Bush Books

The Climate Change or Global Warming debate has become something near religious for far too many people for it to be the subject of real analysis. It doesn't help that many actual scientists and advocates posing as scientists or experts have thrown over their professional integrity in order to be "effective" in changing the social climate. They know if they were honest about what they know and don't know, nothing would get done. Now, this is my editorializing, not from the author of this book. I say this because I hope there will be an audience of people who are looking for actual discourse on this subject rather than faith-based commitment to one doctrine or another about the impact of humans on their environment and our ability to do anything about it except die in huge numbers.

This book is NOT saying, "All is fine with the environment so carry on as you are". The author, Lee Lane does think it is important to take steps to deal with better understanding the actual human impact on the environment and "climate" (quote marks mine). He goes through the issues he thinks important in four short chapters.

In the first he shows why the Kyoto Protocols were pretty much meaningless. The costs were too high and the benefits too small. Plus the soon to be biggest producers of CO2 (China and India) would be left to their massive polluting. The second chapter examines the ideas of capping and trading rules for green house gases (GHG). He shows why their benefits are a chimera. First, the real world packages are unrealistically costly. Second, most political bureaucracies are too Balkanized to achieve the requisite winning intragovernmental coalition. Third, governments tend to hide costs while highlighting benefits and are given incentives to do so by current re-election imperatives.

The third chapter examines the current domestic political realities, governmental structures, and Bush's actions to deal with this issue. Lee wants Bush to do more, but not what his critics are clamoring for. The fourth chapter presents Lee's recommendations for a "New Climate Policy". Obviously, it is getting late in the day for the Bush administration to start a major new initiative especially with his popularity so low. Still, Lee believes that a committed conservative administration (!?-CSM) could make important steps.

Lee recommends (and I am in no way saying that he is right, that we should follow this program, or that I even agree with him - it is, however, a good basis for discussion): He wants a small carbon tax (something on the order of $15 per ton of carbon or less that could help fund R&D of various types). He wants the administration to negotiate mandatory GHG controls among the major nations (good luck on that !). He wants more R&D with or without the carbon tax. He wants the R&D to look at other things besides remediation. That is, look at geo-engineering to counter warming effects (reflective aerosols in the upper atmosphere?). He wants the administration to build an institutional foundation for analyzing and implementing an innovative climate policy. He wants the administration to "establish the precedent of formulating comprehensive climate strategy encompassing science, technology, diplomacy, and domestic policy.

While I am uncomfortable with the increased bureaucratic recommendations of the book and find much of the R&D proposals to be to much fantasy, and the diplomatic goals likely unachievable, the author should be credited for thinking about it and offering something other than the radical command and control demanding by the climate radicals on the left.

Worth reading and thinking about.

Gurtov lets out an angry analysis of the Bush administration's handling of foreign policy, from mismanagement, cronyism, and ideological agendas and more. While his language is harsh and a bit removed from objectivity, his text is well researched and annotated, and a very quick and interesting read. The true gem of this book is the very last chapter, which reads like an idealistic, heart-wrenching speech of what went wrong and what should have been done. This book is a must read for all those who blindly buy into Fox News propaganda, and for all those who want to get a comprehensive picture of why this administration is the worst that ever happened to this country

It started off with a tale of how a freezer should have a new handle, but that is beside the point.

This small book is a gem, a rough gem maybe, perhaps in need of a bit of polishing, but still sparkling and intriguing.

Valentin Papadin has recieved his papers -- he is to join the Soviet military, something he loathes the very thought of. What to do, what to do? Ah ha!, sez he, I shall convince them I am mad! I shall convince them that I am like my old schoolmate Vaska Ryabuhin who was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. But I shall not do it all at once, they are on the lookout for this; instead I shall slowly develop my symptoms and really pull them in...

The plan works a little too well...

This is a very odd book, but, despite all that happens, an strangely joyful one. Papdin has a grand eye for irony as well as for small details. With a few words he creates the image of his horrible military camp in Siberia, the psychiatric ward he is placed in, and the constant inner turnings of his own mind.

How much of this tale is real? How much is imagined? This would be difficult to tell. Indeed this might all be the tale of a true madman. In the end this doesn't matter. Instead it is the kind of book that will make you laugh at doctors, military authorities, ridiculous lovers, slow bureaucracies, and the state of radio communications, all the time making you wonder whether the line between madness and sanity might be a little more permeable than you previously imagined.

The Ecce Romani series is particularly good for teaching Latin to 7th - 10th graders. The format is "kid-friendly" and provides enough interest to keep most kids motivated to move forward. The lessons are the story of a Roman family - Dad, Mom and son (Marcus) and daughter (Cornelia). The kids have various friends and we get to learn about the activities of their servants (and how the kids annoy them) and the various things the family does on its way to Rome. Each chapter is short - has a good number of new words - and many opportunities to translate. Lessons about declension are also included with each chapter as well as interesting facts about Rome, the gods, etc.

For homeschooling parents, the Teachers Guide is very useful - it contains the complete student text, comments, lessons, tips, etc. throughout. My only complaint about the way the book is set-up, is that all the translations and answers are in the back of the guide. I would have preferred them with their various sections for ease of use (especially for parents who didn't take Latin!).

Still - I highly recommend this series for Middle - early High Schoolers!

This is a good book but I find it some what disjointed. There are two stories going on at the same time. The traditional rhyme is intact but another story is going around it. Very confusing.

I was a little disappointed.

Originally published when George HW Bush was vice president, this U.S. Department of Defense publication is now quite dated - no information after 1988. The reference book breaks down groups by region (Middle East, Europe, etc.) and provides info on group size, leadership, origins, targets, and even a selected chronology of attacks (only by month and year). The volume covers many of the red, socialist, and liberation movements that subsequently dissolved after the Cold War but sadly lacks data on North American movements. For yearly updates in a similar format, see the State Department's _Patters of Global Terrorism_ published by the GPO and online every May.

I wish I had read this book years ago. For those who want to be able to effectively deal with the challenges of working in an organization, this book can be a great overview. While it is almost an advertisement for the firm which the authors own which helps troubled firms, it can also serve -- if read and studied very carefully -- as a great way to develop one's own approach to office politics, and the myriad complexities of trying to fit in and advance within a big, competitive business work group. Book repeats things but also mentions that thoughts need to be repeated and repeated to be correctly and fully learned.

This is a complex book containing a stunning, and frankly, eye-opening amount of information about a hijacked American administration and its corporate allies who are greedily taking what they want from the middle-east and running roughshod over a beleaguered Palestinian people (amongst others).

I wouldn't like to boast that I have a handle on the way America's Middle East policy is being conducted in detail, but I thought I had a reasonable idea. This book has blown all that away. I was both fascinated and angered to discover the catalogue of horrors that have been and continue to be perpetrated by the Bush administration by their commitment to fund and support the violent repression of the Palestinian people by an ugly Israeli regime. I had no idea for example that Israel has flouted over one hundred UN resolutions and never been held to account. I had no idea that Ariel Sharon was such a barbaric character who has personally instigated many appalling crimes against the Palestinian people during his spell in the Israeli military and now is able to continue to do so from Government. I had no idea that Israel has had more American money pumped into it than any other nation in the world and by such a huge margin. It makes me wonder how in this day and age and with the technology we all have at our disposal, things like this can go on and the general public can be kept in virtual ignorance. Surely if the truth was laid before the American public in all its stark reality then the Bush regime would be dropped like a hot stone and would probably be called to account for their actions.

I was also very interested to read the author's opinions on how religion is playing a big part in determining how the Bush administration behave and how exactly they justify their actions, and how very right-wing Christian evangelists are able to exert a massive influence over certain people in the Government. I think rather than try and explain this myself; I would prefer to quote the author as he sums it up better than I could.

From the author's introduction to the book:
`I look in vain for this Christ in the Christianity practiced by the right wing, fanatical sects that preach the Book of Revelation, reveling in the glory they perceive to be their reward if they destroy the enemies they identify as the enemies of God. I wonder where in this acclaimed Christian land of TV Evangelists and literalist ministers is there a man who acts as Christ would act? I see none. I see only a God forsaken Tele-Evangelist land of vitriol and bigotry where none could say I "love the Lord my God with my whole heart and mind and soul, and my neighbor as myself." They have buried the teachings of Jesus in the quagmire of a malevolent and malicious God of the Old Testament, a God that would order one Semitic tribe to exterminate another. We have not moved beyond the racist hatred that blotted the landscape 2,500 years ago.'

It would appear from the well researched facts in Mr. Cook's book, that far from the Palestinians/Iraqis being the terrorists in the middle-east it would appear that an American funded Israeli regime are by far the biggest terrorist organization this world has ever seen.

I applaud Mr. Cook for his courage in speaking out against these people. The ordinary honest American can not be blamed for not knowing these facts, as I found myself to be just as ignorant, as we are only exposed to what bland corporate controlled media wants us to see.

It is obvious that Mr. Cook has left no stone unturned is his quest for the truth and he certainly doesn't shy away relaying these facts in concise and sometimes stark detail. This grim reading is occasionally broken with some lighter moments and I certainly enjoyed the `Agony of Colin Powell: A Dramatic Monologue in One Act'. I think this not only displays the author's talent to convey a message but also shows he enjoys and is dedicated to what he does. Bringing the truth to the people in whatever form can only be a good thing. The world relies on people like Mr. Cook, who dedicate their lives to finding out the truth, and instead of just accepting it and shrugging their shoulders, get out there and do all in their power to bring it to the world's attention. I would recommend that anyone who wants to know more about how the Bush Administration is really conducting business in the Middle-East, then they need look no further than this book.

About the Author

Dr. Cook traces his roots to the first Dr. William A. Cook, honorably discharged by General George Washington from the Revolutionary forces after six years of service. He, too, battled a despotic George, a madman of his day not unlike our own would-be Emperor, George W. It is in the blood to ensure that democracy is not denied or stolen.


Sassy Brit
Owner

This story of baseball in the Old West is funny and very entertaining. Not much action, but still a good book.

The turtle says it all. This anthology brings Cuba to the eyes of its readers, in many forms and colors. It portrays the beauty of Cuban imagination while introducing it readers with an array of authors. Voice of the Turtle is the perfect book to introduce people to Cuban literature.