submaniac

Any chance we could just cut the Bollox ,and just enter into the world of realism ,and  that it could be just  a simple case that  they love each other and have done so for quite some time ,long before the  guy has "made it good" big time and just leave it at that

The Verizon iPhone is an oddity in that it supports CDMA (the old kind).

But the good thing about it is that it also takes SIM cards and works on GSM networks, and Verizon will unlock the GSM unit for you. Ask about it! I believe it's either free or pretty inexpensive, like $30 or so. Policies on this vary wildly from carrier to carrier - AT&T won't unlock it at all (and being in the USA, they get away with that); in Europe my mom's carrier wanted 150 EUR for the unlock.

I'd get the 4S if you ever use it as a camera - the camera is much better. The antenna is also better but I doubt you'll notice that unless you spend a lot of time in an area with bad reception.

Both phones can do 3G tethering, and here in Thailand this is included in the data plan. Use it every day on my iPhone 4, the 3G connection is pretty fast on True-H.

The most important thing is, ask Verizon whether or not they can unlock it for you and how much it costs. You don't want to go the jailbreak / unlock route, and it's a huge pain, and it doesn't currently work on the latest models.

I have the strangest feeling of deja vu commenting on this thread, almost as though the same news had been posted in the gay forum not long ago and there was still a thread even on the top page about it....

I even have the feeling that I made this very remark not long ago on this thread...  Anyway...

I'm sure that there ARE 15 uninvestigated or poorly investigated murders of lesbians.  In fact, I am sure there are a lot more.  I am sure there are huge numbers of unreported, uninvestigated, unfair and improperly handled cases of attacks on women of all kinds, including children, probably by men of various kinds, numerous of which are probably relatives or family of the women in question.

In fact, I bet there are at least 15 outstanding uninvestigated or poorly investigated cases of murders of gay men.  In fact, I bet there are at least 15 outstanding uninvestigated or poorly investigated cases of murders of illegal Burmese immigrants, some of whom were bound to have been lesbians or gays.

The most surprising thing about this article to me is how it reports in complete ignorance of the actual way that the Thai 'police' and otherwise 'justice' system 'operates', even as it is reported openly in the news.  Considering the overall background of corruption, poor funding, weak institutions of law, and lack of respect for the low status of all kinds, how is it possible that 15 cases nationwide can be represented as discriminatory given the deep smog of 'business as usual'?

GentlemanJim, on 2012-04-05 23:59:12, said:

There would not be if those with less guns were law-abiding citizens and not the criminals.

"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun."
- The Dalai Lama

I've been back in the USA for 6 months and what I have realized is that despite the front page mass murders that pop up seemingly on a monthly basis, the number of gun crimes is minuscule compared to the number and availability of guns. Plus, these mass murders usually take place in places where gun ownership is more restricted or less part of the local culture.

You do know that you only hold it near your arse not supposed to stick it up there

A post with a link to suicide methods has been removed.  Let's not be commenting or supplying links to suicide techniques.  Think next time about the ramifications before giving out ideas like that.

I am reminded reading threads here how much I like Thailand, why and how utterly clueless some people posting on Thai Visa are.

Once you get out of places like Bangkok and Phuket and into the real Thailand it becomes quite obvious just how much Thai people like old Western guys.

More and more every year old Western guys come to Thailand to retire and take advantage of the positive attitude and deference that age is shown in Asia in general and Thailand specifically.

I can go out to eat and party with three generations every day if I want with no one thinking it unusual.

Mom and Pop, grandmother and grandfather and the teenage kids regularly eat out together and go to concerts of artists both current and old fashioned. The kids like both genres of music and dancing.

No one thinks it odd if I dance with granny (80 years) and dek lek (5 years old) and my GF (30 years old), frankly all the females like to dance. Age never is a consideration.

In the West families don't party or dine together on a regular basis any more. In Thailand except for the Sh** holes where Western influence is becoming more pervasive like Bangkok and Phuket families still act like families.

Tomorrow I am going to the beach with the whole family and dinner and a concert after dinner. The ages range from 2 to 75 and everyone will have a good time and take photos and post them on face book. The teens won't be ashamed of dancing with the old Farang. I might even play the guitar on stage a bit.

It is changing. You only have to look at the Big Smoke (Bangkok) or the Big Joke (Phuket) to see the future. But for now life in the hinterlands is good and still respectful to us old codgers with one foot in the coffin.

Don’t buy any condo in Thailand for investment; buy only if you are absolutely sure that will move here in future of use it often to make it worthwhile. You can get nice hotel to stay for your vacation, if you want to use this condo only for vacation

In Thailand buying is very easy and selling is very very very difficult

tropo, on 2012-03-30 04:22:05, said:

Maybe we should be able to..

I thought it was well done. Maybe it is a morality tale..who knows? Some of these situations work out, some dont. I just thought it was the start of a really rather common tale. Didnt seem to be moralistic or negative, just telling a story that im sure many have experienced variations of.

This event is really getting blown out of proportion now. I suppose it is good for web traffic for some, but at the end of the day, we have a number of people  all suffering; the Thai BTS personnel, the Irishman and his family and  to a certain extent, indirectly, other foreigners. I think the Irishman has learnt his lesson. I think the BTS got the message. Now, maybe it is time to forgive and move on. This need to harass and hound (threats of violence, deportation etc.) is over the top and criminal in and of itself. Would it be possible for everyone to take a deep breath and think of happy thoughts? I'm looking out the window at the storm clouds blowing in over Patong Bay. Mighty heavy ones at that. Battleship gray.

BigJohnnyBKK, on 2012-03-24 21:58:45, said:

I'm not championing Britain as the centre of the world, our history is not something I bang on about in unrelated topics. However, whilst Great Britain may not be significant in a military sense any longer or in territories held, it is still significant as a financial trading centre. In any case, I only mentioned its significance (past or present) because I thought physical size was not that relevant. Now I am aware of submaniac's tastes in music, he can say what he likes as far as I'm concerned - it's all good.

This is all a long way from self-defence in the home though.....

StreetCowboy, on 2012-03-24 21:04:33, said:

Mine sings to me softly. It's irresistible really..

but the people on this thread or any thread that speak down on 'newbies" should be given a posting holiday so they will have to go to an internet cafe, set up another account under another name then they too will be newbies.

Just because a person doesn't spend their every waking hour posting in TV doesn't mean they don't have intellegence or a good opinion.

People who put down newbies here have the same syndrom as the Irish guy in this thread, they think they are better then the next person.