Thaiquila

what a hilarious description of The Blooms!!!! i lived there for six months and there is nothing 'seedy' about the place. in fact, it's quite decent.

I wonder if Karr's room is already booked?

If they were smart, they would jack up the prices ten times, and rent it by the night.

To Israelis. (Sorry, inside joke.)

In any case, people who refuse to participate in the political process are irrelevant to the political process, and by not participating, are endorsing the status quo, whether they want to or not.

Bush won two elections. It is a shame, but it is a fact. Bush is the most right wing president in US history. And right wing FOX is the coutry's top news network.

True, most Americans (again to their shame) don't even bother to vote, so how to factor in the apathetic and apolitical, who knows.

The US not right wing?

You decide.

The majority of Americans are not right wing. It is not even a safe assumption to say that the majority of the voting public is right wing these days.

I see. I think you are wrong. Do you seriously think a man as left wing as George McGovern could get nominated by the so called "left" party in the US today? Of course not. Even the so called left party is moderate right these days.

If you arrive in Thailand with an O visa, how many days before the end of the 90 stay should you begin the application process for the conversion to a one year extension (based of retirement)? I have heard different opinions here.

I think it is an objective statement that Fox News is primarily a propoganda machine for Bush policies. If anyone thinks they are objective, they have serious Chang poisoning.

I suppose Fox is useful to observe Bush propoganda and what right wing Americans are fed to "think".

By right wing Americans, I do mean the majority of Americans, because America is now a very right wing nation.

So no surprise Fox "news" is the number one US "news" source.

Of course, Al Jazeera is also biased.

It would be wonderful if we could have more real, objective, professional journalism on our major tv networks. BBC seems quite good, but as an American, I am not so interested in their understandable emphasis on British news.

Paperwerks, that is the kind of thing I would expect from Fidelity.

I really like the idea of Thailand banning Fox! Did that guest really trash the King? If so, that would be excellent grounds. I wish the USA could ban Fox too; they are nothing more than a propoganda arm for the Bush administration, reminds me of the old days of Pravda.

Unfortunately, CNN wasn't much better on this story.

I think many farangs in Pattaya/Jomtien who are without cars go to Patt Intl and Bang-Patt because they are relatively easy to get to, as opposed to Siracha or Sattahip.

It might be a good biz op for some Thais to organize an efficient, comfortable, air con, limo service to help people get to appointments at these further out hospitals.

Also, if more and more resident expats start boycotting Patt Intl and Bang-Patt, maybe it will put a little fire under their management's posteriors!

Actually, it is true the press mentioned sex charges against the nutter in Thailand. If this is really the case, why didn't the chief of the immigration police mention this in the big circus press conference?

I am very skeptical that there were any such charges against him.

I think it is more likely the Thai officials were concerned that this potential pedo was going to be teaching young children and given the high degree of suspicion against him, they understandably wanted to stop that. That is not the same thing as sex charges.

It seems he was mostly being fired from various schools for being a total weirdo, a "crime" he is clearly guilty of!

The press (CNN and FOX especially) has a big old raw omelet on their face over jumping to judgement about the nutter, so in defense they are attacking Thailand, and especially expats in Thailand.

Expats in Thailand should be royally PISSED OFF at the so called "journalism" of the press, not that there is anything we can do about it. Thanks to their irresponsibility, the vast majority of us who are law abiding in our home countries and in Thailand, are now all being painted with this scandalous brush.

a couple of years in jail vs the death penalty are 2 completely different definitions of being "screwed"

Well, maybe. A couple of years on a short eyes charge can mean getting murdered by fellow inmates.

Yes, skipping out is a problem, but the charges were relatively minor, having images on his computer. This appears to be the only pedo-related legal charge he has had (other than the "confession").

I also don't think a false confession is a crime if you are insane.

Another irony about this case is that if they end of dropping the charges because they don't have a case, this guy is going to be majorly rich and have no need to teach English or bathe little girls for chump change ever again. Another American dream story.

I just wish he was arrested somewhere else. I don't appreciate the lurid slurs against the country from the likes of CNN and Fox. Another poster said it right, if you are going to trash Thailand on the sex trade, in all fairness every time you mention America you should mention the high percentage of Americans in prison.

It is kind of random that he was arrested in Thailand considering all the other countries he spent time in.

Its hard to judge which behavior is nuttier: actually doing such a crime or acting like he did. If you really listen to his tv "confession" there is lots of room for interpretation. For example, Are you an innocent man? No. Well, not innocent of what? He says it was an accident. But did he say it was his accident. When asked about specifics of how he got in the house, he replies No comment. So bizarro, a bonanza for the press.

Like I said before, his insane confession will not convict him. They are going to need more, and so far, it is not at all clear they have anything more.

It can be interesting to venture a guess though. I would guess he is just insane and didn't do it. Of course, I am usually wrong on such guesses. I was sure they would convict Michael Jackson.

Not sure how serious those Cali charges were, but in any case, this is surely one of those truth is stranger than fiction stories.

If he is found innocent, he has a great Hollywood career ahead of him playing creepy pervs. Apparently, he can "act"; his resume says so.

I wonder if anyone at the Bankok Pattaya Hospital knows about the reputation they have and if they care?

Like most tourist traps, I doubt they care. New suckers arrive everyday.

Sounds too easy. Pay no attention to the bruises and broken bones. He was that way when he came in.

How long was this guy a suspect?

I agree. If they did rough him up, a good US defense attorney is going to have a field day.

A confession in Thailand isn't going to be enough to convict him in the US, but if they can get DNA evidence, that'll do it.

And getting an impartial jury is going to be almost impossible.

Another circus trial good for months of low brow entertainment!

Does anyone know how long he lived in Thailand?

It wasn't just that she was white and rich. It was more that the parents looked like the murderers and that the girl was an over-sexualized little girl beauty pageant contestant. Real life soap opera, and now ... a sequel.

Yes, this guy looks guilty, but do did the parents. At least in the US still, we still have presumption of innocence.

This case still isn't a done deal.

They have some kind of confession done in Thailand (not under US law I would think), he has no criminal record or accusations in Thailand, he has no ties to Boulder Colorado (scene of the crime), and he has an alibi. So, look forward to high ratings for another "trial of the century" with lots more dragging Thailand through the mud.

If this guy proves to be guilty, of course, it is good news.

However, have people picked up how the US press (CNN) is characterizing THAILAND in this story.

"... arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, NOTORIOUS for its sex trade and child prostitution ... "

Personally, I find such a characterization vile and unbalanced. Assuming this is the real creep, the press should be thanking the Thai authorities for assisting in his arrest, not insulting the entire Thai nation with lurid, yellow journalism.

they were probably so ignorant to the laws here that they may have been lead into believing that it was no big deal. Sadly they are about to find out how screwed they are, literally! The rest of my life in a Thai prison or death? hmm what to do, what to do? yes Ice is like a hard core version of meth if meth isnt hard core enough.

Crystal Meth in some form= ice

sorry mate,

but can you please tell me of one place on this earth where its not a big deal to smuggle coke in?

im struggling to think of one and ive been around a bit.

cheers mate

Bolivia?

The HIV risk of a male receiving oral sex is almost nothing; giving oral sex, minimal. It is true syphilis is on the rise.