Closing early in Bangkok

Closing early in Thailand
Seth Mydans/NYT
Midnight's the limit for clubs and bars

BANGKOK Imagine a city where bars, nightclubs and even movie theaters
shut down early, where young people are off the streets by curfew,
where universities stage surprise drug tests and where a woman cannot
enter a restaurant without a male escort.
..
That would not be the racy, all-night Bangkok that people like to call
"fun city."
..
But it is Bangkok - and the rest of Thailand - as imagined by powerful
government reformers who have already begun to put a crimp in the fun.
..
Nearly three years ago, they began what they call a "social order"
campaign, enforcing a 2 a.m. closing time that nobody had ever
bothered about and raiding nightspots and testing customers for drugs.
..
To almost everyone's surprise, the politically popular campaign has
persisted despite the resistance of powerful businessmen and the
complaints of Western tourists.
..
Now the screws are beginning to tighten.
..
On March 1, most nightclubs, bars and discos will have their closing
times moved back to midnight, one of the most stringent curfews in
Asia. After March 29, under another new regulation, all youngsters
under 18 will have to be off the streets by 10 p.m. unless they are
with their parents.
..
This month, the Interior Ministry announced a 100-fold increase in
license fees that, if put into effect, is sure to put scores of
restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
out of business.
..
With Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra intimidating the press; packing
the courts, the police and the military; and all but eliminating
political opposition, and with social order added to the mix, Thailand
could begin to be a somewhat different place.
..
There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
country into his grip.
..
"There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week.
..
Government officials are not shy about saying pretty much the same
thing.
..
"I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
..
As soon as it was started, Thailand's campaign was widely popular,
with polls showing that 70 percent of the public backed it. For the
moment, Purachai has become the most popular politician in the
country.
..
"Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have sex in lifts or
toilets. That's pathetic."
..
This is a time of wrenching change in Thailand as traditional social
and family structures give way to the modern world. Purachai was
voicing the fears of many people who see their country, and their
children, running out of control.
..
On the other hand, there are critics who say Purachai and his fellow
reformers have gotten a bit out of control themselves.
..
At one point, a police district in Bangkok, resurrecting a
long-forgotten law, ordered entertainment places to turn away any
women who tried to enter without a male escort.
..
Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
curfew that was still on the books.
..
"Although the law was established 30 years ago, it is still practical,
especially for today's generation, who face too many temptations,"
said Somchai Petprasert, a police colonel working as an adviser to the
Education Ministry.
..
It has only been a little more than a decade since Thailand was ruled
by generals, and the rights and freedoms of its democracy are still
fragile. It was only at the end of 1997 that these were codified in a
new Constitution.
..
Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
stifle the press.
..
Public morals and social behavior may prove to be a greater challenge,
though.
..
"We are helping them keep their virginity," explained Nikhom
Jarumanee, an Education Ministry official, when an experimental curfew
was tried on Valentine's Day two years ago.
..
Plenty of people here think this is balderdash.
..
The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, summed up the mood in a
sarcastic headline last week: "Lock Up the Young, This Is Thailand."
..
The New York Times

Back to Start of Article Midnight's the limit for clubs and bars

BANGKOK Imagine a city where bars, nightclubs and even movie theaters
shut down early, where young people are off the streets by curfew,
where universities stage surprise drug tests and where a woman cannot
enter a restaurant without a male escort.
..
That would not be the racy, all-night Bangkok that people like to call
"fun city."
..
But it is Bangkok - and the rest of Thailand - as imagined by powerful
government reformers who have already begun to put a crimp in the fun.
..
Nearly three years ago, they began what they call a "social order"
campaign, enforcing a 2 a.m. closing time that nobody had ever
bothered about and raiding nightspots and testing customers for drugs.
..
To almost everyone's surprise, the politically popular campaign has
persisted despite the resistance of powerful businessmen and the
complaints of Western tourists.
..
Now the screws are beginning to tighten.
..
On March 1, most nightclubs, bars and discos will have their closing
times moved back to midnight, one of the most stringent curfews in
Asia. After March 29, under another new regulation, all youngsters
under 18 will have to be off the streets by 10 p.m. unless they are
with their parents.
..
This month, the Interior Ministry announced a 100-fold increase in
license fees that, if put into effect, is sure to put scores of
restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
out of business.
..
With Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra intimidating the press; packing
the courts, the police and the military; and all but eliminating
political opposition, and with social order added to the mix, Thailand
could begin to be a somewhat different place.
..
There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
country into his grip.
..
"There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week.
..
Government officials are not shy about saying pretty much the same
thing.
..
"I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
..
As soon as it was started, Thailand's campaign was widely popular,
with polls showing that 70 percent of the public backed it. For the
moment, Purachai has become the most popular politician in the
country.
..
"Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have sex in lifts or
toilets. That's pathetic."
..
This is a time of wrenching change in Thailand as traditional social
and family structures give way to the modern world. Purachai was
voicing the fears of many people who see their country, and their
children, running out of control.
..
On the other hand, there are critics who say Purachai and his fellow
reformers have gotten a bit out of control themselves.
..
At one point, a police district in Bangkok, resurrecting a
long-forgotten law, ordered entertainment places to turn away any
women who tried to enter without a male escort.
..
Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
curfew that was still on the books.
..
"Although the law was established 30 years ago, it is still practical,
especially for today's generation, who face too many temptations,"
said Somchai Petprasert, a police colonel working as an adviser to the
Education Ministry.
..
It has only been a little more than a decade since Thailand was ruled
by generals, and the rights and freedoms of its democracy are still
fragile. It was only at the end of 1997 that these were codified in a
new Constitution.
..
Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
stifle the press.
..
Public morals and social behavior may prove to be a greater challenge,
though.
..
"We are helping them keep their virginity," explained Nikhom
Jarumanee, an Education Ministry official, when an experimental curfew
was tried on Valentine's Day two years ago.
..
Plenty of people here think this is balderdash.
..
The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, summed up the mood in a
sarcastic headline last week: "Lock Up the Young, This Is Thailand."
..
The New York Times Midnight's the limit for clubs and bars

BANGKOK Imagine a city where bars, nightclubs and even movie theaters
shut down early, where young people are off the streets by curfew,
where universities stage surprise drug tests and where a woman cannot
enter a restaurant without a male escort.
..
That would not be the racy, all-night Bangkok that people like to call
"fun city."
..
But it is Bangkok - and the rest of Thailand - as imagined by powerful
government reformers who have already begun to put a crimp in the fun.
..
Nearly three years ago, they began what they call a "social order"
campaign, enforcing a 2 a.m. closing time that nobody had ever
bothered about and raiding nightspots and testing customers for drugs.
..
To almost everyone's surprise, the politically popular campaign has
persisted despite the resistance of powerful businessmen and the
complaints of Western tourists.
..
Now the screws are beginning to tighten.
..
On March 1, most nightclubs, bars and discos will have their closing
times moved back to midnight, one of the most stringent curfews in
Asia. After March 29, under another new regulation, all youngsters
under 18 will have to be off the streets by 10 p.m. unless they are
with their parents.
..
This month, the Interior Ministry announced a 100-fold increase in
license fees that, if put into effect, is sure to put scores of
restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
out of business.
..
With Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra intimidating the press; packing
the courts, the police and the military; and all but eliminating
political opposition, and with social order added to the mix, Thailand
could begin to be a somewhat different place.
..
There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
country into his grip.
..
"There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week.
..
Government officials are not shy about saying pretty much the same
thing.
..
"I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
..
As soon as it was started, Thailand's campaign was widely popular,
with polls showing that 70 percent of the public backed it. For the
moment, Purachai has become the most popular politician in the
country.
..
"Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have sex in lifts or
toilets. That's pathetic."
..
This is a time of wrenching change in Thailand as traditional social
and family structures give way to the modern world. Purachai was
voicing the fears of many people who see their country, and their
children, running out of control.
..
On the other hand, there are critics who say Purachai and his fellow
reformers have gotten a bit out of control themselves.
..
At one point, a police district in Bangkok, resurrecting a
long-forgotten law, ordered entertainment places to turn away any
women who tried to enter without a male escort.
..
Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
curfew that was still on the books.
..
"Although the law was established 30 years ago, it is still practical,
especially for today's generation, who face too many temptations,"
said Somchai Petprasert, a police colonel working as an adviser to the
Education Ministry.
..
It has only been a little more than a decade since Thailand was ruled
by generals, and the rights and freedoms of its democracy are still
fragile. It was only at the end of 1997 that these were codified in a
new Constitution.
..
Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
stifle the press.
..
Public morals and social behavior may prove to be a greater challenge,
though.
..
"We are helping them keep their virginity," explained Nikhom
Jarumanee, an Education Ministry official, when an experimental curfew
was tried on Valentine's Day two years ago.
..
Plenty of people here think this is balderdash.
..
The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, summed up the mood in a
sarcastic headline last week: "Lock Up the Young, This Is Thailand."
..
The New York Times Midnight's the limit for clubs and bars

BANGKOK Imagine a city where bars, nightclubs and even movie theaters
shut down early, where young people are off the streets by curfew,
where universities stage surprise drug tests and where a woman cannot
enter a restaurant without a male escort.
..
That would not be the racy, all-night Bangkok that people like to call
"fun city."
..
But it is Bangkok - and the rest of Thailand - as imagined by powerful
government reformers who have already begun to put a crimp in the fun.
..
Nearly three years ago, they began what they call a "social order"
campaign, enforcing a 2 a.m. closing time that nobody had ever
bothered about and raiding nightspots and testing customers for drugs.
..
To almost everyone's surprise, the politically popular campaign has
persisted despite the resistance of powerful businessmen and the
complaints of Western tourists.
..
Now the screws are beginning to tighten.
..
On March 1, most nightclubs, bars and discos will have their closing
times moved back to midnight, one of the most stringent curfews in
Asia. After March 29, under another new regulation, all youngsters
under 18 will have to be off the streets by 10 p.m. unless they are
with their parents.
..
This month, the Interior Ministry announced a 100-fold increase in
license fees that, if put into effect, is sure to put scores of
restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
out of business.
..
With Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra intimidating the press; packing
the courts, the police and the military; and all but eliminating
political opposition, and with social order added to the mix, Thailand
could begin to be a somewhat different place.
..
There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
country into his grip.
..
"There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week.
..
Government officials are not shy about saying pretty much the same
thing.
..
"I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
..
As soon as it was started, Thailand's campaign was widely popular,
with polls showing that 70 percent of the public backed it. For the
moment, Purachai has become the most popular politician in the
country.
..
"Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have sex in lifts or
toilets. That's pathetic."
..
This is a time of wrenching change in Thailand as traditional social
and family structures give way to the modern world. Purachai was
voicing the fears of many people who see their country, and their
children, running out of control.
..
On the other hand, there are critics who say Purachai and his fellow
reformers have gotten a bit out of control themselves.
..
At one point, a police district in Bangkok, resurrecting a
long-forgotten law, ordered entertainment places to turn away any
women who tried to enter without a male escort.
..
Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
curfew that was still on the books.
..
"Although the law was established 30 years ago, it is still practical,
especially for today's generation, who face too many temptations,"
said Somchai Petprasert, a police colonel working as an adviser to the
Education Ministry.
..
It has only been a little more than a decade since Thailand was ruled
by generals, and the rights and freedoms of its democracy are still
fragile. It was only at the end of 1997 that these were codified in a
new Constitution.
..
Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
stifle the press.
..
Public morals and social behavior may prove to be a greater challenge,
though.
..
"We are helping them keep their virginity," explained Nikhom
Jarumanee, an Education Ministry official, when an experimental curfew
was tried on Valentine's Day two years ago.
..
Plenty of people here think this is balderdash.
..
The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, summed up the mood in a
sarcastic headline last week: "Lock Up the Young, This Is Thailand."
..
The New York Times
Copyright © 2004 the International Herald Tribune All Rights Reserved

""put a crimp in the fun""' ???

Come on, they are trying to reduce crime, prostitution, aids, tax evasion,
and improve the countries image,,, what happened, these facts fly over your
head ?

"""is sure to put scores of
restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
out of business.'""

The only ones that will go out of business or their margins reduced to a
more level income are those who illegally operate anyway. How many stay open
even longer, do not report much of their incomes and are flat out sleazy.

"""There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
country into his grip.'""

Ya, those who have never had a days education in their life, live from day
to day and have no concept of the future. Come on, give the head a shake for
this statement, dictatorship? I would say a majority elected leader myself,
who is gaining popularity. I know Carlos will say that Tuuk loves Bush,
loves Thaksin, well come on there carlos, your just being childish there,
your leader Thaksin was elected, by popular vote, so you must be that noisy
minority that I keep talking about. You must be. And from what I hear there
is a very very small crowd who is crying about Thaksin's goodness he is
doing for your country.


""""There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week."""

Come on here also, you gotta give the head a shake for this one.


"""Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have sex in lifts or
toilets. That's pathetic.""''


Good points, everyone in the world knows you can go to Thailand, get sex in
any toilet, elevator, anywhere, and then again with another whore. For a few
bucks, come on, you people cannot get in the way of this positive and
proactive long term good plan, if you do, you want to see Thailand go down.
Or your not Thai.


"""Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
curfew that was still on the books."""

Come on, how many decent theaters stay open past midnight? O,,, those sleazy
ones that show the gay movies, and the crowd is full of gay men who blow
each other,,,, ya real respectable. Now why wouldn't you people want those
places gone ? I wouldn't want one of those sleazy gay movie theaters in my
home town. Aids, Aids, Aids.


"""Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
stifle the press"""

Ya gotta give the author here a head shake,,, not too smart is he,,or she,,
especially about economics.





The rest of the article I imagine is the same bull as the beginning. There
doesn't seem to be any logic, any long term though, just complaining about a
progressive and fiscally responsible leader. Just jabs at a leader who is
actually making change and cleaning up the country. So if all the Thais want
Thaksin to continue cleaning up the country, then why are you non thais even
wasting your time here. You just want to keep the Thai people down, keep the
women so cheap so you can get your sex thrills for very cheap and over and
over again, your the sick ones. Your using the Thai people, insulting them.
Thaksin is putting some dignity back into the country and by starting and
improving relations with GWB and the summit, you surely will benefit.

Let the losers cry



..






"OrangeMan" wrote in message
om...
Closing early in Thailand
Seth Mydans/NYT
Midnight's the limit for clubs and bars

BANGKOK Imagine a city where bars, nightclubs and even movie theaters
shut down early, where young people are off the streets by curfew,
where universities stage surprise drug tests and where a woman cannot
enter a restaurant without a male escort.
.
That would not be the racy, all-night Bangkok that people like to call
"fun city."
.
But it is Bangkok - and the rest of Thailand - as imagined by powerful
government reformers who have already begun to put a crimp in the fun.
.
Nearly three years ago, they began what they call a "social order"
campaign, enforcing a 2 a.m. closing time that nobody had ever
bothered about and raiding nightspots and testing customers for drugs.
.
To almost everyone's surprise, the politically popular campaign has
persisted despite the resistance of powerful businessmen and the
complaints of Western tourists.
.
Now the screws are beginning to tighten.
.
On March 1, most nightclubs, bars and discos will have their closing
times moved back to midnight, one of the most stringent curfews in
Asia. After March 29, under another new regulation, all youngsters
under 18 will have to be off the streets by 10 p.m. unless they are
with their parents.
.
This month, the Interior Ministry announced a 100-fold increase in
license fees that, if put into effect, is sure to put scores of
restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
out of business.
.
With Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra intimidating the press; packing
the courts, the police and the military; and all but eliminating
political opposition, and with social order added to the mix, Thailand
could begin to be a somewhat different place.
.
There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
country into his grip.
.
"There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week.
.
Government officials are not shy about saying pretty much the same
thing.
.
"I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
.
As soon as it was started, Thailand's campaign was widely popular,
with polls showing that 70 percent of the public backed it. For the
moment, Purachai has become the most popular politician in the
country.
.
"Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have sex in lifts or
toilets. That's pathetic."
.
This is a time of wrenching change in Thailand as traditional social
and family structures give way to the modern world. Purachai was
voicing the fears of many people who see their country, and their
children, running out of control.
.
On the other hand, there are critics who say Purachai and his fellow
reformers have gotten a bit out of control themselves.
.
At one point, a police district in Bangkok, resurrecting a
long-forgotten law, ordered entertainment places to turn away any
women who tried to enter without a male escort.
.
Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
curfew that was still on the books.
.
"Although the law was established 30 years ago, it is still practical,
especially for today's generation, who face too many temptations,"
said Somchai Petprasert, a police colonel working as an adviser to the
Education Ministry.
.
It has only been a little more than a decade since Thailand was ruled
by generals, and the rights and freedoms of its democracy are still
fragile. It was only at the end of 1997 that these were codified in a
new Constitution.
.
Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
stifle the press.
.
Public morals and social behavior may prove to be a greater challenge,
though.
.
"We are helping them keep their virginity," explained Nikhom
Jarumanee, an Education Ministry official, when an experimental curfew
was tried on Valentine's Day two years ago.
.
Plenty of people here think this is balderdash.
.
The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, summed up the mood in a
sarcastic headline last week: "Lock Up the Young, This Is Thailand."
.
The New York Times

Back to Start of Article Midnight's the limit for clubs and bars

BANGKOK Imagine a city where bars, nightclubs and even movie theaters
shut down early, where young people are off the streets by curfew,
where universities stage surprise drug tests and where a woman cannot
enter a restaurant without a male escort.
.
That would not be the racy, all-night Bangkok that people like to call
"fun city."
.
But it is Bangkok - and the rest of Thailand - as imagined by powerful
government reformers who have already begun to put a crimp in the fun.
.
Nearly three years ago, they began what they call a "social order"
campaign, enforcing a 2 a.m. closing time that nobody had ever
bothered about and raiding nightspots and testing customers for drugs.
.
To almost everyone's surprise, the politically popular campaign has
persisted despite the resistance of powerful businessmen and the
complaints of Western tourists.
.
Now the screws are beginning to tighten.
.
On March 1, most nightclubs, bars and discos will have their closing
times moved back to midnight, one of the most stringent curfews in
Asia. After March 29, under another new regulation, all youngsters
under 18 will have to be off the streets by 10 p.m. unless they are
with their parents.
.
This month, the Interior Ministry announced a 100-fold increase in
license fees that, if put into effect, is sure to put scores of
restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
out of business.
.
With Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra intimidating the press; packing
the courts, the police and the military; and all but eliminating
political opposition, and with social order added to the mix, Thailand
could begin to be a somewhat different place.
.
There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
country into his grip.
.
"There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week.
.
Government officials are not shy about saying pretty much the same
thing.
.
"I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
.
As soon as it was started, Thailand's campaign was widely popular,
with polls showing that 70 percent of the public backed it. For the
moment, Purachai has become the most popular politician in the
country.
.
"Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have sex in lifts or
toilets. That's pathetic."
.
This is a time of wrenching change in Thailand as traditional social
and family structures give way to the modern world. Purachai was
voicing the fears of many people who see their country, and their
children, running out of control.
.
On the other hand, there are critics who say Purachai and his fellow
reformers have gotten a bit out of control themselves.
.
At one point, a police district in Bangkok, resurrecting a
long-forgotten law, ordered entertainment places to turn away any
women who tried to enter without a male escort.
.
Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
curfew that was still on the books.
.
"Although the law was established 30 years ago, it is still practical,
especially for today's generation, who face too many temptations,"
said Somchai Petprasert, a police colonel working as an adviser to the
Education Ministry.
.
It has only been a little more than a decade since Thailand was ruled
by generals, and the rights and freedoms of its democracy are still
fragile. It was only at the end of 1997 that these were codified in a
new Constitution.
.
Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
stifle the press.
.
Public morals and social behavior may prove to be a greater challenge,
though.
.
"We are helping them keep their virginity," explained Nikhom
Jarumanee, an Education Ministry official, when an experimental curfew
was tried on Valentine's Day two years ago.
.
Plenty of people here think this is balderdash.
.
The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, summed up the mood in a
sarcastic headline last week: "Lock Up the Young, This Is Thailand."
.
The New York Times Midnight's the limit for clubs and bars

BANGKOK Imagine a city where bars, nightclubs and even movie theaters
shut down early, where young people are off the streets by curfew,
where universities stage surprise drug tests and where a woman cannot
enter a restaurant without a male escort.
.
That would not be the racy, all-night Bangkok that people like to call
"fun city."
.
But it is Bangkok - and the rest of Thailand - as imagined by powerful
government reformers who have already begun to put a crimp in the fun.
.
Nearly three years ago, they began what they call a "social order"
campaign, enforcing a 2 a.m. closing time that nobody had ever
bothered about and raiding nightspots and testing customers for drugs.
.
To almost everyone's surprise, the politically popular campaign has
persisted despite the resistance of powerful businessmen and the
complaints of Western tourists.
.
Now the screws are beginning to tighten.
.
On March 1, most nightclubs, bars and discos will have their closing
times moved back to midnight, one of the most stringent curfews in
Asia. After March 29, under another new regulation, all youngsters
under 18 will have to be off the streets by 10 p.m. unless they are
with their parents.
.
This month, the Interior Ministry announced a 100-fold increase in
license fees that, if put into effect, is sure to put scores of
restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
out of business.
.
With Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra intimidating the press; packing
the courts, the police and the military; and all but eliminating
political opposition, and with social order added to the mix, Thailand
could begin to be a somewhat different place.
.
There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
country into his grip.
.
"There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week.
.
Government officials are not shy about saying pretty much the same
thing.
.
"I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
.
As soon as it was started, Thailand's campaign was widely popular,
with polls showing that 70 percent of the public backed it. For the
moment, Purachai has become the most popular politician in the
country.
.
"Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have sex in lifts or
toilets. That's pathetic."
.
This is a time of wrenching change in Thailand as traditional social
and family structures give way to the modern world. Purachai was
voicing the fears of many people who see their country, and their
children, running out of control.
.
On the other hand, there are critics who say Purachai and his fellow
reformers have gotten a bit out of control themselves.
.
At one point, a police district in Bangkok, resurrecting a
long-forgotten law, ordered entertainment places to turn away any
women who tried to enter without a male escort.
.
Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
curfew that was still on the books.
.
"Although the law was established 30 years ago, it is still practical,
especially for today's generation, who face too many temptations,"
said Somchai Petprasert, a police colonel working as an adviser to the
Education Ministry.
.
It has only been a little more than a decade since Thailand was ruled
by generals, and the rights and freedoms of its democracy are still
fragile. It was only at the end of 1997 that these were codified in a
new Constitution.
.
Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
stifle the press.
.
Public morals and social behavior may prove to be a greater challenge,
though.
.
"We are helping them keep their virginity," explained Nikhom
Jarumanee, an Education Ministry official, when an experimental curfew
was tried on Valentine's Day two years ago.
.
Plenty of people here think this is balderdash.
.
The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, summed up the mood in a
sarcastic headline last week: "Lock Up the Young, This Is Thailand."
.
The New York Times Midnight's the limit for clubs and bars

BANGKOK Imagine a city where bars, nightclubs and even movie theaters
shut down early, where young people are off the streets by curfew,
where universities stage surprise drug tests and where a woman cannot
enter a restaurant without a male escort.
.
That would not be the racy, all-night Bangkok that people like to call
"fun city."
.
But it is Bangkok - and the rest of Thailand - as imagined by powerful
government reformers who have already begun to put a crimp in the fun.
.
Nearly three years ago, they began what they call a "social order"
campaign, enforcing a 2 a.m. closing time that nobody had ever
bothered about and raiding nightspots and testing customers for drugs.
.
To almost everyone's surprise, the politically popular campaign has
persisted despite the resistance of powerful businessmen and the
complaints of Western tourists.
.
Now the screws are beginning to tighten.
.
On March 1, most nightclubs, bars and discos will have their closing
times moved back to midnight, one of the most stringent curfews in
Asia. After March 29, under another new regulation, all youngsters
under 18 will have to be off the streets by 10 p.m. unless they are
with their parents.
.
This month, the Interior Ministry announced a 100-fold increase in
license fees that, if put into effect, is sure to put scores of
restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
out of business.
.
With Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra intimidating the press; packing
the courts, the police and the military; and all but eliminating
political opposition, and with social order added to the mix, Thailand
could begin to be a somewhat different place.
.
There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
country into his grip.
.
"There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week.
.
Government officials are not shy about saying pretty much the same
thing.
.
"I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
.
As soon as it was started, Thailand's campaign was widely popular,
with polls showing that 70 percent of the public backed it. For the
moment, Purachai has become the most popular politician in the
country.
.
"Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have sex in lifts or
toilets. That's pathetic."
.
This is a time of wrenching change in Thailand as traditional social
and family structures give way to the modern world. Purachai was
voicing the fears of many people who see their country, and their
children, running out of control.
.
On the other hand, there are critics who say Purachai and his fellow
reformers have gotten a bit out of control themselves.
.
At one point, a police district in Bangkok, resurrecting a
long-forgotten law, ordered entertainment places to turn away any
women who tried to enter without a male escort.
.
Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
curfew that was still on the books.
.
"Although the law was established 30 years ago, it is still practical,
especially for today's generation, who face too many temptations,"
said Somchai Petprasert, a police colonel working as an adviser to the
Education Ministry.
.
It has only been a little more than a decade since Thailand was ruled
by generals, and the rights and freedoms of its democracy are still
fragile. It was only at the end of 1997 that these were codified in a
new Constitution.
.
Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
stifle the press.
.
Public morals and social behavior may prove to be a greater challenge,
though.
.
"We are helping them keep their virginity," explained Nikhom
Jarumanee, an Education Ministry official, when an experimental curfew
was tried on Valentine's Day two years ago.
.
Plenty of people here think this is balderdash.
.
The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, summed up the mood in a
sarcastic headline last week: "Lock Up the Young, This Is Thailand."
.
The New York Times
Copyright © 2004 the International Herald Tribune All Rights Reserved

Tuuk wrote:
Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
curfew that was still on the books.

Come on, how many decent theaters stay open past midnight?

I don't know about Thailand, but in any medium-sized city in the puritan,
go-home-early USA the cinemas are open after midnight on Fridays and
Saturdays.

miguel
--
Hundreds of travel photos from around the world: http://travel.u.nu/

" Tuuk" wrote in message
...

""put a crimp in the fun""' ???

Come on, they are trying to reduce crime, prostitution, aids, tax evasion,
and improve the countries image,,, what happened, these facts fly over
your
head ?

"""is sure to put scores of
restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
out of business.'""
***********************
By the way Tuuk, Chiang Mai is at this stage exempt from the new closing
hours, bans, limitations, etc Now why would *that* be.......... I wonder????

I dunno,
Is it as much of a sex tourist attractive destination for that demographic?
Or is it the south that is more of a troublesome area.




"Sandy Cruden" wrote in message
...

" Tuuk" wrote in message
...

""put a crimp in the fun""' ???

Come on, they are trying to reduce crime, prostitution, aids, tax
evasion,
and improve the countries image,,, what happened, these facts fly over
your
head ?

"""is sure to put scores of
restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
out of business.'""
***********************
By the way Tuuk, Chiang Mai is at this stage exempt from the new closing
hours, bans, limitations, etc Now why would *that* be.......... I
wonder????

I Seek


What causes disease and pain? What causes

respiratory disorders, cancer, high blood

pressure, heart disease, headaches, digestive

disorders and arthritis? After reading about

Qigong I am inclined to believe that this is the

result of prolonged stress. Scientific research

has in fact proven that prolonged stress is the

culprit when it comes to the above disorders.

Having an Ancient art also tell me this, simply

makes me wonder and want to explore further.

Stress comes from all directions, primitive man

had stresses like the weather, disease, family

relations, food supply, shelter, disability and the

fear of death. Sounds awful doesn't it? Yet that

is nothing compared to the new stresses added

that we have to contend with in our modern day.

Such as: Loans, school, employer

relationships, noise, pollution, politics, war,

anxiety and crowded environments. We might

think we are used to these stresses, however,

this does not lessen their harmful

effects. Stress obviously causes physical and

mental tension, we internalize things we can't

change which becomes muscular tension.

Imagine, there is probably a muscle in our

bodies that has become almost perpetually

flexed because of 9/11. Before then that part of

us was always relaxed. This has to have an

effect on us. In this state our Chi or Qi becomes

sluggish and has difficulty flowing between the

internal body and between the body and the

environment. This is a physical and mental

condition the Chinese call: ''Wai qiang nei gan.''

This means: ''The outside strong, the inside

rots.'' Qigong is the answer!


MORE TO COME SOON!



wrote in message
...

"I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.

Like Purachai Piemsomboon, I too would like my children to grow up in
a polite, peaceful and orderly society in Singapore. We had that up to
the point when rules were liberalised to allow bar top dancing and the
red light area in Geylang expanded to allow, unofficially of course,
rampant mainland chinese prostitution.

Now we have local girls dancing like prostitutes on the bars to
entertain the Foreign Talents. Every parent who has such a daughter
must have wished they never had her in the first place. Mainland
chinese prostitutes in Geylang spreading STD to our young men and our
senior citizens. In time, we will lose more local talent because there
will be fewer young men and the national health care bill will balloon
because the senior citizens will have to be cared for.

I say we should follow the footsteps of Thailand and put a rein on the
detiorating night scene here in Singapore. Let's bring back the days
when we were really known as squeeky clean Singapore. People who like
the rowdy, obscene lifestyle should go for short trips to Malaysia or
Batam or wherever to satisfy their lust. Let's keep Singapore clean
and green and unsullied by the corrupt western influence. I really
can't understand how we can be a more liberalised and free society by
allowing bar top dancing and uncontrolled prostitution by foreigners.

I really missed the good old days when rules were scrupulously
enforced and deviant behavior was shown the door.


On 27 Feb 2004 10:50:03 -0800, (OrangeMan) wrote:

"I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
.

" Tuuk" wrote in message
...

""put a crimp in the fun""' ???

Come on, they are trying to reduce crime, prostitution, aids, tax evasion,
and improve the countries image,,, what happened, these facts fly over
your
head ?

So they push it underground.


"""is sure to put scores of
restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
out of business.'""

The only ones that will go out of business or their margins reduced to a
more level income are those who illegally operate anyway. How many stay
open
even longer, do not report much of their incomes and are flat out sleazy.

And all the supporting and surrounding shops, food places, market stalls
etc. Maybe not go out of business, but have an effect.


"""There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
country into his grip.'""

Ya, those who have never had a days education in their life, live from day
to day and have no concept of the future. Come on, give the head a shake
for
this statement, dictatorship? I would say a majority elected leader
myself,
who is gaining popularity. I know Carlos will say that Tuuk loves Bush,
loves Thaksin, well come on there carlos, your just being childish there,
your leader Thaksin was elected, by popular vote, so you must be that
noisy
minority that I keep talking about. You must be. And from what I hear
there
is a very very small crowd who is crying about Thaksin's goodness he is
doing for your country.

Popular vote? Why would he need to control the press. He is restricting
freedom of speech... Afraid about what others are saying.

Afraid of the truth? Afraid of loosing his power.

Instead he weild it more tightly. He's like a child in a tantrum. Instead of
stopping and reflecting he's reacting further.

These last few months he's sent a lot of ripples across the land and beyond.
Most don't care, most don't know what will happen.

""""There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week."""

Come on here also, you gotta give the head a shake for this one.

It's happening. Taksinland is not the place it was. People are tense.


"""Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have sex in lifts or
toilets. That's pathetic.""''


Good points, everyone in the world knows you can go to Thailand, get sex
in
any toilet, elevator, anywhere, and then again with another whore. For a
few
bucks, come on, you people cannot get in the way of this positive and
proactive long term good plan, if you do, you want to see Thailand go
down.
Or your not Thai.

It's not the point. The fact they let Patpong persist and close up a lot of
high-end clean clubs along Sukhumvit is not balanced. Why Patpong? They say
they want to discourage sex tourist but this is surely the worst area of
Bangkok for this. Why close Nana at 12pm but say it's okay for Patpong to be
open till 2am. It's no doubt also about money and golden handshakes too.

Further, the fact they say it's to improve safety for young people, is
irrational when they maintain RCA at 2am.

"""Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
curfew that was still on the books."""

Come on, how many decent theaters stay open past midnight? O,,, those
sleazy
ones that show the gay movies, and the crowd is full of gay men who blow
each other,,,, ya real respectable. Now why wouldn't you people want those
places gone ? I wouldn't want one of those sleazy gay movie theaters in my
home town. Aids, Aids, Aids.

A lot of movies don't start till about 9:30 / 10:00 at some of the Major /
EGV theatres.


The rest of the article I imagine is the same bull as the beginning. There
doesn't seem to be any logic, any long term though, just complaining about
a
progressive and fiscally responsible leader. Just jabs at a leader who is
actually making change and cleaning up the country.

But forgetting what the country is. And what makes it. Go go bars are one
thing, but safe clean(ish) night clubs, like Bed, Q Bar, Dbl 0 etc is
another.

So if all the Thais want
Thaksin to continue cleaning up the country, then why are you non thais
even
wasting your time here.

They should start with the dogs and muck on the streets. Foundations first


Thaksin is putting some dignity back into the country and by starting and
improving relations with GWB and the summit, you surely will benefit.

Dignity through lieing, deceit, and personal business success. Can you see
through a fascade?


r

"I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.

Like Purachai Piemsomboon, I too would like my children to grow up in
a polite, peaceful and orderly society in Singapore. We had that up to
the point when rules were liberalised to allow bar top dancing and the
red light area in Geylang expanded to allow, unofficially of course,
rampant mainland chinese prostitution.

Now we have local girls dancing like prostitutes on the bars to
entertain the Foreign Talents. Every parent who has such a daughter
must have wished they never had her in the first place. Mainland
chinese prostitutes in Geylang spreading STD to our young men and our
senior citizens. In time, we will lose more local talent because there
will be fewer young men and the national health care bill will balloon
because the senior citizens will have to be cared for.

I say we should follow the footsteps of Thailand and put a rein on the
detiorating night scene here in Singapore. Let's bring back the days
when we were really known as squeeky clean Singapore. People who like
the rowdy, obscene lifestyle should go for short trips to Malaysia or
Batam or wherever to satisfy their lust. Let's keep Singapore clean
and green and unsullied by the corrupt western influence. I really
can't understand how we can be a more liberalised and free society by
allowing bar top dancing and uncontrolled prostitution by foreigners.

I really missed the good old days when rules were scrupulously
enforced and deviant behavior was shown the door.


On 27 Feb 2004 10:50:03 -0800, (OrangeMan) wrote:

"I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
.

I say we should follow the footsteps of Thailand and put a rein on the
detiorating night scene here in Singapore. Let's bring back the days
when we were really known as squeeky clean Singapore.

Quite a well known saying comes to mind.

What is suppressed comes up ugly.


r

Stress simply is resisting what is.

r





"Seeker" wrote in message
...
I Seek


What causes disease and pain? What causes

respiratory disorders, cancer, high blood

pressure, heart disease, headaches, digestive

disorders and arthritis? After reading about

Qigong I am inclined to believe that this is the

result of prolonged stress.