Caitrin

That's very interesting but it shouldn't be allowed.

The USA and Australia woudn't allow it. Strange that Japan does. Could perhaps be, as you say due to a lack of a common system that tracks these things. Strangely though, Cambodian immigration knows I am a dual citizen by virtue of having used two different passports to enter their country and also having my fingerprints taken. Of course this is absolutely OK, but if Cambodia can do it, why not Thailand? Or Japan for that matter?

Well, it isn't legally allowed. One might argue it's tacitly unremarked upon if it exists, but I don't know how accurate that argument might be. I know that efforts to track Japanese nationals beyond the basic within Japan is heavily unpopular with the Japanese population because of privacy concerns. Just because Terry Smith got finger printed and photographed on entering the country doesn't mean that Yamada Taro ever was.

I think the only nationals that can be tracked this way, are naturalised ones, because they didn't have a Japanese identity until they started to create it for purposes of naturalisation based on their foreign identity. Japan knows that Jerry Jones who becomes Matsumoto Jeiri is the same person, because they have access to how the foreign identity turned into the Japanese identity. For Taro/Terry, there is absolutely no such way, since as a child he was most likely a registered birth in both countries completely independently, establishing two completely different identities, which have never crossed.

Good. Cis people can sometimes have great difficulty grasping what is to a trans person obvious, and usually obvious from a very young age.

Now if only the Thai government would actually get on with the business of passing a law allowing one to change their gender assignment on documents. That would be more immediately meaningful.

It's culturally institutionalized here - part of the Thai social contract, and hard to escape. Here it is meant to make sure each and every person recognizes authority, obeys orders and keeps to their place in the feudal hierarchy.

Comparing to fraternity hazing in the U.S. is laughable.

Uh... and it isn't in the U.S.? I'm both highly critical of the Greek system and Greek myself. The reason these two facts are not mutually exclusive is because bluntly put, Greeks are represented disproportionately at the top levels of the U.S. society. This means even being a progressive individual who finds the level of hazing, alcohol and substance abuse, misogyny, racism, and classism appalling recognises that the system is a product, not a generator, of these issues. If you want to reform the system, you need to be listened to, and the fastest way for a the system to listen to you is... well... for you to be Greek yourself.

Just how much of the U.S. elite is Greek? Uh, most of it.

Of the nation's 50 largest corporations, 43 are headed by fraternity men.

85% of the Fortune 500 executives belong to a fraternity.

40 of 47 U.S. Supreme Court Justices since 1910 were fraternity men.

76% of all Congressmen and Senators belong to a fraternity.

Every U.S. President and Vice President, except two in each office, born since the first social fraternity was founded in 1825 have been members of a fraternity.

63% of the U.S. President's Cabinet members since 1900 have been Greek.

The first Female Senator was Greek

The first Female Astronaut was Greek

All of the Apollo 11 Astronauts are Greek

So let me get this straight, he lost his Thai passport, so he tried to exit the country on his UK passport? Uh, I think usually you can only enter and leave one of your countries with your passport for that country. And then you have to explain the missing stamps later if asked.

I wouldn't leave Japan after naturalisation on my U.S. passport, and vice versa. That would be stupid, and is pretty much a no no in both countries. I'd have waited.

Which story are you commenting on?it certainly has nothing to do with this one.

It does, doesn't it? I mean, he shouldn't have ever been blacklisted, but I was just clarifying, he ran into the blacklist because he got caught out without proof of his Thai nationality, right, because he tried to do something a national shouldn't do: use another passport and enter and to leave?

I was saying, in addition to the awfulness of being blacklisted by an abuse of power, he also did something I wouldn't do as a dual national, because I'm pretty sure it's breaking the law. Or at least immigration policy.

OK, so his mistake was to enter Thailand as a British citizen, but what kind of country even allows a citizen to enter on a foreign passport? No civilized country does, but hey well Thailand and civilized obviously don't belong in the same sentence.

I don't know if "allows" is the right word, but I happen to know, personally, some Japanese-Americans who hold both nationalities and have gamed the system by changing passports when it suits them. An example would be those who leave Japan on their Japanese passport to come back in as an American after applying for special exchange student or exchange professional situations. In addition to carrying different passports, they are listed under different names. They may be listed on their koseki (family register) as Yamada Taro, but listed as Smith, Terry on their American birth certificate, passport, etc. Since Japanese nationals are never fingerprinted (unless they commit a crime or go into some kind of security apparatus), and it doesn't seem like Japanese nationals are kept in a facial recognition system, there is no way to identify these individuals as dual-nationals (which is surprising since, you know, dual nationality is a limited time thing with Japan, depending if you were born with it or naturalised to it, you can't keep both forever according to immigration policy).

I know someone right now who decided they wanted to the JET Program, so they applied to the program on their US passport, went through the interviews, got accepted, did their five years as a JET, turned around, left, handing in their residency card, and returned on the Japan passport. That was years ago, and it doesn't appear Japan ever found it.

So it happens, but is it allowed? Certainly not.

So let me get this straight, he lost his Thai passport, so he tried to exit the country on his UK passport? Uh, I think usually you can only enter and leave one of your countries with your passport for that country. And then you have to explain the missing stamps later if asked.

I wouldn't leave Japan after naturalisation on my U.S. passport, and vice versa. That would be stupid, and is pretty much a no no in both countries. I'd have waited.

The problem with refusing deportation on the basis of citizenship (because it grants you absolute right of abode and return) is that the alternative is to jail you. You're a citizen, if they can't find you guilty of an offense which nullifies your citizenship, and thus can't deport you, then they can still make your life miserable.

That said, does anyone think that Dr. Ellis won't find that certain parties come up with an excuse to nullify his citizenship and then compelled, physically if necessary, to board a flight? That's not a bet I'd take.

...<deleted>, Nippon? Time to make a phone call to my diet members.

Of course, Hamp also got off.

Sure must be nice being rich and powerful somewhere (be it America or Thailand).

There's another issue that hasn't been mentioned other than the airport. In Japan having a gun period is illegal. That could, and should cause him additional problems.

This is false. Firearms are not illegal in Japan. They are just extremely tightly regulated, and pistols are not available to private citizens.

Just to be clear.

For those who want to have a go at Thai airport security consider this.

If he did take the weapon out of Thailand undetected it means that Japanese airport security also failed to detect it when he entered Japan.

So he's probably lying through his teeth and bought it in Japan. There's been no mention of it being registered to him yet.

I am not aware that airport security checks arriving passenger and bags

I always get asked if I mind having my bag checked by Japanese customs. Usually, because I speak Japanese, and I rarely have anything large on me (I travel very light), I get a wave through before I even have to hand it over. However, if I have a lot of luggage, they definitely check, and if I seem to hesitate at all in saying, "of course, go ahead" I get checked. These people are very well trained, and though I have plenty of times not had my stuff checked, I am also a Japanese resident who has been here for many years and travels internationally two or three times a year, and I am very comfortable with Japanese immigration and customs so I probably have a tell for low-threat.

I can see perhaps him getting through customs without the handgun being seized, but he would need to appear to have a long history in Japan, a fluency in Japanese, very little luggage, and a willingness to have the hand bag checked without any kind of confusion, nervousness, or suspicion.

I still find that a lot more likely than that he just randomly bought a pistol in Japan. He'd have to have criminal contacts for that. Which if so, then his comments make no sense, because surely, the Japanese Metro Police will find out about those connections in time.

Timmy,

I'm well aware of corruption and bribery at high levels concerning company misbehaviour. Lots and lots of that.

I don't really read the English press in Japan. I meant that once you're in custody or once someone comes to arrest you, there's no bribing the cops who come to arrest you. The account you give about the patrolman is something I would believe as an isolated case, but not rampant. And I don't think you can find loads of examples of people getting out of firearm or drug possession violations.

Scorecard is pretty much correct. As one previous poster mentioned, in Japan, even our patrol officers rarely carry weapons and need special permission to pull them out of the armoury. At no point would Japan allow pilots to carry firearms into/out of Narita.

Which is pretty much irrelevant anyway, because the honorable Lt. Col. is not a pilot, is not a diplomatic security official, etc, etc. He was traveling as a private citizen, and should never have brought a pistol in Japan.

It is a myth that firearms are prohibited in Japan; they are not. But there are heavy restrictions, regulations, and a fairly long registration process. And pistols are not allowed to be carried by private citizens. Only rifles.

Japanese resident and currently naturalising individual here!

His goose is cooked. He will not be released. In Japan, the conviction rate after arrest is extremely high. Like upwards of 95%. An American Toyota executive who mailed herself narcotics is probably going to go to prison. I myself have had to make alternate arrangements for a non-controlled (NON-CONTROLLED!) medicine because Japanese law has gotten stronger that I can no longer have it shipped in from abroad (it is not available in the same manner in Japan, even with a valid prescription, which I have). I have known individuals caught with one joint who have gone to prison for several years before being deported.

Japanese officials cannot be bribed, they cannot be persuaded, they do not listen, and they often ignore the requests and even demands of embassies. There is no right to a speedy trial, no right to a jury trial, and you can be held without due process for a significant amount of time. If you are non-Japanese, you have less legal recourse than a Japanese national. Now, that said, crime here is extremely low, and so is stupidity, in general, and generally there's not a lot of risk to people who aren't actually, you know, being morons.

I will also lose respect for my government if they allow him to walk away, when I have seen what they have done to stupid teenagers with one beer or one joint.

Pattaya would suit your requirements perfectly !

She doesn't sound like a Pattaya kind of girl to me !

I'm not the party type. I wasn't in my teens, and I wasn't in my twenties. You would never, ever have found me at one of the full moon places. I drink very rarely, and I don't do drugs. Places like Pattaya seem a bit too party-ish for me. A lot of the "gap year fun times" kind of stuff I see about Thailand really isn's the Thailand I want to experience. I'm quite happy sitting on a beach or a porch during the rain, with my book out, and a cup of tea. I am a beer snob though, and I have to say I really enjoy most of the Thai beers.

Indeed, I do. But to me Chiang Mai is all about the forest/jungle kind of atmosphere, and as such, I actively enjoy rain in that setting. Especially if I have access to some tea, snacks, a good book, or some study materials. That would be part of the charm, especially if I could find my own forest bungalow, tree house kind of thing. Of course, I really like Chiang Mai's old city, and I'd want to be close enough to stroll around regularly without constant wrangling of transport (so maybe I should just rent a car)...

You know, I started off thinking of this as a beach holiday, but now I'm starting to think otherwise...

Yeah, okay, so that's going to be a problem.

Okay, I know I titled this Southwest, but let's just toss that right out, and let me ask a more generalised question:

Taking into account the weather situation, and my previous description, or should I just give up on the idea of any beach and chill in Chiang Mai instead?

Looks like Satun's Koh Lipe is kinda what I'm going for? Maybe the Varin Resort, but I worry because I looked up the climate situation and it appears that in August the area gets 17 days with rain. So that might not be a good idea.

Craig,

Thanks, that helps. Maybe I'll avoid the West then. Lemme look this over and see if I have any specific questions...

At this juncture, it's hard to really be more specific, because where I go will be determined by what matches my description. I'll almost certainly be flying in from Bangkok, although I might rent a vehicle at/near the airport if the eventual location is something of a trek.

As I said, I really don't know anything about the southwest.

I'm planning a trip down to the Southwest of Thailand during August, and I'm trying to find a beach resort that has fairly nice amenities (I am not a backpacker, at the least, I may be considered a glampacker, but given that I'm in my 30s, I think I just generally don't do the backpacker thing), that's both set off from hustle and bustle spots, but not too far if I need to go shopping or what not. Most of all, I am really looking for rather crystal clear water, white sands, and a great deal of personal space and quiet.

I'm not familiar with the Southwest at all, so I thought I'd ask for suggestions. Alternately, if you know of something which fits the bill and is in a completely different part of the country, please let me know.

Y'all are just embarrassing yourselves.

There are binary folks and non-binary folks. For many binary people, their gender and their sex are the same, they're asking to have their identities legally recognised and don't want two flags or two markers. Non-binary folks may want a mix of markers or a different marker altogether.

Surgeries are invasive, hormone therapy is invasive. Even some binary folks do not want to take the risks associated with these procedures. They should have the right to have their markers altered based on how they want the world to see them and how they wish to operate in society. It's not always about having children (although sometimes it is the desire to have biological children, children who share your genetic material). In fact it's usually about the financial cost of these procedures and the risks associated with them.

Also there are intersex folks who also identify as trans (binary or non-binary), and have a mix of "sex" traits (internally or externally) and deserve to have their decisions about their own designation respected.

...and in an English context, usually, transgender is an adjective, not a noun. Transgender woman, transgender person. Etc.

Just a good job he's not a Muslim, don't think transgender is allowed, maybe just in Indonesia..

He'd be fine in Iran, the government would even pay half towards his op.Plus the sex change would be recognised on his birth certificate. I understand that Iran carries out more sex change ops than any other country in the world except Thailand.

I seem to remember watching something that showed families in Afghanistan who didn't have a boy in the family gladly accepting a girl to play that role , so I guess he'd be ok there too ( in those circumstances that is) .

I think true about Iran but you left out a really important part. In Iran, gay men, as opposed to those with gender identity concerns, feel strong pressure to undergo sex change operations because they can't have any kind of life as a gay man there. I suppose it beats being murdered for being gay, but arguably just barely.

Pressured is putting it mildly. It's criminal prosecution up to and including death if you don't choose gender transition. LGB ! = T. You may well be L or G or B and T but sexual orientation != gender identity. It's just as wrong to force a cisgender person to transition due to sexual orientation as it is to deny transition to a transgender person.

Iran's policies are barbaric, not progressive,

1) Many transgender individuals know between the ages of 3-6, that's the same age as cisgender individuals do, because that is the age at which gender recognition occurs for everyone. Recent studies have shown that binary trans children (that is to say, children who definitely identify as the other binary gender/sex) are equally as secure in the knowledge of their gender as cisgender children. It's a normal part of human development.

2) Transgender is an ADJECTIVE not a noun. It is very offensive to refer to transgender individuals (especially those in the west, like Canada) as "a transgender." While there are South and Southeast Asian trans people who are okay with its use as a noun (see some groups in India) usually for historical cultural reasons, they are not seen as a binary (fully in the category of the other) like in the West.

There is a process by which psychiatrists, general practitioners, pediatricians, and endocrinologists make decisions about physical intervention. 13 is well old enough to have gone on puberty blockers, and by 16, hormone replacement therapy is often available. When dealing with trans children, the key is "insistent, consistent, and persistent." The child insists they are the gender that they are, this insistence is consistent over time, and the desire to do something about it is continually repeated.

Make sense?

EmptyHead: if a trans woman only sleeps with women (cis and or trans, because trans women are women), she's a lesbian. Ladyboys in Thailand are made up of several different shades of gender, so you can't make generic claims. Some think of themselves as a third gender, some think of themselves as binary trans women, some think of themselves as super effeminate gay men. Ask, it's the only way to know.

If a straight man sleeps with a trans woman, you just answered your own question: he's straight.

Ah, how cute, ExPratt thinks he can spot all teh gheyz around him. Protip: we look just like you. We blend in. Almost like we were... *gasp* living amongst you. DUN DUN DUN.