Evil Penevil

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.

The bars of New Plaza (2nd Road near Pattaya Klang) are pretty much dominated by Brits. There you can also see the largest concentration of U.K. prison tattoos outside of HM Prison Wandsworth.

Israel doesn't have enough international political clout to make it happen, but the best way to end Hamas would be to force the shutdown of UNRWA. Without the massive support Hamas gets on a daily basis from UNRWA, it would collapse in a week or two.

Abuse

Foreigners, whether tourists or on any type of visa, are indeed guests in Thailand because they are NOT Thai subjects and therefore DON'T have a right to live in, or even visit, the country. Foreigners are allowed to enter and remain in Thailand at the discretion of the Thai government and by extention, the Thai people. If Thai authorities say to a foreigner "You can't come in," or "It's time to go," or "Don't ever come back," that's entirely within their purview as representatives of the "host." The analogy between a houseguest and a visitor to a foreign is actually an apt one. If you can't abide by the "house rules" regarding a guest's behavior, then you shouldn't accept the home owner's hospitality. You can't expect the host to change his lifestyle, daily routine, preferences, whatever, to suit you. That's just common sense and basic manners. Same-same with a country. Thailand has long-standing and firmly established customers, traditions, culture, religious practices, etc. You don't have to agree with them, but if you're going to live here, you have to respect the Thai way of doing things and adapt to it. Thailand's 72 million people aren't going to change to please you. Whether it is luck, skill or the hand of Buddha, I've never had any problems adapting to Thailand. During all the years I visited or lived in Thailand, I never got into a violent dispute with a Thai male or female, nor did I ever think any Thai expected me to lick his feet. If had encountered such hassles, that would have been the day I decided to leave and never return. But it's also clear if you look down on Thais and regard them as "third-world people," you will indeed encounter problems. You're better off sticking to coutries where you feel the people treat you as an equal.

Fess Parker as Davy Crockett. As a kid, I was entralled by the way the Alamo eposode ended. The image of Crockett swinging his rifle at the wave of Mexicans has stayed with me all my life. On the female side, I loved Annette Funicello.

If the guy in the video is actually American, he knows very well it's extremely rude to tell a stranger to "<deleted> off" under those circumstances. It's especially bad because he raised his voice to use the worst possible language to a Thai woman when he's a guest in her country. For him to say it's not rude because she doesn't understand English makes him seem stupid as well as rude. It's a matter of interpretation, but Thailand has strict laws regarding lèse-majesté. There are also laws regading respect towards monks and behavior in temples and religious shrines. I know of a farang teenager who was arrested and caught a beating from police in BKK for climbing on a Budddha image to have his picture taken. A few years back there was the case of the gay U.S. couple who were arrested, imprisoned for a week or so and heavily fined before deportation for "mooning" in front of a temple. Regardless of legality, a foreigmer who acts in a culturally inappropriate manner may catch a very heavy dose of Thai street justice. I've seen it happen more than once. For me, it's mostly a matter of common sense. I find it far more effective in any situation to remain polite and calm than to tell someone to <deleted> off. I've ridden the Bangkok BTS dozens of times and "Excuse me, please," has always worked well. In some U.S. states and cities/towns, it is a misdemeanor to swear in public, although such laws aren't enforced often. All over the U.S. and in other countries, swearing can become unlawful if it is used to harass an individual; disturbs the peace or amounts to disorderly conduct.

From Europe facing 'wave of antisemitism', survey finds Jewish people in the EU continue to face high levels of antisemitism, according to the latest survey from the bloc's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). More than 8,000 Jews in 13 EU countries, including Germany and France, were interviewed - with 96% saying they had encountered antisemitism in their daily life. Read More

Do you feel the massacre of Israelis and foreigners on Oct 7 qualifies as major antisemitism?

Defacing the statue of Anne Frank monument was disgraceful, about as low as it gets. It points to an increasing trend ampng pro-Palestinian activits: the targeting of Judaism in general and not just Israel and Zionism. The mask of pro-Palestine anti-Zionism is coming off to reveal the centuries' old face of raw antisemitism. Anne Frank had nothing to do with Israel or Zionism. Her diary while in hiding and her death in a concentration camp have become the best known examples of the suffering Jews endured at the hands of the Nazis. The Diary of a Young Girl has been translated into 70 languages. with 35 million volumes sold worldwide. Millions upon millions of readers, especially school children, have gained their first knowledge of the Holocaust from Anne Frank's diary. That's why the pro-Palestine crowd hate it so much. The diary gives a sympathetic portrayal of a young Jewish girl's tragic fate due to antisemitism. Hamas and its supporters want people to think of Jews as oppressors and that's a difficult label to hang on Anne Frank. Never Again is Now!

The Murdoch tabloids in the U.K. and U.S. picked up this story. According to the New York Post, "The beleaguered yogi said she finally managed to fly home from Thailand on July 9, Kennedy [News] reported." I agree. I believe her hassles probably had more to do with her lack of funds and visa overstay than a small tear on her passport. Anyway- a suggestion if any of you are ever faced with traveling with a damaged passport: notify the airline before you go to the airport. I once had a passport badly damaged two days before I was to return to the U.S. from Thailand. I visited the U.S. Consulate in Bangkok and was given an emergency travel document to use along with the damaged passport. I also went to the Bangkok office of the airline with which I was flying, explained the situation to them and showed them my passport and travel document. After several hours of checking my ticket and documents and communicating with the head office, I was given a letter to show check-in and gate personnel in Bangkok and Hong Kong that said I was allowed to board the flights on which I was booked. I had no delays in gettng back to the U.S.

Huh? I gave links to relevant polls or surveys in two of my previous posts. They indicate Jews support Israel as a homeland. As I wrote earlier, some Jews may not want to live in Israel, but nevertheless support it as the Jewish homeland. One American Jewish friend says he has no desire to visit Israel, much less live there, but he "sleeps better at night knowing Israel exists" if he should ever need a haven from antisemitism. Another Jewish friend says he doesn't need any homeland other than the U.S., but realizes the survival of some Jews elsewhere could depend on a Jewish majority state with the right of return.

Never. But you knew that already. It's not humanely possible to ask the 8.5 million Jews living outside Israel for their opinions on a homeland for Jews. But Jews all over the world have overwhelmingly expressed their support of Israel as such a homeland, even if many are critical of government policies. Jewish support fot Israel is made obviously by statements by mainstream Jewish organizations and religious leaders in counties with Jewish communities. For example: Moshe Sebbag, the chief rabbi of Paris, "told The Times of Israel that 'it seems France has no future for Jews,' and said he advises young French Jews to leave for Israel." France has the world's third-largest Jewish population at 400,000 to 500,000. The admonition to leave France came on the back of the electoral success of a far-left party that is pro-Hamas and widely regarded as antisemitic.. (LINK) public opinion polls, studies and surveys of Jews in various countries that indicate support for Israel as the Jewish homeland. I gave examples from the U.S. in my previous post in this thread. Here's one from the U.K. : "... the vast majority of Jews in Britain regard Israel as the ancestral homeland of the Jewish People, and many have close familial or social ties with Israelis." Committed, concerned and conciliatory: The attitudes of Jews in Britain towards Israel Jews from all over the world continue to emigrate from their countries of birth to Israel. In the 12 months ended in May, 2024, about 37,000 Jews immigrated to Israel. Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics. Yes. I realized that. We have to distinguish between people who identify as ethnic Jews, i.e., they had parents or grandparents who were Jewish; and those who identify with some form of Judaism, although they might not be very religious. Some ethnic Jews have grown up in agnostic or atheist households and have never practiced Judaism as a religion. Ethnic Jews tend to be the ones who are anti-Zionist and oppose the existence of the state of Israel. At the other end of the spectrum there are small groups of ultra-Orthodox Jews who oppose Israel on religious grounds because they believe Israel can't be established before the Messiah appears.

Most of the world's Jews do support Israel as the Jewish homeland, even if they choose not to live there. A sovereign nation with a Jewish majority that gives all Jews the right of return is the only real guarantee against another Holocaust. Nearly all the European Jews killed by the Nazis died because they had nowhere to escape to. The world's nations stood by and allowed six million people to be exterminated. And we don't have to think only in terms of extermination. Antisemitism is on the rise in the U.S. and Europe, with many Jews suffering harassment and even physical attacks. Synagogues have been targeted and Jewish children are no longer safe in public schools. Openly antisemitic candidates have been elected to public office in the U.S., U.K. and other countries. And yes, I mean antisemitic, not just anti-Zionist. That could lead some Jews to move to Israel. Never again is now. There are an estimated 15.7 million Jews in the world. About 7.2 million, or 46%, live in Israel and another 6.3 million, or 40%, live in the U.S. Opinion surveys have shown a wide majority of American Jews support Israel. According to an analysis by Gallup's editor-in-chief (American Jews, Politics and Israel), "95% of Jews have favorable views of Israel." Another survey stated "A large majority of U.S. Jews (82%) say caring about Israel is either “essential” or “important” to what being Jewish means to them." (10 key findings about Jewish Americans). It's very safe to say the majority of Jews support israel as the Jewish homeland.

The most basic and difficult step in achieving a lasting peace is for Hamas, Herzbollah, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc. to acknowledge Israel's right to exist as the homeland of the world's Jews

I don't know if the BiB have recently changed their routines, but for decades farang caught up in raids on nightspots were never forced to give a urine sample. They were simply told to pay their tabs and leave. There were a few exceptions if a farang was obviously tweeking or got belligent with police, but those exceptions were few and far between over the years.