Ravishing Rabbit. By what authority do you claim that I am reading far more into PCar? I have spent years fending off his insults, taunts (or ignoring them).
We have different opinions about social media, just as we do about the BBC. I'll never convince you, you'll not convince me. VLD
There is no need to insult me vis safe spaces and UEA.

Jun 11, 2018 at 2:09 PM | Supertroll

I have never been to South America, but do not doubt that explanation.

Following the 1953 earthquake in Cephalonia, Levkas etc some stone churches were saved and repaired for their history and heritage value, but their bell towers were not. Low rise Bell towers were built very cheaply and simply using Mecanno style construction, that has flexed and groaned in every quake and tremor since, without collapsing.

I have never been to San Francisco, but their Earthquake Resistant building are designe to flex when shaken, rather than stay rigid until catastrophic failure occurs.

GolfCharlie. One of the more interesting facts I learned during I holiday spent touring Peru was that many of the internal pillars in some cathedrals were fake - made of wood and decorated as faux stone. This is because the sites are so earthquake prone that stone pillars are more expensive to replace and cause more casualties when they do collapse. Faux pillars are less expensive to replace and cause fewer deaths. I suppose the calculation is that stonework will survive many minor quakes before collapsing and causing major damage and loss of life. However in Peru major earthquakes are relatively frequent and less damage results over time by using wooden facsimiles.

Radical Rodent
Spot the difference competition

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/29/dont-trust-dont-fear-dont-beg-ben-stewart-review-greenpeace-arctic-30

"Was the original Prirazlomnoye action a failure, then, and did the activists spend three months in a Russian jail in vain? This is a difficult question to answer. Though you can’t expect Greenpeace’s head of media to spend too much time dwelling on it, Stewart acknowledges that some activists felt Greenpeace had not adequately thought through the possible repercussions of an action against a Russian oil platform. Either that, or Greenpeace knew exactly what was going to happen, and believed, without consulting the activists themselves, it was worth it."

Greenpeace need gullible fools to support their gullible idiots.

As I have previously said on this topic, I hope the UK sees more persistent offenders "Bound over to keep the Peace" or whatever the terminklogy is, with appropriate warnings and explanations about consequences put down in writing, and available for viewing by anyone.

This should be applied equally. This would benefit women who regularly turn up for work in dark glasses, because they waked into an open kitchen cupboard door the night before, the tenants of rogue landlords, Directors of Companies that keep going bust with massive debts, drivers driving whilst disqualified etc.

Maybe this does label me as "Hard Right", but the concept of "do that again, and YOU WILL GO STRAIGHT TO JAIL" would benefit all those who have to suffer/endure Persistent Profligate Offenders. Prison DOES NOT solve all problems, but it does offer respite for known victims, and those who would have become victims.

I don't think Greenpeace et al have returned to Russia. China and India do not offer them encouragement either.

Ravishing Rabbit. Try a bit of context. pCar's comment in context implies that the Left (all of it?) supports totalitarian states (and the Right doesn't?) I point out that the Right supports totalitarian states (eg those in the Middle East and central America). The comment was more or less meaningless but designed to be contrasty with his later incorrect assertions. Note I do not dispute that some of the left support some left totalitarian states.

With regard to TR. If they situation is as YOU say it is, then TR's brief would have had a cast iron case for release. Toot sweet! Strange this didn't happen. Your reading of the case would imply the judiciary are running amok. Guess I don't believe this. I trust social media even less than the BBC.

Jun 11, 2018 at 7:31 AM | Supertroll

I have never visited the Cathedrals of Norwich, Ely or Lincoln, have they survived?

The ancient Greeks built impressive structures, that had no resistance to earthquakes. In less Ancient times, and not necessarily employing less ancient builders, more modern Greeks have built less impressive structures, with no resistance to earthquakes until their Laws were changed 20-30(?) years ago.

The Islands including Cephalonia to the west of Greece, have very few buildings that pre date the 1953 earthquake that features in the book "Captain Corelli's Mandolin".

The Ancient Egyptians solved massive logistical problems with sound maths and mechanical engineering, but they were not good structural Engineers. They went for biggest and thickest is best. The best modern Egyptian engineers are good, but they don't work in Egypt.

The Romans were excellent engineers. They sussed out the arch, and developed it. An arch can cope with some movement from earthquakes, and even crack, without collapsing.

The Coliseum may look a bit tumbled down now, with large sections missing, but if you have ever walked from St Peters Rome, around the sides of the Vatican to get to the Sistine Chapel, some of those bricks look remarkably similar ......

It was not until the Normans invaded and spread their engineering all over Europe that construction techniques were rediscovered and updated. I would like to visit some of the "Crusader" (Norman) fortresses to the East of the Eastern Mediterranean. They were intended to be a health and safety risk to attack. They are, yet again, a health and safety risk to visit.

Jun 11, 2018 at 6:33 AM | Supertroll
Agree, totalitarian states are supported by all shades of the political spectrum. When it suits them they will replace one totalitarian regime with another. The most powerful states operate on a my enemies enemy is my friend and has been that way since Sumer and Elam opened hostilities if not before. Anyone thinking that only "the other side" support totalitarian regimes or our dictators are more democratic than their dictators has a very bad case of tunnel vision.

On a lighter note I see that the ESA Aeolus satellite is finally ready to go after 16* years development. The hope is that it will improve weather forecasting by providing better wind data. I more interested in what unexpected things that break current theories it detects.

* In any non-taxpayer funded project development would have been canned after 16 months without success, whether that's good or bad depends on your point of view on government funded research. I lean slightly towards the if it is proving difficult and expensive leave it for a bit and a solution will eventually come from somewhere else.