Conquer Club

This movie, the first of the "Universal Monsters" series, which eventually was famous for Dracula, the Mummy etc., is well worth a watch. You can torrent a better version legally (it's in the public domain), but I know you're too lazy, so just watch the YouTube version:


Of note is that they softened Victor Hugo's hatred of the church by making the villain the archdeacon's brother.

I will send money. This is a world cultural icon. Renovation is always a very dangerous time for any structure. Power tools, welding, workers carelessly smoking.

Wood, metal, glass, stone craftsman and artists wanted. 10+ year employment guaranteed. Island location. Great food. Nightlife. Close to downtown. Family friendly atmosphere. City view. Once in a lifetime opportunity. Something to tell you kids about.

it is sad to see burn even if your not religious

Imagine being the guy who chucked his cigarette off the scaffolding and realised he hadn't put it out properly.

I heard that it was a Macedonian who carelessly used a match to light his fart for a good laugh.

It's important to forgive. But if you can't...

https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-th ... p2-1991842

truly a sad day for France....

Notre Dame is a government-owned building and Emmanuel Macron is head of the government.

Macron wants to do for Europe what he's done for France.

BREXIT or LOSE IT ...

Sad day for history and culture.

Charities have set up appeals and already received charitable donations from around the globe to help rebuild the cathedral.

In recent years the people have France have suffered tremendously from economic decline, political unrest, religious persecution and the constant erosion and undermining of their civil liberties. It is time the world did something positive for them.

mrswdk wrote:Charities have set up appeals and already received charitable donations from around the globe to help rebuild the cathedral.

In recent years the people have France have suffered tremendously from economic decline, political unrest, religious persecution and the constant erosion and undermining of their civil liberties. It is time the world did something positive for them.

Shouldn't you applaud that? I mean, aside from the economic decline that's exactly what's happening in China on a much larger scale, and to a harsher extent.

mrswdk wrote:Charities have set up appeals and already received charitable donations from around the globe to help rebuild the cathedral.

I would NOT donate to one of those.

I hope Notre Dame does get rebuilt. However, it's a government-owned building and the annual French budget is €1.4 trillion. I've seen preliminary estimates put reconstruction costs at €1 billion/year over three years. The French government can absolutely afford to rebuild it with no outside help if they determine their priorities and choices. They could dock the pay of all 5 million public sector workers by €200/year for three years (or about 0.2% for someone making €50K). That's the cost a used iPad. If France accepts any outside donations they're saying they'd like Notre Dame repaired but ... it's worth less to them than a used iPad.

France democratically chose this government which is so buffoonish it couldn't take proper precautions to prevent a dropped cigarette from burning to a smoldering ruin an 800 year old UNESCO World Heritage Site - something that Notre Dame had somehow managed to avoid for eight centuries previously. France elected Macron therefore France needs to pay for his actions, or lack thereof.

It would be a different story if it weren't a government-owned facility. But it is. So every euro you donate to rebuilding costs means you're not actually helping rebuild Notre Dame, you're subsidizing the disposable income of French public sector workers. You're not helping rebuild Notre Dame, you're sparing the French government the inconvenience of having to spend an extra 30 minutes debating next year's budget in the National Assembly.

saxitoxin wrote:

mrswdk wrote:Charities have set up appeals and already received charitable donations from around the globe to help rebuild the cathedral.

I would NOT donate to one of those.

I hope Notre Dame does get rebuilt. However, it's a government-owned building and the annual French budget is €1.4 trillion. I've seen preliminary estimates put reconstruction costs at €1 billion/year over three years. The French government can absolutely afford to rebuild it with no outside help if they determine their priorities and choices. They could dock the pay of all 5 million public sector workers by €200/year for three years (or about 0.2% for someone making €50K). That's the cost a used iPad. If France accepts any outside donations they're saying they'd like Notre Dame repaired but ... it's worth less to them than a used iPad.

France democratically chose this government which is so buffoonish it couldn't take proper precautions to prevent a dropped cigarette from burning to a smoldering ruin an 800 year old UNESCO World Heritage Site - something that Notre Dame had somehow managed to avoid for eight centuries previously. France elected Macron therefore France needs to pay for his actions, or lack thereof.

It would be a different story if it weren't a government-owned facility. But it is. So every euro you donate to rebuilding costs means you're not actually helping rebuild Notre Dame, you're subsidizing the disposable income of French public sector workers. You're not helping rebuild Notre Dame, you're sparing the French government the inconvenience of having to spend an extra 30 minutes debating next year's budget in the National Assembly.

You are such an elitist, punishing the ordinary worker to pay to restore a historic building. Nice.

Saxi is refusing to donate 5 bucks 'merican. A world unesco heritage site is not worth the price of a latte to him.

We're going to make The Lady great again!

I was there in 1991. Amazing and massive. The worst part was Noon mass had 1 priest and 6 locals. Hopefully attendence has improved sence then. It should be more than a tourist site.

2dimes wrote:Saxi is refusing to donate 5 bucks 'merican. A world unesco heritage site is not worth the price of a latte to him.

If he did donate....it would be in rubles.

Notre Dame is the most impressive building I've ever been in. Only the Alhambra comes even close.

Notre Dame is small compared to St. Peter's and several other cathedrals built later, but St. Peters feels like a train station. So do the other mega-cathedrals like Milan. Walking through Notre Dame I always felt like the stone was speaking to me. It's an intimacy; very hard to describe accurately in words.

Bernie Sanders wrote:If he did donate....it would be in rubles.

So..

I should have wrote:Saxi is refusing to donate 5 bucks 'merican 37 rubles. A world unesco heritage site is not worth the price of a latte vodka to him.

The real question:

Is the keeper (French Government) doing a great job? When you compare St. Peters to Notre Dame there is no comparison which is better condition. Both are great for tourists, religious pilgrims but the upkeep on St. Peters is second to none. Maybe the Catholic Church should run all aspects of the cathedral?

Yeah I mean, France is one of the richest nations on the planet and the Vatican's GDP is roughly equivalent to that of Singapore. And they can't between them pay to maintain a world heritage site that is apparently of great cultural significance to both of them?

Yeah, BINGO.

The Hagia Sophia I think, but I may remember incorrectly, is the world's oldest cathedral. And it's owned by the Turkish government and is like 600 years older than Notre Dame. And, inexplicably, it has yet to burn down.

Are safety standards and fire protection in Istanbul really better than Paris? Are Muslim governments more protective of Catholic cathedrals than Catholic governments are protective of Catholic cathedrals? Neither of those sound likely. Which leads to the conclusion that France is being incompetently run by amateurs who have no idea what they're doing. Notre Dame is just one of the most visible symptoms of a rotting state.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5UBupVTtlU&t=0m46s

Why am I not surprised to see saxipuke taking cheap shots at France during this great tragedy?

Fires are not a political matter. It only takes one careless workman to set something on fire, and that has nothing to do with politics or economics. There have been a lot of horrific fires over the years in a lot of places, under ever imaginable political and economic scenario.