We should neither over- nor under-play the issue. Ebola is relatively hardy, it is spread through sweat and saliva which can be sprayed through the air, prevention is not at at all as simple as practising basic handwashing hygiene (there's a reason people wear full protective gear), etc etc.

You're right about the virulence of course, but you're correct in evolutionary terms. It won't kill 100% of us. But plenty of infections kill a material fraction of their host population from time to time, ie 5%+. Hundreds of millions of deaths would be a bit of a problem even if it were nowhere near an extinction event.

You're conflating lots of things.

Addressing your first paragraph:
The point at issue was whether reallocating some roadspace from autos to bikes would be a good thing to do, not whether the climate of the US made it inherently unsuitable to ride a bike at all in (a contention I find pretty risible, to be honest). Nor was it a debate about whether or not cycling was inherently risky due to autos, whether in Manhattan or anywhere else. In fact, and pretty obviously, the whole point of cycle superhighways is to encourage cycling by reducing this risk. And I wasn't claiming that this risk was eliminated in Manhattan, I was simply saying that there are in fact routes in a major US city where auto space has been reallocated to cycles. Nor was I claiming that the amount of space reallocated needed to be large. You don't in fact need that many major bike routes with reallocated space in order to effect significant benefits for many cyclists. TfL studies go into this point in some detail, should you be interested. I am well aware of what CityBikes are, given that Boris bikes are common in London, and work on a very similar model.

Addressing your second:
Closing off streets has not happened yet. It is contentious but it will happen (and has happened in NYC too). The congestion charge is not material for cycle superhighways. The two policies are mildly synergistic, but there is no cause and effect. The tube is also not material for cycle superhighways. On culture: well, sure. But you said it was impossible in your first reply to me, not merely that it was difficult.

I don't think it's impossible, as you have been arguing. I do think that it's difficult, that it requires an effort of political and cultural will that is largely lacking, and that it doesn't work everywhere. But it could still be worth the effort.

Well, it will work in London, England, where there are several million people living. It works in many European cities already. And it works in New York City, where there are lots of Class 1 Bikeways. So many tens of millions of folks already have access to these. I'm sure retrofitting may be very challenging in some places, but London is not an especially easy place to do it either, including for several of the reasons you cite (eg our roads date back a lot further than colonial times) and we're managing. So I don't see why you're wanting to dismiss this out-of-hand.

You think *I'm* an idiot, and yet you used the phrase "*jive* with what you know".

Keep on dancing, big lad.

Anyhoo, I'm glad to know that:
(a) my sarcasm went whoosh. It helps confirm my view of you
(b) you thought that the second way I described you was more complimentary than the first. It helps confirm that you are exactly the misogynistic little wank-badger who should be sitting in a closet, single and using his Kleenex for two purposes, that you appeared to be.

I'm thrilled to hear of your tremendously wide-ranging experience in pretending to be interested in women so that you can find a hole in which to jerk yourself off. Did you know that both melons and liver are quite cheap? Sure, they're a bit more messy for you, but in the end, wiping some melon seed or offal off your prick would be so much less inconvenient than all the emotions that come with a living breathing human being as your semen receptacle. It seems just the ticket for a "man" like you.

It's obvious that taking road space away from cars and trucks won't work everywhere. It's equally obvious that it will definitely work in some places. So I don't really see the point in saying "It won't work in my part of New Jersey".

I think he meant "a non-negligible" number. Aldi and Lidl hold only a few percent of the British retail market, but it's still significant, in that the big four supermarkets are all seeing margins erode, sales drop, and share prices fall. Same may be true here, in due course.

I remember milk coming this way in my childhood. It was great. We had a little milk bottle holder in which we would put the empties and set the indicator to say how many pints we wanted that morning. It was quiet, clean and environmentally friendly (the bottles were washed and reused many times before being recycled, in addition to the lack of pollution from the milk floats). But British retailing is a vicious business and tesco et al were just too fierce for up the dairy companies

Or, you can take road space away from autos and dedicate it to bikes. There's a lot of outrage when you do it, but it's possible. Google London super cycle highway debate to see how this is playing out in the UK.

We've had hybrid double deckers in. London for at least three years, including the new Boris Buses

Ah right.

Colour me an idiot. I thought you were a frustrated loser who couldn't understand why physical desire alone led to being rebuffed by women who wanted a relationship.

It turns you just want to fuck people you find physically attractive.

Congratulations. But do women a favour, please, and stay single. As I said in my previous post, it's better for everyone that way: you win, because as well as stroking your cock, you can stroke your ego and tell yourself you deserve better. Women win because...well, it's obvious really, isn't it?

I can't believe it's necessary to point this out to you, but apparently it is: the aim of these dating sites is not merely to find someone you are physically attracted to, but to find a life partner. Amazingly enough, that requires knowing more about them than whether they like the shape of your arse.

I'd stick to mother thumb and her four daughters, if I were you. It makes things better for everyone if you do.

"Products for girls"??

As opposed to big manly products for big manly men like you?

This is a spectacularly insightful comment! Mods, mark up, please

No, after a while it just factory-resets the device. Happened to my wife on holiday when she forgot her passcode and made repeated futile attempts to get it right....