Tibet Continues to Experience Oppression by Chinese Government

Today marks the commemoration of the Tibetan "abortive 1959 uprising against Chinese rule" and the latest show of force by Chinese police on the streets of Lhasa was meant to prevent any uprising by locals ("Hundreds Held in Pre-Emptive Tibet Crackdown" - Times Online (UK), March 10, 2010). The police made a point to ask for identification from Tibetans and not ethnic Chinese minority residents. An estimated 500 Tibetans were detained by Chinese police in this latest incident. The exiled Dalai Lama stated that he recognizes "those Tibetans still enduring fear and oppression."

Review selected library titles related to Tibet and the Dalai Lama at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• Tibet
  
• Dalai Lama
  
• China Tibet relations
  

Tibet edited by Clare Hanrahan - Greenhaven, 2009.
call number: 951.505 Tib
The book covers such topics as "Chinese rule threatens Tibetan Buddhism" and "Tibetan quality of life has improved under Chinese Rule" - table of contents excerpt

Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World by Robert Thurman - Atria Books/Beyond Words, 2008.
call number: 294.392 Thu
"Tibetan scholar Thurman paints a splendid portrait of the Dalai Lama and masterfully elucidates the 50-year-old conflict between Tibet and China in this timely analysis." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

China's Tibet?: Autonomy or Assimilation by Warren W. Smith, Jr. - Rowman & Littlefield, 2008.
call number: 951.506 Smi
"Smith (Tibetan service, Radio Free Asia) provides a thorough and specialized study of relations between the two entities over the last century. He argues that assimilation is China's goal for Tibet: Tibet is becoming more Chinese and less Tibetan, as demonstrated by the recent mass immigration of Chinese into Tibet and China's dominance of both the government and the economy." - Library Journal review excerpt

10 Questions for the Dalai Lama [videorecording]: One Man's Journey through the Northern Himalayas produced by Rick Ray and Sharon Ray; written, directed and filmed by Rick Ray - Monterey Video, 2007.
call number: DVD Nonfiction 294.365 Ten
"If you had only one hour, what would you ask the Dalai Lama? This is the question that Rick Ray asks, and answers, in this excellent film." - Library Journal review excerpt

Bernanke's 2nd Term Awaiting Senate Vote

Populist backlash from the Senate election in Massachusetts on Tuesday put the current Fed Chairman's prospects for a second term on hold ("Bernanke Confirmation Draws Opposition from Two Democratic Senators" - Washington Post, January 22, 2010). Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) now wants to wait on the vote to keep Bernanke in the job until he can shore up filibuster-proof support among Democrats and Republicans.

Review selected library titles related to the Federal Reserve System and Ben Bernanke at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• Ben Bernanke
  
• Alan Greenspan
  
• Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
  
• United States central banks
• United States monetary policy
  

Bernanke's Test: Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, and the Drama of the Central Banker by Johan Van Overtveldt - Agate, 2009.
call number: 332.11 Ove
"Overtveldt's serious examination of how we got into this mess and what the Federal Reserve can do to get us out brings clarity to this period of financial chaos. Highly recommended for all interested readers." - Library Journal review excerpt

End the Fed by Ron Paul - Grand Central, 2009.
call number: 332.11 Pau
"An engaging response to big-government solutions for the financial crisis, this knowledgeable and opinionated look at U.S. economics, from a firebrand public servant, should provoke much thought." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Ben Bernanke's Fed: The Federal Reserve after Greenspan by Ethan S. Harris - Harvard Business Press, 2008.
call number: 332.11 Har
"Harris (managing director and chief US economist, Lehman Brothers) is more concerned in assessing the likely performance of the Fed under Bernanke. His discussion of Bernanke's role in the formation of monetary policy theory and practice thus discusses Bernanke's economic views and his early policy activities and assesses their likely impacts. Harris's volume also serves as an introduction to the Federal Reserve System and its role in many facets of the US economy." - Book News, Inc. summary excerpt

Same-Sex Marriage Approved in D.C.

Although the bill goes to Congress for a 30-day review now, the mayor of Washington, D.C. put his signature on a bill to approve same-sex marriage in the district after it passed the local council ("D.C. Mayor Signs Same-Sex Marriage Bill" - CNN, December 18, 2009). Supporters believe that Congress will not prevent final passage of the law even though they have the power to block measures approved by the District of Columbia council. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and Iowa already allow such marriages and New Hampshire's law becomes effective January 1, 2010. Opponents of the D.C. measure say they will push for a citizen's vote on the issue.

Review selected library titles related to same-sex marriage at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• same-sex marriage
  
• civil unions
  
• gay couples
  
• lesbian couples
• domestic partner benefits
  

The Age of Independence: Interracial Unions, Same-Sex Unions, and the Changing American Family by Michael J. Rosenfeld - Harvard University Press, 2009.
call number: 306.85 Ros
Rosenfeld, Associate Professor of Sociology at Stanford University "offers a new theory of family dynamics to account for the interesting and startling changes in marriage and family composition in the United States in recent years . . . reduced parental control over the dating practices and mate selection of their children that has resulted in a sharp rise in interracial and same-sex unions." - publisher's summary excerpt

Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing All Families under the Law by Nancy D. Polikoff - Beacon Press, 2008.
call number: 346.73 Pol
"Polikoff says, we need to look at ways the law can change to value all families beyond those created by marriage, including same and different-sexed, married and unmarried couples. Polikoff draws on legal history and contemporary (often eye-opening) court cases to make her argument." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

The Politics of Same-Sex Marriage edited by Craig A. Rimmerman and Clyde Wilcox - University of Chicago Press, 2007
call number: 306.848 Pol
The book "brings together an esteemed list of scholars to explore all facets of this heated issue, including the ideologies and strategies on both sides of the argument . . .With comprehensive coverage from a variety of different approaches, this volume will be a vital sourcebook for activists, politicians, and scholars alike." - publisher's summary excerpt

Courting Equality: A Documentary History of America's First Legal Same-Sex text by Patricia A. Gozemba and Karen Kahn - Beacon Press, 2007.
call number: 306.848 Goz
"This book takes readers through the volatile public debate following the decision (on November 18, 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court granted equal marriage benefits to same-sex couples) and introduces some of the many lesbian and gay families who have taken advantage of equal marriage laws." - publisher's summary excerpt