thailien8

Travel Agencies Indicted for 'Sex Tours'

NEW YORK: --Two operators of a New York travel agency have been indicted for organizing ``sex tours'' to Southeast Asia, the first such case involving a United States-based company, the state attorney general said Monday.

Douglas Allen, 59, and Norman Barabash, 58, were charged with felony and misdemeanor counts of promoting prostitution in their operation of Big Apple Oriental Tours, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said.

Spitzer accused the men of using the business to solicit customers for prostitution rings operating in the Philippines and Thailand.

``These defendants claimed to be operating a traditional travel agency. It is far from that,'' Spitzer said. He said the travel agency's actions ``led to the systematic exploitation and suppression of young women.''

Allen and Barabash pleaded innocent to the charges on Feb. 27. If convicted, they could face up to seven years in prison.

Barabash's lawyer, Daniel A. Hochheiser, said the case is weak and the indictment is politically motivated.

``At the end of the day, the allegations in the indictment will be exposed as the product of a politician seeking higher office, a prosecution witness who gets paid to deceive people for a living and a private-interest group with an agenda,'' Hochheiser said.

Charges were brought following an undercover investigation by the Statewide Organized Crime Task Force.

According to a separate civil lawsuit brought by Spitzer in 2003, Big Apple Oriental Tours conducted an aggressive marketing campaign that included videos, a Web site, brochures and customer testimonials.

A brochure promised ``unforgettable adventure vacations for single men to paradise,'' according to Paul Larrabee, a spokesman for Spitzer.

Investigators reported the agency arranged business trips for clients to the Philippines and Thailand, where they were introduced to guides who led them to night clubs. There, fees were negotiated for sexual acts. The trips cost about $2,500 for seven to 10 days.

No listing could be found for the travel agency. The company was run from Allen's Poughkeepsie home and Barabash's home in the New York City borough of Queens, Spitzer said.

--AP 2004-03-23

" ..............vacations for single men to paradise " It does sound as though they are offering more than a Temple Tour,

They paved Paradise and they put up a parking lot

Earplugs are the best solution, but there are different kinds with varying levels of noise reduction. If you haven't tried wax earplugs, they might be more effective. Trouble is that, at least in Bkk., it is not easy to buy them. Two years ago, Boots had good supplies of wax earplugs, but no more. I've checked numerous Boots stores, but no have. I was lucky in that on my last trip back to USA I bought a lifetime supply of wax earplugs, but now several friends are bugging me to sell them a few. If you can find any in CM, please let us know where.

Right, the different time it belonged in was 2 am. to 6 am., when the great influx of bargirls would really make Thermae a happening place every night. Still, I would suggest it's not quite as bad as indicated on this thread, or maybe I've always had pretty good luck there. Currently I'm taking a lovely lady out of Thermae about once a week. She is more svelte and attractive than 90 % of BGs, and I think her attitude is perhaps not quite so poisoned because she can choose when she wants to go to "work", and does not have to endure the car-alarm music, cigarette smoke and leering punters every evening. At any rate, I can still save the 500 or 600 baht BF, and she is most happy with 1000 for a happy sexy short time.

Thailiand is one big Songkran zone. I'm getting out of the zoned area this year. I stayed in my cave with GF last year and snuck out under cover of darkness.

If your wife is interested, have her check out the most popular Thai forum, www.pantip.com.

Can we know details such as where, when, how long, how much without having to contact you personally?

Too bad the dogs didn't make it into the pot. Thailand could really help their exports by shipping all the street dogs off to where people have some use for them.

In an article in Nation newspaper of 3-19 04, page 3A, is a rather astounding statistic: "The Metropolitan Police Bureau yesterday said police had arrested 48,553 people on charges relating to illegal road racing between December 1 and March 10. During the arrests, more than 1,600 vehicles were seized."

Do you believe that? Neither do I, but if it's even partly true, it shows that the cops have the wherewithall to put a stop to the nutcases who drive motorcycles. Now if they would just increase the number of vehicles they confiscate....

I would dearly love to support Chuwit's cause to give an alternative to the tiresome "morality" of Purely Puratyrannical and Preacher Malcontent who of course are supported by Toxin--if only Chuwit had not been the driving force behind the atrocious overnight destruction of the thriving area of popular beer bars on Sukhumvit at Soi 10, last year. That area is still an unused wasteland, another real eyesore in the heart of Bkk.

There is a sure way to bring the plague of motorcycle racing, screeching noise, farting exhaust fumes, running stoplights,not wearing helmets, going the wrong way against traffic, riding dangerously on footpaths, and all the rest of the crap these yo-yos get away with. CONFISCATE their motorcycles. I'm not saying this will be easy. The police will have to make efforts to catch them first. But even the threat of having one's moto taken away, and facing the horrible loss of face of having to walk, could have a significant impact on their driving habits. Much more simple and effective than fines or some public service obligation. After a longish period of time with their precious machine impounded, the offending yo-yo would be allowed to pay to get it out of hock, sadder but wiser.

Yes, I think serious pool with good rules is slowly starting to catch on in Bkk. A good place to play is Flyers bar on the corner of Sukhumvit and Soi 22. They have 5 good tables, a complete list of international rules posted on the wall in English (unfortunately not in Thai, so the girls who work there and rack the balls, etc. do not know all the rules), and for good measure a couple of small signs prominently posted reminding customers that the penalty for a foul is ball-in-hand, not 2 shots. Also, Woodstock bar in Nana Plaza has 2 tables, the larger of which is pretty good, and great signs about ball-in-hand being the house rule, emphasizing NO 2 SHOTS. I love it. So, together with Megabreaks, Brunswick, Hillary, and even Colorando bar behind Hillary, where the owner Gus favors the real rules, pool players who want to play with less hassle have some good venues to choose from.

Agreed, Chanchao. The "plus plus" system of so many "good" restaurants in Bkk really adds to the bill. I try to give them a miss whenever possible, and never tip anything on top of the 10 %.

Thanks to the members who agreed with me about tipping in the toilet. Years ago, before I learned not to get upset by such behavior, I nearly had a fight with the toilet fag in the former Suzie Wong bar in Patpong. His specialty was mopping the floor, showing his great devotion to cleanliness and service. Trouble was, he would only mop while you were peeing, usually mopping right over your shoes. Maybe he thought he was giving a shoeshine. Meanwhile, the toilet stall was absolutely filthy, as if to discourage you from ducking in there to escape him.

There have already been grumbles from the entertainment industry that explanations of these subsections are so opaque as to be completely incomprehensible.

K. Wisut admitted that it was difficult to give a full breakdown of all the subsections, but stressed that officials at District Offices understood the new system and would guide owners of venues to the appropriate subsection.

The usual confusion reigns. Do they do this on purpose, or is it inability to think?

One place where I never tip is in the toilet. Those faggy guys who hang around in the restrooms of the "classy" joints fill me with loathing. I can feel my bladder tightening up whenever I see that the piss room is occupied by a guy who thinks I am in need of his service. It's all I can do, when he approaches me to put his hands on me in the form of a back massage, not to turn around suddenly and piss all over him. More often though his unwelcome presence makes it tougher to pee than it should be. Then they often block the way out of the toilet because I refused their attentions and put nothing on the 20 baht note that is glued to their tray. Talk about useless....

Agree completely with BkkHarry. Any moto geek, anywhere, anytime on the footpath....Roaring up behind you as you are walking, gunning his engine to let you know you had better get out of his way....Whizzing along the narrow way next to a stairs from Skytrain or a pedestrian overpass....The moto taxi riders are by far the worst, with the police not far behind. Most drivers in Bkk. are decent and law-abiding, but the problem is that nothing is ever done to quell the obnoxious, dangerous behavior of the lunatic fringe.

Maybe it's bird flu

I believe that the useless US report that so irritated Dear Leader was merely an echo of the main point made by His Majesty the King in his birthday speech of last year. Thaksin must dread these speeches, as he needs to pay a little lip service to the King's wise words. Still, almost nothing was done to provide justice to those murdered in the Drug War, just as nothing curbed Thaksin's arrogance that was so justifiably pointed out by the King in his birthday speech of 2002, also ignored by Thaksin, except to sack the editor of Bkk. Post for headlining what the King said.

The Nation on March 4 had an article about the uncertain closing hours and the reactions of people abroad. The consensus of opinion was that only an idiot would kill off the tourist industry with midnight closings in the time of bird flu worries, so (in the eternal hope that Thai gov't. is not all idiots) the early closing must have something to do with terrorism. Perhaps they are trying to placate the anti-fun Muslims who are causing such problems in southern Thailand. Maybe they are trying to discourage would-be bombers from bringing their grievances to the nightspots to the North (as the Chechens have already done in Moscow).

If the Thai gov't. is at all concerned with preventing bombings of nightspots, why have they still not done anything visible to stop possible car or motorcycle bombers from easily entering places like Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy (among others). Some simple barricades put up at the wide-open entrances of these places during evening hours would really help show that some effort is being made to protect the lives of tourists. I and several friends have pretty much stopped going to entertainment places that we used to frequent, as we do not want to end up in the next Bali-style bombing.

Please do everyone (the elephants included) a favor and never give money to the cruel mahouts who selfishly bring their long-suffering beasts to Bangkok. A worse environment for an elephant can scarcely be imagined. If the mahouts can't torture their animals here, maybe they will be more ready to accept work in the forests.

Thanks members, but I was hoping to get a lead to deal with Thai bureaucracy by myself. I don't really want to go thru a detective agency and spend big money, and I'd rather not give her details out publicly. She is just an old GF who I still care enough about to want to know.

The larger issue is how farangs can get any kind of information out of the difficult Thai government.

Does anyone know how to get any information from Thai bureaucracy about a Thai person? To be specific, I was recently informed by an enemy of an old girlfriend of mine that my old GF had died recently. I hope this is merely a vindictive lie, but tend to believe since GF, who used to call me regularly, has not called in 6 months. Unfortunately I don't have any current phone # for her.

However I do have her full name, written in Thai, as well as the number I copied from her Thai passport. With this information, is it possible to find out whether she is dead or alive?

Watch out for the katoeys on the beachfront promenade late at night. Some of these ladyboys will come at you aggressively so that you must take evasive action to get away from them. Police protection is never seen there.

As Burin Kantabutra has so often stressed in his excellent letters to Bkk. Post and Nation over the years, the best way to put a dent in the horrible corruption problem in Thai society is to stick a few of the guilty in jail. He is not talking so much about low-level police corruption. Rather, to really set a good example, some of the real ripoff artists must be seen to actually reside inside a prison cell for extended periods of time. Instead, the reality is that no one responsible for the immense theft of money in the form of "loans to friends" before 1997 has ever landed in the monkey house. My hopes briefly rose when former minister Rakkiat Sukthana was actually convicted, but then of course he was allowed to jump bail and disappear. When corruption is seen as without real penalty, it will continue to eat away at Thailand's economy and morality.

The fashion parade was largely a waste of time, as we stood on the polluted footpath for 2 hours to see about 15 minutes of floats that went by much too fast, with long gaps of dead time in between. Poor organisation and dispatching.

I fear the day when censorship takes over completely. Even before Thaksin took over the government, he bought the only independent TV station (ITV) so he could use it to spread his propaganda. Since he succeeded in using Thais' tax money to buy their votes and get himself elected, there has been a steady progression of thought control in the Thai media. TV, radio and Thai-language newspapers and magazines have to be pretty ###### careful to toe the line, or The Great God will petulantly wreak his vengeance upon them. About the only still-free media are the English-language press, esp. Nation and Bangkok Post newspapers. Occasionally foreign news mags like The Economist and Far Eastern Economic Review print something honest enough to incur His wrath. During the more than a decade I have lived and worked in Thailand, reading the interesting, educational, thought-provoking and uncensored editorials and letters in the daily newspapers has been a staple of what keeps me here. As Thaksin tightens his grip on Thailand, the papers have bravely continued to point out the many faults in his policies. If they are ever censored or shut down, I'm out of here.