jonathangullible

3rd Mongolian edition of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 06:26:24 +0000

Nepko Kids Children’s Book Publisher has just published a new, 3rd Mongolian edition of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible in Ulaan Baatar. This is a youth edition with full color illustrations and was desired since all previous editions of the book were sold out. A book signing was held immediately following the 2019 Liberty International World Conference and the fifth annual Free Market Academy organized with the Silk Road Foundation and Mises Mongolia of Amartuvshin Dorj.

Daniel Kim Review of Jonathan Gullible

Sat, 09 Feb 2019 06:07:14 +0000

2017 NEWSLETTER: MALAYSIA, INDIA, NEPAL, HONG KONG, BRAZIL, JAPAN, KAZAKHSTAN, ARMENIA, RUTHENIAN, NIGERIA, TANZANIA, THAILAND, U.S.

Sat, 02 Dec 2017 06:19:00 +0000

MALAYSIAN JG DISCUSSION SESSIONS

Tarmizi Anuwar and MK Afiq Abdullah have presented about The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey in a sharing session organised by Purana School and TeamSelangor yesterday. This book was written by Ken Schoolland and translated by the Institute for Leadership and Development Studies (LEAD) team. #teamselangor #JonathanGullible #puranaschool #leadstudies

Amin Ahmad and his team have published the Malaysian edition of JG which was released at the Asia Liberty Forum in Mumbai.

VIRTUAL READING GROUP INDIA

Ayemen Fatima hosts a Virtual Reading Group for Jonathan Gullible. The meeting dates are Sundays, 10:30 pm India Standard Time, September : 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th, 2017. South Asia Students For Liberty, brings to you their second Virtual Reading Group for 2017 (the first sessions were in May). Virtual Reading Groups (or VRGs) are an online platform which gives its participants the opportunity to explore a set of readings and engage in an intellectual dialogue with a field expert and a group of similarly interested individuals from around the world. The expert on this VRG, will be the author of the book himself. Registration link: https://www.tfaforms.com/4624459

SIMON LEE IN HONG KONG ON POL

Rainer Heufers reports from the South Asia Liberty Forum in Indonesia: “Simon Lee [founder of the Lion Rock Institute in Hong Kong] suggests making the fight for liberty a career path. He praises Ken Schoolland‘s youtube video [The Philosophy of Liberty] the best work done for liberty in the last 10 years.” The Philosophy of Liberty is based on the epilogue of Jonathan Gullible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muHg86Mys7I&t=3s

KINDLE EDITION

Thanks to Bartek Haladus, the fully illustrated, youth edition of Jonathan Gullible is available on Kindle for $4.99 at Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R2QJ9K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_osMqzbXJXJQ1K#customerReviews

NEPAL BRAILLE PROJECTS

The work of Riya Basnet and Nisha Niraula continues with the braille edition of Jonathan Gullible and Women Liberation Through Entrepreneurship. Riya reports: “We have distributed the first lot of braille books at a blind girl’s hostel, Kapan-Kathmandu. Now two schools are demanding braille books. They have around 150 students. On the occasion of Teacher’s day in July, we are planning to do a story on blind children and the braille edition in the national daily. We need at least 100 books to distribute them. We also have a school in Gorkha, the epicenter of the 2015 earthquake. We have been providing livelihood training to women in the area focusing on reconstruction and entrepreneurship. Now, we want to distribute Nepali and English version of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible in Gorkha’s school.”

NEPAL ENDORSEMENTS

Kamala Neupane wrote: “I run a think tank called Nepal Prosperity Institute. I have completed reading ‘The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible – the free market odyssey.’ Being an Economics Student your book helps me to research more about Economics. I am going to apply the knowledge in my life. Thank you so much Ken. Surath Giri introduced me to the idea of Free markets and inspired me to research more and more about the free market economy and also recommended to read your book as well.” https://www.facebook.com/nepalprosperityinstitute/

Deependra Chaulagain just sent the English translation: “We recently have a new government and a new finance minister is taking charge of the Finance Ministry. This time also we have finance minister without academic background on Economics andthis is not first time. Whenever we have new finance minister people often comment on his academic background and try to make the argument against the minister – which i think very general. So, i tried to write the face book status saying to the Finance Minister, ‘Economics is not only about graphs and data, generally people with an academic background on economics are trying to make economics very difficult to understand. But on the other side for me economics is all about day to day life.’ So, I told our finance minister and his so called advisers to read two books

1. The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible, by Ken Schoolland 2. Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt”

From Dutta Shreeti about the Nepali edition of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: “Hello Ken, I am Shreeti from Biratnagar, Nepal. I have written to say that I have just completed reading The Adventure of Jonathan Gullible – the free market odyssey. I loved that book so much. I am an economics student. Economics was never easy for me. Graphs and lectures always confused me. But your book helped me to understand economics well and question myself. Thanks a lot for such a brilliant book.”

PORTUGUESE ENDORSEMENT

Rodrigo Constantino gives commentary on youtube about the Portuguese edition of Jonathan Gullible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIZbewKHzPk&feature=youtu.be

INDIA PROJECTS

A letter from Kiran Dave in India states: “Dear Ken, I met you at the Asia Liberty Forum in Mumbai this year with Kumar and Aparna from Free A Billion. Being a huge fan of ‘The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible’ meeting you was the highlight of this year for me. I think one of the most effective ways of spreading the message of liberty to the people is through Jonathan Gullible. The simple and insightful narrative of the book makes it a great medium

to open up conversations. I made a suggestion to my team that we should initiate a play and video series on Jonathan Gullible, suited to Indian context, as one of the first steps in our pursuit of economic freedom and liberty in India. We are all very keen on the idea and want to kick start the project soon. I wanted to know what sort of permissions do we need to adapt a play on the book. Also, I reckon that several plays and videos on the same have already been made. If you could help us with some of the existing scripts it’ll help us with ideas, such as of how to include the most important messages in the play. Hoping to hear from you soon. Keep Inspiring! I’m sending photos from the workshop on liberty in our office, led by Andrew Humphries. We brainstormed and discussed how we can use Jonathan Gullible to spread the message in India. It was a great exercise and helped us answer many questions. Regards, Kiran Dave”

JAPAN TRANSLATION

In Japan, Masahiro Takano is adapting the Japanese translation of the book to an app for Android. Takano-san is currently offering an English version of the book for free download.

ARMENIA

Inessa Shahnazrova wrote: “I have uploaded the PDF version to a shared resource link for the Armenian Translation of Jonathan Gullible (below). I have managed to finalise the CDs, you can see photos attached. Once again many thanks for the wonderful book and opportunity to be part of this project. I know this is not actually the final stage we were hoping to achieve but I hope people will be inspired to publish it after reading the book in their native language.” Many thanks also to Artem Sarian for supporting this translation project. CD’s are available from Inessa or download a free PDF at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xjc7st7iz54e81r/Jonathan_Gullible.pdf?dl=0

HAWAII STUDENT

Hawaii Pacific University econ student, Chelsea Caraang, wrote this after reading Jonathan Gullible: “As a typical young adult and member of society, I never had a keen interest in learning about government systems because it never made sense to me. I had a hard time understanding the connection between what is moral and what is legal. Reading ‘The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible’ made me think deeply about what our duty is as a citizen and what the right thing to do is. What is our responsibility as an individual and what is the government’s role in making our decisions? It also made me wonder where we can find a place where society has complete freedom? Where can we find a place where force is a protection? Many are blind to see the impracticality of the laws and principles behind government systems. Each individual has his or her own freewill. You sow what you reap, meaning you are fully responsible for your own actions. Freedom is not a threat; it is not a burden. We must make our own decisions. This, of course, requires our powers of discernment and the use of our mind and will. This book not only teaches about lessons and principles in economics, but lessons on a better society. It starts with our actions. But as Jonathan Gullible said, ‘…There’s plenty of work to do.’ I am inspired to keep searching for a place where things are done right, where people are truly free. And it all starts with my own freewill.”

KAZAKHSTAN

At the Puerto Rico World Conference of Liberty International and the Asia Liberty Forum in Mumbai, Lyudmila Melnikova presented the new videos and musical compositions of her productions of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible in Kazakhstan. Lyudmila wrote about participation in Russia: “On my trip for the competition in Sochi and with your tale of the rabbit and turtle, a newspaper article was published about our success.”

RUTHENIAN EDITION

Thanks to Tomislav Krsmanovic, the Ruthenian edition of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible has just arrived. Tomislav has now completed publication of nine language editions in the Balkan region. He is a great hero of freedom in a very tough part of the world. For his tireless efforts for liberty, The International Society for Individual Liberty (now renamed Liberty International) presented Tomislav with the prestigious Bruce Evoy Torch of Freedom Award. (JG is now in 51 languages worldwide.) Tomislav writes:

“I am happy that I have once again contributed to the libertarian project. I want to continue our libertarian adventure–my life is so similar to the life of Jonathan Gullible, but on the local way. I believe that all those who collaborated around the globe or who read the book, are slowly coming to the same conclusion–that their lives are also similar to Jonathan’s. Nor do I mean that my life is something unusual, or that I am a special person, Jonathan is universal, a global phenomenon of modern civilization. My dream is to buy from my brother his house in the village Uzovnica and there to develop new libertarian projects. With the best greetings.”

NIGERIA & TANZANIA

Great news from Adedayo Thomas (at left below with Sanjay George, who is arranging the Malayalam edition, and my wife, Li Schoolland): “I want to inform you that in my collaborative proposals and follow up with schools for the adaptation of your book, a Federal Polytechnic (Offa) has approved our proposal. The good news is that Jonathan Gullible has been approved as one of the textbooks for Radio and Television Production course for Higher National Diploma (B.Sc. Equivalent) final year Students. This will commence in the 2nd semester (May-Aug 2017). The course outline will be: Class work, Radio and TV presentation and end up with a stage production as their exams and for the school/public audience. The issue at hand now is how to go about it considering the cost implication, which will be printing the play version, since I already have the book itself, my three (travels) visitation to the school during the course/practical, video recording and finally stage production.” So we seek support for his fabulous work with theatrical productions of JG across Africa.

From Adedayo Thomas and Ben Ogutu: Group 1-Consolidating the principles of a free Society and sound ideas learnt during the ALOD & LLI collaborative Entrepreneurship camp in Tanzania using the African Play edition of Ken Schoolland ‘s the Adventure of Jonathan Gullible . Nothing can be more practically educative than this. Watch out for more camps this summer!!!

THAILAND

Winston Ling has just finalized an agreement to translate JG into Thai!

U.S. ENDORSEMENT

From Tom Bogle:

A couple days ago, Facebook reminded me of a post I made just over seven years ago about a book titled “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey”. When I first encountered this book, I was incredibly skeptical of some of the claims made by the author. It seemed to be a pamphlet promoting anarchism thinly-veiled as a book to teach kids economics. At the time, I couldn’t imagine anything more insidious.

See, at the time I was applying for jobs to teach business in the public school system, and an educational resource like this had great appeal to me. However, I was also heavily engaged in the Tea Party movement pushing back against a rapidly growing, centralized government. It was at just such a political rally where I first encountered the book. It instantly caught my eye. I purchased the book (after a lengthy debate with the seller about the differences between a police state and a nanny state and the relevance to immigration policy) and took it home with great anticipation of what I would read.

As I read the book, I enjoyed the short chapter structure (perfect for in-class reading activities) and the straightforward language. I also liked the way each chapter covered an economic concept by demonstrating the absurdity of policies that ignore basic principles.

Then I read the chapters on free movement of people, prohibition of social vices, and a handful of others that seemed to contradict views that I held at the time. I mean, freedom doesn’t mean people are completely free, does it? I mean, that would be anarchy, and anarchy is chaos, right? The more I read, the more I got the impression that the author seemed to believe that order did not come from well-established and heavily enforced rules, but from people simply trying to work together to satisfy their own desires. To me, that idea was not only preposterous, it was dangerous. To expose children to this kind of thinking was borderline criminal (in fact, it actually has been in many countries).

I decided that the only remedy would be to write my own book that taught the very basics of economic thinking without tying the concepts to any specific government policy. I sat down and hammered out a couple chapters, and as I tried to make these concepts simple and precise, I realized that I did not understand economics as well as I thought. I would need to deepen my own studies before I could presume to instruct others.

So I did just that. I started buying books on economics and reading them in my free time. The first was “Basic Economics” by Thomas Sowell, followed by “Economics in One Lesson” by Henry Hazlitt. This led me to the discovery of F. A. Hayek and Ludwig von Mises. I discovered the Foundation for Economic Education and the Mises Institute. I saturated myself in these ideas. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to resolve long-standing conflicts and contradictions in my own worldview. Of course, these ideas did not stay relegated to the world of economics. Indeed not, for economics was simply a tool for understanding human behavior, and I certainly understood human behavior in a new light.

The more I studied economics (heavily in the Austrian school and Public Choice Theory, but I certainly addressed a variety of perspective and beliefs), the more my views shifted towards voluntary social orders and away from the violent forces of the state as a means of organizing society. I was ecstatic to discover that this was not merely some fringe ideology, but one with a long history of scholarly research and entrepreneurial social innovation. So, why were these ideas so foreign and frightening to people?

Since their youth, the vast majority of Americans have been inundated with messaging, both explicit and implicit, of the supremacy and glory of the state. They are taught to revere the guardians of the state, to sing its hymns and to participate dutifully in its holy sacraments. They are trained that obedience to the state is freedom, that war is the road to peace, and that the perpetual threat of violence is the stronghold of order and civilization. They have these ideas pounded into them from a very young age, with almost no exposure to alternative views. “Those kinds of ideas,” they are taught “are simply un-American!”

This weighed heavily on my mind. How do we counter these ideas? How do we expose people to these ideas before they use politics to hurt one another? How do we help them to see the futility of trying to legislate the laws of economics out of existence? As I sat at the desk in my classroom pondering this, I glanced at the bookshelf and there it was; “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey.”

As I picked up the book and read through it, I had to reflect back on how silly it was for me to be too intellectually immature to actually engage with the ideas in a children’s book. As I read through it again, I realized that not only did I have no arguments with the book, I was again energized by how this book could serve as a fantastic resource in my own classroom and in my own home.

It is now my honor and privilege to work with amazing scholars, educators, and activists to develop resources specifically designed to help kids explore and understand these concepts of individual liberty and free markets. There are a handful of books that I always keep on my desk to help me accomplish this work. Over the last couple of years, six books from the Tuttle Twins series have joined the ranks of my favorite economics books for kids, but the original in the stack, and the one that played an instrumental role in my own free market odyssey, is the one that introduced me to Jonathan Gullible, and his feline friend, Mices.

2016 NEWSLETTER

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 06:21:00 +0000

MALAYSIA, REVIEWS, CARTOONS, RUTHENIAN, MUSICAL COMPETITION, RUSSIAN, ALBANIA, ROMANIA, BRAILLE EDITION iN NEPAL, INDIA PROJECTS, NEW BOSNIAK EDITION, ARMENIAN CD, MONGOLIAN EDITION AND ANIMATION; BALUCHI, SINDHI, & URDU EDITIONS; SKETCH VIDEO OF JG EPILOGUE PoL; KAZAKH, RUSSIAN, & ENGLISH MUSICAL; SERBIAN LIBRARIES; MARK SKOUSEN ENDORSEMENT; VIETNAM READER REVIEW; SLOVAKIAN THEATER; FINLAND E-BOOK; THE NETHERLANDS TOME; AFRICA & INDIA THEATER; CHINA SEMINARS; THE MOVIE: WHO IS JG?; RECOGNITION; HOLIDAY GIFT SEASON; SUMMER ACTIVITY

MALAYSIA

Great news from Noor Amin Ahmad and LEAD Malaysia, “This is the book cover design for ‘The Adventure of Jonathan Gullible’ (Malaysian version). It is now queing for printing, ISBN number is 978-967-13141-3-5 We (3 of us) are planning to go to Mumbai. Hope everything is smooth so that we can meet you there with some books!” https://www.atlasnetwork.org/event/asia-liberty-forum-2017

JG STUDENT REVIEW

Hawaii Pacific Univesity economics student, Chelsea Caraang, wrote this after reading Jonathan Gullible: “As a typical young adult and member of society, I never had a keen interest in learning about government systems because it never made sense to me. I had a hard time understanding the connection between what is moral and what is legal. Reading ‘The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible’ made me think deeply about what our duty is as a citizen and what the right thing to do is. What is our responsibility as an individual and what is the government’s role in making our decisions? It also made me wonder where we can find a place where society has complete freedom? Where can we find a place where force is a protection? Many are blind to see the impracticality of the laws and principles behind government systems. Each individual has his or her own freewill. You sow what you reap, meaning you are fully responsible for your own actions. Freedom is not a threat; it is not a burden. We must make our own decisions. This, of course, requires our powers of discernment and the use of our mind and will. This book not only teaches about lessons and principles in economics, but lessons on a better society. It starts with our actions. But as Jonathan Gullible said, ‘…There’s plenty of work to do.’ I am inspired to keep searching for a place where things are done right, where people are truly free. And it all starts with my own freewill.” -Chelsea Caraang

ANIMATED CARTOON EPISODES

Joe Kent has prepared animated shorts for select episodes from “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible.” View these at Liberty International.

Episode 1: https://liberty-intl.org/2016/11/cartoon-the-adventures-of-jonathan-gullible-episode-1/

Episode 2: https://liberty-intl.org/2016/12/the-adventures-of-jonathan-gullible-episode-2-the-tall-tax/

RUTHENIAN

Thanks to Tomislav Krsmanovic, the Ruthenian edition of “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible” has just arrived. Tomislav has now completed publication of nine language editions in the Balkan region. He is a great hero of freedom in a very tough part of the world. For his tireless efforts for liberty, The International Society for Individual Liberty (now renamed Liberty International) presented Tomislav with the prestigious Bruce Evoy Torch of Freedom Award. (JG is now in 51 languages worldwide.) Tomislav writes:

“Right now I called again Santa Nikola, the book was printed two weeks ago. I am happy that I have once again contributed to the libertarian project. I want to continue our libertarian adventure–my life is so similar to the life of Jonathan Gullible, but on the local way. I believe that all those who collaborated around the globe or who read the book, are slowly coming to the same conclusion–that their lives are also similar to Jonathan’s. Nor do I mean that my life is something unusual, or that I am a special person, Jonathan is universal, a global phenomenon of modern civilization. My dream is to buy from my brother his house in the village Uzovnica and there to develop new libertarian projects. With the best greetings.”

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE IN RUSSIA

In Sochi, Russia: A schoolgirl from Kazakhstan, Karaganda Jana Gubina, and songwriter & TV host Lyudmila Melnikova were awarded Diplomas of the International Competition “Kinotavrik” for the creation of drawings for the children`s films of the fairy tale “Rabbit and Turtle” from Ken Schoolland’s “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible” and “Dragon Pyhalka” by Dmitry Yemets. This is marvelous news!!!

AFRICA

Great news from Adedayo Thomas: “I want to inform you that in my collaborative proposals and follow up with schools for the adaptation of your book, a Federal Polytechnic (Offa) has approved our proposal. The good news is that Jonathan Gullible has been approved as one of the textbooks for Radio and Television Production course for Higher National Diploma (B.Sc. Equivalent) final year Students. This will commence in the 2nd semester (May-Aug 2017). The course outline will be: Class work, Radio and TV presentation and end up with a stage production as their exams and for the school/public audience. The issue at hand now is how to go about it considering the cost implication, which will be printing the play version, since I already have the book itself, my three (travels) visitation to the school during the course/practical, video recording and finally stage production.” So I seek support for his fabulous work with theatrical productions of JG across Africa.

RUSSIAN

From Azamat Parchiev, “First published in St. Petersburg, the book has quickly found its Russian audience with a libertarian mindset. Here are some websites with the Russian version of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible available: http://libertynews.ru/node/30 The website provides a free digital version of the book. “LibertyNews” consists of a number of articles that are focused on ideas of capitalism, liberty, and freedom from government control of the economy. Such notions are relatively new in the post Soviet Russia. In addition, the website provides various interviews and books on liberty. The Mises Center is an institution that focuses on the social-economic development of Belarus. According to the above mentioned website, the Mises Center uses The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible as academic literature in their teachings.

Another free digital Russian version of Schoolland’s book is available at “liveinternet.ru”. http://r-e-e-d.com/gullible/ R-e-e-d: Free Generation is a Russian internet journal that connects the younger generation of post Soviet republics. For more than 70 years the ideas of personal freedom, private property, and a free market economy was outlawed in such republics and the purpose of R-e-e-d is to bring libertarians of these countries together. The project focuses on world news, organizing lectures in various universities, and publishing articles by many experts in order to understand the role of the individual and of the government in the future. The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible is available in the online library of the website. LibroEsperanta.ru is simply an online store that sells a hard copy of the book. The website is mostly selling academic literature.” Azamat Parchiev is from Moscow and formerly a student of economics at Hawaii Pacific University.

ALBANIA

Mina Pickens wrote: “After Ayn Rand ‘s books, this is my next favorite one The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible, by Ken Schoolland! Thank you my friend for this masterpiece and thank you for existing! So inspired!” Many thanks to you, Mina, for your inspiration! I look forward to reading your books in the near future!

ROMANIA

Tudor Smirna wrote: “I have finally gotten my Ph.D. title and now I am teaching in the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. I started studying The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible with the students for an introductory course and I must tell you that I thought the book is like tea: if you pour minute attention over it, it opens so richly. Each little chapter leads to a distinct field in economics. We had very interesting discussions about it.

By the way, I realized I missed the point of the chapter: Bored of Digestion. I really thought it was about communist canteens, not education. You know we had such things, dubbed ‘temples of hunger’ in construction–several of them in Bucharest? Ceausescu really wanted to ban feeding at home and to make everyone go to eat at these huge canteens. They were never finished as intended. Instead, they’ve become glittering malls.” So much reality in the stories of Jonathan Gullible!

NEPAL

Riya Basnet and Nisha Niralu as founders and leaders in Students for Liberty of South Asia have accomplished miracles in Nepal with their projects to produce a Braille edition of Jonathan Gullible for the blind, to distribute books and hold lessons for youth, and to establish women’s empowerment projects across the rural countryside. Says Riya, “We just conducted our recent workshop in mid west of Nepal, shifting the project from east to west in order to make it more national. Also we have found a small community school where we can take our Jonathan Gullible lessons to teach the children, we have asked the authority to add it to their curricular. They have been very positive as these children do not possess any extra curricular activities and Jonathan’s story sharing can be one to add fun to their studies.” Riya and Nisha passed along copies of the 2 volume Braille edition at the World Conference on Market Liberalization in Bali last summer.

The World Conference in Bali, organized by Li Schoolland, was one of the best ever, bringing together 150 attendees and 40 speakers from all over the world to the glorious estate of Hugo van Reijen. See the Riya and

Nisha interview and many video materials at Liberty International.

INDIA

Shruti Sharma (leading discussion) has been working with Nikesh Pahuja on a Punjabi edition of JG. In addition, Shruti has been dilligent with Students for Liberty in using the book in university study groups in India. Ekta Sodha (in red on the cover of Education World) has invited JG books for her five private schools of 4000 students. Barun Mitra, President of the Liberty Institute, (on left of center photo) is providing the initial editions in Hindi and English for their libraries and lessons. Sanjay George is soon the complete the Malayalam edition and Baladevan Rangaraju (President of the India Institute) is soon to complete the Tamil edition.

NEW BOSNIAN EDITION

Edo Omerčević, Director of the Center for Advancement of Free Enterprise has recently published the new edition in Bosniak and is planning to introduce it to the youth of Bosnia. Says Edo, “Next year we plan to make a large campaign to promote the translated Adventures of JG in primary schools in Bosnia (7-9th grade). In light of this project, we would like to launch also essay competitions for the students.”

NEW ARMENIAN EDITION

From Anna Martirosyan, Founder of Armenian Students for Liberty: “Our Freedom School will be held from 27 November to 2 December and new poster will be printed soon. Now we print Atlas book by Tom Palmer ‘Why Liberty’ and IEA book by Eamonn Butler ‘Foundations of a Free Society’ to distribute to Freedom School attendees. We also copy CDs now with your greatest bestseller of ‘The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey’. I am so grateful to hear about the opportunity to print this book and to contribute that the Armenian free thinking people could discover this great book for themselves. I hope this will promote new opportunities for its further promotion in Armenia, such as the theatrical presentations, reading-discussing evenings with the texts from this book and etc. I also thought about summer camp for school children in Armenia dedicated to this book promotion where the texts of this book could be learnt and discussed by presentations, games and other interactive means. I would like to express my voluntarily willingness to invest my time to contribute to the promotion of this book in Armenia.” The Armenian translation was organized by Inessa Shahnazarova and translated by Zara Shushanyan with the financial support of Artem Sarian.

MONGOLIA

The Silk Road Foundation under the direction of Dashka Pobruush invited me for the launch of the second printing of the second edition of the Mongolian translation of Jonathan Gullible by Batchuluun Baldandorj and sponsored by P. Tsenguun, Khaliunbat Myagmarjav, Enkhchimeg Davaanyum, and others. It was a great turnout for the book followed by media events and an appearance at the Economic Club of Ulaan Bataar. This was followed by the Free Market Academy attended by 25 brilliant university students.

Dashka Pobruush and the Silk Road Foundation have numerous continuing projects that have included the monthly publication of Insider Magazine, the production of the Mongolian Philosophy of Liberty, and extensive work with the local media.

Writes Dashka, “My friend Amartuvshin Dorj and our some friends are making some TV Shows about Free Society Principles. Now we made and Broadcast your Philosophy of Liberty video with explanation and some interesting cases throught TV channel in Mongolia. We are making a series of TV shows about Liberty and it is broadcasting 6 times per week. We also organizing a lecture named ‘Development through Liberty’ every Thursday.”

Эрх чөлөөний философи нэвтрүүлэг (1080p Full HD)

NEW BALUCHI, SINDHI, URDU EDITIONS

Khalil Ahmad (on left), founder of the Alternate Solutions Institute, won the Torch of Freedom Award at the World Conference of the International Society for Individual Liberty in Bali this summer 2015. Gratitute has been offered for his extensive publications, including 6 editions of JG: 3 Urdu, 2 Sindhi, and one Baluchi. Writes Muhammad Anwar (right), “We are happy to share with you that all three publications: Baluchi, Sindhi and Urdu edition of Jonathan Gullible. E-versions can be downloaded from: http://southasia.fnst.org/Partner-Publications/1913c2694/index.html With best regards, Muhammad Anwar, Administrator, Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit, Islamabad, Pakistan.”

NEW SKETCH VIDEO OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF LIBERTY

Stanley Varner, above right with Alicia Yan, has created a whole new sketch video version of The Philosophy of Liberty! See it by clicking here on YouTube!

KAZAK, RUSSIAN, & ENGLISH MUSICAL

This very special surprise from, Lyumila Melnikova, Людмила Мельникова: “In our cinema there was video presentation of our puppet musicals ‘Rabbit and Turtle’ and ‘Grades in Reverse’ [from JG] in the English, Kazakh, & Russian languages. Children not only watched it, but also sang the songs from the musical, played their roles in the fairy-tales in the Russian and Kazakh languages. All the children were happy and applauded. They liked our fairy-tales very much. I’m going to make regularly such meetings in cinemas and schools. That’s our success! We’ve even translated the cover of your book into Kazakh. I send you photos of this children cinema festival. I hope you like it!” Indeed, this is glorious news!!! I am extremely happy about these productions!

More wonderful JG news from Lyudmila in Moscow! What stars in the heavens! April 3, 2014: “Hello mister Ken! I’ve already come from Moscow where I was invited as a member of jury at contest, I’ve brought gifted young singers, children, my students from Kazakhstan, who have become laureate, winners of contest. I’ve published our musical and got acquainted contest’s participants with your book. I’ve got an award certificate from organization committee of contest and from Russian Association of UNO Assistance. Glad with our success. Thank you for assistance, care and outgoingness! At photos: our disk with musical and contest in Moscow.”

“On Kazakhstan TV there was successfully performed an exhibition of the ‘Grades in reverse’ fairy-tale of our musical. Children were amazed. They like it very much! Now I prepare musical with children for performance in Schoolchildren’s Palace. Children sing songs from musical, dance and play their roles in the fairy-tale with great pleasure. All newspapers and television in Kazakhstan speak about our musical, your book ‘Adventures of Jonathan Gullible,’ about you and us. I organized such advertising in order to attract attention to the main presentation, the first run of the musical and in consideration of cooperation.

“Now I’m finishing with staging of ‘Jonathan’s Adventures’ with children, pupils. We’ve done very good and grandiosely, more even than I expected. Children crowds running after me and ask me to sing songs with them from Jonathan’s Adventures. I’ve already involved high school pupils, pupils of 7 grades, who play in the chapter ‘Сandles and coats,’ ‘Dream machine,’ ‘John in the way,’ ‘Freedom.’ Youth also love the play and music. I’ve involved children of different age. The smallest one is pupils of 1st grade, they play in ‘Rabbit and Turtle,’ pupils of 4th grade participate in ‘Grades in reverse,’ pupils of high school play adult characters of Jonathan, Lady Tweed, & farmers. When we make video I will send some fragments to you or will give it to you in May, in Astana. Ken, would you like to try to show ‘Rabbit and Turtle’ fairy-tale, the English variant, to your Hawaiian children? I wonder, what would they say? How would they like it and the music?

“I have sent you video of TV-version of fairy tale ‘Rabbit and Turtle’ in the English language. You have already got such one, but in the Russian. Now it can be understood by children of America and Hawaii. This video could be downloaded to your web-site JG. Also there was finished premier of muppet theatre ‘Rabbit and Turtle’. Our children are amazed by it and they want more and also want to study the song concerning Lysander and Turtle. This is my present to you for Christmas. In Kazakhstan this show is a sensation. All newspapers write about this event in the Russian and Kazakh languages. With your permission your photo, information about your book, fragments of fairy-tale are in newspapers. I have organized such PR-company for promotion of your book. I hope, you don’t mind, do you? I will send you video of mupplet musical later. I’m glad to cooperate with you! Merry Christmas and aloha Lyudmila”

“The Kazakh composer, Lyudmila Melnikova, is writing a musical in Russian, Kazakh, and English for children and youth about freedom and justice, inspired by the fairy tale of Кen Schoolland’s book, The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible. While the work so far has been without cost, money is essential to record the music in a production studio. Fragments of music are now available for impressions. Libretto and lyrics for some character songs have also been created. We hope for your understanding and support. Says Lyudmila, ‘I have written the music to the fairy-tale, I only need to record it in studio. Now I prepare staging of fairy tale’s chapter of ‘Turtle and Rabbit’ in puppet theater for children. I appreciate your desire of financial assistance in studio. It’s really nice to meet you. I send you one more part of blues ‘I want to prohibit the sun’ from the chapter ‘Candles and Coats.’

“Today, at Kazakhstan TV will be first night of your fairy-tail ‘Rabbit and Tortoise’ in children’s program ‘Spoki noki.’ I send you its fragment in the Russian language. Authors of fairy tale are mentioned in a full version of program, in the beginning and the end, in theaters. Aloha Lyudmila.” 1. Сказка Кролик и Черепаха_урез(1).mp4 (80.7 MB) Ссылка для скачивания файлов: http://files.mail.ru/909C6FB361FC4215BD313AB587D49379 Файлы будут храниться до 24.12.2013 I send to you video-story “Rabbit and Turtle” (full version in Russian).

Сказка Кролик и Черепаха_пол.mp4 (210992866)

Many thanks to Pavel Koktyshev, Director of the Institute for Public Policy in Kazakhstan. Helping to realize this project, Kim Ong has offered to set up a fundraising site that will offer the opportunity for tax free donations through the International Society for Individual Liberty. Please contact Jim Elwood, Executive Director of ISIL, jimelwood@isil.org, or me for more information about how to make this happen.

SERBIAN LIBRARIES

Tomislav Krsmanovic has great successes in Serbia! “I’m pleased to inform you that 51 libraries in Serbia are now provided with 80 copies of the Adventures of Jonathan Gullible (AJG) where pupils and students are now reading the book. I have been invited to promote AJG in January 2014 in libraries around Serbia and to give speeches in the local media (radio, TV, newspapers). I hope to create some libertarian chapters in Serbia. Our country is looking to find its way in this very complex and quickly changing world. Libertarianism is becoming the focus of young people as its message and ideas are inspiring them. I will keep you informed.”

Tomislav (center), with Virgis Daukas (left) and Geo Olsson (right), has arranged to translate and publish the book into more languages than any other: Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, Macedonian, Bosniak, Romany, and Montenegran. And many of these were published in more that one edition to incorporate expanded and revised material! What a champion of liberty throughout the Balkans!

Earlier from Tomislav, “I would like to use this opportunity to inform you that THE ADVENTURES OF JONATHAN GULLIBLE lives anew through a small but valuable step in advancing freedom in Serbia. Some young people, children of my friends, enthuasiastic young libertarians, are sending copies of JG (I have about 200 to 300 copies), to every library in Serbia. They are advising libraries to give conferences about the book in their towns, to organize media appearances, and to gather interested young libertarians to give new enthusiasm for Libertarianism in Serbia. My energy is the same as in 1992 and after that when I was publishing JG in several languages in spite of my age.” Yet, Tomislav has long been battling thugs and officials who have harassed him personally and through the courts.

SKOUSEN ENDORSEMENT

From Mark Skousen’s latest edition of Forecasts & Strategies: “The Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty is presented every other year by the Cato Institute (a FreedomFest sponsor) to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the freedom movement. You can nominate your favorite candidate. The Friedman Prize winner will be announced next year and the award presented at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York on May 21, 2014. Personally, I recommend Ken Schoolland, professor of economics at Hawaii Pacific University, whose book “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible” has been translated into 50 languages. I consider it the best introduction to free-market economics ever invented. It’s fun to read for both young people and those of us with a Ph. D. in economics. Ken also hosts the Liberty Camps in Eastern Europe and China every year and is a regular at FreedomFest.”

VIETNAM READER REVIEW

“I am a student of Can Tho University in Vietnam. My name is Nguyen Duy Anh and I have just graduated from School. I am writing this letter to express my ideas after reading “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible”as well as looking for opportunities to advance my study. The book was translated and published in Vietnam a year ago but I have not been able to have it up until now. Thank you very much for writing such an interesting and useful book! It is not just about free market but also about freedom and justice, those topics that aren’t taught at school or widely discussed. Vietnam is a socialist country so our access to related resource is very limited. The reference part of the book provided many useful sources to learn more about freedom and liberty. Good news is that since Vietnam open the door for trading the society also become more open. Recently we can organize some public class or forum about these topics although the scope is usually about economics, not politics.

“This year I was given a scholarship for a short-term class about “Foundations of the Market Economy” by Vietnam center for Economics and Policy Research and ATLAS Economic Research Foundation. Your book helped me a lot. It is interesting to compare the stories from “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible” to the events in Vietnam. For example, the problem happened in “Best Laid Plans is currently a hot topic in Vietnam. Many people objected to price given by the government to take their land because it is far behind the market price. In some case it leads to crime when people feeling desperate as they can do nothing about the government. They revenged by suicide or by killing the officers. By doing so, I can also debate in a better way whether these events are good or bad, right or wrong. My interest in the book also leads me to the idea of writing this letter to you to look for opportunities to study abroad for Master degree. My undergraduate study is about International Business. My research interest is about free market. However I also want to learn more about freedom, justice and liberty. Best regards, Nguyen Duy Anh” (Left in photo).

SLOVAKIAN PLAYS

Matus Posvanc has posted links to the theatrical productions for Slovakian schools! “You can find video record we made from one performance on the school on these links (but only Slovak version)

Before the play http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjRYHj9YItA

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sojOLOiW1F0

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1FRXqorkTA

Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7F-wxu5mDI

Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B3DxMkNd64

We also produced a radio play which you can find on following links with English subtitles …

1. part of the radio play http://vimeo.com/23851327

2. part of the radio play http://vimeo.com/23857938

3. part of the radio play http://vimeo.com/23858019

4. part of the radio play http://vimeo.com/23858464

Enclosed you can find script of this theatrical play we produced based on the Ken´s excellent book, English version. We planned to produce some animated version of it but were not able to find funds for it. Please feel free to contact me if you have any ideas or questions. Very best, Matus.”

FINLAND E-BOOK

Great news from Petri Kajander in Finland: “You can find as of today Jonathan as an Ebook in Finnish http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Gulliblen-seikkailut-yhteiskunnasta-ebook/dp/B00EFYZ32W/. iTunes is coming in the next few days. So, I suppose now it’s finally published (at least it has an ISBN-number :)” Many thanks, Petri!

THE NETHERLANDS TOME

Fred Meijroos, founder of the publishing house www.succesboeken.nl, launched the second Dutch edition of JG in Amsterdam this summer. This is a magnificent volume of 348 pages, containing illustrations and the full 42 chapter commentaries, background, and references–including a new chapter on the issue of moral hazard. Fred’s marketing talents are unsurpassed, bringing together a lively day long event with more than a hundred in attendance from all over The Netherlands. My sincere thanks to both Fred and to Steffen Hentrich (the translator at far right) for such a professional translation.

Photo on the right, left to right: Hubert Jongen, Ken, Fred Meijroos, Kenli Schoolland, Rita Jongen. Fred is one of those true geniuses of entrepreneurship who, with the brilliant and determined help of his wife, has become the focal point for new perspectives on the human condition. Much appreciated at this launch event was my daughter, Kenli, who gave a very insightful presentation about the Chinese economy. And, as special stars at the event, Hubert & Rita Jongen are the folks in the last chapter of the book who are depicted as the father and mother of Jonathan because of their very inspiring role in developing the book and taking it international. Their family were also in attendance: Louk and Minga Jongen front and center in the photo on the left. My sincere thanks to both Fred and to Steffen Hentrich (the translator at left) for such a professional translation.

AFRICA & INDIA THEATER

It was one of the greatest moments of the ISIL Libertarian International Conference this summer to meet Adedayo Thomas, who keeps making a tidal wave of change across Africa. And another very worthy cause for contributors. Says Adedayo, “It will be well appreciated if you put the Play performance into your next year budget. At least within 3-5 universities in Nigeria if we cannot do countries. The noninvolvement of ISIL in the play tour performance last year did not project consent to such project. I am sure when the video is released by ATLAS, ISIL would love to have been mentioned.What do you think?” I think Adedayo is right! His award winning plays (see the previous JG newsletter) have toured Africa to great effect. This is surely a time for enormous impact for donors. (Jan Malek, Ken, and Adedayo Thomas at the ISIL conference in Lausanne.)

Adedayo is all over the arena in battles for liberty: in addition to the JG plays–book fairs, journalist interviews, radio broadcasts. Reports Adedayo, “Rushing to the book fair stand to meet a Socialist Professor for another round of discussion who pronounced openly that I should be sent to prison for being a Free Market Advocate during the book fair conference on Tuesday. Yesterday, rejoice put my energy to the task of starting from the book fair stand at 9 am, to a discussion with journalists on ‘Will Capitalism ever die’ at 11.30 at the media centre, then to the Women’s University of Africa at 3:00pm for outreach, back to the book fair stand to take high school students on about globalization using the IPencil CD and finally a debate with Communist Movement of Zimbabwe at the Star FM radio station from 7-8Pm.”

Note, the Commentary edition of Jonathan Gullible is front and center on the table at the book fair! Want to help send books to Nigeria? Support the touring play? Please contact Jim Elwood jimelwood@isil.org or me for suggestions.

Adedayo’s influence is stretching across continents as well. Srijan BandyopadhyayI wrote: “I hope you are well. We met last year at the Asia Liberty Forum in New Delhi, India. I am writing to you with a request – A friend, Bonny Singh, is a law student and wishes to conduct a play on his college campus, to spread awareness on the importance of economic freedom and individual liberty. I remember that a Nigerian group had developed a play on this subject, titled ‘A letter from Jonathan Gullible‘, based on your book, The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible. I suggested to Bonny that this would be a good option for him to take up, if he were able to customise it to local tastes. Would it be possible for you to provide Bonny with a script of the play, or connect him with the individuals from Nigeria? We have a few copies of your book at CCS, and we will be sending that to Bonny from our end. Your help in this matter would be much appreciated.”

To which, Adedayo replied: “Dear Srijan, please let Bonny knows he has my full support for his project. He should please use and or adapt the play to suit his audience. In fact, if my plans become clearer by month end, I will be able to tell you if coming to India by Jan, 2014 will still hold. If that becomes a reality, I will be willing to work more with you and Bonny on such project. Thank you, Ken, for providing this platform for us to develop.” I’m thrilled.

CHINA

The second Chinese edition of JG was published last year and was used in classes at the annual International Summer Economics Seminars at Northeastern University in Shenyang. These events, along with summer Austrian Economics Summits in Bratislava, Slovakia and Bucharest, Romania, were organized by my wife, Li Schoolland and her TFT Events: http://tftevents.com See all the news about the most recent was the highly successful World Conference on Market Liberalization in Bali, Indonesia this summer 2015.

Li is seeking funding to provide a hundred copies of JG to the select 100 students from all over China who are expected to attend the seminars next year. The price is now only $3 per copy. Please contact me if you can support such an endeavor. Below is the back cover of the Chinese edition showing the bookshelf of many of the JG international editions.

THE MOVIE: WHO IS JG?

Animator Keith Baxter (L) (Disney, DreamWorks, and Universal) has teamed with Producer Matthew Parker (R) (Codex Media) and a team of libertarians in Hollywood to prepare for the full length feature film. For a copy of the business plan and investment potential, please contact me or Matthew Parker.

PHILOSOPHY OF LIBERTY

Ideas on the PoL animation from Joe Quirk (below): “I’ve watched your video countless times contemplating its artful concision and persuasive use of imagery. I’ve imagined how your message could be brought to be bear on a humanitarian theme– to show how prosperity could emerge from the poor if only we let it happen. The fact that your video has been watched almost a half million times on Youtube alone shows that people send it to each other. It’s contagious in part because it appeals to the best in people, and I think the first sequel should approach the humanitarian theme you set up near the end.”

RECOGNITION

The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible has received the support of dozens of public policy institutions, endorsements from eminent figure in economics and journalism (Skousen, Friedman, Williams, Stossel, & Forbes), and numerous awards for excellence in free market education, plays, and artwork.

Mark Skousen will surely be carved on the Mt. Rushmore of Free Market Economics as a result of his vast and prolific authorship. His book is the best thing I have found for my economics classes. To top it off, Mark recently received notice from Steven Landefeld, the director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, that the BEA will begin publishing an expanded aggregate statistic that reflects that concept that Mark initiated, developed, and pushed for many years: Gross Domestic Expenditures (GDE). This will be published every quarter along with GDP. GDE fills in a big piece of the macroeconomics puzzle. It establishes the proper balance between production and consumption, between the “make” and the “use” economy, and one that is consistent with growth theory. JG proudly received the Leonard E. Read Book Award from Mark (photo above right) when he was President of the Foundation for Economic Education.

HOLIDAY GIFT SEASON?

Frankly, I want help in promoting JG during the coming holiday season. If you have suggestions, please write to me. If you are seeking the perfect holiday gift for someone interested in learning about free markets, please contact AMAZON.COM or me directly for bulk rates directly from the publishers: 1) the university edition; 2) the youth edition & audio; 3) the two commentary editions: South Africa & India

ROMANIA

Organized by Li Schoolland, Founder of TFT Events with Romanian Austrian Economics Summer School, Murray Rothbard Center for Political Economy and Business of The Romanian-American University, Cato Institute, Societatea pentru Libertate Individuala, Ludwig von Mises Institute-Romania Media Partner: Forbes Romania. Presentations on immigration, moral hazard, wage policy, income policy, and ethics. Bucharest, Romania, June 2013

SLOVAKIA

Organized by Li Schoolland, Founder of TFT Events: Bratislava Austrian Economic Summit, presentations on moral hazard, economic crisis, immigration, and ethics. CEVRO Institute, Bratislava, Slovakia, June 2013

USA

Global Free Market Education (all about Jonathan Gullible educational programs and projects) and more with Gabriel Calzada from Guatemala, Alexander Kokotovic from SFL & Serbia, Nouh El Harmouzi of Morocco, and Mary Ruwart, Jim Elwood, and myself of The International Society for Individual Liberty, Freedom Fest: Las Vegas, Nevada, July, 2013. John Stossel presented with the latest edition of JG that he endorsed.

CHINA

Organized by Li Schoolland, Founder of TFT Events: China English Camp, including economics tutoring on Austrian Economics to Jason Xingbin Li, of “Kunshang School” & graduate student with Jesus Huerta de Soto, King Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain; Beijing, China, July 2013

Seminar on Problems with Fiscal Surveillance and Governance in China & the World, IAPP-Cathay Institute for Public Affairs, Renmin University, presentation on income distribution and American democracy, Beijing, China, July 28, 2013. And Seminar & Book Release on Market & Government Transformation, IAPP-Cathay Institute for Public Affairs, Renmin University, presentation on global economics education, Beijing, China, July 29, 2013

THE NETHERLANDS

Ethics of Liberty presentation, Libertarian Party of the Nederlands, Amsterdam, Nederlands, August 18, 2013

SWITZERLAND

International Conference of Mouvement pour laLiberté and ISIL, presentation on economics of health issues, Lausanne, Switzerland, August 2013. Featured speaker was Shin Dong-Hyuk, famous for his story in the book about North Korea, Escape From Camp 14. At lower left is Kozeta Cuadari-Cika, winner of the Bruce Evoy Memorial Award for her outstanding work in Albania under difficult circumstances. She is accompanied on the left by previous winner, Valentina Nicolaie, for her accomplishments in Romania. Center below is Christian Michel, ISIL organizer of the conference…a great success.

2013 SPRING NEWSLETTER

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 08:15:00 +0000

THE MOVIE, KAZAKHSTAN, GERMANY, AFRICA, INDIA, VIETNAM, CHINA, LITHUANIA, NEPAL, KOREA, ALBANIA, THE BALKANS, POLAND, FRANCE, JAPAN, ITALY, SLOVENIA, SLOVAKIA, ARMENIA, ESTONIA.

THE MOVIE

KAZAKHSTAN

Exciting news from Pavel Koktyshev (below right), “I am definitely interested in publishing JG in Kazakh and Russian as well! Sorry for the long response time but now I have some news for you! We are going to organize a Gala dinner at our Economic Freedom conference in the end of April to raise some money to start translation. And I found a very enthusiastic composer from my city, Lyudmila Melnikova (below left). She is a member of the Union of Composers of Kazakhstan, a member of the Union of Journalists of Kazakhstan and we are both going to make a musical. She is a renowned professional in making music for kids. Her CDs are distributed all over Kazakhstan and Russia. And we want to ask your permision to make a libretto from your book. We will communicate on this project with you constantly to be sure that the meaning is correct. Now I am really enthusiastic!”

Background of Pavel Koktyshev and his interest in The Philosophy of Liberty:

“I am director of the free market think tank ‘Institute for Public Policy’ in Kazakhstan. I am finishing my bachelors degree in International Relations this year and 2 years ago I started to work with CAFMI in Kyrgyzstan to organize some seminars and lectures in Almaty (close to Bishkek). 6 months ago we decided to establish our own think tank and our friend Mirsuljan helps us a lot. In a fact the first time I saw the animation “Philosophy of Liberty” 1 year ago. And I made a presentation based on this animation at my university political science class. As I remember I got an ‘A’ grade from the teacher and applause from my classmates.

“It helps me a lot during my work at the first free-market think tank in Kazakhstan ‘Institute for public policy’. I also recommend this animation to any freedom fighters and activists to get courage and motivation to find the moral basis about why freedom is important. Because in such countries as Kazakhstan when too many people and media argue for moral reasons of using violence of state over individuals and the greatness of ‘effective dictatorship’ we need to oppose it with the very clear message that freedom matters.

“For me your ‘Philosophy of Liberty’ is some kind of ‘Mendeleev’s table of chemical elements’ because it shows all elements of the ‘Philosophy of freedom’ and freedom itself. The great importance of this animation is to show basic values and natural roots of freedom for modern society. I use it when we organize seminars with students and I show it to our volunteers and interns because it puts values in the right order for them. I also watch this short movie to put my thoughts in a right order. It helps me a lot to keep in mind my basic values.

“Our think tank is a value based organization and we promote values and the ‘Philosophy of Liberty’ in a not free country and such clear brilliant arguments for freedom are extremely important. We used the Russian version of this animation and in the next few months we are going to translate this presentation into Kazakh language because we start to work with Kazakh speaking youth (Kazakhstan mostly is bilingual country but increasing number of the population are only speaking Kazakh) and we would be grateful to work with you on translation of ‘Philosophy of Liberty’ and other materials to promote freedom in Kazakhstan.”

GERMANY

The new German book and audiobook editions of “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible” are out!

Translation: Steffen Hentrich (below right, Second German edition, 2013), Michael Mehnert (First German edition, 1998), Book Design, Artwork: Olivia Güthling Proofreading: Simoné Okaj-Braun, Dr. Sabine Cohen-Friedlaender, Project manager: Kay Heinz Ehrhardt, Audiobook narrator: Boris Eichler (below left) Publisher: Liberal Institut, Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Freedom eBook download (epub, mobi [kindle], Acrobat-pdf]).

A hardcopy and a audio-CD can be ordered for free at the book homepage: www.abenteuer.freiheit.org Feel free to ask Steffen other questions about his translation and the production of the second german edition. Steffen Hentrich, Referent/Senior Research Fellow, Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit, Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Liberty, Liberales Institut – Liberal Institute, Reinhardtstr. 12, D-10117 Berlin, steffen.hentrich@freiheit.org, www.freiheit.org,

Weblog: www.freiheitdenken.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lifnf

AFRICA

International award received for the play “A Letter From Jonathan Gullible,” written by Adedayo Thomas (seen below with Linda Whetstone). The play has toured 5 countries: Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Kenya, and Ghana.

See the full story in The Nation, February 24, 2013:

“The stars of the University of Ibadan (UI) shined in faraway United States last Friday. The university’s chapter of African Liberty Students’ Organisation (ALSO) won the 2012 Event of the Year prize with its drama titled A letter from Jonathan Gullible. The award ceremony was organised by Students For Liberty (SFL) in Grand Hyatt Hotel, Washington DC. Several students’ groups dedicated to promoting the ideas of liberty on campus converged for the yearly conference of the body last weekend. In a keenly contested challenge, UI students beat their colleagues from the Arizona State University and Slippery Rock University both in the US. The UI students put up a stage drama to propagate the ideas of free enterprise, liberalisation of the Nigeria’s economy, market-based solutions to Africa’s challenges, good governance and classical liberalism. These principles of a free society were the basis of a two-week road show project in universities in Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo, Kenya and Ghana using the drama written by Adedayo Thomas to promote liberty.

“The students used the theatre as a powerful communication tool to propagate the ideas in five Nigerian institutions including the UI and Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education. The expansive auditorium of the University of Cape Coast was filled to capacity when the drama was taken to Ghana. The play was staged to mark the convocation of the university. Over 1,000 people came to see the play. A student of Economic commended the UI students for the delivery of the drama, saying: “This play explained to me all I am here to learn for four years in one hour.” The drama tour was led by Thomas, a playwright, and Assistant Director of Outreach, AfricanLiberty.org, Olumayowa Okediran. Others in the tour included the ALSO president of UI chapter, Odunola Oladejo and Tosan Akinwole, a student-journalist. Some of the characters in the play included Akin, Sylvester Obieje, and Olabisi Ariyoh.”

Also, Kofa Africanus organized a very successful Liberty and Entrepreneurship Camp in Ghana! Thanks for inviting me to speak via Skype conference call. See his full report for the Winter session at the end of this newsletter. The next camp is already scheduled for June 2-7, 2013…and needs your support! I strongly recommend this program!

INDIA

Thanks to Barun Mitra of the Liberty Institute of New Delhi, Krzysztof Haładus (Poland) for the illustrations, and Sieg Herzog of the Friedrich Nauman Foundation (Germany), the Hindi edition of Jonathan Gullible has been launched. This makes more than 70 published editions in 48 languages. I’m losing track. Later this year: Dutch (2nd), German (2nd), Estonian, Finnish, and Armenian. The guys at of Li and FNF are wonderful!

I was fortunate to participate in the Asia Liberty Forum organized by the Asia Centre for Enterprise, the Centre for Civil Society, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, and the Atlas Foundation for Economic Research.

From Kris Haladus, “Dear Ken and JG’s Family! I am really happy that the illustrations, I have ordered in Poland could developed the book and make it still more attractive four young readers, published in Romania and India until now!

Thanks publishing the English edition with these illustrations at the end of 2011 and Ken’s efforts in looking for US distributor, we hope that this English Edition will find a lot of new readers in US soon. I also still hope to have an opportunity in future, to participate in creating a movie and/or a computer game, based on JG Adventures, which again could multiply the number of its customers! My greetings and best wishes for all of you around the world!”

From Manan Vyas, Founder of The Indian Economist, “It is with great pleasure I announce that we have published the first chapter of this amazing book on our website today. We have created an entirely separate section that we shall utilise for the sole purpose of publishing chapters of the book. Here is a link to the same: http://theindianeconomist.com/category/adventure/ We shall be publishing one chapter every alternate day.”

VIETNAM

Last summer, JG became the first free market book launched in Vietnam. Many thanks for a wonderful visit with my friends Cong Minh Nguyen (above left), translators Mai Huyen Chi and Thu Huong Ngo (below second from left), Nguyen Phuong Loan (publisher below third from left), Hans-Georg Jonek (Friedrich Naumann Foundation, below fourth from left), Nguyen Duc Thanh (right, Director Vietnam Centre for Economic Policy & Research, Vietnam National University), Dinh Minh Tuan, and many others.

CHINA & LITHUANIA

Last July, the Shanghai Austrian Economics Summit, an ISIL Asia Regional Conference, and Post Conference Tour were all a great success! As was the CYCLE 2012 Casey Youth Conference on Liberty and Entrepreneurship in Lithuania.

The back cover of the new, second Chinese edition shows more than 50 of the JG publications:

NEPAL

Last summer I was hosted by the wonderful team of Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation of Nepal for a dozen lectures at schools, universities, and conferences. At each event we were able to feature the publication of the Nepali edition of JG. My thanks to Robin, Dependra, Manish, Manu and the entire team of Samrridhi. And I am grateful to Charu Chadha for her first serialization of JG in The Boss Magazine many years ago. Charu is now the founder of 360, the latest and best of business magazines.

KOREA

Hana Lee, Cha Joon Young, Casey Lartigue [L-R above], Eric DeokJin Song, Kim Chung-Ho, and the team at the Center for Free Enterprise (CFE) in Korea has produced two fascinating new video renditions of the Philosophy of Liberty in with English and Korean narration.

Hana writes, “[Eric] contacted you to see if CFE could remake the video using our own score. He felt the score’s undertones were too serious to appeal to the Korean audience. He had also asked for ‘retranslation’ of the script because he wanted an easier-to-understand script, as the original translation into Korean used very difficult language.

As for the Jonathan Gullible book, our team manager Eric says he has a photocopy of the Korean version, but it was difficult to find an original version in Korea as the publishing company is no longer in business.

His attempts to contact the translator were also unsuccessful. Last summer, CFE also created two short story series inspired by your Gullible project, entitled ‘Bee Adventure’ (http://www.cfe.org/mboard/bbsList.asp?cid=mn1310466448 ) and ‘Dduduloo’s Faraway Land.’ (http://www.cfe.org/mboard/bbsList.asp?cid=mn1310466433 )

They are written in Korean. Originally the stories were intended to be expanded into a graphic novel or child-book format, but for now the stories exist in their text form only. I am hoping we will soon begin a translation into English as well as creating a cartoon or other visually appealing version in both Korean and English.”

Fortunately, I was able to meet with these terrific teams in Korea: Korea Hayek Society, True Individual Value Alliance, and the Center for Free Enterprise. An effort is underway to republish the original Korean translation, if we can only find K-mee Jung.

ALBANIA

Very great news from Kozeta Cika in Tirana, holding her Albanian translation of Ayn Rand’s Anthem above: “The book is already in the main bookshops of Tirana and in the libraries of three Economic Faculties we have here, one state and two private. I have also engaged with spreading copies some university professors who, I hope, will help with its popularity.”

Kozeta translated the first Albanian edition of JG in 1998 and it has long been in demand and out of print. Many thanks, Kozeta!

BALKANS

Yadranko Brkic has just completed the Macedonian animation of The Philosophy of Liberty! “I just wanted to give you a little update on the video Philosophy of Liberty. As part of our Freedom and Prosperity libertarian network (www.slobodaiprosperitet.tv/en), we have recently began working on providing content in Macedonian, and as our first such publication in Macedonian, we decided to translate the Philosophy of Liberty. POL has not been translated into Macedonian until now.”

The full interview by Yadranko about the story of the book and animation for free market fans in the Balkans. Says Yadranko, “Our organization is Sloboda i Prosperitet TV (in English: Freedom and Prosperity TV): a libertarian network of alternative media in western Balkans. It is a regional hub for individual freedom/free market enthusiasts, bloggers, clubs, nongovernment research organizations from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Right now I am not sure which of them will be featuring the interview on their websites, but they will surely be seeing it via our website, YouTube channel, Facebook page, and Twitter.

“Some notable and most active organizations that will pay attention to the interview and possibly seek direct cooperation with ISIL are: Center for Liberal Democratic Studies, Katalaksija Internet magazine, Libertarian Club Libek, and Trzisno Resenje from Serbia, Adriatic Institute and Association Iustitia from Croatia, Campaign for Freedom and Prosperity from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Svetilnik: Society for Promotion of Freedom from Slovenia, most of which already have ties to Atlas Institute, CATO, and Friedrich Naumann Foundation. And since one of the goals of this new Sloboda i Prosperitet TV regional project is the initiation and stimulation of regional cooperation, we are planning a series of interviews with all of these organizations in the coming months, where we will begin the conversation about brainstorming ideas for planning, financing, and organizing joint Summer camps with ISIL in western Balkans in the future. And that’s where I believe our recent interview will come in most handy.”

NEW ENGLISH EDITION FOR YOUTH

The New English Edition for youth is now available from Aspekt Publishing Co. It has more than 40 beautiful illustrations and carries an audio CD with every copy. A perfect gift from publisher Kris Haladus in Poland.

FRANCE

Louise Zizka and Jacques De Guenin translated JG many years ago and it has had some rough treatment with publishers in France and Belgium. At last, Akila Bezzouh, Jean Robin, and Editions Tatamis have produced a gem. See Jacques making the formal publication presentation on video.

Writes Akila, “Jonathan Gullible in French is finally between my hands, right now! Yes we have received it yesterday and it will be officially in stores and online stores on October 25. The result in French is outstanding and looks on the cover very much like the English commentary edition. I am very happy with the result. Jacques De Guenin is very glad of my initiative in finding a French publisher. We have invited him for a conference to talk about the book and The Philosophy of Liberty.

“This conference is one of a series of conferences that Jean and I are organizing for the Enquête & Debat within the Saint Paul Cultural Center in Paris every Monday evening. For example, a week ago we invited the libertarian philosopher Alain Laurent who published for the first time Atlas Shrugged, titled The Strike, in France translated by Sophie Bastide-Foltz. Jacques De Guenin’s conference is planned for Monday November 7th. It will be filmed by us and put online on various French websites to create a buzz about the book and libertarian ideas in France specifically in this time of economic and social crisis.

“I will send copies of JG to French speaking libertarian think tanks and organizations here in Europe and the francophone world. I will also see about private schools and the media. If you have contacts who can speak about the book I can send a copy to them as well. That’s all for now. I will keep you updated of any news related to JG. Have a good day and my best wishes for your little family.”

JAPAN

Hiroshi Yoshida [right] has accomplished a remarkable addition to the Philosophy of Liberty: a Japanese audio narration.

Says Yoshida-san, “The voice was given by Ken Sasaki, and he gave his voice to The Road to Serfdom. His profession is not only voice actor but also programming. We have already had 500 visitors since the PoL gained a voice!”

It would be marvelous if we could arrange audio narration for all of the 40 language versions!

ITALY

From Maria Stefania Gelsomini, “I’m so happy to tell you that my article was published just today (Saturday, August 27) on the newspaper Il Giornale: a whole page dedicated to you, to J.G., and to the ISIL World Conference in Vulcano!! Another article of mine, on the same subject, will appear on the newspaper Il Resto del Carlino, next monday, when the Conference will start. Aloha!”

Many thanks, Maria! One day I’ll visit to thank you in person.

The ISIL World Conference in Sicily was a great success. Next summer the ISIL conference will be at the Shanghai Austrian Economic Summit in China.

SLOVENIA

Celebrations are in order for Breda Sturm, illustrator of the new Slovenian edition of JG. “Dear Ken, I have great news! My illustrations of JG have been selected for the exhibition of The 46rd Golden Pen of Belgrade (46. Zlatno Pero Beograda) – The 11th International Biennial of Illustration 2011. http://www.ulupuds.org.rs/Aktuelnosti.htm” Congratulations, Breda!

SLOVAKIA

I was actually pleased to learn that there was a highly critical review of the Slovakian play by Matus Posvanc and Martin Bican that is being performed in the schools of Slovakia. Matus explained it this way: “”We were blamed that we are brainwashers as communists were in the 1950s in our country. Just 2 points to this. First we try to influence young people about freedom. If brainwashing about freedom is bad, we fully confess to that. Second, the people who comment in the media concerning our show did not know anything about it. They did not even see it. So we consider this article as just a propaganda against our work and our ideas. We will try the best to continue with the play. We will see what happens.”

Bravo, Matus and Martin! When statists begin to criticize, then you must be having great success!

ARMENIA

From Armenia, Inessa Shahnazarova writes, “I am happy to inform you that Jonathan Gullible is now translated into Armenian! I have just finished reading it in my native language and I can’t express my emotions! And I am very happy with the quality of the translation. We are currently looking for funding to publish the Armenian edition. I hope we will be able to do it by the end of 2012. For now I consider uploading a sample chapter in Armenian into our website, Armenian Youth for Liberty. We are very grateful to Artem Sarian who helped us with the sum that the translator asked.”

In response to Inessa’s report above and my expressions of sincere gratitude, Artem responded, “I am happy to help. After all that is the least I can do for my former motherland. They need liberty badly especially in light of the all human rights violations that took place there within last several years. That is the reason why I started the entire discussion on the POL and ended up financing the JG translation. I am simply happy to help.”

Sadly, the Armenian publication has not yet found a publisher. Artem Sarian and Arman S. Mkryan translated the Armenian edition of the Philosophy of Liberty!

VIETNAM, THE NETHERLANDS, ESTONIA, FINLAND

From Fred Meijroos of www.succesboeken.nl, The Netherlands: “We are ready to translate Jonathan Gullible into Dutch and get it again on the Dutch market.”

From Paul Vahur of Estonia [above center]: “We are working on this project. Just last week I was doing some fundraising and so far it has been going well. I hope to sort this out next week. Will let you know if there is any progress.”

From Petri Kajander of Finland [above right]: “I’m now considering putting the book in production so if you have any changes now it’s the time to tell me about them!”

“GULLIBLE” EXPLAINED

My close friend of many years, Blase Harris, recently wrote to his niece about the meaning of Jonathan Gullible. Explained Blase, “‘Gullible’ refers to people who want the good for the other, but understand neither the cause nor the solution of the politically caused suffering in the world. Jonathan is ‘gullible’ in that he is taken in by solutions that do harm to the very people he wants to see helped, but Jonathan is sweetly sincere and comes to understand how the foundational principle of non-initiation of the use of force can be applied to whatever problems arise in a society that values freedom for all individuals. I highly recommend it.” As always, Blase, incisive and profound. Mahalo!

SUSAN WELLS AND A DRUG WAR CAROL

Susan Wells is well known to fans of JG for her screenplay of JG. For those interested in her graphic novel spoof of the drug war, please see her website. Perfect for the holiday season!

2011 UPDATED NEWSLETTER

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 07:48:00 +0000

By Ken Schoolland

Nigeria & Tanzania Plays

Adedayo Thomas has a very successful and ambitious program utilizing the very effective play, "A Letter From Jonathan Gullible." Adedayo developed a program to bring 100 students from institutions across Africa to his 2011 Students and Young Professional African Liberty Academy--SYPALA, August 3-7, 2011. Of the performance, Franklin Cudjoe wrote: "Real Theatre at Ahmadu Bello University. You missing guys...Just saw the greatest play on the intrusiveness of governments around the world. Performed by the Theatre Arts Dept. of Ahmadu Bello University. The play is based on the book Adventures of Jonathan Gullible originally written by Ken Schoolland and adapted for the play by Adedayo Thomas. Trully, Nigerian theatre producers are the best! I told the cast (actors) they had done our whole week's work in just one hour. I requested a reenactment on Sunday. I will do anything to support the cast to go global. The audience was largely African, drawn from six countries." Wonderful!

Adedayo has outreach programs and book distribution planned for 20 African institutions in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia. And he is preparing JG stage productions in 5 West and East African Institutions.

Writes Adedayo, "Dear Ken, I am sure these pictures will interest you. They were taken during the presentation of the play by participants of the 2010 Students and Young Professional African Liberty Academy at the University of Dodoma in Tanzania. We plan to produce at least 5000 copies of the play to be going along with my distribution and seminar in the schools. It is one of the simplest texts to explain the libertarian philosophy to our audience. A school in Tanzania is showing great interest, in fact the students are waiting for me to bring copies to them next year and that was one of the outcomes of the usage of the play during the 2010 Summer School in Tanzania. The publishing of the play will cost $1.50 each. Again, it will be nice if we can get some additional funds for the production on stage. Roughly $500-$700 can be used to support each school production. Any additional funds will increase the number of texts i carry for outreach programs. Thanks again for the support and encouragement. Best regards!"

I sincerely encourage interested sponsors to contact Adedayo and to send contributions through ISIL. He is a man of great accomplishments!

Slovakian Play

Matus Posvanc and Martin Bican have now had their play performed in Bratislava! Says Matus, “Dear Ken, you can find the Slovak radio play on the web – it is translated into English... Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. We have started to perform the theatrical play in the secondary schools in Bratislava. Until this day more than 2150 students saw the play and we hope that we will perfom it after the summer holidays also in other regions of Slovakia."

Says Mat, "We would like to record the play also on video and prepare from that some kind of „movie“ to present it also on the web... do you know anybody who can donate to us for this activity? To understand correctly, we are going to shoot the video of the play on 2 cameras following Monday. We can make from it some amateur video (I can send it immediately) but my intention is to make from it some promo video and then some video which could be useful also for teaching students at secondary schools and for this purpose we would like to create some special webpage for radio, video, and text materials and try to communicate via this channel with students. For example, we would like to connect this play with some essay contest about the play and the winner will gain some kind of prize. The money therefore could be used for all these of these activities."

Slovenian

Mitja Steinbacher and Matjaz Steinbacher originally arranged to have the Carantania Institute publish JG for the Slovene audience with beautiful new illustrations to be done by Ms. Breda Sturm, whose father is an ex-minister for education and justice and ex-chair of the constitutional court.

Says Breda, “I really enjoyed reading the stories of JG and doing the illustrations for the text. I am so pleased that you like the illustrations. Of course you have my permission to put them in the newsletter. (Illustrations above and in the book by Breda Sturm) I am ready to illustrate and do the design for any kind of publications if such occasion occurs.”

Mitja and Matjaz are below with Breda and the new published Sloven edition.

Expanded 30th Anniversary Edition

A new edition of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey is now available in English from Liberty Publishing Company. This is the Thirtieth Anniversary Edition since Jonathan’s birth on KHVH radio in Honolulu and twenty years after the first publication by Sam Slom and Smart Business Hawaii. This new edition has now been expanded with two additional chapters.

Are warfare and earthquakes good for an economy because of all the spending to replace what has been destroyed? The chapter “Opportunity Lost” revisits Frederic Bastiat’s famous tale of “The Broken Window” to explain opportunity cost, the “seen and unseen” of such spending. Another chapter, “Cash for Codgers,” mocks government “stimulus” programs that pay for the demise of the old in order to make way for the new.

This new 2011 Expanded Edition of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible is now available from Amazon.

Says Terry Easton, founder of Liberty Publishing Company, “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible is a must read for every lover of economic freedom and personal liberty! As the Publisher of this New 2011 Expanded Fourth Edition, you'd expect me to say this. But it's true. I've used this book in my own college courses in Macro Economics, and my students have often learned more about the fundamental principles of economics - and how the real market works - than from their textbook. And they've had more fun doing it. If you want to understand just what has made America the great country it is, read this book. It will change your life.”

Bahasa Edition

Jonathan was published in the Bahasa language in Jakarta, the 44th language.

From Sugianto Tandra, third from right: “I work for a free market think tank in Jakarta, Indonesia, Freedom Institute. One of our programs is book translation. We translate quality classically liberal books as part of our effort to disseminate liberty ideas in Indonesia. We would like to ask your permission to translate your book into Bahasa in Indonesia. With your permission, we will translate the book and print 1000 copies and distribute them (through a series of book launch discussions) to university students who are our main beneficiaries. We will work in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) on this project.

"Actually, we plan to get this book published by early October. We and the FNF are preparing an economic freedom network international conference from 6 to 8 October (2010). The topic will be on ‘Migration and the Wealth of Nations.’ We plan to display the book during the conference, which will be attended by around 40 international free market think tanks. After that, maybe starting in November until some time next year, we will hold a series of workshops to disseminate the liberty ideas in the book to university students. We will surely mine the rich resources you put out in the JG website for our workshops.”

Barun Mitra, fourth from the right, is accompanied in the photo above by his wife, Madu. Barun is arranging the publication of the Hindi edition of JG in New Delhi. More about India projects later.

Romanian 3rd Edition

The book has also just been released in Bucharest, the 3rd Romanian edition of the book, bringing to 64 the international publications of Jonathan Gullible considering multiple editions in various languages.

Iulian Tanase (and his wife in the photo above) wrote: “I am the general manager of Libertas Publishing, a Romanian publishing house. We are interested in translating and publishing libertarian economists and writers. Our first two translations are Denationalisation of Money, by F.A. Hayek, and Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt. Thank you very much for granting us your permission. Your book is well-known here, and many students, for many years, have accompanied Jonathan on his journey. The book is out of print for 3 or 4 years, but we have had the Ludwig von Mises Institute of Romania and the online version.”

The new Romanian edition uses the illustrations originally produced by Kris Haladus for the Polish edition.

Philosophy of Liberty

The animated Philosophy of Liberty from the epilogue of JG has continued to progress. Acknowledgement of Kerry Pearson’s (a.k.a. Lux Lucre) successful depiction has culminated in Hugo van Reijen’s beautiful 2011 calendar featuring 12 selections from the animation beginning with “The Philosophy of Liberty is based on the principle of self ownership.” The calendars were hand painted in Nepal on rice paper. Gorgeous!

In further developments, Steve Cobb and Anton Smirnov have been progressing with the difficult work of adapting the very difficult script of Arabic, Urdu, Sindhi, and the translation in Armenian by Artem Sarian, an attorney in California, and Arman S. Mkryan, Esq. Drew Suder, as web master, has continually upgraded the JG site. The latest versions posted are in Icelandic, translated by Saevar Gudmundsson, and Macedonian, through the cooperation of Pavlina Petrova and Bojan Bogevski. And, at long last, we have posted all the animations on our website with the option for the new beautiful musical score by Saher, above right. [As we still have an initial time delay between the beginning of the picture and the start of the music, click to refresh the animation when the music starts...thus all will be in sync. It is worth it!]

Is this animation project worthwhile? Just ask Deanna Newberg who wrote from Texas saying, "Ken, my sixth grade students enjoyed learning about the Philosophy of Liberty again this year. Your video goes so well with my lessons on John Locke's Second Treatise of Government and how Locke's philosophy lies at the heart of our founding documents. It is such an eye opener for students. For six years they have been in school and learned a bit about our government and our founding fathers, but they have NEVER learned the philosophy of our founding fathers. After the lessons, they have a much deeper understanding of what lawful government is and what it isn't. They now understand not only life and liberty, but property as well. Thanks!"

And John Connelly wrote: "Thanks again Sir!"

The Center for Freedom and Prosperity has awarded "The Philosophy of Liberty" honorable mention and a $100 prize for their Free Market Video Contest.

China Austrian Economics Camp

My wife, Li Zhao, organized the first China Austrian Economics Camp (CAEC) last summer with Northeastern University (NEU) of Shenyang, China. Teaching about the economics and ethics of free markets were: Tom Palmer of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation and the CATO Institute, Fred Foldvary of Santa Clara University, Cris Lingle of Francisco Marroquin University in Guatemala, Kenli Schoolland of the University of Buckingham in England, Zhu Haijiu of Zhejiang GongShang University in China, Dean Peng of Beijing, Jeff Crawford & Ken Schoolland of Hawaii Pacific University, and Li Schoolland. Four of these teachers are members of the Mont Pelerin Society, founded in 1947 by Friedrich Hayek to promote an intellectual resurgence of free market ideas.

Nearly a hundred students signed up for the camp, July 18-25, 2010. "This was a remarkable turnout," said Li, "considering that the students attended 8 hours of classes and discussions daily during the first week of their summer break! Only a few students missed any classes, and that was only because of conflicts with other summer programs." The camp is scheduled again this summer, July 16-24, 2011.

NEU provided facilities and accommodations for all students and faculty, Jeff Crawford generously sponsored the travel expenses of most of the faculty, others were sponsored by the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL), Atlas and CATO. More than 300 economics books in English and Chinese were donated to the students from various sources: Jim Walsh of Silver Lake Publishing Co., Jim Peron of Laissez Faire Books, and Dick Rowland of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii (GRIH).

Mark Skousen, author of many books translated into Chinese, donated a boxed collection of his books. Each of the hundred students received signed copies of Fred's book in English and of JG in Chinese. Kris Mauren of the Acton Institute contributed to half the cost of the latter books. And each student also received the CD "Ideas for a Free Society," a collection of a hundred libertarian classics compiled and produced by Linda Whetstone and the International Policy Network.

The daily program was filled with two large group lectures, two follow-up small group discussion sessions, and four small group lectures with discussions. The students were especially thrilled by the open discussion format, highly unusual in China. Evenings were scheduled with group game contests, debates, documentary films, a talent show, and a closing party celebration. Mornings typically began with swimming at the university pool or Tai Chi in the courtyard. Evenings ended with fabulous dining and exhaustion induced sleep.

From beginning to end, these enthusiastic and brilliant students were eager to practice their English and to engage with their teachers in American-style classes. China is experiencing a stunning market transformation and students are very open to the ideas of Hayek, Mises, and Friedman in contrast to the routine classroom fare of Marx and Keynes. Indeed, these Chinese students seemed to be much more intrigued with free market alternatives than many American students who have taken markets for granted and are too willing to accept central planning.

Two day-time excursions were scheduled to the Forbidden City Summer Palace in Shenyang and museums memorializing the life of General Zhang Xueliang, Li's ancestor who was founder and first president of the university. A post camp tour was arranged for faculty to visit the Yalu River bordering on North Korea and the historic regions of Dalian, Weihai, Qingdao, Beijing, and Shanghai. The camp was a spectacular success and every effort is being made to continue it on an annual basis.

My trip to Shanghai with Fred Foldvary culminated in meeting with Jerome Ma (center) and Sylvia Cai (right) in Shanghai regarding plans for a second edition in Chinese. Linda was our marvelous interpreter and guide, courtesy of Li Zhang Fa.

Camps

Lobo Tiggre and Virgis Daukas continued the annual Casey Youth Conference on Leadership and Entrepreneurship, CYCLE 10, in Trakai, Lithuania. The Philosophy of Liberty (PoL) was again part of the program as it has been in most all of the Liberty camps. Jaroslav Romanchuk held a camp in the Ukraine and Glenn Cripe, President of the Language of Liberty Institute has organized camps in Poland, Slovakia, Kyrgyzstan, Ghana, and is preparing new ones in Armenia and Albania.

Commented Glenn, “We always show the English version of the PoL, plus the local version, when available. I tell the students that they should know about this important communication tool, and show it to their family and friends who may not be as interested in philosophy, economics, etc as they are.”

Li Schoolland is also organizing a Romanian Austrian Economics Summer School in Bucharest this June, followed by a seminar in Sofia, Bulgaria. Much of the sponsorship for these camps comes from The International Society for Individual Liberty, hosting the 2011 ISIL World Conference in Sicily this August 29 to September 2.

Armenian Edition

Inessa Shahnazarova is a founder of the Armenian Youth For Liberty initiative group aimed at the encouragement of a liberty-minded generation of Armenians. Inessa coordinated the first Liberty English Camp in Armenia held in January of 2011. Since 2010, Inessa has been working for “We For Civil Equality”, an NGO responsible for coordinating programs aimed at the empowerment of the local community.

Inessa has just agreed to arrange for the publication of Jonathan Gullible in Armenian. Said Inessa, "I’m so glad to get acquainted with you! I’m really fond of your book and it is a great pleasure for us to work on this project. Yes, I’m familiar with Artem Sarian’s work, which is of paramount importance for the Armenian community. I am now working on the establishment of an initiative group the main goal of which is the encouragement of a liberty-minded generation of Armenians. I am pleased to work with very talented and dedicated young professionals. One of them will be responsible for the translation. I’m sure it will be a great project having a sustainable impact on our community."

Vietnamese Edition

We also have an arrangement for a Vietnamese edition of JG by Cong Minh Nguyen. Mr. Nguyen received his MA in Economics and Finance from the Vietnam Banking Academy. He is now editor of Doimoi.org, the Vietnamese language portal to promote, through research, publishing and educational activities, free market philosophy and the foundations of the market economy in Vietnam. He has been actively involved in the translation of free market books, including The Adventures of Jonathan Gullibleinto Vietnamese.

Italian Edition

Exciting news has emerged from Liberilibri, the free market institute that published the Italian edition under the direction of Aldo Canovari. Maria Stefania Gelsomini, wrote, “We visited your website and we'd like first to congratulate you on the fantastic success the book gains all over the world. You know that we published the italian version (Le avventure di Jonathan Gullible) in 1999... a book that continues today to have success and reviews. So now we send you the picture of the Italian translator Luigi Scarfiotti that you can add, if you like, to the other translator's pictures on the website, and the cover of the book.

“Luigi Scarfiotti is the son of an Italian legend: Ludovico Scarfiotti (1933-1968), a Formula One and sports car driver, who won the 1963 ‘24 Hours of Le Mans’ for Ferrari, participated in twelve World Championship Formula One Grand Prix, won the European mountain driving title in 1962, was proclaimed Italy's best driver in 1962 and 1965 and was the last Italian to win the Gran Premio d'Italia in 1966.

“Another curious piece of news for you: the introduction to the Italian translation Le avventure di Jonathan Gullible was written by Giulio Tremonti, the italian Minister of Economics at the present.

“I'm delighted to send you a review of the book just published in the bimonthly liberal magazine: Liber@mente. And I think I'll write a long article on Le avventure di Jonathan Gullible for the monthly cultural magazine L'Aperitivo illustrato, maybe in the August or September issue.... I'll keep you informed.

“Moreover, the book will be presented in August at Soverato (in the Calabria region, south of Italy) during the event ‘Libera Estate’, organized by the same liberal ‘Fondazione Vincenzo Scoppa’ that published the review. We don't know the date yet, but we'll know it soon. Yes, we also saw the italian version of "La Filosofia della Libertà"... many compliments!!!” Liberilibri, corso Cavour 33/a, 62100 Macerata, Italia.

India

At the EFN Conference in Jakarta, I met up with many from India who are so inspiring for JG projects. Barun Mitra, President of the Liberty Institute pictured with his wife in the earlier story above, is in the final stages of publishing a Hindi edition of the book and others have offered to help out as well.

B.Chandrasekaran, a consultant with the Planning Commission in New Delhi, pictured at right above, wrote: “It was really great and amazing to see you there in Jakarta during the EFN conference…I always dreamed a big way after reading your bookThe Adventures of Jonathan Gullible for seeing you. For me this book is a amazing stories and its just not a stories but transformed many ways in my thinking the free market ideas in real life situations. From the below link you will find the review of your book (Jonathan Gullible) in Tamil language in a famous blog in South India…I am still looking for translating the JG in Tamil. My friend agreed to translate the book but the funding is still needs to worked out.” If you know of someone who would be interested in sponsoring such a publication, please contact Chandrasekaran Balakrishnan who writes a blog called http://hayekorder.blogspot.com/ .

Gideon Mathson (second from left) has an excellent blog in India on libertarian issues. Gideon wrote, “It was incredible meeting you at the conference. The conference in itself was a very moving experience for me. Knowing that I can contribute to the cause of liberty in some way, (despite the fact that I'm not a student of economics), really motivates me. I remember reading your book 'Jonathan Gullible', immediately after reading your article on immigration, published by the Centre for Civil Society. At that point I was quite confused by all the economic theory around (being a student of history brought up in a frustratingly Marxist environment).

“Your book in a lot of ways was the first time I really connected with basic libertarian concepts. I went from there to Bastiat. And through the conference I see the need to read a lot more, and in a more structured manner, I also see quite clearly that fiction and theater are the best ways in which I can contribute to the libertarian cause. I read through the 'Jonathan Gullible' script and I would love to perform it in Delhi. I also really want to use the play to encourage liberty here, in Delhi. I cannot explain how motivated I feel about this. Do let me know if there is anyway in which I can contribute to the cause of liberty.”

I also met Yavnika Khanna at the conference and was much impressed by the accomplishments of her Liberal Youth Forum in alliance with Parth Shah’s Centre for Civil Society.

Wrote Yavnika, “I spoke to you how we at Liberal Youth Forum would love to adapt your book into a theater format for youth and you had assured me that you can share some scripts that have already been worked out. We would love to have your guidance on it! Do let us know of any further opportunities where we can be of any assistance!”

New Endorsements

“I think you're doing fabulous work in the struggle for liberty…Jonathan Gullible is a great read and makes the principles of liberty accessible, even possibly to those with alien and hostile minds.”-Walter E. Williams, Economist

“If policymakers read--and absorbed the lessons of--this book, how much better the U.S. and the world would be. Free markets, with sensible rules of the

road, are moral because they unleash the productive, creative powers of people in ways that benefit everybody. This book is particularly timely.”-Steve Forbes, Publisher

"It's the best introduction young people can get to free-market economics. In fact, it's a great way for everyone, old or young, to be introduced to the freedom philosophy." -Mark (Franklin) Skousen, with Steve (Washington) Forbes at Freedom Fest 2010

“In 44 languages and wonderfully accessible, Jonathan Gullible provides valuable lessons for us all.” -John Stossel, Broadcast journalist

"I do have Jonathan Gullible and have read it. Jonathan, well, wasn't all that gullible, I thought. But I think Prof. Schoolland has done a great service with this book, and I'm sure it's reaching many people." –William Thomas, Director of Programs, Atlas Society

Best of all endorsements is this from one of Jonathan’s readers, 13-year-old Natalie Iannuzo:

In a basic and intelligent way Prof. Schoolland presents examples of the economy in an exciting adventure sequence. The book shows what happens when government gets involved with the economy, and all the short, but captivating stories in the book cover freedom, rights, self-ownership, economics, government and taxes.

The main character in the book is a young man by the name of Jonathan Gullible. Jonathan in the beginning of the book sets out to sea but the waves get too big and crash Jonathan's boat onto a strange exotic island. On this island Jonathan meets some interesting people with very different opinions about the economy and how to deal with situations. Jonathan proves to the reader that his ways emphasizing free choice and competition are better alternatives than what other people on this island think.

Throughout Jonathan's adventure on this strange island he experiences opinions that don't make sense to him. For example, in chapter 3 Jonathan meets a well accomplished fisherman near a lake. The fisherman tells Jonathan that in this lake there used to be many big fish but they were all caught so now there are only little fish left. There is scum on the side of the lake, from people throwing trash in it and it is also the cause of some of the deaths of the fish. Jonathan asks why the fisherman doesn't take care of it and he says that it isn't his responsibility because it belongs to the Council of Lords and not to him. It is the Council of Lord’s responsibility to clean the lake not anyone else's. The moral of this story is that when you own something you are more likely to take care of it rather than if you borrowed it. Ownership implies responsibility.

In chapter 17, Jonathan hears about Uncle Samta an old man who is the complete opposite of Santa Claus. Uncle Samta steals from houses on Christmas Eve but also gives back very little of the objects he stole the years before. Uncle Samta is like the government in this story. The government steals from us through taxes but gives very little back to us through programs like the library, and community colleges. We would be better off spending our own money.

I thought that this book was a great action packed book that helped me understand how the economy works. The strange thing is that the economy in the book is like our economy today, because taxes are high and the people's earnings are low. Also in the book there are newcomers who come to the island but don't have to pay taxes so they basically live there for free. This book showed me that our economy is managed by those who want to control consumption more than production.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I highly recommend it to others.

Next?

The French edition will be published by October 2011, a culmination of the work by Louise Zizka and Jacques de Guenin. Other editions are always in search of publishers, translators, or sponsors. Translations completed or in progress: Albanian, Danish, Finnish, Hindi, Telegu, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Estonian, Slovenian, Armenian, Catalan, Basque, Malaysian, Gujarati, Tamil, Swedish, and more theatrical productions in Nigeria. The ultimate dream is to have the book made into film. Please let me know if you have ideas to offer. Ken.schoolland@gmail.com Tax deductible contributions can be made through the JG Fund at the International Society for Individual Liberty.

2011 JANUARY NEWSLETTER

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 05:33:00 +0000

Nigeria & Tanzania Plays

Adedayo Thomas has a very successful and ambitious program utilizing the very effective play, “A Letter From Jonathan Gullible.” Adedayo developed a program to bring 100 students from institutions across Africa to his 2011 Students and Young Professional African Liberty Academy–SYPALA, August 3-7, 2011. Of the performance, Franklin Cudjoe wrote: “Real Theatre at Ahmadu Bello University. You missing guys…Just saw the greatest play on the intrusiveness of governments around the world. Performed by the Theatre Arts Dept. of Ahmadu Bello University. The play is based on the book Adventures of Jonathan Gullible originally written by Ken Schoolland and adapted for the play by Adedayo Thomas. Trully, Nigerian theatre producers are the best! I told the cast (actors) they had done our whole week’s work in just one hour. I requested a reenactment on Sunday. I will do anything to support the cast to go global. The audience was largely African, drawn from six countries.” Wonderful!

Writes Adedayo, “Dear Ken, I am sure these pictures will interest you. They were taken during the presentation of the play by participants of the 2010 Students and Young Professional African Liberty Academy at the University of Dodoma in Tanzania. We plan to produce at least 5000 copies of the play to be going along with my distribution and seminar in the schools. It is one of the simplest texts to explain the libertarian philosophy to our audience. A school in Tanzania is showing great interest, in fact the students are waiting for me to bring copies to them next year and that was one of the outcomes of the usage of the play during the 2010 Summer School in Tanzania. The publishing of the play will cost $1.50 each. Again, it will be nice if we can get some additional funds for the production on stage. Roughly $500-$700 can be used to support each school production. Any additional funds will increase the number of texts i carry for outreach programs. Thanks again for the support and encouragement. Best regards!”

I sincerely encourage interested sponsors to contact Adedayo and to send contributions through ISIL. He is a man of great accomplishments!

Slovakian Play

Matus Posvanc and Martin Bican have now had their play performed in Bratislava! Says Matus, “Dear Ken, you can find the Slovak radio play on the web – it is translated into English… Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. We have started to perform the theatrical play in the secondary schools in Bratislava. Until this day more than 2150 students saw the play and we hope that we will perfom it after the summer holidays also in other regions of Slovakia.”

Says Mat, “We would like to record the play also on video and prepare from that some kind of „movie“ to present it also on the web… do you know anybody who can donate to us for this activity? To understand correctly, we are going to shoot the video of the play on 2 cameras following Monday. We can make from it some amateur video (I can send it immediately) but my intention is to make from it some promo video and then some video which could be useful also for teaching students at secondary schools and for this purpose we would like to create some special webpage for radio, video, and text materials and try to communicate via this channel with students. For example, we would like to connect this play with some essay contest about the play and the winner will gain some kind of prize. The money therefore could be used for all these of these activities.”

Slovenian

Mitja and Matjaz are below with Breda and the new published Sloven edition.

Expanded 30th Anniversary Edition

This new 2011 Expanded Edition of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible is now available from Amazon.

Says Terry Easton, founder of Liberty Publishing Company, “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible is a must read for every lover of economic freedom and personal liberty! As the Publisher of this New 2011 Expanded Fourth Edition, you’d expect me to say this. But it’s true. I’ve used this book in my own college courses in Macro Economics, and my students have often learned more about the fundamental principles of economics – and how the real market works – than from their textbook. And they’ve had more fun doing it. If you want to understand just what has made America the great country it is, read this book. It will change your life.”

Bahasa Edition

Jonathan was published in the Bahasa language in Jakarta, the 44th language.

“Actually, we plan to get this book published by early October. We and the FNF are preparing an economic freedom network international conference from 6 to 8 October (2010). The topic will be on ‘Migration and the Wealth of Nations.’ We plan to display the book during the conference, which will be attended by around 40 international free market think tanks. After that, maybe starting in November until some time next year, we will hold a series of workshops to disseminate the liberty ideas in the book to university students. We will surely mine the rich resources you put out in the JG website for our workshops.”

Barun Mitra, fourth from the right, is accompanied in the photo above by his wife, Madu. Barun is arranging the publication of the Hindi edition of JG in New Delhi. More about India projects later.

Romanian 3rd Edition

Iulian Tanase wrote: “I am the general manager of Libertas Publishing, a Romanian publishing house. We are interested in translating and publishing libertarian economists and writers. Our first two translations are Denationalisation of Money, by F.A. Hayek, and Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt. Thank you very much for granting us your permission. Your book is well-known here, and many students, for many years, have accompanied Jonathan on his journey. The book is out of print for 3 or 4 years, but we have had the Ludwig von Mises Institute of Romania and the online version.”

The new Romanian edition uses the illustrations originally produced by Kris Haladus for the Polish edition.

Philosophy of Liberty

Is this animation project worthwhile? Just ask Deanna Newberg who wrote from Texas saying, “Ken, my sixth grade students enjoyed learning about the Philosophy of Liberty again this year. Your video goes so well with my lessons on John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government and how Locke’s philosophy lies at the heart of our founding documents. It is such an eye opener for students. For six years they have been in school and learned a bit about our government and our founding fathers, but they have NEVER learned the philosophy of our founding fathers. After the lessons, they have a much deeper understanding of what lawful government is and what it isn’t. They now understand not only life and liberty, but property as well. Thanks!”

And John Connelly wrote: “Thanks again Sir!”

The Center for Freedom and Prosperity has awarded “The Philosophy of Liberty” honorable mention and a $100 prize for their Free Market Video Contest.

China Austrian Economics Camp

Nearly a hundred students signed up for the camp, July 18-25, 2010. “This was a remarkable turnout,” said Li, “considering that the students attended 8 hours of classes and discussions daily during the first week of their summer break! Only a few students missed any classes, and that was only because of conflicts with other summer programs.” The camp is scheduled again this summer, July 16-24, 2011.

Mark Skousen, author of many books translated into Chinese, donated a boxed collection of his books. Each of the hundred students received signed copies of Fred’s book in English and of JG in Chinese. Kris Mauren of the Acton Institute contributed to half the cost of the latter books. And each student also received the CD “Ideas for a Free Society,” a collection of a hundred libertarian classics compiled and produced by Linda Whetstone and the International Policy Network.

Two day-time excursions were scheduled to the Forbidden City Summer Palace in Shenyang and museums memorializing the life of General Zhang Xueliang, Li’s ancestor who was founder and first president of the university. A post camp tour was arranged for faculty to visit the Yalu River bordering on North Korea and the historic regions of Dalian, Weihai, Qingdao, Beijing, and Shanghai. The camp was a spectacular success and every effort is being made to continue it on an annual basis.

Camps

Armenian Edition

Inessa has just agreed to arrange for the publication of Jonathan Gullible in Armenian. Said Inessa, “I’m so glad to get acquainted with you! I’m really fond of your book and it is a great pleasure for us to work on this project. Yes, I’m familiar with Artem Sarian’s work, which is of paramount importance for the Armenian community. I am now working on the establishment of an initiative group the main goal of which is the encouragement of a liberty-minded generation of Armenians. I am pleased to work with very talented and dedicated young professionals. One of them will be responsible for the translation. I’m sure it will be a great project having a sustainable impact on our community.”

Vietnamese Edition

Italian Edition

Exciting news has emerged from Liberilibri, the free market institute that published the Italian edition under the direction of Aldo Canovari. Maria Stefania Gelsomini, wrote, “We visited your website and we’d like first to congratulate you on the fantastic success the book gains all over the world. You know that we published the italian version (Le avventure di Jonathan Gullible) in 1999… a book that continues today to have success and reviews. So now we send you the picture of the Italian translator Luigi Scarfiotti that you can add, if you like, to the other translator’s pictures on the website, and the cover of the book.

“Luigi Scarfiotti is the son of an Italian legend: Ludovico Scarfiotti (1933-1968), a Formula One and sports car driver, who won the 1963 ‘24 Hours of Le Mans’ for Ferrari, participated in twelve World Championship Formula One Grand Prix, won the European mountain driving title in 1962, was proclaimed Italy’s best driver in 1962 and 1965 and was the last Italian to win the Gran Premio d’Italia in 1966.

“I’m delighted to send you a review of the book just published in the bimonthly liberal magazine: Liber@mente. And I think I’ll write a long article on Le avventure di Jonathan Gullible for the monthly cultural magazine L’Aperitivo illustrato, maybe in the August or September issue…. I’ll keep you informed.

“Moreover, the book will be presented in August at Soverato (in the Calabria region, south of Italy) during the event ‘Libera Estate’, organized by the same liberal ‘Fondazione Vincenzo Scoppa’ that published the review. We don’t know the date yet, but we’ll know it soon. Yes, we also saw the italian version of “La Filosofia della Libertà”… many compliments!!!” Liberilibri, corso Cavour 33/a, 62100 Macerata, Italia.

India

Gideon Mathson (second from left) has an excellent blog in India on libertarian issues. Gideon wrote, “It was incredible meeting you at the conference. The conference in itself was a very moving experience for me. Knowing that I can contribute to the cause of liberty in some way, (despite the fact that I’m not a student of economics), really motivates me. I remember reading your book ‘Jonathan Gullible’, immediately after reading your article on immigration, published by the Centre for Civil Society. At that point I was quite confused by all the economic theory around (being a student of history brought up in a frustratingly Marxist environment).

“Your book in a lot of ways was the first time I really connected with basic libertarian concepts. I went from there to Bastiat. And through the conference I see the need to read a lot more, and in a more structured manner, I also see quite clearly that fiction and theater are the best ways in which I can contribute to the libertarian cause. I read through the ‘Jonathan Gullible’ script and I would love to perform it in Delhi. I also really want to use the play to encourage liberty here, in Delhi. I cannot explain how motivated I feel about this. Do let me know if there is anyway in which I can contribute to the cause of liberty.”

I also met Yavnika Khanna at the conference and was much impressed by the accomplishments of her Liberal Youth Forum in alliance with Parth Shah’s Centre for Civil Society.

New Endorsements

“I think you’re doing fabulous work in the struggle for liberty…Jonathan Gullible is a great read and makes the principles of liberty accessible, even possibly to those with alien and hostile minds.”-Walter E. Williams, Economist

“If policymakers read–and absorbed the lessons of–this book, how much better the U.S. and the world would be. Free markets, with sensible rules of the road, are moral because they unleash the productive, creative powers of people in ways that benefit everybody. This book is particularly timely.”-Steve Forbes, Publisher

“It’s the best introduction young people can get to free-market economics. In fact, it’s a great way for everyone, old or young, to be introduced to the freedom philosophy.” -Mark (Franklin) Skousen, with Steve (Washington) Forbes at Freedom Fest 2010

“In 44 languages and wonderfully accessible, Jonathan Gullible provides valuable lessons for us all.” -John Stossel, Broadcast journalist

“I do have Jonathan Gullible and have read it. Jonathan, well, wasn’t all that gullible, I thought. But I think Prof. Schoolland has done a great service with this book, and I’m sure it’s reaching many people.” –William Thomas, Director of Programs, Atlas Society

Best of all endorsements is this from one of Jonathan’s readers, 13-year-old Natalie Iannuzo:

The main character in the book is a young man by the name of Jonathan Gullible. Jonathan in the beginning of the book sets out to sea but the waves get too big and crash Jonathan’s boat onto a strange exotic island. On this island Jonathan meets some interesting people with very different opinions about the economy and how to deal with situations. Jonathan proves to the reader that his ways emphasizing free choice and competition are better alternatives than what other people on this island think.

Throughout Jonathan’s adventure on this strange island he experiences opinions that don’t make sense to him. For example, in chapter 3 Jonathan meets a well accomplished fisherman near a lake. The fisherman tells Jonathan that in this lake there used to be many big fish but they were all caught so now there are only little fish left. There is scum on the side of the lake, from people throwing trash in it and it is also the cause of some of the deaths of the fish. Jonathan asks why the fisherman doesn’t take care of it and he says that it isn’t his responsibility because it belongs to the Council of Lords and not to him. It is the Council of Lord’s responsibility to clean the lake not anyone else’s. The moral of this story is that when you own something you are more likely to take care of it rather than if you borrowed it. Ownership implies responsibility.

I thought that this book was a great action packed book that helped me understand how the economy works. The strange thing is that the economy in the book is like our economy today, because taxes are high and the people’s earnings are low. Also in the book there are newcomers who come to the island but don’t have to pay taxes so they basically live there for free. This book showed me that our economy is managed by those who want to control consumption more than production.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I highly recommend it to others.

Next?

2009 SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:03:00 +0000

NEWS FROM NIGERIA, FINLAND, UK, BULGARIA, PAKISTAN, & CUBA

UNIVERSITY DRAMA IN NIGERIA

This edition of the newsletter features a report from Ijagbenu, Olokesina Peters on a play based on the book by Ken Schoolland, The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey, that they’ve produced in Nigeria. It was performed August 13 to 15, 2009 at the Drama Village, Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria. The play was written and produced by Adedayo Thomas & Paul Ugbede and directed by Dr. Sam Kafewo.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Ishaleku Ebenezar – Merchant 1 Akajiaku Dirichi Princewell – Merchant 2 Mark Daniel – Merchant 3 Habila Adoka Sharon – Merchant 4 Ikieke Jessica Emododo – Woman Barnabas Liman Ayuba – Showman Phil Agbim Chidinma Gladys – Common 2 Igoil Kpadoo – Common (no 557) Adakole Micheal Greg – Dr. Tinstafl Abisabo Damian Samuel – Police Edozie Aloysius – Chair of Farmers UnionGwamna Nuhu – Man Ebebunjo Chiamaka – Chairman of Workers Fabian Emmanuel – Common 4 Emeka Njoku – Lord Ponzo Adeola Kushino Stephenie – Common 1 Eunice Atama – Lady Tweed Blessing Udoh – Lord Julia Precious Chrisantus – Common (no 221) Dashe King Ponzhi-Nanchwat – Common7 Stanley – Postmaster Dominic – Common 5

AUDIENCE REACTION

Lord Dr. Julia Pavlov sentence woman for cutting trees with sharp object.

Right from the rehearsal of the play, we the actors were apprehensive that the audience might not respond appropriately to the play. The theatre was famous for producing indigenous plays that involved dances, songs, and African proverbs and riddles. Here was a play based purely on ideas. Will the audience be receptive?

We were pleasantly surprised when the play started and the audience sat in rapt attention, following its message and even comparing images and symbols to the contemporary Nigerian situation. For instance, when one of the lords said that a house was not built according to specification and had to be demolished, the audience chorused the name of Nasir El Rufai. He was the immediate past Minister of the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria who became infamous for demolishing ‘illegal’ structures in his bid to return the city of Abuja to its original master plan.

The audience members were unanimous on the three nights that the play should go beyond the four walls of the University and should be taken to the authorities in Abuja who perpetuate the problems enunciated in the play.

FIRST DAY

On the first day of the performance, we had a little challenge on the turn out of the audience, which could have affected the acting of the players. But the actors were still able to carry the audience along not minding the number of the audience. The weather of the first day of the performance was favorable and there was no delay in transition from one scene to another.

FIRST DAY CHALLENGES/SUCCESSES

Power failure: On the very first day of the performance, we had a problem with lighting, which caused a little delay for us. A generator had to be hired and used, which made the actors put in extra effort in projecting their voices for the audience to hear, since the sound of the engine is higher than human voice.2. Tempo & pace: The tempo of the play was very high, which made the audience want more of the play because of the kind of songs that were raised and the dances introduced to ‘garnish’ the play. The pace, however, was rather slow because of the director telling the actors not to rush their lines so that the audience could get the message of the play. This instruction worked perfectly.

The Commons Protest

SECOND DAY

On the second day of the performance a lot of improvements were made, learning from mistakes of the first day. A major crisis ensued when an actor that left without telling the director. This was resolved by grooming a new actor for the role of Lord Ponzo.

THIRD DAY

This was the most challenging of all the three days of performance. Rain started some minutes after the performance began and did not stop drizzling until the end of the play. Despite the weather and the audience discomfort, the actors performed with the same high spirit throughout. This singular act could be credited to the director’s slogan “the-show-must-go-on.”

CAST PARTY

The kind of cast party we are used to is biscuits and coke entertainment, or occasionally suya and coke. However, the production of A Letter from Jonathan Gullible crew came up with a new dimension (big chicken and varieties of drinks). The actors ate and drank to fill on the final night.

APPRECIATION

A long list of people made the play a success from the first day of rehearsal to the end of the play on August 15, 2009. Those whose names are not mentioned should please bear with us, your efforts are also appreciated in the same way as those mentioned.

ISIL – For the wonderful work they are doing and for financial support towards the production of this play.Professor Ken Schoolland – A wonderful mentor and a true friend of the continent. He actually made it possible to open up the light in us.Professor Sam Kafewo [below right] – the Director of our time. His knowledge and skill is a big wealth to us. His time, total devotion, moral and financial support cannot be quantified. He is a teacher.Professor Dapo Adelugba – His fatherly criticisms made us strong. We have learned a lot from him.Adedayo Thomas – The playwright, the continent and especially our generation owes you great appreciation. His discovery of the original text is a plus, the adaptation is a wealth and his support towards the production is beyond our expectations. He deserved an award. We hope that he will not relent in his drive to make others think and act about their freedom. alhadedayothomas@yahoo.com

Serving The Commons with soup and straw

The Barber Complains

Merchant’s Farewell to Sunta city

Edit: Janette Eldridge has created a PowerPoint slideshow of images of various scenes of the play. Click to view or download the slideshow: Nigerian-Jonathan-Gullible-Play-Slideshow

FINNISH EDITION OF JG

Petri Kajander has just begun serialization of JG in Finland. Says Petri,”Last November I began to translate some essential Austrian texts and books into Finnish since the existing variety was pretty much non-existent (only a couple of books existed, out of which none was from Rothbard or Mises – even Atlas Shrugged has not been translated!). It’s now a bit less than a year and there seems to be a growing awareness and interest towards an Austrian / free-market approach in Finland. You can find some of my translations in a website titled ‘Essential Economics or Basics of Economics’: http://www.taloudenperusteet.com .” Reports Petri– Now I have released the complete Finnish version: http://www.taloudenperusteet.com/jonathan/index.html (Online)

Downloadable pdf: http://www.taloudenperusteet.com/jonathan/Jonathan_Gulliblen_seikkailut….

INTERNATIONAL POLICY NETWORK–UK

Linda Whetstone of IPN has just written that the Ideas of Liberty CD with libertarian literature, including The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible, is now being distributed. As many as 100,000 copies are being distributed globally. Writes Linda, “I think that JG has probably already reached these countries but JG and the CD are now on their way to Zimbabwe, Malaysia, South Africa, Malawi, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Slovenia, Ghana, Afghanistan, China, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Vietnam, Cambodia, Montenegro and Nepal. Someone working in the US treasury on international affairs has also asked for copies for some of his colleagues….I may have told you that we sent 3000 to Afghanistan but possibly not that they arrived without a hitch so Jonathan Gullible is now available at two separate universities in Kabul.” Bravo! lwhetstone@policynetwork.net

AWARD NOMINATIONS

JG has just been nominated by two separate institutes for the Sir Antony Fisher Memorial Award. The Atlas Economic Research Foundation offers this award in recognition of “the institutes that published a book, magazine, report, monograph, or study that…made the greatest contribution to public understanding of the free society.”

The book was nominated for the third Bulgarian edition of JG that was published by the Bulgarian Society for Individual Liberty and the Sindhi and second Urdu editions of JG that were published by the Alternate Solutions Institute of Pakistan. Says Mark Skousen, former President of the Foundation for Economic Education and author of nearly 30 books on economics, investments, and history: “Nobody has done what this book has done, with JG and getting read by thousands around the world via 46 translations.”

SMUGGLING IN AND OUT OF CUBA

How do we know of the impact the book is having? When Yuri Pérez, 26 years old, recently escaped from Cuba, he wrote to me because of a smuggled Spanish copy of JG that he obtained covertly in Cuba. Writes Yuri, “I read your book The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey. It is a great book and an easy way to teach [classical] liberalism to a new generation. I really thank you because of your book…Now I escaped from Cuba and I am living in USA with political refugee status. I arrived about 2 weeks ago and I’d like to keep in efforts of expanding liberalism in the world. I’d like to make contact with you.”

I immediately wrote to him to learn more of his story. “I’m happy,” said Yuri,”because the USA is a great country and I’m safe here but a little frustrated because I left the fight for freedom in my country. There in Cuba, my uncle was a political prisoner and my father was expelled from his job. In Cuba everything is under government control, including the economy. I had a lot of problems at my university while studying law. On orders from State Security (Cuba’s secret police), I was expelled from the university…Later, I entered the Juventud Martiana organization (it is the [classical] liberal youth in Cuba) and on December 2006 we got our observer membership in the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY)…In November 2008 I became president of the organization…

“Your book The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible and the Filosofi’a de la Libertad [the animated epilogue of the book] I used to open with a video player (internet access is not easy in Cuba) and I had a book written by the French [classical] liberal, Frederic Bastiat, who says the same. I don’t remember who gave these to me, some people who visited us in Cuba, maybe it was a diplomat from the US or Europe. I just liked it a lot and as I wrote you it is a very good way to teach our principles to a new generation.”

Yuri Pérez will be a featured speaker at the conference of the International Society for Individual Liberty in Phoenix, Arizona, January 8-10.

2009 JUNE NEWSLETTER

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:46:00 +0000

2009 June Newsletter

CELEBRATING JONATHAN GULLIBLE'S 20TH BIRTHDAY

Small Business Hawaii launched an economics education program twenty years ago that has been changing the world. Begun as a dramatic radio series in Hawaii, The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey, has now been published in 58 editions in 43 languages, including serialization in numerous periodicals such as the Keizai Seminar Magazine (Japan), The Boss (Nepal), SEDEM Weekly (Bulgaria), Neo Typos (Greece), and The Hong Kong Economic Journal. The internationalization of JG was entirely due to the support of the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL) and the network it fostered.

Thousands of copies have been downloaded from the internet, from ISIL.org, HawaiiReporter.com, or JonathanGullible.com. Next is the International Policy Network (IPN) project for distribution of 100,000 CD’s to less developed countries. Plays based on the book have been written for stage in Kenya, Nigeria, and Slovakia. An animated version of the epilogue, known as “The Philosophy of Liberty,” is now available in 36 languages and has been hugely popular with hundreds of thousands of viewers on the internet.

What are the latest developments?

ARABIC

The publishing house Dar Al Ahlia in Jordan, just released Jamal Attayib, the Arabic name for Jonathan Gullible (JG). Haitham al- Zubbaidi wrote, “They are exactly the same: although there are many ways to spell it in English, there is only one standard spelling in Arabic no matter how it is written in English. They are the same, and the same word could have many other spellings in English e.g. (El-Tayyib; Attayib; Al-Tayyib etc.) all make the same pronunciation for Arabs…The book appeared, I had the first test copy only, it is grand and awesome, this Wednesday we will receive all our copies from the publisher, I have your address and will send your copies the same day.”

This is the culmination of a very long effort, begun with translation sponsorship by Nicholas Dykes [above left]. Paul Lundberg was also instrumental in getting the first translation work off the ground. Finally it was through Nouh El Harmouzi [above right], editor and project manager of the “Lamp of Liberty,” and Tom Palmer of the Cato Institute that led to the final funding and arrangements for publication. For copies of the book, contact Haitham al- Zubbaidi, haithamzubbaidi@yahoo.com, alahlia@net.jo

SINDHI & URDU

Dr. Khalil Ahmad [below center] has surely been struggling through difficult times in Lahore, Pakistan, but his Alternate Solutions Institute keeps producing valuable work.

The latest new book, the Sindhi translation of Awaami Falaahi Riasat Ki Kahaani, Becharay Jonathan Ki Zabaani. Yes, this is The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey. The Sindhi translation [above left] was made by Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Rahujo, General Secretary of Liberal Forum Pakistan, is based on Dr. Khalil Ahmad's Urdu translation [above right] of the same book that was published in 2003. The Friedrich Naumann Stiftung Pakistan very generously funded the project. The sales of the first Urdu edition were so successful, that Dr. Ahmad has also published a second edition in Urdu. For more information or copies of the book, see the Alternate Solutions website at: http://asinstitute.org/taxonomy/term/20

BULGARIAN

Kalin Manolov also reported great news about the second Bulgarian edition of Jonathan Gullible. Says Kalin, “The book will be ready in 2 weeks. I'll send a copy to you. The great news is that Overgas, a private company which provides resources for the construction and operation of gas distribution networks - www.overgas.bg , supported the publication and will give the book as a present of their pupils. They support 14 classes in various Bulgarian schools. Other good news: the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science will buy books for 30 high ranking Bulgarian secondary schools in the towns of Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Bourgas.” To obtain copies, contact Kalin at: kalin@fd-bg.com

Next Kalin hopes to organize the Liberty English Camps in Bulgaria, on the line of so many more liberty camps springing up throughout Eastern Europe. It is the perfect opportunity to use this kind of book for discussions, debates, and skits. My family will be teaching and lecturing at such events in Lithuania this summer, organized by Virgis Daukas. More camps are organized by Glenn Cripe and others in Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, India, and Egypt.

NIGERIAN ENGLISH PLAY

Dr Samuel Ayedime Kafewo wrote this from Nigeria, “This is to inform you that the assessments of the MA students of the play ‘A Letter from Jonathan Gullible’ will be staged and assessed by both internal and external Examiners at the Drama Village of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria Kaduna-State Nigeria. After this, it will then be open to public for three days for public viewing June 12-14. The recorded assessment will be sent as soon as possible.” I’m hopeful to will post a slide show and video material on this website.

The producer, Adedayo Thomas [above left], alhadedayothomas@yahoo.com and Director, Dr. Samuel Ayedime Kafewo [above right], sakafewo@yahoo.com , welcome contributions toward the production. Prof. Kafewo can also be reached at the Department of Theatre and Performing Arts, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Nigeria, +234 8037032433, +234 8084268794 Adedayo Thomas has recently been promoting books on liberty at the Cape Town Book Fair as the Publisher of AfricanLiberty.org . I highly recommend AfricaLiberty.org for all of their very valuable projects in pursuit of liberty, peace, and prosperity in Africa.

SLOVAK AND ENGLISH PLAYS

Mats Posvanc [below left] matus.posvanc@hayek.sk wrote from Bratislava, Slovakia: “In the attached file you can find the final English version of the play and a first version of the first song (but just in the Slovak) but you can hear from the file chosen melody which was prepared by Martin. He has prepared just one song till today but he has other songs in his head :-) I think that this final version could be published in your web site and if someone is interested to realize the whole play, Martin has promised to prepare also other songs in the musician way (notes and so on...). We are still in the process to find someone who will study the play. We found also some funds to produce the play."

His partner, Martin Bican [above right] bicanm@t-zones.sk followed saying: “I am very glad that you and Janette like my music because I am really very happy to participate in that project. I would like to inform you that this version of song is still only a draft and therefore is not appropriate for publishing. You can hear some rhythmic imperfections and false tones. I am going to make new better version together with other songs asap and then send them.”

Why are they doing this? Matus explained: “Actually there is no very complicated story to tell about. Martin and I have been friends for a long time, both of us are readers of a classical liberal agenda. We met one day on the street and Martin tells me, ‘Let’s write a theatrical play inspired by Ken Schoolland´s book, The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible. And we did it in one year. “In Slovakia, we are now in the stage of collecting money for the study of the play and we are looking for a theatrical group who could perform the play. We translated the play into the English with the great help of Janette and Ray Eldridge and we hope that it will help to spread it in other countries too. We will be very happy if anyone feels free to use the play for any kind of performance. “Both of us are supporters of a free society and classical liberal ideas. As other free society fans, we see all around us that these ideas are not only very known, but they are pretty dead and forgotten. Young generation is not keen on reading anymore and reasoning is not very familiar for them. Their opinions are formed as the mixture of postmodern culture, media information, subliminal movie influences which are directed by leftist ideas.

“Therefore we think that we, as a classical liberal movement, need the same tools as our opponents use and try in the same way influence especially the young generation. We think that this play, like the original book we were inspired by, could help a little.”

I hope so, too.

POLAND

Kris Haladus [below center] krzysztof@haladus.pl has long promoted the new book and audio edition of JG in Poland so why not do some hot marketing. For one thing, Kris has developed a whole line of JG T-Shirts from the latest color illustrations in the Polish edition of the book. Please contact Kris for orders.

Kris suggested to Pawel Tobola-Pertkiewicz p.tobola@pafere.org , President of The Polish American Foundation for Economic Research and Education (PAFERE) [below center-left] that they might host me on a lecture tour in Poland. With the generous sponsorship and encouragement of Jan Malek, Founder of PAFERE and a long time member of the Mont Pelerin Society [below center-right], this was accomplished.

Pawel is a genius at publicity and promotion, arranging for me to address 17 schools, universities, and public events in 5 cities around Poland over Spring Break. As luck would have it, my daughter, Kenli, and brother, Virgis, were also available to join in the fun.

Interviews were provided to radio, television, and newspaper journalists and meetings were held with The ?ód? Political Club, The Nowogrodzka 44 Discussion Club, and the PAFERE Conference on “Ethical Sources of the Present Crisis: What Will Be the Future of Capitalism?”

Audiences were most interested in hearing about causes and cures for the global monetary crisis. They have a healthy skepticism of the panicked clamor to give trillion dollar bailouts to cronies in the financial sector. In fact, many Poles whom I spoke with felt that the recession was being over-hyped in order to stir a panic response. How else could American politicians get away with bailout pledges that amounted to more than triple the total expense of World War II?

Students, well-versed in the politics of corruption in Eastern Europe, were bitterly amused to learn of the revolving door in Washington D.C. where personnel and payoffs so deftly coursed through the halls of government and allied corporate boardrooms. PAFERE was founded in a staunchly Catholic Poland to combat immoral political behavior that blatantly violates the Seventh Commandment: “Thou shalt not steal.”

During my lectures, Kenli [below left, center] provided the technical support for power point presentations and coached timing and relevance. Virgis Daukas [below left], Kenli’s “uncle” and founder of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, provided counsel, transportation, and laughs.

Other topics included Free Market Ethics, Trade and Labor Protectionism, and the new, third Polish edition of JG. People came from all over the country seeking autographs for early copies of JG published nine years ago in Lublin and Kraków. I was truly moved by the effect that these educational tools have made over the years. Several people came to me saying that the book opened their eyes to possibilities of the free market for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet empire.

The perennial question on the tour was, “When will the recession end?” We answered with a straight face, “August 23 at 8:47 AM.” But this is not a joking matter for Poles. After all, they experienced the worst of inhuman horrors for half a century, when their neighbors east and west sacrificed personal liberties to political statists who promised to rescue them from the 1930’s Depression.

ANIMATED PHILOSOPHY OF LIBERTY

The longest on-going project is the expansion of our greatest outreach project, begun many years ago with Kerry Pearson to use media to spread the Philosophy of Liberty (PoL) that first appeared as the introduction to the first Russian edition of the book. It has since appeared as the Epilogue of all subsequent editions—43 in all published to date. With the help of Christian Butterbach, Mario Knezovic, and Tim Skousen, we were able to continue the project after Kerry’s death. But the greatest development is the development of the PoL in 36 languages in a new format that is easy to adapt to more languages. [See the home page.] This has been accomplished with a team working under the direction of Steve Cobb and with the assistance of Drew Suder. I will publish a list of all the people who have contributed to this project. I’m very grateful to all.

Completing the Marathi translation was Shriram Barve [below right], who wrote, “I have almost completed reading the book (Jonathan Gullible) and have found it interesting. In my opinion, the book introduces several basic concepts in economics and could become an interesting and informative read for the young. It also makes one think about several issues. I find it quite ‘relevant’; one may find many of the stories described in the book happening in the real world in some form or the other. The format of using stories to raise some of the important social and economic questions is very useful, as it makes the issue come out very clearly.”

In addition to new language editions, Saher [below left] Saher@GaltMusic.com has written and produced a new score for the video. It fits perfectly. Commented Saher, “Finished! I put up a demo of the score here: http://www.galtmusic.com/film/pol_demo/demo.html This was an exceedingly enjoyable project for me and I want to thank you again for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your fantastic efforts.”

Praises also go to Drew Suder for spending many hours designing and adapting the new JG website appearance and functionality. [Above right.] Finally it is a system that I should be able to enter and modify without pestering a web master! Hopefully I’ll learn to host blogs and forums and to post JG relevant news as soon as it happens rather than only once or twice a year.

JAPANESE

Hiroshi Yoshida produced the translation of the PoL into Japanese. Moreover, thanks to Yoshida-san, JG continues to be a serialized comic strip on the website of Japanese for Tax Reform. [Below, left to right, Mr.You, Maruko, Ken, Yoshida, Miyakawa]. Maruko Maruyama’s magnificent illustrations can be seen on their website: http://www.jtr.gr.jp/

100,000 JG DISTRIBUTION

The International Policy Network (IPN) has developed a project for distribution of 100,000 CD’s, including JG among a great collection of books and essays on liberty. This is what Linda Whetstone, IPN Chairman, says about the project: IDEAS FOR A FREE SOCIETY

“It is often said that ‘ideas have consequences’ – and this is certainly true for ideas about the free society. Yet these ideas are essentially unknown in parts of the world where they are most urgently needed. In large parts of Africa, Asia, Eurasia and the Middle East, journalists, teachers, professors, students and other opinion leaders have virtually no ready access to any of the books and articles about free markets that have directly or indirectly influenced the thinking of those who live in freer societies.

Many inspirational and influential advocates of the free society have had a ‘Eureka moment’ as a result of reading just one book. That book had a profound and lasting impact, leading them to dedicate their lives to the pursuit of the free society in their own countries. Antony Fisher had just such a moment upon reading Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom, which inspired him to found the Institute of Economic Affairs, The Atlas Economic Research Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, the Pacific Research Institute, and other think tanks. The idea behind the CD Ideas for a Free Society is to inspire many more of these Eureka moments, especially in places where such ideas are scarce.

In 2006, International Policy Network produced and distributed a CD called Ideas for a Free Society, which contained over 100 key texts. Because of budgetary constraints, only 5,000 copies were produced, but the hugely enthusiastic reception that the CD received especially in countries in Africa and Asia showed how great the need is for these texts particularly in a form that is cheap and relatively easy to distribute.

In order to fill the known demand for the CD made apparent by the first edition IPN is about to produce 100,000 of the second edition of this CD which should be available by the end of June 2009. The goal of the CD is to enable many more opinion leaders in less developed countries to have access to the compelling intellectual foundations of the free society.”

For copies of the CD contact Linda Whetstone, lwhetstone@policynetwork.net

JG FUND

To assist with the multitude of JG projects around the world, please send contributions to the JG Fund, the International Society for Individual Liberty: http://www.isil.org/tools/jonathan-gullible.html

This project has not only been supported by the Small Business Hawaii Entrepreneurial Education Foundation, but by more than two dozen international public policy institutes and endorsed by such free market luminaries as Mark Skousen, Milton Friedman, Walter Williams, and Fred Foldvary. Along the way it has won several awards for economics education, most notably from the Foundation for Economic Education and the Freedom’s Foundation at Valley Forge. And, not once but twice, book distributors in Hawaii informed us that they would not carry the book in the islands.

WHERE TO FIND LIBERTY ACTION THIS SUMMER AND FALL?

CASEY YOUTH CONFERENCE ON LIBERTY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP, Lithuania, JUNE 29-JULY 5, http://preview.raxo.org/

LANGUAGE OF LIBERTY CAMP, Lithuania, JULY 9-14, virgis3@yahoo.com

LANGUAGE OF LIBERTY INSTITUTE, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya, http://www.languageofliberty.org/

FREEDOM FEST 2009, Las Vegas, USA, JULY 9-11, http://www.freedomfest.com/

FREEDOM FEST, Paris, France, SEPTEMBER 10-13, http://parislibertarian2009.wordpress.com/

2008 OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:34:00 +0000

THE BALTICS

In July my family all used The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey (JG) in teaching at various youth conferences and camps across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The Language of Liberty Camp, originally founded by Virgis Daukas and Stephen Browne fifteen years ago for the youth of Lithuania, Belarus, and Poland, remains as strong as ever. The week-long event at a lake resort near Trakai Castle was sponsored this year by the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL), Lobo Tiggre, Doug Casey, Virgis Daukas, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, the von Mises Center of Minsk, and other organizations.

In addition to various talks on economics and political philosophy, we used selected chapters from JG for skits, discussions, and debates on numerous topics about innovation, taxes, prohibition, protectionism, inflation, civil liberties, immigration, trade, etc. Other teachers, speakers, and organizers were Judy Nagy, Andy Eyschen, Jaroslav Romanchuk, and Mary Lou Gutscher.

Judy, a great champion of liberty traveling from Quito, Ecuador, presented the “government plan” to all the attending students. In small discussion and lecture groups throughout the week, Judy instructed attendees on the philosophical basis of a limited government. Judy is the original translator of the Spanish edition of JG.

My family was then guided by Virgis on a trek to Tallinn for a presentation on free market education to a combined meeting of the Estonian Free Society Institute and the Liberal Youth Club, organized by Paul Vahur. Paul says they are set to publish an Estonian edition of JG in the near future. Tallinn was the site of the “Singing Revolution” that brought liberation from the Soviet Union in 1992. For a DVD of this superb documentary by Maureen and James Tusty see SingingRevolution.com. Along with others, the film was supported by Thor Halvorssen and the Moving Pictures Institute.

GEORGIA

We then headed to Bakuriani, Georgia, for the Lessons of Liberty Camp in the Caucasus Mountains of the former Soviet Union. We were hesitant to travel to Georgia with newspaper headlines warning of impending war in the region.

Russia moved troops and aircraft divisions to the border in support of a separatist movement in Abkhasia and protestations over scheduled Georgian membership in NATO. Georgia withdrew the ambassador from Moscow. But when we arrived we found life as normal.

The war didn’t break out until the week after we left, with reports of tanks moving into South Ossetia and Russian bombing just two kilometers from the Tbillisi airport from which we had just departed. Some of our students have since reported bombings within 20 meters of their car and neighbors killed when their apartment building was bombed. All air and ground transportation was halted.

Before all this, forty students and staff from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and the Ukraine were sponsored by the New Economic School of Georgia (NESG), Lobo Tiggre, Doug Casey, and ISIL for a week of speaking English in the context of the literature and ideas of liberty.

VINCE MILLER

At all of these events across Eastern Europe, Vince Miller was remembered as the heroic figure of networking and support through his work as President of ISIL. Without his tireless dedication to spreading the ideas of liberty, most of the organizers would not have met and JG would not have spread around the world. Vince’s passing was a tragic and deeply sad moment for us all.

As at the camp in Batumi in the summer of 2007, JG was used in setting the foundation for many of the lessons. Paata Sheshelidze, Gia Jandieri, Kevin Bjornson, Lobo Tiggre, and Li Schoolland organized a spectacular week of activity that led to significant gains in political maturity in the ideas of freedom. My daughter, Kenli, and I conducted surveys using questions derived from the Nolan Chart of personal and economic freedom to determine the attitudes of students before and after.

Political Classification Percentage

Centrists

Pre 44%

Post 27%

--------------------------------------

Populist/Authoritarian

Pre 24%

Post 6%

--------------------------------------

Social Democrats

Pre 21%

Post 9%

-------------------------------------

Conservatives

Pre 9%

Post 15%

--------------------------------------

Classical Liberal/Libertarian

Pre 3%

Post 42%

The NESG also distributed copies of the Georgian edition of JG for interested students. This was a publication project of Paata that has been used throughout the past year to prompt discussions and debates about free markets, civil liberties, and the philosophy of liberty.

Similar camps have been organized this summer by Glenn Cripe and the Language of Liberty Institute in Slovakia, Poland, and Ghana. Sponsors have also included ISIL, Jeff Crawford, and others.

AZERBAIJAN

Following the Georgian camp my family headed to Baku, Azerbaijan, where we made presentations to the Liberal Youth at a meeting hosted by Wolfgang John, Arastun Orujlu, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF). The FNF has also expressed interest in publishing an Azeri edition of JG. The message of free markets through satire is often most appreciated in countries that do not yet fully allow personal freedom of expression.

We met with an independent reporter who told us of some ghastly stories of what can happen to those who openly criticize the government. The number of arrests and harassment doubled in the past year and the number of critical news stories has plummeted. Journalists, publishers, and opposition groups are offered a carrot (high pay to work for a government newspaper or affiliated organizations) and a stick (i.e. beatings, stabbings, and arrests on trumped-up charges) immediately after critical news stories appear in print.

We also met a lawyer who is renowned as the first to succeed against the Azeri government in a case that was brought before the International Court of Human Rights. She scored a great victory, but only after the offending journalist had already spent eight years in prison.

Acquaintances in Baku hinted that my email correspondence might even be monitored and they joke that, in all email messages, one should extend a personal greeting to the folks in state security who are monitoring all suspicious outside communication. As in China, people are generally left alone so long as they don’t threaten the power structure. Sadly, it seems that the powerful elite are the ones benefiting the most by the nation’s vast oil riches.

COURAGEOUS YOUTH

Some of my jovial students told of their recent arrest for a simple patriotic demonstration. These liberal youth were very courageous, indeed! On the birthday of the first president of the independent Azerbaijan Republic, these students placed flowers at his memorial and gave interviews to the invited media.

A democratic Azerbaijan once had a very short period of independence from Russia in 1918. This lasted only two years before the country was again occupied by the communists of the Soviet Union. Soviet domination ended with the collapse of the USSR in 1992, but authoritative control is still entrenched.

The police intended to arrest just a couple of the student leaders, but a couple dozen others expressed solidarity and insisted that all be arrested. The arresting officer personally told one of them that he thought they were patriots, but still no demonstrations could be allowed.

The arrest of a student risks the loss of one’s academic standing and whole career, but these students weren’t deterred. They even made a party of it, ordering take-out pizza and offering it to the police at the station. I was astounded at the bravado these students showed. I wonder if the youth of America would show such bravado in the face of tyranny?

KYRGYZSTAN

JG publications have enabled me to meet many courageous people. This past year we met Mirsulzhan Namazaliev (photo, center) in Kyrgyzstan. He is a terrific libertarian activist and organizer who has also helped to promote the Kyrgyz edition of JG to the rural regions of the country.

A few months ago he wrote of his arrest for protesting the rigged elections in Bishkek, “…we were sentenced to be in jail for 7 days. We were arrested twice. The youth protest called ‘I don’t believe’ was the result and the reaction of young freedom activists in response to the dirty, unfair, and corrupted parliamentary elections, when the party of the President, created just 3 months ago, won. The time I spent in the jail was one of the important days in my life. There I realized how my liberty is invaluable, how the liberties of my fellows are also invaluable. When I was released, I looked on this world a little differently, with more understanding of the philosophy of liberty.”

TURKEY

We also met Atilla Yayla (below) in Turkey at his camp last summer in Cesme, Turkey. Atilla is a very courageous libertarian, publisher of the recent Turkish edition of JG, and founder of the Association for Liberal Thinking, an organization that promotes classical liberal values like free speech, private property, limited government, the rule of law, free markets, and civil society.

His tale was summarized by Heritage Insider last February, “During a scholarly talk in November of 2006, Atilla Yayla states that Turkey had been politically backward during the early years of its republic. Turkish authorities responded by prosecuting Yayla for violating a law against insulting Turkey’s founder, Kemal Ataturk. On Monday, a Turkish court sentenced Yayla to a 15-month suspended jail term. That could be considered mildly good news, since the prosecutor had asked for a five-year jail term.”

Writes Atilla of this turn of events, “As the punishment has been suspended it will not effect negatively my teaching at the university. However I will be under constant surveillance of the state and media. Therefore I will feel less free.”

Atilla was a visiting professor the past year at the University of Buckingham in England where my daughter, Kenli, will be studying economics this year. I’ve met several of the faculty and administrators at the university and found them to be strongly devoted to free market principles. Indeed, the university comes highly recommended as the only one in England that is independent of government funds.

Another great champion of liberty in Turkey is Birol Kovancilar (below right) an economics professor who boldly uses the Turkish JG in his classes despite the tidal waves it causes among his colleagues.

WALTER WILLIAMS & JOHN STOSSEL

In recent correspondence economist Walter Williams (below) wrote, “I’ve been meaning to tell you for some time that I think you’re doing fabulous work in the struggle for liberty.” I took the opportunity to obtain his endorsement for the next edition of the book: “When I think of Ken’s Jonathan Gullible, I think of my favorite author Jonathan Swift and his Gulliver’s Travels and his satirical examination of mankind’s cruelty and folly. Jonathan Gullible is a great read and makes the principles of liberty accessible, even possibly to those with alien and hostile minds.” “John Stossel believes The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible provides valuable lessons for us all.”

NEW ENGLISH EDITION

Kris Haladus also received permission to use this quote from journalist John Stossel (below): “The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible provides valuable lessons for us all.”

Kris is publishing a brand new, full-color, handsomely illustrated, hardcover, English edition of JG with audio CD! This is targeted to the youth audience in America, England, and the Commonwealth nations. Kris is a man of remarkable talents, developing a high-quality publication.

NIGERIA

The play by Thomas Adedayo (belowt) has drawn considerable interest at universities in Nigeria. Dr. Samuel Ayedime Kafewo wrote to Adedayo saying that two students, Dan Aikoye Salifu and Clement Faiva Pembi of the Department of Theatre and Performing Arts at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, are producing the play as part of their requirement for a masters degree. The Instructors are Prof. Dapo Adelugba, Dr Emmy Unuja Idegu and Dr Muhammed Inuwa Umar-Buratai.

Dr. Kafewo told me, “It is a pleasure to attempt to put this great work on stage. Never mind the recent upheavals in the capital market that is forcing a government bailout, free enterprise remains the best form of releasing the peoples’ creative energies to free themselves from poverty, squalor and want.”

SLOVAKIA

Martin Bican (below) and Matúš Pošvanc (below), with the great editing assistance of Janette and Ray Eldridge, have adapted their fabulous multi-media Slovakian play to English. The Slovakian edition is ready for stage and theater production. It is a very humorous rendition of the JG storyline.

In addition, they found interest in the Jonathan Gullible Rap that was first written and produced for radio in Hawaii many years ago by Ryan Segawa and Ron Corpuz (left to right). Check here to listen to the great JG Rap.

ROMANIA, SLOVENIA, BOSNIA

A new Romanian edition of JG is soon to be released by Iulian Tanase of Libertas Publishing in Bucharest. In Slovenia, JG has been serialized monthly over the past year by Matej Steinbacher and the Free Society Institute. Sadly, the Free Society Institute has closed shop, but they are still seeking support for the funding of a new Slovenian edition of the JG.

And this from Shura Dumanic, “As I promised the Bosnian version of J.G. is available on ‘on-line.’ See my site: www.shuraedit.com, link to ‘on line publications’. For instance site is only in our language – it will be soon in English and in Italian, too. Are you interested to publish JG in Italian version? Maybe I can to do something.”

NEPAL

From Kathmandu, Prakash Thapa reported, “We had two book launch programs in Nepal recently…our presenters from Birgunj commented and renamed Jonathan Gullible to Jagannath Goule. Jagannath is a traditional Nepali name and Goule means ‘villagers.’ We wish we could organize a book launch and book discussion along with you one day in Kathmandu.”

The Nepali version of JG was launched in Biratnagar and Birgunj by the American Corners and the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu. The program was attended by local dignitaries, journalists, students, and intellectuals. The Public Affairs Director stressed the economic relevancy of the book in the context of Nepal.

INDIA

Barun Mitra of the Liberty Institute in New Delhi has published JG in English and Bengali. He reported recently that he was speaking to a translator about a Tamil edition. Shrikrishna M. Badiger also wrote saying, “I finished reading your book Adventures of Jonathan Gullible. It is the most wonderful expository of free markets and ideas of liberty I have ever read. I congratulate you on writing such a great work. I also enjoyed animation presentation of ‘The Philosophy of Liberty.’ I couldn’t stop myself from writing this email of appreciation for the work you have done. I come from Karnataka. Bangalore is the Capitol, which is far away from New Delhi. I plan to hand a copy of your book to people who are good at English and regional languages. If they like what is in the book, perhaps they are willing to coordinate with you for the translation of the book in Kannada and Marathi languages.”

ANIMATED PHILOSOPHY OF LIBERTY

Drew Suder is taking up the work of Steve Cobb and Mario Knezovic adapting the animated Philosophy of Liberty to another dozen languages. A totally new template is being refined and should be ready for easy adaptation of more languages by January. Any ideas or help for the website or animation should be emailed to Drew. The PoL animation is available in 6 different multimedia formats from Drew at: http://philosophyofliberty.blogspot.com/

Among these translations are Amharic (Ethiopia) by James McLaughlin, Chinese by Li Schoolland, and Hebrew by Dmitry Ostrovsky (left) who wrote, “My name is Dmitry Ostrovsky and last year I translated the PoL into Hebrew. I want you to know that my translation of JG (the book) is half way done.”

Another spectacular development has been the mix of the animated PoL with theater. Dean Harris (below) made this great offer: “I am a Grade 11 student, living in the small rural community of Erin, Ontario just outside of Toronto, Canada. As a firm believer in the principles of libertarianism, I am a huge fan of the work you have done with your Philosophy of Liberty, and forward the flash video to anyone who might be interested in the fundamental philosophies of liberty.”

“In Canada,” says Dean, “we have an annual theatre competition, called the Sears Drama Festival where over 12,000 students and their teachers enter their works in the competition, in various levels of competition (district, regional, and provincial). I would like to acquire your permission to create a stage adaptation of your Philosophy of Liberty, to enter in the Sears Drama competition. I intend on utilizing black lights, masks, and music to create a stage version of your impressive philosophy. Not only would it allow me to pursue my interest in stage production and direction, but more importantly it would provide another venue for me to spread the word about the principles of liberty, in a highly engaging and entertaining way.”

On top of all this, the PoL will soon have some new music. An offer from Saher (left) was eagerly accepted and arrangements have been made following this introduction: “I recently saw the Philosophy of Liberty on YouTube and found it to be a well-produced piece with a message I can get behind. From a musician’s perspective, my only disappointment was that the score was unconvincing and unmistakably MIDI generated – I believe the video would have had all the more impact were the quality of the score on par with the rest of the production. As such, I’d like to offer my services as a film composer as well as a songwriter for any future work you may do. Visit http://www.galtmusic.com/film for my film scoring work and http://www.youtube.com/sbgalt or www.myspace.com/galtmusic for my popular music.”

PAKISTAN

Dr. Khalil Ahmad, Director of the Alternate Solutions Institute in Lahore, Pakistan wrote of two developments: “This is to ask for your permission to translate JG into Sindhi, a local language of our Sindh province; the same language is also spoken in India’s Rajhastan also. The translation will be done by a Sindhi doctor and published by our Institute.” Also, “I am preparing the 2nd edition of our Urdu translation of JG. It is almost ready for the press. Please confirm: till now JG has been translated into 41 languages or more?”

Indeed, there are more than 50 editions of JG in 41 languages. What a great sign of success that the book is progressing into new editions in Pakistan and Romania.

“Breaking news: Khalil reports that the Sindhi edition is now published and available in Pakistan.”

ALBANIA

Another second edition project desperately in need of sponsorship assistance is in Albania. Kozeta Çika recently wrote, “I am glad to tell you that Anthem by Ayn Rand is published in Albanian. Republishing JG will help me with my classes because I use photocopies for the moment, as there is no books left, except for a few copies in the library. It will also be helpful for the students of the new European University of Tirana, founded by the Liberal Circle two years ago. I have sent them copies of the Albanian version of Rand’s Anthem for their library, but I don’t have any spare copies of JG for them.”

“I will try publishing it privately,” says Kozeta, “without going to publishing houses, but directly to the printing house, like I did with Anthem. This way is cheaper, as publishing houses ask a lot of money and mostly do not publish school books because there is low sale and they put higher prices. This is the cheapest price I could get for 500 copies (120 page/copy) is 350 Euro for the design and lay out, including editing and correction; 2,3 Euro/book, i.e. 1150 Euro altogether for printing, total 1500 Euro. If they use a better quality of paper, thicker cover and colours, the price increases. I intend to translate it again from the very beginning and not use translated parts from the first version because it needs improving. Hope you can manage to help. I have already thought of holding an ISIL conference or Libertarian Summer Camp in Albania. We have to take it more seriously.”

I informed Kozeta that there were at least 130 downloads of the electronic Albanian edition from the JG website. She replied, “I have been told this continuously by a lot of people, especially students of private universities here in Tirana, who download it for reading. Many have contacted me in all these years. In fact, even my students print pages of JG from this link and then we make copies for all, because not all have computers at home; there are no computer halls at the state university where I teach, so it is a bit difficult for the students who live at university campus. They have to pay for internet, printing and photocopying and they all have costs. I have started translating your new edition of JG and I intend to have it online soon. Hope we can manage to have it as a book, as well.”

Kozeta is a brilliant, beautiful, courageous, tireless champion of liberty struggling fearlessly against the tide in Albania. Indeed, Kozeta is the Dagny Taggert of the Balkans. I encourage libertarians to support her valiant efforts.

JAPAN

In September I was nominated for membership to the Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) by Terry Easton (below, left) and seconded by Lydia Ortega of San Jose State University. I’m pleased to say that they are fans of JG for use in their classrooms. Another fan of JG is Fred Foldvary (below, right) at Santa Clara University, the 2007 prescient author of The Depression of 2008.

One good result of this spectacular MPS event in Tokyo was meeting Hiroshi Yoshida (below, left photo, Mr.You, Maruko, Ken, Yoshida, Miyakawa), professor, author, researcher for Japanese for Tax Reform organization (modeled after Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform), and surely the intellectual heir of the Austrian School of economics in Japan. Yoshida-san arranged to produce a JG comic strip for their website. http://www.jtr.gr.jp/

In addition to the fun of selling copies of JG with Mark Skousen (below), I was very honored to renew my long acquaintance with Toshio Murata and his regal wife (above, right photo). Professor Murata is the former president of Yokohama College of Commerce and translator into Japanese of Human Action. Professor Murata studied under Ludwig von Mises, is author of more than twenty books on real estate, head of the editing group that translated JG into Japanese, and surely the intellectual heir of the Austrian School of economics in Asia.

ARABIC

A couple years ago Nick Dykes (author of the new libertarian philosophical and adventure novel, Old Nick’s Guide to Happiness) sponsored an Arabic translation of JG. This dedicated work is finally coming to realization.

Nouh El Harmouzi (below) wrote, “Your work is very interesting and it will be very useful for the Arab reader. This is why we will be delighted to publish it in Arabic. I want to say this is in the final stage of my editing and proofreading. We want it to be closest to the Arab world, culture, and mentality…like our last books, your book will most likely be edited and published by Dar Al Ahlia in Jordan and then distributed and published in the Arab world.”

Nouh El Harmouzi is editor and project manager of the “Lamp of Liberty,” an Arabic program created by the Cato Institute.

BATCHULUUN IN MONGOLIA

Batchuluun writes, “I am still trying to disseminate libertarian ideas in Mongolia. Until today I have translated In Defense of Global Capitalism by Johan Norberg, Libertarianism by D.Boaz and Libertarianism in One Lesson by D.Bergland and your JG. Also I have worked as an editor of the Mongolian edition of Liberalism by von Mises. I have written more than libertarian articles for the most popular daily newspapers in Mongolia. And I give lectures on Libertarianism every month in different educational and cultural organizations and I have been interviewed on TV about Libertarianism. Recently I just finished translation of The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. The Mongolian edition of this book will appear soon…When I first read libertarian literature, I was sincerely attracted to ideas. It sounded quite natural to me. The reason for this may be because of my philosophical background influence or memories of the terrible experience of the Communist period. Anyway all my deeds for the rest of my life will be dedicated to the dissemination of Libertarianism in Mongolia.”

It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend Batchuluun for sponsors of his remarkable work.

ELSEWHERE

Janette Eldridge and Ria Crafford continue with efforts to complete the Afrikaans edition. We have translations of JG in French and Swedish that are ready for publication. There are people who are in various stages of production on more than a dozen projects. Any support that can be offered will be greatly appreciated. For much needed financial support, please donate your tax deductible contributions through ISIL.

Hernán Alberro has distributed books throughout the Spanish speaking world from his base in Argentina. Recently he wrote, “I sent some copies to Paraguay, to Hugo Vera of Fundación Libertad, and they will use the book for their training courses for highschool students…”

Lest we forget the impact, Travis Mount, former President of the Reason Club at Hawaii Pacific University brought home one good report about the spread of the Philosophy of Liberty to strange new territory. Wrote Travis, “Hi Ken, I thought I would send you some pictures that I spotted in California as I was telling you today. Of all places, a hot dog place in Berkeley, CA. Jonathan Gullible knows no bounds!” Travis sent this picture from the hot dog stand in Berkeley.

2007 OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 03:17:00 +0000

HEADLINES

5 New Books Published in 2007

Polish, Mongolian, Turkish, Georgian, Nepali

2 Stage Plays Produced

Nigeria, Slovakia

6 New Languages of Animated Philosophy of Liberty

Danish, Italian, Polish, Lithuanian, Somali, Hungarian, +10 in queue

3 Language Editions Resurrected

Kyrgyz, German, Romanian

13 New Language Projects

French, Tagalog, Slovakian, Slovenian, Estonian, Kashubian, Arabic, Haitian Creole, Tamil, Ukrainian, Russian, Hebrew, Visayan

Progress in Distribution and Audio Production

Spanish, Portuguese, Sinahalese, Radio, CD

Awards and Recognition

Bruce Evoy Award, Bray-Conn, Grassroot Institute, APEE

POLISH

Krzysztof Haladus has published a spectacular hardback edition of JG with

more than 40 full-color, beautifully drawn illustrations. The appearance of the new Polish edition of the book has already attracted a large following since the premier last March.

Four months after publication Kris wrote: “There have been 1300 copies sold!…The book can be bought in every bookstore in Poland, including the biggest. The final book’s price is about $14 USD. Now I am working on an adaptation of Janette’s and Ken’s comments for Polish schools. I am going to publish these comments as a separate guide for teachers and propose using it in Polish schools.” This refers to the UK Commentary Edition of the book produced by Janette Eldridge rayjan@iafrica.com that will be adapted to the Polish environment.

Kris has taken an extraordinarily creative approach to the book, seeing every possible potential. The new Polish edition was printed with the highest quality material, cloth bookmark attached, plastic wrapped for protection, and CD inside! Yes, the CD has the complete audio edition of the book professionally produced in both Polish and English. It is the ideal companion to a book that could accompany any reader in his or her car or portable CD player.

The superb illustrations were computer generated so that they can easily be adapted to other language editions of the book. Kris is offering to make these color illustrations available for all new editions at a very low price. One of these adaptations is being produced by Kris—a new English edition of the book, specifically targeting the teen market world wide! http://www.aspektpublishing.com/

MONGOLIAN

Batchuluun Baldandorj, with the sponsorship of P. Tsenguun, Chairman of the Mongolian Libertarian Foundation, published the new Mongolian commentary edition of the book. It has already been a resounding success.

Reports Batchuluun: “Three weeks ago I went to the biggest book shop in Ulaanbaatar. The salesman told me that JG is the second bestseller among the social science and humanities books. It is a good result for us. Also, summer school lectures and workshops proceeded under the JG thesis. Students of the 5-day summer school discussed all topics of JG in a very detailed way.”

Such seminars are superb for inspiring young people to apply free market analysis to local issues. We look forward to more news as these seminars proliferate.

NIGERIA PLAY PUBLISHED

Adedayo Thomas and Paul Ugbede, a student from the University of Jos in northern Nigeria have published “A Letter from Jonathan Gullible,” an English language play based on the JG book. The play has been published with the assistance of The International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL).

Thomas has already been using it in numerous university and high school forums. Thomas held a contest to determine the select group of high school students who will participate in his midterm, four-day workshop in November.

Says Thomas, “The play will be serving as the final selection for student attendance. I am targeting 30 participants. And at Kaduna State University we identified the three best students in an assessment examination of the just concluded semester. The question set read, â€˜The play, A Letter From Jonathan Gullible, celebrates the essence of freedom and economic liberalism. Discuss.’ This was conducted by the course lecturer, Jeremiah Methuselah of the Faculty of Arts. I will soon be presenting these students some books as prizes.”

Continues Thomas, “At Ahmadu Bello University, in Zaria, the play is being used in the Introduction to Dramatic Text to teach students the techniques what playwrights use to communicate. This includes character, empathy and antipathy, dialogs, etc. At the end of the semester, we hope to see the best students as well as to see it on stage. The course Lecturer is Professor Jenks Okwori of the Drama and Theatre Arts Department.”

In many parts of the world, theater and skits are more natural to student learning. Thus, I am hoping that his play will be taken up in other parts of the world as well.

GEORGIAN

My family had the great good fortune of attending the summer economics seminars in Gonio, Republic of Georgia, on the eastern edge of the Black Sea. The Lessons of Liberty camp was hosted by Paata Sheshelidze, President, and Gia Jandieri, Vice President, of the New Economic School of Georgia in Tbilisi. Organizational work for the event was provided by Kevin Bjornson, Louis James, Sunni Maravillosa, Natallia Shpak, Tatiana Martos, Anna Tokar, and many others who pulled off a grand event that was attended by more than 50 students from the region: Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Georgia.

When we arrived at the camp I was presented with a copy of the new Georgian edition of JG which was made available to camp participants and served as the theme for many of the economics classes. Xiao Yi and my daughter Kenli also gave lessons and held discussions from selected chapters of the book. My wife, Li, concentrated on the debates raging over religion and government.

The camp was a tremendous success and is sure to set the wheels in motion for an annual camp and perhaps major conferences of ISIL and other freedom oriented organizations in the future. Says Louis, who brought most of his dynamic family and supported the attendance of many others with scholarships, “I can tell you that it is one of the most fun ways I’ve found for learning, teaching and doing something about freedom.”

UKRAINIAN

At the Georgia camp I met up again with Anna Tokar, the translator of JG into Ukrainian. She had one translation complete, but it was lost during a change in employment when computer files were disrupted. Undaunted, Anna has resumed the project with gusto, among a multitude of other activities. Says Anna, “I am employed now, working as a lawyer for a huge company. And as an actress I am preparing for a new theatre season, having rehearsals every evening and on weekends. No free time at all again…”

As a theater buff, Anna made great efforts during the Georgia camp to turn the Nigerian English play, A Letter From Jonathan Gullible, into a summer production. Alas, the beach at the Black Sea was too inviting to the camp attendees. I’m sure it will come to life again, most likely in the cold months of winter.

Last month I received word from Yulia Hlushko, an economics student in the Ukraine who is interested in helping to produce a Ukrainian edition. Wrote Yulia, “Two years ago with help of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) I became acquainted with the ideas of freedom and liberty. I liked these ideas very much, so I would like to spread them among the Ukrainian people, especially students. Your book The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible can really help me with this.”

I am hoping that Anna and Yulia can cooperate to bring JG to the Ukraine.

TURKISH

My family also attended the economics summer seminars of the Liberal Dusunce Toplulugu—the Association for Liberal Thinking. We were hosted by the renowned economist Birol Kovancilar, of Celal Bayar University, and his family before attending the summer camp at the coastal resort town of Cesme. What music it was to my ears to hear Birol’s presentation about the ideas of the great free market economists Adam Smith, Jean-Baptiste Say, and Murray Rothbard!

We were greeted at the sessions by the organizer, Bugra Kalkan, who presented me with a copy of the new Turkish edition of JG! This project had been delayed when the first translated manuscript was lost and had to be re-translated. It is now completed and nicely complements the institute’s extensive library of free market publications. Bugra has just informed me that the book was adopted by two universities and the first printing is already sold out. It is going into a second printing after only two months since publication!

Originally scheduled for July, the conference had to be rescheduled to August due to a political showdown between the military and the ruling AKP, Justice and Development Party. Atilla Yayla, President of the Liberal Dusunce Toplulugu, was embroiled in controversy earlier in the year when he appeared in a public forum and compared the conditions of life in Turkey today compared to the time of Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Republic.

Fierce nationalists took offense at these comments and Dr. Yayla was subjected to charges that could result in three years of imprisonment! Such is the status of free speech and academic freedom under the watchful eye of the military and loyal Kemalists in Turkey. Hopefully, the tempest will subside and the brilliant and courageous Dr. Yayla will once again be left to comment freely on pressing economic reforms.

Bugra informs me that the institute is investigating the possibility of using Thomas Ayodele’s JG play in Turkey. Such satire may be just the medicine for a country where it is so dangerous to be direct in challenging authority. Also, work is in progress on a Turkish translation of the animated Philosophy of Liberty.

Just now Birol wrote about his university students saying, “Most of them visited the JG web page and we ordered 100-120 of the Turkish J. Gullible from Bugra. I’m using JG books in my Public Finance lectures. Very informative, useful, and funny. But my students have some wishes from you. They are planning to send you their photo with your book. And they want to see their photo on the JG web page: Turkish JG Funs!” Indeed, JG and I feel honored! The photo will be posted just as soon as it arrives!

NEPALI

Prakash Thapa of the American Library in Kathmandu wrote, “We have already published the Nepali version of the book. We are ready to organize book discussion programs in four cities outside Kathmandu Valley i.e. Biratnagar, Birgunj, Bhairahawa, and Pokhara starting September 2007. During the program, local speakers and participants will exchange their views on the relevance of JG in the Nepali context. What did they learn and what do they need to do next, etc. We would also like to organize a Digital Video Conference (DVC) program with you soon to release the book and to share your knowledge with Nepali scholars.”

Sharon Hudson-Dean, the Deputy Director of the American Center, wrote, “...we think your book is such a perfect fit for Nepal’s current situation and that there will be tremendous interest among a wide variety of readers.” Five thousand copies will be distributed to students and universities.

This is also greatly due to the efforts of Robin Sitoula, General Secretary of the Youth Initiative, and those of Editor Charu Chadha Rizal and Rakesh Wadhwa, who serialized the English edition of JG in The Boss magazine.

Robin writes, “I am really happy that the book is finally ready. It has been such a dream come true to me as well.” Charu recently wrote that the series has been well received. Says Charu, “The boss is still running the JG series. I think we are coming towards the end, but I do want you to know that it is extremely popular with our readers.”

Sadly, plans to visit Nepal for the release of the book this past summer had to be postponed due to disruptions described above in Turkey.

FLASH ANIMATION: PHILOSOPHY OF LIBERTY

The animated Philosophy of Liberty (PoL) has electrified the use of the JG website, http://www.jonathangullible.com. Monthly views of the animation on the JG website and ISIL currently number in the tens of thousands. This is surely magnified many fold by the various websites that have downloaded the PoL for viewings around the world.

The PoL is now available in fifteen languages. In addition to English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Esperanto, Russian, Ukrainian, and Romanian, five new languages have been added, Danish, Italian, Polish, Lithuanian, Somali, and Hungarian, and a dozen more are in the queue.

Mario Knezovic did much of the re-engineering of the animation following Kerry Pearson’s death. And now Steve Cobb cobb@freestateproject.org has been the organizing genius behind the adaptation of more languages with a new Unicode format assisted by Dmitry Shevchenko. More languages are invited.

Drew Suder has greatly expanded the usability of the PoL by offering an easy download of the animation in 6 different media formats: swf, mpg, DivX, WMV, MP4, and DVD. These can be freely accessed on the downloads page.

The response has been very strong in Spanish speaking regions, most significantly in Venezuela where personal liberty seems in jeopardy. Every day we get a great responses from viewers, such as this from Alex: “I wanted to personally acknowledge your brilliance on the flash movie you created. Our mindsets are one and the same man. Congratulations on expressing your pure thoughts in such an elegant way that has practically left me speechless. My only hope is that your message reaches the far ends of society’s spectrum.”

FRENCH

Some years ago Louis Zizka translated JG into French. This project was much appreciated and encouraged by colleagues who were eager to have a lively new introduction of free market ideas in Francophone countries. In support of this endeavor, Jacques de Guenin lent his professional touch in editing the latest revision.

Michel de Grand Ry, founding Editor of Alice Editions, an esteemed publishing house in Bruxelles, expressed interest in the book this year. Jacques has thus been engaged in negotiating a global contract that we hope to be very near completion. http://www.alice-editions.be/home.php?secteur_id=3

The potential for reaching a broad new audience is enormous. In addition to Belgium and France, the list of countries where French is a national language is long: Benin, Burkina-Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Monaco, Niger, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, and Vanuatu. French is also spoken in dozens more countries. Many of these are in Africa where a reform of popular economic thinking is so desperately needed.

SPANISH

Last Spring I was fortunate to have journeyed to a number of countries in Latin America. My first stop was to meet with my dearest friends Judy and Tony Nagy in Quito, Ecuador where I was invited to give a talk on behalf of Funcacion El Manantial of Quito. Judy Nagy is the translator and publisher of the pioneering Spanish JG in Latin America.

The Nagy’s hosted me in luxury while they carried on, among a multitude of business and political activities, a charitable business of secondhand clothing which caters to the hard-pressed, industrious folk of the neighborhood. Quito, in the company of my dear sister Judy, is truly the beautiful, legendary El Dorado, except for the altitude adjustment that Hawaiians must endure.

Judy and Tony also took me for a speaking engagement with the students and administration at the San Francisco University. I was extremely impressed to find this as an oasis of free market, intellectual genius that parallels the libertarian tide at Francisco Marroquin University of Guatemala.

Lima was next on my journey. I was welcomed as a guest in the home of Jorge Luis Hernandez Chanduvi and I delivered talks in the city. The Institutto de Defensa de la Propriedad (IDP) and Centro de Investigacion y Estudios Legales (CITEL) invited my presentation about “Education and Free Markets.” I was graciously hosted by Jorge Luis, Paul Laurent SolÍs (President of IDP), Martin H. Portillo, and the rest of what I nicknamed the “Seven Samurai of Peru” for their fierce challenge to the political left. The honored guru of these free market warriors appears to be the renowned Enriques Ghersi, the real brain behind the research of “the other path“—the advocacy of secure property rights in Latin America.

Flying over the spectacular Andes to Argentina I met Hernán Alberro and Álvaro Feuerman and their very elegant and brilliant ladies. In Buenos Aires I was invited to speak to Centro Para La Apertura y el Desarrollo de America Latina (CADAL), of Buenos Aires.

As translator and publisher of a new Spanish edition sponsored by Henry and Roya Weyerhaeuser, Hernán also introduced me to the owner and Director of Grito Sagrado, Rosa Pelz de Kofman, the vibrant and fascinating publisher of Ayn Rand’s works in Latin America. How is it that Latin America produces so many grand women like Judy Nagy and Rosa Pelz, both of whom remind me of the magnificent women of Ayn Rand’s novels!

PORTUGUESE

My final stop was in Brazil as the guest of Margaret Tse, Executive Vice President of Instituto Liberdade, and Paulo Uebel, President of the Instituto de Estudos Empresariais (IEE) of Porto Alegre. I first met Margaret at the ISIL conference in Whistler, Canada many years ago. Since then I have been impressed with the productivity of the free market institutes that she has administered. http://www.il-rs.com.br/

I was invited to speak to a terrific group of young libertarian-minded professionals and students on the topic of “Corruption: Sources and Solutions.” Part of the event was also to address the relevance of such free market educational tools as the Portuguese edition of JG, published by Margaret and the Instituto Liberal eight years ago.

It was my first time to ride in a fully bullet-proof SUV—and for good reason. During my time in Brazil, it seems there are endless stories of car-jackings and assaults in the region. But then, my friends reminded me, freelance robbery pales in comparison to the official robbery that sets the example.

SINAHALESE

Raja Senanayake and Luxman Siriwardena brought about the Sinahala edition of JG in Sri Lanka, another publication sponsored by the generous support of Henry and Roya Weyerhaeuser. The book seems to be gaining traction. Raja wrote from Colombo, “I told Mr. Wijewardene, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, about your book and he agreed to include it in his recommended reading to the university students of one of the universities where he is a visiting lecturer.”

TAGALOG

Mark Skousen’s annual Freedom Fest in Las Vegas this summer was, again, the libertarian highlight of the year, with over 1000 attendees and a multitude of great speakers. Recordings of the entire 4-days of events, including my debate, can be purchased at: http://www.freedomfest.com/index1.html Better yet, plan to attend the event next year!

One of the great values of this event is in meeting great libertarian minds. Last July I met Mark Tier, who has begun exploring the possibilities for JG in the Philippines.

Mark wrote to say, “Most promising so far — a professor at a prominent university in the Philippines has read Jonathan Gullible, thinks it’s great, is talking to colleagues and will (hopefully) recommend it be published by the university’s press! THAT would be something!”

Indeed! That will be a great accomplishment!

I must take this opportunity to recognize Ivo Cerckel, of Cebu, whose Visayan translation of JG can be found at: http://www.jonathangullible.com/translations. For those who might know of a publisher who would be interested in a Visayan edition, please contact Ivo at: philmigrator@yahoo.com .

SLOVAKIAN

The Slovakian edition is making great strides. Brano Opaterny, a former MP of Slovakia, published the first Slovakian edition last year and plans to publish Janette Eldridge’s full commentary edition soon. Wrote Brano, “The text for commentary edition is already translated. I have to check it and put things in order. I believe I will do it before X-mas so I suppose the book would be published in the Spring of 2008.”

Matus Posvanc has been working on a multimedia theatrical production of JG in Bratislava. “According to JG,” wrote Mat, “we have finished a second version of the play after a meeting with the professional director who made some comments…I am planning to translate what we produce into English during the following months.”

I look forward to this translation as it will make Mat’s script available to many more countries. For more information about the The F. A. Hayek Foundation Bratislava (FAHF), visit: http://www.nira.go.jp/ice/nwdtt/2005/DAT/1282.html

SLOVENIAN

I met Matej Steinbacher, President of the Free Society Institute (FSI) in Ljubljana, Slovenia, at the Mont Pelerin Society conference in Guatemala City last summer. He has been serializing JG in his journal, The Tribunal, over the past year. Have a look at their great free market website, also in English, at: http://www.fsi-institute.si/.

Matej introduced me to his organization with this photo. “I’m attaching for you a picture with most of the FSI members who are working on The Tribunal. From left to right: Matej Steinbacher (FSI president), Matjaz Steinbacher (Editor-in-Chief of The Tribunal), Mitja Steinbacher, and Anze Burger. Missing: Tanja Stumberger.”

ROMANIAN

And great news from Romania. Last January I received this message: “My name is Iulian Tanase and I am the general manager of Libertas Publishing, a Romanian publishing house. We are interested in translating and publishing libertarian economists and writers. Our first two translations are Denationalisation of Money, by F.A. Hayek, and Economics in One Lesson, by H. Hazlitt. Next month, these two books will be followed by Professor Walter Block’s book, Building Blocks for Liberty. Therefore, we would very much like to publish the Romanian translation of your book, The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible. I mention that the book has already been translated into Romanian by a member of the Ludwig von Mises Institute Romania, and we have agreed with Mr. Cristian Comanescu, the president of the LvMI, to use this translation.”

And in August we see the progress in this endeavor with this news, “The book will be in print by the end of the year, together with a book by Professor Walter Block, so you can include the Romanian edition in your newsletter.” I am very delighted to do so!

ESTONIAN

Estonia is always the example I give to my students of the successful application of free market ideas. Surely, the work of the Estonian Liberal Club is partially responsible for establishing the intellectual climate.

KYRGYZ

This summer my family trekked to Kyrgyzstan at the invitation of Mirsulzhan Namazaliev, m.namazaliev@gmail.com, Co-chairman of the Liberal Youth Alliance and Aida Alymbaeva, Chair of the Social Research Center of the American University of Central Asia, http://src.auca.kg. Elnura Adylova, sister to one of my best former students, Erkin Adylov, hosted us at her home during the visit and, along with Mirsulzhan, guided us through the spectacular mountain and lake country. These two were absolutely the greatest friends one could ever have.

Mirsulzhan kindly introduced us to the UNV’s Summer Democracy School, www.bdk.kg; Cholpon Nogoibaeva, President of the Bishkek Liberal Club, http://www.akipress.org/_htm/blc.htm; and the Liberal Platform of Action and the Club of Young Liberals, www.liberal.kg.

Our quest was to seek out the long lost copies of the Kyrgyz edition of JG. This was a project of the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) at the American University in Kyrgyzstan. Zarina Osmonaliev, at one time the Sam Walton Fellow for SIFE at AUCA, helped us to resurrect these books. Mirsulzhan and Ulukbek described a plan to use these in the villages to promote economics education.

Mirsulzhan is one of the most energetic, intellectual, and bold of libertarian activists I have met anywhere in the world. He was in the midst of the demonstrations that recently brought a change in the government and he will surely be the instrument in future reforms throughout Central Asia.

RUSSIAN

Most people in the cities of Kyrgyzstan speak and read Russian instead of the traditional Kyrgyz language. This seems true in most of the former Soviet Republics of Central Asia. Thus, it is with keen interest that we look forward to publication of the new, revised Russian editions of JG.

Alex Kouryaev in Moscow has completed translating a new Russian edition of JG and has been planning to use the illustrations that were produced by Krzysztof Haladus for the Polish edition. ppcd372@ints.ru The magnificent characters are easily suitable for any European edition and might be modified for elsewhere as well. â€¨

Vitaly “William” Milonov in St. Petersburg is also preparing a new Russian edition and is working on completely new illustrations, some of the most artistic and ethereal I have ever seen. Says William, “The book is completely ready, but…I’ve decided to order a new set of pictures. Actually, they should be ready in a week.” v_milonov@yahoo.com

A week can be very long in Russia, but it will be well worth the wait once it is published. Many people of the former Soviet Republics eagerly await the arrival of these books!

GERMAN

The German edition of JG has been resurrected and is now available again from André F. Lichtschlag, Lichtschlag Medien und Werbung KG: http://www.capitalista.de/product_info.php?products_id=981001378 Much credit for discovering this long-lost inventory goes to Dr. Oliver Knipping”

Dr. Barbara Kolm-Lamprechter, Secretary General of the F.A. v. HAYEK INSTITUT in Wien, Austria, has also been very supportive. She says her institute will help to promote the book. http://www.hayek-institut.at/

Michael Kastner wrote, “It’s great news to read that the German version JG is available again. I have been offering the English commentary version of your book for a few years already in my online bookstore. I wish you and André good luck with the German version.” http://www.buchausgabe.de/shoproot/444item.html

I am also grateful to Susanne Galler, Holger Haupt, Christian Butterbach, and to all who helped in preparing the German edition of the animated Philosophy of Liberty. It seems that half the world speaks German, and there are as many ways to interpret it as there are people who speak it! Susanne, a former student of mine from Austria who is now settling in New York City, is among the finest of researchers and analysts I have known in my years of teaching.

KASHUBIAN

When Michal Ostrowski asked for permission to publish a Kashubian edition of JG I had no idea where this language was spoken. I learned that it is a small community in Poland. Explained Michal, “We are a small (two person right now) group of people who enjoy (really!) making translations, because for us it is the only way to show to other Kashubians their own language. Currently we are translating KDE (one of Linux desktops), Firefox, book for learning Interlingua and some world-known literature, mostly short stories for schools where children can learn their native language. You can see our project (unfortunately in Kashubian only) at: www.linuxcsb.org, www.kaszubia.com, www.together.pl.”

“Our target,” continued Michal, “is slightly different than that for the Polish translation. Mainly, we would like to introduce the book to schoolchildren learning Kashubian and who will have also contact with libertarian thought, which is great for me. On the opposite side are people who want to learn Kashubian and/or read some literature in this language. Kashubian society is rather hermetic and not open for new ideas, so I don’t want to say that this book will become official for learning economy/politics thoughts.”

Michal is already progressing. Recently he wrote, “I have 2 chapters published in the Internet, and 4 or 5 ready for publication, and one that I’m now working on.” Have a look at: http://www.czetnica.org/przigode-jonatana-gullible/

ARABIC

We had a most remarkable visit with Dr. Ali Massoud at Assiut University in Egypt this summer. Ali is the rising star in economics, advising various ministries of government on market reforms. He will surely be a prominent political leader in Egypt in the near future.

Ali has classes of thousands of students each semester and utilizes JG in his courses of economics instruction. He has edited an Arabic translation and this project should bear fruit in the near future. The translation project is being sponsored by Nicholas Dykes and assisted by Paul Lundberg.

We have also been offered assistance by Sajid Anani, Program Manager, Atlas Economic Research Foundation, whom I hope to enlist is this crucial stage of translation editing and, eventually, publication.

HAITIAN CREOLE

Though we haven’t had much recent communication, this came from Parnell Duverger awhile ago: “You will be happy to know that I am blessed to have a good friend, a professor of linguistics at a Canadian University in Moncton, who is reviewing my translation. He has published over 40 books in French and Creole.”

TAMIL

And from K. Satyanarayan, “We’ve been working on the Tamil translation of JG, but its taking us longer than we had envisaged. My colleague, Badri (who is also cc’d on this mail) looks after editorial activities. Badri will be in touch with you on the translation of JG.”

HEBREW

Likewise, the correspondence has been disrupted with David Marhoffer. I’m worried that many distant connections have been foiled by the internet.

Some time ago David wrote: “I am still working on the Hebrew translation of JG. Unfortunately, I do not have a Hebrew word processor and, thus, I am forced to handwrite the translation. It’s a labor of love, but labor nonetheless. I have 100 handwritten pages, thus far. I believe that some of your mail may have been spamblocked or just unfortunately overlooked. I receive approximately 250 new e-mails per day which promise me every drug and every vice known to man at affordable prices. On Mondays, I check my e-mail to find close to 1,000 new messages that arrived over the weekend.” Next it will be back to the phones.

Yuval Cohen and Matt Tad have also offered assistance. Tad has provided a Hebrew translation of the PoL. Hopefully we will soon have all Hebrew translations distributed around the world.

RADIO PODCASTS, MAGAZINES, CD’S, WEBSITE

JG was born on radio in Honolulu almost thirty years ago and now he is about to return. J.P. Muntal invited me to narrate the book saying, “We’ll need to record a female voice at the beginning saying â€˜Written and narrated by Ken Schoolland, with music by ……., produced by JP Muntal.” My daughter, Kenli, has agreed to be the female voice, but I think JP is still open to music suggestions.

Explains J.P., “I’ve secured a Podcast spot for JG www.jonathangullible.podcastpeople.com It will be activated as soon as we start uploading episodes. This is where the show will be available via i-tunes on Ipod. We will be able to email this link to anyone around the world where they’ll be able to listen and save to cd, etc….In addition, episodes will be accessible on my website. It will be cross-referenced on my blog and visible all over the internet. To give you an idea of what shows sound like on podcast, my latest interview on Memorandum 46 is now available http://www.hawaiiradioproject.podcastpeople.com I’ll be in touch next week for our first sessions.”

So check it out and stay tuned for another exciting episode of… Surely this will be an opportunity to generate new episodes as well! Ah, the good ole’ days! What a perfect moment to show my appreciation to the Angelina Doubourg and the Otis Gazette for serializing the entire book in Massachusetts.

Also worth mentioning is the International Policy Network (IPN) projects for distributing JG to Third World countries along with numerous other works of liberty. Linda Whetstone is the editor and the organizing force in this massive CD distribution plan. To learn more see: www.ideasforafreesociety.org or contact Linda at: atlaser@globalnet.co.uk

Kathleen Nelson, Manager of Laissez-Faire Books is now offering Janette Eldridge’s UK Commentary Edition of JG. She hosted a book signing event at Mark Skousen’s Freedom Fest 2007.

I have to recognize Ginger McNulty for all of her work on preparing the JG Newsletter for the website. Once again, she has rescued this operation!

This just in from R. Swanson, Project Coordinator for the Libertarian International Organization (LIO) in the U.S.: “In July 2007 LIO located a libertarian/person supportive in every country in the globe. Our advisors recommended action to internationalize our Libertarian Citizen clubs project, and adapt or share information on materials for international use. Our object is to create e-clubs with development tools in English and information on support materials in whatever is available in the local language every country by Spring. We would like to adopt ‘Gullible’ as our ‘official’ lead-in book, and ask that you also be available as an advisor to the Club project. This would involve our linking to your site, seeking donors for copy translations and assistance in getting them pdf’d online, and referring translation inquiries to your group.” www.libertarian-international.org

It is for this that JG was created!

BRAY-CONN FOUNDATION

In June, the Bray-Conn Foundation recognized JG by inviting me as a keynote speaker at their Project Liberty Declaration Gala in Salt Lake City. It was a spectacular affair, highlighted by the unveiling of one of the original copies of the Declaration of Independence. From left to right in the accompanying photo are: Bob Raynor, Corey Curwick, Mark Baca, Cary Valerio, Chad Albury, Dustin Lyons, Judge Roy Moore, and myself.

Corey Curwick, Marketing Director of Bray-Conn, explained the purpose of inviting me to their event: “We essentially would like you to do what you do best: talk about the book, the motivation behind it, and the meaning behind the different types of symbolism you used in the book.”

“Our purchase of the Declaration Document is a way for us to educate others about U.S. History and promote the ideals of Freedom and Liberty upon which our nation was originally founded. We believe this knowledge has been lost over time as children in history classes grow up and become adult consumers. People have either forgotten or were never really taught the principles and ideals which have allowed our Nation to prosper economically for over 230 years. Project Liberty is a movement to help reeducate people in society about the true meaning behind the words â€˜freedom’ and â€˜liberty’.”

Corey continued, “Bray-Conn is an investment company that has a deep passion for the Founding Fathers and the Principles they stood for. These principles are what our company was built upon, and similar to our Great Nation, we have enjoyed financial success as result of this. Our company embodies the Principles of Freedom and Prosperity that were ignited by these great men and we work to bring them into fruition in people’s lives by helping them find abundance financially and in other facets of their lives. We also strive to promote the ideals of capitalism and the producer mindset.” http://www.brayconn.com/

BRUCE EVOY MEMORIAL FREEDOM AWARD

Last July at the World Conference of the International Society for Individual Liberty in Williamsburg, Virginia, this collaborative work, with a presence in more than half the world now, was recognized with the Marshall Bruce Evoy Memorial Freedom Award.

Mary Lou Gutscher announced the occasion with these words:

“I have a very pleasant duty to perform today. As managing trustee of the Marshall Bruce Evoy Memorial Freedom Fund, I have the honour of making this year’s award presentation. With the appearance of historical figures at the ISIL conference here in Williamsburg, many of us are reminded of the performances of Bruce Evoy, particularly his portrayal of Patrick Henry with “Give me liberty â€“ or give me death!”

Before Bruce died, he established the Marshall Bruce Evoy Memorial Fund and made the first award himself before he passed away, presenting it to Vince Miller and Jim Elwood for their tireless work in spreading the principles of liberty around the world…

Bruce also named two others to receive the award in the persons of Valentina Nicolaie from Romania, who is here today, and Tomislav Krsmanovic from Serbia. Our nomination process for the award includes an advisory group made up of previous recipients of the award as well as other individuals active in promoting liberty in other countries around the world.

Other recipients of the award include Jaroslav Romanchuk from Belarus, and Henrik Bejke from Sweden, who is also here at this conference.

Today, we honour someone that most of us know – and those who know him, admire him – who is joining us electronically from Turkey, one of the many stops on his tour of Africa, Asia and Europe with his family.

You’ve probably guessed already, that this year’s recipient of the Marshall Bruce Evoy Memorial Freedom Award is Ken Schoolland.

I am very grateful for all the grand acclaim that JG has been receiving. It must also be said that hundreds of people have been a part of the JG phenomenon.

One whom I must mention is Susan Wells, a great woman who is still recovering from a tragedy. I can’t wait for her energy to be back in full force! JG needs her ideas and her genius. Swftl@aol.com

GRASSROOT INSTITUTE OF HAWAII

Dick Rowland, President of the GRIH, has long been one of the greatest supporters of JG, having offered it on numerous occasions, often with the support of sponsor Ralph Smeed, to participants in the institute’s numerous events. The most recent Convention was co-sponsored with the State Policy Network last May.

An announcement for the GRIH has just been posted, indicating that Jonathan Gullible will be honored with the George Washington Award at the November annual awards dinner. http://www.grassrootinstitute.org/annualdinnerrsvp.shtml

The story of JG was the topic of a recent presentation to the GRIH and will be a featured event at the Small Business Hawaii annual convention, January 9, 2008. Sam Slom, SBH President, was the first to recognize the publication possibilities of JG. http://www.smallbusinesshawaii.com/

ECONOMIC COMMUNICATORS CONTEST

Last Spring the Market Based Management Institute and the Association of Private Enterprise Education (APEE) held a nationwide Economic Communicators Contest. Of the early submissions, three were selected to make final presentations for judging at the APEE convention in Cancun, Mexico last April. One of the esteemed judges in the preliminaries was economist Walter Williams who liked the submission that included footage from the “Tall Tax” episode of the independent movie episode of JG produced by Titus Chong and directed by Laine Yoshioka.

I am also grateful to Mark Nitta for filming and compiling the CD entry and to Mike Seiler and Alex Jakovljevic for covering my classes. While I only placed third, the prize still made the three day round trip worthwhile—barely. Drats! No time to enjoy the scenery! http://www.apee.org/economiccommunicatorscontest.html

LIST OF JG EDITIONS:

Albanian Bengali Bosniak Bulgarian Chinese (2) Croatian Czech Dutch English (4) Esperanto Georgian GermanGreek Hungarian Italian Japanese Kiswahili Korean Kyrgyz Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Mongolian (2)Montenegran Nepali Norwegian (2) Palauan Persian (Farsi) Polish (3) Portuguese Romanian Romany/GypsyRussian Serbian (2) Sinahala Slovakian Slovenian Somali Spanish (2) Turkish Urdu

PROJECTS IN PROGRESS:

Afrikaans Arabic Azeri FrenchGreek Haitian Creole HebrewHindi Kashubian Romanian SwedishTagalog Tamil Ukrainian Visayan

2007 FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 06:03:00 +0000

Headlines

-9 New Books Published in 2006 -2 New Plays for Theater in 2006 -5 New Languages of Animated Philosophy of Liberty -25 New Language Editions of PoL in Production -Progress in Audio, Film, Comics -Distribution, Articles, and More

NEW BOOK: SOMALI

Last year Faisal Hassan hassan_faisal@hotmail.com translated and serialized the Somali edition of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey (JG) in The Somali Voicefor the Somali community in Canada. This year he completed the publication as a book, Halgankii Yoonis Maskiin: Taxanihii Suuqa Madax Bannaan and hosted a book release at York University in Toronto. Photos and the full story of the book launch can be found at: http://www.biyokulule.com/Book%20Launching.htm “This Somali translation is indeed the result of an enormous effort and commitment carried out by Faisal Hassan….Discussing his work, Faisal Hassan whispered that he loved the book so much and thought that it would be wise to translate into Somali and share it with his Community….It introduces more Somali Canadians to the pleasures of reading in Somali. ‘In the process of achieving those ends,’ he added, ‘flipping the pages of the book might open the doors of the free market and form small waves of new ideas within the Somali community.’” The event was organized by the Somali Students’ Association at York University (SSAY).

NEW BOOKS AND PLAY: SLOVAK

Branislav Opaterny brano_opaterny@pobox.sk translated and published the Slovak edition of JG last summer and hosted a gala book signing event at the Panta Rei bookstore in Bratislava. Brano, a minister of parliament, is a grand visionary and ardent advocate of free markets who plans to make JG available in schools throughout Slovakia.

His next project is to translate and publish the expanded commentary edition as a teachers’ guide to the basic text. In attendance at the gala event were Janette Eldridge, co-author of the commentary edition and famed political activist, Virgis Daukas, publisher of the Lithuanian edition of JG.

Ivan, Ken & Brano

Matús Posvanc matus.posvanc@hayek.sk and Ivan Svejna of the F.A. Hayek Foundation of Slovakia hosted me for a presentation about strategies of economics education. The Hayek Foundation is in the forefront of developing free market education in Slovakia.

One exciting project by Matús Posvanc and Martin Bican is producing a multimedia play based on JG. Matus reports. “We are finishing the screenplay today and we are trying to find sponsors. We decided in October to rewrite it once again to be perfect and now it is almost done. Our plans are to find a theater group to learn the play in January and February. We are little bit late, but we have still a lot of work and we are working on it in our free time, which is very limited. We are also trying to finish the Slovak version of The Philosophy of Liberty (PoL) animation.” Matus is not only industrious, but quite courageous as well. Last summer he smuggled free market educational materials to underground activists in Cuba, including a CD of the Spanish JG!

NEW BOOKS: BOSNIAK, MONTENEGRAN, SERBIAN

Virgis, Tomislav & Geo

Long a champion of human rights, and surely the most prolific of all the sponsors and publishers of JG, Tomislav Krsmanovic has made possible publications in Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, Macedonian, Albanian, and Romany (Gypsy). He has now accomplished two new editions, Bosniak and Montenegran, and a revised second edition of Serbian.

Tomislav Pokret@EUnet.yu is available to help those who wish to publish free market literature throughout the Balkans. He is also able to provide facilities and arrangements for summer liberty camps on the beautiful and historic Drina River. The indefatigable Tomislav says, “If you agree, I hope to recuperate my strength, with better conditions of life, in that case, do you consider that is acceptable to do new editions such as Greek or other languages?” Tomislav is truly a dedicated hero of the free society!

NEW BOOK: ESPERANTO

Steve Cobb simplulo@yahoo.com , of the Free State Project in New Hampshire arranged the translation (by Evgenia Amis) and publication of JG into Esperanto. Evgenia is the editor of Kontakto, a popular Esperanto magazine for young people that will be running some chapters from JG. In his Forward to the Esperanto edition, economist Fred Foldvary writes: “In 2005 I assigned the students in my microeconomics principles class to read The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible. Instead of writing the usual essay reviews on the book, I assigned them to write stories inspired by the book…Fiction has long been a way for writers to express their social and political viewpoints. Not only is fiction more entertaining, it can express the idea more effectively by framing it in a situation that the reader can respond to with passion as well as with thought….As an internationally acclaimed work, this translation into Esperanto is worthy of celebration. Statism is the ruling creed throughout the world, and Jonathan Gullible is appreciated by teachers, students, and readers everywhere, so an edition in the global language Esperanto is most fitting.”

PLAY WRITTEN: NIGERIA

“I have finally come out with the play script of your book, The Adventure of Jonathern Gullible,” writes Adedayo Thomas alhadedayothomas@yahoo.com about the work he accomplished with Paul Ugbede, a student from the University of Jos in northern Nigeria. Thomas will be performing this for BBC radio and “a command performance to secondary schools in that part of the country will also be a bold step towards free market economic education. I am again working on another script for high school students.”

With support from ISIL, this play will soon be published and distributed to schools throughout Nigeria. Dr Samuel Ayedime Kafewo of the Department of Theatre and Performing Arts at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, reviewed the play and concluded, “The sad thing is that such leaders do not know that enormous responsibilities are not only lifted off their shoulders but the society is always the better for it when the creative energies of the people are unchained. Here lies the message of this play which despots and disguised capitalists who claim to know what is good for everybody should do well to heed. I recommend it to everybody, rulers and the ruled alike, current outright despots and the pretenders. Let them free themselves by unchaining their people, the entire society will be the better for it.”

FLASH ANIMATION: PHILOSOPHY OF LIBERTY

The animated Philosophy of Liberty (PoL) has electrified the use of the JG website, http://www.jonathangullible.com/ , with thousands of new visitors each month. The PoL is now available in nine languages, the original English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and now:Dutch: Hubert JongenEsperanto: Steve CobbRussian: Alex KouryaevUkrainian: Dmitry ShevchenkoRomanian: Adrian Marza

This has elicited daily correspondence from viewers such as this from Michael G.: “I just came across your ‘Philosophy of Liberty’ animation and I want to say thanks! I wasn’t sure what to expect when it started but I found it to be clear, principled, attractively animated, very well-written and, of course, true! I will encourage everyone I know to visit your web site to see it.” See many more comments from around the world at the end of this newsletter.

Key to this project are the masterminds: Mario Knezovic mario@bonespark.com , Steve Cobb scobb@freestateproject.org , and Dmitry Shevchenko. They have been working diligently to prepare 25 additional languages. In various stages of production are:

Ken, Mario & Steve

Danish: Lasse OlesenMacedonian: Pavlina PetrovaSlovak: Matus PosvancHungarian: Marton HajduMongolian: TsenguunPersian: Manouchehr YazdianLithuanian: Virgis DaukasAzeri: Tural VeliyevGeorgian: Paata SheshelidzeTurkish: Atilla Yayla/Mehmet SakiogluUrdu: Dr. Khalil AhmedArabic: Paul LundbergSerbian/Croatian/Slovenian: Mario KnezovicGerman: Mario KnezovicChinese: Li Zhao SchoollandCzech: Josef SimaSomali: Faisal HassanHindi: Mana ShahPolish: Krzysztof Haladus/Dariusz SiedleckiSwedish: Frederic NilssonNorwegian: Bent Johan MosfjellHebrew: Matt SandlerItalian: Gianluca/Francesco Antoni

If readers of the JG News have more languages they wish to help prepare, please contact Mario and Steve. They now have a template for easy insertion of new languages into the animation.

READY FOR PUBLICATION AND ANIMATION: POLISH

Krzysztof Haladus krzysztof@haladus.pl has prepared the new Polish edition of JG and is almost ready to add forty astonishingly beautiful illustrations to a hardcover book in full color. He also plans add an audio book on CD’s. He expects to reach the broadest possible audience through newspapers and electronic media.

In the near future, arrangements will be made to utilize the illustrations in other language editions of JG and in comics. This work is extremely good and will add immensely to the potential sales of any edition of the book. Kris Haladus is a remarkable businessman who has a grand plan for introducing free market ideas in the most sophisticated manner to a vast audience in Poland and beyond! Last year he published a Polish edition of Milton and Rose Friedman’s book Free to Choose and he has arranged for the entire “Free to Choose” television series in Poland.

Writes Kris, about the five-part, updated “Free to Choose” film series, “We signed an agreement in August 2006 for making a multilingual DVD-version and licensing for me to sell it all over the world in a 10 year period. Licensing also includes an exclusive license for 5 years in Poland for broadcasting…In February, the Polish main TV is going to show this series.”

READY FOR PUBLICATION: RUSSIAN

Alex Kouryaev in Moscow has completed translating a new Russian edition of JG and has inquired about the illustrations that were produced for Krzysztof Haladus. The magnificent characters are easily suitable for any European edition and might be modified for elsewhere as well.

Vitaly “William” Milonov in St. Petersburg is also preparing a new Russian edition and is working on new illustrations. Says William, “The book is completely ready, but…I’ve decided to order a new set of pictures. Actually, they should be ready in a week.” Both the Polish and Russian editions are revised and updated new versions of JG.

NEW COMMENTARY TRANSLATION: MONGOLIAN

I met Batchuluun Baldandorj batchuluun@libertari.mn at the ISIL World Conference in Prague last summer and found him to be a very friendly and devoted advocate of the free market. With the sponsorship of P. Tsenguun, Chairman of the Mongolian Libertarian Foundation, Batchuluun is going to press with the Mongolian edition of the commentary edition book in Ulan Bataar this February. He translated the work and has been refining the translation and adapting it to the local culture.

NEW COMMENTARY TRANSLATION: TURKISH

Bugra Kalkan liberte@liberte.com.tr and Atilla Yayla liberal@ada.net.tr, President of Liberal Dusunce/Toplulugu-Association for Liberal Thinking in Ankara, have translated JG into Turkish and expect publication soon. This will be based on the larger commentary edition, co-authored by Janette Eldridge. I am planning to attend a youth camp that is planned this summer with the use of the new Turkish JG.

READY FOR PUBLICATION: GEORGIAN

Paata Sheshelidze paatasheshelidze@cdu.ge, President of the New Economic School of Tiblisi, Georgia has completed translation of the book and is seeking funds for publication. Support for this through the JG Fund at ISIL will be much appreciated. He has also completed the text of the animated Philosophy of Liberty which will be finalized soon.

Paata and Kevin Bjornson are arranging a Liberty English camp this summer in Georgia to introduce free market ideas to more than 50 university students. Perhaps the Georgian edition of JG will be ready to help with this introduction!

READY FOR PUBLICATION: ARABIC

Ali, Virgis & Li

Last summer I met a fascinating professor with the most amazing story. Ali Massoud massoud22@yahoo.com, an economics professor in Egypt explained during the ISIL conference that he already uses the English edition of JG with his classes of upper division law students and the students like it very much. There are nearly 500 students in each class!

Ali is now editing the final stages of the Arabic edition of JG. As soon as it is published, he will use it in his Principles of Economics classes with 5,000 students in the hall! This could surely be the best distribution of JG in any country of the world!

The Arabic translation was originally sponsored by Nicolas Dykes. Ali has founded his own business, South Valley for Economic Consultancy & Research and will soon be moving to Sohag University.

UNIVERSITY ECONOMICS CLASSES

While JG is used extensively abroad, the book is also being utilized in a variety of university economics courses in the U.S. as well. Classroom sets have been used over the past year at the State University of New York—Buffalo, San Jose State University of California, and Santa Clara University.

At SCU, Fred Foldvary FFoldvary@scu.edu explains the use, “I will teach two sections of principles of macroeconomics with 40 students each, so there will be about 80 essays. My main criterion for grading is whether the story accurately applies economic theory to policy, for example the excess burden of taxation. It also has to be well written, so that the reader knows what the story is about, and with proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. SCU students usually write well…but it should not contain serious errors of theory or analysis.”

This year a panel of judges will select the top essay from his classes. With the permission of the student, the winning essay will be posted on the JG website. I’m also trying to raise money for cash prizes. If all goes well, we could turn this into an international contest.

Lydia Ortega, Chair of the Department of Economics ldortega@email.sjsu.edu, and Professor Terry Easton have both been fervent supporters of JG at San Jose State University. Terry explained that the department gives books to high school economics teachers that they meet with for an on-going outreach program. Now this is a truly remarkable economics department that will educate American students with the same dedication as that of the famous Francisco Marroquin University of Guatemala http://www.ufm.edu.gt/, both shinning stars in the constellation of free market education!

Terry and Sue Easton have also been advising me extensively on marketing and distributing JG. They have some great ideas about “just-in-time” publishing and distribution that we may soon adopt.

READY FOR PUBLICATION: FRENCH

Jacques de Guenin jdeguenin@gmail.com has revived the original translation of JG by Louise Zizka and is making arrangements with a publisher. With some updates and modifications, the book may finally have found its place in one of the central economies of Europe. And is France finally ready for the free market? There is strong reason to think so.

Sabine Herald

Through the sponsorship of Mark Skousen, Ralph Smeed, Dick Rowland, and Vidar Jorgensen, I was fortunate to have attended the recent international meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) in Guatemala last fall and witnessed a key figure in the making of a new France. Sabine Herold, a keynote speaker and leader of a massive new liberal movement in France, has organized the new Liberty Party that is now a solid part of the political debate in over 110 cities across the country. Ms. Liberté rallied 80,000 to a protest against the chronic strikes!

Another opportunity for the French language translation is in the Cameroon. The former President of the Reason Club of Hawaii Pacific University, Sam Moore, has offered to present Louise Zizka’s translation to close friends of his with a publishing house that services Africa. Sam is an ardent advocate of desperately needed free market reforms in the country of his youth. I am very grateful to Sam and I have every hope that these reforms may take hold.

MYSTERIOUS DISTRIBUTION REBIRTH: GERMAN

More than a decade ago Stefan Kopp published the German edition of JG and then promptly dropped out of sight. Not only did Stefan disappear, but so did his inventory of the books. Mystery shrouds this edition more than any other.

At the MPS meeting last fall I met Dr. Oliver Knipping and Barbara Kolm-Lamprechter, Secretary General of the F.A.v.Hayek Institut of Vienna barbara.kolm-lamprechter@hayek-institut.at. Barbara indicated that the Hayek Institut was still interested in a German edition of JG and Oliver had come across some recent contact with the long lost Stefan. In addition, André F. Lichtschlag lichtschlag@ef-magazin.de offered to promote the book in his magazine and Capitalista Bookshop in Germany.

It seemed better to republish Stefan’s translation than to start from scratch so we made exhaustive efforts to reach Stefan. No luck, until Andre was contacted by an unexpected intermediary and offered a chance to buy the entire stock of this dusty, antique collection of literary gems.

Stay tuned for the next exciting detective episode to rival Harry Potter, “Dr. Knipping and the Secret Files! Free Market Reforms in the Balance!”

IN TRANSLATION: HAITIAN CREOLE

Parnell Duverger p_duverger@yahoo.com contacted me last year saying, “After watching the animated ‘Philosophy of Liberty’ presentation on the internet, I wanted to know more about the authors of this wonderful pedagogical tool for teaching about freedom, liberty, and the free enterprise system of the market economy. Following the appropriate link, I discovered The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey. I would like to have the great honor of translating this important book into Haitian Creole.”

Thus, Parnell, a professor of economics at Broward Community College in Ft. Lauderdale, translated the book. “You will be happy to know,” he wrote last fall, “that I am blessed to have a good friend, a professor of linguistic at a Canadian University in Moncton, who is reviewing my translation. He has published over 40 books in French and Creole.”

This is great news, indeed! Haiti is surely a beleaguered nation that will benefit enormously by free market ideas.

IN TRANSLATION: NEPALI

Prakash Thapa of the American Library in Kathmandu ThapaP@state.gov explained that the Nepali edition of JG would be published this year. Sharon Hudson-Dean, the Deputy Director of the American Center, wrote, “…we are eager to get going as soon as possible because we think your book is such a perfect fit for Nepal’s current situation and that there will be tremendous interest among a wide variety of readers.” Five thousand copies will be distributed to students and universities.

This is also greatly due to the efforts of Robin Sitoula, General Secretary of the Youth Initiative robs@mail.com.np, and those of The Boss magazine, Charu Chadha Rizal charu@theboss.com.np and Rakesh Wadhwa, who serialized JG in English last year.

IN TRANSLATION & POL: HEBREW

David Marhoffer, an attorney in Phoenix davmar@mrbusinesslaw.com, has taken up the project of a Hebrew translation. Reports David, “I am still working on the Hebrew translation of JG. Unfortunately, I do not have a Hebrew word processor and, thus, I am forced to handwrite the translation. It’s a labor of love, but labor nonetheless. I have 100 handwritten pages, thus far.”

Just competed by Matt Sandler is the text for the Philosophy of Liberty (PoL) animation. Matt wrote last December saying, “I had the pleasure to view the presentation you prepared about the philosophy of liberty. I found it very informative, and effective on people who were never tuned in to the message of a free society. I’m a 21 year old from Israel and I want to ask for your permission to translate this presentation into Hebrew so it can be spread in a wider manner in this country.”

MASSIVE DISTRIBUTION: SPANISH

JG en Español

Hernán Alberro halberro@gmail.com has been the spearhead of extraordinary successes in distributing the new Spanish edition of JG in Latin America. Writes Hernán about breaking into Fidel’s stronghold, “I finally managed to send over 40 books to Cuba. I am planning to send at least a hundred in total. I think your book is going to be enthusiastically read in the Island.”

“By the way,” continues Hernán, “I am in conversations with a Publishing and Distribution House to make your books available in every school in Argentina. As you may imagine this is a very difficult thing to do, but this Publishing House, Grito Sagrado, (the one that published Atlas Shrugged in Spanish) is launching a collection of books for kids and they really liked your book.

“In fact, they asked me to write you to congratulate you on the great book you wrote and because they would like, in the future, to publish the book again. The idea is to give the current edition of the book for free to every school, and then make a new edition, with the style and the logo and everything of the Publishing House (so as to make it part of the same collection) to be on the market. They are also planning to follow all the requirements to send the book to every school in Mexico!! I think it is a great chance to get this book into every classroom and maybe to every kid. Why not change the world?…Anyway, they are planning the launch for next year.”

MASSIVE ON-LINE DISTRIBUTION: CZECH REPUBLIC

If anyone needs a reminder about the ripple effect of books, take this story from Eastern Europe. Several friends in Slovakia told me last summer that the inspiration for the new Slovak editions came from early exposure to the Czech edition of JG, published by Josef Sima sima@vse.cz and the Liberalni Institute more than a decade ago in Prague. The Slovaks were familiar with the book because of the similarity of the languages, but needed their own local editions for the general populace.

Josef, now Chairman of the Economics Department of the Prague University of Economics and a proud new father of a baby girl, informed me that all the copies of the Czech JG were sold out long ago. But there are 300 electronic copies downloaded every month from their website!

SECOND PRINTING & POL: CHINESE

My wife, Li Zhao Schoolland, is in regular contact with Jerome Ma and Dean Peng, the two who produced the Chinese edition of JG. She tells me that the original print run has sold out and that a second print run is planned. For more on these two outstanding free market intellectuals and for information on contacting them see: http://www.isil.org/resources/fnn/2004fall/china-austrians.html

LI HAS TAKEN DEAN’S TRANSLATION OF THE EPILOGUE OF JG AND INSERTED IT INTO THE TEMPLATE FOR THE ANIMATED POL. SOON, ALL OF CHINA WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS THIS VISUAL EXPLANATION OF THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF LIBERTY.

Global CD & Internet Distribution

Linda Whetstone and the IPN have created a low cost CD for worldwide distribution of JG and 100 other books on liberty. Says Linda, “The CD, ‘Ideas for a Free Society,’ was inspired by the observation that the political and economic arrangements that seem to be most conducive to peace and prosperity are those that exist in free societies. In such societies, certain institutions guarantee political, economic and social freedom, and those institutions are in turn underpinned by ideas. Such ideas have been explored by individuals from many different perspectives, starting with ancient Chinese, Roman and Greek philosophers and continuing to the present day. Unfortunately access to such ideas is extremely limited in many countries today so this CD was created to fill the gap. Sending and copying a CD is cheap relative to sending or printing a hard copy.”

For a copy of the CD please email your request to Linda at: info@ideasforafreesociety.org For electronic copies of various language editions of JG, go to http://www.jonathangullible.com/languages.htm

ACADEMIC ARTICLES: PAKISTAN

Dr. Khalil Ahmad, Founder of the Alternate Solutions Institute and FreePakistan Newsletter, reported on the reference to JG in an academic article. Khalil wrote, “A light essay based on the story of Frank and Lysander described in chapter 19 of our Urdu translation of The Adventures of Jonathan Gulible: A Free Market Odyssey appears in a public sector college magazine: Faraan, Issue 57, 2005, Islamia College, Lahore, Punjab. This is actually an attempt at localizing the theme of rent-seeking explained with the help of the Hare and Tortoise Fable in Ken’s book. The writer, Dr. Khalid Almas, is a teacher of philosophy in the same college that accommodates about 5000 students and more than 150 teachers.”

See more about Dr. Ahmad’s excellent free market work by visiting his web site http://asinstitute.org or emailing him and subscribing to the FreePakistan Newsletter: info@asinstitute.org.

TEACHER SUPPORT & ANIMATION: CANADA

Another tremendously warm friendship was rekindled at the MPS meeting with Herb and Helene Grubel. I last saw them years ago at the ISIL World Conference in Whistler, Canada, practically their backyard. With all their grand mountain hiking and biking, they will always be role models of excellent health!

Herb, a Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute and a long time supporter of JG, presented a copy of the book to Annabel Addington, the woman who runs the Fraser Institute workshops for teachers. Says Herb, “She was pleased to have the edition with the comments, which I am sure are very helpful for teachers.”

Herb has also drawn up a business plan for a computer animation feature film and has received an enthusiastic response from those in the industry. Stay tuned!

AUDIO AND VIDEO BOOKS

Ralph Smeed contacted and funded a superb audio introduction to JG on CD, by Curt Hawkins of Great Audio Adventures, http://www.greataudioadventures.com/. This full production is extremely well done with fine acting from multiple characters and vivid sound effects. Curt has prepared a proposal for doing the entire book, but at the time this plan is far more costly than the JG Fund can afford.

I am pleased to report, however, that the amazing multiple voices of Robin Hall robin.hall@yahoo.com are being offered in preparation of an audio version of JG. I came to know Robin when a few friends came together to prepare the original radio spots for JG.

Robin has agreed to put his 30 voices to effect in recording a narrative of JG. “I have Audy Kimura helping me to select the most appropriate computer, programs and sound equipment necessary for a respectable production. I believe there is a future in my voiceover work so I’m willing to make the investment in good equipment,” comments Robin. “Once I get set up, I’ll work a chapter at a time, forwarding each chapter to you as I complete them, for your comment. I think it best to do it that way to prevent my getting ahead of myself.”

I’ve been listening to many audio books recently and I find that many major publishing houses do quite well with a single narrator and virtually no sound effects—from the books of Michael Crichton to J.K. Rowling. So I’m excited about this project!

Another exciting project is that proposed by Mark Selzer http://www.libertariantv.com/, the creator of a wide range of filmed interviews with libertarian icons. Writes Mark, “I was thinking of a basic video with you just telling bedtime stories to kids from your book. One for each night of the month if you have that many. It would be cheap to do. You are a very friendly guy that I think kids would like. We could then market it and possibly add some illustrations if we could sell some copies to get funding. I will forward this to my post production and camera man, also an illustrator, and see what he thinks.” Yes, indeed, it would be a great project next time I’m in Los Angeles! Or, better yet, we can combine this with Robin’s audio production.

GRAPHIC NOVELS & YOUTH OUTREACH

JG Sketches

Another initial project that was funded last year by the JG Fund at ISIL is the outline of a comic version of JG that is being drafted by Kevin Tuma kevintuma@sbcglobal.net. Says Kevin, “Here’s page 2, uncolored and unlettered. I’m trying to put a lot of detailing in the ink process; I think it really makes a difference with a narrative scene like a boat tossed on a stormy sea. Page 3 I’ll put in the fog and discovery of the island, and then we’ll get into what I consider the fun stuff, dialogue scenes on Corrumpo.”

Krzysztof Haladus has an outstanding illustrator in Poland who is being considered for such a project. And Jim Peron also some great projects in progress, www.theknowledgecafe.org. Writes Jim, “It is time to discuss some developments for our efforts to reach students around the world with libertarian ideas. The major project to start with is our on-line course on free market economics. No such course currently exists anywhere in the world that we know about. Our course will be easy to understand and highly visual with short modules to catch people’s attention. It will be on a level that any high school student can understand.”

JG: THE MOVIE

The Rogue City Production of JG: The Movie, produced by Titus Chong roguecityllc@att.net, directed by Laine Yoshioka, Screenplay by Susan Wells, and featuring Tri Le as Jonathan Gullible, has been on pause since last summer. In the interim Titus arranged for Act 221 tax status. Thus any investment in the film is worth a dollar for dollar tax credit from the State of Hawaii. So any Hawaii taxpayer can pay their money to promoting the free market instead of promoting the state government. Out of state investors can make arrangements, too.

Laine has also kept busy with the laborious task of editing the raw footage. The first of six parts of the movie is soon to be ready to show potential investors. For scenes from the filming, see: http://www.jonathangullible.com/movie.htm

MILTON FRIEDMAN BIOGRAPHY

Milton Friedman was a father figure to Jonathan Gullible and gave permission for the use of his words of endorsement. Indeed, his path breaking ideas are integral to the philosophy of JG. Friedman’s books are recommended at the end of the book and even characters in JG are derived from this family of great economists: Milton, Rose, and David.

For this reason I strongly encourage the hundreds of people who have been associated with the JG project around the world to help distribute and broadcast the new biography of Milton Friedman, The Power of Choice, which will premier on U.S. television January 29, 2007. This was produced by Bob Chitester, the producer of the renowned TV series based on Milton Friedman’s extraordinary book, Free to Choose. http://www.freetochoosemedia.org/

To do this, please contact Marketing and Sales Director, Rick Platt. Says Rick, “We are seeking international partnerships with individuals or organizations who are interested in helping us with any combination of the following: a.) broadcasting the series; b.) purchasing the series on DVD; c.) reselling in a wholesale/retail environment. Please contact me with your level of interest and then we can communicate further to hopefully come to a mutual understanding/agreement. Communication via email is best: rick@freetochoosemedia.org.”

BOTSWANA

I’d like to close the news with a boost to a new writer, Bonty Botumile bontyb@hotmail.com. Bonty is a former student of mine from Botswana, the nicest and brightest person you would ever meet anywhere.

Bonty writes, “I just wanted to get in touch and share with you how being much your classes have been an eye opener. I have now come to see government in such a different light and have often thought of getting in touch with you to share my sentiments….I have been brave enough to self-published my own book. It is a children’s book that explains the cultural origins of the elephant according to my grandmother’s tribe. As I was responsible for writing, printing, marketing and distributing it, I really wanted to introduce it with a big bang. So for the launch we did a drama based on the play. All the practical planning and implementation skills I learned during my courses at HPU paid off. I published the book at the end of August and…I have sold 1500 copies in Botswana alone. I am still working on marketing and distributing it on an international level. Hopefully I will be able to use some micro and macro economics planning on this one. It’s selling very well in the lodges and camps of the Okavango Delta, and I have created a niche for it calling it cultural tourism.”

I urge everyone to please have a look at her book: http://www.botswanastories.com/

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

As always, my sincerest gratitude is extended to the hundreds of people who have become involved in JG projects over the years. Especially helpful with funding, consultation, and distribution have been Janette and Ray Eldridge, Sam Slom and Small Business Hawaii, Vince Miller and Jim Elwood of ISIL, Dick Rowland and the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, Ralph Smeed, Mark Skousen, Terry and Susan Easton, Lydia Ortega, Hernan Alberro, Vidar Jorgensen, Roya and Henry Weyerhaeuser, Andrew L. Sullivan, Ginger McNulty, Kathleen Nelson, Christian Butterbach, Tracy Ryan, everyone mentioned in this newsletter, my tolerant and supportive family, and many many more! Please let me know if I have left anything out!

COMMENTS ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF LIBERTY FROM VIEWERS WORLDWIDE:

That was a great animation. Very clear, simple and thought provoking. I’m glad I came across it and plan to point it out to others. Thank you. Aloha from Hawaii—Phyllis

I just wanted to tell you I couldn’t say how many times I’ve pointed people not only to The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible, but specifically to the Philosophy of Liberty Flash Video presentation on its page. When people want to know what libertarians believe, it says it masterfully.—Mark C.

Excelent. Congratulations. From a troubled Venezuelan.—Carlos

So great! I shared your link with my home school group and I already have another mom who now wants to find out more. Yay!—Talitha

I have used your flash as a presentation entry to Bastiat Free University. http://silentpc.org/university/simple.php Thanks.–Allan

Reciban mis más sinceras felicitaciones!!, y palabras de aliento para que continúen produciendo mensajes como este.—Alicia

Can we put this on public access television?—Gail

Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys/gals know the the “Liberty” work was really great and it sparked a huge debate. I am sure it isn’t a surprise to you all. Freedom has a funny way of being controversial.—Codee

Great animation site. I agree.—Best, Vjeko

I read this presentation with a lot of interest because it’s very logical and to the point and because it applies perfectly to the current crisis we are going through in my country (Venezuela).Congratulations.—Juan

This is wonderful. Thanks for a beautiful thing!—Jacque

I happened upon your article, ‘The Philosophy of Liberty’, on the internet and watched it several times. I was completely inspired as I have always understood the truth of the words you wrote in the value of my own morality to be undebatable truth to which humanity must aspire to in order to exist at our full potential. Thank you for your time, and for your message. Appreciatively—Brad

I would like to offer my congratulations on a job well done. Your animation, Jonathan Gullible, is a very creative piece of work. Straight forward, right on the money, yet so simple I’ll bet even Ted Kennedy could understand it. But, I don’t think he would approve. By way of this e-mail I am requesting…to show this on a speaking tour throughout the United States. Very truly—Gino

Thanks a whole lot and congratulations. You have done a great job!!!

-Frank.

I’m a Brazilian living in Massachusetts. For some time now I’ve been looking for a simple text that could intelligently explain the basics of freedom to high school students of my liberty-deprived country. I just watched your “Philosophy of Liberty” video and think it fits the bill. I wonder if there is a printed version of the video and if so would you give me, or someone from my group, permission to use it. Sincerely—Joaquim

Sorry, my English is very terrible, but your free society is very nice. Thank you and good luck.—Sonja

God Bless your work. Thanx—Gene

The Free State Project is going to use the Flash animation of Liberty that you and Kerry Pearson (Lux) developed, Ken. I hope this is OK with you. Best Regards in Liberty and the memory of Kerry,–Alan

FELICITACIONES!—Luciano

Wow. I cannot say enough to praise you for your amazing preciseness. absolutely extraordinary…you hit the nail on the head, in my opinion, and it is ironic that our Social Studies class happened to be talking about property in the Bill of Rights. If we hadn’t been, I most likely would not have found this. Thank you—Nick

2006 JULY NEWSLETTER

Sun, 16 Jul 2006 06:44:00 +0000

JG THE MOVIE

JG The Movie has completed shooting the first of six parts for a full length feature film. The movie is being directed by Laine “Sharkbait” Yoshioka, produced by Titus Park, screenplay by Susan Wells, starring Trí Kai Minh Lê as Jonathan along with a great, fun cast and crew. A slide show of selected scenes from the film sets is at: http://www.jonathangullible.com/movie.htm

This first part, currently in editing, will be used to seek sponsors and investors. Interested parties may contact Titus Park at: ROGUE CITY PRODUCTIONS, LLC, 854 7TH AVE., HONOLULU, HI 96816-2129, 1-808-734-3585, roguecityllc@att.net. Regardless of the funding, filming will proceed. Participants are unpaid…until the day of box office success! Investors will hasten the inevitable.

Laine updated the crew recently saying, “Currently, the first Episode is in the can. We need to just get a few close ups and pick up shots of Tri (our Jonathan Gullible), and then edit it, fix the sound, and add graphics. Our editor, Jake, said that he can generate a CG storm! So that’ll look super cool on screen. As for when we will begin shooting Episode 2, it all depends on when we finish Episode 1. I would like to have a premier party and invite all the cast and crew, of all the future Episodes as well, and especially investors. Then once we have that party, I would like to begin shooting the 2nd Episode. Titus is in LA right now, at a film festival, representing two projects that he worked on in Hawaii. We will meet when he returns and start planning out Episode 2.”

The cast of actors in Episode 1 are:

Jonathan Gullible (male lead): Tri Kai Minh LeHubert Gullible – George RussellRita Gullible – Ruth CastellanosNottingham (man): Samuel RodriguezRottingham (female): Danielle DiamondAlissa (female): Janeen PowerJoe (male): Zero(3) Large Men (males): D’Andre, Masumi Childers, Nick GianfortiEmma (female): Mericia PalmaMan-On-Knees (male): Sean JonesBlind Man (male): Scott OkMute Man (male): Jason WolfeDeaf Man (male): JuanSam (male): Phillip KamGuard (female/male): Bob Stevens(5) Inmates: Kandie Stevens, Gloria Yau, Anthony Hahn, Ken Sch.Golly Gomper (male): Roy TjioeProduction crew: Tairus Hiranaka, Masumi Childress, Anthony Hahn, Jake Akune, Jeanilou Torrado, and Gloria Yau.

Tri has expressed considerable interest in Jonathan’s message, beyond the enjoyment of film production. Says Tri, “I wanted you to know that this idea profoundly changed my relationship to myself as well my state of be-ing with others.” For more, see his site: http://trikaiminhle.googlepages.com/yoga

Susan Wells, creator of the original screenplay, has recently undergone a serious health crisis at home in Florida. I ask fans of JG to write to Susan and encourage her speedy recovery so that her creative talents can once again energize us: Swftl@aol.com

ANIMATED PHILOSOPHY OF LIBERTY MORE LANGUAGES

One very exciting project associated with JG is the animated Philosophy of Liberty (PoL) which was produced from the epilogue of the book by Kerry Pearson. Kerry produced this in several languages: English, French (with Louise Zizka), Portuguese (with Gustavo Lacerda), and Spanish (with Judy Nagy). These were all produced on DVD by Tim Skousen. With essential sponsorship from Andrew L. Sullivan and assistance from the International Society for Individual Liberty (http://www.isil.org/), Ginger Warbis, and Christian Butterbach, several new languages have been added to the website: Russian, Dutch, Danish, and Esperanto (Steve Cobb, http://rusio.ru/intro_scratch2.html). View them at: http://www.jonathangullible.com/

Mario Knezovic (mario@bonespark.com) has been doing the primary software engineering to adapt new languages. Since this takes a long time, Mario can provide the source files so that others who are computer savvy can adapt it on their own.

Says Mario about other languages of the PoL, “The next ones after this will be Lithuanian and German. I have not yet made decisions about the versions thereafter. The following are in queue: Mongolian and Macedonian first, then the other Balkan languages (Serbian, Croatian, Bosniak, Slovenian, Albanic). I’ve sent the source codes to Matus Posvanc for the Slovak version quite some time ago, but haven’t heard from him yet. I’ve sent the source codes to Paul Lundberg for Arabic and Urdu recently. The list of translations I already have or translators who are ready to do translations are Hungarian, Persian, Azeri (language from Azerbaijan), Georgian, Turkish. One day we will also get to the other languages which you classified as ‘I’m holding’: Japanese, Chinese, Finnish and Swedish. Probably Chinese will be a good choice of these as Dima is a student of Chinese in Russia. Thus this could be an excellent choice for one of the first non-Latin character versions.”

These are the people working on current translations:

Danish: Lasse OlesenMacedonian: Pavlina PetrovaSlovak: Matus PosvancHungarian: Marton HajduRussian: Alexander KouryaevMongolian: Purevjav TsenguunPersian: Manouchehr YazdianLithuanian: Virgis DaukasEsperanto: Steve CobbAzerbaijanian (Azeri): Tural VeliyevGeorgian: Paata SheshelidzeTurkish: Atilla Yayla and/or Mehmet SakiogluUrdu: Dr. Khalil AhmadArabic: Paul LundbergChinese: Li Zhao SchoollandSerbian/Croatian/Slovenian/German: Mario Knezovic

Mario informs me that he is in dire need of some software that is essential to the project. For this, we are seeking sponsor contributions.

NEW BOOKS PUBLISHED IN PAST 6 MONTHS:

NIGERIAN ENGLISH, SINAHALA, SPANISH, BOSNIAK, SERBIAN, MONTENEGRAN

More new editions have been published in the last six months than in any comparable period since JG was born. The Nigerian English edition of JG was published by Agwu Amogu this past winter. Agwu is the founder of the Individual Liberty Initiative of Nigeria (ILIN}. For the whole story on my visit to Abuja for the release, please see the previous winter JG Newsletter.

Luxman Siriwardena luxman_siri@yahoo.com of the Pathfinder Foundation in Colombo, Sri Lanka, has just released the Sinahala edition. This 384 page publication is the full 2004 UK English Commentary edition produced under the direction of Janette Eldridge rayjan@iafrica.com. Luxman also writes a weekly column of economic analysis in the largest selling local language newspaper Lankadeepa. Previously, JG was serialized in the English language newspaper, The Business Standard.

Henry and Roya Weyerhaeuser sponsored the publication of a new, expanded Spanish edition. This edition was organized by Juan Carlos Hidalgo and Hernán Alberro in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This new, revised edition, follows the magnificent publication of the original Spanish JG, translated and published by Judy Nagy in Quito, Ecuador. Judy is probably the most spirited and energetic voice of liberty in Latin America!

Reports Hernán, “The book is ready and it is actually being promoted at the stand of Grito Sagrado (a publishing house that published the Spanish version of Atlas Shrugged and other libertarian and objectivist books) at the International Book Fair of Buenos Aires where over one million people go every year…So the book will have a great distribution in Latin America and Spain. In fact Grito Sagrado has already sent some books to some Latin American countries to start its promotion and to find interested people. I will keep you up to date with the distribution of the book…I have a friend who specializes in sending books, around 300, to Cuba, and the books get to many dissidents and all the independent libraries there. So I think it is going to be a great success, not because of me, but because the book is great and people really like it.”

The great human rights champion of the Balkans, Tomislav Krsmanovic pokret@EUnet.yu, has just accomplished the impossible. At the lowest imaginable cost to ISIL sponsors, he has arranged a fine quality publication of three new editions of JG: Bosniak, Montenegran, and a new Serbian edition. The Bosniak edition was translated by Shura Dumanic. Says the indefatigable Mr. Krsmanovic, “I’m glad to continue to contribute to the ISIL cause. We can change the cover for the next two editions, to be as the cover of most recent English edition. If you agree, I hope to recuperate my strength, with better conditions of life, in that case, do you consider that is acceptable to do new editions (Greek, Turkish, or other languages) under the same conditions?”

Drasko Stojanovic, of the VEDES publishing company and a professor of mathematics in Belgrade, wrote an introduction for the Montenegran edition. Tomislav says, “I am convinced that you will like it, he appreciated JG very much.”

NEW BOOKS FOR PUBLICATION THIS SUMMER: SLOVAKIAN, ESPERANTO, POLISH, RUSSIAN

MP Branislav Opaterny, Matús Posvanc, and the staff of the F. A. Hayek Foundation of Bratislava matus.posvanc@hayek.sk are hosting Janette Eldridge and our families at a news conference for the release of the Slovakian edition of JG this July. Describing his institute, Mat writes, “The F. A. Hayek Foundation of Bratislava is an independent, non-partisan think-tank, founded by a group of free-market economists almost immediately after the Velvet Revolution, in 1990. The mission of our institute is to promote free-market ideas across Slovakia and the region of Central Europe. Activities of our institute include economic research, conference organization, publishing, education, and – perhaps the most important of all – promotion of economic and social reforms. Representatives and experts of our Foundation were directly involved in the Social Security privatization and introduction of Flat Tax in Slovakia.”

At the forthcoming ISIL World Conference in Prague, organized in conjunction with Josef Sima and the Liberalni Institute, I expect to meet several others who have accomplished JG publications. One of these friends of JG is Steve Cobb simplulo@yahoo.com, of Moscow. He has arranged for the translation by Evgenia (Zhenya) Amis into Esperanto, with an introduction by Fred Foldvary. Evgenia is the editor of Kontakto, a popular Esperanto magazine for young people that will be running some chapters from JG. And Fred is a long time supporter of JG, having assigned it to his economics classes at Santa Clara University.

In his introduction to the Esperanto series that begins with JG this July, Steve writes: “This series ‘La Filozofio de Libereco’ will present in Esperanto translation some of the best books supporting the libertarian philosophy. Since this philosophy is largely a product of the European Enlightenment, whose century began in the late 1600s, selecting and sequencing a manageably few titles from the long list of good books is painfully difficult. With what should we begin: an amusing fable, a straightforward non-fiction explanation, dry theory, or comparisons of historical experience? They all have their place, and we hope to succeed eventually in presenting them all, but let us begin with a fable, one already half-familiar to many.”

Another internet friend whom I am very eager to meet at the ISIL conference is Krzysztof Haladus, , founder of the Aspekt publishing company in Poland that has already published Milton Friedman’s Free to Choose. Says Krzysztof, “I know of your simple but great book – The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible. When I read it, I was fascinated!…I think that this book is able to make a very big change in the consciousness of Polish society, if it will be with a successful promotion. I would like to try to do that. It would be a very big challenge for me…I intend to first publish it in 5000 copies in hard cover. I would also like to seek the interest of some broadcasting stations or even TV stations in Poland.”

The first international edition of JG in Russian was published 13 years ago by Dmitry Costygin in St. Petersburg. There are strong indications that a new, greatly revised and expanded Russian edition may be available this summer from William Milonov in St. Petersburg (v_milonov@yahoo.com) and Alex Kouryaev in Moscow (ppcd372@ints.ru). More news on this in the next newsletter.

There is surely an interest in free market ideas in Russia. JG was already well received in the Far East Province, where I gave a series of lectures last March at the Khabarovsk Academy of Economics and Law. This program and the distribution of JG in English was arranged by the brilliant and beautiful Anna Pivovarova (pani84@mail.ru) and hosted by members of her fabulous Debate Club.

GLOBAL SERIALIZATION IN PERIODICALS: CANADA, NEPAL, MACEDONIA, NORWAY, MASSACHUSETTS, HAWAII

In addition to the JG books being published, probably even greater circulation and exposure is gained through numerous periodicals that are serializing JG chapters on a regular basis. The Somali edition has been translated and managed by Faisal Hassan. In addition to running JG in The Somali Voice, Faisal has posted the translation on the JG website and arranged for radio broadcast. Says Faisal, “The Somali edition of JG (Halgankii Yoonis Maskiin: Taxanihii Suuqa Madax Bannaan) is serialized on Radio Ogaal 1320 AM based in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (potential listeners are more than 140,000 Somali speakers).” Faisal has found a publisher in Toronto that offers a good price for 500 copies of the book. With additional sponsors we are ready to print.

Rakesh Wadhwa, Robin Sitoula robs@mail.com.np, and Charu Chadha Rizal have all been instrumental in introducing JG to Nepal. The Boss magazine, a high quality business publication in Kathmandu, has been running episodes of the book every month since last fall. http://www.readtheboss.com/portal/ The episodes are featured side-by-side with commentaries. It is pure pleasure to read this magazine, if for no other reason than for the hardcore free market analysis of economist Rakesh Wadhwa.

Robin Sitoula, General Secretary of Youth Initiative, is spearheading the drive for economic education in Nepal and arranging for the Nepali translation and publication of the book. Charu, Corporate Associate Editor of The Boss, is arranging a grand event for presentation of free market economic and philosophical ideas, hopefully to coincide with the release of the book next winter.

Pavlina Petrova just reported, “As you know we use it chapter-by-chapter in our Monthly Monitoring of the Business Environment in Macedonia and the interest and responses were great.” JG also continues to be featured in regularly in Norwegian through Bent Johan Mosfjell’s scholarly philosophical journal, Nytt Paradigme. And from coast (Massachusetts) to coast (Hawaii), American readers can find a serialization of the book monthly in The Otis Gazette (Angelina Dubourg, Editor & Founder editor@otisgazette.com) and on line in The Hawaii Reporter (Malia Zimmerman, Founder, http://www.hawaiireporter.com/).

TRANSLATIONS WITH PUBLICATION PENDING AND TRANSLATIONS PROPOSED

Numerous translations of JG have been made or are in progress, though publication is yet to be realized. Among these projects:

Mongolian translation, Purevjav Tsenguun, Ulaan Baatar, MongoliaUkrainian translation, Anna Tokar, Kiev, UrkraineArabic translation, Nick Dykes, Paul Lundberg, Cairo, EgyptHebrew translation, David Marhoffer, Phoenix, ArizonaAfrikaans translation, Ria Crafford, Cape Town, South AfricaVisayan translation, Ivo Cerckel, Cebu, The PhilippinesGreek translation, Dimitris Malamoulis, Volos, GreeceFrench translation, Louise Zizka, Vancouver, CanadaSwedish translation, Mats Hinze, Krakow, PolandMacedonian translation, Pavlina Petrova, MacedoniaHindi translation, Barun Mitra, New Delhi, IndiaTamil translation, K. Satyanarayan, Chennai, India

In addition, serious proposals have been made for translations into:

Haitian Creole, Parnell Duverger, Ft. Lauderdale, FloridaAzerbi, Tural Veliyev, AzerbaijanGeorgian, Paata Sheshelidze, Tbilisi, GeorgiaGujarati and Malayalam, Barun Mitra, IndiaNepali, Robin Sitoula, Kathmandu, NepalTurkish, Atilla Yayla, Ankara, Turkey

COMICS, GAMES, SHIRTS, RADIO, THEATER, DISTRIBUTION, AND MORE!

Kevin Tuma kevintuma@sbcglobal.net is preparing more model illustrations for the graphic novel of JG. Our plan is to have Kevin develop the themes and then outsource the production under his supervision. Please let us know of contacts or suggestions in this arena. For a glimpse of Kevin’s work, see:

http://www.jonathangullible.com/GraphicNovel/002A.jpg

Janette and Ray Eldridge have also developed JG The Game, which is still under construction. It is a marvelous application of the JG story and lessons to a fun and lively board game for any group to play. We are still testing and refining the game, so anyone interested in helping out on this project, please contact Janette at: rayjan@iafrica.com. Janette has also designed JG Shirts for production and sale: “Who is JG?” on the back and the JG book cover discreetly placed front/side. It is a fun promotional item for those sponsoring JG book editions at public events.

And of course, The Philosophy of Liberty DVD works well on such occasions. Others in India and Africa, notably Adedayo Thomas, have discussed plans for a comic strip, radio, television, theater, etc.

JG is being offered in the US through several sources: Laissez Faire Books http://www.lfb.com/, The Reality Zone http://www.realityzone.com/, Advocates for Self Government http://www.self-gov.org/, Amazon.com, State University of New York, Santa Clara University, and Hawaii Pacific University. In the Classroom Media has made JG available to its network of 80,145 teachers in 40,771 schools, reaching 14 million students!

http://www.intheclassroom.org/links/index.php

As always, we are grateful to our many supporters. Chief among these is Sam Slom at Small Business Hawaii, who has continued publication of so many editions of the English edition http://www.smallbusinesshawaii.com/ and to ISIL for continued sponsorship of a multitude of free market projects worldwide. For more information, or to contribute to the JG Fund, please contact ISIL President, Vince Miller, at: http://www.isil.org/

Ralph Smeed, a long time sponsor and friend of Jonathan Gullible, has offered his pamphlet for consideration to those who have worked to translate and distribute JG around the world. His pamphlet is a sterling selection of useful (if light-hearted) essays: A Modest Man Named Adam Smith (by Leo Rosten), An Infuriating Man (a tribute to Milton Friedman by Leo Rosten), Santa Claus vs. God (by P.J. O’Rourke), A Tribute to the Foundation for Economic Education (by Ralph Smeed). If anyone in the JG network is intrigued by this proposal for translation projects, please contact me for a copy or contact Ralph Smeed at: 1617 Idaho Ave., Caldwell, ID, 83605, USA.

2006 JANUARY NEWSLETTER

Mon, 02 Jan 2006 07:15:00 +0000

2006 January Newsletter

The Three Free Marketeers

By Ken Schoolland

The odyssey of promoting free market ideas around the world continues with the publication of a localized Nigerian edition of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey (JG), originally published by Small Business Hawaii and now available in 35 languages. This was accomplished recently through the work of Agwu Amogu, founder and director of the Individual Liberty Initiative of Nigeria (ILIN). On my visit to West Africa, I also met with two other dynamos of free market education and promotion, Thompson Ayodele and Franklin Cudjoe.

AGWU AMOGU & ILIN, ABUJA I first met Agwu at the world conference of the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL) in Dax, France several years ago. Since then, Agwu has been tireless in his efforts to bring free market ideas to Abuja, the seat of the federal government. This is not at all easy in a country that emerged from tight military control just a few years ago. Nevertheless, Agwu and his energetic collaborator, political scientist Fred Isename, move easily in circles that are dominated by government officials, the press, academia, and functionaries of various NGO’s because they are so friendly and so well respected for their sincerity. amogu51@yahoo.com

The conference scheduled for the release of the new JG allowed for my address on “Freedom and Economic Development.” It was followed by comments from a panel of prominent dignitaries in the private and public sector. Packed with students, journalists, and interested parties from around Abuja, the conference was highly charged. One of the fascinating points raised by a young woman in the audience was a solid reference to personal responsibility, charging that individuals must first look to their own behavior in setting the example for public policy initiatives.

Agwu introduced me to many fine research scholars, notably Dele Akeem Sonubi, a senior program officer for the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. Agwu’s conference also led to an invitation by the Personal Assistant to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Femi Johnson. Mr. Johnson was excited about the accomplishments of Agwu and expressed an interest in working with ILIN on a variety of youth oriented projects.

It was great meeting Agwu’s friends and relatives. All were interested in the issues of democracy, freedom, and change that were confronting various political factions of the country. I was particulary impressed to see Agwu carrying a sort of bible everywhere he went—a well-worn copy of Alan Burris’ Liberty Primer with notations all over the margins. Agwu and Fred both seemed to live and breathe the ideas of liberty and understood fully the value of books to hungry minds.

My time in Abuja, a very nice city of modern architecture, expansive boulevards, and a relaxed pace of life, was short and I soon had to leave for Lagos. My flight was cancelled due to a truckers’ strike that left one airline without fuel. Agwu quickly booked me on another airline in a highly competitive airline market. Despite anxieties that had been raised by U.S. State Department warnings and news reports of airline crashes in recent months, these airlines were superior in comfort, courtesy, and efficiency than the Northwest Airlines flights that I had taken on earlier legs of my journey.

While the logistics of travel in Africa are sometimes complicated, there is no place in the world where one will encounter nicer hosts. Everyone I met was extremely friendly and helpful. And I do recommend the Rosebud Hotel, fine accommodations at $50 a night with good food and inexpensive internet access.

THOMPSON AYODELE & IPPN, LAGOS

I was greeted in Lagos by Thompson Ayodele, founder and director of the Initiative of Public Policy Analysis (IPPA) and taken to his headquarters to meet his vibrant and talented staff. tomdele_2000@yahoo.com www.ippanigeria.org

Thompson explained that the IPPA was previously called an “institute” until Nigerian officials arrogated the word “institute” for the exclusive use of government agencies. IPPA now may be called an “initiative.” At IPPA headquarters four journalists had been patiently waiting four hours for my arrival. I doubt that any journalists at the major newspapers in Hawaii would have waited so patiently. These fine and curious interviewers were from among a multitude of newspapers in Lagos, one of the most competitive news markets I have ever come across. The only comparable example of such journalistic ferocity in my hometown are the tigers of Hawaii Reporter. I first met Thompson at a convention of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) in Kansas City. Thompson is the country director for SIFE, now hosting more than a dozen top-rate teams, placing among the top three in the world for entrepreneurial projects. This is largely due to Thompson’s talent in recruiting and inspiring young people in universities across the Nigeria, much as James Shikwati has done in Kenya and Franklin Cudjoe in Ghana. Thompson is a decisive man of action; a man of gentle persuasion and firm conviction about the benefits of the market; the ultimate organizer and strategist.

Thompson has developed a highly sophisticated public policy research institute and newsletter that is laying the foundation for the promotion of free markets, for challenging corruption, and for exploring alternatives to the dependency on the western governmental interference and “assistance” that has so long plagued and retarded genuine economic progress.

Having allowed myself only two days in the midst of a holiday season, my visit was not ideally suited to the full-fledged speaking tour that is usual for IPPA visitors, but Thompson handled it masterfully. An engagement to speak on “Entrepreneurship, Freedom, and Economic Development” was arranged at the University of Lagos in conjunction with the Collegiate Chapter of the Junior Chamber International of Nigeria. The lecture was standing room only and a myriad of questions were about starting and operating small businesses. The enthusiasm for starting business is unrivaled in any business university class in Hawaii.

Next, driven by Thompson’s partner Seun Efunkoya, we attempted to make our way to the prestigious Lagos Business School, Center for Applied Economics, for an address on “Economic Freedom and Development.” On the way we were literally highjacked by thugs who pulled us over. A burly local official opened the door and actually sat on Thompson’s lap, directing us off the road to an holding pen for official “highway robbery.”

We had a clue of what we were in for as another car drove by with the driver screaming at the officer, “You’re nothing but a robber, a thief!” Once inside the compound, we were informed that we owed them $120 on the spot for driving outside of our (non-existent) lane. Finally, with the intervention of the Dean of the Lagos Business School, Pat Utomi, and a firestorm of angry protest by Seun, we were allowed to leave after paying a reduced fine—all the money in our pockets. In Hawaii the official highway robbers once tried to get around this kind of commotion by taking a picture of the “offender’s” license plate and sending a bill in the mail for an alleged violation that was virtually unchallengable.

Eventually I arrived at the College and spoke to a very appreciative full amphitheater of MBA students, all of whom are executives in businesses around Lagos. This classroom of Professor Utomi, equiped with state-of-the-art facilities, is a center for elite education on the foundations of the free market. Thompson tells me that our engagement impressed some prominent businessmen with the IPPA philosophy and activities. They have since offered to sponsor IPPA research projects.

Lagos is a city of amazing traffic that would challenge the best drivers in the world. Seun, an expert at Nigerian law, maneuvered us deftly through the congestion to see the port of Lagos, Victoria Island, the inviting and vibrant Atlantic coast beaches, and the families of a couple of my Nigerian students in Hawaii. Comfort and refuge from the daily schedule was provided each night as the guest of Thompson, who so graciously hosted me in his home.

FRANKLIN CUDJOE & IMANI—ACCRA Arriving in Ghana, again four hours late due to the fuel truckers’ strike in Lagos, I met up with Franklin Cudjoe and his young sidekick, Afrikanus Kofi Akosah Adusei. I had heard much about Franklin, but missed meeting him at the ISIL conference in Cologne, Germany last summer, where he made a very positive impression on all those in attendance.

Franklin is the the Director of IMANI: The Centre for Humane Education. IMANI adopted a mission to promote economic prosperity in Ghana and the whole of Africa through property rights, the rule of law, free markets, and free speech. franklin@imanighana.org, Web: www.imanighana.org

As with ILIN and IPPA in Nigeria, IMANI is a freedom institute of the highest calibre, making waves in a country worn down by years of socialist dogma and bureaucratic repression. Franklin is also involved with Students in Free Enterprise—Ghana.

On our way home from the airport we called on leaders of institutes that were promoting markets in a perisistent, subtle, academic manner. By contrast, Franklin is neither subtle nor indirect. He cuts through the confusion of public policies with clear, articulate passion. Franklin is a public relations genius, developing positive relationships in a political arena long accustomed to the intrigues of powerful political figures. At IMANI headquarters or in his home, where I was so comfortably accommodated by his fiancee, friends and family, hours passed in intellectual dialogue and great feasting. It was here that I became acquainted with Kofi. Kofi is a positive, dedicated dynamo of intellectual thought, sure to energize the youth of Ghana into vibrant and creative market-based reforms.

Our first official engagement was at the University of Ghana where I lectured to a full house on the principles of free market economics. How much more these students appreciate the market as an engine of growth and prosperity than the students of Hawaii. The lecture was followed by an extensive session of questions and discussion, all quite enthusiastic.

Later Franklin arranged interviews on nationwide radio and television. The publicity resulted in numerous contacts from people interested in becoming involved with IMANI. And some IMANI supporters have offered to produce a comic strip of JG for local periodicals.

Franklin and his beautiful fiancee, Sandra Birago Duah, took me for a visit to the market for souvenirs. My daughter wanted jewelry and my wife insisted that I return home with a large drum! We then made our way to a gorgeous garden park at the city center—surrounding a mammoth tomb, museum, and memorial to Kwame Nkrumah. It was an ironic twist to my journey.

Nkrumah spread Marxist values to much of Africa, became a dictator, and brought Ghana crashing down—from one of the richest countries in Africa to one of the poorest. Strangely enough, Nkrumah is strangely revered with a monument to his “greatness,” despite being so thoroughly responsible for the ideas behind the destitution of African today.

This monument reminded me of a statute in Honolulu to King Kamehameha “the Great,” who is revered with holidays and parades for killing thousands of fellow Hawaiians in a grab for power over all the islands. Kill one person and you are a murderer. Kill thousands and you are a national hero.

By contrast, I felt fortunate to be in the company of the men and women who, through their brilliance and courage, are the source of a spectacular rebirth of Africa, like the rise of a Phoenix from the ashes. Hopefully the monuments of the next generation in West Africa will be memorials to success, not to failure. They will be tributes to the champions of liberty: Agwu, Thompson, and Franklin.

Ken Schoolland is on the Board of Directors of the International Society for Individual Liberty, the Board of Scholars for the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, and an Associate Professor of Economics and Political Science at Hawaii Pacific University. schoollak001@hawaii.rr.com

2005 AUGUST NEWSLETTER

Tue, 16 Aug 2005 07:08:00 +0000

INDIA: LIBERTY INSTITUTE

Barun Mitra, President of the Liberty Institute has published two sparkling new commentary editions of the book in English and Bengali. The Hindi edition is in translation and due to be published soon. These editions all include commentaries related to each chapter of the book.

Reviewing the book in The Hindu Business Line, D. Murali says, “YOU PROBABLY know of John Galt in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. Here is a different JG in Ken Schoolland’s story, The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey. The `commentary edition’ of the book from Academic Foundation (www.academicfoundation.com) opens with Jonathan’s `guiding principles’ such as `you own your life’ and `success and failure are both the necessary incentives to learn and to grow’. Thereafter begins the `bizarre tale’ after our hero is washed ashore an island.”

Murali concludes, “If you want to toss a coin to decide whether to read Ken, let me suggest you pick up a one-sided coin; for, this is a great family read for the weekend.” For the full review, go to: http://www.blonnet.com/2005/05/14/stories/2005051400070800.htm

Barun has been ever-present in the media of Asia, regularly contributing articles to influential news outlets such as The Asian Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times. http://www.libertyindia.org/ In the past year the Institute has also begun a summer camp at Satoli high in the Himalayas to introduce youth to English, computers, and ideas of liberty. This camp utilized JG in their program. http://www.isil.org/resources/fnn/2004fall/barun-mitra-award.html

Barun introduced me to Subodh Kumar, Executive Director of the Asia branch office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, affiliated with the Free Democratic Party of Germany. Subodh is working closely with Barun in funding numerous free market projects.

For the publication ceremony, Barun invited me to attend the public release of JG at the occasion of the Julian L. Simon Memorial Lecture in New Delhi. There is no place on earth where this great hero of humanity and free market economics, Julian Simon, is so revered. So it was appropriate to deliver my talk entitled, “Courage, Fear, and Immigration: The Importance of Welcoming Newcomers in a Free Economy.” The Institute published a monograph of the presentation, which can be obtained from the Liberty Institute at: http://www.libertyindia.org/jul05.html

INDIA: CENTRE FOR CIVIL SOCIETY

The remainder of my week in India was filled with appearances on behalf of The Centre for Civil Society (CCS), a dynamic institute that is staffed by an army of intellectual, young libertarians. Under the brilliant leadership team of Parth and Mana Shah, the CCS has instituted numerous Liberty & Society Seminars to introduce free market ideas to youth throughout the country. The CCS has indicated that they have found people to translate JG into Malayalam and Gujarati. The next step is formalizing a budget for publication.

Another of the many exciting projects CCS sponsors is their rapidly growing film festival competition. Jeevika offers financial awards in search of documentaries that focus on legal and regulatory restrictions or bureaucratic extortion and harassment that prevent people from earning an honest living in the vocation of their choice. It is a spectacular event which turns the media into an effective tool of promoting free markets.

On three occasions I was invited to deliver my talk on immigration to three top universities in New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Delhi School of Economics, and the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. On each occasion students and faculty engaged in a very lively follow-up discussion, again focused largely on the influx of immigrants from Bangladesh. It is interesting that Bangladeshi’s inspire many of the same fears in India that Indian immigrants inspire among Americans.

A very lively discussion followed my talk, “Ethics of Liberty,” at the home of Parth and Mana Shah, adjoining CCS. Their living room was packed with CCS staff, students from their liberty seminars, and other good friends that I met at previous ISIL conventions, notably Ashish and Qiwi Gulhati and Stefan Metzler. This was truly a debate of the farthest reaches of free market possibilities. My talks were published as monographs and are available through CCS at: http://www.ccsindia.org/index.asp

IRAN, SRI LANKA, LATIN AMERICA: THE WEYERHAEUSER CONNECTION

The Farsi edition of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey was recently published in Iran, thanks to donations and efforts of Roya and Henry Weyerhaeuser. Roya’s uncle, Reza Montazem performed the translation and made arrangements with the publisher.

Once approved by the mullahs for publication, the book was released early this year and was immediately greeted by very positive reviews in the mainstream media. The reviews focused primarily on the very esteemed reputation of Mr. Montazem as a revered translator of many great works in Iran. I am also grateful to Shahram Sadeghi for his assistance in this project.

Henry and Roya are now intent on supporting the Sinahala edition being produced through the project efforts of Luxman Siriwarden and the Pathfinder Foundation in Sri Lanka. Episodes of the book have already been serialized in the Business Standard in Colomobo.

Henry and Roya are also supporting a new 2005 Spanish edition of JG, building off the fabulous path breaking work of Judy Nagy who published the first Spanish edition ten years ago. There have been several offers of support from Jose Fernandez, Juan Carlos Hidalgo, and Edgar Peña. A decision will be made soon about a plan for publication and distribution.

AFRICA & CANADA

Agwu Amogu has just published a Nigerian English edition. Reports Agwu, “The Nigeria JG publishing project has been concluded. The book is ready. A grand presentation of the book in Nigeria will be arranged in January 2006. We are now working on the next phase now–developing JG radio program. I will keep you posted.”

And in Accra, Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe is establishing a new free market think tank, Imani: The Centre for Humane Education. One of his projects is to publish an edition of JG. Says Franklin, “English is fine for now. As this show success and I know it will, we can then explore other local languages. Thanks again. Please do send many more copies if you can. I will want to have the Directors of Education to read this book. I might speak to our current Finance Minister who used to be Minister of Education to help make it a reader for schools.”

Faisal Hassan continues to straddle two continents: North America and Africa. He continues to serialize his Somali translation of JG in The Somali Voice, published for the Somali community in Canada. Faisal has been busy seeking publishers for the home community in Somalia. Faisal wrote, “I have translated the 39 chapters plus commentaries, notes and added commentary of a graduate student supporting the book.” And all have been posted as an ebook on the JG website: http://www.jonathangullible.com/languages.htm

Janette Eldridge writes, “You will be pleased to know that all is well with the Afrikaans translation. I have just phoned Ria Crafford in Cape Town. She has finished up to Chapter 30 of the story and has done some commentaries. I am very happy that Ria is doing this translation. I know it will be a good translation. I have high hopes that it will be well received.”

CZECH REPUBLIC & SLOVAKIA

Josef and Tereza Sima have been visiting professors in Hawaii this summer. Indeed, they got carried away and just got married! Josef translated JG into Czech many years ago. He explained to me that when the Liberalni Institute finished distributing the 1000 copies they had published, they decided to put the whole book on line. Since then, they have experienced the downloading of 300 to 400 copies per month. And Josef has said that he has seen it cited on many occasions in economics papers and dissertations at the University of Economics in Prague.

Josef Sima has also informed me that a Slovak MP with the F.A. Hayek Foundation, Branislav Opaterny, has asked to work with him to produce a Slovak edition of JG from the Josef’s Czech translation. All of these projects are most welcome.

NEPAL & MONGOLIA

Robin Sitoula, General Secretary of the Youth Initiative and President of Liberal Youth South Asia (LYSA) corresponded from Kathmandu saying, “I have been busy with organizing a south Asian network of liberal youth organizations. and since a few months we have LYSA trying to create a liberal youth movement in South Asia. Please check www.lysasia.org for details. About the JG project,

I have been able to translate only the first six chapters by now and I am discussing with a few magazines and newspapers to start publishing a chapter every week on a continual basis. Also, a few chapters are being used as reading materials and discussion text at the Freedom and Responsibility Youth seminar that we do with young people here in Nepal. I am hoping to complete the full translation by the end of 2005 and send it to press.”

Commenting on pressing local issues, Robin commented, “Since last February, the political situation has become terrible here in Nepal and Civil and Economic Freedoms are being increasingly curbed everyday. So, I am putting some of my efforts these days into how we could organize something that can help Nepal in the present ongoing conflict.”

While we have a translation of JG available in Mongolia, there seems to be growing interest in a new, revised and expanded edition. From P. Tsenguun we received this correspondence, “One of our activities is to promote education about individual liberty and free markets among younger people. Along this line, we would like to re-publish your book The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey as the first edition has already become scarce and difficult to find in stores. We hope you will accept our proposal and collaborate with us on the second publishing of your book. I recently also got your The Philosophy of Liberty DVD. It was amazing. I have high hopes for it being translated into Mongolian.”

This proposal was enthusiastically endorsed by Baatar, the publisher of the original Mongolian edition.

CHINA & KYRGYZSTAN

Dean Peng informs me that the Chinese edition is doing well enough that it has already gone into a second printing. Says Dean, “JG has been selling outside Shanghai for a couple of months. I do not know who are buying, but I suppose they are mostly university and college students.” Word has it that Jerome Ma is now arranging a Taiwanese edition for the book.

Before heading off to the London School of Economics, Erkin Adylov contacted his friends from Kyrgyzstan to find out the status of the Kyrgyz edition. Asel Kasenova wrote, “Yes, the book is translated. We published 500 books and each team of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) received one copy of it. We planned to sell some of them, make money and travel around Kyrgyzstan reading the book to school kids. Unfortunately, we could not sell even a part of it. The reasons for that: first, the book is not known here, second, the schools are poor. The books are stocked at my house and Zarina’s house (Zarina Osmonaliev). Anyway, after rambling around I have made a decision just recently to make one big SIFE project among all teams. I decided to distribute 300 books among teams and ask them to go to schools and read it to kids. Of course this will not be as effective as if a professional Kyrgyz teacher would do, but I don’t like books not being used.”

Following the recent revolution in Kyrgyzstan, Asel updated the news with this, “Yes, we hope to launch this project among all teams next SIFE year. We are preparing for it. It is great that students have developed radio skits and games. If possible, we would love to see and hear them. If possible, it would be great to apply them here. Please let us know! Yes, thank you for your interest in our country. The revolution was unexpected and at the same time expected – people were in despair. Unfortunately, that is what happens when governors do not look at the people. These days the situation is stable. It is, most importantly, peaceful. The new government is trying to figure what and how to do everything better. Of course it will take time. People do understand that and we are full of new hopes for better lives. Thank you very much for your support and interest. I do appreciate that a lot.”–>

THE BALKANS: BOSNIAK & MACEDONIAN

I spent a couple weeks in Serbia this summer, traveling with family and friends. Part of this wonderful time was with Tomislav Krsmanovic, the instigator behind so many JG projects in the region: Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian, Slovenian, Albanian, and Romany. Tomislav showed me the beautiful Drina River area where he is sparking the drive for a developing tourist industry. In addition, he has taken up a plan to produce a Bosniak edition of JG, possibly with Shura Dumanic. Writes Shura, “Such literature is needed by us.”

Pavlina Petrova has been working day and night with the establishment of a new independent economic Macedonian NGO. Of her plans for JG, Pavlina wrote, “Last year we started to include parts of JG, the translation made by Tomislav, as an enclosure for our Monitoring of the Macedonian Business Environment, two chapters in each issue. Our subscribers’ list consists of more that 1000 email addresses, which is a rather good number for Macedonia. At that time this was the only way for us to introduce JG to a Macedonian audience. We have received numerous wonders from our readers that such a great tool in economics ABC’s and also an amusing book exists.”

Commenting on the general conditions of her country, Pavlina says, “A lot of changes have happened for the 15 years’ transition period in Macedonia. The economic situation forced large numbers of people to become entrepreneurs, although they have not been prepared for this. There is a shortage of economic literature written in plain language in Macedonia. Macedonian publishers and libraries don’t provide diverse economic literature yet. Thus a broad audience of entrepreneurs, policy and decision makers, and students at the universities, need help in accessing basic knowledge on different economic issues and problems. We recommend JG as a ‘right-hand mate’ to every one who would like to become acquainted with some basic economic principles and terms. I truly hope that this year we will be able to find financing for publishing the new JG edition.”

COMING: ARABIC, RUSSIAN, UKRAINIAN, HEBREW

Nick Dykes reported after a trip to Kazakhstan this summer, “I just heard that Arabic JG is nearly ready — in final revision stage. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear more.” And there already seems to be a budding new market for JG in Egypt. Paul Lundberg reports that there are rapidly changing attitudes there, with youths looking to start their own businesses rather than just to rely on the government for a job. Concludes Paul, “Some of the conversations I have had with these kids got me thinking that they would be a natural market for JG. The whole country is still in the process of getting out of a statist socialist mindset. A truly libertarian perspective might have a niche here.”

After investigating the possibilities for translation in Kazakhstan, Nick wrote, “I enquired while in Almaty, but it turns out that Kazak is not a literary language. Anyone in Kazakhstan likely to want to read JG would do so a) in Russian, b) in English.”

The whole of English and Russian editions is available on line, but the Russian edition is now expecting a considerable upgrade in the new published edition by Alexander Kouryaev in Moscow. Says Alex, “When I looked at the Russian translation more carefully, I understood that it is not of very high quality. This is the reason why I ultimately decided to order the new translation which is going to be done by August-September. There is more good news: I have found a partner for publishing this book, so it will be done as soon as the new translation is completed.”

I was able to visit with Anna Tokar at two events, the Bulgarian Society for Individual Liberty Convention in Sofia and the Liberty English Camp in Trakai, Lithuania. As a dynamic shaker and mover of the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine, Anna has taken up the challenge of preparing a Ukrainian edition of JG. Comments Anna, “The Ukrainian JG (or Ivan Durnik – I haven’t decided yet whether it is a good idea to “translate” the Jonathan’ name into Ukrainian analogue) will start travelling within the Ukrainian market as soon as possible.”

Another enthusiast of our purveyor of free market ideas is David Marhoffer of Phoenix, Arizona. David is recently the proud father of a beautiful little girl, who will surely read JG one day. Explains David, “The translation of JG into Hebrew is a labor of love for me. Adding my own labor of love is the only way that I see of paying tribute to your marvelous achievement. I have an artist’s and artisan’s pride in producing a translation with the utmost fidelity to your original work…Once the translation is finished, I will approach the publishers, especially those who cater to the educational textbook market. I think that the first priority is to get JG into the hands of the youngest readers in high school so as to inoculate them against the socialist dogmas inflicted upon them by the public school system and teachers’ union. JG is ideal because, like George Orwell’s Animal Farm, it attacks ideological sacred cows via parable.”

ANIMATION & FILM

The Philosophy of Liberty (PoL) film animation that was produced by Kerry Pearson has, with the support of Andrew L. Sullivan and Chris Butterbach, been re-engineered by Mario Knezovic and Sanja Tasic to take on new languages. We’ve had an overwhelming response from the PoL on the internet and many people are eager to translate it. So far in the queue are projects for Slovak, Danish, German, Serbian, Dutch, Mongolian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Hungarian, and others. Mario and Sanja are overwhelmed, but faithfully working on each of these when time away from their other work permits.

The first batch of PoL DVD’s produced by Tim Skousen (one of Napolean Dynamite’s creators) has already sold out. A second production run is being completed in time for a September appearance in the Laissez Faire Books Catalogue for $14.95, http://www.lfb.com/Home.asp

There are many who have been working to see JG get into the movies, especially Brock D’Avignon, Howard Hinman, and Susan Wells. But it may well be Parth Shah’s CCS team in India that will get the head start through their annual film festival competition.

There certainly is a market out there for the likes of JG, and In the Classroom Media may be just the place to do it. Rick Platt, Director of Sales and Marketing for In the Classroom Media, commented, “We are learning more and more from teachers that short segments / short econ lessons work the best in their classes. That is good news in regards to JG, since it is in essence many segments in one story. I think it would be a big hit to provide JG on video. How are the movie prospects? We would certainly be interested in distribution of some sort of video/movie and/or animation of the segments. We are currently reaching 50,000 teachers and 8 million students so keep us in mind for distribution.”

POL ACCOLADES

So what’s so good about the PoL, derived from the epilogue of JG? Here is what some of the internet fans have had to say:

“

Among the fabulous responses we’ve had to the flash animation: You made me cry…I’m sending to everyone on my list.”–S.R.

“Our organization is interested in posting your animation “The Philosophy of Liberty” on our site.”–L.B.

“Man, that was the greatest thing I have seen on the net. You might consider putting it on DVD and getting it distributed. Send it into some festivals. It deserves to be seen. Thanks for sharing it.”–R.D.L.

“Hello, I just watched your flash animation, The Philosophy of Liberty, and all I have to say is wow. So amazing and truthful that to compliment you as personally as possible was the only way to compliment you.”–B.G.

“I enjoyed viewing your flash, it was a very good simplification of philosophical concepts relating to society and liberty. I was wondering if I could obtain a transcript of all the text in the flash, for my own personal use. I think it does an excellent job of covering the subject at hand.”–I.N.

“bravo je vous félicite, cette animation est super!”–l.n.

“Is there any way I could buy a copy of your Liberty Flash animation? It is excellent! Thank you!”–M.W.

“Thank you and your creative co-workers for your EXCELLENT WORK. How can I help get this in the media? How can we get a video–DVD and permission to play it as warm up, finish, time fill–etc.? Is Public TV showing this EXCELLENT WORK? I don’t see how ANYONE can criticize or disagree. I have tried to email your EXCELLENT WORK (I can’t possibly say that enough) to others. Can you be of Help? THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR EXCELLENT WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”–D.S.

“Wonderful…I will use it like a insane teacher…many thanks…”–J.M.

“I enjoyed the presentation. I found it to be the best that I have seen so far, by far.”–W.P.

“Thank you again and again for having produced and presented this most excellent exposition with respect to human life and Liberty’s sweet underpinnings! [It] is now a permanent bookmark in my browser’s library.”–C.M.

MARKETING, GAMES, AND SHIRTS

JG has long been distributed by Laissez Faire Books, Advocates for Self-Government, G. Edward Griffin’s American Media, Amazon Books, ISIL, Howard Blitz’s Freedom Library, and Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. This fall, the distributors of John Stossel’s videos to a third of the nation’s public schools will take up economics books, with JG being among the first offered on their website: http://www.intheclassroom.org/index.htm

Rick Platt, said, “Our goal is to have the new site up and running in September. The new site will feature new products including JG. I’ll keep you informed. We’d certainly be interested in providing games, etc. as well.”

Our Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team at Hawaii Pacific University once developed a Jeopardy-style game for the classroom. This, however, needs a lot of work before it can be ready for general use.

More promising, perhaps, is the brilliant model for a board game that Janette Eldridge has been developing with the help of her stable of game players: Ray Eldridge, Stuart Hayashi, Virgis Daukas, Tali Satele, Geo Olsson, and others rounded up in Durban, South Africa and at the ISIL World Convention this year in Cologne, Germany. Following on the soaring success of her UK Commentary edition of JG, Janette has prepared an elaborate JG board game that carries players through all the themes and controversies of the book…365 steps of battling with politics, economics, and philosophical debates! It is genius in progress. All who wish to be in on the formulative stages of the really fun side of JG, please contact Janette to help with ideas. It is yet a massive undertaking.

To top it off, Janette has also designed the first accessories: JG polo shirts for the truly initiated! Prototypes were already prepared for the JG Team that showed at the ISIL World Convention this summer. Janette recommends that you place your orders with my daughter, Kenli:

Mark Skousen just returned from the Mont Pelerin Society meeting in Iceland. Along with voluminous sales of his own new book, Vienna and Chicago, Friends or Foes? : A Tale of Two Schools of Free Market Economics, Mark had some copies of JG to sell, “which sold right away…..In fact, one person wanted more copies.” Mark is the best promoter of all, next to Janette, that is. His business card reads, “Have Book, Will Travel”.

2004 DECEMBER NEWSLETTER

Thu, 16 Dec 2004 07:11:00 +0000

CHINA

In April 2003, Dean Peng took a break from the translation of numerous works by renowned Austrian economists: Friedrich A. Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Henry Hazlitt, Eugen Bohm-Bawerk, Peter J. Boettke, and Mark Skousen. http://www.sinoliberal.net/pengdd/pengddarchive.htm

At that moment he ran across an article by Toshio Murata, Japanese translator of von Mises’ Human Action. Professor Murata wrote about a project in Japan that was popularizing free market ideas through the serialization of a book in the Keizai Seminar Magazine.

Curious, Dean wrote to me saying, “I want to make a simplified Chinese translated version of your wonderful book The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible for mainland China readers. I know there is one for Hong Kong, which I find difficult for mainland readers because of the difference between language habits…I look forward to hearing from you.”

In 1997, during the turnover of Hong Kong to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), Jonathan Gullible (JG) had been serialized in The Hong Kong Economic Journal, but this was a chance to reach the greater China market. I was especially thrilled to run across someone who was so well versed in free market ideas.

SHANGHAI

A few months later, Jerome Ma learned about JG through the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) and sent a letter to Small Business Hawaii asking for permission to publish the book in China. Jerome worked for an esteemed publishing house, the Century Publishing Group of Shanghai and Horizon Media Co. Ltd. So I put him in contact with Dean and the two were able to manage an agreement for translation and publication.

Dean and Jerome had both been introduced to the ideas of liberty through free market clubs at their universities. Dean was a physics major at Beijing University and learned of Karl Popper and the Austrian School of economics through his interest in the philosophy of science. Jerome was a mathematics major at a university in Shanghai when he discovered the Austrian School.

Soon after, Jerome became an ardent publisher of free market works. He wrote, “I am delighted to tell you that Professor Rothbard’s America’s Great Depression, translated by Xie Huayu and edited by myself, was published last year. In my plan, I want to publish The Theory of Money and Credit by Mises, Austrian Economics and the Political Economy of Freedom by Ebeling and The Economics of Liberty by Rockwell Jr.”

Jerome’s current endeavor is to learn German so that he can read the Austrian publications from the original text. Jerome has also added another book to his list of projects, my Shogun’s Ghost: the Dark Side of Japanese Education.

In Shanghai we spent a day with Jerome and a couple of his close associates, James Wang (a television sports reporter) and Hoy Xie. Jerome is a deeply thoughtful scholar who is sometimes depressed by the bureaucratic jungle that is all around him. Yet he is devoted to his studies of philosophy and economics and is keenly aware that China is poised for great change. It is all the more incentive to be a part of an economy that is rapidly being liberalized.

BEIJING

We traveled to Beijing and were greeted by Dean at a corner restaurant for breakfast. All the variations of black liver and tripe stew still give my wife, Zhao Li, delicious memories for her dream feasts. Dean introduced us to a couple of his close friends and supporters—all part of his internet network of free market discussants. The vigor, stimulation, and intellectual challenge over the internet, with brilliant characters like Dean, are unrivalled anywhere in the world.

Not only is Dean an independent economic consultant and prolific writer, but he is a courageous activist. He described a current challenge to local officials. “There was a 22-year-old student of psychology from Beijing Normal University named Liu Di who wrote some satirical papers on the Internet with the net name Stainless Rat. She was detained by the police last November—one day before the 16th Party Congress and was arrested one month later. It has been 8 months since she was detained while Chinese law allows police a maximum of 7 months before bringing the case to court. I am working on a campaign against the police. That cost me some time. And there is a possibility that I shall be detained as well—although I don’t think it is likely to happen.”

As it turned out, Dean was illegally placed under house arrest, with guards posted at his door, to prevent him from attending a press conference. Fortunately he knows the law better than the police, much to their embarrassment. Dean retaliated by inviting foreign journalists, foreign diplomats, and many of his local supporters to a press conference on his doorstep. Says Dean, “Principles of liberalism must be carried out in real life, otherwise we are hypocritical. I took a hunger strike to create as much trouble as possible. We are airborne…”

Dean is surely one of the greatest spirits of the new China and I feel fortunate to have met him. He invited us to his home to meet his wife, a television producer, and son—the light of his life! Surely the nicest people one could ever meet. Dean has become the China Representative for ISIL and plans on hosting a future ISIL world conference in China.

CHINESE FREEDOM SCHOOLS

Kate is another remarkable scholar and high energy activist from the University of Hawaii who had a harrowing escape from China years ago and is now determined to return in order to set up a number of private freedom schools throughout China. She has expressed an interest in buying as many as nine thousand copies of the Chinese edition of JG for more than a hundred other schools. For this effort, funding assistance (tax deductible) would be greatly appreciated.

EAFI facilitates international education exchange, cultural understanding, global education reform, and gender equity in education by assisting poor, minority, and learning disabled students to overcome financial barriers to appropriate education. The Fund provides scholarships and tuition assistance to poor, rural Chinese children.

Kate has also set up a network for free market thinkers in China. She is organizing the first Chinese free market thinkers’ conference next August in Shanghai. For more information about her extraordinary projects, please contact her in Honolulu or see her website, http://www.yifei.org/eng/about.html

If you would like to be a part of the transformation in China with your support, please contact–Dean Peng: deanpeng@hotmail.com, Jerome Ma: jerome_ma@hotmail.com and Kate Zhou: katezhou@mailserver.hawaii.edu

STOSSEL IN THE CLASSROOM

Media in the Classroom, the video company that supplies John Stossel’s ABC television program materials to a third of the nation’s public schools, is adding the first book to their promotional materials: The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey (JG). In anticipation of nationwide distribution, Small Business Hawaii (SBH) is printing a sparkling new 2005 edition.

BARUN MITRA, LIBERTY INSTITUTE OF NEW DELHI, PUBLISHER OF THE BENGALI EDITION AND THE ASIA ENGLISH EDITION.

SOUTH ASIA

The Liberty Institute in New Delhi is releasing a Bengali edition of the book in January as well as a new Asia English edition for the Indian school market. Simultaneously, The Centre for Civil Society is featuring a new play based on the book, with the hope of reaching the youth throughout India.

Raja M.B. Senanayake has begun to serialize JG in The Business Standard, an English newspaper in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Luxman Siriwardena is also working with Raja to prepare a Sinahala translation through the Pathfinder think tank. And Robin Sitoula, President of Youth Initiative, is preparing a Nepali translation in Kathmandu.

AFRICA, SOUTHEAST ASIA, OCEANIA

Meanwhile, JG has been making great strides abroad. James Shikwati, Director of the Inter Regional Economic Network in Nairobi, announced that this educational project has been approved by the Kenya Institute of Education as a class reader for juniors and seniors in high schools throughout Kenya.

Faisal Hassan has completed the serialization of the JG translation in The Somali Voice, reaching the Somali community in Canada. His next plan is to find a publisher for the book version for Somalia. Through sponsorship support from the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL), Agwu Amogu is preparing the publication of a localized Nigerian English edition.

Another edition in progress is the Afrikaans edition which is being translated by Ria Crafford. And Janette Eldridge has made the entire UK Commentary edition available on-ling at: http://jonathangullible.com/languages.htm

In addition, Janette has found contacts for distribution of this UK Commentary edition in New Zealand, Singapore, and Malaysia. Barry Kayton, the publisher, has initiated advertisements for this edition in the home school movement of South Africa.

EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Mats Hinze has completed the Swedish translation which has been placed on line at: www.jonathangullible.com. If anyone has a publisher to recommend for the Swedish or French editions (the latter translated by Louise Zizka), then please let us know. This can be for publication as a book or in serial form in a periodical. This is precisely the plan of Bent Johan Mosfjell who is on the verge of publishing a new Norwegian edition, either as a book or serialization, or both.

Pavlina Petrova, Director of the Economic Policy Research Center of the Euro-Balkan Institute in Skopje, has completed the final stages of a revised Macedonian edition which will soon go on line as well. This builds on earlier work of the great humanitarian activist, Tomislav Krsmanovic. edition.

Atilla Yayla, President of the Liberal Dusunce Toplulugu in Ankara, has begun a translation into Turkish. The Farsi edition by Shahram Sadeghi is still poised for publication in Iran. David Marhoffer in Phoenix, Arizona has begun a Hebrew translation and Nicholas Dykes of London has arranged for an Arabic translation.

STUDENTS IN FREE ENTERPRISE (SIFE)

Kim Ong of the Students in Free Enterprise team at Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) has been seeking a publisher in Malaysia. Thomas Mellin and Terence Waclawik of the SIFE team have once again taken up the use of the JG Quiz Game, produced by Mary Disbrow for energizing use of the book in economics classes at HPU.

MEDIA WORLD

Susan Well’s screenplay adaptation of JG has been placed with agents in the movie industry: Brock d’Avignon and Howard Hinman.

Also, the diligent perseverance of Mario Knezovic in re-engineering the flash animation of the book’s epilogue, “The Philosophy of Liberty,” will soon make the DVD adaptable to many more than the current four languages.

FREE COPIES FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN HAWAII

It’s high time that the students of Hawaii get to meet Jonathan Gullible, the young economics adventurer who has swept the world in more than thirty languages. After all, Small Business Hawaii is the birthplace of Jonathan.

Free copies of the book? This isn’t really a free lunch. It’s an effort long supported by Small Business Hawaii to address the desperate need for economics education among the youth of Hawaii. For a limited time, SBH is offering free sets of its award-winning book on free market education.

If you let us know of a classroom teacher who would like to review the book for possible classroom use, we’ll send them a complimentary copy. Teachers from any department, from any school, on any Hawaiian island, may request a copy. Each of the first ten teachers who decides to adopt the book for his or her classroom use, will receive a free set of books.

Any school librarian in Hawaii may also request a complimentary copy. This will provide easy access for students statewide who may wish to enter the “Free Market Essay Contest” that is being developed, complete with cash prizes, by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. Details of the contest will be published soon. Students may also access the book on-line at: http://www.hawaiireporter.com/list.aspx?The+Jonathan+Gullible+Series

RAVES FROM BLUE YONDER!

We are pleased to announce that Jonathan has found a home in the “blue” states of New England. Angelina Dubourg, Editor and Proprietress of The Otis Gazette wrote to ask permission to reprint “The Philosophy of Liberty.” The Otis Gazette is a newspaper of 5,000 distribution in lower Berkshire County, Massachusetts and the upper Foothills of Connecticut. She wrote, “Thank you so much for the reprint permission. I would love to take you up on that offer of serializing the book. Because the Philosophy of Liberty left me so awestruck as the best philosophy I have ever seen, I am going to print it first.”

And so it goes! Other encouraging comments about the flash animation:

“You made me cry…. I’m sending to everyone on my list.”

“Hello, I just watched your flash animation, ‘The Philosophy of Liberty,’ and all I have to say is wow. So amazing and truthful that to compliment you as personally as possible was the only way to compliment you.”

“Bravo. Je vous félicite cette animation est super laurence nahon.”

“Is there any way I could buy a copy of your Liberty Flash animation? It is excellent! Thank you!”

“Thank you and your creative coworkers for your EXCELLENT WORK.”

“Wonderful … I will use it like a insane teacher … many thanks.”

“I enjoyed the presentation. I found it to be the best that I have seen so far, by far.”

“I would like to know if I can get a copy of the presentation for use in our presentations.”

CONTACTS AND SPONSORS

If you would like to help with any of our local, national, or international projects for translation, publication, or distribution of our economics education projects for communities or schools, please contact me.

2004 APRIL NEWSLETTER

Fri, 02 Apr 2004 07:13:00 +0000

2004 April Newsletter

Jonathan Gullible Treks Into Africa, Middle East, Asia, & Europe

By Ken Schoolland,

schoollak001@hawaii.rr.com

, April 2004

UK Commentary Edition for 54 Commonwealth nations releasedKiswahili Edition for Uganda, Tanzania, KenyaUrdu Edition for South AsiaBulgarian Book Edition published in SofiaDVD of Philosophy of Liberty animationSomali Edition serialized in Somali VoiceNigerian Pidgin Edition on line and set for publicationGreek Edition on line and seeking book publicationFarsi Edition ready for publication in IranChinese Book Edition translation completedGraphic novel (comics) edition designedAfrikaans, Swedish, Bengali, Sinahala, Nepali, Russia projectsSong proposed for Philosophy of Liberty animationNew index and tale as insertEconomics as a treat!

Free market ideas are now streaming through schools, newspapers, electronic media, and literary circles of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. This is due to the educational outreach projects of Small Business Hawaii and the International Society for Individual Liberty.

The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey

(JG) has just become available in a UK Commentary Edition for the 54 Commonwealth nations; in audio for the blind; in Kiswahili for Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda; in Urdu for Pakistan; in Somali for Somali community in Canada; and in Pidgin for Nigeria. JG will soon be available in Afrikaans, Farsi, Bengali, Nepali, Chinese, Swedish, and second editions in Macedonian and Norwegian.

Cape of Good Hope In March, Christian Michel (London), Barun Mitra (New Delhi), and I were fortunate to be hosted by Janette Eldridge, co-author of the UK Commentary edition of JG, and her very supportive husband, Ray. Did I say "co-author"? No, she was really the author of these commentaries, background, references, and the architect of this whole project from her initial vision several years ago at the ISIL Conference in France. All of this was due to her genius, outstanding drive, and personal magnetism.

Arriving in Cape Town, we were first taken to the Cape of Good Hope to experience the ferocity of local bandits. A determined baboon stole an ice cream bar from my fist! I was warned, "Don't resist or you could lose a whole lot more!"

In the evening we convened at a Xhosa restaurant on Cape Town's waterfront to meet Ria Crafford, translator of the Afrikaans edition of JG, Barry and Betty Kayton, publishers of the UK Commentary Edition, and Theresa and Neil Emerick, a consultant with the Fraser Institute of Canada.

The next day Janette arranged for us to speak about globalization, free trade, and economic development at two universities: 80 students at Peninsula Technikon and 20 students at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town, hosted by Elspeth Donovan, the MBA Director.

Tape Aids for the Blind We then traveled to Durban, where Janette introduced JG to the administrators of Tape Aids for the Blind, http://www.tapeaids.co.za. We were informed during our visit that JG was already being recorded for distribution.

While other organisations around the world read books onto audio tapes for the blind, this is the only organisation that receives no government subsidy except free postage. These tapes primarily go to people in regions of southern African, but tapes are sent as far away as New Zealand, Israel, Ireland, and the U.S. The tapes are for anyone with impaired vision, dyslexia, or to those who are unable to hold or turn pages of a book. Those interested may contact librarian Alaine Cave at: library@tapeaids.co.za.

"This is an untapped outlet for free market material," says Janette. "As there is a shortage of readers, anyone wanting their material submitted might have a better chance to organize the reading themselves and then submit the finished recording. The copyright of the tapes remains with the Tape Aids for the Blind. Tapes are preferred since CD's are difficult for the disabled to operate because of difficulty in stopping and starting at the precise location in a story."

On a side visit before departing Durban, Professor Bruce Page of the Biology Department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal showed us the tracking of elephant herds by the attachment of cell phone transmitters. According to Hans Falkena, more than 9,000 private game farms and ranches cover 13% of the nation's land area, compared with 5% for all national parks. These private ventures can be both successful and profitable in increasing wildlife stocks.

Johannesburg On our first day in "Jo'burg," we visited CIDA University where the students practice transcendental meditation and do all the cleaning, food preparation, maintenance, and administration. The cost of a tuition, without government subsidy, is one twentieth of the WITS, a government university in the same city. Janette introduced us to Taddy Blecher and Thembinkosi Mhlongo who are credited with starting CIDA university.

Charl Heydenrych organized a visit to the Lindela Detention Centre at Krugersdorp where illegal immigrants are gathered for deportation to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, etc. News reports indicate that conditions in South African prisons are quite gruesome, but Lindela completely surprised us. It is now contracted out to a private corrections firm which operates a very humane and efficient service, all-be-it a service that helps send people to very harsh conditions.

That same evening the new UK Commentary edition of JG was launched at the ranch of Trevor and Linda Watkins. The edition more than doubles the size of 2001 edition of JG with questions, commentary, background, quotes, and references accompanying each of the 40 chapters of the book. It is superbly edited by Janette and illuminates the relevance of the free market philosophy to contemporary society.

Without pictures the book is expected to appeal to a sophisiticated and mature audience that has not previously been introduced to the ideas of liberty. And it pioneers a technique of publication funding with advertorials by several sponsors. With commentary along side the chapters, it reflects the successful style of the Bulgarian edition that was serialized with parallel economic analysis in Sedem Weekly.

The highlight of the tour was the First South African Individual Freedom Conference at the new offices of the Free Market Foundation of South Africa (FMF) in Sandton. This excellent conference was instigated by Janette and organized by Trevor. In the end, we had terrific brainstorming session with Terry Markham of the FMF on ways to promote JG throughout the Commonwealth. Assistance of all kinds is still eagerly invited.

IREN-Kenya After a fascinating journey through the Lion and Rhino Game Reserve, snatching pictures from the mouths of lions and hippos, Barun and I departed for Nairobi where we were greeted by the renowned James Shikwati. Renowned? Indeed! James is not just the Director of the Inter Region Economic Network, IREN Kenya, rather he is a legend in the making.

James has introduced Kenya to a flood of free market ideas in the past couple years by launching the All Africa Resource Bank for the sharing of resources through free market institutes, he has hosted numerous speakers from around the world, he has written prodigiously in national and international publications about market solutions to economic and political problems of East Africa, and he has initiated numerous educational and media projects.

Among his educational projects was the translation and publication of JG in Kiswahili. Our first appointment was to Mr. Sinjiri Mukuba, Editor of Longhorn Publishing Co., a textbook publisher who has proposed to publish and distribute a future run of the book, possibly as a set book for national student examinations.

James also arranged for numerous interviews with journalists from all the major newspapers and radio. He is a very sincere and dedicated leader, of high integrity, who has devoured all of the books in his massive personal library.

Students in Free Enterprise--Kenya Our subsequent appointments over three days was to visit SIFE students of six university campuses in Kenya: the University of Nairobi-Kabete

Campus, the United States International University-Africa, St. Paul's Theological University, Daystar University, Africa Nazarene University, and Strathmore University. At each Barun and I spoke of globalization, economic freedom, political corruption, and economic development. It was also an opportunity for me to promote the use of JG in the classroom and for the students to describe a multitude of free enterprise projects they have been preparing for the national competition and for the winning team to go on to the international SIFE competition in Barcelona, Spain this year.

These teams are hands-on, practical application of the market in action. They have started canteens on campus funded by the sale and exchange of stock ownship. They have assisted local businesses with transportation and protection services. These SIFE teams are helping housewives and local school kids to learn about basic entrepreneurial skills. It is truly impressive to see these students accomplishing market activities that leave most American students in the dust. Despite the extraordinary corruption, poverty, and crime that are pervasive in Kenya, these students showed energy and optimism that is truly awsome. And James is the backbone of it all.

JG-Kenya On our last day the conference room was packed at the Pan Afric Hotel for the formal release by IREN of the Kiswahili edition of JG. Journalists, academics, students, business people, and government officials were in attendance for the final series of lectures. The first was a speech by Ayub Mukhwana, explaining why it is important to have such free market books in Kiswahili. This is a language that has ancient roots in East Africa, from the commerce of early Arab merchants.

Today, Kiswahili is second only to Arabic in terms of the numbers of speakers of African native languages. Kiswahili is Tanzania's national and official language, Kenya's national language and a silent or 2nd official language, and one of Uganda's national languages. "Therefore," reports Ayub, "in East Africa it is Kiswahili that unites all as a native language…It is likely that Kiswahili will be maintained in East Africa as the first lingua franca in business."

Barun and I made presentations about economic freedom and we were then treated to a ceremony for the formal release of the Kiswahili JG to the public and the media. We also met the illustrator of the new edition, Adams Namai, who is also interested in collaborating with us on the comic book edition of JG that we are currently working on with Kevin Tuma in the U.S.

James is accomplishing miracles in a region that is very much in need of miracles. I strongly urge people to support his endeavours.

JG-Urdu, Somali, Nigerian Pidgin, Farsi Upon my return to the U.S. I was greeted with the news that the Urdu edition of JG had been published. From the Free Pakistan Newsletter: "The Alternate Solutions Institute, of Lahore, Pakistan, has published its first book, a translation of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey, in Urdu. Urdu is understood not only in Pakistan but throughout South Asia. This modern fable has so far been published in 29 languages of the world, Urdu being the 30th. This book explains the principles of market economy in a simple manner and helps promote the concepts of open markets and property rights. The book has been translated by Khalil Ahmad. A. S. Institute is indebted to Irshad Ameen for his tireless efforts in getting the book released." The book is being distributed in Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi.

Faisal Hassan has been serializing the Somali edition in a newpaper for the Somali community in Canada. Says Faisal, "Somali Voice readers enjoy JG. They are free market economy folks. And they are a hungry for JG for Somali speaking populations around the world. The Editor loves it, too. He agrees to serialise the entire book." Faisal is currently preparing the final edits so that it can appear on line and eventually in book form.

Agwu Amogu translated JG into Nigerian Pidgin which is currently available on the JG web site: http://jonathangullible.com/ He is now preparing for publication of the book. Says Agwu, "I have a firm quote for editing, printing and distribution. At the moment we plan to distribute the book, five copies each, to all the Universities in Nigeria. If we are to meet this target the cost will be $3,000. So I was thinking of having a gradual distribution instead of doing nothing at all."

And Shahram Sadeghi has a Farsi translation approved by the mullahs and ready for publication in Iran. This project has been supported by Henry and Roya Weyerhaeuser and Reza Montazem. Says Shahram, the publisher "considers this as a very useful tool assisting the younger generation to digest economic concepts and ideologies."

European JG Bent Mosfjell wrote from Oslo, Norway, "I am happy to tell you that I am working hard on the Norwegian translation of Jonathan Gullible. The good news is that I now have concrete plans for publishing it. I have two alternatives. I am going to publish my own magazine. The first issue will be published this autumn. I plan to publish 4-5 chapters in each issue. And when all chapters are published I plan to publish it as a complete book. That was my first alternative, but the second is much better.

"A new free-market think-tank, Civita has just been started in Norway. I know them personally and they might be interested in publishing a Norwegian translation. At the moment I am trying to convince them to do this and if they decide that it is a good project, the book will be published in a professional manner. I think it is a 50% chance that Civita will publish the book. So, you can look forward to a Norwegian translation published in the near future, either as a book or as a sequence in a magazine."

Assen Kanev, founder of the Bulgarian Free Market Institute, reports that serialization of the book began with the first issue of SEDEM Weekly, a newspaper that rose in circulation from 10,000 to 20,000 during the run, making SEDEM the second largest weekly newspaper in Bulgaria. There was so much interest that Assen arranged an interview with me on Radio Free Europe in November to expound on the philosophy. He has since published the book, translated by Bojidar Marinov, in Sofia.

Dimitrios Malamoulis explained the success of the Greek edition in the daily newspaper Neos Typos of Volos, "As you already know this is a local newspaper with limited circulation, however the response was very high and they estimate that the newspaper circulation increased by at least 25%…The response gave us new courage, we are already in discussion with the newspaper of Athens Kathimerini, which is the most prominent and old newspaper of the center-right with the second highest circulation of the country, second only to the liberal Ta Nea." A book is now being arranged, possibly in cartoon form, and is already on-line.

And Pavlina Petrova wrote from Skopje, Macedonia, "I am waiting for an answer about the financing of the translation of your great book. Anyway, our chances are very good and I hope next month we will start with the translation."

Mats Hinze is putting the finishing touches and revisions of the Swedish translation which will go on-line this summer. We are still seeking a publisher in Sweden.

DVD, Afrikaans, Namibia, Comics, China, Sri Lanka, Song A DVD of "The Philosophy of Liberty" in four languages has finally been produced as a tribute to Kerry Pearson (aka Lux Lucre), the creator of this animated production. Kerry passed away in January and is greatly missed.

As an indication of the far reaching impact that Kerry's work is already having, the animation was seen on the net by Dr. Earle Taylor, Professor at the University of Namibia. Dr. Earle wrote: "My Dear Friend, I enjoyed very much your musical presentation and the very practical and contemporary message that it conveys. I would like to know if it is for me to buy or get a copy of disk to show in my various classes. I am the Executive Director of the Centre for Public Service Training run by the University of Namibia for all level of civil service employees of the Namibian Government. The message is very relevant to the new culture that we are trying to promote for civil liberty and a independent civil service."

I have informed Dr. Taylor of JG, the book from which this animation was derived, and that it is soon to be available in Afrikaans, the primary native language of Namibia. He has indicated that he may introduce this to the Ministry of Education as a school reader.

The DVD can be ordered through ISIL for at: http://www.isil.org/tools/jonathan-gullible.html

The comic book version has finally taken first steps with the illustration work of Kevin Tuma. For a glimpse see http://www.jonathangullible.com/GraphicNovel/002A.jpg and let us know if you are willing to help sponsor this edition or if you have contacts that may be able to help.

From China, Jerome Ma corresponded, "Thank for your information. It is very nice to meet you in June. Dean has finished his translation of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible into Chinese and sent it to me. Now I am busy in the business of editing this book. It seems to be published in June or July."

And Raja. M.B. Senanayake wrote from Sri Lanka saying, "Thank you very much for sending me your book. I wish not only to translate it into Sinahala but also intend to write a version in simple English which will be read by the university students."

Soon our JG music will be reaching the stars! Michael John Barrett II wrote about using the lyrics of the Philosophy of Liberty in a song. Wrote Michael, "As it says in the subject, I saw your flash animation on the Philosophy of Liberty and was filled with joy when I found what you wrote to be so close to my own ideals. I am a 16 year-old young adult in Wisconsin, U.S.A., and I wish to ask you if you would permit me to use the words in your flash animation as lyrics in a song for my starting band. Our main message is much like yours, to alert the masses and minorities, to take down the walls that separate us, and to show that we must start anew and create a new society."

One more addition has been added to the current 2001 edition of the book. Thanks to sponsorship by Ralph Smeed, Dick Rowland's Grass Root Institute of Hawaii has published an index of topics for the book. This is accompanied by the Tale of the Book, the a brief story about the background of this publication phenomenon through the help of nearly 20 public policy institutes and more than 200 people. This will be inserted into all future JG books sold. Let me know if you'd like this insert for a copy already in your possession.

Economics as a Treat? The ultimate praise for JG came from Hawaii State Representative David Pendleton. David told me that JG was on his father/son reading list and soon thereafter his son was discovered reading ahead at school. David wrote to say, "Guess whose book he was discreetly reading back there in the last row…? :) You guessed it. I've told him that when his homework is done he can read economics. I am still reading some of the chapters with him at night. He considers it a treat. So I'm delighted. Who ever heard of letting your kids read economics as a treat after their homework is finished?!"

2003 OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

Thu, 16 Oct 2003 07:25:00 +0000

ISIL has more global success with its project to promote economics education with The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey.

KENYA, UGANDA, TANZANIA

Hot off the press is the new Kiswahili edition. This project is the work of Shikuku James Shikwati, President of the Inter Region Economic Network (IREN) in Nairobi. Kiswahili is the primary local language in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. http://www.jonathangullible.com/languages.htm Wrote James, “The Kenya Institute of Education, a body that engages in curriculum development and recommends texts for primary and high schools wrote requesting Kiswahili copies of JG and The Law. The Executive Director requested a meeting to discuss the possibilities of further usage of the books in Kenya. And the Kenya National Library Headquarters needs two copies of each in her library. FNST Tanzania asked for 100 more copies of JG for Tanzania people. This for IREN is a great outreach opportunity.”

GREECE

And from Dimitris Malamoulis, “I joyfully inform you that, since yesterday The Adventures of JG is daily published (chapter by chapter) in Neos Typos of Volos (New Press of Volos). There are plans for publication after the completion of the story.” For a look at the newspaper, see: http://www.jonathangullible.com/images/neotypos1.jpg and http://www.jonathangullible.com/images/neotypos2.jpg

NIGERIA

Great news also from Agwu Amogu: “I am happy that the JG Nigerian Pidgin English version is up on the site. The title in Pidgin is: WAKA DEM WEY JONATAN GULLIBLE WAKA. I am already discussing with a local newspaper about serialization of JG, I pray it works out soon.” A photo of Agwu and the text can be found at: http://www.jonathangullible.com/languages.htm

This project has also been undertaken by Agwu and by Thompson Ayodele of the Institute of Public Policy Analysis. Sponsor assistance would be greatly appreciated. For details see: http://jonathangullible.com/donate.htm

ANIMATION

While Kerry Pearson’s animated “Philosophy of Liberty” has been up on the web site for a couple years (derived from the Epilogue of JG), there have been recent developments. The music has been changed and Kerry has been joined by Andrew Sullivan and others in planning to place this on video and DVD for educational use in classrooms. New translations are being developed in Dutch, German, Bulgarian, Urdu, and Russian. The animation has already been extremely well received nationally, especially following the glowing reviews by media personality Neal Boortz and author G. Edwin Griffin http://www.freedom-force.org/creed.htm . And Manuel Camb, Chairman of Key Biscayne Community Television has offered to collaborate with us in placing the animation on TV. Download the animation, with all the new music, for free at: http://www.jonathangullible.com/media.htm

BULGARIA

The Bulgarian edition of JG was serialized in Sedem Weekly, accompanied by economist commentaries. It drew such a great response from readers that the newspaper’s circulation soared to second highest in the nation. The Bulgarian edition of the book will be published this Fall. This is the work of Bojidar Marinov (translator), Assen Kanev (publisher), and an energetic team of free market economists. Says Assen, “I preferred first to have good news to write and at last I have it. The Bulgarian Society for Individual Liberty is registered in the Bulgarian Court. We start with a dozen members, a few economists from Institute for Market Economy http://www.ime-bg.org/en/index.html and reputable journalists from the media, Radio Free Europe http://www.svobodnaevropa.org/ and the daily newspaper Dnevnik www.dnevnik.bg . I believe by the end of October we could have JG in Bulgarian bookstores.”

PAKISTAN

Through the efforts of Paul Lundberg, the International Policy Network (IPN), and Dr. Khalil Ahmad, President of Free Pakistan in Lahore, the Urdu edition of JG will be published in Lahore. Writes Khalil, “We will have our Urdu version by the end of October or the start of November ready to be mailed to you. I have gotten our Alternate Solutions Institute logo designed; this will be the first book to be published by our Institute.” The translation will also appear in electronic form on the JG website: http://jonathangullible.com/languages.htm

SOUTH AFRICA

A draft of the UK Commentary edition has been completed for publication by Janette Eldridge of South Africa. This edition, due out in December at twice the size of the current edition, is expected to be distributed among the 54 Commonwealth nations. Says Janette, “As the Latvian translators are about to do another edition, I hope they are aware that they may use the commentaries from this edition if they wish, just as Attila is doing for the Turkish edition.”

IRAN

Henry Weyerhauser has informed me that his relatives in Iran completed the Farsi translation of JG and presented this to the censors of the ruling Mullahs. Henry tells me that the censors have just approved the translation and publishers are now being approached, but without any success as yet. Once the edition is published in Farsi, it holds potential for reaching Afghanistan as well. I just received this letter from a woman who came to America from Afghanistan, Mary Osman. “I enjoyed reading this book and specially liked Jonathan’s character–how innocently he explores the tyrannies of this new world in which he is traveling. Indeed, this book is helpful to unveil our society from the mockeries that people are facing at all times. I can see a great deal of resemblance between your Lords and the warlords in Afghanistan. I am also glad that soon you will have a translation in Farsi by the Iranians, who speak the same language as we do.”

TURKEY

The Free Market Institute of Lithuania hosted the world ISIL conference this summer in Vilnius. Through these organizations I conferred with Atilla Yayla, President of Liberal Dusunce Toplulugu, a free market institute in Ankara, Turkey. He has decided to place the Turkish edition of JG on their publishing agenda. Says Atilla, “I hope the Turkish edition will be of great impact over Turkish readers.”

AUSTRIA

Previous editions of JG have also seen a revival. Dr. Barbara Lambrechter, President of the v. Hayek Institut in Vienna is proposing to her Board of Directors to produce a new German edition. A decision is expected soon.

CHINA

Others have begun the process toward publishing new, revised editions of the Chinese and Russian editions. Dean Peng, an economics consultant in Beijing, and Jerome Ma of the Century Publishing Group of Shanghai and Horizon Media Co. Ltd., have considerable track records in translating works of the free market Austrian economists. Dean has begun translating JG and Jerome reports that it will likely be published by February.

LITHUANIA AND INDIA CAMPS

This summer I attended the fifth annual Liberty English Camp, in which 50 students learned English and free market economics at summer camp in Lithuania. Following this example, the first of such language programs was begun at a camp in the Himalayan foothills of India. Barun Mitra, President of the Liberal Institute in New Delhi, said they expected 60 students and got 120! Both programs utilize JG in classes of the more advanced students.

COMIC BOOK

Kevin Tuma has begun work on preliminary illustrations for a graphic novel. We’ll keep you informed as this materializes.

ARABIC

Long-time libertarian Nicholas Dykes, who lives in England, has found an English-educated writer in Egypt who is ready and willing to undertake an Arabic translation of JG. Nicholas has also found someone who can introduce us to the famous Al Ahram publishing empire, which produces newspapers, magazines and books throughout the Arab world.

“Trouble is,” says Nick, “we need about $2000 to get the Arabic translation up and running. Can any of you generous folk out there help us? Reflect for a minute. There are some 600,000,000 Arabic speakers from Morocco to the Philippines, the majority of them educated and literate, but many of them having false conceptions about the West and about free markets. Reading JG might easily help some of them to realise that America is not ‘the Great Satan.’ Further, it might help others among them to realize that freeing up their own markets and meeting Westerners as equals in trade could advance the cause of peace and goodwill. An Arabic translation of JG has a genuine chance of making a lot of people THINK, instead of reaching for the nearest Kalashnikov.” http://jonathangullible.com/donate.htm

RADIO

Dick Morris continues his weekly KXEM radio program in Phoenix, Arizona. Every week he broadcasts JG episodes that were recorded by Ryan Corpuz, Ron Segawa, and Geo Olsson.

LATVIA

Arlo & Gundega Pignotti discovered that there had been a Latvian edition of the 1989 JG and tried to find Valdis Bluzma in Riga to get a copy. Not able to locate him, they contacted me and discussed the possibility of a new Latvian edition based in the 2001 edition of book. This project is now in progress.

SOMALIA

Faisal Hassan has already translated and placed on line half of the Somali translation. He is currently completing the project and preparing it for publication. Says Faisal, “JG’s translation is going very well and I have commenced a dialogue with the Editor of Somali Voice (a major paper, widely read) to serialize JG in their paper. He has agreed to do it and we are meeting next week.” “With regard to translations, it is going well, and I am targeting to complete it on December, 2003. After completing my translations, we need to discuss a way to raise funds to publish the Somali translation. I will write to you soon.”

FREEDOM FEST

I’ll be reporting on the latest JG events at Mark Skousen’s Freedom Fest 2004, May 13-15, at Bally’s/Paris Resort in Las Vegas. Says Mark, “This gala conference is three glorious days (Thursday through Saturday) of great ideas, great Books, and Great Thinkers. FreedomFest is the intellectual feast of 2004, where the world’s best & brightest authors, students, business people, and libertarian/conservative think tanks will meet, learn, create, and network.” I hope to see many of you champions of JG at this stupendous event! For more information, see: http://www.freedomfest.com/

2003 AUGUST NEWSLETTER

Sat, 02 Aug 2003 07:11:00 +0000

2003 August Newsletter

THE GLOBAL REACH OF ECONOMICS EDUCATION

By Ken Schoolland, August 3, 2003

Small Business Hawaii and the International Society for Individual Liberty have had more global success with their projects to promote economics education through The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey.

The Bulgarian edition of JG was serialized in Sedem Weekly, accompanied by economist commentaries. It drew such a great response from readers that the newspaper's circulation soared to second highest in the nation. The Bulgarian edition of the book will be published in September.

The Kiswahili edition of JG has gone to press and will be available by the end of the summer. This project is the work of Shikuku James Shikwati, President of the Inter Region Economic Network (IREN) in Nairobi. Kiswahili is the primary local language in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

International Policy Network (IPN) has agreed to fund the Urdu edition of JG, which will be published by Khalil Ahmad, President of FreePakistan in Lahore. The translation will also appear in electronic form on the JG website: http://jonathangullible.com/languages.htm

Henry Weyerhauser has informed me that his relatives in Iran completed the Farsi translation of JG and presented this to the censors of the ruling Mullahs. Henry tells me that the censors have just approved the translation and it will soon be going to press. As throughout history, humor and satire have unlocked the gates of censors. Once these editions are complete, this would bring JG to 30 language editions.

A draft of the UK Commentary edition has been completed for publication by Janette Eldrige of South Africa. This edition, due out in December at twice the size of the current edition, is expected to be distributed in all of the Commonwealth nations. Her next targets are Afrikaans, Xhasa, and Zulu respectively.

The Free Market Institute of Lithuania hosted the world ISIL conference this summer in Vilnius. Through these organizations I conferred with Atilla Yayla, President of Liberal Dusunce Toplulugu, a free market institute in Ankara, Turkey. He has decided to place the Turkish edition of JG on their publishing agenda. I have also received similar offers from Dimitris Malamoulis for a Greek edition and Olexia Basarab for a Ukrainian edition.

Previous editions of JG have also seen a revival. Dr. Barbara Lambrechter of the v. Hayek Institut in Vienna has proposed to produce a new German edition. Others have begun the process toward publishing new, revised editions of the Chinese and Russian editions. An economics consultant in Beijing, Dean Peng, has a considerable track record in translating works of the free market Austrian economists. He has begun translating JG and Jerome Ma of the Century Publishing Group of Shanghai and Horizon Media Co. Ltd. has expressed a strong interest in publishing it.

A localized translation of JG has been prepared for publication by Agwu Amogu and Thompson Ayodele of the Institute of Public Policy Analysis in Lagos. They are seeking sponsorship for publication, but the current economic situation in Nigeria is too desperate to accommodate this at the moment.

2003 MARCH NEWSLETTER

Sun, 16 Mar 2003 07:31:00 +0000

MONGOLIAN EDITION NOW PUBLISHED

Thanks to the brothers Dulmaa Baatar and Hurelbaatar, the Mongolian edition was published in by Munkhiin USEG Co. Ltd., in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. Wrote Baatar, “Hello, Ken. Your BOOK has been already published. We want to congratulate you first.” And from Hurelbaatar in Brussels, “Congratulations! I have just been informed by my brother Baatar by the telephone that the book (JONATHAN GULLIBLE) has recently been publiched in Mongolia. We are extremely glad that the book is published after long time our efforts. I will keep in touch with you the further progress of your book in Mongolia.”

The book is a beautiful translation with modified illustrations that are more akin to local fashion and characters. I’ve already received some correspondence from one reader, a former acquaintance. Wrote Ariunaa Aanjuu, “I read your book which is translated in Mongolian. It was such a wonderful book about Mongolia.” Contact Baatar: khan_bud@yahoo.com or tamir_210@yahoo.com

KOREAN EDITION NOW PUBLISHED

K-mee Jung has just sent word that the Korean edition is hot off the press, published by the renowned Moonwhamada Publishing Co. of South Korea! Writes K-mee, “Dear Ken, Congratulations! JG is now published in KOREA. Thank you for your trust and wait. Now I visit my parents’ house in Korea. Happy New Year!! (^-^)” This edition of the book, very sophisticated and without illustrations, clearly appeals to an intellectual audience. It is a masterpiece of publishing craftmanship. K-mee is now engaged in translating another work of mine, Shogun’s Ghost: The Dark Side of Japanese Education. Contact K-mee: kmeej@korea.com

FRENCH EDITION NOW ON LINE

“Here it is!” declared Louise Zizka in announcing the on-line appearance of JG through Sieg Pedde’s Phoenix Accrual Corporation. Thus, the culmination of many years of dedicated work. Louise translated the book into French and has made extraordinary efforts at finding a publisher in a market that seems quite hostile to free market ideas. My daughter, Kenli, (who is now studying French) informs me that there are more that 40 French speaking nations in the world. Having the French edition on-line makes this free market odyssey accessible to a worldwide audience. The task yet ahead is to market the French edition and, eventually, to find a publisher for a hard copy edition. Helpful suggestions are always welcome. Contact Louise: zizka1@usa.net Contact Sieg: spedde@phoenixaccrual.com

KISWAHILI EDITION NOW ON LINE, READIED FOR PUBLICATION

James Shikwati, Director of the Inter Region Economic Network (IREN Kenya), has been building a fabulous free market think tank and research policy organization for Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. James has published regular columns in regional newspapers, hosted forums and seminars, established youth theater and a Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE Kenya) team, and has translated JG into Kiswahili, an indigenous language that reaches the whole region. With the help of Ginger Warbis (JG webmistress) and Sieg Pedde, the translation is available with a link to the IREN web site and to the e-publication of the Phoenix Accrual Corporation. Next will be the published edition. Says James, “Are you aware that the AU declared Kiswahili as one of its official langauges?? I hope the JG Kiswahili version will roll out soon.” After publishing the Kiswahili edition of The Law, James is arranging to have JG published by the Free Market Foundation in South Africa. Contact James: james@irenkenya.org Contact IREN: www.irenkenya.org Contact Ginger: WebMistress@Fornits.com

FLASH ANIMATION: ENGLISH, SPANISH, FRENCH, & PORTUGUESE

Kerry Pearson has performed a miracle with his flash animation of the “Philosophy of Liberty” from epilogue to JG. The response to his project drew a standing ovation at the ISIL World Conference at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico last summer. During the conference Judy Nagy, Kerry, and others were able to complete the Spanish translation of the production. The response to the animation, now on various websites, has been overwhelming. Some recent comments:

“Excellent! I hope this seen by millions! I’m doing my part by forwarding it.” “The movie on the philosiphy and liberty was the most moving and inspiring flash movie or otherwise I have ever seen.” “Wonderful! Inspiring! Thanks!” “I was really moved by your movie.” “This is GREAT! My sentiments exactly. Get it out to all the school systems, churches, and government agencies of the world. Thanks.” “I just saw your Flash File and I want to thank you. I am near tears. It is so beautiful, precise and easy to understand.”

With the help of Louise Zizka, Kerry completed the French edition of the flash animation. And with the help of Gustavo Lacerda, Kerry is now about to complete the Portuguese flash edition. There have been some discussions about a Dutch edition as well. Henry Sturman wrote, “I just heard that Ronnie Jansen of libertarian.nl is already working on a Dutch translation, which is great news.” If possible, Kerry would be pleased to arrange this for all current and future translations of the epilogue of JG. Contact Kerry: luxlucre@shaw.ca Contact Judy: nagy@uio.satnet.net Contact Louise: zizka1@usa.net Contact Gustavo: gus@optimizelife.com Contact Henry Sturman: henry@sturman.net

FLASH ANIMATION ON COSTA RICA TV NATIONWIDE WEEKLY

Kerry’s flash animation has been most successful in Costa Rica, where the party Movimiento Libertario has had made such phenomenal electoral successes in the past few years. Raul Costales asked to use the JG flash animation every week on their televised public issues program.

Said Raul about this, “The name of the TV station is SINART, Channel 13 (here they do not use the call letters similar to the U.S., such as W… in the East Coast and K… in the western states. Its nationwide signal is the best among Costa Rican stations, and, although it is still too early to judge scientifically, the comments we have received so far are all excellent. We hope to obtain the results of ratings studies early next year. Thank you again Ken, and thank you also for the radio spots you sent us…!” The potential for this is wide open. From Frank Martin in New Mexico we received these encouraging words:

“I just saw your Flash File and I want to thank you. I am near tears. It is so beautiful, precise and easy to understand…I know the producer of Hemp TV in Albuquerque. He’d show it if we had a VHS video tape…Ideally, we’d have funds to put it on big cable and broadcast TV. Any movement toward that kind of fundraising?…I might also get it played in Honduras, since you have a Spanish version. As VHS, it would also make a great sideshow at Operation Politically Homeless booths.…Your video is the most engaging piece I have ever seen and is easily the best bet for that role.” Contact Raul: raul@libertario.org Contact Frank: frank@fundimensions.com

RADIO BROADCAST OF JG EPISODES WEEKLY IN PHOENIX (SIFE)

The radio spots mentioned above are part of a journey back to Jonathan Gullible’s radio roots. The birth of JG began on radio in the 1980’s with productions in Hawaii and in Alaska. The idea of revisiting this popular medium was the brainchild of Phoenix attorney Dick Morris. Wrote Dick:

“I have an idea re the recording of JG in segments to run on the radio. First of all, if we can get them of high enough quality, most likely you can get friendly radio stations across the country to run it as a regular short feature. For example, KXEM runs ‘the funnies,’ a two-minute short, every day at :15 past the hour. If not, then talk show hosts might run it.”

With the help of a team from the Students in Free Enterprise at Hawaii Pacific University (SIFE@HPU), recorded 22 short scripts, approximately 90-140 seconds each, for broadcast on KXEM. Dick interviews notable figures, such as the recent guest Steve Forbes, and sprinkles in free market pearls of wisdom from JG. The potential broadcast market of KXEM is 3 million people.

Students helping with the project were Geo Olsson, Ryan Segawa, Ron Corpuz, and the university Communications Video Lab Manager, Mark Nitta. Ryan and Ron also produced the JG Rap which can be heard, and downloaded with all other audio and script material at: http://jonathangullible.com/media.htm These guys also have their own web site. We are hoping to have the voice of Robin Hall in future productions, perhaps an audio tape production of the entire book.

Proof of the potential of this medium came with a letter from Phil Graf of Coast Writers Syndicate. Wrote Phil, “Are the Jonathan Gullible radio spots available for home groups? If we could convince our local radio station (AM 1350 – Santa Rosa) to play them, possibly as a part of a series of interviews with Libertarian-minded guests, could we get your permission to do that? Also, am I correct that there is a video version of Jonathan Gullible? If so, would it be available for showing to home groups and/or on our local (free) cable channel? Thanks for creating this outreach. I got the reference through Free Sonoma Forum founder, John Howard.”

Another possible opportunity for JG is on Spanish radio programs in Arizona and Mexico. For this we have a great enthusiast, Ricardo Valenzuela. Contact Dick: rmorris@morrislawfirm.net Contact Ryan: rys2000@yahoo.com Contact Ron: rcorpuz@hawaii.rr.com Contact Geo: GeoOlsson@hotmail.com Contact Phil: newsie@wans.com Contact Ricardo: chero@mindspring.com

UK COMMENTARY EDITION, DRAFT READIED AND SEEKING PUBLISHER

The most comprehensive JG project of all time is that of Janette Eldridge in South Africa. Janette has already developed a second draft edition filled with an annotated commentary for each chapter of the JG book, including recommended readings and web sites for further information. It is brilliantly conceived and thoroughly researched. Writes Janette:

Main objective: To make available a book which gives people in SA, Britain, and ex-British colonies a alternative choice from socialist thinking, and, if they are interested, to lead them to free market books (very few available here) and websites where they can explore for themselves and know that there are a lot of people who are willing to exchange ideas on these subjects.

Date: To get it out before the next election (next March, maybe?). This is when people are hyper-aware of politicians, voting, and the implication these have on their pocketbooks and their lives. After the elections the hype dies away and people resign themselves and turn to the getting on with the lives. If possible before the ISIL World Convention in Lithuania this coming July! After the elections the book would be of interest mostly to those studying free markets.

Distribution: It would have to be in the shops before the election to really make an impact. And before Christmas would be good for sales. Apparently there are about 500 book stores in SA (mostly in rural areas). Aim is to get a few in each – and I think this is where a publisher would stop. But I would like to see copies in school and varsity libraries. High aims, but why not. I know it will take time, but this part does not have to be achieved before the elections. A Libertarian friend has offered to do the translation into Afrikaans. I have been waiting to finish the commentaries and also to find out whether the eventual publisher would want to use their own translator. With the Afrikaans people wanting their own language and culture kept intact JG should go down well. It might help with distribution and sales if the two were done together. Then, if we can run a competition as Barry Kayton suggested, this should get schools interested. If we get a sponsor for the top prize of R10,000 I think we should open it to everyone, not just school children. The other distribution point is other countries.

Janette has the very capable technical and design assistance of Barry Kayton of Leap Publishing to put JG/UK into professional form. And, as yet, Janette is still on the prowl for sponsors and/or publishers who are willing to commit to the project. Contact Janette: rayjan@iafrica.com

SERBIAN, GYPSY, SLOVENIAN ON LINE; NEXT CROATIAN, MACEDONIAN, ALBANIAN, MONTENEGRAN, BULGARIAN

The one person responsible for more translations of JG than any other is the indomintable champion of human rights, Tomislav Krsmanovic. Without Tomislav there would have been no projects accomplished in Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, or Albania. Nor would there be an edition for Gypsy (Romany), the seventh largest ethnic group spanning Eastern Europe.

This one-man juggernaut of freedom is on the move once again. Tomislav has reproduced electronic editions for Serbian, Gypsy, and Slovenian on his web site: http://solair.eunet.yu/~isil/ajg.html He will soon place e-versions on this site for Croatian, Macedonian, and Albanian. He has also been pursuing publishers in Bulgaria and Montenegro for further opportunities.

Here is a man who has faced all the obstacles of the turmoil in Eastern Europe. While great strides have been made toward freedom in the Balkans, there are still some vile thugs who have persistently harassed Tomislav at nearly every turn. Tomislav is a hero of the highest order who deserves support from every friend of liberty. Contact Tomislav: Pokret@EUnet.yu

SOMALI EDITION, FIRST HALF ON LINE

It is with great pleasure that I announce that the first 17 chapters of the Somali edition of JG are now on line. Faisal Hassan has been working on a translation for some time, diligently striving to find a publisher to serialize the book or sponsors for a complete edition. In the meantime, we present a tantalizing introduction on the JG web site: http://jonathangullible.com/languages.htm Comments Faisal, “I think we can start for free so that Somali readers get into liberty and free markets. Later, when we publish and we might sell it to the readers.” Contact Faisal: hassan_faisal@hotmail.com or fahwarfaa@yahoo.ca

RUSSIAN SECOND EDITION ON LINE, THIRD EDITION TO BE PUBLISHED

Elena Rakova, the principal genius at the Research Center of the Institute for Privatization and Management in Minsk, Belarus, recently informed me of the good news that Jaroslav Romanchuk has found an opportunity to publish the latest edition of JG in Russian.

It was Dmitry Costygin and William Milonov who published the first edition in St. Petersburg more than ten years ago. Then Kenneth DeGraaf and Elena Mamontova translated the second edition, which Jaroslav placed on his web site: www.liberty-belarus.orgNow Jaroslav has found an opportunity to publish a hard copy of the 2001 edition. Says Jaroslav, “Thank you so much for the honor and privilege to publish your book. I got in touch with one entrepreneur who is interested in this sort of activity. Thank you for sending the book. I will use the Russian translation from my web site and I will translate the additional chapters myself. Contact Elena: elena@ipm.by Contact Jaroslav: liberti@belsonet.net

KYRGYZ TRANSLATION SOON TO BE PUBLISHED

Through the SIFE team at HPU, contact was made with a SIFE team in Kyrgyzstan. The leader of that team, Zarina Osmonalieva, is now the manager for all SIFE teams in Kyrgyzstan. Zarina has been a great manager for the Kyrgyz edition of JG as well. Reports Zarina, “We will print 1000 copies of JG. There were some problems with editing it. Different people use various styles, and the book was edited by three people. I have found two guys that are working on development of JG, they will be lecturing at schools in April. We decided to sell about 800 copies of the book and then develop JG (lecturing at schools, organizing contests, etc).” Contact Zarina: zaro21@mail.auk.kg

URDU EDITION TRANSLATED, SEEKING PUBLISHER/SPONSORS

Dr. Khalil Ahmad is the founder of the Free Pakistan Newsletter, an excellent source for free market activism in Pakistan. Khalil recently sent this news, “The Urdu version of JG has been composed and I have started proofreading and finalizing it. A friend of mine is coming to the US and I have given him a CD containing the Urdu software in which Urdu JG has been composed. He will post it to you.” Sponsors are being sought for the ISIL JG Fund. With approximately $1500 in contributions, it is expected that we will have an Urdu edition of JG to help Khalil in education of free market ideas. For more on free market activism in Pakistan, please the FreePakistan Newsletter at, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreePakistan Contact Dr. Khalil Ahmad: khalilkf@hotmail.com

LITHUANIA/BELARUS EASTERN EUROPE ENGLISH LIBERTY CAMP

Founded by Steve Browne and Virgis Daukas, the Liberty English Camp has long been a summer experience for those in Eastern Europe who take training in the English language by way of free market literature. JG, ideally suited for skits, theatrics, and discussions, has been one of the fundamental pieces of literature in this program since its inception. This year the program moves Minsk, Belarus (July 30 to June 6) in preparation for the World Conference of ISIL and the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (June 7-11). This year’s activities are being organized by Kevin Bjornson and Dzmytri.

Reports Kevin: “Through Nikolai Wenzel of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, I’ve been able to recruit two university teachers, one from Estonia and one from Great Britain…If you agree to teach, we would have two American teachers, two teachers of Atlas classes, and two non-native English speakers who are professional teachers in the region…After discussing the schedule with a student from last year, I recommend four 50 minute classes/day….Let us say we have 30 students and more if there is enough funding. That would be 5 students/class, a good size that allows for each student to perform frequently… Last year we recruited students from Belarus and Ukraine.”

More information can be found at www.phrasereader.com/LibertyCamp/index.php or by contacting the organizers. Contact Kevin: bjornsonkevin@hotmail.com Contact Dzmytri: dima-gmu@excite.com

INDIA/HIMALAYAN LANGUAGE OF LIBERTY SUMMER CAMP

Another camp that is starting this year, with much the same purpose is that of Barun Mitra, Director of the Liberty Institute, New Delhi, India, www.libertyindia.org . Barun has translated JG into Bengali and has been preparing such literature for the teaching of English and free market ideas. The new Language of Liberty Summer Camp (May 14-15) at Satauli Village in the Himalayas has these objectives:

“The purpose of this summer camp is to try out an interactive way of learning English that might break the children’s fear of the language. So while they are not expected to read, write or speak perfect English after a month long camp, it is expected that the students are more comfortable in using English as an effective medium of communication. To sustain the interest of the students in the language, so that they pursue it with greater clarity long after the camp is over, an attempt would be made to expose students to a whole new world that would open to them…Finally, language is a means of communicating ideas. And the most important ideas that help shape a person’s values are the ideals of liberty and enterprise. So the course would seek to introduce the ideas of liberty through the teaching of English. The aim of the camp is not only to strive to improve their functional skills in English, but also to impart a sense of values that will equip students to take advantage of a globalised society where English automatically opens up opportunities.”

Contact Barun: liberty@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in

ESTONIAN TRANSLATION IN PROGRESS

Paul Vahur, a free market activist in Tallinn and founder of the Estonian Liberal Club “Nahtamatu Kasi” (invisible hand in Estonian) has taken up numerous free market literary projects. Says Paul, “We are in the early stages of creating a non-profit organization with the aim to translate ‘easier’ books about capitalism and free market into Estonian. The first book would be JG, then probably Mary Ruwart’s ‘Healing Our World,’ Johan Nordberg’s ‘In Defense of Global Capitalism,’ and Bastiat’s ‘The Law.’ If you know of any organizations that are willing to fund such projects, please let me know. I and my companions have rather extensive contacts at home and abroad, but new information is always welcomed…The flash animation about Philosophy of Liberty is very cool! We will translate it and put it up on JG’s Estonian site when we finish it!”

Paul will be attending the ISIL convention in Lithuania this summer. Contact Paul: paul.vahur@icegold.com

FINNISH TRANSLATION IN PROGRESS

Bad luck has plagued Siri Tulikoura. A computer virus knocked out all of her work on JG, but she has started again. Contact Siri: siri_t@hotmail.com

NIGERIAN TRANSLATION IN PROGRESS

Nigeria is in turmoil, but champions of liberty are still very active. One of the most spirited is Agwu Amogu. Says Agwu of this project, among his many pursuits, “I am yet to get the JG project over with, the printers/publishers are actually not meeting up with the promises made to me. Well, I know someday, very soon I will get it done.” Contact Agwu: amogu51@hotmail.com

PHILIPPINE TRANSLATION IN PROGRESS

When Ivo Cerckel moved from Belgium to the Philippines he became dedicated to introducing education with his newly founded school and introducing free markets with a translation of JG into Cebuano. Says Ivo, “I recveived the books today, Monday. Thank you. I immediately gave a book to a 13 year old nephew and one to a brother-in-law who has three teenage kids. I’m now living in MY house and now it’ll be easier to work on the translation.” Contact Ivo: cerckel@usa.net

SWEDISH TRANSLATION COMPLETED, PUBLICATION PENDING

A bad economy has adversely affected John-Henri Holmberg, but the project is still on track. Says John-Henri, “Mats Hinze delivered a new version of his JG translation during the summer, reworked from his previous one. It is now being edited and will be layouted during the next month or so. We’ll have it up as a pdf download file within two months, and I’ll send you the link as soon as it’s there.” Contact John-Henri: john-henri@replik.se

PIEDMONTESE TRANSLATION, ITALIAN COMICS EDITIONS IN PROGRESS

Mauro Tosco is producing a translation in Piedmontese, a local language in northern Italy. Says Mauro, “The translation is going on – although a bit slower than I had planned. Davide Sacco is also working on the cartoon version in Italian.” Contact Mauro: mauro.tosco@libero.it Contact Davide: davide.sacco@libero.it

FARSI TRANSLATION PROJECT PENDING

Henry Weyerhauser says that there is still strong interest in doing the JG project in Iran. Relatives of Henry’s wife, Roya, are interested in doing a translation. They have also met with Shahram Sadeghi, a former student of mine who is working in Iran, and there is enthusiasm all around for the project. Shahram has publishing contacts and Henry will be sending a tax-deductible contribution to the JG Fund at ISIL.

Says Shahram, “I must say, the book is a masterpiece and I really enjoyed reading that. A guy has promised to translate and publish the book in Farsi. If, for any reason (god forbid), he is not able to carry it out, I would do it myself.” Contact Henry: Phone 910-686-0377 Contact Shahram: shahram@atiehbahar.com

JG QUIZ SHOW, AUDIO TAPE, & STUDENTS IN FREE ENTERPRISE (SIFE)

Mary Disbrow, co-President of the Students in Free Enterprise at Hawaii Pacific University (SIFE@HPU) has produced a power point version similar to the popular TV game show, Jeopardy, as a technique for quizing college students on the JG book in Principles of Macroeconomics classes. With student assistants Jesse Murray, Andy Jacob, and Benedikt Goetz (founder of the First Global SIFE Project) the game has been a great success.

Reports Mary, “Here is a power point presentation that I made up for the jeopardy. I think it works, and that this will be a lot of fun. The presentation contains three questions for each chapter. If the game runs too long I will stop it early, give the rest of the answers to the particular quiz given out, and then award the winning team. I would also like to use the buzzers because I think that makes the game more intense. We can just divide the class up into two or three groups, depending on how many buzzers available, and they can sit in a circle and see who buzzes in the fastest. We can award the winner at the end. I hope you enjoy the presentation.”

Other students and collaborators are in the planning stages of producing JG into an audio tape. Stay tuned! The SIFE@HPU team is eager to pursue global projects with other teams. In the last two years this team won a semifinalist place among the top 16 in the nation. Contact Mary: mcdisbrow@hotmail.com

PROJECT INQUIRIES: MALAYSIAN, NEPALESE, VIETNAMESE, ARABIC

One former student, Y.C. Liew, is now the Acting Coordinator for the Foundation Studies Programme at Han Chiang College in Malaysia. Other contacts have been made with Ram Prasad Paudel, Director, Intel Institute, Kathmandu, Nepal; Bach Tan Sinh, Ph.D., Deputy-Director of the Department of Science Policy Studies, National Institute for Science and Technology Policy and Strategy Studies, in Hanoi, Vietnam, and Charles E. (Ted) Bradford. We hope that all of these inquiries will lead eventually to more educational publications on free market economics.

SPONSORS:

In many wealthier countries of the world, JG has been willingly and eagerly adopted by motivated publishing houses. Publishers worldwide know that long experience with relatively free markets does not necessarily give people an appreciation for the underlying principles of prosperity and liberty. In less wealthy countries, there is a keen awareness of the importance of free markets, but publication is sometimes costly, as is the maintenance of our web site. In this case, sponsors are always welcome. I am especially grateful to Michael J. LeCompte for his recent contribution of $2000 and to Dagny Sharon for her contribution of $500 to the JG Fund. And of course, this educational project would never have been realized without the support of Sam Slom and Small Business Hawaii. Contact Ken: schoollak001@hawaii.rr.com Contact Sam: sbh@lava.net Contact JG Fund: http://jonathangullible.com/donate.htm

INDEX OF BOOK

Ralph Smeed of Caldwell, Idaho, has persuaded me that every edition of JG should also be indexed for easy reference on various topics. Well, I think he’s right. So here it is:

INDEX CONCEPTS ARRANGED BY THE AUTHOR OF THE ADVENTURES OF JONATHAN GULLIBLE: A FREE MARKET ODYSSEY (Arranged by chapters instead of by the customary page numbers.)

AGRICULTURE 4, 21 ART 15 BEGGARS 38 BRIBERY 11, 12, 18 BUILDING CODES 12 BUREAUCRACY 8, 17, 18, 21, 23, 28, 29 CAMPAIGNS 11, 24 CENSORSHIP 14 CHARITY 12 CHOICE 14, 15, 19, 26, 32, 35 CIVIL STRIFE 14, 10, 37 COMMONS 3 COMPETITION 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 36 CON MEN 38 CONDEMNATION 7 CONSCRIPTION 28 CONSUMERS 5, 9, 10 CONTRACT 7, 17, 30, 33 COSTS 5, 12 COUNTERFEITING 9 CRIME 13, 20, 27, 33 DEBT 11 ECONOMISTS 22 EDUCATION 19, 20, 26, 27, 32 ELECTIONS 11, 24, 25, 29, 36, 38 ELITISM 15 EMPLOYMENT 2, 5, 10, 13, 16, 23, 27, 28, 36 ENFORCEMENT 2, 4, 7, 8, 13, 14, 27, 28, 34, 36 ENVIRONMENT 3, 8 FORECASTING 22 FRAUD 30, 38 FREE RIDERS 14, 31 FREEDOM 20, 35, 39 GAMBLING 16, 36 GUNS 13, 20, 37 HOMELESSNESS 12 IDEOLOGIES 21 IMMIGRATION 28 INFLATION 9, 10, 29 INNOVATION 2, 30, 31, 39 INVENTION 2, 30, 31 INVISIBLE GUN 13 LABOR LAWS 27, 30, 31, 36 LABOR UNIONS 2, 5, 10 LIABILITY 31 LIBRARIES 14 LICENSING 13, 27, 32 MAJORITIES 24, 37 MARKET 4, 21, 39 MEDIA 23, 33 MEDICINE 32 MINIMUM WAGE 27 MONEY 9, 10 MONOPOLY 13, 30, 32 MORALITY 20, 24, 33, 34, 37, 39 NEPOTISM 12 OWNERSHIP GOV’T31, 32, 37 OWNERSHIP PRIVATE 4, 7, 13, 20, 30 PATENTS 30 PEDDLING 27 PLANNING 7 POLLUTION 3 PORK BARREL 11 POSTAL SERVICE 18 POWER 11, 24, 35, 39 PRICE CONTROLS 4, 12, 27, 32 PRISON 8, 13, 27 PRODUCTION 4, 7, 30, 38 PROHIBITION 34 PROPERTY 4, 7, 13, 30, 31, 32 PROTECTIONISM 5 PUBLIC GOODS 31 RELIGION 17 RENT CONTROL 12 RESPONSIBILITY 34, 35 RETIREMENT 29 RIGHTS 24, 39 ROBIN HOOD 20 SELFISHNESS 13, 34 SIN TAXES 16 SPECIAL INTEREST 16 STATISM 8, 17, 18, 21, 23, 28, 29, 37 TANSTAAFL 10, 12 TAXES 5, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 31, 34 TRADE 5, 9, 10, 21 VIRTUE 26, 35, 39 VICE 33, 34, 35, 36 VOTING 24, 25, 30, 35, 37 WEALTH 7, 24, 33, 34, 37 WELFARE 4, 12, 20, 26 ZONING 7, 12

2002 July Newsletter

Tue, 02 Jul 2002 07:08:00 +0000

THE JONATHAN GULLIBLE NEWSLETTER, JULY 2002

Since the last newsletter in November of 2001, a lot has happened for our JG project to promote free market ideas around the world. Find it all at: http://jonathangullible.com/newsletter.htm

LEONARD E. READ AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ECONOMIC EDUCATIONLEAVEY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FREE ENTERPRISE EDUCATIONBOOK OF THE MONTH IN BRAZILPUBLICATIONS: KOREA, MONGOLIAWEB SITE: ANIMATION, AUDIO, FORUMS, ETC.E-PUBLICATIONS: ENGLISH, SPANISH, FRENCHE-PUBLICATIONS: RUSSIAN, ROMANIANE-PUBLICATIONS, THEATER, RADIO: KISWAHILIPUBLICATION PROJECT: NIGERIASTUDENTS IN FREE ENTERPRISE (FGSP, KYRGYZSTAN, BOTSWANA)SEMINARS, SCREENPLAY PRODUCTIONS: INDIATRANSLATION: PAKISTANEDUCATIONAL PRODUCTION: SOUTH AFRICAA NEW SCHOOL IN THE PHILIPPINES: CEBUANOTRANSLATION & SERIALIZATION: SOMALIPROJECT: ESTONIACARTOON VERSION: ITALYJG RAP!DISTRIBUTION & SCARCITY: US, ALBANIAFIRST INTERNATIONAL ESSAY CONTEST WINNER: MEXICOWRAP UP

Past Issues:LEONARD E. READ AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ECONOMIC EDUCATIONIn May 2002, the book received the first annual Leonard E. Read Book Award for excellence in economic education. At the first annual gala convention of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in Las Vegas, President Mark Skousen presented a trophy and gold medallion to honor the occasion. Commented Mark in the press release:"Schoolland's story is the perfect choice for the first Read Book Award. Leonard Read, FEE's founder,spent his life writing, publishing, and teaching the basics of liberty and sound economics in a way that every individual could comprehend. The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible is a simple, powerful, and amusing way to illustrate the principles of political economy. It's a combination of the satirists Frédéric Bastiat and Jonathan Swift."Present at the ceremonies were many of the hundreds of people who have helped on the project over the years. Among these were Fred James, Geo Olsson, Kerry Pearson, Louise Zizka, Ralph Smeed, Vince Miller, Jim Elwood, Andrea Millen Rich, Dick & Lydia Randolph, Raquel Mizrahi, and Mary Lou Gutscher. And we made contacts for future publications in French, Estonian, Swedish, and Arabic.LEAVEY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FREE ENTERPRISE EDUCATIONThe Director of the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, Russell K. Schulz, announced, "The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible has been selected to receive a Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, this special program, endowed by The Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation, permits Freedoms Foundation to honor educators for their innovative efforts to help young people better understand the function and benefits of America's private enterprise system." The award was given at the special ceremonies in Philadelphia, April 2002.BOOK OF THE MONTH IN BRAZILMargaret Tse, the prolific free market journalist for the Instituto Liberal in Porto Alegre, Brazil, wrote saying, "Dear Ken, If you visit our web site, the book of the month (November) is JG! Every month we suggest a book for the readers of the web site: http://www.il-rs.com.br/ "PUBLICATIONS: KOREA, MONGOLIAMore translations are expected to come off the press very soon this summer. From K-mee Jung in Korea I just received this announcement: "Dear Ken, Thanks for the email you sent. It really made my day since it come in very timely in connection with the JG novel. After a long wait, my publishers finally sent me an email about a week or so ago, stating that your book will be published sometime in the late part of August. Hafadi!"And from Bataar in Ulan Bataar, Mongolia, who had some unexpected illness this year, "I want to let you know that everything has been completed for the publication of The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible. We are making some advertisements for readers. One of my friends asked me to write a preface on JG and wanted to know your mind on it. My friend is a member of the Mongolian Parliament and her preface would be a nice advertisement for your book...We are glad that the demand for our book is very high as a result of the advertisement. We have received many letters asking for establishing communication with you. For example:Bataa.S., a member of the Mongolian Youth Federation, wrote: "We always tell youths of Mongolia to make a friend with the book. Because book helps people to be honest and to see the life more real."Dalkhsuren. G., Director of Dailo Company, wrote: "This book is giving us the chance to look at our own life from another side. It is very important for us who are trying to get out of transitional period. Also it is a surprising coincidence that this book comes right after the Land Utilization Law and the Law Against Corruption."Byamba. J., Vice President of the Voters' Federation to Protect the Constitution, wrote: "There is only one step between ridiculous incident and great incident. JG traveled by the ridiculous places but the life experiences those are given by people there is great."Wrapping up, Bataar exclaimed, "We are going to sell the book next week. Please send us the address and we will send you the Mongolian JG."WEB SITE: ANIMATION, AUDIO, FORUMS, ETC.Kerry Pearson has created fabulous flashplayer animation to present the Liberty Philosophy from the epilogue of JG. With the advice and help from webmistress Ginger Warbis and numerous others, he has prepared one of the hottest items on the web site, with music accompaniment: http://jonathangullible.com/ I say "hot" because he has attracted numerous inquiries for using this program on various other sites as well.Through the help of Judy Nagy in Quito, Ecuador, it will soon appear in Spanish as well. All other JG languages are invited. Please contact Kerry at luxlucre@shaw.ca And of course, Ginger Warbis earns the highest praise for the miraculous job she has done with putting together a beautiful web site, complete with forum group, announcements, and links to all the various projects. Contact Ginger at WebMistress@Fornits.comE-PUBLICATIONS: ENGLISH, SPANISH, FRENCHJG is now available on-line! While not as fun to read at a picnic under a tree, the e-version of JG is certainly very accessible. Sieg Pedde has placed the English edition on-line through the JG web site for $7.99. With the help of translators Louise Zizka and Judy Nagy, Sieg is preparing to offer French and Spanish on-line editions in the near future.E-PUBLICATIONS: RUSSIAN, ROMANIANIn March I was fortunate to travel to Minsk, Belarus as the guest of the Privatization and Management Institute of Elena Rakova and the Economic Salon of Jaroslav Romanchuk. These two have done very courageous work in promoting free market ideas in one of the more repressed countries of the world. While there, Jaroslav completed the web installation of JG in the latest Russian version by Kenneth DeGraaf and Elena Mamontova. Reports Jaroslav, "My web master told me that about 15 to 20 persons address your book on my web site a day. It is not such a big number but advertising in the process so I hope there will be many more." Check it out at: http://liberty-belarus.org/school/20020327161825.shtmlCris Comanescu, Valentina Nicolaie, and Sorin Cucerai have made JG available through the web site of The Ludwig von Mises Institute of Romania: http://www.misesromania.org/carti/gullible/cuprins.htmSorin wrote saying, "Ken, I should tell you your little book made quite an impression on me. It's direct and funny, written in a simple style. Abruptly speaking, I have only one word for you: congratulations! Your book is indeed a masterpiece in its own kind, and Jonathan - an unforgivable character. A genuinely free book, written by a genuinely free man. Who can ask for more?" Sorin has proposed some very good ideas for expanding the JG concept into a forum for articles on liberty from around the world. Any who wish to help him with this contact: sorixxx@yahoo.comE-PUBLICATIONS, THEATER, RADIO: KISWAHILIThe shinning star of cental Africa is the brilliant writer and tireless activist, Shikuku James Shikwati. James is the Founder and Director of the Inter Region Economic Network (IREN, www.irenkenya.org) which promotes free market ideas to Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.Writing in IDEAS ON LIBERTY, Lawrence Reed had this to say about James: "A candle has been lit in east Africa. It shows promise of spreading much light where there is now much darkness. In time it may grow to illuminate an entire continent...The candle is in the form of east Africa's first free-market research and educational organization, or 'think tank,' and the man who lit it is one remarkable 31-year-old Kenyan named James Shikwati." For the whole story see: http://www.mackinac.org/4099James has taken up JG with a fury and has translated the book into Kiswahili: http://www.irenkenya.org/jg/jonathan_gullible.pdf Wrote James, "Your book is expressing very serious concepts in a humorous way. I had to read the whole of it before leaving to meet a publishing friend at the university of Nairobi. 'So what is the book all about?' he asked I picked two stories about the arrested woman and the tax for tall people. The fellow was beside himself with laughter. He took me to his boss who sampled the book and asked about its content. I will keep you posted. A high school teacher commented, 'Kenya has never seen such literature. Even George Orwell's ANIMAL FARM cannot match it.'"Best of all, the students of Moreno University have produced a play, "The Trial of Jonathan Gullible," from selected chapters of the book. Says James, "The plot is about JG being tried by the islanders for his free market views. It is meant to make the audience see the injustice of not accepting free market ideas. Plan of action: After my seminar I meet with this team to brief them on free market concepts...[the students] plan that I give a lecture in the daytime and have the play staged in the evening. Thereafter we shall see whether it can be staged all over."James has been pursuing publishers for the Kiswahili translation and has plans for producing an audio version for radio. Those who are seeking projects to support will find no better outlet than with IREN: http://www.irenkenya.org/PROJECT: NIGERIAThe star of west Africa has to be Agwu Amogu, who is currently battling the worst of government oppression. His recent article begins, "With the return of civil rule in Nigeria on 29th of May 1999, Nigerians hoped for a better and freer society where the anguish of the gross abuse of individual rights is no more and the tyrannical economic policies associated with military dictatorship are set aside. An overview of the socio-economic situation in the country today shows that no progress has been made so far...With vigilante and militia groups operating as law enforcement agents that are empowered to conduct extra-judicial killings, the government has finally and openly admitted its failure to discharge its primary duty of providing security and safeguarding liberty."In the midst of such rampant abuse of power, it is truly inspiring to know a courageous person like Agwu who writes and speaks out about the horrors of the current regime. At the same time, he has tried to find ways of promoting ideas of liberty that will circumvent the censors and reach the general populace. Writes Agwu, "The JG project is still on. The publisher has agreed to start work on it by August. The agreement is that he takes charge of the sales and marketing, so he can be able to recover the money he is going to put in the project. For now, that's the best we can get here. The most important thing for is is to let the book come out, so it can get to so many people here."STUDENTS IN FREE ENTERPRISE: FGSP, KRYGYZSTAN, BOTSWANAStudents in Free Enterprise (SIFE) is an international organization founded by Sam Walton and now supported by hundreds of corporations to promote free enterprise education in hundreds of universities around the world. The team at Hawaii Pacific University (SIFE@HPU) placed in the top Sensational Sixteen in the nation at the May competition at Kansas City. http://starbulletin.com/2002/06/11/business/engle.htmlOne of their many projects over the years has been to use JG to help teach economics in the university classroom. This past year SIFE@HPU went beyond this and founded FGSP, the First Global SIFE Project, linking SIFE teams internationally. One of the first projects to take hold was the introduction of JG to other SIFE teams in such diverse places as Kyrgyzstan, Botswana, and Australia.Zarina Osmonalieva, the head of SIFE at the American University of Kyrgyzstan (AUK), reported that the translation has been completed and publication is in progress. The book is expected to be unveiled in September. Reports Zarina:"Our team is going to cooperate with local companies in order to make the project widespread in the Kyrgyz Republic. There is already one company that is ready to invest money in this project. We plan to advertise JG by brochures, posters, and radio, in schools and other organizations that aim to educate schoolchildren. Beginning in December SIFE AUK will work on the next stage of JG. We will organize some contests on understanding the principles of th free market economy among Kyrgyz high schools. We hope that this book will be useful for Kyrgyz schoolchildren in learning the principles of free enterprise and the market economy."Another FGSP contact has been Dennis Bushy Green in Botswana. Wrote Dennis, "I have been in touch with James from Kenya and he has forwarded me the play they had in Kenya. It gave me a lot of insight into what I could do. I have decided to start an annual drama contest based on a play I intend to develop for all tertiary institutions here in Botswana. I have penned a letter to prospective funders and I am awaiting their response. With regard to the translation of JG into Setswana, the other official language of Botswana, I have identified a Setswana expert who is willing to do the job. I am working on the proposal right now."PRODUCTIONS: INDIAFrom Ms. Priyanka Chauhan of India I received this fascinating news: "Dear Prof Schoolland: Warm wishes! This comes to you from a keen interest in your amazing work 'The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible'. I am the Publications Co-ordinator with the Centre for Civil Society, a New Delhi based independent research and educational organization engaged in disseminating free market ideas in India. As a part of our annual student outreach activities we organize a nationwide Liberty & Society Seminar, during which we display many free market publications from across the world along with our in-house publications."You'll be happy to know that 'The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible' has been a huge hit with the students across the country, many of whom have expressed an interest in working for a dramatic interpretation of the same. I have been working on converting your book into a preliminary screenplay, which we plan to enact sometime this year. I would appreciate it greatly if you could help me in my endeavour. I believe the book began as a radio series. If you could please help me get a copy of the script for the same, it would help me immensely."TRANSLATION: PAKISTANFrom Lahore, Pakistan I received an exhilarating report from Dr. Khalil Ahmad that the Urdu translation is now complete and that he is preparing the next steps toward publication. Dr. Ahmad sent this message on the afternoon that he finished reading JG. "[JG] is at the same time so traditional and so modern. It is positive, instructive, penetrating, sharp, satirical, and frightening; and so zealously written. Jonathan's gullibility has an air of gloom and helplessness since it's everybody's gullibility who thinks he is free while he is not. Only a Jonathan back from Corrumpo could be free! And for that matter, we are all living in a Corrumpo; and how could we be back from our Corrumpo, this book shows the way out."EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTION: SOUTH AFRICASurely the most comprehensive production of JG is being undertaken by Janette Eldridge, the star of liberty in South Africa. It is almost impossible to do justice to the analysis and expansion of the project that Janette has undertaken. Not only has she visited literary conferences to find new contacts in Ghana, Indonesia, India, a dozen other countries, but she is developing a full-fledged educational project in the many languages of South Africa.Each of the chapters will have accompanying notes and extensive commentaries relating issues in the book to the local scene. Says Janette, "I will then take the next step towards having it published in English and Afrikaans. After which I will look into having it serialized in a Zulu language paper or magazine. And if that is successful then I will look into serializing it in the other languages!"Ruminating about the reasons that she has decided on such an explanatory approach, Janette wrote, "The concepts [of liberty] are probably not understood because we have never known individual freedom--there has always been a local headman, tribal elders chief, or colonial power apartheid government that must be obeyed. Even when our forefathers tried to flee from the north, or from Europe, or up from the south, a governing power caught up and took away individual freedom.""I read [Bastiat's] THE LAW, then chuckled as I recognized it in JG. I then read FREE TO CHOOSE and chuckled as I could visualize JG there. But what if I had never considered individual freedom, never even entertained the thought of not having someone of authority rule my daily life--would I have seen the message in JG? If my small sampling of various people (some of whom I consider extremely intelligent and worldly) is anything to go by, then the answer is 'probably not'."A NEW SCHOOL IN THE PHILIPPINES: CEBUANOThis year I received a surprise greeting from Ivo Cerckel, an old friend who has left his European law practice to live in his newfound paradise. Wrote Ivo, "Dear Ken, I'm living since April 2000 in the Philippines. I married January 2001 and had my first child, Roxanne, at the end of June. At the end of July I moved to my wife's island, Siquijor, which is the most backward island in the Philippines, the island of witches, it consists only of six villages but is a province on its own with 60,000 people. As my own upbringing was rather eventful, I want to make sure that Roxanne's will not be. On the nearest island, Negros, 45 minutes away by fast ferry, there's a town called Dumaguete-City where there are some serious schools. Since a week, I have been in contact with Marshall Fritz in order to find out how to start my own school...In my wildest dreams I'm thinking of translating Jonathan into Cebuano/Visayan."TRANSLATION & SERIALIZATION: SOMALIFaisal Ahmed Hassan has been working very hard on a Somali translation for those living in Canada as well as Somalia. Wrote Faisal, "JG's tranlation in Somali is progressing very well. There is the possibility that Gacal, a Somali literature magazine, which focuses on Somali literature is planning to serialise JG. I have already started a dialogue with the editor and publisher. I am hopeful that they will make possible to a larger audience, that is, their readers to JG."PROJECT: ESTONIAAt the FEE convention in May, I met Paul Vahur, a great promoter of liberty in Estonia. Writing about the new organization, Paul said, "This has grown out of the Estonian Liberal Club 'Nahtamatu Kasi' (invisible hand in Estonian), which I founded a year ago. We are growing slowly but steadily. We are in the early stages of creating a non-profit organization with the aim to translate 'easier' books about capitalism and free market into Estonian. The first book would be JG, then probably Mary Ruwart's 'Healing our world', Johan Nordberg's 'In Defense of Global Capitalism', and Bastiat's 'The Law'. I hope that we have the organization formed by end of the summer and that we will have raised some money to start with the pilot project - JG."CARTOON VERSION: ITALYWhile I haven't corresponded directly with the man in charge yet, I have heard this from Mauro Tosco: "I have forwarded your message about a prospective interest in the cartoon version of JG to the guy who is working on the Italian cartoon version, to show him that THERE IS an interest, and to encourage him. If you want to write him, his name is Davide Sacco, he lives here in Genova, and his e-mailaddress is simply:davide.sacco@libero.it"Mauro is also working on the Piedmontese edition of JG.JG RAP!Speaking of the cartoon version, I'd say we're just about ready for the MTV version of JG since Ryan Sagawa and Ron Corpus produced the JG Rap for my economics class. Here's a teaser, for the full version go to the JG web site.RYAN:This is a rap bout a really short book.Bout a random day I decided to look.Required by the teach in a class I took.Hit it Ron, give us the hook.RON:He's on a free market odyssey.Come and kick it with Jonathan G.Learn bout monetary policy.To Corrumpo we go just'a you and me...DISTRIBUTION & SCARCITY: US, ALBANIA Hawaii Reporter has been serializing the book weekly, http://www.hawaiireporter.com/ for the Hawaii readers. Hawaii Reporter is an internet newspaper that was founded last February by Malia Zimmerman and Jay McWilliams and this month will celebrate its one millionth hit.Thanks to Jane Orendt, occasional chapters are also appearing on the web site of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, http://www.AAPSonline.org/.JG is being well received in many countries, so much so that we sometimes just run out of copies. Such news is mixed. It is a sign of the value of the books and of the desperately impoverished conditions. Here is a report from Kozeta Cuadari, the translator of the Albanian edition of JG:"The copies we published 4 years ago, were already distributed by ACER, [The Albanian Center for Economic Research] and I was given only a few copies, which I distributed among my students of economics at that time. I have made some attempts to republish it, after the request of my new students, but it was unsuccessful, because we lack funds."You see, the situation in Albania is still difficult and unsteady, due to continuous political changes. Everyone is concentrated on political news, corruption is at a very high scale and each thinks how to profit. No one cares about publications. If you go to libraries you will rarely see any decent books, especially good professional ones."As a translator and teacher of English at Economics Faculty, I can see from near this lack of books. Literature that the students use in their classes is mainly old economics books, and most of them are translated by the students themselves as course texts."What I see is that Albania needs education, especially Albanian students, and the best way to fill this gap is various publications. People read very little. Most of them spend their free time in cafes and bars, mainly young people. The cultural level is very low, even among highly educated people."FIRST INTERNATIONAL ESSAY CONTEST WINNER: MEXICOIn June, Edgar Pina, Jr, announced the results of a Spanish language essay contest across Latin America. Reported Edgar, "After careful analysis of the essays presented by the contestants of the First International Essay Contest on Liberalism and Free Market, the Jury of ISIL & Foro Libre Board of Directors are pleased to announce the following results: Carlos Francisco Mendoza is the winner of the Gold Award. His essay in the Jonathan Gullible category was entitled: 'Ensayo sobre el libro Las Aventuras de Jonathan Gullible, by Ken Schoolland.'"Mendoza is a 22 year-old student at CESUES (Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora), in Mexico, where he is studying Licenciatura on International Business. The Essay Contest Gold Award consists of airplane round trip tickets to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, registration fees at the 21st World Conference of the International Society for Individual Liberty, first class accommodations and all meals for four nights at the Hotel Iguana Mismaloya, and a 1 ounce US Gold Eagle coin."WRAP UPWe have more than a hundred people who have been working on various versions around the world. Additional translations have been completed and we are seeking publishers for other editions, i.e. French, Swedish, Norwegian, Bengali, and Chinese. Translations are under way in Finnish and Bulgarian. Ideas for new projects range among audio tapes, comic books, games, theater, radio, and film.This year will also mark the fifth year that JG has been used at the Liberty English Camp in Lithuania. This is an annual event hosted by Virgis Daukas, Stephen and Monika Browne, and the Lithuanian Free Market Institute as a means of simultaneously teaching English, economics, and philosophy through the use of skits and debate.Most of the books have been publisher supported projects, most notable is the original publisher of the English editions by Sam Slom of Small Business Hawaii http://www.hotspotshawaii.com/smallbusinesshawaii/In several other countries editions have been made possible with the assistance of sponsoring contributors, especially those with the International Society for Individual Liberty http://www.isil.org/.Anyone who wishes to participate in any way on the JG adventure in worldwide free market education, reaching a classroom of tens of thousands of students, is encouraged to contact me at: schoollak001@hawaii.rr.com Aloha, Ken

2001 NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER

Fri, 16 Nov 2001 08:14:00 +0000

FREEDOM BOOK OF THE MONTH

JG has been selected the September Book of the Month by Free-Market.Net of the Henry Hazlitt Foundation. According to Thomas L. Knapp:

“Every month we award the Freedom Book of the Month to one work of fiction or non-fiction that we judge to be the most valuable, interesting new contribution to the literature of liberty…

“The average reader is simply not going to wade through ‘Human Action,’ at least without first being provided with a good reason to do so. There exists a great need for books that introduce the basic concepts of capitalism in a friendly, unthreatening, but logical manner. ‘The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible’ is such a book, and it has the virtue of being an entertaining yarn as well…” I recommend their website for more of a superb review: http://www.free-market.net/features/bookofthemonth/schoolland.html

NEW JG WEBSITE

Jonathan Gullible now has his own spectacular website, covering virtually everything on the project–past, present, and future: http://jonathangullible.com/ . You can find links for ordering copies in all 23 existing languages or you can find the latest news about more than 20 new language projects. Those affiliated with the various existing or current projects are invited to contact our miracle performer, WebMistress@Fornits.com (Ginger Warbis), to request links to other relevant sites or to arrange for presentation of sales information.

KOREAN EDITION GOES TO PRESS

Progress in Korea has been truly amazing due to the efforts of a wonderful young woman, K-mee Jung. In September K-mee wrote a message that has really struck my heart:

“I’m done with my work and sent the Korean translation to my publisher (Moonwhamada Publishing Co.) in Korea. My publisher liked my work. I’m looking forward to working with you again, sometime soon. My publisher would definitely love the idea.

“Now, I’m flying with the great condor. In this book, I heard your voice. Sometimes it was a mischievous kid, and sometimes it was a grave old man. Finally, I feel your sorrow, pitiful heart, and love for the world and people. I can find my way like Jonathan. I hope a lot of Korean young men could find their vision and free way through this book. I am sure that your book will be a great present to my country’s people. Sincerely, K-mee from Saipan.”

FRENCH EDITION AWAITING PUBLISHER’S CONTRACT

The arduous task of preparing an outstanding translation of JG was accomplished by Louise Zizka. And we may now be nearing an end to the arduous task of finding a French publisher. While the search is not final, it looks promising. Louise commented:

“Through Xavier Collet, one of the young French Libertarians I met in Dax, I may have found a publisher for digital and printed versions of JG in French. It is an Internet outfit,…they would publish it digitally and in print…If this deal eventually goes through…I am working every day to update my translation, and it is almost as much work as the first time. I hope to be finished by the end of the year…I am really enjoying doing it again, particularly the new chapter about doctors.”

PIEDMONTESE TRANSLATION & COMICS EDITION IN ITALY

This summer I received an email from Mauro Tosco saying that he was already preparing a Piedmontese edition of JG for local consumption in Northern Italy. Comments Mauro:

“As for now, my translation of the old edition is in progress, and I know for sure that it will definitely be published. As you may know from my original message to ISIL, the ultimate goal is to have the book used as part of the reading material for the language courses of Piedmontese. These are ‘free’ courses which many schools offer to their students at the primary and junior high level. Starting this schoolyear, Piedmontese is also taught as a free subject in a few high schools.. I am quite confident that JG will be accepted, it is mostly (as always here in state-ridden Europe!) a matter of bureaucracy and time. And I must confess that having libertarian issues get spread by the Regional Government kind of amuses me…

“Another goal is to have more good-quality material in a minority language, but this is something more interesting to us linguists and minority-language activists than to libertarians….By the way, as you maybe know, work is in progress on an Italian cartoon version of JG (based upon the Italian translation), to be published by ‘Leonardo Facco’ (they also publish a libertarian magazine, ‘Enclave’).”

FIVE LANGUAGE EDITIONS PROPOSED IN SOUTH AFRICA

At the International Society for Individual Liberty this summer in France, I met several people who have offered to take JG into new lands via new languages. One who has done exhaustive research concerning the application of JG to the variety of language markets in South Africa is Jannette Eldridge. Says Jannette:

“What a brilliant book you have written! I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is so cleverly done. I especially liked all the subtle innuendoes…I am still tentatively processing my thoughts towards having it translated for you into some South African languages (we have 12 official languages – and the Canadians think they have problems!)…You’ve created such a clever book. The more I deal with it, the more I admire it. I advertised on our SA Libertarian e-group newsletter and have gotten the following response:

Terry Markham from the Free Market Foundation has offered their assistance.

Two others have offered publishing contacts

If we decide this is necessary for the market at which we are aiming, and in case I can’t find a publisher who will do the translations, then another Libertarian has offered to translate it into

1. Afrikaans and 2. Xhosa. 3. Zulu shouldn’t be too much of a problem as I live in Kwa-Zulu Natal, 4. Venda – I can probably get someone to do this as I grew up amongst them 5. South-African-colloquial-English / UK English (that’s five to seven to go!)”

PIDGIN ENGLISH EDITION PLANNED FOR NIGERIA

Also at the ISIL conference I met Agwu Amogu from Lagos, Nigeria. He is an amazing person who is the fountainhead of a rapidly expanding libertarian movement among young people in Nigeria. Concerning the publication of JG in Nigeria, Agwu wrote:

“I am already trying to translate it to PIDGIN ENGLISH. It is a corrupt form of the English language. We have over 250 languages here in Nigeria, but the major ones are Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo. I feel it is better if I start out with the language that is common to everyone here…pidgin English. I will keep you posted as I progress. As for publishers, I do not think it will be much problem as soon as the translation is ready.”

Agwu is very eager to receive book donations and a lap top computer, “no matter how old,” to help promote ideas on liberty and the free market through his organization: P.O. BOX 6535 SURULERE, LAGOS, NIGERIA, Fax 234 1 2665622, Phone 234 1 5834878., 5834998, email: amogu51@hotmail.com

P.O. BOX 6535 SURULERE, LAGOS, NIGERIA Fax 234 1 2665622 Phone 234 1 5834878 or 5834998

KISWAHILI & LOCAL ENGLISH SCOUTED FOR KENYA, UGANDA,

TANZANIA

Through the Reason Foundation representative in Hawaii, Cliff Slater, I was introduced to Shikuku James Shikwati, Director of IREN, the Inter Region Economic Network [IREN Kenya, www.irenkenya.org] of Nairobi, Kenya. We hit it off very nicely and he is in the process of contacting numerous translators and publishers with an impressive plan for editions in Kiswahili and localized English. James, one of the most energetic people I have ever come across, reported:

“Your book is expressing very serious concepts in a humorous way. I had to read the whole of it before leaving to meet a publishing friend at the university of Nairobi. ‘So what is the book all about?’ he asked I picked two stories about the arrested woman and the tax for tall people. The fellow was beside himself with laughter. He took me to his boss who sampled the book and asked about its content. I will keep you posted. A high school teacher commented, ‘Kenya has never seen such literature. Even George Orwell’s ANIMAL FARM cannot match it.’…

“The Kiswahili lecturer also mentioned something like the translated version should be made a must reader for Kiswahili students in the local universities. The high school commend should perhaps include the view that it should be a class reader…

“I took a copy to Book Villa a bookshop in the heart of the city. The manager called a few minutes ago saying people want to buy the book straight and is only one copy. She wants a hundred copies…I will use my own techniques to make sure that in two years two million copies are sold. My target.

“The last two weeks have had media stories petitioning legislators not to pass a bill that seemingly will muzzle the press and publishers. The church too added its voice. Plans are underway to ensure that publishers deposit their work to the Registrar of Societies for verification before being put to the public. Logically we know that means delay and another avenue for bribery. It will take years for new books to land in the market.

“At the moment, the censorship is so silent that what I see is actually self-censorship BUT for good reason. When the Thought Police decend they destroy all on their way. Magazines have gone under, radio and TV stations closed. Somehow the legal excuses will always come up. Bookshops have been taken to court and have had to pay millions for selling books talking about senior personalities. Newspapers have been stopped from serializing some books- powerful people always have means and ways.”

NEW ROMANIAN EDITION TO GO ON-LINE

Cris Comanescu has founded The Ludwig von Mises Institute of Romania and has established one of the finest centers of Austrian economics in Eastern Europe: http://www.misesromania.org/ver_engleza/index_e.htm We are also pleased to announce that one of the many book projects adopted by his Institute is the presentation of JG on line. First translated by Valentina Nicolaie, Cris has found another superb individual for updating to the current translation. Writes Cris:

“You’re very lucky, Ken. I got this guy to update JG for misesromania.org…He’s extremely well qualified, perfectly fluent in English, a doctoral canditate in political philosophy, libertarian, and very ISIL-compatible…you’ll like him more than you can expect. No kidding. His name is Sorin Cucerai.”

And from Sorin, one among many brilliant scholars who are gathering at Cris’ new free market institute:

“Abruptly speaking, I have only one word for you: congratulations! Your book is indeed a masterpiece in its own kind, and Jonathan – an unforgettable character…Why not post the Jonathan Gullible manifesto on JG website, asking people to subscribe to its statements? It would be like an international open letter in favor of individual liberty.”

BULGARIAN TRANSLATION UNDER CONSIDERATION BY PUBLISHER

Translation work on JG into Bulgarian has progressed steadily, with the early chapters being considered by a publisher, Iskra Petrova, who was introduced to us by Tomislav Krsmanovic. One very dedicated individual is responsible for this progress on the translation, Anelia Manova. She writes:

“I just received an e-mail from Iskra in Bulgaria. She writes me she has already recieved the first two chapters of the book, which she had asked me to send to her so she can have an idea of the style and quality of the Bulgarian translation.”

We are now hopeful that Iskra can make this book available for Bulgarians.

SOMALI, BENGALI, SRI LANKAN, MONGOLIAN, FINNISH, NORWEGIAN

I met several great friends at the ISIL conference in France and they have all assured me that other editions are in progress. Faisal Hassan stated that the Somali edition is coming soon. Barun Mitra indicates that there is still a plan for a Bengali edition in the near future. Fazal Kamaldeen expressed an interest in seeing an edition published in Sri Lankan.

D Khurelbataar from Mongolia also attended the ISIL conference, it was my first time to see him since my travels to Ulaan Bataar almost nine years ago. He passed JG along to his brother, the entrepreneur who introduced Nicolai Heering and me to the Mongolian countryside, and he replied, “Many people are interested in your book. It is being translated by Ms. Bolormaa. I will inform you after the translation is finished.”

A remarkable student at Hawaii Pacific University, and a very active member of Students in Free Enterprise, Siri Tulikoura, has offered to translate the book into her native language, Finnish. From Norway, Bent Johan Mosfjell and Linda Tjelta (the translator of the original edition of JG into Norwegian) have indicated that they may soon manage to publish the latest Norwegian edition of JG. This might be accomplished as a serialization as in Japan and Hong Kong.

STRIDES IN PHILIPPINE FREE MARKET EDUCATION

ISIL is surely the best network for people promoting free market projects around the world. From Vince Miller I received news of the great activities of Roman Dannug, Dean of the College of Economics, Finance and Politics at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. He has also indicated that JG may have a future in the Philippines:

“Sure, our economics and political science faculty and students would surely appreciate the book. In fact, I already shared and discussed the book with my core and junior faculty… initially as a possible required reading…I have some thoughts on how we can make copies available for everyone as I found out that local bookstores have no copies in their shelves…Please suggest if you already have standards/proposals in situations like us…you know, we have a foundation that can finance the local printing…or you may wish to just send copies and then the College will just sell them to the market here…please advise.”

Calixto Chikiamco is another person with whom I have long had correspondence with on the subject. As Chairman of the Foundation for Economic Freedom, Inc. located in Makati City, he has also indicated an interest in JG. This organization is dedicated to “pursuing fundamental reforms towards a freer market in the Philippines through advocacy.”

Hopefully, with the help of one or both of these two giants of free market activity, JG will find his way into the hands and minds of young people in the Philippines.

SPANISH: FIRST NATIONAL ESSAY CONTEST OF MEXICO

Edgar Pina has spearheaded the drive for the First National Essay Contest in Mexico. Thirty copies of both the Spanish and English editions of JG are in the process of being distributed to university and school libraries throughout Mexico in preparation for the ISIL conference that is scheduled next summer in Puerto Vallarta. Winning essayists on topics of liberty will be awarded scholarships for attendance at the conference. This will surely be an extraordinary activity to spark interest in free market ideas. This follows the pattern of the highly successful essay contests conducted by Tomislav Krsmanovic in Belgrade two years ago.

MONTENEGRAN, BOSNIAK, SLOVAKIAN, UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN

Tomislav Krsmanovic surely must be acclaimed for the many editions he has been responsible for in the past: Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian, Slovenian, Gypsy, and Albanian. Despite extraordinary hardship and harassment, he is still working on new editions: Montenegran, Bosniak, Slovakian, and he has made important contacts in Bulgaria and the Ukraine.

Once again I have re-established contact with Dmitry Costygin and William Milonov, those responsible for the first Russian edition of JG. Dmitry can be reached through the JG website and William has indicated an interest in publishing a new edition of JG. Kenneth DeGraaf long ago provided an updated translation of JG in Russian, but we haven’t yet found a publisher or sponsors. I am also pursuing the possibility for a Russian edition in Belarus through Elena Rakova, Executive Director of the Institute of Privatization and Management in Minsk.

LITHUANIAN ENGLISH LIBERTY CAMP

Virgis & Ilona Daukas, Steve & Monika Browne, Vitas & Giedre Kvieskiene, Judith Hatton, Kevin Bjornson, John Clark, and so many others put together a fabulous English Liberty Camp this past summer. It was a terrific week in the woods at the coast of the Baltic Sea. But most of all, I’ll always remember the wonderful participants and the energy. I am very appreciative of the opportunity to use Jonathan Gullible in skits and discussions throughout the session. And then such a memorable bus trip across Poland and Germany to the ISIL conference in France. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Stephen and Monika are also doing their best to create potential young readers of JG–with the birth of their first baby. Congratulations!

CD AND E-PUBLICATION

Sieg Pedde of Phoenix Accrual Corporation has been developing a CD and e-publication of the English edition of the book. We hope to offer this on-line through our website when the updated version is completed.

SPECIAL THANKS

I am greatly indebted to the many individuals who have done much to promote JG projects globally. Several who come instantly to mind are Sam Slom, Susan Wells, Ralph Smeed, and Mel Aching. And for a fun reference to JG on the web, see Professor Glen Tenney’s website at: http://www.scs.unr.edu/~tenney/caltrail.htm