I’ve got young kids. Waking up early is the best time for me to be productive and enjoy solitude.

Did that happen to you?

What is so bad about living with your parents? That’s still the norm in many parts of the world. For some reason western countries, and especially America, have exaggerated the benefits of being financially independent, as if shared resources were some kind of failure.

I beg to differ. The only people who lose when we share resources are the capitalists.

I’ve got a few friends in their thirties who live with their parents and the whole family is very happy. And although my kids are only six and three, I can’t imagine any reason why I wouldn’t want them to continue living in my house for as long as they needed support.

We all need support. It’s not a shame. It’s an asset more valuable than property, imho.

(guillotine emoji)

I’m aware of the difference in motivation. My point is that people on both sides become radicalized by violence and therefore the cycle repeats with every generation.

Please remember that innocent Israeli kids were also murdered, albeit in smaller numbers.

My son is about the same age as the boy in the thumbnail, being held by his father. They look pretty similar too.

I can’t even imagine the pain and anger that I would feel to see my boy injured, what to speak of being killed, by militant forces. I would be absolutely beside myself with rage. It’s really no wonder this conflict has continued for generations. There are thousands of people on both sides who have become absolutely fixated on revenge.

There was a time when Muslim empires were powerful. Their so-called “golden age” from about 750 to 1250 ad produced so much of the culture, science and philosophy that we benefit from today.

Obviously there has been a dangerously conservative shift in recent centuries, and especially during the reform in the 70s.

I wish that “returning to former glory” meant reviving their intellectual prowess.

I was homeless for a year and I must admit that I learned and grew so much. The freedom and detachment is cathartic. It’s like a drug, however, in that you’re likely to lose yourself if you stay in that environment for too long.

Yes. It wasn’t a uniquely German trend, although they applied it the most and thereby killed millions. The Americans also have their own gruesome history of human eugenics.

Probably because of Hitler. He was very inspired by eugenics and Darwin’s recently published seminal work on evolution. In his writings and speeches he frequently referred to Darwinism and human engineering via eugenics. Here’s a quote from Hitler’s Mein Kampf:

“In the struggle for daily bread all those who are weak and sickly or less determined succumb, while the struggle of the males for the female grants the right or opportunity to propagate only to the healthiest. And struggle is always a means for improving a species’ health and power of resistance and, therefore, a cause of its higher evolution.”

Not just Hitler, the whole of the Nazi party and their public propaganda was based on extreme Darwinism.

An important official Nazi Party publication, “Nationalsozialistische Monatshefte”, edited by Alfred Rosenberg, occasionally featured articles promoting evolution. In a 1935 article Heinz Brücher praised German biologist Ernst Haeckel for paving the way for the Nazi regime. In addition to mentioning Haeckel’s advocacy of eugenics and euthanasia, Brücher highlighted Haeckel’s role in promoting human evolution. Brücher reminded his readers that Haeckel’s view of human evolution led him to reject human equality and socialism. In 1941 Brücher published another article in “Nationalsozialistische Monatshefte” on evolution through natural selection. Several times he stressed that the principles of evolution were just as valid for humans as for other organisms. He closed the essay by explaining the practical application of evolutionary theory:

“The hereditary health of the German Volk and of the Nordic-Germanic race that unites it must under all circumstances remain intact. Through an appropriate compliance with the laws of nature, through selection and planned racial care it can even be increased. The racial superiority achieved thereby secures for our Volk in the harsh struggle for existence an advantage, which will make us unconquerable.”

In Brücher’s view human evolution is an essential ingredient of racial ideology, not a hindrance to it. In 1936 another author named Heberer launched an attack on antievolutionists in Nationalsozialistische Monatshefte. He praised Haeckel and stressed the affinities of Darwinism and human evolution with Nazi ideology.

The history is really quite fascinating and it’s rarely taught in your state-mandated evolutionary biology classes!

Thank you. This is exactly what I’m looking for.

Does anyone know what is the best way to send support to Gazans? Are there any institutions inside the strip that are actually operational?

I know a guy who attempted to enter the Rafah gate with a food relief group but he was denied entry and now I doubt any charity that’s collecting money for Gaza…

“Mounting pressure”, much like “condemnation”, means absolutely nothing. Isreal will continue to whatever the hell they want and with immunity because western nations are so desperate for a middle eastern ally.

It sure seems like Netanyahu is on the “do whatever the hell I want with US taxpayers’ money” timetable, while Biden is on the “I’m only going to ask you twenty-seven more times to stop committing genocide” timetable…

But is it running?

I agree. I’m just trying to address the commonly held misconception that piles of cash are being sent abroad. The bulk of the money is spent in America and the weapons are sent to the allies.

Please enlighten me

US Senate approves $95bn for US weapons manufacturers to make weapons for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

Whoa. That’s a bit too philosophical, bud! We like to keep things simple and superficial around here.

Money can’t buy happiness but it can buy your preferred form of misery.

I guess that sense of agency over our suffering is a kind of happiness.