Seraphina

Banks pay a lot of money to install atms and the associated network infrastructure. They pay for the electricity. Maintenance. Secure cash replenishment.

All of this costs money, which banks earn from their own customers who deposit money in bank accounts and who buy financial products from them.

It sounds like you do none of this, but complain because you are being charged too much.

I bet you also get offended by signs that say "Toilets are for our customers only".

I can ascertain that you don't work for a bank, my friend. I know personally that their lowly paid directors can get up to 4mn sterling when their bank makes colossal losses, so you needn't lecture those of us who are long in the tooth about banks and the 'service' they provide. They cock up themselves, but they never 'pay'.....In my view, they're the true pirhannas in our society and much to the chagrin of the 'Greys' are considered a "necessary evil".

Whatever they provide in ATMs, they get back back - and more, by holding your cash for 24 hours or more! Wake up and smell the coffee!

Start with the women or partners he had.

What a nightmare.

I am convinced I read stories of people dying all day.........crazy.

People die every day, everywhere.

It's true! Very drôle...I think the author meant this chap died rather prematurely and violently which is not everyone's preferred method of dying....!?

I've always said I'd like to drop dead on the golf course. I just need to learn to play golf now!

When you unsubscribe from islam you lose your head. Pretty hefty exit fee.

Usual gross exaggeration. I know more that a few people raised as Muslims who have walked away from their religion without any threats whatsoever. Sadly in some countries there are deaths threats and and actual killings for apostasy, but relatively a small number.

Any facts to support your "research"? Because it is not a "relatively small number" who gets killed because of this. There are plenty of people living in fear even in EU. Of course, they must be silly because islam is religion of pieces peace and harms nobody...

Relatively small number of countries have the death penalty for apostasy, believe seven & out of those tiny number of death sentences actually carried out. As you know in many cases accusations of apostasy / blasphemy are made because of personal disputes. Again overall based on a worldwide population of around 1.6 billion Muslims very few are executed by the judiciary or murdered by civilians for apostasy, though of course all such killing are to be condemned.

Getting back on topic so far as I'm aware there is zero justification in the Koran or Islamic jurisdiction for indiscriminate murderous attacks on peace biding civilians.

Can I just correct you about your last comment: you don't have to LEAVE or disavow Islam to merit the death penalty under Shari'a Law. Indeed, this is why there are so many 'honour killings'. These take place not just in Muslim countries, but also in Europe/especially the UK which has a large Muslim Pakistani population.

You might note that "honour killings" tend to be reported abroad more so than we notice in Muslim countries - and there have been some real corkers including teenage girls as young as 13 who decided to dress the European way. Imagine being murdered for that!

If you want to leave Islam, you're unlikely to broadcast it unless you have a very, very specific political agenda! Most people just stop going to a mosque, stop praying individually or in a group - usually both. Some go abroad! One of the problems for young Muslims is they taste freedom and don't WANT to go home, but family ties are strong; esp for the eldest child (98% are sons as females are unable to travel abroad alone).

Many Muslims are not practising just like many Christians. I would go as far as to say, based on original research I've done, that Muslims are more likely to 'appear' to conform in their home country than outside it and also to deviate when they're on holiday from their home country/ Malaysia for example is a popular destination and also a Muslim country where many Arabs go on holiday. Going on holiday is considered out of sight of one's peers and that's why there is a plethora of single Arab males taking holidays in Thailand. At least that's what I told my client.

No-one interested in the general lack of security in France, then....Nor are the police. They never learn even though they have specialist divisions. As rarely pass political judgement as I work for a political opinion polling company, but French politicians WILL continue to sit on the fence until one of their sons, daughters or wives dies in a terrorist incident.

Noone will touch immigration policy in France and the security services don't talk to the local or national police unless they have to. There's no voluntary sharing of information according to BBC sources.

How long before they search and find him at his Mum's house?

Yes; it's fair to say that Bin Laden was found at home, not hiding!

Could he have asked for a hygiene inspection using the tourist police as a starting block of enquiry? It's worth knowing if this is possible.

I must admit, I have stood in a restaurant and told other guests NOT to eat there. You can't be arrested for this where I live. If the restaurant had caused a fuss, the police would have been notified and that wouldn't be good for the restaurant's reputation! I then gave the restaurant a scathing review on Tripadvisor in a way that they couldn't reply in any positive way or make an excuse. Voilà. Fait accompli.

Update http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/17/nice-terror-attack-police-vans-blocking-promenade-withdrawn-hour1/

The death toll is rather more than several - in the 80s, and the injured more than 200 including children. Shots were fired both from inside the truck and into the truck by police.

I was in Nice on the Côte d'Azur on the day of this incident. It was noticable to me that security for the jazz festival on the Promenade des Anglais (where the incident happened) was far higher than it was at Nice international airport which is a 1.50 euro ride from the city centre. Indeed, the police weren't interested in either of the unattended baggage incidents that I personally pointed out.

I was particularly nervous that day because Bastille Day is all about the celebration of freedom and the French, despite Charlie Hebdo et al are not as bomb conscious as the Brits, especially those of us who lived through 30 years of IRA bomb scares.

Many won't know that the French police are split into two parts: the national and the local police. There is considerable rivalry between them. The local police go home at midnight on the dot - at least that's what they told me when I went to see them. At 11.30pm, the local police directed me to the national police.....so it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that's why they were unprepared in the late evening on Bastille Day. I'm guessing they were getting ready to go home after the fireworks and BEFORE the crowds had dispersed!

According to this BBC article (http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36803542), the French authorities in charge of security (national and local), have still not learned to communicate with each other. Don't forget that Interpol's HQ is in France and that the football hooligan problem in Marseilles were similarly poorly managed by both the national police and Interpol - both of which have specialist football hooligan divisions.*

Mark my words, it will take the death of a politican's son or daughter to motivate French politicians to stop sitting on the fence about their lax and longstanding immigration policy. Unfortunately, noone dares approach this subject for fear of losing votes.

It will be interesting to see if incumbent government allows the French population to vote in or out of the EU. The last French referendum was in 2005 aimed at ratifying (or not) the EU constitution with a result of 55% of French saying, "No".

* Marseilles was a very good choice for the hooligans as the police there are very 'particuliers'.

You guys are hilarious! Thanks for the entertaining quips. Don't you think the 'protective plastic' is kinda cute? Maybe a large 'plaster' next time....

Did you hear about the guy in China who OPENED the aircraft door after it landed because he was 'in a hurry'. Is it really that easy to open aircraft doors? When I sit on the exit door over wing, I always "study" the instructions! Is that just me, then? Aren't the exit doors at the front and rear of a jumbo "cross checked". And what does that actually mean?

I meant how low can the pound go before you can no longer qualify, others must be worried as well. Glad I have always kept 800k in the bank here, that was 12k sterling when sent over

I am not concerned about the pound for myself. For me it is the USD and it would have to down a lot for it to be a problem for me. I do my extension based upon marriage so only need 40k baht income.

Can I just check something, when you apply for a three month O visa, the bank letter is from your country of residence, but upon renewal - as opposed to extension - this has to be a result of the deposit in a Thai bank, correct?

My information may be out-of-date, I was told that CELTA is aimed at people with a Degree and TEFL at those without a Degree or for whom English is not their mother tongue. CELTA isn't difficult for a native English speaker unless you have no flare for other languages. In that case, you'll have to learn the jargon, e.g. what a gerund is and that some of the tense jargon has changed over the last 20 years.

CELTA isnt necessarily required in developing countries where there's a teacher shortage. Maybe TEFL is your best option. You may be able to do it in one month! I think you ought to consider it an investment to get a teaching qualification if you want to be serious about it.

Some people are natural teachers. They're inspirational to watch. On the other hand, I've seen many qualified, uninspired and unspirational teachers. Teaching is still considered a vocation and you'll probably learn more about teaching when you actually practise.

Thai Immigration said, I had abused the system & canned my 30 day stamp on arrival, as I was flying in and out of the country every four weeks for work, for quite a while

As you are, in your own words, working in The Thailand it is understandable that the immigration officer feels that you are abusing the system.

Never, have I said, "I was working in Thailand".

I was using Thailand as my base, and "Flying out of Thailand to go to work", not working in Thailand.

Never have I worked within Thai borders.

The Thai Immigration Officer said to me,

"Because I was coming and going so many times within a short period of time, I was not actually a tourist as such, and was using to the current system to my advantage, therefore I need to get a Visa if I wished to travel so frequently in and out of the country.

So you're commuting to work from Thailand....to where exactly? This sounds very fishy to me so I can understand why you would suspicious glances at immigration. Hope it works out with the mutlientry. No-one's explained how you can get 9 months out of a 60 day multiple entry visa, is it one extension of 30 days and two renewals. Can someone please verify? Thx

I'm genuinely surprised at the replies I'v read so far. I have two friends living here in Thailand who teach English to French students....never bothered about work permits.

Many times I'v read posts on here from people asking if they need a permit to sell stuff online to outside Thailand....the answers have almost always been...."who's to know what your doing"....carry on regardless (or words to that affect) .

Why is this OP's situation any different....do not the same principles apply?

As far as I know, also. I have been accepted to work online as a teacher. No permit required. I can teach from wherever I am living or staying.

Who is to know what you're doing?

To the original poster (not sure if that's the right term), you have decide whether you want to be legal and can live with yourself if you aren't. If you're working within a country, you need a permit. I can't imagine any type of exemption clause based on the nationality of the people you're working with or, indeed, training - in any country!

I can think of only two situations, if you're seconded or on a temporary project in Thailand. In such circumstances, a good company would arrange your visa and ensure you're legal. If they don't care, they're probably cutting corners in other areas of administration. Your risk. If you get caught, they're not really going to put their hand out to help you, are they?

Just to clarify, I have had four work permits from three different provincial labour offices attached to an extension of stay stamped retirement.

Hii Issangeorge, I'd like to know how this works. Can you please give us the gory details of how can you claim retirement if you're working? It doesn't make sense to me! Thx

I regard the risk of being denied boarding significantly higher than being denied entry by the IO.

I agree with DUS. The carrier won't let you on board if there's a good risk of your being refused entry as they have to bear the burden of returning you. There are LOTS of ways round this, not all recommended e.g. he can overstay and pay the fine. It sounds like the type of thing he'd do.

Quite frankly, people judge you by WHOM you mix with so the original person posting this question might start by asking himself some searching questions such as why he would want to entertain such a guest and how that reflects upon him!

I did my yearly retirement extension this afternoon. They have a Farang volunteer doing all the paperwork checking now. I asked him about this new form and he grinned and shook his head. Perhaps they have decided it's a waste of time, or are discussing it's merits. Either way I was not asked to fill one out today.

Strange that they can't seem to make up their minds if it's to be used or not. Perhaps they have come to the conclusion that the information that people give may be total BS.

I don't think this is strange. Any patchiness will be to do with a normal national "roll out"...the high tourist traffic areas will normally get such new forms first as training is often involved; administrators need at least to be briefed! This is assuming the scheme isn't being 'piloted' somewhere and it could be more than one place! And we don't know that, do we? We could be in the pilot phase so that they can assess the value of asking such information.

Clearly, the adminitrators don't understand the psyche of the average Brit though, do they? Privacy rights off the scale....compared to the rest of Europe, that is. You don't know how lucky you are in the UK!

Suggestion from one of the participants on this forum, take a photo of the first form you fill in and maybe the date. My suggestion is to take a blank form, complete it, scan it and just take a few copies with you each time you enter...leaving the date open if necessary. How hard is that? No queues, just a bit of planning! Trust me, applying for an Australian visa or an Indian visa is far more laborious!

Fabulous photos, Camble! Love the humour in the photos too.

Re change and "Who moved my cheese?", it's always disappointing to go back to a place where you have fond memories. I try not to do this or try and accept that change is part of life. In any case, this is part of ageing, surely?

Many people told me that Batu Ferrighi in Penang was 'spoilt', but I had nothing to compare it to, so I rather enjoyed my stay there. I took it for what it was and I needed the pampering after 7 weeks backpacking. Not everyone looks for the same things, right?

Another example, everyone I met on the Amalfi coastal trail in Italy told me Sorrento was 'boring and very 'touristy'. I went off into the surrounding countryside hunting Roman villas, and it wasn't difficult to notice that the majority of tourists bypassed the fantastic murals inside open doorways and on public ceilings - just because they were all marching towards the 'tourist areas'. And then they complain! Open your eyes and look beyond!

I'm not sure if anyone will find this interesting or not...it's probably old news! These articles break down the profile of voters including their socio-economic classication (AB C1 C2 DE). There seems to be no significant gender difference between in and out voters which surprises me somewhat.

There was always the possibility that the 'grey market' would outweigh the under 25s based on 'absolute' numbers, though I didn't notice this in the Yougov opinion polls leading up to the vote (I wasn't paying enough attention, teacher).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/22/eu-referendum-which-type-of-person-wants-to-leave-and-who-will-b/

http://www.politico.eu/article/graphics-how-the-uk-voted-eu-referendum-brexit-demographics-age-education-party-london-final-results/

Is it me, or does thi headline sound petty?

There was always the possibility that the 'grey market' would outweigh the youngsters based on 'absolute' numbers, but I didn't notice this in the Yougov opinion polls leading up to the vote (poss wasn't paying enough attention, teacher).

I'd go with this.......

"It's the right of MPs alone to make or break laws, and the peers to block them. So there's no force whatsoever in the referendum result. It's entirely for MPs to decide."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-loophole-eu-referendum-mps-law-legal-legislation-constitution-a7105181.html

It's all about democracy and control.......nobody tells MY MPs what to do...they were elected to govern not at on momentary whims of the public.

I trust you're being ironic. If so, you're absolutely right! WE elect incompetent MPs all on our very OWN! And we don't even control them!

They lie through their teeth to get themselves elected and then when they're in situ, they go off and do whatever they want without recourse to their electorate or conscience about their electoral promises. That's called 'whimsical and capricious' as well as "disingenuous".....a bit like going to a French hairdresser.

And don't forget that bastion of Englishness, the House of Lords which is the 'peer group' you referred to for our House of Commons. It consists of 74.4% of white males, the rest being majority white females, and wait for this nugget....... a modal mean age of 70-79 years amongst its membership.

Representative...? And in touch/up-to-date?

People will vote with their feet if the MPs don't heed the referendum result and while it's true that parliamentary sovereignty exists, I've seen no evidence, while I've been on this planet, to suggest that any incumbent govt. has ever gone against 1 of the 13 referenda (or referendums) that we've ever had (open to be challenged on this...).

If you read Jeremy Paxman's book on why politicians become MPs, you'll look askance at your MPs - past and present, I assure you.

We gained freedom.

Freedom from those unelected people who were trying to run our lives for us.

It may take time for us to get things sorted, but I for one will be happy to wait.

So when this "freedom" actually occurs, will you know? And will it actually be better than what you currently have (or had)? Oh nevermind. Just for comparison sake, we have all kinds of "elected people" running our Congress (USA) and they are the most useless group of people God has ever put on this Earth. And I'm not exaggerating.

Your posting made me laugh, but I know you're being serious...and after all, we've witnessed some of your 'elected people'. Look, I have faith in the British population en masse, not necessarily individually, that's the point of 12 honest men. I think the point is, if they mess up, they want it to be THEIR mess up not someone else's.

Those of us who have been around long enough remember the mess ups and the colossal wastage in Brussels over umpteen years. The cost of biscuits - millions, the cost of cleaning windows - trillions! And the public need that money. The original referendum was for the Common Market and the EU is an entirely different "beast".

For you wrinklies out there like me, if you can recall the series "Yes Minister". Here's the reverend Sir Humphrey talking about the British "divide and rule" policy in Europe in his own inimitable way; and about the Euro ID card.....described as 'political suicide'.

We gained freedom.

Freedom from those unelected people who were trying to run our lives for us.

It may take time for us to get things sorted, but I for one will be happy to wait.

Freedom from German rule has always been a priority with the British.

(oh, I forgot for a moment the queen and all her lot are German)

I'm sure you meant French rule not German rule! The French started their lineage in 1066 and the English defaulted to German royalty only because the populace didn't want a succession of Catholic kings and queens (especially after the religious tyranny of Bloody Mary, Queen Anne et al), but Germany doesn't have a royal family anymore, right? WWI saw to that.

The Magna Carta had a profound effect on the English psyche. The personal freedom argument is probably why the British are the only nationality that do NOT have any form of ID card. I don't agree with that in point of fact, I think for security reasons, everyone should carry ID, but that's a different issue...

Been watching a lot of the news. I have a feeling many Brits are going to wake up tomorrow morning, bewildered, and asking themselves "What have we done??"

Well i woke up this morning with a song in my heart , ok i wont get as many baht to the pound , big deal , but my country is free from a bunch of snout in the trough freeloaders in Brussels that made up stupid laws and used my country as a cash cow now sing , "oh the sun has got his hat on ,hip hip hip hooray,the sun has got his hat on and is coming out to play"

I have heard several people mention being "Free" and making up your own laws, but what was so bad about laws written in Belgium? Is there a particular piece of legislation you are against or just any legislation written outside the UK?

Are UK politicians so honest and trustworthy they are the only ones worthy of writing your laws?

If the EU was headquartered in London, would that make a difference? You would have to refer to the "freeloaders" in London then.

What are the financial reasons you wanted out? Surely you must see that in renegotiating every single trade deal with every single country in the world from a position of weakness cannot be a good thing for the UK?

53% of the UK's exports go to Europe under "free trade", if that is withdrawn how much do you think it will cost? More than the 8.5 billion it currently costs to be a member and take advantage of that?

Hi ljd1308, I'm sure it all looks befuddling from the outside in, and part of that is the country's history. The Magna Carta, a hard won piece of eventual legislation protecting the barons and eventually 'the common man' from the arbitrary and capricious rule of their kings. The right to live freely (allow 12 honest men to determine our fate) has therefore come to be a bastion of our cultural value going back to just after 1200 and only 200 years of French kings.

If we compare this outcome to the one in France where the French tried to rid themselves of their mean and whimsical kings/queens, you could argue that once they removed that arbritrary system (the royal family and their cronies) and bearing in mind their method was far more violent, they ended up subjogating their freedom to the state. So the concept of 'freedom' in France has been twisted to mean 'individualism' these days as freedom doesn't exist here. The country is strangled by employment and banking laws. The reason they have so many strikes is because the unions are weak and have no power; There is no power to the people here.

The fact is, we have referendums now for just this type of decision and I feel that it's unlikely that other countries such as France or Germany would ever allow such a vote.

Regarding trade agreements, most other countries survive nicely without the EU, in fact ALL countries not in the EU, that is N minus 27. Britain with all her faults is a country with the highest home ownership that I know of and is not an inexperienced international trader and negotiator thanks to the colonies, war and old trade routes, silk, spices, etc. Their sales people may be in the Middle Ages still compared to the US, but this is infinitely better than placing your company's fate with the catalogue of MEP muppets they've had since time immemorial. Trust them? No! They couldn't run a bath, never mind a company. The average politician in the UK, according to Jeremy Paxman, has fewer than 5 O'levels. And these are not hard to get. You basically just need to turn up to class to get one!

So we think even less of European MPs, esp. having witnessed several parliament punch ups on youtube!

Margaret Thatcher was asked by Stephen Pile (a joke collector and author) if she had any jokes, she replied, "I've got a Cabinet full of them". Naturally, she'd never met an MEP before.

The Australian government knows your bank account number, why is this any different?

I worked in Australia for five years. I had a tax file number and paid tax at source (salary). I also paid tax on a secondary income, but I can't remember giving out my bank details to anyone. Why would the federal government have my bank number?

I'd be interested if the participants on this forum would tag their comments to indicate:

a) if they have an economics A'level or Degree and are aware of different economic theories.

the last year they contributed to the British economy.

c) if they voted to join the EU and then voted out this time.

Economists look at the long-term benefits/costs to the economy (some economic cycles take 50-75 years) and us little people live with the reality of short term benefits, I know. And we all live in our own little worlds, don't we? Be honest!

I realise that people get emotional about these things, but look at German reunification and how much that COST the west German economy in the years following - 100 billion euros a year for 20 years. I wonder if Brits realise that they have a far higher average standard of living than say, the French and Italians...

I'd be far more incensed by how the banks have completely messed up the British economy and added 100k+ pounds per capita to the national debt, yet still take 4 million pounds per annum in bonuses - and that's a small British bank not an international one!

So my conclusion is: We ought to be looking at the balance sheet in the long term and basically.... get rid of all the bankers (that's a joke, by the way...it's not a fatwa!) on arbitrary bonuses that are not related to performance and are robbing the public year after year!

The Banks? Guilty. How many years are you going to scapegoat for bad government policies? National debt is run up by government. UK debt is worse than the US. People quote the US because it is astounding large figure, % of GDP other countries are worse. The world is on its last credit card and cannot cover the interest on previous cards.

And don't forget that BIG bank called the Bank of England which is responsible for financial and monetary stability in the UK economy. It is supposed to regulate M3 among other things, and is responsible for maintaining currency confidence partly by NOT printing too much money thereby encouraging imported inflation due to the UK's extremely high propensity to buy imports unlike, say France which has a very low propensity for buying foreign goods.

scotland now has the right for a second referendum which they intend to have we will also loose all the revenue from them also

Please tell us more about this interesting subject if you're allowed to and how that would work.

I suppose we could aways trade British water for Scottish oil?

I'd be interested if the participants on this forum would tag their comments to indicate:

a) if they have an economics A'level or Degree and are aware of different economic theories.

the last year they contributed to the British economy.

c) if they voted to join the EU and then voted out this time.

Economists look at the long-term benefits/costs to the economy (some economic cycles take 50-75 years) and us little people live with the reality of short term benefits, I know. And we all live in our own little worlds, don't we? Be honest!

I realise that people get emotional about these things, but look at German reunification and how much that COST the west German economy in the years following - 100 billion euros a year for 20 years. I wonder if Brits realise that they have a far higher average standard of living than say, the French and Italians...

I'd be far more incensed by how the banks have completely messed up the British economy and added 100k+ pounds per capita to the national debt, yet still take 4 million pounds per annum in bonuses - and that's a small British bank not an international one!

So my conclusion is: We ought to be looking at the balance sheet in the long term and basically.... get rid of all the bankers (that's a joke, by the way...it's not a fatwa!) on arbitrary bonuses that are not related to performance and are robbing the public year after year!

The Banks? Guilty. How many years are you going to scapegoat for bad government policies? National debt is run up by government. UK debt is worse than the US. People quote the US because it is astounding large figure, % of GDP other countries are worse. The world is on its last credit card and cannot cover the interest on previous cards.

UK public debt to GDP = 89.2%, USA public debt to GDP = 104.17%. How is the UK debt worse?

Good point. I don't see it as different in fact, but then the US doesn't have anyone telling them what to do or breathing down our neck about what can and can't be called 'ice cream' and similar.

I agree with many of the comments regarding the incompetency of our governments, by the way. I highly recommend Jeremy Paxman's book called "Politcial Animals". He notes that few British politicans, at the time of writing his book, had obtained more than five, note: FIVE measely O'levels; even fewer had any science or political science O'levels....

How many have a 2:1 Degree or above, we can only guess. And btw, I doubt it's any better in the US. God forbid that we ever have a Sarah Palin in the ranks of our politicians!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Political-Animal-Anatomy-Jeremy-Paxman/dp/0141032960