carepov

https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-the-hostage-ceasefire-agreement-reached-between-israel-and-hamas/ What do you think about this deal? I hope that the deal holds and there is an end to all killing. I hope that most of the hostages are alive and will recover, especially Shiri Bibas and her sons Ariel, and Kfir, who were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz when they were 4 and 9 months old. Unfortunately they are probably dead.

I am normally a very nice and pro-peace person. I try my best to be empathetic to all people and even animals. I hate suffering and loathe to celebrate the death of anyone. This is an exception! Sinwar and his co-terrorists have caused so much suffering - especially to the Palestinian people - the world is better of without him!

Step 1: The Palestinian leaders and people of Gaza and the West Bank must recognize Israel's right to exist and stop violence. Yes, I believe that this is possible, Egypt did it, Jordan did it and the 2 million Palestinians living in Israel did it.

Thanks, it is a difficult question to answer and I don't blame you for dodging it. First point: It is difficult to know if sex selection is taking place, however in some situations it is clear, for example: -Girl born -Abortion -Abortion -Boy born Second point: There are other options than abortion or a lifetime of abuse.

Interesting discussion (mostly) so far. I am sympathetic to both sides. Question for you Perspektiv: At 12-13 weeks we can determine the sex of the "baby". Is it OK to abort if you don't like the sex?

I know that people that live in Vancouver (and Toronto) think that its all about them - newsflash: it's not. Also, the majority of Canadians live in a single-detached house. Is it possible that apartment/condo sizes are declining because more people are living alone or as couples without kids?

"Though data is sparse for Canada, it appears that the average size of a new house has doubled since the 1970s." https://www.darrinqualman.com/house-size/#:~:text=Though data is sparse for,even faster than house size.

The Real GDP per capita chart was Canada. Disposable income was both Canada and the US. I assume that US median house size is similar than Canada.

Interesting article, but wrong and whiney: "The proportion of young adults who live in a parent’s home more than doubled between 1971 and 2021, from 8% to 17%" OK, sure but here's why: First, it is way more comfortable to stay at home -The median home size is up ~40 % -Number of bathrooms is up -Number of brothers and sisters is down Also, we in the west now have the luxury of extending our adolescence well into our twenties. My feeling is that overall it is as challenging now to buy a home compared to 1972. On one hand, yes, home prices are up. On the other hand, financing is down, wages are up, and other costs are down. Regarding the increase of the price of Disney vacations, I'm sure attendance is way up and if prices are up too this is a sign of prosperity.

Yes, we are humans and have perspectives. -We are wired to see problems/threats over opportunities/rewards by about 10 to 1. If our pre-historic ancestors missed a threat they died. -Rewards make us happy and losses make us sad. Again the ratio is about 10 to 1. If winning a $100 gives you a +5 in happiness points, loosing $10 will give you -5 points. -We quickly get used to rewards then those rewards become the new normal. For example, if you get a Christmas bonus of $500 per year for 3 years, then on year 4 you get $400, you will feel like you lost $100. -We are always comparing ourselves to others. This is why our perspectives are often wrong. Per hour worked gas, groceries and almost all basic necessities are cheaper now than in the past. We have always had issues with health care and always will. Other countries without mass immigration also have these issues.

Your facts are wrong. Regarding poverty and food: "Back in the early 1960s, when the American economist Mollie Orshansky defined the U.S. poverty level, she made a quick observation. Families spend about one third of household income on food. So, find out the cost of a cheap but adequately nutritious diet, triple it, and that’s the poverty line. That was meant to be just a quick and easy measure to use for a year or two while something more sensible was worked out. Sixty years later, we’re still using it – Milton Friedman did say there’s nothing so permanent as a temporary government program. Today American families spend a little under 10 percent of their income on food – and that includes eating out, something the poor of the 1960s didn’t do, and even the middle class did only very rarely." https://humanprogress.org/the-secret-recipe-for-civilization/?ref=topic&related=1827 Regarding housing, median square footage is way up: Regarding leisure time, see previous charts about hours worked. There are more charts about the decrease in housework, the increase of leisure time, the increase in travel. To be clear, I'm not saying that life is perfect today. There are certainly many challenges, however life is way better now than in your romanticized past.

https://humanprogress.org/trends/working-less-for-more/

Check this out from https://humanprogress.org/

I call BS on all of claiming that the median Canadian had a better/more comfortable life in the 50s/60s/70s/80s/90s... First, most importantly look at the poverty rate, especially child poverty, if I remember correctly it was 15 % and is well bellow 10% now. How many kids went hungry then compared to now? How many people ate out at restaurants back then. There are more f'n sushi joints now than there were total restaurants. How often did people travel on sunny vacations? Wanna talk housing, what was he square footage of an average house back then? How many bathrooms? And divide that by the number of people lining in each home? We used to spend 25-30 % of total income on food, it was as as low as 11% recently but is probably 15 % now. Look at the selection in the supermarket compared to back then! Take the median Canadian from the good ole days and zip them to the present and they would call us lazy whiney spoiled brats!

"Real" means that the dollars are adjusted for inflation.

It is a myth that the average person was better off in the past. Canadian Real GDP per capita chart tells a good story of wealth. We are at least 50% richer now compared to the 70's The other part of the story is how much cheaper most things are now (after adjusting for inflation). Check our the book Superabundance.

Successfully integrating immigrants is Canada's super-power. Many times in our history we have brought in more than 1% of our population (where we are now).

In 1966 we had 20 Million people. Canadians are way better off today, and our infrastructure in also way better.

Here is the chart from The Frasier Institute The long-term trend over the last 40 years is clear: Per Capita Real GDP is up from $40k to $60k a 50% increase.

We are a growing and successful nation thanks to mass immigration over the last 160 years. We have a huge country that requires very expensive infrastructure. The larger the population the cheaper/more efficient the infrastructure. Immigration helps to ensure that we have enough workers, for example in the fields of child care, health care and elderly care.

Please elaborate on how "Israel helped orchestrate Hamas takeover of Gaza" Also, your narrative regarding the the peace process is wrong, Israel did not "abandoned peace entirely" : 1995: Assassination of Rabin 2000: Camp David Summit - arguably the closest that the two sides ever came to establishing peace

Israel has free and fair elections. If peace was available from the Palestinians, Israeli's would vote for a pro-peace government, like they have tried many times over the last 80 years. Some of the most peace-loving Israelis were killed by Hamas on 10/7. Israel is a country that includes Jews and Arabs. A future Palestine should also include both Arabs and Jews, no? Or should a future Palestine be ethnically cleansed like other Arab states?

I think that you are irrationally pessimistic, the reality is that on average, people have better lives than ever. Of course there are problems that require solutions, as there always was, continued incremental improvement is the way to go. Recommended resources: https://stevenpinker.com/publications/enlightenment-now-case-reason-science-humanism-and-progress https://www.superabundance.com/

HDI data is a good metric to judge societies and their values. Also, by comparing HDIs of various countries in the Arab world one can quickly dismiss any claims that Israel is causing any material suffering. In fact it is the opposite, Israel's incredible economic development has been a huge benefit to all people of Palestine. You are right, it is not the whole story. Basic personal and civic freedoms are important too. Here again the scales favour Israel where women, gays and all minorities have equal rights. The oppressors of ordinary Gazans is Hamas.