MR OBAMA, TEAR DOWN THAT MOSQUE!

Before I say anything, I just want to make it clear that it is somewhat amazing to me that this even makes national news as it should have stayed in the confines of the Lower Manhattan Zoning Office, thank FoxNews in all likelihood for that.

Book Review: The J Curve

Title
The J Curve
A New Way to Understand Why Nations Rise and Fall

Author
Ian Bremmer
Adjunct Professor, School for International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
President, Eurasia Group

Publication Date
2006

Publication Information
Simon & Schuster Paperbacks; 291 pages

Reason for Reading
The author, Ian Bremmer was on The Daily Show on May 13th pitching his newest book, “The End of the Free Market.” In the interview, he seemed to be knowledgeable, thoughtful, and articulate so I thought his book would be worth checking out. While searching, I discovered a previous book of his in the bargain section of Amazon, so I thought I’d try that one first.

Immigration through the eyes of an intellectual (Chomsky per usual)

I'm linking to a talk he gave at Brown where he goes into a history lesson on how NAFTA had the effect to, while helping its creators (wealthy), make the US a more attractive place to the bludgeoned poor of Central and South America economically. Therefore, our own actions during the Carter and Reagan years has made us more prone to illegal immigration.

He goes on to discuss that while since the late 19th/early 20th century, the 14th amendment rights for corporations as people have greatly expanded (due to their intrinsic power applied as legal appeal), the rights of illegal immigrants have been greatly reduced so that they are no longer consider people (slippery slope anyone?). He ties this in with the recent Arizona law where anyone who appears Latino has to carry around documentation of citizenship, in effect purporting a pro-white agenda in that state.

SB 1070

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBfHD2n13OA (50 mins duration)

The World According to Monsanto

I watched a documentary on topdocumentaryfilms.com last night about Monsanto (a food company which was scrutinized in Food Inc.). (1) This company, using only that documentary to judge mind you, appears to be the most evil corporation perhaps ever. The most amazing thing is that this company is not simply working within our borders, but it seems to have supplanted itself as a powerhouse for food (their soybeans in particular) all over the globe. The documentary makes the claim that they are trying to control all of the food across the world.

I'd strongly suggest watching that documentary, in the meantime I'll post some of the wikipedia article:

It's 10 pages long and mostly about various corruption cases and scandals. The most interesting part is this:

"Corporate governance

Current members of the board of directors of Monsanto are: Frank V. AtLee III, John W. Bachmann, Hugh Grant, Arthur H. Harper, Gwendolyn S. King, Sharon R. Long, C. Steven McMillan, William U. Parfet, George H. Poste, Robert J. Stevens.

Former Monsanto employees currently hold positions in US government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States Environmental Protection Agency‎ (EPA) and the Supreme Court. These include Clarence Thomas, Michael Taylor, Ann Veneman, Linda Fisher, Michael Friedman, William D. Ruckelshaus, and Mickey Kantor.^[19] Linda Fisher has even been back and forth between positions at Monsanto and the EPA." (2)

1) The World According to Monsanto. A documentary on topdocumentaryfilms.com http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-world-according-to-monsanto/

2) Monsanto. A wikipedia article. Accessed December 8, 2009.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto

Book Review: A Long Way Gone

Title
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

Author
Ishmael Beah

Date of Publication
2008

Reason for reading
A general interest in foreign cultures & current events.

McChrystal's Assessment

He's calling for a "civilian surge", among other things. He is trying to put this conflict into an historical perspective, which is nice to see. He is also taking cues from NATO, which again is nice to see (as opposed to unilateral action). Read the first 7 pages and you have enough (supposing your background is sound with the geography, history, current deployment in the region, and understanding of the current leadership).

The question really boils down to a simple one. Can America tackle a region where time and again, past powers have failed? (read for history of Afghanistan) I do not think that we can and certainly not in the short-term (<4 years). It would take 20-30 years probably and involve huge resources on our part. We'd have to build up infrastructure (including but not limited to schools, government offices, roads, and maybe even some factories) and provide HIGH levels of security the whole time. And let's not forget the Heroin-Trade.


http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/Assessment_Redacted_092109.pdf

Newspaper Assessment: La jornada

This is a segment on nuclear proliferation from a talk Noam Chomsky gave earlier this month:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3kAld2YwgU

He mentions La Jornada and seems to give his recommendation for it, maybe. He does say that it's independent and maybe the only independent newspaper in the hemisphere (of course none in the United States).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Jornada

Chomsky: Insight on Western (U.S.) Democracy

"...in the West, people talk rightly about Iran as a guided democracy. There are some democratic freedoms, but it’s under tight control. The Guardians Councils, for example, selects the candidates. But what happens in the West? In the United States, for example, it's obvious for anyone who studies the system, the candidates are selected by concentrations of private power. Elections are basically bought. So we also have a kind of guided democracy. Well, we should be protesting against that, too. I am not saying that the United States is Iran; of course it’s not. But there are repressive features in every society I know of, which should be protested."

What do you think?
We've talked about campaign finance reform previously on here, but this goes much deeper. It extends to lobbyist and possibly as far back in time to when the frame work for our democracy was first being considered.

New Newspaper under consideration: The Financial Times

The place where I moved receives the financial times everyday and I need something to read in the morning for the shit. I've been pleasantly surprised by this paper in as much as I've been able to understand:

The Financial Times (FT) is a British international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and is printed at 24 sites.[2] Its primary rival is the New York City-based Wall Street Journal.
Founded in 1888 by James Sheridan and his brother, the Financial Times competed with four other finance-oriented newspapers, in 1945 absorbing the last, the Financial News (founded in 1884). The FT specialises in business and financial news while maintaining an independent editorial outlook. Printed as a broadsheet on light salmon paper, the FT is the only paper in the UK providing full daily reports on the London Stock Exchange and world markets.

The Financial Times is politically centrist, in contrast to its right-leaning competitor, The Wall Street Journal. It advocates free markets and is in favour of globalisation. During the 1980s it supported Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan's monetarist policies. However, it has aligned itself with Labour in the UK. It also has been supportive of Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister. FT editorials tend to be pro-European Union, though often critical.

Noam Chomsky said it is "the only paper that tells the truth".[10]