The Socialist Manifesto by Bhaskar Sunkara

   Sunkara doesn’t come off as the radical socialist, and he actually respects capitalism. He admires the Swedish approach, where enterprises like healthcare and education are considered to be the government’s problem. That leaves the people free to be productive without having to worry about college bills and doctor’s fees.

He writes about how new technologies led to the Industrial Revolution, and with that came a need for labor. What Sunkara doesn’t mention, however, is that the labor all came from ruined farmers. If England’s farmers hadn’t been unemployed, I wonder where the workers would’ve come from. Would the British have imported slaves directly into England? Would they have encouraged Russian Jews to emigrate? He’s right about the relation of the Industrial Revolution and socialism, because it was the English factory workers who began what we call organized labor.

Sunkara, on the subject of business, doesn’t deny that it’s needed. He also dislikes the Soviet model, when was in fact very poor in quality. He thinks that socialism should be more concerned with worker safety, ending discrimination, ending sexual harassment, and pollution control. If you look back to the early gains in worker’s rights, the first thing they accomplished was a fixed workday. Then came child labor laws. Then came fire safety. Fixed hourly wages came last.

I’m going to sum up with a story in the recent book Food and the City, recounted by the owner of a tortilla factory. He says “in Mexico, hen you go to the hospital, you pay upfront or they leave you to die in the street, but here in New York, they patch you up and then ask how much you can pay.”

The Secret Wisdom of Nature by Peter Wohlleben

   The NYC Parks Department recently found a natural way to de-weed their green spaces – by bringing in a herd of goats to eat them! Apparently the plan worked a little too well, and now the goats are getting territorial about the bushes. I have to wonder if there was this much undergrowth in the days when deer roamed Manhattan? Back in the 1700’s, New York City’s entire topography was different, and I don’t just mean in terms of the landscape. There were giant oysters in the harbor, and there were seals, both of which generated interesting cuisine in the taverns. These animals lived in harmony in the harbor, along with turtles, and yes, turtles were a popular dish too. The USA also had a native chestnut tree, but a fungus imported from Japan wiped all those trees out. When the land’s native flora and fauna die out, what are we losing besides local ingredients? This is what Wohlleben’s book tries to figure out.

    Peter Wohlleben, a conservationist from Germany, begins with Yellowstone Park’s program to rebuild the wolf population. The result has been a reduction in the elk herds and an increase in beavers, bears, and native trees. Even the flooding has been reduced. He also shows how domesticated dogs are a far greater danger to humans than the wolves, which are essentially harmless. Far fewer people have been attacked by wolves than by feral dogs, and when the wolves and bears do attack humans, it’s because the humans have been stupid enough to feed them. Then we have the giant salmon that fertilize the plants along the riverbank, and feed the bears and birds. When non-native trout were introduced, they crowded out the native salmon, and that starved out everything else.

    Hate seeing a dead deer by the roadside? To the wolves and vultures, a dead deer is a ten-course dinner. Bears and wolves are attracted by the smell, and they come to gorge, and then the vultures and ravens smell the stink of the rotting meat, and they come in to pick at the leftovers. Ravens show up too, but due to size differences they have to wait until the end of the line. Due to their sensitivity, the ravens alert the wolves if bears are close, so they can gobble as much meat as they can before the slower bears come lumbering in. When all the other carnivores are done, mice come in to pick the hard-to-reach parts, then the insects eat the rest, and the birds and bats eat the insects. When all the beasts have finished, the decaying bones fertilize the soil.

    Excessive light from cities, waste from livestock, human waste, and climate change are all covered in this book. The science of how fish, carnivores, and elk function together has been portrayed in an earlier book by Gary Larson, titled There’s a Hair in My Dirt. A young worm, fed up with his life, learns how much he really means to the environment, along with all the other dirty animals. He learns how dead trees help the forest grow, and how forests need fires every now and then, and how chirping birds are actually cursing at each other, and how snakes prevent diseases by eating rats. Even better, the worm learns how the biggest problem is the two-legged mammals who get in nature’s way.

    Here in New York City, the Peregrine Falcon has made a comeback in the last 20 years, and I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them swoop down to snatch rats. In New Jersey, I had the pleasure of seeing a vulture eating a deer carcass, the stink of which I could smell from a hundred feet away. Every time I got close enough to take a photo, the vulture would fly away and sit on the fence, as if to say “that’s alright, I’ll wait for you to leave, and then I’ll eat my lunch in peace.” I tried several times more to photograph the vulture, but he kept flying to the fence to wait for me to leave. To this day I admire his patience.

Pot in Pans: A History of Eating Cannabis

    Robyn Griggs Lawrence discusses the use of cannabis in history as mainly ingestion, rather than smoking. She brings forth accepted historic proof that the herb was cultivated for the fiber and seeds,  which were known in the ancient era for mind-altering properties.  Then she buttresses her claim with the research of the French botanist Jean Baptiste-Lamarck. He described cannabis’ properties as “going through the head and disrupting the brain,” and making the user feel drunk and happy. He also researched, and noted, that there were different species of the plant and each one had different strengths. However, Lawrence also claims that the plants controversial status hampered the scientific research into its use. Medieval physicians suggested it as a way to relieve gout, but without modern studies it’s difficult to argue in its favor. The anti-cannabis lobbyists, even the early Reefer Madness films (based on sensationalism and exaggeration) have always been powerful.

   The author doesn’t say it outright, but it seems that pot was considered foreign to the USA, and that may have fed the distrust. It came through Asia before reaching Europe, and was banned by Napoleon. Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas both consumed it in the form of cakes, with the recipe included in Toklas’ famous cookbook. Unfortunately for her (and the US readers) the recipe was removed by the US publishers in an effort of self-censorship, given that it was the 1960’s, and the publishing houses were still in their “Mad Men” stage. Something tells me if they’d waited until the 70’s, Gale Sheehy of New York Magazine would’ve hyped up the recipe in one of her radical chic campaigns. There were high-society characters who brought cannabis to the upper crust of America, like the food writer  Jeremiah Tower, who served cannabis chicken stock in his lavish dinner parties. He would put the cannabis infused soups right between the meat and the watercress, so that it would kick in around dessert time, and the simplest dessert would feel like a religious experience.

   Amsterdam’s cannabis industry, well-written in this book, was ground zero for its use in food, and the city’s tolerance of the herb was a complete opposite of the USA. The Netherlands, aware of the increase in heroin use worldwide, decided to ignore anything that was not scientifically proven to be addictive. There was never any solid conclusive study as to the health risks, but cannabis addicts weren’t going though withdrawal, and there was no prof that it was a gateway drug. However, the Netherlands did not legalize the importation of cannabis, nor write any laws regarding cultivation, so the source was in the hands of criminals.

    Lawrence writes that Cambodia is a country where cannabis as rarely smoked (American backpackers did that) but was used in soups, and the word “happy” became a code word for any food with the herb in it. It found its way into drinks with the multitude of spices available in the region, but thanks to US pressure, Cambodia banned it. Fortunately, the country never had the resources to do a large-scale crackdown.

    While this book is a wonderful trove of history of cannabis in cooking, the author spends a little too much time on the legal issues, and not enough on the benefits. I’m eager to see how it will make its way into the restaurant industry now that states are loosening the laws. Will it find its way into drinks? Will it replace beer and wine? Maybe it will be to 21^st Century USA what Absinthe was to 19^th Century France.

Agent of Influence

    Jason Hanson is a former CIA operative who applies his spy skills to modern business. His most important lesson (or at least the one that sticks the most) is that you have to sharpen your memory, never relying on the internet or GPS. Always use maps, memorize your destination, and always have alternate transport. The second lesson is that when you travel, you have to know all the bus routes, where to catch the bus or train, always have spare cash, and now where you can get a room. I remember the time when I failed to plan my trip thoroughly, and almost missed my Greyhound in Dover, Delaware. The fear wasn’t extreme, as the area wasn’t dangerous, and the police weren’t hunting down the out-of-towners or anything of the like. The fear as that I’d be stuck there overnight, and if I couldn’t book another hotel room for the evening, I’d be toast. On a smart move, I kept spare cash in my shoe, and knew the locations of all the motels in the region. Traveling light was a big help too.

The first chapter is devoted to the science of preparation and routine. It includes listening (pay attention, talk less, study others, don’t judge) and how the behavior of others is always an indicator. The second chapter is about social situations and how to make people like you. Paying with cash is recommended, because it serves two purposes; it makes people think you have money, and it makes them feel indebted to you. Passing bills can also help buy your way out of trouble.

Hanson shows how all this can be used to audit employees, screen out the ones who aren’t trustworthy, and scope out new clients.

Reckoning: The Epic Battle Against Sexual Abuse and Harassment

    Linda Hirshman charts the course of the movement against sexual harassment, which like most left-wing movements, was in the works for years. We had Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique, then Anita Hill’s testimony, then further court cases and the #metoo movement. Hirshman also writes about the resistance to change, much of it from women – like Phyllis Schafly – who Hirshman believes was looking to avoid losing the security of her husband’s money.

The author uses a case I was not familiar with, that of Cornell physics professor Boyce McDaniel, and how he sexually harassed women administrators in the 1970’s. It led to women in higher education documenting the abuse they put up with, including ogling, inappropriate stares, unwanted touching, pressure to have sex with their bosses, and loss of promotions (or even their jobs) if they refused. The book Sexual Shakedown (also n to me) showed how there was widespread abuse of women recruits in the Washington DC police, and at the time, police departments had only recently begun recruiting women on par with men. Though not quoted by Hirshman, a 2005 book by ex-NYPD detective Kathy Burke documented the same thing. I also recall a scene from Margaret Cho’s memoir, I’m the One That I Want, where she encounters intimidating behavior from boys at a military school; they jump on stage and do push-ups during her performance. I found it surprising for two reasons; the first is that you’d think the boys in a military school would be taught better behavior, and secondly, in the Jewish high school I attended, interrupting a guest speaker would’ve gotten you expelled!

Hirshman blames past problems on the lack of codified laws regarding workplace harassment. There were certainly none in the 1970’s, and there was also the question of whether the individual harasser or the employer was responsible for the damages. It wouldn’t be until 1986, when the case of Michelle Vinson highlighted the “hostile environment” as actionable in court. Then there was the question of whether it was sexual abuse or just boorish behavior and bad manners. Would a plaintiff have to be physically injured to collect a settlement? The case of Bill Clinton and Paula Jones from 1999 shows another problem in sexual harassment cases, involving social class. Was Paul Jones, a low-wage woman with no degree, considered an easy target for a man with power? While he may have exposed himself and/or propositioned her, he never threatened her job, so the media was quick to dismiss the issue. Then again, it can be very disturbing for a woman to be called to her boss’ hotel room and propositioned. If it caused an emotional interference and her work suffered, then that would be a problem.

Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein are the cap of the story, though I wager there will be a lot more to write about in the next three years. Let’s look back at previously disgraced luminaries to see how things turned out. First off is the Frugal Gourmet, sued and de-aired for sexually abusing young men, but since few remember him, it’s no longer a disgrace. Then there’s the actor James Stacey, imprisoned for sexually threatening little girls in the 1990’, his career ruined and forgotten. Then there’s the TV personality Rolf Harris, actor Jeffrey Jones, singer Gary Glitter, Judge Wachtler, Father Bruce Ritter, and a New York City Montessori principal, to name a few. They all ruined their careers with systematic, sexually abusive behavior. Now I have to wonder, do we really need these people? Will the word lose anything if they can no longer work? When it comes to Harvey Weinstein, I have to wonder if the film studios were afraid OF him, or afraid of losing him? Were they afraid that nobody could do as good a job as him? Now that Bill Cosby is disgraced and ruined, his former admirers feel betrayed, but does America need Bill Cosby?

When the Weinstein scandal broke, Howard Stern said “I’m 60 years old, tall, thin, and ugly, and Harvey’s 60 years old, short, fat, and ugly, and if you saw me naked, you’d die of fright. Harvey, you’re old and ugly, women don’t want to see you naked in the shower!” Now I wonder, Howard Stern if the most vulgar man in the USA, so why hasn’t HE been a target of more complaints? What about all the other sleaze-jocks in the USA, like Hugh Hefner, Larry Flynt, Al Goldstein, Russ Meyer, and others? Why were they rarely accused of sexual harassment? Maybe this country’s morals police were more interested in what people said than when they did? For years the FCC went after obscene content, but ignored inappropriate behavior.

Behavior standards have obviously changed, and with it, the definition of sexual harassment. It remains to be seen how it will be defined in the next decade.