> There has not been a real democracy since Athens, and it worked in Athens
> because to be a citizen the laws were strict.
It’s way OT, but I can’t let this pass.
The Athens to which you refer was a slave-owning society in which slaves,
women and lots of other people did not have a vote. This is not what most
people mean when they rave about the putative virtues of democracy.
And here I was think’n that this thread was worthless…
Thanks, Aardvark, for adding a word to my vocabulary. 
Main Entry: pu·ta·tive
Pronunciation: 'pyü-t&-tiv
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin putativus,
from Latin putatus, past participle of putare to think
Date: 15th century
1 : commonly accepted or supposed
2 : assumed to exist or to have existed
- pu·ta·tive·ly adverb
-Christopher
Alan also being the only person to use ‘colocutor’ on this forum!
Ancient Athens was not a democracy in the sense in which we use the word today. Only a tiny proportion of people had the vote. Much of the population was either in a form of serfdom or a form of slavery. Women were treated with contempt.
How different that is from a proper democracy as we know it today, where only a tiny proportion of people bother to vote, most of the population has little economic mobility, and women are heavily outnumbered in positions of authority and power.
We have much better cheeseburgers, MP3 players, carbon fiber unicycles, hollywood blockbusters all year round, and a dizzying array of pornographic web sites to choose from?
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
Re: [OT] Re: Unicycle bumper sticker
>> Thanks, Aardvark, for adding a word to my vocabulary.
Thank you for drawing attention to the most important word in my post.
I could talk about this subject all day, but this is not the correct forum.
Arnold the Aardvark
The problem with being the Witchfinder
General is that you have to keep finding
witches, or you’re out of a job.
Re: [OT] Re: Unicycle bumper sticker
Arnold the Aardvark wrote:
> I could talk about this subject all day,
It’s true. He could talk about any subject all day.
> but this is not the correct forum.
No, he saves it for unicycle rides.
> Arnold the Aardvark
Regards,
Mark.
Re: [OT] Re: Unicycle bumper sticker
> No, he saves it for unicycle rides.
Not all of us are single-minded "uber-athletes. Some of us like a
bit of socialising. Admittedly, US foreign policy and the case for bombing
Israel instead of Iraq might have been a bit much without a beer in hand…
Re: [OT] Re: Unicycle bumper sticker
Arnold the Aardvark wrote:
> Not all of us are single-minded "uber-athletes. Some of us like a
> bit of socialising.
I guess your use of exaggeration and understatement average out…
> Admittedly, US foreign policy and the case for bombing
> Israel instead of Iraq might have been a bit much without a beer in hand…
>
Dear Echelon, I do not know this man. I have never met him. His views
are his and his alone.
Regards,
Mark.
I had the joy of riding with Alan and sharing a spot of ice cream with him when he was in the US. I don’t understand the attitude of some of you Brits. Talking to Alan was a real pleasure. The listening was a bit tedious but my mind began wandering after awhile so I was OK.
Re: [OT] Re: Unicycle bumper sticker
On Fri, 08 Nov 2002 14:26:58 +0000, Mark Wiggins
<M.Wiggins@ftel.co.uk> wrote:
>Dear Echelon, I do not know this man. I have never met him. His views
>are his and his alone.
–
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has not been
picked automagically from a database:”
“Mark Wiggins, Arnold the Aardvark, bombing Iraq”
You’re my hero, Klaas “Echelon” Bill! 21 Monkey salute!
-Christopher