CharlieH

The honest answer to that, in my opinion, was that it was determined that another person, probably male was driving the content and probably had a female Thai wife/girfriend to enable them to spin it. Initially when that username appeared it was given the benefit of the doubt and ALOT of leeway believed to be a female and in order to encourage participation. The longer it went on, the more the facade dropped. Had it not been for the continual abuse / insults it may have lasted beyond 5 months.

Exactly! and many seem to have very selective memories, oftne if to troll about it.

Similar but personal - warning pm that basically blocks all further action on website until acknowledged. Poster is not suspended, banned or anything, but can't ignore the warning. Already have and is used.

Its called "the lounge" and why its there.

Common often reported "pulsing" of the water pump. It usually (often) a stickly pressure valve, there is a video on it in the DIY forum and other threads on it. Lets move this over there.

Believe it or not the Mod team do try to be impartial and do not to my knowledge "favor" anyone, that said, we are human and I am not saying it cant happen. My comment on that would be is that if you feel there has been an instance of favoritism then make a report about it to Support, and they will look at it.

sometimes, a topic will "press buttons" in some people and they can really get bent out of shape. In the past we have excluded them from that topic rather than exclude them from the forum. as a whole.

Reported Off topic troll comment and response to it removed.

Off topic posts and responses removed.

PUBLIC NOTICE. The management has decided that the POTY can proceed this year as a "by the members for the members" with no involvement or participation by staff. Please do not include any staff members in voting, Admin/Mods will ensure there is no skullduggery where possible. It also needs to be run in the Lounge to stop new sign-ups interfering. Best of luck with it.

Rishi Sunak is facing a civil war in the Conservative party over the future of the home secretary, as he held off sacking her for saying police were biased for allowing a pro-Palestinian march on Armistice Day. Before what is expected to be one of Britain’s biggest ever days of mass protest on Saturday, allies of Suella Braverman claimed more than 50 Tory MPs were fighting to help her keep her job. Some of the MPs – from hard-right Tory groups labelled “the five families” – are also blaming the chief whip, Simon Hart, for orchestrating a plot to get rid of her. On the other side, moderate Tory MPs are furious with Braverman for stoking tensions before the pro-Palestinian protest, and are pressing No 10 and the chief whip to sack her, saying failure to act looks like weakness. Sunak is considering Braverman’s future as home secretary after she defied Downing Street by submitting the controversial piece to the Times without making changes it requested. The home secretary has kept silent since then, but on Friday met Sir Mark Rowley, the Met commissioner, and issued a statement of support for the police in an apparent attempt to calm the furore and stay in post. A source close to Braverman said: “The commissioner outlined plans to continue working to maintain public order, ensure compliance with the law and maintain the safety of participants, police officers and the general public. “The home secretary emphasised her full backing for the police in what will be a complex and challenging situation and expressed confidence that any criminality will be dealt with robustly.” Since Hamas triggered the war with Israel on 7 October by killing 1,400 people and taking approximately 240 hostages, there have been a series of marches in London and around the UK of up to 100,000 demonstrators. The protesters have been calling for a ceasefire, with Palestinian officials saying more than 10,000 have been killed in Gaza. The marches have largely been peaceful but there have been some arrests for inciting racial hatred. Sunak also said he had been assured by the police that they were “taking all steps to ensure Remembrance services are safeguarded from any protests”. FULL STORY

A federal judge in Florida, for now, declined to delay the start of former President Trump’s criminal case over his handling of classified documents, though she did push back several pretrial deadlines in the case. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled Friday that she would dismiss the motion from Trump’s legal team “without prejudice” against taking it up again in the future. The trial’s start date could be reconsidered at a scheduling conference March 1, she wrote. The order is a small victory for special counsel Jack Smith’s team, which had strongly argued against any delays in the case by suggesting that the former president wanted to push the case until after the 2024 presidential election. Trump is the undisputed front-runner in the GOP presidential primary. When Cannon heard arguments about a potential delay earlier this month, she appeared ready to side with Trump’s attorneys’ request to postpone the trial, saying she “has a hard time seeing how realistically this [current schedule] would work.” The Florida judge noted the 1.3 million pages of evidence — plus thousands of hours of security video shot at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort — that prosecutors in the Mar-a-Lago case gave to the defense in discovery, in addition to the former president’s other legal woes with schedules of their own. “I am not quite seeing a level of understanding on your part to these realities,” Cannon said at the time to prosecutor Jay Bratt, a member of special counsel Jack Smith’s team. Trump’s classified documents trial is scheduled to begin May 20, a little over two months after his Washington, D.C.-based trial on charges linked to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election is set to begin, March 4. Trump’s criminal case in New York over a hush-money payment is set to head to trial March 25, and a trial in Trump’s fourth criminal case, linked to his actions in Georgia after the 2020 election, has not yet been scheduled. FULL STORY

At least 99 people died when an inferno destroyed the town of Lahaina in the deadliest wildfire in modern US history. Through first-hand accounts, as well as police bodycam footage and recordings, a BBC investigation reveals why it was so hard to escape - and uncovers mistakes from authorities. By the time she saw the smoke, it was almost too late. The first thing U'i Kahue noticed was the wind battering her neighbourhood, ripping off roofs and felling trees. Then she saw the smoke, rolling in like a black cloud. In no time, the fire had become an inferno. She grabbed a hose, trying to stop her house from going up in flames. "That's ridiculous now that I say it out loud, but I'm trying to water the roof." A kumu - or teacher - of Hawaiian traditional crafts, U'i has a deep connection to Hawaii, where her family has lived for five generations, and in particular, the town of Lahaina. Located on the northwest coast of Maui, it had once been the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom before the island chain became a US State in 1959. And now it was burning to the ground. By the time the fire was put out, at least 99 people had died - some of them trapped in their cars trying to flee. With just two major roads providing an exit out - the Lahaina Bypass and the Honoapiʻilani Highway - there were few options for people to evacuate in the case of an emergency. When the fire reached the shoreline, some abandoned their cars, choosing to run to the only place the flames couldn't reach - the sea. FULL STORY

Israel must stop killing babies and women in Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron has told the BBC. In an exclusive interview at the Élysée Palace, he said there was "no justification" for the bombing, saying a ceasefire would benefit Israel. While recognising Israel's right to protect itself, "we do urge them to stop this bombing" in Gaza, he said. But he also stressed that France "clearly condemns" the "terrorist" actions of Hamas. France - like Israel, the US, the UK, and other Western nations - considers Hamas a terrorist organisation. When asked if he wanted other leaders - including in the US and the UK - to join his calls for a ceasefire, he replied: "I hope they will." Israel says it attacks military targets in line with international law and takes steps to reduce civilian casualties, like issuing warnings ahead of strikes and calling on people to evacuate. Speaking the day after a humanitarian aid conference in Paris about the war in Gaza, Mr Macron said the "clear conclusion" of all governments and agencies present at that summit was "that there is no other solution than first a humanitarian pause, going to a ceasefire, which will allow [us] to protect... all civilians having nothing to do with terrorists". "De facto - today, civilians are bombed - de facto. These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed. So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop." He said it was not his role to judge whether international law had been broken. FULL STORY

Six months after they were stripped, paraded naked and allegedly gang raped by a mob in north-east India, two women, whose ordeal was made public in a viral video, talk to the BBC in their first face-to-face interview. They speak about living in hiding, their fight for justice and their call for a separate administration for their community. Warning: This article includes descriptions of sexual violence. At first, all I see is their lowered eyes. Big black masks hide Glory and Mercy's faces and scarves cover their foreheads. The two Kuki-Zomi women do not want to be seen. But they want to be heard. Their ordeal was filmed and shared online. It is a disturbing watch. Less than a minute long, it shows a mob of men from the majority Meitei community in Manipur state walking around two naked women, pushing, groping them, and then dragging them into a field where they say they were gang raped. "I was treated like an animal," says Glory, breaking down. "It was hard enough to live with that trauma, but then two months later when the video of the attack went viral, I almost lost all hope to continue living," she adds. "You know how Indian society is, how they look at women after such an incident," says Mercy. "I find it hard to face other people, even in my own community. My pride is gone. I will never be the same again." The video amplified their suffering but it also became evidence of injustice because it brought attention to the ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities that broke out in Manipur in May. But while the video sparked outrage and spurred action, the spotlight made the women retreat further. Before they were attacked, Glory was a student and Mercy filled her days taking care of her two young children, helping them with homework and going to church. But after the attack both women had to flee to a different town where they are now living in hiding. FULL STORY

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpunT9lnZUEOuugdIkE368g

No it's trolling as defined in the forum rules and will see the comment aimed at another member removed.

George has allowed members to have their say.That does not however extend to being rude or abusive here toward any specific members of the team.

Go talk to your Pu Yai baan. He will probably either tell you to go ahead or he will know who is involved.

Get ready for the exciting return of Oktoberfest at Amari Pattaya! Come and experience 𝗢𝗞𝗧𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦 by the beach. Enjoy a leisurely festival of German food and the unique brews from Weihenstephan, the world's oldest German brewery on the Beach Lawn, accompanied by live music for a truly enjoyable night. Moreover, don't miss the chance to participate in drinking competitions and entertaining activities to win some great prizes! Date: Friday 10 and Saturday 11 November 2023 Time: 18:00 - 22:00 Location: Beach Lawn, Amari Pattaya For more information : https://bit.ly/amari-oktoberfest

A new island is rising off the coast of Japan due to an underwater volcano eruption. The new land mass began forming off the coast of the Japanese island Iwoto, about 1,200km south of Tokyo. The unnamed island is the product of underwater volcanic activity that began on 21 October and is a rare geological phenomenon. Photos have shown one of the eruptions releasing huge plumes of smoke and debris from the sea. The Earthquake Research Institute at the University of Tokyo said the island consists of rock masses formed at the eruption site. These could grow larger if eruptions continue. The new island is part of the Ogasawara island chain. This includes Iwoto, previously called Iwo Jima, which was the scene of fierce battles between American and Japanese forces during the Second World War. With a series of eruptions continuing for days, volcanic ash and rocks have piled up on the shallow seabed. The island’s tip is also rising above the sea surface. The newest addition to Japan’s already impressive list of islands is about 1,000m in diameter and 20m in height above the sea, said Yuji Usui, an analyst in the Japan Meteorological Agency’s volcanic division. FULL STORY

Several of the world’s leading news organizations are denying having prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, following explosive allegations from a pro-Israel media watchdog this week. The HonestReporting group published an article Wednesday suggesting several freelance journalists working for The New York Times, The Associated Press, CNN and Reuters either had advanced knowledge of the planned Hamas attack or did not do enough to warn their media companies or government officials about an imminent threat to Israel. “What were they doing there so early on what would ordinarily have been a quiet Saturday morning? Was it coordinated with Hamas?” the group asked, attaching photos it said showed a number of photographers on the ground near the Israeli border shortly before the attack. “Did the respectable wire services, which published their photos, approve of their presence inside enemy territory, together with the terrorist infiltrators? Did the photojournalists who freelance for other media, like CNN and The New York Times, notify these outlets?” “Judging from the pictures of lynching, kidnapping and storming of an Israeli kibbutz, it seems like the border has been breached not only physically, but also journalistically.” Throughout the day Thursday, each of the news organizations mentioned in the article responded with forceful denials they had advance knowledge of the attack. FULL STORY

American troops were hit four times by Iranian-backed groups in the Middle East after a U.S. strike Wednesday on an Iranian facility in Syria. Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said Thursday the U.S. has now been attacked 46 times since Oct. 17, following the breakout of a major war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. That includes 24 attacks in Iraq and 22 in Syria, Singh said. The attacks have all involved explosive drones and rockets. “If these attacks continue against our personnel, we won’t hesitate at a time and place of our choosing to respond again,” Singh told reporters at a briefing. A total of 56 troops have been injured in the attacks, but most are minor injuries and every service member has since returned to duty, according to the Pentagon. The latest attacks follow a U.S. airstrike Wednesday, which took out a major weapons facility in Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian-backed militants. Singh said the strike inflicted significant damage on the storage facility. “We were able to render that building pretty much non-usable,” she said. FULL STORY

Israel will begin to implement daily four-hour military pauses in areas of northern Gaza, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. However Israel's defence minister stressed they were only "localised and pinpoint measures" that would "not detract from the war fighting". On Thursday heavy fighting was reported around two big hospitals in Gaza City. Meanwhile, pictures once again showed thousands of Palestinians fleeing south from the city and other northern areas. The US called the daily pauses a "significant first step". But speaking to the BBC, Mr Kirby said each pause "will depend on the purpose and on the conditions on the ground". Meanwhile a UN spokesperson said any halt to fighting would need to be coordinated with the UN "to be truly effective". A conference in Paris earlier heard repeated appeals for a ceasefire in Gaza, where the UN has warned that the humanitarian situation is "intolerable". Israel has been bombarding Gaza for over a month and began a major ground offensive almost two weeks ago with the objective of destroying Hamas, which it, the US and other Western powers consider a terrorist organisation. The war began after an unprecedented cross-border assault on southern Israel by Hamas gunmen on 7 October, in which 1,400 people were killed and 240 others taken hostage. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says 10,800 people have been killed in the territory since then, while 1.5 million have fled their homes. FULL STORY