expat_4_life

When that happens, I just smile nicely and give the bill to one of the Thais. Confuses the heck out of them

I will admit, this approach has merit and may work, or may cause loss of face. It's been a long time since

I got placed in a compromising situation where I was "stuck" buying dinner for people I did not invite, assuming

that is what happened to the OP.

Another technique is to instruct the waitress to separate the bills as u order. Then if u pay u look good,

but u are not obligated to do so.

No, not based upon what you have posted. You "may" be able to use it as a "collateral" but if in the farang quota I can't see any bank as wanting it even as collateral since it can only be sold to another farang

As for getting married, she had better have a good job, good credit history, and / or something to put up as collateral other than your condo

And I hope you have a really in demand skill that will enable you to get a job that comes with a work permit

Good luck, but you have a lot more deciding to do

Bolded Not true,,

Agree, in fact, you can sell to whomever you want, foreigner or Thai. This may not hold true of a condo project/building which has reached

the 49% foreign owned threshold and held in a Thai name if selling to a foreigner.

Like it or not, like Trump or not, it was an absolutely brilliant political move.

He did not call for a ban, in effect he called for a temporary pause until our current leaders could figure it out.

Here's the deal, you have the FBI saying they cannot vet the refugees, you have ISIS threatening to infiltrate
the refugees, you have 30+ governors who don't want them, DHS also says there is no way to vet them. There are
probably more stories.

So, the current administration wants to ram them through anyway against the advice of the aforementioned

agencys in their own administration. The Media goes totally ape with the racist fascist Hitler name calling, before

they realize that FDR and Jimmy Carter both did similar or worse things, both democrat administrations.

On top of all that it brings once again into the public debate the topic of Radical Islamic Terrorism, which Obama
refuses to even recognize.

Then, Trumps poll ratings rise as the government proves him right, they are a bumbling bunch of idiots, stupid people
and the media fulfills their role as dishonest. Trump looks to many like he's a leader.

I say brilliant political move, agree with him or not.

After giving away 99%, Zuckerberg will be a newly impoverished half a billionaire with a net worth of only 450 million.

He won't be giving anything away

Creating a 'Foundation' is a clever way by the super rich to protect their wealth from the IRS and onerous inheritance taxes.

Difficult to believe that all these people suddenly beacame so altruistic

Buffet, Gates, Clinton,..even going back to the days of the Rockefellers,Carnegies, Ford.

Not only that, but he'll be able to do whatever he wants with the money without personal scrutiny.

With IETab it works fine, just the result is not satisfying (pending since Wednesday 11th).

Nine days until due date, 15 days until grace period ends.

So lets wait

Remain patient ..... I just now, 16:50 16Nov, got my approval (submitted with Internet Explorer) from the 10th of Nov early morning.

So, anyway, it can take up to a full work week, which it would have been tomorrow.

FYI, I did receive an email notification of approval.

Public urged to monitor the Koh Tao murder trial by Burmese investigators

How can anyone "monitor" the progress of a trial when the justice system does not allow transcripts?

Check out what this European woman, that understands Arabic, overheard/experienced when she found herself on one of the immigrant trains.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOzYp0n1G3s

http://conservativetribune.com/muslims-woman-speak-arabic/

Why not go all the way ... be sure it's consistent with other tourist fees within the kingdom while they are at it, Thais 10Bht, Foreigners 100 Baht.

if Davis is right, then the blame for the attack can be laid at the feet of the Thai military government.

that's odd, because I read that Davis said,

The most likely perpetrators of the deadly Bangkok bombing last week were militant members of a right-wing Turkish organization

You're quoting out of context, the complete quote (sentence) from Davis was:

The most likely perpetrators of the deadly Bangkok bombing last week were militant members of a right-wing Turkish organization infuriated by the Thai government’s forcible repatriation of Uighur refugees back to China.

Hence placing the blame on the Thai governments action/decision to repatriate the Uighurs to China. If you read on you will find that he went on to say that:

Some of the strongest evidence in favor of the ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves was the fury throughout Turkey that followed the Thai repatriation on July 9 of 109 Uighurs and the Grey Wolves’ visibility during the attacks on the Thai Embassy in Istanbul.

I don't have any information to offer, but you might try contacting

the American or British Chamber of Commerce here in Thailand.

Here's what everyone is afraid of, in some form or another. It's called "fractional reserve banking" and it's in play in all major markets.

This is a true story. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

You and I open a new bank. We have no deposits or loans or cash in the safe.

Joe comes in to open an account. He deposits $100. We now have $100 in liabilities because we owe him the money.

Pete comes in and wants to do the same thing. We now have $200 in liabilities - money owed to depositors.

Jane comes in and wants to borrow $100 and we loan her that much of Joe and Pete's deposits. That loan is our asset - money owed to us.

Jane wants her loan proceeds deposited to a new deposit account so we do that.

We now have $300 in total deposits made out of just the $200 that Joe and Pete gave us. We are magicians, creating new money. We have increased the total money supply available to all by 50% with a stroke of the pen. Everyone has $100 but we have just $200 in the vault - Joe and Pete's money.

If everyone wants his money out of the bank at the same time we are screwed. This is a good system in good or decent times and a nightmare when it's contracting.

Greece is contracting and no one in Europe knows what to do about it. They can't give Pete and Joe their money because they don't have it - they loaned it to Jane. Jane doesn't have it because she spent it.

The Euro has already crashed once, about 3 1/5 years ago, and only a loan (currency swap) by the US Federal Reserve of USD$2 trillion bailed them out. Another true story. Watch out below.... Wall Street Journal - The Federal Reserve's Covert Bailout of Europe.

That's not a tinfoil hat site. That's the WSJ.

Cheers

Very true, and nothing new, as this system goes back hundreds of years. It started when banknotes were invented.

So the important question becomes: Can we think of an economic system that is not based on fractional reserve banking (also known as credit multiplication, or money creation by private banks).

Edit: unfortunately, the WSJ article is available for subscribers only.

FYI .... The WSJ paywall can be bypassed by searching with Google and opening the article from the results.

There is a photo shop on the corner of Sukhumvit Soi 57, just opposite the Marriott, which

is a short walk from the ThongLo BTS. I know they do photos while you wait.

Personally, I use Kinokuniya at the Emporium. If they don't have the book you're looking for

then head off to the service desk at the back of the store. They will check their computer

system and order books for you at no extra charge. The service is good too, did not

have to pay in advance and they call me when the books come in.

Impossible that the bird was an unfortunate victim of the totally professional wiring commonly found on the utility poles all around Thailand.

Was it the wiring? .... Absolutely no way .... it was the birds fault.

Perhaps the OP got done by his "agent" .... nothing like an extra fee to return on another day.

Mayor Chaiyan Turasakul said he is angered by unspecified "British media agencies" who have suggested that the death of the tourist, Christina Annesley, is connected to an alleged "mafia" syndicate on Koh Tao island.

Butthurt much, or been taking lessons from DL?

Let's take a look at what Thailand's Tourism & Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul thinks about the meeting .... and exactly

how ASEAN tourism will flourish - notably from the Thai perspective.

BANGKOK, Jan 26 -- ASEAN has announced joint tourism promotional campaigns to also emphasise sustainability. Nearly 100 million tourists visited the region last year.

And we all know that with Thailand having 25% of that volume (TAT numbers) that Miss Kobkarn is the expert and Thailand is the hub

of ASEAN tourism.

Following the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2015, Thailand's Tourism & Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said that as the ASEAN Community would take effect late this year, ASEAN worked out a 10-year tourism plan to be implemented from 2016 to 2025.

What exactly does this mean, what is the effect of the ASEAN Community on tourism? A 10 year plan, how about some details?

The plan will promote inclusive tourism, with all parties receiving good care.

What kind of care is that exactly, health care - the kind where foreigners get charged 2-5 times a Thai in hospitals here?

Myanmar, forum host, has recently opened to tourists and wants knowhow on environmental conservation and ecotourism, Ms Kobkarn said.

Please don't take any advice from Thailand ... where they have completely destroyed every popular tourist destination with

uncontrolled growth, insufficient infrastructure, tourist scams .... and the list goes on.

The minister also said that ASEAN member states welcomed 97 million tourists last year.

The number grows by 3 per cent annually, and 53 per cent of tourists are ASEAN citizens.

OMG, please let us not have Thailand's Tourism & Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul/TAT creating the ASEAN tourist numbers, enough is enough.

She said that Thailand is attracting quality intra-ASEAN tourists and would use online media to reach young travelers.

One can only guess that Miss Kobkarn is referring to the Chinese ... god help us.

Suwat Sidthilaw, permanent secretary for tourism and sports, said a secretariat will be established in Indonesia to coordinate ASEAN tourism promotion and its establishment should be sealed in the next meeting this April.

Exactly what is the purpose of this post, what are they going to be there to do? Or, is this just a cushy overseas posting for the son/daughter of

of a Thai with some entitlement, exactly how Miss Kobkarn got her job?

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) reported that ASEAN teenagers liked to visit communities and share local activities rather than going to luxury destinations.

Say what? I thought she just got done saying that "Thailand is attracting quality intra-ASEAN tourists" or did she mean backpackers .... ?

Here ya go .... some more details.

Alcohol beverages can now only be sold from 11.00 am – 2.00 pm and from 5.00 pm – 12.00 pm every day.

An announcement was made today by the Prime Minister’s Office on the 2015 law regulating alcohol sales which takes effect today.

At all other times, alcohol sales are strictly forbidden with the exception of at international airport terminals and legally registered entertainment venues which have laws that strictly govern the periods they can operate daily.

Director-general of the office of the Alcohol Control Committee Mr Samarn Futrakun stated the core substance of the new regulation remains the same in that the permissible duration for daily alcohol sales to be capped at 10 hours.

Airports however are given the same allowance as before while entertainment venues which in the past were allowed to sell alcohol from 9.00 pm – 2.00 am can only do so up to midnight.

This means that in total, night time entertainment venues can only legally sell alcohol for 5 hours every day which in total is less than regular restaurants.

As for the reason for the new regulation governing alcohol sales, he stated that the old law was problematic as it did not cover every aspect.

The new law however takes into account every type restaurant and other venues selling alcohol.

Also, the old law allows for wholesale purchase of alcohol in excess of 10 liters to be made at any time of the day while any purchase under 10 liters can only be made at the specified times.

The new regulation does not allow for this, what matters now are the stated hours for purchase or sale of alcohol irrespective of quantity.

Violation of the law is subject six months imprisonment and/or a 10,000 Baht fine.

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/restriction-liquor-sale-time-takes-effect-today

Some pretty significant changes - gone is the exclusion for in excess of 10 liters and entertainment venues are required to stop selling at midnight.

Appears restaurants will now be restricted in the afternoons too. Definitely not good news for many business owners and tourists.

Have not been personally, here is a link with some information about the exhibition

http://www.tatnews.org/nasa-space-exhibition-to-be-held-in-bangkok-the-first-of-its-kind-in-southeast-asia/

Ticket prices can be found here

http://www.thaiticketmajor.com/performance/performance-detail.php?sid=2417&la=en

From what I recall reading about it some time ago, the rides are not included in the ticket prices.

Credit to (https://twitter.com/Atomicalandy)

STATEMENTS FROM FAMILY OF KOH TAO CASE VICTIMS
Both families call for a 'fair and transparent' trial for the accused and justice to be done in the case. It's an important beneficial statement that also supports the work the defense team are doing here in Thailand. Our aim is to ensure a fair trial and justice in the case.

Here are the statements from both Familys .... https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10152642326445677&id=675065676&ref=bookmark

A sloppy, criminal operation. There was a tailings pond whose walls collapsed three times-- it held cyanide. http://isaanrecord.com/category/loei/

The levels of heavy metals in the villagers' systems have been shown to be extremely high, and pose serious threat to the health of these individuals. They've been getting sick since 2004 when the mine began operations.

On February 2 of this year, the ministry published that 124 of 725 villagers had high levels of cyanide in their blood and 50 of 708 villagers had high levels of mercury.

http://asiancorrespondent.com/122833/thailand-gold-mine-protest-violence/

The land has been laid to waste. No objective environmental impact study was done. The suffering will go on for decades, even generations. All this for a mine that will close in five years, so that the owner(s) can go into Laos and assumedly poison the locals in that country.

"In October last year, a Tungkum executive was quoted as saying the gold mine “will shut down within five years”and move across border to Laos, even if it was given permission to expand."

http://asiancorrespondent.com/122833/thailand-gold-mine-protest-violence/

You have to hand it to the villagers. They stood up and defended themselves and their place. They've been fighting the mine since 2006. You have to ask yourself if you would do the same. There was an incident where scores of masked men descended upon their protest and beat them with iron rods.

Tungkum Limited, which has been in hot water with its shareholders and the Stock Exchange of Thailand over the past year for alleged financial mismanagement, now has more to worry about.

http://isaanrecord.com/category/loei/

One would certainly hope so. On the other hand, why worry? The mining company has obtained a concession to mine on 230,000 rai in Xiangkhoang province in Laos. They can pack up, move on, and leave the locals to do the worrying.

@DeepinTheForest

Excellent summary and opinion on these crooks and of how events have unfolded.

The time for legal reform is long overdue - yet another abuse of the defamation laws in Thailand in an attempt to silence the victims.

UN 'seriously concerned' about criminal defamation against Loei human rights defenders. (31 Oct 14)

http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/4458