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This is a well organized, easily flowing read through countless tales of how we the people have been bilked of our public resources to assist the asset accumulation of the wealthy. He perfectly predicts the financial collapse we have suffered, after clearly defining the basis for this catastrophe. Why he has received no credit for his prescience is unclear to me. In addition to his clarity in assessing our finacial woes, he also outlines how we have been taken with our deregulation of the energy industry (my energy transport fees account for 40% of my bill). Large corporations have also been able to comadere public lands with little to no return to those who ceded the land. Student loans have turned into an industry to make many graduates struggle with debt for years while guaranteeing a steady source of high paying customers to higher education and banks. The important underlying theme is that to get a break from government, you need to have someone representing your interests in Washington. Unfortunately for us, not only are corporations trying to ensure their share of the golden till, a recent report in Foreign Affairs, "Diplomacy, Inc", shows that even our Foreign Policy is for sale to the highest bidder.
I don't find his solutions to the problem very convincing. The problem of getting politicians to pay attention to those who are not in the top 5% income bracket has always been difficult. Only organized action at the grass roots level will get our politicians to change their ways. Maybe social networks will be the tool which will allow us to effectively organize to counter the plutocracy which has gained control of our political process.
The author does a good job of laying out the obligations of both sides when a debt is created. She covers the historical aspects of debt, and delves into the literature and psychology of debt too. Some of her references to literature seem excessive to me, and I don't find her pesuasive when using animal research to try and establish that we are hard wired for debt. The best chapter is the fourth, "The Shawdow Side". In it she recounts how governments have managed excessive debt problems in the past, which leaves the reader with little reason for optimism.
Erikson drives home the point that the Cuban lobby has not been quiet over the past decade, but instead have been successful in incorporating into law the economic embargo on Cuba. Contrary to our Cuban policy for the past 40 years, it is economic engagement that leads to political democracy, not an onerous embargo.
The cohort of Cuban Politicians who have been elected in South Florida to Congress (1 in the Se nate and 3 in the House) have been willing to trade essentially any vote on non-Cuban matters to get support for their raison d'etre, continuation of the economic embargo against Cuba in its harshest form possible. In addition, solid fund raising from political action committees (modeled on AIPAC), has created an environment that makes it hard for anyone to challenge the party line in support of the embargo. So Obama could not remove the embargo by Executive Order and solve the problem. Legislation would need to be passed, and that does not seem any more likely now than it has at any time since the Cuban Missle Crisis.
The book is described in the link above as a series of essays, but it is much more than that. It is a well organized, in depth presentation of the historical record created in 1948 at the time of the creation of the State of Israel. When Morris talks about his sources, he notes that most of the publicly written record existed in the Western Media, and very little in the then, largely non-existent Arab press. Thus, when Morris notes that there was never a publication at the time in any media source of an Arab leader exhorting the Palestinians to leave their home, he recongizes that Arab sources are not well represented here.
Two key issues that were true in 1948 that were an obstacle for peace then, and remain obstacles today are: 1) Excessive reliance on a Military perspective when interacting with the Palestinians. 2) A Recognition since April of 1948, when Arabs began to leave Haifa in large numbers, that any peace agreement with the Palestinians would require Israel to deal with those who were displaced.
Morris documents that there was no centrally designed plan to rid Israel of Palestinians, but at every step when Palestinians began to flee, they were either actively encouraged, or outright forced to move on. Morris also shows there was a significant opposition to tactics which facilitated the removal of Palestinians (eg the Mapam party) from the territory granted to Israel by the UN's 1947 partition. This opposition is earily reminiscent of the current opposition within Israel to the governemnt's policies toward the Palestians. However, the opposition remains ineffective now, as it was then due to the first issue, the primacy of a military view over all others.
In 1948, eggregious acts by the Military (eg bull dozing blocks of Haifa Arab properties so they could be claimed by the State of Israel) were tolerated by the civil authority. This was not a passive process at all. Many civil leaders opposed many of these acts. However, the basic process was to ignore complaints by the civil leaders until the project was underway. The military would then co-opt them by ensuring they understood the military guise for these acts, and how they would serve the long term benefit of the state (which was the overriding concern for all Israelis then, as it is now).
The current dilema is best summed up by Aahron Cohen, Director of the Mapam party's Arab Department, in his notes for a memorandum he wrote on May 6, 1948, entitled, "Our Arab Policy in the Midst of the War". He wrote, "a deliberate eviction is taking place...Others may rejoice - I, as a socialist, am ashamed and afraid...to win the war and lose the peace...the state when it arises will live on its sword." I believe Israel continues to live on its sword, and will do so until it definitively addresses the issue of the displaced Palestinians.
This book was written shortly after Lincoln's death by his Law Partner. At the time, Lincoln was recognized for his greatness. The goal of the book was to capture people's memories of Lincoln shortly after his death, so that the effect of time would be minimized. The book can be difficult to read at times, as the vernacular of the time differs from the present. However, in honor of Lincoln's 200th birthday, I'll share a couple poorly known facts about Lincoln.
One of the qualities that Barak Obama and Lincoln shared was their political realism. The harshness of their critics never struck them at a personal level. They were always able to see the politics clearly, and were thus able to maintain a distinct and robust view of the topic over which they were attacked. They also had some similarities in their stature. Both were tall (see drawing of Lincoln on page 83), and as we know Barak Obama is quite athletic. However, how about Lincoln? Due to his large size, and due to the times, when Lincoln was a young man and took up residence in a town, he was often challenged to a wrestling match. Lincoln never lost such a match, suggesting Lincoln also possessed such athleticsim.
The place where Obama and Lincoln differ most is their mood. It is hard to believe that Barak Obama could have had a major depressive episode in his life without that information becoming public during his Presidential campaign. However, Lincoln clearly was affected by a major depressive disorder. This is best evidenced in 1841 when he was so depsondent, his life long friend, Joshua Speed, took him to Kentucky for a year, where he remained isolated in a cabin, with no access to a razor, due to fears he might harm himself. From page 241 of the book: "In the language of Mr Edwards, 'Lincoln went as crazy as a loon,' and was taken to Kentucky by Speed, who 'kept him until he recovered.' He 'did not attend in 1841-2 for this reason.'"...."During this period, at times he was very melancholy,' and by his own admission, 'almost contemplated self destruction'.
The other interesting observation in this regard was a comment made by Lincoln to Robert L Wilson, a colleague of his in the Illinois Legislature, "although 'he appeared to enjoy life rapturously,' it was a mistake; that, 'when alone, he was so overcome by mental depression, that he never dared to carry a pocket knife.'".
A detailed account of how the Palestinians lost their land, and a host of factors which have worked in concert to prevent a fair and equitable resolution of the conflict. The state of Israel is a matter of fact, but all people since WWII have been allowed the right of return to their homes after conflict resolves. It seems to me that there is a Palestinian concensus that a fair settlement with Israel, consistent with the 1967 borders, would be a good first step. Clearly only a small fraction of Palestians could be given the right to return to their homes in Israel proper, with most receiving financial compensation as well as land in a new Palestinian state. (On Democracy Now!, 9 Jan 2009, Norman Finkelstein said even Hamas was willing to concede the 1967 border).
Some interesting points raised in the book included: 1) creation of the concept of an ethnic Jew (ie one who was not religious). Historically, Jews had always been defined by their religion. With the state of Israel, it became possible to become part of a diaspora, linked to their land "historically", without the need to actually practice Judaism. 2) The bias not only of Western policy in support of Israel, but the US in particular. We have tolerated spies in the US Government on behalf of Israel, with consistent efforts to minimize any penalty served to those who have commited such acts (eg Jonathan Pollard, Larry Franklin). In addition, I agree with the study of Mearsheimer and Walt, that the pro-Israel policies of the US Government are more helpful to the state of Israel than to our own foreign interests. There were only three members of the House who voted against the 2008/9 Israeli incursion into Gaza. 3) The pervasive, abject poverty as well as an enforced lack of development which is collectively applied to the Palestinians, particularly those who live in one of the world's worst hell holes, Gaza. I was reading about the destruction done in 2006, while the current destruction destroyed the little infrastructure that remained (no power plants, no sewage or water treatment, temporary fixes to get by abound). Since Hamas is likely to resume firing their 2 pound fertilzer bombs (which rarely kill anyone in Israel), the blockade of Gaza will continue with no economic development, and collective punishment unlike the world has ever seen before.
This should be required reading for all Americans. The Intelligence Services have failed us recurrently and catastrophically over the years. We were totally outmaneuvered by the totalitarian Soviets, never getting an agent alive behind the Iron Curtain, while having numerous double agents from their side leak our secrets back to them. Even the coups that over the years they have claimed to manage well (ie Iran, Guatemala and Chile) had barely succeded, and often for reasons unrelated to the competency of the operation. I believe the early debates that took place when the CIA was founded, about whether a free society could truly support a covert agency, specifically designed to keep secrets, potentially even from its own government. The answer is in, we can not tolerate such an intelligence organiztion, even if it were competently administered.
Barbara Ehrenreich gets down and dirty by trying to eek out a living on a working wage. She chose waiting on tables in Key West, cleaning houses in Portland, Maine and finally WalMart in Minneapolis. Though this was written several years ago, it is just as applicable today. She not only takes you down into the trenches, but also weaves a host of broader economic and occupational information into her stories. This book is both easy to read and informative.
Scott Ritter's organizational abilities really shine in this pamphlet like book. I believe he rightfully argues that the Anti-War movement would benefit from a clear strategic objective with tactical events laid to acheive that objective. The anti-war movement hasn't done enough analysis of its own strengths, and how best to apply these to acheive their defined objectives. Part of the problem has to due with multiple, conflicting objectives from the many groups under the anti-war umbrella. I don't see this book as critical, but more as a guideline for how to develop an effective strategy.
The arguments to support the claim that the World Trade Center (WTC) buildings did not collapse due to the effects of the jet liner crashes is overwhelming. The major problem is that most people "don't want to hear it". Even NIST (National Institutes of Standards and Technology) did not agrue that the jet liners brought down the building, but only that they could have initiated a collapse sequence. NIST does not discuss the scenario beyond that as they would refute many of the premises they use to support their initiation theory.
I spent 20 years practicing medicine, and one of the major issues that I needed to gain comfort with was my own ignorance. Often I could not say why something happened, but I could very well understand the consequences of the disorder the patient presented to me. I believe the American public needs to take a similar attitude towards evaluating the collapse of the WTC, especially building 7. Look at the evidence about the collapses critically (eg the free fall speed of the collapse, the residual molten iron, and the fact that the steel in the building never reached 600 degrees Celcius, let alone the 1100 degrees needed to weaken it), and ask yourself, could the jet crashes have caused this? The question as to why it occurred is indeed important, but much harder to understand with the inadequate investigations we have had to date. What is incontrovertible, is that the jet crashes could not have caused these buildings to collapse, and the need for a real, objective investigation as to why they collapsed occurred is still needed.
Forever Free recounts the story of Emancipation and Reconstruction from an African-American perspective. As the Civil War unfolded, both free men and former slaves began to organize as a political force in the South. This crystalized into communities and states that saw former slaves attain significant political positions within a decade of the Civil War. Eric Foner shows it was through the continued denigration of the freed slaves, and finally, outright violence, which was fomeneted by the early Ku Klux Klan, that ultimately led to the failure of Reconstruction, and the institutionalization of the "Jim Crow" South.
The Ricks and Woodward books reveal not only the stubbornness of the Bush administration in their failure to recognize the many deficiencies of their Iraq War policy, but also deliberate efforts to mislead us, the American people. During the war, any contemporaneous comparison between the internal discussions of the Bush administration, and the point of view propagated throughout the mainstream media, show deception was used as a major tool to implement their duplicitous Iraq War policy. The Allawi book adds depth about the cultural ignorance of our government when it entered this war, and how this impacted upon our poor planning and implementation. In addition, Allawi details how the vast sums of money we spent were siphoned off by corrupt politicians, leaving us with an untrained and poorly supplied Iraqi military and a an underdeveloped infrastructure.
Joan Mellen confirms the importance of some of the issues raised by Mark Lane shortly after the Warren Commission issued its report. It is not credible to teach our children that Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK. He was a patsy, just as he said, before Jack Ruby killed him in the Dallas Police station. Both JFK and Bobby Kenedy knew there was a plot against the President, but both had to use their own operatives to try to find out how the CIA and Cuban exile community were setting him up. We still don't know, and may never know, who actually fired the shots. Yet the location of the shooters, and their deadly accuracy can not be disputed (the Texas Book Depository was not the direction the shots came from).
Most striking in Joan Mellen's book, is the extent of overlap between CIA and FBI informants. Maybe the agencies weren't talking before 9/11, but in the early 1960s, both agencies drew their domestic information from the same sources. In addition, the extent that media "assets" were used by the CIA and FBI to create diversionary misinformation, was incredible. Every major city that Jim Garrison was taken to in his investigation of the JFK conspiracy, had at least one media asset that was informing the public disingenuously. In fact, the oft state rumor of my youth that the Mafia killed JFK was fully fabricated by CIA and FBI media plants.
After World War II, the US, via NATO, created "stay behind" armies that were designed to remain quiescent for long periods of time, with activation in the event of a Soviet attack. Unfortunately, these secret armies stayed anything but quiet, involving themselves in the political affairs of Italy, Greece, Turkey and France, just to name a few. This book is expensive because it is used for "Contemporary Security Studies" courses. Daniele Ganser has also written a chapter for a book on the same topic, available here as a pdf, and the paperback version is less expensive.
They largely address many of the issues raised by 9/11 truth advocates, but not from an evidenced point of view. They use the technique, which we currently deplore in Medicine nowdays, which is quoting an "expert" in lieu of actual data. They also fail to adequately explain a major issue with the collapse of the WTC towers, the molten metal found at the clean up sites months after the collapse. They claim that the overlying layer of debris insulated the fires below so the heat trapped could melt the steel. But how did the fires burn if they we so well insulated, as they wouldn't have had adequate oxygen to generate enough heat to permit metal to melt. Anyone who has ever watched a blast furnace knows that there are incredible drafts generated by such fires, as the oxygen demands to generate that level of heat are massive. As a result, the only thing the authors debunk is their claim that they critically evaluate the evidence on 9/11.
It turns out that the CIA LSD experiments from the 1950s was the unproductive path. The CIA learned that the "successful" tools of interrogation were sensory deprivation, self inflicted pain and manipulation of sleep and eating patterns. These same tools have been broadly applied in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanmo Bay, suggesting torture in those settings have not been isolated, aberrant acts (as documents released in April 2009 confirmed). Taxi to the Dark Side, the Oscar winning documentary of 2007, further explores these issues.
A detailed study of the evidence regarding the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He summarizes the relevant information from the King v. Jowers civil trial, and adds interesting information that wasn't presented. The evidence clearly shows James Earl Ray did not kill MLK Jr, with the actual assailant derived from a conspiracy by both the FBI and Memphis Police.
An interesting look at the career of a woman who became the first female to serve as a general in a combat position for the US military. She also details many areas of malfeasance related to the horrors of torture at Abu Ghraib.
The evidence is clear that Iraq had disarmed, and we knew this unequivocally by 1998. The book does spend a lot of time on Scott Ritter's efforts to unveil Iraq's cover up of how they hid their disarmament from the international community, but overall the book clearly shows there were no WMD before our March 2003 invasion, and the "intelligence" community were well aware of this fact.
A former CIA agent spills the beans on American collaboration and acquiescence toward Saudi Arabia. He reveals details about the original Islamic Terrorist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, and how American officials (both Democratic and Republican), have looked the other way as Saudi Arabia has financially supported the spread of a radical Islamic view with the hope that it would keep such forces at bay in their own country.
We have been led to believe that the GOP may have stolen the 2000 Presidential election in Florida. The authors clearly show that the efforts of the GOP in Ohio in 2004 we as anit-democratic as one could imagine.
An inside look at how the US uses its economic leverage to facilitate its foreign policy goals. After reading this, you'll understand why the assassinations of Arbenz, Allende, Roldos and Torrijos, all democratically elected leaders in Latin America, were "taken out".
A detailed analysis of how the US has used its economic might to control international relations. The books is complicated, but essentially documents how after World War II the US held an unprecedented amount of the world's gold reserves (50%). These reserves were depleted with our incursion into Korea, and our subsequent involvement in Viet Nam depleted them further, requiring the US to abandon the "gold standard" for valuating world currency. With our gold reserves gone and an ever mounting national debt, one can only wonder if the war in Iraq will be the economic straw which breaks the camel's back!
China has become not just an economic power, but also a source of high quality products at low prices. The only thing that may hold China back now is the environmental destruction it has wrought.
An authoritative look at America's efforts to thwart terrorism as it evolved in the 1990s, and how the Bush administration dismantled this effort after arriving in office in 2001. By September 11, 2001, it became clear that Richard Clarke knew what he was talking about, but by then, it was too late.
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