by Jack
For every act of terrorism there is a headline and that’s part of the problem. We’re all connected by the media – for better or for worse. Mass kidnapping in the heart of Africa is on the news in our living room within hours, a bloody car bombing in an Iraq – instant news! Two crazy killers on the loose in Boston – instant news! A terrorist attack in Paris – instant news!
We’re constantly exposed to the consequences of terrorism no matter where in the world it occurs. Global leaders must admit some day these terrorist events could culminate a truly apocalyptic nuclear response if a nation like Israel is pushed too far. This is not out of the question. Nor is it unlikely that a rogue nation run by a death cult could launch a nuclear strike. But, lets step back from the hypothetical and look at some cold, hard facts in the hear and now and see just how we’re doing at this very moment:
From PRI’s The Word: “It’s time for a reality check. War seems more widespread than ever. Iraq, Syria, Ukraine, Gaza, Afghanistan, etc. Pope Francis warned earlier this month that a “piecemeal” World War III may have already begun. Violence on the streets seems to be growing too.
Violence exists,” says Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker. “It hasn’t gone down to zero. But past decades were far more violent.”
Pinker has crunched the numbers. He first published his findings in 2011 in a book called The Better Angels of our Nature: Why Violence has Declined. He’s just updated his findings in the light of the violence in the three years since then.
In an interview, Pinker says “you can really only get a sense of how violent the world is, and what the trends are, if you count.”
“What you have to do, of course,” he explains, “is count the number of wars, count the number of people killed in war, plot the trend over time. That’s how you get a picture of whether the world has become more, or less, violent. It’s the only way to get such a picture.”
Pinker points out that during World War II, the human population lost 300 of every 100,000 people each year. During the Korean War it was in the 20s, before dropping into the teens during the Vietnam era. In the 1980s and 1990s, it fell into the single digits. For most of the 21st century it’s been below one war death per 100,000 people per year.
There has been an uptick globally as a result of the civil war in Syria, doubling from 0.5 per 100,000 to 1. But Pinker says “you can’t compare 1 with 15 or 25 or 300.” Everywhere else in the world, the stats are still trending downward. The same is true for homicides.” END
Next up: “President Obama would still be correct when he said, “If you had to choose any moment to be born in human history, you’d choose this time. The world is less violent than it has ever been. It is healthier than it has ever been.”
He was mocked for saying that — and much of what our president says is deceitful and should be mocked — but that statement was true.
Thanks to miraculous innovation created by free markets, fewer people languish in poverty, and we live longer than ever. The average American now lives 79 years. (Much of that innovation happened despite attacks on markets by Obama and his cronies, but that’s another story.) For most people, and most Americans, life is better.” Fox News
With all this good news, a prudent person must still concede that the resurgence of religious persecution, especially against Christians by Muslims, has been a huge obstacle to peace.
Religious intolerance by too many mainstream Muslims and acted upon (violence) by too many radicalized Muslims has created an atmosphere of revulsion, distrust and fear. This growing resentment towards fundamentalist Muslims, especially the violent radicals, is akin to a lit fuse zipping around a dark corner. How long is that fuse and how big is the bomb it’s headed for are things yet to be determined.
Short answer: We are already there. Economic and social strife, mass murder, and war. Most significantly strife, mass murder, and war by Islam on all of humanity supported by Islamic terror exporting states. Secondly by strong-man Putin. And thirdly by Obama, the inadvertent result of his ineptness.
Obama continues to be seen as weak because, well, he is.
“Death to Israel” and “Death to The United States of America!” is the rallying cry of Islam, Iran, Putin and vicious trash across the globe including the totalitarian left in South America. What the head in the sand left in this country will NEVER get — the world is a very dangerous place and it was not made so by the USA.
But Obama is doing his best to make the world a more dangerous place. It is part and parcel of his “transformation” goal.
By the way, pointing out the persecution of Christians (you left out mass murder of Christians) by Muslims exposes you as a bigoted Islamophobe. Shame on you Jack.
And there were more persecutions today apparently. I’m looking forward to the day when there are ISIS in their black pajamas lined up for miles and then they get blown away by Christians, family members of ISIS victims from Chad, Ethiopia, Niger, Libya, Syria, Iraq, the Sudan, etc. These ISIS a-holes are making a lot of enemies and it’s only a matter of time until they get just payback.
And we’re also heading into the beginnings of a nasty, knock-down, drag-out prezidential campaign as well.
Keep fresh batteries for your remote handy and make sure the MUTE button works in order to keep your sanity!
Jack: “He was mocked for saying that — and much of what our president says is deceitful and should be mocked — but that statement was true.”
Glad to see you acknowledge this, Jack.
Your point about the “lit fuse” is a good one.
Thank you Chris.
Re: “President Obama would still be correct when he said, “If you had to choose any moment to be born in human history, you’d choose this time. The world is less violent than it has ever been. It is healthier than it has ever been.”
He was mocked for saying that — and much of what our president says is deceitful and should be mocked — but that statement was true.”
Yes, but where is the world headed? Where Obama is leading it? Towards a more dangerous place IMHO. Ultimately, time will tell.
WW1 (which and Pinker evidently does not include) and WW2 were exceptional times. Mechanized warfare covering a large part of the planet accounted for at least part of the death count in those times.
I don’t see where Pinker adjusts his statistical analyses for the metric of an exploding human population in the sampling period.
It seems to me that his analysis of less deaths per 100,000 is deceiving in light of the astronomical population increase since WW2. I would argue at the population increase washes out the violence committed. That does not indicate less violence, but just more people escaping violence by their sheer numbers no matter where they live.
Off topic, but couldn’t let it pass . . . .
BREAKING NEWS!!!!
The heaviest element known to science was recently discovered by investigators at a major U.S. research university. The new element has been named Hillarium. The chemical symbol of Hillarium is Bs.
Hillarium has no protons or electrons and thus has an atomic number of 0. However, it does have one neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice neutrons and 111 assistant vice neutrons, which gives it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by a force that involves the continuous exchange of meson-like particles called mor ons.
Hillarium’s mass actually increases over time, as more ons randomly interact with various elements in the atmosphere and become assistant deputy neutrons within the Hillarium molecule, leading to the formation of isodopes. This characteristic of mor on-promotion leads some scientists to believe that Hillarium is formed whenever mor ons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as a Critical Morass. When catalyzed with money, Hillarium activates CNNadnausium and MSNBCobnoxium, elements that radiates orders of magnitude more energy, albeit as incoherent noise, since each has half as many peons but twice as many mor ons as Hillarium. Hillarium has also been reported in some war torn countries to inexplicably draw sniper fire out of thin air where no snipers are present, and to cause shoes to catapult across the room as a result of intense attraction to Hillarium.
Since it has no electrons, Hillarium is inert. However, it can be detected chemically as it impedes every reaction it comes in contact with. According to the discoverers, a minute amount of Hillarium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete when it would have normally occurred in less than a second. Paradoxically, in the presence of anti-mor ons, Hillarium is highly corrosive. The presence of Hillarium is also easily detected using Gagger Counters. When combined with the deadly slick clintonious virus it serves as a catalyst for creating stains on blue dresses. It is also known for impeding the justice process whenever involved in those reactions.
Hillarium appears to have a normal half-life which inexplicably varies between four and six years, at which time it does not decay, but instead undergoes a transmutation, appearing in a new location but displaying the same properties. In this process, assistant neutrons, vice neutrons and assistant vice neutrons exchange places. Some studies have shown that the atomic mass actually increases after each transmutation.
Research at other laboratories indicates that Hillarium occurs naturally in the atmosphere. It tends to concentrate at certain points such as government agencies, large corporations, and universities. It can usually be found in the newest, best appointed, and best maintained buildings. Heightened levels of toxicity have been detected in the presence of low information voters. A single spontaneous incidence of mass mor on emission from the Hillarium element has been documented. The mor ons were apparently stripped away during the Obala Supernova formation event which, with subsequent isodope formation, collapsed into a particularly small dense black hole.
Scientists point out that Hillarium is known to be toxic at any level of concentration and can easily destroy any productive reaction where it is allowed to accumulate. Human mortalities have resulted from exposure to Hillarium. Hillarium threatens to become a pandemic by 2016. Infection symptoms need to be more thoroughly researched, but appear to include a loss of all logical and critical thinking abilities, extensive memory loss related to crucial issues, loss of all consideration for others, onset of paranoia and conspiracy theory predilections (commonly heard are protestations of a “vast right wing conspiracy” and a “War on Women” — in which ironically Kennedy has the first confirmed kill), and, of course, the already noted tendency towards fatalities.
Generous use of prophylactic doses of Intense Reality as soon as possible after possible exposure to Hillarium is a prudent and wise precaution. Large doses of Fiscal and Constitutional Conservatism may be particularly useful. Encourage all your friends and family to take similar precautions, and vote for candidates in 2016 who will work to protect us from the possible scourge of a Hillarium pandemic. Some believe that Palinium, or even Cruzite, is an instant cure – but frankly that research assumed non-Gruberian Statistics. Experimental validation is currently underway in nation-wide clinical trials. Attempts are being made to determine how Hillarium can be controlled to prevent irreversible damage, but results to date are not promising.
Q: Would it be possible for you to address shelf life?
A: Research results are inclusive to date. Recent indications suggest that more significant decay may have occurred than was generally realized, so there is hope for lessened effects in the near future.
Q: Are there any know uses for Hillarium? I’ve spent quite some time looking and have yet to find any.”
A: No useful or beneficial applicationnue trying.
Re #8 J. Soden :
This account contains a few factual errors and is incomplete. It should be emphasized that Hillarium is not an element that exists naturally on Earth. It has a half life of about 24 hours, approximating the life cycle of an average MSNBC, NYT, AP, or Media Matters “news” story.
As such, Hillarium is completely synthetic, in other words it is completely man-made.
The complex Hillarium decay cycle and decay processes are, so far, not well understood. Empiricists have confirmed the theoretical prediction that it sometimes decays to Viralarium.
Viralarium derived from Hillarium has a variable half-life on YouTube, depending on a many variables that have yet to be sucessfully enumerated.
Whether Hillarium or its decay element Viralarium has any beneficial application is subjective. It depends on how bored you are and how much time you spend surfing the internet seeking a laugh.