Six men arrested as two attempted to buy guns Monday; and, I might add, this is close to home. Apparently, the men laughed as they watched videos of attacks on Americans, including one video where a marine's arm is blown off. The arrested are "Islamic radicals," according to the U.S. Attorney's office. The men were planning to shoot soldiers at Ft. Dix Army base according to the indictment.
The six include three brothers, all with the last name Duka, who were born in the former Yugoslavia and are illegally residing in the United States. The three are: Eljvir, 23, Shain, 26, and Dritan, 28, and said the three operate businesses known as Qadr Inc., Colonial Roofing and National Roofing.
The other three men charged are Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, 22, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, a U.S. citizen born in Jordan who is employed as a taxicab driver in Philadelphia; Serdar Tatar, 23, of Philadelphia, born in Turkey, whose last known employment was at a 7-Eleven; and Agron Abdullahu, 24, of Buena Vista Township, born in the former Yugoslavia and employed at a Shop-Rite Supermarket.
One twist to the story is to see if there is any difference in the disposition of the case in that they are illegal, a U.S. citizen, or another classification.
Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Saturday, May 5, 2007
How Jews, Christians, and Muslims celebrate the Sabbath
The idea to survey this topic came about in preparing a review of: Ringwald, Christopher D. A day apart: how Jews, Christians, and Muslims find faith, freedom, and joy on the Sabbath. Oxford, 2007.
G. Mick Smith, review of Armstrong, Karen, The Great Transformation, Choice, February 2007.
G. Mick Smith, review of Armstrong, Karen, The Great Transformation, Choice, February 2007.
The following review appeared in the February 2007 issue of CHOICE.
44-3239 BL430 2005-47536 CIP
Armstrong, Karen. The great transformation: the beginning of our
religious traditions. Knopf, 2006. 469p bibl index ISBN 0375413170,
$30.00
In this current age of "the great transformation," independent scholar
Armstrong postulates how the sages of the foundational Axial Age would address unspeakable horror, violence, and desperation. The distinctive and historic Axial Age faiths announced the abandonment of selfishness and a spirituality of compassion. They stated that first must come personal responsibility and self-criticism, and that practical, effective action must follow. Herein lie the problematic aspects of Armstrong's work and the reasons why this book can be misleading. Its most serious flaw is its finding evidence for ethical behavior in almost all religious behavior and ritual. Armstrong seems to miss the insights of René Girard and Walter Burkert, who have demonstrated how violence and the sacred are inextricably linked. Another problem is that, oddly, she states that Hitler expressed a "militant exclusion of religion from public policy." In fact, Hitler divided German Christians by founding the Patriotic Church in contrast to the Confessing Church. One other interesting side note is that Armstrong's research is based on older published works (only 36 of 284 works cited in the bibliography were published in 2000 or later). Summing Up: Optional. Lower-/upper-level undergraduates; general readers.
The following review appeared in the February 2007 issue of CHOICE.
44-3239 BL430 2005-47536 CIP
Armstrong, Karen. The great transformation: the beginning of our
religious traditions. Knopf, 2006. 469p bibl index ISBN 0375413170,
$30.00
In this current age of "the great transformation," independent scholar
Armstrong postulates how the sages of the foundational Axial Age would address unspeakable horror, violence, and desperation. The distinctive and historic Axial Age faiths announced the abandonment of selfishness and a spirituality of compassion. They stated that first must come personal responsibility and self-criticism, and that practical, effective action must follow. Herein lie the problematic aspects of Armstrong's work and the reasons why this book can be misleading. Its most serious flaw is its finding evidence for ethical behavior in almost all religious behavior and ritual. Armstrong seems to miss the insights of René Girard and Walter Burkert, who have demonstrated how violence and the sacred are inextricably linked. Another problem is that, oddly, she states that Hitler expressed a "militant exclusion of religion from public policy." In fact, Hitler divided German Christians by founding the Patriotic Church in contrast to the Confessing Church. One other interesting side note is that Armstrong's research is based on older published works (only 36 of 284 works cited in the bibliography were published in 2000 or later). Summing Up: Optional. Lower-/upper-level undergraduates; general readers.
Review: The Forgotten Revolution, Lucio Russo
25 Jan 2006
Computing Reviews
The Forgotten Revolution describes the explosion of science in the third
and second centuries BCE. In the age of Archimedes, Eratosthenes, and
Euclid science as we ordinarily recognize the field began as a category
of human knowledge. The forgotten in the title refers to the Alexandrian texts
that were lost and the notion that the breakthroughs of the Renaissance
were based on these texts. Unfortunately, these texts were lost in the
ancient period and subsequently during the Renaissance as well. The
author, Lucio Russo, notes that both scientific revolutions were also
accompanied by great changes and an invigorated awareness in related
fields, such as art and medicine.
The revolution in science is surveyed in ten chapters, an epilogue, and
a mathematical appendix. In chapters 1-7 there is detailed coverage of the
birth, rise, decline and fall of Hellenistic science and technology:
mathematics, mechanics of solids and fluids, topography and geodesy,
optics, astronomy; civil, mechanical, naval, and military engineering; anatomy,
physiology, biology, and medicine; economics and mass production
techniques; architecture and urban development; psychoanalysis and cognitive
sciences.
An interesting inquiry of Russo¹s is the methodological nature of
Hellenistic mathematics. More important than the discoveries of the
Greeks noted above is the method they introduced, that is, the axiomatic,
deductive manner of argumentation that typifies mathematics. In general, the
deductive method, allied to the experimental method also introduced by the
Hellenistic scientists, is a modern approach to exact sciences.
The brilliance of the Hellenistic scientific revolution was lost in that
scientific method was abandoned in antiquity and its renaissance was
incredibly lax and centuries in coming. As late as the age of Newton,
who was representative Renaissance thinker, scientists worked at a level
still far below the Hellenistic level of rigorous method. This in itself is a
worthwhile point to make. When Russo relies on the philological evidence
alone he makes a convincing argument.
Another key inquiry is the idea that the heliocentric theories of
planetary motions were discovered far before the Hellenistic era. Aristarchus of
Samos and a century later with Hipparchus of Nicea Russo convincingly
demonstrates evidence that some Hellenistic writers knew of heliocentric ideas. They
developed a dynamical theory of planetary motions based on the attractions
of the planets toward the Sun. The work of Hipparchus is unfortunately
no longer extant but in an obscure work of Plutarch, sprinkled throughout
the Natural History of Plinius, the Natural Questions of Seneca, and the
Architecture of Vitruvius, enough philological evidence suggests that
the cultural elites of the early Roman Imperial period knew heliocentric
theories.
Much later Newton, who had the complete works of Plutarch in his
library, apparently included the heliocentric idea but without a credit attached.
Although some may think this an unethical act, it was in fact commonly
done if an author works in an academic field and elsewhere clearly credits
one¹ssources, and Newton does.
One simple reason the tradition of heliocentric theory is lost is that
the commonly cited Principia only included this portion in a Scholia or an
annotation on the original manuscript not appearing in the commonly
printed version.
Russo should be appreciated not only in the detailed transmission of
specific ideas but within a major historical problem of antiquity. The
decline and fall of antique civilization was occurring as Hellenistic
ideaswere pushed to the background as Max Weber thoroughly discussed the
issue of decadence. As trade in antiquity declined, so did the accompanied
flowering of art, literature, and scientific inquiry. The key insights of
Hellenistic thought languished then until the Renaissance and their re-discovery by
modern scientific thought.
This volume would not be of interest for most computing professionals
because the only closely related topic are analog computational aids. It
would however be of note for a general educated audience with an
interest in history of science, mathematics, physics, engineering, astronomy,
medicine and classical civilizations.
Four works read in tandem with Russo¹s would be instructive: The
Mathematics of Plato's Academy, by David H. Fowler (Oxford, 1999), and
The Shaping of Deduction in Greek Mathematics, by Reviel Netz
(Cambridge, 1999), Otto Neugebauer, Exact Sciences in Antiquity, and Sir Thomas
Heath, A History of Greek Mathematics. In addition, these four works are often on
sounder ground than Russo¹s volume.
Computing Reviews
The Forgotten Revolution describes the explosion of science in the third
and second centuries BCE. In the age of Archimedes, Eratosthenes, and
Euclid science as we ordinarily recognize the field began as a category
of human knowledge. The forgotten in the title refers to the Alexandrian texts
that were lost and the notion that the breakthroughs of the Renaissance
were based on these texts. Unfortunately, these texts were lost in the
ancient period and subsequently during the Renaissance as well. The
author, Lucio Russo, notes that both scientific revolutions were also
accompanied by great changes and an invigorated awareness in related
fields, such as art and medicine.
The revolution in science is surveyed in ten chapters, an epilogue, and
a mathematical appendix. In chapters 1-7 there is detailed coverage of the
birth, rise, decline and fall of Hellenistic science and technology:
mathematics, mechanics of solids and fluids, topography and geodesy,
optics, astronomy; civil, mechanical, naval, and military engineering; anatomy,
physiology, biology, and medicine; economics and mass production
techniques; architecture and urban development; psychoanalysis and cognitive
sciences.
An interesting inquiry of Russo¹s is the methodological nature of
Hellenistic mathematics. More important than the discoveries of the
Greeks noted above is the method they introduced, that is, the axiomatic,
deductive manner of argumentation that typifies mathematics. In general, the
deductive method, allied to the experimental method also introduced by the
Hellenistic scientists, is a modern approach to exact sciences.
The brilliance of the Hellenistic scientific revolution was lost in that
scientific method was abandoned in antiquity and its renaissance was
incredibly lax and centuries in coming. As late as the age of Newton,
who was representative Renaissance thinker, scientists worked at a level
still far below the Hellenistic level of rigorous method. This in itself is a
worthwhile point to make. When Russo relies on the philological evidence
alone he makes a convincing argument.
Another key inquiry is the idea that the heliocentric theories of
planetary motions were discovered far before the Hellenistic era. Aristarchus of
Samos and a century later with Hipparchus of Nicea Russo convincingly
demonstrates evidence that some Hellenistic writers knew of heliocentric ideas. They
developed a dynamical theory of planetary motions based on the attractions
of the planets toward the Sun. The work of Hipparchus is unfortunately
no longer extant but in an obscure work of Plutarch, sprinkled throughout
the Natural History of Plinius, the Natural Questions of Seneca, and the
Architecture of Vitruvius, enough philological evidence suggests that
the cultural elites of the early Roman Imperial period knew heliocentric
theories.
Much later Newton, who had the complete works of Plutarch in his
library, apparently included the heliocentric idea but without a credit attached.
Although some may think this an unethical act, it was in fact commonly
done if an author works in an academic field and elsewhere clearly credits
one¹ssources, and Newton does.
One simple reason the tradition of heliocentric theory is lost is that
the commonly cited Principia only included this portion in a Scholia or an
annotation on the original manuscript not appearing in the commonly
printed version.
Russo should be appreciated not only in the detailed transmission of
specific ideas but within a major historical problem of antiquity. The
decline and fall of antique civilization was occurring as Hellenistic
ideaswere pushed to the background as Max Weber thoroughly discussed the
issue of decadence. As trade in antiquity declined, so did the accompanied
flowering of art, literature, and scientific inquiry. The key insights of
Hellenistic thought languished then until the Renaissance and their re-discovery by
modern scientific thought.
This volume would not be of interest for most computing professionals
because the only closely related topic are analog computational aids. It
would however be of note for a general educated audience with an
interest in history of science, mathematics, physics, engineering, astronomy,
medicine and classical civilizations.
Four works read in tandem with Russo¹s would be instructive: The
Mathematics of Plato's Academy, by David H. Fowler (Oxford, 1999), and
The Shaping of Deduction in Greek Mathematics, by Reviel Netz
(Cambridge, 1999), Otto Neugebauer, Exact Sciences in Antiquity, and Sir Thomas
Heath, A History of Greek Mathematics. In addition, these four works are often on
sounder ground than Russo¹s volume.
Review: Dis/integrating animals, Warkentin
Date: Mon 26-06-2006 11:14 AM
Computing Reviews:
"Dis/integrating animals: ethical dimensions of the genetic engineering of animals for human consumption" Warkentin T. AI & Society 20(1): 82-102, 2005
IT professionals should be reflecting on this piece to answer questions of identity. What we are as humans is more typically posed to technologists by thinkers such as George Dyson who argues that machines, specifically computers, will evolve beyond humans. On the other hand, Warkentin provocatively claims that we become less human by genetically altering animal bodies.
The question is: are we becoming something beyond human because of our machines or is genetic engineering robbing us of our humanity?
Warkentin ranges over feminism, biology, and philosophy to lament that genetic technologies engineer impure food and ending the suffering of animals through genetic modification diminishes both animals and humans.
Warkentin reveals a secular sensibility for long-standing religious issues of identity, purification, and suffering.
Religions generally maintain that food or anything that enters the body may pollute. Indeed, contamination by polluted food is a pervasive danger, typically involving intricate avoidance principles which Orthodox Judaism, particularly kosher rules, artfully articulates.
In the classic work Purity and Danger (1966) Mary Douglas focuses on pollution with a cogent analysis of food taboos. Religions outline an agenda for congregants to follow maintaining their sense of identity.
Warkentin maintains that human identity is diminished or defiled by eating genetically engineered food, what Douglas introduces as “dirt.”
But that ingesting a given food which has a spiritually polluting quality independent of our post-modern cultural context does not seem to be based on an objective fact. Warkentin ultimately does not demonstrate how genetically modified food pollutes us.
Computing Reviews:
"Dis/integrating animals: ethical dimensions of the genetic engineering of animals for human consumption" Warkentin T. AI & Society 20(1): 82-102, 2005
IT professionals should be reflecting on this piece to answer questions of identity. What we are as humans is more typically posed to technologists by thinkers such as George Dyson who argues that machines, specifically computers, will evolve beyond humans. On the other hand, Warkentin provocatively claims that we become less human by genetically altering animal bodies.
The question is: are we becoming something beyond human because of our machines or is genetic engineering robbing us of our humanity?
Warkentin ranges over feminism, biology, and philosophy to lament that genetic technologies engineer impure food and ending the suffering of animals through genetic modification diminishes both animals and humans.
Warkentin reveals a secular sensibility for long-standing religious issues of identity, purification, and suffering.
Religions generally maintain that food or anything that enters the body may pollute. Indeed, contamination by polluted food is a pervasive danger, typically involving intricate avoidance principles which Orthodox Judaism, particularly kosher rules, artfully articulates.
In the classic work Purity and Danger (1966) Mary Douglas focuses on pollution with a cogent analysis of food taboos. Religions outline an agenda for congregants to follow maintaining their sense of identity.
Warkentin maintains that human identity is diminished or defiled by eating genetically engineered food, what Douglas introduces as “dirt.”
But that ingesting a given food which has a spiritually polluting quality independent of our post-modern cultural context does not seem to be based on an objective fact. Warkentin ultimately does not demonstrate how genetically modified food pollutes us.
No response from democracynow.org
Date:
Tue 11-07-2006 04:16 PM
I object to McCarthyism
I happened to view your broadcasting today (democracynow.org) for the first time and I am
writing to express how appalled I am by your abysmal ethics. The anchor,
Ms. Goodman, sequed into a story with the line, "we go now from a story
of an American soldier raping and murdering Iraqi civilians to a story
of a soldier who went AWOL." I am horrified that a broadcaster would try
and convict an individual on live television a la' McCarthy. Correct me
if I'm wrong but does not this individual, as reprehensible as many
people would find him if he is in fact quilty, have the right to due
process and a jury of his peers to convict him? This has not happened.
Perhaps it will, perhaps it will not but this person has the right in a
democracy to his day in court and you have no right to convict anyone on
television. Ms. Goodman had the perfect opportunity to instruct the
Iraqi journalist--employed by the L.A. Times--in the rules of evidence
and how democracy works but she squandered the moment and uncritically
accepted the hearsay evidence presented by the journalist. I object to
McCarthyism and the fraud that is entitled "Democracy Now." Indeed,
democracy works and your broadcasting should attempt to live out the
ideals, ethics, and the objective journalist responsibility that it
entails.
Regards,
G. Mick Smith, PhD
Tue 11-07-2006 04:16 PM
I object to McCarthyism
I happened to view your broadcasting today (democracynow.org) for the first time and I am
writing to express how appalled I am by your abysmal ethics. The anchor,
Ms. Goodman, sequed into a story with the line, "we go now from a story
of an American soldier raping and murdering Iraqi civilians to a story
of a soldier who went AWOL." I am horrified that a broadcaster would try
and convict an individual on live television a la' McCarthy. Correct me
if I'm wrong but does not this individual, as reprehensible as many
people would find him if he is in fact quilty, have the right to due
process and a jury of his peers to convict him? This has not happened.
Perhaps it will, perhaps it will not but this person has the right in a
democracy to his day in court and you have no right to convict anyone on
television. Ms. Goodman had the perfect opportunity to instruct the
Iraqi journalist--employed by the L.A. Times--in the rules of evidence
and how democracy works but she squandered the moment and uncritically
accepted the hearsay evidence presented by the journalist. I object to
McCarthyism and the fraud that is entitled "Democracy Now." Indeed,
democracy works and your broadcasting should attempt to live out the
ideals, ethics, and the objective journalist responsibility that it
entails.
Regards,
G. Mick Smith, PhD
Review: A Companion to Nietzsche, ed. Keith Ansell Pearson
The following review appeared in the July 2006 issue of CHOICE.
A Companion to Nietzsche, ed. by Keith Ansell Pearson. Blackwell
Publishing, 2006. 600p bibl index (Blackwell companions to philosophy,
33) ISBN 1405116226, $149.95
This worthwhile collection portrays many of the most preeminent
Nietzschean scholars in Europe and the US. The volume adds to an
excellent series in philosophy by Blackwell. It offers a moving array
of Nietzsche scholars who represent a plethora of approaches. Following
the two practical introductions to Nietzsche's life, philosophy, and
style, the varied essays address the most familiar Nietzschean themes,
as well as important but more neglected ones such as Nietzsche's notion
of science. The major sections include "Art, Nature, and
Individuation," "Nietzsche's Philosophy of the Future," "Philosophy of
Mind," "Philosophy and Genealogy," "Ethics," "Politics," "Aesthetics,"
and "Evolution and Life." Moreover, contributors offer innovative
treatments of Nietzsche's core and enigmatic ideas such as eternal
recurrence, the will to power, and the "overhuman." Interestingly woven
together are Nietzsche's published and unpublished Nachlass. Among the
contributors are a stimulating selection of scholars and new writers on
Nietzschean themes. They include Jill Marsden, Babette E. Babich,
Volker Gerhardt, Kathleen Marie Higgins, Laurence Lampert, Richard
Schacht, Andreas Urs Sommer, and Paul van Tongeren. Summing Up:
Recommended. Graduate students and above.
A Companion to Nietzsche, ed. by Keith Ansell Pearson. Blackwell
Publishing, 2006. 600p bibl index (Blackwell companions to philosophy,
33) ISBN 1405116226, $149.95
This worthwhile collection portrays many of the most preeminent
Nietzschean scholars in Europe and the US. The volume adds to an
excellent series in philosophy by Blackwell. It offers a moving array
of Nietzsche scholars who represent a plethora of approaches. Following
the two practical introductions to Nietzsche's life, philosophy, and
style, the varied essays address the most familiar Nietzschean themes,
as well as important but more neglected ones such as Nietzsche's notion
of science. The major sections include "Art, Nature, and
Individuation," "Nietzsche's Philosophy of the Future," "Philosophy of
Mind," "Philosophy and Genealogy," "Ethics," "Politics," "Aesthetics,"
and "Evolution and Life." Moreover, contributors offer innovative
treatments of Nietzsche's core and enigmatic ideas such as eternal
recurrence, the will to power, and the "overhuman." Interestingly woven
together are Nietzsche's published and unpublished Nachlass. Among the
contributors are a stimulating selection of scholars and new writers on
Nietzschean themes. They include Jill Marsden, Babette E. Babich,
Volker Gerhardt, Kathleen Marie Higgins, Laurence Lampert, Richard
Schacht, Andreas Urs Sommer, and Paul van Tongeren. Summing Up:
Recommended. Graduate students and above.
Review: Evolutionary Scheduling
"Evolutionary Scheduling: A Review," Hart, E., Ross P., Corne D. Genetic Programming and Evolvable Machines 6(2): 191-220.
Date: Wed 13-09-2006 08:33 AM
ComputingReviews.com
Review Number: 54703
Evolutionary Scheduling
“Evolutionary Scheduling: A Review” Hart E., Ross P., Corne D. Genetic Programming and Evolvable Machines 6(2): 191-220.
This review article is of substantial value for those who need an update on research material that applies evolutionary computing methods to scheduling problems. The last major survey has not been performed since 1999, when a major statement emerged from the European Network of Excellence on Evolutionary Computing (EVONET). The three co-authors here have done an admirable overview and report on “current trends, achievements, and suggesting the way forward” (191) in this regard. In particular, this article is of wide interest since the ideas can be applied to many common scheduling issues such as job-shop scheduling problems, an area much discussed in academic literature. The authors point out that algorithms today are capable of tackling enormous and difficult real-world problems, a major advance over earlier surveys such as the EVONET report.
Date: Wed 13-09-2006 08:33 AM
ComputingReviews.com
Review Number: 54703
Evolutionary Scheduling
“Evolutionary Scheduling: A Review” Hart E., Ross P., Corne D. Genetic Programming and Evolvable Machines 6(2): 191-220.
This review article is of substantial value for those who need an update on research material that applies evolutionary computing methods to scheduling problems. The last major survey has not been performed since 1999, when a major statement emerged from the European Network of Excellence on Evolutionary Computing (EVONET). The three co-authors here have done an admirable overview and report on “current trends, achievements, and suggesting the way forward” (191) in this regard. In particular, this article is of wide interest since the ideas can be applied to many common scheduling issues such as job-shop scheduling problems, an area much discussed in academic literature. The authors point out that algorithms today are capable of tackling enormous and difficult real-world problems, a major advance over earlier surveys such as the EVONET report.
Review: Hempel, Sandra, The Strange Case of the Broad Street Pump
The following review appeared in the July 2007 issue of CHOICE.
CHOICE: 000000561309
Hempel, Sandra. The Strange Case of the Broad Street Pump: John Snow and the Mystery of Cholera, University of California Press, Berkeley: 2007.
Reviewed: 03/20/2007
In this well-written medical history the author, Sandra Hempel,
fascinatingly portrays the mysterious transmission of cholera in 1831
London. Although written at the level of sound academic standards,
Hempel relates a ripping yarn by demonstrating how the monk-like
physician John Snow alone methodically, but insightfully, investigated
how cholera proliferated through drinking water. Snow disregarded
conventional medical wisdom while scientifically identifying the origin, conveyance, and contagious nature of the cholera pandemic. Still this work is not for the faint of heart. In excruciating detail Hempel recounts how the most vulnerable, in one poor unfortunate case, three-year old William Somerville, underwent an alleged cure that was far more barbaric than the cholera itself which may have cleared up on its own. However, the pandemic necessitated a scientific cure as cholera bafflingly seized millions from the squalor of Soho to the elite confines of the Royal Medical College and the Privy Council. In her masterful hands, Hempel is to be commended for writing an intriguing account of an historic plague, sprinkled with a vibrant cast of actors offering instructive and timely insights for current challenges of infectious diseases: malaria, yellow fever, and cholera.
CHOICE: 000000561309
Hempel, Sandra. The Strange Case of the Broad Street Pump: John Snow and the Mystery of Cholera, University of California Press, Berkeley: 2007.
Reviewed: 03/20/2007
In this well-written medical history the author, Sandra Hempel,
fascinatingly portrays the mysterious transmission of cholera in 1831
London. Although written at the level of sound academic standards,
Hempel relates a ripping yarn by demonstrating how the monk-like
physician John Snow alone methodically, but insightfully, investigated
how cholera proliferated through drinking water. Snow disregarded
conventional medical wisdom while scientifically identifying the origin, conveyance, and contagious nature of the cholera pandemic. Still this work is not for the faint of heart. In excruciating detail Hempel recounts how the most vulnerable, in one poor unfortunate case, three-year old William Somerville, underwent an alleged cure that was far more barbaric than the cholera itself which may have cleared up on its own. However, the pandemic necessitated a scientific cure as cholera bafflingly seized millions from the squalor of Soho to the elite confines of the Royal Medical College and the Privy Council. In her masterful hands, Hempel is to be commended for writing an intriguing account of an historic plague, sprinkled with a vibrant cast of actors offering instructive and timely insights for current challenges of infectious diseases: malaria, yellow fever, and cholera.
Hempel, Sandra. The strange case of the Broad Street pump: John Snow
and the mystery of cholera. California, 2007. 321p bibl index afp
ISBN 0520250494, $24.95
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Review: Dickheiser, M. Game Programming Gems 6, Charles River Media, Boston: Massachusetts, 2006.
This is the sixth volume of the popular and practical Game Programming Gems series. The series from the 1st volume has addressed timely issues as they have emerged; currently, teams are growing larger and developers are increasingly specialists. The Gems series addresses this need by providing state-of-art, readily available material for the specialist and handy resources that may be outside your bailiwick. Also timely is that current machines and player expectations are requiring higher-fidelity models and animations, fancier physics and graphics effects, and more intelligent AI. With these rising expectations on the work of programmers and the greater level of sophistication required, these demands entail flexible teams and longer production schedules, especially in light of scripting and data-driven systems (p. 319). Of course, the biggest issue is cost (p. xi). Helpfully, the over 50 articles in the volume address these demands and expectations.
An important fact is the collaborative reach of the game technology experts in that they arise from sundry backgrounds and over twenty countries. The experts are not only gaming experts but some are from outside the industry. Moreover, collaboration is truly global: from every part of the world, encompassing such diverse places as Eastern Europe, Latin America, North America, Singapore, and Japan.
This volume is not recommended for a faint of heart newer game programmer since this does not really function as a primer although it is very readable nonetheless. More likely is that the specialist will pick and choose their topics of interest and the dedicated programmer will learn a great deal of interest by reading more thoroughly. The series is aptly named Gems and there are nuggets galore.
A pragmatic way to find the needed gems is to peruse the seven parts for something of interest: Section 1 General Programming; Section 2 Mathematics and Physics; Section 3 Artificial Intelligence; Section 4 Scripting and Data-Driven Systems; Section 5 Graphics; Section 6 Audio; and Section 7 Network and Multiplayer. Most programmers would benefit by finding their particular areas of interest and then look for handy tools in other sections.
General Programming is not for the novice, as the name may imply but rather involves multiprocessor techniques, unit testing, and security fingerprinting. Mathematics and Physics is a constant and involves all things FPU, CPU, and GPU. Artificial Intelligence is always popular, and in this volume demonstrates current work in cognitive science and machine intelligence, with a strong representation from academia. AI techniques shown here can be applied in “other systems in the engine” (p. xvii). The inaugural appearance of Scripting and Data-Driven Systems is a worthwhile addition to the Gems series. The most popular and emerging languages (with the main core C++: Python, Lua, GameMonkey, and AngelScript) provide a starting point for your engine with a flexible backbone. Graphics combines old and new technologies with numerous sharp techniques. Audio includes insightful ideas for advanced uses of the audio system. Finally, Network and Multiplayer is another emerging area as global players, Massively Multiplayer Online Prototype (MMOP), plug in to play. As the gaming content has increased so too has the multiplicity of players and now, across networks.
The Editor notes that gaming is not just for game developers anymore. Game-based Learning, Edutainment, commercial and military training simulations, academics, and other "serious games" have all made their mark (p. xv). The upshot of this new found attention is that the "noobs" (p. xvi, a slang insult for newbies) are starting to feed back their input into gaming. At this point, the implications of this feed back is not at all clear but what is obvious is that gaming will be transforming into new and potentially very excitingly complex areas.
The focus in this volume accounts for gaming complexity focusing as it does on providing cutting-edge development that is of interest to those outside the gaming industry. Another sign of gaming maturity is the rise of growth and complexity issues related to the size and intricacy of games. The section on Scripting and Data-Driven Systems, along with Network and Multiplayer, converge in the two emerging areas of interest to those outside gaming. Some of the most exciting topics are these two, especially when converged. A related area of convergence is how AI is of interest to those inside gaming and outside it as well. If well coded, AI can provide the behavior of characters that are seemingly more intelligent, more human-like, hence yielding a more involving game.
This volume, although replete with complex topics, is readable, current, and just about the best in its field. The enclosed CD has source code illustrating points in the articles. The Index is really handy as well, including as it does information on all six volumes in the series. The illustrations are well done and add desirable visual examples.
An important fact is the collaborative reach of the game technology experts in that they arise from sundry backgrounds and over twenty countries. The experts are not only gaming experts but some are from outside the industry. Moreover, collaboration is truly global: from every part of the world, encompassing such diverse places as Eastern Europe, Latin America, North America, Singapore, and Japan.
This volume is not recommended for a faint of heart newer game programmer since this does not really function as a primer although it is very readable nonetheless. More likely is that the specialist will pick and choose their topics of interest and the dedicated programmer will learn a great deal of interest by reading more thoroughly. The series is aptly named Gems and there are nuggets galore.
A pragmatic way to find the needed gems is to peruse the seven parts for something of interest: Section 1 General Programming; Section 2 Mathematics and Physics; Section 3 Artificial Intelligence; Section 4 Scripting and Data-Driven Systems; Section 5 Graphics; Section 6 Audio; and Section 7 Network and Multiplayer. Most programmers would benefit by finding their particular areas of interest and then look for handy tools in other sections.
General Programming is not for the novice, as the name may imply but rather involves multiprocessor techniques, unit testing, and security fingerprinting. Mathematics and Physics is a constant and involves all things FPU, CPU, and GPU. Artificial Intelligence is always popular, and in this volume demonstrates current work in cognitive science and machine intelligence, with a strong representation from academia. AI techniques shown here can be applied in “other systems in the engine” (p. xvii). The inaugural appearance of Scripting and Data-Driven Systems is a worthwhile addition to the Gems series. The most popular and emerging languages (with the main core C++: Python, Lua, GameMonkey, and AngelScript) provide a starting point for your engine with a flexible backbone. Graphics combines old and new technologies with numerous sharp techniques. Audio includes insightful ideas for advanced uses of the audio system. Finally, Network and Multiplayer is another emerging area as global players, Massively Multiplayer Online Prototype (MMOP), plug in to play. As the gaming content has increased so too has the multiplicity of players and now, across networks.
The Editor notes that gaming is not just for game developers anymore. Game-based Learning, Edutainment, commercial and military training simulations, academics, and other "serious games" have all made their mark (p. xv). The upshot of this new found attention is that the "noobs" (p. xvi, a slang insult for newbies) are starting to feed back their input into gaming. At this point, the implications of this feed back is not at all clear but what is obvious is that gaming will be transforming into new and potentially very excitingly complex areas.
The focus in this volume accounts for gaming complexity focusing as it does on providing cutting-edge development that is of interest to those outside the gaming industry. Another sign of gaming maturity is the rise of growth and complexity issues related to the size and intricacy of games. The section on Scripting and Data-Driven Systems, along with Network and Multiplayer, converge in the two emerging areas of interest to those outside gaming. Some of the most exciting topics are these two, especially when converged. A related area of convergence is how AI is of interest to those inside gaming and outside it as well. If well coded, AI can provide the behavior of characters that are seemingly more intelligent, more human-like, hence yielding a more involving game.
This volume, although replete with complex topics, is readable, current, and just about the best in its field. The enclosed CD has source code illustrating points in the articles. The Index is really handy as well, including as it does information on all six volumes in the series. The illustrations are well done and add desirable visual examples.
Monday, April 30, 2007
How long has terrorism been a genuine threat?
Former CIA Director George Tenet discloses in his newly released book how far al-Qaida was willing to go while targeting Americans. The group apparently wanted to outdo 9/11 in a spectacular attack.
The attacks never materialized because they were thwarted or aborted. The proposed attempts though included an attack on Vice President Al Gore with anti-tank missiles while he visited Saudi Arabia. Another proposal was to release cyanide in the New York subway system. And finally, an attempt was made to procure nuclear weapons of mass destruction from Pakistani scientists.
Saudi officials foiled Abdel Rahim al-Nashiri in the anti-tank attack. The Saudis though did not easily pass along this vital intelligence.
Most alarming is the attempt to develop nuclear capability. In the fall of 2001 this was to be detonated in New York. In fact, Tenet charges that a nuclear detonation in a U.S. city is al-Qaida's ultimate goal.
In the fall of 2003 a more spectacular attack than 9/11 was planned in the New York subway system. In June of 2006 the New York Subway Plot was broken by Time Magazine. Chronicled by journalist Ron Suskind's book, The One Percent Doctrine, which describes al-Qaeda's apparently successful development of a portable device that can be used to disperse cyanide gas. The gas kills upon inhalation. In fact, according to Suskind a cyanide gas attack on New York City's subway system was within 45 days of occurring when al-Qaeda's deputy commander, Ayman al-Zawahiri, called off the attack. 3,000 people would most likely have died in such an attack.
The attack was called off because it was not seen as spectacular enough. However, the calling off of an attack is no solace. For if 3,000 Americans killed by chemical weapons in the New York subway system were not enough for al-Qaeda, what sort of attack is? The answer, unfortunately, may well be the detonation of a nuclear weapon of some sort.
While we will all be arguing about Tenet's role in intelligence for some time I find it revealing that the reach of terrorism is more extensive and ambitious than many are willing to believe.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Can't Get No?
The IMS Global Learning Consortium (www.imsglobal.org) spots learning technology satisfaction and trends. The report (www.imsglobal.org/ltst/index.cfm) noted the responses from about 200 leaders of internet-supported learning initiatives in North American higher education.
In the CMS (content management systems) category, eCollege (www.ecollege.com), Angel Learning (www.angellearning.com) were rated higher for satisfaction than either market leader Blackboard (www.blackboard.com) or its WebCT property.
Also, the report noted the high marks for Google (www.google.com), Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org), and Apple's iPod (www.apple.com), "indicating that non-education-specific technologies are being perceived, by those who incorporate them, as adding value to the educational experience."
Sprawl
**YOUNG INVOLVED PHILADELPHIA READING GROUP**
Robert Bruegmann's ‘Sprawl: A Compact History’
Monday, April 30th, 6:15-8:00 pm
Brew Haha! (212 S. 12th Street - 12th and Locust)
What's so bad about the suburbs? Perhaps the urban hipsters who condemn them as socially- isolating, culturally-homogenous, environmental wastelands are just narrow-minded snobs? Perhaps they are jealous?
Robert Bruegmann argues in Sprawl: A Compact History that the suburbs are part of a healthy, growing metropolis, and represent the ideal living space for most people around the world. His arguments and his book have been the battle-flag of many pro-suburban planners.
A challenge to this controversial argument can be found in the Brookings Institution report, ‘Back to Prosperity,’ which argues that Pennsylvanians should invest in older and urban communities rather than pay the hidden costs of sprawl. It can be found online at www.brookings.edu/es/urban/pa/executivesummary.pdf.
Join other civic-minded young folks to discuss these two points of view, and to hash out the value and cost of the suburbs in the warm embrace of an urban, independent coffee shop.
**Joseph Fox Booksellers, 1724 Sansom Street, will be offering a 10% discount to YIP members on ‘Sprawl.’
Just in case you don’t have time to read the whole book, you should know that our discussion will focus on the introduction, and chapters 1, 10, and 13.
Please RSVP for this event by contacting YIPReading@gmail.com.
Robert Bruegmann's ‘Sprawl: A Compact History’
Monday, April 30th, 6:15-8:00 pm
Brew Haha! (212 S. 12th Street - 12th and Locust)
What's so bad about the suburbs? Perhaps the urban hipsters who condemn them as socially- isolating, culturally-homogenous, environmental wastelands are just narrow-minded snobs? Perhaps they are jealous?
Robert Bruegmann argues in Sprawl: A Compact History that the suburbs are part of a healthy, growing metropolis, and represent the ideal living space for most people around the world. His arguments and his book have been the battle-flag of many pro-suburban planners.
A challenge to this controversial argument can be found in the Brookings Institution report, ‘Back to Prosperity,’ which argues that Pennsylvanians should invest in older and urban communities rather than pay the hidden costs of sprawl. It can be found online at www.brookings.edu/es/urban/pa/executivesummary.pdf.
Join other civic-minded young folks to discuss these two points of view, and to hash out the value and cost of the suburbs in the warm embrace of an urban, independent coffee shop.
**Joseph Fox Booksellers, 1724 Sansom Street, will be offering a 10% discount to YIP members on ‘Sprawl.’
Just in case you don’t have time to read the whole book, you should know that our discussion will focus on the introduction, and chapters 1, 10, and 13.
Please RSVP for this event by contacting YIPReading@gmail.com.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Funding and Veto
Is President Bush ready? The Senate passed a war funding bill Thursday that sets a deadline for withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq by next April.
Bush seems to win out in this round given the fact that his opposition does not have enough votes to override his expected veto. The vote was 51-46. Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon joined Democrats in supporting the bill. Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman, who caucuses with the Democrats, voted with Republicans opposing it. Two supporters of Bush's Iraq policy: Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina did not vote. [Senator Tim Johnson, D-South Dakota, recovering from a brain hemorrhage, did not vote.]
The bill would be sent to the president's desk Monday or Tuesday.
The 218-208 House vote stops short of the 290 yeas needed to trump Bush. Two Republicans voted for the bill but 13 Democrats voted no.
The Pentagon is on record that it can fund the war through June. The real battle, over funds, will begin in earnest this summer.
As Congressional opposition increased, the U.S. ended involvement in Somalia in 1994. That resulted in no greater security than before.
Bush seems to win out in this round given the fact that his opposition does not have enough votes to override his expected veto. The vote was 51-46. Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon joined Democrats in supporting the bill. Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman, who caucuses with the Democrats, voted with Republicans opposing it. Two supporters of Bush's Iraq policy: Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina did not vote. [Senator Tim Johnson, D-South Dakota, recovering from a brain hemorrhage, did not vote.]
The bill would be sent to the president's desk Monday or Tuesday.
The 218-208 House vote stops short of the 290 yeas needed to trump Bush. Two Republicans voted for the bill but 13 Democrats voted no.
The Pentagon is on record that it can fund the war through June. The real battle, over funds, will begin in earnest this summer.
As Congressional opposition increased, the U.S. ended involvement in Somalia in 1994. That resulted in no greater security than before.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Will China or India, or "Chindia" eclipse the U.S. on IT?
Gartner analysts weigh the question of America's "unmatched" business environment vs. rapid growth in upstart countries. This seems to be the key question as the Symposium ITxpo 2007 got underway.
Over the past decade, China has become the leaders in high-tech manufacturing and India has performed the same in IT services. The question is, could either of these rapid growth countries, or a combined, "Chindia" overcome the U.S. in these high stake global game.?
The position that the U.S. is maintaining its lead in high-tech innovation belongs to Gartner's Jamie Popkin. He points out that America continues to attract the best students from overseas, most of whom decide to stay. One key is the entrepreneurial environment in the U.S., in his word, "unmatched." U.S. consumers and corporate buyers are the most demanding in the world.
The U.S. survived and then prospered following the tour other recent waves of globalization. Japan for example, took a leadership position in the automotive industry, not too mention the recent note that Toyota has outsold GM for the first three months of 2007. But in the 1970s consumer electronics industries also took off in Japan. South Korea and Taiwan, starting in the 1970s, shifted to leadership in chip manufacturing plants as it did for Korea and Taiwan in the 1980s. China grabbed a large-scale shift of low-cost manufacturing that started in the 1990s. Finally, in India there was a subsequent outsourcing of software development and IT services since 2000.
On the other hand, Sandy Shen, promoted the idea that China will be supreme in a decade. Impressively, China is experiencing a 11% economic growth rate last year while the U.S. only grew 3.4%. Moreover, China increased its R&D by 20% last year which is second only to the U.S.
Entreprenership is alive and well in China in that the number of patent applications filed in China in 2005 is more than the U.S. in the same year. 2 million students graduated with engineering degrees annually in China, although without detailing exactly what skills in involved weakens the case for Chinese strength. They are voting with the feet, to return to China, so they must prefer their native country to the U.S.
Although individual products may not be all that revealing. They are only as good as the last fad, more interestingly, Shen's note that China is developing national technology standards that the country's government is pushing to be adopted internationally is more intriguing.
Over the past decade, China has become the leaders in high-tech manufacturing and India has performed the same in IT services. The question is, could either of these rapid growth countries, or a combined, "Chindia" overcome the U.S. in these high stake global game.?
The position that the U.S. is maintaining its lead in high-tech innovation belongs to Gartner's Jamie Popkin. He points out that America continues to attract the best students from overseas, most of whom decide to stay. One key is the entrepreneurial environment in the U.S., in his word, "unmatched." U.S. consumers and corporate buyers are the most demanding in the world.
The U.S. survived and then prospered following the tour other recent waves of globalization. Japan for example, took a leadership position in the automotive industry, not too mention the recent note that Toyota has outsold GM for the first three months of 2007. But in the 1970s consumer electronics industries also took off in Japan. South Korea and Taiwan, starting in the 1970s, shifted to leadership in chip manufacturing plants as it did for Korea and Taiwan in the 1980s. China grabbed a large-scale shift of low-cost manufacturing that started in the 1990s. Finally, in India there was a subsequent outsourcing of software development and IT services since 2000.
On the other hand, Sandy Shen, promoted the idea that China will be supreme in a decade. Impressively, China is experiencing a 11% economic growth rate last year while the U.S. only grew 3.4%. Moreover, China increased its R&D by 20% last year which is second only to the U.S.
Entreprenership is alive and well in China in that the number of patent applications filed in China in 2005 is more than the U.S. in the same year. 2 million students graduated with engineering degrees annually in China, although without detailing exactly what skills in involved weakens the case for Chinese strength. They are voting with the feet, to return to China, so they must prefer their native country to the U.S.
Although individual products may not be all that revealing. They are only as good as the last fad, more interestingly, Shen's note that China is developing national technology standards that the country's government is pushing to be adopted internationally is more intriguing.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
In the light of a tragedy: electronic messaging systems are an essential tool of public safety
Messaging system companies offer effective electronic messaging systems that are essential tools of public safety on campus.
Mobile Campus Incorporated markets an advertiser-supported campus text-messaging system that is otherwise free to affiliated universities. This is a free service capable of immediately and simultaneously alerting students, university employees, and others via text messages on cell phones.
Netpresenter Incorporated is a XML-based screen-saver and pop-up notification service.
MIR3 provides emergency notification technology.
ClearTXT is a mobile messaging provider to keep students and faculty informed during emergencies.
Mobile Campus Incorporated markets an advertiser-supported campus text-messaging system that is otherwise free to affiliated universities. This is a free service capable of immediately and simultaneously alerting students, university employees, and others via text messages on cell phones.
Netpresenter Incorporated is a XML-based screen-saver and pop-up notification service.
MIR3 provides emergency notification technology.
ClearTXT is a mobile messaging provider to keep students and faculty informed during emergencies.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Graphical MyMaps supports point-and-click construction of interactive Google Maps.
Google delivers a maps mashup tool for non-Techies and I've adapted this development for an educational use. I teach a course entitled World History II, for example, and students can now create an interactive map geared to learning geographical sites of importance for the course. I can check their progress and the sites that they created in a public file available on Google.
Previously these mashup tools were only available to programmers through mashup capabilities that have been available for several years to developers via application programming interfaces (APIs).
However, this handy tool allows those less knowledgable about technology to still benefit from it.
The feature, called My Maps, is designed to let users who don't have formal programming knowledge to create, annotate, and publish online maps on the Google Maps platform. Developers have created over 35,000 Google Maps mashups, marrying the Google mapping platform with external data sources such as where users can find information on apartments for rent, bike routes, hotels, gas station fuel prices, parking garage fares, and so on.
Very helpfully, My Maps has a graphical, drag-and-drop interface that lets users create a map, add placemarks to it, as well as draw lines and shapes. Users can also add notes, photos, audio clips and videos to placemarks.
Users can label "public" the maps they create, but they can also keep maps private by tagging them "unlisted" so they are only available for viewing by people they choose to share them with.
In addition to My Maps, Google is also adding KML files to its Maps search engine. KML stands for Keyhole Markup Language and it's the language used to create data files for both Google Maps and its sister desktop application Google Earth. KML overlays have been created by casual users as well as by large organizations like Discovery Networks, the U.S. National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic.
What is the financial driver here? Kelsey Group expects advertisers to spend $11.1 billion in 2011 to market their goods and services in local search engines, compared with $4.1 billion last year, an average annual growth of 22.3 percent.
Previously these mashup tools were only available to programmers through mashup capabilities that have been available for several years to developers via application programming interfaces (APIs).
However, this handy tool allows those less knowledgable about technology to still benefit from it.
The feature, called My Maps, is designed to let users who don't have formal programming knowledge to create, annotate, and publish online maps on the Google Maps platform. Developers have created over 35,000 Google Maps mashups, marrying the Google mapping platform with external data sources such as where users can find information on apartments for rent, bike routes, hotels, gas station fuel prices, parking garage fares, and so on.
Very helpfully, My Maps has a graphical, drag-and-drop interface that lets users create a map, add placemarks to it, as well as draw lines and shapes. Users can also add notes, photos, audio clips and videos to placemarks.
Users can label "public" the maps they create, but they can also keep maps private by tagging them "unlisted" so they are only available for viewing by people they choose to share them with.
In addition to My Maps, Google is also adding KML files to its Maps search engine. KML stands for Keyhole Markup Language and it's the language used to create data files for both Google Maps and its sister desktop application Google Earth. KML overlays have been created by casual users as well as by large organizations like Discovery Networks, the U.S. National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic.
What is the financial driver here? Kelsey Group expects advertisers to spend $11.1 billion in 2011 to market their goods and services in local search engines, compared with $4.1 billion last year, an average annual growth of 22.3 percent.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
On Throwing Down Gauntlets, Iraq
Let's consider a new work:
Can Might Make Rights?: Building the Rule of Law after Military Interventions by Jane Stromseth, David Wippman, and Rosa Brooks, on Cambridge University Press.
This book is critical because is it not clear that the world's major power is limiting its capabilities in regards to peacemaking after conflict?
Why is American policy so apparently mired?
Americans seem dazzled by sound bites: ""Bush lied, people died," "Support the troops," "No Blood for Oil."
I don't buy it.
In 1983, Richard J. Barnet wrote an excellent book, "The Alliance: America-Europe-Japan Makers of the Postwar World, in which he hauntingly anticipates the criticisms of American Presidents and policies; yet, the world recovered from the most devastating war ever seen.
Moreover, Japan and Germany were the bitterest of enemies of the U.S., yet they are considered genuine successes. Was it our enlightened supervision that totally changed their governments to democracies reflecting the will of the people and making them good neighbors?
What happened then in Haiti? East Timor? Somalia? Bosnia? Rwanda? Afghanistan? Iraq?
The authors of this volume clearly identify some prerequisites to establish the rule of law in post-intervention societies: security, judicial reform, and a competent, uncorrupted police force. In Iraq, the insurgents dominate news coverage with their car bombs and kidnappings.
"Public order, at least outside of a police state, rests on a societal consensus about the legitimacy of state institutions and confidence in the capacity of such institutions to deliver basic services," according to the authors.
Pity the Iraqi people, who are brutalized in the middle between a foreign power and the elusive insurgents.
The message of this book is that an international force can go in knowing everything it must do, but that this doesn't guarantee success.
Consider one salient point: in many of these countries, the rule of law is "elusive to begin with, and striving for the rule of law requires a constant juggling act on the part of the interveners. It is little wonder that so many past efforts in this area have been so disappointing."
Should Americans conclude that the Iraqi situation was a preordained debacle? I don't think so. The first step in understanding post-war Iraq is to appreciate that even under the best of conditions, post-war settlements are precarious at best.
What I wish the authors would have stressed, and Barnett makes clear in his work, is the crucial aspect of native leaders who step up to the plate on behalf of their own countries.
The earlier post-war successess are just as attributable to they dynamism of Herrs Adenauer and Brandt, and the docility of Hirohito.
If there is a gauntlet to be thrown, it should be thrown down towards Iraqi leaders who to date have not produced anyone of their statesmanship.
Can Might Make Rights?: Building the Rule of Law after Military Interventions by Jane Stromseth, David Wippman, and Rosa Brooks, on Cambridge University Press.
This book is critical because is it not clear that the world's major power is limiting its capabilities in regards to peacemaking after conflict?
Why is American policy so apparently mired?
Americans seem dazzled by sound bites: ""Bush lied, people died," "Support the troops," "No Blood for Oil."
I don't buy it.
In 1983, Richard J. Barnet wrote an excellent book, "The Alliance: America-Europe-Japan Makers of the Postwar World, in which he hauntingly anticipates the criticisms of American Presidents and policies; yet, the world recovered from the most devastating war ever seen.
Moreover, Japan and Germany were the bitterest of enemies of the U.S., yet they are considered genuine successes. Was it our enlightened supervision that totally changed their governments to democracies reflecting the will of the people and making them good neighbors?
What happened then in Haiti? East Timor? Somalia? Bosnia? Rwanda? Afghanistan? Iraq?
The authors of this volume clearly identify some prerequisites to establish the rule of law in post-intervention societies: security, judicial reform, and a competent, uncorrupted police force. In Iraq, the insurgents dominate news coverage with their car bombs and kidnappings.
"Public order, at least outside of a police state, rests on a societal consensus about the legitimacy of state institutions and confidence in the capacity of such institutions to deliver basic services," according to the authors.
Pity the Iraqi people, who are brutalized in the middle between a foreign power and the elusive insurgents.
The message of this book is that an international force can go in knowing everything it must do, but that this doesn't guarantee success.
Consider one salient point: in many of these countries, the rule of law is "elusive to begin with, and striving for the rule of law requires a constant juggling act on the part of the interveners. It is little wonder that so many past efforts in this area have been so disappointing."
Should Americans conclude that the Iraqi situation was a preordained debacle? I don't think so. The first step in understanding post-war Iraq is to appreciate that even under the best of conditions, post-war settlements are precarious at best.
What I wish the authors would have stressed, and Barnett makes clear in his work, is the crucial aspect of native leaders who step up to the plate on behalf of their own countries.
The earlier post-war successess are just as attributable to they dynamism of Herrs Adenauer and Brandt, and the docility of Hirohito.
If there is a gauntlet to be thrown, it should be thrown down towards Iraqi leaders who to date have not produced anyone of their statesmanship.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Browser Wars
A 5 April 2007 report from Computerworld reports that Windows Vista "more than doubled its market share in March from the prior month, while the share of computers running Mac OS X fell for the first time in nine months, according to statistics released today by market research firm Net Applications."
This no doubt marks the end of Mac's highpoint of penetration for its much heralded new OS.
Vista has had limited success itself but it still improved its standing vis a vis Mac. Although in comparison with the earlier XP release Vista, eclipsed the 17 million licenses for XP it had sold in its first two months of general release. Vista has been around, at least for consumers, for only two months: to businesses for four months. Some analysts predict that most conversions from XP won't be the norm until 2009.
More importantly, research by Net Applications shows Internet Explorer's share continuing to lose ground to Firefox: IE enjoyed a 78.57% share in March, down from 79.09% in February. Firefox gained nearly a whole percentage point, going from 14.18% to 15.10%. Trailing behind all is Opera which ranked 4th with 0.80% while Netscape fell again, to 0.70%.
This no doubt marks the end of Mac's highpoint of penetration for its much heralded new OS.
Vista has had limited success itself but it still improved its standing vis a vis Mac. Although in comparison with the earlier XP release Vista, eclipsed the 17 million licenses for XP it had sold in its first two months of general release. Vista has been around, at least for consumers, for only two months: to businesses for four months. Some analysts predict that most conversions from XP won't be the norm until 2009.
More importantly, research by Net Applications shows Internet Explorer's share continuing to lose ground to Firefox: IE enjoyed a 78.57% share in March, down from 79.09% in February. Firefox gained nearly a whole percentage point, going from 14.18% to 15.10%. Trailing behind all is Opera which ranked 4th with 0.80% while Netscape fell again, to 0.70%.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Pelosian Diplomacy
Graphic source: Atlas Shrugged.Syrian President Bashar Assad met with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in Damascus although I note that Pelosi did nothing to negotiate the release of the British soldiers held for the past two weeks by Iran. I wonder if this is the new era of Middle Eastern diplomacy promised by Pelosi. To be an adroit force in Middle Eastern politics during the post-Bush era Pelosi will need to demonstrate a more effective application of her policies. For example, a Presidential hopeful, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, proved himself useful in hostage negotiations. In 1984, Jackson successfully secured the release of a Navy pilot held in Syria. Moreover, in 1991, he helped secure the release of 500 "international guests" held in Iraq and in 1999, he worked to convince Yugoslavia to release three U.S. soldiers held there during the Kosovo conflict. Finally, Jackson involved himself in hostage situations in Iraq.
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