Average customer rating:
- Hilarious
- Witty, hilarious, fun read with a great denouement!
- So funny because it's all true
- The Perfect Parents Handbook
- The Perfect Parents Handbook
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The Perfect Parents Handbook
Jennifer Conlin
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Parenting
| Parenting & Families
| Subjects
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General
| Parenting & Families
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The Dangerous Book for Boys
ASIN: 0312329911
Release Date: 2004-09-23 |
Book Description
With a classification system that has every parenting style down to a 't', The Perfect Parents Handbook is unputdownable reading for anyone who's ever forked over major three figures for the "must have" stroller or agonized over what their children's school says about them as parents. The real facts and details in this book gently skewer modern mothers and fathers and will at the same time delight them with dead-on accuracy in describing the habits and accouterments of nine types, including:-The Neo-Trads: Dad makes the cupcakes and kids' artwork is everywhere (not just on the fridge); the family's taste always exceeds its wallet-The Martyr Parents: They've sacrificed so much for the kids that the kids have taken over the asylum-The Power Parents: The IV sessions that led to triplets were coordinated on mom and dad's Blackberries and the real British nanny swabs the babies' Burberry button-downs on the way to their five bedroom Park Avenue apartment-The Classic Parents: Everybody's in LL Bean and their 2.3 children all climb into a little red wagon to get to the SUVLaced with titillating facts about our child-centric culture (unique baby announcements! nursery decorators! mandatory volunteering at preschool!), The Perfect Parents Handbook decodes the complex and terrifying (smothering doulas! educational vacations to the rainforest!) world of raising kids.,
Customer Reviews:
Hilarious.......2006-05-14
Conlin is absolutley hilarious. Witty and funny, the book never fails to make me smile, an excellent gift for teacher and new and old parents, or anyone who wants a laugh.
Witty, hilarious, fun read with a great denouement!.......2005-03-17
What with the state of the world and contemporary concerns, this book is a refreshing wake up call about our priorities. The author pokes fun at our myopia and paranoia about child rearing and makes us laugh, not only at others, but also ourselves. That's its power; it's fun and refreshing with a twist of revelation.
So funny because it's all true.......2004-12-10
This book is a pleasure to read. The humor is laugh-out-loud funny. You will recognize the parents at preschool pick-up, your child's soccer coach, the book fair organizer, and even (gasp) yourself. It feels so good to laugh off the stress of parenting in these high-pressure times. Well done!!!
The Perfect Parents Handbook.......2004-10-23
I loved the Perfect Parents Handbook. It was hysterically funny; so funny, in fact, that every one I know is getting one for Christmas. Jennifer Conlin has a very good take on the whole parenting scene and there is nothing else like this book on the market. One of my favorite parts of the book is when she describes the way different parents approach a trip to Disney World. The photos and graphics throughout are also very funny. Every parent should read this book.
The Perfect Parents Handbook.......2004-10-01
I have to say as a school principal in Greenwich Village NY that I had more than a few chuckles while reading this wonderfully funny book about parenting. Parenting is a serious business, but we will only do it well if we can laugh at ourselves and this book will make you laugh.
Customer Reviews:
O.K., so my review didn't make it the first time........1999-02-06
If there is a mother-in-law in your life, or if you're a mother-in-law, get this book. Believe me, you're not going to get any better advice anywhere. Save the money you would spend on the couch -- either drinking beer, or with a therapist -- Camille Russo has the unique convergence of both experience and expertise. You can't find someone more knowledgeable about this subject if you hired a private investigator.
a million dollars worth of common sence.......1999-02-06
If common sence was money, Camille Russo would be the Bank of New York. This book is not only for mother-in-laws, but for anyone who lives in their solar system. If you have, are about to have, or once had -- and especially if you are a mother-in-law -- buy and read this book, and watch your relationships change for the better.
The obvious.......1998-11-06
I didn't find that this book had much to say. It just states what everyone already knows. "How to be the perfect mother in law", it is just like how to be the perfect anything, everyone knows how because it is just the "ideal", something that everyone wants. The author, being a relationship therapist took advantage of her position and made money off of it. She took what people were saying they wanted changed in their relationship and made a book out of it. On a better note, it was entertaining. Like listening to a comedian, something everyone knows but when you hear it you laugh--- only because it is true. If you are looking for a little entertainment read the book, if you want serious help on getting along with in-laws, find a different book.
PACKED WITH PEARLS OF WISDOM. It WILL make a difference!.......1998-08-22
The plain, straight forward guidance and wisdom the authors packed into this book made me take a hard look at our family's relationship. I thought I was perfect. WRONG! I wasn't even close! I may never be perfect, but I am a lot better! I intend to reap the rewards of letting my married children "grow" without "overwatering". I have already seen some really good changes and I'm starting to re-read some chapters!
Read the book. Take some advice. Enjoy the humor. I did. Revel in a better relationship. I am!
Practical, easy-to-read advice.......1998-08-05
This book is nothing earth-shattering, but it does offer some helpful tips, especially for someone who has never been in a Mother-in-Law situation before. It is a quick, interesting read. As I said, there is nothing radical and new here, but sometimes it helps to have the obvious pointed out. I gave a copy to my mom.
Product Description
Youth Fencing learning and instructional handbook for kids, parents and coaches. Many drills and exercises to help young kids get ready to fence. Lots of pictures to help illustrate how to master the necessary skills to be successful fencing.
Book Description
During its clandestine construction in Liverpool, it was known as “Number 290.” When it was finally unleashed as the CSS Alabama, the Confederate gunship triggered the last great military campaign of the Civil War; a maritime adventure unparalleled in our history; an infamous example of British political treachery; and the largest retribution settlement ever negotiated by an international tribunal: $15,500,000 in gold paid by Britain to the United States. This riveting true story of the Anglo-Confederate alliance that led to the creation of a Southern navy illuminates the dramatic and crucial global impact of the American Civil War.
Like most things in the War between the States, it started over cotton: Lincoln’s naval blockade prevented the South from exporting their prize commodity to England. In response, the Confederacy came up with a unique plan to divert the North’s vessels and open the waterways–a plan that would mean covertly building a navy in Britain, a daring strategy that involved an unforgettable cast of colorful characters.
James Bulloch–Northerner by circumstance, Southerner by birth, he risked his life to enter England and build a fleet under the very noses of Northern spies; Lord John Russell–the British foreign secretary who was suspected of subverting his own legal system to allow the secret ships; Charles Francis Adams–son and grandson of presidents, who exhausted every avenue to stop the Confederate-British collusion; Raphael Semmes–the fanatically loyal Southern captain who disabled or destroyed sixty Northern ships before meeting his match near Cherbourg, France; and The Alabama–a wooden gunship that took to the sea named for a Southern state to wreak havoc on the Northern cause.
With The Rebel Raiders, naval historian James Tertius deKay brings to dazzling life an amazing, little known piece of history that is at once an important work of Civil War scholarship and a suspenseful tale of military strategy, international espionage, and a legal crisis whose outcome still affects the world.
Customer Reviews:
One ship, sixty-four captures.......2007-04-09
This is truly the story of the CSS Alabama (nee 290) that was commissioned to be built in Liverpool in 1862 for the exact purpose of being a raider and to search for and destroy members of the Northern Merchant Marine. Along with it's sister ship CSS Florida (nee Oreto), it was built and mostly crewed by Englishmen. Under the Queen's Foreign Services Act, when Britain was neutral it was illegal to build men-of-war for either side.
But there was a weakness in the law such that you could build 'ships' as long as they weren't armed; but you could sell them weapons separately. This is exactly what was done to launch the two raiders, who were then outfitted in the Azores. The rest of the story centers on the efforts of the Alabama and it's crew, and the US Ambassador to the Court of St.James to get the English government to admit they broke their own laws.
DeKay does a fine job in describing the Alabama's effect on the US merchant marine and the popularity of the ship and it's crew in the minds of the world public. In the end, the Alabama causes over $5 million in damages (about $100 million in today's money), and makes the buying of insurance to be prohibitive to drive a large part of the fleet to be sold or kept in port.
He also gives plausible reasons for why the anti-slavery British would be pro-Confederacy. The splitting of the american nation would insure that England would remain the premiere merchant marine for years to come and insure the continued supply of cheap (slave grown) cotton for it's textile mills in central England. There was talk of eventually weaning the South away from Slavery (which was abolished in the Empire in 1818) but it was just lip service.
Amazing History.......2006-12-14
The confederacy's navy during the civil war is a very impressive display of piracy on the high sees. While most of the attention always focuses on the iron ships it is often forgotten that there were several others out there raiding the north's commerce. This book puts quantifiable numbers and daring high sees escapades onto the same page. It is a very fast read and one that gives a new perspective on the civil war. The South's daring strikes and the north's eventual efforts to hunt down and put a stop to these raiders are cataloged here and make for interesting reading. There is also a very interesting subset that looks at European policies towards the United States during this time period and a perspective that is not often gathered can be seen here. This is a must have for true civil war buffs.
Astonishment upon Astonishment.......2003-03-15
Astonishing revelations fill this book. Perhaps you thought that the American civil war was fought in America and was decided at Gettysburg. The story is not so simple. The English ruling class favored the South so strongly that they flaunted their own laws and found ways for the Confederacy to build and outfit raiders in England. These few raiders destroyed the American whaling fleet and ran insurance rates so high that the American mercantile fleet was driven from the seas (and suffers to this day). The cotton textile industry in England was in disaster. Workers were naked and hungry. The ruling class was on the verge of recognizing the South and forcing an armistice on the two parties. Then the North launched the most effective barrage of the war. Charity in the form of food and clothing came from the North to the unemployed textile workers in England. The English under class, against their own short-term interest made its voice heard, and England remained neutral.
Chap 1. Montgomery: Mallory, the Confederacy's Secretary of the Navy selects James Bulloch to build a raider navy in England. Mallory has never met nor heard of Bulloch, but on the recommendation of a mutual friend (Judah Benjamin, the Attorney General) and a brief interview decides Bulloch is the man. It was an excellent choice. Astonishing.
Chap 2. Liverpool: Bulloch arrives in Liverpool unexpected and with no credentials. He presents himself to a man he has never met, Charles Prioleau, the managing director of the Confederacy's unofficial English bank, who agrees to fund the venture. Astonishing. Prioleau introduces Bulloch to an English lawyer who sets about gutting English law to allow the building of warships, on the grounds that warships without guns aren't warships. Astonishing. Do these guys know a secret handshake?
Chap 3. Number 290: Bulloch contracts the building of warship 290. Obviously a warship, but without weapons, the customs inspector ignores it.
Chap 4. Nemesis: American Quaker, Thomas Dudley comes to England to oppose Bulloch.
Chap 5. The Enrica: 290 is named Enrica. Dudley and Bulloch vie.
Chap 6. The Passmore Affidavit: William Passmore, English able seaman attests that he was recruited to join the 290, with clear understanding that it was a warship for the South. This is clearly against English law.
Chap 7. Escape: The English drag their feet and Bulloch barely gets Enrica out of England.
Chap 8. Terceira: Enrica receives her guns and supplies in a neutral port. Semmes takes command. The ship becomes CSS Alabama.
Chap 9. First Blood: American whalers around Azores are destroyed by Alabama.
Chap 10. The Grand Banks: more destruction.
Chap 11. Off the Georges Bank: and more destruction.
Chap 12. The Pirate Semmes: battle in the press.
Chap 13.'An Instance of Sublime Christian Heroism' : England is close to meddling in US affairs. Not so astonishing if you are the biggest baddest nation on the planet. America sends charity to England. The English working class wins one for Lincoln. Astonishing.
Chap 14. USS Hatteras: Semmes lures Union gunboat USS Hatteras out into the Gulf of Mexico, sinks it, and rescues survivors.
Chap 15. Straws in the Wind: CSS Florida joins the war.
Chap 16. Brazil: more ships seized. CSS Georgia joins the battle. Semmes turns a captured ship into his auxiliary vessel.
Chap 17. The Laird Rams: At Laird's, Bulloch is building two seagoing ironclad rams that could pulverize the Union Navy's wooden ships, shell Union harbors, and turn the tide of the war. Congress debates whether to authorize a raider war on British mercantile shipping. The British begin to wonder about the beast they unleashed. They need not worry for about half a century. The US cabinet considers sending a squadron of ships to destroy the rams at dock. US envoy Adams informs Lord Russell that there will be war if the rams put to sea. Russell detains the rams. Astonishing.
Chap 18. Simon's Bay: CSS Alabama is getting worn out and the crew is getting surely. The Sea Bride is captured and sold. Semmes infuriates the crew by using the proceeds for operating funds instead of paying it out as prize money.
Chap 19. Singapore: Semmes finds that the American mercantile fleet won't come out of harbor.
Chap 20. To Cherbourg: Semmes takes Alabama to Cherbourg in France, looking for a dry dock and intending to pay off the crew and request replacement.
Chap 21. Battle: No dry dock facilities are available and the USS Kearsarge shows up. Semmes figures if he waits that more Union ships will show up, so that his best chance is to fight now. The CSS Alabama badly needs repair, is leaking, has moist powder, defective fuses, and broken machinery, but Semmes chooses to fight. Alabama is lost.
Chap 22. The Shenandoah: Bulloch purchases Bombay trader Sea King to be christened CSS Shenandoah, which destroys the American Pacific whaling fleet.
Chap 23. The Claims: the war is over and Britain finds that the side it did not support now has the largest, most-modern, most experienced Navy and Army in the world. The USN has double turreted sea going monitors that could destroy any British vessel without being scratched. The upstart is angry and dangerous and wants reparations. Congress passed a watered down neutrality act, based on the British act, that would allow Irish Republicans to outfit of merchant raiders in America and operate against Britain. Astonishing. Britain's government will not settle, but wealthy interests in England begin to consider that maybe they had more to loose by not settling.
Chap 24. Sumner's Speech: Senator Sumner gives a rousing speech in the senate attributing half the cost of the war to British perfidy. The speech is a sensation.
Chap 25. Geneva: Bismarck's German Confederacy emerges. Britain sees two dangerous upstarts that might unite against her. It looks like a really good idea to settle the Alabama claims.
Chap 26. l'Envoi: The precedent set by the Alabama tribunal eventually becomes international law. Astonishing.
Author of the Monitor does it again.......2002-07-24
James Tertius (is that Ter-tee-us, or Ter-shus?) de Kay is one of the most fun writers of military history alive. He's only hurt by the fact that he writes things on obscure and unusual topics, or treats them from an unusual angle. One of his books (Chronicles of the Frigate Macedonian) is essentially a biography of a ship, and another (Monitor) is that combined with a portrait of the man who designed her. One book mainly recounts a battle (The Battle of Stonington) in which no one was killed. The Rebel Raiders recounts the Confederacy's efforts to build commerce raiders in Britain, and the American authorities' attempts, largely unsuccessful, to stop them.
The first portion of the narrative is devoted to the construction of the ships in Britain, and James Bulloch's efforts in this regard. The second portion recounts Raphael Semmes' cruise in command of the Alabama, culminating in the famous battle off Cherbourg. A third part, shorter than the other two, recounts the efforts of the American government after the war to recoup the losses suffered by the American merchant marine because of the Alabama's cruise. Many ships that weren't sunk were sold to the British, who wouldn't, of course, pay full price or sell them back after the war.
De Kay is especially good at personalities, and this story abounds with them. Bulloch and Semmes are portrayed as interesting characters, and Charles Francis Adams, the American minister in London (a 19th Century ambassador) is active throughout the story. It's fascinating.
I do have a few criticisms. There's no index, and the one map given is inadequate. There was an attempt to recount all of the vessels purchased in Britain during the war, but the Stonewall, which made it out of port, and wound up in Cuba only to find out the war was over, isn't mentioned. Perhaps he's left that out for another book.
Given all of that, this is a wonderful book, and I recommend it strongly.
Amazon.com
According to Robert Baer, the center of the global economy is a "kingdom built on thievery, one that nurtures terrorism, destroys any possibility of a middle class based on property rights, and promotes slavery and prostitution." This kingdom also sits on one quarter of the world's oil reserves, thus ensuring that it receives the full support and protection of the U.S. government. Sleeping With the Devil details the hypocritical and corrupt relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia and the potentially calamitous economic consequences of maintaining this Faustian bargain. As Baer makes clear, the U.S. has been aware of problems within the bitterly divided Al Sa'ud family for years, but has ignored the facts in order to keep lucrative business deals afloat. (The amount of money the royal family spends to influence powerful American politicians and lobbyists is staggering.) Particularly damning are his details regarding Saudi Arabia's support of militant Islamic groups, including al Qaeda. The ruling family funnels millions of dollars to such groups in order to dissuade them from overthrowing the monarchy--a protection scheme that is shaky at best, given the hatred most citizens feel for the ruling family. To prevent economic disaster that could come from either a local uprising or an interruption in the flow of oil due to terrorism, Baer raises the possibility of the U.S. seizing the Saudi oil fields and forcing a regime change on its own terms: "An invasion and a revolution might be the only things that can save the industrial West from a prolonged, wrenching depression," he warns.
Baer spent 21 years with the CIA, much of it in the Middle East, so he is an informed guide to this complex subject. His alarming book deserves to be read for raising many important and troubling questions. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
“Saudi Arabia is more and more an irrational state—a place that spawns global terrorism even as it succumbs to an ancient and deeply seated isolationism, a kingdom led by a royal family that can’t get out of the way of its own greed. Is this the fulcrum we want the global economy to balance on?”
In his explosive New York Times bestseller,
See No Evil, former CIA operative Robert Baer exposed how Washington politics drastically compromised the CIA’s efforts to fight global terrorism. Now in his powerful new book, Sleeping with the Devil, Baer turns his attention to Saudi Arabia, revealing how our government’s cynical relationship with our Middle Eastern ally and America’s dependence on Saudi oil make us increasingly vulnerable to economic disaster and put us at risk for further acts of terrorism.
For decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a “harmony of interests.” America counted on the Saudis for cheap oil, political stability in the Middle East, and lucrative business relationships for the United States, while providing a voracious market for the kingdom’s vast oil reserves. With money and oil flowing freely between Washington and Riyadh, the United States has felt secure in its relationship with the Saudis and the ruling Al Sa’ud family. But the rot at the core of our “friendship” with the Saudis was dramatically revealed when it became apparent that fifteen of the nineteen September 11 hijackers proved to be Saudi citizens.
In
Sleeping with the Devil, Baer documents with chilling clarity how our addiction to cheap oil and Saudi petrodollars caused us to turn a blind eye to the Al Sa’ud’s culture of bribery, its abysmal human rights record, and its financial support of fundamentalist Islamic groups that have been directly linked to international acts of terror, including those against the United States. Drawing on his experience as a field operative who was on the ground in the Middle East for much of his twenty years with the agency, as well as the large network of sources he has cultivated in the region and in the U.S. intelligence community, Baer vividly portrays our decades-old relationship with the increasingly dysfunctional and corrupt Al Sa’ud family, the fierce anti-Western sentiment that is sweeping the kingdom, and the desperate link between the two. In hopes of saving its own neck, the royal family has been shoveling money as fast as it can to mosque schools that preach hatred of America and to militant fundamentalist groups—an end game just waiting to play out.
Baer not only reveals the outrageous excesses of a Saudi royal family completely out of touch with the people of its kingdom, he also takes readers on a highly personal search for the deeper roots of modern terrorism, a journey that returns time again and again to Saudi Arabia: to the Wahhabis, the powerful Islamic sect that rules the Saudi street; to the Taliban and al Qaeda, both of which Saudi Arabia helped to underwrite; and to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most active and effective terrorist groups in existence, which the Al Sa’ud have sheltered and funded. The money and arms that we send to Saudi Arabia are, in effect, being used to cut our own throat, Baer writes, but America might have only itself to blame. So long as we continue to encourage the highly volatile Saudi state to bank our oil under its sand—and so long as we continue to grab at the Al Sa’ud’s money—we are laying the groundwork for a potential global economic catastrophe.
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
Saudi Arabia is more and more an irrational state -- a place that spawns global terrorism even as it succumbs to an ancient and deeply seated isolationism, a kingdom led by a royal family that can't get out of the way of its own greed. Is this the fulcrum we want the global economy to balance on?"
In his explosive New York Times bestseller, See No Evil, former CIA operative Robert Baer exposed how Washington politics drastically compromised the CIA's efforts to fight global terrorism. Now in his powerful new book, Sleeping with the Devil, Baer turns his attention to Saudi Arabia, revealing how our government's cynical relationship with our Middle Eastern ally and America's dependence on Saudi oil make us increasingly vulnerable to economic disaster and put us at risk for further acts of terrorism.
For decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a "harmony of interests." America counted on the Saudis for cheap oil, political stability in the Middle East, and lucrative business relationships for the United States, while providing a voracious market for the kingdom's vast oil reserves. With money and oil flowing freely between Washington and Riyadh, the United States has felt secure in its relationship with the Saudis and the ruling Al Sa'ud family. But the rot at the core of our "friendship" with the Saudis was dramatically revealed when it became apparent that fifteen of the nineteen September 11 hijackers proved to be Saudi citizens.
In Sleeping with the Devil, Baer documents with chilling clarity how our addiction to cheap oil and Saudi petrodollars caused us to turn a blind eye to the Al Sa'ud's culture of bribery, its abysmal human rights record, and its financial support of fundamentalist Islamic groups that have been directly linked to international acts of terror, including those against the United States. Drawing on his experience as a field operative who was on the ground in the Middle East for much of his twenty years with the agency, as well as the large network of sources he has cultivated in the region and in the U.S. intelligence community, Baer vividly portrays our decades-old relationship with the increasingly dysfunctional and corrupt Al Sa'ud family, the fierce anti-Western sentiment that is sweeping the kingdom, and the desperate link between the two. In hopes of saving its own neck, the royal family has been shoveling money as fast as it can to mosque schools that preach hatred of America and to militant fundamentalist groups -- an end game just waiting to play out.
Baer not only reveals the outrageous excesses of a Saudi royal family completely out of touch with the people of its kingdom, he also takes readers on a highly personal search for the deeper roots of modern terrorism, a journey that returns time again and again to Saudi Arabia: to the Wahhabis, the powerful Islamic sect that rules the Saudi street; to the Taliban and al Qaeda, both of which Saudi Arabia helped to underwrite; and to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most active and effective terrorist groups in existence, which the Al Sa'ud have sheltered and funded. The money and arms that we send to Saudi Arabia are, in effect, being used to cut our own throat, Baer writes, but America might have only itself to blame. So long as we continue to encourage the highly volatile Saudi state to bank our oil under its sand -- and so long as we continue to grab at the Al Sa'ud's money -- we are laying the groundwork for a potential global economic catastrophe.
Customer Reviews:
EXCELLENT FAST REVIEW of US/Saudi Politics (In Ketab ra kheli khubeh...Jedan Migham!).......2007-09-07
Easy 1-2 day read...a book you CAN'T put down! Excellent writing style with occasional humorous comments by Baer. An entertaining book, as well as informative!
The only negative aspect in reading many reviews here, is the failures of many to recognize that this publication is ONLY ONE example of internal causes and weaknesses of the US Government and corporate powers that I feel have led to potentially serious current and future economic concerns and failures in US policy, especially in regards to further class splitting and the more recent revelation of a diminishing middle class in the US! (The "Fall of Rome" kept resonating throughout this book!) Readers MUST remember that this is an example of a limited perspective of limited causes towards the deterioration of our nation's infrastructure...there are MANY OTHER contributing factors than just the examples Baer presents in his book in regards to "related terrorism", especially as Baer points out with regard to State Department Policy, as well as Department of Justice failures to address governmental weaknesses and lacking policy and logistics!
Baer does an EXCEPTIONAL job in pointing out the potential weaknesses that DO currently exist, especially in regards to policy cohesion (or lack thereof) between agencies, professionals, and related concerns. Personally, I feel that many attorneys and law makers are just as terroristic as "Islamic Extremists"! It seems that our "security" has become quite the political issue of the day, only to be revealed by some of Baer's direct and accurate statements!
It is awesome to see this representation of how "HUMAN GREED", not just "WESTERN GREED" exists in ALL parts of the world, as presented by Baer who addresses deeper causes of "radical religious extremism"! "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" resonates with examples of such worldly advice, not strictly against "western" ideology! A few Islamic extremists might remember that they just might be destroying innocent citizens in the west who COULD stand up against what "greed" has done to ALL HUMANS, not just their cause!!! I don't know too many Christian radicals who can justly rationalize the bombing of abortion clinics and killing of doctors as a fair representation of "right to life"!! I think that MANY Islamic extremists are also paddling upstream in a cement boat in much of that same ignorance that ANY extremist religions represent!
Unfortunately, "terrorism" has become just another "political catchphrase" and marketing strategy to distract the average citizen from deeper truths they really would want to avoid, very similar to the 'Zebras' running around in Kenya, Russia, Iran, Arabia and the Sudan, et alii...and just as freely in DC! The saddest aspect that Baer reveals is how GOOD CITIZENS are thwarted from truthful statements and records from the Zebras who are running circles around American Constitutional rights and the corruptions of "rule of law" in our courts, government and conglomerates with their own greedy agendas, absent of considerations for cause and effect, and especially towards those of us who voted for them in the first place, hoping for better integrity universally, instead of limited political and financial interests!
There is a lesson to be learned about "American Complacency"...it might just eventually put us in the same boat as the extremists who are attacking from both sides of the spectrum!
I have known many good foreigners and many bad ones...but I have known bad fellow Americans as well, especially ones with power and money to destroy our lives! I am glad to have seen Baer address that aspect of UNIVERSAL HUMAN NATURE in his book, as a recognition that "it's NOT the RACE, RELIGION or CULTURE, but it's the PERSONAL INTEGRITY within EACH OF US that REALLY matters!
The old adage, "give them enough rope, and they'll hang themselves", has really meant that the power struggle is in who is holding that extra rope! For Saudis, it's their misuses of power and wealth by a greedy Monarchy who seems to care nothing about "efficiently running a country for its own best interests" vs. personal greed. For Americans, it's those in government and corporate sectors who really are NOT looking out for AMERICA'S best interests, but simply their own greedy agendas! Decent "religious" people of ALL religions recognize this basic truth we share together! It's just too bad that so many "religious leaders" have implemented and instilled violence with a fanatical agenda to address their OWN agendas, and not truly the REAL Will of God! The same principal holds true in secular societies with relation to "good" social and personal behaviors vs. "bad" behaviors. Baer is brilliant in bringing this to light on such a large scale!
I hope some of those in power learn to do the right thing, like throw the REAL criminals in prison who are responsible for being traitors to our good country, as well as holding accountable those that Baer brings to light in his work! I think this book should be required reading in business ethics classes, as well as PoliSci classes! The 'political' implications of a national struggle for control of "National Security" vs. privacy becomes quite evident in Baer's book! Take a deeper look!
You will NOT regret buying this book, unless you can't handle the truth!
We have met the enemy and it is us .......2007-07-19
If one wants to understand at least part of the reason why things have not gone so well since 9/11 one would do well to read this book. Baer tells a woeful tale of corruption and cover-up in describing U.S.- Saudi relations. The Saudis according to Baer have put a lot of Americans on their payroll , and not only private individuals but those who serve in the CIA and State Department. Saudi bribery of Americans is paralleled by Saudi bribery done at home. The House of Saud and it's thirty- thousand princes have sold the educational system of the kingdom to the religious fanatics, who also happen to be major-exporters of Islamic terrorism. The fact that the Saudis are supposedly America's close ally while at the same time funding Terror is also underlined by the large Saudi presence among the suicide- bombers in Iraq.
Where all this is going to go is not clear, though Baer seems to feel the corrupt, oppressive rule of the House of Saud will in the not distant future come tumbling down.
Required Reading For All Voters.......2007-06-24
Sleeping with the Devil is written from Baer's own perspective as an intell and ex-intell officer. After having read portions of some academic books on this subject, this is one of the easiest and most compelling reads you're going to get on it, exactly because it approaches it from a personal standpoint of emotional reactions upon acquiring each bit of information. He is clearly not happy about the conclusions this information forces him to, but trudges on for the sake of truth and possible solutions.
What's the gist of this book? The U.S. political system, our intelligence & counterintelligence apparatus, the energy economy, the defense industry, and policy towards the Middle East are sinfully broken. Our officials have increased their standard of living and that of their friends by consorting with oil Arabs. Those Arabs have made huge defense contracts they cannot afford that fill U.S. elites' pockets. They also pump as much oil as possible to drive prices down to keep these U.S. officials elected.
The same Arabs are surrounded by radicals who want to overthrow them, so they fund them but force the terrorists overseas to funnel their hatred towards the West. All this time, the said wealthy Arabs are taking bribes and skimming off the top in order to live a life of debauchery, thus inciting even more fundamentalists inside their own country to hate them, causing an even greater need to appease them with more funds and push them out of the country towards us.
The United States has manipulated its way into getting our troops into the region in order to ensure this status quo. A concerted and bipartisan effort has been made to use the FBI and other agencies to help dissuade investigation of our Arab allies and help quiet descent. Americans are dying, the common Arab is poor and oppressed, but U.S. and Arab elites are staying influential and getting rich off it.
There is much, much more to it, but you need to read it for yourself. I will tell you the conclusions are not pretty. The United States is facing a crisis. We have political powers who are keeping information classified for the purpose of, at the worst, covering up corruption, or at the very least, severe impropriety in both southwestern Arabia and back home. The solutions suggested by Baer were self-reform by the politicians and corporate big-wigs, and, brace yourself, an outright invasion of a 400 mile stretch of oil real estate that includes Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
While the self-reform was always unlikely, the invasion was not. However, it is a downright impossibility now. If we did, Muslims everywhere would turn against us, not just ideologically, but in a material sense. A third invasion of an Arab country, especially the one with the two most holy of Islam's sites, would not go well in light of the disaster in Iraq. It doesn't matter how sparsely populated that 400 mile stretch is. Furthermore, the American elites would have to be complicit in something they have a vested interest in preventing. Without the Sheikhs and Saudi royalty in the loop, the current scheme would dissolve. It'd be great for the average American and Arab, but if the politicians didn't have an incentive to stop this before, they don't have one now. They'll just keep milking this until the bitter end.
But the bitter end is coming whether we like it or not. The House of Saud will fall. Oil prices will rocket. The American economy will tank. We do not have the oil the public seems to think we have. We are not a Russia. China is a non-issue. They are a dependent and have almost no internal energy production infrastructure. Whoever needs cheep, cut-throat goods, they'll do business with. Russia, on the other hand, has enormous reserves and has the potential to regain its status in such a scenario.
So we can't invade that 400 mile strip. The politicians won't reform. There will be no required alliance with the Shiites, as shown with all the rhetoric towards Iran. And the inevitable is on the way. What do we have left? I would posit that the only solution left is to bring 'em home...all of them. It's unfortunate. I hate having to say this. However, it's clear the USA needs to protect our boarders, ports, and airports and hunker down. All the money we save from halting further major military exploits should be pumped into pure electric cars, fission nuclear power plants, and fusion nuclear power research. Domestically-produced oil products should be used only for heavy machinery, aircraft, and smaller machines like lawn mowers.
I do not think this is a similar situation to Japan at the end of WWII. They kept their emperor, police, and enough of their infrastructure to meet the basic necessities of life and prevent civil unrest. The Japanese government was part of the transfer. Iraq is almost complete anarchy. At this point, we are a distraction. The Sunnis and Shia should be fighting against Al Queda, not against us. They'll fight against each other regardless of what we do because we are not willing to commit the war crimes necessary to bring them under control...thank God. Someone else will fill that role. He'll likely be another Sunni, because a Shiite leader would have no reason not to just exterminate the minority.
Stopping terrorism should be a law enforcement and intelligence mission, with the military playing only a support role. The purpose of the U.S. military is to defend us, not invade countries and idiotically attempt to force democracy on people. Remember, it's "of the people, by the people", not "of a foreign nation, and by a foreign nation". This new fixation on counterinsurgency is a sickness that will ruin the military culture and rot its strategic defense capabilities from the inside out. Baer's correct that forcing democracy in the region will only cause more problems, but military action there of any kind is now outdated.
I fear that none of what we say matters, though. Those in power will keep exploiting this situation until the end. And when the crash occurs, they'll be the ones least affected. The rich Arabs will have their resorts and prostitutes, the Americans will have their seats on various corporate boards and lucrative speaking engagements. It doesn't even matter whether they're an exile from their kingdom, scapegoat, or red herring whistleblower. They'll all be taken care of.
Then again, maybe that's the best solution after all. If you just keep letting enough Americans die, the terrorists will avoid overthrowing their own governments and the rest of us will continue getting our cheap oil. Since the politicians are most likely to do exactly that, I am crossing my fingers that these deaths happen only in overseas war zones and not back here...and no one I know or love. I suppose the Bush mantra of "If we don't fight them over there we'll be fighting them at home" becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Isn't it nice to know that doing your part comes down to nothing more than crossing your fingers?
A great overview of shared corruption.......2007-06-13
Robert Baer has a very easy style and good anecdotes, which is helpful when entering the briar-patch of financial back-scratching relationships between US corporate leaders and politicians (all of them), with Saudi royals and businessmen, and the trickle-down of money and protection to terrorists.
Other (newer) books examine some of the specific relationships more extensively, and where Baer suggests possible unhealthy connections, he's usually understating the reality. What his book paints far more vividly than any of the others is the pervasiveness and severity of the ethical rot at the very core of both our government, and the Saudi government.
In 'See No Evil' he lambasted the Clinton White House for selling our security and our foreign policy for oil largesse -- in this book he has realized that the Bush WH is at least as bad, if not worse, and indeed all the administrations since Nixon have been up to their eyeballs in totally bipartisan oil-for-US policy trades. AIPAC can only dream.
He does have one oddly naive aspect, it seems to me -- he talks as if we introduced corruption to the Saudis. Perhaps he hangs on to the romantic fantasy of the Bedouin, but bribery, plundering, extortion and graft were part of the Arab tribal warlord culture for a thousand years before we showed up, and still is. Look at Arafat, Asad, Hariri, Mubarak, the Shah, Saddam -- we didn't teach the Arabs anything about corruption except more sophisticated banking and money-laundering techniques -- which, btw, they are now much better at than we are. If we hadn't been there, the French, Germans, Russians, or Brits would have gleefully wallowed in the same obscene level of corruption.
He makes an important point in his two non-fiction books that al Qaeda is essentially a PR front, something that gives name/face recognition to a truly vast, loose network of 'franchises.' They are all derived from and guided by the subtle, incredibly dangerous Muslim Brotherhood, which is funded by the Gulf States. AQ and Hamas are the above-ground mushrooms; MB is the vast subterranean web. The Sunni MB at times has worked very closely with Shia Iran, which directly runs Hizbullah, a group I think Baer underestimates somewhat as to global terrorist influence and impact.
Compelling non-fiction.......2007-05-21
Mr. Baer gives a very readable account of the ties that form an almost incestuous U.S. - Saudi relationship, in which America has for years pretended to neither see nor hear - and hence speak - no evil about the dark side of the Saudi kingdom's rulers.
Mr. Baer's book came out at the time of the second war with Iraq when many must have been wondering how the events of September 11th, 2001 justified the invasion. Fifteen of the 18 hijackers that attacked U.S. targets that day were Saudis. The other three were Egyptian.
For a fictionalized story that posits a very different U.S. - Saudi relationship, take a look at SAUDI MATCH POINT, a story that has America taking off the kid gloves in its treatment of the Saudis. In fact, the U.S. goes overboard, and in a twist, uses an impending hostage-taking as a convenient excuse to invade and seize control of Saudi Arabia's vast oil facilities and reserves. The novel is available online from Blacksmith Books.
Product Description
3 Books: 1) Sleeping With the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude / 2) Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror / The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of National Commission Terrorist Attacks (Authorized Edition), in either Hard or Softcover, (See Seller Condition Comments), Shipped in one package to
save on shipping costs.
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