Thai-Spy

You can get prison time for your speech but just pay a fine for the most gruesome violence...

Amazing(-ly Depressing) Thailand.

There's a camera shop selling both new and used equipment on the south (even numbered) side of Sukhumvit below the Asoke BTS station. At last glance there were some unusual models in the shop windows.

Back to the topic at hand though, my thai/akha co-worker was outraged by the story of the officer chopping of the arm of the woman and is all for us helping her. She's willing to help me find a way to help the victim.

Earlier I said that I contacted a Thai Foundation for Women in Central Thailand. I haven't heard back from them yet but will let you know when I do. I may have my co-worker write them again as her written Thai will certainly be more eloquent (and hopefully effective) than mine.

Are you referring to this organization?

http://www.friendsofwomen.net

If so there is a telephone number listed on their website.

From our efforts, we have very little good news to report on this initiative. Our friends in the banking community just don't want to get involved unless they get paid. Considering some of the risk factors, that's understandable, although we've made it very clear that payment for their help won't be happening. The main sticking point seems to be that since the situation involves the Thai police, they fear some form of blowback since their internal enquiries would be logged and traceable.

What might be better is for this part of the initiative to be decentralized. If any user who has a close relative or friend working in a bank, or a strong relationship with a senior bank manager, would simply ask their contact at the branch level...

bkkmadness: I didn't post so far but I'm wondering if your movie, posted, isn't against forum rules; I don't want or wish to be the judge here but wouldn't it be better to 'protect' this beggar guy against himself -by not posting- ?

From forum rules:

1) You will not use thaivisa.com to post any material which is knowingly or can be reasonably construed as false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, referencing prostitution (including bargirls and barboys), referencing suicide, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise in violation of any law.

I mean, it would be very easy to film an unstable and/or mentally sick person, whether man, woman or child....and a the same time NOT knowing if he or she is fully capable of understanding what she/he is saying or doing during the shooting of the movie...

Would 'anybody' than -still- have the freedom and right to post such a movie on the internet/Thaivisa forum, even if such a person allows so... ?

With respect though !

LaoPo

Respectfully, it's hard to see how it constitutes invasion of privacy. The Dutchman is performing his "work" in public for one thing. For another, has his full true name or residential location been revealed?

He may very well have had child porn (images of children have sex, according to the most common definition of the man on the street) in his lugagge. However, 'child pornography' has a very broad definition in the USA. It includes...

1. images where there is no sex, actual or simulated ['lascivious display of the genitals' is enough. See below]

2. Images where there are no children [if the adult appears to be under18]

3. Images where there are no genitals shown [An American named Knox is in prison for possessing, not creating, a video that featured girls flashing their panties playfully because the videographer zoomed in on the panties. Thus completely covered pubic area is now classified as 'genitals' Did you get that?]

To broaden the subject...

In Canada, 'child porn' is classified as advocating and counselling sex with minors. Thus, in Canada even words are now classified as 'child pornography'. So, next time you hear that phrase, ask hard questions.

Could you please share with us the source of these "definitions" ?

Derived in large measure from (and possible misinterpretations of) the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 and the PROTECT Act of 2003. Some parts of each have been struck down as unconstitutional and others are being challenged in the US courts at this time.

the deal is supposed to be that you support the advertisers in appreciation .......................

True, every time you click on an advertisers link you are donating (indirectly) to TV.

That's not quite the whole story. Many of the Google ads that appear here are not CPC (cost per click) but CPM (cost per 1000 impressions).

Full article

Thai junta chief calls for emergency rule in Bangkok

Thailand's junta chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said Wednesday that he has asked the government to declare emergency rule in Bangkok to crack down on anti-coup protesters.

Anti-coup protesters have been holding weekly rallies against the junta, attracting a small but growing crowd that reached 2,000 people last Friday.

The protests have so far been peaceful, but Sonthi said he was afraid the protest movement could gather steam, much like the mass street demonstrations last year that eventually led to the coup against then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Sonthi made the call just two months after martial law was lifted in Bangkok. He had imposed martial law on Thailand immediately after seizing power on September 19, but has now lifted it across half the country.

Declaring emergency rule would give authorities many of the same powers they had under martial law.

The government would be able to detain suspects without charge for 30 days, and would have the power to seize and destroy anything deemed a threat to national security or to impede the work of the authorities.

Emergency rule also gives the government tough censorship powers as well as the right to impose a curfew and to ban public gatherings, while giving security forces broad immunity from prosecution.

Agence France-Presse

As a correction to the above, it seems the proper spelling of the victim's name is สุพรรษา วิชานันท์

1st VE : OCT 1 - OCT 30 = 30 days

2nd VE: OCT 30 - NOV 28 = 30 days*

3rd VE: NOV 28 - DEC 27 = 30 days*

Visa in Penang, one night stay minimum

TV: DEC 28 - MAR 27 = 90 days

Without more exact info it's hard to know if the "tourist" had time left on the 90-day count, or if he was given mercy.

* Has it been made clear whether an exit and re-entry on VE on the same day will count as one day or two in the 90-day count?

anybody close to where she lives can open a bank a/c and we can deposit to that ??

I dont have a problem depositing direct into her bank account. Long as we are assured it is her account. Anybody know her or her details?

You don't need to know someone to get their bank account number (and much more) in Thailand... We could try to get our bank contacts do a little pro bono perhaps.

Would someone please volunteer some of their time to recheck the Thai media and get the correct spelling of her name in Thai, please?

This is her name in Thai: น.ส.สุพรรษา วิชานันท

Finding her bank account is probably still the simplest but I did send an e-mail to a Foundation in Bangkok that works for women's rights to see if they could assist us in helping this woman. I haven't heard back yet but that was only last night.

I remember another poster saying he had contacts with a Thai television station that would come film. I wonder if they could take charge of the whole thing and collect money also?

We've started our efforts and will inform everyone of the progress as appropriate. Hopefully all others who are doing outreach to their contacts will continue to post here so no effort is duplicated.

If this is done, it is best it is done quietly, in our opinion. It should be enough to just provide the relevant information to any who wish to donate and perhaps inform Miss Suphansa of the reason why certain sums are unexpectedly appearing in her account.

Any significant publicity could lessen the amount of a damage award she might subsequently receive from the courts or other sources. Conversely, we recognize that greater exposure might gain her a greater net benefit, so it's something which deserves a responsible debate here.

Some good points are raised in this thread, but the scope of he conference seems to go well beyond simply breaking the direct connection between predator and prey which, as noted, would rely on a common language and internet access by the potential victims.

It also includes intelligence sharing initiatives between governments, for one thing. And another stated goal is to identify how and where paedophiles share information online. It's merely not the dog-and-pony show some people are trying to portray is as being, and without knowing what the conference costs and what value is to be derived from it, it's irresponsible to judge it in economic terms.

Seems to local and federal police in the US, as well as a television show, entice the pedos pretending to be underage children, and arrest them when they show up for a rendevous. I think rather than track them on the internet, get them to show up in Thailand or where ever and arrest them and try them there.

That might not work so well offshore where each country has a different burden of proof, especially as regards conspiracy or intent in advance of the primary paedophile crime. But in the case of the USA the provisions of the PROTECT Act would apply and the offender could be intercepted, tried and convicted without leaving America.

anybody close to where she lives can open a bank a/c and we can deposit to that ??

I dont have a problem depositing direct into her bank account. Long as we are assured it is her account. Anybody know her or her details?

You don't need to know someone to get their bank account number (and much more) in Thailand... We could try to get our bank contacts do a little pro bono perhaps.

Would someone please volunteer some of their time to recheck the Thai media and get the correct spelling of her name in Thai, please?

I don't think you can. From what you've posted, it looks like by April 9 you'll have used up about 82 days of visa exemption. That would entitle you to 8 days on your next run. You'll probably need to get a visa somewhere, tourist or otherwise.

Just checking my math:

First visa exemption roughly Dec 22 - Jan 14 = 23 days

Second visa exemption Feb 10 - March 11 = 29 days

Third visa exemption March 11 - April 9 = 30 days

Total 82 days.

Again, don't both the date of arrival and departure count as whole days?

First visa exemption roughly Dec 22 - Jan 14 = 24 days

Second visa exemption Feb 10 - March 11 = 30 days

Third visa exemption March 11 - April 9 = 30 days

Total 84 days.

He can do another visa run anytime between April 9 and June 20, but he'll only be admitted for 6 days. On June 20, if the 180-day rule is applied correctly, the first VE days from the Dec 22 entry will start coming off the books.

In any event, he'll have to get sorted by April 11 at the latest (assuming one day to apply for and the next day to collect his visa) since Thai Embassies will closed for Songkran on Friday, 13 April and Monday, 16 April 2007.

The advice we've gotten is to have her assemble all documentation proving that she was issued a valid Thai ID and passport prior to the time the problems started in March 2004 (Thai year 2547). This can include:

Old ID cards even if expired

Her passport

Her family's House Registration Document

Any school records that might have been overlooked

Drivers license if any

Plus anything else that clearly gives her identity number and a date.

It's not exactly clear what the sequence of events was for her to become a Thai citizen. Is either of her parents a Thai citizen?

Did she go through the process of first having a Pink Card (Alien Identity Card) and later got a convention Thai citizen ID? If so, does she or her family still have any paperwork or receipts from this process? If not, can they at least state where the process was done?

We're also advised that getting the offending Amphur to change their mind and reinstate her is probably a lost hope, even if her ID card cancellation was illegal. Again this probably means a trip to Bangkok to sort it all out.

Lets not hang the man yet,,,,looks to me as if the lady in question had a few problems also "such as" she is a MRS. , what was she doing there to start with??

Making a little extra income on the side?

A divorced or widowed Thai woman has to take extra steps to recover the "Miss", and if her husband has simply run off, she can't do so at all. Add to this the fact that most divorced or widowed Thai woman will keep the "Mrs." in the belief that it gives them more social status.

Well, my recent experience is that the 90 days is nothing u can rely on!

My last visitations to the Kingdom after October 01.2006 were as followed and stamped in my passport :

October 02. until October 15. (13 days),

December 31. until January 26. (26 days),

and now arrived March 24. and got only admitted until April 01. !

Went to Immigration Bureau yesterday where the "boss" said, I have to get a tourist visa outside the country!

So what is right and wrong?? Nobody can tell!

The day of your arrival and departure both count as full days:

October 02. until October 15. (14 days),

December 31. until January 26. (27 days),

and now arrived March 24. and got only admitted until April 01. ! (9 days)

This total of 50 days makes no sense at all.

Go back and find a "different boss", and remind him that stamps you may have prior to 1 October 2006 don't count.

I don't think Admin have any control over what appears in these Google(?) ads.

We're certainly not supposed to discuss the content on the open forum (upsets the advertisers I suppose).

Yes, I agree, not exactly a good advertisment for Thailand

Admin should be able to reject advertising from specific AdWords advertisers, but only on the advertiser level; not on a per campaign or per ad basis.

As to whether it's good advertising for Thailand, in the context of ThaiVisa that matters little. We have here the CTB (Chronic Thai Bashers) and the KJD (Knee-Jerk Defenders) and not very much middle ground for the undecided.

There's quite a good Japanese restaurant just off Sukhumvit Soi 19. It's in the same sub-soi as the Swiss Grottino Hotel and likewise on the left. Turn left at the Family Mart about 100 meters past Robinson Department Store.

Can you put in the application form in the morning and pick it up the following day?

Yes, as long as your paperwork is in order and neither day is a weekend day nor a Malaysian (federal or state) or Thai holiday.

Here is some background on the identity card issue:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/option/pri...newsid=30017009

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/option/pri...newsid=30017052

It was also given some discussion here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=89853

The baby is not the immediate concern. The father's name is on the birth certificate, so getting a passport for the child should not be a major hurdle (unless it requires the mother to co-sign, in which her lack of ID is a problem).

The visa for the mother is not the immediate concern; it comes third after restoring her identity card and replacing her Thai passport.

What still isn't clear is whether the mother had the identity card such as issued to a Thai citizen, or the variant given to non-Thai citizens such as Hill Tribe people who enjoy a version of "leave to remain".

The fact that she has (presumably) a full educational history is certainly in her favor. She should go to her school and get a copy of whatever documentation they still have about her attendance. And she should try to dig up any old identity cards she might still have that predate the scandal (before March 2004). If they've been together for 2 years she should be at least 20 now and so she would have already been 17 when the false papers began to be issued; at that age she should already have had an ID card with a photo.

At the end of the day, it's probably going to require a trip to Bangkok to sort it all out, but the situation (so far) doesn't seem impossible to rectify. We're going to make outreach to some of our official contacts tomorrow and try to get more guidance on what can be done.

Porno cam or portable security system... Who can say?

Like the act itself, it probably all comes down to size and positioning.

A source tells us that the leases of the sub-tenants expired and the master tenant or landlord decided not to renew them. There's no information on the future of those properties. This is only from a single source and may not be correct, but if they're closed again tonight and in the following days, you can give it a higher probability of being true.

But as said in a previous post I allways feel as a farrang in LOS I am only tolerated, and I can see a reason for this, if I was a Thai man I would probably resent Farangs coming to steal my woman and turn many into working girls, amongst other reasons.

To whatever degree it exists, the xenophobic resentment of the average Thai male in the streets of Pattaya towards the average Western male has very little to do with the farang's participation in sex-tourism or sex-patriotism (if that's a valid term).

Very doubtful you would better that price in Thailand. We use a fair amount of removable memory in many different formats and it has always been cheaper to buy outside of Thailand.

Can anyone with airline experience say what percentage of passengers book their travel with a single airline or their code-share partners versus those that mix carriers?