Author Topic: The Library (Read 2080188 times)

ginny · « **Reply #19120 on:** July 12, 2018, 03:42:35 PM »

The Library
Our library cafe is open 24/7; the welcome mat is always out.
Do come in from daily chores and spend some time with us.

ginny · « **Reply #19121 on:** July 12, 2018, 03:43:51 PM »

Interesting discussion here!

Frybabe, no I haven't read Mary Beard's Women and Power: a Manifesto, and it is sort of down on my list, despite my being a great admirer of hers. I know anything she does, however, is wonderful. She seems, however, to have set off something of a firestorm about how ancient literature should be viewed, on Twitter. (I read her Twitter account because she will often say where she is speaking next and I don't want to miss the opportunity to hear her should she come anywhere near me). Which is unlikely.

I haven't read Go Set a Watchman either.

Ann, you won't be too late to get on board with The Joy Luck Club, it only starts this Monday the 16th, plenty of time to get a good seat hahaha and Jonathan is posting there already! I was very glad to see him, too.

Here's the link, Everybody interested: http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=5245.msg341824#msg341824

It's a good book, like many listed here, and I know it will be a pleasure to discuss, too.

And there's news there of a new innovation we are going to try: the Mini Discussion, very similar to face to face book club discussions, so there's lots there to contemplate.

Tome, I do not think we discussed Harold Fry here, but I read it, and I think of it often, what insights did the leader have? I had put in here a link to a sort of Reading Guide somebody else did, in hopes you could see if somebody else had seen the points, but took it out, as they wanted money for the rest of the themes, etc. Lots to discuss in that one, I think of it all the time.

What a week this has been for News! The Thai boys and coach all out and safe, truly a miracle. The coach the weakest because he refused to eat what birthday snacks the children had brought into the cave, wanting the food to go to the children. A hero.

Then the World Cup. I have never seen such games, such excitement, and this Sunday is the final game. I have SO enjoyed sharing this experience with my grandson, here at home or over the phone all during the different games, it's been wonderful, and very exciting. His parents couldn't get over our screaming at first and now they are right there with us. I hate to see it all end. Best one ever, they are saying. And those two last events a very bright spot in an increasingly dark world.

Next up for me is Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz, which I've heard SO much about, the reviews are unreal. "catnip for classic mystery lovers...With its elegant playful plotting, Magipe Murders is the thinking mystery fan's ideal summer thriller."

" A treat for fans of golden age mysteries with this tour de force..." and on and on page after page.

I think Barbara mentioned it once, have any of you read it?

hats · « **Reply #19122 on:** July 13, 2018, 05:05:30 AM »

Hi Ginny and Jonathan, I have wanted to read Magpie Murders for a long time. I like mysteries, and I like that title. So happy to see Jonathan taking a big part in the discussion of The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Since I have an up and down health condition, I won't formally sign up for the discussion. You have peaked my interest in it. I'm glad to see the new link leading me over to the Utopian land of reading for a while. I love reading about different cultures. It's always something to learn or unlearn from one another on this globe. Learning about each other seems to bring harmony.

Good morning to all here and there and wherever on these discussions. I feel at home. Wherever there are books, that is home for the moment.

bellamarie · « **Reply #19123 on:** July 13, 2018, 12:43:30 PM »

Callie, that particular book by Marja Mills is disputed, as far as Harper authorizing permission for her to write it. Mills lived next door to Alice and Harper in Alabama for fourteen years. Seems she may have taken liberty, and advantage of the closeness with them, to benefit herself in writing, The Mockingbird Next Door.

Harper Lee stopped giving interviews in 1964, and is well known, along with a handful of other writers – JD Salinger, Thomas Pynchon, Emily Dickinson, Cormac McCarthy – as a stalwart of guarding her own privacy.

"Contrary to recent news reports, I have not willingly participated in any book written or to be written by Marja Mills," Lee wrote in a statement. "Neither have I authorized such a book. Any claims otherwise are false."

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/18/harper-lee-should-marja-mills-memoir-been-published

As much as all readers, and people interested in famous people, be it authors, musicians, artists, celebrities, etc., I ponder on, is it fair that someone who gets the least bit close to someone famous, then can write about their private lives, and profit from it? For me, I think it is sad that there are people like this in the world. It remains public knowledge, Harper Lee after writing and publishing To Kill A Mockingbird, became so famous, she could not deal with all the publicity. She became a recluse and did not publish another book, and very possibly did not ever write after writing To Kill A Mockingbird. She refused all interviews. So, in knowing this, I have a hard time believing she knowingly participated, or gave her permission to either Marj Mills or Tonya Carter to publish any books. I ask myself, how much truth is in this memoir? Did anyone change anything in Go Set A Watchman? While I am personally appalled these women, and all others involved, would take these liberties and advantage of Alice or Harper Lee, I can see the public/readers would be anxious to read the books. I refused to read either of them when I learned of the treachery, but as everything else, curiosity gets the better of me.

Ginny, Can't wait for Monday to come to begin discussing The Joy Luck Club.
Hats, understandable with your health you can not commit fully, but it is nice to know you will be peeking in from time to time. We value any input from you.
Jonathan, Yes, you are correct your heavily marked up, highlighted copy of Mockingbird, is indeed the book we discussed in our book club here. I wonder where my copy is, or did I borrow it from the library. I'll have to go through my book cases to see. So happy to see you will be joining us in TJLC.

I have a busy week end in front of me, and dealing with the after effects of an extracted tooth, so I hope to find the time to leisurely read the first chapters of TJLC. Fingers crossed.

PatH · « **Reply #19124 on:** July 13, 2018, 12:44:09 PM »

Quote

It's always something to learn or unlearn from one another on this globe.

I like that, Hats. Sometimes the unlearning is more important than the learning.

CallieOK · « **Reply #19125 on:** July 13, 2018, 03:15:15 PM »

bellamarie, I was decidedly NOT "anxious" to read "The Mockingbird Next Door"! There were some things that I "took with a large grain of salt" - as I do with any book written about a celebrity....even those supposedly written by the celebrity him/herself.

bellamarie · « **Reply #19126 on:** July 15, 2018, 01:36:36 PM »

Callie, Me too! Always leave room for exaggeration, suspect, and personal perspectives. I have neighbors I have lived next door to for over twenty years, interacted with them and spent hours talking to, and yet I could never assume I know them well enough to write a "memoir" book about.

Jonathan · « **Reply #19127 on:** July 15, 2018, 08:49:31 PM »

Tell us what you know, Bellamarie. LOL

bellamarie · « **Reply #19128 on:** July 16, 2018, 11:49:52 AM »

Jonathan, as our famous poet, Edgar Allan Poe's poem says:

“Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore.'”

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #19129 on:** July 18, 2018, 03:46:45 PM »

This is fascinating - goes into the change in our English language showing how far back we would no longer be able to understand our language

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fxy6ZaMOq8&feature=share

maryz · « **Reply #19130 on:** July 19, 2018, 09:52:55 AM »

Do you subscribe to Wordsmith (or A Word A Day)?

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #19131 on:** July 19, 2018, 12:34:28 PM »

I used to - need to find that link again and get back to that - it was a neat daily look at vocabulary - I do get from the Thesaurus site a daily email with a word and the history of the word - I like that...

mabel1015j · « **Reply #19132 on:** July 20, 2018, 11:45:53 AM »

You may like to check out this “word” site. “Dr Goodword” is a retired linguist from Bucknell Univ. The sub-sites are very interesting too, as well as this “good word” (word-a-day) site. Enjoy!

(It would help if I gave you the link! LOLOL)

https://www.alphadictionary.com/goodword/today

Jean

Frybabe · « **Reply #19133 on:** July 23, 2018, 01:21:45 PM »

Tor is planning on imposing restrictions on Ebook lending to libraries as a test. They claim that Ebook lending through libraries is cutting into their sales. Tor is a major purveyor of Science Fiction and Fantasy titles.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/77532-tor-scales-back-library-e-book-lending-as-part-of-test.html

I wonder if they plan on restricting Amazon's lending and first book freebies as well. I also wonder if or how many other publishers will follow suit. That is where I get most of my free reading other than Project Gutenberg.

PatH · « **Reply #19134 on:** July 23, 2018, 02:11:43 PM »

Bummer.

jane · « **Reply #19135 on:** July 23, 2018, 02:30:29 PM »

Apparently, some publishers have already imposted a "limit" on the number of times a library can lend an ebook before they have to pay for it again. I ran into that at a digital library that said they'd used up all their "borrows" and it would be a wait until they could purchase the book again.

jane

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #19136 on:** July 23, 2018, 02:55:11 PM »

Books were always free at the free libraries - and so why the big fuss over the way the book is made available unless it is the book makers who are missing the sales to libraries. If that is so then we have many like those who made saddles and were blacksmiths and had to find a new business or new aspect of the business of transportation.

jane · « **Reply #19137 on:** July 23, 2018, 03:06:57 PM »

Books were/are free to the users, Barbara. The libraries have to pay for them, whether they are paperback, hardcover, or digital, of course.

Some libraries also charge for their library cards to help their budget which may come from the city, county, or state, depending on location and laws. Others pass additional levies to raise funds for books, of course.

Frybabe · « **Reply #19138 on:** July 23, 2018, 03:21:10 PM »

Yes, I heard something about that last year. I think the main gist of the article is that Tor wants to keep Ebooks from Library circulation for four months after initial release. I don't know if that is their test period or if that is a timeline they expect to impose. At any rate, I have so much reading that four months extra to wait for an Ebook from a library will not impact me much. It will not induce me to buy an Ebook rather than wait for a possible library offering in Ebook form. Also, most of the time, I can get a book in print from the library. I just don't see how this will impact their Ebook sales with any significance. But then, I am not an "I want it and I want it now", type of person (well, for the most part).

Barb, Tor apparently didn't consult or explain why they think this is necessary. I think that is a major factor in why the library groups are aghast. Personally, I think it is making a mountain out of a molehill.

Jane, my library only charges if you need to replace a card. They have gotten a lot stricter in lending to those who owe fines, though. It used to be they had a limit of $5.00 of outstanding fines before the patron couldn't take out more books/movies. Previous to that they were even more lax with several patrons running up over $100. Now if there is a fine, no loans until paid. Period. We even had patrons who would run up fines on their card, and when cut off, ran up fines on their boyfriends, etc. cards.

BTW, I read a few weeks back that print sales are up and Ebook sales are down a bit, overall. Also, overall sales over the last year were way up for Science Fiction/Fantasy and, I believe I remember this one correctly, Cooking and Entertaining books. Double-digit increases, but I don't know if this include both print and Ebook forms or just print.

nlhome · « **Reply #19139 on:** July 23, 2018, 04:22:44 PM »

I do get the Word a Day emails from Wordsmith, and I read them. I also get a story of the week from The Library of America. I confess, I don't always read those stories, but this week's was a piece by Willa Cather, written in 1919 about her experiences in rural America during WWI, and I enjoyed that.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #19140 on:** July 23, 2018, 04:39:02 PM »

A by the way - it is only 3:30 in the afternoon and it is already 108 - the hottest part of our day is from about 4:30 to 6:30 - a few years ago we had temps like this and over 90 days in a row of triple digit but it did not start this early in the summer - and we just got word the electricity is out in an area of town and all the shops in that are are closing up - fingers crossed that all their refrigeratored foods will not see the trash bin.

bellamarie · « **Reply #19141 on:** July 23, 2018, 05:07:52 PM »

Oh Barb, this is awful! Our high temps have finally broken and we are having 70's and low 80s. Be safe.

CallieOK · « **Reply #19142 on:** July 23, 2018, 09:20:45 PM »

Barb, central Oklahoma is having those triple digit numbers, too - with heat indices as high as 119. My son posted a picture on Facebook last week of his car temperature registering 120 when he was ready to leave a parking lot.

Weather gurus today said a "not so hot" front (a/k/a "cold front"

) has moved through and we have "cooled down" to the low 90's. I could tell the humidity wasn't quite as high, either.

I would really miss not being able to borrow e-books free from the OKC metro library.....even when I'm #168 on the Wait list. I notice that there are usually several copies available so they must have a good budget for purchasing them.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #19143 on:** July 24, 2018, 04:59:32 AM »

It's been something hasn't it Callie - you ended up with even higher temperatures that we are having - we ended up today at 111 and yes, we too are hearing it may not reach 100 tomorrow or I should say today - something about a weak cold front but here they are saying 99 rather than the low 90s -

Watered like heck the front lawn - it took several hours since my large sprinkler broke - not sure what to do about the back - the spots that do not get shade it seems a waste of water since no matter how much I could water it is not going to green up till we have a good natural rain - I may do near the patio - because of the deer I do not have much growing back there - a Bay Laurel and lots of Nandina - I lost the Photinia in 2011 when we had that awful summer of 90 days with triple digits after a 3 year drought - the trees so far have held their own -

Several of the squirrels were laying flat out on the cement patio that is under a 100 year old Live Oak - at first seeing them I got scared they were dead but no just flat out - I guess the concrete is cooler than a tree limb. I keep a pan under the condensation life from the AC - between the birds, deer and squirrels they have kept it almost empty -

Been cooling the house down all night so that during the day the AC does not work as hard - I worry about those vehicles that sit outside apartments without any cover - someone showed the temp under the hood of a sitting vehicle at 122 - I think I'd do something crazy like wrap the front hood in aluminum foil to lesson the heat so it does not melt all the rubber hosing.

I just finished up my laundry that I am doing at night to keep the heat down and I opened the garage door to air it out - Do you have any tips Callie -

I do know not to do any cooking which if this keeps up can get old pretty fast - my daughter-in-law was always in the habit of cooking on her outdoor grill every summer but I just never got into that habit. In fact come to think of it I think I will make a pot of coffee now and then I can just heat it up in the micro wave tomorrow. I guess this thinking how to manage must be what those who live with ice and snow storms go through in winter. Well I'm off - no appointments tomorrow and so a long nap tomorrow will be on my schedule.

jane · « **Reply #19144 on:** July 24, 2018, 09:41:57 AM »

Frybabe....Your library's problems are the same faced by public and university libraries, everywhere. People run up fines or refuse to return materials and so are charged for them, and when cut off, put it on someone else's card.

One guy had stolen so many videos from our local library that the police went to his house (with our Librarian!) and recovered the stolen items. For months we called her our Librarian/Undercover Cop!

I, too, wait for the ebook, esp. from those authors/publishers in the $12.99-$14.99 range who've been a disappointment to me in the past.

jane

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #19145 on:** July 24, 2018, 10:05:54 AM »

The "cold front" made it down here to Dallas, the thermometer on my front porch is registering 72 degrees. Been weeks since it had that low a temp. I know it won't last long, but sure feels nice out there now.
We can only water two days a week, alternating days depending on your odd/even house number, with none between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM. You may water with a hose at any time. I have managed to get most of my yard reasonably green. Have a corner lot, and the side yard is brownish. I can't find my various types of sprinklers, have only the one spike-type. Guess I will have to invest in a new oscillating one. That type seems to cover more of the yard. I'm lucky I have any green grass. Had a guy come mow, and he absolutely scalped the lawn. I got another guy, who was absolutely appalled at the first guy scalping the yard when it is so bloomin' hot.
I'm with Reliant Energy and they've had 2 different days where if you conserve energy, they will credit your bill with the amount of KW hours you saved. They're trying to keep the overall usage down so the grid doesn't have rolling brownouts. I sat here the first time, with no A/C running, only a fan, didn't have the TV on, didn't wash/dry/dishwasher between 2 and 6 PM, sweating big time, and got 62 cents credit to my bill! Whoopee, but hey, it's 62 cents. The one they ran the other day (maybe Monday) was just 3 hours, so I didn't wilt in the heat! Stay cool everyone! Pray for rain.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #19146 on:** July 24, 2018, 01:21:25 PM »

Tomreader I did not realize you lived in Dallas - come this fall maybe we can meet for lunch - I have been saving big time on my electric bill - I really do not use all of my house and so instead of using the whole house AC I picked up two window units - a small one for my bedroom and a bigger one for the Den, Breakfast, Kitchen L shaped area. The only time I cool the entire house is after dark when we have temps over 100. I have cut my bill by a third - the big cut comes in my use of water - the water is more expensive than the electricity.

I tried one year just letting the lawn go and then I paid for it big time -all of a sudden woke up one morning to hundreds of small dirt mounds - seems gophers took over followed by an invasion of grubs - or maybe the grubs came and the gophers knew - but it was awful.

Jane I guess with electronic reading no one can hoard books from the library - wow amazing what people will obsess over - it is not like in the scheme of things that books are that valuable - he could have borrowed lawn equipment from one of those rent all places and then had something of value -

I know I have four books in this house that are like my scarlet letter - 2 my children borrowed and I found them years later on the shelves and two that I must of borrowed and why they were not returned I cannot even remember - every so often they were having a free return day and I would miss it often only finding out about it after the fact - since these books were borrowed over 40 years ago I've been for the last 10 years trying to soothe my conscious knowing the library would have pulled them off the shelves years ago - at this time I doubt the book or our names are even in the system and so I thought to drop them off and let them at least put them in their annual book sale - I need to get them in my vehicle because I keep forgetting.

P.S. the cool down may be we will be near 100 rather than 111 - it is 95 now at noon and we just get hotter as the afternoon progresses, topping it off about 6: which because of Day light saving, which the sun does not recognize, 6: is really 5:

Dana · « **Reply #19147 on:** July 26, 2018, 04:00:42 PM »

I am reading a most interesting book--The Story of the Stone by Cao Xuequin. I'm only on volume 1. I'm not sure how many volumes there are. A lot!
Someone recommended it here. Barb, I rather think it might have been you--if so, I'd be interested to hear how you got on with it.
It's apparently the most famous, and still popular, classic novel in China, and was written in the 18th century. The translation is brilliant. There are many poems and couplets which apparently was the Chinese way, and they are beautiful even in English.
It's so fascinating because you are just right in the middle of a so different culture, there are lots of things to look up that the story just takes for granted, which you don't know about, of-course. That's where google really comes into its own. It starts off in a very rich family, I think later they lose their wealth, but they presently have so many servants, each person, even the kids, and the servants seem to be part of the family, in a way quite different from ours, it would seem.
The family relationships and so on are quite different too.
The values are different too--none of that Christian morality we are all steeped in! This is a Buddhist/Taoist morality which I know nothing about, its gripping to be stuck right into it.
The story is quite gripping , too. Lots of funny bits. The author really keeps you coming back for more. The number of characters and their names are daunting, but there is a helpful (and necessary) list at the end.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #19148 on:** July 26, 2018, 05:48:27 PM »

Ah yes, the alternative title being The Dream of the Red Chamber - There are at least 4 and maybe according to how it was published 5 books to the story - a Chinese Classic. The Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong is another classic series which is different than The Romance of the Three Kingdoms - the first being what happened that split and the end of the Han dynasty and the same background is in the Romance... however it is by another author written during the middle ages and shows more the relationship between various individuals.

Dana · « **Reply #19149 on:** July 27, 2018, 12:50:35 PM »

yes, you are quite right, the introduction is very detailed about the history of the saga and the connection between the two authors. Have you read any of the books, though? There are 5 volumes in the only English translation.
I was wondering what you thought of the story.....

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #19150 on:** July 27, 2018, 02:16:26 PM »

Dana it is a book I bring out every so often - there are always bits of wisdom that are not the focus of the story but are real aha moments - and the other is, who did the translation - I had the Hawkes translation that is dense and filled with words I need to research but makes the story other worldly and gives a tone I do not find in other translations - however, I recently found a translation by a H. Bencraft Joly, who translated from a German translation - it was so much easier and the story was easier to enjoy but it lost for me the bits of connections that were the bits of wisdom offered in the Hawkes translation.

And so where the Joly allowed me to have a picture of him for instance cradling a child in his arms and although I labor reading the Hawkes translation and can only read a bit at a time, I still prefer it. Like all these great long sagas, in my younger years I never thought of size and time - the story grabbed me, like reading War and Peace and I just read it over the course of a summer - where as now I do not seem to be able to take a book by the scruff and just read it exclusively - Also, I'm compelled to research every new word or anything new the story brings up where as in my younger years I just read for the story.

Dana · « **Reply #19151 on:** July 27, 2018, 04:09:02 PM »

I like a book where one has to look things up all the time, especially with the ease of the internet these days. I can't much be bothered with just a plain old novel any more, which is a change for me.
I have the Hawkes translation which I think is marvellous. He's quite a poet.
I looked for the other guy, Joly, and found he was another Englishman who lived in Macao and says he translated it to help English students with their Chinese studies, so I think he must have translated it directly from Chinese. Anyway, it costs $899 on amazon (second hand!) so I don't think I'll be getting it from there......... I'll look elsewhere as I wouldn't mind having a comparison book handy. Kindle has it for 99c but I prefer an actual book for this I think.

Frybabe · « **Reply #19152 on:** July 28, 2018, 04:46:29 PM »

OH, NO! Yet another hold (the next to last, I think) just became available. Now that makes four books I have to get through in a short time. Two of them are non-fiction, Roman History. They were spread out over time when I put them on hold, and they all had a varying number of holds before me. How do they always manage to drop in on me almost at once? Oh well.

Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club, and not keeping up.
Circe by Madeline Miller, ready to pick up.
Kyle Harper's The Fate of Rome, not started
Mike Duncan's The Storm Before the Storm, at chapter 9

also, Ocean of Storms by Christopher Mari and Jeremy K. Brown. This is a SciFi, just started so I don't have a grasp of what it is about but appears to be heading towards a Moon expedition.

And then there is Latin. Happy to be back, but it is time consuming.

What else is everyone reading besides The Joy Luck Club?

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #19153 on:** July 28, 2018, 05:07:32 PM »

I am knee deep in world economics - I cannot recommend strongly enough Adults in the Room: My Battle with the European and American Deep Establishment by the Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis

Of course after a couple of chapters I had a million questions - did not know that once a part of the EU that all lending was based on one rate regardless that some nations did not have the ability to pay that rate. And his meetings with some of those who helped the White House get the nation out of the financial crisis in 2008 were eye opening.

But then after calling a few folks who had a background in economics and still having more questions I've also been reading GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History and another I never thought of before that it would be different Understanding Government Finance which has me more curious and so I ordered yesterday, A History of Central Banking & The Enslavement of Mankind and downloaded, Talking to My Daughter About the Economy: or, How Capitalism Works--and How It Fails again by Varoufakis.

Nothing like getting my teeth into an entirely, for me new area of how our world ticks.

Frybabe · « **Reply #19154 on:** July 28, 2018, 05:13:57 PM »

That sounds like some heavy reading, Barb.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #19155 on:** July 28, 2018, 06:43:29 PM »

Not so much heavy as an area I have never read about or know too much about - I find it fascinating and to realize our lives are dramatically altered by decisions we never think are touching us since they seem to be made by those far removed from our everyday life which is what the Greek people thought when all pensions were gone and millions dropped over night into poverty and how elections are satisfying and have for decades the bankers and how they do it and how they protect each other and how our homes loose value and how that then becomes the reason for millions of foreclosures and how our kids are saddled with the unforgiving interest on student loans and why and how the financing of a government and the banks are tied to all of this- to how wars are started and won by banks and how a nation goes into serious debt if there is a war and who holds that debt controls the politics of a nation.

We unfortunately still think wars are over ideals and the winner is the disseminator of laws and a way of life where as, it is world banks the decide the winners and the ideals that will be.

Talk about cause and effect - I had no clue - half the time the news goes over my head when they talk about trade and GDP and yet, it has more affect on our lives than whom we vote for. Amazing and people know about this... I didn't but I am bound and determined to find out -

I find the Greek Finance Minister to be forthcoming and pulling the curtain back so the average person can see how it works and why simple solutions are too often ignored - and it is not because they won't work. Talk about a murder mystery - this is better then Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christi or Umberto Eco all rolled into one...

bellamarie · « **Reply #19156 on:** July 28, 2018, 07:49:39 PM »

Barb,

Quote

We unfortunately still think wars are over ideals and the winner is the disseminator of laws and a way of life where as, it is world banks the decide the winners and the ideals that will be.

It's always been, and always will be, about $$$$. Trump being the savvy business man , The Art Of The Deal, is probably the ONLY president, who knows it is all about $$$$.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #19157 on:** July 28, 2018, 08:45:34 PM »

Bellamarie I think others did also - they simply handled it differently - they were also beholden to those who finance a nation since they also finance most candidates who the bankers want to see win - in the past we had presidents who extended the traditional look and voice of the office and did not plow up the old and break new ground - however what I am reading about is how banks finance history with a comment here and there about how those involved protect themselves and how the World Bank, IMF, the Federal Reserve and the WTO, as private banks control is greater than any president, king or national leader. But mostly how it is done and and what various financial topics in the news really mean.

I still do not understand why a nations GDP is measured in order to determine the size and interest rate for a loan - I only know borrowing based on showing a business plan, showing your history of paying debts and loans and your current income showing your ability to pay - but measuring the GDP seems to be as if when applying for a loan rather than looking at my application showing willingness, ability, and plan rather they looked into the health and future of the company where I worked to see if they are financially healthy - I'm thinking that is fine but even if the company is financially healthy what preventing future taxpayers (who a government depends upon for income) from depositing their earnings overseas so the the tax base does not increase or improve - why measure the health of industry if it is the state (nation) that is asking for the loan - still trying to get that figured out.

And then learning the rate determined by the EU Central Bank is used for all EU nations even those who do not produce like Germany. Is that the same system used by NAFTA - are all three members of NAFTA subject to the same rate? OR is NAFTA only a trade agreement and therefore not a comparable to the EU.

I know historically when the US went bankrupt and we no longer have any control over our finances that were turned over to the Federal Reserve but what were the details and how does that dependency affect governing the nation. I know that it causes downturns but how and who benefits - how much do investors affect the Federal Reserve or are they completely and independently controlling this nation.

Learning what happened in Greece and how the people of the world banks think and cover themselves is a real eye opener so that I am reading like mad Varoufakis' book - Adults in the Room: It is better than reading a crime mystery - its like 'who knew?' and that is why I can see now the fierce campaigning to win and be included at least in Congress but the ideal is to be in the executive branch or as a cabinet member - they know all the 'right' people who guide them to the 'right' investments and are part of the 'in' group.

If nothing else I recommend just read the free excerpt that Amazon offers as if you are considering buying the book - that first chapter is a loulou.

Frybabe · « **Reply #19158 on:** July 29, 2018, 06:33:19 AM »

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why measure the health of industry if it is the state (nation) that is asking for the loan

Barb, the easy answer to this question is that if a major industry (or industries) fails or falters, the government loses a tax base both from that industry and from the employees who pay taxes. Not only that, but the government is compelled (state and Federal) to pay out in unemployment and industry bailouts thus draining the government coffers more. I think we have all seen in various degrees or seriousness the cascade effects of a failing industry because it pulls down others with it. If your employer is on shaky ground, if you are laid off because of a shutdown or closure, how will you be able to pay your bills? This is all factored into how much an individual, business or government is able to pay back its debt.

Like I said, that is the easy answer. There is most likely so much more involved, like how debt is used as a reward or a weapon against targeted groups such as businesses and governments. And that is a whole other thing to think about. How much debt can the US sustain before the government itself fails, before the people are squeezed too much, before those who hold the debt call it in before they lose their money or to create chaos? I worry about the US debt, how much we owe and to whom.

nlhome · « **Reply #19159 on:** July 29, 2018, 07:57:24 AM »

Wow, heavy reading for the first thing in the morning.

What brought me here so early was a much lighter article, but one I enjoyed, from BBC on Twitter, about tsundoku - a Japanese term used to describe a person who owns a lot of unread literature. It's different from bibliomania, which is more the compulsion to buy and collect books. Tsundoku refers to people who buy books with the intention to read them, but then don't. The article was on Twitter, so I don't know how to link it, but the title is: "Tsundoku: The art of buying books and never reading them."

I do have stacks here and there, and several audio books as well, that I want to read, but between weary eyes and other distractions, they just pile up. At least I don't have to dust the ones on my tablet.

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Author Topic: The Library (Read 2080188 times)