richard_smith237

Careful - that soap box gets slippery... When you refer to animal lovers... Do you mean... Those of us who love a good bit of beef ???... ... or were you going for the bestiality angle ?

The 'Good people of Southport' did not throw stones, burn police cars and assault police officers. Reported, thugs from 'outside of Southport' turned up, beer cans in hand and started to get violent as the vigil drew to a close... ironically, outsiders (outsider to Southport) violently protesting about outsiders (immigrants). IMO The speculation in social media was fuelled by the recent distrust in the Police to 'protect' the identities of minorities for fear of the very same reaction that occurred anyway. Agree - the advice not to jump to conclusions while avoiding the release of any information itself led to people 'reading between the lines' and was incendiary... the distrust of the police lead to no one believing the "this was not terrorism related" line... As the Poster was just 17 years old facts were not presented the public... But, the released facts were initially "a man born in Cardiff and from Banks".... seemed to obviously mask the fact that he was born to immigrant parents... "A 17 year male born in Cardiff to Christian Rwandan Parents and now living in Banks, Lancashire" - would have perhaps subdued some of the initial speculation that this was an attack in the name of Islam.

I think you've made a wholly valid point in exampling the 'other festivals'... However, the point I made about 'time and place' holds fast.... ... the Brazilian festivals, Sidney Gay Pride, Japanese Penis Festivals etc can be avoided - they are 'in their place, in their time' and people know what to expect before attending of viewing.... they are not 'thrust' (pun not intenteded) onto the 'world family viewing stage'... That said: I find the annual naked rides utterly ridiculous... .... and if the people were running around thrusting steel willy's at each other in a lewd over-sexualised manner at the Televised at the opening of the Rugby World Cup rather than respectfully participating in a 'Kanamara Matsuri ceremony (to pray for easy childbirth, marital harmony, and protection from infections) at the Kanayama Shrine, then your point would have greater strength - even so, the 'commercialisation' of such a ceremony has brought with it lewd connotations - I mean, a vulva lolly-pop... Nudist beaches can also be avoided, then are not a globally televised event during prime time viewing. Perhaps you are correct that this issue is being over played and misrepresented, but I don't think this (the Olympic Opening ceremony) was the time or the place for what was quite a lewd and potentially offensive performance - those in charge of the ceremony should have been more clever about this.... Am I offended... No of course not, but I understand the why people maybe - if watching with children I can understand parents thinking... W.T.flook is this ???... thats not appropriate for family TV viewing.... in much the same way, the EuroVision Song Contest is no long appropriate for family TV viewing... Its been taken over and decency seems to have been knee-capped.

Point being? I think his point might be that he finds such fast food places to have been below his station since 1970 !!

For the Espresso Machine I much prefer Medium Dark Roast 100% Arabica... I also prefer Medium or Medium dark roast 100% Arabica for the French Press, but find that a blend of Arabica-Robusta to be good, but not as rich as 100% Arabica. For the Moka-Pot I find that 50/50 Arabica-Robusta works well and there's not a huge difference when to using solely Arabica. One thing I've noted - when making a French Press coffee with Robusta or a Robusta-Arabica blend is that the caffeine hit is stronger and if I have more than two cups I can get a caffeine headache and sometimes the heebie-jeebies if the caffeine intake is too much - which is one of the reasons I prefer Arabica, not only the richness, but less of a caffeine 'injection'... ... But, for a one stop quick hit of caffeine in the morning, the French-Press 50/50 Arabica-Robusta blend does the trick very well...

Agree with this... While the Bialetti is the original (and the one I currently use), newer designs are perhaps better. I have learned that one key point with the Moka-Pot is to watch it... try and anticipate the 'boil' so the coffee doesn't flow / spurt up the 'upper spout thingy-ma-jig' too quickly...

I agree with this... I used a number of brewing methods... - Espresso Machine (best coffee / expensive machine) - Nespresso Voluto (quick & convenient / expensive per cup) - Moka-Pot (easy for travel) - French Press (at work / most convenient) - Picopresso (hand held espresso machine - PITA to use) I'm currently drinking a coffee brewed by Moka-Pot (as I'm not at home and dont have access to my espresso machine). I'd say the Moka-pot brews the best coffee next to the machines, but it also takes 'some technique'... After adding the desired amount of coffee (I like a fine grind), I gently press the coffee into place, not too hard as that causes the coffee to 'lift up and crest, which cracks through which the water can flow' (making weaker coffee), also if not pressing at all, I find the coffee could channel (again making weaker coffee) - so a gentle press works for me. Cafetière (French Press), also works well and is perhaps the most convenient, I use the same coffee for the Moka-Pot. IMO this is the simplest, most hassle free brewing method, easy to clean etc. As mentioned by STF above - the quality of coffee is important, doesn't need to be the best, but getting decent coffee is key to a decent brew and most important is grind size... too small and the coffee is over-extracted, muddy and bitter, too coarse and its under-extracted and bland. I find that with a French-Press choosing a grind size specifically for french press leads to under-extraction, as mentioned earlier, I prefer finer ground coffee and go for Espresso Grind sizing and don't 'over-brew' by pouring in recently boiled water (about 1-2mins after boiling), stirring and allowing to sit for about 1 min before 'plunging' gives me the extraction I prefer. I don't use 'drip coffee' - I've never felt it comparable and have found anything left for a second cup rather horrible. Pour over coffee is popular with aficionado's, but find that too much effort and time consuming, so I've never tried it. Finally - Cowboy coffee !! (as some call it)... just putting grinds in a cup... but, I much prefer Turkish Coffee, extremely fine grind and boil it up in a Cezve Pot - rich, but also somewhat muddy coffee - definitely worth a try. Beans - For more 'caffiene' go for Robusta, for a finer taste, go for 'Arabica'... then there is roast level, I prefer medium dark, but thats individual and often individual to the bean - then it starts get like wine and we can end up going down a rabbit hole... My current Cup is a morning Arabica-Robusta blend, espresso ground, brewed in a Moka-Pot. My preferred cup is a Khun Chiang Khan Medium Dark Roast, Espresso (2:1 ratio / 30 seconds) from my espresso machine, lengthened to a double latte. +1 on the James Hoffman suggestion - his coffee knowledge is second to none with some excellent advice and lots of different brewing methods covered - the general consensus in many of his videos is that grind size is more important than anything when brewing fresh-coffee.

Votes from the Wokerati...

Too many open pickups full of junk permitted on the expressways... Only fully covered vehicles are permitted on expressways - but we all know that regulations and laws mean nothing in Thailand anyway... A very lucky lady... I hope CCTV can track down the vehicle from which this metal 'litter' originated. I know someone who'd hit a bag of cement which had fallen off a truck or pickup - it completely trashed the front end of their car.

I'm all for equal treatment - If anyone throws rocks at a car for no reason they should be charged. At first I read the headline and started to assume the rock was thrown out of anger for a car not stopping for a person in a wheel chair at a crossing etc - but this is clearly not the case.... This is just a thug in a wheelchair who committed a dangerous crime.... ... He should charged according to his actions (crime) just as anyone else committing the same acts should be - its that simple, seems like equality to me.

That I completely agree with - but the confines of public decency has narrower boundaries... ...So, while any and all art (within the boundaries of legality, safety and extreme offensiveness) 'should' be made available to any who wish to view it... ... the issue of course is making such 'content' available to all while avoiding 'accidental' exposure to those who may find such displays objectionable, offensive, distasteful etc - that is a constantly shifting line, but for some reason the 'LBGQT+ line' steps far deeper into territory 'other art' is not permitted or tolerated in public.

You actually thew the discarded food at the staff ??? If so, this highlights significant mental issues making any potential balance of observations you have made completely null and void as the musings of a completely irrational fruit-cake...

It makes you rather odd to be thinking of such a thing.... it is also somewhat irrelevant as to what your private thoughts are - its when you publicise them so out of context and negatively it becomes bigotry. I would say not, but only if you also find the the overtly sexualised performances of any other (heterosexual) performance also classless and freakish... as some are.... Some things are for family viewing, others are not. Yes, that would make you a bigot. I think the bigger mental illness would be the suffering of someone who wishes to be a female born into a males body, or vice versa, such individuals need support. At the same time, tolerating overt and outlandish sexualised behavior is not the support required IMO - its the knee-capping of common sense. It shouldn't really matter to any of us how someone wants to feel. It only matters when it becomes offensive to what could be considered healthily balanced moral standards. Such outlandish behaviour from Trans performers is just as bad as twerking, crotch rubbing etc of heterosexual performers when the targeted audience is families across the world. It must also be noted that in individual or specific settings then such behaviour is perfectly tolerable - as the saying goes... "there is a time and a place"... and I don't think 'that' saying is bigoted, its simple common decency... ... The Olympic Opening Ceremony was not the "time and place" for such a performance (IMO of course).

The incorrect name being shared on Social Medial across the UK is Ali Al-Shakati - which also means the information suggesting the suspect was on an MI5/6 watch list, came to the UK by boat as an asylum seeker last year... etc is also social media fuelled rubbish... It was also reported that the perpetrator was known to to Liverpool mental health services - I wonder if this part is true. IF the boy in question was born in the UK to parents from Rwanda then we can hardly be jumping to the conclusions of this being related to Islam.... even though it was repeatedly reported that this was not related to terrorism... ...But, facts were held back for such a duration to fan the flames of social media speculation built on skepticism and distrust of authorities and their 'apparent' protection of criminals who may be muslim. Rwandan's are generally Christian BTW - if authorities had provided this information there would have been a lot less social media backlash against illegal Islamic Immigrants, with the current state of the UK and the growing 'anti-illegal-immigrant stance', anything fuels these flames and authorities need to be less clumsy in dealing with this.

Any 'GoFundMe' requests yet ??

Does any other depiction of the Feast of Dionysus so closely match DaVinci's depiction of the Last Supper ? [Photo below] ... Perhaps this was simply a very clumsy production... ... Perhaps those running the production were looking for the very attention and outrage they received... ... Perhaps as you are pointing out there is nothing to see here... My question, which I agree is loaded... is that if this specific melange was not a 'trans-centric' performance, would authorities have shut it down for being overtly sexualised and ridiculously kitsch ?... i.e. did the LBGQT+ aspect of the performance knee-cap taste in lieu of fear of being accused of being bigoted ? Yep - I think Jing is always going to take that stance - doubling down on what he may perceive as an attack on his individual and human rights as a gay male which IMO may blind his overview of the issue... [Photo below - <deleted>-slip - or hole in tights ? - I think it was later reported to be a hole in the tights] I found this specific 'skit' distasteful for the world stage, while at the same time such kitschness as the Can-Can being performed quite the nod to French culture... there is a line and everyone's line varies. Thats not to say there is no place for such 'colourful' performances, but like Madonna's spread eagled crotch thrusting and sexualised grinding on dancers - its not for the the world stage viewing or an Olympic opening ceremony - these displays are better left for those who are more informed regarding what they are likely to see. IMO The whole skit was a mistake and tarred the rest of the performance - as mentioned, very poor oversight / production. You have misread - I have not talked about 'normal people at all'... I mentioned 'normal non-heterosexuals in comparison to overly sexualised misrepresentations of regular folk who's orientation differs from heterosexuals... i.e. regular every day people (who could be gay, trans etc) vs those who overact in an overtly sexualised fashion misrepresenting regular folk (again, who could be gay, trans etc) and giving them a bad name within society. Perhaps getting my words in a jumble attempting to avoid the very criticism you drew - i.e. that regular gay, trans folk do not act in such overtly sexualised fashion - it is those who do who who draw the inevitable prejudice IMO.

Social media reports suggesting the name... Ali Al-Shakati... (who is officially being reported as a 'boy from Cardiff) On an MI6 watchlist, was known to Liverpool mental health services, came to the UK by boat as an asylum seeker last year... A 17 year old who apparently looks closer to 34 (according to the taxi driver witness)... True or not... ??... nothing is official yet - I'm not sure if that considered pedalling such nonsense or having a discussion on social media... ... Would the Police or authorities release the official name if doing so is potentially so incendiary ?

Simply outstanding...

They had the class of Celine Dion... If Emma Kok were there (sorry, there is no pun in the name)... were trans, it would be irrelevant - a moving and emotional and a performance personifying the French - if they wanted to go in that direction.... they did with the Can-can Dancers performing in front of the Moulin Rouge as the olympic torch passed... again personifying the French... ... then they went for the LGBQT+ gallimaufry which was not artistic, it was not funny, it was not french, it was an abomination there was no need for such a melange to be permitted oxygen...... the producer obviously too fearful of a woke backlash failed to test the temperature of ther water. Which do you prefer ? Can-Can dancers performing on Place Blance...

Well said.... The problem is now that either this ceremony was well received in whole, or a person is an anti-trans homophobe... (& anti LBGQT+).... ... It was the same with the kitsch performances in the Eurovision song contest... Common sense has been kneecapped by the highly vocal and toxic faux outrage of a minority wishing to shout the loudest from the rafters - and there there are the idiots on the forum who blindly support this wishing to argue a debate which should be a complete non-starter.... ... This behavior in public [trans last supper] should not be acceptable, it should not be tolerated, it should never have been permitted - and those holding such opinions are not anti-gay or anti LBGQT+... they (we) are just normal people who'd welcome any 'behaving person' into their homes - the issue here is that this is not 'good behavior' it is a form of exhibitionism that should not be tolerated on the public stage where families are watching - such overly sexualised misrepresentation of regular folk who's sexual orientation differs from heterosexuals is more damaging to genuine issues faced by 'normal' non- heterosexuals within society. Of course - throw out a competitive discussion and our drama queen levies the accusation of bigotry, anti-gay... and then 'blocks you'... simply because they have no intelligent argument that doesn't also dislodge their flawed agenda.

Or at least offered to the parents, if wanting, pick up at school. Agreed... But where is the line drawn between that and Milk that many of us were 'forced' (encouraged) to take when children at school ???... Thus - If this were an 'iron rich' milk type drink offered at break time would there be concern or upset ? There are similarities - but ultimately, what I see here is the 'state' taking measures for the welfare of children at poor state-schools where most parents are unlikely to both know about the dietary needs of their children or be in positions to improve their diet and status of health. .... as politely as it cab be put while also not dancing around the subject, the Ops child schooling at the lowest rungs on the ladder... this sort of behavior is to be expected... as a getting their hair cut by a teacher, as is getting whacked by a teacher...

peddling such speculation is irresponsible. please don't. I think that makes the point I was drawing on earlier... That the prolific woke will no longer allow speculation... we are only now permitted to 'think' these suspicious rather than discuss them.

Woke's in the UK are going entering a phase of full on on backlash against who those who are questioning who the perpetrator is and what the motives may have been... the underlying sentiment - why are people so bothered about who the perpetrator is, what their reasons were etc... and why not show such concern for the victims... ??? ... Utter tosh I say to this... Yes, show concern for the victims, but we are also concerned for our families and how these atrocities can be avoided. IF the perpetrator fits a developing pattern - that pattern needs to be 'shut down'... and done so with a measure so Machiavellian little doubt remains to how scum bags will be treated, no matter age, colour, creed or religion... And, thats about as politically correct as I can put it - for until there is proof, my underlying bias is obviously managed... yet I await the facts, not wanting to be proven right, but fearing I may be.

Er I mean no offense But a homosexual man buying a young male child something like that is always going to be perceived as a bit suss. If you had a wife and kids, or even a girlfriend it probably would have been different. This brings new light to the story... I agree with MalcomB's comment above... IF the men in the area know of Jeffer's sexual orientation they may very well be expressing a degree of protection... ... Thats not to accuse Jeffer of grooming, but it could be a fair assumption that the men who smashed up the guitar are considering such a possibility and this is their way of ensuring distance... If this is the case and the Op were to carry on 'being kind' there could be escalation.

Exactly this.... the Op has tried to offer a little community spirit and it appears that some in the area are simple racist... Its an explanation that does not seem fabricated or exaggerated and fortunately its not behavior which is common - the poor young lad is simply unfortunate to have adults around him like this. The Op has no choice but to move on - there is no point attempting to win this or aim for any for any resolution - he's overstepping his boundaries, albeit nicely so, nevertheless, his 'kindness' is an overstep.