CHINA

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

When China Rules the World


By Martin Jacques

Narrated by Scott Peterson

MARTIN JACQUES (AUTHOR, BRITISH JOURNALIST)

Martin Jacques has written an interesting book about China’s rise as a world economic power.  His overview of the geo-political and Realpolitik relationships of the east and west are interesting; particularly in light of the Trump administration.

“When China Rules the World” has interesting details that inform but do not convince one that China will rule the world.  The provocative title drives the bus but it does not reach its destination. 

World control is a myth that causes wars and destroys the best and brightest, as well as the mean and maniacal. 

What is happening in China is remarkable.  China’s transition from Maoist communism to capitalist communism is a caterpillar turning into a butterfly; i.e. China has grown wings but it still lives in a world constrained by its environment.

Though President Xi is re-instituting some Maoist mistakes, China’s world wide investment in infrastructure is based on capitalist beliefs. Xi has an internationalist focus, just like that which made America great; at least, until Trump’s Presidency.

Chairman Mao’s cultural revolution and belief in enlarging collectivist ideology nearly destroys China’s path to prosperity

Xi is attempting to open new markets by financing infrastructure improvements in African, Middle Eastern, and Asian countries. He is creating customers for Chinese product.

Undoubtedly, Xi is also trying to seduce other nations into belief in Xi’s form of Communism. This is not unlike America’s intent to democratize the world.

Jacques argues that a 90% Han Chinese cultural domination of 1/5th of the world’s population will change the nature of the 21st century.  In a limited sense, that is undoubtedly true.  However, regardless of the type of government rule, human nature is the same.

Money, power, and prestige, are the primary motivations of humankind. Whether one is Han Chinese, Tibetan, Uighur, Indian, Hispanic, Black, or any singular ethnic group, all humans seek control of money, power, and prestige. These innate drives are the speedometer, brakes, and steering wheels of nation-state’ leaders and followers. 

There are dominant factions in every culture that are not necessarily the majority of a culture’s population.  Jacques’ early comments suggest China’s 5000 year history reflects a cultural conformity greater than any other country in history while later he acknowledges that the predominant Han population is highly diverse in its beliefs.

Cultural conformity is not the relevant issue; i.e., dominant cultures, whether a majority or minority of an indigenous population, are the game changers of a nation’s history. 

Jacques argues that China’s cultural history of familial respect and veneration will have profound affects on the future of world economies.  Jacques has a valid point. However, the history of modernization suggests that the fabric of extended filial obligation will be ripped apart in China just as it has in every industrializing nation. 

China, just as all modernizing nation-states, will see deterioration of familial bonds.

Human nature is immutable.  As an agrarian culture moves to the city and parents are compelled to work for wages, family structure and filial commitment deteriorates.

Of course, capitalism is not the same in China as it is in the western hemisphere.  As Jacques reports, major capitalist businesses are state owned in China.  They compete in the world market but government support mitigates much of the free enterprise ideal of capitalist economies.  However, no nation-state operates as a free enterprise capitalist country; i.e. government has always played a role in capitalist nations.  Government subsidy of industrialization is a matter of degree.   

It may be that China will change the way industrialized countries compete but global economic domination is no longer possible in a tech savvy world that recognizes knowledge is power and natural resources are limited.

All the world knows how each culture in the world lives. With that knowledge, countries will gravitate to systems of government that serve its dominant culture best. Best is defined as what is most important to the dominant culture in the context of either money, power, or prestige.

Long term, China is facing a tougher road to modernize because of population, environmental degradation, and dwindling natural resources, but their short term prospects look better than most other nations. 


New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau put China in the lead with 1.34 billion residents, followed by India with 1.19 billion. The United States is a distant third with 311.1 million people.Jul 6, 2011

As Jacques points out, China’s savings rate is over 20%, with a GDP growth rate 3 times that of America.  The cost of dwindling natural resources is more affordable to China than most other modernizing countries.  However, all economies are closely tied to each other and a major failure in America or Europe will have great consequence for the world economy which will significantly affect China’s short term advantage. 

With a failure of a western countries economy, China’s drive toward modernization will be in danger. That danger is demonstrated today by America’s creation of a trade war with China.

Some argue this burgeoning trade war is hurting the Chinese economy more than the American economy. That may be true in the short term, but the efficacy of trade wars are questionable in the long term; particularly in our internet connected world.

Jacques’ book is worth its purchase price and a consumer’s time because he exposes some of the cultural biases of China that are not widely known.  His suggestion that discrimination is as prevalent in China as it is in the United States is reprehensible, and disgustingly familiar.  Globalization is real.  Human nature is immutable.  All mankind travels on the same space ship; i.e. our blue ball.  At the very least, China is proving that our environment is fragile and natural resources are finite.

PRISON REFORM

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough
(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing


By Ted Conover
Narrated by Ted Conover

TED CONOVER (AUTHOR, JOURNALIST)

On December 18, 2018, Congress approved a prison reform bill which is signed by President Trump. In this bill, Congress takes a first step in turning prisons into institutions of reform rather than isolation and punishment. The bill’s purported intention is to return prisoners to productive society by 1) improving prisoner treatment, 2) treating the drug addicted, 3) monitoring those put on probation to reduce recidivism, and 4) improving pretrial services for the arrested.

Clanging prison doors and simmering discontent are evident in Ted Conover’s book but it is not a polemic for prison reform.

Conover surreptitiously becomes a Corrections Officer at a storied New York prison called Sing Sing (30 miles north of NYC).  He enters a seven week boot camp and four week “On-Job-Training” program to become a C.O. for one year, including his 11 week training period.

Conover exposes many dysfunctions that are inherent in a system that isolates human beings from society. The American prison systems’ principle function is to punish the convicted with confinement. Criminals are then released into society based on time served.  What Conover’s experience shows is that Corrections Officers are as likely to be changed by their roles as gate keepers as prisoners are by their confinement.   

Both C.O. and prisoner roles increase human frustration.  Corrections Officers, by training and experience, become martinets that focus on control of human nature, their own and the prisoners.  COs are directed to control their emotions regardless of verbal abuse they hear from internees.  Prisoners are treated like herd animals to be corralled, fed, and released at a master’s discretion.  

A Correction Officer enforces rules, written and unwritten, and prisoners break rules. Both factions vie for respect.  It becomes a “zero-sum” game with marginalized losers and short lived winners.  The losers are prisoners and the winners are COs.   

Rules become symbols of authority and control rather than guidelines for human reform.  Conover gives the example of a rule that says a Correction Officer, under no circumstance, is to assist a prisoner with his duties.  When a prisoner is told to carry a bundle of laundry that is too big for him to carry, the CO is not to assist him because it violates a code of conduct that might compromise security.  Offering help may engender friendship which may lead to collusion, corruption, and/or escape.  Cognitive dissonance causes some COs to question their humanity.  Outside of prison, man is encouraged to help his fellow man; inside prison, it is a sign of forbidden vulnerability.

Prisoners are being taught to believe that helping one’s fellow man is not a societal benefit. Prisons do not reform prisoners; i.e. prisons warehouse human beings and return most of them to society after time served.

MEN

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Sports Writer
By Richard Ford
Narrated by Richard Poe

JOHN FORD (AMERICAN AUTHOR)

Selecting books from book lists like Random House’s Modern Library is not a full proof method for making good choices.  The decision to listen to Richard Ford's “The Sportswriter” came from one of those lists.  "The Sportswriter" deserves its place on the list because it offers societal insight.
The initial impression of "The Sportswriter" is that it is a story about wandering through life.  But as it progresses, the listener begins to realize that Richard Ford is writing about men and how some view life.
The main character is a guy's guy because he has the ability to charm women into thinking he is the man of their dreams.  He does not convince every woman of his commitment and interest but he manages to touch all the bases before he is called out.     
This is not a story that makes one proud to be a man but it offers insight to why the cliché "men are from Mars" has some truth. Ford's main character is a guy's guy named Frank Bascombe.  He is a traveling sports writer and a divorcée of his own making, a fool that fails to understand what is important in life.  After his marriage break up, he is cast adrift to find the next best thing which never turns into anything important.
Relationships for Bascombe become momentary escapes from real life, real life where good and bad things happen.  Real life for Bascombe is romance and break up without commitment.  What he does not understand is commitment helps humans work through the bad things in life to get to the next good.  Women seem to understand that better than men.  Women may wonder why men think seduction skill is the key to paradise.  Some would say it is 3000 years of genetic inheritance and experience.  Of course, that is a Martian's perception of reality.
The irony of a guy's guy skill to seduce is that it leads to a lonely and empty life. David Riesman characterized this phenomena as people becoming "other directed" rather than "inner directed"; i.e. looking to society to determine who you are; rather than looking within oneself. 
 
In Ford's story, “The Sportswriter”, Bascombe drifts through life from relationship to relationship to nowhere.  He never comes to grips with what is wrong with his life.  He drifts to Retirementville, Florida to think about the next best thing.  That is how the story ends.  It is a rather depressing exploration of how vacuous life can be. 
This is a book that gives a concrete explanation of what some men are looking for in life.
When listening to The Sportswriter, you may find someone you know; hopefully not you.

NEWSPAPERS

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Written by Sarah Ellison

Narrated by Judith Brackley

(SARAH ELLISON-AUTHOR, REPORTER FOR “THE WASHINGTON POST”)

The word “War” in Sarah Ellison’s book title exaggerates the reality of change at the “Wall Street Journal”. Exaggeration aside, Sarah Ellison succinctly reports big changes in the newspaper.   Ellison writes a very straight forward and interesting account of the takeover of the “Wall Street Journal” by Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation.

(RUPERT MURDOCH, MEDIA MOGUL)

Ellison’s presentation does not have the depth and breadth of Halberstam’s “The Powers That Be” but it does provide insight to changes that are happening in the newspaper industry.

Murdoch is characterized by some as a devil but Ellison’s picture is not horned or tailed.  The “Wall Street Journal”, like every mass circulation newspaper in the nation, is in the same life boat. 

The internet and their communication speed have ripped holes in the “Chicago Tribune”, “Philadelphia Enquirer”, and “Los Angeles Times” sailing buoyancy.   Even the “Washington Post” and “New York Times” have taken on water.

Murdoch is not painted as a white knight, but Ellison’s reporting suggests rescuer is a more apt description than devil. The same might be said of Jeff Bezos’ acquisition of the “Washington Post”. Also, though the “New York Times” has not changed hands, it has suffered through years of weakened financial viability.

JEFF BEZOS (CEO AND PRINCIPAL OWNER OF AMAZON)

Nationally read newspapers are threatened by the instantaneous reporting of the internet but every national paper is adapting to changing modes of delivery.

The “Wall Street Journal” and other daily papers are leaner today because they are following market demand for shorter stories, but the “…Journal” and other national market papers have not abandoned investigative journalism.  Newspaper reporters plumb the inner workings of world crises. They reveal government malfeasance, and investigate corporate corruption. They remind the public that “freedom of the press” is fundamental to democracy. The depth of newspaper coverage is deeper and more comprehensive than rumor driven internet accounts.

The internet has democratized the news; i.e., individuals seek their own depth.  Some suggest newspapers like “USA Today”, have taken a step too far by reducing print to twitter feeds about the news. Their reporter and news feed cutbacks have caused a loss in value (stock price decline) that has encouraged a hostile takeover by MNG (an offer recently rejected by “…Today” ownership). The complication for print media is monetizing web based reporting without decimating print coverage. Those newspapers that cannot meld one to the other seem destined to fail.

ARTHUR OCHS SULZBERGER JR. (PUBLISHER OF THE NEW YORK TIMES)

Murdoch and Sulzberger media conglomerates have specialization and editorial biases that serve their consumer cohorts.  Subscribers have the option of reading their papers on the internet when traveling away from home. Income from internet add sales supplement print advertising. Those publications that refine the utility of their websites are a boon to both newspaper publishers and consumers.

Those newspapers that focus on substantive truth, website improvement, and delimited editorial bias will serve themselves as well as the public.  Internet integration of print with internet reporting will sustain national newspapers’ future.  

Media longevity is a matter of change, i.e., newspapers did not disappear with the advent of radio and radio did not disappear with the advent of television; they adapted, they changed. Murdoch has taken a creditability dive with the Fox network news settlement, but the WSJ remains among the best source of business news in the world.

Newspaper readers who stand and wait will also be served.  Murdoch over paid for the “Wall Street Journal”; maybe for the wrong reasons, but with the right results.  Ellison implies the “…Journal” is serving its customers better now than before Murdoch’s takeover. The “New York Times” return to profitability suggests the same. The jury remains out on “USA Today”, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times”, “Washington Post”, “Philadelphia Enquirer” and other nationally recognized papers. Change is universal, survival is ephemeral.

FORGOTTEN TOO SOON

2008 was just yesterday but today’s attack on government regulation is destined to create America’s next crises.

Audio-book Review

By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)

Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Big Short                                                         &           No One Would Listen

By Michael Lewis                                                               By Harry Markopolos

Narrated by Jesse Boggs                            Narrated by Scott Brick & Others

There are lessons to be learned from Lewis’s and Markopolos’s books that are forgotten in the pending impeachment trial of President Trump.

Both Adam Smith (the father of economics) and Thomas Hobbes (author of “The Leviathan”) argued self-interest is a universal human characteristic.

Self-interest led Trump to enlist the Justice Department to overthrow the election of President Biden. If that is not insurrection, one wonders what justifies any impeachment action.

Smith argued that capitalism takes the essence of human nature’s self-interest to advance civilization.  He noted-the advance of capitalism is not a smooth upward curve but an improving trend.  Smith was not saying that bad things do not happen in a capitalist society but they bend toward the good of society.

Hobbes would take issue with both of Smith’s assertions. Self-interest would not advance civilization unless it was regulated. Hobbes insisted on government control through “rule of law” to mitigate non-virtuous self-interest.

Hobbes feared unbridled self-interest in any form of government. Hobbes viewed human nature as brutish and unfair unless ruled by a Socratic philosopher king or, in a democracy, by tightly regulated and enforced “rule of law”.

The forensic reports of Michael Lewis and Harry Markopolos show what happens when efforts to regulate human nature are abandoned.  One concludes from their books that Thomas Hobbes’ “Leviathan” wrecks havoc on society when “rule of law” is either not present, or unenforced.

Inept management by Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac offered mortgage insurance for grossly over-leveraged mortgages.  Companies like AIG removed investor risk by insuring banks against bad investments. 

All of these foolish actions coalesced to bankrupt companies and families around the world.  Individual lies, bungles, and missteps in the real estate industry created the worst recession since the 1929 stock market crash. 

While this real estate debacle was developing, Bernie Madoff built a 50 to 70 billion dollar empire by making fools of the U.S. Government, European royalty, world wide charities, and working families.  Madoff lied, cheated and stole billions of dollars from wealthy investors, charities, and mom and pop businesses with offers of bogus investment returns based on buying from Peter to pay Paul.  He paid dividends to earlier investors by taking money from newer investors.

As long as people believed in Madoff, or deluded themselves, his wheel of fortune continued to roll. As the real estate market collapsed, old investor money was recalled and new money became unavailable.  Madoff’s failure was inevitable.

Michael Lewis identifies seers that recognized “Quants” were packaging doomed mortgages into re-salable financial instruments called derivatives. These astute observers of the market, knew mortgage backed securities were at risk.

How could these things happen in a 21st century, democratically elected and governed society?   Hobbes would say “how could these things not happen”?


Madoff’s investment lies were exposed by Harry Markopolos in a “red flag” report to the Security Exchange Commission in the year 2000; way before the 2008 economic catastrophe.

The title of the book “No One Would Listen” tells the story.  This book is an indictment of democratic government in free society.  Markopolos’s story exposes an inept and failed SEC, an agency created by government to protect investors–when, in fact, it protected corporate interests. 

The irony is that Madoff did not get caught by the SEC. He confessed in 2009 because his Ponzi scheme fell apart. along with the collapse of the real estate industry.   

Lying is part of being a human being. That is a fundamental reason for government to have “rule of law”. It protects people from the abhorrent self-interest of the few from the many.

President Trump is impeached by the House of Representatives. It is the moral responsibility of the Senate to have a trial.

Hiding behind a loose interpretation of the rules of the Constitution is a disservice to the people. Guilt or innocence should be proven by the facts; not the parties of interest.

Regulation is not a perfect solution for control of bad actors in a free society.  However, no regulation is worse. 

NORTH KOREA

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Nothing to Envy

By Barbara Demick Narrated by Karen White

Everything to hide, everything to lose, and “Nothing to Envy” summarizes Barbara Demick’s book about North Korea.  That is the frightening prospect of North Korea’s policy regarding nuclear armament. 

North Korea is dark because of a lack of infrastructure for power

Kim Jong-un’s rule of North Korea is founded on fear.  Based on Demick’s characterization of the North Korean economy, Kim uses fear to control North Korean citizens.  Kim presumes the same will work for control of North Korea’s position in the world.  Trump deceives himself in believing he gets along better with meaner leaders.

President Trump understands the tool of fear but mistakenly believes Kim will change his behavior because of America’s superior wealth and power. 

Because fear is the only tool Kim possesses to stabilize North Korea’s government, North Korea will not abandon its quest for more nuclear weapons.

Demick pictures life in North Korea based on interviews and stories told by refugees and defectors.  There is an inherent bias in recollections of those who flee as opposed to those who stay.  These stories, though different in details, are too alike to be lies.  

Demick peels back the edge of a curtain that hides North Korea from the rest of the world. North Korean defector’s recollections are a re-telling of George Orwell’s fictional world of “1984”. North Korea is a reinvention of Joseph Stalin’s U.S.S.R.

Demick recounts the stories of Mrs. Song, Oak-hee, Mi-ran, and Jun-sang.  Demick paints a picture of a gray country, wracked by hunger and controlled by a dictator and his army.  Demick reveals a country that faces a grim future. 

Nuclear warheads in the hands of North Korea are a threat to Asia and the far east.

Demick gives fear and anxiety a face with Mrs. Song’s story of her life as a rabid believer, self-deceiver, and follower of the “Dear Leader”, Kim Jong-il (Kim Jong-un’s father). 

Mrs. Song and her children survive North Korea’s worst famine in history, but her husband dies.  Mrs. Song’s daughter Oak-hee tricks her mother into visiting China and then lures her to South Korea.  Oak-hee shows Mrs. Song that life in North Korea is a shadow of what life can be.

Demick’s second story is told by Jun-sang and Mi-ran, two other North Korean defectors.  Jun-sang and Mi-ran introduce romance into this gray world.  Their courtship in North Korea is sweetly pictured in clandestine walks on dark nights with sparkling bright stars in a lightless city.  Jun-sang is an engineering student at a prestigious North Korean school.  Mi-ran is the daughter of a naturalized North Korean farmer who lived in what became South Korea after the Korean War.

Jun-sang and Mi-ran talked of everything but what became the most important thing in their lives, the dishonesty of their government, the unfair treatment of its people, and their growing alienation.

 Both defected at different times because they were afraid to reveal to each other their true feelings about life in their home country.  Later, they meet in South Korea but as strangers that have grown into separate lives.

“Nothing to Envy” makes a listener believe North Korea’s government is destined to fail.  Time and incident will cause its collapse. 

President Trump only temporarily stopped displays of nuclear weaponization by North Korea. Obviously, Kim Jong-un is only acting in a play designed by Trump.  It appears Trump’s play, as much of his administration, is out of his control. 

Our President cannot say “you’re fired”.  Kim Jong-un needs fear to govern his country.  He believes fear is the only tool that will gain cooperation of the outside world.

HUMAN FRAGILITY

Though cultures around the world are different, honesty and respect level cultural differences, and reveal how human justice is universal.

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

A Passage to India
By E. M. Forster

Narrated by Sam Dastor

E. M. FORSTER (ENGLISH NOVELIST 1879-1970)

Considered by some to be one of the best novels ever written, “A Passage to India” exposes human fragility.  The story is beautifully narrated by Sam Dastor but the poetry of E. M. Forster’s writing shines best in its reading.

Published in 1924, “A Passage to India” is a primer on colonialism, ethnocentrism, and discrimination. 

Forster shows human nature is immutable and omnipresent, a force of good and evil.

Forster introduces Dr. Aziz, a Muslim Indian physician, Cyril Fielding, a British school master who teaches at a college for Indians, Mrs. Moore, the mother of a British magistrate governing India, and Adela Quested, a school teacher considering engagement to the British magistrate.  There are many more characters, but these four characters exemplify the best and worst of being human.  They carry the principle thread of life and what it means to be human.

History is replete with stories of nations, governments, leaders, and corporations that believe they know best for those they dominate.  Because self-interest (a lauded and reviled quality of human beings) pervades society, it distorts nations’, governments’, and corporations’ actions and decisions.

In the early the 20th century, the British govern India’s people by imposing their own vision of what is best for India.  The British leadership is convinced that their culture is superior to India’s; not unlike America’s belief that Anglo/American culture is superior to American Indian culture in centuries past and present.

When Adela Quested and Mrs. Moore ask to meet local Indians, a British city collector arranges a party for newcomers to India to meet locals.

The party is depicted as a crashing bore by British wives who gather on one side of the dance floor, demean Indian dress, habit, and intelligence.  On the other side of the floor, Indian wives wish they were somewhere else.  The British city collector mingles with Indian leaders as a duty of office. The city collector feels he offers high recognition; first, by inviting Indian guests and then by crossing the floor to say hello.

Ethnocentrism is clearly pictured in Forster’s book. The newcomers to India, Mrs. Moore and Ms. Quested, feel they are not seeing the real India at the party. They suggest a visit to an Indian household. 

Cyril Fielding, an admirer of Indian culture, suggests an outing be arranged for Mrs. Moore, Ms. Quested, and Dr. Aziz.  Fielding offers the idea of a visit to ancient caves outside of town. 

Arrangements are made for the next day.  In exploring the caves, Ms. Quested and Dr. Aziz are separated from Mrs. Moore.  Ms. Quested enters a cave by herself; she feints and thinks she has been assaulted.  Dr. Aziz is arrested. 

In the course of a trial for the alleged assault, discrimination is on display.  Ms. Quested is faced with great pressure from her British compatriots to verify details of the assault. She realizes she has made a false accusation and recants. Dr. Aziz is vindicated.

The ugliness of colonialism (cultural domination), ethnocentrism, and discrimination is exemplified in Forster’s beautifully crafted story.

Thankfully, the characters of Mr. Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Ms. Quested give a sliver of hope for mankind’s redemption, a hope for cultural respect and truth.  Though cultures around the world are different, honesty and respect level cultural differences, and reveal how human justice is universal.

TALKING HEADS

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It

By Mark Steyn

 Narrated by Brian Emerson

Mark Steyn (Canadian conservative author and commentator. Occasional guest host on the Rush Limbaugh Show and Tucker Carlson Tonight.)

Listening to Brian Emerson’s narration of Steyn’s book makes one smile and cringe.  In one section Steyn intelligently reflects on the demographics of world population, and in the next, he whips out a Limbaugh/Carlson-like’ riff on the name “Muhammad”.

Steyn uses “guilt by association” as proof of something when it is nothing. Someone named Muhammad can be an American patriot or a domestic terrorist; not because of a name but because of belief and volition.

  • HUMA ABEDIN DISPARAGED BY MICHELE BACHMANN
    HUMA ABEDIN DISPARAGED BY MICHELE BACHMANN

To suggest ex-Senator Wiener’s wife, Huma Abedin, is a member or agent of the Muslim Brotherhood is ridiculous.

Abedin grew up in Saudi Arabia and worked for an academic journal called “The Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs”. (Ms. Abedin was born in Kalamazoo, Mich.) To state the obvious–meeting with someone or writing about minority affairs does not mean you changed religions or beliefs .

Steyn, like President Trump, incriminates the entire Muslim world by inferring there is a fascist conspiracy to take over the world.

On the one hand, Steyn reasonably notes the average age of many Muslim countries is 15 and youth is often a source of discontent and aberrant cultural behavior; on the other, he infers Muslims hold a monolithic belief system that is bent on converting or destroying the world “…as We Know It”. 

Steyn flits from reason to nonsense at the turn of a page. 

Those who have the privilege of living in America, or visiting other countries, recognize many of the ridiculous comments made by pundits. Conspiracies, and monolithic beliefs in other countries are more myth than truth.

As inferred by Ben Zimmer in his 11/7/20 article in the WSJ, “punditocracy” is a joke played on the public by the media. “Punditocracy” predicts little and enlightens few, if any. “Punditocracy” is a game to predict unknowable results that fit personal prejudices.

In a recent visit my wife and I made to India, a young Muslim woman explains her disgust with Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 terrorist event.  This young Muslim is appalled and embarrassed by the belief that bin Laden is considered a representative of her or her family’s religion. 

In traveling to Egypt, a Muslim farmer is appalled by terrorists who use the cloak of religion to justify their murderous actions. 

The many mosques visited in other countries reinforce history’s record of acceptance and tolerance of other faiths by Muslim leaders.

One appreciates an argument that is made by Steyn that socialist government policy has the potential for demotivating entrepreneurs and subsidizing economic freeloaders.

But, Steyn fails to criticize or comment on unregulated capitalism that increases the gap between rich and poor and presumes that “free enterprise” equates equal opportunity. 

The world economy is in a state of transition like that which was experienced in the industrial revolution.  Jobs are being lost because they are being replaced by technological advances. 

Truly free enterprise does not exist in the world.

Today’s technocratic revolution is as tragic to an automobile assembler or coal miner in 21st century as it was to a loom operator in the 19th. 

The United States, like other nations in the world, adopt unfair tax codes that subsidize big oil, big banks, and dying industries.

Who does the major bread winner in a family turn to when they lose their job because of changes beyond their control?

It is the job of private and public organizations to educate and train workers displaced by technological change.  This re-education creates jobs while ameliorating unemployment.

Limbaugh rails against Trump by suggesting he is waffling on a political commitment to build a wall between Mexico and the United States.  Trump responds with an equal level of irrationality by closing vital functions of the government to force Congress to fund the wall.

Trump’s wall between Mexico and the U.S. is a joke. It does nothing to serve the truth of what immigrants have contributed to America.

Steyn is obviously well read and informed but one feels like he plays the publicity game of talking heads. Some (not all) Fox newscasters, CNN contributors, and other pundits are darlings of an ideological group that get paid for what their constituency wants to hear.  It has little to do with truth.

Steyn, like many talking heads (liberal and conservative), wastes his intelligence; pandering to an ideological constituency, rather than serving the general public by searching for the truth.

Demography and economic conditions change. They are a part of the human condition that can be managed by recognizing human nature’s fundamentals, and conscientiously creating nations that are governed by rule-of-law. There is a truth but it lies in freedom and social responsibility. 

A MORE PERFECT UNION

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

A People’s History of the United States

Written by: Howard Zinn

Narrated by:  Jeff Zinn

Howard Zinn (American Historian, Author) November 19, 2009. Photo By: Rob Kim/Everett Collection

The pitfall of history is subjectivity.  Howard Zinn offers a coda for history’s myopia.  Harry Truman is alleged to have said “There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know”.  Zinn shows how little Americans know about America’s failure to create a “…more perfect union” (a name given to a speech delivered by Senator Barack Obama on March 18, 2008).

No American institution is untarnished by Zinn’s rumination.  Zinn challenges every aspect of American culture.  The malpractice of American businesses, politicians, and society are exposed by Zinn.  Neither Republicans, Democrats, or other party affiliates, escape responsibility for America’s abhorrent actions. 

Unadorned historical facts show Indians indiscriminately isolated and murdered, Blacks treated as property and hung, immigrants vilified for being different, wars being waged on the innocent, women being treated unequally, and greed being praised as virtue–all in the face of professed American freedom and equality.

Zinn implies all Presidents; including Lincoln, Roosevelt, Truman, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, the Bushes, and Obama buy into an economic principle that the business of America is business.  (He certainly could have included President Trump.) 

With few exceptions, Zinn argues every President tacitly or overtly supports corporate America.  The only Presidential exception Zinn notes is Eisenhower’s expressed concern about the military/industrial complex and its penchant for distorting American values.

Zinn recounts Andrew Jackson’s isolation and murder of Indians, Lincoln’s willingness to preserve the union at the cost of slavery, Andrew Johnson’s southern sympathies, Roosevelt’s incarceration of American Japanese, Harry Truman’s decision to nuke Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Carter’s support for Iran’s military dictatorship, Reagan’s expansion of the military/industrial complex, Clinton’s cuts in taxes and welfare, the Bushes’ wars, and Obama’s rescue of the banking industry. 

  • Andrew Jackson
  • Abraham Lincoln
  • Andrew Johnson
  • Franklin Roosevelt
  • Harry Truman
  • Jimmie Carter
  • Ronald Reagan
  • H.W. Bush
  • Bill Clinton
  • George Bush
  • Barrack Obama

Zinn argues—both Republican and Democratic presidents endorse corporate control of America at the expense of citizen values written into the Constitution. 

From discrimination against minorities to unequal pay for women, America has failed to follow the ideals of the Constitution of the United States.

Zinn implies there is never a justification for war; presumably even in the case of WWII. 

Some Americans would agree that Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan wars were and are a waste of human lives. 

This is a hard argument to dispute when seen in the context of a burgeoning gap between rich and poor, and man’s inhumanity to man.  One might argue as some historians do, sovereignty of a country is an inalienable right, even when it is ignored or used as an excuse for war.

Zinn argues there is no moral or ethical justification for political repression, murder, slavery, sexual or racial discrimination.  (That begs the question of a war’s justification in light of Nazi Germany’s intent to exterminate all Jews.)

But, Zinn argues the right of sovereign nations to choose their own government.  Genocide is a potential consequence of such a hard rule when a minority only has a right to resist and/or revolt. That is in the news today in regard to Myanmar and the Rohingya.

Suu Kyi Defends Myanmar from the accusation of genocide.

What nation (based on its own cultural belief) has the right to invade another country that chooses to victimize its own citizens.

Zinn is not suggesting countries should become isolationists. He argues that to the extent that humanitarian relief may be offered by an outside country, it should be offered.  Relief would not include transfer of weapons of war, but aid in goods and services meant to sustain life.  Outside military intervention in a sovereign country seems destined only to lead to more loss of innocent life.

Taking Zinn’s observations to heart suggests there is no justification for war or violence against our fellow man.  However, human nature is what it is.  Humans choose what they choose; often out of the instinctual desire for money, power, and prestige, rather than any common good.  Individual cultures are based on memes of the country in which they were born. 

Invasion of a sovereign country is a slippery slope that only leads to more death and destruction.  However, Zinn’s review of history seems to deny all reasons for war. There seem two modern exceptions to Zinn’s argument.

Nazi Concentration Camp WWII

WWII and the way H. W. Bush handled the invasion of Kuwait.  These two exceptions are clearly related to one country’s violation of another’s sovereignty. In both cases, America’s Presidents enlisted cooperation from other countries, before taking any military action.

It is a dangerous world, but the danger is in human beings and their quest for personal gain; i.e. their greed for money, power, and prestige.  America needs to look at itself and its reliance on corporate excess.  The gap between rich and poor must be addressed in all nations; not the least of which, the United States.  Zinn reminds America of how flawed we are in “A People’s History of the United States”.

EGYPT IN 2019

Travel Review By Chet Yarbrough (Blog:awalkingdelight) Website: chetyarbrough.blog Egypt in 2019 Written by: Chet Yarbrough CLOSEUP OF THE SPHINX AT GIZA, NEAR CAIRO The pyramids, ancient artifacts, lush farming communities, and Nile river reveal Egypt’s past and present.  Egypt’s current capitol, Cairo, is the seventh most densely populated city in the world.  No coal is … Continue reading “EGYPT IN 2019”

Travel Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Egypt in 2019

Written by: Chet Yarbrough

Egypt is a crossroad between Africa and Asia which makes it a prime target for colonization and control by invaders.

CLOSEUP OF THE SPHINX AT GIZA, NEAR CAIRO

The pyramids, ancient artifacts, lush farming communities, and Nile river reveal Egypt’s past and present.  Egypt’s current capitol, Cairo, is the seventh most densely populated city in the world.  No coal is burned to pollute the air. The Nile puts China’s Yangtze river to shame in showing less river trash and pollution.

FISHING ON THE NILE

Egyptian farms are irrigated with river water distributed by concrete and mud channels from the Nile.

Lusciously feted Nile river farmers are encouraged to use organic fertilizer, but one wonders how many chemicals are returned to the Nile unseen.

Egyptian infrastructure is burdened by lack of investment.  The infrastructure for Egyptian farming is primitive by modern standards with ditch irrigation systems, antiquated farm equipment, and intense use of manual labor.

Infrastructure investment in China suggests prosperity while Egypt is foundering.  Many Egyptian city and village roads are unpaved.  Housing is dilapidated and poorly maintained for most of Egypt’s population.


In Egypt, food is plentiful, security paramount, and camel rides a tourist delight.  The trick in riding a camel is getting on and getting off.

As a tourist in Egypt, ancient sites surpass China’s remarkable historical monuments (viewed in a previous blog).  The Egyptian army seems everywhere in part because of a state-enforced draft but also because of the military’s role in governing a nation fractured by Islamic extremism.  Religion’s influence in Egypt is obscured from tourist’s eyes because of the warm reception from residents but the military’s ubiquitous presence implies a different story.

The sheer size of the many Pyramids, tombs, and temples surpass the Great Wall and equal China’s remarkable Terracotta soldiers.

Muhammad Ali Pasha (1769-1849)

What comes as a surprise from our guide (who is an Egyptologist) is how many times Egypt has been ruled by outsiders.  Modern Egypt is founded by Muhammad Ali in 1805.  Muhammad Ali Pasha is Albanian; not Egyptian.  His dynasty is supported by the Ottoman Empire.  It lasts until 1952 when a coup led by Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser takes control of Egypt.

Prior Muhammad Ali, exclusive Egyptian leadership is in the distant past.  (The ten most famous Pharaohs ruled from 2686 BC to 1213 BC.)  Of course, there were many more Egyptian dynasties (31 to be precise) but only ten marked history with Egypt’s indelible imprint.  Cleopatra (principally famous for her role in the Greco/Roman incursion) is the last Pharaoh to have power.  Her reign lasts 21 years; to end in 51 BC.

Egypt is a crossroad between Africa and Asia which makes it a prime target for colonization and control by invaders.  The Romans, Turks, French, and English take turns at controlling Egypt. Fortresses abound along the Mediterranean and Nile built by conquerors and the conquered.  

  • Rashid, Egypt
  • Today, Rashid shows a level of prosperity that is belied by its dirt streets.

The Rosetta Stone is found in one such fort held by the French and overcome by the English. It is found in the ancient town of Rashid which was a primary port in Egypt’s earlier history.  Today, Rashid shows a level of prosperity that is belied by its dirt streets.  There are mud brick manufacturing plants, burgeoning boat building businesses, and fish farming pens in Rashid–the town where the Nile enters the Mediterranean.  Only a replica of the Rosetta Stone remains at the fort.  The actual stone is in the British Museum in London.

BOAT BUILDING INDUSTRY IN RASHID

Penned fish farms on the Nile in Rashid

The once imagined great city of Alexandria seems a shadow of tourist’ dreams.  It is burdened by lack of investment and a tax structure that works against finishing buildings.  Billions of potential worth are hidden by poorly maintained buildings along the Mediterranean water front.

Still, there are great sites to see in Alexandria.  There is the modern library meant to resurrect the great library of Alexandria that was destroyed twice in Egypt’s history.  It is a spectacular monument to Egypt’s potential.  Its modern design rivals the best libraries of the world. 


Bids for modernization can be seen in some areas.  There is a burgeoning Silicon Valley, with nearby gas power plants to energize new industries.

This modernization contrasts with early Christian and Muslim places of worship, the Valley of the Kings (a giant cemetery for royalty), and the restored Winter Palace in Luxor that is now a Sofitel hotel.  There is the Temple de Karnak, Grande Cour with its ram’s head entry leading to an inner sanctum temple.

Many royal residences have been returned to their original beauty and become state owned and maintained public museums.

One is reminded of the monumental gap between the rich and poor in visiting island farms that are owned by singular families.  They employ hundreds, and feed thousands, while prospering from the rich Nile soil.  Farming is primitive by modern standards, but the production from these farms is a sight to behold.

Island farms along the Nile show why the Greco-Roman era coveted the agricultural fecundity of Egypt.

The intricacies of Egyptian hieroglyphics are explained by our guide.  The volume of information is overwhelming.

The rituals of mummification and fealty are displayed in faded colors of high and low relief pictographs on ancient walls and columns.  The source and provenance of limestone quarries where great blocks of rock are harvested and hauled to temple sites are a side trip on a luxurious Nile barge cruise.  There are many forms of domestic travel, but none surpasses four days of a cruise on the Aida.

  • Pictograph writing reveals ancient Egyptian belief in gods and goddesses; their stories of ascension, decline, death.

One of many values in a well-designed trip to a foreign country is the opportunity to meet with residents.  Our trip is organized by Overseas Adventure Travel which specializes in having their tour groups offered lectures by residents of the countries that are visited. 

The opportunity to hear from Christians, Muslims, Nubians, and local farmers broaden a tourist’s understanding of Egypt.

Every country of the world is complex and no brief trip will explain that complexity but these personal notes and pictures are meant to offer a peek into a mystery to all who do not, or cannot travel.