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Interesting thread. Over the past few days, I drafted two responses to it and decided to post neither. It just doesn't feel right to me to assume that all members of a group as large as European Muslims* think and act as one. Objectifying large numbers of people in this way has historically led to unpleasant consequences. *or European non-Muslims, or Christians, or Catholics, or Jews, or Republicans, or Democrats, or gays . . . Assimilation can take a generation or more and is often difficult for both assimilators and assimilatees. However, unless we don't really believe that the world is getting smaller and more interconnected as the days go by, it seems to me that we should work at learning how to do a better job of it. Refusing to lump other people together sounds like a good place to start. Who knows, perhaps the charming, worldly, and sociable gents of MER are just the ones to show how outreach should be done, one friendly hand at a time. PS: Sicilian Elephant is a new favorite mental image, rivaling one from many years ago in The New Yorker. During a circus parade, someone had given the lead elephant a loaf of French bread, and the writer said it looked like Sidney Greenstreet smoking a joint.

Russian hackers, no doubt.

The smile, dark glasses, and friendly wave were a given. The rest was a bluebird. (Nice legs, by the way.)

Glad you're back home, Zipperzone.

Armed only with his Baedeker's and a bottle of Gasex, OZ sets off in search of the perfect Masala Dosa

Come again?

Don't mean to give the impression that it's only healthy foods for me, or that we're all being poisoned by what we eat. It's just that I think it's good to be aware of what we put into our bodies and, when possible, go for the stuff that's closer to being 'real food'. if enough of us do that, food manufacturers may take notice. Some already have. I think our bodies have evolved to get nourishment from the food around us, and evolution takes time. It wouldn't surprise me if humans could evolve to take nourishment from some of the chemicals and fillers going into our food supply today, but I think it will take several generations to 'learn' how to safely metabolize ammonia and azodicarbonamide and such. In the meantime, this stuff could have some unpleasant consequences for the folks whose genes haven't caught up yet. If I can avoid eating these chemicals without a whole lot of trouble, I will. If not, I won't worry myself sick about it. Hopefully.

In the interest of accurate reporting (I hope Rupert Murdoch is paying attention), the poster (me) indicated that Coke may contain an ingredient made with ammonia. The uncertainty was based on the article TY posted about scary food additives, one of which was caramel coloring. It makes the point that suppliers of caramel coloring are not required to disclose whether or not it is made with ammonia, so manufacturers who use caramel coloring may not even know whether it's made with ammonia or not. Scary Ingredient #2: Caramel Coloring An artificial pigment created by heating sugars. Frequently, this process includes ammonia. . . . When made from straight sugar, it's relatively benign. But when produced with ammonia it puts off 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, chemicals that have been linked to cancer in mice. . . Unfortunately, companies aren't required to disclose whether their coloring is made with ammonia, so you'd be wise to avoid it as much as you can. As another poster (you) opined, Mexican Coke may well use caramel coloring that is not made with ammonia. Personally, I think ammonia is an acquired taste and would prefer that manufacturers package it separately and allow folks to add as little or as much as they like. Same with artificial flavors, artificial colors, Bisphenol A, insect fragments, and rodent droppings.

I believe they call it 'targeted selling'. Even when I'm alone, I can rarely finish blowing the foam off my café con leche without snaring at least one card for a rest home or a burial plot. In your case, I expect the interloper realized at a glance that you were a man with vision as well as the determination and wherewithal to realize your dreams. He would have been remiss in failing to seek your patronage. Leaving, as you did, in reserved silence seems to me like a very appropriate response to his intrusion, although you could also have asked the correct spelling of his name should you decide to take out a restraining order.

Apparently, when Rebekah Brooks announced to staff that the News of the World was closing, she said "Worse revelations are yet to come and you will understand in a year why we closed News of the World". I was struck by that statement and expect more shoes to drop over a period of time. Rupert Murdoch appears to have set journalism back a hundred years, and I regret that his tentacles extend to this country. Still, 'we the people' have to accept our share of the responsibility for agreeing to consume his tripe as if it's anything close to accurate reporting.

Reading articles like this, I often feel like such an outlier, as I can't see myself ever paying $700 a night to lay me down to sleep, especially in a country where a teacher's monthly income is less than that amount. I guess it's the difference between being a local and being an expat. When I travel, it's much more interesting for me to try living the way a middle- to upper-middle-class local would do. That usually means giving up some of the 'luxuries' we take for granted here in the U. S. I recall being in India at a time when a McDonald's hamburger and a Coke was a real luxury purchase, even though a delicious Indian meal could be had for a fraction of the price. I'm not sure if it was the cost of getting a sesame seed bun into the country, or if they just figured the folks interested in a dollop of 'special sauce' would be willing to pay any price. I expect it's more a matter of segmenting the market and finding the customers who want to create an 'American experience' in a foreign country, and will pay big bucks to do so. But even if I had $700 burning a hole in my pocket, I'd still prefer the experience of living like a local and saving the cash for something else - something I couldn't so easily find at home.

Yes, thank you seattlebottom! Especially for sharing your feelings about what happened. Without having had such an experience, there's part of me that hopes I never do and part of me that would like to experience what it's like. From a safe distance, of course. Although your reaction to your experience suggests that there's no such thing as feeling safe when a ghost is in the house. Gcursor, you seem to have a wide-ranging curiosity. I'm enjoying this thread and looking forward to seeing what will tickle your fancy next.

Thanks, TY. I was aware of most of these, but 'caramel color' had slipped under the radar. I've got a case of Mexican Coke to finish up, and I'll keep my fingers crossed they used the kind without ammonia. I would love to see a fifty-year chart that shows the percentage of chemicals in our food supply versus the increase in obesity. I'd be amazed if they didn't line up pretty well. This lab food is not only unhealthy, it tastes like crap too. I've always loved cream soda and A&W root beer, but stopped buying both when they started using artificial flavor. Feh! I needed graham cracker crumbs for an Easter cheesecake crust and couldn't believe what Nabisco had done to the product since the last time I bought it a few years ago. Not only did it taste like particle board, but I couldn't crumble the crackers in my hands any more; they had the strength of particle board too. I can recall when graham crackers were considered a healthy snack. I'm not a food fanatic, but I do read ingredient lists and put stuff back on the shelf when I see a list of chemicals I don't recognize. I hope more folks start doing that too and getting a message back to the manufacturers. Thanks again for the info.

Yikes! What was the reaction of you and your family? Did you consider moving? Hanging up some garlic? Or did you just try to laugh it off? Is that why you eventually moved? Were there any particular occasions or times the ghost was more active? Looking back, are you glad you had the experience? Lots of questions, I know, but I've never run into anyone who actually had this experience firsthand. It gets one thinking.

Small wonder I love this place! Where else would the top five threads cover Thai elections, San Francisco bars and clubs, a Fox News hack, Chord Overstreet, and rare earth deposits off Hawaii? A Very Happy Holiday to all you fine eclectic folks!

There was a time , back in the fifties, when corporations would have shared 30% of that tax burden. They're good for only 6% now. No doubt they've been investing the savings in job creation.

So true, TY. Some may consider private health insurance to be a 'free market', but it's as far from a rational competitive market as any I can think of. The first year I had Medicare, I added one of the supplemental 'Advantage' plans offered by a private insurer. They don't add much to standard Medicare coverage, but the government pays a subsidy to the private insurer to keep them in the tent. The first year, the private insurer made their money on the federal subsidy. The second year, they decided I should kick in an additional thousand dollars. And the third year, after the public outcry about price gouging, my premium was back to zero. They gave the plan a slightly different name each year, but it was pretty much the same coverage. The folks I really feel sorry for are those who can't afford any coverage at all, and there are tens of millions of them. A hospital test that an insurer (including Medicare) might pay $150 - $250 for might cost an uninsured patient the 'full retail' price of $2500. The hospital will almost never negotiate either. Even though the patient might be able to come up with $250, or even $500, the hospital will hound them for the full $2500. When the patient is eventually forced into bankruptcy, the hospital will move the $2500 into the 'bad debt' column, where it will be used to offset profits and justify higher rates for everybody else. Feh! The only thing positive that will come out of these horror stories, in my opinion, is the eventual emergence of a single-payer system, or systems, that everyone will have access to. Sadly, I believe the stories will continue to get worse and worse until the light bulb finally goes on and we catch up with all those countries that have already figured it out. For those who think the government does a worse job of managing health care than the private insurers, I invite them to try getting my insurance company on the phone. They can try comparing cost efficiencies while they're waiting.

Nice job, OneFinger! You really stuck with it. It seems like the support group would be a big help. How often do you meet?

Sorry! It's BuffBoyzz. Plus, it looks like they weren't open last night/this morning. So Lucky's hypothesis remains the one to beat.

OK, the record was blown away again: 75 at 1:30 this morning! You don't suppose somebody set up an MER kiosk at BuffBoyz?

Lucky! (Oh, and Biff, Brick, and Buster.)

Just noticed that we hit 54 users on line at once which the Home Page says is a new record. If my watch is right, it happened just a few minutes ago. So good job, TY and OZ! And Lucky! And all who make this such a pleasant place to be! You know who you are. And actually, it's pretty much everyone who posts here. And thanks to all who enjoy just hanging around. An occasional post would be nice, just to say "Hi" and let us know you're not Fred Phelps keeping an eye on us. Ah, what the hell, post away Fred, if you are here. Just try to have fun and stay on topic.

Must be a different Whitey Bulger.

I know I shouldn't be reading this thread but I just love it when Lucky yoo-hoo's the lurkers!