PATRICK BELTON NOTES that we’ve entered a new era of peace: “Research from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and the Canadian NGO Project Ploughshares indicates that the world has actually become a substantially safer place lately – at least measured in terms of major conflict. The number of people killed in battle has fallen to 20,000 per year, the lowest number in the post-Second World War period.”

That’s nice to hear.

UPDATED: More thoughts here.