cuddle or play with them and then watched the child's parents simply smile about it. In the west, we're a hell of a lot more cautious about something like that (i.e., while I might smile at a stranger's young kid, I certainly wouldn't approach the child or touch them without the parent's clear consent). Finally, I have noticed in the last few years some (not many) boyfriends and girlfriends holding hands or showing other signs of affection in public. I have no problem with it but it's something I've noticed that's a bit out of the ordinary (I never saw that a decade ago).

Unfortunately, GB, those of us who actually can identify that "gorgeous" broad (MM) are much closer to a dirt nap than we might want to be (i.e., old).

Nor has anyone else suggested that. Some of your examples of so-called "logic" are just a bit weak in the "logic" department. For example, Reagan granted amnesty to illegal aliens so they wouldn't be "illegal" doesn't make it so. In fact, it isn't and that's not why it was done (I'm no fan of Reagan but the "amnesty" given for mainly long-term Mexican illegal immigrants was done on humanitarian grounds). Also, there's a difference between just plain negligence or stupidity (i.e., the Russians failing to protect the concrete bags from moisture) and logic. And the USA didn't retaliate for the downing of the twin towers by going to war against Iraq (remember Afghanistan?). Etc., etc... For many westerners, some Thai (or, better put, "asian") logic is befuddling and a bit contrary to how we were taught to think. I, for example, put on a seat belt or wear a helmet so I lower my chance of getting injured or killed - and I never don't wear a helmet because "it's not my day to die." I also don't avoid a place just because somebody accidentally died there as I don't believe in ghosts. The differences - some probably cultural and some related to the education methods or lack thereof - don't make falang necessarily right or the Thai necessarily wrong - but falang see some of the differences as just plain goofy (and I'm sure the Thai think the same about some falang patterns of thinking).

I also doubt it was an intentional ripoff. That happened to me once at my US bank and I telephoned them a couple hours later and they said they'd check it out. The next day they called me and said they verified that I was shorted and then put the shortage back into my account. If they could do it (probably by looking at a computer screen showing the withdrawal and machine cash balance at the time), then my guess is your Thai bank has the same ability to check it out. The only question is whether whoever you contact really wants to bother checking it out.

While I don't know the answer.....we're all guessing here and, too, we're all handicapped by our western upbringings to understand the Thai psyche.....at least Smile's suggestion makes some sense to me. I still notice a lot of body language in that direction (keeping yourself lower to superiors) and, hell, I still do it myself (sometimes subconciously) when approaching or being around monks. Stage heights may also relate to the fact that Thais, over time, are attempting to emulate what the west does - plus the very practical reason that you can see better from the back if the stage is higher. And, lest we forget, a lot of these stages are built by falang who have no or little sensitivity to the nuances of Thai culture. I've noticed that the new kids in the bars up north (those new kids being from Laos, Burma, or local Shan villages) tend to bow a lot when directly conversing and making eye contact with a particular customer. When I see it, I don't see it so much as the kid being "uncomfortable" but slipping back into the cultural practices of the more rural Thais. That's the way they were raised and it's normal to many of them.

I'm not sure as I don't do the Gay Romeo or Camfrog stuff.....but I've heard Thais say that (or similar words) before. When I've heard it, I've always taken it to mean that the person (falang) tends to press a point beyond what Thais find acceptable. It's a cultural thing. For example, if a Thai tells you he has "errands" (tu-ra) to do, typically a Thai uses that language to signal that he doesn't want you to ask what he will be doing. In other words, it's considered very impolite to ask any further. I'm not sure if this has something to do with "greng jai" or not but typically Thais will use extraordinary (to us) polite language to tell others to not go any further with a particular angle of discussion. They don't tend to say "none of your fucking business!" hehe

Nah....the Thai logic I hear is that you won't have an accident today if today is not your day to have one. That always befuddles me.

Geez, Geezer, what the heck are you smoking?

It's been several years (and I checked with several branches of Bangkok Bank) but they absolutely wouldn't give me online access - and that's exactly why I switched to SCB. At that time, I only had the standard 30-day entry permit. And I suppose it's possible that Bangkok Bank has changed their policy since then and/or the Pattaya branches follow different rules (I was dealing with the Chiangmai branches).

I only use Siam Commercial Bank now. I switched to there from Bangkok Bank many years ago so I could do the online stuff (transfers, etc.) which Bangkok Bank wouldn't let me do without a work permit.

Yep, voted. Punched in 14 of those choices (although some were essentially duplicates - like Laos and Luang Prabang).

Tick all that apply? I can't (it won't let me as it'll only let me vote for one). So, I didn't vote and hope it won't ruin my day....

It seems that a fair number of banking institutions lock up (disable) an online account if it isn't used (accessed) within a certain amount of time. For example, I have one account here in the states that will lock me out unless I access it at least once every 90 days. My guess is they do it for some perceived security reason. The IBAN thing was new to me but I see it's solely used in greater Europe. For international wires, we (at least the US and Canada) use only SWIFT codes (which, versus the earlier number system of ABA numbers, consists of letters only).

Heck if I know....but hope that there's no soi dog in them.... Little Choices is a great place to have a drink and chat with friends. Skip's a great guy as are all the staff. And I can personally report that the rum and cokes have not, to date, improved my pool game one iota.

One way to prevent loss of the number - for those who aren't in LOS for most of the year - is to simply buy enough minutes to extend the date well beyond your next vacation date. For example, you can buy 1200 minutes and they are good for a year. That'd be a lot easier in my view than worrying about the hassle of buying 50 minutes a month. I purchased the 1200-minute deal at some phone shop in the mall (I couldn't get it at the local 7/11). You also tend to get a longer expiration time just by purchasing minutes in 300 minute (and baht) blocks. A year ago January, I bought the 1200 minute deal and those ran out in November or so....and then I began purchasing 300 minute blocks at the local 7/11 whenever I got below 100 or so minutes. I think the last time I purchased minutes was at the end of March and my minutes (think I have a total of about 400 at the moment) don't expire until May of 2011.