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2 points

You’re correct , he calls everyone a failure and a retard

Reading through some of your posts it is difficult to disagree with him that you are a failure and a retard.

Spartacus(1) Clarified
3 points

Hi bronto. Do you intend to answer the question Quantumhead asked you, or nah?

1 point

I'd say not. He has happily run 80% of the members off the site.

Bronto, someone opened a thread last week and exposed the fact that you have nearly two hundred puppet accounts. There is absolutely no truth to anything you ever say. Just like the two above you, you are a liar and a thoroughly nasty piece of work.

2 points

But you don't even have a gf, bronto.

Are you perhaps talking about your dog?

Given the spectacularly low quality she would have to be in order to put up with your bs, I bet the difference is negligible anyway.

2 points

I've seen this argument in real life I lot of the time when talking to people about this topic, and I've experienced it in my own life.

It isn't an argument. What xMathFanx is trying to do is misdirect you so that you blame the victims of poverty rather than the factors which are actually responsible. It's precisely the same logical fallacy which justifies beating your wife (i.e. "the bigger question is why didn't you leave your husband"?)

Not only does his question assume that the victim hasn't tried to better their own circumstances (which of course is counter-intuitive, since poverty is a bad thing), but it also assumes that, if everybody had "credentials", then nobody would need to work grocery jobs. The fact of the matter is that grocery jobs still need to be done, regardless of whether you do them or somebody else does them.

0 points

Do you believe in telekinesis and psychic powers too, you obnoxious dimwit?

LOL.

If it helps him justify being a nasty little twit, he believes in it. Otherwise, nah.

2 points

You have no evidence that is Bronto

And you have no evidence I am "Nom", you obnoxious, unintelligent hypocrite.

We don't know if the Universe is finite or infinite

Yes we do. You're just an idiot. How can the universe be expanding if it is infinite you silly nugget? The NASA WMAP mission mapped out the background cosmic radiation pattern for the entire universe, moron.

God, you annoy me. You're so stupid and yet simultaneously so arrogant.

1 point

There are drugs designed to kill you instantly. The military calls them suicide pills.

Wtf? How are ordinary people supposed to get hold of cyanide tablets?

2 points

I was following you up to here. Then you lost me.

In fairness, that's hardly difficult. I wager you could get lost in your own car.

1 point

Now again Dummy tell me who is PRO law enforcement

Oh, so you would give up your guns if we made owning them against the law??

That's funny, because I seem to remember you saying the complete opposite. I also seem to remember you calling for armed revolution to get rid of Obama.

1 point

But the universe isn't infinitely complex. It has finite size and finite complexity.

You'd better rethink your question bronto.

-1 points

Con, your hypocrisy is the stuff of absolute legend.

I watched NumberOne explain to you meticulously at least four times why DNA cannot be Jewish, and I watched him repeatedly link an article from Scientist.Com proving his argument was correct. I also watched you respond to his patient explanations by calling him either a Nazi, a Jew hater, or a Jew-hating Nazi.

You are flat out a fucking joke.

0 points

I've just had to ban one of your puppets from this VERY THREAD you obnoxious LIAR.

Correction. Four of your puppets.

0 points

I've just had to ban one of your puppets from this VERY THREAD you obnoxious LIAR.

Correction. Two of your puppets.

2 points

So list out some of my lies for us

Sure. You lied about collecting people's IP addresses. You lied about being an American Indian. You lied about only having one account. You lied about Obama using "whataboutism". You lied about Louis Farrakhan being a Nazi and you lied that criticising actual Nazis makes someone a hypocrite.

I have one account

I've just had to ban one of your puppets from this VERY THREAD you obnoxious LIAR.

You can't edit posts that have been voted on.

Did I say that you can edit posts which have been voted on?

Almost all of my posts have one vote

Then you can fucking edit them, can't you?

Down voting is pointless.

Yet you do it anyway.

So show us some examples for reference.

The attack you just launched under your "RawMeat" puppet in this very debate.

No idea what you're talking about.

Last night you entered a debate in which Rusticus posted video evidence of Trump supporters harassing an elderly lady, and your first words in that debate were: "And, the left supports Farrakhan who is a Nazi".

Have a nice evening, liar. I look forward to dealing with more of your puppets as the night draws on.

-1 points

As a University Senior myself

You have never even seen the inside of a university. What you in fact are is a very determined and dedicated liar. No university senior I have ever met has such poor English (including the international students), and none of them have enough time to spend all day and night shilling on the internet.

In fact, it appears that you spent the entire of yesterday trying to convince site members that education is a scam. See:-

http://www.createdebate.com/debate/show/ The HigherEducationSystemisLargelya_Scam#arg889861

Some would think it strange that you claim to be a "senior" university student, yet have the political opinion and writing style of a 70 year old hardline Conservative, don't understand the concept of evidence, can't write two sentences without lying and/or distorting facts, and sit here all day/night writing love letters to the most openly racist member on the entire site.

2 points

The following is a dissertation I completed several years ago about the agricultural origins and physical characteristics of the onion. PM me for the bibliography.

The onion (Allium cepa L., from Latin cepa "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable and is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. Its close relatives include the garlic, shallot, leek, chive,[2] and Chinese onion.[3]

This genus also contains several other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion (Allium fistulosum), the tree onion (A. ×proliferum), and the Canada onion (Allium canadense). The name "wild onion" is applied to a number of Allium species, but A. cepa is exclusively known from cultivation. Its ancestral wild original form is not known, although escapes from cultivation have become established in some regions.[4] The onion is most frequently a biennial or a perennial plant, but is usually treated as an annual and harvested in its first growing season.

The onion plant has a fan of hollow, bluish-green leaves and its bulb at the base of the plant begins to swell when a certain day-length is reached. The bulbs are composed of shortened, compressed, underground stems surrounded by fleshy modified scale (leaves) that envelop a central bud at the tip of the stem. In the autumn (or in spring, in the case of overwintering onions), the foliage dies down and the outer layers of the bulb become dry and brittle. The crop is harvested and dried and the onions are ready for use or storage. The crop is prone to attack by a number of pests and diseases, particularly the onion fly, the onion eelworm, and various fungi cause rotting. Some varieties of A. cepa, such as shallots and potato onions, produce multiple bulbs.

Onions are cultivated and used around the world. As a food item, they are usually served cooked, as a vegetable or part of a prepared savoury dish, but can also be eaten raw or used to make pickles or chutneys. They are pungent when chopped and contain certain chemical substances which irritate the eyes.

The onion plant has been grown and selectively bred in cultivation for at least 7,000 years. It is a biennial plant, but is usually grown as an annual. Modern varieties typically grow to a height of 15 to 45 cm (6 to 18 in). The leaves are yellowish- to bluish green and grow alternately in a flattened, fan-shaped swathe. They are fleshy, hollow, and cylindrical, with one flattened side. They are at their broadest about a quarter of the way up, beyond which they taper towards a blunt tip. The base of each leaf is a flattened, usually white sheath that grows out of a basal disc. From the underside of the disc, a bundle of fibrous roots extends for a short way into the soil. As the onion matures, food reserves begin to accumulate in the leaf bases and the bulb of the onion swells.[16]

In the autumn, the leaves die back and the outer scales of the bulb become dry and brittle, so the crop is then normally harvested. If left in the soil over winter, the growing point in the middle of the bulb begins to develop in the spring. New leaves appear and a long, stout, hollow stem expands, topped by a bract protecting a developing inflorescence. The inflorescence takes the form of a globular umbel of white flowers with parts in sixes. The seeds are glossy black and triangular in cross section.[16]

The geographic origin of the onion is uncertain because the wild onion is extinct and ancient records of using onions span western and eastern Asia.[17][18] The first cultivated, farmed onions are the subject of much debate, but the two regions that many archaeologists, botanists, and food historians point to are central Asia or Persia. They were probably & almost simultaneously domesticated by peoples all over the globe, as there are species of the onion found the world over.[19] Food uses of onions date back thousands of years in China, Egypt and Persia.[17][18][19]

Traces of onions recovered from Bronze Age settlements in China suggest that onions were used as far back as 5000 BCE, not only for their flavour, but the bulb's durability in storage and transport.[20][19] Ancient Egyptians revered the onion bulb, viewing its spherical shape and concentric rings as symbols of eternal life.[19] Onions were used in Egyptian burials, as evidenced by onion traces found in the eye sockets of Ramesses IV.[21]

Numbers, the fourth book of the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible, and also believed by scholarship to have been initially composed around the 50th century BCE, mentions onions when recounting scarce foodstuffs available before the Jewish exodus but unavailable at the time of its composition: 11:5 — "We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic."[19]

In the 6th century BCE, the Charaka Samhita, one of the primary works in the Ayurvedic tradition, documents the onion's use on the Asian subcontinent as a medicinal plant: "[A] diuretic, good for digestion, the heart, the eyes, and the joints."[19]

A Greek physician of the first century, Dioscorides, also documents the medicinal use of the onion, pointing out its traditional use by athletes for "fortification" before the Olympic Games, when they are said to have been eaten in huge quantities, drank as juice, and rubbed upon their bodies.[19]

Pliny the Elder, also in the first century CE, wrote about the use of onions and cabbage in Pompeii. He documented Roman beliefs about the onion's ability to improve ocular ailments, aid in sleep, and heal everything from oral sores and toothaches to dog bites, lumbago, and even dysentery. Archaeologists unearthing Pompeii long after its 79 CE volcanic burial have found gardens resembling those in Pliny's detailed narratives.[19]

According to texts collected in the fifth/sixth century CE under the authorial aegis of "Apicius" (said to have been a gourmet), onions were used in many Roman recipes.[19]

In the Age of Discovery, onions were taken to North America by the first European settlers,[17] only to discover the plant readily available, and in wide use in Native American gastronomy.[17] According to diaries kept by certain of the first English colonists, the bulb onion was one of the first crops planted by the Pilgrim fathers.[19]

Common onions are normally available in three colour varieties. Yellow or brown onions (called red in some European countries), are full-flavoured and are the onions of choice for everyday use, with many cultivars bred specifically to demonstrate this sweetness (Vidalia, Walla Walla, Cévennes, "Bermuda,"[22] &c;.). Yellow onions turn a rich, dark brown when caramelised and give French onion soup its sweet flavour. The red onion (called purple in some European countries) is a good choice for fresh use when its colour livens up the dish; it is also used in grilling. White onions are the traditional onions used in classic Mexican cuisine; they have a golden colour when cooked and a particularly sweet flavour when sautéed.[23][19]

While the large, mature onion bulb is most often eaten, onions can be eaten at immature stages. Young plants may be harvested before bulbing occurs and used whole as spring onions or scallions. When an onion is harvested after bulbing has begun, but the onion is not yet mature, the plants are sometimes referred to as "summer" onions.[24]

Additionally, onions may be bred and grown to mature at smaller sizes. Depending on the mature size and the purpose for which the onion is used, these may be referred to as pearl, boiler, or pickler onions, but differ from true pearl onions which are a different species.[24] Pearl and boiler onions may be cooked as a vegetable rather than as an ingredient and pickler onions are often preserved in vinegar as a long-lasting relish.[25]

Onions are available in fresh, frozen, canned, caramelised, pickled, and chopped forms. The dehydrated product is available as kibbled, sliced, ring, minced, chopped, granulated, and powder forms.

Onion powder is a seasoning widely used when the fresh ingredient is not available. It is made from finely ground, dehydrated onions, mainly the pungent varieties of bulb onions, and has a strong odour. Being dehydrated, it has a long shelf life and is available in several varieties: yellow, red, and white.[26]

Onions are commonly chopped and used as an ingredient in various hearty warm dishes, and may also be used as a main ingredient in their own right, for example in French onion soup, creamed onions, and onion chutney. They are versatile and can be baked, boiled, braised, grilled, fried, roasted, sautéed, or eaten raw in salads.[27] Their layered nature makes them easy to hollow out once cooked, facilitating stuffing them, as in Turkish sogan-dolma. Onions are a staple in Indian cuisine, used as a thickening agent for curries and gravies.

Onions pickled in vinegar are eaten as a snack around the world, and as a side serving in pubs and fish and chip shops throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. They are part of a traditional British pub's ploughman's lunch, usually served with crusty bread, English cheese, and ale.

In North America, onions are a part of most cuisines, but are most famously sliced, battered, deep-fried, and served as onion rings.[27]

Similar to garlic,[28] onions can show an additional colour – pink-red – after cutting, an effect caused by reactions of amino acids with sulfur compounds.[29]

Onions have particularly large cells that are readily observed under low magnification. Forming a single layer of cells, the bulb epidermis is easy to separate for educational, experimental, and breeding purposes.[30][31]

Onions are, therefore, commonly employed in science education to teach the use of a microscope for observing cell structure.[32]

Onions are toxic to dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and many other animals.[33][34]

Considerable differences exist between onion varieties in phytochemical content, particularly for polyphenols, with shallots having the highest level, six times the amount found in Vidalia onions.[35] Yellow onions have the highest total flavonoid content, an amount 11 times higher than in white onions.[35] Red onions have considerable content of anthocyanin pigments, with at least 25 different compounds identified representing 10% of total flavonoid content.[35]

Onion polyphenols are under basic research to determine their possible biological properties in humans.[35][36]

Some people suffer from allergic reactions after handling onions.[37] Symptoms can include contact dermatitis, intense itching, rhinoconjunctivitis, blurred vision, bronchial asthma, sweating, and anaphylaxis. Allergic reactions may not occur when eating cooked onions, possibly due to the denaturing of the proteins from cooking.[38]

Freshly cut onions often cause a stinging sensation in the eyes of people nearby, and often uncontrollable tears. This is caused by the release of a volatile gas, syn-propanethial-S-oxide, which stimulates nerves in the eye creating a stinging sensation.[7] This gas is produced by a chain of reactions which serve as a defence mechanism: chopping an onion causes damage to cells which releases enzymes called alliinases. These break down amino acid sulfoxides and generate sulfenic acids. A specific sulfenic acid, 1-propenesulfenic acid, is rapidly acted on by a second enzyme, the lacrimatory factor synthase, producing the syn-propanethial-S-oxide.[7] This gas diffuses through the air and soon reaches the eyes, where it activates sensory neurons. Lacrimal glands produce tears to dilute and flush out the irritant.[39]

Eye irritation can be avoided by cutting onions under running water or submerged in a basin of water.[39] Leaving the root end intact also reduces irritation as the onion base has a higher concentration of sulphur compounds than the rest of the bulb.[40] Refrigerating the onions before use reduces the enzyme reaction rate and using a fan can blow the gas away from the eyes. The more often one chops onions, the less one experiences eye irritation.[41]

The amount of sulfenic acids and lacrimal factor released and the irritation effect differs among Allium species. In 2008, the New Zealand Institute for Crop and Food Research created "no tears" onions by using gene-silencing biotechnology to prevent the synthesis of lachrymatory factor synthase in onions.[42]

Onions are best cultivated in fertile soils that are well-drained. Sandy loams are good as they are low in sulphur, while clayey soils usually have a high sulphur content and produce pungent bulbs. Onions require a high level of nutrients in the soil. Phosphorus is often present in sufficient quantities, but may be applied before planting because of its low level of availability in cold soils. Nitrogen and potash can be applied at regular intervals during the growing season, the last application of nitrogen being at least four weeks before harvesting.[43] Bulbing onions are day-length sensitive; their bulbs begin growing only after the number of daylight hours has surpassed some minimal quantity. Most traditional European onions are referred to as "long-day" onions, producing bulbs only after 14 hours or more of daylight occurs. Southern European and North African varieties are often known as "intermediate-day" types, requiring only 12–13 hours of daylight to stimulate bulb formation. Finally, "short-day" onions, which have been developed in more recent times, are planted in mild-winter areas in the autumn and form bulbs in the early spring, and require only 11–12 hours of daylight to stimulate bulb formation.[44] Onions are a cool-weather crop and can be grown in USDA zones 3 to 9.[45] Hot temperatures or other stressful conditions cause them to "bolt", meaning that a flower stem begins to grow.[46]

Onions may be grown from seed or from sets. Onion seeds are short-lived and fresh seeds germinate better.[45][47] The seeds are sown thinly in shallow drills, thinning the plants in stages. In suitable climates, certain cultivars can be sown in late summer and autumn to overwinter in the ground and produce early crops the following year.[16] Onion sets are produced by sowing seed thickly in early summer in poor soil and the small bulbs produced are harvested in the autumn. These bulbs are planted the following spring and grow into mature bulbs later in the year.[48] Certain cultivars are used for this purpose and these may not have such good storage characteristics as those grown directly from seed.[16]

Routine care during the growing season involves keeping the rows free of competing weeds, especially when the plants are young. The plants are shallow-rooted and do not need a great deal of water when established. Bulbing usually takes place after 12 to 18 weeks. The bulbs can be gathered when needed to eat fresh, but if they will be kept in storage, they should be harvested after the leaves have died back naturally. In dry weather, they can be left on the surface of the soil for a few days to dry out properly, then they can be placed in nets, roped into strings, or laid in layers in shallow boxes. They should be stored in a well-ventilated, cool place such as a shed.[16]

Onions suffer from a number of plant disorders. The most serious for the home gardener are likely to be the onion fly, stem and bulb eelworm, white rot, and neck rot. Diseases affecting the foliage include rust and smut, downy mildew, and white tip disease. The bulbs may be affected by splitting, white rot, and neck rot. Shanking is a condition in which the central leaves turn yellow and the inner part of the bulb collapses into an unpleasant-smelling slime. Most of these disorders are best treated by removing and burning affected plants.[49] The larvae of the onion leaf miner or leek moth (Acrolepiopsis assectella) sometimes attack the foliage and may burrow down into the bulb. [50]

The onion fly (Delia antiqua) lays eggs on the leaves and stems and on the ground close to onion, shallot, leek, and garlic plants. The fly is attracted to the crop by the smell of damaged tissue and is liable to occur after thinning. Plants grown from sets are less prone to attack. The larvae tunnel into the bulbs and the foliage wilts and turns yellow. The bulbs are disfigured and rot, especially in wet weather. Control measures may include crop rotation, the use of seed dressings, early sowing or planting, and the removal of infested plants.[51]

The onion eelworm (Ditylenchus dipsaci), a tiny parasitic soil-living nematode, causes swollen, distorted foliage. Young plants are killed and older ones produce soft bulbs. No cure is known and affected plants should be uprooted and burned. The site should not be used for growing onions again for several years and should also be avoided for growing carrots, parsnips, and beans, which are also susceptible to the eelworm.[52]

White rot of onions, leeks, and garlic is caused by the soil-borne fungus Sclerotium cepivorum. As the roots rot, the foliage turns yellow and wilts. The bases of the bulbs are attacked and become covered by a fluffy white mass of mycelia, which later produces small, globular black structures called sclerotia. These resting structures remain in the soil to reinfect a future crop. No cure for this fungal disease exists, so affected plants should be removed and destroyed and the ground used for unrelated crops in subsequent years.[53]

Neck rot is a fungal disease affecting onions in storage. It is caused by Botrytis allii, which attacks the neck and upper parts of the bulb, causing a grey mould to develop. The symptoms often first occur where the bulb has been damaged and spread downwards in the affected scales. Large quantities of spores are produced and crust-like sclerotia may also develop. In time, a dry rot sets in and the bulb becomes a dry, mummified structure. This disease may be present throughout the growing period, but only manifests itself when the bulb is in storage. Antifungal seed dressings are available and the disease can be minimised by preventing physical damage to the bulbs at harvesting, careful drying and curing of the mature onions, and correct storage in a cool, dry place with plenty of circulating air.[54]

Cooking onions and sweet onions are better stored at room temperature, optimally in a single layer, in mesh bags in a dry, cool, dark, well-ventilated location. In this environment, cooking onions have a shelf life of three to four weeks and sweet onions one to two weeks. Cooking onions will absorb odours from apples and pears. Also, they draw moisture from vegetables with which they are stored which may cause them to decay.[45][55]

Sweet onions have a greater water and sugar content than cooking onions. This makes them sweeter and milder tasting, but reduces their shelf life. Sweet onions can be stored refrigerated; they have a shelf life of around 1 month. Irrespective of type, any cut pieces of onion are best tightly wrapped, stored away from other produce, and used within two to three days.[40]

Most of the diversity within A. cepa occurs within this group, the most economically important Allium crop. Plants within this group form large single bulbs, and are grown from seed or seed-grown sets. The majority of cultivars grown for dry bulbs, salad onions, and pickling onions belong to this group.[15] The range of diversity found among these cultivars includes variation in photoperiod (length of day that triggers bulbing), storage life, flavour, and skin colour.[56] Common onions range from the pungent varieties used for dried soups and onion powder to the mild and hearty sweet onions, such as the Vidalia from Georgia, USA, or Walla Walla from Washington that can be sliced and eaten raw on a sandwich.

This group contains shallots and potato onions, also referred to as multiplier onions. The bulbs are smaller than those of common onions, and a single plant forms an aggregate cluster of several bulbs from a master. They are propagated almost exclusively from daughter bulbs, although reproduction from seed is possible. Shallots are the most important subgroup within this group and comprise the only cultivars cultivated commercially. They form aggregate clusters of small, narrowly ovoid to pear-shaped bulbs. Potato onions differ from shallots in forming larger bulbs with fewer bulbs per cluster, and having a flattened (onion-like) shape. However, intermediate forms exist.[15]

I'itoi onion is a prolific multiplier onion cultivated in the Baboquivari Peak Wilderness, Arizona area. This small-bulb type has a shallot-like flavour and is easy to grow and ideal for hot, dry climates. Bulbs are separated, and planted in the fall 1 in below the surface and 12 in apart. Bulbs will multiply into clumps and can be harvested throughout the cooler months. Tops die back in the heat of summer and may return with heavy rains; bulbs can remain in the ground or be harvested and stored in a cool dry place for planting in the fall. The plants rarely flower; propagation is by division.[57]

A number of hybrids are cultivated that have A. cepa parentage, such as the diploid tree onion or Egyptian onion (A. ×proliferum), and the triploid onion (A. ×cornutum).

The tree onion or Egyptian onion produces bulblets in the umbel instead of flowers, and is now known to be a hybrid of A. cepa × A. fistulosum. It has previously been treated as a variety of A. cepa, for example A. cepa var. proliferum, A. cepa var. bulbiferum, and A. cepa var. viviparum.[58][59] It has been grown for centuries in Japan and China for use as a salad onion.[60][6]

The triploid onion is a hybrid species with three sets of chromosomes, two sets from A. cepa and the third set from an unknown parent.[59] Various clones of the triploid onion are grown locally in different regions, such as 'Ljutika' in Croatia, and 'Pran', 'Poonch', and 'Srinagar' in the India-Kashmir region. 'Pran' is grown extensively in the northern Indian provinces of Jammu and Kashmir. There are very small genetic differences between 'Pran' and the Croatian clone 'Ljutika', implying a monophyletic origin for this species.[61]

Some authors have used the name A. cepa var. viviparum (Metzg.) Alef. for the triploid onion, but this name has also been applied to the Egyptian onion. The only name unambiguously connected with the triploid onion is A. ×cornutum.

Spring onions or salad onions may be grown from the Welsh onion (A. fistulosum), as well as from A. cepa. Young plants of A. fistulosum and A. cepa look very similar, but may be distinguished by their leaves, which are circular in cross-section in A. fistulosum rather than flattened on one side.[62]

0 points

Why on God's Earth do you believe anybody except you is going to be interested in your 10,000 word pompous Plato wankathon? I'm not your teacher. Do you want a gold star or something, you boring windbag?

0 points

Ban me if you want

I did ban you because you are telling lies and upvoting your own posts.

1 point

In other words, you noticed that a lot of super rich bankers are Jews

What the FxCK do Jews have to do with anything? We are talking about Conservatives.

I'm banning you because clearly do not understand English. You also are a blatant anti-Semite.

2 points

Are you sure I am the one who needs to learn what a conservative is?

I'm fairly sure, given that you just told me you don't know what a Conservative is.

I don't think you are talking about conservatives

I am afraid you do not get to decide who I am talking about.

Please go away. I'm in no mood for this rampant stupidity.

2 points

I'm not even sure what you mean by conservative.

Then why are you even in this debate? Go learn what a Conservative is and come back.

1 point

Wow. The 78 year old lady going to church singing "Jesus loves me"

A million dead in Iraq.

Liar.


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