Global Threats

Image via Wikipedia

The ink is dry on the contract for the new textbook I'm to co-author.  It's entitled Global Threats (CQ Press, 2013), and I'm a little anxious about it.  Last time I tried to write a textbook it was on Soviet politics--and the Soviet Union collapsed.  Trying to keep up with what was happening, while it happening, was impossible. Even if I could have kept up with everything up to the day I handed in my sections, the book would have been overtaken by events long before it was out the door of the publisher.  Trying to do the impossible produced a lot of unnecessary anxiety then, and thinking about it still triggers a little anxiety today.

The good news is I know better now than to attempt the impossible.  As long as I keep my perfectionist tendencies in line, this new book should not only be possible, but fun.  How often do I get (paid) to speculate on as many possibilities as I can think of for the collapse of nations and civilizations?  The book encourages brainstorming, and that's one of my favorite activities.  It's as if I get to write a bad science fiction novel without the going to the trouble of developing believable characters.

So if I get anxious it's my own fault: I'm the one who can choose to set the bar higher than any real person can achieve, or worry about how my work will be received by others.  Instead, I'll do my best to produce good work and have some fun.

Telling it like it is

As usual, the traders (whose livelihood depends on having clear perceptions) are a lot more accurate than the politicians (whose livelihood depend on distorting the perceptions of others) and more likely to tell it as it is.*

*Unless they are on CNBC, or course, where their primary job is to sell bad stock tips to gullible investors.

UPDATE (Sept. 30th):  It appears this guy's a real clown.  Not a professional trader, runs a failing professional speaker's business.  On the other hand, he's not one of the "Yes Men" and he's saying what many are saying elsewhere--just not on BBC.

The Duck of Minerva waddles at midnight

I'm pleased to announce that I'm filling in as a guest blogger at Duck of Minerva. For those of you who don't know of it, there's a link to the left of this page under my "daily reads". Its regular authors share an uncommon combination: expertise in international relations and skill in writing for the general public. It's an honor to join the team.

I'll still be posting here, but it's always worth the time to check out the Duck for more insights (and controversy).

This is going to be fun.