Open-Policy

A wonderful book, but without an extensive backround in the subject it is difficult to judge its accuracy. Good to have at hand when listening to the latest dispatches from the Middle East. Guaranteed to earn you concerned glances from your friends when they spot it on your bookshelf!

The late Jewish author, Israel Shahak, explains in great detail the interconnections between U.S. and Israeli policies in both the middle east and Latin America and how these policies affect both countries and the world.

Consider the current situation with North Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan... this book is prophetic. This book details why China and North Korea will talk to Israel when negotiating indirectly witht he United States. If ever there was a time to understand the web of communications between countries such as North Korea, Syria, China, Israel, Columbia and others, now is it. I read this book over a year ago, and now come back to write a review because of its renewed importance in light of recent developments (2003).

Read about Saddam Hussein's failed attempt to make peace with Israel, and more! Long before 9-11, this book WARNS its readers of the serious terrorist threat that would come out of Afghanistan! Prophetic. A book that details information with such accuracy, makes predictions that come to realization, is certainly a book worthy of information-hungry men and women the world over.

Going back and re-reading this book is like a visit with Nostradamus. I HIGHLY recommend this book as it will provide you with a strong understanding of what's behind U.S. moves on Iraq, relative silence towards North Korea and more.

Important issues are rarely discussed with seriousness in the mainstream media; the efforts of the present Bush administration to go full speed ahead on the U.S. government's project to miitarize outer space is certainly a prime example of this.

While there is all sort of fulminations about "missle defense" from think tank pundits, talk radio hosts and other such fools about defending ourselves from ballistic missles from North Korea, Iraq and the other favorite hobgobolins, few people actually knowledgeable about such issues talk about such quite bogus threats. Professor Grossman in this book digs very deep into easily availabe U.S. space command literature and other easily available documents to get at the reality.

And the reality behind the U.S. plans to militarise space is simply stated by the U.S. military: achieving hegemony in space will have a similar, though probably much greater effect, as the achievment of hegemony of the seas achieved by England and the other European imperialists centuries ago. And of course those powers always justified their aggressions as "defense."

Perhaps the most interesting quote in the book comes from the Space command's "Long Range Plan" produced during the Clinton years. It explains that as the so-called globalization economy expands throughout the world "the gap between 'have' and 'have-not' nations will widen--creating regional unrest." This is, of course, contrary to the propaganda that as time goes on globalization will create a literal utopia throughout the world.

The document goes on to say that "The United States will remain the only nation able to project power globally...One of the long acknowledged and commonly understood advantages of space-based plaforms is no restriction or country clearances to overfly a nation from space. We expect this advantage to endure...Achieving space superiority during conflicts will be critical to U.S. success on the battlefields."

Another interesting document quoted in the books is the report commissioned and endorsed by the democratic controlled congress in 1987 which describes how the U.S. might be able to hijack the deposits of minerals on the Moon collected by other nations. Like the hegemonic powers of the past, the U.S. will engage in piracy when it is able to.

Now the "missle defense" is one component of a vast array of offensive weaponery, in large part nuclear powered, that is planned to be placed in space. Of course, missle defense itself, adopting the dubious assumption that it works, would theoritically protect the U.S. from any retaliatory strike andywhere in the world, allowing the U.S. to engage in military operations probably completely unimpeded which is why other nations are and will be building up anti-sattelite weapons and space-based and conventional weaponery and capablities. In other words the U.S. is starting an extremely dangerous arms race.

Grossman goes into other some interesting stuff. Such as about the Challenger space shuttle which exploded in January 1986 was scheduled in May 1986 the Ullyses plutonium fueled space probe with 24.2 pounds of plutonium on board; thus it would have been really horrific if it would have exploded then. And he compares the Cassini space probe flight about 700 miles above the earth's atmosphere so it could get enought gravity to push to go on to Saturn to the Mars climate orbiter which was navigated too close to the Martian atmosphere and crashed into the planet because the geniuses at Nasa and Lockeed Martin working on the project had failed to convert English units of measurement to metric ones. He wonders what would happen had they made the same mistake with the Cassini, fueled by 72.3 pounds of plutonium. Well, he says, in 1964 a U.S. navigation sattelite fueled with plutoniun failed to get into space and disintegrated into the earth's atmosphere dispersing 2.1 pounds of plutonium all over the earth, perhaps causing the global increase in lung cancer since then according to a Mannahaten project scientist.

Well, anyways, the point is stressed that our great leaders don't really carry about "defense" in the honest sense of the word but want to enrich the military manufacturers which subsidise them and the military buereaucrats. They will continue to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into the pockets executives of Boeing, Raytheon, Lockeed Martin and continue to spread suffering and terror around the world. The public is currently being roused to jingoism and fear so that the Bush administration has the support to do virtually anything under the guise of "fighting terrorism." and they already have done a terrible amount. It's important that the work of the group Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear, disussed extensively in the last half of the book, is supported.

Read this book, go to the websites indicated. Take Action. This book is an absolute wake up call to America and Israel. Thank you Karl Grossman. Time's a wasting.
Wendy
Zayante, California

I had the good fortune of reading this book when it was first published and still consider it one of the best children's books ever on understanding disabilities and the people who have them.
This is a picture book, a children's book and a guidebook for parents, all in one. The story focuses on the building of a friendship between two young boys, one with and one without a disability. I actually purchased several copies of "About Handicaps" and shared them with friends and neighbors. Later, when I became a Disability Awareness Specialist, I used this book in an awareness program for third graders to help them become more understanding of their classmates who had a disability. This is a book that will educate your head and touch your heart. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

What makes Kristin Dawkins' "Gene Wars: The Politics of Biotechnology," amazing is that it reads rather like a 21st Century "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine. Dawkins begins by outlining how NAFTA and GATT logically led to what amounts to multiple international coup d'etats (including the United States) by global corporations forcefully pushing for adoption of World Trade Organization laws (that's right, international LAWS). Once WTO is adopted, all other national, regional and local laws become subordinate to Fortune 500 corporate fiat. Any country not subscribing to WTO can kiss their economy goodbye. Part and parcel of the WTO package are special provisions for "intellectual property" that include the DNA, genetic codes for agricultural crop plants worldwide. So whether you consider WTO simply "good business" or corporate piracy on a cosmic scale depends on your morality and world view. Nevertheless, Dawkins pamphlet ""Gene Wars" is authoritative, technically and historically accurate ... and an incredible bargain!

Collaboratively edited by Daniel Van Den Bulcke (Professor of International Management and Development, University of Antwerp, Belgium) and Alain Verbeke (Professor of International Business and Public Policy, Solvay Business School, University of Brussels, Belgium), Globalization And The Small Open Economy is an informative compilation of scholarly assessments regarding small, open countries and their economies in a globalizing economic system. Examining the role of government, environmental policy, investment and multinational management, Globalization And The Small Open Economy concludes that globalization offers more benefits than threats to economic growth to small nations. Individual nations looked at in close detail include Korea, Singapore, and Belgium in this fact-filled, persuasively argued and highly analytical economic commentary. Globalization And The Small Open Economy is a strongly recommended addition to academic reference collections and international economics supplemental reading lists.

Any one interested in creating an education system that is child centered, flexible and interesting should read this book.
The Met, a public highschool in Providence, RI., is the focus of a 2 year study by the author that culminated in this book. This is a special place where real learning takes place and children are valued for their interests and their individualism.
It almost makes me want to go back to highschool or atleast move to Providence so that my children can go there. Thank you to the author, eliot Levine, and to everyone associated at the Met for being brave enough to go against the tide and create a school that will hopefully be the model for all schools in the future.

An excellent monograph by an outstanding scholar

What a concept! Rather than trying to get the most acreage per lot, make smaller lots with more shared open space. A must read for every developer, planning board, and zoning commition. Easy to follow examples show how to preserve historic and environmental features while adding to the value of the land that is developed.

If we developed land in the manner the author teaches, America would look so much nicer! A very common sense approach to maintain rural character in an area and stop sprawl from destroying your area. Every developer, planner, new home buyer, builder, conservationist and private citizen should read this and also buy the author's book, "Rural By Design".

Cheers for Randall G. Arendt, et al. For years my government agency has been fighting a loosing battle in Florida with unmanaged and unfettered urban growth. It seemed as though nothing could stem the tide of urban sprawl until two things happened. One was an election of a more centralist government and the other was the introduction of "designing for conservation" into our policy making levels. This concept was brought into clear focus by Arendt's book. The authors not only presented a practical and economically sound guide for growth that can benefit developers, but the reference can act as a mechanism to help preserve the environmental cohesiveness of any community. The policy makers in our community were so impressed with this book that fifteen (15) copies were purchased to be placed into the hands of influential politicians, developers and regulatory agencies.

Globaphobia is a great little text on the benefits of free trade. If only some of those protesting about the evils of capitalism actually took the time to educate themselves. They might then see that everyone benefits from free trade; developing countries have more jobs and developed countries higher real wages; consumers everywhere get greater choice.

There will always be losers - as the book makes clear. But that's a fact of life whichever economic creed you follow. There are significantly fewer losers in Asia now that forty years of economic liberalisation have raised income levels from paddy field to first world standards. This book explains why - in crisp simple terms.

Globaphobia is an important book for anyone trying to get a handle on the free trade arguments. The book is well written and addressed to a lay audience. One should be careful about some of the assumptions in the book, especially if one has no background in economics. I was required to get the book as a supplementary reading for an International Trade Theory course. I found it to be very helpful in getting a big picture understanding of current International Trade Theory. Buy the book; it is worth the relatively inexpensive price!

The ease of reading is exceptional. If you are worried about your limited understanding in economics and especially international trade, this is the book for you. In addition to the book being written and edited to be understood by nearly any modestly educated person it is further advantaged by authors that clearly understand the subject in great depth. As is so often the case the extremely well informed can write with such clarity for the lay reader.

As nearly all economists understand net trade flows always equal net investment flows. Shockingly large numbers of media and congressmen do not understand this utterly simple formula. In a nut shell, with all the foreign money pouring into the USA treasuries market, stock market and direct business investments over the last several decades, it follows that the USA would run trade deficits equal to the net investment inflow over the same period. If you do not understand this or you want an ultra easy review of these simple facts, this book was made for you. In a grand gesture of national service these authors wrote the book that was needed for general understanding of what positive and negative points globalization means to the USA. It is not designed for academic kudos.

If every modestly educated voter would read this book, the future of the USA and the world would be significantly brightened. While this is a pipe dream, at least read this book before you say one more word about globalization otherwise you may embarrass your self in the presence of informed people. If you are informed on economics please forgive my heavy handedness. It is not meant for you. This is a critical issue for underdeveloped nations and the mature nations, there is so much to be gained by informed voters on this subject.

This book is carefully grounded in the proven principals of economics. While a reviewer or two gives an impression to the contrary, decades of reading in economics provides me the confidence to assure you that this book is profoundly well grounded. At each point where scholars may differ the authors and editors have carefully laid out its discussion. This is not a book written with a liberal or conservative bent. Modern economics encompasses a significant degree of science and mathematical logic. To view this book as otherwise, is to be illogical or unwilling to accept the most basic proven equations. Again you will not find an easier more meaningful book to read on economics.

The USA economy for a variety of reasons has sharply declining need for workers without a high school education and places a continuing rising premium on post college education. Increasingly, those that can graduate from the elite institutions lead nearly a charmed life in the USA. Immigrants that are able to enter the USA with limited education are having increasing difficulty as the decades roll by. It is not clear that globalization is a meaningful factor in placing the such great educational needs on the American worker. This book helps frame the questions that might be asked about the rising importance of education in the USA. The book being about globalization does not dwell on this issue, but it does strongly suggest that the potential understanding of this issue of the exponentially rising need for superior knowledge is much broader than the globalization trend.

The most provocative theme in the latter chapters of the book is the impact of globalization on those American workers that are poorly educated. The adverse impacts on this group comes from rapid technology changes, defective educational system, ineffective governmental assistance and to a very small degree open trade. The authors documentation about how little negative impact foreign trade has on a very limited number of workers is shocking. A source of another worthy book would be to provide a more exhaustive review of this aspect. The authors conclude that the popular obsession on this point should treated with a reorganized aggressive worker assistance program. Almost any reasonable assistance program would be a modest cost relative to the diverse and powerful benefits that all the rest of Americans get from open trade according to the authors.

The authors are very negative on the effectiveness of government sponsored retraining. The book is highly critical of the governments ability to define injured parties in open trade without it being a political football. The authors suggest an assistance program that is indiscriminate as to the cause of worker misfortune and focuses on programs that show imperial evidence of effectiveness. The focal point is intermediate assistance for any lower income workers need to find new employment. While the left and the right quarrel about where to draw the line, the authors contend that so few people are in need relative to the benefits of open trade that just focusing on a well designed assistance program would make all the difference in giving support and comfort to the aggrieved relative to the huge benefits of open trade.

As a REAL LATINAMERICAN that was born and has lived in Latinamerica most of his life i have to say i disagree with this book. Yes facts are facts and the USA has intervened in latin america far too many times, but we cant blame them for our problems. Look at Cuba, after the early 1960's the USA has not intervened with Cuba and Fidel has been free to run "his" country, and look at what he has done, even after he received billions in money from the former USSR. Yet, who do we blame for Cuba being such a poor country?
I recommend reading "Fabricantes de Miseria" its a great and not one sided book about how everyone from wealthy bussiness families to unions and militaries have ruined latinamerica. Although i think that book is only in spanish.

This is a great book for those who want to look at things from a fresh perspective. It is not meant for those who believe capitalism and imperialism are the best options out there. Eduardo Galeano did an excellent job at investigating as well as setting forward a view of Latin America that very few North Americans ever get to know. One warning though: it is not for those faint of heart, this book is explicit and very painful to read; but that is only because the history of Latin America has been very sad and painful. An excellent read, you'll think about this book forever.

This is a must for people who like to know the truth of what happened in Latin America over the centuries of European influence... and the truth isn't pretty. Eduardo Galeano doesn't blame the American people for all of Latin American problems and incredible corruption at government and management levels, he points out at the American governments and their foreign policy; the fact remains we, Latin Americans, have been invaded by American marines more than 200 times, and every single time it hasn't been to defend the people and democracy but to support right wing corrupted officials and capitalists. Take Chile for example, it was American dollars and American advisors which help orchestrating the criminal and totally anti-democratic coupe d'etat of 1973...

Eduardo Galeano is an excellent writer, and he has dedicated most of his life to put his writing at our service, so that we understand how we ended up in such mess and poverty having one of the richest continent on Earth.

I first read this book when I was 13, now I am 38 and came to your site because I would like to have an updated copy of this book for my children. I read the other comments made before mine and could not let the opportunity go to give people the other side of the coin...

In summary: THIS IS A MAGNIFICENT BOOK, WELL WRITTEN, WELL RESEARCHED AND WELL INTENTIONED!

PS: I live in Australia and this book is a text book for some of the courses run by Australian universities.