Re: Abducted!

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: jsq () internetperils com [jsq () internetperils com] On Behalf Of John S. Quarterman [jsq () quarterman org]
Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2008 10:05 PM
To: David Farber
Cc: John S. Quarterman
Subject: Re: [IP] Re: Abducted!

Dave,

For IP, if you like:

> From: Benjamin Kuipers [kuipers () cs utexas edu]
> Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2008 6:50 PM
> To: David Farber

> ...

> ...they distort public perception of the likelihood of the evil.

> ...

Steven Pinker makes a good case that we live in the least violent
and most peaceful time in the existence of homo sapiens,
and even recent decades have gotten more peaceful:

 http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html

Yet constant "if it bleeds it leads" news and scare tactics by the
current administration have so many of us convinced we live in
an especially violent time.

Here's where the Internet can be most useful.  You can use it to
get a constant dose of violent news if you want to, but you can also
use it to get wise discourse by Ben Kuipers and Steven Pinker.

On the other hand, there are much larger impending dangers to
children and other people that you don't hear about so much
through the news, but you can find through the Internet, such
as the effects of climate change:

 http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/offbeat-news/history-links-climate-change-to-violence-and-conflict/534

-jsq



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