[BITList] assets

[realm33 at msn.com]

hugh

highly amusing about the brain surgeon turned plumber. and right on about the marine engineer using his multi-talented arsenal to fix all from hydraulics to steam leaks via the messroom a/c and tunnel bearing. what an asset to society we are.

those common-sense ideas in denmark don't seem to travel well at all, too simple, too obvious, too unprofitable and finally too bloody honest.............

I agree, the us election circus is quite amazing, and to me ridiculous. literally millions of dollars are spent by each candidate with thousand of advisors and the like on the bad wagon. the reason for all this is not for democaritic altruism, as the innocent abroad may think.  it is because once one has become the pres of the USA, the pres n his family are set up for generations to come - it's the most long term lucrative job in the world.......

were you aware that there are TWO jumbo jets fitted out as flying white houses? there is an air force staff of over 1000 assigned, and I estimate the cost per year to the US taxpayer is a billion dollars. BOTH 747's are used everytime the pres leaves the USA - a fleet of tankers and support aircraft go ahead amd follow behind. the logistics for this charade is mid boggling

could you elaborate on, However, the hoi polloi get a vote in who will be president, not so here. I don't follow

colin t

PS I have ordered rls's Travels With a Donkey in the Cevennes - look forward to reading it asap.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: HUGH MCINTYRE<mailto:chakdara at btinternet.com> 
  To: bitlist at lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com<mailto:bitlist at lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com>  
  Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2008 9:18 AM
  Subject: Re: [BITList] plumbers


  Colin,

  I recall the story of the brain surgeon who called a plumber to fix a leak in an emergency and complained about the bill, "I'm a brain surgeon, and I don't make that kind of money."  Said the plumber, "Neither did I when I was a brain surgeon."  Of course, as a marine engineer I'm fixated on the idea of a plumber being someone who is not a coppersmith, and who makes and fits pipes for ships' engine rooms - once afloat, his job is done by an engineer.

  I'm all for low taxes, but I'm afraid a low tax economy leads to a low benefits culture - the money has to come from somewhere. The highest standard of life we ever had was in Denmark, and we certainly didn't pay low taxes.  Everything was costed and paid for - the rich paid tax through the nose and were still rich, and the poor paid no tax and got subsidies. Good housekeeping. Our radiators each had a device like a thermometer clamped on the front.  At the top of this device was a pinhole through which a purple fluid was allowed to evaporate. The radiators were supplied with a hot liquid, waste from the local power station, and on the day appointed a man came round and read the purple fluid level against a scale. This was subtracted from the previous reading, and all the results from everyone's radiators were added together and the total divided into the total cost of supplying the heating fluid to give a cost per notional unit.  This, multiplied by the number of such units from all of your radiators, was your bill, less tax if any.  When we left we got a bill for around 17 kroner (just less than £1) sent to us for a small amount of cleaning, and that included the sales tax (itemised) on a bottle of detergent.  A chap came to the door one day and told us our toilet cistern was leaking. We let him in, and so it was. I asked him how he'd known.  Our water consumption had taken a jump, he said, and that was the commonest cause.   As I said, good housekeeping.

  The circus element in US elections never ceases to amaze me.   However, the hoi polloi get a vote in who will be president, not so here.

  Hugh.

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