Vrubel

That's the beauty of his method, it is fully grounded in the reality on the ground. Mainly the reality of African herders who live in semi-arid regions and are mostly in the business of herding livestock. All he really does is educating these farmers with the intelligent grazing method where cattle or sheep strategically graze pieces of land ensuring grassland regeneration and combating desertification. I am not getting your point about needing more people in agriculture, this method does not require this. While it's true that holistic systems like permaculture and food forests are not scalable, Allen Savory has proved that his method works fine, even on an industrial scale (in Argentina). He already implemented his method on 15 million square hectares if I am not mistaken. First of all, you are talking here about the western world I assume, while Allan Savory is talking about places like Africa. Second, farming is not necessarily a low-status profession. Modern farming in the west has a lot of high-tech involved and usually, the profits are very decent. In Africa people farm mostly for subsistence and they care more about feeding themself than about the social status of their profession. Again his holistic method is grounded in the reality on the ground, the points here are irrelevant to what he is talking about. He already more than proved the effectivity of his concept. Of course, there are limits to his concept and it only works in specific area's given specific socio-economic factors. But then again I even heard cattle rangers in Australia embracing his method. Haha, no worries, shit all you want. Healthy discussion makes us only wiser(;

That's so true, there is this dichotomy that on the one hand America has produced or gave harbor to some of the world's most brilliant people. People who are cutting-edge artists, scientists, engineers, businessmen, or even spiritual masters. But on the other hand, the masses of people can't even point to Portugal on a map. I would like to think that it is a little better in Europe, after all, there is this image that we are sophisticated and refined. But the truth is that most people are very simple and have no interest in general knowledge.

@Mesopotamian Whether someone is Shia or Sunni, it says nothing about his spiral development. There are purple, red, blue, and even orange manifestations of both of these streams within Islam. Iran's aggressive behavior in the region has nothing to do with their Shia faith. Both Iran and Saudi officially deny that their conflict has anything to do with this divide, It's just a power struggle for influence. And when people struggle against each other they also start to demonize and dehumanize each other. I think a huge part of the dysfunction in the Middle east is because societies/peoples hold on too tightly to age-old resentment and hatred of other groups.

@datamonster Thank you for taking up the tone of a decent and respectful human being. Apparently, it's a rarity these days. Never in my life did I have any problems with veganism, I also made the point that reducing meat consumption is necessary for sustainable farming. If you don't agree with me on this point and think I don't go far enough, that's fully your right and I respect that, and let's keep this discussion respectful. We will go further if we are constructive, build dialogue and appreciate that everyone comes from his own perspective. I for example have extensively studied agriculture and sustainablility, not formally but as a hobby, and I do practice in my garden on a very small scale. So mine proposed solutions partly stem from an agrarian point of view. And yes (in my original post) I do take the Brazilian farmer inconsideration. Because they are there and they are not going anywhere anytime soon. I don't like the slave-holder analogy when referring to Amazon farmers because they are not all the same. At least a part of the farmers and officials in the amazon are reasonable and receptive to more sustainable agriculture practices if given the right incentives. In my opinion is being absolutist, demonizing, and looking down on people a bad strategy for real environmental change.

Ever since I was a little child I was fascinated and cared very much for the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon is vital for world-climate, mainly because it absorbs and stores carbon thus diminishing the greenhouse effect and literally purifying the air for us to breathe. Of course, the Amazon is also the most biodiverse environment on the planet. This is priceless and precious in its self. But from a practical point of view, the many plant species in the Amazon yet unkown to us can harbor medicinal properties for curing sickness and disease. For example, the plant 'Rosy periwinkle' increased the survival rate of childhood leukemia from 10% to 90%. Deforestation is a huge problem in all the countries that contain the Amazon but in Brazil is the deforestation is extra vicious. This is because of the large scale soja and cattle meat industries and the relatively weaker social position of the Indians as opposed to Ecuador and Peru where the indigenous people have more of a voice. The deforestation of the Amazon is extra absurd when you consider that the Amazon isn't fertile at all. All of the nutrients it gets are from decomposing leaves and other organic material that the forest produces itself. So no forest means no nutrients either. Coincidently the forest produces also a good chunk of its own rain because of evaporation from the leaves. So if the deforestation continues there will eventually be a breaking point where the forest can no longer get enough rain. This is where a horror scenario can play out where the jungle will start to die back and will be replaced by a tropical savannah that holds way less biodiversity and stores way less carbon. The problem of deforestation is partly caused by the world's demand for soya and beef. So the Brazilian Amazon farmers are not solely to blame. It remains a complex issue, not the least because of the dire economic situation in Brazil. But at the same time, these large-scale farmers are not poor people so much of their expansion is from greed. I think it is necessary for western countries (and ideally all countries) to minimize their role in the economic chain that causes the deforestation. Also, they should be helping the Brazilians with new technologies that allow for a larger crop harvest on a smaller land size. There is this noticeable trend in the world of agriculture where countries that are absurdly big tend to be less creative and innovative in maximizing agriculture productivity, these are places like The US, Australia, and of course Brazil. The opposite is also true, tiny countries with a severe lack of land tend to be the most innovative and creative in maximizing productivity, these are countries like Holland and Israel. So a cross-pollination of knowledge and the development of new agriculture techniques that are more sustainable and do not require deforestation is crucial for the future of the Amazon and world climate. (Excuse my badly photoshopped map, the red shows roughly the deforestation in Brazil's southern Amazon.)

If you were honest you would have admitted to you yourself that you know nothing about me. You don't know how compassionate and wise I am. All I did was post about the Amazon deforestation and provided some down to earth solutions. I just didn't agree with your absolutist stances and now I am being demonized, projected upon and looked down upon. Very respectless. What!? romantazising the problem? You have no idea what the Amazon means to me and what I have done for it.

That's like saying never committing any crimes is a solution to get rid of prisons. True but not how reality works. You might not eat any meat but good luck convincing a critical mass of other people to do so as well. vegan missionary work is not a workable solution against the pressing issue of Amazon deforestation. The projection is strong here.

@Scholar @neutralempty I have made a post to educate, bring awareness and start a discussion about the Amazon deforestation and I didn't mention nor did I allude to veganism even once in my original post. If you want to be a vegan, fine! there are many valid reasons to be one. What seems to me to be the most absurd is that we are talking about the issue of deforestation that caused the death of billions of wild animals and plants yet all you seem to care about is aggressively defending your vegan ideology, you have literally hijacked my post to peddle your vegan ideology. Universel concern for all life..? what you are doing is the epitome of ego. It is a Don Quixote style of crusading where instead of thinking systematically about the factors currently at play in reality, you are fighting windmills. Can you imagine someone like you sitting down with a Brazilian official or farmer, feeling all superior to that disgusting meat-eater and peddling your ideology, how productive will your interaction be? Hom much impact will you have on the protection of the rainforest?

@Scholar Well, I was talking about an incentivize/Deincentivize system regarding the goal of reduced meat consumption. I don't think that eating meat is unethical or morally wrong, humanity has been eating meat for as long as they existed. There is this truth in nature that living organisms need to consume each other in order to survive. Also, I am sure that for all of your beautiful words that you have killed bugs with your car or by simply being a passenger on a train that crushes bugs as it goes along. Not to mention the plants you eat. I think it is deluded to think that fully eliminating meat consumption is some kind of a noble cause that will take humanity to the next level, it's not even achievable by any stretch of the imagination. The goal of sustainability is one that's much more practical and realistic. Of course, providing production animals with a dignified life with minimal suffering is a huge part of this goal. This is called holistic agriculture. The problem is that it is hard to implement on a large scale. In order for that to happen demand needs to be reduced. That's the thing: The is no clear established base-line nor will there ever be one. Just like animals, the plants you eat also have spirits and souls, and everything that lives wants to live, no matter the organism. Come down from your high horse of ethical superiority as a vegan.

@neutralempty What? I never blamed vegans. I agree livestock is the bulk of the issue.

The cultural norm of eating meat every day is not sustainable for the planet, agree. To change this will take some serious cultural change coming from both bottom-up and top-down. The bottom needs to be aware of the importance of reduced meat consumption and the top needs to enforce higher taxes on meat and other measures to solidify the change.

Unfortunately, that's true and all nature is worth conserving. Though I would say the Amazon is special because of the crucial role it plays in the balance of world ecology. If you walk through a temperate forest in America or Europe, the biodiversity does not even come close to that of the Amazon. In the Jungle, plants grow on plants and each layer of vegetation is a habitat for an unimaginable amount of creatures. You are right, "greed" was maybe too harsh and condeming of a word. In a sense, it is natural for a human to maximize the wealth of himself and his family. The problem occurs when it is at the expanse of the natural world and done in an unsustainable manner. I would argue that the problems of deforestation can significantly be reduced within the current capitalist system. As I said the Amazon isn't fertile at all and needs to be heavily fertilized for productivity, the only thing that the land has going for it is the humidity that makes the agriculture profitable. But with the forest diminishing so does the humidity. Ultimately everybody has an interest in sustainablility, it is just a question of whether you care to look further ahead into the future and realize it all connected with intricate systems. You can either work with and as the natural systems or disregard them and be all destructive.

Vincent Van Gogh was the most beautiful soul that ever lived. He felt so deeply and conveyed the beauty around him on canvas as no else could. If you ever see a Van Gogh, you will see that his paintings are deep and mystical. The yellow on his sunflowers is like no other yellow you will ever see. His paintings are a window into his gentle but tormented soul. No other artist inspires so much compassion, yet the people around him didn't care for him and some thought he was some kind of a freak. He was never appreciated during his lifetime and never sold a single painting. The same passions that made him feel so deeply also made him deranged, depressed, and suicidal which ultimately led to his death. Only after his death, he went on to inspire millions of people. His tragic life is inseparable from his paintings, the two together are his art.

Being (relatively) high up the spiral does not make one immune to narrow-mindedness, projection, arrogance, crusading, or a lack of general knowledge. I live in a very stage green environment and for the most part, people are really accepting, nuanced and reasonable, nothing like the "SJW demonization narrative". But at the same time, it can be shocking how ignorant, narrow, and simplistic stage green can be, this makes it extra cringy when stage green takes up its self-righteous arrogant tone.

Just watched this interesting video by RealLifeLore. Gorbachev is the man who is held most responsible for the dismantling of the Soviet Union. It seems to me that he implemented some much needed economic and political reforms (Glasnost). He also refused to aggressively impose the army on republics and satellite states thus allowing for more freedoms and eventually independence in those states. He didn't become a regular stage blue communist but became a reformer without the heavy hand usually associated with Soviet politics. I know that this is a complicated issue. Many in Russia see Gorbachev as a traitor because his policies led to the dismantling of a "great empire" and for many life became harder. But I know that my father at least is very grateful to Gorbachev because he opened up the Soviet Union which allowed him to emigrate. I find it strange that we hear all the time about people like Gandhi and Nelson Mandela but that Gorbachev remains a pretty murky figure. What spiral stage did he act out? was it an exceptionally high one or was he just a very healthy blue? If you are from Russia, ex-USSR, or just knowledgeable I would love to hear your opinion.

If you play it well women will adore you, but ideally, you have mastered your masculinity too. As a men, you get satisfaction from feeling boyish and masculine. If you are horny and you like everything you are bi, no?

@Leo Gura Don't you think the term Murican is kinda childish and disrespectful. I am not offended or anything but isn't it proper to show some respect for the country you live in (and I assume love). I have been in America only once (New York and Texas) and there are some things I was disillusioned by and dislike about the culture. But extensively studying American history and especially the civil war era gave me a new appreciation and feel for America. For me, America is a beautiful and almost romantic thing just like Russia or Holland (where I live). It doesn't mean I always agree with the politics but I will always hold (the-to-me) important countries with certain respect because I see the beauty in them. And if you (as a public figure) want to reach the more reasonable conservatives isn't it better to be respectful so as not to be written off as hating America or being perceived as obnoxious?

Sounds like there is a beautiful girl inside of you you have been ignoring(; Get in touch with your feminine and "weak" side, this will ultimately make you very strong and masculine. Psychedelics help a lot. I myself used to become very sensitive and "weak" after masturbating but now after some work on myself fapping has an absolute zero effect on how masculine and confident I feel, if anything it just relaxes me.

I just have a little question: why did the capitol stormers wanted to "hang Pence"? Isn't he very loyal to Trump? I know there isn't much sensible thinking in that crowd but still curious about the reason.

@Leo Gura Wouldn't it be dreadful though if you are reincarnated as a traumatized orphan or someone with an agonizing life-long disease and let's say you have no access to psychedelics. Sure it is all good and perfect from God's POV but once reincarnated you are unaware of that. The thing about living out a regular/unconscience human life is how intimately connected you are to it, for most people it is not a light stroll through the park. Why is the knowledge that you can get reincarnated comforting for you?

Sure Leo, you make good points and I am well aware of the problematic stage-blue dynamics in my country of birth which I guess I love very much and have lots of attachments to. Thank you, I appreciate you having this interaction with me.

@Leo Gura What I said about people in my town having equal rights (in healthcare, voting and pensions). is a 100% true. I am being very nuanced and reasonable.):

OMG! I can't believe this, are you seriously not aware that 20% of Israel's population (Israel proper) is Arab and they are even represented in parlement. I expected better of you, maybe a little less Venezuelan state Tv will help(;

@Leo Gura You are making me laugh! I am well aware of the dangers of the religious right. If you are interested in a more nuanced view of Israelis check out this Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/CoreyGilShusterAskProject/videos It's about a guy that goes around asking normal Israelis and Palestinians questions. Some of the questions are very touchy and instagating. Here is just a little example. You will be shocked to see that most Israelis are reasonable and compassionate human beings and not monsters like the Venezuelan government would like you to think.

@Leo Gura Well Israel was founded by dirt-poor pioneers and refugees and now it's a prosperous and technologically advanced state where a lot of people would wish to live if it had open borders. I get what you are saying but keep in mind that most Israelis come from places like Iraq, Yemen, Russia, Poland and Morocco. Israel will envolve when it's ready. I do not live in Israel but I was actually born there in a town where Arabs and Jews live together and enjoy the same rights (healthcare, voting, payment etc.). I won't deny any inequalities nor the need for a Palestinian state. At the same time, security for Israel is paramount.