Evil Penevil

Hatred of Jews because they are Jews is never justified under any circumstances.

The Arab League used the threat of expulsion of Jewish citizens of Arab countries to put pressure on U.N. members to vote against the partition of Mandatory Palestine. On Nov. 27, 1947, five days before the partition vote, Egyptian delegate Heykal Pasha told the Political Committee of the U.N. General Assembly that: “The United Nations ... should not lose sight of the fact that the proposed solution might endanger a million Jews living in the Moslem countries. ... If the United Nations decided to partition Palestine they might be responsible for very grave disorders and for the massacre of a large number of Jews." When the U.N. voted in favor of partition, the Arab League members began expelling Jews. The Arab League wrote a recommendation in the form of a draft law that stated all Jews were to be considered members of the Jewish state and their property and bank maccounts were to be confiscated. About 850,000 Jews were kicked out of Arab countries, most of whom went to Israel.

Hatred of Jews masked as anti-Zionism and criticism of the Israeli government's defense of its citizens.

I agree. But unfortunately, some troubled and deluded 12-year-old girls desperately want to believe they do.

Many predators target children who are vulnerable and therefore susceptible to persuasion. The intellectual development of these children may lag behind their biological age, making them easy to fool. A predator can come into contact with hundreds of kids online, but will concentrate on the few he feels will respond to his approach. A 12-year-old girl can feel isolated in real life due to physical and/or mental problems. Some may feel like outcasts at school or have a difficult home life. They find solace online and may even believe they have found a boyfriend. They are willing to send explicit pics to keep the "love of their life" happy.

I didn't say limericks were written in iambic pentameter, only that there was an intersection in the example I gave.

The protester who painted "Hamas is comin (sic)" complete with the inverted Hamas triangle on the Columbus Fountain certainly supports Hamas. Otherwise, why would he paint that slogan? None of the other protesters attempted to hinder him from defacing the Columbus monument outside Union Station, so I can imagine they also had a lot of sympathy for Hamas. Moreover, on Oct. 8, 2023, before Israel began its retaliation for the Oct. 7 attacks, pro-Palestinian groups rallied across the U.S. in support of Hamas. In NYC, the slogans seen on the placards and chants used by protesters were taken straight from Hamas or expressed support for it. ("By any means necessary," "Stand with Palestinian resistance," "Honor our martyrs." “Resistance is justified,” “Globalize the intifada,” “Smash the settler Zionist state.” “From the river to the sea"). From the Oct 8 rally in Times Square: Some of the pro-Palestinians chanted "700," which at the time was the estimate of the number of Israeli dead. Some wrote "7" on their hands, then made a throat-cutting motion to taunt pro-Israel protesters. Others held up pictures of Jewish hostages or the image of a swastika on their cell phones for the same purpose. On Oct. 7, a few hours after the attacks, pro-Palestinian groups released statements blaming Israel for the violence and sometimes even praising Hamas. I could list other examples of explicit support for Hamas. but it's not really necessary. What's safe to say is that while many individuals who claim to support the Palestinian people don't support Hamas, the organized groups by and large do.

Everywhere can be a tourist trap. Street vendors in NYC, London, Paris, Beijing, etc. will be just as quick to overcharge tourist as the vendors on Koh Panyi. Tourists have been overcharged by locals for as long as people could be divided into tourists and locals. It's so common an occurrence every tourist should be aware of it and not pay outrageous prices. Tourists will always pay somewhat more than locals, but should know enough not accept prices higher by a huge margin.

The author of the article in the OP should have used the word "gang" instead of "mafia." To most native English speakers, "mafia" means organized criminal groups similar in structure to such Italian-inspired groups as Al Capone's Chicago mob or the fictional Corleone family in The Godfather. "Gang" has several meanings. It can mean criminals who band together for strength and mutual protection (John Dillinger's gang of bank robbers), but can also mean a group of young people who engage in rowdy behavior that sometimes violates the law. (The gang of teenagers defaced the building with graffiti). The young Kuwati men who do the street racing are a gang in the second sense. Their behavior is annoying and against Thai law, but it isn't intended to hurt anyone. It could become dangerous, mainly to themselves, because neither rental motorcycles nor Pattaya's streets are made for racing. In the past, I have seen the "gangs" of Kuwati street racers and never felt threatened by them. That said, I sure as hell wouldn't want a hotel room near the site of their races.

There once was a Cheap Charlie named Gabor who tried hard to cheat a wh*re. But even drunk on booze, she saw through his ruse And kicked him straight out the door.

And then there's the intersection of an ancient verse form with one from the 1800s- the limerick. "There once was a poet named van Lameter who had a tool of tremendous diameter. But it wasn't his size that gave the girls a surprise. T'was his rhythm- iambic pentameter."

Carrying a knife like the one in the picture when going out drinking at night means only one thing: the bearer intends to use it as a weapon in a confrontation. Knives are useful tools in a number a trades and also when fishing, camping, gardening, etc. NONE of that applies when drinking in a bar. I hope my countryman is punished to the full extent of Thai law for killing the Ausstralian. Tourists and resident ex-pats don't need to carry any knife larger than a multi-tool pocketknife when out drinking and even that is mostly unnecessary.

There are dozens of videos on YouTube of the horses of the King's Guard biting tourists. Some of the tourists try to provoke the horse so they can get a "humorous" picture of the horse trying to bite them. It doesn't always work out well for them.

I thought Marko drove a Metro micro van.

I certainly agree that "Hamas' tactics and rhetoric can be deeply problematic and often counterproductive to peace." However, Hamas' basic policy of denying Israel's right to exist as a sovereign state is the real problem and its tactics and rhetoric merely reflect this stance. To achieve permanent peace in the region, all Palestinian factions must first recognize Israel's right to exist as the homeland of the world's Jews. Civilian casualties are an unfortunate consequence of Hamas using civilians as human shields in densely populated urban areas. "The sole reason for civilian deaths in Gaza is Hamas," wrote John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point and codirector of MWI's Urban Warfare Project. "For Israel's part, it's taken more care to prevent them than any other army in human history." Spencer explains this point in this article: Link xx I didn't miss it, but you seem to have misinterpreted what Netanyahu said. He has repeatedly stated Israel won't agree to a ceasefire deal which prevents it from achieving its goals for the war against Hamas and that includes the release of all hostages. If Hamas were to release the hostages in another prisoner swap, that could led Israel to scale back its military attacks on Gaza. But as long as the avowed purpose of Hamas is the destruction of Israel, actions against the leadership of Hamas can't and won't stop. If I had been a member of Hamas, I wouldn't have attacked Israel on Oct. 7, so it's a moot question. And if we're going to play thought games: If I had been Palestinian, I would have accepted the U.N. proposal for a two-state partition in 1948. That would have avoided 75 years of suffering for the Palestinian people.

On a different Thailand-related board I started a thread rebutting St. Anselm's ontological argument for the existence of God, but it didnt get any replies. Another thread on the introduction of iambic pentameter into English poetry by Chaucer wasn't popular either, even though I revealed that nothing turns me on more than a bar girl with whom I can have intellectual discussions.

Tig has worked in the U.S. and is an expert on American desserts. She makes great biscuits as well!

I very well understand the reason for Hamas not releasing the hostages. It is a terrorist group driven by an all-consuming hatred of Jews that outweighs the preserviation of the lives of the Palestinians it is supposed to represent. In the eyes of Hamas' members, peaceful coexistence with Israel would amount to failure and its leaders will go to any lengths to prevent a lasting peace. Hamas hopes to use a ceasefire to rebuild its strength so it can continue its attacks on Israel.

Since the end of WWII, the U.S. has only used U.S. citizens with diplomatic immunity for espionage purposes. The CIA definitely doesn't employ journalists because they are so vulnerable on one hand and on the other, could turn the tables on a spy organization by writing about their activities. That said, U.S. intelligence agencies have on occassion employed journalists who aren't U.S. citizens. Gershkovich had probably been targeted because he was a high-profile jourrnalist working for The Wall Street Journal. Most likely Russia is looking for a prisoner swap along the lines of basketball player Brittney Griner for the arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Bread pudding is easy to make and the ingredients are readily available. Any restaurant with an oven could do it for you. Find a recipe you like on line, print it out and decide on the price with the restaurant. You can even show them a YouTube video. In Pattaya, Tigglebitties Tavern can make a pan or two for you. They don't have it on the menu, but I know they can make bread pudding on request. In the worst case, there are recipes for bread pudding in a microwave, but I have never tried it that way.

WTF? The hostages were taken BEFORE Israeli forces began their retaliation for the Oct. 7 Hamas' terror attacks. One of the goals of that retaliation is to secure the return of the hostages. Wouldn't it make more sense for Hamas and the other terror groups to release all hostages so Israel has less reason to conduct military operations that result in the deaths of Palestinians? Of course, the ball has really been in the Arabs' court since 1948. The prerequisite to any lasting peace is Palestinian acceptance of Israel as the homeland of the world's Jews. As long as the goal of Hamas and other groups is to drive the Jews into the sea, Israelis won't stop defending themselves. Never again is today!

It actually happened during a debate between the five Democratic candidates for mayor of San Francisco. The current mayor, a noted woke Progressive, London Breed, asked her leading rival, Mark Farrell, a straight white male, to name three LGBTQ advisers to his campaign and three drag queens in San Francisco. She was trying to point out Farrell doesn't have strong ties to the queer and transgaender communities, which are important voting blocs in SF. Breed has come in for some criticism because she could have asked about Farrell's position on homelessness, housing, crime or economic matters, but she chose to repeat a "gotcha" type question she had asked earlier. Farrell is a mainstream Liberal and whilemnot anti-gay or transgender, doesn't give prioritize LGBTQ and trans issues a much as Breed. He is more concerned with bread-and-butter issues like crime and jobs.

I can't recall any reports of babies in microwaves. One Israeli first responder said he found the burned body of a baby in an oven, but it is not certain if the baby was killed by the heat of the oven or because the house burned down. The now notorious claims of 40 beheaded babies stem from confused initial reports. A news clip from a private Israeli news service said an IDF soldier had seen babies without heads, while another said 40 babies and children had been killed. No method of death was specified. On social media, that morphed into posts about Hamas killing 40 babies through beheading. Some of the problem may also stem from the use of English by people who don't have it as their native language. In any catastrophic situation, whether due to war or nature, false atrocity stories are often generated. This is sometimes deliberate, but usually depends on inaccurate accounts by people who were traumatized. In any case, the Human Rights Watch report has enough verified accounts to convince all but the most hardcore hater of Jews that Hamas committed horrifying crimes against humanity on innocent civilians that day.

No comparison, really. Credit to Stickman for the bar girl photos. Credit to HM Prison and Probation Service (New Plaza branch office) for the photo of the male.