Random Politics & Religion #00

Most nations need birth rates of around 2.2 to maintain their population. I'm not really opposed to limiting population growth simply for economic and sustainability reasons, but with as many people that never have children as there are in developed nations, a limit of 3 or 4 would be more reasonable and probably cause less push-back.

In America most of what people consider as poverty is actually enough to support many families.
The problem isn't over population.
The problem is people want too much and waste too much and leave nothing for the truly needy.

In America most of what people consider as poverty is actually enough to support many families.
The problem isn't over population.
The problem is people want too much and waste too much and leave nothing for the truly needy.

I don't think developed nations really need to worry about their fertility rate for overpopulation. It's the underdeveloped nations that are causing most of the overpopulation in the world...

Consumerism causes a lot of food to go to waste, however there's also to consider that the stuff that goes from shelves directly to garbage cans is not something you could have saved anyway. They get thrown away cause they expired before someone bought them(and you don't make a favour to anyone by giving them expired food).
This is why(only some)food retailers just take things off shelves a couple of days before the expiration date so that they can give the stuff to charities instead of completely turning it into waste.

Here in the US the food grocery stores throw away is still completely edible.
It's just policy or some other reason that it gets thrown away.
It's a terrible system and it needs changing.

I think just about every energy source should be part of the plan. Even tidal has it's applications. There also needs to be an intelligent rework of our, frankly pathetic, national grid. The regional grids don't integrate well, there's a ton of loss, frequently maintenance and repairs take a back seat, energy is highly regulated at the local level and almost not on the national, etc. There's no reason we can't move exclusively toward truly renewable energy sources over the next few decades with modest investments, but too many people are too heavily connected and invested in fossil fuels. The rest of the opposition is quite petty, as nobody wants to live in the areas where wind and solar farms are most efficient anyway.

Make them give it to homeless shelters and food banks like a lot of municipalities do. Win win.

That's subjective, of course. A lot of European nations actually have negative population growth whereas countries like the USA, China, and Russia have positive growth. Undeveloped countries definitely have more issues with population growth, but, those countries don't consume the way western nations do.

With our current methods of supporting civilization, the world simply cannot sustain at this rate, and especially the USA is far too wasteful.

The only real issue with nuclear is how to handle the wastes, I know France are reprocessing their wastes but even so they still need geological repositories.

Have tried.
They refuse to.
I watch my grocery story here throwing away huge garbage cans full of fresh produce that is still completely fine.
They won't even let me take any of it.
They told me if they let me then people would throw away things on purpose so they can take it for their self's.
I think it's a ***excuse if you ask me.
Why should the needy suffer just because of a few dishonest employees that may or may not even exist? I'm certain they do exist, but that doesn't mean every employee will do this.

I'm guessing you didn't read the source I provided. Even using your assumed "2.2" repopulation rate, most developed nations are in the negative fertility rates, if you look at the data.

For example:

US Fertility rate - 1.9 (deficit of .3)
Germany Fertility rate - 1.4
France Fertility rate - 2.0
Japan - 1.4

So on, so forth.

As you can see, most undeveloped and underdeveloped nations have high fertility rates, not the developed nations themselves.

So, my point still stands.

Probably because "developed" nations eat foods processed with a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.

I had to do some digging to find the answer...

Headline: Trader Joe's Ex-President Opens Store With Aging Food And Cheap Meals


I too would like to see more things like this catch on. My dad was born during the Great Depression, and one lesson he was taught which was passed on to me was: always clean your plate.

Now, I've had to un-learn that lesson somewhat, having come of age in a an era of relative plenty; feeling compelled to always clean one's plate, considering American serving sizes, is a good way to develop overeating/binge eating habits.

I'd still rather box up leftovers than see food go to waste, though, and I would love to see less food go to waste in the marketplace in general.

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon plans to send a special operations intelligence and strike force of between 100 and 150 troops to Iraq to conduct raids on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria, a senior Defense official told USA TODAY Tuesday.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Congress about the extra troops Tuesday but did not specify how many. The Defense official spoke on condition of anonymity because officials were not authorized to comment publicly on details of the new force. The team will include intelligence analysts and special operations troops skilled in conducting raids, the source said. Often those troops include Navy SEALs and the Army's Delta Force.

Carter told the House Armed Services Committee that the commandos will coordinate with the Iraqi government and fight with Iraqi and Kurdish peshmerga troops. The new troops will be above the U.S. forces already in Iraq, the official said. The unit will have intelligence gathering and analysis capabilities and the forces to strike targets.

"These special operators will over time be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence, and capture ISIL leaders," Carter said. "That creates a virtuous cycle of better intelligence, which generates more targets, more raids, and more momentum. The raids in Iraq will be done at the invitation of the Iraqi government and focused on defending its borders and building the (Iraqi security force's) own capacity. This force will also be in a position to conduct unilateral operations into
Syria."

Carter told Congress Tuesday the Pentagon is prepared to send more special operations forces to support the fight against Islamic State terrorists in Syria.

Carter also confirmed a report in USA TODAY on Monday that the Pentagon was planning to send more commandos to Syria if the initial force of 50 found allies willing to fight and take ground from the Islamic State, also known as ISIL and Daesh. The addition of more troops to Iraq and Syria represents a significant deepening of the U.S. involvement in the fight against the Islamic State. The Obama administration has been reluctant to commit ground forces to the fight in Iraq and Syria.

The initial force special operators in Syria will work with local forces to gather intelligence on the ground and help enhance the use of air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition, Carter said. Where the special operations unit finds more opportunities to partner with local forces, more commandos will be added, Carter said.

"We are prepared to expand it," Carter said.

Carter also told Congress that the U.S.-led coalition has expanded airstrikes in November to their highest level since the campaign began in August 2014. Several senior leaders from ISIL have also been killed and its source of revenue — illegally obtained oil — has been struck., he said.

The ISIL attacks in France, which killed 130 people on Nov. 13, has added a sense of urgency to the fight, Carter said.

Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Pentagon will seek to escalate the fight against ISIL.

"In the days ahead, we’ll be aggressive in looking for ways to reinforce success," Dunford said. "And we’ll seize every opportunity to increase the tempo and effectiveness of our operations."

During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. special operators honed the ability to scoop up intelligence, find militants and either capture or kill them. Teams of Navy SEALs and the Army's Delta Force conducted several missions each night during the height of the fighting.

A Delta Force raid in northern Iraq in October underlined the cost of such missions. U.S. forces came to the aid of Kurdish partners who had been pinned down by enemy fire while trying to free hostages from an ISIL stronghold. Army Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, 39, was killed by ISIL gunfire as he helped lead the mission, which freed 69 hostages.

Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the latest moves a "belated step forward."

"However, today’s announcement is yet another reactive and incremental step, specifically responding to the Paris attacks, in a policy that has allowed the ISIL threat to metastasize to Libya, Afghanistan, and elsewhere across the globe, McCain said in a statement.

I'm guessing you didn't read the source I provided. Even using your assumed "2.2" repopulation rate, most developed nations are in the negative fertility rates, if you look at the data.

For example:

US Fertility rate - 1.9 (deficit of .3)
Germany Fertility rate - 1.4
France Fertility rate - 2.0
Japan - 1.4

So on, so forth.

As you can see, most undeveloped and underdeveloped nations have high fertility rates, not the developed nations themselves.

So, my point still stands.

He is learning in real time the consequences of isolationism.