BobHarris.com - More Fun With Canada

Books! Actual books!

"A rollicking ride of intellectual discovery and emotional growth... his comic timing never fails"

-- The Wall Street Journal

"Pulls you in like a good sports story"

-- The New York Times Book Review

"Endearingly frank... jubilant... lighthearted and fast-paced"

-- New York Newsday

"A surprisingly touching memoir"

-- Entertainment Weekly

"Snappy and informative"

-- Associated Press

"Effortlessly funny and informative... tender, human, and very wise... A must for anyone who loves Jeopardy!, or has ever seen it, or is breathing."

-- Joss Whedon, creator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"I haven't seen Jeopardy! since I was a kid, and yet I was charmed and amused by Bob Harris's fascinating and surprisingly suspenseful book. Through sheer force of personality, he takes this brainy TV show and makes it funny and easy to relate to."

-- Ira Glass, creator and host, This American Life

"A surprisingly intimate, entertaining book."

-- Orson Scott Card, 4-time Hugo Award winner, author of Ender's Game

"Funny, enlightening -- and just might help you win a million bucks on Jeopardy!"

-- A. J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All

"A masterful job of describing the feel of Jeopardy! in the heat of battle... I knew Bob was a great guy and a fantastic Jeopardy! player. Now I've found that he's also a wonderful writer. I think I'm starting to hate him."

-- Brad Rutter, top money-winner in Jeopardy! history

Books I'm Getting

Who Hates Whom:
Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts,
and Various Things Blowing Up —
A Woefully Incomplete Guide™

“Revelatory... Harris's sly wit and infectious curiosity make understanding world chaos fascinating... witty, horrific, and necessary.”

— Boston Globe

"Brave... irreverent... charges into the thick of the globe's myriad simmering wars... hilariously relaxed."

— New York Observer

"Only Bob could make a user’s guide to our increasingly hostile world this absorbing, this breezy, and—ultimately—this hopeful.”

— Ken Jennings, author of Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs

“Fascinating, enlightening, and surprisingly: NOT TOTALLY DEPRESSING. A gimlet-eyed look at the world we endure that’s also suitable for enjoying with a gimlet.”

— John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise
and correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

"All three [presidential] candidates should read all three of these [recommended] books, but McCain gets first crack at Bob Harris's "Who Hates Whom“... a lighthearted overview of the insurrections and civil wars in the world today."

— Steven Pinker, author of The Stuff of Thought, in the New York Times Book Review

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Buzzflash

More Fun With Canada

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Tuesday, 16 November 2004

Most Canadian national network sources are carrying various stories about this:

U.S. debuts strict new border screening measures

Getting into the United States from Canada has just become more difficult for anyone who is not a Canadian or American citizen.

Landed immigrants, or anyone who was not born in the United States or Canada, will be fingerprinted, photographed and undergo detailed computer checks before crossing the border to the U.S.

Anyone who refuses to be photographed or fingerprinted will be denied entry and sent back.

Yesterday's USA Today adds:

After the initial tests — which began today in Laredo, Texas; Douglas, Ariz.; and Port Huron, Mich. — the program will be implemented by year's end at the 50 busiest border crossings.

But U.S. Rep. Jim Turner of Texas, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, calls the program a "striking failure" so plagued with problems that it will be virtually useless in securing the Mexican and Canadian borders.

Although today's NY Times includes virtually no criticism, instead blithely parroting:

The information gathered will be stored in a national database, but Homeland Security officials say its use will be restricted to ensure privacy.

And of course officials in the Bush administration always tell the truth.

PS, clarity: not saying we don't need secure borders; obviously we do. And I don't know first-hand if the system will work out well. Just noting the profound differences in how the issue is being covered -- big story up north, small story here, good in one paper, fairly stupid in another.

All I know is, if it leads to fewer Delta-reamings (and no, I haven't harassed them on a daily basis after my last phone call was never returned; I've just sworn never to fly that err-line again), that would be a good thing.