The very many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXIII

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Given your country is on the wrong side of the world, I wouldn't trust your fashion sense.:p
All that blood pooling in your brain.
 
Yeah, shorts styles for guys were different in the 70s and 80s. I have never liked these stupids shorts that go to the knees, but that's what we get for guys now. Sucks.

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Even marathons hire security.
They do. But very few dead people run in marathons.

I can see, though, that the powers that be didn't want some disaffected demonstrations disrupting Thatcher's funeral. But to the tune of £3.6 million?!
 
Over here in North America security primarily protects living, breathing people. Is it different across the pond?
 
Thatcher's funeral cost £3.6 million. What? Why?

Security, they say. What did they fear? Assassination?

edit: or maybe someone stealing the body, and later claiming she was still alive? Hmmm.

I felt it was money well spent, those who liked Thatcher were content she had a good send off, those who had no strong feelings either way could watch an impressive bit of ceremony (something, it has to be said, we do rather well) and those who disliked Thatcher can take comfort in an image of her turning in her grave at the thought of so much public money being spent at her expense :)

Security-wise, I think that kind of pretty much standard for any sort of ceremonial occasion. The anti-Thatcher crowds never materialised to disrupt it, but then the organisers couldn't be sure they wouldn't turn up in droves. Also, with that many people in a small area, many of them "people of importance", makes it the perfect opportunity for a potential terrorist or some disillusioned misanthope or someone to cause maximum panic and injury at minimal expense and security must be ramped up accordingly
 
Over here in North America security primarily protects living, breathing people. Is it different across the pond?

Yeah I don't think the security was there to protect the dead body of Thatcher yer derp. Maybe the array of British political elites and politicians from around the world? Ought they be protected? And isn't it clear they're potential targets for terrorists?

Anyway I have a question.

PISA tests 15 year olds in science, maths and reading skills from around the world and publishes these results in a league table. How valid are these league tables? What are the major objections to the reliability of these findings?
 
PISA tests 15 year olds in science, maths and reading skills from around the world and publishes these results in a league table. How valid are these league tables? What are the major objections to the reliability of these findings?

That Norway does so badly in them :shifty:
 
I recall hearing a while back that if or when a person becomes homeless, they usually won't live past another five years if their homelessness is permanent, even in a first world society. Is there any truth to it?
 
^It depends. Homeless people do have an alarmingly reduced life expectancy in general, but I've known one or two homeless people who seem quite at home (!) in the great outdoors and have lived successfully like that for several decades. (And finding somewhere (like prison) to overwinter seems to be essential.) You do have to be quite a hardy and resourceful person to do it, though.

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It's from here, which has now been closed; otherwise I'd ask there.

It has to be something really obvious, but I don't get it.

Is it pornographic, if I squint my eyes enough?
 
It is bad ASCII art of a thumbs-up.
 
Oh. Thanks.

I wouldn't have known.

I was quite perplexed; now I'm a bit disappointed.
 
^It depends. Homeless people do have an alarmingly reduced life expectancy in general, but I've known one or two homeless people who seem quite at home (!) in the great outdoors and have lived successfully like that for several decades. (And finding somewhere (like prison) to overwinter seems to be essential.) You do have to be quite a hardy and resourceful person to do it, though.

Where I grew up, we had an old man who lived on the streets with his bicycle and his dog. I remember asking a policeman about him and being told that he had been an admiral during the war, lost his son at sea and subsequently taken to living as he did. He must have lasted well over a decade like that, just doing the maths.
 
Yes. There's no reason that it can't be done. It is after all just camping out. And if people can survive in the Arctic and up the Himalayas it should be fairly easy on the streets of London.

The trouble is that a lot of derelicts have multiple personality and physical handicaps that would likely shorten their lives anyway.
 
The usual problem is that there are far more unscrupulous people in London than there are in the Arctic, but the police knew this man and generally kept an eye on him. He didn't trouble anyone, so most people left him alone - mind you, this was a relatively sleepy mining village rather than the middle of Glasgow.
 
In an essay I'm writing for PoliSci I need to critique an IR theory* and the author is bringing up the "protestant work ethic". I could have sworn this concept is pretty heavily discredited but a JSTOR and google search isn't turning up much of anything. Any advice on how to critique the 'protestant work ethic' or sources I can use? It isn't critical to my essay but considering I dislike Fukuyama's essay as much as I dislike Huntington it would be nice to have some more info to throw at him.


*Francis Fukuyama "End of History" for those interested.
 
Any advice on how to critique the 'protestant work ethic' or sources I can use?

look harder "no pain no gain" "hard work never killed anyone" "life was not meant to be easy":D
 
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