Friday 30 January 2015
Pay Any Price - James Risen
A look at corruption and industry government collusion in post 9/11 U.S. He discusses the profiteering that has gone on behind the closed doors of government secrecy. He looks at how private industry had virtually taken over and profited from the war in Iraq at the expense of the U.S. taxpayers. He looks at how the surveillance state came into being despite clear legal obstacles post 9/11. He also looks at how the government under Bush and still under Obama works to keep these facts from the public and squash any people and journalists who attempt to come forward about these issues. Nothing new really (sadly) but it is interesting to see the details.
A Question of Genocide - Suny, Göçek and Naimark
- subtitled: Armenians and Turks at the End of the Ottoman Empire
A collection of essays on the Armenian genocide in the early years of the 20th century. The authors come from a variety of backgrounds - Armenian, Turkish, American, European - and have been having yearly conferences on this topic for some time now, with the emphasis on scholarly research, examining original source material, and establishing facts and trends as best as possible. The essays look at a variety of topics: CUP ideology and policy evolution, the unfolding of events in specific regions, the implication of Germany as Turkish ally in the Armenian genocide, the awareness at the time of these events, the continuity of CUP and Turkish Republic policy with regards to minorities in Turkey, the Assyrian genocide, the level of involvement of Armenians in revolutionary parties and groups, the role of Armenians within Russian ranks as the Russians moved into Eastern Anatolia during the early years of the war, a short political and ideological biography of an important figure in the organization and execution of the Armenian Genocide, continuities between policy towards Greek and Armenian minorities and towards Kurds under Ataturk. There is also discussion at various points of the relations between Kurds and Armenians, and Kurds and Turks during the period.
Some important points made or clarified in the course of the book:
1) Anti-Christian and anti-Armenian policy dates back to the late 1800's and the reign of Sultan Abdulhamit. He was very suspicious of minority Christian groups as they presented an opening for foreign powers to meddle in Turkish affairs. He was actively looking for ways to create an homogeneous society based on religion more so than ethnicity. During his reign, pogroms against Armenians occurred, arbitrary land confiscations and kidnappings occurred, and Armenians were generally marginalized in the East.
2) Once the CUP was in power, Armenians tried to get these grievances dealt with through consultation and parliament but they got nowhere.
3) A small percentage of Armenians were involved in revolutionary activity and supported the invading Russians, but when you consider their treatment over the preceding 20 or 30 years, they didn't really seem to have another option to guarantee security and basic rights. One essayist points out that the CUP very early on developed a fear of minorities and in a way, through their treatment of these groups, ended up creating the very internal revolutionary groups they had originally feared.
4) This whole time period needs to be seen against the backdrop of other wars and population displacements that had been going on since the mid-1800s. Turkey received several waves of Muslim refugees through that period - from the Caucasus due to Russian ethnic cleansing policy, from the Balkans and Greece due to the wars of independence that pushed out Muslim inhabitants. They had many refugees that needed to be settled. These refugees also carried anti-Christian feelings due to their own treatment in their original homelands. Interesting to note that all the leading CUP figures, and Ataturk as well, were all from the areas in the Balkans that produced large groups of Muslim refugees. It was these refugees who created the myth of the Anatolian homeland of the Turks and then set about shaping the facts on the ground to match the myth, the daydream.
5) There is no doubt that this genocide (an the other ethnic cleansing affecting different groups) was planned and ordered centrally. The details were often worked out locally, but it was a central government policy. It was a policy that developed over time and became progressively more harsh in response to different events and developments, but it was centralized. It was a part of what was seem as a social engineering project to increase the percentage of Turks in Eastern Anatolia.
6) In the 1914-1915 period the Kurds were a major instrument in carrying out this policy. They were used to form the Hamidiye brigades first created under Abdulhamid more or less for this purpose.
7) Policy plans developed in Ankara in 1925 to "deal with" the Kurds strongly resembled the policy pursued towards the Armenians - expulsion, relocation, cultural and linguistic repression.
A collection of essays on the Armenian genocide in the early years of the 20th century. The authors come from a variety of backgrounds - Armenian, Turkish, American, European - and have been having yearly conferences on this topic for some time now, with the emphasis on scholarly research, examining original source material, and establishing facts and trends as best as possible. The essays look at a variety of topics: CUP ideology and policy evolution, the unfolding of events in specific regions, the implication of Germany as Turkish ally in the Armenian genocide, the awareness at the time of these events, the continuity of CUP and Turkish Republic policy with regards to minorities in Turkey, the Assyrian genocide, the level of involvement of Armenians in revolutionary parties and groups, the role of Armenians within Russian ranks as the Russians moved into Eastern Anatolia during the early years of the war, a short political and ideological biography of an important figure in the organization and execution of the Armenian Genocide, continuities between policy towards Greek and Armenian minorities and towards Kurds under Ataturk. There is also discussion at various points of the relations between Kurds and Armenians, and Kurds and Turks during the period.
Some important points made or clarified in the course of the book:
1) Anti-Christian and anti-Armenian policy dates back to the late 1800's and the reign of Sultan Abdulhamit. He was very suspicious of minority Christian groups as they presented an opening for foreign powers to meddle in Turkish affairs. He was actively looking for ways to create an homogeneous society based on religion more so than ethnicity. During his reign, pogroms against Armenians occurred, arbitrary land confiscations and kidnappings occurred, and Armenians were generally marginalized in the East.
2) Once the CUP was in power, Armenians tried to get these grievances dealt with through consultation and parliament but they got nowhere.
3) A small percentage of Armenians were involved in revolutionary activity and supported the invading Russians, but when you consider their treatment over the preceding 20 or 30 years, they didn't really seem to have another option to guarantee security and basic rights. One essayist points out that the CUP very early on developed a fear of minorities and in a way, through their treatment of these groups, ended up creating the very internal revolutionary groups they had originally feared.
4) This whole time period needs to be seen against the backdrop of other wars and population displacements that had been going on since the mid-1800s. Turkey received several waves of Muslim refugees through that period - from the Caucasus due to Russian ethnic cleansing policy, from the Balkans and Greece due to the wars of independence that pushed out Muslim inhabitants. They had many refugees that needed to be settled. These refugees also carried anti-Christian feelings due to their own treatment in their original homelands. Interesting to note that all the leading CUP figures, and Ataturk as well, were all from the areas in the Balkans that produced large groups of Muslim refugees. It was these refugees who created the myth of the Anatolian homeland of the Turks and then set about shaping the facts on the ground to match the myth, the daydream.
5) There is no doubt that this genocide (an the other ethnic cleansing affecting different groups) was planned and ordered centrally. The details were often worked out locally, but it was a central government policy. It was a policy that developed over time and became progressively more harsh in response to different events and developments, but it was centralized. It was a part of what was seem as a social engineering project to increase the percentage of Turks in Eastern Anatolia.
6) In the 1914-1915 period the Kurds were a major instrument in carrying out this policy. They were used to form the Hamidiye brigades first created under Abdulhamid more or less for this purpose.
7) Policy plans developed in Ankara in 1925 to "deal with" the Kurds strongly resembled the policy pursued towards the Armenians - expulsion, relocation, cultural and linguistic repression.
Dinner with Stalin - David Shrayer-Petrov
A collection of short stories by a Russian émigré. An entertaining collection of short stories, some chronicling the refusnik culture of Jews waiting to leave the Soviet Union, some examining the émigré's experience of american culture, some pointed humorous flights of fancy. Also a nice spread of emotional tone.
Enjoyable read.
Enjoyable read.
Wednesday 21 January 2015
Frogs - Aristophanes
A book I picked up after reading a mention of it in Gimbutas' book on Old Europe. A bit disappointing in that the frog symbolism mentioned in Gimbutas' books doesn't seem to really play a role in the play, which is actually mostly about current Athenian affairs, both cultural and social.
The only interesting point in relationship to Old Europe is the Chorus in the play - the use of masks and choral poetry as surviving remnants of worship ceremonies from a forgotten worldview and religion.
The only interesting point in relationship to Old Europe is the Chorus in the play - the use of masks and choral poetry as surviving remnants of worship ceremonies from a forgotten worldview and religion.
The Mighty Dead: Why Homer Matters - Adam Nicolson
Full of interesting bits:
"Of about three thousand languages spoken today, seventy-eight have a written literature. The rest exist in the mind and the mouth. Language - man - is essentially oral." p. 68
Homer can be seen as a remembering of the culture and life of the bronze age warriors. This links him to the semi-pastoral tribes of the first Indo-Europeans who tamed the horse, first used wagons, and moved outwards as warrior bands from their traditional homeland to establish all the large european language groups of today.
It is an interesting read and personal engagement with Homer's work, especially the Odyssey. Nicolson presents some interesting evaluations and personal reactions to the work. A good introduction for actually reading the poems.
To find:
1) Milman Parry - important Homer scholar exploring pre-written storytelling tradition
2) Duncan Macdonald - storyteller from Hebrides, South Uist (The Man of the Habit - one story)
3) Homer - Odyssey - trans. Robert Fagles
Homer - The Iliad - trans. Robert Fagles
4) The Making of Homeric Verse: The Collected Papers of Milman Parry - Adam Parry
5) The Singer of Tales - Albert Lord
6) Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction - Benjamin W. Anthony
7) The Making of Bronze Age Eurasia - Philip L. Kohl
8) Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World - J.P. Mallory
and D.Q. Adams
9) Symbols and Warriors: Images of the European Bronze Age - Richard J. Harrison
10) The Rise of Bronze Age Society - Kristian Kristiansen and Thomas B. Larsson
11) The Poetics of Space - Gaston Bachelard
12) European Societies in the Bronze Age - Anthony F. Harding
"Of about three thousand languages spoken today, seventy-eight have a written literature. The rest exist in the mind and the mouth. Language - man - is essentially oral." p. 68
Homer can be seen as a remembering of the culture and life of the bronze age warriors. This links him to the semi-pastoral tribes of the first Indo-Europeans who tamed the horse, first used wagons, and moved outwards as warrior bands from their traditional homeland to establish all the large european language groups of today.
It is an interesting read and personal engagement with Homer's work, especially the Odyssey. Nicolson presents some interesting evaluations and personal reactions to the work. A good introduction for actually reading the poems.
To find:
1) Milman Parry - important Homer scholar exploring pre-written storytelling tradition
2) Duncan Macdonald - storyteller from Hebrides, South Uist (The Man of the Habit - one story)
3) Homer - Odyssey - trans. Robert Fagles
Homer - The Iliad - trans. Robert Fagles
4) The Making of Homeric Verse: The Collected Papers of Milman Parry - Adam Parry
5) The Singer of Tales - Albert Lord
6) Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction - Benjamin W. Anthony
7) The Making of Bronze Age Eurasia - Philip L. Kohl
8) Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World - J.P. Mallory
and D.Q. Adams
9) Symbols and Warriors: Images of the European Bronze Age - Richard J. Harrison
10) The Rise of Bronze Age Society - Kristian Kristiansen and Thomas B. Larsson
11) The Poetics of Space - Gaston Bachelard
12) European Societies in the Bronze Age - Anthony F. Harding
Alex - Pierre Lemaitre
Roman mystère de la France. Scènes d'une violence troublante. Complot un peu disjoint - le policier n'arrive à rien résoudre; c'est plutôt le hasard.
Célèbre en France mais je trouve la tradition américaine et anglaise plus intelligente, plus intellectuelle.
Célèbre en France mais je trouve la tradition américaine et anglaise plus intelligente, plus intellectuelle.
Friday 9 January 2015
Islamic Patterns: An Analytical and Cosmological Approach - Keith Critchlow
A fascinating look at the underlying geometry and design principles of traditional islamic decorative patterns. There are many examples of how the patterns are built geometrically through several steps and transformations. Watching the shapes go through their transformations and patterns is fascinating.
Another intriguing element in the book is the cosmology and philosophy behind these patterns. They are not just decorative; they also express a profound world view. They are seen as an expression of the One, the unity in all things. Through geometry, the circle, the square and the triangle become one, interconnected variations on the theme of Oneness, with the circle as the most primal or basic form. There are strong links to the Pythagorean theory and cosmology of numbers.
To find:
Pythagorean cosmology and number theory
Another intriguing element in the book is the cosmology and philosophy behind these patterns. They are not just decorative; they also express a profound world view. They are seen as an expression of the One, the unity in all things. Through geometry, the circle, the square and the triangle become one, interconnected variations on the theme of Oneness, with the circle as the most primal or basic form. There are strong links to the Pythagorean theory and cosmology of numbers.
To find:
Pythagorean cosmology and number theory
Tuesday 6 January 2015
The Honey Thief - Najaf Mazari, Robert Hillman
A wonderful collection of short stories set in the Hazara area of Afghanistan. The author is Hazara and manages to catch a wonderfully guileless voice in these stories, a voice from another time and another life. Some of the stories cross each other in time or with characters.
The effects of all the war and turmoil appear in the story, but they do not dominate - they are a background against which the characters must live their lives.
This book also offers a different image of practicing Muslims than you usually meet in the media these days.
Another interesting element of this book is the stories portraying a Muslim people living close to nature and in an intimate relationship with their surroundings - this is unusual. It provides and interesting contrast to the portrayals of native peoples of North America and Australia.
The author's story is also interesting and worth checking out on the Internet.
The effects of all the war and turmoil appear in the story, but they do not dominate - they are a background against which the characters must live their lives.
This book also offers a different image of practicing Muslims than you usually meet in the media these days.
Another interesting element of this book is the stories portraying a Muslim people living close to nature and in an intimate relationship with their surroundings - this is unusual. It provides and interesting contrast to the portrayals of native peoples of North America and Australia.
The author's story is also interesting and worth checking out on the Internet.
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