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Old 10-28-2008, 07:32 AM
 
2,414 posts, read 4,221,024 times
Reputation: 3791

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The name of the book Obama is reading is called The Post-American World written by a muslim
America - The world After America ???

Why would he be reading this?

Between that and Biden's comments regarding the fact that we "won't agree with their decisions" after some international crisis, I just have these gut feelings that American as we know it is going to change, and not for the better.

Yes, it will be Change we can all believe in, but will it be change that we really want?

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Old 10-28-2008, 07:39 AM
 
Location: NE Phoenix!
687 posts, read 1,940,728 times
Reputation: 432
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShakenStirred View Post
The name of the book Obama is reading is called The Post-American World written by a muslim
America - The world After America ???

Why would he be reading this?

Between that and Biden's comments regarding the fact that we "won't agree with their decisions" after some international crisis, I just have these gut feelings that American as we know it is going to change, and not for the better.

Yes, it will be Change we can all believe in, but will it be change that we really want?
I, like you, haven't read the book. But I know a little something about it outside of an erroneous (and oddly strict) interpretation of the title. From what I understand, the book is about America's declining influence in the world thanks to the rise of other economies (India and China, for instance).

I'm sure somebody here has read it and can clarify further. But to be shocked by either of those notions is like having your head in the sand for, oh, I don't know, the past 20 years.
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Old 10-28-2008, 07:44 AM
 
2,857 posts, read 6,707,507 times
Reputation: 1748
I think our leaders should be well read on politico-economic philosophy and opinions from all perspectives, rather than just the ones the espouse. Kudos to Obama for reading, rather than having sycophant aides interpreting and spoon feeding him what he wants to hear.
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Old 10-28-2008, 07:48 AM
 
16,579 posts, read 20,631,621 times
Reputation: 26860
I started to read it but found it dry. It's by a mainstream author, Fareed Zakaria, who writes a column for Newsweek. It deals with the rise and fall of societies throughout history and discusses how India and China have growing economies and will have growing influence in the coming years. It's well-researched and thoughtful.
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Old 10-28-2008, 07:51 AM
 
Location: NJ/NY
10,655 posts, read 18,619,289 times
Reputation: 2829
Omg muslim author

watch out!

The sky is falling!

No muslims allowed!
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Old 10-28-2008, 07:51 AM
 
552 posts, read 1,070,837 times
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Fareed isn't a Muslim, he's non-religious (which, according to studies, might actually be worse than being a Muslim). He's a pretty intelligent guy, too.
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Old 10-28-2008, 07:52 AM
 
Location: Los Altos Hills, CA
36,637 posts, read 67,239,967 times
Reputation: 21169
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert A View Post
I, like you, haven't read the book. But I know a little something about it outside of an erroneous (and oddly strict) interpretation of the title. From what I understand, the book is about America's declining influence in the world thanks to the rise of other economies (India and China, for instance).

I'm sure somebody here has read it and can clarify further. But to be shocked by either of those notions is like having your head in the sand for, oh, I don't know, the past 20 years.
That's exactly what the book is about.
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Old 10-28-2008, 07:52 AM
NWS
 
Location: Port Orange, Florida
720 posts, read 1,641,951 times
Reputation: 357
Fareed Zakaria is a news guy. He has a weekly show on CNN.
He was born in India and became a Naturalized U.S. citizen.
Although his parents background is Muslim,
Fareed says he is not religious himself.


From Amazon:
The Post-American World
Amazon.com Review
Book Description
"This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else." So begins Fareed Zakaria's important new work on the era we are now entering. Following on the success of his best-selling The Future of Freedom, Zakaria describes with equal prescience a world in which the United States will no longer dominate the global economy, orchestrate geopolitics, or overwhelm cultures. He sees the "rise of the rest"—the growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, and many others—as the great story of our time, and one that will reshape the world. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, largest-selling movies, and most advanced cell phones are all being built outside the United States. This economic growth is producing political confidence, national pride, and potentially international problems. How should the United States understand and thrive in this rapidly changing international climate? What does it mean to live in a truly global era? Zakaria answers these questions with his customary lucidity, insight, and imagination.
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Old 10-28-2008, 07:56 AM
j33
 
4,626 posts, read 14,052,535 times
Reputation: 1719
It is actually a pretty good book. I've looked it over myself. Nothing incendiary or shocking about anything in the book, unless of course you are an idiot.
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Old 10-28-2008, 08:03 AM
 
35,016 posts, read 39,053,009 times
Reputation: 6194
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShakenStirred View Post
The name of the book Obama is reading is called The Post-American World written by a muslim
America - The world After America ???

Why would he be reading this?

Between that and Biden's comments regarding the fact that we "won't agree with their decisions" after some international crisis, I just have these gut feelings that American as we know it is going to change, and not for the better.

Yes, it will be Change we can all believe in, but will it be change that we really want?
Too late to complain about globalization.

About the Biden comment - he should have been clearer, but he was right - the Pentagon and the military have been preparing for a challenge in the first days no matter who the new president is. Im only quoting the dramatic parts from an article on it:
The next president is likely to face a major international crisis within his first nine months in office, according to a senior group of business advisers to the defense secretary.
...
“Prepare for a likely first 270 days crisis,” Bayer warns in an Oct. 23 briefing. “Too many presidents were ill prepared for this.”
...
Joe Biden, the Democratic ticket's vice presidential nominee, drew criticism earlier this week for suggesting that should he and Barack Obama prevail in the Nov. 4 election, U.S. adversaries will mount an attack of some kind to test the new president.


InsideDefense.com NewsStand: The Insider (http://defensenewsstand.com/insider.asp?issue=10242008sp - broken link)
The article lists crises that arose in the early days for Eisenhower, JFK, Johnson, Nixon, GWB (9/11).
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