123 research outputs found
Shanti Children's Books
No full textThirty-three stories on 116 pages after an opening T of C. Each story gets several colored pictures. I find the tellings of the stories good, as in the first story, The Golden Duck (5). The illustration style seems consistent with other Shanti publications for children that I have seen. My eye happened to have fallen on minster for minister on 12. The Foolish Son (27) tells of a won who uses an axe to attack a mosquito on his carpenter father's head! The Greedy Bird (30) is back from other Jataka collections, but this time he reports of grain fallen not on a freeway but on a highway. That choice works much better with food-laden bullock carts. The Kind Stag is another staple of the Jataka collection. He is called golden but pictured in usual colors. Another staple story presents a jackal judge who awards one disputing otter the head of a fish which he had seized and another the tail of the fish, which he had seized. The clever jackal keeps the middle part for himself (40). The Foolish Jackal (47) tells of a successful partnership between lion and jackal. The latter would inform the former and clean up after his kill. The jackal, impressed with their success, asks to reverse roles and the lion finally gives in and soon informs the jackal of an elephant nearby. The jackal attacks the elephant and is soon trampled to death. Foolish Friends on 85 presents a good short version of the sad falling out of lion and bull under the insinuations of a jealous jackal. The Clever Son (102) tells of the son seeing his father digging a grave for the boy's beloved grandfather; the boy promptly starts digging one for his father! The dust-jacket is glued to the covers.This is a hardbound book (hard cover)This book has a dust jacket (book cover
When do special interests run rampant ? disentangling the role in banking crises of elections, incomplete information, and checks and balances
No full textThe author investigates the political determinants of government decisions that benefit special interest groups - especially government decisions to deal with banking crises. He finds that the better informed the voters, the more proximate elections, and the larger the number of political veto players ( conditional on the costs to voters of relevant policy decision), the smaller the government's fiscal transfer are to the financial sector and the less likely the government is to exercise forbearance in dealing with insolvent financial institutions. The results suggest that policies thatmight be appropriate for mitigating banking crises in the United States might be less effective in settings where voters are less informed, where elections are less competitive, and where there are fewer veto players, because in these settings checks and balances are missing. These policies include: a) Disseminating information about the costs of inefficient government decisions. b) Improving the structure of legislative regulatory oversight. c) Intervening early in insolvent banks. The author concludes that the more veto players there are, the less likely policies are to favor special interest groups (contrary to previous views). Moreover, the closer the elections, the less likely policies are to favor special interest groups.
Shanti 12
No full textOne of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books. There is an unusual focus here on the artist who makes a particularly good statue of Rama and takes it to market on his neighbor's donkey. One woman bows to the god, and then everybody starts bowing to the god. A thrashing helps the donkey to act according to your position, as the moral advises. Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet. The artist does a particularly good job here with the donkey, not least of all in the central double-page. This donkey is quite impressed with himself.Edited by C.V. Indir
Shanti 4
No full textOne of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books. The story here is one that I do not recognize, at least in this form. A king happens to cut off one of his fingers. His minister comforts him by saying that whatever happens happens according to God's will. The angry king, not comforted, asks how he can benefit from a cut finger and throws the minister into prison. A few days later, the king is captured by some tribesmen and readied for sacrifice, but the tribal chief sees his handicap and declares that the tribe's deity will not accept a victim like that. The king, released, in turn has the minister released. Moral? Whatever happens, happens according to God's will. Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.Edited by C.V. Indir
Shanti 6
No full textOne of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books. Three things are unusual in this telling of WC. First the usual wolf is here a fox, indeed a greedy fox whom none of the other animals like. They find him greedy. That is why they will not help him remove the bone stuck in his throat. Secondly, there is never mention of reward or pay until the stork brings it up after removing the bone. Thirdly, the moral here is Greed never pays. Did not the greed of the fox pay off? He is the only one here labeled greedy. His cunning works! Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.Edited by C.V. Indir
Shanti 17
No full textOne of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books. As has happened before in this series, I wonder if the version of this story offered here has been thought through. Never underestimate others fits well as a moral but is quite general. A hungry wolf here wants to eat some of a horse's leg but somehow lets himself get distracted by the horse's real wound, caused by a thorn in his foot that has now been removed. While the wolf inspects the foot, the horse gives him a mighty kick. The wolf's problem here is, I suppose, not sticking to business. There is a way of telling this fable in which the horse invents a problem with his foot, saying that the wolf would not want to eat a thorn when he eats the horse and should remove it first. That is a clever ploy to get the wolf around to where the horse can kick him. The wolf's problems in this version would be letting himself be tricked by a good story and wanting a perfect meal. Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet. The artist has a curious approach to a horse's nose and mouth: they form a gray section clearly distinct from the rest of the horse's face, which is tan.Edited by C.V. Indir
Shanti 11
No full textOne of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books. The astrologer here, who wears glasses and uses multiple telescopes, falls into a ditch rather than a well. The passerby who pulls him from the ditch has the key line: If you could not see the ditch, how can you predict the future? The moral is Worrying too much about the future makes us ignore the present. Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.Edited by C.V. Indir
Shanti 18
No full textOne of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books. This version of the story is more overt than most, for the father told his four sons I have buried some treasure in the field. After I die, distribute it among yourselves. When they had buried their father and dug almost the whole field, the disheartened sons sowed the seeds in the field to reap the benefits of their labour. One son remarks when they pull in lots of money as a result Father appropriately said that the treasure was buried in the field. There is a bit of verbal sleight of hand here. The moral is Work hard and reap rich rewards. Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.Edited by C.V. Indir
Shanti 2
No full textOne of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books. A jackal sees a lush green village across the river and asks the camel to take him across. The camel agrees. Both eat well of the village's maize, but then the jackal starts howling. While the jackal hides, the camel gets a beating from the aroused farmers. On the way back, the camel dumps the jackal into the river. This version does not have the camel at that point parody the jackal's remark I usually howl after I have finish my meal by saying something like I usually throw people off my back! Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.Edited by C.V. Indir
Shanti 10
No full textOne of twenty in the series, found near the counter as we were settling up a large order of books. I find the version of this traditional story surprising. Generally in this story, the frog means the mouse harm. Here that is not the case. Generally only one paw of the mouse is tied to one leg of the frog, but here each of the frog's legs is tied to a front paw of the mouse. Finally, this frog swims for a few hours and then finds a dead mouse tied to him. These are best of friends. Would not a good friend check on his friend before a few hours had elapsed? A hawk swoops down on the dead mouse, and the frog is hoisted with him to his destruction. Moral: Foolish ideas never work. Slick computer-generated art on sixteen pages of a pamphlet.Edited by C.V. Indir
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