« gleans + 1xaddenda at 9:45 AM MT, 11/15 | Main | gleans at 4:25 PM MT, 11/15 »

November 15, 2008

gleans + 1xORA at 1:10 PM MT, 11/15

 

NEWS ALERT
from The Wall Street Journal
Nov. 15, 2008
As G-20 crisis talks came to an end in Washington, world leaders in a statement
pledged to take all steps necessary to stabilize the financial system. <== today's less alert item  The statement noted five common principles on fixing the financial system. G-20 leaders agreed to meet again by April 30, 2009.  Read related article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122675491756631041.html?mod=djemalertNEWS
Read full G-20 statement:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122677642316131071.html?mod=djemalertNEWS

Outliers: Malcolm Gladwell's Success Story (Profile)
Upending conventional wisdom has made Malcolm Gladwell famous and successful. In his new book, Outliers, he asks, Why on earth did that happen?

40 Years Later, It's Moon Race 2.0 (The Well / Science)
Forty years after the first manned lunar landing, the race is on to return. This time, the U.S. faces more competition than just the U.S.S.R. of old. How about China, India and Google for starters?

Nitro-Scrambled Eggs (Life / Food)
Home cooks, meet molecular gastronomy

Go Western, Young Man (Life / Education)
The best relatively cheap university you've never heard of. (Hint: it's only online)

 

* today's Ordinary Reading Assignment *

The Skimmer (Briefing)

Big Boy Rules: America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq by Steve Fainaru (Hardcover - Nov 10, 2008)

 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Public Must Know Private Contracting Engagement Rules, November 3, 2008
By  Francis Cote "flc" (Buffalo) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This story must be told! The public may never be aware of the '...mayhem of Iraq...'. My son Jonathon is the main character in this book. Jon was a US Army veteran, 82nd Airborne Unit, who did tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq. His story is parallel to many other Americans who are attracted to the contracting life in Iraq whether it be for the money, the excitement or the fact that they don't feel they fit in anymore after having served in the war. The United States is putting hired help behind the front lines to ease the burden of its understaffed and overworked armed forces. That's the price we pay for having an all volunteer military. By paying civilians to handle tasks previously handled by the military, the administration is freeing up U.S. troops to do the actual fighting. But the use of contractors also hides the true costs of war. Their dead aren't added to official body counts. Their duties and profits are hidden by closed mouthed executives who won't give details to Congress as their coffers and roles swell. It is estimated that there is one contractor for every 10 foreign soldiers in Iraq; 10 times the private involvement in the first Gulf War in which I served. The bigger the contractor, the more the influence they have to establish the rules of engagement there. Who could have conceived the results factually detailed in this book. You will enjoy it!
Jon's story is at www.FreeCote.com.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you?

YesNo

Report this | Permalink


 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The truth is being told......, November 8, 2008
By  MMP (Maryland) - See all my reviews
I finished reading "Big Boy Rules" last night. I hope the Cote, Young, Munns, Reuben, Withrow, and Nussbaumer families find comfort in knowing the truth is out, and the story of their sons, brothers, fathers, husbands, and friends is being told.
The book is very well written. As despicable as the outcome is, Steve Fainaru did a fantastic job of capturing the life of Jon, the strength of the Cote family, and the corruption that led to this tragedy.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? YesNo
Report this | Permalink


 
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book!, November 12, 2008
This is a brilliant book. Steve Fainaru puts a very human face on this largely unknown aspect of the war in Iraq after spending considerable time with numerous mercenaries in the field. It is a personal account as well; Fainaru grew close to several mercs who later were abducted and killed, and at the same time he was dealing with his brother's potential incarceration (for refusing to reveal the source of grand jury testimony in the BALCO steroids investigation) and his father's death from lung cancer. The way he dovetails all this is quite skillful and powerful. Fainaru doesn't hide his affection for the victims in Iraq and their families back home, but he doesn't hide their warts, either. Fainaru won a Pulitzer Prize for his stories in the Washington Post on this topic, and it's easy to see why. "Big Boy Rules" is truly an amazing job of reporting and writing--a very compelling read.

 

 

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341bfb6d53ef010535f16312970b

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference gleans + 1xORA at 1:10 PM MT, 11/15:

Comments

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been saved. Comments are moderated and will not appear until approved by the author. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

Comments are moderated, and will not appear until the author has approved them.

Sponsors

  • Sawgrass Books: Rare books and used books
Blog powered by TypePad