Average customer rating:
- A scholarly and technical treatise
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The Doha Round and Financial Services Negotiations (AEI Studies on Services Trade Negotiations)
Sydney J. Key
Manufacturer: AEI Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Exports & Imports
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ASIN: 0844741825 |
Book Description
This study provides a unique framework for analyzing the role of the GATS and the WTO in the liberalization and regulation of the financial services sector.
Customer Reviews:
A scholarly and technical treatise.......2004-06-08
Part of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research's "AEI Studies on Services Trade Negotiations" series, The Doha Round And Financial Services Negotiations by Sydney J. Key (Federal Reserve Board Division of International Finaces, Washington, D.C.) is a close study analyzing the involvement of the World Trade Organization and the effects of the General Agreement on Trade in Services upon the liberalization and regulation of the financial services sector. The Doha Round And Financial Services Negotiations covers topics such as e-finance, the three "pillars" of liberalization (national treatment and market access, nondiscriminatory structural barriers, and freedom of capital movements), the repercussions of and pertaining to foreign direct investement, meta-rules that are crucial to developing and applying sound rules to financial systems, and much more. A scholarly and technical treatise, written especially for advanced economics students and field professionals.
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Guide to the GATS - An Overview of Issues for Further Liberalization of Trade in Services (WTO's Guide to Series Volume 3) (Wto Guide Series)
World Trade Organization Staff
Manufacturer: Kluwer Law International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 9041197753 |
Book Description
This work brings together in one volume the background papers on major service sectors prepared by the WTO Secretariat for the WTO's Council for Trade in Services, in preparation for the new round of negotiations which started in January 2000. Following an analysis of the economic effects of services liberalization, 19 chapters on individual service sectors consider the issues which WTO Members need to consider when framing their negotiating positions and objectives for the new round and preparing their industries for a more open trading environment: + the economic importance of the sector; + the manner in which it is regulated and traded; + problems of definition and classification; + the pattern of commitments undertaken by Member governments under the GATS. Many of the papers also identify prevalent forms of trade restriction or discrimination and suggest areas for further work. In addition, the work includes a detailed description of the structure of services commitments as submitted by WTO Members with respect to the four modes of supply which constitute the definition of trade in services under the GATS. The contributions have been provided by experts of the Trade in Services Division of the WTO Secretariat, with responsibility for the services or subjects in question.
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Guide to the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services
Jessie N. Marshall
Manufacturer: Oceana Publications Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0379214148 |
Book Description
This work provides the full text of the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks together with explanatory interpretation for each item. It offers a neutral, international approach to the classification of goods and services, and ensures that you have the essential information you need to confidently file your trademark application in any of the fifty countries represented.
It provides a clear explanation of each of the 42 classes. With this information, you would be able to easily identify the classification for your goods and services, and thus avoid delays in the processing of your trademark applications. Anyone dealing with trademark matters must have this guide!
In one convenient cloth volume you have at your fingertips: The Text of the Nice Agreement for each Class; Detailed Interpretation of each Class Heading; Examination of the Explanatory Notes; An International Approach for the Global Practitioner
Average customer rating:
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Protocols To The General Agreement On Trade In Services
Manufacturer: William S. Hein & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1575888300 |
Average customer rating:
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Trade Agreements and Financial Services
Hazel J. Johnson , and
Patricia M. Langley
Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
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ASIN: 9810242492 |
Book Description
Trade Agreements and Financial Services examines the cross-border agreements that have historically been focused on the trade of merchandise goods. Increasingly, emphasis is being placed on the provision of cross-border services. Notable among these are financial services. There is a clear link between economic development and the availability of financial products. Moreover, the financial services sector is, itself, a major industry that is fueling growth. The conditions under which financial services are offered in an international context are the subject of debate in the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, published by The National Underwriter Company on July 1, 1996. The length of the article is 789 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the supplier: The US negotiators charged with developing an agreement for insurance and banking services under the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade were right to stand firm for no deal at all when no offers were presented that were acceptable to the US. The US has nothing to lose by taking a hard line since many developing countries have, or are creating, sizable obstacles to foreign penetration of their financial services sectors. Negotiation is obviously not the correct way to proceed.
Citation Details
Title: Action speaks louder than words on trade. (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade negotiations on insurance market liberalization)(Editorial)
Publication:
National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 1996
Publisher: The National Underwriter Company
Issue: n27
Page: p22(1)
Article Type: Editorial
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Real Estate Weekly, published by Hagedorn Publication on August 3, 2005. The length of the article is 767 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: AmEx lease breaks the ice at 7 WTC.(American Express Financial Services leases space at 7 World Trade Center)
Author: Daniel Geiger
Publication:
Real Estate Weekly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 3, 2005
Publisher: Hagedorn Publication
Volume: 51
Issue: 51
Page: 1(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, published by The National Underwriter Company on July 10, 1995. The length of the article is 788 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the supplier: Economic Union trade negotiator Sir Leon Brittan and other world leaders are trying to keep a financial services trade liberalization agreement alive, now that the US has announced that it could deny countries access to its financial services market if the countries similary deny US companies' access to their markets. The World Trade Organization has been leading ongoing negotiations for the pact.
Citation Details
Title: Fin. services trade pact struggles hard to survive.(global agreement liberalizing financial services trade)(International Market Report)
Author: John Jennings
Publication:
National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 10, 1995
Publisher: The National Underwriter Company
Issue: n28
Page: p1(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, published by The National Underwriter Company on July 10, 1989. The length of the article is 871 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Insurers and banks forge link in Europe.
Publication:
National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 10, 1989
Publisher: The National Underwriter Company
Issue: n28
Page: p17(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, published by The National Underwriter Company on August 9, 1999. The length of the article is 826 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Insurers Of The World Unite So That Free Trade Will Rule.
Publication:
National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 9, 1999
Publisher: The National Underwriter Company
Volume: 103
Issue: 32
Page: 32
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This new second edition includes more than 150 winning cover letters for every profession and situation. Readers get great tips from before and after transformations that turn boring letters into knockouts. Plus, there are tips on resumes, e-mail and scannable cover letters, thank-you letters, and dozens of sample opening paragraphs. Also provides proven first paragraphs to start the cover letter with strength.
Customer Reviews:
An utterly invaluable reference.......2007-05-13
Now in an updated third edition, Cover Letter Magic: Trade Secrets of Professional Resume Writers is a step-by-step guide to writing cover letters with flair and panache. Wendy S. Enelow, creator of a successful resume-writing firm, and certified professional resume writer Louise M. Kursmark combine their professional skills to offer a wealth of tips, tricks, and techniques for effectively selling oneself in a concise, engaging, and effective cover letter. Chapters discuss the ten basic types of cover letters, how-to instructions for writing each part of the cover letter, notes for writing electronic cover letters, numerous sample cover letters, tips on thank-you letters and job-search letters, and much more. An utterly invaluable reference for anyone searching for a job or planning their career.
Great to help you develope your cover letters for jobs.......2007-01-19
I recommend this any entry level job seeker. looking fro a little expert advise in there job search.
An excellent addtion to its sister book "resume magic".......2006-12-09
This book follows the path the "resume magic" made. Although I found slightly below "resume magic" it still an excellent reference to write cover letters.
All aspects of building a cover letter are covered in a progressive manner. The task of writing is therefore a lot easier. Examples are very good, and the author did a very good job leading the reader through the task of writing a cover letter.
In the end this book will definitely help you come up with strong, well structured and well written cover letters.
A must have for every job-seekers or just any professional.
Adapted for the times.......2005-03-08
As an IT professional, I found this book packed with good information. The overall style is updated and compatible with the times, and the many examples are creative and varied. Too many "cover letters" cling to the old school of "Enclosed Please Find" formality of another era. In these times, it's equally important to communicate some idea of your style and personality to give an employer a more complete picture of what they're getting when they think of hiring you - that extra something that makes you pleasantly unique from the 500 other cover letters in the pile.
For my field, I almost never use paper anymore for letters or for resumes, so I found the info on email throughout the book to be very useful. Most books I've seen barely cover it at all or the authors don't quite grasp its limitations.
I also liked the way the book analyzed the cover letter examples of what worked and what didn't, and why. The exercises were a bit vague but you don't really need them to get the most from this book. It's worth every penny.
Not for serious jobs.......2003-10-05
This book is decent if you're looking for a back-office/blue-collar type job. The tactics are very basic and the examples are childish and the format quite unprofessional. If you're looking for a real cover letter guide for the most competitive jobs look somewhere else.
Average customer rating:
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The Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Partnerships: A Study of National, European and International Law
Manufacturer: Hart Publishing (UK)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Divorce & Separation
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ASIN: 1841131385 |
Book Description
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons increasingly (but not uniformly) insist that they cannot be truly equal without equal treatment for the loving and lasting relationships they form with their partners. In "Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Partnerships", an international team of scholars examines both theoretical issues and the wide variety of legal developments in the United States, Canada, Brazil, thirteen European countries, Israel, South Africa, India, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand, as well as under European Community and European Convention law, and United Nations human rights law.
Average customer rating:
- Nice format, but sky maps are over simplified
- Michigan Star Watch
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Michigan StarWatch: The Essential Guide to Our Night Sky
Michael W. Lynch
Manufacturer: Voyageur Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Astronomy
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ASIN: 0896586758 |
Book Description
""Make the Stars Your Old Friends!"" . . . with Mike Lynch, America’s Master Stargazing instructor. Mike has led stargazing classes for over 30 years and has instructed 1000s of would-be backyard astronomers (and maybe a few would-be professional astronomers!) Now with "Michigan StarWatch" you can easily pick up what beginning and advanced stargazers ages 12 and up have learned in his popular stargazing classes. -Use the detailed seasonal constellation charts to quickly identify their main stars and find ""celestial goodies"" such as star clusters, nebulae, and other galaxies. -Enjoy the stories and mythology of characters for whom the constellations are named, including Orion the Hunter, Cassiopeia the Queen, and Perseus the Hero. -Locate the most prominent seasonal constellations with easy-to-use monthly star maps designed especially for Michigans northern latitude. - Learn about the moon, solar and lunar eclipses, planets, as well as comets, meteor showers, and aurora borealis. There’s even a planet locator guide good through 2015! -Gain firsthand advice on purchasing a telescope and other stargazing equipment, plus find listings of local astronomy resources. You won’t find a more enthusiastic guide to the night sky than Mike Lynch, and you won’t find a better guidebook to our night sky than "Michigan StarWatch." About the Author: Mike Lynch is the author of "Mike Lynch’s Minnesota StarWatch." He has been a broadcast meteorologist and personality at WCCO Radio in Minneapolis, Minnesota, since 1981, as well as a regular weekly astronomy columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Lynch has taught thousands of stargazing classes since 1973. He loves teaching the basics of stargazing and especially loves pointing out constellations and telling the stories about them. The main goal Lynch has for his students is to ""make the stars your old friends!""
Customer Reviews:
Nice format, but sky maps are over simplified.......2006-03-08
I thought this book was carrying regional publishing to a bit of an extreme. What's the difference between starwatching in Michigan or say, Wisconsin? Why not buy yourself a Miller Planisphere (much cheaper) and turn the dials to the correct date and time. This will give you a map of the constellations at Latitude 40 degrees North for the exact hour of the year you're star gazing.
That said, "Michigan Starwatch" is an interesting book and nicely put together: hardbound with a spiral binding, so the pages conveniently lie flat. This is a handy feature when you're outside and trying to use one of the maps to identify constellations. Really, the only item you have to supply is a flashlight with a red filter so you can look at the maps without ruining your night vision.
Each of the twelve included maps is set up to be 100% accurate for three hours per year, e.g. the June map is good for 10 P.M. in June, 2 A.M. in April, and 6 A.M. in February. With a planisphere, I can dial up the exact date and time, and it shows a much more complete star map. The maps in "Michigan Starwatch" are bigger and easier to read, but the author also eliminated lots of stars and whole constellations for ease of use. This lacuna is okay if you're a beginner and trying to identify the more prominent constellations such as Virgo or Aquila. Once you can make your way around the night sky with ease, then you will want more accurate maps for locating dimmer constellations such as Libra or Ophiuchus.
The author's purpose is to "make the stars your old friends." The book contains a quick education complete with color photographs and diagrams of what you might see in the night sky: nebulae; galaxies; planets; comets; and meteor showers. Telescopes and astrophotography are briefly covered. There are also modern renditions of the mythology of the constellations, e.g. Hera to Cassiopeia: "If you think you're so beautiful, I'm going to put you where you can show off your good looks to the whole world every night."
This book is fun to read, and the maps and stories of the individual constellations are loaded with viewing information. The only drawback to its use is that you're going to see many more stars in the night sky than are shown on its twelve maps. The solution is to use a planisphere rather than the maps for advanced viewing.
Michigan Star Watch.......2005-09-01
This is a great book .It explains the constellations and where to find them and also has detailed star maps for the different seasons of the year.It has been invaluable in looking at the summer sky with my grandson.
It is also filled with information about the history of star gazing and how the constellations were named. It is very informative and good reading even if you are stuck indoors.
Book Description
This concise, elementary treatment illustrates the ways in which an atomic-molecular perspective yields new insights into macroscopic thermodynamics. Starting with an analysis of some very simple microcanonical ensembles, it proceeds to the Boltzmann distribution law and a systematic exploration of the proper formulation, evaluation, and application of partition functions. 1974 edition.
Customer Reviews:
this old book the best elementary introduction to statistical mechanics.......2007-03-05
This is a wonderful introduction to statistical mechanics, especially for chemistry students taking undergraduate physical chemistry. Leonard K. Nash was a Harvard professor of chemistry whose primary interest became chemical education and the history of chemistry. This book was a classic in the 1960's, but later went out of print. Dover has done a real service in reissuing it. The book is remarkable for its lucidity and pedagogical clarity. It's the best introduction I know to the very difficult subject, especially for beginners, of statistical mechanics. For starters, it gives a wonderfully insightful look at the meaning of the statistics of the statistical ensembles.
This book puts most of the current physical chemistry textbooks to shame in its treatment of the subject. It could serve as a stand-alone text for the statistical mechanics part of a physical chemistry sequence.
If you are taking this course, you owe it to yourself to get this book. The price cannot be beat.
I also recommend the companion book by Nash on macroscopic thermodynamics, together with Fermi's classic text (also available from Dover).
At a more elementary level, Dover has re-issued Bruce Mahan's famous thermodynamics book. I believe he used this for advanced freshmen at Berkeley. If you are having trouble with thermodynamics in physical chemistry, even at the Fermi or Nash level, do yourself a favor and get Mahan's book. Even if you're not having trouble, you may very well find it helpful.
Book Description
Modularity in Development and Evolution offers the first sustained exploration of modules from developmental and evolutionary perspectives. Contributors discuss what modularity is, how it can be identified and modeled, how it originated and evolved, and its biological significance. Covering modules at levels ranging from genes to colonies, the book focuses on their roles not just in structures but also in processes such as gene regulation. Among many exciting findings, the contributors demonstrate how modules can highlight key constraints on evolutionary processes.
A timely synthesis of a crucial topic, Modularity in Development and Evolution shows the invaluable insights modules can give into both developmental complexities and their evolutionary origins.
Book Description
Modularity -- the attempt to understand systems as integrations of partially independent and interacting units -- is today a dominant theme in the life sciences, cognitive science, and computer science. The concept goes back at least implicitly to the Scientific (or Copernican) Revolution, and can be found behind later theories of phrenology, physiology, and genetics; moreover, art, engineering, and mathematics rely on modular design principles. This collection broadens the scientific discussion of modularity by bringing together experts from a variety of disciplines, including artificial life, cognitive science, economics, evolutionary computation, developmental and evolutionary biology, linguistics, mathematics, morphology, paleontology, physics, theoretical chemistry, philosophy, and the arts.
The contributors debate and compare the uses of modularity, discussing the different disciplinary contexts of "modular thinking" in general (including hierarchical organization, near-decomposability, quasi-independence, and recursion) or of more specialized concepts (including character complex, gene family, encapsulation, and mosaic evolution); what modules are, why and how they develop and evolve, and the implication for the research agenda in the disciplines involved; and how to bring about useful cross-disciplinary knowledge transfer on the topic. The book includes a foreword by the late Herbert A. Simon addressing the role of near-decomposability in understanding complex systems.
Customer Reviews:
Too Modular.......2006-05-10
This is a very interesting book. Or at least, it's a book about a cluster of very interesting topics, and occasionally contains interesting insights about these topics.
The problem is that the book is a bit too modular - the chapters don't work very well together. Every author seems to have his own concept of modularity. As several of the chapters are primarily concerned with defining modularity, this could be taken to be a good thing, but it isn't. The simple reason is that many of the concepts of modularity are simply not interesting to many readers. For me, Calabretta's chapter was very interesting, as well as Simon's introduction and some other chapters, but the chapters on modularity in art and in animal skeletons were just plain uninteresting. (Which is not to say that they are bad chapters in themselves, they are probably higly relevant to some people.)
Given that the book is likely to contain just a few chapters that interest you, I think the price is a bit too high for it to be worth buying.
Average customer rating:
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Christopher Columbus Answers All Charges
Yuri Rubinsky , and
Marc Giacomelli
Manufacturer: Porcupine's Quill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
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| Specific Groups
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Columbus, Christopher
| ( C )
| People, A-Z
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ASIN: 0889841500
Release Date: 1992-11-01 |
Book Description
Five centuries have passed since Christopher Columbus's famous voyage of 1492 and his place in history has never been so hotly debated. Columbus is blamed for everything from slavery and colonialism to the current state of the environment. He has been described as a megalomaniac, an incompetent seaman, an adulterer, an opportunist and a liar.
Yuri Rubinsky's and Marc Giacomelli's Christopher Columbus Answers All Charges gives the `Admiral of the Ocean Sea' a voice so that he can defend himself against his accusers. Writing as a lonely old man in a villa in Valladolid, Columbus responds with bombast and wit to accusations that his voyages were religious expeditions disguised as voyages of business, that his voyages were business trips under the guise of sacred missions, and that he was obsessed by hats. To the charge `That I Prayed for the deaths of my enemies,' he answers: `I have generally found that the death of an enemy, while a blessing, should not be considered a personal favour from the Almighty.' To the charge `That I should have remained a cartographer, a calling in which I have some skill,' his reply is: `Without cartographers, there can be no progress. Without explorers, there can be no cartographers.' The resulting book is a humorous and provocative re-examination of Christopher Columbus's claims to fame.
Customer Reviews:
Let's Celebrate Columbus Day!.......2007-05-25
If you've grown up with today's multicultural, anti-western dogma, this book will be a refreshing reminder that the guilt hoisted upon you is very much unearned. We've been taught that the American Indians lived nice, joyful, placid lives until the Europeans stormed in and destroyed their happy paradise. We've also been taught that the ancestors of those Europeans should feel shame for this as well as the great American experiment in self-government that followed. And some even claim that those ancestors owe money in the form of reparations.
Thomas Bowden does something in this book that the promoters of multiculturalism fear--- he keeps the context of the events and allows the reader to see them in the light of reason. When the events of the Columbus voyages are placed within their proper historical context, what we find is a very different view of the man and his accomplishments. Written in a question and answer format, Thomas Bowden provides a valuable rebuttal to today's ever prevalent moral relativism and its outgrowth called multiculturalism.
Columbus deserves better. America deserves better. Thomas Bowden delivers.
Stone age mystics vs. men of reason.......2007-04-17
Before you fully digest our government schools' position on the relationships between the early American settlers and the native inhabitants of the "new world" check out this probing Q & A formatted exposé. A real eye opener.
it may have been a jungle, but at least it was OUR jungle .......2006-10-20
Despite protestations to the contrary, this is a racist book. It excuses White atrocities against American Indians, hardly mentions slavery, and explicitly defends massive ethnic cleansing of the Indians. The author, one Thomas Bowden, is a member of the "Ayn Rand Institute", a small right-wing sect that venerates the Russian-American science fiction writer and self-proclaimed philosopher Ayn Rand.
Philosophically, this book is very shallow. On the one hand, Bowden attacks cultural relativism. On the other hand, he excuses White brutality against Indians with the argument that this was normal during the 15th and 16th centuries, and we shouldnt judge medieval peoples by our modern standards. But what is this if not cultural relativism? Further, Bowden argues that there are objective principles by which to judge if a culture is better than others. The foremost of these principles seems to be individualism. But since all individuals are different, and their views constantly shifting, how can individualism be an objective criterion of anything? The author also argues that "reason" and "science" are such principles. But reason untempered by morality is evil. The trans-atlantic slave-trade was eminently reasonable, at least for the slave-traders. Science has lead to Auschwitz and the A-bomb. Genetic engineering might be the ultimate triumph of science, but it might also lead to global fascism. Individual self-preservation is hailed by Bowden as the zenith of reason, but why then does he condemn the Indians? They presumably fought Columbus to preserve their own lives and freedom, rather than being enslaved or killed!
The book argues that the Whites had the right to displace the Indians and steal their land, since the Indians were more primitive. But the Incas, Aztecs or Mayas were not necessarily worse than Late Medieval Europeans. In passing, the author even admits this, but condones their destruction anyway. Is this not covert racism? He argues that since the Indians lacked an idea of private ownership, it was OK for the Whites to take their land. If you cant mine precious minerals on your land, you have no rights. To Bowden, this idea is presumably one of the things that makes Western civilization more advanced! The UN Declaration of Human Rights be damned...
Often, the author is heavily anachronistic. The fact that the 21st century West have certain traits that are more advanced than 15th century Indian culture, is used to justify attacks on the Indians by 15th century Western culture. But the positive things in the modern West represent a break with the atrocities of the Late Medieval Spanish Empire, or the treaty violations of the US. True, the American Indians didnt invent the UN Declaration of Human Rights, or the Geneva convention. But neither did Columbus, the Pilgrim Fathers or Andrew Jackson. Ironically, Bowden has the same logic as die-hard Stalinists: if "progress" happens in the bye and bye, say 500 years later, ruthless violence is justified today. Its unclear why Indians, faced by enslavement or death, should accept such a logic. Their reaction was rather: This may have been a jungle before you arrived, but at least it was OUR jungle!
But wasnt Western culture even in its Late Medieval version somewhat more advanced than many Indian cultures? Yes, it was, but the problem with the conquista was that the Indians saw very little of it. They only saw the dark heart of the West, which cries out "Kill all the brutes". And not just the brutes! The Cherokee in the US adapted to Western culture: they intermarried with Whites, adopted Christianity, developed an alphabet, lived in normal houses. Some of them even owned Black slaves, a somewhat extreme adaptation to Southern plantation culture. Yet, the Cherokee were ethnically cleansed by the US government and the state of Georgia anyway. Bowden supports this, since the Cherokee owned all land in common. Therefore they had no rights. Racism! Another revealing example is the Jesuit state established in Paraguay during the 17th and 18th centuries. Here too, the Indians learned from the Whites, setting up modern agriculture and even small-scale industry. What happened? The conquistadors attacked Paraguay and enslaved the Indians. In sum, they didnt want the Indians to assimilate the progess of the West.
Even wars of conquest might be justified in some sense, if they lead to real progress. The wars of Alexander the Great lead to Hellenism. When the Romans conquered Gaul, Germania and Britain, the locals could integrate into the more advanced Roman culture, which many of them did. But the Indians never got the chance. Latin America became a virtual caste society, with Indians and Blacks at the bottom, mestizos somewhere inbetween, and Whites at the top. The US werent much better. Even Indians that attempted to integrate, like the Cherokee, were displaced on the flimsiest of pretexts. At an unguarded moment, Bowden admits that the Americas might have become like the West given enough time, or perhaps due to peaceful influence. But if so, why not support that? No, says Bowden, "progress" went much faster due to the conquista. But this was "progress" only for the Whites. Does Bowden also support Muslim invasions of medieval Western Europe? I dont think so. But why not? After all, the Muslims were more advanced than the Latins at the time. Yet, I suspect that the "Ayn Rand Institute" prefer centuries of peaceful cultural diffusion in this case...
Thomas A. Bowden bizzarely suggest that the Indians should be grateful to Columbus. I beg to disagree. They should be grateful to people like Bartolome de Las Casas or the Jesuits, whom showed them the progressive, humane side of the West. Or even to Queen Isabella, who had the punk removed in the first place.
Defending Columbus against the Multiculturalists.......2005-09-03
Presented as a series of answers to questions about Columbus and about the discovery and settlement of America, the book addresses questions that might be asked by an honest individual who has been indoctrinated with the falsehoods and anti-Western invective now pervasive in our schools. However, it is also of value to those readers who already understand and oppose the corrupt ideas of today's intellectuals, but who may not know the real historical facts about Columbus and the settlement of America. The Enemies of Christopher Columbus is a forceful defense of Christopher Columbus-and of Western Civilization in general-against the multiculturalist assault.
Why is this book so important?.......2004-03-05
Fortunately this book answers the question of why it is important, but unfortunately one needs to get it to see it. The short version is that the proper interpretation of history is essential to our future, because we use it to judge the effects of patterns whose effects are long-term, such as the advancement of civilization.
That said, this book help sets the record straight by explaining many of the fallacies of Columbus' enemies. It also contains an extensive appendix with many essays written during the 18th and 19th centuries from firsthand experience. This book is a breath of fresh air for anyone who values his life, and by extension, civilization. I can't recommend it highly enough.
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