@whowasthatmaskedman

Yes, violence indeed decreased with the onset of the industrial revolution and the general increase in living standards, but Pinker notes that the first major decrease in violence occurred earlier, with the increase in literacy, made possible by the advent of printing and the resultant wide availability of books.

@Thinkerbell

Oh, and as for economics of America right now, the stock market seems to be doing quite well, which I think means it thinks the tariff barks are worse than their bites will be.

@Thinkerbell And forty years ago i would have agreed with you. The stock market used to be a measure of wealth and investment. But the futures/options market corrupted this and led to the day trader.. The day trader is now driving the bus and most activity is little more that bets being placed whether a stock will rise or fall over the next day, week or month.. The technical term for this is "Gambling" because there is a winner and a loser. Warren Buffett and value investing hardly show in the market.😷

@SunshineGirl Amen!

@hunkalove Oh yes, from a working-class childhood in Tottenham to the Cabinet table, David Lammy’s path to becoming Foreign Secretary was anything but straightforward. Raised by a single mother after his father disappeared when he was twelve, David’s early life was shaped by absence, ambition and a fierce sense of justice

@StygianKohlrabi I'm sorry, but I guess that I'm the only one between us that cares for the Palestinian cause and has actual knowledge of it. Or can you describe what the policy developed into during the governance of Ben Gurian concerning the Negev Arabs for example?

@val70 nowadays you're either Zionist or someone who wants Israel to cease to exist. no chance.

@StygianKohlrabi I guess that you're someone still living in the past then. I'll end here with Noam Chomsky who once wrote: “Education is not memorizing that Hitler killed 6 million Jews. Education is understanding how millions of ordinary Germans were convinced that it was required. Education is learning how to spot the signs of history repeating itself.”

@Roundandroundwego They know

@NativePortlander1970 I'm a historian and I've read books. Perhaps you've done the same? The importance to me is doing right where it is possible to do that. I'll end this by quoting Noam Chomsky who once wrote: “Education is not memorizing that Hitler killed 6 million Jews. Education is understanding how millions of ordinary Germans were convinced that it was required. Education is learning how to spot the signs of history repeating itself.”

I end it here. There's no talking to you, and obviously, the person who laughs last laughs best 🤣