Book Review: Foundation

This is not Star Wars by any means, and it involves a lot of psychology and strategy.  The plot is almost like a chess game, thinking two or more steps ahead of the game.

The Foundation Trilogy was written in the early 1950s, and some of the standards of that time, i.e. the position of woman have greatly progressed since that time, and the age of atomics, greatly featured was just beginning, but this remains a science fiction classic.  This is the first book.

It steps when a young Mathematician named Gaal Dornick travels to Trantor, capital planet of the galactic empire encompassing the entire Milky Way galaxy, with Trantor being on giant city covering the whole planet.  It is there he meet Hari Seldon, a dying man who, though his equations and psychoanalysis of humanity, predicts the fall of the galactic empire, while nobody else has a clue.  Seldon introduces the concept of psychohistory, the prediction of the reaction of the masses of humans when confronted with a crisis.  The greater the mass, the more accurate the prediction.  This concept, incidentally, is being examined today, in real life.

With this downfall will come 30 thousand years of barbarism throughout the galaxy.  It is too late to stop the fall, but, with the right strategy, the period of barbarism can be reduced to 1,000 years.  With that, Hari Seldon sets up two foundations at opposite ends of the galaxy to help control this period and help set up a new empire.

In this book, Seldon gathers up all the best minds of the empire, covering all academic disciplines, and settles them on the planet Terminus, an outlying planet on the periphery of the galaxy, with little or no natural resources.   An “Enclopedia Galactica,” is to be written an encyclopedia that will literally consists of all human knowledge in existence, a massive project.  This is so that when the new empire is form, humankind will be able to refer to it, reclaim knowledge that all of humanity will lose during the barbaric times.  Every so often, an image of Hari Seldon will appear in a vault advising them during a crisis.

Spoiler alert!  The encyclopedia turns out to be a hoax.  Dr. Seldon gathered the best minds on Terminus for a higher, more strategic reason.  The Foundation will form that new empire by taking the new “kingdoms” one by one, and uniting them.  Foundation will have a power that no one else has and everyone fears, and they will have what everyone else needs and will do anything to get it.

In this case, since Terminus has no resources, they will have to import raw materials and miniaturize everything.  This is their secret to power.  “Knowledge is power,” is a great application.  In this case, they miniaturize atomic power, having an atomic reactor literally fit into a walnut, and they use this talent, along with a new religion, to play kingdoms against one another until the Foundation absorbs them.  

The book is divided into five parts, and each part is in its own time period where a crisis erupts, Seldon comes in the form of a hologram to advise them, and then Foundation realizes what kind of power that have at the moment.  Threatening kingdoms come in to attempt to conquer the planet, but the Foundationers think ahead, and instead, defeats them, but with little or no violence.  They use what is needed at the time;  i.e.  a religion is formed in one era, flourishes, use it to control other planets, but then declines, as the Foundationers see fit.  Other philosophies and technologies then come in to take its place in usefulness.

The author, Isaac Asimov, stated that this series is based on The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and here, you see many similarities, but also differences.  Ancient Rome was known as Terminus, and the religion established to control the masses was none other than the Roman Catholic Church.  There was no “Foundation” or the gathering of intellectuals to preserve knowledge, and they could not set up a new empire.  

Many of these signs we see in the novel do apply to our society today, and in a way, the United States is declining, but it could change course and go on the up and up again, but with a lot of effort, money, and perhaps, a gathering of the best minds to see how our present day crises can be handled.

The book ends with the defeat of another threat that thought could overpower foundation, but the next book, Foundation and Empire, will have a new surprise.  Things can't go smoothly forever!

Book Review: Foundation and Empire

The Foundation, through trade, continues to expand its influence.

The Empire, even though it loses many of its sectors, continues to disbelieve its downfall.  This is a very common thought in any civilization in decline.

Now the Empire takes notice of the Foundation, and turns its attention to it.  The Galactic Empire wants the Foundation destroyed, and assigns its best general, Bel Riose, to do it.  The General makes his plans, and takes control of Foundation’s worlds, loosely connected by trade, one by one.  The Foundation takes notice, and defends itself with the smaller fighting ships, and it appears its losing, until the very end.  

Have a strong general and a strong ruler, the Foundation sees its threat, but pits them against each other. 

What was said loudly by an unnamed person in a bar, “you watch ol’ Foundation.  They wait for the last minute then— pow!”  This has been the strategy of the Foundation in both Foundation and the first half of Foundation and Empire.  The step back, examine the opponent, watch their behaviors and weaknesses, then go in for the kill.

Until the advent of the Mule!  The Mule has a power to mold’s men’s emotions and shape their minds.  His worst enemies become his most loyal allies, and nobody would fight him, so he conquers the outer edges of the galaxy, and even destroys Trantor, the capital planet.  

Foundation itself, the planet Terminus, is conquered by the Mule, and Seldon’s plans are seemingly laid waste.

This was one event Hari Seldon did not foresee, and it severely alters his plans for the new empire.  The Mule plans to completely take over the galaxy.

Two characters, Bayta Darell and her husband Toran, with a psychologist Ebling Mis, pick up and befriend a clown who was a fool of the Mule himself, and was running away from him.  They flee across the galaxy to Trantor, with the Mule and his conquests following.  The clown is to be watched here because there is a surprise in store involving him.

They try to find the Second Foundation to overpower the Mule, but it remains hidden, and is said to also possess mental powers like that of the Mule.  The Mule himself wants to find it, and destroy it.

It is here you begin to see that the second proposed empire may not be physically governed like that of the first, or any other government in history.  The Second Foundation seems to have something kept secret, so as the public could not even guess at its plans, so they keep their location, and its existence under wraps.

No matter how well one plans a strategy, some unknown factor will always intervene.  How it is to be handled will be answered in the third book, Second Foundation.

Book Review: Second Foundation

In this review, it is assumed that you have read the first two books of the Foundation Trilogy, “Foundation” and “Foundation and Empire” and are familiar with the story up to the end of the second book.

Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy is very easy to read, but there are many clues that you have to pick up in between the lines in order to fully understand the gist of the story, and this is especially true in the third book of the trilogy.   You have to read deeply as to the how and why of the story, why the Mule, and then later, the Foundation itself wants to search for the Second Foundation.  This book also explains the difference between the two Foundations, and why the First sees the second as an enemy.

The story begins with the Mule in his palace, after conquering a good portion of the Milky Way galaxy, being the Kalgan sector and the Foundation itself.  It was planned by Foundation’s founder, Hari Seldon, to avert 30,000 years of barbarism in the galaxy after its unavoidable downfall, reducing it to 1,000 years before another Empire arises, and the Foundation slowly organized the breakaway regions into a unified sector with the Foundation running things for 300 years for one crisis to another with Hari Seldon’s hologram guiding them, until the Mule appears, who successfully conquers a good portion of the galaxy.  The Mule had the ability to use his own mind to take and control other people’s emotions and turning his most bitter enemies into loyal allies.

The Mule, physically small and weak, with a miserable childhood, looks in the sky at the stars he conquered, but he is dissatisfied.  He wants them ALL!  There is only one obstacle that he has to encounter, the mysterious Second Foundation, supposedly at the opposite end of the galaxy from the First Foundation, a place no one knows where exactly, and no one has ever been, and no one has knowingly ever met a citizen of that institution.  It is totally unknown, the only thing known about it is that unlike the First Foundation, that deals in the physical sciences and the predictions of the human masses, this Second Foundation deals with the psychological aspect of the human individual, and it members have mental powers equal to that of the Mule.  For this reason, the Mule must search for it, and destroy it, for the rest of the galaxy to be his.

As the Mule makes his plans, there are Interludes after the first six chapters of a meeting of Second Foundationers “in a dark room” with a meeting of individuals who communicate with each other by mind reading, and here, you start to get what the Second Foundation really is.  It is a meeting of the minds, using psychology, as opposed to physical science.  They make their plans on how to deal with the Mule.

The Mule sends out two of his followers: Hans Pritcher, a Foundationer who fell under the Mule’s control, and the freely uncontrolled Bail Channis, and they go from planet to planet at the other end of the galaxy to search for the Second Foundation.  But the Second Foundation knows of this search and devises a way to outwit the Mule at his own game.

The story then switches over to the First Foundation, on the planet Terminus, where we met a rambunctious 14 year old girl name Arcadia Darell, granddaughter of the famous Bayta Darell, who outwitted the Mule by killing Ebling Mis who almost revealed the location of the Second Foundation to the Mule, thus depriving him of his long sought for prize.   Arcadia ends up running away with a visitor, Homir Munn, who visits Kalgan to meet the “successor” of the Mule, and his “partner” and through Acadia’s influence, visits the Mule’s sacred palace to gather information for a book about the Mule.  Homir Munn is arrested while Arcadia escapes, having the Kalgan empire searching for her.

The story switches again over to the Second Foundation, and here, they work on a new concept of ruling the galaxy by Mental Science, a concept never before used by man.  Since time began, any society only achieved a maximum of 55% stability, (no corruption for example, which is impossible) and would eventually, but always fail.  This new concept would keep everything in line, just as the Second Foundation, when the First Foundation goes off the track by unpredictable forces like the Mule, the Second Foundation would push it back on track again, to continue on the Seldon Plan of new galactic rule.

The First Foundation starts to see what the Second Foundation is doing, and fears it, even more so than the Mule.  So, they set on a mission to search and destroy it, so they will have the final say in the Seldon Plan.  

Conflicts with the Kalgan Sector start to flare up, and there is a search for the main culprit, Arcadia Darell herself, who, for the first time in her life, starts to fear what is chasing her and runs into the arms of a Preem Palver, and at the end of the book, there is a surprise ending.  

War between Kalgan and Foundation ensues.  

At the end, the Second Foundation is located, or so they think.  The real location of the Second Foundation comes as a surprise to the reader.

The secret of Arcadia Darell’s personality and influence is also revealed, for she played a major role in the story.  The end of the Foundation Trilogy is sort of a surprise ending in a sense that you don’t expect the concept of Mental Science in the story, especially with the control of emotions like that of the Mule, or beyond like the Second Foundation.  What was expected, especially in the first two books was simply a new empire in a thousand years being run like the way any civilization was also run, by physical science, laws, and basic human behavior in the form of “normality.”  Asimov, however, start to go beyond this and delve into Mental Science, in the form of insuring mental stability in each human being, or so I believe.

Thirty years after this trilogy, Asimov released a fourth book, “Foundation’s Edge,” which delves into this even deeper.

Book Review: The Foundation Trilogy

Author's note:   This book is what I have based in entire page, FOUNDATION on, so I have finally written a review.  Maybe not the best, and I try not to summarize it.  When you compare the downfall the the galactic empire in the first two books (Foundation;  Foundation and Empire), to that of the United States today, you will get a clearer picture on why I have used this theme.  One more thing:  my own page, Facebook and this blog, is NOT a "fan club" of the book, just a comparison.

This is Isaac Asimov’s masterpiece.  This is about the fall of the Galactic Empire, consisting of the entire Milky Way galaxy.  In the story, there are twenty five million inhabited planets, with a population in the quintillions, set 50,000 years in the future.  The planet of origin had long been forgotten, and the citizens of the galaxy knew of no other form of government.  Nobody in the galaxy was aware of what was to happen.

Nobody, except one man, a psychologist named Hari Seldon.  He invented the concept of psychohistory, predicting the behavior of human masses.  The behavior of one human being is unpredictable, but the behavior of masses of people can be predicted in their reactions to any event.  The greater the mass, the easier it is to predict their reactions. 

In predicting the fall of an empire, Dr. Seldon foresees 30,000 years of barbarism, a dark age, ahead for humanity.  The fall of this empire could not be averted, but the period of barbarism could be reduced from 30,000 years down to 1,000 years, so Dr. Seldon sets up two foundations, “at opposite ends of the galaxy” in order to observe and intervene when necessary when a major crisis arises, and for the Foundation, the First Foundation in this case, can deal with it and move on with its work.

Dr. Asimov himself has stated that this trilogy is based on the book, “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.”  You can see the resemblances here.  Rome itself was also known as Terminus back in the days of the empire.  When Rome fell, it did split apart into feudal kingdoms before the Renaissance, and then the nation-state came into being.  Don’t forget the Barbarians, the Germanic tribes to the North of Europe.

With this, you have an interesting book.  Little kingdoms are formed as the empire falls apart, all trying to be the top power, with several battles taking place here and there.  There are different planets with different physical features;  one planet always faces its sun, with the inhabitants living on the border day/night (twilight) zone.  Another planet being cold nine months of the year, and, of course, Trantor, the capital with one gigantic city covering the whole planet, until it gets sacked.

What is different is that the two foundations, in the book, try to minimize the barbarous, or chaotic, era to 1,000 years, controlled by the First Foundation, which is openly displayed for all to see.  The Second Foundation was a lot more mysterious, with no one knowing where it is.

Terminus is a planet with no natural resources, so the people, especially the scientists, placed there have to use their ingenuity to come up with ways to control the masses in the galaxy by way of a religion, the Galactic Spirit (similar to Christianity) and also come up with miniature technology, i.e. atomic weapons and power plants the size of a golf ball (my example).  Whenever Terminus, of the Foundation is threatened, the image of Hari Seldon appears in a room, where the top echelon of the Foundationers gather, and Seldon tells of the crisis he predicted and tells the Foundationers what they should do about it.  Terminus rises from a threatened entity to an indispensable society, with the other kingdoms highly dependent on it.

All goes well, and the First Foundation starts to rise as a new force in the galaxy, until the coming of an unforeseen conqueror, the Mule.  The Mule has a way of controlling minds from afar and uses it to establish his own empire.  He could turn his most bitter foes into his closest allies through mind control.  (One person pointed out to me that this is similar to the coming of Islam, but this is very different).

This is where the mysterious Second Foundation comes in, and both the Mule and others start to search for it, to destroy it, but the Second Foundation uses deception to lead these searcher off the track.  They also have a “counter mind control” that threatens the Mule himself.

This book will take you to planets and lead you into battles, battles that were started by those you would not suspect for reasons that you would never guess.  In a way, this book could be a psychology book, teaching you the reactions of the masses whenever a crisis occurs.  Psychohistory is becoming a new and important discipline in our society today. 

The original trilogy was written in the early 1950s, but it is not dated by any means.  All of these situations could be applied today.  For example, look at the condition of the United States and see what could be ahead for them.  Look at the masses of people and how they react to the present crisis we are in, and will find a lot of similarities.

Asimov has written two sequels to this trilogy, and two prequels after that, leading you to other series of books, including the robot novels, but this trilogy is the core of his writings, and it is a good stand along book, or books, since there are three of them.

If you decide to get into his “Foundation series,” read this trilogy first, then delve into the robot novels and others, then reread this trilogy.

Reading The Qur'an (or The Koran)

In reading and watching events of the Middle East unfold in this day and age, one would be curious about The Holy Qur’an, or The Koran, being the holy book of the entire Islamic faith.  We call the book holy, yet we see so many Muslims killing those of other faiths, sects, and themselves, all in the name of Allah.  I have finally gotten myself to read this book, and what I have found both will and will not surprise you.  There are many acts that many Islamic radicals are practicing that goes against the teachings of Muhammed and this book that he has written, dating from 610 to 635 C.E. (Common Era, the same as A.D.).  The main question that we want to ask ourselves, which many Muslims claim is “Is Islam a religion of peace?”

I am aware that there are many different sects of Islam, but this essay only covers the holy book itself, so please bear with me on this.

This particular edition was translated by Maulana Muhammad Ali in 1917.  This book has an introduction covering several topics, including war, peace, customs, and women’s rights (4:19, 4:32-35).  Basically, it tells that Islam, in reality, is a religion of peace and tolerance (2:136, 137).  The text has the original Arabic writing and script on the right hand side of the page, (sensible, because Arabic writing is from right to left) with the English translation on the left.  There are 114 chapters in all, in order from the longest to the shortest, and footnotes are provided to explain the meaning of certain passages.

This is easy reading, but in order to fully understand the Koran, one must know the history of the region around the Arabian peninsula at the time when Muhammad founded the Muslim faith, and to what he was referring to in certain verses.  There is a lot of ambiguity here.

This book is not in chronological order in terms of history.  It is more in order of the size of each chapter, with as many as 286 verses on the second chapter (the first chapter, being the introduction has seven verses) and a few as three verses on the 110th chapter.  Many of the teachings are repeated throughout the book as he writes for certain tribes in certain place, similar to the epistles of Paul in the New Testament.  

Each chapter begins with an introduction by the translator, explaining the time and situation of the Muslims.  Depending on the time and place, these Muslims were in conflicts with tribes of other beliefs.  The purpose of that chapter was to tell them that they will prevail

There are footnotes explaining the historical significance behind certain verses, meaning that they don’t apply to everyday life, especially in these modern times.  What I would recommend in reading this book is that there be a college course in studying it, along with the history of those times, and the biography of Muhammad himself, along with what the Arab culture was like before the advent of Muhammad and Islam.  I would also recommend that you know the Bible, for much of it is mentioned in The Qur’an.

This book makes many references to The Bible, in both the Old Testament (and the Torah) and the New Testaments which they refer to as the Gospel.  All of these prophets in all these scriptures are looked upon with the utmost respect.  They are called the messengers of God, from Adam up to Jesus, with Muhammad being the last and final messenger, to which the Qur’an and the Islamic faith is based.  In a way, the Qur’an and the Bible are a lot more similar than they are different.

One example is that in creation, rather than six days, the Qur’an says it took six periods (11:7), but it says that in the Bible that one day to the Lord is a thousand years to man (II Peter 3:8).

The prophets/messengers mentioned from the Bible: Adam, Noah, Lot, Abraham and his two sons Isaac (father of the Hebrews) and Ishmael (father of the Arabs), Isaac’s son Joseph, along with Moses, David, Jonah, and Jesus, and they are all highly respected (3:84, 85), but their stories here vary from the Bible.  As an example, Lot’s wife did not leave Sodom and turn into a pillar of salt, she was simply left behind when it was destroyed due to her lack of faith (29:31-33).  

Jesus was born of a virgin, not in a manger, but in an oasis, alone, as Mary sat against a palm tree  A river was created by Allah/God just for her to quench her thirst, and dates dropped from a palm tree.  When she return to her people, Jesus, as a baby, talked to the unbelievers (19:23-33).  As a prophet, Jesus is looked upon as a messenger of God/Allah, but not the savior.  He predicted the coming of Muhammad, who would be the last and foremost (61:6).  They also believe that, although Jesus was crucified, he did not die on the cross, but was taken down after a while and survived (4:157)

Islam IS preached as the only true religion (3:19; 33:40), the religion of truth, and that it will spread.  The Hebrews had their chance with Allah, but they failed, as did the Christians, so the “complete truth” was given to the Muslims.  The Muslims also don’t like fact that the Jews are said to be the “chosen ones” to the exclusion of everyone else (62:6).

The Qur’an does tell a Muslim not to be friends with Christian or Jews (5:51), but has later been found to be in times of war only.  It does permit friendship with non-threatening non-Muslims (60:8).  The Qur’an does harshly criticize both the Jews and the Christians, however.  It also preaches that Allah has no son, so that excludes Jesus (thought he is looked upon as Allah’s messenger, foretelling the “prophet coming after me,” being Muhammad (61:6).

It has to be remembered up until this time, 600 C.E., the Arabs had no monotheistic religion for the spread of Christianity during that time did not come into their part of the world.  Muhammed felt that his people needed a monotheistic religion to establish their own identity.  They were also fighting the Jews and the Christians during this era, so, in their own eyes, they were the persecuted, and the heroes.  No tribe or individual is ever a villain in his own eyes.  That must always be remembered.

What does the Qur’an really teach?  How is it prevalent today?

First and foremost are the two foundations of Islam:  

1. Pray to Allah.  When praying, you have to be sincere.

2. Helping the poor.

Looking at radical groups such as ISIS and Al Qadea, and warring factions of Islam, such as the Shi’ites, the Sunnis, the Wahhabis, and others, that preach hatred, violence, revenge, it is surprising that none of this is in the Qur’an.

The Qur’an does not preach “an eye for an eye,”  or capital punishment, no matter what the crime.  It does, however, preach to cut off the hands of thieves (5:38), a custom that is still in practice today.  It also preaches to whip adulterers and adulteresses (24:2), but these two are as far as severe punishments goes.

Alcohol and pork are forbidden.

Killing would be for self defense only, in times of war (2:190, 191;  22:39, 40), never in times of peace, never innocent people, and never people of other faiths.  Also, show mercy to those who surrender (2:192, 193).  Yes, The Qur’an taught religious tolerance, (2:136-137) and it was practiced in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, but Islam was still the top religion.  This empire always looked to the west, as does Turkey today, though this may change.

What is surprising in this book is that it taught respect towards women, along with equality or near equality.  Women can inherit property almost equal to that of men (4:7), and men are forbidden to beat women, especially their wives (2:231).  Divorced women have to be respected and provided for by their ex-husbands (64:17). 

A true Muslim must do good deeds every day (4:124), to dedicate your life to serving and helping others (76:9) in Allah’s name.

The Qur’an preaches that Allah is merciful and forgiving (42:39, 43).  Each chapter, except Chapter 9, begins with “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.”

The main point that is stressed is to believe, do good, and serve ALL (emphasis mine) of humanity (76:9).  If one gives to Allah, meaning the poor, he will get twice as much in return (64:17).

What the Qur’an does not teach is:  praying five times a day (though it does say that Mecca, or Makkah, is to be the spiritual center of the world), women wearing burkas from head to toes, forcefully converting others to the Islamic faith, nor does it condone rape, and beating women in general.  Nor does it mention killing people of other religions, suicide bombers (the book was written around 620 C.E.), and it does not mention that if you die in a suicide attack, you will go to Heaven having 72 virgins waiting for you.

The Qur’an says nothing about Sharia Law, or anything similar to it.

One Christian teaching is that Abraham took his son Ishmael (as opposed to Isaac in Christian and Hebrew doctrine) to be sacrificed.  It doesn’t say that, anywhere in the book.

There is revelation and judgement.  This is the promise that in the last days, the faithful will go to the Garden (Heaven) and the unbelievers will go to Hell, just like in The Bible.

Chapter Nine of the Qur’an is called The Immunity, also known as Ultimatum.  It is also known as Abrogation, meaning that war and killing non-Muslims is now acceptable and that religious tolerance, as well as equal treatment for women are now null and void.  According to the author, this is incorrect.

This chapter was Muhammad’s last chapter, written in 631 C.E., one year before he died.  During this time in Arabia (the Arabian Peninsula, what is now Saudi Arabia and Yemen) Muslims were battling idolators and made peace treaties with them, but they were constantly broken, with idolators (I assume tribes that still worshipped pagan gods) continually attacking and terrorizing Muslim tribes.  Because of these treaty violations, these Muslims were forced to defend themselves and their religion.  Where it say “Islam will triumph,” means that the Muslim tribes will win out over the idolators, and the Islamic faith will spread far and wide, which eventually, it did.

So there you have it.  The Qur’an mainly preaches religious tolerance, peace, and good works along with respect for women, although it does  harshly criticize both the Jews and the Christians, and it does say that Islam is the one true faith and carries the complete truth.  It tells Muslims to fight and defend themselves, and to spread the word of Allah, but it does not tell them to kill others that are not at war with them, including non-Muslims.

Here are the questions, and an attempt to answer them.  

Is Islam a religion of peace?  It can be.  Although many radicals use the scriptures to justify violence by saying that the people they terrorize are at war with them, even though most of these people say they’re not, nor has war been declared.  The solution here is for the mainstream Muslims, who are law abiding citizens in the Middle East, Europe, the United States is for them to become more vocal, to drown out the radicals and condemn the violence these radicals Islamists are committing.  It also must be said that these radical Muslims, being ISIS and Al Qaeda and other groups, are not true Muslims because they are not following the teachings of Muhammad.

There have been times in history, such as the Ottoman Empire, where Muslims lived side by side with Jews and Christians, and it can be so again.  Although in the Ottoman Empire, Islam was the true religion, and that attitude must change.  Perhaps there can be among the Muslims an equivalent to a “Vatican II” or a Muslim Martin Luther arising from the crowd.

As for women’s rights, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries that require women to wear burkas head to toe, to always be accompanied by a man when outside the home, and forbidding them to drive must change.  Some countries still forbid young girls to go to school, and they have a lot of potential for their society.

One final thought.  In an Islamic society, does the government of that country have to abide by Islamic Law, or should there be a complete and total separation of Mosque and  State, like we have the separation of Church and State in the United States.  

Well, first of all, do not mistake the preceding paragraph for the Muslim world should be like America, it doesn’t mean that at all.  What I’m saying is that religious law can be strict, going way beyond what scripture, any scripture, says.  One reason why many people want religious law is that their society has been so corrupted is that they feel that “God’s Laws/Allah’s Laws” would straighten it out and make life better for everyone.

There is no mention of government in the Qur’an.  That should be left to each individual country whether they want that or not.  I have seen throughout history, and today’s societies I might add, that any Church or Mosque ruling a country is never good, it makes life difficult for everyone, and it does not end corruption.  I would say that it isn’t necessary.  You can have a secular society in a predominantly Muslim country, just like in any predominantly Christian country.

All Muslims, if they want to be devout Muslims, must read the Qur’an thoroughly and understand what it really means.

Concerning the Nuclear Deal with Iran - July 14, 2015

I would like to make a few comments about the deal with Iran. First, from our point of view, we are afraid of Iran getting the bomb because either they would use it, or they would give it to a terrorist group and they would use it, and I believe this. From Iran's point of view, they saw us attacking Iraq and they fear that they would be next, so they want a way to prevent us from doing so, so they would decide to get the bomb for protection. Many of my friends from the Middle East (yes, I have them) tell me this, and yes, I can see their point of view. What would you do if you were an Iranian, and you saw the U.S. attacking their neighbor?

I won't post anything about the deal, for they are published worldwide, and you know the conditions as well as I, so I don't need to discuss them here.

All I can say is that I hope it works. I hope BOTH and the U.S. and Iran will keep their ends of the bargain, and I hope Iran will rejoin the world community of nations; that is, I hope they do not promote any hostile actions towards any other country in the form of terrorism or otherwise, and that includes both the U.S. and Israel. Their sanctions, if all goes well, will be lifted, and they will become prosperous again. The Iranian citizens are grateful, and they want to live normal lives.
I also know that Iran will continue to build their arsenal of conventional weapons, and will have Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) that will reach the U.S. All I can say here is that the U.S. and other countries, and that includes Russia, China, Europe, and the rest of the Middle East should make them aware that should they obtain the bomb and use it, on a missile or otherwise, they should know of the consequences: they will be retaliated against with assured destruction to the entire country.

Hopefully, we will never come to this.
Therefore, however imperfect the treaty is now, I hope it goes through, and I hope it works.
Best of luck, and prosperity, to Iran if they decide to keep their part of the bargain.

Book Review: Putin's Kleptocracy - Who Owns Russia? by Karen Dawisha

Karen Dawisha’s book, “Putin’s Kleptocracy:  Who Own’s Russia” is not light reading by any means.  A lot of research has gone into this, and there is a lot to comprehend.  Nevertheless, you will absorb a lot even from just one reading, and what you will find may surprise you.

From reading recent headlines about Putin, occurring the Georgian province of Abkhazia, along with sending troops into Eastern Ukraine and denying it, it is obvious that Putin is not only a tyrant, but a liar, a cheat, and a thief.  He got to where he is today by lying cheating, and stealing.  Most of all, he is evil, and this book presents evidence backing up all of this.

With Putin, this has been a way of life.  Putin started out in the KGB, working as an officer in East Germany for five years during the time of the Soviet Union.  He was chiefly into espionage, stealing weapons designs from industries in the West.  Fifty percent of all Soviet (and now Russian) weapons systems were based on stolen designs.  When East Germany fell, Putin helped to destroy lists of East German informers.

Soon after, Putin become deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, where he took plenty of bribes and kickbacks, until finally, was selected by Boris Yeltsin to become the Russian Prime Minister and soon after, its President.

Putin was not without his critics.  He has been investigated by the FSB (equal to the FBI) and other law enforcement agencies, even indicted, but was never brought up for trial.  Putin always escaped it through his connections, up until the time he became president.  There have also been attempts on his life.

Russia, in the 1990s, was awash with criminal activity and corruption.  When Putin declared as president that he would crack down and put an end to it, what he really meant is that he would make himself the kingpin and collect all the profits.  Russia, at present, is a mafia state, run by Putin and backed up by his cronies, being his now billionaire friends running all the businesses, who will all remain in their place with their billions as long as they remain loyal to Putin, along with ex-KGB officers combined with the Russian Mafia.  It is believed that Putin’s cronies control 35% of Russia’s wealth, much of it in overseas banks, including the United States.

In order to get a clear idea of how Putin runs the country and how he treats his people, I will present a partial list of his doings from being deputy mayor of St. Petersburg in the 1990s up to the present, all of it explained in greater detail in the book.  These are not in any particular order, but it doesn’t matter.

Putin embezzled funds meant to build health clinics all over Russia for a “palace” in Genendzlik.  Putin has many luxurious private dachas and palaces.

In 2005, Putin literally stole a four carat Super Bowl ring from the hand of Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots.  Putin kept it for his own.

He bought and sold companies at low prices and criminally privatized them into the hands of friends.  The Baltic Shipping Company is one example.

Roman Tsepov ran Putin’s tribute system, i.e. money Putin skims for his own pockets, and had high influences in many companies, but overstepped his boundaries when he wanted a share of Yukos oil.  He was poisoned by radiation.

Putin bought a dacha in the Ozero cooperative in 1992, on the banks of Lake Komosomol’skoye, and threatened to burn down the houses of local residents if they did not sell their land.  In other cases, people will be run off their land to make room for a new dacha or palace for Putin.  

When a dacha of Putin’s burned down, the original builders rebuilt it, in better condition, free of charge.  I do not think this was voluntary.

In 1991, deputy mayor Putin, without permission, took money from the St. Petersburg budget, meant to buy food for the starving populace (being 90 Deutschmarks) and bought German meat and had it delivered to the KGB in Moscow.  Putin did not care about the starving populace.

Money and goods meant for food went elsewhere, and Putin and his friends profited, putting the money in offshore (foreign) banks.

The FSB, with Putin’s knowledge, set up bombings of apartments in St. Petersburg, killing innocent people, and putting the blame on the Chechnyans, as an excuse to start another war with Chechnya.  

Oversaw the gambling industry in St. Petersburg, skimming off the profits.

Used unauthorized funds for apartments, cars, luxury items.

Eliminated the business competitors of friends, using KGB methods, and imprisoning many of them, including his own political rivals.

Smuggled rare metals out of Russia.

Putin was in a car on the Moscow-Minsk highway.  The driver (not Putin) drove at high speeds, killing a five year old boy.  The body was removed from the scene and altered, and no one was charged.

In the 2012 reelection for President, Putin destroyed the reputation of his opponents, funded his campaign with stolen money from Gazprom, and massive cheating was done, through false ballots, stuffing boxes with dead people’s names, voter intimidation, correcting votes (changing the votes as ballots were counted), and even burned ballots for other candidates.  The Moscow Times itself stated that Putin would not have won without cheating.

From there, you have the idea of how Russia is governed, and that Putin today is creating as much trouble outside of Russia as he possibly can to see if he can get away with it.  If the world does nothing, he will continue to do so.

Russia is not communist, but it isn’t democratic either.  It is a plutocracy, run by Putin and his very rich friends, all of their wealth stolen from legitimate business and the Russian people themselves.  He is also taking away all of their newly won freedoms, but eliminating elections for local leaders and appointing them instead.  This will only continue.

Russian society is deteriorating.  Health spending and other public services are being cut while Putin and his cronies pocket billions from the Russian treasury.  There is a high mortality rate, low birth rates, except among the Muslim population, and in increase in prostitution, alcoholism, and suicides.

The people who are suffering the most from all this are the Russian people themselves, and they know it.  Putin does occasionally win their support by annexing Crimea, but slowly, they are seeing Putin for what he really is.

Russia is a feudal regime, like it was back in the time of the Tsars.  As long his cronies are loyal to Putin, he can have anything he wants, and that is how Putin keeps in power.  How long this will last is anybody’s guess, but Russia may need another uprising to get rid of all this.  

The author says it best at the end of her book.  In the last paragraph, she states, “The only way for ordinary Russians to avoid state predation is to keep their heads down and believe in fate, or turn into cheerleaders of the system in order to gain insurance and a few crumbs from the table.  Russians have a long history of great contributions to world culture, literature, and the arts.  They deserve better.”

Alastair Browne