ArcticGong

I agree with @Endangered-EGO, most of us "need" smartphones or clothes, so we are willing to accept that some factories have nets under their facilities to "save" people from suicides. But, we don't need FIFA or football, we might love it, and that makes the boycott more powerful. So, entertainment is basically the easiest way for consumers to protest.

I understand that point of view. I think that sports brings humanity together though, as with art, music, dance and spirituality.

Bob Marley.

@Preety_India Most successful interventions are those where there is local support for them. When the US fought off the nazis where most Europeans happy to host and cooperate with them. In the case of the middle eastern insurgency from terrorism do I get a feeling that most countries there don't want an American-led intervention. Only attend to other's affairs if you're invited, I guess.

@Vrubel I agree with you. And I would like to add that might makes right in that region. The strongest entity, whoever it is, goes ahead and dominates every other group. So it is never as easy as good guys vs bad guys, or perpetrators and victims.

I know that I'm technically guilty of whataboutism by posing this question, but nonetheless, I have to ask it. From a humanitarian perspective, why don't the crises in Yemen and Syria rile up similar media attention or public outrage? Am doing the same thing right-wing people do when police brutality is being discussed by bringing up black-on-black violence to shift focus. My intention is not to shift focus, but I genuinely wonder why Isreal and Palestine's conflict is so polarising in the public discourse? The argument is usually humanitarian, which is completely valid, but we know that the region is in the middle of "more urgent" humanitarian crises in Yemen for example. So, what is it, humanitarian or something else?

Ethiopia is among the poorest nation in the world, she is battling a possible ethnic cleansing in the Tigray region. There is a lot of ethnic tension domestically. Internationally is Ethiopia now in a conflict with downstream Sudan and Egypt about filling a dam. Honestly, I'm not aware of all the details, both Sudan and Egypt are pretty hostile to The Grand Renaissance Dam, with great reason. Egypt relies on the Nile for 90% of its freshwater supplies from the Nile, something that might be affected by GERD. The blue Nile supports 80 percent of the water before it joins into one stream. The dam will make Ethiopia a sufficient energy producer, and an energy exporter. Energy desperately needed to raise its country out of poverty. The dam is a blessing for Ethiopia and potentially detrimental for Sudan and Egypt. Furthermore, Ethiopia has borrowed a lot of money from China to fund a couple of infrastructural projects. Money Ethiopia hopes to get back through supplying its country with much-needed energy. Does anyone have any good spiral suggestions for averting the likelihood of our first large water war?

Inside sargada familia in in Barcelona

@lina I just think we're coming at this from a different perspective, if the GERD significantly decreases the flow of water and potentially starve millions of Egyptians would the global community act quickly, that would be a genocidal act, which no one in the global community would allow. And if that would happen anyways does the river already have two safety valves, the Sudanese dam, and the Aswan Dam. Both Sudan and Egypt have capabilities to release water from those dams and adding increase the flow. To be clear, I'm not an expert on dams. What I'm will try to do is to make geopolitical speculations; that no country likes to have its fate in the hand of others. Egypt's insecurities should be a consideration for releasing millions of Ethiopians from deep poverty. Egypt did the same in the 60's, Aswan displaced 60.000 Nubians because the project was deemed essential, not out of malice, but merely pragmatic.

@lina look like Egypt is taking steps to ensure its water supply. https://www.google.se/amp/s/www.al-monitor.com/originals/2020/11/egypt-build-world-largest-desalination-plant-gerd-nile.html%3famp

@lina of course they need electricity, it is one of the poorest nations on earth? They provide electricity to a fraction of their population. Egypt on the other hand has one of the largest economies in Africa, third-largest if I remember correctly? Sudan is actually not that hostile to the GERD, unlike Egypt. Sudan would import cheap electricity and regulate flooding such as they've recently experienced.

@lina Those countries you've mentioned are maybe transitioning to renewables, but they are far from covering their needs with renewables. Sweden is relying heavily on hydros and thus proving my point. A significant chunk of Kenya barely has any electricity. Germany and Scotland are relying mostly on fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Solving the challenge of energy is difficult for any country in the world. I doubt that Ethiopia's agenda with damming is to kill millions of people. Sudan has also dammed The Nile close to Khartoum. All your concerns could be leveled at Sudan as well. Egypt has objected to every aspect of the GERD since its inception. I agree with you that filling it should be discussed. The question below is, however, a good question.

@lina Egypt dammed the Nile in Aswan too. Come on, have any countries in the world today satisfied their energy needs with those renewables? Dams are at the moment is our safest bet for a reliable energy source. I haven't read about Egypt's counteroffer to help electrify Ethiopia. I would definitely read that if you could give me a reliable source?

@lina Is it not possible that the Gerd is both political and practical? All the sources I've checked suggest that the dame will cover Ethiopia's energy needs and make them an energy exporter. How would a country like Ethiopia otherwise generate electricity? One need only to look at night satellite photos of Sub-Africa to see how little environmental impact it currently makes, it barely has any lit-up places. This will sound bad but, I don't think that the poorest nations on earth should lead environmental development.

@charlie cho I'm sorry for what happened, (i have no better response). Are you not afraid of getting addicted to red, especially if you're aspiring to be a police officer? Being red is pretty invigorating, in the short term. I'm personally afraid of abusing the feeling of lust and rage(i think both falls close to the red mindset).

I listened to and lecture with Allan Watts yesterday, so what I'm writing is basically about what he was talking about, which relates to this topic about spirituality. He talked about a concept in Hinduism that time is cyclic. Human consciousness goes from basic to more conscious in a cyclic fashion, it basically does what it always been doing. There are many points I'm missing and misrepresenting, but this is my take. If barbarism, greed, sloth, etc prevails will humans aspire to something higher, like order, sharing, and (grit) hard work. All the things we hate will either mutate into something worse or metamorphose into something beautiful, division,unity, and impermanence like Leo talked about.

Ibadi Islam of Oman wants peace in the middle East

I'd expect more relativistic explanations from this forum regarding this conflict. Answers that sounds like: countries are social constructions. This conflict is so polarising and people online seem to resort to president Bush's logic for the Iraq war: either you're with us or against us e.g supporting the (oppressors)= pro Palestinian or support Hamas (terrorist) Pro-Israeli. It is off-putting with both parties self-righteous attitude to "their land". A solution I'd prefer is if China or Hispanic would take over.

As an outsider looking in into the Middle East, I don't think any country would be successful under that environment by being nice. All the genocidal shit that goes on there, and all sides try to convince that the other side is "evil". Think about it, since the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire all the genocides, coercion, slavery and war. Yes the Middle East was the last place to reluctantly ended slavery, by pressure from the west. I personally feel that the humanitarian situation in Yemen is more urgent and extreme, but Isreal-Palestine just stirs up more emotions and feeling by most parties around the world because of Israel's controversial presence in the Middle East.