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  The Picnic - A Dream of Freedom...

  Matthew Longo

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  In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists organized a picnic on the border of Hungary and Austria. But this was not an ordinary picnic—it was located on the dangerous militarized frontier known as the Iron Curtain. Tacit permission from the highest state authorities could be revoked at any moment. On wisps of rumor, thousands of East German "vacationers" packed Hungarian campgrounds, awaiting an opportunity, fearing prison, surveilled by lurking Stasi agents. The Pan-European Picnic set the stage for the greatest border breach in Cold War history: hundreds crossed from the Communist East to the longed-for freedom of the West. 
   
   
   
  Drawing on dozens of original interviews, Matthew Longo tells a gripping and revelatory tale of the unraveling of the Iron Curtain and the birth of a new world order. Just a few months after the Picnic, the Berlin Wall fell, and the freedom for which the activists and refugees had risked imprisonment was suddenly available to everyone. But were they really free? And why, three decades since the Iron Curtain was torn down, have so many sought once again to build walls? 
   
   
   
  Cinematically told, The Picnic recovers a time when it seemed possible for the world to change. With insight and panache, Longo explores the opportunities taken—and the opportunities we failed to take—in that pivotal moment.

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  Walking Through the Fire - My...

  Steve King

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  Just two weeks after winning reelection to his ninth term in Congress, Steve King was stunned to learn the “Swamp” was poised to unleash a treacherous media blitzkrieg designed to kill his Congressional political career on the spot. The words “They believe they can force you to resign” still ring in his ears today. He knew Democrats and the media would pile on. Unfortunately, the threat was from within his party, and it was far more dangerous. The Republican establishment, RINOs, elitists, globalists, and NeverTrumpers needed him out of the way. This is the full story.

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  Litigating the Pandemic -...

  Susan M. Sterett

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  As officials scrambled in 2020 to manage the spread of COVID, the reverberations of the crisis reached well beyond immediate public health concerns. The governance problems that emerged in the pandemic would be problems in other climate-related disasters, too. 
   
   
   
  Many of these governance problems wound up in court. Businesses filed insurance claims for lost commerce; when the claims were denied, some companies sued. As state governments ordered closures and otherwise tried to adapt, interest organizations that had long sought to limit government authority challenged them in court. Political officials railed against litigation they argued would stop businesses from reopening. The United States, like other countries, governs partly through litigation, and litigation is one way of seeing the multiple governance failures during the pandemic. 
   
   
   
  Drawing on databases of cases filed, news reports, and other sources, Susan M. Sterett argues that governing during the pandemic must include the human institutions intertwined with the effects of the virus. Those institutions reveal problems well beyond the reach of technical expertise. Failures in private insurance as a way of governing risk, conflicts about the primacy of religion, government authority, and health, are problems that predated the pandemic and will persist in future disasters.

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  The Art of Advocacy in Singapore

  Margaret Thomas, Constance Singam

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  Advocacy is a tricky pursuit in Singapore. Your motives can be questioned, your activities monitored, and your scope for action limited.  Despite the constraints, civil society activists have persisted, finding ways to pursue their cause and to try to bring about the changes they believe important for Singapore. 
   
   
  In 2013 a small group of civil society stalwarts set out to acknowledge the contributions of these unsung heroes. The Singapore Advocacy Awards was launched, a 3-year project that saw a total of 18 individuals and organisations being honoured. 
   
   
  In this book, 37 activists, many of them winners of the Awards, write about their causes and discuss the strategies shaped and lessons learnt as they practise the delicate art of advocacy in Singapore. Reflecting the nature of civil society, there is a diversity of voices.  Some give a more personal account, while others describe the institutional experience of advocacy work. Some essays are short and sweet, others long and detailed. They appear ordered alphabetically by the cause.

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  A Measure Short of War - A Brief...

  William C. Wohlforth, Jill Kastner

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  In 2016, the United States was stunned by evidence of Russian meddling in the US presidential elections. But it shouldn't have been. Subversion—domestic interference to undermine or manipulate a rival—is as old as statecraft itself. The basic idea would have been familiar to Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Elizabeth I, or Bismarck. 
   
   
   
  It came as a surprise in 2016 because the sole superpower had fallen asleep at the wheel. But what's really new? Have we entered a new age of vulnerability? To answer these questions, and to protect ourselves against future subversion, we need a clear-eyed understanding of what it is and how it works. 
   
   
   
  In A Measure Short of War, Jill Kastner and William C. Wohlforth provide just that, taking the listener on a compelling ride through the history of subversion, exploring two thousand years of mischief and manipulation to illustrate subversion's allure, its operational possibilities, and the means for fighting back against it. With vivid examples from the ancient world, the great-power rivalries of the nineteenth century, epic Cold War struggles, and more, A Measure Short of War shows how prior technological revolutions opened up new avenues for subversion, and how some democracies have been fatally weakened by foreign subverters while others have artfully defended themselves—and their democratic principles.

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  Ancient Greece

  Nicolas Sofos

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  Ancient Greece, widely recognized as the birthplace of western civilization thrived from 800 BCE to 146 BCE. It is renowned for its contributions, to domains, including literature, philosophy, politics, arts and sciences. These contributions have had an impact on societies. 
  The civilization was characterized by a multitude of city states with Athens and Sparta being particularly notable. Athens, considered the cradle of democracy prioritized philosophy, education and cultural pursuits. It gave rise to thinkers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. In contrast Sparta embraced a society that emphasized training and excellence. 
  The Ancient Greeks practiced a religion with a connection to their daily lives. One of their religious and sporting events was the Olympic Games held every four years in honor of Zeus. 
  Greek literature holds status due to works like Homers poems The Iliad and The Odyssey. Playwrights such, as Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes created enduring tragedies and comedies that delved into the complexities of existence. 
  In the realm of science and mathematics the Greeks achieved significant breakthroughs. 
  Prominent individuals such, as Pythagoras, Euclid and Archimedes played roles in advancing the fields of geometry and calculus. Meanwhile philosophers, like Thales and Democritus laid the foundations for reasoning. 
  Turning to politics Ancient Greece primarily relied on city states, each governed by its system. Athens implemented a form of democracy where citizens actively participated in decision making processes while Sparta had an disciplined structure. 
  Ancient Greece's influence can still be seen in various aspects of modern society, including government, philosophy, language, art, and sports. Its legacy continues to resonate in the Western world, making it one of the most impactful civilizations in history.

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