War Room book thread

Awesome answer, the kind that is unfortunately rare around here.
If you get a chance, I'd love to see that paper on the PA schools. You can PM me if you like.

They won't let me upload it, the .pdf is too large. But the title of the paper is: "Boys of Class, Boys of Color: Negotiating the Academic and Social Geography of an Elite Independent School."

I had to go to the local library and get it copied off the microfiche'd version of journal but you might be able to find it online somewhere.
 
Cracking the seal on 'Fear' tonight. Anybody finished it yet? @PolishHeadlock

Finished it last night. If you read Wolf's book it's much in the same vein but it went into more detail and seemed to rely on different people so you get different points of view. In this book you get a lot of Cohn, Porter, McMaster, Dowd and Preibus.

Based on the fact that Bannon was fired I think he probably gave a lot of info for that.

I also feel like Wolf's book looked at the warring factions impact on each other while this shows more of it's impact on Trump.

Also some nice insight into Lindsey Graham trying to court him for DACA and National Defense.
 
Finished it last night. If you read Wolf's book it's much in the same vein but it went into more detail and seemed to rely on different people so you get different points of view. In this book you get a lot of Cohn, Porter, McMaster, Dowd and Preibus.

Based on the fact that Bannon was fired I think he probably gave a lot of info for that.

I also feel like Wolf's book looked at the warring factions impact on each other while this shows more of it's impact on Trump.

Also some nice insight into Lindsey Graham trying to court him for DACA and National Defense.
There is a ton of Bannon in the beginning. Ol' Pustule Steve must have dished like a motherfucker about the transition from Manafort to Bannon running the campaign. Good read so far.
 
0771046049.jpg


Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World is a 2011 book by 14th Dalai Lama. It is about Secular ethics use in our everyday life. Those are ethics that can be used by both religious and non-religious people. There are many suggestions about getting rid of destructive emotions and helping other people. In this book there is justified the importance of compassion.[1][2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Religion:_Ethics_for_a_Whole_World
 
I've started to read (or reread) this book, after having finished the google book and a short introduction on Socrates.
The google book was interesting, but it was a bit of a PR stunt where google allowed "Der Spiegel" to their engineers. Google is obsessed with changing the world for the better. Information being accessable by everyone, machinery like contact lenses that can measure the blood sugar in your eyes, very cheap WiFi to everyone. It was an enjoyable read, any way the book that I've begun reading now is this one:

serveimage
 
Just finished the Israel Lobby book. A great read, and I would highly recommend it to all our American posters here, especially to @panamaican given his high interest in politics (unless I am under the wrong impression), as well as my "Muslim" brother @Kafir-kun While the book is a bit old (published in 2007) it certainly highlights the amount of influence the lobby wields in U.S. politics and how they are not only detrimental to U.S. interests, but even to Israeli interest.

Taking a break from non-fiction books I'll be reading this, that a friend has kept recommending me.
serveimage
 
Last edited:
Finished Metro 2033, it was quite enjoyable. For anyone curious it's about life in the underground metro stations in Moscow after a nuclear war that has decimated earth.
Next book to read is this, been looking forward to it.
EDRs6Xy.png
 
And I finished with "Beyond Chutzpah". Here's a small review, and I challenge those who always say that they disagree with Finkelstein to show me where he's wrong.
In the beginning Finkelstein is tearing Dershowitz to shreds, pointing his massive hypocrisy, incitement to war, his fraudulent books, but also highlights how U.S. media are always silent when it comes to Zionist pro-Israel shills propagating their views for, and them belittling the Palestinians and the hardship they are still enduring. The book though main focus in the first part, is to combat this new "Antisemitism" charge that is frequently employed against anyone daring to critique Israel, and how it's misused. In case you're wondering who Dershowitz is, he's probably the most vocal Zionist in America and a Harvard law professor, though it seems justice for everyone doesn't apply to Israel.

The second part of the book is quite infuriating to read (due to the nature of what Israel has done / still does to the Palestinians), the author does a well researched job and shows documentation by various NGO reports on how Israel used human shields, throwing the popular accusation that the Zionist shills use against the Palestinians, to excuse the many innocent deaths caused by the IDF, right back at their faces. Not to mention the hampering of people seeking medical aid, the attack on ambulances, the excessive use of rubber bullets against children, aimed at their heads, and the powerful impact of those bullets. Some of you might have heard of the young Palestinian girl that slapped an Israeli soldier, cause her cousin had almost his head caved in from one of those "non-lethal" rubber bullets. The Zionist shill Dershowitz claims are completely exposed, and I'm wondering how popular his book is. The appendixes also highlights the popular misconceptions that many American Zionists still spout that have long been discredited, including by Israeli scholars and historians about the ethnic cleansing that the extremist Zionist committed against the Palestinians, which American Zionists claimed never happened, but the record shows otherwise. The later appendixes also reveals the constructed lie about how the Palestinians always rejected solutions to peace. Once again Finkelstein does extensive work. If you're an American, it's recommended you read this book if the Israel-Palestine conflict is of interest to you and you are disturbed by the one sided bias by American media. Read "The Israel Lobby" for more on that.

The epilogue is written by a third party, that reviewed the case of Dershowitz against Finkelstein and concluded that there was no evidence that Harvard cleared Dershowitz from plagiarism, and that it appeared that the DePaul university gave in to pressure in denying Finkelstein his tenure, despite the fact that they had nothing to go on, except Dershowitz letter that through fact checking can be easily dismissed.

Tagging people, that I know might be interested in this book. @abiG @Kafir-kun @Son of Jamin (because I often see you liking pro Israel / Zionists posts) @Ruprecht (mainly because I am often impressed by your knowledge on Islam, so perhaps this might interest you as well).

Edit: Grammar and what not.
 
Last edited:
I'm more into fiction these days:

51Q0Ea8DEbL.jpg
 
Think I'll just alternate from fiction and non-fiction. Next book. I know I already mentioned it earlier, but that was in audiobook form. This book includes both "Hyperion" and the "Fall of Hyperion", plus I need to practice my German more.
7cuVwH7.jpg
 
Think I'll just alternate from fiction and non-fiction. Next book. I know I already mentioned it earlier, but that was in audiobook form. This book includes both "Hyperion" and the "Fall of Hyperion", plus I need to practice my German more.
7cuVwH7.jpg

Pity Dan Simmons lost his mind when Obama was elected.

My latest Scifi reading (also one urban fantasy novel and one alternate history/urban fantasy).


35269854.jpg

9780356508801.jpg

816SSfp6zRL.jpg

91M7RqJUHjL.jpg

816OiyAmhvL.jpg

81-vlr6WHRL.jpg

rogue-protocol-cover.jpg

91iTaaw8FvL.jpg

71mRIkp3qmL.jpg

32758901.jpg

36373846.jpg

81TWeROI%2B-L.jpg

37684919.jpg

28962996.jpg

81Xxq92lysL.jpg

36960178.jpg

The Martha Wells titles are novellas, so essentially one novel. I've noticed authors doing this more often now. I assume it's either to increase their income, or get a more regular income.

Great to see Richard K Morgan return to the cyberpunk/noir.

Malka Older's Centenal Cycle novels are the most War Room. The setting is a near future, information age technocracy and election process. Involving small state democracies coordinated by a central information bureau. The states are "centenals" of 100,000 people each within an area, although governments can have multiple centenals (not necessarily contiguous). The government with the most centenals can set broader policy as the "supermajortiy". The information politics are very relevant to contemporary scenarios.
 
Pity Dan Simmons lost his mind when Obama was elected.

My latest Scifi reading (also one urban fantasy novel and one alternate history/urban fantasy).


35269854.jpg

9780356508801.jpg

816SSfp6zRL.jpg

91M7RqJUHjL.jpg

816OiyAmhvL.jpg

81-vlr6WHRL.jpg

rogue-protocol-cover.jpg

91iTaaw8FvL.jpg

71mRIkp3qmL.jpg

32758901.jpg

36373846.jpg

81TWeROI%2B-L.jpg

37684919.jpg

28962996.jpg

81Xxq92lysL.jpg

36960178.jpg

The Martha Wells titles are novellas, so essentially one novel. I've noticed authors doing this more often now. I assume it's either to increase their income, or get a more regular income.

Great to see Richard K Morgan return to the cyberpunk/noir.

Malka Older's Centenal Cycle novels are the most War Room. The setting is a near future, information age technocracy and election process. Involving small state democracies coordinated by a central information bureau. The states are "centenals" of 100,000 people each within an area, although governments can have multiple centenals (not necessarily contiguous). The government with the most centenals can set broader policy as the "supermajortiy". The information politics are very relevant to contemporary scenarios.

Try taking a peak at Neal Stephenson, I think he might be right up your alley if you're not already familiar with him.
 
Try taking a peak at Neal Stephenson, I think he might be right up your alley if you're not already familiar with him.

Stephenson's Cyberpunk (Snow Crash, The Diamond Age) still rates as all time greats for me. As does his Cryptonomicon. The audio book of Snow Crash being one of the few works of fiction I've consumed more than once.
Unfortunately I can't say the same about the Baroque Cycle, with Quicksilver being one of the few books I've ever put down unfinished. Way too dry and self indulgent (and I usually love historical fiction and Stephenson's geeky, self-indulgent digressions).
Anathem and Reamde were OK, but I don't think he really found a return to form until Seveneves.
 
Been a while since I read anything overtly political, or even for leisure in general. Pretty much read exclusively for school nowadays. On that note, if anyone is looking for academic essays on postcolonialism.... i'm your guy.

Have you read Why Nations Fail?

A slightly boring yet very instructive read.
 
And I finished with "Beyond Chutzpah". Here's a small review, and I challenge those who always say that they disagree with Finkelstein to show me where he's wrong.
In the beginning Finkelstein is tearing Dershowitz to shreds, pointing his massive hypocrisy, incitement to war, his fraudulent books, but also highlights how U.S. media are always silent when it comes to Zionist pro-Israel shills propagating their views for, and them belittling the Palestinians and the hardship they are still enduring. The book though main focus in the first part, is to combat this new "Antisemitism" charge that is frequently employed against anyone daring to critique Israel, and how it's misused. In case you're wondering who Dershowitz is, he's probably the most vocal Zionist in America and a Harvard law professor, though it seems justice for everyone doesn't apply to Israel.

The second part of the book is quite infuriating to read (due to the nature of what Israel has done / still does to the Palestinians), the author does a well researched job and shows documentation by various NGO reports on how Israel used human shields, throwing the popular accusation that the Zionist shills use against the Palestinians, to excuse the many innocent deaths caused by the IDF, right back at their faces. Not to mention the hampering of people seeking medical aid, the attack on ambulances, the excessive use of rubber bullets against children, aimed at their heads, and the powerful impact of those bullets. Some of you might have heard of the young Palestinian girl that slapped an Israeli soldier, cause her cousin had almost his head caved in from one of those "non-lethal" rubber bullets. The Zionist shill Dershowitz claims are completely exposed, and I'm wondering how popular his book is. The appendixes also highlights the popular misconceptions that many American Zionists still spout that have long been discredited, including by Israeli scholars and historians about the ethnic cleansing that the extremist Zionist committed against the Palestinians, which American Zionists claimed never happened, but the record shows otherwise. The later appendixes also reveals the constructed lie about how the Palestinians always rejected solutions to peace. Once again Finkelstein does extensive work. If you're an American, it's recommended you read this book if the Israel-Palestine conflict is of interest to you and you are disturbed by the one sided bias by American media. Read "The Israel Lobby" for more on that.

The epilogue is written by a third party, that reviewed the case of Dershowitz against Finkelstein and concluded that there was no evidence that Harvard cleared Dershowitz from plagiarism, and that it appeared that the DePaul university gave in to pressure in denying Finkelstein his tenure, despite the fact that they had nothing to go on, except Dershowitz letter that through fact checking can be easily dismissed.

Tagging people, that I know might be interested in this book. @abiG @Kafir-kun @Son of Jamin (because I often see you liking pro Israel / Zionists posts) @Ruprecht (mainly because I am often impressed by your knowledge on Islam, so perhaps this might interest you as well).

Edit: Grammar and what not.
I genuinely appreciate the tip! At the end of the day, it is good to read texts and books from people with differing viewpoints, a good way to combat confirmation bias.

On a random note, I used to be a very vocal criticizer of Israel but changed my opinion.
 
And now that the term is over....
fjf3NLu.gif

aBMlFW1l.jpg
 
Finished The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver. Really good read and a nice gift, especially liked the chapter on Poker. I didn't know he played, but it makes sense.
 
Back
Top