Briggsy

Where is it going down in Pattaya? Where are the places to avoid if you want to stay out of it?

The argument against that is that the population of Gaza did not start the war but Hamas.

The show goes on from the reality tv president and his dictatorial buddies (to be fair Bukele was both freely elected and very popular). This was cooked up between the pair of them. They could return Kilmar Ábrego García immediately. Trump has decided to play with the courts to see if he can face them down when he has had a ruling he doesn't like. He may possibly win this battle though he tends to cave. But he may also come to regret picking a fight with the Supreme Court which has been very favourable to him.

Where did I say the driver was drunk? There were many people involved in this mayhem.

Trump seems to be fixated on some idyllic view of the US in the 50's. Guess what, this is unattainable today. There is no going back. The US is not going to be driving 8-cylinder cars manufactured in the US, going to the hop at the weekend whilst mothers stay at home to raise children and blacks and Asians remain segregated. Every day confirms Obama's "woefully unsuitable" label. Never a truer word has been spoken.

Just another reason why I avoid the drunken mayhem of the water-throwing areas. Accidents and incidents galore. I usually travel my motorbike and think it is extremely dangerous to have a bucket of water thrown at you whilst riding.

I appear to have stumbled into the wrong sub-forum. I could have sworn I was in Thailand News.

I was on monthly subscription with Skype. The subscription due on 8 April was not taken. The service did not work today and did not allow me to add credit. So, sadly that is the end for me as I cannot call UK landlines from Teams. I have a list of around 8 services from threads on here and will see what fits my requirements.

That's it for me. I just tried to call a landline in the UK and my service has been switched off. I tried to add credit but it wouldn't seem to let me. I will have a play around and see what I can come up with.

These tariffs will do absolutely nothing to improve the standard of living of Americans. Business leaders, economics professors, Wall Street traders, bankers are lining up to tell you that. Donald Trump was elected on a platform of reducing taxes. Tariffs are a tax paid by American importers and passed on to American consumers. This is the biggest tax rise imposed on the American public since the Second World War. It is definitely not going to be paid for by China or any other country. The spin coming out of the White House is a massive hoax. This is nothing but a huge tax rise. He can flip many times over but a lot of the damage is already done. There is an enormous loss of confidence in the current US government.

It was an entry for another 180 days. It was not an extension. It was not a border bounce by air. I spent 4 weeks in Europe. I have added this to point out, unnecessarily, that the point of the flight in was not just to get another 180 days but I had things to do overseas.

Thanks for your reply. I am sorry you felt it necessary to defend your successful DTV application. I was not in any way casting aspersions. Your posts lack details to help others. I am trying to figure out how you applied. I will rephrase it. Are you registered with HMRC as a self-employed sole trader filing annual tax returns? That is all I wanted to know. (As a UK qualified accountant, I know how the UK tax system operates) Thanks

On my last DTV entry, which was by air, I was not asked for proof of funds or an onward ticket. I would have been very surprised if I had been. By chance, I actually had both. I was, however, asked for the address I would be residing at. This seemed to be noted somewhere in the computer by the IO. It was simply a question. No proof of booking was required.

You seem to see these cases a lot in Thailand in which defendants convicted of very serious crimes receive repeated decisions allowing bail for years and years. They don't even need to be rich, either lower middle class or low level connections is enough. There is one big proviso and that is their victim has lower status than them. Here, the victim (I know he survived) was a lowly manual worker. It certainly appears to be denial of justice.

This guy was dealing in the UK. 60% of all burglaries in the UK are committed to obtain money for drugs which is then passed on to the dealers. It doesn't sound like 'fun' for the tenant or householder to discover they have been burgled. It doesn't sound like 'fun' to be so desperate for cash for drugs that you go out and steal creating misery for others and inevitably at some point landing yourself in prison. I could go on.

The devil is in the detail as ever. I remember when this scheme was rolled out. It provided an opportunity for kids from very ordinary backgrounds in rural areas with M.6 or Business Admin Diplomas to go on and get a (fairly ropey) degree. Obviously if they had passed the entrance exam to a prestigious government uni, then that was another route. The view amongst the students 25 years ago was that they would never have to pay it back due to the way the scheme was structured and the way it was sold to them and their families. It would be interesting to get a detailed picture of how the scheme has evolved, what the criteria are for repayment and where the money has ended up.

He is a university lecturer, well-known in his field, with published works. I would say he is a scholar. He has been incarcerated awaiting trial for words written by a Singaporean university incorrectly attributed to him. Perhaps you would like to - discover what you are talking about - review your comments

We don't know when and what instructions have been given to local IO's and we certainly don't know the reasoning behind tightening and loosening the way in which the law is applied at any particular border crossing. However, first hand reports are extremely useful to others. When entering Visa Exempt, there is always the possibility that accommodation bookings, proof of onward travel and proof of funds may be requested in line with the legislation. I don't think the gender of the IO is a key factor.

This was a classic Vietnamese scam back in the day. Years ago, you needed to specify your entry and exit point before entering Vietnam. With a visa but no entry stamp, you were then fined on exit. They targetted those with different exit and entry points as the foreigner was 100 kms from where the "mistake" occurred when they were fined.

Trump's bottled it now as ever, so the discussion is moot. That didn't last long. China won. China will just continue to offshore as before.

Thanks for your reply. I use Skype to phone an elderly parent in the UK who is unable to use either the internet or any form of mobile, just landlines. So, if I understand correctly, there will be a Skype Dial Pad inside Teams??? And this will allow me to phone a UK landline???? If so, how much will this cost? The same as before???? As you can see I am pretty confused. I will just have to play it by ear.

Correct. My monthly subscription was due on 8 April.

Thanks So, given your age and the term "freelance" I assume you did not provide a current contract of employment. You mentioned providing your "HMRC tax calculation". Is this an SA302 showing your self-employed earnings? Or is it rather simply a tax calculation showing your state pension, possible company pension, private pension (SIPP)/annuities and investment income? If the latter, then you have no remote working contract and no "professional" portfolio. This would mean that the London Embassy is being very lenient in their interpretation of a digital online worker. If I have understood you correctly and hopefully you can fill in the gaps by answering the above questions, then the London Embassy seems prepared to hand out DTV's in the workcation category to retirees with no paid work but simply investments. Quite a stretch! But up to them.

@billy100 Thank you for your report. You left out some key information. Which category did you apply under? Was it workcation or soft power?

Skype did not appear to take my $3.59 this month.