11-09-2010, 09:05 PM
Whist I sympathise with your views, Henk, it should be remembered that:-
A) It is not just preservation of of archaeology that suffers from corruption and inefficiency - the whole 'system' from the government down does.......
B) Italy has more Art/Archaeology than the rest of Europe put together to preserve.....and one of the smaller European economies to do it with! Not just ancient either. All that mediaeval stuff, and renaissance, and baroque.... then there's the Art.....consider Florence alone - stuffed to the gills with Art, Archaeology and Architecture - imagine the cost of preserving just the art, never mind the fabric of the city !! And there's Rome........and don't even consider Venice - still sinking, by the way !!!!!!
Thus, if you managed to succeed Signor Berlosconi as 'Consul", with all the best will in the world, you would not be able to achieve much......
It needs willpower and money on a 'world scale' ( How about taking over the oil companies and making their entire profits over to "World heritage !???)' :evil: :twisted: :twisted:
Jasper, I suppose you realise the flaw with your Maths/Genetics statement? Whilst theoretically possible, in fact that number you quote supposes all those people are different individuals, but in reality once you start going back a few generations, the 'gene pool' gets very limited generally - basically people within walking distance of your village, which leads to a lot of 'in-breeding' and the inevitable 'village idiot'.
From a genetic viewpoint, war and the occasional invasion from time to time, with all the village women given an influx of new genes from 'foreigners' is a good thing !!
D lol: :lol:
A) It is not just preservation of of archaeology that suffers from corruption and inefficiency - the whole 'system' from the government down does.......
B) Italy has more Art/Archaeology than the rest of Europe put together to preserve.....and one of the smaller European economies to do it with! Not just ancient either. All that mediaeval stuff, and renaissance, and baroque.... then there's the Art.....consider Florence alone - stuffed to the gills with Art, Archaeology and Architecture - imagine the cost of preserving just the art, never mind the fabric of the city !! And there's Rome........and don't even consider Venice - still sinking, by the way !!!!!!
Thus, if you managed to succeed Signor Berlosconi as 'Consul", with all the best will in the world, you would not be able to achieve much......
It needs willpower and money on a 'world scale' ( How about taking over the oil companies and making their entire profits over to "World heritage !???)' :evil: :twisted: :twisted:
Jasper, I suppose you realise the flaw with your Maths/Genetics statement? Whilst theoretically possible, in fact that number you quote supposes all those people are different individuals, but in reality once you start going back a few generations, the 'gene pool' gets very limited generally - basically people within walking distance of your village, which leads to a lot of 'in-breeding' and the inevitable 'village idiot'.
From a genetic viewpoint, war and the occasional invasion from time to time, with all the village women given an influx of new genes from 'foreigners' is a good thing !!
D lol: :lol:
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " - Horace
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
