The Life and Times of CBell

Book Review 20: His Excellency

2006-02-22T18:44:00.000-07:00

Following my American Revolution theme, which is not yet my expertise, I decided to read a biography on George Washington. This book is unlike other biographies because it is based almost entirely on primary sources; Washington's own correspondence with the other people in his famed life. Using this correspondence allows the author to transmit many different images of George Washington: the public figure, the private husband, the man of ambition, the man of reflection, the warrior, the president, the farmer, the leader. It was an outstanding book.

One of the challenges that the author must have faced is breaking down the mythology of Washington's life. Washington has been raised to level beyond criticism in the eyes of many Americans and high school history classes teach Washington the legend, not Washington the person. We know that he is on all of the one dollar bills we spend, but we don't know how we got there. He has been idolized to the point that he has cities and an entire state named after him. It was nice to read a book that included a more human portrayl of Washington including his desires, ambitions, and weaknesses.

It was nice to read a book that will admit that some of Washington's success was luck and that he wasn't the ideal Christian as the conservative right paints him to be and bases all sorts of their political arguments on. When he was in office he was criticized for being senile by the likes of Thomas Jefferson and he believed that the Potomac was the gateway to the west, the great northwest passage that would open the door to an American Empire. This book is full of these fascinating aspects of Washington's life that don't come out in history classes in fear of casting a shadow on the legacy of the father of the United States.

All of that being said, you really get a sense of awe of George Washington by reading this book because you begin to view him as a human that accomplished all of these things rather than an American Messiah who came to earth to deliver America from the hands of the British. Getting a sense of all of the adversity he faced, both external and internal, demands inspiration.

I'm going to give this book a 4.75 out of 5, just because I feel like some parts of the book were rushed such as his involvement in the French American war and his first presidential term.

More American Torture Images

2006-02-15T18:08:00.000-07:00

Today even more images of American torture in Iraq surfaced...

Rather than share my views, I'm going to combine the pictures with an excerpt from President Bush's 2003 State of the Union in which he made the case for war and occupation of Iraq.

January 29, 2003

Six Weeks Before the Invasion

President Bush: "Iraqi refugees tell us how forced confessions are obtained...

...If this is not evil then evil has no meaning...

...And tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country, your enemy is ruling your country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation...

...We seek peace. We strive for peace. And sometimes peace must be defended...

...A future lived at the mercy of terrible threats is no peace at all."

Gazette, Are you Reading This?

2006-02-15T17:54:00.000-07:00

Perhaps someone from the Gazette read my blog because today the letter, with a few changes, was published in the Metro section.

My personal favorite alteration was the title they gave my letter : Name Calling.

But as we know, the point of the letter was much more than name calling. It is raising an issue that editors shouldn't try to belittle with asinine titles.

The Gazette Turns a Deaf Ear... Surprise Surprise

2006-02-14T18:22:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I commented on the Colorado Springs Gazette's Decision to publish a letter to the editor using the phrase "poor Muslim terrorist savages." To read that entry, scroll down to Sunday February 12th. In addition to ranting on this blog, I decided the issue was worth writing a letter to the editor of the Gazette. To nobody's surprise, the Gazette has thusfar refused to publish the letter so I will post it here.

Dear Sir or Madam,

Every time the Gazette publishes letters by readers it also prints a short disclaimer asserting the right of the editors to review submissions for "length, taste, and clarity." Where were these editors on Saturday when the Gazette published a letter that finished with the phrase " poor Muslim terrorist savages?"

I understand that a significant number of Gazette readers may share this bias, but I implore the editors to use better judgement.

This culture clash is not black and white. It is not a battle of good versus evil. By publishing such comments the Gazette reinforces a dangerous paradigm and cultivates a hate that will impede any attempts for peace and mutual understanding between followers of Islam and the West.

Shame on the editors for playing to their home crowd and preaching to their choir, a whole town full of ultra-conservatives that refuse to believe the United States and its leader, Prophet... I mean President Bush, could have any fault - or that the Muslims, whom I've heard called "mudslimes" by locals, have any reason or are anything other than irrational subhumans. That's all I have to say for now about this, but I wouldn't mind hearing your responses to this whole thing.

Found: Muhammed Cartoons

2006-02-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been looking for the Danish cartoons for a few days and now I found the cartoons as well as a few cartoons about the whole crisis. Before you look at them let me say this. I think these cartoons are insensitive and I wouldn't want to publish these any more than I would want to publish cartoons offensive to anyone else. That being said, I think if the public is going to respect the conflict over the cartoons and respect the anger being shown by Muslims all over the world, they have to understand the origins of these debates.

So, if you are a Muslim viewing my blog please now that I have respect for your religion. But, in my view, the censorship of these cartoons in the American media is adding to the general biases and perceptions that all Muslims are crazed terrorists because many Americans have not been exposed to the degrading nature of the illustrations. I wish to dispel that stereotype, and show the lack of taste of these cartoons to promote understanding, not to encourage further hatred.

The following are the 12 cartoons in questions, some of which were published and some of which were not back in September 2005, starting this now global conflict.

* I found these pictures originally posted on another blog named www.newspaperindex.com*

So now that you've seen the cartoons, what do you think?

If the UN speaks but nobody listens, does it really make a sound?

2006-02-13T22:58:00.000-07:00

Today's edition of the LA Times disclosed a leaked UN report that declared that the US is commiting acts of torture in Guantanamo Bay and may call for the military prison to be shut down. The fact that the United States military is violating its own laws as well as international treaties is nothing new, but UN condemnation is especially interesting considering the other things on the UN plate at present.

While the UN condemns the US and demands that Camp XRay be closed and the prisoners (who haven't been charged for four years) be released, it is also denounces the Iranian nuclear program.

How can the United States stand behind the United Nations as a source of legitimacy for its anti-Iranian policy while at the same time disregarding UN reports indicating the shortcomings of the United States?

Right now states attempt to push their agendas through the United Nations to gain legitimacy and the appearance of international support for their foreign policy agendas. For example, just look at the United States' desperate bids for support for war in Iraq back in 2002 and 2003. When the United Nations refused to support such action and the United States pursued, the United Nations lost some of its legitimacy and importance in the international system. Today, in the cases of both Iran and American torture, this is likely to repeat.

The UN will be little more than a sounding board until its member states stop the selective hearing. If the United States or anyone else is going to continue to use the UN to legitimize its intrusive foreign policy, it will have to stop undermining the same organization from which it seeks support every time the international community and the United States do not see eye to eye.

Book Review 19: 1776

2006-02-12T22:32:00.000-07:00

After months of silence I'm back with another book review. I went back to nonfiction for this one but opted for a completely different genre. As I study and talk about present insurgency and conflict in other countries I thought understanding a little more about our own state's birth might broaden my perspective and help me make comparisons if any are to be made. This book is only a first step, but it interested me to take another so I will be with this genre for a while at least.

American history is not one of my favorite topics, but how can you deny a book with a straight-to-the-point title like 1776? David Mccullough (better known as the author of his Pulitzer Prize winning biography of John Adams completely accomplishes what he sets out to do, which is create an interesting and informative annal of the year of the birth of the United States. In this book he brought famous scenes to life such as the siege in Boston, the battle for Brooklyn, and the crossing of the Delaware, but the things I come away with after reading this book are overshadowed by what I felt the book lacked.

When I was in eighth grade my history teacher taught the class a long and memorable lesson about historical context (memorable because he somehow worked the conception of his daughter into the story... and she was in the room). He stressed that you don't understand a historical event unless you understand the circumstances that surrounded it. You have to know the causes and precursors. You have to know the aftermath and the effects. You have to know what else was going on at the same time.

While I knew this book would feature the events of 1776, I imagined it would open with a chapter that would set the tone and end with chapter on how it changed what would follow. Hell, even Star Wars begins with an infamous introduction that fades into space. However, it was non-existent in this book so his great story telling could not be fully appreciated.

I'm going to have to give it a 3.5/5 and I wouldn't recommend it as a first look into the history of the American Revolution. However, if you are knowledgeable about the era already you may find the detailed research and story telling to be a great summary of one of the most important years of the 18th century.

Gazette Bigots

2006-02-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

Before this weekend I thought the ridiculously conservative content of the Colorado Springs Gazette would not surprise me again, but then I decided to read the op-ed section of Saturday's paper.

In one of the letters to the editor, a reader decided to close his ignorant letter with the following:

They have (speaking of Israel) the manpower, the military might and the hatred to do it, and no one is going to come to the aid of the poor Muslim terrorist savages.

read the full letter here.

I'm not going to blast this guy for using stupid terminology. People who see the world as black and white, good and evil, are out there and probably won't be changed. People like this piss me off, but they're there and they aren't my target right now.

What pisses me off is the Gazette's decision to publish a letter.

Every time the Gazette publishes letters, it includes a disclaimer saying: "The Gazette reserves the right to edit submissions for length, taste and clarity." The Gazette should have exercised this right and refused to publish the phrase "poor Muslim terrorist savages" from its paper and its website.

As and independent newspaper, the Gazette has the right to do whatever it wants, but it is irresponsible for a large newspaper like the Gazette to publish ignorant opinions that are uninformed and only serve to reinforce stereotypes against the world's billion Muslims and black and white "America versus the world" foreign policy paradigms. The Gazette is only propogating hate to a reading audience that already has too many anti-Islam, America can-do-no-wrong opinions.

Brokeback Mountain

2006-02-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we decided to go see Brokeback Mountain and see what all of the talk was about. We were both surprised to see that it was showing in Colorado Springs, although our theater had a tiny fraction of the number of people we saw pour into "The Pink Panther" across the hall from us at the cinema.

This film has a lot of positive and negative hype for its homosexual content and I've seen reviews on both sides. Personally, I thought it was a good movie and I think people who judge the movie before seeing it or refuse to see it on the pretense that the main characters are homosexual only represent the tensions in the movie and intensify the experience of watching the movie for moviegoers.

Maybe that sounds strange, but when you go to a movie that so many refuse to see because of homosexuality, it is easier to understand the dilemmas of the characters and the social context of their relationship.

Experiencing intolerance outside the theater makes it much more real inside the theater.

If any of you've seen it, I'd like to hear what you think.

Water from a Bottle

2006-02-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

Today's news comes from South Africa's leading news source, the Mail and Guardian.

We all know that bottled water is trendy, but an article by the Mail and Guardian shows the damage that is being done by replacing tap water with bottles. Of course, I'm not coming out against drinking bottled water some times, but when you consider the study discussed in the article, it is clear that drinking it all the time at home when you don't really need to has implications in other places. It is convenient for the drinker, which means it is probably inconvenient for others.

First off, it is expensive. You don't mind paying? Well consider the fact that the oil used to make the United States' water bottles every year could be gas for 100,000 American automobiles for an entire year. Looks like we are paying for bottled water at the pump too.

Then of course there are the environmental issues of garbage and water shortages in parts of the world this water is coming from. I'm not going to just reiterate this article. I just want you to read it and think twice about whether you need to drink bottle after bottle rather than refill the bottles you have.

L.A. Terrorist Plot Thwarted?

2006-02-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

Today's news is everywhere, but one of the better articles I found is from the International Herald Tribune.

You can find articles anywhere, but you can read the transcript of the President's speech here, courtesy of the President's website.

Today President Bush decided to disclose to the world the intricate recently declassified details of an alleged terrorist plot against the tallest building in Los Angeles. This plot, like the 9/11 attack, involved Islamic extremists hijacking a plane to fly it into a building. Surprisingly, he didn't just chose one of the excellent terrorist plots from the TV show 24.

Whether or not this attack was actually plotted or the real chances of it coming into fruition could be arguable but debate would be futile as you and I don't have any of the relevant details. However, we can discuss the timing of the announcement.

The White House explanation of the timing is that the details were recently declassified and are no longer relevant to current spying missions. But can we really believe this? We don't know the details of the government investigation of the Kennedy Assasination over 40 years ago but the President is going to disclose a thwarted terrorist attack only a couple years after the fact?

The liberal media is quick to assume that the timing of the announcement is political and intended to rally support for the Republican party as scandals of secret wiretapping and the increasingly unpopular occupation of Iraq threaten the Republican chances in the 2006 elections. However, the liberal explanation has a notable weakness. Bush loves to grandstand so why not bring up these details during the state of the union address a week ago. I am perplexed.

Presidents have used reports of imminent threats at times throughout American history when their popularity is low and public support for long term causes wanes for a lack of short term results. The Soviets had their finger on the big red button for forty years. Communists were disguised as Americans and poised for takeover. Japan was going to destroy the American economy if one more American bought one more foreign car. And now, Muslims will fly planes into your buildings if your support for the Republican foreign agenda lags behind their dreams of global influence.

So, you can't criticize the current adminstration too much for using fear for his political agenda, but you should take it with a grain of salt.

Wikipedia in the Spotlight

2006-02-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

The item in today's news that I would like to talk about is featured on the BBC World Service.

In an age of blogging, online reference sources, and countless internet news sources, the world wide web is becoming an increasingly important medium for sharing opinions and shaping the thoughts of the general public, and apparently our federal representatives agree.

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that allows visitors to edit or add entries, is reporting that vandalism and embellishment of biographies of United States Congressmen are being traced to Capitol Hill computers. It turns out our reps are fine tuning their own entries while ridiculing their political adversaries on an encyclopedia that should be used as a public resource. Read the full article from the BBC here.

Now here are a couple points to chew on...

I realize that this year is an election year and all of the House and a third of the Senate seats will be up for grabs. Elected officials will do anything they can to defend their office, competition is part of the distraction of serving the public in any competitive liberal democracy. But does anybody really think Wikipedia references are going to make the difference in these elections? In a country that is so incredible divisive, political affiliation and name recogntion and association will mean far more than anything written in an online encyclopedia. Maybe they should put more effort into getting things done, like figuring out how to keep from cutting over a hundred programs in this year's federal budget without further drowning the nation in debt.

And, the internet is the world's most accessible medium for free speech. It should not be censored, if even in completely legal ways like altering the validity of entries in an online encyclopedia.

The Danish Cartoon Mess

2006-02-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

In the latest episode of the culture clash between Islam and the secular West, tensions have never been higher and reactions have perhaps never been so widespread and utterly ridiculous.

I'll start with my stand on the cartoons. Are the cartoons distasteful? Absolutely.

I think it is unfair to stereotype any group (except for Raiders fans and Texans) as evil so demonizing an entire faith through political cartoons was insensitive and inappropriate.

But let's pay attention to why most Westerners oppose the cartoons. It isn't because they exclusively disrespect Islam. It is because they stir racial and religious discord and reinforce cultural stereotypes. In the West, we are upset on the basis of universal tolerance.

Unfortunately, the same is not true in the world of Islam. They do not riot for tolerance, coexistence, or pluralism. They riot because they are upset specifically about the ridicule of Islam.

To support my point, I'll raise the fact that Iran's largest newspaper is now holding a contest for the most offensive Holocaust cartoon, which it will publish in response to the Danish illustrations of Muhammed. Read about it here on the Al Jazeera Satellite Network.

That's my take on the cartoons. Now let's talk about the reaction.

What is reinforcing anti-Islam stereotypes in the West more - distasteful political cartoons or global rioting? Violent Muslims in protest, not Danish cartoonists, are doing more to widen the cultural divide.

Muslim leaders have been trying to distinguish their peaceful faith from the radical Islamists for years, especially since 9/11. Now, violence is rife throughout the entire world. These riots are not the works of extremists. Arguing that Islamist violence is radical rather than synonomous will be a harder argument now.

Furthermore, the same leaders that ask for distinction between Islam and terrorism are now protesting entire nations for the decisions of a few publishers. Corporations are being boycotted for the location of their headquarters. Embassies are being burned. Furthermore, these boycotts have the support of many Muslim leaders. How are they failing to distinguish between journalists, governments, and companies?

These riots are deplorable and are only reinforcing the unfavorable perception of Islam in the eyes of the West.

Finally, let's talk about the effects. The West is uniting against rioting. Islam is uniting against the West. This leaves less room for compromise at a crucial moment in history.

Hamas is in control of Palestine now, which already has Western leaders on edge. As Hamas struggles for legitimacy in the international community as a willing partner for peace, this new government will have a hard time cooperating with the West without enraging its angry rioting constituents. This will place domestic barriers to Hamas' international agenda, posing a serious threat to the peace process.

Iran is obstructing international efforts against nuclear proliferation. To this point, Iran has beena pariah with even Russia and China supporting UN inspections and possible sanctions. However, this cartoon charade helps Iran appear as a victim to Western bullying and other Islamic nations are now more prone to support Iran's resistance to the secular, disrespectful, international powers.

It will be interesting to see how this crisis diffuses and even more interesting to see the wake it will leave on the world's larger current international dilemmas.

I want to hear your thoughts.

~cbell

Iraq Fatality Map

2006-02-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

After a two month hiatus I am back.

I've spent a lot of the last two months on grad school application chores(i got in!), family in town for the holidays, and just spending time with Kelly having fun, but I've heard multiple comments about the absence of my book reviews and political rants so I'm back to share.

Today I want to talk about a new graphic published by the New York Times.

A graduate student from Columbia put together a new way to represent the deaths caused by the insurgency and occupation of Iraq. I'm not making a political argument for once this time, just sharing a graphic. I really think you guys should take a look.

The following is a map of Iraq with symbols indicating civilian, Iraqi security, American military, and coalition fatalities. The 800 symbols represent only the month of January. Click here to see the graphic.

What really stands out to me are the number of civilian fatalities. I think the media leads us to measure the war by the slowly and steadily growing number of American fatalities. This graphic tells a different story. Take a look. I'd love to hear what you think.

Book Review 18: The Kite Runner

2005-12-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

I have been rightly accused of reading too much non-fiction and too little fiction, but after 18 straight non-fiction books I finally decided to break the streak. Some friends and I decided we'd all read this one together, so that made this book especially fun to read. I think they're still working on it but it was good enough I had to jump ahead a little bit.

I know you aren't suppossed to judge a book by its cover, but I usually start books by reading what the newspaper editors have to say and then seeing whether or not they are right. The first review I read of this book called it "powerful and haunting." Those are strong words but this book lives up to them.

The Kite Runner is the story of two Afghani boys who are torn apart and then brought back together by war. It takes place during the last twenty years, a period in which their country saw monarchy, foreign occupation, anarchy, theocracy, and now more foreign occupation (or democracy if you want to believe that). Reading non-fiction about states in turmoil gives a valuable objective overbearing view of the causes and effects of history, but this book really proves that more subjective accounts, even fictional ones, can provide deeper insight and leave a longer lasting impression on the mind. When you read history books you don't understand what it is like to experience the events. This book gives a fictional portal into Afghanistan to better understand the countries and peoples the United States is somehow "liberating."

I know I'm talking a lot of politics, but guess what - that's me.

This book is a powerful story even if you don't give a hoot about Afghanistan or ethnic conflict. It is about friendship, family, duty, and honor. It has won all sorts of awards and deserves them all from what I see.

Out of the books I've read thusfar since I started reviewing them, this is the one that I will make me keep an eye out for the author's next.

Check it out.

Next Book:
In celebration of taking and killing the GRE, I'm going back to an old favorite - The Great Gatsby.

Book Review 17: I is for Infidel

2005-11-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

Kathy Gannon's I is for Infidel takes a look at the changes Afghanistan has faced in the last two decades from the perspective of a journalist on the ground. This is a valuable perspective because there are very few people who had the experience of being in Afghanistan from the Soviet invasion to the rise and fall of the Taliban and even through the American occupation. That being said, I don't think she does enough with it.

Gannon does a great job of talking about what happened and how it affected the lives of everyday Afghans, but she doesn't talk about why things happened, why Afghanistan is so susceptible to such change, or how to stop the recurring pattern of outside forces creating inner turmoil throughout the nation.

That brings me to another point. I believe Gannon has developed such a love for Afghanistan in her time there that she is prone to blame outside forces for nearly everything. The Soviets invaded, the Americans occupied, the Pakistanis used the government as a puppet. These things may be true, but she even blames things that occured within Afghanistan such as the mujahedeen and the Taliban on the outside. They were supported by foreign governments, they had foreign fighters, and my favorite - by saying that Taliban leaders came from distant or remote parts of Afghanistan it is almost implied that they even came from outside Afghanistan. Yes, she does go as far as saying Afghanistan is a victim, which may be partially true, but Afghanistan has to be responsible for at least some of the things that have happened there for so long.

Afghanistan is a weak state at the center of a giant land mass. Geopolitically, this country is always going to have problems. It is pinned between 4, soon to be 5 nuclear powers that don't like eachother. (China, Russia, Pakistan, India, and possibly Iran). In this sense, it is always going to victim to alliances that are trying to gain a central Asian edge. With the war on terror, the United States has injected itself into the situation. I'm not saying it is for this reason, but the United States now has some power over the vast resources in the struggling 'stans - all ex-Soviet republics. Because Afghanistan is so weak and its neighbors are so strong, I doubt Afghanistan will have much stability until its neighbors do.

Here is my favorite part.

Why would you name a book "I is for Infidel?" Well, that is how the Americans taught jihadis the alphabet when the Carter Administration decided to train and equip them to fight the Russians. She quotes an English book: I is for Infidel. K is for Kalishnikov. J is for Jihad. And now these guys are turned against the US...

Have a happy Turkey Day everybody. Off to work.

White Phosphorus??

2005-11-17T22:06:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you guys caught this in the news today - it was a little under the radar - but it turns out the United States military used chemical agents in the bombing of Iraqi cities earlier in the occupation. i don't want to just rant, i want to know what you guys think about this. i know i have silent readers, but i'm curious.

But, I guess if I get a right to your opinion you should have a right to mine.

there are those that will argue that the white phosphorus bombs were meant just to illuminate the skies like fancy acid flares, but we already know that these bombs have a precedent of being used to get people out of houses, caves, or anywhere else they might be hiding. Since this is the way these bombs have been being used in Iraq and Afghanistan, I think we can presume that this was part of the strategy. That being said, what were they thinking doing this in a city full of innocents/terrorists/insurgents. The argument that getting people out of buildings saved American lives by preventing too much urban warfare, but what about the political implications.

When US forces didn't find evidence of weapons of mass destruction or links to terrorists, it turned to the selling point of giving Iraqi's their freedom. I'm not arguing that any of these arguments is or isn't valid because I believe we're there to have a geopolitical presence in the region PERIOD, but...

if the argument for occupying Iraq is to liberate the country from someone that used chemical weapons against his own people, is it really a good PR move to rain flesh burning acid over an entire city??

While this looks bad, I'm sure the Bush administration will prevail. Off to read my book.

curtis

Better late than never...

2005-11-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

Winners of the family pumpkin contest for most creative (it was actually straight out of a book but I'll take it)

2005-11-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

I've received a few complaints about the blog being quiet so I'll remove myself from the dual boredoms of working at the DMV and studying for the GRE exam for my graduate school application.

The word of the day, while we're on the subject, is BUXOM. Definition out of the GRE book: fully bossomed. Or - big boobed. BUXOM... that could be the name of Pamela Anderson's new TV show instead of STACKED if she had as big of a brain as she does a chest. Of course, I don't know if silicon has any effects on the brain's ability to retain vocabulary...

I digress...

So this picture isn't here just for fun, I actually finsihed another book. It is about damn time right?

My first observation about this book, which surely stems from my vocab studying, is that John Krakuer could probably do very well on the verbal section of the GRE. Lots of big words, but they're all in context so it doesn't drive you crazy or anything.

The subject of UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN is the fundamentalist/polygamist wing of the Mormon church. I want to be clear right away - this book isn't a Mormon bashing book. These fundamentalists don't represent the mainstream Mormon church any more than the few jihadists represent the billion Muslims. However, just like Islam, perceptions of the extremists are more vivid and subsequently the mainstream gains the stereotypes.

Mormonism is an interesting religion to me because it is a compeltely American construct and whereas other major religions blossomed thousands of years ago, this religion is only about 175. That's old, even for a sea turtle, but not so old that there isn't tons of documentation from both the founders and those who opposed them in the religion's early years. By studying the growth of Mormonism you not only gain perspective on one of the fastest growing faiths in the world, you gain perspective on the growth of organized religion in general. As you read about the conflicts between early church founders and sharp divides within church doctrine, you learn not only about the origin of various Mormon sects, but you also reflect on the intrinsic conflicts that arise in the formation of a human control over an ultimately God controlled dogma.

For these reasons I recommend this book. It isn't going to tell you why Mormons always build their churches right next to high schools or why they baptize people after they are dead but it will make you think about religion and faith in general - and books that make you reflect about your own beliefs rather than illuminate differences between people and reinforce stereotypes always rise to the top in my book.

I'll be back before next month - promise.

and the latest...

2005-10-10T13:33:00.000-07:00

What a busy week. On Monday Jonny came down and we went to the REO SPEEDWAGON and STYX concert. Sorry, no cameras allowed. I like REO's music better but Styx had better stage presence and put on a better show. Can't complain about free tickets!

What else, I won the football pool at work! That should be two in a row but the rules are jacked up. We'll see how it goes for week five. Going into the Monday night game I am 9-4 for week 5 after a 12-2 record in both weeks 3 and 4. I would love to win that pool again.

Kelly's parents also came down this weekend and we did pretty much everything we could possibly do in this area in only three days. We toured the Air Force Academy, walked Old Colorado City, visited Manitou Springs, drove up to Cripple Creek, hiked Palmer Park with Cathy, Dave, and Andrew, and checked out Garden of the Gods. We ate at the landmark places like Fargo's and Jose Muldoons. It was a busy three days and a great time.

And finally, congrats to the Broncos on 4-1. hell yeah.

Sometime soon I will post pics from the weekend as well as some commentary on this week's football.

cbell

Book Review 15: Angry Wind

2005-09-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

This was a great book that took me forever to finish! It wasn't because it was long, I just had a lot going on and I think Netflix is cutting into my reading time. Jeffrey Taylor, the author, sounds like an amazing person that speaks about as many languages as you could name. He uses his linguistic mastery to travel through remote parts of the world to speak with ordinary people to understand some of the most misunderstood areas of the globe. Previous books talk about places like Siberia but this one is on his journey through the Sahel.

The Sahel is the southern region of the Sahara were Arab Muslims meet Black Christians. Because Europeans ignored the obvious cultural differences when they drew the borders of these countries, each of these countries struggle with warfare between the opposing groups. He journeys through Chad, Nigeria, Niger, Mali, an Senegal in an admirable attempt to understand a very neglected part of the world.

I really appreciated this book because it taught me about an important global problem without being overly heavy or academic. Sometimes the best way to understand a country and its problems are through the eyes of the people who live there, not the experts. Any one perspective of the many people he talked to in the Sahel would probably be biased and not offer a fair account of the Sahel, but the culmination of opinions he gathered from a large number of different people paints a well-written picture of a fascinating region.

Four and a half out of five. You will learn something without feeling like you are learning something. Like the river rafting book I reviewed as book review number 1, you will feel like you are on an adventure while accumulating a new appreciation for a remote area of the world.

Update

2005-09-27T17:13:00.000-07:00

so after a few days without internet we have it back miracle... where to start. i'm sure you've all missed me terribly.

Well first off after my 6-10 nfl picks week last week I went 12-2 for week 3. somehow I still lost the pool at work because I guessed the total points last night to be 41 and it was over so I went over. the other lady who guessed 35 won. i think that is a horse shit rule but i don't make the rules. that brings my season total to 26-20. this week i'm going to take that damn pot.

we had a really good weekend trip to visit jonny. we just drank a lot of fat tire and checked out some of the towns in the area. it was a blast.

so last night jonny came down here to watch the broncos on monday night. hell yes broncos. eat it grandma. that's all i have about that.

on sunday we had a family bday party - that was pretty fun. the highlight was losing to andrew at darts. i was the shit at darts in college and last night i lost to a guy who sees like 20/20000000.

that's it. i'm out.

Katrina Pics

2005-09-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some awesome Katrina pics taken from the side of the road somewhere in Alabama. They are much better than the pics of the devastation you've been seeing on the news. Thanks mom for the forward.

Awesome...

2005-09-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

Netflix over Cinemax

2005-09-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

Yes I love Netflix. We are coming up on one month of service and we've gotten 19 movies for a nice low price with no running to the movie store and no late fees.

But some of you like movie channels better than Netflix so while I was sitting here bored on a Saturday afternoon let me share with you one of the real picks on Cinemax this evening.

If you really like your movie channels more than Netflix, you should watch Emmanuelle in Space tonight on Cinemax. Here is what the movie guide says word for word...

Emmanulle in Space: "The sexual tension is out of this world as the otherworldly Emmanuelle educates a group of aliens about the erotic nature of earthlings and later learns one of her "students" has fallen quite hard for a human being."

wow.
www.netflix.com

save yourselves.

NFL PICKS

2005-09-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

The last few posts have been pretty serious, but this one is for the football fans.

Reflections on Week One: My record 8-8-0 (.500)

Wow what a week. Where to begin - How about with the Broncos. I am appalled and disgusted by their performance against the Dolphins. Any Broncos fan knows that the Broncos needed a strong September because the October schedule, including games against both of last year's Superbowl contenders, is incredibly tough. Rather than beat one of last year's weakest teams, we lost to the Dolphins and go into an important game against our fierce divisional rivals - the San Diego Chargers.

As for the other games, congrats GMA on the Cheifs whomping of the Jets. Oops - I shouldn't have picked the Cardinals to beat the Giants (lost 41-19).

My biggest question after week one - How did I pick every AFC game right except for DEN-MIA and every NFC game wrong except for WAS - CHI?? I am a true AFC fan but I'll try to do better this week.

Here are my Week II picks:

Baltimore (0-1) over Tennessee (0-1) - If the Ravens can hold Peyton Manning for almost an entire half they can definitley stop the offense of the weak Tennessee Titans.

Detroit (1-0) over Chicago (0-1) - Detroit held Green Bay to a league low 3 points last week and the Bears only managed to score 7 last week.

Cincinnati (1-0) over Minnesota (0-1) - Cincinnati is coming off a big win and Minnesota is coming off of a painful loss. I don't think one of these teams is better than the other so in this situation I'm going to pick the home team (CIN), especially since they are AFC.

New Orleans (1-0) over NY Giants (1-0) - This is a tough game to pick. Two mediocre teams. Do you go with the one who beat the crappy team 41-19 last week or the team who beat a potential Superbowl contender by a last minute field goal? You can't just go for the home team because it is a New Orleans home game being played on New York's field. My heart goes out to New Orleans and I think their cinderella story goes on one more game - go Saints.

Philadelphia (0-1) over San Francisco (1-0) - Philadelphia had a shitty game last week but they were in the Superbowl in January when the 49ers were sitting at home after an abysmal season. San Francisco doesn't have a chance.

St. Louis (0-1) over Arizona (0-1) - Does anyone really give a damn about this game? Kurt Warner plays his old team and they are going to make him regret leaving St. Louis for the biggest joke of a team in the league today.

Miami (1-0) over the New York Jets (0-1) - New York couldn't stop anything the Cheifs threw at them last week and Miami had the highest rated offense in the AFC last week (thanks to Denver). Miami's comeback season continues and Jets fans are going to hate themselves on Monday.

Kansas City (1-0) over Oakland (0-1) - Kansas City held the Jets and they can hold the Raiders too. Oakland won't be able to stop KC's running game and the Cheifs will beat the Raiders to make sure the Broncos don't sit at the bottom of the division alone.

Buffalo (1-0) over Tampa Bay (1-0) - I don't really know why I'm picking this one so I'm not going to bullshit. I just hate the NFC so I'll always pick the AFC team to win.

Indianapolis (1-0) over Jacksonville (1-0) - My sixth sense really tells me that Jacksonville can do this, but my head says that if the Jags let the Seahawks score almost 20 last week, they'll let the Colts score a lot more. Plus, the Colts are at home. Sorry Jags.

New England (1-0) over Carolina (0-1) - People say Carolina is a contender every year but the dissapoint every year. If the Saints can go into Carolina and win, so can the Pats.

Pittsburgh (1-0) over Houston (0-1) - This will be the biggest blowout of the week. I would bet on that.

Atlanta (1-0) over Seattle (0-1) - Atlanta will win this game and everyone will start talking about Atlanta like they are the best team in the NFC.

Green Bay (0-1) over Cleveland (0-1) - Green Bay had an awful game last week and their best received was injured last week, but the Browns won't go to Lambeau field and win in Green Bay's home opener.

San Diego (0-1) over Denver (0-1) - I love my team, but if Miami's rookie can tear holes in our run defense, what is Ladanian Tomilson, the best back in the league, going to do to us?? Add San Diego's strong tight end coming back and we're in trouble - even with all 5,280 feet we have on the Chargers. We are going to start the season 0-2 and the possibility of a 9-7 season will be greatly diminished.

Dallas (1-0) over Washington (1-0) - How did the Redskins only score 9 points agains the Bears? I'll give it to Dallas just for that.

That's it. Hopefully I'll do better this week than last week, but at least I'm over .500.

Katrina in Perspective...

2005-09-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

I don't really want to say a lot about Katrina because it has been so ridiculously politicized. Perhaps the combination of this storm and Natalie Holloway is just the thing to break my addiction to cable news. However, a dear friend sent me an email that puts this storm in a little more perspective. It isn't the partisan crap that is coming out of the left and the right, but it is an honest look at what past presidents have done in the face of similar situations. I'm not putting it up here because I want to criticize the current president. I'm posting it because I think comparisons to the past are far more useful than the partisan rhetoric coming from both sides. Thanks James for the email and I hope you all take the time to read it.

Here's how OTHER leaders have handled a crisis likethis:

President: Nixon
Danger: Category-5 Hurricane Camille (August 1969)
Area: About the same area as that affected by Katrina
Response: Nixon prepared the National Guard 1 day inadvance, ordering rescue ships from Tampa, FL andHouston, TX to stand waiting along with over athousand regular military, 24+ helicopters to assistthe Coast Guard and National Guard about as soon asthe hurricane passed.

President: Bush the Elder
Danger: Hurricane Andrew (August 92)
Area: FloridaResponse: In the middle of a re-election campaign,Bush ceased campaigning the day before the hurricane,went to Washington, and assembled one of the largestmilitary forces ever mustered on U.S. soil. Seventhousand National Guard and 22,000 regular militarywere sent in with the necessary equipment shortlyafter the hurricane passed through.

President: Clinton
Danger: Category-3 Hurricane Floyd (September 1999)
Area: Virginia and Carolinas
Response: Meeting with China's president Jiang in NewZealand, Clinton immediately declared thehurricane-affected areas as federal disasters,allowing the military and National Guard to move inand help. Clinton flew home immediately, one daybefore the hurricane hit, to help coordinate therescue.

President: Bush the Lesser
Danger: Category-5 Hurricane Katrina (August 2005)
Area: Gulf Coast
Response: National Guard troops are down about 8,000members because they are in Iraq with much of thenecessary rescue equipment needed. Bush was onvacation, riding his bike for two hours the day beforethe hurricane lands. On the day Katrina landed, Bushattended a birthday party for John McCain. The leveesbegan to crack. While emergency 1.5-ton sandbags wereready to be placed to steady the levee and absorbwater, there were insufficient numbers of helicoptersand pilots to set them before the levees break. Nagin,the mayor of NO, pleaded for federal-level assistanceand got none. Bush went to San Diego to play guitarwith a country singer and end his vacation early --but not until the next day, because he had tickets toa San Diego Padres game.

I would love your comments on this, especially from those of you who remember the impacts and reactions to these other storms. I wasn't old enough (and didnt pay enough attention to the news) to reflect on these other storms but I am interested in what you guys who watched the aftermaths of Camille, Andrew, or Floyd think about this email.

Say a Prayer...

2005-09-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

Everybody say a quick prayer for the family of Kurtis Arcala, the 1,896th American casualty in Iraq and the first from my high school graduating class. As he lived two streets down from us and rode the same bus, he was one of my first friends when I moved to Palmer in 8th grade. We ran with different groups and weren't close all through high school, but this is still terrible news that brings Iraq a little closer to home.

He died on September 11 - four years to the day all those in my graduating class who joined the military to earn money for college woke up to the realization that they were now committed to more than they knew they'd signed on for.

I just can't stop wondering how they felt that morning when they woke up to a war that nobody expected. It would be easy to be afraid or regret their decisions to join, which many of them had made only a few weeks earlier. However, those that I've kept in touch with face their duty and unexpected sacrifice with pride and honor. They embraced the chance to serve the country and I'm sure they are all stronger people than they were when I saw them last in May 2001.

Here is a link to the article if you are interested. There was one in the Anchorage Daily News yesterday but for some reason those pricks have decided that they need anyone who wants to view an article to register first.
http://frontiersman.com/

Blame Canada? No blame John Gibson.

2005-09-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

Somehow I found myself watching John Gibson's show on FOXNEWS today when I couldn't believe what I was hearing. John had the Canadian Ambassador to the United States and they were talking about the huge amount of aid Canada is giving and the fact that the Canadian rescue team from Vancouver, BC arrived in New Orleans before any of the United States military. Instead of being grateful for Canada's assistance, especially when our own troops were so late getting into the city, John Gibson had the audacity to claim that Canada only acted so quickly in an attempt to embarrass the Bush administration.
Wow. How the hell does this guy stay on TV. Probably because there are a bunch of Americans out there that agree with him. It is frustrating for me to hear that type of ridiculous crap on TV, but as long as he can get people to say, "Yeah, those Canadian assholes only helped us out so quickly to make us look stupid" he'll stay on TV.

I don't really care how you vote. The fact that Canada's emergency recovery team arrived before the American military is a shame. However, it is more of a shame that some Americans are so blinded by their love of Bush that they would rather scorn our neighbors to the north for their speedy assistance than thank them.

After Katrina...

2005-09-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

I know we are all completely focused on Hurricane Katrina right now, but hurricane season is just now reaching its historical height. As you can see in this picture there are three storms brewing in the Atlantic right now. Maria (northernmost), and Nate (central) pose no threat to land but experts predict Hurricane Ophelia will circle clockwise and turn around to strike central Florida. I hope we are a little more prepared for this one...

I wonder if we will learn anything from Katrina but I fear that we will not. This storm was an act of God and there is no where to point our fingers. It is natural after tragedies to try to explain them away until they make some sort of sense because that feels a lot better than just wondering why, but look at what this is doing. Anyone interested in psychology can rattle off the stages of grief and anger is one of them. In this case there is nowhere to direct our collective anger. As a result, people are pointing at each other. It is either the fault of Bush's slow action or the looters and shooters are to blame. The Republicans were too focused in Iraq and the Democrats are too busy pointing fingers at Republicans. The far right says God punished this "sin city" and are thankful that mardi gras flashings and girls gone wild movies are on hiatus. The far left says God has nothing to do with this and that this was a result of global warming and rising ocean temperatures from the human release greenhouse gases.

The reasons and explanations for this storm are not clear to me and I don't expect them to be clear to anyone other than those consumed by the anger and blame that comes with grief and sorrow. What does seem clear to me is that anger, a natural human reaction to loss, is not doing anything to help this country or those in need right now. There are no culprits in caves and shadows on the far side of the world to hold accountable. Their is no clear cause but there is a crystal clear course we must take now. We have to rebuild and save the people there and the anger-filled void of cause and reason cannot obstruct our country's necessary reaction to this tragedy.

T.G.I.F.S.

2005-09-08T19:33:00.000-07:00

T.G.I.F.S. - Thank God it's Football Season!!!

I know I'm writing at halftime, but anyone who knows me already knew that I'd pick the Pats to decimate the Raiders. I hate the Raiders.

I'm very excited for the Broncos season opener against the Dolphins. The Broncos have lost the last six they've played in Miami, but not this time. Denver is too good and Miami is too bad. Screw the Dolphins. That's all I have to say about that.

I'm going to keep track of my picks and my record this season so here are my picks for this week. Feel free to fight me on them.

Week 1

Pats over Raiders
Cheifs over Jets
Jags over Seahawks
Bengals over Browns
Panthers over Saints
Bills over Texans
Redskins over Bears
Steelers over Titans
Vikings over Bucs
BRONCOS over DOLPHINS
Rams over 49ers
Chargers over Cowboys
Cardinals over Giants
Packers over Detroit
Colts over Ravens
Eagles over Falcons

Season Record - 0-0-0 (.000)

More Sky Shots

2005-09-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

You people don't seem to like to comment on my sky shots but I see some cool things from my deck. Let's see if you like these any better...

We have sunrise this morning and a rainbow at dusk last night.

Double Rainbow

2005-09-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

Well the weather was kind of crappy so no hiking today but the place looks amazing. As I was finishing dinner and downing a good beer out of a frosted mug I saw a double rainbow outside and decided to take pictures. I'm Adobe Photoshop stupid, otherwise I'd try to bring out the color a little more. Here are a couple pictures.

Happy Bday to Me

2005-09-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was quite possibly the laziest birthday I've ever had in my life but that's what made it perfect.

Kelly and I wanted to go camping but it's Labor Day weekend and there are probably more people in the mountains than in the city. I was really tired after getting up early for the balloon classic on Saturday so I slept in and didn't wake up until Kelly woke me up with breakfast in bed!

After that we stayed around the apartment watching movies and playing games. We didn't need to go anywhere to enjoy ourselves. We rarely get full days off with eachother so it was great to just hang out.

Kelly made some enchilladas for dinner and she made German chocolate cake. Yum. She bought some beer so we could use the cool pilsner glasses we got at the wedding and that was pretty cool.

Did you know the Broncos logo is all over cases of beer in Colorado. That only made my Bud Light that much sweeter.

Today we should be going hiking after all of that eating yesterday. If we do, I'll take some pics and share them.

The Balloon Classic Glow

2005-09-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

Part of the big balloon classic (see my earlier post for the race) is the glow. At night all of the balloons gather in the park and put new burners on that put out more light and less heat. This way the balloons and temporarily glow without rising. Here are the pictures. Leave comments if you like.

I'm probably done with the balloon classic because I think they just repeat this on Sunday and Monday. Tomorrow I think we are going to hike... Have a good night everybody.

Google Earth Test...

2005-09-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

A satelitte view of my 4 14er hike, courtesy of Google Earth. The words are fuzzy in this view, but click on it to enlarge the image. We started at Kite Lake and went to Democrat to Cameron to Lincoln back to Cameron to Bross to Kite Lake. The ridge in the foreground on this side of Wheeler Lake is the Continental Divide.

how cool is this?

Colorado Balloon Festival

2005-09-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

Why the hell would I get up at 5:30 on a Saturday? Well, last weekend I did it to climb 14ers but today I did it to go down and see the Colorado Balloon Festival. Every Labor Day weekend they take off from Memorial Park in downtown Colorado Springs all three days. They expect 250,000 people there this weekend so I went down to take some pictures.

Canadian Geese on a small lake near the park.

One of the nearly 100 balloons that lifted off from Memorial Park this morning.

Balloons take off from downtown Colorado Springs and head south east.

A balloon passed low enough over the water to cast a reflection on the small lake.

We'll be back later today to see some other events. Why go camping when half the city is camping. Better to stay in a half-empty city for cool events I haven't seen before right?

Book Review 14: Collapse

2005-09-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

My first book review on this blog was Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel and now the 14th is his much anticipated sequel - Collapse.

Guns, Germs, and Steel was highly acclaimed and even won a Pulitzer Prize, but I didn't put it at the top of the list for what I've read this summer. Diamond made some very strong points in the beginning of the book but didn't follow by building on those points. Rather, he kept restating them with example after example until his book fades into redundancy. I hoped this book wouldn't follow a similar fate, but unfortunately it did.

While Guns, Germs, and Steel uses biology and geography to explain the various rises of civilizations across the world Collapse talks about their failures. Rather than focus solely on natural factors as Guns, Germs, and Steel tended to do, Diamond places responsibility on the failure of civilizations on people who either did not respect or understand the fragility of the environments around them. This book carries a strong message and is an interesting history of societies as distant as Greenland and Easter Island but also as local as the Anasazi in southern Colorado. However, because environmentalism is so politicized and partisan right now I think his message could be perceived as politically rather than anthropologically motivated.

I don't want liberals to embrace this as proof that America is destroying the world and I don't want conservatives to write it off as environmentalist tree-hugger propoganda. Learn the lessons of the past and then decide for yourself how to apply what you learned to our current condition. Whether you are interested in the future or the past, the environment or past cultures, this book will be an interesting read. Unfortuneatly he has more examples than points so his book does tend to slide into redundancy earlier than I prefer - but that's just my humble opinion.

Book Review 13: The Future of Freedom

2005-09-03T00:30:00.000-07:00

What if I told you a country was led by non-elected officials who were appointed for life and could overrule the decisions of elected representative bodies of the country's government. Now, this is not some authoritarian dictatorship. It is the United States Supreme Court, the most respected branch of the American federal government. As much as we love democracy in America, isn't it ironic that we have the most respect for the least democratic part of government?

I haven't put a book review on for a while, but never fear, I have been reading. My 13th book of the summer was Fareed Zakaria's "The Future of Freedom." I finished this book sometime in the first week of August. This book makes some very interesting points that are worth consideration by every freedom loving American - and especially those that think democracy needs to spread through the rest of the world like wildfire.

The spread of democracy doesn't sound like a bad thing until you start to consider what that entails. Democracy suggests the right to vote for elected officials and possibly even direct election for some policies (similar to ballot measures in the United States). The First World loves the cause of democratization, but what are the effects of this "noble?" cause?

The ethnically divisive failed states that are targeted for democratization might be some of the worst states to implement democracy in. Let's take Iraq. The minority Sunnis led the state ever since the British created it, but now that Iraq has democracy the Sunnis will find themselves disadvantaged and possibly even oppressed. In a less democratic society Iraqi politicians may be able to compromise and make agreements like millions of citizens cannot. Democracy in Iraq may in fact be impeding an agreement that has a better chance of securing lasting peace in Iraq.

Now, I'm not hating on democracy and neither is the author of this book. Rather, the author recognizes that democracy is becoming ever more democratic and that may not be a constructive development. In the United States Congressmen can't deal like they used to because 24 hour news coverage has put more pressure on legislators to vote in accordance with their constituents rather than vote for what is best for the country. The growing number of ballot measures and the results of these polls show that the increase in democracy may be hampering another treasured American trait - freedom. Think about it. The majority doesn't want gays to marry. The majority doesn't want people to smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes or choose their own right to be euthanized at the end of an unnaturally prolonged life. I'm not taking a stand on any of these issues right now so don't take it that way. I'm just showing that democracy may not always lead to freedom.

Is there any doubt that the increasingly democratic American democracy has something to do with the extreme partisanship that exists in America today? Because legislators are so exposed to public view and oversight with the development of polls, constant news coverage, and special interest groups, they must work harder to look out for themselves, thus spending less time working for compromise with the other side to find the common good.

You may not really care about what I have to say about random political theory like this, but I assure you it is both important and applicable. Just take a look at New Orleans. Would Congress be going back and forth so much about saying what is being done wrong and right if they weren't under constant watch and already thinking about the next elections? I doubt it.

Of course the tough part is coming with a solution...

Four Fourteener Day

2005-08-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

That's right, four fourteeners in one day. Here are the pictures.

Central Colorado's Mosquito Range contains 5 (four official, one unofficial) of Colorado's 54 14,000 foot mountains: Mt. Democrat, Mt. Cameron, Mt Lincoln, Mt. Bross, and Mt. Sherman. Of these peaks, four are in a group called the Lincoln group about 2 1/2 hours from Colorado Springs. Steve and I decided to knock out the Lincoln group with a traverse to all of the Mosquito 14ers but Mt. Sherman. We camped over night at Kite Lake, which sits between Mt. Democrat, Mt. Cameron, and Mt. Bross.

Mt Democrat - 14,148 feet

The first peak of our traverse through the Mosquito Range was the 14,148 ft Mt. Democrat. We woke up early at 6:00am and hit the trail at 6:15. Mt Democrat is a steep hike above the lake but we didn't let the early steep climb deter us because we knew that it would be our largest of the four climbs we would do that day. Gaining 2800 vertical feet in less than two miles with about half the oxygen you get at sea level hurt, but it was a beautiful day and we weren't about to be stopped. While the sun was still rising and with valleys still full of shade we reached the summit with some great views of many of the surrounding 14ers including Cameron, Lincoln, Bross, Elbert, Massive, Bross, Grays, Torreys, Pikes Peak, Sherman, Quandry, and many in the Sawatch Range that I can't yet recognize.

Steve and I stopped to take pictures once we hit the saddle between Democrat and Cameron. This view is looking north. The ridge on the opposite side of the Valley is the Continental Divide. Beyond this ridge is the Tenmile Range and its only 14er - Quandry Peak. In the far distance the two sharp peaks to the left of Quandry are a pair of front range peaks - Gray's Peak and Torrey's Peak. After a few pictures and a breather we continued west up the ridge to Democrat.

The rocky final ascent to the summit of Mt. Democrat.

Steve and I at th summitt of Mt. Democrat. We were both pretty surprised to not see a Bush Cheney sign at the top - I mean, this is a Republican state you know. And yes, I am wearing sweat pants under my shorts. It was a little cold in the morning and they felt nice. Plus, on my only 14er hike with Kelly she wore sweatpants all the way to the top and I missed her! The Sawatch range, which has some of the highest Colorado peaks, is in the background. We stayed on the summit for a few minutes but wanted to hurry to the next before the clouds moved in.

Mt. Cameron - 14,238 ft

Now, 14er purists discredit Cameron as an official 14er because it is so close to the higher Mt. Lincoln, however, I don't think this peak should be overshadowed. It has its own character which is much different than that of Mt. Lincoln and I found separate things to appreciate about each peak. Thus, it is Colorado's 17th highest peak but is not an offical 14er.

After a tough climb up Democrat we were dissapointed to have to descend back under the 14,000 ft line to climb the next peak. With the sun out, the steep ascent up Cameron was a little more uncomfortable than the climb up Democrat. But we made it! In the next picture Steve and I held out two fingers on Mt Cameron for the second ascent of our day.

Mt. Cameron - two down, two to go. Behind us is the summit at Mt Lincoln. It's close proximity disqualifies Cameron as a 14er to the 14er afficianado, but I'm still proud to have climbed the 17th highest peak in Colorado. After a brief stop at the top we moved on to the highest peak in the Mosquito Range, Mt. Lincoln.

Mt. Lincoln - 14, 286 - Colorado's 8th highest peak

We descended Mt. Cameron but quickly got to start back up Mt. Lincoln. This peak has a much more distinctive summit than Cameron and Bross which made the climb more dramatic but also made the summit more crowded. It wasn't a lot of extra effort after climbing Mt. Cameron, but it was great to look down on the rest of the Tenmile Range.

Steve and I top Mt Lincoln - That's three for the day! Quandry is right behind the continental divide on the right side of the picture. Now its time to go down and back up. Clouds were starting to move in and we didn't want to stay too see the lightning.

Mt. Bross - 14,172 Colorado's 22nd heighest peak.

The description in the holy book of 14er climbing, Gerry Roaches "14ers," describes Mt. Bross as a mountain that challenges photographers to make it look dramatic. Well, it isn't an exciting summit but I didn't think this was a bad picture! As you can see, we had some dark clouds building, just as they do every afternoon in Colorado. To follow the unwritten 14er rule, which is to be off the summits by noon to avoid lightning strikes, we were going to have to hurry!

After four 14ers in 6 hours we busted out the cigars! Of course, I only had a couple puffs because I wasn't about to make it any harder for me to breathe after being above 13,000 feet all morning. I still haven't gotten used to the altitude headaches and the brain swelling that makes your pulse shake your head, but I did feel a lot better today than I did ten weeks ago on Pikes Peak. It was all down from here, but that wasn't going to be as easy as it sounded.

As we went down the southwest slope of Bross to finish our loop we saw a very steep slope of rock and dirt with a straight trail down. Taking steps was not an option. I remembered the first time I went downhill skiing that the way you slow yourself down is to point your toes together and crouch and just let me mountain take you. We sped down the mountain skiing on our shoes and did much better than a high school ahead of us. He was hiking with a girl and showing off. What do you know - at the bottom of the slope he couldn't slow himself down and crashed hard into the rocky slope. He was okay so we kept going. Lightning was already striking the summits we'd been at a few hours before.

We got back to the car just as the hail hit. Lightning was pretty close by this point so we were glad to make it back by then. Great Hike - hope you liked the pictures.

Book Review #12: America's Secret War

2005-07-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

Well I'm three days into my new job and it is going great. I was sworn in as a Deputy Clerk for the Division of Motor Vehicles for El Paso County. I'm learning a lot right now and enjoying it. No, I'm not working at the counter. I'm doing a number of things with mail from people and dealerships who are refinancing their vehicles, adding and taking names off the title, and selling their vehicles. The computer software the county is using to do this is best described as archaic. When you have no mouse and are dependent on the F keys you know you are working on an old system. It is going well and I like it because there is always more to learn at this point so I'm pretty happy.

That's enough about that for now. I want to share a little about the last book I read. It was a great one.

If you ever talk to me about politics of read my blog periodically you know that I'm not far left or right and my reason for not being on one side or the other is because I think it is ridiculous to claim that the opposite side is completely insane. Liberals point to Bush as irrational, stupid, and war or oil crazy. Conservatives point to Muslims as insane radicals who want to destroy western civilization driven by illogical hateful teachings. Here's how I see it. There is probably reason behind the views of both Bush and Al Qaeda. Rather than curse and invalidate one or the other, it would be better to try to understand WHY each side views the world as it does and makes the decisions that are made. Only by doing this will anybody understand the war on terror and make the best decisions about how to address it.

Am I saying there is nothing to disagree with regarding either side? NO. I disagree with some aspects of both sides. However, I think it is best to spend a little more time understanding than condemning. Condemning the enemy doesn't get you anywhere but understanding them sure does.

In "America's Secret War" Friedman refuses to let his book degrade to partisan banter by taking a cold objective look at both sides. He doesn't call any of the many actors of the war on terror irrational or ridiculous. Instead he constantly throws the readers into the shoes of the many actors to explain how the situation came about. Example: Al Qaeda did not destroy the world trade center because they are crazy and driven to destroy all of western civilization. From their perspective it is pretty clear that the Al Qaeda goal of a united Islamic world would not come about without a common enemy, and that would not happen without provoking a Western invasion of Islamic countries.

On the flip side, just so you know I'm not loving Al Qaeda - Bush did not really go to war in Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction. He went to war in Iraq because the war on terror could not be fought without having a pivotal position and strong military presence in the middle east and Iraq is right in the middle of all the problem states that Al Qaeda is getting strength from. No superliberals, he should not be impeached for misleading the American public and the United Nations. From the American perspective, creating an ulterior motive such as WMD or the spread of democracy was the only way to place pressure on Iraq's neighbors to help fight the war on terror and to give the United States the position it needed.

Friedman explains things very, very well and sees through the partisan banter that usually takes place in discussions of the war. I applaud that and I hope you all get a chance to check it out. It will make you addicted to the news because you will always want to look deeper to see the true motives behind actions.

Done Selling Furniture!

2005-07-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well my days selling furniture are over and I head to my new job on Monday morning bright and early. I was at the store for 15 days and I feel like I learned a lot about furniture and selling to people but I think I would hate living on commission long term. I like stability and knowing that I have money to count on. I'm willing to gamble with some things but not with my finances. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a cheap bastard, even if that means refusing to turn the air conditioner on when it is 100 outside (yeah it hasn't been on yet this summer). Call me crazy but I'll be out of debt sooner than you will naysayers!

I'll report on the new job soon...

2005-07-21T21:14:00.001-07:00

Orange Moon to the East

2005-07-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

Orange Moon to the East

Thank God for a new job!

2005-07-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

Well I wasn't having a bad time at the furniture store but if I wasn't planning on leaving for my new job already I'd definitely be out after today. I'm tired of all the racist hate speech that is going on in the workplace and today I uncharacteristically decided not to fight with people about it and I removed myself from the situation. I agree that terrorism is appalling, but I can't listen to eight hours of certain coworkers saying that we should round up and shoot Muslims or that the English should put Muslims in death camps. They even said we should nuke Mecca and Medina.

They even claimed that only Muslims are capable of religion-motivated violence to this scale. I don't remember Hitler being Muslim. I don't recall the Muslim role in the Northern Ireland conflict. It wasn't the Muslims who attempted to wipe out the Christian population in the Balkans ten years ago. It was the other way around!

Terrorism is bad, but let's not condone the mass killing of the planet's one billion Muslims. If your mind can't distinguish between a few radicals and a population of one billion, then don't open your mouth because it is offensive and makes you look like an ignorant asshole.

I start the new job on Monday. Hopefully the people in the new workplace will think before they speak.

Shaking My Head.

2005-07-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

There are many ways to battle AIDS, but this has got to be the most interesting one I've ever heard of.

A Ugandan politician is proposing a new law that would give all female college students free tuition if they graduate from college still a virgin. The state would offer gyno exams before graduation and those who are still virgins get college for free!!! Click on the green text to go to the story!

Mayor of London, Thank You

2005-07-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Finally a Western politician stepped up and said what the experts and academics and anyone with their head screwed on right and a knowledge of history would say. This morning the Mayor of London admitted that Islamic terrorists may be motivated by the 80 years of Western exploitation and subjegation that followed the First World War. I'm glad there is at least one Western politician out there without blinders on.

How can you talk about how evil Sadaam is without admitting that you funded his war against Iran and promised that he could take Kuwait after the war (just to go back on that promise and defend Kuwait in Operation Desert Storm.)

How can you talk about Osama and al Qaeda without acknowledging that the Taliban and Osama's muhajadeen fighters were trained and armed by the Carter and Reagan administrations?

No this does not justify terrorism, but it gives cause to it in the minds of the desperate and the insanely passionate.

Tony Blair already shot him down, as will President Bush if asked about it. They have to play the political game and do that I hope somewhere inside they know the truth and learn from it to reduce terrorism in the future.

Just like any recurring problem, terrorism is more likely to be resolved if you address the cause rather than the effects. Denying the Anglo-American role in the cause doesn't help our leaders understand the reasons Islamists are flying planes into buildings and it certainly doesn't help us alter the causes of terrorism to deter future attacks.

Book Review #11: The United States of Europe

2005-07-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

What to say about the United States of Europe...

This book takes very seriously the threat to American hegemony in the world that is presented by the formation and growth of the European Union. In the last few decades the author claims that the EU has both "broadened" and "deepened," growing to include more countries while at the same time expanding the bonds that unite the countries with steps like converting to the Euro, sacrficing some authority from their own capitals to the EU government in Brussels, and forming the ERRF, a European military force. I think he does a good job of talking about the EU and the way it has expanded but I think his book is so set on the success of the EU that it fails to give enough weight to the obstacles posed to further European integration. I would recommend this book to people wanting to know a little more about the EU, but I woulk reconsider some of the claims that Europe will end American supremacy.

Par example, Reid claims that Europe has far more "soft power" in the United States in the international system because its states hold 25 votes to the United States' one vote in many international organizations. However, I would argue that the Europeans never use this power and when they do vote together without the United States the US still gets its way most of the time. Just take the war in Iraq, where the Europeans suppossed domination of soft power in international politics was completely divided with Poland, the UK, Spain, and Italy supporting the war while France and Germany strongly opposed it. Even if all of Europe would have united against the war the United States would have proceeded. This was evident when the UN was left behind.

And what about when Europe votes together? They all voted for Kyoto, but the US didn't so it failed to make a difference.

I think the EU can push Europe around about some things, mostly economic because Europe is such a huge market for American goods, but outside the economy I don't see Europe challenging the United States' influence in the world. Europhobes are terrified that the EU will continue to come together into a United States of Europe and overtake American dominance, but right now these states can't get past national differences. They aren't ready to sacrifice the individual power they have to a central government. It is a matter of pride and history and self-interest. As much as the author talked about "Generation E" seeing themselves as Europeans rather than French, German, or Dutch, they don't show it at the polls. As you know, many states have voted against the EU constitution that would unite the countries more than they are today, but they aren't ready to be states in the way that California and Texas are. A united Europe has been a dream from Ceasar to Charlemagne to Napoleon to Hitler but today the obstruction is not an opposing army, religious war, barbarian hoards, or the limits of military capability. European countries must convince their populations to forfeit their sovereignty to a central authority and that may be even more difficult. I believe this will be more likely with adverse outside conditions such as a powerful common enemy, like the United States, but that isn't the case right now and I don't forsee it being the case in the near future.

Anybody remember US history when the states were trying to move from the weak Articles of Confederation to the Constitution as we know it today. It wasn't easy for the states to give up their own currencies and authority to the central government in Washington, but they did it. Perhaps it will take the same feeling of outside threat and need for internal cohesion to bind Europe, but it would be interesting to study what made the American states join to predict what it will take for the European states to do so.

Sorry for all the thinking out loud. If you don't like it go down to the entry titled "quiet blog" and play the geography game. It would be easier to just find "Europe" than slovenia wouldn't it?

Book Review #10: The First World War

2005-07-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

Well this review has been a long time coming but that is because I finally got a job and this was a very long book. I was interested in the First World War because I honestly didn't know much about it. I just knew about its aftermath and its effects on the world. In school you don't learn about WWI because the United States wasn't as involved as it was in other wars. High school history teachers treat it as a European conflict and move straight to WWII. After this book I have a better idea, but this book didn't do everything I needed it to do for me.

At the end of a president's tenure he delivers a Farewell address unless he dies first. To this day the most infamous of presidential farewell addresses is the first. At the end of his second term George Washington warned future leaders of the United States not to get entangled in the alliances that dictate foreign policy in Europe. This began an era of isolationsim in the United States in which the nation's leaders were thankful of the oceans on both our sides that separated us from the dueling empires of Europe. This was reinforced in 1823 with the Monroe Doctrine when President Monroe ordered an end to European colonization in the Western Hemisphere. In 1898 this isolation paradigm is clear in the Spanish-American war, in which the United States effectively kicked Spain out of the Americas after 400 years of exploitation.

We are no longer an isolationist country. The superpower status that gives the United States unchallenged power in the worldd prevents that. However, reflecting on this book I am glad the United States was at the outbreak of the First World War.

I think the only thing we learned about WWI in high school history was that it began when Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was assassinated in Bosnia by a Serb that didn't want the Austrians to take over their territory. But how did this escalate into a huge war? They didn't teach us that.

You see, when Austria went to war with Serbia shit hit the fan because European nations were obliged to. This is exactly what Washington was talking about 120 years earlier. Russia had a treaty with the Serbians to defend Serbia, so that brought Russia in. Germany had a defense treaty with Austria-Hungary so Germany entered the war. France and Russia had a treaty that if Germany went to war with either then the other would join - insert France. In the ensuing war the Germans invaded Belgium en route to Paris, but the Belgians and the British had a long standing defense treaty in which Britain would go to war if Belgium were invaded. When Britain came in, so did the commonwealth including Canada, Australia, the United States, and troops from a number of colonies including South Africa and India. Since these states controlled almost every land area in the world war broke out between opposing colonies in places as far away as Siberia, Tanzania, Iraq, and Cameroon. What a mess, all because of previous treaties and alliances. The United States didn't get involved until another alliance was forged when Germany told Mexico that if it attacked the United States the Germans would assure the Mexicans would get Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California returned to them after the Mexican War 70 years earlier. What a mess.

And back to the book review.

John Keegan's "The First World War"

This book did a good job of showing how all of these entangled alliances led to the greatest war the world had ever seen, but I don't feel like it did a good job of talking about the importance or the effects of the war. There was no mention of how Britain promised Arabs and Jews the same area of land after the war - hence the Arab-Israeli conflict. There was no mention of how Britain and France carved up the Middle East - hence every conflict there from the Lebanon-Syria problem to Iraq's war with its own Kurdish population. To the author's credit he did talk about the birth of communisml, facism, and Nazism in the aftermath of the war, but there was nothing about the League of Nations (precursor to the UN) or any of the cooperation that followed the war. He didn't talk about lessons to be learned from the war or anything like that.

So basically, if you want a good account of the actual tangible happenings of the war, this is a great book. You will understand how the armies moved and domestic conditions within the countries involved. If you want to learn about the United States role in the war, this book is not for you and you should get a book focused on the United States' role. If you want to know why the war was important and why we should care, this is also probably not the book for you. This book was a great account of what actually happened but little more. I really enjoyed it and appreciated it because I didn't know about what actually happened, but if I hadn't studied the outcomes and effects of the war previously this book would have left me unfulfilled.

On to the next book...

Quiet Blog

2005-07-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

I realize that the blog has gotten kind of quiet lately. I've worked open to close at the store eight days in a row now and the book reviews have slowed from both being tired and from reading a huge history of the First World War. In the down time if you are bored on the internet since you aren't getting as much reading material on the blog anymore, I STRONGLY encourage you to spend the time you would spend reading this blog to learn about the world a little bit in this fun little game.

good luck folks.

http://www.urgames.com/games/geography-game-europe

...and another great idea...

2005-07-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

Hey man, I'm a retiring pilot so while I have a 747 full of people why don't you fly at me with another plane full of people and take a picture when we pass. Oh shit - wrong plane! Good thing we have the anti-collision computers on board.

You have got to be kidding me. What a couple of idiots.

I must say that is just about the best idea since spending four years of your life driving yourself into debt for a $120,000 education just to graduate, eat all Wal-Mart brand food (Safeway Select when I'm feel like splurging a little), and make $3 an hour selling furniture to a bunch of people who think you are lying to them.

Yeah, I'm in a positive mood.

2005-07-07T19:58:00.001-07:00

On my way home from my first day of work I saw this rainbow caught in a cloud and thought it was amazing. I just wanted to share a couple pictures with you all.

2005-07-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

Rainbow at Dusk

ironic...

2005-07-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

Anyone else think it is funny that I finally got a job on the same day that I received my very first bill for student loan payments???

Ridiculous. By the way, I am now a furniture salesman. As my new boss told me, sales is like politics because you never directly tell people yes and no. Now you can all make a student loan payment on my behalf by contacting me about your next futon, couch, or buttwasher purchase. Suhweet.

Independence Day

2005-07-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

After all of the books I've been reading it was a little difficult for me to really get into the Fourth of July spirit but Kelly and I met up with the fam and went down to Memorial Park to watch the fireworks go off to the symphony (kind of) and we all had a pretty good time...

2005-07-05T11:04:00.001-07:00

Me and Danny on the Fourth of July

2005-07-05T11:04:00.000-07:00

Kelly and I on the Fourth of July!

2005-07-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

Well we got there really early and were getting kind of bored so we decided that we'd take paparazzi photos of those who looked like they were really feeling America. We called it America, F*CK YEAH! We found some pretty good ones as you will see. These are people that would still kill the British. No Taxation without Representation BIATCH!

2005-07-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

This is America in a nutshell, but they had to wear this. Where are some more America F*CK YEAH contestants???

2005-07-05T10:59:00.001-07:00

For such an America F*CK YEAH tent their outfits SUCKED. What are you people, Canadian?

2005-07-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

This guy was probably the runner up, not just for the shirt with the patriotism slogan, but also for the margarita. This family was pouring them for about two hours straight. I couldn't be drunk listening to the cannons go off for Tchaikovsky. I'd probably think North Korea was coming after us or something.

2005-07-05T10:58:00.000-07:00

This guy was getting close to the top of the Ameria F*CK YEAH competition, but alas, he was topped.

2005-07-05T10:57:00.002-07:00

I love America! I am so happy! America F*CK YEAH!!!

2005-07-05T10:57:00.001-07:00

I love America THIIIIIS much, but she wasn't the winner!

2005-07-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

And the winner of the America F*uck Yeah competition...

2005-07-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

Sunset, time for the fireworks and the symphony to start! I was happy to hear the fireworks start to Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture because he is amazing (although he isn't American) but I was NOT happy to see that they used Thcaikovsky to open for STAR WARS. Horse shit. A masterpeice of classical music followed by a shitty movie theme. :( Unfortunately I had so much fun taking pics of proud Americans and their outfits that my camera was out of batteries for fireworks, but I don't think they would have come out well anyways.

Book Review #9: Atomic Iran

2005-07-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

I picked this book up from the library the other day because I had just got done reading another book about Iran, "Journey from the Land of No," as well as one about oil politics, "Century of War." I was on my way out of the library and saw ATOMIC IRAN by Jerome Corsi and I thought it could be interesting, especially in light of all that is going on over there right now. Unfortunately I was EXTREMELY dissapointed by what the author had to say. This is the first book of the summer that I'm actually going to give a negative review to. I usually try to look for the best in books, but not this one.

ATOMIC IRAN DUN DUN DUN

Let's start with the cover. Maybe I should have known from looking at the cover that this wasn't going to be the objective read I was looking for. It shows a veiled Iranian with mushroom clouds in the pupils. This seems to insinuate a lot of things to me. First, it isn't a picture of a leader like Khomeni or another radical cleric. This could be any Iranian and it seems to me that the author wants to think all Iranians, or Muslims for that matter, are terrorists. It is a picture of sheer hatred and terror and one that is supposed to scare readers and get them thinking "us versus them" from the time they pick up the book. I didn't really appreciate it but I moved on.

The first chapter of the book served as an introduction to the build-up of the current nuclear tension with Iran. There was some hyperbole here and there but nothing that drove me too crazy. Then we get to part one...

The first chapter of part one is entitled: Kerry-Edwards '04 Endorse the Mullahs (Iran's leaders). Oh boy I thought, this isn't going to be very objective at all. I tried to keep an open mind and I read about how in the author's opinion Kerry and Edwards supported the nuclear proliferation of Iran because they wanted to take an approach more like the Europeans where they would try to solve the situation diplomatically. I agree that a diplomatic approach is probably not going to work in this situation but to use that as justification to say that Kerry supports Islamist terrorism is just ridiculous.

Chapter Two of Part One: "Pro-Mullah Democrats, Pro-Mullah Lobbies." This argument goes, most Iranian Americans are Democrats so therefore the Democrats are being financed by terrorists. Now come on! If you are going to say that democrats are funded by Iranians how do you answer to all the Saudi money going to all four Bush presidential campaigns? He goes on to say that because Madeline Albright, Clinton's Secretary of State, gave the terrorists power and admitted America's weakness by owning up to the 1953 CIA coup that placed the shah in power in Iran as well as selling weapons to both sides for the purpose of continuing the Iran-Iraq war, the longest inter-state war of the 20th century. Taking responsibility for past mistakes does not mean Madeline Albright endorsed terrorists.

Chapter 4 of Part One: "Democrats Attack America's Intelligence Operations." In this chapter democrats support terrorists because they are skeptical of the accuracy of American intelligence reports concerning Iranian's sponsership of terrorism and intent to build nuclear arms. I think the Iranians are doing both of these things, but I don't think it is ridiculous to question the intellegence and ask for verification considering the US intelligence apparatus blew proving terrorism links AND possession of WMD's for Iran's neighbor, Iraq.At this point it was the end of part one and I was pretty upset with the book.

Part two was about something I knew less about, Iran's domestic politics, so I read it with caution. If the author is going to distort the truth about something most Americans are pretty familiar with then imagine his power to twist the facts regarding something most of us know nothing about!

I would not recommend this book to anyone. The only way we are going to have successful international relations with Iran or the Middle East is to try to learn something about the nations and governments we are dealing with before we write ridiculous books with ridiculous covers that try to scare America and reinforce racist and religious stereotypes.

I've been getting too fired up about current events lately so the next book is John Keegan's "The First World War." This war, often overshadowed in history classes by WWII, shaped the modern world so I want to go back and learn some history. It should be a little more objective!

Nice Photo...

2005-07-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

You've gotta love this picture. CNN posted this in an article released this evening talking about how Bush was planning to deal with the two main problems on the agenda of the upcoming G8 meeting in Scotland: Climate Control (Global Warming) and Africa Aid. Bush basically said it was bad for the economy to lower greenhouse gas emissions and it is bad for the economy to lower subsidies so we can help the African economy by importing goods. It looks like nothing is going to get done at this meeting except for a bunch of bologni rhetoric!

TALK TO THE HAND G8!

Here are links to the articles:
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/07/03/g8.bush.ap/index.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4647383.stm

Book Review #8: A Century of War

2005-07-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

Here we go. I am reading up a storm so here we go with another book. This was a very good book that I'd recommend to anyone wanting a clearer picture of what is going in the world of international relations. This book is much more academic than the other books I've read this summer (with the exception of Guns, Germs, and Steel) but it was very readable for the most part and was only bogged down in economic jargon in select places.

"A Century of War" William Engdahl

William Engdahl's "A Century of War" takes a close look at the role of oil in global politics from the early twentieth century when the industrialized world switched from coal to oil until the recent post-9/11 era and the war with Iraq. People who put a lot of faith in the government and the news media will probably find this book to cynical for their taste, but for those who want to scratch under the surface of political rhetoric, this book is a must read.

Judging from all I have told you it would be fair to ask what is different about this book. It isn't like criticizing the current government about the role of oil in the Iraq war is an original thought. But this book is different.

How is this book different?

1. What makes this book different is it is non-partisan and is not just a Bush-basher. It examines and criticizes the actions of major democrats as well including Clinton, LBJ, Carter, and even FDR. The suggestion of this book is that oil is the governing force of international relations but it is above any specific personalities or political parties. This is about global power and world leaders have been had a secret (sometimes not so secret) oil agenda for a century.

2. This book is not an America basher. Unlike other books that call out American imperialism this book does not indicate American exceptionalism in the least. This book is written on an international level of analysis from a realist school of thought that says all countries are vying for oil beneath their publically stated objectives. This book doesn't bash America. It is a criticism of the international system, not of any one state.

This book goes in chronological order beginning with the tensions that led up to the first world war. Because I know more about the political forces surrounding current events than I do about the political forces surrounding historical events, it was in the earliest chapters that I found the book most cynical. I questioned whether the role of oil was being exagerrated in the first world war and the vietnam war, but as the book looked closer at recent events in the same critical tone I saw that not much has changed in the last 100 years. If the oil objective can be covered up today with ulterior motives like terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, or democratization in an age of 24 instant news coverage and the internet, surely controversial oil objectives could have been covered up much easier in the past.

Look guys. This war with Iraq is about oil. If it was about weapons of mass destuction then why didn't we go after North Korea, which we KNEW had nuclear weapons? If it was about terrorism and links to al Qaeda then why didn't we go after Saudi Arabia, bin Laden's home country and home to the majority of the hijackers. If it was about democracy then why didn't Bush state this objective as a reason to go to war. If the purpose was democratization then why doesn't Bush accept help from the United Nations and decrease the United States' presence in the area? Why did he wait to say this until after the terrorism and WMD claims were revealed as unsubstantiated. oil. oil. oil.

If you support the war because Sadaam was a bad guy, which he definitely was, then consider this. Why did France, China, Russia, and Germany oppose the war? Guess who had oil contracts with Iraq at the time. They knew that a war would not only disrupt their oil supplies, it would cause the oil contracts to change hands and the United States and Britain would take over. Guess who has contracts now. Halliburton (Cheney's company), Chevron (Condi Rice's company), and other Anglo-American companies.

But wait a minute, if this is about oil then why not go after Saudi Arabia? We had great excuses. The Saudis were involved in 9/11 and they are no more democratic than Iraq AND they have oil. Well, we already get oil from the Saudis. What is the point of starting a war with a country that already supplies us and disrupting our own supply. Wouldn't it be better to go after a country with MORE undeveloped oil reserves that supplies to our economic rivals like the growning China and the new united Continental Europe. Isn't Iraq kind of a 2 for 1 since it is also right next to the Caspian oil reserves that Anglo-American companies are already pumping?

This is about oil, but more specifically it is about controlling the oil of economic adversaries so that one state can control the economic growth of the others. It has been this way ever since the big switch from coal to oil and the beginning of the century. Don't take my word for it. Read the book.

PS - for the conservatives out there, don't dismiss this as liberal propoganda. You know I am not on the far left. I am moderate and this book is pretty impartial to political parties. I used Bush's deception over Iraq only as the most recent example. You can find just as much evidence that oil is behind the Clinton, Carter, and LBJ foreign policy doctrines in other chapters as well as behind the British, German, French, and Russian, foreign policy objectives as well.

So what does this mean for the future? Here is what I predict:

IRAN: This is one of the few big oil states we don't control but things may not stay that way for long. Consider four things:
1.We now have a huge military presence next door in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as military control of the Persian Gulf.
2. Iran has lots of oil and it is the only thing separating the Caspian oil reserves from Anglo-American controlled territories in Iraq and Afghanistan
3. Iran's new President has been revealed as one of the 1979 hostage takers. That is not going to help Iran's favor with the West, especially the United States.
4. Iran's nuclear development. I don't know if they are creating nuclear weapons but that doesn't matter. We have invaded countries with less proof of nuclear development so that is kind of a moot point. What matters is this can be used as a reason to go to war.

AFRICA AID: It is a big topic right now with the upcoming G8 summit but I would be willing to bet that Africa aid will be concentrated where the oil is concentrated. That means West Africa (esp. Nigeria) and southwest Africa (esp. Angola). The most likely place to see lots of aid or a foreign presence in the Arab part of Africa has got to be Sudan. We are going to hear the United States say that it wants to give aid to non-corrupt governments (ones that we do business with). You will hear the US say that the answer to solving Africa's poverty is not to give aid, but to have economic relationships based on importing African goods (natural resources like oil). Just a guess, but I'm curious to see what happens with that.

ok - i'm out. Obviously this book has me thinking a lot. History buffs that want to stay away from the political debates going on today should still check out the earlier chapters of the book. The author makes an extremely compelling case for oil as the true cause of the first world war. This book probably moves to number 2 of the summer, maybe a number 1 but it is hard to say.

on to the next book...

Here's a GREAT idea...

2005-07-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

Hey guys I have an idea. All of us super-Christian wackos are too spread out over this country so let's all move to South Carolina. Once we get enough of us there we'll take over the state government and leave the United States and start our own super-Christian country. YEAH! Then we'll all move to another state where we're all inbred like Alabama and we'll go state to state and destroy the sodomite USA.

www.christianexodus.org

What a bunch of idiots. This has got to be the most ridiculous political website I've seen since Jews for the Preservation of Gun Rights. (remember the coloring book - I think it is in the blog back in September). It seems to me that the last time South Carolina tried to leave the union it didn't work out too well for them. Check it out!

Kirby - What a bunch of lying schemers

2005-07-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

Nobody buy a Kirby. This company just isn't respectable at all. Their ambiguity with prospective employees is deceptive. I was wondering if my experience with this company was unique so I looked online to see what I could find. I wasn't surprised at all.

It turns out that telling prospective employees they are there for an advertising position that includes no direct sales is a popular method of recruiting people to sell their vacuums. The apocryphal (yeah that's a GRE word) tactics they use to get new employees are nothing compared to what they do to consumers. It turns out Kirby has been sued by the attorney generals of at least two states (West Virginia and Arizona) for things like selling vacuums to elderly Alzheimer sufferers and lying to them about the lifetime warranty (which is actually three days if you read the fine print) as well as the 29% interest rate they put on their vacuums.

By the way, the retail price on the new Kirby vacuums is about $1800. Everything you pay over $1250 goes directly to the salesman. An additional $500 goes to the area manager. Don't pay almost two grand for a $600 vacuum. They wouldn't be able to charge that without their amoral selling strategies but I can't do that.

So anyways, I left in the middle of training yesterday because I was disgusted. I'd rather make an honest living than be trained to take advantage of people who can't afford a Kirby but are impressionable enough to acquiesce (another GRE word) pushy heartless salesmen.

If you really want a Kirby - EBAY.

If you don't find me persuasive enough, check this out. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/in_home/kirby.htm
www.badbusinessbureau.com (search Kirby)

academic... the definition says it all

2005-06-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

As I'm studying vocab in a feeble attempt to feel like I haven't wasted six weeks of unemployment I came across a familiar word - academic.

I thought it was very appropriate when the alternate definition for ACADEMIC is, and I quote:

not practical or directly useful

Wow I haven't figured that out job hunting. I really needed the vocab book to teach me that one. That's why after earning a $120,000 degree and spending six weeks looking for work my best job opportunity is being a vacuum salesman.

By the way, anyone want a Kirby?

Book Review #7: Amber Room

2005-06-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

The Amber Room is another non-fiction book written by a pair of British journalists who go to a new part of the world to solve a great mystery. This makes the book very similar to the one I read about the Australian journalists who went to Nepal but this book was much more focused on the history of the mystery rather than the culture surrounding the mystery.

Anyone who saw the first Indiana Jones movie (Raiders of the Lost Ark) knows that during the Second World War one of the great atrocities committed by the Nazis was the ransacking and pillaging of palaces and museums all across Europe. While the Ark of the Covenant (featured in the Indiana Jones movie) was not one of these treasures, the Amber Room of Catherine the Great's Palace in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) was.

The Amber Room must have been amazing to see. It was a room completely covered by intricately carved amber panels, and amber was worth more than gold at the time. When Leningrad fell in 1941 in Operation Barbossa the Nazis took the Amber Room and it has never been seen since.

"Amber Room" - don't sue me for using this picture

The authors traverse Eastern Europe from Russia to Germany to Liechtenstein to Kaliningrad in search of the greatest treasure the Nazis stole and their discovery is somewhat of a surprise. I enjoyed the story about the fate of the Amber Room, but my favorite part about this book was what I learned along the way about the theft of culture that occured during WWII. It is obviously overshadowed by greater atrocities like the deaths and the Holocaust, so it was nice to gain perspective on the theft that left so many great works unaccounted for.

I'd recommend this book to those interested in WWII but want to read about it from a different angle. The end of the book is kind of a let down but that is the way history played out. I liked it but "Journey from the Land of No" is still my favorite book out of my summer reads

Jobless and Pissed: Day 44

2005-06-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

That's right folks. 44 days since graduation. Looking for jobs each of those 44 days. Turned in at least one application all but a couple of those 44 days. Nothing to show for it.

Don't worry, I'm not completely wasting my time. I'm about to finish my seventh book in the last 44 days. I got a GRE test book and I'm working on vocab. I'm still in the A's but there are lots of A's! Maybe I'll try to use some in my blog so they are better drilled into my head. The most ABERRANT of my words thusfar is ACCOUTRE, which means equip. For example, despite being ADMONISHED by locals about the snow and ice on top of Pikes Peak, as I ascended the ACCLIVITY to the ACME I did not find it necessary to be ACCOUTRED with snow gear.

I apologize if my tone while refering to my job hunt has been ACRIMONIOUS. I will try to write with AGGRANDIZED ALACRITY despite being ADDLED by prospective employers (whom I both ABHOR and ABOMINATE) who disregard my stunning and ADROIT ACUMEN.

And one quick ADDENDUM - I appreciate your continued ADJURATION to keep my chin up. I ACCEDE and as my applications around this town ACCRUE, I will be ACTUATED to ABNEGATE self-ABASEMENT and ACERBITY.

Until then, I'm going to go learn some B words...

ps. for an english translation of my ranting: www.dictionary.com

Book #6: Journey from the Land of No

2005-06-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

It took me a little longer than the last few but I finished by sixth book of the month. This book is a little different than most of the books I read but I really enjoyed it and I feel like I learned a lot from it. Journey from the Land of No was written by an Iranian-American journalist who immigrated to the United States during the 1980s. She writes about what it was like to grow up in Tehran, Iran's capital, as an Iranian Jew during the turbulent Iranian Revolution in which the more liberal shah was replaced by conservative Muslim clerics.

Journey from the Land of No by Roya Hakakian
Once again, don't sue me barnesandnoble.com

Like the other books I've read this summer this book documents life in a distant part of the world from a subjective perspective rather than an overall objective analysis of what happened. This writer does a great job and I found this book interesting not because it was the memoirs of an Iranian, and not just a Jewish Iranian, but also a female Jewish Iranian. These different layers of identity come out in different parts of the book to highlight the hardship the author faced as she grew up and became less and less accepted in Iranian society.

I definitely recommend this book, especially as things get hotter with Iranian/US relations. This was the best read of the summer so far.

2005-06-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

And while we're on the topic of Iran...

Yesterday they had presidential elections and the more conservative of the candidates soundly defeated his opponents. There are lots of media perspectives on this, and since it is easy to get the western one from turning on the TV, here is another perspective as presented by al-Jazeera.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/91109A0C-83F4-438F-9CC1-52DF6936CC6B.htm

Either way, this can't be a good thing if you don't want to see war between the United States and Iran. I mean, this new president was part of the group that planned the attack that led to the Iranian hostage crisis but he was more extreme than the others and wanted to also attack the Soviet embassy. As Iran's nuclear program comes closer to fruition and as European diplomatic efforts continue to fail, things between the United States and Iran will only get more tense. It is awful that American troops are still dying in Iraq on a daily basis, but the prolonged insurgency in Iraq may keep our military's hands too full to do anything major in Iran. I don't know what Bush's plans are regarding Iran, but I think this Iraq experience will make him try diplomacy with the Iranians a little harder than he did in the months leading up to the invasion in Iraq. Having an extremely conservative anti-Western president under the control and influence of an extremely rigid inflexible Ayatollah isn't going to help talks and that makes war a much more feasible solution to Iran's perceived nuclear proliferation.

okay back to looking for a job.

My thoughts on Rumsfeld and Iraq

2005-06-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

A lot of times we hear about things second hand from the media and doing so we pick up their slants and biases. If I based my thoughts on what CNN or the BBC said about an event, then I'm seeing it through their lens, just like if your opinion was swayed with what I said about what CNN or BBC said about an event then you are wearing bifocals of some sort. Anyways, my point is that sometimes it is good to just go straight to the source and the internet gives us all the opportunity to do that every once and a while.

That being said, today Rumsfeld issued a statement on why the government is refusing to release a timeline for bringing troops back to the United States. CNN didn't have the best spin on this and brought up plenty of negative things and the BBC had even worse to say. If I went to FOX News they'd probably be on the other end of the spectrum praising Rumsfeld and cursing democrats and critics.

All events, especially those as sensitive as war, are subject to the opinions of the media, but during this war we have the opportunity, and perhaps even the responsibility, to go directly to the source before it has been filtered by the opinions of others. This wasn't this easy in the past before the internet and before so many resources were placed on the internet so as voting Americans with the power to decide the fate of the world we should be willing to take the five minutes it takes to read a biased news story and commit that time towards looking at the primary source. That's my humble opinion.

That being said, here is the link to what Rumsfeld said today about the troop timeline. It is shorter than most of the printed media coverage and it is definitley shorter than all the partisan banter we will listen to on all the cable networks about it. Read it and bypass the media biases if you choose.

http://armed-services.senate.gov/statemnt/2005/June/Rumsfeld%2006-23-05.pdf

I know we are all used to just reading the news, but this has never been easier. For this reason I endorse BBC World Service as a great place to find out what is going on in the world; not because I think British media is any less biased than American media (it is often more liberal), but because on the right side of the page for EVERY story they have links to all the primary sources as well as coverage by other media organizations. Check it out if you like at
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice.

and one more thing - if you do want the media's input on what you think, please don't get it from Lou Dobbs. He annoys the hell out of me. Guess what Lou, somewhere in your past YOU ARE AN IMMIGRANT TOO.

The Official cbell News Item of the Day...

2005-06-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

In Ethiopia 70% of marriages occur when girls are kidnapped and forced into marriage, but not this one.

Click on this link for my official news story of the day; a story of a girl abducted by three men and then rescued by a few Ethiopian lions who mistook the girl's cries for the whimpers of a baby lion cub.

Here is the link.

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/06/21/ethiopia.lions.ap/index.html

I deem these lions the coolest lions since The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince John's good brother in Robin Hood.

Yes, I have too much free time.

Book Review #5 - Love and Death in Kathmandu

2005-06-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

"Love and Death in Kathmandu." Was written by an Australian couple who quit their jobs as journalists to explore the mystery surrounding the events of June 1, 2001, when the Crown Prince of Nepal went on a rampage, killing most of the royal family before turning the gun on himself.

thanks for the picture barnesandnoble.com. don't sue me.

What I liked most about this book was that it took a spiral-like format. Before getting into details about the royals and their lives they backed up and examined Nepal and the culture and religion surrounding things that may have affected the Crown Prince including Nepalese thoughts on death and the royals, Hindu beliefs about life, and the social mores of inter-caste marriage. They examine the history of Nepal and recount past royal murders or murders regarding inter-caste marriages and the failures of arranged marriages. In this way I learned a lot about the country and its people and was able to think about the assassination in context by the time I got to that part of the book.

The bloody rampage was a tragedy for the country, but I was far more interested in the first half of the book and its broader look at the culture in Nepal than I was on the focused look at the Crown Prince and what may have been in his mind when he murdered almost his entire family.

I'll give it a 4/5.

World Cup Qualifying - Africa

2005-06-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

I'm glad to announce that after yesterday's four games I improved my record from 3-3-3 (.500) to 6-3-4 (.677). Hell yeah. Maybe I should put money on these things.

I guess that requires money...

which requires a job...

so...

maybe not.

Scottish Games

2005-06-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

What to do on a Saturday...

I guess we might as well go down to the Scottish and Gaelic Festival! Here are some pictures of children forced to dance, annoying clowns, and of course, cabertossing...

2005-06-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to beat this guy with one of his legs all day, but not as much as Danny did...

2005-06-19T06:39:00.000-07:00

Mom stopped to watch children forced to dance in front of their grandmas - outfits courtesy of their grandmas. Cute right? Well, let's move on to CABERTOSSING

2005-06-19T06:38:00.000-07:00

After the caber starts on the ground sticking straight up you have to lift it, brace it, and chuck it without popping your guts out your butt.

2005-06-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

And the throw - you are scored by how straight the caber lands if it goes over. They score it like a clock, so the perfect score is 12 but you can range from 9 to 3. If it doesn't go all the way over, no score. This one might go over but who knows. Distance doesn't matter in this game, it's all about how straight you can throw it. Learn something new everyday...

2005-06-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

A fine throw and what would be a fine picture if it wasn't for the kilt-wearing metallica loving McBadass clan in front of me.

World Cup Qualifying - Africa

2005-06-19T06:16:00.000-07:00

Just for the record, here were my pics for Africa's World Cup qualifiers this weekend. My pic is in italics. the winning team is in bold. Blue games are my wins. Red games are my losses. Green games are ties...

After this weekend maybe I should stick to analyzing African politics and leave soccer alone. There were some upsets here!

Uganda - Cape Verde
Senegal - Togo
Burkina Faso - Congo DR
Kenya - Morocco
Nigeria - Angola
Malawi - Botswana
South Africa - Ghana
Gabon - Rwanda
Zambia - Mali
Algeria - Zimbabwe
Liberia - Congo
Cameroon - Libya
Cote D'Ivoire - Egypt

So thusfar I am 3-3-3. However, it was a complete upset for Ghana to beat South Africa and for Kenya and Angola to tie their superior opponents. Oh well. Glad I didn't put money on it.
For more info on the World Cup Qualifiers - fifaworldcup.com

Book Review #4 - Financial Peace Revisited

2005-06-17T18:33:00.000-07:00

Gotta love being unemployed AND nerdy. Four books in about ten days. I had another library book about the British exploring the Sahara but it really wasn't catching my attention. After about fifty pages I had to put it down and turn towards a different book. Being unemployed makes you think about money, so I thought I'd try out this one that Kelly's dad loaned me - Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey.

(thanks for the photo barnesandnoble.com - don't sue me.)

This book probably made me feel a little better about my financial situation because I'm reading it before getting into all the problems he talks about in the book. I wish I knew more about this stuff and this book helped, but I definitely don't know enough about money! I don't know what the hell a Roth IRA is but debt is bad. I got that for sure. So what I'm saying is, good book but it also made me realize I have a lot more to learn about money.

Don't worry, I'm going back to the random political/historical books soon. I went to the library today. What did I get? You are going to have to wait and see...

Evening at Garden of the Gods

2005-06-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

It is almost a shame to bump the epic Pikes Peak hike down the webpage, but life goes on and so does the blog. Last night we decided to go down to Garden of the Gods to take some evening pictures and to hike around on some of the trails. Sunset is not the best time to be at Garden of the Gods because the sun ducks behind the mountains and the rocks get shady pretty quick, but I still managed to get a few that I found worthy of being posted...

2005-06-17T08:48:00.002-07:00

Garden of the Gods with Colorado Springs in the background.

2005-06-17T08:48:00.001-07:00

Garden of the Gods

2005-06-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Evening at Garden of the Gods

Our First 14er - Pikes Peak

2005-06-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

Because this site won't let me post multiple photos in the same post this entry is broken into many parts so don't think I'm done just because the entry is over. If there is more to climb, there is more to read. With that, I'll see you at the top.

Looking for jobs is boring and stressful so Kelly and I decided we’d take a break by camping at the Crags Campground on the backside of Pikes Peak. At 10,000 feet we thought it would be a chance for us to start to get our lungs acclimated to the high elevation. Colorado Springs sits at about 6400! The Crags Trailhead has at least two trails, one of which is in a valley and is relatively easy and the other leads 4,200 vertical feet up the northwest ridge of Pikes Peak. We had a great time but we are both pretty tired today. We didn’t know if we could do it, but by the end of the day we had climbed our first 14,000-foot peak.

Enjoy the photos and feel free to post comments or click on pictures to make them larger.

2005-06-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

Pikes Peak (14,100) as seen from Palmer Park in Colorado Springs.

2005-06-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

We got to Crags campground Monday night, set up camp, and begin to hike along the flat Crags trail. We walked about two miles down the valley, which was adorned with evergreens and strange rock formations all in a perfect almost sunset light. I didn’t bring my camera because we didn’t think we’d be gone for too long but we were both pretty captivated by the unexpected scenery. We went back to camp and played some cards. Kelly won of course.

2005-06-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

Our campsite was about to get very cold as the sun went down...

2005-06-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

When the sun went down so did the temperature. Luckily we brought extra blankets and thick sleeping bags. I knew it was going to get cold, but I had no idea how cold it was going to get. We were fine inside and we slept fine but we woke up in the morning to find that there was a sheet of ice on the rain fly of the tent and a little ice in the water bottle we had at the end of the tent. I got up and went to the car to get toothpaste and it was definitely a little solid. When you emerge from your down sleeping bag and are freezing your ass off there is nothing worse than brushing your teeth with frozen toothpaste. In fact, it was so cold my camera wouldn’t turn on until about half an hour into the hike. We packed up camp and decided the best way to warm up would be to hit the trail. We began at 10,100 feet just before 8AM.

It was pretty brisk but the trail climbed steeply so layers started to peel off pretty fast. We crossed a stream and headed through an evergreen forest with the morning sun and strange rock formations on the ridge above us. Hiking through the forest wasn’t too steep, which was nice, and we gained some confidence that the high elevation wouldn’t be a problem. We were a little optimistic at that point but once we got above tree line that faded completely.

2005-06-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

A stream we crossed in the forest in the early part of our hike (10,700)

2005-06-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

I wasn't joking when I said it was cold...

2005-06-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

Rock formations high on the ridge above us