I thought that I was reading this on Mount Benson's recomendation but as it turns out he's never heard of it. As with other PKD books this was an excellent story which begins with the protagonist getting fired from his job. In the 23rd century the world works on pure chance and is run by machines called the Bottles. Most people have P-Cards which are the same as lottery tickets so that when the Bottles twitch and call a person's P-Card then he becomes the leader of the world. The leader is know as the Quizmaster and even he is not immune from the twitches of the Bottles.
The story follows a guy called Bentley as he leaves his job, moves to the capital of the inter-planetary system and gets a job with the Quizmaster. Excellent book, as I said, well worth the read.
7.24.2006
9. Glorious Revolution by Edward Vallance
This one was tough to get through.
Historians and Britains make much of the country's so called "Glorious Revolution" when comparing it to the revolutions of their European counterparts. They say that the revolution was peculiar in its lack of blood shed and in its failure to overthrow the establishment regime - not that it was trying to do so.
James II was a Catholic king who succeeded his brother in the midst of a lot of anti-Catholic hysteria. At first he cooled his heals and didn't do anything to upset the Anglicans but slowly he began to ask parliament to pass religious toleration bills, he appointed Catholics into the army and as his advisors and stacked the committees that picked the candidates to run in each riding with Catholics. These measures gripped the country in fear that the French would invade England or the King would somehow pledge allegiance to the Vatican. So, a bunch of noblemen went to William of Orange, the King of Holland who was married to James' daughter, and asked him to invade Britain, which he successfully did. Thus began the rein of William and Mary.
This was an interesting book I would recommend it but you need to be in the right frame of mind to read it.
Historians and Britains make much of the country's so called "Glorious Revolution" when comparing it to the revolutions of their European counterparts. They say that the revolution was peculiar in its lack of blood shed and in its failure to overthrow the establishment regime - not that it was trying to do so.
James II was a Catholic king who succeeded his brother in the midst of a lot of anti-Catholic hysteria. At first he cooled his heals and didn't do anything to upset the Anglicans but slowly he began to ask parliament to pass religious toleration bills, he appointed Catholics into the army and as his advisors and stacked the committees that picked the candidates to run in each riding with Catholics. These measures gripped the country in fear that the French would invade England or the King would somehow pledge allegiance to the Vatican. So, a bunch of noblemen went to William of Orange, the King of Holland who was married to James' daughter, and asked him to invade Britain, which he successfully did. Thus began the rein of William and Mary.
This was an interesting book I would recommend it but you need to be in the right frame of mind to read it.
6.12.2006
Economic Nationalism Part II
There has been yet another case of economic nationalism recently in Europe. Last week the New York Stock Exchange, which is now a publicly traded company, made an offer for a stock exchange in Europe called Euronext. The bid was accepted by the board of Euronext who agreed that it was superior to the bid that they had received from Deutsche Bourse (the German stock exchange). Within days of the board's announcement leaders in France and Italy came out and said that they prefer an all European merger for social reasons.
What a crock.
I would agree that there might be social reaons to prefer one deal over another when, say, some strategic asset of one country is being acquired by a foreign country. But there cannot be any social reasons to prefer one or the other stock exchange merger.
In fact, the only social reason is that Chirac continues to show the long tradition of French insecurity over its place in the world: they think they're a super power but really they're not even close and they are constantly trying to show that they are. And Prodi, the newly elected Italian PM, wants to distance himself from Belusconi's trans-atlantic ties.
In stark contrast, the NASDAQ exchange has purchased 26% of the London Stock Exchange and is on its way to acquiring the whole thing. There is not even muted protest in Britain over this tie up.
If I were President I would announce to the world that until the continental Eruopeans open their markets to American capital then they cannot expect to have open access to American markets. Unfortunately, Bush even falls short in this conservative idealogical stronghold. He can't fight wars, he lies and he can't run the economy. Why do people vote for him?
What a crock.
I would agree that there might be social reaons to prefer one deal over another when, say, some strategic asset of one country is being acquired by a foreign country. But there cannot be any social reasons to prefer one or the other stock exchange merger.
In fact, the only social reason is that Chirac continues to show the long tradition of French insecurity over its place in the world: they think they're a super power but really they're not even close and they are constantly trying to show that they are. And Prodi, the newly elected Italian PM, wants to distance himself from Belusconi's trans-atlantic ties.
In stark contrast, the NASDAQ exchange has purchased 26% of the London Stock Exchange and is on its way to acquiring the whole thing. There is not even muted protest in Britain over this tie up.
If I were President I would announce to the world that until the continental Eruopeans open their markets to American capital then they cannot expect to have open access to American markets. Unfortunately, Bush even falls short in this conservative idealogical stronghold. He can't fight wars, he lies and he can't run the economy. Why do people vote for him?
6.06.2006
The Reprehensibles Part X - Was I Dreaming?
I was listening to CNN this morning as I was shaving and I heard a new story about congressional aides who had accepted travel worth about $30 million from various private lobby groups. These aides had accepted 200 trips to Paris, 150 trips to Hawaii and 140 trips to Italy, all of which are places that are highly deserving of a congressional aides attention.
I have searched Google, CNN, USA Today, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Yahoo! and I can't find any mention of the story. I know I wasn't dreaming.
The tenth edition of my prize goes to all of these aides.
I have searched Google, CNN, USA Today, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Yahoo! and I can't find any mention of the story. I know I wasn't dreaming.
The tenth edition of my prize goes to all of these aides.
5.30.2006
The Reprehensibles Part IX
Joe Thiesman is the winner of this installment of the increasingly prestigous award for lambasting Ricky Williams all because he smoked pot. Honestly, how many skeletons do you think that Joe Thiesman has hiding in his closet?
"I don't ever want to be mentioned in the same breath as Ricky Williams as a football player. He's a disgrace to the game. The man doesn't deserve to play football. He should go on with his life and treat his drug addictions or go do whatever he wants to do. He's been suspended from the National Football League on multiple occasions. Doesn't anybody have any class anywhere? For gosh sakes, let the kid go do what he wants to do. He doesn't want to play football," Theismann, who is part of ESPN's Monday Night Football announcing crew, said.
I also like the usage of the phrase, "For gosh sakes."
"I don't ever want to be mentioned in the same breath as Ricky Williams as a football player. He's a disgrace to the game. The man doesn't deserve to play football. He should go on with his life and treat his drug addictions or go do whatever he wants to do. He's been suspended from the National Football League on multiple occasions. Doesn't anybody have any class anywhere? For gosh sakes, let the kid go do what he wants to do. He doesn't want to play football," Theismann, who is part of ESPN's Monday Night Football announcing crew, said.
I also like the usage of the phrase, "For gosh sakes."
5.29.2006
Sports Post Trifecta
I am pleased to relay to you that Ricky Williams, of Miami Dolphins fame, has signed with the Canadian Footbal League's Toronto Argonauts. In Canada not only do we have an unlegislated but practical decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana we also take in any player who has been suspended for marijuana use as our own!
5.28.2006
Oil Slick!
Last night, Edmonton became the first number 8 seed ever to advance to the Stanley Cup finals. Nice.
5.27.2006
Excitement
Both the NBA and NHL playoffs have been very exciting this season although, I admit, that I just follow the NHL during the playoffs and even then I don't watch any games but read about them and look over the box scores.
But the Oilers of Edmonton, a true Cinderella team, has got the Might Ducks of Anaheim in a precarious position. The Oilers could have closed it out two days ago at home but failed, tonight they will have to try to get the job done on the road. Exciting.
On the other coast you have a lesser Cinderellala, the Sabers of Buffalo, in a tied series against the Hurricane of Carolina.
I admit that what I like is that none of the colossal hockey machines - NJ, Ottawa, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Colorado etc. - have made it into the playoffs and instead you have four small market teams fighting it out.
The NBA is equally exciting to the point that I can't decide who I should support. The Dallas - Phoenix series with its run and gun style of play is very attractive almost like going to a great action movie that doesn't require a lot of thought.
On the other coast, the Miami - Detroit series is equally attractive but more like a thought provoking drama.
June will be a good sports month!
But the Oilers of Edmonton, a true Cinderella team, has got the Might Ducks of Anaheim in a precarious position. The Oilers could have closed it out two days ago at home but failed, tonight they will have to try to get the job done on the road. Exciting.
On the other coast you have a lesser Cinderellala, the Sabers of Buffalo, in a tied series against the Hurricane of Carolina.
I admit that what I like is that none of the colossal hockey machines - NJ, Ottawa, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Colorado etc. - have made it into the playoffs and instead you have four small market teams fighting it out.
The NBA is equally exciting to the point that I can't decide who I should support. The Dallas - Phoenix series with its run and gun style of play is very attractive almost like going to a great action movie that doesn't require a lot of thought.
On the other coast, the Miami - Detroit series is equally attractive but more like a thought provoking drama.
June will be a good sports month!
5.26.2006
8. People and Places by Richard Cobb
It has been a prolific month of reading for me so far but I fear that things will slow down with my next book. Richard Cobb is my favorite author, so much so that my dog bears his last name. This book is a compilation of short biographies of important historians and descriptions of some of his favorite places. It is written in classic Richard Cobb style and is very well worth reading.
5.21.2006
7. JPod by Douglas Coupland
The only book that I have read that is only ever so slightly worse than this one is Confederacy of Dunces which I was forced to put down without reading the whole thing.
This edition of Coupland's Generation X franchise is about a group of people working at a sports game software developer in Vancouver, a thinly veiled reference to Electronic Arts. The reason it is called jPod is that the last name of all five of the employees sitting in this particular pod of desks begins with J.
The main character in the book is Ethan, a nerdy C++ programer, whose father has given up his real job in a futile effort to land a speaking role in a movie, whose mother has a surprisingly high tech and productive home based grow operation and whose brother is a highly paid realtor catering to the Asian community. His four other pod mates are also programers and suffer from similarly unbelievable families. And, coincidentally, all of the jPod-ers families have large grow ops. The story, if you can call it that, is about Ethan's life at work, his interaction with his parents and with an ironically friendly Asian criminal who smuggles people and drugs to and from Hong Kong and China.
Now let me tell you why this book is so bad:
1. The author incorporates himself into the book, at first by strange third person references to himself and then as a character in the book. He begins by inserting a paragraph claiming that the idea for the show Melrsoe Place was stolen from his book Generation X and suggesting that the producers of the show should pay him or that he should sue them. He then inserts a dialog about how Douglas Coupland is so cool and cutting edge. He moves on by inserting himself as a character that Ethan meets on a flight to Shanghai and re-inserts himself by bumping into Ethan in rural Guangxho Province.
2. The book is 500 pages long but could easily be 300 pages long because the author has inserted about 200 pages of useless information into the book. For example, the jPod-ers are discussing Scrabble, one of them comes up with a list of the 900 possible three letter words that one can use in Scrabble and Coupland then spends the next 40 pages listing out the words. Or, the jPod-ers are having a conversation when one of them says that he has found a web site that shows pi to the millionth decimal place. Coupland spends the next 90 pages showing pi to the millionth digit.
3. It is a fundamentally badly researched and poorly put together book. There is no depth to the characters or their lives and what depth there is, is absolutely unbelievable.
All copies of this book should be incinerated and the author should be exiled from Vancouver, he gives the place a bad name.
This edition of Coupland's Generation X franchise is about a group of people working at a sports game software developer in Vancouver, a thinly veiled reference to Electronic Arts. The reason it is called jPod is that the last name of all five of the employees sitting in this particular pod of desks begins with J.
The main character in the book is Ethan, a nerdy C++ programer, whose father has given up his real job in a futile effort to land a speaking role in a movie, whose mother has a surprisingly high tech and productive home based grow operation and whose brother is a highly paid realtor catering to the Asian community. His four other pod mates are also programers and suffer from similarly unbelievable families. And, coincidentally, all of the jPod-ers families have large grow ops. The story, if you can call it that, is about Ethan's life at work, his interaction with his parents and with an ironically friendly Asian criminal who smuggles people and drugs to and from Hong Kong and China.
Now let me tell you why this book is so bad:
1. The author incorporates himself into the book, at first by strange third person references to himself and then as a character in the book. He begins by inserting a paragraph claiming that the idea for the show Melrsoe Place was stolen from his book Generation X and suggesting that the producers of the show should pay him or that he should sue them. He then inserts a dialog about how Douglas Coupland is so cool and cutting edge. He moves on by inserting himself as a character that Ethan meets on a flight to Shanghai and re-inserts himself by bumping into Ethan in rural Guangxho Province.
2. The book is 500 pages long but could easily be 300 pages long because the author has inserted about 200 pages of useless information into the book. For example, the jPod-ers are discussing Scrabble, one of them comes up with a list of the 900 possible three letter words that one can use in Scrabble and Coupland then spends the next 40 pages listing out the words. Or, the jPod-ers are having a conversation when one of them says that he has found a web site that shows pi to the millionth decimal place. Coupland spends the next 90 pages showing pi to the millionth digit.
3. It is a fundamentally badly researched and poorly put together book. There is no depth to the characters or their lives and what depth there is, is absolutely unbelievable.
All copies of this book should be incinerated and the author should be exiled from Vancouver, he gives the place a bad name.
5.15.2006
6. Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
I had forgotten how cool Orwell's writing was. This is an excellent book that should be on everyone's must read list.
5. Fleshmarket Close by Ian Rankin
I got to this book because of a book review in the G&M and because of a post on the famous Mount Benson Report.
Ian Rankin tells the story of several race based crimes in Edinburgh through the eyes of DI Rebus and his colleagues. The story begins with four seemingly unrelated crimes whose arcs become intertwined because of the common people working on them and some of the common protagonists in the crimes.
It is a good detective story although I found that it could have been more suspensful.
Ian Rankin tells the story of several race based crimes in Edinburgh through the eyes of DI Rebus and his colleagues. The story begins with four seemingly unrelated crimes whose arcs become intertwined because of the common people working on them and some of the common protagonists in the crimes.
It is a good detective story although I found that it could have been more suspensful.
5.03.2006
4. State and Society in Iran by Homa Katouzian
This book presents a fascinating account of the Constitutional Revolution of 1906 and the coup d'etat of 1921 that brought the Pahlavi dynasty (subsequently deposed in 1979) to power.
The authour begins by making a compelling argument that to date Iranian history, politics and, most importantly, revolutions have been studied using western revolutionary models when in reality none of the models are truly applicable to Iran. He argues that Iranian society has long been based on arbitrary power which is a concept that has not applied to western states for at least two centuries. The author then describes a theory that is more applicable to the particular style of Iranian arbirary power.
The theory forms the basis of the rest of his analysis of the events between 1906 and 1921, although he focuses more on the period from 1991 to 1921. I found it to be a very interesting book but definitely not for the casual reader.
The authour begins by making a compelling argument that to date Iranian history, politics and, most importantly, revolutions have been studied using western revolutionary models when in reality none of the models are truly applicable to Iran. He argues that Iranian society has long been based on arbitrary power which is a concept that has not applied to western states for at least two centuries. The author then describes a theory that is more applicable to the particular style of Iranian arbirary power.
The theory forms the basis of the rest of his analysis of the events between 1906 and 1921, although he focuses more on the period from 1991 to 1921. I found it to be a very interesting book but definitely not for the casual reader.
3.26.2006
3. Endgame by Jennifer Siegel
Many historians contend that the Great Game ended in 1907 with the signing of the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 which settled the posturing between the Russians and English in Persia, Afghanistan and Tibet – the three important Great Game countries. Historians have given different reasons for why the Russians and English entered into this agreement. Some of have said that it was because both countries needed to focus on European issues and could not afford to be distracted by Central Asian issues. Others have suggested that the British finally realized that they were no match for Russia’s overwhelming military might.
This book is a detailed examination of these theories. The author contends that the Great Game did not end with the signing of this agreement, it simply took a different form. Furthermore, she argues against those historians who argue that the genesis of this agreement was a need to focus on European issues. For the most part her analysis is thorough and convincing.
For those of you interested in the Great Game I would highly recommend this book.
This book is a detailed examination of these theories. The author contends that the Great Game did not end with the signing of this agreement, it simply took a different form. Furthermore, she argues against those historians who argue that the genesis of this agreement was a need to focus on European issues. For the most part her analysis is thorough and convincing.
For those of you interested in the Great Game I would highly recommend this book.
3.14.2006
The Reprehensibles Part VIII
My first award of 2006 cuts across both parties and both houses of Congress. Chuck Schumer, Democrat, New York, is the nominal recipient but the award has to be shared with Hillary Clinton, Peter King, Bill Frist, all of the members of the House Foreign intelligence Committee, Lou Dobbs and the mass media. They are recipients of this prestigious award for the work that they did to kill the Dubai Ports World deal.
Dubai Ports World, one of the largest operators of ports worldwide, acquired the British company, P&O, in a transaction valued at about $6B. P&O also operates ports throughout the world including 5 high profile ports in the US: New York/New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. Dubai Ports World is owned by the Government of the United Arab Emirates. Soon after the acquisition was announced Lou Dobbs, the CNN anchor, reported in his usual biased way that a UAE company will be in charge of operating five important US ports and he went on to report that two of the 9/11 hijackers were citizens of the UAE. He left his viewers to make the connection: UAE = 9/11 hijacker or selling these ports to Dubai Ports World = more 9/11 like events.
Step in Chuck Schumer the loudmouth senator from New York. For two weeks Schumer and his band of liars, trashed the deal between Dubai Ports World and P&O, the President's approval of the deal and anyone who stepped up in favor of the deal. They relentlessly argued that Dubai is unsafe, the home of terrorists and a deal with them will mean that terrorists will be able to get into the US and do more damage. They pointed the finger at Bush claiming that he is soft on terrorists, he doesn't have a plan and that he mishandled the approval of the deal. They so dominated the news cycle with their message that nobody was able to argue the other side.
Not once did they mention that the deal was approved by the non-partisan body which approves all major foreign investments in the US. Not once did they mention that Dubai Ports World is not taking over the coast guard or the INS - the bureaucracies that are responsible for the safety of our ports. Not once did they think about the damage that this could do to foreign investment in the United States. Not once did they consider that the US economy is surviving in large part because of investments in the US' debt by China, Japan and the Middle East and that the US would quickly slip into a recession without this foreign financing. Not once did they think that they were behaving just like the French who they so love to pillory. Not cone did they think that they were being racist.
This was the worst case of election year posturing and lies that I have seen in a long time. Absolutely reprehensible.
Dubai Ports World, one of the largest operators of ports worldwide, acquired the British company, P&O, in a transaction valued at about $6B. P&O also operates ports throughout the world including 5 high profile ports in the US: New York/New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. Dubai Ports World is owned by the Government of the United Arab Emirates. Soon after the acquisition was announced Lou Dobbs, the CNN anchor, reported in his usual biased way that a UAE company will be in charge of operating five important US ports and he went on to report that two of the 9/11 hijackers were citizens of the UAE. He left his viewers to make the connection: UAE = 9/11 hijacker or selling these ports to Dubai Ports World = more 9/11 like events.
Step in Chuck Schumer the loudmouth senator from New York. For two weeks Schumer and his band of liars, trashed the deal between Dubai Ports World and P&O, the President's approval of the deal and anyone who stepped up in favor of the deal. They relentlessly argued that Dubai is unsafe, the home of terrorists and a deal with them will mean that terrorists will be able to get into the US and do more damage. They pointed the finger at Bush claiming that he is soft on terrorists, he doesn't have a plan and that he mishandled the approval of the deal. They so dominated the news cycle with their message that nobody was able to argue the other side.
Not once did they mention that the deal was approved by the non-partisan body which approves all major foreign investments in the US. Not once did they mention that Dubai Ports World is not taking over the coast guard or the INS - the bureaucracies that are responsible for the safety of our ports. Not once did they think about the damage that this could do to foreign investment in the United States. Not once did they consider that the US economy is surviving in large part because of investments in the US' debt by China, Japan and the Middle East and that the US would quickly slip into a recession without this foreign financing. Not once did they think that they were behaving just like the French who they so love to pillory. Not cone did they think that they were being racist.
This was the worst case of election year posturing and lies that I have seen in a long time. Absolutely reprehensible.
3.13.2006
2. Curzon Imperial Statesman by David Gilmour
Curzon was an accomplished imperialist. He had a short tenure as an MP, a few years as undersecretary to the India Office, seven years as the Viceroy to India, a number of years as a member of the Imperial War Cabinet and four years as the Foreign Minister.
He became familiar with the near and middle east as well as the Indian subcontinent by taking regular six month voyages traveling to Egypt, the Sudan, the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, Afghanistan, Turkey and India.
He was a consummate imperialist and a great believer in the Great Game - the decades long cold war between Russia and Britain to control the land passage to India and the Caucuses. It was this Imperialist philosophy that blinded him to the realities of the post world war one world: he continued to believe that it was important to try to restrain Russia even though England was under huge economic pressure to cut its expenditures on the empire and the Russian revolution had significantly reduced the military might of the Tsarist empire.
For me this book answered a lot of questions. For those of you interested in great imperialists and/or the Great Game this is a worthwhile read.
2.21.2006
1. A Peace to End All Peace by David Fromkin
Finally I am on the board, it took me a while to slog my way through this book. Not because it was uninteresting but because I was in a bit of a reading funk. Fromkin's book is a detailed account of the political and military campaigns in the Middle East during WWI that led to the partition of the Middle East along the geo-political lines that we see today. It is an interesting and informative read and sheds new light on the causes of the Middle Eastern mess that we have today.
For example, I was surprised to learn that the pan-arab nationalist movements that caused a lot of turmoil in the Middle East in the mid-twentieth century were actually orginiall advocated by the British.
For example, I was surprised to learn that the pan-arab nationalist movements that caused a lot of turmoil in the Middle East in the mid-twentieth century were actually orginiall advocated by the British.
12.31.2005
24. America, Russia and the Cold War by Walter Lafeber
The similarity between the tactics used by Truman (democrat) and Bush (republican) to get what they wanted is quite stunning.
I highly recommend that you read this. Not only is it an excellent history but it provides an excellent context for today's mess.
12.26.2005
23. Hardball by George Stalk et al.
It is short and sweet and I would recommend it.
22. The Lights that Failed by Zara Steiner
I read this 800 page beast in one week - I love holidays! Zara Steiner does an admirable job at describing European international history between 1919 and 1933.
Ideologically she is neither in AJP Taylor's camp (who believe that the the Treaty of Versailles caused the rise of Hitler and WWII) or Hugh Trevor-Roper's camp (who believe that the two events cannot be related). Instead she falls squarely in between them. She acknowledges that Versailles did have some impact on the rise of Hitler then she cautions that the period is far too complicated to tie the two together as simply as the Taylorites do.
If you have the time, this is a very good history of the period and I would recommend it.
Ideologically she is neither in AJP Taylor's camp (who believe that the the Treaty of Versailles caused the rise of Hitler and WWII) or Hugh Trevor-Roper's camp (who believe that the two events cannot be related). Instead she falls squarely in between them. She acknowledges that Versailles did have some impact on the rise of Hitler then she cautions that the period is far too complicated to tie the two together as simply as the Taylorites do.
If you have the time, this is a very good history of the period and I would recommend it.
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