| (no subject) |
[Dec. 9th, 2009|06:07 pm] |
Just a quick update of the book list. *= new entry
Doesen't look like I will be able to read all of these come the new year... But I CAN SURE AS HELL TRY!!!
Books to read
Empire to Umpire by Norman Hillmer
The war of the world by Nial ferguson
Who killed the canadian military? by J.l.Granatstein
The Krimean war by Alexis Troubetzkoy
The inquisition by Micheal baigen and Richard leigh
1424:the year a magnificent chinese fleet sailed to italy and set of the rainaissance by gavin menzies
what stalin knew: the enigma of barbarosa by david Murphy
The death of yugoslavia by laura sibler and allan little
The last kingdom, by Bernard Cornwell
1917 russia's year pf revolution by roy bainton
The greatest battle by andrew nagorski
Lennin: a biography, by Robert Service.
The Decline and Fall of the British Empire 1781-1997, by Piers Brendon
Caesars of the wilderness, by Peter c.Newman
You or Someone Like you, by Chandler Burr
Rules of Vengance, Christopher Reich
Devil may care, by Sebasian Faulks imitating Ian Fleming
Young Stalin, by Simon Sebag Montefiore
What the Dog saw by Malcom Gladwell*
and the books I've read since the new year
I AM AMERICA (and so can you) by Stephen Colbert
World War Z, by Max Brooks
Hitler and churchill by Andrew Roberts
A city of thieves, by David Benioff
The Balkans:Nationalism,war, and the great powers, 1804-1999 by misha glenny
The Myriad: Tour of the Merimack #1 R.M. Meluch
Wolf Star: Tour of the Merimack #2 R.M Meluch*
The Sagitarius Comand: Tour of the Merimack #3 R.M Meluch*
The Britanica Guide to Russia, By the Encyclopedia britanica.
1421:the year china discoverd the world by gavin menzies
When the Devil Dances By John Ringo
Watch on the Rhine by John Ringo
Child 44 by Tom Smith
A storm of swords by R. Marten
Fatherland by Robert Harris
A hymn before battle by John Ringo
Gust Front By John Ringo
The russian revolution: a very short introduction by S.A.Smith
Brisinger by christopher paolini
Fighting in spain by George Orwell
God is not great, by christopher hitchens
Dracula(graphic novel)
The prince by niccolo machieveli
The white tiger by aravind adiga
The scourge of god by S.M Stirling
Coulours in the Steel, by K.J.Parker
Belly of the Bow, By K.J. Parker*
A shadow in summer, By Daniel Abraham
Putin's Russia, by Anna Politkovskaya
The Post American World, By Fareed Zakaria
Fathers and Sons, by Ivan turgenev |
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| An Essay on Russian Foreing Policy . |
[Oct. 1st, 2009|11:00 am] |
Russian Foreign Policy
A Literature response
Patrick Cloutier
Russian foreign policy post Yeltsin has largely been dedicated to ensuring sovereignty and maintaining its status as a great power. Russia has been opposed to normative policies, that is the harmonizing of laws and policies between states. Russia's opposition has been largely based on its belief that such harmonization would constitute the surrender of sovereignty and be counter to its interests. Russia's opposition to harmonization efforts is not an indication of an aversion to co-operation. Russia remains very much interested in co-operation with other powers, indeed it promotes a multipolar world. However Russia also does not wish to become too close to any one power or be dictated to. Russia's foreign policy reflects its goals of forging an independent path, working with other powers when it suits them and not swearing firm allegiance to any one group. This policy is not necessarily confrontational with the west. However its very nature of independence will cause Russia to occasionally come into conflict with the west when their interests do not align. This essay will show the literature on the subject by and large agrees, that Russia is not belligerent towards the west and that quite often western moves are provocative to the Russian establishment. The focus will be on Deverre's article “Russian Foreign Policy and the Global Political Environment” and the different authors take on the matter.
Recent Russian foreign policy has been largely based on attempts to ensure Russian sovereignty and security, in the face of perceived provocations and demands from the west. Deverre states that Russian foreign policy is formed by its perception of the states around it of being unstable and seeing this as a threat to Russian security. The Russian response has been to cease “the repudiation of further unilateral concessions or ceding sovereignty” (Averre 2008). Deverre goes on to say that Russian movement away from convergence with international norms is viewed in the west as confrontational. Deverre disagrees saying that confrontation is “case-specific and largely stems from the legitimate pursuit of its interests based on long-held principles.” (Aeverre 2008), this is a view shared by other authors such as Haukalla who wrote “Russia has come to view the European Union’s policies, even if well meaning, as overly intrusive and unwanted encroachments on its sovereignty” (Haukkala 2008). Haukalla's comment was in reference to Russia's reactions to the EU's “European Neighborhood Policy” which hopes to entice nations close to the EU to follow EU policies without actually joining the EU (Haukalla 2008). To Russian sensibilities the ENP (European Neighborhood Policy) was insulting, as it suggested Russia was inferior. ENP basically sets out policy objectives for countries to meet in order to receive trade deals with the EU. Russia objected to the unilateral nature of the policy as well as took umbrance to the suggestion it was equivalent with other ENP nations such as morocco or Moldova (Haukalla 2008). While Russia has rejected the ENP it has not rejected the idea of cooperation with the Europeans. The Russians would rather a more equal co-operation one with compromise from both ends rather than purely from Russia. The sort of co-operation the Russians would want is limited so as not to tie them down, something which is seen as threatening Russian sovereignty (Browning 2008). Current Russian foreign policy is primarily reaction to western moves, which have been viewed as threatening to Russian sovereignty. As a result Russia has responded with increased belligerence and active seeking out of partners other than those in the west.
Russia’s decision to reject western proposals for unilateral homogenization of policy and instead demand that any change in policy be the result of mutual co-operation reflects their view of the world as an increasingly multipolar world. Russia is increasingly finding it can get what it wants by working with actors other than the west, while the west remains important it is no longer all important. Evidence of Russia’s belief in the multipolar world can be seen in its co-operation with the other BRIC countries and in the Shanghai pact (Averre 2008). In Russia’s view the need to accommodate the west is declining. This is reflected in the broad consensus in Moscow that Russian foreign policy has been successful, despite tensions with the west. The Russian view is that the emerging nations are more important. Subscribing to this view it could be argued that Russian foreign policy has indeed been successful as evident in its increasing role in international organizations and closer ties with the developing world (Monoghan 2008). Russia’s actions come from an unease at the many unilateral actions undertaken during the Bush years, such actions have caused various states to edge away from the hard line coming from the US and search out nations more willing to negotiate (Monoghan 2008). As a result Russia was given a window of opportunity to establish ties with nations discontented with US unilateralism, which Russia argues is a major destabilizing force in the world. Russia’s message of promotion of national interests and support of stability (status quo) has made it popular with nations who don’t quite buy into the west’s view of things (Monoghan 2008). Russia has capitalized on the resentment generated by the lecturing manner of US diplomacy. By espousing respect for other powers largely irrespective of their national policies and approaching negotiations from at least the stated presumption of equality, Russia has made itself a seemingly more palatable partner than the US which will often make demands for domestic reform.
Russia’s opposition to western attempts at normalization of national policies is most marked in the CIS. Where Russia is critical of what it considers destabilizing support of opposition groups such as the various color revolutions (Monoghan 2008). However Russia’s criticism isn’t so much due to objection over the West meddling in sovereign nation’s affairs, its mostly because they are meddling where Russia see itself as having the sole right to meddle. As Kramer put in his article “Russian Policy Towards the Commonwealth of Independent States” Russia takes the following view “Russia, like other (great powers) in the world,” (Kramer 2008) . This explains Russia’s ability to work with nations such as China, Iran or Venezuela, they do not object to their influencing smaller nations in their area. Russia’s attitude towards the CIS has been to try and increase economic, political and military ties. In order to achieve this they have created or reinforced collective agreements; such as the Collective Security Treaty and the Eurasian Economic Community. Russia has also been content to work with undemocratic leaders within the CIS, as they seemed most likely to closely align themselves with the CIS (Kramer 2008). Russia’s support of anyone willing to support greater integration of the CIS is what has been the main flashpoint with the west. The west wishes to promote democracy in the region which Russia sees as contrary to its wishes of greater CIS integration (Sestanovich 2008). The Russians even go so far as to claim western efforts are deliberate destabilization efforts in order to keep Russia weak (Averre 2008) .
According to the literature Russia’s foreign policy has taken shape in three broad themes. Firstly the Russians are opposed to attempts by the West to establish universal norms concerning governance. The Russians counter that policy cannot be universally applied to all nations due to historical and cultural reasons and as such unilateral demands for conformity are unreasonable and even counterproductive. Secondly the Russians do not consider the Americans or the West to be the sole global leaders. Instead they subscribe to the view of the world as multipolar with many equal powers with respective areas of interests. This has meant that Russian policy makers do not consider it absolutely necessary to compromise with the west all the time, there are other equally legitimate powers to do business with. This understanding of the world means they expect to be treated as an equal power with a give and take on both sides. Thirdly and perhaps most importantly to the Russians is the view of the CIS as its primary region of interests, which other nations have little to no legitimate interest in. In order to secure this region of interests the Russians are actively seeking normalized policy among the CIS on economic and military matters. In the Russian view this is not contradictory with their opposition to Western desires to establish universal norms, due to Russia’s historical and cultural ties to the CIS. Russia’s foreign policy is designed to maintain its hegemony in Eurasia, resist Western efforts to bring its policies closer in line with their own and to support (but not ally) through co-operation powers other than the west.
Bibliography
Averre, D (2008)Russian Foreign Policy and the Global Political Environment. Problems of Post-Communism, Vol. 55 Issue 5, p28-39, 12p
Browning, C (2008)Reassessing Putin's Project Reflections on IR Theory and the West. Problems of Post-Communism, Vol. 55 Issue 5, p3-13
Haukkala, H (2008),Russian Reactions to the European Neighborhood Policy. Problems of Post-Communism, Vol. 55 Issue 5, p40-48,
Kramer, M (2008) Russian Policy Towards the Commonwealth of Independent States; Trends and Future Prospects. Problems of Post Communism. Vol.55 Issue 6, p13-19.
Monoghan,A (2008) ‘An enemy at the gates’or ‘from victory to victory’?Russian foreign policy, International Affairs 84: 4
Sestanovich, S (2008) What has Russia done? Foreign Affairs, Vol. 87 Issue 6, p12-28, 17p |
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| Of neo-Nazis and books |
[Sep. 9th, 2009|02:31 pm] |
A strange thing happened in the Rideau center, I saw two skin heads. Honest to god skin heads. They had their hair shaved close and bleached blond, they wore jack books and black and white camo pants. As I walked by them they noticed a mixed race couple and said to one another "thats fucking disgusting". I immediately thought they should be talking to a mirror. As I walked away however I realized they must be some of the loneliest people in Canada. They belong in a 1940's Hitler youth rally for Christ sake, it's pathetic.
So I read since my last update.
The Balkans:Nationalism,war, and the great powers, 1804-1999 by misha glenny
This was a very large book took me a couple months to read it, and in between I read a City of Thieves bellow.It's essentially a history textbook on the Balkans, written fairly well for a textbook, but still a textbook.
The Myriad: Tour of the Merimack #1 R.M. Meluch *
This was a fun read I picked up cause we had a crazy good deal going on at work (buy 3 get 1 free plus my employee discount of 30%). Most of the book is very entertaining and spends allot of time getting you to like all the different characters, then in the last bit he does this dumb time travel thing which alters history so none of the characters are the same. I was so annoyed I almost threw the book away.
The Britanica Guide to Russia, By the Encyclopedia britanica.*
A summary of Russia, I bought just cause I was curious to see what it had to say (it was 5$). It was somewhat amusing since it covers extremely important periods of history in like a paragraph or just a couple pages.Its commentary on modern Russia was useful however.
1421:the year china discoverd the world by gavin menzies
This was a fun read for a history book. He basically puts forward his theory that the Chinese circumnavigated the globe in 1421 a ways before the Europeans did it and then tries to back it up throughout the book. Personally I buy his arguments and think its quite plausible considering the evidence, (Chinese chickens found when europeans showed up, Europeans had maps despite never having been there ect.)
Walking Dead #10, What we become *
#10 in a seriously badass comic series, basically it follows a former cop and his family/friends trying to survive zombie apocalypse. It really goes into the how far humans will go for survival aspect and makes for super engaging reading.
A city of thieves, by David Benioff *
this is about two guys arested in leningrad during the seige. They are told by the local NKVD boss they must get him a dozen eggs in 7 days or he'll execute them. Very entertaining read, lots of dark humor.
Hitler and churchill by Andrew Roberts
An interesting book, he tries a little to hard to make every flaw a hidden gem in respects to Churchill, and any thing Hitler was good at a character flaw.
World War Z
Supper fun book, verry good read.
All the stars are books I've added to the list.
Books to read
Empire to Umpire by Norman Hillmer
The war of the world by Nial ferguson
Who killed the canadian military? by J.l.Granatstein
The Krimean war by Alexis Troubetzkoy
The inquisition by Micheal baigen and Richard leigh
1424:the year a magnificent chinese fleet sailed to italy and set of the rainaissance by gavin menzies
what stalin knew: the enigma of barbarosa by david Murphy
The death of yugoslavia by laura sibler and allan little
The last kingdom, by Bernard Cornwell
1917 russia's year pf revolution by roy bainton
I AM AMERICA (and so can you) by Stephen Colbert
The greatest battle by andrew nagorski
Lennin: a biography, by Robert Service.
The Decline and Fall of the British Empire 1781-1997, by Piers Brendon*
Coulours in the Steel, by K.J.Parker *
A shadow in summer, By Daniel Abraham *
Putin's Russia, by Anna Politkovskaya *
The Post American World, By Fareed Zakaria *
Caesars of the wilderness, by Peter c.Newman *
You or Someone Like you, by Chandler Burr*
Rules of Vengance, Christopher Reich*
Devil may care, by Sebasian Faulks imitating Ian Fleming*
Young Stalin, by Simon Sebag Montefiore*
and the books I've read since the new year
World War Z, by Max Brooks*
Hitler and churchill by Andrew Roberts
A city of thieves, by David Benioff *
The Balkans:Nationalism,war, and the great powers, 1804-1999 by misha glenny
The Myriad: Tour of the Merimack #1 R.M. Meluch *
The Britanica Guide to Russia, By the Encyclopedia britanica.*
1421:the year china discoverd the world by gavin menzies
When the Devil Dances By John Ringo
Watch on the Rhine by John Ringo
Child 44 by Tom Smith
A storm of swords by R. Marten
Fatherland by Robert Harris
A hymn before battle by John Ringo
Gust Front By John Ringo
The russian revolution: a very short introduction by S.A.Smith
Brisinger by christopher paolini
Fighting in spain by George Orwell
God is not great, by christopher hitchens
Dracula(graphic novel)
The prince by niccolo machieveli
The white tiger by aravind adiga
The scourge of god by S.M Stirling
Fathers and Sons, by Ivan turgenev |
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| what if.... |
[May. 28th, 2009|07:18 am] |
You win 100 million dollars somehow... What do you do?
First you get Taxed 29% from the federal government, then you get taxed 24% from the Quebec government, you made 11000$ yourself(thats just a random number I put in you could put your own income if you want). 100 011 000 - 53% = 47005170.
1st I curse myself for not living in Alberta (they have a flat tax of 10%), then mope about losing 53% of my 100 million.
Eventually realize hey... I have 47 million! Time to get down to business.
I would put 25 million into maintaining wealth,
8 million for family
4 million for taking year off and trying to visit every country in the world.
2 million personaly try to turn around the economy.
1 million charity.
Under maintaining wealth,
I would invest about 10 million acording to financial advice
put the remaining 15 million into a saving account to incur interest, when I return from my globe trotting journey, use most of the money inside to build an apartment building in Ottawa.
Building would have an environmental roof, possibly top floor would be devoted to hydroponics (sod and plants) for small agriculture purposes. Whats grown would be sold in the market. Bottom floor would be made up of small business, as well as the lobby for the apartment building. The lower floors could be used for office space(like 2&3), raising actual living space further from noise of the city. The building would also be built to be as environmentally friendly as possible.
all the floors in between would be apartments, designed for middle income tenants.
I have no idea how much such a building would cost, possibly more than 15 million.
I clearly have to much time on my hands.
Pat |
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| Booyashaka |
[May. 19th, 2009|01:19 am] |
So I've read a three more book, they were all pretty good. I think Child 44 was my favorite. It's a murder mystery based in post war soviet union, whats not to like? Fatherland is a murder mystery based in Nazi Germany after they won the war. It was a fun read, however the ending was pretty weak.Storm of swords is part of an excellent series, and was excellent.
so on wednesday I'm getting surgery on my jaw. heres what the're going to do, cut a chunk out of my lower jaw and push it back. then they're going to cut my upper jaw and push it forward. sounds like a party right?
I will get to spend two nights in hospital, I'm considering brining my laptop if they have wireless internet, otherwise I will just read. I've tried to picture what I'll look like after the surgery and I just cant picture it. I'm hoping it will make me a super babe magnate, this may be overly optimistic.
After the surgery I will have a whole month off work, and no obligations. I'm hopping to get some reading done , and to paint a good chunk of my warhammer stuff, expect photos.
Books to read
Empire to Umpire by Norman Hillmer
The war of the world by Nial ferguson
Who killed the canadian military? by J.l.Granatstein
The Krimean war by Alexis Troubetzkoy
The inquisition by Micheal baigen and Richard leigh
1421:the year china discoverd the world by gavin menzies
1424:the year a magnificent chinese fleet sailed to italy and set of the rainaissance by gavin menzies
what stalin knew: the enigma of barbarosa by david Murphy
Hitler and churchill by Andrew Roberts
The death of yugoslavia by laura sibler and allan little
The last kingdom, by Bernard Cornwell
1917 russia's year pf revolution by roy bainton
The Balkans:Nationalism,war, and the great powers, 1804-1999 by misha glenny
I AM AMERICA (and so can you) by Stephen Colbert
The greatest battle by andrew nagorski
Lennin: a biography, by Robert Service.
and the books I've read since the new year
When the Devil Dances By John Ringo (completed)
Watch on the Rhine by John Ringo (completed)
Child 44 by Tom Smith (completed)
A storm of swords by R. Marten (completed)
Fatherland by Robert Harris (completed)
A hymn before battle by John Ringo (completed)
Gust Front By John Ringo(completed)
The russian revolution: a very short introduction by S.A.Smith (completed)
Brisinger by christopher paolini(completed)
Fighting in spain by George Orwell (completed)
God is not great, by christopher hitchens (completed)
Dracula(graphic novel) (completed)
The prince by niccolo machieveli (completed)
The white tiger by aravind adiga (completed)
The scourge of god by S.M Stirling (completed)
Fathers and Sons, by Ivan turgenev (completed) |
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| well there goese that plan |
[Mar. 25th, 2009|09:57 pm] |
So I've totaly failed my plan to not buy books before I read all the ones on my list, and went and started a new sci-fi series. So from now on this will just be a record of books I intend to read and books I have read this year.
I did however finish Smith's "a very short intro to the russian revolution" it was quite excelent! for such a short book it's very thorough and didint leave much out. Of course this meant it mainly just offered an acount of what happened without much analysis, but he managed to make it not to dry. If you feel the need to read a book on the Russian revolution, but dont want to read a mother of a book, I recomend this one.
I also read Paoloni's "brisingr" this is the 3rd part to a Teen fantasy series. It is very obvious that it's a teen fantasy book, that's ok by me though I quite liked it, you would need to reed the other to books to read this one.
Now the books that broke the resolution. all by John Ringo "hymn before battle" "gust front" and im curently reading the 3rd book of the 9 book series " when the devil dances" this is a cheesy sci-fi series about alliens invading the earth. The humans are allied with these other pacifist aliens who dont have earths intrests in mind. THe series is action packed and light, I quite enjoy it.
Books to read
Child 44 by Tom Smith
Empire to Umpire by Norman Hillmer
The war of the world by Nial ferguson
Who killed the canadian military? by J.l.Granatstein
The Krimean war by Alexis Troubetzkoy
The inquisition by Micheal baigen and Richard leigh
1421:the year china discoverd the world by gavin menzies
1424:the year a magnificent chinese fleet sailed to italy and set of the rainaissance by gavin menzies
what stalin knew: the enigma of barbarosa by david Murphy
Hitler and churchill by Andrew Roberts
The death of yugoslavia by laura sibler and allan little
The last kingdom, by Bernard Cornwell
1917 russia's year pf revolution by roy bainton
The Balkans:Nationalism,war, and the great powers, 1804-1999 by misha glenny
I AM AMERICA (and so can you) by Stephen Colbert
When the Devil Dances By John Ringo
The greatest battle by andrew nagorski
Lennin: a biography, by Robert Service.
A storm of swords by R. Marten
and the books I've read since the new year
A hymn before battle by John Ringo (completed)
Gust Front By John Ringo(completed)
The russian revolution: a very short introduction by S.A.Smith (completed)
Brisinger by christopher paolini(completed)
Fighting in spain by George Orwell (completed)
God is not great, by christopher hitchens (completed)
Dracula(graphic novel) (completed)
The prince by niccolo machieveli (completed)
The white tiger by aravind adiga (completed)
The scourge of god by S.M Stirling (completed)
Fathers and Sons, by Ivan turgenev (completed) |
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| A memo to the Prime minister |
[Mar. 10th, 2009|10:47 am] |
For my Canada-US relations class we had to write a Breifing memo to the prime minister on an important issue on Canada US relations. My topic was theoretical; President Obama asks canada to extend its afghan mission past 2011, the Prime minister has asked you to offer advice on the matter.
Mr.Prime Minister
You have asked me to provide you with a briefing note, in order to better make a decision with regards to President Obama’s request. I have compiled a brief summary of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan as well as my own deliberations and recommended course of action.
( Background ) |
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| More books off the list |
[Feb. 13th, 2009|10:04 am] |
Fathers and Sons, by Ivan turgenev; This book while i liked it was prety slow. Basicly your just following the life of two guys in 19th century russia. Their interactions with their parents, love intrests ect, you read the book for the charecters not the plot wich is strange.
The scourge of god by S.M Stirling; THis is the 4th or 5th book of a series called "the change", ill give you the basic premis of the series, some weird shit hapens in nantucket and then all the technology in the world stops working. like evrything, gasoline doesent combust gunpowerd ceases to blow up, maybe technology is wrong more acurately the laws of physics get changed and as a result almost all technology reverts to medeival level. The first book is prety intense as ou have all these huge cities where all our technology just goese away. The book i just read was OK but i think the series is getting a little stale and he ended it with an obvious cliff hanger ending to make me buy the next book... wich i will.
The white tiger by aravind adiga; this book was simply put awesomely good. Its about a guy from a little vilage in india who becomes a wealthy entrepreneure. You might think "hmm some sappy feel good story", it is definetly not, this guy doese some prety bad stuff to get there. The whole story is told as the main charecter dictates a letter to the premier of china and is a kind of critic of india from an indians perspective. I highly recomend it.
Child 44 by Tom Smith
Empire to Umpire by Norman Hillmer
The war of the world by Nial ferguson
Who killed the canadian military? by J.l.Granatstein
The Krimean war by Alexis Troubetzkoy
The inquisition by Micheal baigen and Richard leigh
1421:the year china discoverd the world by gavin menzies
1424:the year a magnificent chinese fleet sailed to italy and set of the rainaissance by gavin menzies
what stalin knew: the enigma of barbarosa by david Murphy
Hitler and churchill by Andrew Roberts
The death of yugoslavia by laura sibler and allan little
The last kingdom, by Bernard Cornwell
1917 russia's year pf revolution by roy bainton
The Balkans:Nationalism,war, and the great powers, 1804-1999 by misha glenny
I AM AMERICA (and so can you) by Stephen Colbert
Brisinger by christopher paolini
The greatest battle by andrew nagorski
Lennin: a biography, by Robert Service.
The russian revolution: a very short introduction(they arent kiding under 200 pages!) by S.A.Smith
A storm of swords by R. Marten
and the books I've read since the new year
Fighting in spain by George Orwell (completed)
God is not great, by christopher hitchens (completed)
Dracula(graphic novel) (completed)
The prince by niccolo machieveli (completed)
The white tiger by aravind adiga (completed)
The scourge of god by S.M Stirling (completed)
Fathers and Sons, by Ivan turgenev (completed) |
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| Some stuff from canada US relations |
[Feb. 11th, 2009|08:02 am] |
A breife sumay of ww2 acording to me
Hitlah! germs take Austria, Sudetenland, Oh noes! takes other bit of checkoland double Oh noes!,. West is all like WTf?! Brits needs manspower so they start conscription, tell hitlah don’t be touchin Poland! Soyuz and germs say we got no beef. Om nom nom germs take Poland. UK not kool guyz! declares war, wit all their peeps. Everyone chills for a bit…. Oh Noes! Germs is all like “all ur base are belong to us! Lulz” and take west Europe. Winston is like chamberlain you n00b gtfo, Uk keeps fighting. Hitlah invades soyuz, japs bomb pearl harbour, hitlah declares war on USA. Allies invade italy, omgz hax cries hitlah D-Day, hitlah is pwn shortly later, japs are all like wateva you guyz aint so tough, USa enacts god mode nuke japs. ZE end!
something a little more serious
3. scope of canadian war effort , 250 thousand people in air force then (4 times current canadian forces) 1.1 million in army in total (1 In ten Canadians were serving) trained 131 thousand pilots and aircrews. Massive amount of food and industrial product, creats full employment. Public service goese from 46 thousand to 116 thousand, GDP doubles, Income tax goese from 112 millon to 589 million, unions double in membership. Canada grows incredibly. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 16th, 2009|04:00 pm] |
So I've finished a couple more books, "The Prince" and George Orwells "fighting in spain".
I quite liked both of them. The prince was was very intresting, Machiaveli seemingly had a very good understanding of how people react to those in power. Obviously this is why he is so famous.
"Fighting in spain" was a fun book surprisingly light and quite amusing to read, this was writen right after he had gotten back to england and he through the book you see him strugling with his worldview as a result of his time in spain. You can also see how much his experience in spain influenced his later books, especialy animal farm and to a lesser extent 1984.
Heres whats left to go.
Child 44 by Tom Smith
Empire to Umpire by Norman Hillmer
The war of the world by Nial ferguson
Who killed the canadian military? by J.l.Granatstein
The Krimean war by Alexis Troubetzkoy
The inquisition by Micheal baigen and Richard leigh
1421:the year china discoverd the world by gavin menzies
1424:the year a magnificent chinese fleet sailed to italy and set of the rainaissance by gavin menzies
what stalin knew: the enigma of barbarosa by david Murphy
Hitler and churchill by Andrew Roberts
The death of yugoslavia by laura sibler and allan little
The last kingdom, by Bernard Cornwell
Fathers and Sons, by Ivan turgenev
1917 russia's year pf revolution by roy bainton
The Balkans:Nationalism,war, and the great powers, 1804-1999 by misha glenny
The scourge of god by S.M Stirling
I AM AMERICA (and so can you) by Stephen Colbert
Brisinger by christopher paolini
The white tiger by aravind adiga
The greatest battle by andrew nagorski
Lennin: a biography, by Robert Service.
The russian revolution: a very short introduction(they arent kiding under 200 pages!) by S.A.Smith
A storm of swords by R. Marten
and the books I've read since the new year
Fighting in spain by George Orwell (completed)
God is not great, by christopher hitchens (completed)
Dracula(graphic novel) (completed)
The prince by niccolo machieveli (completed) |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 10th, 2009|11:37 pm] |
So I've already broken my new years resolution and bought a book, George orwell's "fighting in spain" I discovered it in the travel literature section. I will add it to the list of books to read, speaking of which i finished my dracula graphic novel i quite liked it. Kinda spooky in an old fashioned way. I'm also almost done the prince by machiaveli, wich is quite an intresting little book, full of great advice like "a prince must be a lion to scare of the wolves and a fox to outsmart the traps.".I'm thinking ofr my next book I'l read something to do with Russia I'm leaning towards "what stalin knew".
So enough of book crap. I've felt rather disatisfied with my situation lately, and feel I should change something. However I'm at a loss as whatever i think of changing I create a great reason not to change it. Maybe i should just say fuck it and recklessly alter my life. probly a first step would be figure out what iwant to change the most. |
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| beacause i'm a sheep |
[Jan. 4th, 2009|11:08 am] |
1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
bought more books then i could read
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
It was probly along the lines of like cure cancer so no. yes new new years resolution read all my books and dont buy more before i finish them.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
not unless you count the birth of fiery bromance.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
yes, ill miss you james
5. What countries did you visit?
british columbia
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
more friends in ottawa
7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
none come to mind
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
asked a girl out and wasnt overly concerned about being turned down. ( i was turned down)
9. What was your biggest failure?
didint work hard enough in russian
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
i was shot, twice
11. What was the best thing you bought?
combat boots,russian gogles and an east german cap
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
im gona say my old manager sweetest lady ever
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and/or depressed?
stephen harper, russian government
14. Where did most of your money go?
books,warhamer, food (i ate out to much)
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
the trio's new years party, going to BC
16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
i dont pay alot of attentions to songs, as such i probly wont associate one with 2008
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
Happier, somewhat
ii. thinner or fatter?
i think fatter
iii. richer or poorer?
richer
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
getting more friends, reading, schoolwork
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
less mooning after dames but not doing anything
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
stayed home for christmas very fun
22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
No. but i had some crushes though
23. How many one-night stands?
maybe
24. What was your favorite TV program?
Arrested Development. the hour, the national, dirty jobs
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
james he spurned my bromantic advances
26. What was the best book you read?
this is a tough one.... The entire honor harington serries, The change serries was excelent as well
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
MSTRKFT
28. What did you want and get?
decent grades in uni
29. What did you want and not get?
GF,trip to russia
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
"He's a silent guardian; a watchful protector. The Dark Knight."
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
had a party it was prety fun lots of people showed up. i felt loved
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
moving out, not live over an hour from evrywhere i need to go
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
same as before.
34. What kept you sane?
books
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
obama was prety cool
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
the whole hubub in parliment pissed me off, obama's win, gerogia russia war
37. Who did you miss?
all my friends in montreal, james,jeff,cindy, graham, simon and all the others
38. Who was the best new person you met?
hmm I met bc friends last year but just barely so I'll say them
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008?
dont get into a way street relationship
In 2008 did you:
1. Go to a party? Even threw my own!
2. Try something new? went to Vancouver
3. Have someone change your life? not realy
4. Kiss someone? Couple people.
5. Tell your family and friends you love them? sure
6. Buy something extravagant? combat boots
7. Done something nice for someone? i spit on a hobo doese that count?
8. Do something terribly wrong? i spit on a hobo doese that count?.
9. Move? ugh no
10. Go to a concert? yes... jet planes of abraham
Best of the Year:
1. Party: my birthday party, trio's new years party
2. Show: Venture Bros, arested development
3. CD: shrugs
4. Movie: wall-e, reader was very good to
5. Song: something by MSTRKRFT
6. Experience: drunken make out was fun
7. Concert: jet planes of abraham
8. Book: Dies the burning
9. Month: aughust
10. Day: I dont know!
Worst of the Year:
1. Party: man that new years party was prety weak sauce
2. Show: mythbusters hasnt been as fun
3. CD: songs from work
4. Movie: Mamma Mia,!!!! even hamered it sucked
5. Song: mamma mia crap
6. Experience: mamma mia
7. Concert:mamma mia i know it was movie but it was that bad!
8. Book: havent realy found yet. as a bad book is one i cant stand to finish
9. Month: duno
10. Day: dunno
Hopes for 2009:
1. Predict something that you think will happen in 2009? russia will invade ukrain
2. What do you hope changes about your country? green party gets a majority government
3. What do you hope for yourself? A steady, normal relationship would be appreciated after all this time.
4. What do you hope for your family?that evrything goese super great
5. What do you hope for your best friends? that the bromance never dies
6. What do you hope for the rest of your friends? They realize st.petersburg is not far at all
7. What is your hope for 2009? More st.petersburg and russian goodness
During 2008:
where were you when it began:probly at em's party but im not sure
did you stay up: not sure
what was your new year wish? cant remeber
how many girlfriends/boyrfriends: like a billion
broke up: a billion times : C
have any crushes?: A handful.
care to mention names? NEVER
new friends: a few maybe friends from uni
win anything? many sexual favors from many various ladies
best place you went to: vancouver
worst place you went to: monreal eww gross
happiest moment: leaving montreal, what a releife
how was your birthday: not in montreal and thus awesome |
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| new years resolution |
[Jan. 3rd, 2009|06:13 pm] |
I will finish all the books I've acumalated last year, AND not buy any new ones until these are completed.
Here is a tally of what I have to read in no particular order.
God is not great, by christopher hitchens (completed)
Dracula(graphic novel)
Child 44 by Tom Smith
Empire to Umpire by Norman Hillmer
The war of the world by Nial ferguson
Who killed the canadian military? by J.l.Granatstein
The Krimean war by Alexis Troubetzkoy
The inquisition by Micheal baigen and Richard leigh
1421:the year china discoverd the world by gavin menzies
1424:the year a magnificent chinese fleet sailed to italy and set of the rainaissance by gavin menzies
what stalin knew: the enigma of barbarosa by david Murphy
Hitler and churchill by Andrew Roberts
The death of yugoslavia by laura sibler and allan little
The last kingdom, by Bernard Cornwell
Fathers and Sons, by Ivan turgenev
1917 russia's year pf revolution by roy bainton
The Balkans:Nationalism,war, and the great powers, 1804-1999 by misha glenny
The scourge of god by S.M Stirling
I AM AMERICA (and so can you) by Stephen Colbert
Brisinger by christopher paolini
The white tiger by aravind adiga
The greatest battle by andrew nagorski
Lennin: a biography, by Robert Service.
The russian revolution: a very short introduction(they arent kiding under 200 pages!) by S.A.Smith
The prince by niccolo machieveli
A storm of swords by R. Marten
so 26 books in all.
I'll post a short review after each one and wether or not it gets the pat.c seal of approval.
Since I finished it on the bus today here is a breif review of "God is not great" by christopher hitchens
I quite liked it, its a little like The "god delusion" by richard dawkins, except Hitchens comes off as less foaming at the mouth then dawkings and I think his case is stronger for it. Unlike Dawkins, Hitchens attacks religion more then religious beleife. As is probly evident in the titles; Dawkings "you beleive in god, you are deluded", Hitches "you can beleive in god, but religion is a terrible detriment to humanity" to vastly generalise what they are saying. I'm not sure wich is the more offensive statement, but to me hitchens' by being an attack on religions not the religious seems less offensive. So bassicly what hitchens doese is go through history and finds various horrbile events and lays the blame for them at religions feet, base on the argument that the events wouldnt hapen if not for religion. He also makes the case that all religion is man made (concentrating mostly on islam,judaism and chirstianity but other religions get touched on to) and cites how the talmud,bible and quran came to be, how they were altered ect ect and thus even if divinely inspired arent the originals and thus manmade. He furthers the argument by pointing out descrepnacies within the books, various writing styles atributed to the same author and so on. One thing i found intresting he called the Fascist, Nazi and stalinist regimes pseudo religions, due to their cults of personality and supposed infalibility of the leadership caste. Anyways thats my shody wrap up of the book, It definetly gets the Pat.C seal of approval i recomend reading it. |
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| Knights of 40th milenium |
[Dec. 3rd, 2008|06:08 pm] |
So I've done a bit of work on some of my warhamer stuff. specificly my squad of rough riders, these are guys on horses with explosive lances and laser pistols(so essentialy pure awesome). However the official models for these guys are absolutly hideous, so I figured I'd make some of my own useing a Knight set for warhamer fantasy. Bellow is my work area and under the Lj-cut are the knights.
( My knigts of 40th milenium ) |
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| your going down mother fucker |
[Nov. 26th, 2008|12:16 am] |
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I'm so sick and tiered of this damn essay, this end tonight!I'm not leaving this school till this essay is done! (not that i could the last bus left 5 minutes ago) this bitch is going down. |
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