jackspratt

Ah dear! - the predictable TV defenders of institutionalized Thai police corruption.

Puts you on about the same level, I reckon.

stinky, you would have been fun to have around on TV when the police were shooting at random under Thaksin's "War on Drugs".

First prize mate. Take a look. I have included a close up of the Tiger label since the one one the bottle behind the lady is not too clear.

The only thing that is not clear is whether the "lady" is really a lady

I guess based on economic indicators, the USA doesn't look to flash at the moment either.

Fact of the matter is Thailand has the 2nd largest GDP amongst the ASEAN countries, and in my eyes at least, that makes it a major country in the region.

As far as Thaksin is concerned, it is good to see that he stuck to Hun Sen's script, and refrained from any politicking in Kampuchea

Beer, wine and spirits

Thailand immediately reduced its previous 54% tariff on wine to 40%, and will phase the tariff to zero in 2015.

Thailand reduced the previous tariffs on beer and spirits from 60% to 30%. Tariffs will be phased to zero in 2010.

http://www.austrade.gov.au/TAFTA8311/default.aspx

So if I'm reading that tariff article correctly, all beer and spirits made in Australia are going to be sold tariff free starting Jan 1st? So in theory I could go to Villa Market and pick up a 12 pack of Tooheys New cans for 400B? (assuming they stock it)

The article also says that Australian Wine will be tariff free in 2015 and Cheese in 2020! I like this trade agreement...

I cant see imported beers from ASEAN getting any cheaper really. For instance, the 5% import duty on ASEAN drinks today shouldn't have stopped anyone as 0% is not a lot of difference. The reason ASEAN drinks don't find a market here is the excise tax (stamp duty), which would be based on CIF, the transportation cost, the fact that no one in their right mind would want to bring beer to a country just for a few expats to enjoy. If they can't get Thais to drink it today, why would there be a difference in the future? I guess Aussie beers are nice if one like frozen, tasteless beer, but it would still be a lot more expensive than in Australia due to the transportation cost and the excise tax. Also, why bring it into a market if you cant sell it to the Thais because you cant tell them it is here, cant tell them where it is, cant tell them why it is better than local beer? There are going to be a few disappointed expats when the dust settles.

As best as I can tell, there is no excise tax on imported beer - frozen, tasteless, or otherwise.

For this reason, the local brewers have a very real complaint when they are required to pay up to 60% excise on the domestic brews.

Also, you cannot compare the final price of Australian beer in Oz to Thailand. As well as excise tax and GST imposed by the federal government (at the brewery gate), the various states impose liquor licensing taxes of varying amounts at the wholesale level.

ps excise tax and stamp duty are entirely different beasts.

^Holy torledo batman, thats twice in one thread that someone has agreed with Jack.

You see toad, originally it was jack that picked our ole mate pad thai man, woops i mean serpcio and i agreed with him.

Anyway Jack, it looks like Mrtoad and I are coming over for a feed, whatscookin?

I could do the special menu for you, neverdie.

How about Cold Shoulder, followed by Duck Under the Table

In fact, Australia is NOT a member of ASEAN, but it does have observer status at most ASEAN meetings. I doubt if this would qualify it to export beer to Thailand tariff-free.

Also, I didn't see anything in the article to suggest that non-ASEAN brands would be allowed in tariff free, even if they are brewed in an ASEAN country. I am sure that the Thai beer barons will ensure that all non-ASEAN brands do not qualify for tariff-free entry, so they only have to compete with Bin Tang and Tiger beers (which of course are much better than Thai beers anyway).

Couple of points.

I would think that under the rules of original applicable to the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, any beer brewed in an ASEAN country would achieve sufficient local content to be regarded as a product of that country.

As far as Australia is concerned, it is a moot point. Under the terms of the Thai - Oz FTA:

Beer, wine and spirits

Thailand immediately reduced its previous 54% tariff on wine to 40%, and will phase the tariff to zero in 2015.

Thailand reduced the previous tariffs on beer and spirits from 60% to 30%. Tariffs will be phased to zero in 2010.

http://www.austrade.gov.au/TAFTA8311/default.aspx

Can't get much past you can they jack? Have you taken the promotion to the rank of Detective Inspector yet?

Inspector Jack Spratt, the last of the super slooths

While we are on the subject of obsession, I see yours (with me) hasn't declined.

What a story, unbelivable Thailand, Land of Smile seems the guys in brown get more and more innovative year after year.

thanks for the link, great pics here too.

No need to thank him - he has made this obsession his life's work

Even to the extent of being previously banned on Thai Visa whilst posting under the moniker of PadThaiGuy.

If you don't believe me, have a look here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/search.html&...sult_type=posts

Thanks for the link, lot of interesting posts, quite often you will find the best stuff from posters who have been banned, after all it's not difficult on TV is it

If you identify with PTG's posts, and find them to be "the best stuff", you have my sympathy

And I am sure you would really get off on reading Emperor_Tud, a true (and also banned) legend on TV

What a story, unbelivable Thailand, Land of Smile seems the guys in brown get more and more innovative year after year.

thanks for the link, great pics here too.

No need to thank him - he has made this obsession his life's work

Even to the extent of being previously banned on Thai Visa whilst posting under the moniker of PadThaiGuy.

If you don't believe me, have a look here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/search.html&...sult_type=posts

I thank I see a temperest movment growing. I hear the band.

If they start producing banners, let's hope they can spell

Since moving to Thailand nearly 3 years ago, I have been on ToT ADSL - the only hard wire service available where I live.

My first contract was for 1Mbps @1000baht per month.

A year or so later, I was offered a free upgrade ie 2Mbps @ 1000 baht per month.

Early this year, ToT had a promotion, upgrading to 4Mbps, still at 1000 baht per month, and more recently, within the past couple of weeks, they have dropped the price to 790 baht per month.

My download speeds (using Speed Test or a similar program) typically show up to 2 - 3 Mbps within Thailand, and somewhat less outside Thailand. I understand that you don't necessarily get the full speed you are paying for.

However, when I look at the Device Info page of my router (TP-Link TD-W8910G), it shows "Line Rate - Downstream (Kbps): 3072", which leads me to believe that what ToT are currently providing is a maximum rate of 3 Gbps, rather than the 4Gbps I am paying for.

So my question is - if I am achieving a download speed of (say) 2 Mbps under the 4Gb plan, would I only get 75% of that, 1.5 Mbps under the 3 Mb plan ie is the actual download speed proportional to the maximum speed you are paying for?

Installed and activated W7 RC last night, and running like a swiss watch.

Nice one, I must have done something wrong then! Which key did you use?

You could try any of these:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/05/05/f...-rc-activation/

I happened to use the 9JBBV...... key.

Installed and activated W7 RC last night, and running like a swiss watch.

Of course you are CORRECT Maigo6, I stand corrected .

Seriously though, life in Oz is as expensive as, then theres the taxes, Income tax, GST, Stamp duty, Fire levies, Capital gains tax, tax tax and then when you finally neck yourself because of the taxes they hit you with death tax, .............

A big day for corrections nd.

It is many years since there have been death taxes in any state of Oz.

Thanks Jack, (Of course my first correction was said in jest, thats about humour, jacky, I know something you don't understand that well. It must be hard for a man whos got a fist up his rear cavity to laugh )

You are correct, Oz has done away with death taxes, I put that one in because it sounds good and I wanted to see if you were on your toes. Having said that, they didnt really do away with death taxes, they just renamed them . Lets not forget at the rate your mate Kevin Rudd is handing out free cash, taxes are going to be jacked up in the future to compensate for it and you might just find the old death tax raises its ugly head again.

And here I (and probably half of the readers of TV) thought you may have grown up a bit while you were on sabbatical - but alas, each of your posts still require some lame humour, plus a dose of personal abuse.

I would imagine it is easier for someone to laugh with their fist up their rear cavity, than for you with your foot perpetually in your mouth

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions.

I will install it on the D drive, and give it a test drive

danw - my understanding is that as of September you could no longer download RC from Microsoft. As I have it on a CD, and there are a number of publicly available (legal) keys, I believe I should not have a problem. And I will have until March 2010 to evaluate.

My PC is currently running XP Pro. I have sufficient power to run W7, although perhaps not Aero (onboard VGA G41 chip).

I have a copy of W7 RC x 64 bit, which I would like to try before I make the decision on whether/when to upgrade to W7 exclusively.

I have read a number of articles on setting up partitions on the hard drive for W7, but wonder as to the applicability for my situation.

I have an 800Gb hard drive, which is currently divided into 2 drives (C & D), each of about 195GB ie 400GB is currently unused, and not even formatted.

XP is on C drive, along with data and programs etc. There is currently 170GB available

D drive contains basically only the residue from loading MS Office, and so has 194GB available.

My main questions is - where should I install W7?

I assume I can't put it on C drive, as it would over write XP.

Therefore, should it be in the D drive, or a new drive in the currently unallocated, unformatted space.

And if a new drive, what letter should that drive be allocated - currently E, F, G, H are allocated to removable disks (USB drives etc), and I is my CD drive.

All advice welcomed.

Hi,

I am an author and my publishers in Australia are sending me a box of my books (28 in a carton) via regular mail. Will I be hit by customs charges? Each book is worth $A30 (900 baht) but these are for my personal use, and the book is not for sale in Thailand.

Thanks!

google 'ATA Carnet'

I doubt that information on ATA carnets will be of any use in the OPs predicament, particularly as a carnet applies only to temporary imports.

The answer to the OPs question is probably "no-one knows", because dealing with Thai Customs seems to be a bit of a lottery.

Of course you are CORRECT Maigo6, I stand corrected .

Seriously though, life in Oz is as expensive as, then theres the taxes, Income tax, GST, Stamp duty, Fire levies, Capital gains tax, tax tax and then when you finally neck yourself because of the taxes they hit you with death tax, .............

A big day for corrections nd.

It is many years since there have been death taxes in any state of Oz.

The newest version of the Thailand street map (ESRI) is now widely available.

* Add more than 1,000 images of new Junction View

* Update approximately 500,000 POIs (Point-of-Interest) for the whole country that have been either opened and closed from the past year by actual field survey

* Add and update about 10,000 kilometers of road data

* Add the exits in Highway Mode for major roads, not just the highways

* Add entrances and exits on major buildings and landmarks

* Add local voice navigation for all 4 regions of Thailand (for compatible devices)

* Add about ten thousand of new telephone numbers

* Improve map data quality

* Miscellaneous improvements

google is your friend.

Having now had a look at the map, I find that as per TSM v9, the map from SE Asia v4.5 has far more detail of small sois etc around where I live, and in other parts (not all) of rural Thailand.

Cannot comment on the detail in the major built-up areas.

It's almost 40 kilometers. By the time you clear the airports, I seriously doubt you can make it. You would be lucky to make just the drive in 30 minutes.

Same airport Gary

Air Asia doesn't use Don Muang.

I hate to be a stick-in-the-mud, but how is this even remotely related to Thailand?

ps I haven't read page 2, in case the same question was asked there.

There should be a free word reader program you can download to view word documents. In my limited experience Open Office does not display any word document properly.

Or Excel.

I downloaded and tried Open Office, but have subsequently ditched it.

.Once again we have a farang breaking the law by buying illegally, a prescription drug and transporting it around the country then whining about the fact he has been saved from prison by police relieving him of money. far from it giving the Thai police a bad image it to me gives the tourists visiting the Country a bad image. Like the farang crying foul for having to pay the police money for not wearing the required crash helmet ? It would be a different story if they had planted the viagra on your friend but they didn't. Your friend has learnt a valuable lesson and needs to think himself lucky I think!

Once again we have a farang on this forum jumping to conclusions, and making assertions that are not supported by what is said in the OP.

The guy had just arrived in Thailand - did you consider for a moment that he had purchased the viagra legally in the country from whence he had just come?

How many of us would think about bringing a prescription or doctors certificate from "home" with us when we visited Thailand?

Sounds like a scam to me.

I have SE ASia 4.5, and XP Pro.

No problems showing the map on MapSource 6.15.7, although I do have to fiddle around with the "Detail" levels as I zoom out. 100km, detail needs to be at highest. From 150km and further out, map does not show at all.

Neverdie is an Australian, so if he is having a "holiday", let's hope it is long service leave, on half pay