Looking for some interesting reads.

[Occhidiangela]

To me, Terry Goodkind is not so hot, but it appears that a lot of folks disagree with me.

Kurlansky's "Cod" is excellent, as is his "Basque History of the World."

"Longitude," forget the author.

"Fup." Jim Dodge the author. Short novel, and word for word, pound for pound, some of the best story telling I have ever read.



Or, you can open any newspaper, or any web news site, and read crap like this:

Action Vs. Talk In Indonesia
For a realistic, on the ground account of what’s happening in Sumatra, check out The Diplomad <http://diplomadic.blogspot.com/>, a blog written by American foreign service officers. Their comments on the U.N.’s contributions are amusing:

Well, dear friends, we’re now into the tenth day of the tsunami crisis and in this battered corner of Asia, the UN is nowhere to be seen—unless you count at meetings, in five-star hotels, and holding press conferences.
Aussies and Yanks continue to carry the overwhelming bulk of the burden, but some other fine folks also have jumped in: e.g., the New Zealanders have provided C-130 lift and an excellent and much-needed potable water distribution system; the Singaporeans have provided great helo support; the Indians have a hospital ship taking position off Sumatra.&nbsp; Spain and Netherlands have sent aircraft with supplies.
The UN continues to send its best product, bureaucrats.
Most interesting to me was this memo written by Dutch diplomats and circulated at an EU meeting in Indonesia:
The US military has arrived and is clearly establishing its presence everywhere in Banda Aceh. They completely have taken over the military hospital, which was a mess until yesterday but is now completely up and running. They brought big stocks of medicines, materials for the operation room, teams of doctors, water and food. Most of the patients who were lying in the hospital untreated for a week have undergone medical treatment by the US teams by this afternoon. US military have unloaded lots of heavy vehicles and organize the logistics with Indonesian military near the airport. A big camp is being set up at a major square in the town. Huge generators are ready to provide electricity. US helicopters fly to places which haven’t been reached for the whole week and drop food. The impression it makes on the people is also highly positive; finally something happens in the city of Banda Aceh and finally it seems some people are in control and are doing something. No talking but action.&nbsp; European countries are until now invisible on the ground.&nbsp; IOM staff (note: this is a USAID-funded organization) is very busy briefing the incoming Americans and Australians about the situation.
Aussies, Yanks, and Indians?&nbsp; Hey, that coalition sounds familiar!&nbsp; Wasn’t there an announcement about this, and then a lot of bitching from UN-types about America doing an end-run around the UN?&nbsp; Perhaps the Americans, Australians, Japanese, and Indians (and New Zealanders) are on to something after all.&nbsp; Substance over style.&nbsp; Action vs. photo op.&nbsp; Do first, then pose.&nbsp; There’s a novel idea....

Here we have one of the biggest natural disasters in some time, and folks just can't keep from sticking the needle in, from that silly UN bureaucrat day 2, whose instant gratification urge over ran his brain, to tripe like the above all over the place.

Jesus wept.

There's folks who just need help. Folks from all over the world are stepping up to the plate to help. Humanitarian aid is hard to do, ad hoc. I got involved in a couple of very modest ops some years ago. Something this big boggles the mind. It is also a great opportunity for the UN to shine, hell, for everyone to shine by bringing out the best in human nature: our capacity to lend a hand to our fellow man.

Why, then do so many folks use it as an opportunity to emphasize the negative, the petty?

Makes me sick.

Happy New Year, folks, the human race is the same as it ever was. PS: Mr Byrne, your lyric is timeless.

Occhi