Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Asia's Cauldron - The South...

  Robert D. Kaplan

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  Over the last decade, the center of world power has been quietly shifting from Europe to Asia. With oil reserves of several billion barrels, an estimated nine hundred trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and several centuries' worth of competing territorial claims, the South China Sea in particular is a simmering pot of potential conflict. The underreported military buildup in the area where the Western Pacific meets the Indian Ocean means that it will likely be a hinge point for global war and peace for the foreseeable future. In Asia's Cauldron, Robert D. Kaplan offers up a vivid snapshot of the nations surrounding the South China Sea, the conflicts brewing in the region at the dawn of the twenty-first century, and their implications for global peace and stability. One of the world's most perceptive foreign policy experts, Kaplan interprets America's interests in Asia in the context of an increasingly assertive China. He explains how the region's unique geography fosters the growth of navies but also impedes aggression. And he draws a striking parallel between China's quest for hegemony in the South China Sea and the United States' imperial adventure in the Caribbean more than a century ago. To understand the future of conflict in East Asia, Kaplan argues, one must understand the goals and motivations of its leaders and its people. Part travelogue, part geopolitical primer, Asia's Cauldron takes us on a journey through the region's boom cities and ramshackle slums: from Vietnam, where the superfueled capitalism of the erstwhile colonial capital, Saigon, inspires the geostrategic pretensions of the official seat of government in Hanoi, to Malaysia, where a unique mix of authoritarian Islam and Western-style consumerism creates quite possibly the ultimate postmodern society; and from Singapore, whose "benevolent autocracy" helped foster an economic miracle, to the Philippines, where a different brand of authoritarianism under Ferdinand Marcos led not to economic growth but to decades of corruption and crime. 
   At a time when every day's news seems to contain some new story—large or small—that directly relates to conflicts over the South China Sea, Asia's Cauldron is an indispensable guide to a corner of the globe that will affect all of our lives for years to come.

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  The Hijacked War - The Story of...

  David Cheng Chang

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  A study of the experiences of Chinese prisoners of war during the Korean War and the struggle over their repatriation. 
   
  The Korean War lasted for three years, one month, and two days, but armistice talks occupied more than two of those years, as more than 14,000 Chinese prisoners of war refused to return to Communist China and demanded to go to Nationalist Taiwan, effectively hijacking the negotiations and thwarting the designs of world leaders at a pivotal moment in Cold War history. In The Hijacked War, David Cheng Chang vividly portrays the experiences of Chinese prisoners in the dark, cold, and damp tents of Koje and Cheju Islands in Korea and how their decisions derailed the high politics being conducted in the corridors of power in Washington, Moscow, and Beijing. 
   
  Chang demonstrates how the Truman-Acheson administration’s policies of voluntary repatriation and prisoner reindoctrination for psychological warfare purposes—the first overt and the second covert—had unintended consequences. The “success” of the reindoctrination program backfired when anti-Communist Chinese prisoners persuaded and coerced fellow POWs to renounce their homeland. Drawing on newly declassified archival materials from China, Taiwan, and the United States, and interviews with more than 80 surviving Chinese and North Korean prisoners of war, Chang depicts the struggle over prisoner repatriation that dominated the second half of the Korean War, from early 1952 to July 1953, in the prisoners’ own words. 
   
  Praise for The Hijacked War 
   
  “This book represents a giant step forward in our understanding of the prisoner-of-war issue in the Korean War. The research on the Chinese prisoners is extraordinary, the stories of individuals compelling, and the analysis of the context in which they made choices balanced and persuasive.” —William Stueck, author of The Korean War: An International History 
   
  “David Cheng Chang’s superlative research reveals the use of Chinese POWs as pawns in the larger Cold War standoff between the US and China during the Korean War. His cogent analysis encourages us to think about the aftermath of the war and the lives of those who made the ‘voluntary choice’ to join or who faced ‘forced conformity.’” —Barak Kushner, author of Men to Devils, Devils to Men: Japanese War Crimes and Chinese Justice 
   
  “Chang’s exceptionally vivid prisoner’s-eye account, based on camp archives and interviews with ex-POWS, leads him to condemn the key U.S. policymakers, including President Harry Truman and Secretary of State Dean Acheson, for their “arrogance, ignorance, and negligence.” —Foreign Affairs

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  Das Netz - English Edition -...

  Philipp Otto

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  Digitalization is changing our world – and we are in the middle of it. The digital magazine "Das Netz" (German for "the net") gathers writers, activists, scientists, politicians and entrepreneurs to think about the developments of our digital life. More than 50 contributions reflect on the digital transformation of society. 
  Topics include the internet of things, artificial intelligence, ethics of algorithms and responsibility as well as social media and election campaigns plus digitalization in China and the USA.
  A must-read for everyone interested in digitalization!

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  The Sane Citizens Political...

  Alexander Oakes, Zachariah Oakes

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  When it comes to politics our country is more divided than ever. Even worse, in today's day and age this division has transcended politics and now determines where you are allowed to live, who you can be friends with, and even what beer you can drink. Well, if you are like me then this status quo of "us vs them" politics is far from ideal. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is a legitimate travesty that would have the founders rolling in their graves. I say this because what makes this country so special, in my view, is that our country, the United States of America, is built upon a Constitution that enshrines We the People's power over the nation-state. 
  In other words, the American people are not subjects, we are citizens, and as citizens it is our inherent right, nay, our responsibility to collectively decide how the levers of US political power are pulled because, at the end of the day, the government answers to us, not the other way around. But we can't effectively do this when we are busy dividing ourselves into teams and fighting each other, can we? 
  In essence, that is the problem that this work seeks to remedy. This is to say that The Sane Citizens Political Handbook takes some of the most divisive political issues of our time and breaks them down in a non-partisan way so that you, the sane citizen who is fed up with the current Republican/Democrat duopoly, can have a reasonable position on those issues that is grounded in logic, science, and the US Constitution, not one of the two major political parties. 
  With that said, if you, like me, are tired of party lines and political tribalism then put on your thinking cap, crack open this book and break free from the red and/or blue chains that have been systematically enslaving you.

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  Room at the Table - A Leader's...

  Renée Branch Canady

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  What Was Your First Memory of Race?This opening question is the heart and soul of “Room at the Table.” The word equity is thrown around in multiple media outlets, corporations, and non-profits. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion… Many shy away from these terms, convinced that they already understand. In truth, these concepts are a mystery to most. It’s more important than ever to grasp the vital, far-reaching aim of the equity lens. What does this work look like? What does it sound like? What actions must equity leaders take to turn the future of leadership into a reality?With public health injustices on the rise, grounded equity leadership can forge the path to a more healthy, understanding, and effective outlook for all of our futures. In her groundbreaking work, Dr. Renee Branch Canady, CEO of the Michigan Public Health Institute, shares through research and candid stories what it’s like to be on the front lines as an equity public health leader. In a culture centered on optics, Dr. Canady brings to light the true act of doing for the sake of change.Points of focus include:• The innovative concept of “Leadering” • Using our outrage to enact change • Seeing, saying, and doing differently • Acting courageously in the face of institutional racism • Leading with authenticity • Harboring the conviction to move equity work forward, one step at a timeIn Dr. Canady’s words, “Health equity leadership is a new leadership in this space that’s predicated by what’s happening at this moment. It hasn’t happened before. Focusing on others, a willingness to be courageous, and a willingness to do something that hasn’t been done before is a grey space in health equity leadership.”“Room at the Table” addresses this grey space with unflinching honestly and hope.

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  War Dogs - The True Story of How...

  Guy Lawson

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  Soon to be a major motion picture from the director of The Hangover starring Jonah Hill, the page-turning, behind-closed-doors account of how three kids from Florida became big-time weapons traders for the government and how the Pentagon later turned on them.In January of 2007, three young stoners from Miami Beach were put in charge of a $300 million Department of Defense contract to supply ammunition to the Afghanistan military. Instead of fulfilling the order with high-quality arms, Efraim Diveroli, David Packouz, and Alex Podrizki (the dudes) bought cheap Communist-style surplus ammunition from Balkan gunrunners. The trio then secretly repackaged millions of rounds of shoddy Chinese ammunition and shipped it to Kabul—until they were caught by Pentagon investigators and the scandal turned up on the front page of TheNew York Times.That’s the “official” story. The truth is far more explosive. For the first time, journalist Guy Lawson tells the thrilling true tale. It’s a trip that goes from a dive apartment in Miami Beach to mountain caves in Albania, the corridors of power in Washington, and the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan. Lawson’s account includes a shady Swiss gunrunner, Russian arms dealers, Albanian thugs, and a Pentagon investigation that caused ammunition shortages for the Afghanistan military. Lawson exposes the mysterious and murky world of global arms dealing, showing how the American military came to use private contractors like Diveroli, Packouz, and Podrizki as middlemen to secure weapons from illegal arms dealers—the same men who sell guns to dictators, warlords, and drug traffickers.This is a story you were never meant to read.

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