UK Duty Free Allowances and Visa Requirements

However you arrive in the UK, by plane, Eurostar, ferry, or coach, you have to abide by the UK Customs and Visa regulations. Like other countries in the EU (European Union), the UK has a two-tier customs system: one for goods bought duty free and one for goods bought in another EU country where taxes and duties have already been paid.1 December 2008 brought the first change to the Duty Free Allowances in 15 years. The changes have been brought in by the EU to cover all member states with the intention to make duty free laws more in line with the needs of the traveling public.
Duty-free sales to those traveling from one EU country to another were abolished in July 1999. For goods purchased at airports or on ferries outside the EU, you are allowed to import:
tobacco products: 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco. From 1 December 2008, while allowances remain the same, you can make up your duty free allowance from a mixture of tobacco products.
Alcohol: 4 litres of still wine plus 1 litres of spirits over 22% or another 2 litres of wine (sparkling or otherwise). From 1 December, you can now make up your alcohol allowance from a mix and match of alcohol products.
perfume and eu de toilette - no restrictions from 1 December 2008
new allowance of 16 litres of beer
and other duty-free goods such as electrical products and souvenirs to the value of £300 (was £145 before)
Tax and Duty Paid
Although you can no longer bring in duty free goods from another EU country, you can bring in duty-paid goods that cost less than you would pay for the same items in your destination country. The items are supposed to be for individual consumption but a thriving business has developed, with many Londoners making day trips to France to load up their cars with cheap alcohol and cigarettes.
If you purchase from a normal retail outlet on the continent, customs uses the following maximum quantities as a guide to distinguish personal imports from those on a commercial scale:
800 cigarettes
200 cigars
1kg of tobacco
10L of spirits
20L of fortified wine
90L of wine (of which not more than 60L is sparkling)
110L of beer
Banned Goods
This is a list of goods banned for importing into the country:
unlicensed drugs (e.g. heroin, morphine, cocaine, cannabis, etc)
offensive weapons (e.g. flick knives, knuckledusters, swords, etc)
indecent and obscene material featuring children (e.g. books, magazines, films, etc)
pornographic material - other than that which depicts consensual sexual activity between adults, that can legally be purchased in the UK
counterfeit and pirated goods and goods that infringe patents (e.g. watches, CDs, etc)
meat, milk and other animal products.
Some goods are 'restricted'. Check out the HM Customs & Excise website for up to date information.
Visas
At present, citizens of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA are given, at their point of arrival, 'leave to enter' the UK for up to six months but are prohibited from working unless they secure a work permit.
If you are a citizen of the EU, you do not need a visa to enter the country and may live and work here freely for as long as you like.
Visa regulations are always subject to change, so it is essential to check the latest details before leaving home. Have a look at UK Visas.

The Effect Of Custom Made Subliminal Messages

Messages can be cherry-picked from a wide range. The messages are powerful because they interact at the subconscious level. First, determine your needs and goals. Individuals are unique and we have unique challenges and problems. You can change your thoughts for the better. Poisonous beliefs that have been haunting you for many years can be removed. Erratic behaviours that cause you to be negative can be changed. You can be successful in every goal you undertake when you use subliminal messages.
Basically, subliminal messages are delivered step by step. First, you have what is called a 'programming track'. As the name suggests, the track is a sound or music track that programs positive thoughts in your subconscious through meditation. A person needs to relax during this process. The programming soundtracks are delivered in four phases. The soundtracks contain both high and normal frequencies.
It's impossible for the conscious mind to read raw subliminal messages. However, studies have shown that a person can detect subliminal messages via the eardrum, but they must be interpreted into a language that is understood by the brain. Thus, they can reach the subconscious directly.
Basically, subliminal messages are goals and desires that are re-interpreted as high frequency or normal frequencies sound.
The second step involved in creating subliminal messages involves the use of special tracks known as the 'activator track'. The activator track as the name implies, is used to activate the programming track. You should not be engaged in any work during this period.

Messages in the form of statements and goals are contained in the activator track. Once again, the messages must be re-interpreted as frequencies that are capable of penetrating the subconscious. The tracks contain preliminary music that changes into meditative music once the programming starts.

Tips For UK Customs

What you can - or cannot - bring into the UK, especially from non-EU countries, has always been a bit of a guessing game. The duty free allowances are widely publicized. But what about food products, agricultural produce, plant materials? Judging from the number of UK customs questions I get from readers - especially as holidays approach and people want to bring gifts to friends and family - there's still a lot of confusion about it.
That should all change now that the UK government has published quite a lot of information and clarification online.
Don't Bring Me Back
Don't Bring Me Back is an online overview of the whys and wherefores of UK customs regulations. It has a handy search widget. Enter the country from which you are coming into the UK - as an overseas visitor or a holiday-maker coming home - and it produces a short list of three things you can bring and three you cannot. The website also explains the reasons behind the regulations and the penalties for ignoring them.
Personal Import Rules Database
Even more useful, the Personal Import Rules database provides detailed information, by country, on hundreds of food products you might bring into the UK in your luggage, or send there by ordering online.
The database also has information on weight limits. So, for example, if you bring honey in from most places it will be part of a 2 kilos (about four lbs) per person total allowance in combination with live bivalves, eggs and egg products, skinned frogs legs, reptile, insect and snail meat (yum). So if you can bear to leave the clams, boiled rattlesnake and chocolate covered ants behind, you could, in theory, bring in 2k of honey.
And you can bring a 20k (that's about 40 lbs) combination of fish and fishery products (from most places) that can include live lobsters. How you are supposed to keep 40lbs of live Maine lobster alive on a transatlantic flight is a good question - but I'm sure someone has the answer.
Don't Even Think About it
Milk products from outside the EU are banned - so no powdered milk drinks from Australia or that nice hunk of Wisconsin Cheddar you were planning to brink Great Aunt Felicity. And potatoes or potato products from anywhere (including the EU), even canned, bottled or otherwise packaged, are strictly verboten.
To find out what you can or cannot bring, simply enter the country from which you (or the goods)are entering the UK into the search box; use the search categories to refine the food category and actual product, click the button and the information - including weight limits - pops on screen.
These are personal allowances for your own use. Officials are allowed to use their discretion about "reasonable" quantities (for personal use) of products that are not weight restricted from both EU and non-EU countries - bagels from New York, chocolates from Paris. Large amounts that could be for commercial use could be subject to health checks and other commercial regulations.

Your Life follows Your Thoughts

Your thoughts control the direction that your life flows. Just as a magnet attracts metal, so your thoughts attract positive or negative energy which affects your feelings and actions guiding your life.

　　When you think negative, self-defeating thoughts, thoughts of lack, thoughts that have no hope, you are programming your mind for failure. Negative thoughts create a negative atmosphere, a web of negativity, that permeates your feelings and your actions which manifests negativity all around you.
　　Negative attracts negative and you find yourself having a bad day, the computers too slow, and your car doesn't want to work, you generally have bad luck. You need to break free from negativity by thinking positive, hope-filled thoughts focus instead on success and victory. Thinking positive thoughts will attract positive energy.
　　Positive attracts positive Think positive thoughts. Focus on your blessings with thoughts of gratitude. Don't give any negative energy from worries. Think about things that make you happy and you will attract more of the same. Positive energy generate waves of good energy, or good “vibes.” You pave the way for things to roll more smoothly in your life.
　　Positive and negative thoughts are more than just thinking. They are forms of energy that you pour out. That's why it is so important to keep your thoughts as positive as possible at all times which will guide
　　you in the right direction.

How to Conduct an Internal I-9 Employment Form Audit in 4 Steps

　　Conducting your own self-audit can be a straight-forward process. Here are four steps you can follow:
　　Designate a person to conduct the audit. For example, this might be someone internal, such as an HR representative or in-house counsel. It could also be external counsel. Alternatively, it could be a contractor hired just for the audit. Even if you use someone external, be sure to assist – not only in making corrections, but also use this opportunity to understand the types of training you might need and other things you can do to the correct the situation.
　　Generate lists of employees. First, generate a list of all active employees. This will be the initial scope of the audit. This is one of the first documents that ICE will request if they do an audit. Next, generate a list of all employees terminated within the last three years. This will be the secondary scope, as these need to be kept on file (see fourth step). These are still within your liability, so they are important. (Tip: don’t forget to include the employee start date in your spreadsheet.)
　　Use an audit checklist to determine the status of all forms and supporting documentation. More information on what should be included in an I-9 audit checklist can be found in a related article.
　　Finally, you should also be sure to purge I-9 forms according to retention rules. Get rid of them when you are legally able to limit your liability beyond that date. They must be kept either 1 year after date of termination or 3 years after the date of hire, whichever is longer.

About China Customs

China Customs is a government agency that supervises and manages all arrivals in and departures from the Customs territory of the mainland of the People's Republic of China. It exercises a centralized management structure. Its essential tasks are entry and exit control, revenue collection, fighting smuggling and foreign trade statistics compilation. It also shoulders such major responsibilities as duty collection, Customs control, supervision and management of bond operations，foreign trade statistics compilation, audit-based control, Customs intellectual property rights protection, anti- smuggling, and port management.

　　Overview of China Customs
　　Customs Revenue Collection
　　Cracking Down on Smuggling
　　Customs Control
　　Customs Statistics
　　International Cooperation

The U.S. Customs Service

　　The major responsibility of the U.S. Customs Service is to administer the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. The Customs Service is one of the nation's major border enforcement agencies, so it also has responsibility for enforcing some 400 laws and regulations on international traffic and trade for 40 other government agencies.

     The Customs Service's mission includes: protecting the nation's revenue by assessing and collecting duties, taxes and fees incident to international traffic and trade; controlling, regulating, and facilitating the movement of carriers, people, and commodities between the United States and other nations; protecting the American consumer and the environment against the introduction of hazardous or noxious products into the United States; protecting domestic industry and labor against unfair foreign competition; and detecting, interdicting, and investigating smuggling and other illegal practices aimed at illegally entering narcotics, drugs, contraband or other prohibited articles into the United States.
   Customs is also responsible for detecting, interdicting, and investigating fraudulent activities intended to avoid the payment of duties, taxes and fees, or activities meant to evade the legal requirements of international traffic and trade; and for detecting, interdicting, and investigating illegal international trafficking in arms, munitions, currency, and acts of terrorism at U.S. ports of entry.

Culture and Traditions of Asian People

If one looks at the map of the world, it is hard not to notice that Asia is the biggest land mass. Asia is important to the rest of the world. The importance of this part of world is not only because it is the biggest continent of the world, but also because it is the portion if the world which is home to the majority of humanity. All densely populated countries are located in Asia. Asia spans hundreds of longitude and as a result you find a variety of culture and traditions in Asia. Asian people are generally closely bound to their traditions and for them it is always difficult to break away. The continent as a whole is rich in traditions and values.
Asian people are descendants of a variety of races. You find one kind of people dominating one region in Asia. For example, the Indian subcontinent is home to the Aryans. The East of India is mostly home to the yellow races which include the Mongols. These people have very typical features and can be identified very easily. The West of India is mostly populated with Iranian and Arab features. More towards the West you find western mix in the mosaic of population that lives in Asia. Asian people are different from the people of the other continents as these people are still close to their roots and in most of the countries you find agro based economies. The economies are not very well developed and you find tat the pressure on land is great. Still, being blessed with the most fertile plains of the world, Asia is feeding the rest of the world as a granary.
In Asia, you still find that generations after generations of people are bound with the traditional values. The West of Asia is mostly dominated by the Muslim values as a chain of Muslim countries is located in this part of the world. In general here Islamic values are followed and family unit is appreciated. Families are the basic structural unit in making up the societies here. Even in the technically advanced and developed countries like Japan, you still find that family ties are important to them. People from more developed parts of the world sometimes consider Asian people to be backward and superstitious, but I believe the Asians are happy and at home with their family units still intact.
Asian traditions are most of the times really colorful and in some cases difficult to understand for people coming from highly developed countries. The impact of religions on the traditions and values of the people of Asia is prominent. Most of the people living in Asia find religion and language to be really important to them. The dress codes are specific and the festivals are also under the religious influence. In general, you can say that Asian life is different from the life in other parts of the world. It is still about home and family. People here are still bound to their roots, and most of all, they are happy about it.

The Songkran Festival

This Weird Festival or holidays started with massive water fight where people throw water at each other including shoot at strangers with water guns. Whereas in Spain and Italy, people made messed with each other by throwing/toss tomatoes or oranges, in Thailand, this festival are called "Songkran" which is the Thai New Year celebrations. This act of throwing water to people or strangers or companion can be considered a kindly act or good gestures during Songkran. It is a sign of respect dating back to tradtional New Year celebrations. Bear in mine also, in Thailand in the month of August temperatures can reach well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and it kinda refreshing to be splash with water since it will be very hot at that time. Phew!

Ivrea Carnaval

To rival La Tomatina, Italy has a food throwing event of its own. The town of Ivrea battles things out with oranges, replicating a battle held in 1194 that begin with a brave maiden slicing off the head of the town's count. The count made it his duty to sleep with every new bride but the weird holiday gives more of a nod to the heroin than the villain. Violetta, the married, revolted against the count's right of the first night and decapitated him with a sword to save her pride and fidelity. She then waved the count's head about and set fire to his castle. The result of Violetta's actions was a revolt of stone throwing townspeople against the count's troops. The oranges used in the modern day re-enactment of the battle are the excess of Italy's production quota. The good townspeople of Ivrea help the European Economic Community maintain orange prices by destroying the excess.