What book(s) are you reading currently?

[Roubignol]

Yesterday I finished the introduction and the first chapter of the French translation of

The Predator State
The Predator State: how conservatives abandoned the free market and why liberals should too

Author: James K. Galbraith
Country: United States
Language: English
Subject: Economics, Political Economy
Publisher: Free Press
Publication date: 2008
Pages: 221
ISBN: 9781416566830



Here is a decription taken from wikipedia:

The book was written in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans, but before the 2008 financial crash. Galbraith related both events to the ideas described in the book. For him, the Katrina disaster was a defining failure of the political system, since a political hostility to the public sector had inspired the degradation (or selling off) of publicly owned emergency services. Writing a preface for the paperback edition, which came out after the 2008 crash, Galbraith blamed the ongoing crisis on deregulation which, in the name of free markets, had left the financial predators to police themselves.

The book has three sections. The first portrays free markets as a cultural myth which is not really believed by its proponents. The second explains the operation of the predator state, where economic inequality is not a side-effect of economic development but a consequence of greedy private interests taking more for themselves. The third has some recommendations for dealing with predators; getting the benefits of private enterprise without giving excessive power to corporate elites.

Here is a small part of the original introduction that read yesterday night in French:

... where the Soviet creed was of central planning, ours was its polar opposite, a cult of the free market. And as I charted my way through this book, I came to realize that the relationship between actual policy in the United States and the doctrines of policy is not simple. In uncanny ways, this relationship has come to resemble its counterpart in the old Soviet Union: actual policies were (and are) in no principled way governed by official doctrine. Rather, the doctrine served as a kind of legitimating myth - something to be repeated to schoolchildren but hardly taken seriously by those on the inside.

I hope that I'll finish it during this week. It's interesting even if I don't know all the American economists quoted in this book, who contributed to apply the Reagan's and Bush's view of economy. But according to Mr Galbraith, a thing is sure, it was a disaster.
In the first chapter written before the subprime crisis, Mr. Galbraith already blamed the total lack of preoccupations that the US government of both sides had during 27 years about environmental and social problems.

[73north]

I thought I would share a book , that I own , that is really handy for any VEF Traveller in the UK - or anyone visiting from abroad from VEF .
( The things I do for the VEF Forum )
George McCoy is a British writer best known for producing
McCoy's British Massage Parlour Guide, which were a series of guidebooks to
Massage establishments in Britain ( these are an euphemism for a Brothel ) .

Businesses which only provide therapeutic massage services are not included , which
is very helpful and would save embarrassment .

For the purposes of the review on this book , please be aware - the books are out of date
and show how many have closed down in Edinburgh alone ( only 5 left )
There are none left in Glasgow -
The new ' Scottish Police Force ' tried 2 years ago , to close the last 5 in Edinburgh , but thankfully failed as a Lawyer found a Legal Document from the 1980's that they were permitted ( so the Cops lost )

I have only visited the ones in Edinburgh in the last year -
and they are Blair Street Sauna (BSS ) , NewTown Sauna ( NTS ), London Street Sauna ( LSS ), Scorpio Leisure and Carols Sauna - all within walking distance of Edinburgh Waverley .

note - Gemini at Dundas Street is still listed on the website of McCoys as
still being open , and in on-line searches on the internet -
its actually now flats - so you need to do your research

The Book however , despite being ' out-of-date ' is very handy as it gives you an idea where the establishments are all located in the UK.

NOTE !!
For the Purposes of the Forum rules -
I will not discuss what goes on inside them in this Forum ( so don't ask )

[otokonomidori]

Originally Posted by 73north

[)



I have only visited the ones in Edinburgh in the last year -
and they are Blair Street Sauna (BSS ) , NewTown Sauna ( NTS ), London Street Sauna ( LSS ), Scorpio Leisure and Carols Sauna - all within walking distance of Edinburgh Waverley .



I will not discuss what goes on inside them in this Forum ( so don't ask )

I'm driving over to Edinburgh next week - should I mention your name at the door of one of these establishments.

[73north]

I thought I would brighten up my boring week - and got a great buy using the ' best offer ' service on ebay -
with this bought for only £ 6 ( includes free postage )

Hopefully it should be a great buy -
These Interracial paperbacks were really popular in the 70's and 80's.

aka Plantation ' porn ' novel.
"She needed whole black cargoes to feed her lust!
A novel of a ship of infamy --
owned in secret by the most savage female in the annals of slavery."

PS For the record - the Star Distributors novel I bought and read was pretty dreadful - and I would not recommend anyone actually buy them unless you want to collect them ( some of the books are quite rare and command ridiculous prices on the internet )

[BlueArsedFly]

DC had iconic characters like Superman and Batman at their disposal and a bunch of interesting other characters and never had the first idea how to exploit their potential. Some of the stories about DC trying to work out what Marvel's winning formula was are just laughable.

[ultimatewarlord]

I'm feeling lazy so I've got an actor to do the reading for me. I picked up an abridged version on Leslie Phillips autobiography 'Hello' on cd for a bargain 50p at a car boot last week. An enjoyable listen while driving to and from work.

[Sir Honkers]

Phillip Jose Farmers pulp heroes series. Starting with The Other Log Of Phileas Fogg and then going on to A Barnstormer In Oz, The Adventures Of The Peerless Peer, Lord Grandrith and Doc Caliban. Thinly disguised versions of Tarzan and Doc Savage.

[rlg118]

The Flight: Charles Lindbergh's Daring and Immortal 1927 Transatlantic Crossing by Dan Hampton

[judy84]

Just finished reading a series of crime fiction novels (sad, I know) by American author James Thompson who used to live in Finland. Apart from the story, it does relate something of the history and culture of Finland which Mr Palo might also find an interesting point of view.

[theequestrian]

The Commentaries
(The Gallic War; The Civil War) - Caius Julius Caesar