Morch

How did Iran help take the hostages?

Well, not reliable 'for you' doesn't mean a whole lot. You're not an authority on sources, you've posted your share of super-biased ones since this topics on the conflict started, and you have no issues with biased sources in general, so long as they fit your agenda.

How do you mean 'unintended consequences' ? Thais were deliberately murdered on the 7/10 attack. Thais were deliberately taken hostage on the 7/10 attack. Thais held as hostages were not released for 7 long weeks. So again - 'unintended' how? And 'overlooked in the main negotiations'? How do you know that? More than Iran trying to mitigate anything, it reads like you are trying (and failing) to mitigate Hamas actions.

I'm sure you'd like that, and maybe (some) Israelis would too - in reality Israel cannot effectively take on Iran without risking grave results. Even Hezbollah would be a bit of a tall order.

I'm not aware that Turkey sponsors Hamas, at least not in any way military. Turkey and Qatar being 'supervised' by 'England' is a crackpot nonsense conspiracy theory. Hamas fighting with Iran? Where? When? I doubt you'll bother (or be able) to support any of these allegation/comments.

Your nonsense comments about Shia/Sunni are dully noted. Considering you're almost surly aware they are misleading, nothing but your usual trolling. As for Hamas weapons being mostly DIY - that's an obvious lie, I don't think they actually produce that many small arms, rpg's, anti-tank missiles, drones and so on. Rockets and rocket launchers, up to a certain size/range/technology maybe so - but definitely not all. Iran not supplying Hamas with arms is something you claim - and you are hardly a reliable or unbiased source considering your dodgy posting history.

You can believe some. That Iran got connections, leverage and communications with Hamas is real enough. That it's an easy diplomatic gain for Iran, and a way off one hook for Hamas is easy to figure out.

Too many people, too noisy. Last time we attended (years ago) someone accidentally pushed Mrs. Morch off the curb and we had a not-so-fun night at the hospital. I did get cookie point for carrying her 'like a prince' (and a bad back too...). We'll stay at home, when the music hits too loud close windows and put our own (or headphones, whatever). Already had a nice lunch in a great place, good deserts and coffee drinks too. Still a bit of Apple Whiskey on hand for later this evening. Need to remember to let the dog in early *before* she panics from the inevitable fireworks. Got to hope no teenage couples sneak into the two almost finished houses next door to 'celebrate'. Bought two packs of condones to toss at them just in case - 7/11 girl was smirking, Mrs. Morch did a deadpan serious explanation/lecture and we had good laugh about it on the way home.

"Then I got Mary pregnant And, man, that was all she wrote And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat...."

So many option with 'here we go again'.....I chose this:

Hostages. Learn what the word means. It does imply that they did something wrong, committed crimes or anything of the sort. Trolling again.

Of course you did, and of course that was the correct interpretation. After all, who wouldn't trust your comments?

Which means less motivation to release hostages....

It might be more of a thing in some provinces/amphurs - where, traditionally, supporters of the party hail from.

Made further inquiries - the guy passed away last year, in his sleep and in the arms of his much younger (and apparently, nicer) girlfriend. May we all know such peace when our time comes. Turns out there was more to it than I was aware of - after the concrete/walls/roof steps, most of the other stuff he put by himself (knew he had good hands), and so dismantling the place with proper tools and know-how wasn't that hard. Some of the stuff went into the soil filled pool, other (like teak wood doors) was gifted to a local carpenter the (ex)wife had problems with, and same with other donations/gifts. And guess you had the right idea - sockets, toilets, sinks were plugged with concrete and so on. Quite a job, and the (ex)wife did I try to sue - which went nowhere (agreements such as yours in place). So long as you're legally covered, she's not around to cause trouble when you do this, and no one to alert her - sounds like a proper (and fun) manner of parting ways. Mrs. Morch enjoyed this story immensely (while noting that if we ever came to that, I'll be too lazy to do even half this <deleted>e).

It's actually not unreasonable. Not all of the kidnappers were Hamas men - some were PIJ, some private 'entrepreneurs' (Hamas promised to pay a nice sum for each hostage brought in) that came on the second/third mob wave rather than the main invasion force. Given Israeli bombing campaign went in full gear pretty shortly afterwards, Hamas not being in full control of things, communications broken and so on, it could very well be that they either do not know, or 'lost' some of the hostages held. Considers that on the Israeli side as well, some people thought to be kidnapped turned out to have died (and vice versa), some bodies of Hamas men/Gazans killed on Israeli soil mistaken for Israeli casualties, and so on. A good indication of Hamas not being fully in charge or in control of things would be their recent claims about aid trucks not reaching north Gaza (which turned out to be wrong). All of this doesn't not absolve Hamas of responsibility for the safety and well-being of the hostages. For all of the attempts to play it cool (and Sinwar is good at that), they're on the run, and are being (slowly, but methodically) being driven to a corner.

Yes, this was actually pointed out to us by the helpful Bangkok Bank official before moving funds for land and house. The land was bought pretty quickly, the house maybe 5-6 years later on (the Mrs. being the Mrs. was stressed about this, I naturally forgot all about it).

Other than my own savings, and meager government allocation (not exactly pension, more like disability compensation) I am able to withdraw from our mutual family account back home, as needed. We set this up years ago, for various reasons, and it works well enough given everyone is sensible, and relationships solid. I put a few large lump sum into that years ago, nowadays more of a beneficiary when needed. Since some years back, I'm not officially an owner of the account (too much hassle back home whenever some action needed and my signature/approval demanded). If I understand correctly, future transfers from this source could easily be construed as 'gifts' from family members, therefore either inuring a low tax rate, or none at all (depending on sums involved)? And if I was to use an associated credit card, that too would be unlikely to pop on the RD's radar (again, not for large sums)? And both these paths applicable either to my own bank account here or Mrs. Morch's? My set of mind is that I'm willing to pay up (up to a point, anyway) if it saves me bureaucracy and hassles. So if the tax thing isn't too bad, I may be inclined to just pay instead of getting all the paperwork form back home regarding how my money is managed/sourced. Could be wrong, but if one is lazy (guilty) and not wealthy (me, again) then maybe not much of a difference between paying up and hiring an accountant. What I don't want is to be too bothered, or face some serious legal issues down the road. Seeing as the land and house are paid for, and our needs aren't extravagant, there aren't any expected huge expenditures or investments on the horizon - so seems like a good chance nothing much would change.Sometimes I'm happy that the few business initiatives offered/planned here didn't come about, makes life simpler. Edit: Money back home is (heavily) taxes already, and there's a tax agreement with Thailand in place.

OP - told your story to a friend here (not a member of this forum), and he reminded me of a mutual acquaintance, who was in a somewhat similar situation to yours (much younger wife, though, if of dubious background). That ended with the (ex)-wife and her 'cousin' getting a bare-boned house. No fixtures, no doors, no window panes, taps dismantled. Hired a small macro to take out larger plants from garden (donated), then filled the already drained pool with the left over soil (as you mentioned, pump taken as well). As far as I understand he's at the other side of the country nowadays, with a younger girlfriend, and a smaller house - I would guess both 'rentals'.

At it's peak the reserve recruitment thing was said to be 300,000 - and many were sent home after the ground offensive was in place. What did happen was that about 200,000-300,000 civilians were evacuated from areas (south and north) near war zones - and that relevant government offices were exposed as being quite useless addressing issues resulting from both circumstances. Things are slowly getting back on track, but there will definitely be some economic setback. Given the current government's already controversial budget allocations and economic policies (aimed at pacifying coalition partners) which resulted in warning signs regarding the country's credit rating - things could get worse down the road.

Guess better late than never.... Gaza: Findings on October 17 al-Ahli Hospital Explosion https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/26/gaza-findings-october-17-al-ahli-hospital-explosion Always the same with these numpties.

Israeli-linked oil tanker seized off the coast of Aden, Yemen, intelligence firm says https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/israeli-linked-oil-tanker-seized-off-coast-aden-105160009 That would be the second ship hijacked by Yemen. Another one was attacked by an Iranian drone a few days ago.

Hamas is a terrorist organization. Violent forms of 'resistance' are generally outlawed pretty much everywhere, and under whatever legal system. Back under your bridge, please.

Did Hamas offer any hostage exchanges prior to the Israeli ground move?

https://aseannow.com/topic/1312538-israel-is-at-war-general-discussion-pt2/page/4/#comment-18512506