TallGuyJohninBKK

I love good cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches and even cheese burgers... But this stuff is NOT real cheese: That's why instead of just "cheese," it's called "pasteurized prepared cheese product"!

Yikes! That looks like infrastructure destruction akin to a Bruce Willis movie a la "Live Free or Die Hard."

The current outgoing Thai government, and various of those that preceded it, have/had close ties to the very large agribusiness interests who have financial stakes in the burning issue. Thus, little to nothing has been done thru the years, while the local populations suffer.

It really depends on what exact purpose the user really wants to accomplish with using a VPN... The non US and EU-based VPNs theoretically have advantages in terms of not beings so legally vulnerable to government intrusion / monitoring -- in the event the user was doing something that would trigger that kind of interest. But other than that, streaming of video content is a different major use.... And in that categories, different VPNs perform vastly differently in terms of which particular video streaming services a person is trying to use/unlock. I have a bunch of different VPN subscriptions, and use different of them for different purposes, as needed. Even among the major, most well known ones, their websites often will claim they'll unlock pretty much everything.... but in reality, that's often not the case. And it becomes a matter of trial and error to find out what really works for a particular purpose.

Sounds like the anti-democracy forces, predictably, are gathering momentum in their bid to deny his selection as PM... Double blow for Thailand's Pita as legal cases mount on eve of PM vote BANGKOK, July 12 (Reuters) - Thai prime ministerial hopeful Pita Limjaroenrat was dealt a major setback on Wednesday when two separate complaints against him gained momentum, threatening to derail his leadership bid on the eve of a crucial vote on the premiership. Pita's supporters, many of them younger voters opposed to the royalist military's involvement in politics, called for protests later on Wednesday, raising the possibility of another round of turmoil in two decades of fractious Thai politics. The Constitutional Court said it had accepted a complaint filed by a lawyer against Pita and his election-winning Move Forward Party's that said its plan to reform a law prohibiting royal insults amounted to an attempt "to overthrow the democratic regime of government with the king as a head of state". (more) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thai-court-decide-eligibility-case-pm-hopeful-pita-media-poll-body-source-2023-07-12/

Notice on their website as of 6:15 pm tonight/Wednesday: "Bangkokpost.com is having technical difficulties. Some pages may not load correctly. We apologise for this inconvenience." As Lopburi said, still no new content posted there since yesterday.

Hard to figure that's correct... though I have seen it claimed in various places. Yes... BKK has a lot of traffic, more than other provinces... But it doesn't suddenly get drastically worse every year just from December thru April. Instead, that's the agricultural burning period in both Thailand and surrounding countries, and it's mainly the pollution from that burning that wafts across the country and elevates PM2.5 to very bad levels in BKK and elsewhere throughout Thailand. And when the burning is done, the pollution related to other stuff -- vehicle emissions, industrial activity, etc. -- reverts back to their ongoing background levels.

He and his wife were also involved in an alleged land encroachment case back in the 2014-2015 era, though it's hard all these years later to find a clear reading of what if any legal result occurred for the two of them when all the legal dust settled. TUESDAY, August 05, 2014 "TWO LUXURY HOMES in the compound of former Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief Tarit Pengdith's family estate in Nakhon Ratchasima province have finally been demolished. The demolition took place on the grounds that the structures encroached into a national forest reserve. Also, Tarit insisted this week that his family home was on legitimate land and that he was in no way linked to the demolished structures." https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/30240328 Ex-DSI chief Tarit Pengdith hit with assets freeze Monday, April 20, 2015 PHUKET: The National Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday announced that it had temporarily frozen nearly 60 million baht in assets of former Department of Special Investigation director-general Tarit Pengdith and a former academic attached to the Revenue Department, Suwat Charumaniroj, pending probes into the source of their wealth. NACC secretary-general Sansern Polajiak said a fact-finding committee appointed by the graft watchdog on October 30 found that there were grounds to believe Mr Tarit and his wife had concealed their assets and were “unusually rich”. ... Mr Tarit also faces charges of encroaching on three reserve forests in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district. NACC director Preecha Lertkamolmat is in charge of Mr Tarit’s case, Mr Vicha said. https://thethaiger.com/news/national/exdsi-chief-tarit-pengdith-hit-assets-freeze

Courtesy of The Nation, the plaintiffs in the above case were a group of local CM residents: SATURDAY, April 22, 2023 The Chiang Mai Administrative Court has accepted a petition filed by a group of local residents against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and the National Environment Board over the increase in PM2.5 dust pollution in the northern provinces. ... The court on Friday accepted the case against PM Prayut and the National Environment Board while rejecting the case against the two other agencies. In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs demanded that the prime minister exercise his power under Article 9 of the Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act to help ease the PM2.5 problem." https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40026874 Chiang Mai Residents Sue Thai PM for Worsening Air Pollution April 12, 2023 "On Tuesday, 1,700 people in Chiang Mai filed a lawsuit against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and two state agencies for failing to use their authority to tackle the toxic haze problem in the province. About 60 people visited the Administrative Court in Chiang Mai to file a lawsuit against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the National Environment Board, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Between 7-9 April, 727 people signed their names in support of the lawsuit at Chiang Mai University, while 980 people signed it online." https://laotiantimes.com/2023/04/12/chiang-mai-residents-sue-thai-pm-for-worsening-air-pollution/

Odd... and typically poor Thai news reporting.... Nowhere in the OP article does it mention what party or parties brought the air pollution legal case against the various government figures.... The court didn't just make the finding on its own. Some party had to file the allegations against Prayut and the others to raise the issues in court... Unfortunately, we're not going to find out from Thai PBS just who finally did that public service as the guy and his cronies are (presumably) headed out the door.

About time... long overdue. Unfortunately, I don't see anything in the OP news report that mentions any actual sanctions or penalties against the guilty parties, not even any fine for the dereliction of their duties.

JIB, at least on their website, has Dell Vostro models like what you're seeking with a 3-year warranty. JIB has several branches in Chiang Mai, but you'd have to check with them as to what they may have in stock in the stores vs what they'd have to order in. https://www.jib.co.th/web/product/readProduct/58422/135/DESKTOP-PC--คอมพิวเตอร์ตั้งโต๊ะ--DELL-VOSTRO-3020SFF-W268412018STH No. 99,99/1,99/2, Moo 4, Central Festival Chiang Mai, Room No. 357, 3rd Floor, Super Highway Road, Fa Ham Subdistrict, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai Province 50000 Business hours: 11.00 - 21.30 Phone: 063-474-5278 No. 29 Icon Square Building, Room No. B125-B126, 1st Floor, Hussadhisawee Road, Si Phum Subdistrict, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai Province 50200 Business hours: 09.30 - 19.30 Phone: 053-226-167 , 090-651-0023 No. 312/1, Computer Plaza Shopping Center, Room No. A10, 1st Floor, Maneenopparat Road, Si Phum Subdistrict, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai Province 50200 Business hours: 09.30 - 19.30 Phone: 063-373-1649 https://www.jib.co.th/web/branch/

The RTP only go after the hardest of the hard-core criminals, as we all well-know! ????

A lot of good practical advice there! ???? PS - dunno about the "rat" part....

Another common thing more recently, even among younger Thais, is for someone (the couple or even their families) to put up the sinsod for SHOW at the wedding ceremony, and then for the money to go back to the original source post-ceremony... That way, tradition and appearances are satisfied, and no one goes broke in the process.

First Direct is a UK division of HSBC: Looks like they just did away with their own foreign-use ATM debit card fees as of June 28 of this year: That's a good thing for UK folks, as long as they're not extracting their pound of flesh thru some other means. For example, it seems to be saying they (First Direct) are no longer charging their own foreign use fees when using their debit card abroad. But I don't see them saying they're reimbursing the standard 220 baht foreign card ATM use fee charged by Thai bank ATM operators. https://www.firstdirect.com/travel-and-international/travel-help-and-advice/using-your-cards-outside-the-uk/

I've got a couple non-national U.S. banks (meaning local market ones) that are paying 6% right now on their rewards checking accounts (meaning you need to use their debit cards for purchases 10-15 times per month, which I would do anyway) in order to qualify. I've also got a U.S. credit union (also local market) that's paying me 6% on an 18 month CD right now. You have to know how and where to look, but there are such accounts out there. This is a list of current 2 year US CD offerings at or above 5% for U.S. accountholders... The list of comparable 1 year and 18 month CDs at those rates or better is a lot longer: https://www.depositaccounts.com/blog/cd-rates-survey/

And a lower per withdrawal limit from the AEON ATMs compared with the max 30K baht per withdrawal available from Krungsri and a few other Thai banking company ATMs.

Whether it be Schwab or Fidelity, if someone was using their account / debit card in a way that was ringing up many reimburseable foreign ATM fee transactions every month, especially from the same recurring country, I strongly suspect either of those U.S. brokerage entities would at some point begin asking the customer if they were really living in the U.S., as expected from both accounts.

Anytime the Thai ATM screen is showing you your withdrawal amount in your home country's currency denomination OR the credit/debit receipt that's been rung up for your purchase is showing you the billed amount in your home country currency, that means you're getting DCC'd. Just say NO!

Schwab's U.S.-based account is flat out no foreign transaction fees / domestic and intl ATM fees reimbursed. Service Federal Credit Union is a bit more nuanced, as they require certain kinds of account activity -- such as a monthly direct deposit -- to qualify for their fee reimbursements. And, unlike Schwab, to open a SFCU account, the applicant or someone in their family needs to have some U.S. military service background, OR have joined one of several private associations (which in reality is pretty easy to do). Also unlike Schwab, their ATM and ISA fee reimbursements are not unlimited, but are capped at varying amounts per month. From SFCU: Who Qualifies for Membership? There are many ways to become a member of Service Credit Union! Membership is open to anyone in the below qualifying groups: Active duty military, veterans, and their families Anyone who currently works (or worked) for the Department of Defense, as well as their families Members of one of our Select Employer Groups Members of the American Consumer Council (ACC). Not a member? Visit the ACC online, click “join now” and use promo code “Service” to join free of charge. Members of the Financial Fitness Association (FFA). Not a Member? Learn more about the FFA by clicking here. Ready to join? We’ll help you get signed up! Once you join the FFA, a confirmation email will come directly to you with all of your login credentials. https://servicecu.org/about-us/become-a-member/

I've seen a lot of U.S. issued credit cards up their "cash advance fee" up to 5% lately, from the 3% that was common/typical in the past. That's definitely one you want to avoid for that reason alone, if one's credit card has that kind of fee.

Schwab US has no routine account charges associated with their checking account and VISA debit card. Their main requirement is that you open a free brokerage account with them, but you don't have to actually fund or use it.

In Schwab's case, no, they don't.

And, most certainly, you pay some variety of fees as part of doing the international funds transfer, usually, both from the middleman entity doing the transfer and always also a receiving fee on the part of the receiving Thai bank.