Hans Is Great

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Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:44:00 +0000

Whatever Makes You Happy

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:41:00 +0000

Whatever Makes You Happy, by William Sutcliffe

$11.70 at Amazon.com

ISBN: 1596914955

Those of you who are looking for a fun beach read that's light and funny while retaining some substance will enjoy this terrific new novel about mothers and their sons.

It's set in the beautiful and exciting city of London. Matt, Daniel, and Paul were boyhood friends. Now in their thirties and all still bachelors, they've lost touch with one another; but their mothers meet each month to talk about their children, as mothers will do. When Mother's Day passes without so much as a phone call or a card, the three women decide it's time to reestablish the bonds with their sons.

Carol's son Matt works for a men's magazine called Balls! He spends his nights visiting posh night clubs and bringing home girls who are half his age. No grandchildren on the way here. Meanwhile Gillian's son Daniel is on the mend from a heart-wrenching breakup. He lives in squallid isolation, feeling sorry for himself. She used to dream that he'd marry a nice jewish girl, but now absolutely any girl would be encouraging.

My favorite of the three is Helen. Her son Paul's door is answered by a handsome man in his early twenties:

He was wearing a tight, short T-shirt and a pair of jeans so low and loose-fitting that they appeared to be held up only by his genitals. A good five inches of midriff were on display, though it was more low-riff than midriff, since the revealed band of flesh started at the navel and descended to what was unmistakably a frond or two of pubic hair.

The clothes, even to a woman who was no expert on these matters, said very clearly, "I am gay." The way he stood said, "I am gay"; the hair said, "I am gay"; even the way he opened the door somehow succeeded in saying, "I am gay."

He was gay.

None of the three guys have any idea their mom's are coming to visit; and they've been out of touch for a while, so the moms don't have a clear picture when setting out of what they're grown-up son's lifestyles are like.

Naturally there's a bit of generational humor in all three cases, as "clueless" mom tries to reconnect with the modern British man. There's a terrific scene in which Helen follows her playboy son Matt to a launch party for a new aftershave. The two are ambushed by a paparazzi-style reporter, and awkward attempts are made to cover the fact that a major Balls! reporter goes to circuit parties with his mother. Hilarity ensues.
There's nothing complicated or challenging about Whatever Makes You Happy, it's simply a pleasant and diverting short novel. Parts of it were quite touching: since my own mother has passed away, it was interesting to contemplate how it might be if she came to visit me as it happened in the book. If your mother is living, it will make you want to call her and tell her you love her.

This book strikes the perfect balance of melodrama and clever British wit, and is sure to be the feel good hit of the summer.

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Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Mon, 04 May 2009 02:34:00 +0000

The History of Civilization

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Mon, 04 May 2009 01:18:00 +0000

Chapter Nineteen: The Rise of Macedonia

By the fourth century BC, the most powerful city-states of Greece were weakened by decades of war with one another. Persia maintained control over Greek affairs, especially on the Aegean coast. There was no need for the Persians to destroy the Greeks: they were destroying one another. The only barrier to a complete Persian victory was the rising power of Macedonia, Greece's neighbor to the north.

Macedonia was still mostly a barbarous country of hard-working but illiterate mountain folk. While Greeks elected political leaders who served for pre-appointed terms, Macedonian kings were despots who ruled with no legal limitations on their power. Political instability resulted: many Macedonian kings died in battle, and still more were assassinated by rivals.

Nor was there any public bureaucracy. The strong preyed on the weak, crime and gang violence were common. Although it used Greek as its official language, Macedonia contributed not a single author, artist, scientist, or philosopher to the Greek scene.

The kingdom of Macedonia itself was stabilized by a strong and charismatic king who was able to subdue the warring factions and organize the country's labor. He would soon turn his eye on Greece itself.

Philip II came to the Macedonian throne in 359 BC. Having lived in Greece for several years, he had developed some sense of culture and many military ideas. Like his famous son, he sometimes had a violent temper but was also prone to generosity. Unlike Alexander, he had a boisterous laugh and was fond of low-brow jokes. He liked boys, but liked women more and married several of them. He attempted monogamy, with Alexander's mother, but gave it up when she told him she's had sex with a god and he wasn't Alexander's true father.

In diplomacy, he was quick to break promises, but always ready to make more. He gave Macedonia its first truly professional army within a few years. With this force he was determined to unify Greece under his leadership and, together, cross the Aegean and drive the Persians out of Asia Minor.

At every step he found himself working against the Greek love of liberty. They simply didn't feel ready to have a tribal warlord with absolute power as a political leader.

To finance his campaigns he had sold thousands of captives, many of them Athenians, into slavery, and so lost the hearts and minds of the people. A small army was hastily organized under Demosthenes (shown right) in a desperate last effort to preserve the Greek empire and way of life. They met Philip's force on the plain of Chaeronea in 338 BC. Every one of its members died on the battlefield.

Demosthenes' Athenian army had fought bravely for a cause they dearly believed in, but they had waited too long and were not equipped to deal with so disciplined an army as the Macedonian.

The outcome of the Battle of Chaeronea was unexpected. The unity that Greece had failed to create for itself had been achieved, but only by the force of an outside invasion.

Philip was generous in victory, and offered the defeated Greeks an alliance. The purpose of this alliance was to create a united Greek army for an attack on Persia. Suddenly, Greece was revitalized, and ready to go on the offensive in its long and humiliating cold war with Persia. Philip was appointed to lead the assault, and was just about to depart for the first campaign when he was mysteriously assassinated in 336 BC.

Philip's son, Alexander, was idolized by the army and beloved by the royal court because of his handsome looks, athleticism, and polite manners. He had already participated in several military campaigns, and had led a crucial charge against the Greeks at Chaeronea for which he was widely acclaimed as a hero and a military genius. He seized the Macedonian throne without difficulty and, at the age of twenty, prepared to conquer the world.

To be continued...

For my previous posts on the History of Civilization, click here.

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Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:14:00 +0000

The Road to Jerusalem

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:33:00 +0000

The Road to Jerusalem: Book One of the Crusades Trilogy

by Jan Guillou

$17.15 in the Hansisgreat Gift Shop

This is an exciting and easy to read new piece of historical fiction. It takes place in Sweden during the 12th century, in the middle of the Crusades.

Arn Magnusson is our story's young hero. Born into an aristocratic Swedish family, Arn seems touched by God from birth. As a boy he falls from a tower in his father's castle and is pronounced dead, only to be miraculously revived thanks to his mother's prayers and a promise that, if Arn lives, she will dedicate his life to God's service.
Soon Arn is sent to a monastery for training as an oblate (a boy monk). It's interesting that, although Arn has very little to say throughout the book, his character is still developed surprisingly well. The monks charged with instructing Arn quickly notice that he has some unusual talents: he's ambidextrous, for example. He also soon becomes a gifted archer and soldier while still keeping his monastic vows.

All this is set against the backdrop of the crusader army losing in the war for the Holy Land, as the Islamic empire reasserts is power over the cities on the Mediterranean coast. Additionally, war among the Scandinavian kings who are fighting for dominance brings added instability and intrigue to the story.

Guillou does a truly masterful job of explaining the history of the Crusades to those of us who are interested, but don't know too much about them. It's not a history book at all: entirely fiction, but it still manages to keep the facts straight.

We never get to the Holy Land in this first volume of the trilogy. Arn's talent for swordplay earns him a place in the hugely respected Knights Templar, whose mission is to protect religious pilgrims traveling from Europe to Jerusalem, so a visit to the blood soaked land of history's most disastrous war is imminent for volume two. The Road to Jerusalem takes place entirely in Europe, mostly in medieval Sweden, which is interesting in its own way: full of violence and intrigue while still outside the hotbed of European politics.

If you enjoy fiction about war and medieval history, you'll love this book. It's engaging from the first few pages, with frequent surprising plot twists and endless adventure. Arn is highly sympathetic as the male lead, with a terrific cast of supporting characters. Fans of the Da Vinci Code and its ilk are especially encouraged to check this one out.

The Road to Jerusalem offers the entire panoply of medieval Christendom: brave knights, treacherous royalty, pious monks, seductive maidens, and one of the most gruesome wars of all time. This is a surefire winner, certain to become the thrill-ride hit of the summer.

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Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:35:00 +0000

Asteroids

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:47:00 +0000

More than a million asteroids have been discovered and named in our Solar System. Many more are discovered each year.

If an asteroid with a diameter of more than 1 km struck the earth, it would result in permanent climate change and the likely eradication of human life. For this reason, scientists have attempted to map as many of them as possible. It's still not a perfect system, however. Last month the previously undiscovered asteroid 2009 DD45 whizzed past our planet, visible with the naked eye from the southern hemisphere, at 20 km per second only 66,000 km above the surface.

Asteroids get closer than this all the time, so scientists say there's nothing to fear from 2009 DD45.

The vast majority of asteroids are located in the belt between Mars and Jupiter. Their combined mass is less than that of the Earth's moon. There are 26 known asteroids larger than 200 km in diameter. We probably know more than 99% of the large asteroids, more than 100 km in diameter, but very few of the smaller ones. There are probably more than a million with diameters of 1 km or more. Most are in relatively circular orbits, but some are much more eccentric, which can sometimes bring their flight paths uncomfortably close to Earth.

The first asteroid was discovered on January 1, 1801, by Giuseppi Piazzi. He believed he had discovered a small planet, and named it Ceres, after the Roman goddess of grain. Within the next few years, asteroids Pallas, Vesta, and Juno were discovered. By the end of the 19th century, scientists had discovered thousands of asteroids.

Ceres is the largest known asteroid, with a diameter of 590 miles. This is large enough so that gravity has given it a roughly spherical shape. For this reason, astronomers have re-classified Ceres as a dwarf planet, like Pluto.

The photo to the right was taken by the Hubble telescope, and is the clearest image of Ceres to date, but the dwarf planet is scheduled to be explored by unmanned NASA probes within the next five years.

In 1991 the Galileo spacecraft gave us our first up close images of asteroids, photographing Ida and Gaspra on its way to Jupiter.

Ida is especially interesting because it has its own tiny satellite, the asteroid Dactyl (with a diameter of about 1.5 km, you can see it as a tiny dot on the right side of the photo). It is believed that several asteroids in the region were originally one big piece, which broke apart after a collision with another object. In fact, many asteroids may be part of binary systems or even small groups of satellites revolving around larger neighbors.

Perhaps the most notable asteroid of all is Apophis, whose orbit brings it very close to Earth once every few years. It is "only" 350 meters across, but will be in our vicinity in 2029. Scientists estimate a 1 in 45,000 chance that Apophis will collide with Earth in 2029. If this were to happen, the impact would release 880 megatons of energy. When Meteor Crater, Arizona was formed (pictured at the top of this post), only 3 - 10 megatons were released. If Apophis hit Earth on the land, the impact would kill millions. If it struck the water, it would create devastating tsunamis in all directions.

There's no need to panic. Space is filled with asteroids, comets, and other space debris that could impact the Earth at any time. NASA and ESA are developing plans to visit and possibly deflect such objects if they get too close to our planet, in addition to mapping as many objects as possible so that we can predict an impact with enough time to react. Learning about our rogue neighbors, the asteroids, is a critical step towards preventing future catastrophes.

For my previous posts on outer space, click here.

There's a great book, filled with beautiful pictures from around the Universe, called Astronomy: A Visual Guide, by Mark A. Garlick. It's essential reading for any outer space enthusiast.

Eye Candy

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Hadrosaurs

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:56:00 +0000

The most important plant-eaters at the end of the age of dinosaurs were the hadrosaurids, or duck-billed dinosaurs.

Hadrosaurus was one of the first dinosaurs discovered in North America, and one of the first nearly complete skeletons ever found. First noticed in a marl pit in 1838 near Haddonfield, New Jersey, it was nearly twenty years before the fossilized remains were recognized, named, and excavated.

Few remains of hadrosaurus have been found since this original specimen (now on display at the Philadelphia Academy of Science), but a host of similar dinosaurs with duck-bill shaped skulls are now categorized as hadrosaurids. Several distinct features set hadrosaurs apart from other plant-eaters of the time, especially their beaks and unusual head crests.

Hadrosaurs evolved along with the development of flowering plants, from 100 to 65 million years ago, and may have risen to prominence because they were able to eat this new food source.

It was originally believed that the duckbill shaped beak suggested that hadrosaurs lived in water. The tail, which has a finned shape like a crocodile's, would seem to support this idea. But with few other body parts appearing to be adapted to an aquatic existence, this theory has now been widely discredited. Still, hadrosaurs would have had no problem crossing a river or wading through a swamp. Their limbs allowed them to walk on all fours or on just the two rear legs.

The hadrosaur neck is S-shaped, consistent with a low feeder, like a modern horse or buffalo. Different animals have different shaped beaks, however: narrow-beaked dinosaurs would have been selective eaters, while broad-mouthed dinosaurs would have eaten great mouthfuls of plants indiscriminately.

Hadrosaurs had teeth only in the cheek region, near the back of the jaw. They were closely packed into sections of fifty teeth or more, with columns of "back ups" as teeth became broken by cutting through rough plant material. Some hadrosaurs had more than a thousand teeth at a time, which were regularly replaced, like all dinosaur teeth, or like modern crocodiles and sharks.

The hadrosaur group evolved rapidly, and into many varied forms. They have been found in every continent, except for Australia and Africa. Some were more than 12 meters long, and weighed up to 5 tons. Animals this large had to be fast and agile enough to avoid predators, which required massive amounts of energy from food. Evidence suggests that hadrosaurs lived in groups, and when they ate, hadrosaur groups must have denuded entire forests to satisfy their need for food.

Many hadrosaurs had impressive crests, which consisted of hollow tubes connected to the nasal passages. There are many theories about how these crests developed.

One idea is that the hadrosaurs may have relied heavily on their sense of smell, and that these tubes amplified this sense, helping the animal to detect slight variations in the scents in the air. Another possibility is that the crest was a sort of communication device. Air snorted through the tube would have made a loud honking sound, audible for miles. This may have been used for long distance communication, to warn others of the species when a predator was approaching. There is no reason why these theories could not both be true.

The discovery of hadrosaurs, around the time of the US Civil War, helped establish dinosaurs as a distinctive group of animals. It also reinforced the idea that some animals had lived on earth and become extinct before the first humans. After all, there are thousands of hadrosaur remains that have been found all over the world, yet no one ever mentions seeing a living one. It was around this time that Charles Darwin published his theory of natural selection, explaining that life on earth might be much older than anyone had previously suspected.

For my previous posts on dinosaurs, click here.

There are a lot of great books about dinosaurs, filled with lovely pictures, perfect for any coffee table. Two of my favorites are The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs, by Dougal Dixon, and Dinosaurus: The Complete Guide to Dinosaurs, by Steve Parker.

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Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:03:00 +0000

The Lost City of Z

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:26:00 +0000

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon

by David Grann

$16.50 in the Hansisgreat Gift Shop

ISBN: 978-0385513531

$23.95 for the downloadable audiobook

The Amazon rain forest is nearly as large as the continental US.

The river begins high in the Andes Mountains, and holds more water than all of the rivers in China combined. In some places it is almost 300 feet deep.
As for the jungle itself, visitors must deal with pirhanas, vampire bats, electric eels, jaguars, anacondas, and abhorrent parasites that swim up one's penis or vagina to burrow into the host's spine. The humidity breeds huge clouds of gnats and mosquitoes, which are miserable to deal with in addition to causing malaria and yellow fever. Mold grows instantaneously, ruining equipment and making food inedible.

For all these reasons and more, the region was one of the last places on earth to be explored and mapped. Rumors persisted of a legendary city deep in the rain forest, built by a sophisticated civilization with monumental architecture.

"Colonel" Percy Harrison Fawcett, our story's hero, had already mapped much of Brazil and Peru when he set out to find what he called the lost city of Z in 1925. What a bizarre character! Fawcett is a world famous explorer and military hero, with bombastic ambition and a peculiar obsession with the occult. He brings a small group, including his debonair eighteen year-old son Jack, determined to map the Brazilian rain forest and either prove or debunk the Z legend once and for all.
The entire group mysteriously disappears and is never heard from again. Most assume they were victims of the hostile conditions, while some believe they found the city of Z and loved it too much to leave. In subsequent decades, dozens of parties tried to retrace Fawcett's steps, only to be killed or retreat in despair.
The author includes tales of adventure from his own expeditions to the rain forest in modern times. David Grann became interested in the Fawcett story, and has since tried to solve the eighty year-old mystery of what happened to the world's greatest explorer.

The Lost City of Z is history and travel writing at its best, filled with fascinating stories about cannibals and shrunken heads.

Although it was only published two months ago, Z has already been optioned for a film by Paramount. You heard it here first.

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Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:22:00 +0000

Transgressions

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:16:00 +0000

Transgressions: A M/M Romance, by Erastes

$10.15 in the Hansisgreat Gift Shop

ISBN: 0762435739

A naughty tale of adolescent lust and passion.

Gay romance novels are usually not at the top of the literary food chain, which is why I was somewhat surprised by how good this book was. It's beautifully constructed: rich with longing and unrequited love, just like any "traditional" romance novel, but with more action and sexuality to keep an audience of gay men interested.

It takes place in England during the first years of the British Civil War, beginning in 1642. David Caverly is a teenage boy who lives on his pious, hardworking father's farm. Life is serious, with little time for anything besides toil and prayer.
One day, however, David's father brings home an apprentice named Jonathan to work in his blacksmith shop. Jonathan is a hunky Puritan boy who will be working on the family farm and sleeping in David's room. Like brothers. Delicious.

Soon the two young men start fooling around, and even fall in love. In 1642 , so naturally homosexuality is considered a sin and capital crime, as is unfortunately still the case today in many places. The two lovers have to keep their relationship very discreet, or face terrible consequences.

Transgressions doesn't fixate on the injustices of homophobia, however. It's a romance novel.

A local young woman feels jealous because David isn't attracted to her, and publicly accuses him of getting her pregnant. The lie is widely believed, and David is forced to leave town in disgrace. He becomes a soldier in the Royal Army, defending King Charles. Jonathan misses his departed boyfriend, and leaves his indenture at the blacksmith shop to try to find him, leading him on adventures of his own.
I enjoyed the story well enough, and the development of David and Jonathan's characters was outstanding. Their names honor two biblical characters, which creates a delightful subtext throughout the book. It is this attention to elegance and detail that makes the book romantic and not merely sexual.

Although there is a considerable amount of sex. Erastes has won awards for her erotic writing, and I can understand why. This book masters the art of long, slow build up. When the young men spend their first night as bunk mates, they're very embarassed but curious about one another's bodies. Jonathan, the Puritan, actually stands facing the corner while David gets undressed, too prudish to even look at another man's naked body. This doesn't last long: they start by innocently wrestling and skinny dipping, and their relationship develops for several chapters before they have real sex. It's a terrific build up, and I don't mind telling you I had a hard on the entire time.
Of course, Transgressions is not for everyone. Straight guys would find it of absolutely no interest, in spite of the good war scenes. It's obviously intended for gay men, but the author is a woman and other women might enjoy it. Readers of typical, heterosexual romance novels could find it a giddy thrill. Gay fiction, especially gay erotica, is usually pretty terrible. I'm pleased to say this book was a most lovely exception.

Eye Candy

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:02:00 +0000

The Elements

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:23:00 +0000

Today our exploration of the Periodic Table of Elements enters the sixth period. The table is organized in vertical columns, called groups, and horizontal rows called periods. Elements in the same group have the same number of electrons in the outermost shell, while elements in the same period have the same number of shells.

Imagine the electron shells as something like Russian nesting dolls. The innermost shell is very small, and can only hold two electrons. Shells two and three are larger, and can hold up to eight electrons; shells four and five can hold as many as eighteen.

Atoms with a full outer shell are generally stable. Elements like cesium (in group I) are always looking to give one electron away, shedding its outermost shell to reveal the full shell underneath. Contrariwise, elements like chlorine (in group VII) have an almost full outer shell already; and will beg, steal, share, or borrow an electron to complete the set.

It is this instability, the desire to gain or lose electrons, that causes atoms to join together to form compounds, eventually giving rise to the large and complicated molecules necessary for life. If all the atoms were stable, like the noble gases, nothing would ever happen in the Universe, because the atoms would have no need to interact.

Caesium (Cesium in USA):

Atomic Symbol: Cs

Atomic Number: 55

Caesium was discovered in Heidelberg, Germany in 1860 by Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen, who is best remembered for his invention of the Bunsen burner. It is a soft, shiny metal and a member of group I, also known as the alkali metals. When it is dipped into water, it reacts violently, igniting into colorful blue flames and emitting hydrogen gas.

When bombarded with microwaves, cesium atoms will vibrate at a very predictable rate. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) uses a caesium atomic clock to determine the time, accurate to within one second every 30 million years.

Barium:

Atomic Symbol: Ba

Atomic Number: 56

Barium sulfate is among the most insoluble of all salts, which means it safe to ingest and does not react with stomach acid. For this reason, it is given to people with digestive disorders so that its progress through the body can be followed by X-ray scans.

Its soluble salts are extremely toxic. Barium carbonate is used in rat poison because it dissolves in the stomach acid, causing vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, and paralysis.

In our next chemistry post, we'll discuss the Lanthanides: a group of elements which are extremely rare. In the meantime, check out my previous posts on chemistry by clicking here.

For the chemistry enthusiast, there's an informative and entertaining book called Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements, by John Emsley. Every element is fascinating in its own way, and this book has been a terrific help to me in researching these chemistry posts.

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Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 02:57:00 +0000

Quotations

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 02:31:00 +0000

Quarrel not at all. No man resolved to make the most of himself can spare time for personal contention.

Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

To accomplish our destiny it is not enough to merely guard prudently against road accidents. We must also cover before nightfall the distance assigned to each of us.

Alexis Carrel (1873 - 1944)

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much.

Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997)

Subdue your appetites, my dears, and you've conquered human nature.

Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870)

One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.

Sophocles (496 BC - 406 BC)

Chase after truth like hell and you'll free yourself, even though you'll never touch its coat-tails.

Clarence Darrow (1857 - 1938)

We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.

Hellen Keller (1880 - 1968)

Say not "I have found the truth," but rather, "I have found a truth."

Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931)

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Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:26:00 +0000

Haiti

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:11:00 +0000

Continuing my series of posts on the nations of the world, today we visit Haiti, which occupies half of an island in the Caribbean Sea.

Population: 8,121,622

Total Area: 10,714 sq. mi. (slightly smaller than Maryland)

Language: French (official, but only spoken by about 20% of the population), Creole

Religion: 80% Roman Catholic, 16% Protestant, Voodoo is also very common

Monetary Unit: gourde

President: René Préval (since 2006)

The island has been occupied by Arawak Indians since prehistoric times, and was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, who renamed it Hispaniola. In the next century, many of the native Arawak were worked to death or killed by disease. The western half of the island was also subject to frequent raids by French pirates.

Some of the earliest incidents of Haitian history surround the general Toussaint L'Ouverture, called "The Precursor". He assisted French forces in forcing a British withdrawal (1798), and by 1801 ruled the entire island. Toussaint strongly resisted French efforts to reestablish slavery on the island, for which he was eventually captured and later died in a prison in France. The island was declared independent of French rule in 1804, and in 1844 the eastern part of the island declared its own independence, now the Dominican Republic. The subsequent history of Haiti was characterized by a series of bitter struggles for political power between the blacks and the mulattoes, and increasing US dominance of Haitian commercial and political affairs.

Disorder persisted, leading finally to a US intervention in 1915. Order was briefly restored, but insurrections against US authority occurred due to Haitian hostility to outside influences.

Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier took power in 1957 and ruled Haiti with a stern hand. Fear of his political rivals led Duvalier to declare several of them outlaws, and replace the bicameral legislature with a unicameral one, filled with his own supporters. This new body authorized him to rule by decree.

A new constitution was declared in 1964, allowing Duvalier to rule as president for life, and amended in 1971 so that he could appoint his 19 year old son "Baby Doc" as his successor. By the end of his rule, Duvalier had executed more than 2000 of his political enemies, and sent countless others into exile.

An exodus during the early 1980s, fleeing to Florida and the Bahamas, brought international attention to the political oppression and widespread poverty under the Duvalier regime.

In 1986, the military ousted Baby Doc, and after a period of rule by military strongmen, Haiti held its first democratic election ever in 1990. The winner was a 37 year old catholic priest called Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Unfortunately, he was ousted by a military coup only seven months into his five year term.

Aristide fled to the US, which refused to recognize the junta and suspended aid to Haiti. This move only intensified the problems of the Haitian poor, while the ruling elite was propped up by money from illegal drug trafficking. After months of threats, US troops invaded in October of 1994, forcing the junta's resignation and restoring Aristide to power.

Uprisings by armed groups opposed to Aristide's rule continued, taking control of several cities and threatening to kill Aristide, who fled to Africa. Troops from four countries entered the country. Elections scheduled for October of 2005 were cancelled due to widespread violence. In May of 2006, René Préval was elected president in a peaceful election overseen by UN forces, which helped to contain the worst of the violence.

The UN has spent over $5 billion on peacekeeping operations in Haiti since 2004. Last year food riots toppled the government, and a series of hurricanes killed hundreds and ruined the already battered economy. 46 million people are expected to fall into poverty as a result of the current worldwide economic recession. An additional 200-400,000 infants will die every year for the next six years for lack of food and basic medical treatments. This month, the UN Secretary General visited Haiti, hoping to bring international aid to this, one of the world's most impoverished nations.

For my previous posts on the Nations of the World, click here.

Eye Candy

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:58:00 +0000

The History of Civilization

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:10:00 +0000

Chapter Eighteen: The Last Gasp of Democracy

After the end of the Peloponnessian War, Athens made a final attempt to unify Greece. It gradually rebuilt its walls and fleet and, through the dependability of its currency and long established talent for finance and trade, won back commercial mastery of the Aegean.

Industry and trade were the basis of the new economic recovery. Most of the farmers from pre-war days were dead, and the few who survived were too discouraged to return to their ruined holdings, and sold them at low prices to absentee owners who could afford long-term investments. In this way, ownership of Greek farms passed into the hands of a few families, who worked many of the large estates with slaves.

The silver mines were reopened, and fresh victims were sent into the pits. Silver was mined so quickly that the supply outran the production of goods, causing prices to rise faster than wages. The poor bore the burden of Greece's recovery. A plan was devised to purchase 10,000 slaves to work the silver mines at Laurium, and thereby replenish the exhausted Greek treasury.

The growth of commerce and accumulation of wealth multiplied the number of bankers in Athens. They received cash for safekeeping, but apparently paid no interest on deposits. They quickly discovered that not all deposits were reclaimed at once, and began to loan funds at substantial rates of interest. As the fourth century BC progressed, a real credit system developed: wealth could now pass from one client to another merely by an entry in the banker's books.

Bank failures were common, and there were several "recessions", in which bank after bank closed its doors due to excessive speculation and sub-prime loans. Charges of malfeasance were brought against even the most prominent banks, and people looked upon bankers with the same mix of envy and suspicion with which the poor view the rich today.

This change to movable wealth produced a feverish struggle for money. In the midst of all this wealth, poverty actually increased: the freedom of exchange that allowed the clever to make money made the simple lose it faster than ever before. Unemployment was high, and the wages of free labor were kept low by competition from slaves.

Class warfare erupted, leaving Greece internally divided. In Argos in 370 BC, the poor revolted against their creditors, killing over 1200 of them.

Moral disorder followed the growth of luxury. Exotic deities like Ammon, Cybele, and Mithra began to displace the traditional gods. Individuals freed themselves from the old moral restraints: children from honoring their parents, husbands from their wives, and citizens from duty to the state. Marriage declined as young men began to live unwed with courtesans and flute girls. Contraception became common, by abortion or infanticide. We are told that women prevented conception by anointing their wombs with oil of cedar, ointment of lead, or even animal dung.

This new era of decadence cost Athens both her empire and her freedom, as the far more disciplined Macedonians undermined their authority.

In this way, democracy disappeared for over 2000 years. Weakened by decades of endemic war and internal struggle, Greece was easily defeated by the warlike Spartans, Persians, and finally, by Macedonia (in our next chapter). Its failures would serve as a cautionary example for centuries of how democracy wouldn't work, because the fickle mob changed the nation's direction at every bump in the road, and loved luxury more than security.

In spite of these failures, the Athenian democracy produced the Golden Age of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, in addition to medical and scientific progress which would be unparalleled until the Renaissance. For this, we should judge them with a bit of compassion.

To be continued...

For my previous posts on the History of Civilization, click here.

Eye Candy

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:59:00 +0000

The Next 100 Years

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:28:00 +0000

The Next 100 Years, by George Friedman

$17.13 in the Hansisgreat Gift Shop

ISBN: 9780385517058

The twenty-first century has begun in war, terrorism, economic recession, and widespread concerns that the American ascendancy may be coming to an end. All of us seem to be at a crossroads, so it's only natural to want to look ahead and predict what's in the future. The author of this fascinating and well researched book is an expert on that very subject: he's the founder of the leading private intelligence and forecasting company.

Geopolitics is the study of international relations for the purpose of forecasting what's down the road. Friedman considers the economic and political situations along a number of "fault lines", to predict who will rise to prominence in the century ahead, what will become causes of conflict, and how the wars of the future will be fought.
It's amazing how well he summarizes the conditions of countries I know almost nothing about. There's s stunning chapter on the Balkans, the most unstable part of Europe and freqent flashpoint during the wars of the past. With dozens of distinct cultures, caught between powerful western Europe, the former Soviet bloc, and the Islamic nations, understanding this unstable region is crucial to predicting the politics of the future.

Also important is the Pacific, controlled by the US Navy (larger than every other navy in the world combined), but also crucial for Japan and China as trade routes. In fact, the Pacific has hosted the opening scene of war before, when Japan bombed a US military base at Pearl Harbor during World War II. As the US falls further into debt to China and Japan, these powerful countries will begin to resent its dominance of Pacific sea trade.
This is all leading to what Friedman calls the crisis of 2040. Escalating tension will eventually lead to war unlike any fought on Earth before. Soldiers will live in space, on battle stars which resemble something out of a science fiction novel, and ground troops will become less important on the military stage.

Obviously, I can't summarize all of Friedman's predicitions in this short blog post: there are too many countries involved and a hundred years of change and growth. Additionally, as he admits himself, all of his predictions won't come true. He's not a Magic 8 Ball, after all.

Still, most of the book seemed convincing and well thought out. I also learned a lot about the political map in our own time, which makes the book worth reading by itself. Poland, Mexico, and Turkey rank very high on the list of superpowers of the 21st century, so if you aren't too familiar with them now, it might be a good time to read up.

It's a little strange to read predicitons about a future I won't live to experience. At times, I found them alarming and unfamiliar, but overall they were strangely reassuring. When the new world order comes, I'll be ready for it. Will you?

Eye Candy

Hansisgreat@yahoo.com (Hansisgreat) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:56:00 +0000