CWMcMurray

Duty rate for Printed matter is 10%, but there is a special Tariff code for Education Materials that is rated at 0%. You should not have refused it, but should have been able to push them to use correct tariff code for 0%

That being said, if they refused, you would have little recourse... you could have them turn over to your designated customs broker for clearance, but given the low value it wouldn't make sense as the charges for customs clearance and delivery would be higher that the duty amount that FedEx charged you.

Fox in charge of the hen house comes to mind.

Patong Police also plan to spend 15 million baht on installing more than 100 CCTV cameras.

15 million for installing empty boxes?

So 150,000 thb per camera? That sounds like a bargain.... I presume that cost already includes the new Benz for the person in charge of awarding the contract

I also have not ever had any problems with BB in the 7 years that I have been using them, but it is reassuring to know that if I ever did you and Dave are hear to help.

Yeah, it does not seem to make a whole lot of sense to park my car underneath the express way at ground level.... otherwise I could just leave them parked in the drive way at the house...

At any rate... if the latest news is to be believed, it looks like the worst of it may be over, so may just go ahead and park at the house.

According to this post in the Webfact live daily news thread....

Parking spaces will be provided at Esplanade Mall (500), Fortune Mall (400), the Don Mueang Airport (3,000), Central Lat Phrao (3,000), BTS Mor Chit parking lot (2,000), Government Savings Bank headquarters (500), Kasetsart University (500), Maha Nakhon University (2,000), The Mall Bang Kapi (3,000), Paradise Park (600), Sports Authority of Thailand (1,500), Central Rama III (900), Big C Ekamai (1,000), Central World (3,000), Siam Paragon (3,000), Chulalongkorn University (1,000), Central Pinklao (2,000), Islam Wittaya School (300), Asia University (500), Kanchanapisek Ring Road (10,000) among others.

Don't know what is filled up yet though. Would be useful info for sure!

Called all of these that are anywhere near my area and so far all full...

Of course it has been misused. It's one of the favorite tactics used to put adversaries in a bad light. I have often thought that when the phony charges are dismissed that the person who brought the charges should be severely punished.

I agree... after all doesn't abuse of the LM laws make the Monarchy look bad?

In fact I believe that if the LM law is ever abolished it would likely be because of \wide spread abuse of LM accusations and selective prosecutions for political gain done ion the name of protecting the Monarchy.

If that type of abuse continues over a long enough time and effects enough people, it is very possible that at some point public opinion will eventual turn against LM laws.

So the abuse of the LM laws in the long term, could be more damaging to the LM laws themselves and the monarchy.

Just curious if anyone knows what locations are offering free parking and if still any spots left?

I know that the airports were offering, but that they are now full...

Seems to be a font issue nothing to do with censorship... it has a box marked "Download Myanmar unicode standard font here."

You may want to try clicking on that and downloading Burmese Language onto your computer

PM disagrees with proposed special public holiday

BANGKOK, Oct 11 -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Tuesday said she personally disagreed with a proposal to announce a special public holiday from Oct 12-14 to let the public prepare for flooding for fear that the holiday may mean less government workers will be on hand to help flood victims.

I think she misses the point a bit... if a state of emergency or Holiday was announced, that does not mean that all government workers should be given the day off.

It should mean that all private citizens and NON-ESSENTIAL government personnel should remain home. Government employees that would be associated with helping flood victims should remain working.

This helps governments to keep the roads clean and traffic down and avoid problems with citizens being stuck out on the roads and needing to be rescued. This then allows government workers to focus on the problem at hand without needing to waste time.

I thought 15k is reasonable for office hours 8am - 5pm job, although 20k is probably what you will end up paying especially if you are doing a business etc. or they will just leave you for better offers. I do agree with the 20 - 25k bracket.

!5kmight get you an entry level data entry office worker ... e.g. no real thinking, experience, English skills or decision making needed.

But a assistant to MD or Gm or other senior manager needs to be some one with a bit of experience and able to be the eyes, ears and mouth of your company when ever the GM is not in the office or for matters that do not need to be brought directly to senior managements attention.

For something like this, it is worth it to pay a decent salary in order to get a well qualified person.

Then again, if by assitant you are just looking for some one to pick up your laundry and get you your coffee, then you may not need anyone with any real skills that are able to represent you to your overseas customers in a professional manner without embarrassing you or your company.

If that is the case, you maybe able to find some one to take up space for 15 k per month.

Did he have any history of sleep walking?

Maybe this history was mentioned by his friends and family???

I believe it would depend upon the labor laws in the original country he was transferred from.

Under Thai Labor laws, he is entitled to severance based upon the 2.5 yrs he has been working in Thailand.

If he took it to court, the Thai judges are unlikely force a Thai company to pay severance for someone working for a Foreign company outside of Thailand.

If the origin country has any laws for severance, you may want to see what the regulations are in that country.

That being said, the easy way to handle is to agree upon a severance package and then have him tender his resignation in return for the agreed upon severance.

This way he could never come back to re-open the case as there is no legal requirement to give severance if the employee if he resigns, so you would never have to worry about any future legal action. So better protection for you...

Of course this only works if you can both agree upon the severance package given, but from your OP it sounds like this is a mutual thing, so this may be possible.

I hate to burst your bubble, but you may want to re-thin that salary number if you want to find some one who is any good.

You realize that the min wage for unskilled labor is going to be almost 9,000 thb per month in Bangkok starting 1 Jan.

So 10k per month for some one with a Degree and good English skills, which means they likely studied overseas or attended an international program in Thailand or has been working with a MNC or export based business for quite some time, is not likely to attract many takers.

For a good English speaking assistant to GM or MD, a more realistic salary would be in the 30-40k range.

Korea would be the easiest option, as neither of you would need visas.

It is close and has a fair number of ski resorts. Also given the popularity of Korean soaps, music and culture in Thailand, I am sure that your GF would love a trip to Korea.

Why not sell them instead?

I sold a bunch of my old DVDs to a store in Siam Discovery a few years ago... they bought about 90% of them...

We have our mortgage through SCIB and so far no problems with the switch over.. they advised that we can keep the same ATM card, but did issue my wife a new account book. Will see what happens at the end of the month when they pull out the house payment, but don't anticipate any problems.

Put up a free add on ajarn.com and you will be sure to be flooded with resumes...

Then have her go through them and pick a few for interviews with a short sample lesson and then pick the one you like....

Did this for Teaching position for some of the employees at our company and was surprised by the quality and quantity of applicants... had to ask them to take down the add after 1 day

If you do not want to or can not go to the police it may be best to move to another location and change your Sim card.

Based upon the fact that you have advised that you work online, it seems that your job does not hold you in any one place, so this may be a viable option.

The deal with Dtac is that if you buy with Thai Credit card they offer 10 monthly payments 0% financing...

Total cost: 19.900 baht (same as apple store), but they bill your card 1,990 thb per month for 10 months.

Of course you have to use Dtac service which is 550 thb per month

About 7 or 8 years ago the Bank of Thailand tightened up the regulations for the granting of consumer credit, as there was some alarm at the number of Thais getting themselves underwater with credit cards. They established guidelines for minimum monthly salary (I believe it was 12,000 baht/month) before a credit card could be issued and the maximum amount of credit that could be granted as a percentage of annual salary. Since then, local card issuers (well, in my experieince at least Bangkok Bank and Citibank) have been reluctant to increase credit limits without an explicit request from the cardholder and a salary certification letter from his/her employer.

This is spot on... I asked the credit card companies that I have cards with and this is exactly what they told me. If you want to increase your balance you need to request it and bring in updated income information.

Trying to find some thing for my GF to do while I go home and she way to lazy to go out and get a regular job

I don't want to sound harsh, but the above issue would likely apply to this as well....

The people who sell lottery tickets generally find a spot and sit there all day every day... so given your earlier comments, she may not have the drive to put in the longs hours to sell all the tickets.

Yeah, what he said ...

The oil has been they for a long time and everyone has known about, but it is more expensive to process than traditional drilling.

This means that at USD 80 a barrel, it may not be very interesting, but once oil prices increase again it will then make sense to go get it...

I also find it hard to believe that many of these condos will find renters... in most cases, if some one can afford the 30-40k to rent one of these units, they can easily qualify to buy the same condo and pay the mortgage...

In the rental market, I believe the low end market would be a better investment, as most of the renters could not qualify for a mortgage and are stuck renting...

Yes, as long as you get a receipt you can claim a deduction for any money donated

I may be a bit overly cynical, but is your friend sure that this isn't all some elaborate scheme in order to mis-direct and explain why she now has a baby....