From the Weird News desk: Israel renames 'unkosher' swine flu

Oakman

Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:

you reminded me why I don't visit the SB all that often.

So you don't like it when someone makes fun of India's main religion, but it's OK to do it when it is Israel's?

Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:

Maybe that's what the media feeds you there, but I've seen a cow on the roads maybe 5 times in my admittedly urban life.

But I'll bet that some of your politicans, especially those connected with a conservative branch of Hinduism will go out of their way not to offend their co-religionists. FYI, there are plenty of Jews who eat pork and you can buy Lobster salad in Tel-Aviv. It doesn't mean that those politicians connected with a conservative branch of Judiasm won't go out of their way not to offend their co-religionists.

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface Both democrats and republicans are playing for the same team and it's not us. - Chris Austin

Oakman

Chris Austin wrote:

Don't let Stan hear that

Stan needs no (further) excuse to accuse me of making myself an idiotic prisoner of my own self-loathing. After all I consider myself more or less a libertarian. :omg:

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface Both democrats and republicans are playing for the same team and it's not us. - Chris Austin

Synaptrik

Oakman wrote:

but it's OK to do it when it is Israel's?

Hahahahaha.... now I get it. You are defending STUPIDITY. Not Israel. Its more than stupid to rename a virus because of the word swine. They're not going to eat it.

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Synaptrik

Attacking the messenger instead of commenting on the story? I think it quite funny that a flu would be renamed regardless of the accuracy of the new name. It originates from pigs. Pure and simple. How could a virus be kosher anyway. No, this is total insanity to propagate and is more than worthy of back room ridicule. Funny that you decide to attack Vikram for being Indian and what his countryman do when he points out an OBVIOUSLY FUNNY story. Give us a break and produce something meaningful. Or take the bait from this post and insult me instead. I'm a much more worth target of ridicule.

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Nish Nishant

Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:

Erm, most Hindus I know consider eating beef taboo but they will proudly* show off their leather shoes or car seat covers.

Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:

* I consider that a bad thing, but that's a whole other kettle of fish. They are by and large hypocrites.

Why do you think they are hypocrites? Vegetarianism is culturally part of Hinduism, and kids grow up as vegetarians or at least as chicken-vegetarians (no red meat). How would using leather contradict with their vegetarian habits? What about milk then? Cattle are kept under domestic captivity to get milk - doesn't sound a lot better than skinning them for leather. (minus the whole having to kill them thing of course) :-) As a Hindu* who'd rather be dead** than have to live without beef/pork food products do note that I am seriously interested in your view as an agnostic Hindu vegetarian who's non-vegan. * admittedly an atheist ** half kidding there, but I do love pork and beef :-)

Regards, Nish

Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link

modified on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 9:41 PM

Nish Nishant

Oakman wrote:

This from an inhabitant of country where cows are allowed to sh*t in the street because they are sacred???

You do realize that Slumdog Millionaire was a movie, right? :-) You may see the odd cow in a side road near the slums once in a rare while, but Indian streets are not full of defecating cows! :-D

Regards, Nish

Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link

Oakman

Nish, with all due respect: I know people who have visited India. I have seen videos of exactly what the Ganges looks like and all the human and animal waste in it and on the steps leading down to it. I know that some of your cities are pristine and modern. I also know that in some other cities there would be a lot more shit on the street except that the kids shovel it up and dry it out so they can use it for firewood. And I've never seen Slumdog Millionaire. I doubt I ever will. I just Googled on "Cowshit" and "India." Either I am not totally mistaken or there is a concerted effort by some group or other to put out lies by the barrelful, including lots of pictures. Frankly, all I wanted to do was to let Vikram experience what it was like when his country was held up to ridicule because of the religious beliefs of some of its politicians. I personally don't give a damn whether there's cowshit in Varanasi, or no pork-chops in Tel-Aviv; I just figure that sauce for goose is sauce for the gander.

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface Both democrats and republicans are playing for the same team and it's not us. - Chris Austin

Nish Nishant

Oakman wrote:

Frankly, all I wanted to do was to let Vikram experience what it was like when his country was held up to ridicule because of the religious beliefs of some of its politicians.

I don't think he was trying to ridicule Jewish beliefs. He was wondering why saying the word "swine" would go against their religious beliefs. The equivalent would be an Indian politician banning the use of the word "beef" in India. (There are some people in India crazy enough to do that too). Anyway, even assuming some nut politician in India did just that, why should that automatically mean that no Indian should ridicule non-Indian cultural stupidity? I think people here should have the freedom to publicly criticize both their home cultures as well as foreign cultures.

Regards, Nish

Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link

Oakman

Nishant Sivakumar wrote:

I think people here should have the freedom to publicly criticize both their home cultures as well as foreign cultures.

In which case you have no beef with me - or pork either. Unless of course, you think that India is untouchable and it wouldn't be kosher to criticise it.

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface Both democrats and republicans are playing for the same team and it's not us. - Chris Austin

Nish Nishant

Oakman wrote:

Unless of course, you think that India is untouchable and it wouldn't be kosher to criticise it.

I have absolutely no problem in you or anyone else criticizing India :-) I just don't understand the reasoning behind your insinuation that Vikram cannot criticize Israel because he comes from a less-than-perfect country himself. That's almost like Adnan replying to every thread where someone mentions Islamic terrorism with an off-topic retort about christian, jewish, or hindu attacks.

Regards, Nish

Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link

Oakman

Nishant Sivakumar wrote:

I just don't understand the reasoning behind your insinuation that Vikram cannot criticize Israel because he comes from a less-than-perfect country himself.

Don't try to figure out what I might or might not be insinuating - if you're confused about what I mean, ask me. Had Vikram said "What is wrong with that woman?" I would not have said "Boo." Had he said, "What is wrong with ultra-conservative Jews?" I wouldn't have thought twice. But "What is wrong with these people?" is too broad a brush to paint with, for me not to see if he can take it as well as he can hand it out. Had I dredged up the news story that came out a little while ago about the chairman of a commission funded by your majority party saying that rubbing cow dung over one's body would protect from nuclear attack, and used words that implied this was S.O.P. in your country of origin, something tells me that the response would not have been positive. My much milder (and bang-on-accurate) comment already drew far more reaction than it needed to.

Nishant Sivakumar wrote:

That's almost like Adnan replying

Now that you bring him up, what is the difference between Vikram's post and Adnan's gratuitous OP attacks on India and/or the US for the actions or words of a few of its citizens?

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface Both democrats and republicans are playing for the same team and it's not us. - Chris Austin

Vikram A Punathambekar · modified on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 9:41 PM

Nishant Sivakumar wrote:

Why do you think they are hypocrites?

Because it isn't so much about killing them for food as it is about killing them. I mean, "You can't kill them and eat them, but you can kill them and wear them" sounds extremely hollow to me.

Nishant Sivakumar wrote:

Vegetarianism is culturally part of Hinduism

Ahimsa is culturally part of Hinduism, and vegetarianism follows from that. Of course, that's just my opinion.

Nishant Sivakumar wrote:

Cattle are kept under domestic captivity to get milk - doesn't sound a lot better than skinning them for leather.

:wtf: Milking a cow is a far way from killing it. Calling me an "agnostic Hindu" is a bit of an oxymoron. I am at best culturally Hindu (whatever that may mean ;) ); I privately despise many practices of Hinduism.

Cheers, Vikram.

Current activities: Films: Sense and Sensibility TV series: Friends, season 2 Books: Longitude, by Dava Sobel.

Carpe Diem.

Nish Nishant

Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:

I mean, "You can't kill them and eat them, but you can kill them and wear them" sounds extremely hollow to me.

Good point, but at least in my family there are a few vegetarians who don't really do it for ahimsa. It's just a habit they had from childhood. [very unusual for mallus to be vegetarians, so having these folks visit is a hassle as you need to prepare extra dishes just for them] :-)

Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:

Calling me an "agnostic Hindu" is a bit of an oxymoron. I am at best culturally Hindu (whatever that may mean Wink ); I privately despise many practices of Hinduism.

I meant Hindu in the cultural sense. I am an atheist yet in some ways people would probably call me a Hindu (though I myself can't think of one single reason to do that).

Regards, Nish

Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link

Nish Nishant

Oakman wrote:

But "What is wrong with these people?" is too broad a brush to paint with, for me not to see if he can take it as well as he can hand it out.

Uhm, I didn't see it that way. I'd be very surprised if he meant every Israeli by "these people". I believe he meant the religiously fanatic among them. Kinda like how when you see some news article on say the octo-mum incident and you say, "what the hell is wrong with these people" - you don't really mean every person from that state (or country). Of course neither of us can say for sure what exactly Vikram meant, so at this point we are both theorizing here :-)

Regards, Nish

Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link

Synaptrik

There is no reasoning with a person bent on fomenting argument.

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Nish Nishant

Synaptrik wrote:

There is no reasoning with a person bent on fomenting argument.

Uhm do you mean me, or Oakman, or both of us?

Regards, Nish

Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link

Synaptrik

Oak. He seems to be a bit pedantic and attacking persons instead of issues of late. But, I'm free to post since he's used Diego's script to block me. :laugh:

This statement is false

Nish Nishant

Synaptrik wrote:

Oak. He seems to be a bit pedantic and attacking persons instead of issues of late. But, I'm free to post since he's used Diego's script to block me.

Ah ok, thanks for the clarification.

Regards, Nish

Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link