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August 11
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August 06
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Rich
gave
 
to:
The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring (Hardcover)
by Richard Preston
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Rich said:
"All you ever wanted to know about the canopy of the temperate rain forest trees. An interesting book about the largest and one of the oldest living things on the planet. Since we have some of the few remaining redwoods in the mountain west I was m...more
All you ever wanted to know about the canopy of the temperate rain forest trees. An interesting book about the largest and one of the oldest living things on the planet. Since we have some of the few remaining redwoods in the mountain west I was motivated to read about them—the largest of which top 370’.
I was surprised to learn there is a small circle of tree fanatics who risk their lives climbing the trees to carry out their study of the complex ecosystem hundreds of feet above the earth. I enjoy the writing style of Richard Preston (Hot Zone).
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July 24
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Rich
gave
to:
The Fair Tax Book II: The Critics and the Truth (Paperback)
by Neal Boortz, John Linder
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Rich said:
"While the conservative talk show host author/reader is a bit hard to take, I found his arguments for a consumption tax (in lie of income and employment taxes) very compelling.
The Fairtax approach may not be progressive enough for some, but I thin...more
While the conservative talk show host author/reader is a bit hard to take, I found his arguments for a consumption tax (in lie of income and employment taxes) very compelling.
The Fairtax approach may not be progressive enough for some, but I think the end result would be a substantially similar distribution of tax responsibility.
A few of the benefits of the system are: no lobbyists seeking special tax status, less conflicted legislators, more competitive pricing of exports, tax haven for off shore money, no IRS (as we currently know it), all visitors (illegal and othewrwise0 would be paying taxes when they made purchases, drug runners and other underground income earners would pay tax when they made purchases, etc, etc.
I think the book, a short read, is worthy of anyone’s time. I think we will see the day (soon I hope) when the US faces the reality that its economic machine needs an overhaul and a good place to start might be our method of raising funds for government operations.
I have always been in favor of a tax system that creates incentives for savings and investment—this is very appealing to me. Don't judge this concept as whacky until you have studied it a bit further. I think you will also find that many aspects of the approach appeals to your own sense of fairness.
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July 23
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New comment on Spencer's review of
A Brief History of Time
reply to this comment
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July 18
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Rich
gave
to:
An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography (Paperback)
by Paul Rusesabagina, Tom Zoellner
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2008
Rich said:
"This memoir (made into a movie—Hotel Rwanda) describes an amazing man—a hero by any standards. During the 100 day mass genocide of 800,000 Tootsie’s in Rwanda, Paul miraculously saved 1300 refugees who fled to the safety of the hotel he manage...more
This memoir (made into a movie—Hotel Rwanda) describes an amazing man—a hero by any standards. During the 100 day mass genocide of 800,000 Tootsie’s in Rwanda, Paul miraculously saved 1300 refugees who fled to the safety of the hotel he managed for a French Airline owner.
The book is graphically brutal—the majority of the victims were killed with machetes. The Hutu murders removed one limb at a time optimizing the suffering of many. Few were spared in this ethnic cleansing effort. The US, UN and other international organizations did very little to stop this horrific event. The UN Secretary General (Kofi Anan). especially was painting in very poor light.
We can reasonably conclude that the US acts primarily on economic interests only—the genocides in Cambodia, Armenia, Sudan, Rwanda and Germany (eventually we were forced to act) didn’t pass the litmus test for US humanitarian intervention from our high perch in the free world.
Typically I have been able to ignore the sufferings of those thousands of mile away from our border. This book like others memoirs of genocide survivors, however, pricks ones conscience and forces you to consider what could and probably should have been done by those best able to influence the outcomes.
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July 14
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New comment on Calvin's review of
The Dangerous Book for Boys
reply to this comment
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July 10
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Rich
gave
to:
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century (Hardcover)
by Thomas L. Friedman
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Rich said:
"This 20 cd book provides excellent insight and perspective on how the world is currently functioning in the ever "flattening" world (flattening is a reference to an environment without barriers).
Though dated (2004-2005) Friedman clearly...more
This 20 cd book provides excellent insight and perspective on how the world is currently functioning in the ever "flattening" world (flattening is a reference to an environment without barriers).
Though dated (2004-2005) Friedman clearly describes the positive (and negative) impact the internet is and will continue to have on the way mankind coexist on this planet. He is very excited about the removal of barriers to business participation (i.e. e-bay) and the benefits of mass circulation of information. He uses many examples to reinforce his assessment.
I strongly recommend the book--it is a bit long and at times tedious, but there is valuable insight in every chapter. I regret having not read it a few years ago when it was first published.
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July 03
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New comment on Spencer's review of
Mortified 2 : Love is a Battlefield
reply to this comment
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June 25
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New comment on Lacey's review of
The Ultimate Career: The Art of Homemaking for Today
(see all 7 comments)
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June 23
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Rich
gave
to:
Angela's Ashes (Paperback)
by Frank McCourt
bookshelves:
non-fiction
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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