No comments about Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism (Textbook).

5 comments about America's "War on Terrorism".

1. Michel Chossudovsky's ultimate goal is to serve World peace by revealing extensive war crimes behind the `War on Terror'. His picture of the world and the US is far from rosy. For him, the `War on Terror' is in fact a `War of Conquest'.
   This is a very convincing but disturbing book pointing to the criminalization of upper echelons of the US State with the complicity of the media, which upholds the Bush administration's war agenda, camouflages war crimes, floods the world with blatantly distorted facts and disseminates fear amongst the population.
   For the author, the US is on the brink of becoming an authoritarian state. Key decisions are taken behind closed doors at the intelligence headquarters and the Pentagon, with the US Congress as a façade and a president as a public relations figurehead. The military/intelligence establishment acts as a parallel government.
   The `War on Terror' is used for the repeal of civil liberties and Constitutional government. New legitimacy emerged that undermines the judicial system (`Rule of Law') and that lays the foundation of a totalitarian state: emergency procedures can be used to usher Martial Law, leading to the suspension of Constitutional government.
   In the US national budget, state resources are redirected towards financing the military-industrial complex and domestic security, while social programs have been slashed.
   
   Internationally, the `War on Terror' is a pretext to conquer new economic frontiers, establish corporate controls (e.g. Iraq's oil), to encircle Russia (permanent military bases in the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan and in former USSR republics) or to prevent pipeline ventures with China and Iran.
   The US continues to support Islamic fundamentalism (India, China, Chechnya) in order to weaken `enemies', or to disarm social movements against the US (e.g. with the Taliban they try to create a new Saudi Arabia in Afghanistan where the leader of the Northern Alliance backed by Russia, was killed).
   Al Qaeda was heavily supported by the CIA and NATO in order to destabilize the Yugoslav federation.
   
   With `private wealth is in fewer and fewer hands', the author sees an upcoming world dominated by big corporations (finance, energy, pharma) and the military/intelligence establishment with the media as their mouthpiece.
   
   The author concludes with very disturbing facts about the London bombings which provided a new legitimacy to those who had ordered the illegal invasion of Iraq and which weakened significantly the antiwar and civil rights movements.
   
   Michel Chossudovsky has written a dark and frightening book.
   It is a must read for all those interested in the future of mankind.
   
   I also recommend the works of W.G. Tarpley, W. Engdahl and N.M. Ahmed.



2. Many of the facts mentioned in the book I knew already, but it was for the first time when my conclusions and assumptions were supported by facts, names and figures.



3. Chossudovski has gathered a tremendous body of literature to make his case against America's mythological war on terrorism.
   Creating a myth is essential to manufacture consent and unity. Fear is more essential to manipulate the herd and take away their natural rights. Chossudovsky elucidates America's war on terrorism with overwhelming evidence that would leave the reader angry and flabbergasted.
   This book is a must read for every citizen who is concerned about his country's affairs, and for every critical thinker who cares about the truth.



4. Michel Chossudovsky has been one of my favorite writers on issues like globalization and the bogus "war o'terror" for some time now. He elegantly documents his meticulous research simply and without sensationalized embellishment. Unlike many other writers, Chossudovsky isn't attempting to entertain you or sell books; rather, he is delineating critical information in a lucid and precise fashion that will make sense for even the most casual reader.
   
   While I personally didn't necessarily glean a great deal of strikingly new information of which I wasn't at least partially previously aware, this book certainly helped me to put the puzzle pieces together and frame a better glimpse of the larger picture, outside of the perception management. It was nice to see this volume tie up loose ends and illustrate a time line of sorts. This is an especially great book for a new student of this topic.



5. Chossudovsky is an economics professor and a staunch critic of the New World Order agenda and the ongoing lies and war profiteering connected to that agenda. This book is a well-documented analysis of how the imperial racketeers operate, with an extensive deconstruction of the official mythology of the 9/11 attacks. Chossudovsky makes a solid case that elements with the US Government and the associated military-industrial complex were involved in orchestrating the attacks, using their CIA-created Arab assets as patsies for the official story used to justify the planned wars and freedom repressing legislations such as the PATRIOT Act. Chossudovsky traces the workings of U.S. intelligence operations and policies for many years, showing how the idea that 9/11 was a "make it happen on purpose" affair is most logical and best supported by the evidence. He looks at the long term agenda being pursued and how it will affect us if it continues unchecked. This isn't a difficult book to read and comprehend but it may be difficult for those who have held faith in the government and media establishment to digest. Chossudovsky has studied this subject well and his materials have been available at www.globalresearch.ca for several years. Anyone wishing to learn about the topics of 9/11, American imperialism, and the role of wars in the move toward globalization, is encouraged to read this book.

5 comments about Gandhi and Beyond: Nonviolence for an Age of Terrorism.

1. I had two misgivings about this book before I began to read it. Both of my misgivings turned out to be unfounded. The first one was that since I have read my fair share of nonviolence books I feared that it would all be repetition. Cortright starts the book with Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, but not with the ordinary biographical stories of their lives. Rather he uses them as vehicles to explain the secret of nonviolence together with today's scholars and his own opinions. It works very well and even though Gandhi and King are familiar to me I learned a lot, especially in a later chapter were he writes about Gandhi's and King's views on gender and sexuality. The second misgiving was the subtitle which made me hesitate if I would buy it or not: "Nonviolence for an Age of Terrorism". I was afraid that this was another American too hung up on terrorism; like terrorism was the biggest problem humans face today. As a Swede, living in a country who has not been struck by terrorism or taken part in the "war on terrorism" it might be more difficult for me to understand why terrorism is seen as the biggest problem in the world, when tens of thousands of people are dying every day of poverty. Actually the book doesn't talk very much about terrorism, but poses an important challenge to nonviolent activists. If we want to stop the "war on terror" we ought to be able to provide a better solution to the problem of terrorism than the military does.
   
   I have been racking my brain on how we can be more effective in our nonviolent campaigns. This book gave me a lot of food for thought on the subject. But unlike strategists like Gene Sharp, Cortright doesn't limit nonviolence to its effectiveness. He sees nonviolence not just as a method but as a way of life. He tells about his struggles and his times of doubts about the ideas of nonviolence. My respect and admiration for the author rose after I understood how much involved he has been for many decades and still is in the peace movement. Here is a man who not only teaches and writes about Gandhi and King, but actually tries to use their methods in his life. He manages to combines the learnings of the history of nonviolence with the nonviolent movement of today - a potent combination that we need more of. I am sure military analysts sit day in and day out trying to analyze yesterday's battles to learn how to fight more effectively tomorrow. We nonviolent activists have something to learn from the military in that sense. Cortright's book really highlights the importance of making this analysis and to learn from our mistakes.
   
   The book gives a refreshing criticism of our nonviolent icons. I had heard negative rumours about Gandhi and King but was unsure if they were true. According to this book some of them were and some were not. But Cortright makes a more important point - you can admire one part of a human's life - like Gandhi's nonviolent struggle against the British occupation while at the same time be deeply critical to another part of the same person's life - like Gandhi's warped views on gender and sexuality. Cortright rightly points out that we should not expect flawless leaders. Talking about leaders, I have been embarrassed to keep coming with nothing but male nonviolent role models in my nonviolent workshops. So I was happy to find two great female role models in this book; Dorothy Day and Barbara Deming. Two women who really deserve more appreciation for their contributions in the nonviolence struggle.
   
   In the end of the book Cortright gives us some practical tools to use in the nonviolent struggle were he emphasizes the importance of setting up concrete and achievable goals and warning us from disregarding the importance of fund-raising and working effectively with the media. He also encourages us to try new, creative and some times more risky nonviolence methods; not always the petitions, demonstrations but also boycotts, strikes, blockades and sit-ins. These types of methods have proved to be the most effective in the nonviolence movement according to the author. We who work for peace and justice face incredible challenges. It is easy to get discouraged when you see what you are up against. Cortright gives us hope in spite of this. He shows many examples of how nonviolence has made fantastic gains the last decades. There have been victories even in the cases were it seemed we failed. And it takes time, some times a very long time, to change for the better. What we need in the struggle is persistence and hope according to Cortright. Both these traits have grown stronger in me while reading this book.
   
   Martin Smedjeback [...]



2. What I appreciated about this book most is that it told the "rest of the story" about those who have used civil disobedience as a tool to change their governments and the world. These activists were not portrayed as perfect, but rather subject to the human frailties that we all have.
   
   Not only did the book offer reminders of how others have used civil disobedience, but reminded us that they were human. This alone made civil disobedience a tool within everyone's grasp. It reminded me that the good fight is one that we can all participate. Before this book, I had put these activists up on a shelf and only loved them for being better than human. After reading this book, I loved them even more for being imperfect like me, which empowered me to more courageously participate in the struggle for justice...even though I too am not a saint.



3. "Gandhi and Beyond: Nonviolence for an Age of Terrorism" provides an in-depth perspective from a longtime participant and scholar of nonviolent resistance. It discusses various strategies of nonviolence along with the strengths and foibles of its two most famous twentieth-century practitioners -- MLK and Gandhi. The book also talks about nonviolent resisters such as Dorothy Day, Cesar Chavez, Barbara Deming, and Margaret Sanger.
   
   Informative as it is, the book is not a fully objective, academic view of nonviolent protest, but rather more of a left-wing perspective. Granted, the majority of nonviolent resistance movements have arguably come from the left. Still, the book would benefit from the mention of nonviolent resistance in the pro-life protests of the last 34 years. Inclusion of such information would have provided some balance to the Margaret Sanger section.
   
   Also, the title is a bit misleading in that the author devotes only a few pages to nonviolent resistance of terrorism, and the information doesn't offer much beyond the standard strategy of using police work to prosecute terrorists while reaching out to moderates in the communities in which terrorists recruit. Although I mostly agree with this strategy of isolating extremists and reaching out to moderates, I was hoping to gain more insight on the subject than I did from the book. Even so, however, the book is still an informative read.



4. A great review of the impact of Gandhi's active non-violence and its implications for todays age of terrorism and proactive war. A reminder of the benefits that could happen if we really tried active non-violence, as people, as communities, as a nation. What a world it would be. Thanks to the author for reminding us of the possibilities. Mary Nelson



5. This is a thoughtful, well-written and accessible overview of the history and issues of non-violence ; I found it superior to the more ambitious "Nonviolence," which I recently read and which was long on history but short on issues and insights.
   
   Cortright has been long in the trenches and knows the issues. I appreciated his efforts to give the kinds of credit to women that men writing on this subject so often ignore--especially his discussions of Dorothy Day and Barbara Deming--too often written out or trivialized. However, I was deeply disheartened by the fact that in giving examples of effective non-violence that has brought about major changes in societies, he totally ignores the women's liberation movement (later mainstreamed as the "women's movement") of the 1960s and 1970s. There are so many specific actions and approaches that would have hugely enriched his discussion, and however much we are currently seeing backlash and retreat, the effect of that movement was surely transformative. So much for non-violence folk to learn from there. It has been painful enough to me to see that powerful movement distorted, trivialized and erased in mainstream writing, but it's a real stab when someone like Cortright does the same.
   
   That's why I rated the book a 3 instead of a 4. But otherwise, I do recommend it.

5 comments about 1000 Years for Revenge: International Terrorism and the FBI--the Untold Story.

1. 
   But I'm not defending him (Bush) at all because he was too busy reading a book about a goat to a bunch of schoolkids in his brothers state of Florida for his failed 'No Child Left Behind Act' - He (Bush) was in Texas as Governor signing the death certs for death row inmates like Karla Faye Tucker (and 168 others) and mocking her for 'pleading for her life' while most of this was going on.
   
   Clinton was in office then for 8 years doing deals like Whitewater.



2. This book was well researched, and very well written. After reading this book you will never trust the F.B.I. with our safety ever again. The absolute incompentance of that Federal office is mind boggling. So many chances where had to stop the 1st bombing of the trade center, and the ultimate, 9-11-01. To many critical
   intel was ignored, and so many lives paid for inter agency infighting, along with the Clinton administration of stonewalling the FBI CIA, from sharing intel on terrorist and so many other national security issues. Lets hope the Feds can get their act together in time to stop the next attack on our country. God Bless the USA.



3. This book confirms that no matter the organization--private business, non-profit, or government--what rises to the top is way too often not the cream of the crop, but those who can play politics, manipulate situations, and befriend more powerful superiors.
   
   The people involved that allowed this to happen should all be charged with negligence. Of course that will not happen. As much as I would LOVE to lay all the blame on the Clinton years, it is likely that he was not aware of what was going on because there are just too many layers of (mis)management involved for any useful information to rise to the top. Poor judgement after poor judgement is laid bare in this well researched book.
   
   And, to say that the Bush administration is at fault would be equally wrong. They were faced with the wrong information that had been cultivated for years by those who were supposed to be protecting us.
   
   One oversight in the book is where we could quite possibly place the true blame--Congress! Only a few of us ancient readers (nearly 60) may recall that the LIBERAL CONGRESS made it illegal after Watergate for the FBI and the CIA to share information. It was ILLEGAL for the CIA to pursue any leads that they might find overseas in the US.
   
   The irony that the liberal Democrat-controlled Congress of the '60's and '70's, which passed ever more intrusive legislation for citizens, made it impossible for our intelligence community (oxymoron??) to find the truth is palpable.
   
   Of course after 9/11 those same self-rightous liberals were incensed that the Bush presidency "let" this happen. One can only wish that they eventually look in the mirror and recognize where the blame belongs--but I won't hold my breath waiting.



4. Peter Lance writes well, but does his homework thoroughly. The egotistical and vane behavior is quite disturbing, but more disturbing is the general ignorance of Peter's fine work in this as well as his other books. Surely it does point toward some, but I don't believe that was Peter's intention. The facts themselves speak rather well.



5. Peter Lance has done some of the best investigative journalism I've ever read in this book.
   
   1000 Years for Revenge goes further back in time than the 9/11 Commission did to get to the heart of the 9/11 plot.
   
   Important questions and aspects of the lead up to 9/11 are examined in this book with plenty of interviews, testimony, and documents to back it up.

5 comments about A Long Short War: The Postponed Liberation of Iraq.

1. I realize "A Long Short War" is now a dated book that doesn't need one more review, still...
   
   Having grown tired of hearing how I should read "A Long Short War" because ot explains why the war in Iraq is proper and how the book "is only about 100 pages", I decided I'd finally read it, hence the title of this review.
   
   This book is not really about the War in Iraq! It says so in the title, "The Postponed Liberation of Iraq". It is about how Saddam Hussein is a bad man who should never have been in power and that the world would be a better place if he were unable to practice his particular kind of rule. As far as I can tell, there are not many debating whether Hussein was a bad man in the end, even among those who believe he wasn't one in the beginning.
   
   There is a tacit assumption in "A Long Short War" of the end justifying the means. Hitchens felt Hussein should be out of power, so he sees the war as a good thing. However, he does not deal seriously with the issue that the simple overthrow of Hussein is not the reason the Congress or American people were given for embarking on the war in Iraq. No WMD? Well, Hussein was trying to make them (in Hitchens' view) and there's no question (for Hitchens) that Hussein would have been successful if given enough time. Still, Hussein's having the time and inclination to make WMD was not the reason for US involvement. It was the presence of WMD, which many now argue was known to be false at the time. This is a point that Hitchens does not take up.
   
   In essence, I found "A Long Short War" to be a long short read. I kept waiting for serious discussions, which never came, of whether US entry into Iraq was justified for the reasons that the US supposedly entered. It is a very weak book that is strong on reasons why Saddam Hussein is/was a bad man. Unable to explain how Congress and the public were not misled into supporting US entry into Iraq, Hitchens merely repeats again and again how bad a man Hussein is/was as though this makes the question irrelevant. Hitchens is clearly an intelligent man who is up on his facts. It is easy to see how he and those who quote him can create a very powerful smoke screen, but in the end that's all it is--smoke. His silence on the *way* the US entered Irag is, to borrow from an old but apt cliche, deafening.



2. Mr. Hitchens, while obviously a personable and interesting fellow who writes and speaks very entertainingly, cannot by any stretch be called a high-powered scholar or thinker. If you want to understand how and why the United States government has committed so many lives and resources to the ongoing war in Iraq, you need to take into account the interests of other major powers in the Middle East--specifically the European Union, Russia, and China--and the clear intent of our foreign policy planners to ensure that no other major power shall obtain a foothold in the Middle East, that, not democracy or the "war against terror," being their central preoccupation. Two far more intelligent and revealing books to consult on this matter would be David Harvey's THE NEW IMPERIALISM and A BRIEF HISTORY OF NEOLIBERALISM along with a number of other texts and documents favorably referred to by him in these books. Hitchens merely stirs around on the surface and sheds no light on underlying transformative forces, the key one being precisely this enduring competition between the major powers, rarely talked about in public but no less decisive for that.



3. In the town where I live, I once encountered a senior- aged woman standing next to some Marines who were recruiting. She wore a crude mask likely meant to be George Bush or some political figure and had a sign reading something like "US Out of Iraq". Her mission in this vigil seemed to be to dispense little "facts" like this: "We've killed more people than Sadam Hussein ever did." Where to begin to tally the totals? One could start, Hitchens suggests, with the 50,000 strafed by helicopter gunships after Saddam had already surrendered in Kuwait. That doesn't include, of course, any of the body count from the actual Desert Shield/ Desert Storm war which ended in 1991. Nor does it include those within Iraq, many of them, like the Kuwaiti, their Muslim brothers, tortured and killed by the Baathist party. Then there are the surrounding nations.
   
   I wanted to ask the protesting matron where she had gotten her information. CNN? Perhaps it was merely a rather prolonged senior moment. At any rate, the cure is this book by Chris Hitchens. Another who may benefit from glancing at it is H. Clinton, judging from her campaign planks.
   
   This book, or at least my copy, dates from 2003, and runs slightly over 100 pages. Like C.S. Lewis and Neil Postman, I am a fan of the small book, and this one fits the bill. It also is what a lot of other books seem like they would be but never are, concise, pithy, polemical, reasoned, opinionated and supporting that opinion, and actually stimulating to the gray matter.
   
   Mostly these brief essays are all of one opinion: that Regime Change was mandated in the nation of Iraq, read: deposing of Saddam. These essays, mostly written on-line, in Iraq in 2003, make the case point by point in a way that would seem invaluable for those considering the present war. The one exception to the blog- style essays is one written for the Seattle rag, The Stranger, which, to its credit, allowed Hitchens to express a viewpoint with which nearly none of its readers would agree.
   
   I'm completely avoiding the obvious reason the name Hitchens may ring a bell: he's the author, after this book, of the best-selling God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Having not read it yet, I am in no position to comment on it, but he represents, in the present book, a small organization called Atheists for Regime Change, and when the conversation turns to religion, as it very briefly does in this book, his tone changes.
   
   He feels very let down by Christian pacifists. He substantiates a claim that Jimmy Carter betrayed Americans (you'll have to read it to see how and why) in the matter of Iraq. He points out that many of the salvos thrown at Bush senior and junior better apply to Bill Clinton. He takes on Pat Robertson in a sentence (a sentence is enough for Hitchens' reasoned prose). But I sense he simply feels let down by the Vatican and its advisors who, like so many Americans, kept buying time for Saddam. If the vatican enlists Mother Teresa's most vociferous critics to make the case as a devil's advocate, as it were, against her being canonized as a saint, I hope they will also listen to this staunch opponent and consider his arguments and insights in the matter of fighting oppression and rebuilding Iraq.



4. It is appropriate to return to this first-rate piece of propaganda with the benefit of hindsight. The world now knows, definitively, that the Bush administration and a complicit Congress took the United States to war on false pretenses. And it has been a disaster on all accounts. This much we know.
   
   But remember that Bush and Cheney couldn't have done it without a large cast of well-connected, well-paid, and thoroughly uncritical mass media cheerleaders. Hitchens is a good example of this kind of propagandist. Typically, they parrot official press releases and then add some pithy ideological flair (see him derisively referring to the now-vindicated anti-war movement as 'peaceniks').
   
   If the world is to avoid total barbarism, sane and humane people must not be afraid to call books like this out for what they really are: 'propaganda'. The fact that it does not come directly from a US government source makes little difference. Hopefully we, as citizens, can learn something from this, and look critically toward the future, finally absorb history's enduring lesson: war is a racket.



5. Without doubt, Hitchens' worst book.
   
   It's a shame that such an incisive, and normally clear headed journalist and critic could have been so wrong about the war in Iraq.
   
   None the less, it stands as an excellent example of how good people with the best of intentions can proudly support what becomes terrible evil.
   
   Doubtless millions of good decent Germans made the same sort of mistake from about 1930-1945.

1 comments about Inside Hamas: The Untold Story of the Militant Islamic Movement.

1. "Inside Hamas" did not provide nearly the degree of insight regarding their motivations and goals that I had been hoping for; in addition, the material was more often confusing than not. Nonetheless, the book is worth reading for the information that it does provide - especially as to Israel's sometimes methods.
   
   Chehab begins by explaining that one of Israel's strategies has focused on removing the influential and charismatic leaders needed to hold Hamas together. Assassinations, based on information from Palestinian collaborators (estimated to total over 20,000 over the years), are a frequent occurrence - both within and outside Palestine (eg. Jordan, Syria).
   
   How does Israel obtain so many collaborators? Examples include mocked up photos to create sexual blackmail, blackmail regarding small initial acts of real of apparent cooperation, and arresting those suspected of having knowledge and then offering a choice between cooperation or torture. Another trick is to entice Palestinians into supposed al Qaeda cells, and then threaten to (or actually) tip the Palestinian Authority off regarding their identity.
   
   Also included are stories of martyrs and their families (grieving, yet proud), along with Israeli retaliation by bulldozing the martyrs' former homes without allowing time to even remove personal treasures, and sometimes shooting relatives or celebrants within the area.
   
   "Inside Hamas" reports that Hamas carried out suicide attacks after Israel agreed to stop financing and building settlements in Palestinian territory. "Why?" was not explained, and remains a mystery.
   
   Palestinian martyr families received payouts from Saddam Hussein (Iraq), and from rich donors in Saudi Arabia. Monies have also been donated by Iranian and Jewish Arabs to families whose breadwinner had been killed or disabled, or whose homes had been destroyed by Israel.
   
   The U.S. is seen as strongly pro-Israel. Weapons smuggling from Iran and other sources is a sometimes important activity, involving small ships and trucks. Tunnels are also used - Israelis bulldoze them as well as houses possibly hiding tunnel entrances.
   
   The U.S. (and others) were totally surprised when Hamas won elections in the Palestinian Authority. The U.S. and Israel have tried to force Hamas to withdraw (eg. holding back funds for the Palestinian Authority); however, Chehab suspects this effort has hurt Fatah more than Hamas as Hamas has its own sources of funding.
   
   Bottom Line: Despite "Inside Hamas'" limitations, it is clear that an enormous amount of money and talent are wasted by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority in jockeying back and forth, and that little, if any progress is being made.

4 comments about Journey into the Mind of an Islamic Terrorist.

1. Another fine book by a former professor of Islamic history at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. This Egyptian author memorized the Muslim's holy book: the Koran/Quran in Arabic, but later questioned Islam's validity and converted to Christianity. Thus, the author brings that rare insight of a former Muslim believer in explaining the little-understood underpinnings of Islamic beliefs. Rather than exploring the what, where, when and how of Islamic suicide-bent terrorists, the author details what is behind the "why" of their Islamikaze justifications that they have found in their Muslim beliefs. The author either translates or researches translations of the speeches or documents of the Al-Quida leaders and explains their relevance in noting how the Islamic terrorists trace their theological and political concepts to Mohammad and the Quran. Following are some of this book's topics: The Constitution of Al-Jihad; Inner conflict; Hasan al-Banna spreads the Great Awakening; the relationship between Qutb and Mawdudi; Dr. Salah Sariah: Proving Apostasy; Shokri Mustafa: Separation from infidels; Bin Laden: Finding jihad in Afghanistan; Al-Zawahiri: Al-Qaeda's key recruiter; 1998 Fatwa against Jews and Crusaders; Bin Laden's Letter to America--2002; Justifying Unintended victims of suicide bombings; What binds radical groups together; The Five Pillars of Radical Islamic Philosophy: (1) No law but Islamic law, (2) Infidels are all around, (3) Islam must rule, (4) Jihad is the only way to win, (5) Faith is the Reason; Deception: An art of war practiced by radicals; Al-Zawahiri's teachings on deceit; Muhammad: Uncensored (a) cooperation and tolerance, (b) the book of jihad, (c) the next stage; The unrelenting bloodbath: (details the warfare between various Muslim sects -- the Umayyads v. the Abbasids); the importance of the Muslim scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (how he is the link between Muhammad and today's Islamikazes); the relevance of the militant booklet 'River of Memories'; and how the 'Silent Muslim Majority' opposes the Islamic militants -- at least in not flocking to them. The author explores the Muslim mind in explaining how today's Islamikaze's justify their terrorist attacks based upon the military campaigns of Mohammad against the Jewish and Christian 'unbelievers.' The author notes how Islamikazes today look to Ibn Taymiyyah's (c. 1300 A.D.) writings and "conclude that if a government refuses any part of Islamic law, then that government has chosen to follow man instead of Allah. Therefore, whether that government claims to be Muslim or not, it must be fought" (p.147). The author claims that Ibn Taymiyyah's philosophy of Islam was used by Sayyid Qutb's Egyptian Brotherhood to justify its assassination of President Anwar Sadat and used by Osama bin Laden (c.1990-2006 A.D.) to justify his attacks against the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, the United States, as well as the 'Crusader' attempts in Iraq to establish democracy there. The author argues that hard-core Muslims fear the 'democracy of the secularists' -- as the public might not really be all that enamored with the painful punishments for sinful crimes that are mandated in the Quran. The author does a fine job in tracing the linkage of the theological history of the Islamikazes from Mohammad, to Ibn Taymiyyah, to the Egyptian Brotherhood and finally to those following the Quran's "straight path" as traveled by bin Laden and his cohorts: Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu M. al-Zarqawi. Liberal and moderate Muslims won't like this book as the author illuminates how the Quran begat today's Islamikazes, which is why fundamentalist Muslims should like this book as it propagates their militant strategy. (Okay, one critique: the author could have used more footnotes to his hadith quotations.)



2. Since 9/11 we in the United States and the West have come full circle. For years we looked at events in the Middle East as just something happening "over there" but now we know that Islamic terrorist want nothing more than the entire world to be under the control of an Islamic government. Dr. Mark Gabriel's book solidifies that point.
   
   In this work Gabriel does a good job of presenting what it is that Islamic terrorist really want. It has nothing to do with money, or with Iraq, Iran, or even with the United States itself but with Islam. Gabriel, a former Muslim cleric, knows from his own first hand experience what goes on in the minds of sincere Muslims who desire to obey the Qu'ran and live their lives after "the Prophet."
   
   The book does a good job of presenting facts from the writings of Muslim clerics and radicals themselves as well as from the Qu'ran and the Hadiths. He also presents biblical teachings against Islam.
   
   Overall this is a solid work. For Christians desiring to know more about Islam see his other works. For better understanding of what Islamic terrorist think and why they do what they do, read this book.



3. This is an insider's look into the Muslim world. I don't think he bashes the Muslim faith, but it does provide an understanding of their teaching, faith, rules, goals, and beliefs.
   It was nice to read something that was not second hand knowledge.
   It is a very quick read.



4. Helpful in better understanding the terrorist mindset and Islam. Book was extremely interesting as were Mark Gabriel's other books.

No comments about Inside the Revolution: How the Followers of Jihad, Jefferson & Jesus Are Battling to Dominate . . ..

3 comments about Jose Marti Reader : Writings on the Americas.

1. "A sincere man am I
   From the land where palm trees grow,
   And I want before I die
   My soul's verses to bestow".
   
   You may recognize these words. They are the English translation of the first verse of "Guantanamera", a beautiful and very popular Cuban song. This was orignally a poem written by Jose Marti which you will find in it's entirety among his other eloquent and inspiring works in the "Jose Marti Reader...Writings On The Americas".
   
   If you have never read the words of Marti before, this is an excellent book to start with. Jose Marti, was the brillant and outspoken leader of Cuba's War of Independence against Spain. But he was so much more than that. He was a compassionate humanitarian, a spokesman for Latin America,a highly respected jouranlist, an inspiring teacher, and an eloquent poet.
   
   His words and most important works, translated beautifully, are compiled in this wonderful book through his essays, speeches, newspaper articles, Verses and his personal letters,which are especially touching. He lived from 1853(born in Havana) and died while practically single handedly leading the fight against Spain in 1895.
   
   The book is sectioned into three chronogical parts.Most of these works were written during his exile, while living in New York. He was the eyes and voice for most Cubans and Latin Americans. His "Writings On The Americas", "Letters" and "Verse". He writes in 1885 about the unfair treament of "Indians in the United States", he was there for the "Dedication of the Statue of Liberty" and reminds us of the freedoms we here in America take so much for granted, and what it's like not to know these freedoms. He writes of great men like San Martin, Simon Bolivar, and counts Harriet Beecher Stowe among the people he most admired. His letters, most especially those to his family, tell us what a caring and loving man he was. And his verses so beautifully refelct his views on life, you can just get lost
   in them.
   
   This is not what I would call a light read,admitedly, there were
   occassions where I had to reread some thoughts to truly understand what he was saying, but I found it to be absolutely inspiring and thought provoking.
   
   Marti was a man who said,,"There are no races: there are only the various
   modifictions of man in details of form and habits....." In every word he
   writes his passion for his country and the human race is evident.
   
   enjoy this wonderful book.....Laurie



2. Jose Marti is a popular figure and it is beneficial to have various translations of his work available. This reader is useful but has some errors in the introduction and in the translations. The Selected Writings by Penguin in a better way to get acquainted with Marti's work.



3. Schnookal, Deborah and Mirta Muniz (editors) 2007 Jose Marti Reader: Writings on the Americas. Ocean Press. Melbourne, New York, London ISBN-10 1920888748 ISBN-13 978-1920888749 The first thing to remember is that Jose Marti (accent on the last syllable) was not a Marxist, since although he believed in physical battle for freedom, he advocated remedial humane change. Thus, Marti never should be confused with radical mad murders who, saying they are revolutionaries, wish and act to exterminate all their enemies. Marti was the intellectual behind the last Cuban war of independence and died in battle leading it.
   
   
   I repeat Marti was a revolutionary but not a Marxist. Martí defined this well in 1883 when he said (see page 47 of this volume), in Spanish of course: "Look at this large hall, Karl Marx is dead. He deserves to be honored for declaring himself on the side of the weak. But the virtuous man is not the one who points out the damage and burns with generous anxiety to put it right; he is the one who teaches a gentle amendment to the injury. The task of setting men in opposition against men is frightening. The compulsory brutalization of men for the profit of others stirs anger. But an outlet must be found for this anger before it overflows and terrifies. " Martí died, leading in battle twelve years later; worldwide in the next century perhaps a hundred million have died because this warning went unheeded.
   
   Larry Daley

5 comments about Into the Buzzsaw: Leading Journalists Expose the Myth of a Free Press.

1. This is not the first book or program to decry the disappearance of classical American investigative journalism. The anthology assembled from seasoned and often award winning journalists tells us that in many subtle but also heavy handed ways, the information which we the public are permitted to get through the mainstream news media has been heavily managed by corporate and government forces. Having been properly selected and groomed, the mainstream talking J-heads such as Dan Rather know what they may present as news and what they may not discuss.
   
   As bad as corporate news management had been presented in the Russel Crowe movie THE INSIDER, it is much worse than that, tell us the oft times ousted reporters and TV producers in INTO THE BUZZSAW who wouldn't or couldn't toe the line. Some years ago, a similar group of American journalists mourned in front of a television camera for the discouraging journalism scene in America. The documentary, produced for PBS at the public televison station in San Jose is called FEAR AND FAVOR IN THE NEWSROOM in which Pulitzer Prize winning former New York Times, Washington Post and also network TV journalists tell stories similar to those in INTO THE BUZZAW. But that TV program was produced some ten years ago, and I had hoped that truth in the newsroom would undergo a renaissance. Wrong!
   
   As INTO THE BUZZSAW tells us, the situation has become much worse year by year, and decade by decade. The message in this book is a sad one: poor American journalism, poor democracy. The hope is that those who value both classical American democracy and also the pursuit of high quality, incisive journalism that is required to nourish it will keep on digging out the news that is needed to maintain a free society.



2. Fait Accompli? "Hey, don't blame us, the government told us its true!" I suppose we should unprivitize the press as middlemen and get it direct from the source. Of course a complication arises: is it a government or corporate source. No questioning either souce unless the intrepid reporter wants to challenge the establishment and go INTO THE BUZZSAW!
   Welcome the few, the proud, the need a job. Your unemployable if your speaking truths about the POWER ELITES. Don't you do doublespeak? Don't you know Newspeak? Don't you know that the Orwellian world is our reality? Still if you insist on being a real reporter for the people, its the BUZZSAW for you. And of course you'll never get those MILLION DOLLAR GOLDEN HANDCUFFS of our star anchor T.V. persons!
   Without a doubt these are a few of the repoter's HOT TRAILBLAZERS, that NEVER make the mainstream press.
   The reliance on official sources give those in political office (and to a lesser extent those in big business) considerable power to set the news agenda by what THEY speak about. It gives the news a very establishment and MAINSTREM feel.
   Check INTO THE BUZZSAW and get out of the Hotel California of mainstream information.
   Learn about Govt./Fox News, Oil/ Terror Big Buck$, CIA= The World Mafia In Drug Dealers, Viet Nam POWs left BEHIND, Flight 800 shot down by a Navy missile, and much more.
   They believe the PUBLIC CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH.
   The truth is once the public knows the truth THEY WON'T BE IN OFFICE.
   The truth is the GOVERNMENT/PRESS can't handle the truth. They despise it. THEY hide it from us!
   Read INTO THE BUZZSAW and blow to smithereens out of their Hotel California lies.



3. There are many excellent reviews of this book, many with real substance that need not be repeated.
   
   I searched in vain across all 44 reviews and could not find anyone pointing out that this book was first published in 1980, a quarter-century ago.
   
   It's a worthy book, but completely out of date--the practices it describes are not out of date, but we all need a major update.
   
   I recommend Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin and Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth' as two current updates.
   
   From the larger literature within which I appreciate this book, I see four fully interwoven reasons why America is no longer a republic:
   
   1) Excessive concentration of wealth at the top, CEOs earning 400 times more a year than their lowest paid employee. See Lee Iacocca's recent work, Where Have All the Leaders Gone?
   
   2) Wealth corrupting politicians, while corporate personality avoids justice. The Federal Reserve in particular needs to be closed down.
   
   3) A house-broken media unwilling to challenge "the establishment," and
   
   4) An inert public, not realizing that it is being treated--in human terms--just as inhumanely as cattle force fed to death in fourteen months.
   
   "Live Free or Die." Now there's a theme. There are 27 secessionist movements in America, among which Vermont's is the most viable. The time may well have come to dissolve the existing federal government if we cannot achieve electoral reform and the restoration of constitutional integrity.



4. We've got a lot of problems in the U.S., and the world, at the present time. It's said that the truth will set "U.S." free, and that's true everwhere, not just the post 9/11 U.S. "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free" is the truest statement ever made, and it doesn't say "maybe", but "shall". Some people, by their actions, show that the truth isn't important to them. When something bad (because of a lack of truth) happens to them, some of them start to see how important the truth really is. I'm a doctor and know that breast cancer is a big problem for many. The chapter by Jean Akre (formerly of a Skunk News affiliate in Florida) is important for people, especially women concerned about breast cancer, to know about. It deals with bovine growth hormone/bovine lactotrophic hormone/rBGH that is currently being used to stimulate cows to produce unnaturally large quantities of milk. Of course, the risks would be those of breast cancer for the cows and the people drinking this milk. This chapter explains how good FDA people invited Ms. Akre up to FDA headquarters to tell her about a disaster in the future for people who don't heed the warnings about breast cancer, and subsequently chronicles the despicable, dishonest retaliation against Ms. Akre and her husband, including bankrupting them, and legal proceedings in the court of lies. Many people are naive, believe that the government is their "protecter/benefactor", and mercilessly criticize those who try to tell the truth as "unpatriotic". False patriotism has always been the refuge of scoundrels and many of this ilk, by failing to heed the warnings about the "cancer industry" and criticizing those who who tried to warn them about it as "unpatriotic", will ironically wind up funding it through their own cancers and other diseases. People reap what they sow, and God had immutable laws by which He designed this Universe, and through which people should live to optimize health, happiness, and the good of others.



5. It's books like this, far too rare, that proove America has gone the way of ancient Rome. Alexis De Tocqueville says, "...freedom of the press is the principal and, so to say, the constitutive element of freedom". And we only find out, by turning off the TV and holding ourselves independently responsible for our own thought, that freedom of the press is nonexistent in America by reading books like "Into the Buzzsaw".
   
   One of the saddest stories I've ever read is the Bobby Garwood story. Google it. You will be shocked. The mainstream media does not tell you about this because they are controlled (even if the censorship is voluntary) by the government. "Into the Buzzsaw" tells us about the real investigation into the downing of TWA flight 800 in 1996. The mainstream media does not tell you about this because they are controlled (even if the censorship is voluntary) by the government. The stories are endless, but because they implicate the US gov't in crimes, they are not allowed to be told within the establishment. Now you know why you don't hear from the establishment what really happened to JFK, or on 9/11.
   
   What other stories are you unaware of? How about this one: On March 4, 2008, the citizens of Marlboro, VT voted in their annual town meeting to indict George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for war crimes, obstruction of justice and perjury. The vote was 43-25 with three abstentions. The town of Brattleboro did the same, voting 2,012-1,795. Then, just a few weeks ago, 35 articles of impeachment against Bush and Cheney were introduced in the House of Representatives. How does it feel to have organized crime running the United States of America and you aren't even aware of it because you have delegated your thought to the very govenment that endeavors to enslave you? Tocqueville hit the nail on the head in 1835 when he wrote, "nowadays, even despotism, though it seemed to have nothing more to learn, has been perfected by civilization"!