You claimed before that there was organized prostitution in Chiang Mai with 7 year old children being sold in brothels, but have provided no evidence what-so-ever. That is a far cry from a few underage prostitutes selling themselves on street corners in Pattaya. The same thing probably happens in every country on earth - including Western ones - with runaways and kids involved in the drug culture.

I don't believe that there was organized prostitution in Chiang Mai, with 7 year old children being sold, on a large scale in modern history and you certainly have not proved it. .

Actually it was another member "Mcffee" that made the claim.

Sorry, I should have gone back further in the thread and looked.

Actually who really knows what is going on unless they are involved in it or know some one involved in it. I knew a fellow back in Canada who had been involved with white slavery there. I had been living there over twenty years and knew a lot of people from unsavory back grounds before I learned they had white slavery IN Canada.

The US Constitution does not call for separation of church and State, but calls for no State Church, like England and many others have. A very common misconception.

I was shocked that the Consulate allowed a purely Democrat organization to set up and register voters at the 2008, 4 July "party."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state

A more specific article from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/billflax/2011/07/09/the-true-meaning-of-separation-of-church-and-state/

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Separation of church and state" (sometimes "wall of separation between church and state") is a phrase used by Thomas Jefferson and others expressing an understanding of the intent and function of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The phrase has since been repeatedly used by the Supreme Court of the United States.

...]

Jefferson's metaphor of a wall of separation has been cited repeatedly by the U.S. Supreme Court. In Reynolds v. United States (1879) the Court wrote that Jefferson's comments "may be accepted almost as an authoritative declaration of the scope and effect of the [First] Amendment." In Everson v. Board of Education (1947), Justice Hugo Black wrote: "In the words of Thomas Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect a wall of separation between church and state."^[2]

But the US constitution says nothing about prostitution in Chiang Mai.

What you quoted is not in the Constitution, either. They used to hold church services in the Capitol.

The only similarity between the U.S. Constitution, and Police and Prostitution in Chiang Mai is a tenuous link to the adage"In God we trust". altered locally for BIB and prostitues to "In God we trust, everybody else pays cash".

Most pieces I've ever read on prostitution or trafficking coming out of Thailand are hit and run jobs with partial information.

An interesting observation. If you have spent some years in Thailand, especially getting to know some of the less desirable characters here, you will likely get some, or maybe a lot of idea about the bad stuff that goes on. However, you will also quickly get to understand how it's organised, and that speaking out about it would not be wise unless you were planning to immediately leave the country.

was arrested and held for some time and grilled in a very accusatorial manner by the Americans

An appropriate response would have been to tell them to ---- off and mind their own business.

If you were actually arrested, as you say you were, then you should've been told that you had the right, among other things, to remain silent. You didn't have to answer anything, and you knew that (that is, if you were actually arrested...).

...A friend who liked a late night beer and all the normal bars were closed was with a girl he had befriended and met many times....just for a beer.... was arrested...

Read the post before you reply, for Chrissakes.

I still don't get it, and I read that post by Ceeryble.. Arrested: Where? (Which country?) How? Why?

There has to be more to it than this.

I can't blame the Thai government or police for the crackdown thats been going on through out Thailand.

The United States placed them on Tier 3. Economic Sanctions would follow if they did not comply.

It was interesting to listen to some Thai's point of view. I was sitting with a group of Thai's (included Thai women) who were discussing the situation. They laid it straight at me, i had to defend myself in the discussion as i am not an American. But what they said made sense.

Why has America made itself the policeman of the so called "free world"? They traffic weapons into Mexico & South America which kills 10s of thousands of people each year. They seem to allow the trafficking of drugs into their country. They have human trafficking coming in from the south of their country. Everyone in the world can be held accountable for war crimes, except Americans. The Americans have caused the deaths of millions of people through the world with their wars since the end of the Second World War. They even said the Ukraine War was another of America's proxy wars against Russia. The US doesn't want prostitution in Thailand, yet it's legal in America. The US are hypocrites.

I wasn't going to argue. But i did come away thinking that if the US continues it's bully boy tactics it's will only push some countries in South East Asia to have closer ties to China. The Thai's are becoming better educated these days.

Newton's third law of physics, "Every Action Has a Reaction".

As for aged prostitutes, i saw a few 40-50 year old go-go dancers in Angeles city. I guess they were young at heart.

I am an American. There is no question that the US government is two-faced and self-serving. Has been for a long long time. The founders of our country warned that getting involved in the affairs of other countries is a huge mistake. But politicians smell money and power and do it anyway.

Interestingly, South America (especially Mexico) has grown tired of our stupid drug policies destroying their countries, and are beginning to wake up and tell the US to F%^$ OFF. Several of those countries have legalized personal use of most drugs. They are starting to tell the US they will no longer try to enforce our stupid laws and pay the price in human lives and shattered society. I hope they continue down this road. We have screwed them long enough.

Personally, I would like to see more of the world, including SEA, tell the US to shove their policies and demands up their @$$. I would like to see the US government spend more of their time and resources fixing the problems we have at home, and letting the rest of the world live as they see fit. We should be happy to help when others ask, and stand aside the rest of the time.

That said, the simple truth is that the US is by default the policeman of the world. Due to our coming out of the cold war with the strongest military on the planet. There may be cases where this power is necessary, and I hope the US government is wise and moral enough to use this power wisely. Unfortunately, the recent past has indicated otherwise. I blame the US citizens for not being more diligent in demanding their government be more accountable and insisting that they adhere more closely to the constitution. As a free democracy, it is the responsibility of the citizens to hold their government accountable.

My old grandpappy used to say, "Want in one hand and sh@t in the other, see which one gets full first." He would have also told you, Mexico is not in South America.

The Australian Authorities have also been active in prostitution raids in SEA.

The Australian Authorities have also been active in prostitution raids in SEA.

Any evidence of this in relation to CM let alone Thailand, come to think of it SE Asia in general in the last say five years. I really would be interested in examples of which authority (AFP, AUSAID, IMMIetc) and how many involved given jurisdiction and budget. Having an AFP officer tag along as an invited guest on a in country raid as you put it is hardly being "active".

Also Australian agencies concern themselves largely with trafficking not prostitution per se or even forms of cultural debt bondage in places like Thailand, China and India.

Sex trafficking particularly of children may get the PR and NGO dollars but does not help the conditions of indentured crew on Thai fishing vessels or some farms, and certainly not helping the tens of thousands of Rohingya that are trafficked and die into and through Thailand....along with fishing probably the most lucrative and corrupt endeavour.

I can't blame the Thai government or police for the crackdown thats been going on through out Thailand.

The United States placed them on Tier 3. Economic Sanctions would follow if they did not comply.

It was interesting to listen to some Thai's point of view. I was sitting with a group of Thai's (included Thai women) who were discussing the situation. They laid it straight at me, i had to defend myself in the discussion as i am not an American. But what they said made sense.

Why has America made itself the policeman of the so called "free world"? They traffic weapons into Mexico & South America which kills 10s of thousands of people each year. They seem to allow the trafficking of drugs into their country. They have human trafficking coming in from the south of their country. Everyone in the world can be held accountable for war crimes, except Americans. The Americans have caused the deaths of millions of people through the world with their wars since the end of the Second World War. They even said the Ukraine War was another of America's proxy wars against Russia. The US doesn't want prostitution in Thailand, yet it's legal in America. The US are hypocrites.

I wasn't going to argue. But i did come away thinking that if the US continues it's bully boy tactics it's will only push some countries in South East Asia to have closer ties to China. The Thai's are becoming better educated these days.

Newton's third law of physics, "Every Action Has a Reaction".

He who has the gold makes the rules! !

As for aged prostitutes, i saw a few 40-50 year old go-go dancers in Angeles city. I guess they were young at heart.

"He who owns the gold makes the rules ! "

Let me think about that one.

Ummmm.....Yes, the answer is, China !!!!!!

1 am to 6 am? Far too late. I much prefer late afternoon, just as the sun is setting and i can see what i'm buying.