ian-mstm

I understand that you and I have no great love for each other, but why would you wish that on anyone? It seems you have now stooped to a level of depravity that escapes rational thought.

Ian

Leslie

He does that.

tom169

Grow up.

Leslie

I disagree with his opinion on that particular matter but it's not exactly a new one here on BE. Many people that post here feel exactly that way and have posted about it with complete transparency. As a matter of fact, there were a lot of cruel remarks in that thread and you didn't exactly cover yourself in glory either.

FYI - It's weird to make personal remarks about somebody's home, family, security or personal well-being. It's creepy. Just stop.

Anian

From police statistics, they are down.

bartholemues

Fair enough, I'm sure there are plenty of places where crime has increased even in the face of an overall decrease.

Your personal experience not withstanding, this article on the subject in general makes an interesting read: The world is not falling apart: The trend lines reveal an increasingly peaceful period in history..

Giantaxe

True, but remember that the plural of anecdote is not data, even when it's morpeth spouting.... and with the fall in crime being so marked since the 70's and '80's, I wonder how many areas of the country have actually seen an increase? Chicago, presumably, but I am sceptical that the list is very long.

Of course people's perceptions can be very different to that reality:

"Despite double-digit percentage decreases in U.S. violent and property crime rates since 2008, most voters say crime has gotten worse during that span, according to a new Pew Research Center survey."

"These polling trends stand in sharp contrast to the long-term crime trends reported by the FBI and BJS. Both agencies have documented big decreases in violent and property crime rates since the early 1990s, when U.S. crime rates reached their peak. The BJS data, for instance, show that violent and property crime levels in 2015 were 77% and 69% below their 1993 levels, respectively."

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank...-with-reality/

bartholemues

I can't say I disagree with the basis of your views here but the actual outcome of your worries are rather nebulous at this point. I guess we'll see how it all plays out in the coming years but based on recent history I'm more inclined to think that much of the current craziness will mostly play itself out politically much like other more recent political conflicts such as the cold war. Obviously having Trump in charge isn't helpful but fortunately the US political system and a divided Republican party should hamstring his ability to do much more than run his mouth.

One thing I will wholeheartedly agree with is your comment about the EPA. Global Warming if far and away the greatest existential threat we're facing and is worth worrying about if anything is. Sadly it seems most people want to remain blind to the severity of this problem so beyond taking personal responsibility and voting green I'm not sure what can be done about it at this point.

bartholemues

Oh I agree and am aware of the facts but I was talking micro level. Just on the balance of probabilities, there are likely many streets/neighborhoods where violence has increased even while the vast majority of larger catchments have reported decreases.

dc koop

In as far as Trump's foreign policy goes in reference to North Korea and Russia the other side of the coin would be "there's a new sheriff in town" approach and I think that it's now realized by both countries. Without China though Trump can never hope to achieve a change of leadership in North Korea but further complicating the issue is that China does not want a pro-western democracy on it's borders and there's a well founded fear that a toppling of the N.K regime with a war included would result in millions of North Korean refugees fleeing into China. Very tricky situation with a lot of variables to consider not least that South Korea could be subject to a massive invasion from the north and the capital Seoul is pretty much near the border

I think Trump is changing his mind over his election statement that the US will leave the international agreement reached in Paris on clean air. One good thing for us in California is that the State will in no way repeal it's environmental regulations despite what Washingto does. We tend to grumble about paying higher prices for gasoline than other States do because all gasoline for sale in California has to be specially refined. Governor Brown whose in his last term has placed an eleven cents a gallon increase on a gallon of gas effective January 1st 2018. It's purpose is to fund infrastructure repairs and updates. This wont go down well with a lot of people but how I see it is that when a gallon of gas becomes a bit too pricey it further encourages car buyers to move more and more towards hybrids and all electric vehicles

Giantaxe

California-formulated gasoline has apparently had a huge impact on reducing smog here.

California won't repeal its environmental regulations, but I suspect that Trump will try to impose rolled-back federal fuel economy standards on it, leading to a court fight.

bartholemues

Which is all very nice but even the Paris Accords are a drop in the bucket of what really needs to be done to prevent the inevitable catastrophic warming that is likely to arrive this century. A lot of the offsetting being done is BS anyway. A one child per family limit imposed today would probably be the minimum required to prevent this. Personally I'm committed to having none to try and offset others

ian-mstm

I remember when Canadian PM Joe Clark tried to increase the tax on gasoline by 18 cents a gallon. Unfortunately, he had a minority government and a vote of non-confidence was called which triggered a general election... and he lost. Pierre Trudeau then became PM (again)... and subsequently raised the tax on gasoline by 20 cents. Fun times!

I've heard it said that during a war, China could suffer casualties of one million people per day... and still be able to fight for well over 3 years! Frightening.

Ian

robin1234

That statistic sounds dodgy. Probably depends which one million people die each day.

robin1234

Wouldn't it be more effective to do that thing they do with black flies and mosquitoes etc. Get sterilised, and have sex with multiple other people so they are actually wasting their vital energies and never manage to procreate.