The Bastard of Istanbul

I just finished reading an interesting book, "The Bastard of Istanbul". It defininitely was not a thriller or action type of story but it wove the story of a Turkish family and an Armenian family and the importance of history and how it is viewed by those whose ancestors were victims of atrocities and those whose ancestors perhaps perpetrated some of the atrocities. Can a group of people have "being victims" as their collective psyche. Even though it was their ancestors who were the victims does concentrating on that history make the descendents victims as well. And are not the desendents of the perpetraters also victims by trying to ignore that history. I consider this to be a book worth reading.

Honesty, Honestly!

I have been thinking a lot about honesty lately. In my previous blog I asked the question "would I tell the cable company if I were getting channels that I was not paying for?" . There was a time when I would have said "hell no" but over the years I have come to the conclusion that I now would. I don't think anyone is completely honest all the time, certainly I am not but at least now I strive toward complete honesty. Although I have been somewhat scrupulous about reporting all my income on my tax returns there have been times when I paid more for something than was indicated on the Bill of Sale. I no longer would do that. It is an ethical situation that not only is a lie on my part but it also contributes to someone else's dishonesty. I am somewhat amazed that some people who consider themselves to be very honest have no ethical dilemma about being paid in cash and then not reporting that income to the IRS. I have a friend who is a "War Tax Resister" who I consider very honest and highly ethical, but he never files a tax return and makes no secret of that fact. I believe this is different from filing a tax information than has incomplete or inaccurate information on it. Of the things that have made me re-evaluate my concern about my own honesty is my involvment in Quaker Church. I have read that it was Quaker merchants who brought about fixed pricing as they felt that if they were asking more for something that they were willing to accept that it was a form of honesty. I don't know if this is true, but it does make some sort of sense to me.

Interpretations

'I'm just a fool whose intentions are good, Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood". Several conversations recently were reminders of how different people remember the same event differently. I talked with a friend about a hiking trip we were on a few years ago and the way he remembered it, I had to leave early because I was not feeling well. I did leave early but it was because my then girl friend, now my wife, had a wreck and almost totalled her car. Another instance of a conversation I had with my daughter, she seemed to remember that I had told her that I was getting more cable channels that I was paying for and I may have said that but it turns out not to be true. It seems the cable company doesn't want people to subscribe to basic cable so they don't list all of the channels that come with basic cable in their literature. Of course this brought up the question of honesty. If I were getting more channels that I was paying for, would I tell the cable company? Honesty also came up in a conversation about her husband who recently had an emergency visit to the hospital. After he got out, he would bring up the fact that he was in the hospital but then would not give the real reason for it. Is that because he was ashamed of the real reason? But to my why of thinking, why even mention being in the hospital if you aren't going to tell the truth about why you were there?

US and the Middle East

OK - here's what I think we should do. The US should contact China and Japan and other major users of oil from the middle east and tell them that the U.S. is getting out of the middle east, no more funds or military support will go to any country in the middle east, including Israel. Make it clear that at the end of next year, we will no longer be involved in the middle east. Why, you might ask. There is more at stake for those countries that are truly dependent on middle east oil to provide stability in that region. The downside for the U.S. is that we may have to pay more for oil and gasoline. The upside is that the hatred for U.S. support of Israel by some Arab nations would surely decrease. Israel could wreak havoc on the middle east with the use of its tactical and strategic weapons, unless China or some other power steps in to moderate.

MIDAS - by Russell Andrews

This thriller parallels some of the real life political events but puts a dangerous spin on some of them and points out some of the dangers of having a closed and secretive administration. Did the secret meeting with VP Danforth to determine an energy policy include some of the major oil producers from Saudia Arabia or elsewhere. What were the goals of the meeting; to keep the oil companies happy? to keep the oil prices high' to make the U.S. independent of foreign oil supplies? Are terrorist attacks good for the current administration by keeping people fearful so that they can pass more legislation that would diminish the rights spelled out in the constitution? Can a local cop bring down corruption at the highest levels of government? If you want to know the answer to that question, then pick up this book. It is also an Audio Book. I listened to it rather than read it. A good and entertaining way to exercise while listening to an audio book.

odyssey - jack mcDevitt

OK - on a lighter note. It has been awhile since I have read a Science Fiction novel but I recently picked up "odyssey" by jack mcDevitt and although I haven't finished reading it yet, I find it some what fascinating and thought provoking. It takes place in the late 23rd century when space travel has become common place and global warming has not yet destroyed life on earth but is having a serious impact on the climate and the debates in the political arena have to do with the spending priorities of the governing bodies. In the mean time, there has not been any contact with an advanced civilization but there is evidence that they did exist at one time but are now extinct. But there are some strange and unexplained events that could be evidence of existing intelligent and technologically advanced life forms. The "origins project" is an ambitious project in outer space that is trying to determine the origin of the universe, but will it destroy the universe instead? Can it be stopped before that happens. I will stop now before I give away any more of the plot.

Iraq

Is it a facade? Will it still be "Stay the Course" but with different rhetoric? It appears to me that the President is trying to listen to everyone, at least until he can find someone who agrees with what he has already decided and then he can have some backup for his postion. And it also appears that the democrats are going to do what they always do in situations like this, lay down and play dead. Is there going to be a change in policy as a result of election? I seriously doubt it. Can democracy be imposed on a country that has no history of democracy and has many different factions that are violently opposed to each other. He says he can't support a policy the would lead to defeat, I say there is no policy that will not lead to defeat. In this case what is defeat? If the only thing that can be declared a victory in Iraq is a stable democratic government and a lack of violence in the country, then there will never be a U.S. victory in Iraq, whether we are there two more years or fifteen more years. Can the democrats stand up to the President and force him bring the U.S. troops home? I don't think they have the stomach for it.