Miscellaneous Facebook posts & comments in April 2019
When author of post or comment is not mentioned, it should be assumed that it is me (Ravi S. Iyer).
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2476199025929993
Could not believe it but it seems to be true! That's very, very tragic!
"As of Saturday night, 272 election officials had died, mostly from overwork-related illnesses, while 1,878 others had fallen ill, said Arief Priyo Susanto, spokesman of the General Elections Commission (KPU)."
[Shared article: Over 270 die in Indonesia counting ballot papers by hand during elections, https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/over-270-die-in-indonesia-counting-ballot-papers-by-hand-during-elections/story-uVB9LuOm8NNWrtmLwMS47L.html, 29th April 2019]
=============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2473794296170466
Lovely rendition of Rahe na Rahe hum from 1960s movie Mamta by Saritha Rahman in Kozhikode, Kerala in 2010s, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVL4oKtGA4M, 4 min. 17 secs.
Here's the original from Mamta 1966 film sung by Mohd. Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33bc3ReYKh0, 4 min. 29 secs.
=================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2472787649604464
Interesting! Hopefully, I will get to read her work someday.
When the south was one; Historian Vasundhara Filliozat on distortions of history, and how the Karnataka empire ruled over most of south India and fought Muslim invasions. https://fountainink.in/qna/when-the-south-was-one, 15th March 2018
====================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2470391316510764
The techie (in India) got laid off in December. The article states, "The police also said that Kumar lost his job in Bengaluru and was facing a financial crisis, which could be the reason for the crime."
Indian software techies should not have a lifestyle that presumes that they will always be earning high salaries. Sometimes people get laid off, or face health crisis which can impact their job.
Material "ceiling on desires" and having one's feet solidly on the ground, are vital survival traits which may help such persons overcome loss of a job and/or financial downturns.
[Shared article: Ghaziabad Techie Kills Wife & 3 Kids, Admits to Crime on WhatsApp, https://www.thequint.com/news/india/techie-kills-family-confesses-on-whatsapp-video-ghaziabad, 22nd Apr. 2019
========================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2466737540209475
Telling it like it is as one becomes an oldie and loses shape. I really like the frankness of some folks from the USA. They just tell it like it is!
I enjoyed this song, slightly less than 3 mins.
[Shared video link: https://www.facebook.com/satya.kps/videos/1087909464750607/ ]
Here's the youtube video of the song: I Don't Look Good Naked Anymore, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOgd9hitEAE, 2 min. 55 secs,
published by The Snake Oil Willie Band on Jul 18, 2014. It now has over 15 million views.
==========================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2466732803543282
[Smiley-Icon]
I have done that a few times in frustration with some malfunctioning machines! But I did not have the joy then of knowing that I was doing "percussive maintenance" :-). What a great funny term!
[Shared link with text intro, "Percussive maintenance: the idea that you can fix a malfunctioning machine by smacking it a few times.": https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/percussive_maintenance]
===============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2466395283577034
Sad but the Denver, Colorado, USA police and FBI need to be congratulated for preventing any killings by this lady (other than her own suicide), https://nypost.com/2019/04/17/columbine-obsessed-teen-sol-pais-dead-after-sparking-massive-manhunt/
Hmm. 18 year old honors student who may be suffering from mental health issues buys gun and ammo and was obsessed with Columbine shootings! No wonder the police authorities were worried.
Tough on the woman's family!
============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2465484923668070
Quite disturbing video. I don't know how reputed the Australian makers of this video are. If what they are portraying is largely true then that should be a pretty worrying thing for freedom lovers in Australia. Note that the video is published by ABC News Australia.
Interference: China’s covert political influence campaign in Australia | Four Corners, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T_Lu1S0sII, 45 min. 42 secs, published by ABC News Australia on 8th April 2019.
Ravi: I would also like to say that I admire the great material achievements of China in the past few decades. In particular, I am awed by how they moved hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Hats off to China and its Communist Party for that outstanding achievement.
But now there is a serious concern that China is using its power and influence in other countries (including Australia in this case as per this video), in ways that are incompatible with values of freedom that are vital in democracies (including India). So long as China does not interfere in freedom loving democratic countries in the world, I am fine with Chinese outstanding material success with their Communist Party rule. To have communism (Chinese style/characteristics) is China's choice and I respect that choice of China, even if I strongly prefer democracy for my country, India.
============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2463306800552549
A thought provoking March 2015 TED talk which seems to be quite valid even today, four years after the talk.
Anand Giridharadas: A tale of two Americas. And the mini-mart where they collided, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i-pNVj5KMw, around 20 mins, published on 24th March 2015 by TED.
============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2463261807223715
Sad to see this decline in BSNL's fortunes. Hope that it gets revived quickly. Since perhaps 2004/2005 I have been a BSNL mobile and landline customer in Puttaparthi till now (2019), with a small break in between when I had switched to Reliance Jio (as its service prices were just too attractive as compared to BSNL then). As of now, I continue to be a BSNL mobile as well as landline customer (in Puttaparthi). I wish BSNL all the very best!
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/how-bsnl-lost-its-preeminent-position-to-private-players/1547395/
=============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2461949927354903
Nigel Farage (of UK) takes the plunge with a new party called - no surprise - the Brexit party!
Farage launches Brexit Party for 'betrayed electorate', https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV94qggkuZM, 7 min. 23 secs, published by Sky News on 12th April 2019
The first election the Brexit party is preparing to contest is the European Parliament elections on May 23rd. When questioned about the possibility of Britain exiting the EU before May 23rd (implementing Brexit) which will mean that Britain will NOT have a European Parliament election, Farage says that he does not believe that UK Parliament will accept the deal offered by UK PM Theresa May (and so implies that Britain will not exit the EU before May 23rd).
It is very interesting to note this ability that democracy provides for noted leaders like Nigel Farage to attempt to influence a country's policies on such critical matters like being in a consortium of nations like the EU or not, through creating a new political party and contesting elections.
In my country, India, political parties are created almost at the drop of the proverbial hat, by political leaders who are unhappy in their current party. Most of the political parties created in this manner have influence only in one state but sometimes over a few states. On rare occasions, a few of such political parties become national stage parties over time.
At times, political novices get together on ideological lines and launch a new political party.
Had this not been an election season in India, I would have provided some examples of such somewhat recently created political parties in India.
,,,
Nigel Farage Launches Brexit Party for European Elections | Good Morning Britain, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwbhmwiu9lE, 9 min 47 secs, published by Good Morning Britain on 12th April 2019.
=====================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2461752664041296
Interesting message. I have come across references to Protestant ethic of hard work and sacrifice (or something like that) being viewed as the driving force for Western Europe's (and USA founded primarily by Western European settlers) astounding success in the centuries prior to World Wars I & II. I have not read much about it so far.
In the context of the (history of the) USA, I think Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s remarks seem to be correct. I have read that it was the money that cotton in the USA (South mainly) generated that powered USA economic rise. And for that cotton, the low-cost work of the black slaves (from Africa) seems to have been absolutely vital.
[Shared FB post link: https://www.facebook.com/waronbrownpeople2/photos/a.1125235917620297/1616512231825994/?type=3 has a quote of Martin Luther King Jr.: "We have deluded ourselves into believing the myth that capitalism grew and prospered out of the Protestant ethic of hard work and sacrifice. The fact is that capitalism was built on the exploitation and suffering of black slaves and continues to thrive on the exploitation of the poor - both black and white, here and abroad."]
==========================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2461238274092735
We have to face the reality of this major problem for the world if we want to overcome it. I very much doubt that pretending the problem is not there will solve it. It may not matter much for current generation retired folks (like me) but it sure will matter for the coming generations. And so I think the current generations including retired folks like me should do our bit by learning about the problem and then exploring how we can do our bit to help combat it.
[Shared article link: There's so much CO2 in the atmosphere that planting trees can no longer save us, https://www.businessinsider.com/so-much-co2-planting-trees-cant-save-us-2017-5?IR=T, Oct. 26th 2018]
=======================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2458352901047939
Good. There is something very suspicious about China's Belt & Road Initiative. India should not get into any financial debt traps of China. That would be a great disaster for India. So it is best for India to keep away from China's Belt & Road Initiative.
Another big problem with any major infrastructure thing with China is the lack of transparency in Chinese economy and culture. Sure, India too has some issues in its own economy and culture related to lack of transparency. But India is far better than China in this regard. USA and Western Europe are very good at transparency in their economy and culture matters. I think China's lack of transparency comes from its lack of democratic freedoms for its people. It is a very fundamental thing about China. I, as an Indian citizen and resident, am very uncomfortable about any deep association of India with China due to China's lack of democratic freedoms. I think it is far better for India to associate with USA and Western Europe, as well as Japan, South Korea & Singapore in Asia, and Australia and New Zealand, as they have these democratic freedoms.
Chinese world domination through its Belt & Road Initiative, I think, will be bad for democratic freedom loving people.
[Shared article link: For the second time, India declines China’s invite for BRI forum, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/for-the-second-time-india-declines-chinas-invite-for-bri-forum/articleshow/68769033.cms, 8th Apr. 2019
=======================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2454607881422441
British PM May looks for common ground with opposition (Labour) leader Corbyn but that's being strongly opposed by some in her own Conservative party
Tories horrified by Theresa May's Brexit pact with Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, https://www.deccanchronicle.com/world/europe/040419/tories-horrified-by-theresa-mays-brexit-pact-with-opposition-leader-j.html, 4th April 2019
The issue at hand is Customs Union. Labour wants it but some Conservatives are dead against it. An extract from the article: "A string of Tory MPs directly challenged her opening the door to a softer Brexit, which could involve tearing up a manifesto commitment not to pursue a customs union."
They say, politics is the art of the compromise. I think Brexit is a huge test of this "art of the compromise" that is playing out not only on the UK and EU stage but on the world stage.
----
====================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2452599958289900
Quite a character! An incurable optimist perhaps! But then the great thing about Indian democracy is that despite losing his deposit (very badly losing) in all elections he has contested, he is still allowed to contest current (and future) elections (and perhaps lose deposit money again). I think deposit money gets forfeited by a candidate if he/she fails to get some bare minimum percentage of votes cast.
In Indian democracy, he also gets to be head of his political party called Mazdoor Kisan (Worker Farmer) Union Party!
One of his election campaign promises is to provide a voter pension scheme (yes, voter pension scheme) "so no man is in want of money". He is a candidate for the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) for the Muzzafarnagar constituency in Uttar Pradesh, a north Indian state.
[Shared article: No cash, zero balance in bank account, candidate from Muzaffarnagar who campaigns on foot may be poorest neta, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/no-cash-zero-balance-in-bank-account-candidate-from-mnagar-who-campaigns-on-foot-may-be-poorest-neta/articleshow/68660428.cms, 1st April 2019]
========================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2476199025929993
Could not believe it but it seems to be true! That's very, very tragic!
"As of Saturday night, 272 election officials had died, mostly from overwork-related illnesses, while 1,878 others had fallen ill, said Arief Priyo Susanto, spokesman of the General Elections Commission (KPU)."
[Shared article: Over 270 die in Indonesia counting ballot papers by hand during elections, https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/over-270-die-in-indonesia-counting-ballot-papers-by-hand-during-elections/story-uVB9LuOm8NNWrtmLwMS47L.html, 29th April 2019]
=============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2473794296170466
Lovely rendition of Rahe na Rahe hum from 1960s movie Mamta by Saritha Rahman in Kozhikode, Kerala in 2010s, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVL4oKtGA4M, 4 min. 17 secs.
Here's the original from Mamta 1966 film sung by Mohd. Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33bc3ReYKh0, 4 min. 29 secs.
=================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2472787649604464
Interesting! Hopefully, I will get to read her work someday.
When the south was one; Historian Vasundhara Filliozat on distortions of history, and how the Karnataka empire ruled over most of south India and fought Muslim invasions. https://fountainink.in/qna/when-the-south-was-one, 15th March 2018
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2470391316510764
The techie (in India) got laid off in December. The article states, "The police also said that Kumar lost his job in Bengaluru and was facing a financial crisis, which could be the reason for the crime."
Indian software techies should not have a lifestyle that presumes that they will always be earning high salaries. Sometimes people get laid off, or face health crisis which can impact their job.
Material "ceiling on desires" and having one's feet solidly on the ground, are vital survival traits which may help such persons overcome loss of a job and/or financial downturns.
[Shared article: Ghaziabad Techie Kills Wife & 3 Kids, Admits to Crime on WhatsApp, https://www.thequint.com/news/india/techie-kills-family-confesses-on-whatsapp-video-ghaziabad, 22nd Apr. 2019
========================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2466737540209475
Telling it like it is as one becomes an oldie and loses shape. I really like the frankness of some folks from the USA. They just tell it like it is!
I enjoyed this song, slightly less than 3 mins.
[Shared video link: https://www.facebook.com/satya.kps/videos/1087909464750607/ ]
Here's the youtube video of the song: I Don't Look Good Naked Anymore, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOgd9hitEAE, 2 min. 55 secs,
published by The Snake Oil Willie Band on Jul 18, 2014. It now has over 15 million views.
==========================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2466732803543282
[Smiley-Icon]
I have done that a few times in frustration with some malfunctioning machines! But I did not have the joy then of knowing that I was doing "percussive maintenance" :-). What a great funny term!
[Shared link with text intro, "Percussive maintenance: the idea that you can fix a malfunctioning machine by smacking it a few times.": https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/percussive_maintenance]
===============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2466395283577034
Sad but the Denver, Colorado, USA police and FBI need to be congratulated for preventing any killings by this lady (other than her own suicide), https://nypost.com/2019/04/17/columbine-obsessed-teen-sol-pais-dead-after-sparking-massive-manhunt/
Hmm. 18 year old honors student who may be suffering from mental health issues buys gun and ammo and was obsessed with Columbine shootings! No wonder the police authorities were worried.
Tough on the woman's family!
============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2465484923668070
Quite disturbing video. I don't know how reputed the Australian makers of this video are. If what they are portraying is largely true then that should be a pretty worrying thing for freedom lovers in Australia. Note that the video is published by ABC News Australia.
Interference: China’s covert political influence campaign in Australia | Four Corners, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T_Lu1S0sII, 45 min. 42 secs, published by ABC News Australia on 8th April 2019.
Ravi: I would also like to say that I admire the great material achievements of China in the past few decades. In particular, I am awed by how they moved hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Hats off to China and its Communist Party for that outstanding achievement.
But now there is a serious concern that China is using its power and influence in other countries (including Australia in this case as per this video), in ways that are incompatible with values of freedom that are vital in democracies (including India). So long as China does not interfere in freedom loving democratic countries in the world, I am fine with Chinese outstanding material success with their Communist Party rule. To have communism (Chinese style/characteristics) is China's choice and I respect that choice of China, even if I strongly prefer democracy for my country, India.
============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2463306800552549
A thought provoking March 2015 TED talk which seems to be quite valid even today, four years after the talk.
Anand Giridharadas: A tale of two Americas. And the mini-mart where they collided, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i-pNVj5KMw, around 20 mins, published on 24th March 2015 by TED.
============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2463261807223715
Sad to see this decline in BSNL's fortunes. Hope that it gets revived quickly. Since perhaps 2004/2005 I have been a BSNL mobile and landline customer in Puttaparthi till now (2019), with a small break in between when I had switched to Reliance Jio (as its service prices were just too attractive as compared to BSNL then). As of now, I continue to be a BSNL mobile as well as landline customer (in Puttaparthi). I wish BSNL all the very best!
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/how-bsnl-lost-its-preeminent-position-to-private-players/1547395/
=============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2461949927354903
Nigel Farage (of UK) takes the plunge with a new party called - no surprise - the Brexit party!
Farage launches Brexit Party for 'betrayed electorate', https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV94qggkuZM, 7 min. 23 secs, published by Sky News on 12th April 2019
The first election the Brexit party is preparing to contest is the European Parliament elections on May 23rd. When questioned about the possibility of Britain exiting the EU before May 23rd (implementing Brexit) which will mean that Britain will NOT have a European Parliament election, Farage says that he does not believe that UK Parliament will accept the deal offered by UK PM Theresa May (and so implies that Britain will not exit the EU before May 23rd).
It is very interesting to note this ability that democracy provides for noted leaders like Nigel Farage to attempt to influence a country's policies on such critical matters like being in a consortium of nations like the EU or not, through creating a new political party and contesting elections.
In my country, India, political parties are created almost at the drop of the proverbial hat, by political leaders who are unhappy in their current party. Most of the political parties created in this manner have influence only in one state but sometimes over a few states. On rare occasions, a few of such political parties become national stage parties over time.
At times, political novices get together on ideological lines and launch a new political party.
Had this not been an election season in India, I would have provided some examples of such somewhat recently created political parties in India.
,,,
Nigel Farage Launches Brexit Party for European Elections | Good Morning Britain, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwbhmwiu9lE, 9 min 47 secs, published by Good Morning Britain on 12th April 2019.
=====================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2461752664041296
Interesting message. I have come across references to Protestant ethic of hard work and sacrifice (or something like that) being viewed as the driving force for Western Europe's (and USA founded primarily by Western European settlers) astounding success in the centuries prior to World Wars I & II. I have not read much about it so far.
In the context of the (history of the) USA, I think Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s remarks seem to be correct. I have read that it was the money that cotton in the USA (South mainly) generated that powered USA economic rise. And for that cotton, the low-cost work of the black slaves (from Africa) seems to have been absolutely vital.
[Shared FB post link: https://www.facebook.com/waronbrownpeople2/photos/a.1125235917620297/1616512231825994/?type=3 has a quote of Martin Luther King Jr.: "We have deluded ourselves into believing the myth that capitalism grew and prospered out of the Protestant ethic of hard work and sacrifice. The fact is that capitalism was built on the exploitation and suffering of black slaves and continues to thrive on the exploitation of the poor - both black and white, here and abroad."]
==========================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2461238274092735
We have to face the reality of this major problem for the world if we want to overcome it. I very much doubt that pretending the problem is not there will solve it. It may not matter much for current generation retired folks (like me) but it sure will matter for the coming generations. And so I think the current generations including retired folks like me should do our bit by learning about the problem and then exploring how we can do our bit to help combat it.
[Shared article link: There's so much CO2 in the atmosphere that planting trees can no longer save us, https://www.businessinsider.com/so-much-co2-planting-trees-cant-save-us-2017-5?IR=T, Oct. 26th 2018]
=======================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2458352901047939
Good. There is something very suspicious about China's Belt & Road Initiative. India should not get into any financial debt traps of China. That would be a great disaster for India. So it is best for India to keep away from China's Belt & Road Initiative.
Another big problem with any major infrastructure thing with China is the lack of transparency in Chinese economy and culture. Sure, India too has some issues in its own economy and culture related to lack of transparency. But India is far better than China in this regard. USA and Western Europe are very good at transparency in their economy and culture matters. I think China's lack of transparency comes from its lack of democratic freedoms for its people. It is a very fundamental thing about China. I, as an Indian citizen and resident, am very uncomfortable about any deep association of India with China due to China's lack of democratic freedoms. I think it is far better for India to associate with USA and Western Europe, as well as Japan, South Korea & Singapore in Asia, and Australia and New Zealand, as they have these democratic freedoms.
Chinese world domination through its Belt & Road Initiative, I think, will be bad for democratic freedom loving people.
[Shared article link: For the second time, India declines China’s invite for BRI forum, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/for-the-second-time-india-declines-chinas-invite-for-bri-forum/articleshow/68769033.cms, 8th Apr. 2019
=======================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2454607881422441
British PM May looks for common ground with opposition (Labour) leader Corbyn but that's being strongly opposed by some in her own Conservative party
Tories horrified by Theresa May's Brexit pact with Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, https://www.deccanchronicle.com/world/europe/040419/tories-horrified-by-theresa-mays-brexit-pact-with-opposition-leader-j.html, 4th April 2019
The issue at hand is Customs Union. Labour wants it but some Conservatives are dead against it. An extract from the article: "A string of Tory MPs directly challenged her opening the door to a softer Brexit, which could involve tearing up a manifesto commitment not to pursue a customs union."
They say, politics is the art of the compromise. I think Brexit is a huge test of this "art of the compromise" that is playing out not only on the UK and EU stage but on the world stage.
----
====================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2452599958289900
Quite a character! An incurable optimist perhaps! But then the great thing about Indian democracy is that despite losing his deposit (very badly losing) in all elections he has contested, he is still allowed to contest current (and future) elections (and perhaps lose deposit money again). I think deposit money gets forfeited by a candidate if he/she fails to get some bare minimum percentage of votes cast.
In Indian democracy, he also gets to be head of his political party called Mazdoor Kisan (Worker Farmer) Union Party!
One of his election campaign promises is to provide a voter pension scheme (yes, voter pension scheme) "so no man is in want of money". He is a candidate for the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) for the Muzzafarnagar constituency in Uttar Pradesh, a north Indian state.
[Shared article: No cash, zero balance in bank account, candidate from Muzaffarnagar who campaigns on foot may be poorest neta, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/no-cash-zero-balance-in-bank-account-candidate-from-mnagar-who-campaigns-on-foot-may-be-poorest-neta/articleshow/68660428.cms, 1st April 2019]
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