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Trends and Controversies
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Malthus Effect and food prices |
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Religion |
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Violence in Islam |
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The future and the Singularity |
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Food Prices and Malthus Effect
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Malthus Effect |
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Thomas Roberts Malthus: 'Essay on Population' 1798 |
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Population grows faster than food supply |
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Result is wars, not famines |
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Green Revolution |
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Triggered by massive famines during WW II |
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Huge effort led by Rockefeller foundation 1948 |
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Fertilizers, insecticides, better seeds |
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Green revolution petered out in the 1990s |
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FAO Food Price Index - 1991 - February 2011
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Role of Religion in Generational Dynamics
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At most one religion can be 'true' |
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Identity group formation: Religion, ethnicity, skin color, etc. |
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Religion doesn't cause war; war causes religion |
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Violence in Islam
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Al-Qaeda-linked international jihadists (AQAP, AQIM, etc.) |
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Independent salafist groups (Egypt, Gaza, etc.) (Cf IRA) |
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Ordinary Muslims |
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The Future and the Singularity
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The Future
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World War |
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Computer breakthrough - Intelligent plumbers and nursemaids |
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Singularity - around 2030 |
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