My neighbourhood in London

Posted on 2011-05-22 by Andreas Moser

In preparation for my walk across England, I finally bought a camera: a Nikon Coolpix L120. Henceforth you will be able to read more blog posts with my own photographs.

Not very creatively, I start with a walk around my neighbourhood in London for prospective visitors to look forward to their stay and for my family in Germany to understand why I left that small village in Bavaria to move to beautiful London.

So this is where I live, in one of the red brick houses in the back. Although it is quite central, in the borough of Southwark, you can already see that it is a green area. Bermondsey Spa Gardens Park is just outside my house and a perfect place for a quick run, to eat dinner outside or to enjoy the sun.

London is generally much greener than people (who haven’t visited yet) think. The following are a few images from Southwark Park, the largest park (25 hectares) in my vicinity. It would be a great place to go running if it wasn’t for the many dogs there.

By now you must think that I live in the countryside and not in a city of 8 million people. So we’ll leave the park and walk back home. This short walk leads past St James Church.

From another perspective, St James Church offers a striking contrast to the modern buildings recently built around it.

This effect of old versus new, and unfortunately too often: old dwarfed by new, can be seen at a few other locations as well. Another example is the church of St George the Martyr in Borough which is now overshadowed by the skeleton of the Shard Tower being built:

The Shard Tower being built in the background will be a glass-clad skyscraper with 72 floors. It will be the tallest building in Europe. residents argue whether it is ugly or beautiful, I just find it convenient because wherever in London I am, it shows me the direction I have to walk to reach home.

But it is certainly a dominating structure, especially at night when it is lit.

But at night, there are more beautiful sights. Just a few minutes north from where I live, I can enjoy this view on my evening walks: the famous Tower Bridge.

Walking westwards along the Thames, you will see more monuments that you easily recognise, like St Paul’s Cathedral, photographed here from under the bridge that leads to it from the Tate Modern Gallery.

But one of the better things in London is that you are always surprised by unexpected attractions, such as this man with an invisible head. (Note that he has the box for the money chained to his leg for fear of thieves.)

Continuing westwards, we reach the Palace of Westminster, the seat of Parliament since 1295 and a beautiful complex of buildings.

When you’ve had enough of old buildings, history and the political system of a country that survives without a written constitution, I recommend a rest in nearby St James’s Park which provides you with a place to rest and beautiful views.

As the sun begins to set, it’s time to head back to the Thames to have another look at Westminster Palace, this time at dusk.

Walking back home, I should be honest and lay open that not all spots in London are as beautiful as the ones that you have seen. As any large city, London has striking contrasts between beautiful and ugly, well-maintained and forgotten, rich and poor parts.

One neighbour in Mandela Way apparently thinks that the area is even dangerous enough to warrant putting a T-34 tank into his yard:

I hope that this doesn’t scare you off and that I will see you in London soon.

(All photos (C) by Andreas Moser)
Posted in London, Photography, Travel, UK | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Dominique Strauss-Kahn at Rikers Island

Posted on 2011-05-18 by Andreas Moser

To those who think that the imprisonment of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of International Monetary Fund, at Rikers Island prison in New York is a bit harsh, I would suggest that it rather demonstrates an ironic homage to the literature of Mr Strauss-Kahn’s home country France.

It took Edmond Dantès 14 years to escape from Château d’If, so we must not expect any developments soon. But time will tell if Mr Strauss-Kahn has read (and learnt from) Alexandre Dumas’ novel “The Count of Monte Cristo“.

Don’t be surprised if he will be back in disguise in 2025, find a hidden treasure in the IMF castle, return to Paris, become the star of the political scene, take revenge on President Sarkozy and the traitors in the Socialist Party, be challenged to a duel by the yet unborn child of Mr Sarkozy and Carla Bruni and finally reveal who really is the father of that child.

Posted in Books, France, Law, Politics, USA | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Globalisation is a Myth

Posted on 2011-05-09 by Andreas Moser

Globalisation, this concept that everyone writes about and that many people blame for their woes or use as an excuse for their policies, is in large parts a myth.

Who am I to claim this? Having grown up in a small village in rural Bavaria, I had been to Australia through a student exchange programme, to Israel in the course of another youth exchange, and to France with the Scouts, all by the age of 16. I later did internships in the United States, worked in Germany again as a lawyer with a specialisation in international family law for clients from around the world, and now I live and study in Britain. So far, I have visited 32 countries. – You would think that my life is proof of globalisation. But it might be more of an exception.

  • One problem is that most people who write and talk about globalisation have a similar background to mine, and this might be true for most of my readers: you are university-educated, speak one or two foreign languages quite well, have travelled at an early age, done part of your studies abroad, work for an international company. Chances are that with this background you live in your country’s capital city or a main economic centre.
  • But people like us are not representative of the world, and not even of our countries. If you live in London, Berlin or New York, you will indeed think that this is a mighty globalised world. But if you just go out of this cocoon for only 50 km (far less than a day-trip) to Winchester, Rathenowor Quakertown, you will find a completely different part of your country, one that is far less international and still very homogeneous.

    The more global you go, the less people will follow.

  • Yet the people living in rural areas and small towns make up the majority of most countries: Across Europe, only 29 % of the population live in cities with over 150,000 people (and 150,000 is not really large by the standards of London, Moscow or Tehran). The percentage for the UK is 51 % (12 % of Britons live in London alone), for Germany 26 % and in France only 11 % live in large cities. And these rural folks are on average much less globalised.
  • Although 215 million people live outside their country of birth, this is only 3 % of the world population. And even of these 3 %, many only move to the country next door or to a country that shares their mother tongue, they move only temporarily or they live in “cultural ghettos”, marrying a partner and being around friends almost exclusively from their home country.
  • Even among the young of this world, the numbers are no more impressive: Only 1.8 % of students attend universities outside their home country. And this number would be much lower were it not for relatively high numbers from Sub-Saharan Africa (students escaping poverty and wars) and China and Iran (students escaping dictatorships).
  • International trade continues to rise which would indicate that globalisation is pushing ahead. Yet, most trade occurs between neighbouring countries (the two most important trading partners of the US are Canada and Mexico; 67 % of all exports by EU members are into other EU states). Physical proximity, a shared language and/or past are still very relevant factors for the amount of trade between two countries.

No protests along the Silk Road.

While there is certainly a level of globalisation, it is not the dominating factor for the world economy that it is often made out to be. Traditional economies are quite resilient against opening up – as are people. On the other hand, (a bit of) globalisation is also nothing shockingly new: Marco Polo established a trade route between Europe and China in the 13th century.

Posted in China, Economics, Politics, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Where have all the Thunderstorms gone?

Posted on 2011-05-08 by Andreas Moser

Last night, the weather was sticky with sweltering heat and humidity. I left the windows open throughout the night, hoping to be awoken by a thunderstorm. Yes, I love thunderstorms. Actually I like all kind of storms. But a light rain was all I got this morning.

I haven’t seen a thunderstorm in many years now. This is all the more puzzling because I remember experiencing many thunderstorms when I was a child. Waking up at night and running downstairs into my parents’ bedroom was a regular occurrence. I also remember many a times when a thunderstorm caught me playing in the forest and forced me to seek cover, hoping that the tree I was hiding next to would not be the one struck by lightning. Later, I always cherished the amazing beauty of driving along a highway towards the darkened sky being criss-crossed by lightning on the horizon.

But in the past years, I haven’t seen any thunderstorm. None, zero, zilch. I might overestimate the frequency of thunderstorms in my early childhood because of the initial traumatic nature (until I began to cherish this extreme weather), but I am sure there were much more than zero.

Research suggests that the number of thunderstorms remains pretty constant over time. So where have all the thunderstorms gone?

The following map shows the lightning frequencies in different parts of the world:

To satisfy my lust for thunderstorms, it seems I should move to Congo, or more generally closer to the equator.

What is your experience? Do you see more or less thunderstorms than in the past? And where have you seen the most, the best, the strongest?

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 65 Comments

May we celebrate somebody’s death?

Posted on 2011-05-03 by Andreas Moser

I admit it: when I woke up this morning to the headline “Osama Bin Laden Killed“, I reacted with surprise (about the manhunt still being actively pursued) and jubilation, as well as admiration at the execution of the operation by US intelligence and the US military.

But is it morally permissible to celebrate somebody’s death?

  1. Let’s first get religion out of the way because I don’t believe in any: Some religious people say that only god and not man may take lives. Other religious people say that god is omnipotent, so that we must assume that men who kill are controlled by him. After all, he can’t kill everyone by lightning. So, as always, religion gives no clear guidance at all.
  2. Law is no guidance either because
    1.  it is similar to religion in its contentiousness,
    2. most people who will immediately tell you that “the killing of Osama Bin Laden was clearly illegal” won’t even be able to tell you which domestic or international law applies,
    3. law mainly deals with the act of the killing, not with the subsequent death, and
    4. we don’t know the circumstances of the death. We don’t know if it was a targeted killing or Mr Bin Laden died while trying to resist arrest or in a fire fight. Without knowing the facts, nobody can apply the law to them. (Although I would argue that it was most likely not a targeted killing because that could have been carried out with much less risk by a drone strike or a bombing raid.)
  3. This leads to an important distinction: the one between the killing and the death. Although one results in the other, we can separate them. This becomes apparent if you imagine the case of Mr Bin Laden dying from measles or from old age. Our reactions and evaluation might be quite different.
  4.  Any premature death means a life cut short. Most deaths will result in sorrow for family members and friends, or in this case followers. Children have lost their father today.
  5. What if the death of one person saves other lives? This is uncertain, because although Mr Bin Laden has admitted (in his taped messages) the responsibility for the murder of thousands, we don’t know if he has still been actively involved in terrorism. As to Mr Bin Laden inspiring radicalism, his death might not bring this to an end. But the moral problem remains, because the burden of saving other people’s lives cannot be put on one person against that person’s will.
  6. And on this subject, the deceased’s will, it is that we have to return to the circumstances leading to his death: It was Mr Bin Laden himself, a confessed mass-murderer who not only prompted the 10-year long manhunt for him, but who chose to live a life of battle, conflict and war. This choice doesn’t necessarily ask for death, but it increases the chances of it dramatically. One could even argue that by resisting arrest, Mr Bin Laden in effect committed suicide through the hands of the US military, something which would be in line with his rants about martyrdom.

Every lost life – even that of the most heinous criminal – brings sorrow over people who have not deserved it. The death of no one warrants the public jubilation that we have seen being sparked by news of Mr Bin Laden’s death. But there are cases where I can understand – and even share – a certain sense of happiness and satisfaction. This case is one of them.

Posted in Law, Philosophy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

My next adventure: Walking across England

Posted on 2011-04-28 by Andreas Moser

One danger of living in London is that there is so much to see and do that you never get out of the city to explore the rest of this island that constitutes Great Britain. I will do something against this, and not only in the form of a day trip to Winchester or Cambridge, but in a more radical way: I will walk across England, from coast to coast. 

In the week from 6 to 12 June 2011, I will walk across England along the Hadrian’s Wall, all the way from the North Sea to the Irish Sea.

The Hadrian’s Wall was a Roman fortification in northern England, parts of which still remain in place today.

The distance is about 135 km which I estimate will take me around 5 days. After leaving Newcastle in the east, the walk will cross mainly uninhabited areas. I will have to carry my supplies with me and I will camp in the wild.

My father, an experienced outdoors man, supplied me with a rucksack, sleeping bag, bivouac sack and other necessaries. I bought a small Esbit stove, enough food and a tarpaulin to build a makeshift protection against the rain. And I have the relevant OS maps and some cigars with me, so I should be fine.

If I survive you will read about it here. If I won’t, I guess you will read about it somewhere else. Sooner or later.

I am off now for a week.

UPDATE: I am back. Read the account here.

Posted in Travel, UK | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Psychological Continuity Account

Posted on 2011-04-26 by Andreas Moser

After I already published the first essay that I wrote for my MA Philosophy course at the Open University, I can now add the second essay after it has been graded and returned.

This one tries to answer the question “What is there to be said for and against the psychological continuity account of Personal Identity?” It asked to focus on the suggested reading, mainly by Bernard Williams, Derek Parfit and Mark Johnston making this essay probably rather uninteresting to anyone who has not read these philosophers’ papers.

I. Introduction

Last month, all of us living in Britain received the forms for the 2011 Census. The British government wants to know how many people live at a certain address, how old they are, how far they travel to work and so on. Looking for a demographic snapshot of the country, the Office for National Statistics is not interested if these people are identical with the people counted at the last census 10 years ago.

For philosophers it is however an important question if the person that lived 10 years ago at your address, had your name and the same family and job as you have now, is indeed identical with who you are today.

One attempt to make sense of this question is the Psychological Continuity Account on which this paper will concentrate.

II. What is the Psychological Continuity Account

According to the Psychological Continuity Account, two people A and B are the same person if and only if B’s psychological states are continuous with A’s psychological states1. The survival of memories and personality traits is what defines a person’s identity2. To put is as concise as possible: A person is his/her mind, as opposed to his/her body3 (as the proponents of the Bodily Continuity Account would see it).

The continuity of two psychological states is presumed to exist if the later psychological state has developed from the prior psychological state4. This can happen either directly or indirectly, through intervening steps5. These steps may change the psychological state, but each step must not exceed the scope of gradual change in comparison to the previous state6. A sudden, dramatic change would interrupt and thus destroy the continuity7.

Because continuity does allow for changes, as long as they are gradual8, the later psychological state can ultimately be quite different from one of the earlier ones9.

Although most philosophers writing about the Psychological Continuity Account are looking at this theory as one way to explain or define personal identity, Parfit thinks that this tackles the important questions from the wrong end and that psychological continuity is in fact more important than identity1011. He does however see psychological continuity as close to being a criterion of identity12.

Parfit is also the one to introduce the distinction between psychological continuity and psychological connectedness13.

Psychological connectedness is the direct causal relation between two psychological states14, usually of two states that are temporarily not too far apart. Remembering an earlier psychological state is one possibility of this causal link that establishes psychological connectedness15. Because psychological connectedness is non-transitive (if A is psychologically connected with B and B is psychologically connected with C, it doesn’t mean that A and B are psychologically connected with each other)16, psychological connectedness is a matter of degree17.

A chain of psychological connections establishes psychological continuity18.

At this point and in preparation for the discussion in chapter III., I should mention the defining requirements of personal identity:

  1. The All-or-Nothing Requirement: Two items or persons either are identical or they are not. There are no options in between; identity is not a matter of degree19.
  1. The Transitivity Requirement: Identity has to be transitive. If A is identical to B and B is identical to C, then A is identical to C20.
  1. The Intrinsicness Requirement: This postulates that the identity of a person is determined without considering facts about a second person21.
  1. The Determinacy Requirement: Questions about personal identity must have determinate yes/no answers22.

The first two requirements are widely accepted23, whereas the third one is used as an additional requirement by Williams24, Swinburne25 and Johnston26. The fourth one is mentioned by Parfit, although he argues against it27.

III. Discussion

By contrasting the Psychological Continuity Account with the Bodily Continuity Account, it should not surprise that among philosophers and students of philosophy, the account that centres on the mind is the one more people are intuitively drawn to. If the same question was posed to a group of people who rely more on their body, let’s say a Rugby team, the preferences might tilt towards the Bodily Continuity Account.

But a decision in the matter of personal identity cannot be made by means of a straw poll. Instead, the Psychological Continuity Account has to be tested independently of its alternatives against the following possible objections, which are by no means an exhaustive enumeration:

  1. The informative value of thought experiments

Reading the material for this chapter felt in large parts like reading science fiction: Williams sends A and B into a machine in which A’s mind is transplanted into B’s body and vice versa28 and believes the resulting thought experiments to show that identity lies in the mind and not the body29. Parfit lets a man divide like an amoeba30, not without later reuniting these brain-halfs31 or even accomplishing a “fusion” of two previously independent persons32. Johnston writes about a brain in a vat33. (Blessed be Thomas Hobbes for sticking to the more understandable example of “Theseus’ ship”34, to which the replacement of human body cells over time even shows some resemblance35.)

I am rather sceptical about most of these thought experiments, because I fail to see what insight can be gained from them. People are not earthworms that can be divided and continue to live. We can’t build a new brain or mind out of two or more existing ones. These experiments are not only physically, technically and medically impossible3637 (and might just as likely result in the death of all persons involved were they carried out), but so far from reality that we should admit that we cannot possibly grasp their consequences. They raise plenty of questions without answering any of the pressing questions that we have38.

But while the use of these thought experiments therefore does nothing to convince me of any of the theories of personal identity, I realise that (a) this is due to my lack of capability for abstract understanding,and (b) that the use of bad examples does not discredit the theory that is to be tested. We therefore have to deal with some substantive issues of the Psychological Continuity Account:

  1. Inconsistency with the All-or-Nothing Requirement

The All-or-Nothing Requirement (see II.1.) is one of the requirements widely accepted by most thinkers that discuss personal identity39. It postulates that two persons are either identical or they are not40: identity cannot be a matter of degree41.

Psychological connectedness however, which in turn establishes psychological continuity42, is a matter of degree43. Parfit prefers to speak of “survival” instead of identity44 but equally says that it is a matter of degree45.

Defining personal identity through the Psychological Continuity Account which has different stages and grades could be seen as watering down the All-or-Nothing Requirement. On first sight, it seems as if one is trying to avoid the tough (possibly conceptually unanswerable) question of personal identity by moving to (psychological) continuity.

However, it is not uncommon that something that has to be decided on an all-or-nothing basis is dependant on criteria which are themselves open to different stages or degrees. For example, a person can be guilty or innocent of a certain crime. This is an All-or-Nothing Requirement. But this decision depends on some factors which are open to varying degrees, like criminal responsibility.

This criticism therefore does not stick.

  1. Inability to separate mind and body

Most discussions of psychological versus bodily continuity seem to assume that the two can be separated or analysed apart from each other46. Wiggins disagrees with this47, and so do I.

I rather believe that my psychological state not only relies on my brain or mind, but also on the body that houses it48. I am 35, relatively fit and undeservedly healthy and I cannot help but assume that this has an effect on my mostly energetic, optimistic and happy psychological state. If my mind was transplanted into a different body, small changes might not matter. If I am 2 cm shorter or have a different eye colour, that probably would not change my psychological state. But if I was bound to a wheelchair, I could not physically express my psychological state, my ideas, my wishes. Likewise, if I was terminally ill, I might lose quite a bit of my optimism. “Life dominates consciousness” as Karl Marx said, admittedly in a different context.

My brain removed from my body would not be the same. It would realise (if it could even survive such an operation) that it has been deprived maybe not of the ability to think and feel, but of the ability to execute and implement these thoughts and emotions. The same might happen if my brain was not removed from my body, but my body was suddenly changed (without any direct medical effect on the brain). Gregor Samsa of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis would almost certainly concur with this.

The psychological continuity would come to an end in such cases, which suggests that psychological continuity without any bodily support cannot exist49.

IV. Conclusion

I am inclined to side with Swinburn who declares personal identity to be “something ultimate”50 that is beyond being explained by further definitions, whether they concentrate on the Bodily Continuity Account or the Psychological Continuity Account51. If at all, identity may explain continuity, not the other way around52.

The objections raised under III.3. seem to severely discredit the Psychological Continuity Account because we lack any indication about what a brain or mind would think if it was deprived of its bodily surroundings, reducing the thought experiments used by most authors to nothing more than mere speculation.

1Belshaw/Price: 69

2Belshaw/Price: 69

3Belshaw/Price: 69

4Belshaw/Price: 85

5Belshaw/Price: 85-86

6Belshaw/Price: 86

7Belshaw/Price: 86

8Belshaw/Price: 86

9Belshaw/Price: 86, citing the example of a 60-year old who is psychologically continuous with the person she was at 17, although she is quite different

10Belshaw/Price: 87; Parfit 1971: 2

11Olson 2010: section 1 goes even farther: “Identity itself has no practical importance.“

12Belshaw/Price: 86 and 87; Parfit 1971: 7

13Belshaw/Price: 89; see also Olson 2010: section 4

14Belshaw/Price: 89; Olson 2010: section 4

15Olson 2010: section 4

16Belshaw/Price: 90

17Belshaw/Price: 90

18Olson 2010: section 4

19Belshaw/Price: 58-59

20Belshaw/Price: 59

21Belshaw/Price: 75 and 115

22Belshaw/Price: 115

23Belshaw/Price: 115

24Belshaw/Price: 75 and 115

25Belshaw/Price: 115

26Belshaw/Price: 115

27Belshaw/Price: 82

28Williams 1973: 5

29Williams 1973: 12

30Parfit 1971: 2

31Parfit 1971: 3

32Parfit 1971: 11

33Belshaw/Price: 109

34See Belshaw/Price: 61-65 for a discussion of “Theseus’ ship“

35Belshaw/Price: 66

36Belshaw/Price: 105

37Belshaw/Price: 89 call the fusion case “exotic in the extreme.”

38Johnston is equally critical of the thought experiments: Belshaw/Price: 104-105 and 114

39Belshaw/Price: 115

40Belshaw/Price: 58-59

41Belshaw/Price: 58-59

42Olson 2010: section 4

43Belshaw/Price: 90

44Olson 2010: section 2

45Belshaw/Price: 89; Parfit 1971: 11-13

46Belshaw/Price: 77 concede that “in everyday life, bodily and psychological continuity do not come apart.”

47Belshaw/Price: 99 and 101

48Belshaw/Price: 114 also raise this issue.

49Belshaw/Price: 114; Olson 2010: section 3

50Belshaw/Price: 94; Swinburne 1973: 15

51Belshaw/Price: 94; Swinburne 1973: 15

52Belshaw/Price: 94; Swinburne 1973: 15

Bibliography

Papers

Parfit, Derek (1971) “Personal Identity”, The Philosophical Review, LXXX, 3-27 (reprinted as reading 4.2 to accompany A850 Postgraduate Foundation Module in Philosophy, Milton Keynes, The Open University and quoted by the pages of the reprint).

Swinburne, R.G. (1973) “Personal Identity”, The proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, LXXIV, 231-47 (reprinted as reading 4.3 to accompany A850 Postgraduate Foundation Module in Philosophy, Milton Keynes, The Open University and quoted by the numbers of the paragraph in the reprint).

Williams, Bernard (1973) “The Self and the Future”, The problems of the Self: Philosophical Papers 1956-1972, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (reprinted as reading 4.1 to accompany A850 Postgraduate Foundation Module in Philosophy, Milton Keynes, The Open University and quoted by the numbers of the paragraph in the reprint).

Study material

Belshaw, Chris and Price, Carolyn (year unknown) Personal Identity, A850 Postgraduate Foundation Module in Philosophy, Chapter 4, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

The internet

Olson, Eric T. (2010) “Personal Identity”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2010 edition), Edward N. Zalta (editor), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2010/entries/identity-personal/

I passed the paper, but not with flying colours. Obviously, I couldn’t hide the fact that some of the subject was over my head.

The next paper will be about self-ownership, specifically the question whether one may conceive of one’s own body in terms of property rights. With this move into political philosophy, the course is finally becoming really interesting for me. I have already touched on the issue in my article about suicide and I will write about some related topics like taxation, organ donation and prostitution on this blog in the next months.

Posted in Philosophy, Technology | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

London Underground (Tube) Map

Posted on 2011-04-26 by Andreas Moser

When you come to London, one of the first things you will familiarise yourself with is the map of the London Underground, also called “the tube”. Colour-coded, it is easy to navigate:

However, this map is also quite misleading as it is NOT an accurate depiction of the underground network, and even less of London. In order to be easy to read, it has been simplified to the maximum:

  • You probably would have guessed that the lines are not completely straight in reality.
  • This map is absolutely out of scale:
  • Because most people travel in the centre and because there are more stations in this part of London, the centre shows as larger than the outskirts.
  • The distances between the stations are also not to scale.
  • Some distances appear worth taking the underground, but the stations are really within walking distance (Charing Cross to Embankment or Leicester Square to Covent Garden are only a few hundred meters and a short walk away from each other; definitely faster than going down the escalator, waiting for a train and going back up the escalator).
  • What looks like the same station are often two or three parts of one station that share the same name but will take you up to 10 minutes to walk from one part of the station to the other (for example Paddington or Elephant & Castle).

This is one of the most abstract and distorted, yet also one of the most used maps in the world, demonstrating that accuracy can be an undesired feature for a map. The reality would look more like this:

My advice to visitors of London: Walk or use the bike. It’s the only way to really get to know the city, not only in its realistic geography but especially in its colourful diversity.

Posted in London, Travel, UK | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

This scammer watched “Three Kings” too often.

Posted on 2011-04-11 by Andreas Moser

Scammers seem to be shifting from Africa to the Middle East. After I was recently contacted by “the attorney of Hosni Mubarak”, I received the following, purportedly from Iraq:

From: “SGT DALE KING”
Sent: Mo, 28.03.2011, 23:13
Subject: From; Sgt. Dale King

I am Dale KING,  a US Marine Sgt.serving in the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment.I am presently in Iraq.I have summoned up courage to contact you for an assistance to evacuate some cash (US$25 Million dollar ) to the States or any safe country.

SOURCE OF MONEY: Some money in various currencies was discovered and concealed in barrels with piles of weapons and ammunition at a location near one of Saddam Hussein’s old Presidential Palaces during a rescue operation and it was agreed by all party present that the money will be shared among us.

I will provide you with more details upon the receipt of your response.

In GOD we trust.

With regards,

Sgt. Dale King

Sounds familiar? Indeed: In the 1999 film “Three Kings“, US soldiers stumble across one of Saddam Hussein’s treasures after the 1991 war. Because it is a rather good film, I will use this scam as an excuse to post the trailer:

“SGT King”, you are a couple of years late with your hoax. And the 3rd Battalion of 25th Marine Regiment has left Iraq in 2005. But for those of you who want to give it a try, the reassuring return e-mail address is sgtdaleking1@mail.kz.

Just for the heck of it, I replied:

From: Andreas Moser
Sent: Mo, 11.04.2011, 22:22
Subject: From; Sgt. Dale King

That sounds remarkably like “Three Kings”, doesn’t it?

In the footer of my e-mail I had the link to this blog and thus to the exposure of the scammer himself. He didn’t get it:

From: “Sgtdale King”
Sent: Mi, 13.04.2011, 10:41
Subject: Dear Andreas Moser

Dear Andreas Moser,

Good day to you and Thank you very much for your prompt response to my email. I quite appreciate your reply and I will be glad to work with you. I have decided and willing to go into partnership with you because I am going to benefit a lot.

Meanwhile, I want to assure you that this is an opportunity for both us and all I require from you are your complete honesty and confidentiality because of my safety here in Iraq . As you know, I am trying to secure this money for my future knowing that I may not have such opportunity again in life.

Very importantly, I would like to inform you that this matter must be very confidential. You must not expose it to anyone because of my safety. This business will not take much time to conclude once I reach an agreement with you. You will be required to send your contact address, phone number, your full name and a scan copy of your ID proof. Again, I would like to know more about you, your business and family background.

I am looking forward to invest this fund in any good profitable business investment in which you may advice me, it could be in landed properties, Real Estate, Production company, Hotel Business or Auto motor Business, etc,

I have attached my picture and the picture of the money for you to be sure of what I am saying. Please these pictures must be kept confidential and it is for you alone for security reasons. I am not supposed to send it to you for security reasons but I decided to send it to you to assure you of what I am doing.

I will let you know the next step to follow once I get the information I requested from you. Your urgent response is needed because I need to take this money out of Iraq as quickly as possible following the planed withdrawal of our unit.

Thanks for your maximum cooperation.

With Regards

From,Sgt.Dale King

This was the attached photo:

I still can’t see the money, though.

Posted in Cinema, Military | Tagged , | 3 Comments

“Please RSVP”

Posted on 2011-04-06 by Andreas Moser

No, I won’t. Or only after crossing out the “please”.

Because I get annoyed by people abusing language.

“RSVP” is the abbreviation for the French sentence “Répondez s’il vous plaît” which translates as “Please reply”. Therefore, RSVP does not need an additional “please”.

Posted in Language | Tagged , , | 1 Comment