ColinEssex said:
what about religion? did we finish the christmas discussion
Yep, I think dan-cat took care of that.
ColinEssex said:
or how about people not thinking ahead - then building houses of wood in tornado alley - I know wood is plentiful and cheap (as most things are in the USA) but surely in tornado alley a good brick built house may be favourable. better still, why live there in the first place?
Tornados tend to do very little damage to anything that isn't very close to the funnel, and if the funnel passes straight over your house anything less than a steel and concrete bunker will probably be wiped out. So using brick isn't much of a solution. As far as why live there in the first place? Tornado Alley constitutes roughly 1/3 of the country.
Tornado Activity
Applying the same logic, we could ask why anyone lives in California with all the earthquakes, the southwest because of drought and dangerous heat, the gulf and southern east coast because of hurricanes, and the north because of terrible cold and blizzards. Basically, 99% of the U.S. would be uninhabitable if we didn't put some effort into adapting to the environment.
To additionally answer your question, the bulk of the best farmland in the country dwells in Tornado Alley (which stands to reason as large scapes of flat, open land are prone to storms that breed tornadoes), so that's why people settled there.
ColinEssex said:
have we discussed Iraq? and the expensive holiday the US troops are getting there for free?
No, I don't think you've mentioned that. But I'm sure any soldier would love to describe the wonderful time s/he's having for you.
ColinEssex said:
how will the billions spent on the USA Mars rocket benefit me?
The Chronological Encyclopedia of Discoveries in Space
Enjoy.
ColinEssex said:
why are diner cafes in the USA always old railway carriages (cars)?
For the same reason there's about $40 million in TBMs under the Chunnel.
ColinEssex said:
are most people millionaires in the USA? due mainly to the generosity of the US courts in claims cases plus the courts rigid distribution of wealth policy?
Hmmm....I'm not sure about this one. Tell ya what, I'll ask my sister-in-law (whose mastectomy and implant surgery was botched, is in a tremndous amount of medical bill debt and has continuous and constant health problems, but was unable to recover a single cent from the "doctor" - who has an extraordinary history of lawsuit involvement - because of a procedural technicality) what she thinks and get back to you.
ColinEssex said:
why bother to have central park in New York if its too dangerous to set foot in there? why not make it a car park or something worthwhile that will be used
It's dangerous to go into Central Park at night alone...just like almost any urban neighborhood. It's just fine during the day. The only reason it's so famous is because it's surrounded by the wealthiest borrough of one of the largest cities in the world. Not to mention that, according to 1999 data, 7.2% of violent crimes in the U.S. occured in parking lots or garages as opposed to 2.7% in yards, fields, parks and playgrounds.
Source: US DoJ - See Table 61 on Page 66
...
I gotch-yo back, Kenizzle.