Author Archives: Editor

Venezuela, Maduro, the Dollar, and What This Is Really About

Over the past few weeks, the United States has intervened militarily in Venezuela, removed its sitting president, and announced that it will oversee the country’s future administration and economic direction. The action has been justified publicly using a familiar mix of arguments: alleged election fraud, drug trafficking, terrorism, and national security.

Those claims have been repeated widely, often without scrutiny. They are not new, and they are not unique to Venezuela. Similar language has accompanied US interventions for decades, from Latin America to the Middle East.

This article looks at what sits beneath those justifications.… Click here to continue reading this article

How High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs) Use Hong Kong Insurance to Transfer Wealth

Hong Kong Insurance: Circumventing Probate, Inheritance Tax, and Government Oversight to Bequeath Wealth Quietly

In the UK, much of Europe, and the Anglosphere generally, life insurance is still treated as a fairly dull product. A payout on death, maybe some mortgage cover, maybe a few grand for a funeral. In Hong Kong and much of Asia, it plays a very different role. It is not just protection. It is infrastructure. It is asset protection. It is privacy wisdom. It is an inter-generational investment vehicle.

Recent reporting in the South China Morning Post highlights how life insurance has become one of the primary tools used by high-net-worth individuals across mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to transfer wealth to the next generation.… Click here to continue reading this article

RUAdventures.com Forum Newsletter – Winter 2025

News from RUAdventures and the wider forum world

Dear Member,

We only tend to send a newsletter every year or two, as most of you know. The last was in the summer. However, events over the last week or so in the wider forum ecosystem have prompted this one.

RWD goes dark with a peevish whimper

As some of you may already know, Russian Women Discussion (RWD) was another long-running forum that covered Russia, Ukraine and the old “mail order bride” scene. Many of our members were active there at various points.… Click here to continue reading this article

How to Fix the Mail Queue Bug in SMF 2.1.5 and 2.1.6

Fixing the Mail Queue Bug in SMF 2.1.5 and 2.1.6

The Problem

After upgrading your Simple Machines Forum (SMF) to version 2.1.5 or 2.1.6, you may have noticed that emails are getting stuck in the mail queue and never sending. This affects:

Registration confirmation emails
Password reset emails
Topic notifications
Private message notifications
Forum newsletters

When you check Admin → Maintenance → Mail → Browse Queue, emails just sit there. Clicking “Send Mail Queue Now” does nothing. There are no error messages in your error log, making this bug particularly frustrating to troubleshoot.… Click here to continue reading this article

Bentley Continental Flying Spur Review – A Lot of Car for the Money

The Bentley Continental Flying Spur is one of those cars that makes you stop scrolling on Auto Trader. You spot one sitting there for about ten or twelve grand, sometimes even under ten, and think, “Hang on, that cannot be right.” A proper Bentley, twelve cylinders, four wheel drive, leather everywhere, all for the price of a used Fiesta?

The one in the photos here and the video below happens to be a 2006 car, but the same broad truths apply to all of them. These things were once the preserve of hedge fund managers and Premier League footballers.… Click here to continue reading this article

Nochex Acquired by PAYSTRAX: A New Chapter or Just a Fresh Logo?

So Nochex has been bought by PAYSTRAX. Let’s delve into that and what it means if you are a Nochex customer.

Back in 2011, I wrote a fairly candid review of Nochex after some mixed experiences with their seller and merchant accounts. To their credit, they engaged with me at the time, sorted things out, and we have kept a Nochex seller account ever since as a backup provider on some of our sites, and on Romancart for bespoke orders.… Click here to continue reading this article

Disable RSS Feeds in WordPress: Why and How (2025 Guide)

Should You Disable RSS Feeds on Your WordPress Blog?

RSS feeds were once seen as the future of online publishing. Back in the early 2000s, people subscribed to blogs in feed readers and pulled in updates without ever visiting a site. That era has long passed. By 2025 hardly anybody uses RSS, yet WordPress still enables feeds by default on every blog.

So the question is, should you leave them on or turn them off?

What RSS Feeds Do in WordPress

WordPress automatically creates feeds for your posts, categories, tags, and comments.… Click here to continue reading this article

Getty Images Demand Letters UK: A Guide for Website Owners

Clown surprised by Getty Images demand letter, satirical illustration.

Getty Images Demand Letters in the UK: what they are, how to avoid them, and what to do if one lands

If you run a website in the UK, there is a fair chance you will see a copyright demand letter sooner or later. Many small site owners open an email that looks very official, full of legal language, and demanding hundreds or even thousands of pounds for a single image. Getty Images letters are the most talked about.

On the surface, it feels like do not argue, just pay. The reality is messier.… Click here to continue reading this article

Illegal Immigration, British Decline, and the Trump Lesson

Britain’s Comedy, Chaos, and the Trump Envy Nobody Admits

For nearly a decade — ever since Donald Trump emerged as a political force in 2016 — the British liberal establishment has made a national sport out of mocking him. “That funny orange man” has become the punchline for every lazy, state-subsidised left-wing comic. It’s been the shortcut to a cheap laugh on the BBC panel shows and in the Guardian columns. British comedy hasn’t been this hollow in decades.

But here’s the thing: he who laughs last, or not at all, laughs longest.… Click here to continue reading this article

Poor Neutrals, Cable Failures, and Substandard Repairs in the Electrical Trade

This article looks at some of the problems we keep seeing in electrical work today — and how poor cables, lazy installs, and ignored safety checks are putting people at risk.

There’s growing concern in the electrical trade about the standard of some of the work being carried out. From poor-quality wiring and substandard appliance cables to unqualified contractors bodging repairs, it’s clear that corners are being cut in ways that could be dangerous.

One issue that’s coming up more often is poor workmanship around neutral connections.… Click here to continue reading this article

Privacy Wisdom by Info-Assist Ltd Wanted.

Privacy Wisdom (Info-Assist Ltd) – Wanted to Buy (Up the System! series, Chris Callow, Lee Morris, Goldstone Books)

We are looking to buy a copy of an out-of-print 1990s publication titled Privacy Wisdom, published by Info-Assist Ltd.

Privacy Wisdom was produced in the mid-1990s as part of a small series titled Up the System! The book is A4 in size and has a yellow cover. It is now out of print.

Names and terms people search for

If you have landed here after searching any of the following, you are in the right place:

Privacy Wisdom Info-Assist Ltd
Privacy Wisdom Chris Callow
Up the System!

… Click here to continue reading this article

Local SEO: Google Business & Hyperlocal Tips

How to Future-Proof Your Local SEO Strategy

Whether you’re running a nationwide franchise or a single-location business, local SEO is moving fast — and staying visible in search means staying ahead of the curve. From Google’s evolving use of AI to the rise of alternative search engines like Perplexity and ChatGPT, here’s how to stay competitive now and in the years ahead.

What’s Changing in Local SEO and Search?

Google is already experimenting with AI-generated overviews in some local search queries, and while these haven’t rolled out everywhere yet, it’s clear where things are heading.… Click here to continue reading this article

RussianWomenDiscussion.com is Gone – Join the Last MOB Forum That Still Works

RussianWomenDiscussion.com Down? Join the Forum That Still Works

RussianWomenDiscussion.com Has Closed: What Happened And Where To Go Now

If you spent any time in the online communities dedicated to Russia, Ukraine, the wider FSU, often still called the mail-order bride (MOB) scene, you will recognise the name RussianWomenDiscussion.com. For over twenty years, it was one of the central forums in that niche, taking its place among a succession of sites that rose, grew large, and eventually disappeared.

In its final years, the site became increasingly difficult to load. Visitors encountered expired SSL certificates, half-rendered pages, broken image links and stalled requests that suggested a forum running on software from another era.… Click here to continue reading this article

What to Do After Uploading a YouTube Video – The Complete Guide to Boosting Views and Growth

You’re looking to grow your YouTube channel. If you’re a small or growing YouTuber, you already know the effort it takes to create a great video. But what you do after hitting “publish” is just as important as the video itself.

Far too many creators upload a video, share it once, and simply hope for the best. Then they wonder why their views stall at 17. If that sounds familiar, this guide is for you.

In this article, we’ll walk through the complete post-upload strategy that helped drive millions of views across multiple videos.… Click here to continue reading this article

From “Who Are You?” to “What Have You Done?” — How Reform UK Might Hand Us a Muslim Prime Minister

From “Who Are You?” to “What Have You Done?” — How Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Might Hand Us a Muslim Prime Minister (and Nobody Voted for It)

I remember the moment vividly. Nigel Farage standing in the European Parliament, eyes burning with righteous indignation, and uttering the immortal words: “Who are you?” A question not just aimed at a faceless EU bureaucrat, but at the whole rotten edifice of supranational overreach. It was beautiful. It was bold. And to those of us who had grown weary of the establishment, it was a rallying cry.… Click here to continue reading this article

Taking Amazon to County Court: Settling and Getting Paid – Part 5

Taking Amazon to County Court: Settling, Getting Paid and What Happens If You End Up in Court

This is part five of a guide for Amazon UK FBA or FBM sellers on taking Amazon to County Court. Part one is here: How to Sue Amazon UK as a Seller – Part 1

As we covered in Part Four and earlier in this series, Amazon and Eversheds will leave everything to the last minute. That is their standard playbook. But the chances are, after a few weeks of back and forth and just a few days before the scheduled mediation, you will have come down a bit, and they will have come up a bit.… Click here to continue reading this article

Taking Amazon to Small Claims Court as a UK Seller – Part 4

Are you an Amazon UK seller looking to take them to the Small Claims Court? This is part four of a guide for Amazon UK FBA or FBM sellers on taking Amazon to County Court. Part one is here: How to Sue Amazon UK as a Seller – Part 1

Negotiating a Settlement and Completing the Directions Questionnaire

In Part One, we covered gathering evidence and sending a Notice Before Action.
In Part Two, we covered filing your claim.
In Part Three, we explored Amazon’s defence and the opening of communications with Eversheds.… Click here to continue reading this article

Taking Amazon to County Court: A UK Seller Guide – Part 3

Now you get to meet Amazon’s cadre of corporate lawyers: Eversheds.

So you are a seller on Amazon UK and want to take them to County Court? This is part three of a guide for Amazon UK FBA or FBM sellers on taking Amazon to County Court. Part one is here: How to Sue Amazon UK as a Seller – Part 1

We discussed evidence collection and serving your “Notice Before Action” in part one. We discussed filing your claim in part two. Here we will discuss what happens next.

The first thing to remember is that the lawyers you are about to encounter are just doing their job.… Click here to continue reading this article

How to Take Amazon UK to County Court as a Seller – Part 2

So you want to sue Amazon? This is part two of a guide for Amazon UK FBA or FBM sellers on taking Amazon to County Court. Part one is here: How to Sue Amazon UK as a Seller – Part 1

We discussed evidence collection and serving your “Notice Before Action” in part one. Here we will discuss what is likely to happen next.

When Amazon receives your Notice Before Action, assuming they don’t just ignore it (which they certainly will if you named the wrong entity – see part one), they may have someone from a department called Executive Escalations reach out to you to see if they can solve the issue.… Click here to continue reading this article

How to Sue Amazon UK as a Seller – Part 1

So you want to know how to sue Amazon? If you’re a seller on Amazon UK and need guidance on taking legal action in the County Court against Amazon, you’re in the right place. We’ve been through the process ourselves – and won.

If you are reasonably literate and your case is relatively straightforward, such as withheld stock or funds, you can likely handle it yourself without a solicitor. More complex cases may require legal assistance later, or even a barrister for a hearing. However, many disputes with Amazon UK can be resolved before reaching a hearing or arbitration.… Click here to continue reading this article