Robbing Us Blind by Steve Brouwer
Book Corner: Robbing Us Blind by Steve Brouwer
2004 is an election year in the USA, which means political advertisements and propaganda, hate campaigns, and false promises. American politics are dirty and dishonest, and a growing number of concerned citizens are realizing that, while they may favor one party over another, real change will not happen without major reform and rebellion. The current president of the United States, George W. Bush has been criticized by millions for his lack of leadership, a failing economy, lack of environmental protection, war tactics, and much, much more. Seen as "Daddy's Boy", George W. is criticized for continuing his father's agendas. Robbing Us Blind: The Return of the Bush Gang and the Mugging of America by Steve Brouwer takes a look at Bush and Daddy Bush in a critical and criticizing light, warning citizens of the probable plights we will face should Bush Jr. be re-elected later this year.
The agendas of Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. look very much alike. Brouwer reminds us that the current Bush administration under George W. immediately reverted to Daddy Bushs' model of government in 2001, which included giving huge tax breaks to the very rich and to corporations, building up the military and rapidly increasing military spending, assuming an extremely aggressive and assaultive position in international politics, offering every kind of deregulation imaginable for business (especially big business), turning their heads to illegal business activities for their supporters, and ignoring huge federal deficits. The old saying holds true with the Bush administrations: the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Meanwhile, the economy has been dragging, and many instinctively know that the country has been in a depression - it is just the controlled media and the powers-that-be who refuse to call it as such. Stock market crashes, retirement savings problems, disappearing wealth and money... where is it all going? "The conmen have not gone away. They currently ride with the Bush Gang..." (page 87).
Robbing Us Blind covers many topics, including: Class piracy, retirement and social security losses, corporate predators, Wal-Mart, health care, corporations, government capital, Skull and Bones Society, big media, international thuggery, oil, tax cuts, and proposed solutions. His work is important for conscious citizens and serves as an eye-opener for those who are undecided about their upcoming vote in the election. Get the history and background of the people who have allowed powerful corporations and the richest elite make out "like bandits
Disposable People by Kevin Bales
298 pages. ISBN 0-520-22463-9
University of California Press
www.ucpress.edu
The idea that slavery has ended is a myth. Slavery is alive and well, and is practiced in many
forms in both the "modern" places like the USA and more traditional countries, India. Slavery is truly a worldwide phenomenon, and although the days of chattel slavery are largely over, the practice is alive and strong.
Kevin Bales, lecturer at the Roehampton Institute, University of Surrey, England, attempts to
educate the common person on the wide- spread practice of slavery in his book Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. Bales is known in academic circles as a leading expert on contemporary slavery and has spent many years researching this very topic.
Bales divides slavery into three subtypes:
1. Chattel slavery: when a person is captured, born or sold into permanent servitude and where ownership is often asserted.
2. Debt bondage: when a person pledges him or herself against a loan of money, but the length and nature of the service are not defined and where the labor does not reduce the original debt. This is the most common type of slavery today.
3. Contract slavery: Contracts are offered that guarantee employment, and workers are taken and are enslaved by employers. This form of slavery is growing quickly.
This book looks at slavery in many places and in many forms. Each section is devoted to a specific place and kind of slavery, and material presented is well-researched and documented. Topics include sexual (brothel) slavery in Thailand, chattel slavery in Mauritania, contract slavery in Brazil, and slavery in Pakistan and India. The book ends with suggestions about what can be done to stop this practice.
While this book was enlightening and engaging, it screams of one vital omission: where are the stories of slavery in European societies? Slavery in the USA, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, etc, exists, but the book concentrates on areas of people of color. Why has the "White" population and their practice of slavery been omitted? Perhaps Bales is subconsciously feeling guilty for the slavery his culture has forced on others, or perhaps it is a planned propaganda....
Kameleon Man by Kim Barry
Brunhuber 282 pages.
ISBN 0-88878-443-0
Porceptic Books
www.beachholmw.bc.ca
Author George Elliott Clark describes Kim Barry Brunhuber's book, Kameleon Man, as “...an acid-jazz update of 'black' novels like Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man and the rebellious, uppity sociology of thinkers like Frantz Fanon.” Kameleon Man is a novel featuring model Stacey Schmidt, who is a part black, part white male model whose life dream is to be a photographer rather than on the runway. Kameleon is the hot jeans-maker from from Germany, and they are looking for a new face for their controversial ads. Everyone wants to be the new Kameleon model, including Stacey. But it is not the runways, bright lights, makeup and glamour (or lack of) that ultimately call to him, and while he may have big modeling opportunities in the future, his heart is not in the superficial modeling world.
Kameleon Man is not a book I would normally choose to read, as the world of modeling surely does not interest me, or a spiritual and cultural publication. Yet the book has a way of drawing you into its world - less for the modeling surroundings, but more for Stacey and his search for himself. In a world of black and white, where does Stacey, whos father is black and mother is white, fit in? His search for his identity is what interested me in this book, and while it does not seem that this topic was the author's main concentration, the theme was scattered throughout its pages much like the voices of background singers in a song. I found it interesting that the author would choose a modeling context for the book, where looks are the key in success or failure, yet fail to develop more of a controversial world for Stacey in his modeling career. While it was ultimately his mixed-race ethnicity that landed him the big gig, Stacey did not seem to have trouble getting gigs because of his complexion - he was accepted as a non-threatening "black" figure and landed modest roles. Where was the racism that is so apparent in the real world? Why were issues about not being "black enough" or "white enough" not developed? Where was the cultural struggle between worlds? Stacey seemed just to fit in, never taking on a distinct personality or creating a place for himself in either world.
While Kemeleon Man is not on the same level as Invisible Man, it is an interesting novel that is worth reading. It gives a glimpse into the dog-eat-dog world of modeling and is entertaining.