Events Books

Primitive peoples once shook their spears at the heavens and chanted to entice the gods to favor them with rain or otherwise change the weather. Around the turn of the century, experimenters began seeding clouds with various chemicals that sometimes encouraged a much-needed downpour. That was a hundred years ago.

Technology has advanced.

In WEATHER WARFARE, Jerry E. Smith reveals technology so sophisticated that it can alter weather patterns, trigger earthquakes, shake volcanoes into eruption, and initiate tsunamis. Massively budgeted projects play with powerful environment-busting science, and the militaries of various nations are the biggest users...and abusers.

So potentially devastating are environmental modification (ENMOD) threats that U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) submitted legislation to Congress in 2001 that would have banned such systems. Other political leaders have similarly expressed concern that militaries are experimenting with and even deploying environment-altering technology that may be globally destructive.

Smith's heavily researched and thoroughly documented book tugs the reader along like a novel, unveiling frightening technologies, conspiracies, and agendas that may be altering our lives and generating a host of negative environmental effects throughout the entire planet.

WEATHER WARFARE is easily understood by the layman and avoids dense technical explanations. Even so, this reader would have been fascinated to see more technical detail in some areas, such as how earth-penetrating electromagnetic waves are theorized to interact with certain types of geology and cause earthquakes.

Mixed with the hard facts are some scary conspiracy theories that range from the highly believable to the outlandish, and Smith neither endorses nor dismisses them. (They're all interesting anyway!)

WEATHER WARFARE is an important book; required reading by those who wish to remain vigilant in their support of democracy (and survival!); and entertaining reading for those who enjoy their conspiracy theories frightening and laced with a heavy dose of truth.

The book has interesting points. A bit clumsy and jumpy. Would have been nice to have more solid referencing, instead of a few quotes here and there used multiple times.

Have you ever been at a party and REALLY wanted to impress your friends during their conspiracy conversations with a dissertation on weather warfare? Yeah me neither, usually my interest in the subjects of the conspiracy kind relegate me to the dark corners while other speak of football and politics (although politics are fun too..). But if you did you need to read this book!

After reading Weather Warfare you'll be like a rockstar on the subject of weather warfare. Jerry Smith does all the heavy lifting for you, and what resulted is a very well written, easy reading book which walks you through not only the current state of 21st century weather modification but also a step by step history of the subject. From the barn stormers of the 20's to HAARP to beyond, its all here.

And that brings me to another subject..

One of my biggest personal pet peeves in conspiracy/ufo/alternative information books is that you pickup a book out of interest in hopes of learning something interesting and new. But the author of the book assumes you have some level of knowledge about the subject and this makes the book harder to interpret and understand.

Jerry Smith on the other hand starts at ground zero, and takes your hand. Then together you walk through the whole subject step by step, and when you are done, you know where we've come from and where we are going. He also provides plenty of additional resources to keep learning as well as a wonderful website which will further your education. If you travel in these circles that continuing education and the resources he provides are priceless as this kind of subject is constantly evolving.

Well footnoted, and illustrated Weather Warfare is a wonderful book I'd recommend to everyone interested in HAARP, DARPA, and black projects.

My final word on this book - When you finish Weather Warfare you will not only feel like an expert on Weather Modification you will be one. It's that good. Really!

Whether it is to weaken hurricanes or to create better snow fall for ski resorts environmental modifications certainly go against the grain of ecological ethic. The question that must be asked by everyone now is how much modifications and manipulation can our earth endure before she starts to rebel. Weather Warfare takes the reader into the dark world of chemtrail conspiracies, UFOs and earth quakes on demand! The book also revisits Tesla and HAARP. The book ends with the conspiracy that the chemtrails are due to some type of additive "they" are putting into the jet fuel. Could this be the new world order or an attempt to dehumanize the world? Issues like HAARP, Chemtrails, and Environmental Modifications must be brought to the attention of the public ASAP for the well being of this planet. All people must do is read and Jerry E Smith is my recommended read for everyone. It's up to everyone to do their small part to make this world a better place. You can start with educating your self with literature. I also must state the any book published by the Adventures Unlimited Press is of top quality information. I am patiently awaiting Mr. Smith's next book.

This book is amazing. The information in is very thought provoking. The opening quote by a top government official on how the US needs to participate in biological and environmental warfare is shocking, except for those of us who know what the US Gov't has done in the past (i.e. 9/11 was an inside job). It explains in detail ways that the US has attempted to manipulate weather and earthquakes in the past and desires to do so with even greater effort in the future. HAARP is a sci-fi style weapon that will likely be secretly used against the American people by their own government.
Excellent information.

This book makes for interesting reading. Anyone who wants to know why there is so much dissension between muslims and other relighons should read this book. It provides insight into their beliefs, the war and many other issues.

Human civilization has not always had a smooth path. We've had our share of natural disasters and self-inflicted wounds. As recently as the fifth century, we had a Dark Ages in Europe, in which reason was virtually repudiated in favor of tyranny. There was a threat of a repeat of that in the 1930s and 1940s in Europe. And there may be a similar threat at present.

Walid Shoebat, a former terrorist, shows, in this somewhat scary book, how serious the problem is. Quite a few people are being trained as destroyers of society. And if they succeed, that will be bad for virtually everyone.

What do the Islamic fundamentalists say? Well, they say whatever they please. And they come up with all sorts of demonizing propaganda against Western society. But to me, it all reads pretty much like a repeat of the refrain "we're going to slice and dice you." No, that's not a quote from Shoebat's book. But that's my summary of how I read Islamist propaganda. I'm a Pagan, not a Muslim, so that puts me on the wrong side of the slicing and dicing. But there really is no right side of that.

How does one reply to the Islamists? Well, there are plenty of ways. One can come up with a reasoned rebuttal. Or one can simply describe reality and warn that what goes around can come around. Or one can even answer insults with insults. But none of it does much good. We all need to value truth more in order to combat this threat to society. Right now, there's plenty of pressure on many Muslims to support the Islamists, and the main question seems to be how much support to give them. I think this book shows that we need to draw the line at demonizing untruths. I think agreeing with such lies, as a matter of course, as a matter of loyalty, as a matter of principle, as a matter of laziness, as a way to avoid trouble, whatever, is a giant leap over the line. That's what leads to the recruitment of terrorists, and we see the pattern of behavior described in detail in this book.

Shoebat makes a few specific points that I especially like. One of them deals with the "right of return." Arabs, Jews, and others lost their homes in the 1940s. What ought to be done about it? I basically agree with Shoebat's solution: nothing. No one should have a "right of return" to them. Not Arabs to the Levant and Israel, not Jews to Europe, Africa, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere, not Germans to Poland and the Czech Republic, not anyone. I would add that very few people who lost their homes in the 1940s are still alive. Oh, sure, people who lived in those homes are still alive. But most of those were kids, not owners. These kids never owned the homes, they never developed them, they never paid property taxes on them, and they may not ever have been the actual heirs to them.

Shoebat also discusses "reversalism," which is just one more way in which pro-tyranny thugs use words as weapons rather than as tools of communication. This is a way of simply making things up as one goes along, and it generally involves a fair amount of projection. Is one a big fan of the National Socialists? Then why not call the Jews National Socialists? Why not call liberation "occupation," why not call sorrow "joy," why not call victims "terrorists," and why not call the conspirators to terror "victims?" And we see plenty of examples of this process.

Is Islamist terror a problem for Muslims in general? You bet it is, just as National Socialism was a problem for Germans in general. And it is, of course, a problem for non-Muslims, just as National Socialism was a problem for non-Germans. One example Shoebat gives is a poll of Indonesian Muslims (Muslims are a big majority in Indonesia). "Sixteen percent of Indonesian Muslims (almost thirty million people) supported bombings, while a further twenty-five percent declined to offer an opinion." That impressed me: one would think that folks would know that suicide bombings are not doing anyone much good and that what goes around can come around. Shoebat says that a more recent survey showed that only ten per cent supported these bombings, but that is still eighteen million people. That's a problem for society. As Shoebat explains, that same survey showed that sixty-five percent of Indonesia's Muslims "do not believe that the September 11 attacks on the United States were carried out by Arabs!" That is a very big problem as far as I am concerned. This is a key untruth, and if it stands, I think it helps put civilization at serious risk.

What's the goal of the attacks on Israel? A new Arab state? No. As Shoebat tells us, it is the prosecution of jihad against the West. And what do some Western academics have to say about all this? Shoebat does mention that there is a problem here, and he quotes a few, including a couple who are at Columbia University. Yes, Columbia has a problem, but there are some other universities that probably ought make a more serious attempt to enforce academic standards.

What is to be done about the threats posed by radical Islam? Shoebat has some ideas, including removing the leaders and dismantling hate-filled mosques. He also favors presenting truth in the media and in academia.

I highly recommend this book.

One day at the school we were talking about different cultures and one of them was about the muslims. This book has been very helpful to me because it talks about reality. When I started to read I said oh common is this the book for which I payed ?? dollars, I say this because i don't remember how much I payed but when I started getting deep into it i realized that I had made a good investment. It's really helpful.

For anyone that loves to know another cultures this is the right book to start to know the muslims and why they do all of this. You'll find out

Mr. Shoebat describes a frightening "death cult" that has emerged from Islam. A nice analogy I use is that the Jihadis are to Islam as the Inquisitors were to Christianity. There are ways to interpret religious texts in such a way to justify great cruelty in the service of human lust for power. Shoebat describes this phenomenon in Islam. What is scary is that most Islam in the Middle East is under the sway of these Jihadis, either to preserve the political order where loyalty and connections trump merit, or as a reaction to the speed of change in a modernizing world. Shoebat has converted to Christianity, so has a convert's zeal in seeing the flaws of his previous belief system. However, he details the abuse of women and non-Moslems, and the demonization of all who do not follow the path of whichever charismatic leader has killed his way to the top of the heap. To paraphrase him, evangelical Christians annoy you by wanting to change your head. Islamists want to cut off your head. There are other more scholarly works about the dysfunction in Islam, but Shoebat provides a raw insider's view that makes this danger very clear.

Finally, someone from the inside has been willing to share the truth in spite of death threats, including from his own family. I believe this is a book that everyone outside Islam should read, especially our elected officials that only want to talk peace or throw money at the problem. The war on terror is exactly like Mr. Shoebat listed it. This is a war against a form of Socialism that is to the extreme. I give him great credit, not only to his faith but to his courage in writing this book.

First the upsides. A thoughtfully written book that challenges some long held beliefs, such as "The Founding Fathers were perfect and there is no need to change anything about the way we do things". Yes, they were innovative, but even they knew they were not perfect and thus left the Constitution open for ammendment. Here, Mr. Hill comes up with 10 ideas that he thinks will improve our system of government. In my opinion, his ideas range from brilliant, to so-so, to downright poor. In spite of that, the over-riding message, "can we do things better?", is excellent. Too many people hold the founding fathers to be prophets and the Constitution divinely inspired and second only to The Holy Bible. On the downside, if you're a Republican, you cannot miss the fact that he lays most of the blame for problems on the Republicans. He makes a weak effort, at times, to try and sound unbiased, but he's not. Second, he can be inconsistent when dealing with the rights of those in the minority on an issue. He makes the case for proportional representation by bringing up people who live in an area that is over-whelming in support for an opposing party as having no real representation because of where they live. He then asks why those in the low population states "should be protected by the will of the majority" by their equal representation in the Senate. Well, some people who live in the low population states (Wyoming) will NEVER have close to the representation of a state like California. Isn't it possible that a rancher in Wyoming or a farmer in Nebraska will have a different set of priorities and a different view on things that people in CA? By the nature that they are primarily agricultural states, won't they ALWAYS have a lower population, and thus representation? Should they be forced to do the will of the majority BECAUSE OF WHERE THEY LIVE?
Overall though, it is a good book. Please don't let his bias prevent you from getting it, just be prepared. Also, don't HAVE to agree with every idea to like it, let it just make you think about how we can do better. As for what I think are the great ideas, I'd recommend it based on the ideas of Proportional Representation (PR), Instant Runoff Voting (IRV)and a National Election Commission on it's own! Get it even just to read about those three ideas alone.

From George Scialabba's review of "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy" in The Nation, January 29, 2007 issue:

"...We now have a bit of breathing space, thanks to the midterms. It's time to consider how the right got away with it and how to prevent it from happening again. The most useful of these books...is Steven Hill's 10 Steps to Repair American Democracy...Hill's recommendations invariably hit the mark...Hill's book is a no-brainer--there's simply nothing in it to disagree with."

Complete excertps:

...We now have a bit of breathing space, thanks to the midterms. It's time to consider how the right got away with it and how to prevent it from happening again. The most useful of these books (along with Sirota's splendidly hard-hitting and extraordinarily well-documented Hostile Takeover) is Steven Hill's 10 Steps to Repair American Democracy. "To ponder the shortcomings of our political system is to court despondency," Hendrik Hertzberg observes in his foreword. The Electoral College, the Senate, the disenfranchisement of the District of Columbia, the two-party duopoly, the winner-take-all principle, partisan redistricting, 95 percent incumbent re-election rates, media concentration, Buckley v. Valeo, the K Street Project, voter turnout below 50 percent, shortages of voting machines and poll workers--this is a functioning democracy? If these travesties of logic and fairness promoted majority rule rather than prevented it, they would doubtless have been abolished long ago. Hill's recommendations, beginning with proportional representation and instant-runoff voting, invariably hit the mark, and each of them is accompanied by links to groups already on the case. Perhaps his most radical notion--as he says, it goes "to the very heart of our political system"--is that representation should no longer be based on geography. Because of partisan residential patterns, more and more election districts are noncompetitive even without gerrymandering. Tens of millions of votes in American elections don't really count; and, perhaps as a consequence, millions more are never cast. Making representation correspond to what voters think rather than where they live is now perfectly feasible, as Hill makes clear. When (if) the Democrats regain the electorate's trust, they should consider proposing that, procedurally speaking, the United States join the modern world.

Hill's book is a no-brainer--there's simply nothing in it to disagree with.

... But in a democracy, if a large enough majority of citizens want economic populism plus cultural conservatism, isn't that what there ought to be? And if that's not what there is, then it's not much of a democracy, is it? What these truisms imply is that perhaps the right thing for progressives to do is not hire ever cleverer triangulators but, instead, first make sure American democracy works (for which, see "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy") and then get most Americans to agree with us.

[...]

I heard Steven Hill give a talk about his new book, "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy", in Cambridge recently. In his book and in his talk, Hill promotes reforms such as instant runoff voting, proportional representation, direct election of the President, public campaign financing, free media time for candidates, and so on. His "ten steps" are:
1. Secure the Vote
2. Expand Voter Participation
3. Increase Voter Choice with Instant Runoff Voting
4. Scrap Winner-Take-All Elections
5. Direct Election of the President
6. Overhaul the U.S. Senate
7. Reclaim the Airwaves
8. Minimize Money's Role
9. Reform the Supreme Court
10. Restore Faith in Government

Obviously, each of these slogans really involves multiple steps. For example, "Secure the Vote" includes securing voter-verified recountable paper trails; impartial and professional election officials; and open-source software for electronic voting machines. "Expand Voter Participation" includes universal voter registration; making election day a holiday; and enfranchising prisoners and ex-cons. And so on down the list.

Hill puts the most emphasis on scrapping winner-take-all elections in favor of moderate proportional representation, of the type formerly used in the Illinois state legislature. In moderate proportional representation, three to five legislators are elected from geographical districts three to five times the size of those that currently exist. Since candidates in such districts would need only 17% to 25% of the vote to win a seat, Hill argues that minorities (political and ethnic) would gain representation proportional to their numbers, and polarization between "red" and "blue" areas would be dramatically reduced. At the same time, since these 17%-25% thresholds are much higher than those formerly used in Italy and Israel, moderate proportional representation isn't vulnerable to the sort of instability that troubled systems in which candidates could be elected with as little as 1% of the vote.

Hill's talk was held in a church, and I felt a bit like the choir, since I am familiar with most of these proposals and have supported many of them for years, to the point of writing articles and collecting signatures for instant runoff voting and proportional representation. "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy" is directed primarily toward those unfamiliar with these proposals, and seeing them for the first time.

Though Hill gives decent summaries of many of the issues and options, I personally would have liked more detailed discussions of the arguments for (and against) the various reforms proposed. I also would have appreciated more discussion on ways to work to enact these reforms -- all Hill does is suggest contacting the relevant organizations, which are listed at the end of each chapter. The writing was also tiresome on occasion, as several factoids, phrases, sentences and even a paragraph were repeated verbatim two or three times in less than 200 pages.

So although "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy" wasn't all I was looking for, it can still serve as a brief introduction to reforms whose time has come, especially valuable for people who are fed up with business as usual but don't have any idea what to do about it. I already have a lengthy list of friends and relatives to loan it to.

If the trappings of American democracy seem increasingly spurious to you this book explains why in a calm, straightforward, non-partisan way. A real eye opener for those unfamiliar with how actual democracies in other countries work. Committed curmudgeons should avoid as it's liable to inspire optimism.

The short form of my argument is that a surprisingly large fraction of the political and policy problems of the US are indirectly caused not by bad people or a system gone wrong, but by a bad system. The US hasn't been losing its democracy so much as its once state-of-the-art democracy has been obsolete for a long time. Our electoral and governmental systems have been showing their flaws more and more as the world changes. Our system unnecessarily encourages otherwise decent people to do bad things, and that's tragic.

First off, stop reading right now, and buy "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy" by Steven Hill (only $11). The flaws in our democratic systems are no mystery; political scientists have known about them for decades, and in some cases, centuries. [Why they haven't done anything about them is another matter. Maybe it's because America has always been good to its elites. Maybe too many political scientists augment their incomes through political consulting and helping politicians game the existing system ;-)]

Let me indulge in a little intellectual laziness myself and point out that the 10 steps outlined in Steven Hill's book are absolutely necessary to fix the problems and keep them fixed:

Secure the vote
Expand voter participation
Increase voter choice with Instant Runoff Voting (IRV)
Scrap winner-take-all elections: use Proportional Representation (PR) for legislatures
Scrap the electoral college and elect the President via direct IRV election
Overhaul the US Senate
Reclaim the publicly owned airwaves and make sure they serve to educate our citizens
Minimize money's role in politics
Reform the Supreme Court
Restore faith in government

Steven Hill has backed up these basic goals by documenting concrete proposals that are either already underway or are obvious next steps. Now it's up to you, me, and everyone to start doing the hard work needed to fix our country. Hint: the answer is NOT simply to elect Democrats. We need to elect candidates who demonstrate awareness of the underlying problems facing us and pledge to advance the right systemic solutions.

As we contemplate the upcoming presidential election, it is crucial that we try to educate candidates about the solutions discussed in Hill's book. Not sure what to do? For starters, you could do worse than to buy "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy" for your favorite candidate and a friend or family member. But don't stop there! There are a lot of organizations to plug into, and many more that need to exist but don't yet. Yes, we all hate politics, but Steven Hill's book shows us that it doesn't have to be that way.

Murphy

i'm buying copies to give to family and friends. i'm buying copies to hand out to the young, disinfranchised people i meet. it's invigorating and i plan to follow all its suggestions.

This is the must-have quick reference guide for progressives and moderates. Whether you are an activist, an aspiring activist, or a someone who just wants to have the answers to shut up your conservative friends and family, this is the book for you. This is the handy go-to book for anyone looking to take on the misleading propoganda of the right in today's fractured society.

Let me also say that if you are looking 50 simple ways to take on the Right, this book will give you that and much more. Yes, it does have 50 areas in which to take on the Right, but it provides several options for doing so in each of the 50 areas. Therefore, you can choose some or all of the options depending upon what you choose. Moreover, it lists resources where you can go for assistance or more information.

But "50 Simple Things" does not stop there. Need a list of progressive news sources: it's in the book. This book is chock full of internet web sites and web logs to help you coordinate with others or gather more information. Media watchdogs: they're in the book. In fact, there are so many internet sources listed in this book that I became physically tired of linking to all of them.

But this book is not just for internet geeks like me, it has phone numbers for organizations that you can contact. Ideas for campaigns and campaign volunteers. Little ways that you can stick it to the Right.

This is the handiest quide for progressives and moderates I have yet to see. I have read many books on progressive issues, but none match "50 Simple Things" in ease of reading and coverage of major issues. And the best thing is that "50 Simple Things" is about simple things everyone can do and it is set out in a concise book that is less than 200 pages. All of the things you need in a small, very portable format.

This is a great resource for anyone concerned about the direction our country is being moved in. It's time for the "common sense" majority to stop being silent witnesses.

This is a great book for any budding political activist, or anyone who just wants to do something to help fight the rise of the conservative-religious-right movement in the United States. It's a quick read and is organized so that it can be used as a ready reference.

I found out I was alredy doing about 33% of the 50 things, but even for those I was already doing, helpful information and sources were provided that made the purchase worthwhile.

My wife read part of the book, and wound up putting a sticker for the Green Party candidate for Senate in our state; one of her coworkers noticed and asked my wife about who that person was, and as a result, the Green Party candidate has gained another vote.

As the title states, this book describes a number of things that anyone can do to counteract the Right's strong influence in present-day America.

Some of the actions included require little or no effort. Join a progressive group, be it local or international. Take back control of the American political vocabulary. Donate a subscription to a progressive magazine to your local library. Become familiar with the parts of the Bible that support progressive positions. Visit alternative news web sites. Also, visit right-wing sites to begin to understand the Right.

Some actions require a little more effort. Adopt a blog. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper (even if your letter is not printed, it might encourage the editor to print a similar letter). Did you know that the Pledge of Allegiance was written by a Christian socialist named Francis Bellamy? Talk to your neighbors, and to your congressperson's local office. Attend local meetings, like school board, city council or planning and zoning commission; the Right will be there. Support public education, along with local arts and artists. Stand up for science in the classroom. Volunteer for a political campaign.

For the committed individual, become an expert on a particular subject. Look for right-wing spin in your local media. Start your own media. On Election Day, become a poll watcher. Spread the word the "person of faith" does not automatically equal "conservative." Last, but not least, why don't you run for office?

The only part of this book that may cause disagreement is the assertion of the publishers that the Democratic Party needs to be reformed back into the progressive party it once was. Like it or not, America is a 2-party system, and reforming the Democratic Party is easier than starting over with a third party. On the other hand, many people in America believe that the Democrats are just as bad as the Republicans, and, therefore, not worth saving.

Aside from that, this is a gem of a book. It contains plenty of inspiration for people of any age or income level. Even if the reader can do only 1 or 2 of the things mentioned in this book, it will help to change the tide in America. This book is very much worth reading.

"Africa Unchained" is a very interesting book. It proposes "the blueprint for Africa's future." To find out how workable the proposal is one has to read the book. However, here is how the author goes about the subject. First, he explains why Africa is poor. Four themes form the answer. One, Africa is poor because of the failure of Western policies. Second, Africa is poor because of the ill-conceived development model African countries pursued upon political independence - its ideology, strategies, mistakes, and a feeble leadership. Third, colonial and neo-colonial policies hampered progress "by imposing an alien system that destroyed Africa's heritage". Finally, Africa is poor because of unfavorable development finances, which made possible a resource curse, widened resource gap, and facilitated aid dependency.

Out of the failure emerged a new set of problems such as an exploitative state, which promoted wrong-headed industrialization policies, along with self-destructive agricultural, inflation, and foreign debt policies.

To avoid further failure and get out of poverty, Africa needs a new approach. The proposal recommends development of indigenous economic systems which are supportive of property rights, and free market and voluntary exchange mechanisms. The book cites Botswana as an example that development is possible in Africa if one follows the "Atinga development model". The Atinga model centers on a new strategy that is taking place at the village level, is inclusive of the informal sector and invests in it. If that happens, an African Renaissance will follow.

This is a credible effort, indeed. My hesitation is that focus on Africa, instead of African countries is unlikely to produce helpful results. In the age of globalization, endogenous systems are likely more productive than indigenous systems. Strongly recommended.

Amavilah, Author
Modeling Determinants of Income in Embedded Economies
ISBN: 1600210465

Excellent, very well written, researched and a must for anyone who is serious about economic development in Africa

This book, in a word is: Remarkable! God created "All Men Equal", and suffice to say, African's wherever they are in the Diasporia, are, apart of the Human Family. We all know the history of Colonialism/Slavery; however, Africa, through the Post colonial period has had about a little over 40 years to work toward: Social Stability, Nationhood, Systems of Government-that works, and developing strategies of amalgamation/unity and [Order] Social Order, that would ensure, development in all phases of social acceptance, and a recognition that Africa is ready to join the Nations of the Industrial Revolution. Sadly, Africa, has not reached the rate of development that is required and that other continents under Quasi-Colonialism have achieved. This has always troubled me. This book tells in stark terms, why the Sub-African Continent continues to lag behind the Universal Determinants. This book puts the blame on African Leadership and in details supports it's thesis with inexplicable evidence. Sure, it speaks of the lingering vestiges of Colonialism, but, the emphasis is on the modern leaders who have "shortchanged" Africa's [Greatest Resource]...the People. This book, was the "cornerstone" for my research and understanding of the chronic problems of Africa's Underdevelopment. The Premise in my view is this: If Africa remains in it's current state, the Peoples of African Descent around the Globe with find Freedom and their proper place in the World of Division of Races and Ethnicity, wanting. I recommend this book to all scholars and those who seriously long for the remedy of how to resolve and solve and find the Social Solutions to Africa's problems. Africa remains: The sleeping giant!

This is the most brilliant text on Africa I have read, and I don't say that lightly. With almost 500 pages of small text, it's not exactly a breeze to get through, but it is worth every second spent. The author unapologetically describes the mess that the "Hippo" generation following decolonization made, and how it ruined the continent. His prescriptions, which amount to `Africans must solve their own problems in their own way, growing out of African traditions', is right on. I hope that anyone interested in Africa reads this book.

He put's his faith on africa's young up and coming "cheetahs", and so do I. I feel empowered by George's bare knuckle rumble in the jungle with the political elite and can't wait to join this fight.
They'll fight dirty, and we'll fight smarter and faster and with a good old man like George to show us the tricks, we shall overcome.

This is simply the best book for those analyzing longitudinal data (data measured at more than one time point). Singer's coverage of Hierarchical Linear MOdeling (HLM) is clear, well-written (sprinkled with humor, it's like a lecture by the most popular prof. at your school), and geared towards researchers who need their programs to run, not just learn the mathematical underpinnings. Singer and Willett (the coauthor, not listed above!) set the standard for presenting math/statistics book examples.

THe authors accomplish the latter by keying her examples to data located at a UCLA website; you can run the same programs on the same datasets used in the book (wow!), and compare your output, troubleshooting any problems you may have. Singer and Willett (her coauthor, not listed here!) provide outputs and programs correspoing to several of the most popular statistical programs, including SAS and SPSS.

SInger and Willet also explain the rationale for using HLM over more traditional techniques such as regression. Simply stated, regression aggregates at a level that cause one to lose information (and hence the power to detect differences.) HLM allows one to look at overall differences due to time, but also the trajectories of individual differences who are "nested" within those time points. It's the (relatively) new thing, and is increasing used by investigators, and desired by peer reviewers.

As supplements, I suggest using the UCLA website mentioned above, subscribing to an e-mail LISTSERV for interesting (though sometimes compicated discussions of "multilevel modeling" (MULTILEVEL@JISCMAIL.AC.UK), and searching for Judith Singer's website through Google or A9 (if you use A9--"Alexa"--enough you'll get a small discount at Amazon.com). Also, compare Amazon's and Judith Singer's (through her website) current prices on this book.

I find Professor Singer's Book to be a most informative and useful tool for anyone who wishes to better understand Multilevel Modeling.

This is an excellent book. Multilevel modeling and survival analysis are becoming increasingly important in psychological studies, but are pretty complicated procedures. Singer & Willet offer both a conceptual background and practical ways to do the analyses in a clear, understandable manner. The book is very readable and will be an important reference for future analyses!

Clearly written text... and usefull for researchers.
I would recommend it to anyone starting to learn about the subject!

This book does a particularly good job of explaining the substantive meaning of the equations involved in multilevel modeling analyses. It spends a lot of extra time explaining what the equations mean in real world terms using examples from actual data sets. I teach a graduate level course on HLM and I much prefer this book to the Raudenbush & Byrk book because it not only does a better job of explaining the math (for graduate students less comfortable with statistics) but the chapters are also sprinkled with incredibly useful advice on actually running the analyses (getting them to converge, interpreting them, etc.) The Raudenbush & Bryk book probably does a slightly better job of presenting the equations, but it falls short on explanation and practical advice. If you were only going to buy one HLM book, I would start with this one.

As an adult convert to Catholicism struggling for now five years with infertility, a non-American and the daughter of a founder of my hometown's Family Planning Association, I ordered this book wondering if it would help me sort out my mixed feelings about abortion. When it arrived my heart sank: though I had been interested in the topic, it looked long enough to remind me of the first-grader's book report, ``This told me more than I wanted to know about penguins.'' But it's so well-written, well-peopled and thoughtful it's a joy to read. When Cynthia Gorney describes a pro-choice activist she does it so carefully you feel certain she's pro-choice, and certain you must be. But when she describes a pro-life activist, you realize she might be pro-life -- and so might you be. If we were all be so generous and balanced, so readily able to enter into the subtleties of other people's positions, abortion might never have become a ``war.''

This book was wonderful. Though on first glance it seems very long and likely dense and dry, it is anything but. Gorney does a fabulous job of presenting both sides of abortion evenly and without bias. And she ties in the thoughts and feelings of the players with the actual battles of the day so smoothly that the book ends up being an easy and very enjoyable read. It should be mandatory reading for anyone involved in, interested in or having an opinion about abortion.

Before Roe vs. Wade thousands of women a year were getting illegal, unsanitary and oftentimes dangerous abortions. Articles of Faith does a great job of presenting both sides of the abortion argument. The book focuses on the abortion wars in Missouri. It starts in the 60's with Judith Widdicombe, who is an obstetrics nurse and who had an abortion herself. She is a key figure in the underground abortion world in St. Louis. She recruits doctors and she directs women to doctors. Her opinions on abortion are formed from personal experience as well as occupational experience. She was strong in her opinions that a baby and a fetus were different. She had seen hospital beds full of women dying of infection from getting illegal abortions. This led her to her calling.
While Judy was directing women to safer but still illegal abortions, the laws state by state were slowly starting to break down. This created a movement of concerned citizens who were against abortion. These citizens would give presentations using medical and scientific information to support their position that life begins at creation. As to drive their point home, they would show pictures of aborted fetuses. These pictures featured a trash can full of little fetuses and a bloody mass of appendages. What they didn't realize is that people like Judy Widdicombe looked at the same stuff, in real life-not in photographs. She would bring women with gauze and bandages stuffed up their vaginal cavities and let them miscarry in her home. She would then examine the remains of the miscarrage and make sure there wasn't anything left inside the woman.
After Roe vs. Wade, Judy set up a clinic specifically for performing abortions-the first one of its kind in Missouri. She wanted it accessible for all women, and wanted a warm and medical environment that set women at ease-they knew their situation was understood and they knew they were safe. This is where Samuel Lee is introduced. He arrived in St. Louis in 1978 intent on studying theology at Saint Louis University's seminary. As soon as he arrives he becomes involved with the Franciscans. They hosted a meeting of people planning a protest on the steps of an abortion clinic. This was how Sam became drawn into the abortion argument-he was exhilarated by it. Sam researched both sides of the abortion argument, but the more he read the more he became convinced that abortion was never justified-it was putting an end to human life. He left the seminary and became engulfed in the protests and the research-he would protest and be arrested until there was no longer a need to protest abortion.
The abortion argument came to a head in the 80's when Sam and Lou DeFeo wrote a bill that was passed by the Missouri state Senate and the House. It became a Missouri law in 1986. The bill stated that public funds may not be used for abortions and public employees may assist in abortions. The bill also stated that life begins at conception, unborn children have interests that should be protected and the parents of an unborn child have protected interests in the child. But that's only the beginning. The bill says that unborn children at any stage of development should have the same rights of all of other people. This was the first attempt to reverse the ruling of Roe vs. Wade, and it seemed well on its way.
One month before the law took effect, a lawsuit was filed against the bill by Frank Susman. He approached Judy, who had been fighting for almost 30 years for the woman's right to choose, and she was hesitant to join the lawsuit. She was tired of the fight, but she couldn't turn her back on this lawsuit-this one was too dangerous to reproductive health. The judge in that suit came back in 1987 declaring that every provision in the bill was unconstitutional. In 1989, the law suit went to the U.S. Supreme Court for appeal and the justices left Roe vs. Wade alone. The problem with this ruling is the vagueness of the language in the ruling-saying that parts of Roe needed to be more defined, but that it needs to be argued for years to come. When I read the ruling in this book, I really didn't understand exactly what it meant. It almost seemed like the judges had very definite opinions, but they were all different from each other.
After reading this book, I was more affirmed in my own opinions of abortion. It was really interesting to read the other side of the argument. There's no arguing that at life begins at conception-just like a every cell in our body is life, so is a zygote. However, the foundation of my belief in the pro-choice movement lies in the belief that a woman has the right to decide if a fetus should be born. One of the best bumper stickers I've seen about abortion is "Don't like abortion? Don't have one." A woman deserves the choice, that's it-PERIOD.

Written in 1998, and criticized for stopping its retelling of the abortion story in the U.S. several years before that, Articles of Faith is nevertheless still an important book and may be increasingly so if the abortion debate heats up again now that George W. Bush is President. A completely even handed retelling of the history of the abortion debate in the U.S. from the 1960's through the 1990's told through the lives of dedicated partisans of both sides. Yet the author tells this story with sympathy to both sides. Its hard to read this book, your emotions swing from side to side in the debate as Gorney shifts her focus from chapter to chapter from pro choice to pro life. Each side is presented forcefully, but not stridently. Its an excellent book.

Once in a while, there's a rare book that'll smack you in the noggin, grab you by the lapels and scream, "This is how it really is! Now learn something!"

Articles of Faith is one of those books. You'll learn abortion is never nearly so clear cut as "either side" would have you believe; you'll see how each side's arguments, legal status, movements and, later, extremism are developed. But most importantly, you get the honest truth about what it's all really about, or not about. Despite the serious of the issue, I was never even able to get a glimmer of what Gorney's own view is of abortion. It's not simply objective; it never fails to delve into the details of each side, while coming up with an occasional fresh insight.

Captain Vogel has done an excellent job explaining the profound impact that social / political decisions can make on our military's readiness. Constant Bearing-Decreasing Range is an enjoyable story that left me questioning positions that I had held for years. My only thought at the end of the book was "Wow".

Written by 20-year Navy veteran Skip Vogel, Constant Bearing - Decreasing Range: The Collision of Public Policy and National Defense is a novel based on true-life ramifications of President Lyndon Johnson's ill-advised choice to swell the American military's ranks by allowing freshly convicted criminals to join. The result was a souring of the nation's armed forces; the misfits and felons that entered its ranks proved difficult to integrate and sometimes became the nation's worst enemy. Constant Bearing - Decreasing Range also focuses upon the personal story of one high-risk sailor named Sam, as the military strives to shape him into a true soldier without jeopardizing the success of its missions. A captivating, action-packed read with insights about the dangers of lowering military recruitment standards too low that are immediately relevant in today's modern age.

Skip Vogel uses his 20 years of Navy experience to weave an intricate tale of life aboard a major warship in the 1970's.
The aircraft carrier USS UNION is the stage on which Vogel's story plays out. It's the 1970's, and several civilian judiciary systems have taken to allowing convicted criminals to serve in the military instead of serving their time. While this experiment bears fruit with a small percentage of misguided youth, by and large it results in several criminal and psychotic personnel being inducted into the Navy in general and onto the UNION in particular. Against this tide of dishonor stand Admiral Yorel, YN3 Byrd, and some other good sailors, chiefs, and officers who realize that they are in dire straits, and who set out to make it right. Vogel does an excellent job of capturing the leadership challenges involved, and also the frustration of the lead characters as they fight not only a criminal element in the crew, but a bureaucratic Navy that is more concerned with paperwork and political correctness than it is about national defense. Well written and engrossing, this book illustrates the conflict that sometimes ensues between public policy and defending this country. Suggested for Navy veterans, leadership students, and those interested in social justice.

I thought the author did a good job of portraying the life of some people in the Navy, and how enlistment practices affected them and affected the capibilities of the ship.

As a retired naval officer who had a tour on an aircraft carrier I found Skip Vogel's book, Constant Bearing-Decreasing Range an outstanding read. I was caught up in the story in the first few pages and had trouble putting it down until I could finish it. Skip Vogel has a wonderful writing style and is very accurate in his descriptions of life in a carrier during the 1970s. Do doubt this a reflection of personal experience but for anyone who just loves a great story this is a must read.

This wonderful collection of true stories is deeply moving. What an uplifting and encouraging book!

Bought the book last week and we are passing it around the house-everyone wants to read The Day I Met God, we have nearly worn it out! Theis collection of stories will touch your heart and move you as you see God's faithfulness. Get an extra copy for a friend!

We're buying four more copies to give away as gifts, and we'll probably buy more later. It can be enjoyed by everyone, no matter where they are on their spiritual journey. This book was so fun (and easy) to read. My wife and I loved reading the wide range of fascinating testimonials to God's life-changing power! We felt compelled to share these stories with others. Plus, where else can you find a book that is truly invaluable and inspiring for less than 9 bucks!

I couldn't put the book down. I kept reading, story after story, waiting for one to be a "dud." But I was never disappointed. Each story was equally inspiring and filled me with encouragement and hope. There are as many different stories as there are people writing them, all unique, all different.

THE DAY I MET GOD is filled with inspiring and amazing stories of people who had an encounter with God....even the most unlikely of individuals. There's a story for everyone in this book. It will reach anyone and soften the hardest heart! If you have a friend who is need of God's healing power or truth, this is the book for them. These stories will lead them to God! I particularly was moved by the story of the young man was robbing a man who agreed to give him his money, but told the burglar that he needed to give his heart to the Lord. There's is no doubt in mind that this victim must have prayed for the man who robbed him, because he was later led to the Lord. The criminal was really haunted by the man's words until he gave his life to the Lord. I won't spoil the surprise of how he turned his life around! A great evangelical tool, this is a book that Christians can give to their non-Christian friends without fear of offending them. This book''s gentle stories speak loudly of everyone's need for God and also it shows how we are all individuals and how God meets us not just where we are but in such a special way that it validates how well he knows his children.

really a great analysis! I had no clue about EU affairs beforehand, now I understand a bit better what is going on. And, I know that the official media outlets would not have helped me to understand what is going on behind the scenes.

I am not a news junkie but I liked the way Ralph T. Niemeyer presented facts in this book. It was quite entertaining although it was about EU finances, politics, strategies etc, which I usually couldn't care less about. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know a bit more about what is going on in our democracies. The author is right: The Information Age is over, the only question is whether it ever existed?!

It's true what other reviewers said: the analysis is unbeatable! I like the facts-based style of the articles and although I am neither an economist nor educated in political sciences I am able to understand complex issues raised by the author. I felt as if my granddad took my hand and explained the world to me without being teacherous.

This is really the best ever analysis of what is really going on! Everyone who is really interested in the present financial crisis after August 11 and the upcoming war against Iran should read this book as it gives a credible account of the strategies and hidden agendas when China let's the Myanmar military dictators shoot at the monks of Burma. One can learn from this book how the West and China fight proxy wars in Africa (Sudan) and Asia (Burma). Read it and spread the word for democracy for all of us is at stake!

Gorgeous! Well done, Ralph T. Niemeyer! You really made someone like me who normally wouldn't care too much about politics read through the whole book in one go and find tears in my eyes, most of them because of laughter, some because the state our society is in makes me sad, but then again, you tell me about it with a twinkle in the eye.