Tuesday, December 18, 2012

12/18/2012 Station Identification and Notice Board


WELCOME TO AMERICAN ADMIRALTY BOOKS!





Barque:  ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLT II, Named for the Oceanographer
Photo by Hans Georg Schroder


TUESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2012

NEW TO OUR SITE? WONDER WHAT WE ARE ALL ABOUT? CLICK ON THIS LINK FOR AN ENTERTAINING VIDEO EXPLANATION http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFw32RRJY98:
If you want more detail after the video click on the INTRODUCTION page in the right hand margin.

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THE NATIONAL ANTHEM IS PERFORMED  BY"MADISON RISING":
Click on the link below the flag to get your day off to the right start!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8C7i9kdEf8


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THE BLOG POSTINGS TODAY INCLUDE:

THE BEAR ON ICE: Russia's ever expanding claims in the High Arctic. 

GOT PIRATES?: Our Editorial policy on pirate coverage and our advice to commercial and recreational mariners

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IN THE NEWS TODAY

CHINESE NAVY VISIT SYDNEY

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Chinese navy ships returning home from counter piracy operations off the northeast African coast have arrived in Sydney as they prepare for training exercises with the Australian navy.
The visit and training exercises are part of celebrations for the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australian and China. 


Russia sends warships to Syria to prepare for evacuation

The move is the first sign that Moscow is worried about rebel advances on Damascus

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/russia-sends-warships-to-syria-to-prepare-for-evacuation-8424033.html


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NEWS WATCH

INTERNATIONAL COURT WATCH: Two important case have been submitted to international tribunals in the last few weeks. Both have the potential for game changing impact on International Law. The first case filed was that of Argentina against Ghana for enforcing an American writ against two of her war ships and seizing them for creditors. Under well established rule of international law warships are immune from seizure for national debts. Yet a U.S.District court issued a writ for seizure of government assets in favor of a certain U.S. creditor of Argentina that a court in Ghana honored against two visiting Argentine war ships. At issue is the long standing international prohibition against the seizure of war ships against a nation's national debt. In the instant case Argentina settled the debt with all other creditors but one American investment firm refused to participate, and filed suit in an American court. That plaintiff has aggressively pursued any and all Argentine government assets including war ships. If the international tribunal rules for the creditors, an established basic principal of international law over 500 year sold will be up ended. Debtor nations could be rendered defenseless as creditor nations seize their defense equipment as collateral against debt. If that is the ruling in this case Argentina never specifically pledged such collateral, so international tribunals could impose seizure on national assets without limit on behalf of creditors, which given who the plaintiff is, an investment corporation, would literally give large lending institutions the right to effectively disband nations and national governments if a government defaults on a loan. Amazingly a United States Federal District Court set this in motion.
Who is the world's biggest debtor nation? The United States of America, yes we could emerge as the most potentially damaged party in this case.

 The second case is China v. Japan filed just days ago in a UN tribunal. China maintains that it is the rightful sovereign over the disputed Senkakus Islands. The defense treaty between the United States and Japan specifically includes these uninhabited islands as part of Japan's homeland that the United States is obligated to defend. China has some evidence of Chinese administration over the islands prior to 1914. Certain agreements signed by the United States prior to the final peace treaty with Japan specifically agreed that Japan had to return all seized territories acquired after 1914. China says these pre-U.S. /Japan Peace treaty agreements with the other allies are controlling and that the Senkakus were slipped into the treaty at a time when China was engulfed in civil war and couldn't attend or effectively monitor the negotiations. The Chinese argue that the Pottsdam Agreements put certain limits on the subsequent peace treaty. If the Chinese argument wins out a precedent is established in international law where international tribunals may void portions of  two party and multilateral treaties. A Chinese win also reinforces the Chinese position that the Communist ruled mainland is the legitimate successor of the Republic of China and not Taiwan. The "Republic of China" was the actual U.S. Ally in WW II. This would rule out the Taiwan claim on the islands and coupled with our long ago acceptance of the Mainland in the U.N. security counsel seat reserved for the "Republic of China", strengthens China's claim on Taiwan as a "break away province". Yet a win for China at court would be a short term for the United States, getting us off the hook in terms of defending some rocks for Japan. However in the longer term it would mean even bigger trouble. China claims all of the China Sea to the "First Island Chain. That means they claim almost to the beach line of the Philippines and  Vietnam. China has limited its type and frequency of provocations relative to the Philippines a formal U.S. military partner. Unfortunately, former U.S. enemy Vietnam wasn't treated so well, there in at least one instance, China has simply opened fire on the Vietnamese. If the court decides China has a legal point relative to her dispute with Japan which has a different legal basis than her illegal claims to the entire "First Island Chain"; China is likely to become emboldened. The court could well rule for China against Japan never intending to reward aggressive behavior by China. Unfortunately, such a ruling could well be interpreted that way by both the Chinese leadership  and China's neighbors. The Chinese leadership has acted very imprudently in even asserting their claim, which with a few possible minor exceptions relative to some specific islands or shoals is totally contrary to established international law. Their use of force policies relative to pursuing the claim by bullying their neighbors has manifested a brinkmanship that makes statesmen question the mental capacity of China's senior communist leadership. Anything that emboldens China to even greater aggression brings the real possibility of a naval shoot out between the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army's Navy (PLAN) and naval elements of Japan, the Philippines, India and the U.S. Pacific fleet much closer.

 We will be monitoring these cases as they are argued very closely and reporting here both on this page (The Station ID and Notice Board) and in our News Section.


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NAMAZU GIANT CATFISH, KNOWN AS THE EARTH SHAKER, FORMER JAPANESE DEMIGOD, ALBUM COVER MODEL, AND OUR OWN COASTAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT AND SOCIETAL COMMENTATOR. LEGEND, AND STAR OF STAGE ,SCREEN AND OUTER SPACE.

We are always learning new things about our favorite catfish. We recently discovered that Ms Oh Land who wrote and recorded the "Namazu Theme" http://www.youtube.com/watch?=HSj7GtUnKXk   has a friend in New York who is a graphic artist and has had a show with something of a Namazu theme that included his impersonation of Namazu in his "Fishboy apparition." During this exhibit Ms Oh Land and the artist presented a "performance art" exhibit on the Namazu theme. We will try to get our Namazu fans more information on this as soon as possible. We of course learned all about Namazu's Cajun cousin "Jack" first hand in his earliest posts. We are only starting to get a grip on the fact that the big guy has some serious New York art and music world connections that have been working on his latest image morph since at least 2008.
Watch this space on the Notice Board for future developments. Namazu may be a catfish the size of Japan but clearly he is way more hip and sophisticated than we ever imagined when we hired him as an analyst and commentator.  

Below is a link to YouTube's Top Tracks for MS Oh Land.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqgqm07tk4M&list=ALYL4kY05133oXyNOujcom4b656Ywou9Td&index=4
Fauna
MS Oh Land, clearly a Namazu fan

    Link to the Album Fauna below:      

http://www.amazon.com/Fauna/dp/B007IVXB96/ref=sr_shvl_album_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1354425470&sr=301-2

We now provide an index to all of Namazu's First person essays in our "INDEX AND SEARCH SECTION". 

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Our second most popular serialized feature  is now in the Maritime Literature Section. Click on "Maritime Literature " in the page listings on the right and scroll past the book offerings

SPACE AS AN OCEAN


                                   

LESSONS FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN MARINE EXPLORATION FOR THE SPACE AGE.  From the Book "PROTOCOLS" (c) 2012 by American Admiralty Books
 . The entire series in chronological order of appearance is now posted in the MARITIME LITERATURE SECTION.                                          

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In case you missed the earlier posting..........

AMERICAN ADMIRALTY BOOKS:

  READ LIKE A CATFISH: THE NAMAZU SUGGESTED READING LIST FOR 2012

  Develop the unique, "in depth", "Catfish Perspective" by reading these books that relate to Namazu's 2012 postings. Grab an Oh Land album and listen to what the catfish listens to.                                              

JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS! GIVE THE GIFT OF "IN DEPTH UNDERSTANDING" A BOOK FROM THE NAMAZU 2012 READING LIST! 
  
      Click on book cover link to learn more or to order

The Genesis of Justice : 10 Stories of Biblical Injustice That Led to the 10 Commandments and Modern Morality and Law [Paperback]. Relates To Namazu's 

12/6/2012 blog:  "WHERE IS THE MERCHANT IN THE AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THE AMERICAN WAY?"

NEW FEATURE: NAMAZU ON MUSIC (Sort of)

The Rock Star who dedicated a song to the big guy, Namazu!   MS Oh Land's music is available through Amazon and we, the staff highly recommend it. Below is a link to a YouTube music video of the "Namazu Theme"with the lyrics as a streaming text. Particularly when you read the lyrics you know MS Oh Land was writing about our Namazu. .  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfL_vGX6YbE

 The link above will take you to a YouTube version of Namazu by Oh Land which provides the Lyrics as streaming text. Below, the album cover icons link you to MP3 , and CDs of music by Oh Land available from Amazon.  

 Album         single              album

MP3 and Cloud Players are the latest thing in music recording and replay. Click on the blue link below to learn more about them or to order one. 
MP3 and Cloud Players 


Oh Land's music has been called "whimsical meets electronica, with a little bit of mystery mixed in". Others call it "unique and ethereal". One of the best ways to catch music these days whether you like Namazu's blonde bombshell and talented friend, or prefer Willie Nelson  (Our staff like both) is with an MP3 or Cloud Player. Some of the singles you can play on these things go for as low as 99 cents. The blue link above will take you to the Amazon counter where they sell these devices. The Blue link below will take you to all of the Amazon MP3 downloads available. Remember when you link to Amazon for your music via our links you help support Namazu, our free infotainment features like Listen to the Ocean, and free on line books like Space as an Ocean, The News Service and so much more. We make nothing from most advertising unless you use our links. Using our links doesn't add a penny to the price of Amazon products but unless you use them the blog doesn't make a penny. This is an experimental service in the public interest, an encyclopedic reference of all things maritime, it requires a full time staff and must eventually pay for itself. Please think about us when you are thinking of purchasing anything via Amazon, it matters where you link in. 

American Admiralty Books Link to MP3 Downloads 

The link below takes you to Amazon CDs and other non MP3 and Cloud Player choices.


American Admiralty Books Amazon Music Link

The link below takes you anything and everything else Amazon has to offerAmerican Admiralty Books Amazon Shop By Department Link

PERIODICALS:


Editor's note: Recently Namazu wrote about maritime periodicals in general and one in particular, naming his favorite periodical and article in recent months. We did not realize that he had so much interest in naval affairs. Here is Namazu on maritime periodicals. Nearly all of the various maritime periodicals are available via hot links to their free E-versions in our NEWS SERVICE section. Namazu seriously recommends reading the periodical in our NEWS SERVICE SECTION but stated that he has a favorite maritime periodical that is far more than a subscription, it is for members, the U.S. Naval Institute. Namazu urges all of our maritime professional readers to join the Naval Institute and join him in reading the PROCEEDINGS "cover to cover" every month.
He also describes his favorite article from 2012.

Direct fron Namazu:
 " To the human mind lacking in the catfish perspective one might think that life at the bottom of the Sea of Japan is quiet, dark, and just about completely out of touch with the life of the surface and the coastal zones. But those of you who read some of my earlier material know that I was well aware of surface life early on, since the debris of war at sea, and the wreckage of ships caught in storms often led to trash descending from what I once considered the "sky" onto my living room floor. Periodic trips to the surface similar to whale "spy hopping" clued me in to humans and their shipping. On annual morphs into other forms I began adopting human characteristics and visited coastal communities and learned quite a bit more. Printing came much sooner to China and Japan than it did to the West, but it was thousands of years before anyone was putting out really reliable and timely periodicals on maritime subjects. Then one day in 1874 about a year after its founding I discovered the U.S. Naval Institute and ultimately the U.S.NAVAL INSTITUTE's PROCEEDINGS. 

THE U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE'S PROCEEDINGS IS MY NUMBER ONE PICK IN MARITIME PERIODICAL READING.   http://www.usni.org/ 

 This publication accepts well written, properly researched and logically reasoned articles from naval, and maritime professionals from the U.S. sea services and other navies, coast guards, marine corps, and merchant marines around the world.  There are a lot of maritime periodicals out there. You can link into most of the really informative ones that publish E versions in the American Admiralty Books NEWS SERVICE, but my number one choice, the maritime periodical that I never miss and always read cover to cover every month is the NAVAL INSTITUTE's PROCEEDINGS.

My number one favorite article in recent months was CLOUD COMBAT Thinking Machines in Future Wars by Lieutenant (Jg) Matthew R. Hipple.page 49 of the July 2012 issue. I've seen the march of human technology since the very beginning. Mr. Hipple's grasp of the the very visible future of the technological potential impact on naval warfare dovetails with my thoughts on the economic future of America expressed in the 'NAMAZU FULLY LOADED' series. I described how technology is going to reduce the labor force needed to create the World's wealth and how things will have to change when the bulk of mankind can only find intermittent employment at best. In CLOUD COMBAT  Mr. Hipple first paints a detailed picture of future developments in the growth of autonomous technologies in war and then confronts the questions of how to both exploit the advantages of these technologies and yet not  remove so much of the human element from the targeting loop that war degenerates into a simple mechanized slaughter. He doesn't propose to have all of the answers for where the human mind must be in the targeting and attack decisions loops of the future, but he introduces us to the issue and forces us to think seriously about it. Mr. Hipple's description of the related technological "progress" raises our sense of urgency about the issue. Finally,  he comes down squarely on the side of making progress on these technologies and adapting them to war fighting. I have to credit him with my favorite quote in at least the last five months from the many fine PROCEEDINGS articles:


"Change is inevitable, and the warfighter who refuses to stop living by the sword will die by the gun."


" I join our Chief Editor Johnas Presbyter in urging every maritime professional, but especially every Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, NOAA Corps, USPHS, and Merchant Marine professional out there, commissioned, warranted, enlisted, licensed or unlicensed to join the U.S. Naval Institute and read religiously the PROCEEDINGS. Consider giving an annual membership to your new grad NROTC student, Midshipman, Cadet, newly commissioned ensign, or newly licensed Third Mate. A catfish spends a lot of time quietly on the bottom, then once in a great while makes quite a show on the surface. That is the entire legend of "Namazu the Earth Shaker".  If you want to develop the 'Catfish Perspective", if you want to think like a catfish, you have to read like a catfish and catfish worth their salt are devoted readers and subscribers to the Naval Institute Proceedings":    http://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings

" There are many other important maritime periodicals out there. Most have links in our NEWS SECTION, and I will address them over time. But during the Holiday rush I wanted you to know my favorite and to suggest to all of my many fans to consider the gift of a USNI membership this season to any maritime professional in your family of circle of friends"


                           Click on the link below to contact the Naval Institute
                                                    http://www.usni.org/

                                           USNI logo.jpg

 THE NAMAZU READING LIST IS NOT REVIEWED BY THE AMERICAN ADMIRALTY BOOKS EDITORIAL STAFF OR BOARD. THESE RECOMMENDED PUBLICATIONS ARE THE SOLE OPINION OF NAMAZU THE EARTH SHAKER
                                          

THE VOTES ARE IN AND THE CATFISH SPOKE HIS MIND, THE AAB AND NAMAZU AGREE ON THE BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Winner Is.....................




THE WAY OF THE SHIP: AMERICA'S MARITIME HISTORY REINVISIONED 1600 -2000

  by W. Jeffery Bolster and Alexander Keyssay (published 2007)



 American Admiralty Books gives this history a rare "recommended" rating meaning that we think every marine professional should have this volume in his or her personal professional library. Click on the link below the book cover image to read more or to order.


                                                           

http://www.amazon.com/Way-Ship-Americas-Reenvisoned-1600-2000/dp/0470136006/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353904516&sr=1-1&keywords=THE+WAY+OF+THE+SHIP

Check it out in our MERCHANT MARINE INTEREST SECTION or read about it at Amazon via the link above


THE NAMAZU PICK FOR MARITIME COFFEE TABLE BOOK OF TH E YEAR


Great American Schooner Yachts
Illustrations, photos, drawings, plans histories and more on the schooner designs of William Burgess, Cox and Stevens, Samuel Crocker, the greats of  American schooner design  A reference work for yacht designers, and nautical historians ,and a work of art for the rest of us. If you have a serious sailor on your Christmas list  just click on the book cover icon link below and put one of these babies in your Amazon shopping basket.
http://www.amazon.com/Great-American-Schooner-Yachts-Rudolph/dp/0764340891/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353900463&sr=1-1&keywords=GREAT+AMERICAN+SCHOONER+YACHTS 
           Check it out in our sailing and boat building sections or at Amazon via the link above.


READINGS RELATED TO NAMAZU POSTINGS:

 In this first installment Namazu reminds readers that oil isn't the first commodity to drive the global economy. In the ancient past other commodities have had serial central roles. The first step in understanding the role of oil in the global economy is understanding the rise and fall of predecessor central commodities. Namazu suggest that if you weren't actually alive and involved in ocean shipping for the last 3,000 years that the following books can help you to see the global economy from the catfish perspective: Click on the book cover icons to read more about, or to order the books.




   SPICE THE HISTORY OF A TEMPTATION by Jack Turner



 SALT: A WORLD HISTORY by Mark Kurlarshy      


  THE DEVILS MILK, A SOCIAL HISTORY OF RUBBER                                            
                                               
                                                                                        
   CLAY, THE HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF HUMANKIND'S RELATIONSHIP WITH EARTH'S MOST PRIMAL ELEMENT by Suzanne Staubach

The one commodity that is presently driving the world economy and which Namazu sees as having a shift in its center of gravity towards the United States driving a strong economic recovery in the next several years is of course oil. To better understand the global oil based economy Namazu suggests the following.



AND THEN THERE IS OIL THE SUBJECT OF NAMAZU FULLY LOADED PARTS 1 &2: THE FUTURE OF AMERICA. YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND OIL TO UNDERSTAND THE PRESENT AND THE NEAR FUTURE 

Start with this primer : OIL 101  by Morgan Downey

(The Book covers are not hyperlink Icons a single hyperlink is at the bottom of the book covers, This link takes you to "THE QUEST" and all of the other hyper links can be found by scrolling down from there)



Then get deeper into the skull duggery:



 


                                             

     





  CLICK ON THE "QUEST "ICON FOR THIS BOOK AND FIND THE LINKS TO THE REST BY SCROLLING DOWN AT THE" QUEST" SITE.




COASTAL ZONE EROSION AND PROTECTION
Mitigating Shore Erosion along Sheltered Coasts
Click on the hyperlink below to read a description or to order
http://www.amazon.com/Mitigating-Shore-Erosion-Sheltered-Coasts/dp/0309103460/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353899953&sr=1-11&keywords=Coastal+Zone+Erosion+and+Protection

                                   
 BAYOU FARWELL by Mike Tidwell the story of the rapidly eroding Louisiana coast , the disappearing environment and human culture. Available as a book or on Kindle click on the above icon and then click on the book cover icon in Amazon to read excerpts.

                                           

Coastal Building Codes and Design:

                                             


 This completes the 2012 Namazu Reading List. There are 21 books and one monthly periodical a reading pace of a little less than two books a month on average.  One is a table top book that we all agree is far more than a table top boob of great photography but an important contribution to nautical history and design, but being a large table top book you don't have to read it quickly. If you complete all of Namazu's suggested readings you'll be well poised to fully understand his 2012 and early 2013 writings. But there will be a 2013 READ LIKE A CATFISH READING LIST. Don't be too concerned about being a year or so behind the giant catfish. The truth is we are all 3,000 years behind this nearly immortal sage. 

TO DEVELOP THE INCREDIBLY COMPLEX AND INSIGHTFUL CATFISH PERSPECTIVE.....

YOU HAVE TO READ LIKE A CATFISH!   GO DEEP!  GO AMAZON VIA  AMERICAN ADMIRALTY BOOKS!



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