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david-baptiste

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david-baptiste’s favorite books

View With a Grain of Sand by Wisława Szymborska

The Hidden Masterpiece by Honoré de Balzac

Selected Poetry and Prose by Stéphane Mallarmé

The Crowd/Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Cr... by Gustave Le Bon

Unsung Heroes Of Rock 'n' Roll by Nick Tosches

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david-baptiste’s Bookshelves

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david-baptiste is Currently Reading

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Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army

by Jeremy Scahill

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david-baptiste said: " Jeremy Schahill i've seen read/talk a number of times here in his hometown, Milwaukee--a superb investigative reporter--this book really blew the lid off the formerly secretive world not only of Blackwater, but the entire spectrum of connectiosn that Jeremy Schahill i've seen read/talk a number of times here in his hometown, Milwaukee--a superb investigative reporter--this book really blew the lid off the formerly secretive world not only of Blackwater, but the entire spectrum of connectiosn that its founder, Erik Prince, is involved with--secret organizations as well as public--of right wing religious political funding, think tanks, organizing and lobbying efforts--a mixture of right wing Fundamentalist Christian (Protestant) groups, Catholic organizations of the right (Prince is a convert to Catholicism from his family's traditional Dutch Calvinist background) and secular Jewish neocons--a "theocon" gathering wielding huge power within all branches of the US Govt first under GW Bush and continuing under the current administration, which has gone on handing out huge contracts to Prince's various paramilitary & mercenary groups--Prince/Blackwater, like Cheney & Haliburton--among the first to get heavily involved in the security which is deemed de rigeur for the conditions under which "disaster capitalism" is increasingly practiced (see also re this Naomi Klein's masterpiece, THE SHOCK DOCTRINE; Klein & Scahill are both frequent contributors to The Nation)--a fascinating & harrowing read--Scahill goes deep into Prince's family background, with its long time involvement in politics, entrepreneurship (or entrah-pren-ewer" as Dubya wd say)--providing a historical context for the decades long planning, lobbying, funding that have gone into building up the powerhouse movement of right wing conservatism's goal of taking over the entire range of power structures within the USA--i'd give this book four and a half stars if i cd figure out how to make the half star others seem to be able to manage--the book's opening description of the appearance of four mutilated American "civilians" (soon exposed as "contractors, that innocuous word for mercenaries--hired by Blackwater--and the investigation that followed instituted by the family of one of the dead men--)-- hung from bridge in Fallujah--triggers this exploration of what led up to this world wide broadcast set of images--to all that has happened up to the time of the book's appearance--Scahill's work has continued being top level--he can often be found not only in the pages/online of The nation but is often seen giving updates on the horror show on Democracy Now! public access television news-- ...more "

Nov 16, 2010 10:33AM · see review

david-baptiste rated a book really liked it

Manual of Piety: Die Hauspostille

by Bertolt Brecht

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Nov 10, 2010 07:57PM

david-baptiste rated a book it was amazing

The Wings of the Dove

by Henry James

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Nov 10, 2010 07:56PM

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david-baptiste rated a book it was amazing Infernal Machine the history of terrorism by Matthew Carr (Goodreads Author) recommended for: yes very much Reading for the 2nd time	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Infernal Machine The History of Terrorism is an excellent history of terrorism begining with the Russian Nihilist assasination of Czar and continuing to the present, presenting the changes in methods and motives through a great many countries and sit ...more
Jul 31, 2014 08:53AM · like · see review
david-baptiste is now following Bradley's reviews
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david-baptiste rated a book really liked it The Mammoth Book of War Correspondents by Jon E. Lewis	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
a really great collection of 19th-21st century war reporting--from Paris Commune & US Civial War, Imperialist Wars in India--Stphen Crane, Kipling etc--to battles in Iraq and Afghanistan--every great correspondent you can think of is included (En ...more
Nov 27, 2010 10:30AM · like · see review
david-baptiste made a comment on his review of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army " the deception that has been practiced is to cal these mercenary organizations "civilian contractors" can't recommend this book highly enough--and ...more "
Nov 18, 2010 12:45PM · see review
david-baptiste made a comment on his review of Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washington's Scandal Culture " dear Stepehn: great to hear from you!! many thanks for yr comment--something amazing re Nixon--under his administration the NEA and arts fun ...more "
Nov 18, 2010 12:41PM · see review
david-baptiste rated a book liked it Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washington's Scandal Culture by Mark Feldstein	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Excellent portrayal of the decades long feud/war between Tricky Dick Nixon and the "scoop snoop" supreme jack Anderson--for myself a fascinating read as i had not known the extent of the mutual enmity/involvement of the two men dating back to the lat ...more
Nov 16, 2010 10:51AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Poisoning the Press by Mark Feldstein. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Poisoning the Press by Mark Feldstein <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
david-baptiste rated a book really liked it Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jeremy Schahill i've seen read/talk a number of times here in his hometown, Milwaukee--a superb investigative reporter--this book really blew the lid off the formerly secretive world not only of Blackwater, but the entire spectrum of connectiosn that ...more
Nov 16, 2010 10:34AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Blackwater by Jeremy Scahill. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Blackwater by Jeremy Scahill <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
david-baptiste rated a book really liked it Moravagine by Blaise Cendrars Read 2 times	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 10, 2010 08:10PM · like
david-baptiste rated a book really liked it Les Matinaux / Parole en Archipel by René Char	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 10, 2010 08:06PM · like
david-baptiste rated a book really liked it Die Entwicklung Der Pop Art in England ... Von Ihren Anfaengen Bis 1957: Das Fine - Popular Art Continuum by Jürgen Jacob	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 10, 2010 08:03PM · like

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david-baptiste’s Quotes

“A weed is a plant out of place.”
― Jim Thompson, The Killer Inside Me

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david-baptiste’s Writing

El Colonel Smiles (Poetry)

1 chapters — updated Mar 29, 2010 04:33PM

Description: has appeared as both a short story/prose poem (Otoliths) and as a chapbook (dusie kollectiv) i am writing more episodes of the life & works of El Colonel

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david-baptiste’s Groups

Critical Marxist Reading Group — 47 members — last activity Dec 19, 2010 07:49PM
For workers, proletariats, comrades, et al interested in sharing canonical and less known works of marxist ideological bents and those imbued with mar ...more

MiPOesias — 124 members — last activity Jun 20, 2009 08:35AM
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¡ POETRY ! — 21294 members — last activity 2 hours, 39 min ago
No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read i No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read it!) Goodreads honors wordsmiths: poets and poetry promoted and prompted here. ~~~ "Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits." -- Carl Sandburg “God has a brown voice, as soft and full as beer.” —Anne Sexton On Clouds – “…what primitive tastes the ancients must have had if their poets were inspired by those absurd, untidy clumps of mist, idiotically jostling one another about…” —Yevgeny Zamyatin “If the poet wants to be a poet, the poet must force the poet to revise. If the poet doesn’t wish to revise, let the poet abandon poetry and take up stamp-collecting or real estate.” —Donald Hall “Poetry is a rich, full-bodied whistle, cracked ice crunching in pails, the night that numbs the leaf, the duel of two nightingales, the sweet pea that has run wild, Creation’s tears in shoulder blades.” —Boris Pasternak “Wanted: a needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket.” —Charles Simic “Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity.” —Gustave Flaubert “Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that’s what the poet does.” —Allen Ginsberg. ~~~~~ Amy King, Moderator Amy King is the recipient of the 2015 Winner of the WNBA Award (Women’s National Book Association). Her latest collection, The Missing Museum, is a winner of the 2015 Tarpaulin Sky Book Prize. She serves on the executive board of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts and is co-editing with Heidi Lynn Staples the anthology, Big Energy Poets of the Anthropocene: When Ecopoets Think Climate Change. She is also co-editing the anthology, Bettering American Poetry 2015, and is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at SUNY Nassau Community College. ...more