Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  A History of Ireland in 100...

  Jonathan Bardon, Fergal Tobin

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  This authoritative and comprehensive history of Ireland covers the entire history of the island from the Ice Age to the peace process in 100 short episodes. In this thoughtful analysis of Irish society, Bardon integrates the significant cultural and literary history of Ireland with its political and social past.
  Based on the hugely popular BBC radio series A Short History of Ireland, each episode stands alone, providing a snippet of Irish history in five minutes' reading. In turn, to read each episode in sequence from beginning to end provides a magisterial history of Europe's most western land.

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  Socialized Medicine

  Ronald Reagan

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  In 1961 Reagan spoke out against socialized medicine. Since 1965 when Medicare and Medicaid were enacted, the federal government controls payment for most U.S. healthcare: hospitals, drugs, doctors, nurses, and so on. Has this been a blessing or a curse? 
  Milton Friedman, the small, talkative, smiling genius, perhaps the best economist ever, argued that governments should give the deserving needy money to buy education, housing, and healthcare, but should never give goods or services such as govenment schools, government housing, or medical services. 
  Would this small change make a big difference? Prior to 1965, U.S. health insurance was medically underwritten. When a person applied for insurance, they were weighed and tested to see how healthy they were. If they were unhealthy, premiums were high, and coverage limited. 
  The result was that people had powerful financial incentives to adopt a healthy diet and lifestyle. Under Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare, medical underwriting is illegal and the financial incentive for a healthy diet is eliminated. Epidemics of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and chronic disease since 1965 are the result. And the cost of medical services without market competition has exploded. 
  If the elderly and needy were paid in cash rather than medical services, and purchased medical services in competitive, risk-based markets, people would have strong incentive to adopt fiber-based diets of vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, and avoid animal foods and low-fiber processed foods that promote chronic disease. 
  The left blames the food industry for our poor diet, but the federal government’s control of medical services and abolition of medical underwriting are the true causes of the obesity and diabetes crisis that afflicts America, and the reason healthcare is so amazingly expensive. Competitive markets would benefit the elderly, the needy, and the country. 
  AspenLeafMedia.com

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  Battle of Flodden The: The...

  Editors Charles River

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  The relationship between Scotland and England has always been rocky. For most of their history they have been at loggerheads and frequently at war, and, even after the Act of Union of 1707 which united the two nations, there were at least four Scottish uprisings. Today, the Scottish threat to separate from the post-Brexit UK is well-known. England has historically viewed the northern nation as a threat, and Scotland for its part has feared, with justification, its richer and more powerful neighbor.  
  	Famous encounters between the two countries include Falkirk (1298), Bannockburn (1314), Solway Moss (1542), Prestonpans (1745) and Culloden (1746), but the Battle of Flodden, or Flodden Field, fought on September 9, 1513, was the largest and perhaps most spectacular of the clashes between the ancient enemies. It involved the deployment of 56,000 men and vies with the 1461 Battle of Towton during the Wars of the Roses as the largest battle ever fought on British soil. The English had never entirely conquered Scotland, and since Bannockburn they had been unable to claim any degree of control, but it was not until 1328 that they finally acknowledged Scotland's independence. 
  On top of that, the nature of political marriages in England, and Europe in general, tied nations together even as they remained enemies. Indeed, throughout the 16th century, Scottish rulers would be eyed with suspicion by English royals who were fully aware that no shortage of Englishmen considered the Scottish royals the true heirs to England’s throne. Flodden Field would be one of the biggest battles in English and Scottish history, yet the two countries would still be at war a generation later. 

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  The Constitution of Liberty -...

  F.A. A. Hayek

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  “One of the great political works of our time . . . The twentieth-century successor to John Stuart Mill’s essay ‘On Liberty.’” —NewsweekConservatives and concerned citizens alike have grown increasingly fearful of big government. Enter Nobel Prize–winning economist and political theorist F. A. Hayek, whose passionate warning against empowering states with greater economic control, The Road to Serfdom, became an overnight sensation.The latest entry in the University of Chicago Press’s series of newly edited editions of Hayek’s works, The Constitution of Liberty is, like Serfdom, just as relevant to our present moment. The book is considered Hayek’s classic statement on the ideals of freedom and liberty, ideals that he believes have guided—and must continue to guide—the growth of Western civilization. Here Hayek defends the principles of a free society, casting a skeptical eye on the growth of the welfare state and examining the challenges to freedom posed by an ever expanding government—as well as its corrosive effect on the creation, preservation, and utilization of knowledge. In opposition to those who call for the state to play a greater role in society, Hayek puts forward a nuanced argument for prudence. Guided by this quality, he elegantly demonstrates that a free market system in a democratic polity—under the rule of law and with strong constitutional protections of individual rights—represents the best chance for the continuing existence of liberty.Striking a balance between skepticism and hope, Hayek’s profound insights are timelier and more welcome than ever before. This definitive edition of The Constitution of Liberty will give a new generation the opportunity to learn from his enduring wisdom.

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  A Burst of Light - and Other Essays

  Audre Lorde

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  "Lorde's words — on race, cancer, intersectionality, parenthood, injustice — burn with relevance 25 years after her death." — O, The Oprah Magazine Winner of the 1988 Before Columbus Foundation National Book Award, this path-breaking collection of essays is a clarion call to build communities that nurture our spirit. Lorde announces the need for a radical politics of intersectionality while struggling to maintain her own faith as she wages a battle against liver cancer. From reflections on her struggle with the disease to thoughts on lesbian sexuality and African-American identity in a straight white man's world, Lorde's voice remains enduringly relevant in today's political landscape. Those who practice and encourage social justice activism frequently quote her exhortation, "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare." In addition to the journal entries of "A Burst of Light: Living with Cancer," this edition includes an interview, "Sadomasochism: Not About Condemnation," and three essays, "I Am Your Sister: Black Women Organizing Across Sexualities," "Apartheid U.S.A.," and "Turning the Beat Around: Lesbian Parenting 1986," as well as a new Foreword by Sonia Sanchez. "You don't read Audre Lorde, you feel her." — Essence "Lorde's timeless prose in this collection provides contemporary social justice warriors the language, strategies, and lessons around resistance, through the power of intersectionality, a Pan-African vision, and — ultimately — through the power of love and radical self-care." — NBC News "When I don't know what to do, I turn to the Lorde." — Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Bitch Media "Whenever my mind is heavy with questions and my heart thirsts for nourishment, I turn to the writing of Audre Lorde. Every time I revisit the words of Audre Lorde, I marvel over how relevant they continue to be." — AfterEllen.com "The self-described black feminist lesbian mother poet used a mixture of prose, theory, poetry, and experience to interrogate oppressions and uplift marginalized communities. She was one of the first black feminists to target heteronormativity, and to encourage black feminists to expand their understanding of erotic pleasure. She amplified anti-oppression, even as breast cancer ravaged her ailing body." — Evette Dionne, Bustle Magazine

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  Mishkât Al-Anwar (The Niche For...

  Al- Ghazzali, WHT Gairdner

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  The classic work of Sufi mystical thinking from 1100CE, available in audiobook for the first time. It is also known as A Niche of Lamps. In the middle ages, Sufi scholars reconciled rationality and faith, both of which were ascendant in the empires of the time. This is one of the great philosophical and theological works from that period, and shows another side to Islam than the doctrinaire version that is more commonly spoken of. Al-Ghazali is often called "the proof of Islam" (hujjat al-islam), because he tried to bridge inquiry, legislation and mystical practice. One could call al-Ghazali the prototype Muslim intellectual.This translation was done in 1823 by WHT Gairdner, who also includes a commentary upon the ideas that Al-Ghazzali presents.The Niche of Lights, written near the end of his life, is about the need for balance between the authority of the divine and reason, seeing both as essential to real spiritual development.

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