Instagram and facebook and shit like that has really just fucking annoyed me

[Beanz]

P4Pking is right. It is 'as much a part of your life as you want it to be'. Plenty of vacuous shallow peeps posting vain selfies and bigging up themselves etc I am sure, but you are not some powerless drone slave forced to sit thru crap unless you choose to. If your friends, family and colleagues post interesting, relevant stuff then keep them on your feed, if they don't you take a break from their posting or simply select disconnect /defriend/block/I don't want to see anymore of Walrus' watch pictures etc. Yes it can suck away a lot of productive time and the sheer proliferation of so many types of social media can give people a distorted view of reality that depresses them or makes them more arrogant, but I hardly think it is frightening.

The idea that it is somehow taking a moral stand for freedom of speech or displaying an Independence that others do not aspire to by choosing not to subscribe is a bit ludicrous when many of the people being banned from these platforms are standing on a promise to shut down others with a different opinion, ban journalism and have for years been back by violent supporters silencing people who do not agree with them. It's almost as funny as talking about ethical investment whilst for decades having boasted of the wisdom of investing in Gold. All so you can stand in your destroyed rainforest with arsenic and mecury polluted rivers and look at your shiny new God whilst telling everyone how morally corrupt religious people are

It is worth it if only to see the real Brits remind Tommy of why he was right to be afraid of Sheikhs

[Gandalf]

P4Pking is right. It is 'as much a part of your life as you want it to be'. Plenty of vacuous shallow peeps posting vain selfies and bigging up themselves etc I am sure, but you are not some powerless drone slave forced to sit thru crap unless you choose to. If your friends, family and colleagues post interesting, relevant stuff then keep them on your feed, if they don't you take a break from their posting or simply select disconnect /defriend/block/I don't want to see anymore of Walrus' watch pictures etc. Yes it can suck away a lot of productive time and the sheer proliferation of so many types of social media can give people a distorted view of reality that depresses them or makes them more arrogant, but I hardly think it is frightening.

The idea that it is somehow taking a moral stand for freedom of speech or displaying an Independence that others do not aspire to by choosing not to subscribe is a bit ludicrous when many of the people being banned from these platforms are standing on a promise to shut down others with a different opinion, ban journalism and have for years been back by violent supporters silencing people who do not agree with them. It's almost as funny as talking about ethical investment whilst for decades having boasted of the wisdom of investing in Gold. All so you can stand in your destroyed rainforest with arsenic and mecury polluted rivers and look at your shiny new God whilst telling everyone how morally corrupt religious people are

It is worth it if only to see the real Brits remind Tommy of why he was right to be afraid of Sheikhs

Gold is not exactly a mass surveillance system or a drone. The continued use of oil and coal is far more problematic and with every newborn increasingly so. That is the hypocrisy of environmentalists. Every person should insure themselves with diversity of a financial kind, though it is better to consider where and how. Investing in fossil fuels and arms is very lucrative and far more destructive to humanity than a reversion to traditionalism. Without planning for one's own retirement one has very little and you know that whence purchasing property in a country that exploits it by building little and importing many. You cannot consider rain forests when you live in a country with no trees. Plenty of trees my way.

[Beanz]

P4Pking is right. It is 'as much a part of your life as you want it to be'. Plenty of vacuous shallow peeps posting vain selfies and bigging up themselves etc I am sure, but you are not some powerless drone slave forced to sit thru crap unless you choose to. If your friends, family and colleagues post interesting, relevant stuff then keep them on your feed, if they don't you take a break from their posting or simply select disconnect /defriend/block/I don't want to see anymore of Walrus' watch pictures etc. Yes it can suck away a lot of productive time and the sheer proliferation of so many types of social media can give people a distorted view of reality that depresses them or makes them more arrogant, but I hardly think it is frightening.

The idea that it is somehow taking a moral stand for freedom of speech or displaying an Independence that others do not aspire to by choosing not to subscribe is a bit ludicrous when many of the people being banned from these platforms are standing on a promise to shut down others with a different opinion, ban journalism and have for years been back by violent supporters silencing people who do not agree with them. It's almost as funny as talking about ethical investment whilst for decades having boasted of the wisdom of investing in Gold. All so you can stand in your destroyed rainforest with arsenic and mecury polluted rivers and look at your shiny new God whilst telling everyone how morally corrupt religious people are

It is worth it if only to see the real Brits remind Tommy of why he was right to be afraid of Sheikhs

Gold is not exactly a mass surveillance system or a drone. The continued use of oil and coal is far more problematic and with every newborn increasingly so. That is the hypocrisy of environmentalists. Every person should insure themselves with diversity of a financial kind, though it is better to consider where and how. Investing in fossil fuels and arms is very lucrative and far more destructive to humanity than a reversion to traditionalism. Without planning for one's own retirement one has very little and you know that whence purchasing property in a country that exploits it by building little and importing many. You cannot consider rain forests when you live in a country with no trees. Plenty of trees my way.

There are 3 billion trees in the UK. 47 for every human. You seem to live in an imaginary bubble mate, no need for Social media. Gold mining is horrendous environmentally now that most seams have been exploited.

[Gandalf]

You can take a train from Leeds to London and see endless fields and cities. Granted it has more trees than Saudi Arabia, but it is a treeless wilderness compared to some countries. There are trees of course, but one knows what I mean. My wife mocks me for the lack of trees, but it isn't my fault!

Like I say compared to human overpopulation and general environmental exploitation gold is fairly minimal. Not healthy of course, but humanity is not healthy. I accept the decay and know my own personal limits. Do others? Not so much.

Plenty of other things are mined from oil, to coal, to tin, to gas, to whatever. Gold is precious because there simply isn't that much of it. Landfills of plastic, methane leaking from the oceans, and populations doubling every few decades.

What is really impacting the environment out here is coal burning and so much of the economy being based in construction. Gold is hardly a serious issue in the great scheme of things. Most pay it no attention. All those people on airplanes everyday are a bigger problem.

Environmental welfare is not given serious consideration and I agree it is something to be worked on. Humanity chose its own path really. I am hardly a central bank. My contribution is minimal.

[Beanz]

You can take a train from Leeds to London and see endless fields and cities. Granted it has more trees than Saudi Arabia, but it is a treeless wilderness compared to some countries. There are trees of course, but one knows what I mean. My wife mocks me for the lack of trees, but it isn't my fault!

Like I say compared to human overpopulation and general environmental exploitation gold is fairly minimal. Not healthy of course, but humanity is not healthy. I accept the decay and know my own personal limits. Do others? Not so much.

Plenty of other things are mined from oil, to coal, to tin, to gas, to whatever. Gold is precious because there simply isn't that much of it. Landfills of plastic, methane leaking from the oceans, and populations doubling every few decades.

What is really impacting the environment out here is coal burning and so much of the economy being based in construction. Gold is hardly a serious issue in the great scheme of things. Most pay it no attention. All those people on airplanes everyday are a bigger problem.

Environmental welfare is not given serious consideration and I agree it is something to be worked on. Humanity chose its own path really. I am hardly a central bank. My contribution is minimal.

What are you talking about?

Britain is defined by it's hedgerows and farms and trees. Nowhere in Europe is it like that. Woods, forest, trees literally billions of them. I am not sure you have ever been here anymore

[Gandalf]

Nah, I travel through every few years. Always the same maybe for the past few centuries. But I am not that old. You seem to think it is a lot because you haven't traveled to Thailand and Vietnam and Korea which are abundant in trees and forestry, far more, so than the UK. Sure there are forests, but not like out here. Actual swathes of mountains mile after mile covered in trees. It's a shock when you first see it all.

[Gandalf]

This thread has taken a detour, but I will concede that the UK is very grassy and fieldy, but less so foresty which is admittedly a new word. Of course there are woods, but very limited really.

This article suggests it went on way, way back. Gotta feed the multitudes I guess and they only ever expand. Currently 300,000 a year for no obvious reason at all.