India's coronavirus response must address caste and class divide

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread." Anatole France.

I just need to know one last thing. When do the Zombies and the giant spiders come for us?

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

You don't need to worry, you know they always go for the teenagers first, and that apart from the hero and his family, the miserable old bloke is the only surviver at the end.

I thought everyone already knew this.

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

That is not all. They also added huge chunks of pure fiction which they made up themselves. But you have to remember, that they believed that they were inspired by god and that therefore they could write no wrong.

What natural phenomena could be considered all-powerful?

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

All of them, take any one away and the universe falls apart.

“What is better than wisdom?

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

I certainly know quite a few women who tell me that, woman and wisdom is the same thing. And I think that I am wise enough not to argue.

It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well. - René Descartes

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

Also true of, life, liberty, friendship, time and health.

Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the romance of the unusual.

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

And when that does not work, you can always follow his example and hit the booze.

Would it be possible please to fix or improve the Bold and Italic features so they are easier to use...

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

It is perhaps a good thing they are not easy to use. One of the things which makes Facebook so horrible is people SHOUTING all the time. Please not here, I would have to leave.

This would make a birder's eye twitch.

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

It could be intended as a squirrel feeder. Why not have one for them and another for the birds. Reminds me of the garden in Scotland called Little Sparta, where the bird table was made in the form of an aircraft carrier.

"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." - H.L. Mencken

Fernapple comments on Mar 31, 2020:

Certainly applies to the political sphere, but not I think in science, charity and technology. So overall perhaps not.

What's the difference between religion and spirituality?

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

It perhaps depends on how you define the word spirituality. Spirituality is an almost meaningless word with no clear definition, therefore people are able to use it to mean almost anything they want, ( Like, 'thingy'. ) Which means it is used for everything from. "I can talk to dead people." to. " I sometimes have emotions which do not fit with any of the words usually used to describe emotions." And many other things between and around those. For myself I find it hard to think there is any truth in the first, but I think it is quite likely that the range of words we usually use for emotions has large gaps in it, through which some emotions fall.

New Evidence Indicates Intelligence Not Contagious | The New Yorker

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

Its the herd immunity that is really frightening.

[youtu.

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

No. I know its funny, but I just can not watch. It makes my toes curl under in a painful way.

What price on Trump still being around by Easter?

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

I thought he always sounded like that.

Why do we think there is a correlation between post-death existence and deities?

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

Because there is no evidence for either, they are both invisible. And since humans are animals with pattern seeking brains, who like to classify, if two things share a quality, then they both belong in the same box. Or. Since there is no profit to be made from post-death existence for anyone, especially priests etc. , unless you can make the claim to be able to exercise some control over it. Then you need an employee, ( God ) who can manage the technical details for you.

god didn't create people. People created god

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

In their own image.

This for you

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

No, its just an interesting and relaxing thing to do.

I'm watching Trump bitch and gripe about CNN's ratings and all the while squinting his eyes and ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

Bitter irony at least.

Unbelievable.

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

True tribal beliefs. I hate to offer praise to any church, but years ago in the UK at least, the Methodist church introduced using trays of separate little cups for communion wine. So how backward and brain dead do you have to be, not to simply follow a good example when it has already been set for you ? Or do you deliberately avoid following good examples, because, you don't do what 'they' do, since every priest is the competitor of every other priest for control of the 'sheep', and religion is, by its nature, divisive and tribal.

“We sometimes talk as if ‘original research’ were a peculiar prerogative of scientists or at ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

I am not sure that just thinking alone is science. People always thought, what sets science apart, is reasoning that the products of thought need to be tested, the 'experimental method'. Someone once said though, that most people do science, since science occurs every time someone thinks something through and then says. "Lets try it both ways and see which works best."

“Seeking what is true is not seeking what is desirable.” Albert Camus

Fernapple comments on Mar 30, 2020:

That's the main difference between the religious mind and the sceptical one. To a sceptic, truth is, something that can only be found if you are prepared to accept hard work, abandon existing beliefs and set aside your wishes and desires. To the religious mind, truth is, that which confirms what you wish to believe and promises happiness. They are polar opposites.

I just read about folks still "blaming" China for the COVID 19 origin.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

It was worse than that, I have seen the claim that they deliberately made the virus, and that it was part of a plot to undermine the global economy, and enable China to buy up western companies at knock down prices.

I find it strange that a few right wingers still try to get me to admit the coronavirus is really ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

You have to wonder if they see everything in terms of left and right, or right and everything else. You really have to ask them if they have ever considered, that there might not just be, left and right wing sources, but just some things called sources, and nothing else.

From a friend: Henri du Pont So I thought I would throw up a little history lesson for everyone on ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

I usually try not to comment on US politics on this site. Because I am from the UK so don't understand them well, and figure its none of my business, but that rings very true. Well put together.

Is a high point a score better or worse for dating prospects on Agnostic.com?

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

When the shut down is over, we are all going to get together for a badly fitting tee shirt party.

Is a high point a score better or worse for dating prospects on Agnostic.com?

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Don't date any of the people on this site. Being single just is not that bad.

Working from home day 17: here is a photo of our daily 8:30am staff meeting.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

What I am doing is my garden. I alway thought I was lucky to have one, it is only now that I really feel sorry for the people in flats and apartments, it would send me mad.

Working from home day 17: here is a photo of our daily 8:30am staff meeting.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

I think it is possible that you may have been in isolation too long already. Just saying.

Shostakovich; symphony 5 [youtu.be]

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Well that was a little drama. Quite woke me up.

The Corona virus is NOT a nice little practice run for dealing with Climate Change.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Good article.

Question; I have six coffee filters. Are they effective to block covid19??

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

No but if you make Irish coffees with them, and drink all six, you wont care.

a bit of humor!!...we need it

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Groan, groan, groan, groan, groan...... Its like multiple kicks in the groan.

cheerful anemones! I know Dan @Lincoln55 loves ranunculi and anemones .

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

I was lucky enough a few years ago, to see red anemones growing wild in the mountains of Turkey. The wild red anemones are smaller and more delicate than the cultivated forms, but I quite like that. Imagine just growing by the road in in the rough grass.

Totally pointless random whine: Clarification Edit: below you shall find a jokey hyperbolic ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Its no fun at level 8 anyway. But here you go a few more points for you.

In 2017 we took a train trip from Norfolk VA to San Francisco and then north to Bend Oregon to view ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Well done that took timing.

These were taken from the top of the Asoteague Lighthouse.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

I like the abstract map like quality of the river in the first shot.

Lochranza Castle Isle of Arran Scotland taken in March 2012

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

Ah. Holidays and travel. Yes, I can remember what it was like to have those available. Lovely photo.

The Inquisition from a Catholic perspective.[catholiceducation.org]

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

The article fails to mention the most important thing about the Inquisition, which is the number and amount of the fines and expenses charged to its victims. And that the best way to get forgiveness is said to have been. "Name as many other heretics as you can, preferably rich ones." The whole thing was basically a money making enterprise, on a truly vast scale.

'We're keeping an eye on those holes you keep digging' - Your Neighbors.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

I used to know a lady whose garden lay just down a very steep slope below the village church yard. As the bank eroded, bones would tumble down into her garden. "What do you do with them. I suppose you have to tell the authorities ?" I asked. "Oh no, that would take too long. I just throw them in the hedge bottom, the weeds soon grow over."

"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

True but sadly that is not limited to conservatism.

“When the debate is over, slander becomes the tool of the loser”.............Socrates.

Fernapple comments on Mar 29, 2020:

And sometimes they just reach for their guns. Beware winning the debate too well and too quickly. Look what happened to him.

Don’t laugh .

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2020:

You just leave them three or four days before handling, or use rubber gloves and wash them with soap. But high tec always works better don't it. LOL

Watching "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives" last night.

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2020:

Remember the term, 'cafe culture'. It may not be the same memory in future, 'cafe' will have a bitter taste.

Now this is a dystopian nightmare. [youtu.be]

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2020:

There are no people about to stop them, and sadly a lot of their usual food from fast food waste, has probably dried up.

"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and...

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2020:

Yep, the natural results of their own neglecting of the duty they have to educate, is the most usual reason governments give for opposing democracy. It is very similar to the method used by governments and private companies to justify the ending of services and supplies they no longer wish to provided. Only open the department every third Sunday, make people produce two forms of identification and a large cash deposit, ( no cards or direct debits) before they are allowed in and don't deliver for two months. And then say. "Well nobody was using it."

Please, don't do anything dangerous during the next few weeks.

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2020:

In the UK, the government said that you could go out for an hours exercise, close to home , each day. I have never seen so many mad cyclists on the roads for years. Obviously people who had nevver riden a bike on the roads for years, and had no idea how to ride safely.

Encouragement - this is 6 days! Arugula and lettuce popped up on day 3, basil and parsley starts ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 28, 2020:

Very quick germination, you are lucky to have such a climate.

I have two close friends that are Christians.

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2020:

Post away, post away. If they don't like it, they don't have to look at it.

Do you fear your mortality?

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2020:

I am very careful to stay happy, healthy and alive for the sake of my friends, especially one who needs my care. But when they are all gone, then no, it will be time.

It was a cloudy day in Yuma this afternoon. My friend and I walked nearly six miles

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2020:

I live in the UK, and I just wondered, if please, you could explain what all the blue stuff is meant to be, and did you use photoshop.

I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn’t learn something from - Galileo Galilei -

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2020:

Yep that " - " sure is wise.

Coronavirus: Hobby Lobby billionaire keeps stores open after ‘God spoke to him’ – but won’t ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 26, 2020:

Funny how God alway seems to tell you to do what you want to do. Don't think he has told someone to do something they did not want, since Abraham.

Talk about random - check out the cause of death for this old guy!

Fernapple comments on Mar 26, 2020:

Too small to read, sorry.

Trump Cabinet Bible Study Leader Faults Gay People, Environmentalists For Virus

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2020:

No I don't believe he does study of any sort.

I got my summer reading material early, so now it’s my isolation reading.

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2020:

Journeys From The Centre Of The Earth, by Iain Stewart, sub-titled How Geology Shaped Civilization. Its describes how the history of the Mediterranean world especially, was shaped by mineral wealth and the trade in minerals.

Wanna make Big Money in commodity futures?

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2020:

A small amount of the lime, wrapped in a coca leaf takes the bitterness away, so they say.

Just heard breaking news that our heir to the throne Prince Charles has been confirmed as having ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2020:

Though nominally a republican. A/ I do not think that any number of deaths in the line to the throne would have any effect, ( they still find another one.) B/ I do not really wish death on anyone who has not directly harmed me, especially if it achieves nothing. Having said that, he is a really boring old fart, so if you can come up with a more amusing way of killing him off, because I suppose that being boring does count as causing direct harm. ( For the same reason don't give out my real address to anyone.)

Say “No” to Death’s Dominion | R. R. Reno | First Things

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2020:

Nothing like living life in a plastic bubble of privilege to help you lose your humanity. These are the so called sophisticated theologians, who some apologists like to point to as a "better" alternative, to what they consider the primitive evangelists.

Please thank your NHS workforce.

Fernapple comments on Mar 25, 2020:

Done, without a thought.

Started seed planting indoors yesterday.

Fernapple comments on Mar 24, 2020:

Very neat, I wish my seed sowing was that tidy and organized.

Should people be criminally charged or sued if they have coronavirus and still leave home?

Fernapple comments on Mar 24, 2020:

Perhaps not jail, though a good fine would not be bad. But on the other hand. The racists who planned to deliberately infect surfaces in areas used other by minorities, are undoubtedly guilty of attempted murder. So throw the book at them, as they say.

Japanese Truck Gardening Competition [odditycentral.com]

Fernapple comments on Mar 24, 2020:

They are great. My own effort are only on bench tops, and it usually takes a day to make something like these.

At Pt Lonsdale, a seagull taking a bath, a dog who loves the beach, he did not stop running, a ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 24, 2020:

Dog shot is great.

Today my son and I basked in the sunshine.

Fernapple comments on Mar 23, 2020:

Hello and welcome to the site. Enjoy this too.

In a new book, Professor of human development at Northwestern U.

Fernapple comments on Mar 23, 2020:

Talk about pointing out the blinking obvious, Trump is the man who had fake 'Life' magazine front covers of himself printed and hung up in his club.

This really brightened my morning.

Fernapple comments on Mar 23, 2020:

Spring is coming, if we have to view it through glass or not.

Attached are pictures of my garden today.

Fernapple comments on Mar 23, 2020:

Beautiful. Even given your climate it is still wonderfully neat and lush.

So first they shut down the country borders and now they're shutting down the state borders while ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2020:

To a degree I fail to see the point of shutting state borders after it has arrived. Getting people to stay home and self isolate yes. But the only way that people from out of state could be any more infectious or dangerous than natives, is if you were using a very good testing system, and tracking individual carriers, and that you are not doing, It smacks of xenophobia and political posturing to me.

If you want a better idea of what is going on all over the world instead of just your own area, then...

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2020:

We get it as a 'freeview station' here in the UK, and yes, it is often very good.

Has anybody else on this site been kicked off Twitter for pointing out the obscenity of the claims ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2020:

Why would you be on Twitter in the first place ?

Social distancing sucks !!! I need a HUG !!!

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2020:

Well you only have to wait twelve months, or maybe eighteen, and then you can have as many as you like. ( OK life sucks!!! )

It is growing something.

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2020:

Never heard of any of that. Interesting.

Day 7 of COVID 19 (As to my news about it) As Saturday night turns into Sunday morning I sit here...

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2020:

The dogs could be wrong, reading this I would say that the 'old lady' is fairly sane. Or as sane as can be expected in a world like this.

😂😂😁😁 After science's success, religious assholes will say.

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2020:

That is the great thing about God, if it does not exist, then you can give it whatever qualities, character and history you want. Its a bit like keeping the president locked in a padded cell where no one can see or speak to him/her , the government agents can then give any reports required, on how exceptionally wise, clever, foresighted and honest he/she is. Especially after the event. Its a trick used widely by many dictatorships. Just keep the head of state out of sight, and then they can not in any way make a fool of themselves, say stupid things or show that they are not infallible and perfect god like figure they are said to be, but just a fat goofy immoral twit with a bad hair style. (No actual head of state implied by this of course. LOL )

Would be gardeners should never travel in Spring.

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2020:

The seven years saying was about seeding weeds. As long as they don't get to the point of setting seed you are OK.

On my way to catch the sunrise... I catch what looks like Ewok eyes?

Fernapple comments on Mar 22, 2020:

Love that board walk, it looks so inviting.

I have a crazy idea. Tell me what might be wrong with this. Maybe too difficult to manage?

Fernapple comments on Mar 21, 2020:

What the others said. Plus of course, those with the mildest symptoms are the most likely to infect others, therefore to keep the virus manageable it needs to be everyone.

What projects are you working on while shut-in?

Fernapple comments on Mar 21, 2020:

The garden, and looking after my friend who is housebound anyway.

"What progress we are making! In the Middle Ages they would have burned me.

Fernapple comments on Mar 21, 2020:

They may not have paid him much attention, ( he had a very inflated ego.)

Knowing all the science behind what makes a piano work will not make you a pianist.

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2020:

Yes but science is a spiritual practice, perhaps the most spiritual of all things.

People seem to be assuming that life will return to its previous "normal" once the Covid-19 pandemic...

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2020:

In a lot of shallow ways it may change. (I signed up for grocery deliveries for the first time ever, and may continue. ) The high street coffee shop boom may end , when people get out of the habit, for example. Things like that may change, but the deep meaningful important things, no. Because every person who ever had a life threatening time in hospital, came out saying. "I am going to change completely, and live every day as if it was to be my last." But you don't; its too hard and old habits and ways of thinking are just too deeply grooved.

“Don’t be afraid of being scared.

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2020:

When I was a child I used to be afraid of the dark. Then I grew up, and started to stub my toes a lot, now I know where I went wrong.

our heroes

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2020:

What a pity they forgot to add evangelists to the list of outs. Though sadly they may still be making hay out of the crisis, so maybe not.

Everyone, do your part...

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2020:

The next phase in panic buying, boxed sets.

I have a theory about karma.

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2020:

There is some truth in that. It also leads to confirmation bias, arseholes are convinced that everyone else in the world is an arsehole, nice people tend to think that the world is basically good.

We do not seem to have a “Totally Inappropriate Humor” category or group.

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2020:

I think that there are a couple of groups though, who specialize in bad humour. Maybe they should get out more.

our heroes

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2020:

With regards to number two. I can only add that, they always were, its just that most people had an appreciation fail.

The latest result of playing with old negatives.

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2020:

The middle one, nice enhancement. The faux oil, is just too crude and clunky. You can get a enhancement on most photo programs which gives a printed on canvas effect, why not try that instead ?

Some of what's going on in my garden : I don't know what the red berries are , but I suspect they ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 20, 2020:

Nice collection. But the Wood Sorrel, ( Oxalis ) is almost certainly a weed, nearly all of them are, and they can be really hard to get out once established, do keep a very careful eye on it and be prepared to move quickly if you think it may become a problem. This one, the Bermudan Buttercup, though very pretty, is a world wide ecological disaster, spreading everywhere at the expense of rare natives in just about every warm dry country in the world.

I bought a bidet a week before the panic started and it makes me so satisfied every time I see a ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 19, 2020:

I bought a bumper pack of toilet tissues a few weeks ago. There are seven left, and since I am a single male living alone, that should last me about three years. LOL

"We boast our emancipation from many superstitions; but if we have broken any idols, it is through...

Fernapple comments on Mar 19, 2020:

I think that he was talking about Christians especially.

I am getting annoyed at FB "friends" from my past that I attempt to tolerate or ignore.

Fernapple comments on Mar 19, 2020:

You could copy and paste their own earlier comments back to them, that should be fun. ( With the bonus that it will get you blocked by a lot of people, you would be better off not knowing. LOL )

Only one left. Must act now.

Fernapple comments on Mar 19, 2020:

I think that it is worth more though if it is a genuine antique and you can provide written provenance. It seems that even fake copies of the Dead Sea Scrolls are selling for high sums now.

It's way past time to face reality...

Fernapple comments on Mar 19, 2020:

Yes, thinking about it, it is almost an irony, though I am sure it is lost on many, that they ask you to close your eyes when you pray.

Which mountain sunrise photo do you like best?

Fernapple comments on Mar 19, 2020:

Number one.

"The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse." - Edmund Burke

Fernapple comments on Mar 19, 2020:

OK, but a bit obvious.

This one is considerably enhanced!

Fernapple comments on Mar 18, 2020:

Yes I can tell. Very Art Deco.

Anyone out of work (loss of paycheck) due to covus19 business slowdown or illness?

Fernapple comments on Mar 18, 2020:

Don't know yet, my work is seasonal, a plant nursery in fact, and I generally start the main season in April. In theory since it is outside work, it should not be affected too much. But if people are feeling short of money and give up travel altogether, then it could be serious. I usually earn a bit extra, in the winter season especially, as a public speaker, but people are canceling those events fast, so that is a loss already.

Why is everyone so obsessed with toilet paper? | MNN - Mother Nature Network

Fernapple comments on Mar 18, 2020:

I saw a trolley just like that here in the UK just a couple of days age, except that it was dish cloths and meat ?

U.S. Coronavirus Map: Cases Now Reported in All 50 States [nytimes.com]

Fernapple comments on Mar 18, 2020:

Good, solid stats for a change instead of political posturing. Interesting, well posted.