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Saw a video on Reddit where some MP brings this up and the other MPs laugh and ridicule him :(

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
puranjay 4y ago
Our country’s finance minister was asked about the high price of onions - a key staple in the Indian diet - and she quipped that she doesn’t care because she doesn’t eat onions. Our rulers are cruel, intentionally so.
- gradschoolfail 4y ago
  Are onions considered vegan in India ? Is it a caste-based dietary restriction?
  - rightbyte 4y ago
    Where on earth are onions not considered vegan?
    - EForEndeavour 4y ago
      This thread made me learn that strict followers of Jainism don't eat "root vegetables such as potatoes, onions, roots and tubers as they are considered ananthkay. Ananthkay means one body, but containing infinite lives. A root vegetable such as potato, though from the looks of it is one article, is said to contain infinite lives in it." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jain_vegetarianism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jain_vegetarianism Another reason the above page lists: consumption of most root vegetables involves uprooting and killing the entire plant, whereas consumption of most terrestrial vegetables does not kill the plant. Perhaps the most surprising part for me: "Strict Jains do not consume food that has been stored overnight, as it possesses a higher concentration of micro-organisms (for example, bacteria, yeast etc.) as compared to food prepared and consumed the same day."
    - FooBarBizBazz 4y ago
      Western veganism and vegetarianism are not the same as in India. Indian "veg" cuisine disallows eggs (unlike western vegetarian) but allows milk (unlike western veganism). There is also a stricter form in which garlic and onions are disallowed, because they are said to inflame the passions. There was a time when some Westerners believed similar things, which is how the world got corn flakes. And some other things I won't go into here.
  - puranjay 4y ago
    Yes, some castes and religions don't eat onions.
  - MisterSandman 4y ago
    Onions are vegan. The definition of the word "vegan" doesn't change depending on what country you're from. There are religions within India that don't eat onion (Jainism come to mind).
- tablespoon 4y ago
  > Our country’s finance minister was asked about the high price of onions - a key staple in the Indian diet - and she quipped that she doesn’t care because she doesn’t eat onions. This? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOPEaZfHiMs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOPEaZfHiMs
- FooBarBizBazz 4y ago
  A decade ago in India, this was taken much more seriously: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Indian_onion_crisis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Indian_onion_crisis
revolvingocelot 4y ago
I'm no fan of the Conservatives, the "political" "party" responsible for said laughter and ridicule, but it's important to point out that that video [0] is of Question Period, which, much like Britain's (and presumably other Westminister parliamentary democracies), isn't decorous at all, unlike normal House proceedings. Rather, QP is reserved for gotchas, laughter, and ridicule -- which doesn't entirely absolve the Cons, but it should be seen as less "mask-off evil" and more "unnecessarily theatrical, but about something actually genuinely important rather than a meaningless political scandal". So, callous, and uh, approaching evil, but not there yet. The "some MP" in question is Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the NDP, Canada's perennially second-banana left-wing party. To translate the status of the NDP into American: you can think of them as those third-party candidates who'd actually usher in change, but thanks to FUD everyone votes for one of the two neoliberals [1]. [0] https://youtu.be/mvzrfn9szsA?t=1907 https://youtu.be/mvzrfn9szsA?t=1907 [1] https://frinkiac.com/caption/S08E01/1276507 https://frinkiac.com/caption/S08E01/1276507
- wnolens 4y ago
  > To translate the status of the NDP into American: you can think of them as those third-party candidates who'd actually usher in change, but thanks to FUD everyone votes for one of the two neoliberals I don't think the fear, uncertainty, and doubt are unwarranted when your policy proposal are roughly "free everything for everyone" and "no rich people allowed". I'm being a bit crass, but I don't have the time to dig up and cite their policy proposals from the federal election a few years ago which looked like a fantasy wishlist that ignores things like "costs".
  - revolvingocelot 4y ago
    >I'm being a bit crass, but I don't have the time to dig up and cite their policy proposals from the federal election a few years ago which looked like a fantasy wishlist that ignores things like "costs". Just an FYI to other HN users: this is just lies. Whether ignorance or malice, it's lies. The above position isn't an unusual one in the Canadian right wing, though; I bet the above poster voted for Kodos. Regarding the 2021 election: >In the IFSD report released Sunday, the NDP platform was rated high by Mr. Page’s institute for realistic fiscal assumptions and passed on fiscal responsibility, but got a failing grade on transparency. [0] And as for Kodos' team: >Mr. Page’s team gave the Conservative costed platform a passing grade overall, but a score of “fail” under the category of responsible fiscal management. [0] The NDP are often maligned this way, yet cursory examination of federal (and even most provincial!) political history shows that, er, the Conservatives are the ones who are bad with money. [1] It's just that Postmedia, our media monopoly, is mostly owned by the American-right-wing-aligned Chatham Asset Management, and thus backs the Cons more often than not. [0] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ndp-is-the-last-of-three-main-parties-to-release-platform-costing-as/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ndp-is-the-... [1] https://rabble.ca/economy/ndp-far-have-most-fiscally-responsible-record-any-federal-party/ https://rabble.ca/economy/ndp-far-have-most-fiscally-respons...
wnolens 4y ago
They were laughing at his proposal [1], which seems like it would increase inflation in the same way that stimulus checks and rock-bottom interest rates did - by giving people cheap/free money. Jagmeet Singh likes to characterize businesses as blood sucking institutions making money hand over fist. But competition in a healthy market makes it so that you can't just increase profit margins, because a competitor will eat your lunch. One big issue in Canada is that there is a lack of competition. Close friends who are entrepreneurs in Canada tell me that starting/operating a business in Canada is really difficult compared to the US (a lot more regulations, a lot less capital, and investors are really conservative). Telecom in Canada is pretty much a cartel - 3 providers, price fixing/geography-exclusion agreements, they inhabit the regulatory boards, ... [1] https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/ndp-wants-to-redistribute-excess-corporate-profits-to-canadians-to-ease-inflation https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/ndp-wants-to-redistri...
- rowanajmarshall 4y ago
  A great article on this subject: https://palladiummag.com/2019/09/19/how-not-to-build-a-country-canadas-late-soviet-pessimism/ https://palladiummag.com/2019/09/19/how-not-to-build-a-count...
- 908B64B197 4y ago
  > They were laughing at his proposal [1], which seems like it would increase inflation in the same way that stimulus checks and rock-bottom interest rates did - by giving people cheap/free money. Interestingly, that's something fairly common in Indian politics: trying to squeeze out the vote from certain ethnic groups with handouts. It's just that some Indian politicians are a little more direct (It was once explained to me that a race was won after one party declared they would give out flat screen TVs should they win...). > Close friends who are entrepreneurs in Canada tell me that starting/operating a business in Canada is really difficult compared to the US (a lot more regulations, a lot less capital, and investors are really conservative). That's something a Canadian founder echoed to me long ago. He was trying to raise with a friend from Switzerland and basically couldn't get anyone to take him seriously (I think the only offer he got in Canada was for a loan if he could make something like 10K in profits per months?). Even getting a meeting took several months. He was about to shelve the project when he came down to the valley (heading out to Yosemite to go climbing) and tried to schedule a meeting or two with some VCs. To his surprise, he was able to pitch to three different investors in a span of two days. Long story short, he eventually decided to move to the valley and that's where he and his co-founder secured funding.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

Our country’s finance minister was asked about the high price of onions - a key staple in the Indian diet - and she quipped that she doesn’t care because she doesn’t eat onions. Our rulers are cruel, intentionally so.

gradschoolfail 4y ago
Are onions considered vegan in India ? Is it a caste-based dietary restriction?
- rightbyte 4y ago
  Where on earth are onions not considered vegan?
  - EForEndeavour 4y ago
    This thread made me learn that strict followers of Jainism don't eat "root vegetables such as potatoes, onions, roots and tubers as they are considered ananthkay. Ananthkay means one body, but containing infinite lives. A root vegetable such as potato, though from the looks of it is one article, is said to contain infinite lives in it." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jain_vegetarianism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jain_vegetarianism Another reason the above page lists: consumption of most root vegetables involves uprooting and killing the entire plant, whereas consumption of most terrestrial vegetables does not kill the plant. Perhaps the most surprising part for me: "Strict Jains do not consume food that has been stored overnight, as it possesses a higher concentration of micro-organisms (for example, bacteria, yeast etc.) as compared to food prepared and consumed the same day."
  - FooBarBizBazz 4y ago
    Western veganism and vegetarianism are not the same as in India. Indian "veg" cuisine disallows eggs (unlike western vegetarian) but allows milk (unlike western veganism). There is also a stricter form in which garlic and onions are disallowed, because they are said to inflame the passions. There was a time when some Westerners believed similar things, which is how the world got corn flakes. And some other things I won't go into here.
- puranjay 4y ago
  Yes, some castes and religions don't eat onions.
- MisterSandman 4y ago
  Onions are vegan. The definition of the word "vegan" doesn't change depending on what country you're from. There are religions within India that don't eat onion (Jainism come to mind).
tablespoon 4y ago
> Our country’s finance minister was asked about the high price of onions - a key staple in the Indian diet - and she quipped that she doesn’t care because she doesn’t eat onions. This? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOPEaZfHiMs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOPEaZfHiMs
FooBarBizBazz 4y ago
A decade ago in India, this was taken much more seriously: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Indian_onion_crisis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Indian_onion_crisis

revolvingocelot 4y ago

I'm no fan of the Conservatives, the "political" "party" responsible for said laughter and ridicule, but it's important to point out that that video [0] is of Question Period, which, much like Britain's (and presumably other Westminister parliamentary democracies), isn't decorous at all, unlike normal House proceedings. Rather, QP is reserved for gotchas, laughter, and ridicule -- which doesn't entirely absolve the Cons, but it should be seen as less "mask-off evil" and more "unnecessarily theatrical, but about something actually genuinely important rather than a meaningless political scandal". So, callous, and uh, approaching evil, but not there yet. The "some MP" in question is Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the NDP, Canada's perennially second-banana left-wing party. To translate the status of the NDP into American: you can think of them as those third-party candidates who'd actually usher in change, but thanks to FUD everyone votes for one of the two neoliberals [1]. [0] https://youtu.be/mvzrfn9szsA?t=1907 https://youtu.be/mvzrfn9szsA?t=1907 [1] https://frinkiac.com/caption/S08E01/1276507 https://frinkiac.com/caption/S08E01/1276507

wnolens 4y ago
> To translate the status of the NDP into American: you can think of them as those third-party candidates who'd actually usher in change, but thanks to FUD everyone votes for one of the two neoliberals I don't think the fear, uncertainty, and doubt are unwarranted when your policy proposal are roughly "free everything for everyone" and "no rich people allowed". I'm being a bit crass, but I don't have the time to dig up and cite their policy proposals from the federal election a few years ago which looked like a fantasy wishlist that ignores things like "costs".
- revolvingocelot 4y ago
  >I'm being a bit crass, but I don't have the time to dig up and cite their policy proposals from the federal election a few years ago which looked like a fantasy wishlist that ignores things like "costs". Just an FYI to other HN users: this is just lies. Whether ignorance or malice, it's lies. The above position isn't an unusual one in the Canadian right wing, though; I bet the above poster voted for Kodos. Regarding the 2021 election: >In the IFSD report released Sunday, the NDP platform was rated high by Mr. Page’s institute for realistic fiscal assumptions and passed on fiscal responsibility, but got a failing grade on transparency. [0] And as for Kodos' team: >Mr. Page’s team gave the Conservative costed platform a passing grade overall, but a score of “fail” under the category of responsible fiscal management. [0] The NDP are often maligned this way, yet cursory examination of federal (and even most provincial!) political history shows that, er, the Conservatives are the ones who are bad with money. [1] It's just that Postmedia, our media monopoly, is mostly owned by the American-right-wing-aligned Chatham Asset Management, and thus backs the Cons more often than not. [0] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ndp-is-the-last-of-three-main-parties-to-release-platform-costing-as/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ndp-is-the-... [1] https://rabble.ca/economy/ndp-far-have-most-fiscally-responsible-record-any-federal-party/ https://rabble.ca/economy/ndp-far-have-most-fiscally-respons...

wnolens 4y ago

They were laughing at his proposal [1], which seems like it would increase inflation in the same way that stimulus checks and rock-bottom interest rates did - by giving people cheap/free money. Jagmeet Singh likes to characterize businesses as blood sucking institutions making money hand over fist. But competition in a healthy market makes it so that you can't just increase profit margins, because a competitor will eat your lunch. One big issue in Canada is that there is a lack of competition. Close friends who are entrepreneurs in Canada tell me that starting/operating a business in Canada is really difficult compared to the US (a lot more regulations, a lot less capital, and investors are really conservative). Telecom in Canada is pretty much a cartel - 3 providers, price fixing/geography-exclusion agreements, they inhabit the regulatory boards, ... [1] https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/ndp-wants-to-redistribute-excess-corporate-profits-to-canadians-to-ease-inflation https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/ndp-wants-to-redistri...

rowanajmarshall 4y ago
A great article on this subject: https://palladiummag.com/2019/09/19/how-not-to-build-a-country-canadas-late-soviet-pessimism/ https://palladiummag.com/2019/09/19/how-not-to-build-a-count...
908B64B197 4y ago
> They were laughing at his proposal [1], which seems like it would increase inflation in the same way that stimulus checks and rock-bottom interest rates did - by giving people cheap/free money. Interestingly, that's something fairly common in Indian politics: trying to squeeze out the vote from certain ethnic groups with handouts. It's just that some Indian politicians are a little more direct (It was once explained to me that a race was won after one party declared they would give out flat screen TVs should they win...). > Close friends who are entrepreneurs in Canada tell me that starting/operating a business in Canada is really difficult compared to the US (a lot more regulations, a lot less capital, and investors are really conservative). That's something a Canadian founder echoed to me long ago. He was trying to raise with a friend from Switzerland and basically couldn't get anyone to take him seriously (I think the only offer he got in Canada was for a loan if he could make something like 10K in profits per months?). Even getting a meeting took several months. He was about to shelve the project when he came down to the valley (heading out to Yosemite to go climbing) and tried to schedule a meeting or two with some VCs. To his surprise, he was able to pitch to three different investors in a span of two days. Long story short, he eventually decided to move to the valley and that's where he and his co-founder secured funding.