Healthcare, God, Politicians and Cats - I'm back!

[Tony Walker]

OK, settle down and pay attention. Oi! You at the back, stop examining your navel and listen up.

After an exhausting 18 days in England, I'm back, and what do I find here in the WB? Not a lot, I'm afraid. No new thought-provoking propositions that God is an invention of the Devil, or that writing is dead easy, so we'd all better keep our yaps shut, or the rest of the world may find out.

We stayed at the Strand Palace Hotel in London, just across the Strand from the Savoy, which was closed for refurbishment, or I'd have had my usual river view suite there. Just round the corner was Covent Garden, which is full of delightful watering holes like the Essex Serpent (bangers and mash there are very good), the Nell Gwynn, and the Punch & Judy, where, from the terrace bar, you can watch the buskers perform in St. Paul's church portico.

My travels took me to the British Library, where I renewed my reader's card, which is necessary if you want to carry out serious research. We also visited Ben Franklin's museum, which is in Craven Street, just off the Strand. The house is the only one still standing anywhere that has a connection with Ben, who was, incidentally, also working for British Intelligence when he was in France. The presentation in the museum is superb, with audio-visual effects, and an actress playing the part of his landlady, who guides you round the house.

Also, despite the fact that I'm a card-carrying atheist, I did visit a number of churches, ranging from St. Paul's Cathedral to "St. Ghastly Grim" (Google it if you're interested) in the City of London. I also visited Postman's Park, where there is a sad little collection of plaques in memory of those who died trying to save others (click on the link below to see sample picture).

Halfway through our trip, we visited York, my home town, where we visited many of the historic places of my youth, like the Waggon and Horses, the Punch Bowl, the Old Starre Inne, the Plumbers Arms, the Victoria Vaults, the White Swan (better known as the "Mucky Duck"), and the Three Legged Mare. Drink was taken in all these places ....

So now I'm back, like a giant refreshed, and ready for the fray, so here's something for you to mull over as you sit in front of the trough, gazing vacantly at the TV ...

In the time we were in England, I can honestly say that I didn't see too many bubble-butted, Spandex-stretching women there. In fact, I thought that the women, especially in London, dressed remarkably well (black tights and/or leggings are the 'in' thing').

My question is this; why are so many young women here so bloody badly dressed?

[Tony Walker]

Alvin said (once again at interminable length):
"1. America the Beauty—there’s not now, nor has there ever been anything like it; none of its people groups today, left to their own devices could ever duplicate it
2. I give you a world free from the hideousness, and the heinousness of the African slave trade—thanks to Wilberforce and the abolitionists
3. I give you a nation of two fundamental classes of people who shot themselves in the foot to decide the fate of another—history has never seen the likes (to my knowledge)
4. I give you a nation where women enjoy a freedom they could, for the most part, never hope to enjoy any where else on planet earth
5. I give you a nation whose freedom of speech is unparalleled; to educate and to apply that education in a virtually unlimited number of ways is unsurpassed (and yes, ancient cultures, including the Roman Catholics did the edu. thing, but, with a rope around the neck of every pupil and a sword, as it were to his throat, lest that edu. be used independent of accepted protocol; women were often denied edu., period)"

I'll answer these propositions in the order you gave them so:

1. There's nothing special or unique about the United States of America. It's a pleasant enough place, but the "freedoms" you enjoy, or boast that are unique to you, are in fact available in many other parts of the world.

2. The slave trade continues to this day, mainly in countries that are rich in oil, so the US Government keeps its trap shut on that one.

3. I'm presuming that you're referring to your Civil War, the War Between the States, or even, if you're a 'Johnny Reb', the 'War of Northern Aggression'. Have you never heard of the English Civil War, fought in the 1640s between forces loyal to the king and those who preferred to be ruled by parliamentary government? What about out 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688 - ever heard of that? How about the French Revolution?

4. Women in most civilized parts of the world enjoy just as much, if not more freedom than they do here.

5. Once again, you're letting blind patriotic emotion get in the way of facts. All the things you mention are available in other parts of the world.

The main reason this country stands at the top of the list of powerful nations right now has nothing to do with your "unique" character traits. It all boils down to one thing: Location . While we Europeans were wasting time in wars between ourselves, this country was sitting back and doing what you do best; trading, usually with both sides. Nothing wrong with that; why should you get involved in other people's quarrels?

The consequence of this was that your country was never invaded, was never blockaded, and was never bombed on a nightly basis. You didn't have to rebuild your country from nothing after WW1 and WW2 - the countries of Europe did (with a lot of help from the USA via the Marshall Plan).

You're a nice bunch of people, despite your overly-superstitious proclivities, but don't think that you are unique amongst the nations. Remember, you're on top now, but so was the Roman Empire; so was the Ottoman Empire; the Spanish Empire, and the British Empire. Whatever happened to them?

... by the way, you still haven't provided me, or my fellow non-believers, with one iota of proof to back up your statements. Here's one you might like to answer: why were none of the "miracles" supposedly brought to the attention of the occupying forces (Roman) in Palestine. Surely raising old Lazarus from the dead would have made headlines, and been reported back to Rome.

... or was Lazarus merely sleeping off a heavy night on the wine? - maybe the stuff that your mate JC transformed from water - or maybe he was wearing his earplugs when his wife tried to wake him up.

Give us some contemporary written records of the years CE 30-33, preferably from people who were there, not those who heard it years later.

Until then, your case is not proven.

[Blindogg]

Great balls of fire - these christian types do love to pontificate. Those soliloquies would make the Bard himself envious and they worked - I have decided to convert.

Where do I sign.

I've decided to take the advice of my father (the bookie) and hedge my bets. I'm going to split my devotional time equally between christianity, buddhism, islam and the Order of the Pussy.

The way I see it - I've got a one-in-four chance of getting past that Afterlife Velvet Rope (or at least into Scotsdale, Arizona)

[Rianna]

I think the whole point of the endless rambling is that most people, if forced to listen to this psycho babble, would convert simply to shut them up. Unfortunately many have not figured out yet that when the babble makes its way to a computer screen, we can simply browse to another page rather than give up our money and virgins as offerings.

[Mark P. Henderson]

Perhaps I can clarify this issue about the existence of God. A simple mathematical argument settles it.

Consider the following puzzle: what are the chances of an event of probability p occurring at least once during 1/p trials? For example, roll a die six times - what are the chances that you'll get at least one six? When you've worked out the formula for this (it isn't difficult), extend the puzzle: what are the chances that an event of probability zero will occur at least once during an infinite number of trials? (It's the same puzzle, but now you've reduced p to zero.)

The answer, to save you producing too much scrap paper and blunting your pencil, is (e-1)/e, where e is Euler's number (a bit more than 2.7). This works out to roughly 0.63.

Now, if the probability that the universe sprang into existence spontaneously (i.e. was not created) is taken to be zero (a reasonable estimate), but there have been an infinite number of moments in which it could have done so, then the probability that the universe was not created but came spontaneously into existence is roughly 0.63. If the universe was not created then we may reasonably assume it had no creator, i.e. there is no God. So the probability that God does not exist is about 0.63.

It follows that the probability that God exists is roughly 0.37.

The probability of the existence of cats, however, is 1. Cats leave you in no doubt whatsoever that they exist.

:-)

[Alvin Mitchell]

Thus, if indeed God is--per our friend Mr. Walker's scourful analogy--an Almighty "Cat", he has therefore solved his own conundrun. Brilliant! Thank you sir!

Mark P. Henderson said:

Perhaps I can clarify this issue about the existence of God. A simple mathematical argument settles it.

The probability of the existence of cats, however, is 1. Cats leave you in no doubt whatsoever that they exist.

:-)

[Mari Sloan]

I was in London many years ago and did all of my traveling on the Underground and I never noticed anyone talking while on the subway at all. The silence was deafening. If Londoners talk at all on the subway now, they are far louder than in 1990.

Tony Walker said:

For those intellectual giants among us who think that God really is a cat, I've attached a photo I took at Samuel Johnson's house in Gough Square, London. The picture is of the statue of Johnson's cat, Hodge, who was, to quote the immortal doctor; "A very fine cat indeed".

Another thing I noticed, which was also noticed by our two American friends who came with us to London. We traveled around on the buses or the tube (subway), and even though they were crowded, the levels of conversation overheard never once hit the decibel levels experienced here in the USA. So, here's my question:

Why do you all talk so loudly? Is it because of the vast amounts of open spaces here? Are you determined to drown out everybody else? I'm not trying to be insulting (really). Go to any restaurant, from McShite to upscale, and you can nearly always follow a conversation that's going on three tables away.

Any answers?

[Tony Walker]

Well, Mari, if you thought that the "silence was deafening", you must have had earplugs in! The rattling rumble of the steel wheels over the tracks is loud enough to drown out most normal levels of conversation, but conversations do go on - I know - I've taken part in 'em!

Perhaps your American ears weren't tuned in to the quieter (but more mellifluous) tones of the Londoners.

Blimey, gel - wosserma'er wiv yer?

Buy my books and make me as rich as the unseeing canine ....

www.tonywalkerbooks.com

[Alvin Mitchell]

Speaking of which Tony, curiosity has got the best of me: How are your books doing? Are they sellin' like hot cakes on your site? Are you having any luck with Dana's "netcarnation" project?

Tony Walker said:

BR>
Blimey, gel - wosserma'er wiv yer?

Buy my books and make me as rich as the unseeing canine ....

www.tonywalkerbooks.com