You’re kidding me right? This is in Arabic for a start. I don’t speak Arabic. It looks on the face of it a vague as before otherwise. Help me out here.

Something like this could easily be a simple prisoner transfer. This is one idea.

In general, we don’t know the where, the why, or the who. Movies have worse scenes than this. Nothing is beyond fabrication. Why were they filming and who posted the video? There are myriad possibilities.

There are already many clear-cut reasons to be critical of Israel, but it should still matter what is actually fact and what is fiction, shouldn’t it?

What proves this footage is really what the article claims it to be? It’s a very specific explanation for what appears quite vague.

I just don’t want to go sharing something we cannot actually verify as true. There’s a lot of other stuff mentioned in the article a lot of which we know to be true, but that isn’t proof of this claim.

Is the royal family not the richest in the UK? Edit: Not just me wondering this I see!

I’m sorry that the only example you actually floated immediately contradicted your previous position of not driving farmers out of business.

How does supporting local farmers drive local farmers about of business?

Except there are kids whose lives and health we can save, right now, if we just start growing golden rice.

“Right now” would be mass sustained imports of Vitamin A supplements. Golden Rice still has some ways to go to be establish on existing rice farms, and then enjoy a successful growing season, even if it had been approved to proceed. If we want to “think of the children” seriously, money shouldn’t be an object and we’d be looking at multiple strategies all at once, and not relying solely on an experimental product like this.

We are talking about extremely poor people and areas here, where there is little or no infrastructure to support this as a long-term solution.

Sure, but that’s part of the problem isn’t it? Why don’t we also go in and fix that right now?

What you are suggesting requires drastic change and a lot of upfront money, and continued on-going long-term support and financial assistance.

Indeed. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s never going to happen. Given that fact, perhaps we need cheap and nasty shortcuts like golden rice in order to help poor people save themselves with minimal outside resources. Potential patent issues aside if the gene mixes in with local rice varients, and other risks to the environment, it would be great if there was more Vitamin A available in their poverty diets. But, I can see why there is opposition to this. It makes sense, and it’s not just “ignorant” people like me who think this, clearly.

I just said what “directly” would actually look like after you said to help then directly. I didn’t endorse this approach necessarily. My point is that getting them to grow our GM crop is not “direct”.

I feel that you’re intentionally trying to one up me instead actually have a proper discussion here. Why not assume my intention here is to change my mind because together we might actually figure something out? This back and forth is all a waste of time otherwise.

My actual opinion is that we give them monetary aid conditioner on certain outcomes, and send in experienced people to support transitions to more sustainable and productive food production. The money can upgrade housing, farming and transport infrastructure, and help boost Vitamin A rich crop yields and sale prices. Also subsidize imports if Vitamin A rich foods to make up the difference if local yields are insufficient.

Expensive, hard work, job creating activities, instead of shortcuts.

Direct would be doing the farming for them, or handing over food directly. Or sending in workers to train local farmers to grid Vitamin A rich crops.

Rice is a shortcut, and sure it might “work”, but there are other potential long-term externalities at play here, that golden rice alone is insufficient to account for. It would be a plaster covering a surface wound when there is internal bleeding to worry about.

I don’t follow. What goal posts have I shifted? I don’t deny that rice is easy. My point is that it’s a shortcut that could have other negative consequences that more funding could avoid.

What about when rice prices crash and local small scale farmers go out of business?

Sure, but that doesn’t really address the argument in making. It’s a lazy way out that benefits the western world for its low cost and the fact is carrying a patented gene modification. We should be doing more, not relying on risky shortcuts.

Maybe one day all rice cultivars will be golden and the world we’ll be better off for it. But if the history of other GM crops is anything to go by, it sucks for the environment, and low prices screw local farmers over.

That’s exactly what I’m saying we should do. Brown rice ironically while it is food, might be like giving a baby an economic pacifier instead of trade milk and expecting it to grow. The Philippines has a range of biodiverse crops and other commodities that have more value than just the one food to feed them all, which would undercut the market and stifle local knowledge over time.

That said someone here suggested a more advanced plan to seed the beta-carotine gene into the native species, which is awesome in theory, but could create patent law violations and just generally be incredibly risky to the very biodiversity we’re trying to protect.

This is why I think while the science is very cool, we should avoid such irreversible treatments unless it’s a last resort.

Mosquitos on the other hand. Love the idea of genetically editing those fuckers out of existence. As the world inevitably warms, malaria is only going to spread further and wider. We should be getting ahead of that catastrophic future while we have the chance.

I don’t like Greenpeace, but these are good arguments.

This.

Yeah… There’s a bigger question too that is, why can’t other foods containing Vitamin A be supplied to the starving people of the Philippines? There are so many sources.

Let’s consider how fucked it is that even considering introducing this crop to the wild is necessary.

I’ve previously supported golden rice, but you’ve changed my mind. We should just be doing more to support developing nations directly. The world has sufficient abundance we shouldn’t need to take these dangerous shortcuts. Not yet.

Try me when we’re closer to Mad Max earth.

The side effects and risks are worth it when you only get one shot at puberty. If you don’t transition as a pre-pubescent teenager, you will never “pass” as well, especially as a transwoman.

A really good example of how successful you can be if you’re early is Corey Maison. There are cases of transition regret of course, but they’re still a very small percentage of the total, and that percentage is reduced by puberty blockers giving young people more time to figure out themselves and their own bodies, and to make the choice that’s right for them.

If only telling morons not to be morons was the solution to morons being morons.

They could also commit to giving 10% of their personal income or 2.5% of the value of their ne worth (whichever is greater) to the most effective charities now, while they’re waiting for the taxes to come.

Chris Anderson (of TED) has suggested this and had the math run, and worked out if every ultra wealthy person on record in the world did this it would generate enough money solve basically all pressing concerns to do with poverty and climate many times over (so we don’t even need all of them).

It’s never going to happen though, because Chris hasn’t accounted for the fact that most people who acquire wealth to this degree are some degree of sociopathic or at the very least believe somehow they’re entitled to be as wealthy as they are. So we need government regulation. Problem is we need it everywhere all at once, or these people just move their wealth around which can still severely damage the economy. But some countries, especially smaller ones, need to be brave. Europe taxes their wealthy reasonably well, and it’s clear it makes living in those nations better. More need to lead by example.

Absolutely, unless they’re also drinking - but then weed may also be mitigating some of alcohol’s worst effects. Alcohol reduces inhibition, while weed often causes anxiety. Alcohol increases propensity for violent behavior, while weed usually calms you down.

It’s also important to point out, it’s still illegal for kids to be doing either if the things in the first place.

Make smoking around others outside or in public without other’s consent illegal (i.e. you can complain to police if you don’t like the smell), and introduce a rule you can only smoke on licensed premises (with smoking rooms) or at home.

That’s what some places have done with tobacco smoking. It is basically harassment or assault in my view to have people consume your second hand smoke and smells.

Edibles on the outer hand, or if you create flavored vapes that don’t smell much or travel far in the air, all good.

Lack of creativity among conservatives is never surprising.

Also it’s already illegal for kids to do weed, smoke or drink.