what bothers you among world issues?

A place to discuss casual topics amongst spiritual friends.

what world issues are you concerned with?

Global warming: the manmade kind.
7
27%
Capitalism- it must end in tears.
5
19%
Legal abortions (roughly 20 million every year worldwide).
2
8%
Gun control.
1
4%
I am concerned mainly with watching my breath.
6
23%
Chill dude, it's all good..
5
19%
 
Total votes: 26

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Dan74
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by Dan74 »

While abortion is certainly not a trivial matter, to equate the life of a 2-month-old foetus to a life of say, a two-year-old child, like the comparison of the statistics of people dying of poverty and abortion, suggest, is wrong, IMO.

A 2-month-old foetus is one-inch long and has not even formed the nerve-endings to feel pain. It is a potential human, true, but it is not a human. As much as I respect people feeling strongly about abortion, we should respect all the facts too.
_/|\_
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Modus.Ponens
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by Modus.Ponens »

Nuclear anihilation as a chain reaction starting with a nuclear terrorist act.
The left wing's fantasy-like denial that this is a severe danger, leaving this problem to be dealt with the worse kind of people in the west: neonazis.
The technological singularity, which is frighteningly becoming more and more a realistic threat to the survival of our species.

In short, the survival of mankind.
'This is peace, this is exquisite — the resolution of all fabrications; the relinquishment of all acquisitions; the ending of craving; dispassion; cessation; Unbinding.' - Jhana Sutta
Bundokji
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by Bundokji »

robertk wrote:Of course for Buddhist laypeople they can abort is much as they wish and work as abortion doctors if that is their chosen career, - no issue about that .
This is the crux of the matter (except insisting that they must be Buddhists) and I fail to see how the rest of your post is relevant.

This thread is not about abortion from a monastic Buddhist point of view, nor whether it is considered a breach of the first precept, but what is relevant is how civic matters (such as abortion or prostitution) are separable from our personal beliefs as Buddhists, something you seem unable to do.

Peace
And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: "Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!"

This was the last word of the Tathagata.
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ihrjordan
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by ihrjordan »

hmmm global warming beats out killing babies....interesting.
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ihrjordan
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by ihrjordan »

Dan74 wrote:While abortion is certainly not a trivial matter, to equate the life of a 2-month-old foetus to a life of say, a two-year-old child, like the comparison of the statistics of people dying of poverty and abortion, suggest, is wrong, IMO.

A 2-month-old foetus is one-inch long and has not even formed the nerve-endings to feel pain. It is a potential human, true, but it is not a human. As much as I respect people feeling strongly about abortion, we should respect all the facts too.
Can you show me any credible source that says a fetus isn't a conscious being?
Herbie
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by Herbie »

In a sense it is a manifestation of self affirmation and self overestimation to care about world issues if one does not have the power to change anything, isn't it?
Inspiration is based on the exchange of different linguistic expressions. But inspiration is best knowing how language relates to truth. :smile:
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Unrul3r
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by Unrul3r »

Whether I bother with them or not, they will be there anyway. I save myself from worrying about them. Many of them are due to wrong decisions being made by massive numbers of people. On this scale, only instruction and education can help. So, what can I do? The only thing I can do is prevent myself from making such decisions and give advice, in regards to them, to whomever asks.

:anjali:
befriend
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by befriend »

self hatred.
Take care of mindfulness and mindfulness will take care of you.
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robertk
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by robertk »

for further discussion about whether a fetus is human please use this new topic
http://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=24585" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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seeker242
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by seeker242 »

ihrjordan wrote:hmmm global warming beats out killing babies....interesting.
I don't think it's that unreasonable when one considers how many beings, human and non human alike, could be killed by the catastrophic future consequences of the planet warming out of control.

:anjali:
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Mkoll
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by Mkoll »

Another issue not mentioned in the poll is the possibility of Cold War 2.0 which is looking all the more real as time goes on. The conflict in Ukraine is ongoing, the US has moved troops to the Baltic countries to train their militaries, NATO has a planned ballistic missile defense system for Europe (if you live in the US, you can imagine how people here would react if Russia started building ballistic missile defense in Mexico and Canada to get a sense of how Russians may feel), Russia has been building and modernizing its military for years and is modernizing their nuclear arsenal (the US is doing this as well), the Russian ruble's value has dropped by half since 2014 (imagine if you were an ordinary citizen and now you can only buy half as much as you could before—you would not be happy and would be looking for someone to blame), etc. Instead of moving toward cooperation, Russia and the US are moving toward more antagonism. And then there is China—who knows how they will act as events play out.

The US desperately wants to keep hold of its preeminent position of power over and influence over the world in the face of a resurgent and antagonized Russia and a China that is flexing its muscles in its region. This attitude is not a recipe for a stable international order in the 21st century, especially considering the realities of climate change and dwindling resources. And looking over the potential Republican candidates, if we get a Republican president in 2016, geopolitical relationships could get much uglier very quickly. :group:
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Bundokji
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by Bundokji »

Mkoll wrote:the Russian ruble's value has dropped by half since 2014 (imagine if you were an ordinary citizen and now you can only buy half as much as you could before—you would not be happy and would be looking for someone to blame), etc.
This is not entirely accurate. All major currencies are measured against the USD, so the Russian Ruble has lost half of its value against the USD only, but it did not decline to the same degree against other major currencies (most major currencies fallen sharply against the US recently including the Australian Dollar and the Euro). Consequently, that does not necessarily mean that the purchasing power of ordinary citizens has fallen to half what it used to be. That would be true when it comes to imports from the US (not local products), or when Russians want to travel to countries which the value of their currencies is fixed to the USD, but some Russians would benefit from lower currency especially Russian exporters.
The US desperately wants to keep hold of its preeminent position of power over and influence over the world in the face of a resurgent and antagonized Russia and a China that is flexing its muscles in its region. This attitude is not a recipe for a stable international order in the 21st century, especially considering the realities of climate change and dwindling resources. And looking over the potential Republican candidates, if we get a Republican president in 2016, geopolitical relationships could get much uglier very quickly. :group:
I share your pessimism! But may I ask you if you dont mind, especially that its an internal American issue: could you help me understand why would the American people want to choose a republican president again? I mean Obama was great, he improved the economy, less unemployment, no wars, good health insurance, allowed gay marriage, and tried to do something about climate change ...etc

After he is done with his current term, would you send him our way :tongue:
And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: "Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!"

This was the last word of the Tathagata.
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Mkoll
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by Mkoll »

Bundokji wrote:
Mkoll wrote:the Russian ruble's value has dropped by half since 2014 (imagine if you were an ordinary citizen and now you can only buy half as much as you could before—you would not be happy and would be looking for someone to blame), etc.
This is not entirely accurate. All major currencies are measured against the USD, so the Russian Ruble has lost half of its value against the USD only, but it did not decline to the same degree against other major currencies (most major currencies fallen sharply against the US recently including the Australian Dollar and the Euro). Consequently, that does not necessarily mean that the purchasing power of ordinary citizens has fallen to half what it used to be. That would be true when it comes to imports from the US (not local products), or when Russians want to travel to countries which the value of their currencies is fixed to the USD, but some Russians would benefit from lower currency especially Russian exporters.
Thanks for the correction. Still, it's lost almost half its value compared to EUR and AUD as well: check out the graphs here and choose your currency. The point still stands: the ordinary person (who's not a businessman or exporter) has felt the effects of this in their daily life. There were articles at the end of last year (e.g. this one) about how people were buying big ticket items for fear their money would be worth less
Bundokji wrote:
The US desperately wants to keep hold of its preeminent position of power over and influence over the world in the face of a resurgent and antagonized Russia and a China that is flexing its muscles in its region. This attitude is not a recipe for a stable international order in the 21st century, especially considering the realities of climate change and dwindling resources. And looking over the potential Republican candidates, if we get a Republican president in 2016, geopolitical relationships could get much uglier very quickly. :group:
I share your pessimism! But may I ask you if you dont mind, especially that its an internal American issue: could you help me understand why would the American people want to choose a republican president again? I mean Obama was great, he improved the economy, less unemployment, no wars, good health insurance, allowed gay marriage, and tried to do something about climate change ...etc

After he is done with his current term, would you send him our way :tongue:
I wouldn't call it pessimistic. It's a realistic prediction based on how the US has acted since WWII on the international stage and the current and past rhetoric of the bureaucrats in power. On the optimistic side, I think the US is changing for the better on many fronts like a spreading understanding that: the prison-industrial complex has to change, the drug war has been an utter failure, universal healthcare should be a right, we should take steps now to slow global warming, the minimum wage should be a living wage not a poverty one, etc. But this is a slow process and many people still disagree about these issues and more. Ultimately, we're heading in the right direction though it may be two steps forward, one step back. However, none of these issues have to do with foreign policy, which is still very tribal and primitive (which government around the world isn't like this, when push comes to shove?). So on that count, I guess you could call me cynical :P

As to why we would choose a Republican, all those things you've listed as great, many Republicans would argue or try to do the opposite. They say the economy and unemployment is worse, they're trying to repeal Obamacare, many are anti-gay marriage, and many don't believe in climate change. Also, historically, we go back and forth between the two parties as far as the POTUS is concerned.

Image
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Bundokji
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by Bundokji »

Mkoll wrote:Thanks for the correction. Still, it's lost almost half its value compared to EUR and AUD as well: check out the graphs here and choose your currency. The point still stands: the ordinary person (who's not a businessman or exporter) has felt the effects of this in their daily life. There were articles at the end of last year (e.g. this one) about how people were buying big ticket items for fear their money would be worth less.
I think you are right. I just checked the consumer price index in Russia and I found that it doubled during last year, maybe I should have looked at that from the beginning. When you presented your point, you directly linked inflation to exchange rate which can be tricky, but in this particular instance, you got it right. :thumbsup:

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/russia/inflation-cpi" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Mkoll wrote:I wouldn't call it pessimistic. It's a realistic prediction based on how the US has acted since WWII on the international stage and the current and past rhetoric of the bureaucrats in power. On the optimistic side, I think the US is changing for the better on many fronts like a spreading understanding that: the prison-industrial complex has to change, the drug war has been an utter failure, universal healthcare should be a right, we should take steps now to slow global warming, the minimum wage should be a living wage not a poverty one, etc. But this is a slow process and many people still disagree about these issues and more. Ultimately, we're heading in the right direction though it may be two steps forward, one step back. However, none of these issues have to do with foreign policy, which is still very tribal and primitive (which government around the world isn't like this, when push comes to shove?). So on that count, I guess you could call me cynical :P

As to why we would choose a Republican, all those things you've listed as great, many Republicans would argue or try to do the opposite. They say the economy and unemployment is worse, they're trying to repeal Obamacare, many are anti-gay marriage, and many don't believe in climate change. Also, historically, we go back and forth between the two parties as far as the POTUS is concerned.
I have never said that its all doom and gloom when it comes to internal policy. I would be naïve to think that America is not moving forward, otherwise it wont be a superpower

When I said I share your pessimism, I was referring to my own expectation that the upcoming US president is more likely to be republican especially when you look at the results of the latest congressional elections!

I forgot to include the killing of Osama bin Laden and sealing a deal with Iran to freeze its nuclear program to Obama's achievements. When Obama took the presidency eight years ago, the country was on the verge of collapse (at least financially) and the US relations with the rest of the world was not at its best! So as an outsider, I am surprised how short people's memory can be, and how, within only eight years, they seem to be willing to forget and forgive the republicans. I am just not sure what they are thinking!

I hope that talking about this issue is not seen as intrusive, but as a world citizen, I am affected by the US foreign policies (in some ways, even more than US citizens themselves) hence my interest.

Peace
And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: "Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!"

This was the last word of the Tathagata.
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Mkoll
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Re: what bothers you among world issues?

Post by Mkoll »

Bundokji wrote:When I said I share your pessimism, I was referring to my own expectation that the upcoming US president is more likely to be republican especially when you look at the results of the latest congressional elections!
We'll see. The Republican candidates are in disarray right now, with a plethora of candidates and Donald Trump causing havoc. He's insulted Hispanics, women, science, just about everything. Here are a few choice quotes:
"I will build a great wall — and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me —and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”

“The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”

“Rosie O’Donnell’s disgusting both inside and out. You take a look at her, she’s a slob. She talks like a truck driver, she doesn’t have her facts, she’ll say anything that comes to her mind.”
And this guy is leading the Republican polls. :rolleye:

It's most likely to be Hillary who gets the Democratic nod. Personally, I'd prefer Bernie Sanders, but I don't think he was a very good chance of winning. But we'll see how things go—still got a few months between now and the primaries
Bundokji wrote:I forgot to include the killing of Osama bin Laden and sealing a deal with Iran to freeze its nuclear program to Obama's achievements. When Obama took the presidency eight years ago, the country was on the verge of collapse (at least financially) and the US relations with the rest of the world was not at its best! So as an outsider, I am surprised how short people's memory can be, and how, within only eight years, they seem to be willing to forget and forgive the republicans. I am just not sure what they are thinking!
Yes, we have notoriously short memories here. Part of it is the media cycle which is ridiculously short. We're bombarded with stories about one subject for a short period of time and people talk about them. Then it switches to another set of stories and people talk about them. Rinse and repeat and it's easy to see why we forget so quickly.
Bundokji wrote:I hope that talking about this issue is not seen as intrusive, but as a world citizen, I am affected by the US foreign policies (in some ways, even more than US citizens themselves) hence my interest.

Peace
Not at all intrusive! I think we're on the same page in that we'd like to know what's going on in the world. :smile:
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
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