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Prince Philip has died

royal.uk

491–500 of 553 posts

Re: Prince Philip has died

#491

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The Brits storied history at sea must give them access to tons of tactics to pull from.

British Naval History is fascinating - in a lot of ways the reform of the navy into a modern (for it's day) naval force has interesting lessons about people management and harnessing technological developments as a force multiplier. Things like this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_sheathing gave the navy a marked advantage against it's peers.

> British Naval History is fascinating

Tell me more. I'm four volumes in to the Aubrey-Maturin series, and will read the remaining 16, but I'm curious about, say, the top two or three non-fiction books for the interested layman.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#492

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We could expand the word to the context it was used in if that is what you desire: medical treatment. We're not talking about treatment in itself, since that would also cover unrelated issues like 'waste water treatment', which isn't exactly related to the conversational context here.

How about the word "Therapeutic"?

Again, depends what for. If someone told me laughter was genuinely therapeutic for clinical depression, I… ok, I would still be surprised, but I could be convinced.

If they told me it would cure Alzheimer’s, I’d make a mental note to ignore their opinions in future.

“Alternative medicine” is so often snake oil, that anything calling itself that is something I hold in the same regard as Star Trek Voyager’s plot devices. Indeed, one such “alternative medicine” is what my mother used religiously to stave off old age memory problems — she got Alzheimer’s about 16 years younger than her mother, who didn’t use them.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#494

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I believe Prince Charles may have been made a mason, but I don't think he's active, unlike several of his relatives.

Like who? Anyplace to read up on it? Obviously their ceremonies are full of masonic and other esoteric pagan ritual. THey are a pagan Germanic-druid hybrid after-all.

That might be pushing it a bit. Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent is the Grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of England.

Freemasonry isn't pagan in any major sense. It's pretty solidly Abrahamic, and parts of it are explicitly Christian. The closest you'll get to paganism is a continuation of themes and symbolism which are shared in common between ancient cultures.

https://www.ugle.org.uk/about-us/whos-who/12-governance/155-...

Re: Prince Philip has died

#495

I wonder if he will get to be reincarnated as a deadly virus that contributes to the "overpopulation problem" like he wished. (yes, for real) I find the many servile and naive responses here really quite pathetic. The man was evil both personally and as part of the structure of the monarchy. I understand that many simply don't know about his history, either as outsiders with a strange fascination with royalty but onl…

How is the monarchy more evil than the current corporate oligopoly? The latter does far more damage to society.

Dont fool yourself, the monarchy and capitalism are hand in glove, and not in opposition...

Re: Prince Philip has died

#496
post #315

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As others have said: We do the trials, and, if something from the pre-scientific era passes muster, we figure out the best way to make it as safe and efficacious as possible with the least variability in effect and fewest side effects. I'm not saying that eating a plant is ineffective, but plants don't come with dosage information for the active ingredient printed on the stem, and knowing how much of the useful (and…

Yeah, but by stigmatising traditional medicine as 'not medicine', the damage has already been done. Lots of people would be turned off a remedy just because it's 'not medicine', even afterward it was proven scientifically. It is medicine, just not scientific medicine. Compare with the issue of getting people to trust in vaccines when the news headlines are all about very rare side effects. Keep in mind that there are…

“Lots of people would be turned off a remedy just because it's 'not medicine', even afterward it was proven scientifically.” Not sure when that has actually happened?

Willow bark to aspirin is a great example of an extremely old “traditional” treatment becoming medicine. Same with quinine for malaria, etc. Tons of real medicines originated by isolating compounds found in nature, even if the final pill form you see is purified or even synthetic. Most people are unaware or just fine with this fact. Sure there are probably many natural treatments out there that are effective (and many that aren’t, or are downright dangerous). We should do the work needed to study them scientifically, and turn the good ones into medicine. Not just promote alternative treatments indiscriminately.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#497
post #156

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Not having any strong feelings about the birth, life or death of the royals is an extremely mild sentiment that is shared by millions in the UK and billions across the globe. If you find it shocking, offensive or vindictive then I don't think the internet is the place for you.

It's the urge to blurt it out to be controversial that is what I find childish.

The original commenter is an Indian who would have more reason than most to despise the Royal family and, frankly, the UK in general. Yet they showed genuine compassion and goodwill towards Philip. This was surprising and I thought it interesting to share that as a Brit I have nearly no feelings at all (other than my general dislike of the monarchy). This is a forum, we interact and share our opinions through these comments and what I said was pretty uncontroversial.

If you are bothered by his passing then fine, I'm sorry for your loss. But maybe trying to pick fights on HN is not the most productive way to grieve.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#498
post #482

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Personally I see them as a somewhat irrelevant but harmless relic of a bygone era, about which I am largely indifferent. Philip certainly had his flaws, but he was also a brave and resourceful man. The only way he directly touched my life is that both my daughters took part in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme, which they thoroughly enjoyed and had a very positive influence on their lives. Thanks Phil.

> somewhat irrelevant but harmless relic of a bygone era, about which I am largely indifferent. Many old people, still alive, lived a good chunk of their lives in what was a British colony then and he was the prince then too. Neither was it that far back in history, nor was it harmless :) You can be indifferent like many others and celebrate the British monarchy, but I suppose I cannot, like many others.

A lot of things your grandpa did in 1930s was probably deeply sexist. Are you going to also look at your granpa with vengeful attitude? Society evolves. Forgive the wrong doings of the past, and move forward. Look ahead.

Re: Prince Philip has died

#500
post #67

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As a Brit I agree wholeheartedly with your first paragraph. Re your second, you are a much more mature and compassionate person than I am about this. I am completely ambivalent about his death. He was a very old man who lived a spectacularly privileged life and had little to no worries. I care not a jot whether he found peace.

> "had little to no worries" - As an infant, was evacuated from Greece with his (and his family's) life in grave danger. Spent his childhood mostly estranged from his family - As a young man, served on a naval ship as part of the campaign to defeat fascist Germany and Japan. At least once helped save his ship's crew from a German bombing attack. Probably faced many other threats to his own life and to his comrades. -…

I'm not going to debate the pros and cons of a dead royal. It is indisputable that he led an incredibly privileged existence, try to think what the life of your average commoner also born in 1921 was like if you are not sure.
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