Nimble Books LLC » politics

Fred solves the Gaza Crisis

wfz-admin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:10:36 +0000

My response to the Arbor Update Gaza thread

As the comments after mine suggest, the solution has to lead to the desired outcome — thriving, mutualistic civil society — despite unending violence and finger-pointing. Moreover, the solution has to work despite conscious efforts to stop it by numerous opponents on both sides.

the only social system that humans have ever devised that, in the long run, produces consistent improvements in median quality of living, despite regular outbreaks of violence in, around, and throughout the system, is the scientific method, accompanied, usually, but not always, by Enlightenment values of tolerance, skepticism, and inquiry.

Patient, long-term investments in education and tolerance are the only sensible solution–and those investments must, tragically, be undertaken in the full consciousness that ongoing violence from factions on both sides is consciously intended to tear down the foundations of civil society in both Gaza and Israel. Yet there is room for optimism. The historical record is that societies can survive great trauma to their infrastructure (the Thirty Years War, 1789, Japan 1945) once the commitment is made to the path of science, tolerance, and inquiry.

Why This ‘Credit Crisis’ Hits Everyone – WSJ.com

wfz-admin — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:49:49 +0000

This is the problem:

Inside the MSM Echo Room via Google Reader

wfz-admin — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:13:11 +0000

What a mammoth investment in reinforcing existing MSM media opinions. It would be a lot more interesting, and a lot cooler, if the Google Reader folks came up with something that would draw on sources outside the echo room.

Official Google Blog: Follow what Obama, McCain and leading political commentators are reading
At google.com/powerreaders now you can track the news sites and blogs Barack Obama and John McCain read (from Drudge to The Daily Show) and follow articles catching the eyes of leading political journalists

Bail-out Republicans act to save Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

wfz-admin — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:34:04 +0000

Treasury Acts to Save Mortgage Giants – NYTimes.com

Those bail-out Republicans, at it again.

WASHINGTON — Alarmed by the sharply eroding confidence in the nation’s two largest mortgage finance companies, the Bush administration on Sunday asked Congress to approve a sweeping rescue package that would give officials the power to inject billions of federal dollars into the beleaguered companies through investments and loans.

Obama’s Kidgate

wfz-admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:31:11 +0000

Children Seen, and Heard – The Caucus – Politics – New York Times Blog

On Wednesday morning, in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show, Matt Lauer asked Mr. Obama whether he had made the right call in granting interviews with the girls. Mr. Obama said: “I think we got carried away in the moment. We were having a birthday party and everybody’s laughing and I didn’t catch it quickly enough … We wouldn’t do it again, and we won’t be doing it again.”

It’s absolutely ridiculous that he should feel the need to apologize for something so innocuous.

Hillary Mathematically Out of It

wfz-admin — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:36:10 +0000

Hillary’s Math Problem | Newsweek Politics: Campaign 2008 | Newsweek.com

Hillary Clinton may be poised for a big night tonight, with wins in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island. Clinton aides say this will be the beginning of her comeback against Barack Obama. There’s only one problem with this analysis: they can’t count.

I’m no good at math either, but with the help of Slate’s Delegate Calculator I’ve scoped out the rest of the primaries, and even if you assume huge Hillary wins from here on out, the numbers don’t look good for Clinton. In order to show how deep a hole she’s in, I’ve given her the benefit of the doubt every week for the rest of the primaries.

I love definitive articles like this one. Tip of the hat to Jonathan Alter.

About Cool Maps of France’s Overseas Territories and Departments

W. Frederick Zimmerman — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 16:17:45 +0000

Dear readers,

I am fond of Cool Maps of France’s Overseas Territories and Departments because I love exotic places. This is a sort of companion volume to

Cool Maps of France: Paris and Beyond

I say "sort of" because the business case for doing this book was pretty tenuous compared to the case for Cool Maps of France. France is one of the most heavily touristed (sic?) countries in the world, and a quick Amazon search reveals that books on "France maps" sell well. I can’t say the same about "maps of St. Pierre and Miquelon" or any of the 20+ other French overseas territories illustrated in this book. Nevertheless, I felt impelled to do this book, simply because I think the places shown in it are cool.

This book includes the following 48 figures and tables:

Figure 1. France’s
overseas territories and departments

Table 1. Status and population

Table 2. Uninhabited
islands

Figure 2. Martinique 1632 (Library of Congress)

Figure 3. Martinique
(Central Intelligence Agency 2006)

Figure 4. Fort-de-France 1984
(U.S. State Department)

Figure 5. French Guiana
shaded relief 1992 (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 6. French Guiana
political 1992 (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 7. French Guiana
vegetation 1972 (Central Intelligence Agency)
The territory is mostly rainforest.

Figure 8. French Guiana
economic activity 1972 (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 9. French Polynesia 1989 (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 10. Guadeloupe (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 11. Île
Saint-Barthélemy (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 12. Île Saint-Martin (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 13. Mayotte
(Central Intelligence Agency). The Comoros Islands are to the west.

Figure 14. Location of Mayotte (WikiMedia Commons, 2008)

Figure 15. New
Caledonia (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 16. Réunion
(Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 17. Réunion – the day after the volcano erupted,
January 16, 2002 (NASA). Red, indicating
patches of active lava, is just barely visible at the volcanic cone on the
southwestern island.

Figure 18. Île
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 19. Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (NASA)

Figure 20. Îles Wallis and Iles de Horne (Central Intelligence
Agency)

Figure 23. Île Alofi,
to the southeast of Futuna (NASA).

Figure 22. Futuna
Island (NASA)

Figure 21. Uvea, one of
the Wallis Islands (NASA).

Figure 24. Île Amsterdam (WikiMedia Commons)

Figure 25. Île St. Paul (WikiMedia Commons)

Figure 26. Bassas da
India (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 27. Bassas da India from space (NASA)

Figure 28. Clipperton
Island (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 29. Clipperton Island from space (NASA)

Figure 30. Crozet
Islands (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 31. Crozet Islands eastern group (NASA)

Figure 32. Ile Europa (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 33. Île Europa land use (WikiMedia Commons)

Figure 34. Île Europa (NASA)

Figure 35. French Antarctic and Southern Lands (Central
Intelligence Agency)

Figure 36. Îles
Glorieuses (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 37. Îles
Glorieuses (NASA)

Figure 38. Île Juan de
Nova (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 39. Île Juan de
Nova (NASA).

Figure 40. Île Kerguelen (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 41. Île Kerguelen (NASA)

Figure 42. Landsat infrared image of Kerguelen (NASA)

Figure 43. Baie du
Morbihan, Kerguelen Islands (NASA)

Figure 44. Map of Kerguelen drawn during the expedition of
Captain James Cook (WikiMedia Commons)

Figure 45. Île Tromelin (Central Intelligence Agency)

Figure 46. Île Tromelin (NASA)

If you are like me, you will love flipping through these beautifully printed color maps of some of the world’s most isolated and unusual places.

Enjoy!

Cordially,

Fred Zimmerman
Publisher, Nimble Books LLC

P.S. Check out the other books in the Cool Maps series:

About COOL MAPS OF AFGHANISTAN

wfz-admin — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:26:07 +0000

Dear reader,

Welcome to the COOL MAPS series! this has been a
strong-selling title and I am proud of it.
this beautifully printed volume contains 24
high-resolution color maps and images of Afghanistan, ranging from historical
maps to satellite photos and covering every dimension of the land and its
people. If you or your kids enjoy
flipping through beautiful picture books, as I do, and you believe that a map
can be worth ten thousand words, this is the book for you.

In the interest of setting expectations accurately, here is
a list of the maps included here:

Afghanistan and Persia in 1856.
Afghanistan during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, 1878
The Durand Line.
An Ethnolinguistic Map of Afghanistan.
Land Use and Economic Activity.
Greenness.
Topography.
Color Topography.
Afghanistan from Space.
Afghanistan provinces.
Kabul
Kabul and Environs.
Herat Area, 1942.
Soviet Invasion 1979.
Clinton Strikes at Al Qaeda in 1998
Operation Enduring Freedom
Provincial Reconstruction Teams.
Opium Production
Oil and Gas Wells in Afghanistan.
Dust Storm over Afghanistan.
Dust Storm over Afghanistan (Surface Temperature)
The Flag of Afghanistan
Afghan Currency
Afghanistan at night

Gee, I have say that’s a pretty interesting list. You do have to bear in mind that this book is printed in a 8.5 x 8.5 inch paperback format, so the images are reduced in size from their original form. These images are meant to provide interesting synoptic views of the whole country of Afghanistan, and I have to say that I am satisfied that they do just that. By all means, take a look at Search Inside the Book and judge for yourself.

This series was originally titled COOL MAPS FOR CURIOUS KIDS, but as I moved along with publication of new volumes I found that the extra words were getting in the way. Suffice it to say that this book is aimed at curious minds, aged 7 to 77!

Cordially,

Fred Zimmerman

Publisher, Nimble Books LLC

P.S. If you like this idea, take a look at some of the other books in the COOL MAPS series:

Richard Armitage mans up about foolishly leaking Plame’s name

wfz-admin — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:31:26 +0000

Although the admission was shrouded within a thicket of denial, I’m glad to see that Richard Armitage is man enough to admit that leaking Valerie Plame’s name to Robert Novak was foolish.

Armitage says he was ‘foolish’ to leak CIA agent’s name – CNN.com

However, that doesn’t take away from what Mrs. Plame said. It was foolish, yes.”

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power by Daniel Yergin

wfz-admin — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 21:41:13 +0000

wfzimmerman’s review: “I found this for $2.00 at a rummage sale at the pharmacy at Saline St. Joseph Hospital in Saline, Michigan. It’s a first UK S&S edition. The ISBN is the same as the S&S U.S. edition, and no printing #s have been removed, but the price is lbs 20 net and the cover is distinctive.

In any event, for $2.00 this was a great buy, as this is still a definitive history of its subject.”
Simon & Schuster (1991), Hardcover, 912 pages
tags: first edition, oil, politics, history