Endless Siege

Endless Siege

Author: KRZYSZTOF. IWANEK

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2022-06-13

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0192865560

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This is an ethnographic study of the Vidya Bharati chain of schools in India which are run by a Hindu nationalist organization called the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The first study of its kind, this volume is an important narrative on the role and impact of textbooks in modern India. Despite having limited resources (they are run on a tight budget) and being based on a radical ideology that derives from a 'Hindu' nationalist agenda, the Vidya Bharati schools have achieved considerable success in the free market of private education and have grown to over 12,000 schools within 40 years. They are an important example of the interlinkage between ideology and nationalism in contemporary India. The author analyses school structure, curriculum, teaching quality, institutional goals, and ideology in an effort to identify reasons behind Vidya Bharati's success and to show through his field research that a combined strategy of pragmatism blended with ideology has allowed the schools to become highly sought-after. This analysis then asks broader questions about the failures of the public education system in India.


Everybody's War

Everybody's War

Author: Jehan Bseiso

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0197514642

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"In February 2012, in its first public position on the unfolding armed conflict in Syria, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) published a series of testimonies gathered from Syrian doctors working in the country. The testimonies described the challenges and horrors facing doctors trying to treat wounded patients and protesters injured by Syrian authorities (MSF 2012). In its report, MSF denounced the use of "medicine as a weapon of persecution" in Syria and called on the government to "re-establish the neutrality of healthcare facilities" (Ibid.) In a press release published a year later, MSF further decried that aid was not being distributed "equally" between government- and opposition-controlled areas and argued that "areas under government control receive nearly all international aid, while opposition-held zones receive only a tiny share." (MSF 2013) In an opinion piece, two MSF staff members criticized humanitarian actors working with the authorization of the Syrian government and called on those aid agencies to recognise "the de-facto partitioning of the state" (Weissman and Rodrigue 2013). Such calls from humanitarian actors, which on other occasions claimed neutrality, played into the polarization of the Syrian conflict. The Syrian government actively controlled aid delivery and distribution from Damascus, with the support of Russia and Iran. Aid from Damascus was distributed by the United Nations, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent society, and a handful of other organizations working in government-controlled areas. Meanwhile, aid was delivered across the borders from neighboring countries by opposition groups, civil society activists, and Western humanitarian actors"--


The Guild Leader's Handbook

The Guild Leader's Handbook

Author: Scott F. Andrews

Publisher: No Starch Press

Published: 2010-04-01

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1593273037

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Who said dragon slaying was easy? Leading a guild in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games like World of Warcraft is more difficult than most players think. Your members look to you to solve problems, plan raids and battles, and lead them to riches and renown. In The Guild Leader's Handbook, you'll learn how to create, build, and maintain a successful guild. Author Scott F. Andrews, a longtime guild leader and guild advice columnist for WoW.com, will show you how to guide your guild to glory. Whether you're trying to confront a monstrous threat, conquer your rivals, or simply reign supreme as the wealthiest traders in the galaxy, The Guild Leader's Handbook offers invaluable guidance to help you achieve your goals. You'll learn how to: –Plan successful raids, player vs. player battles, roleplaying sessions, and contests –Deal with problem players and keep a lid on guild-fracturing drama –Solve loot issues and choose the best loot system for your guild –Boost your guild's morale, reputation, and server presence –Promote and motivate an effective officer corps Whether you're an established guild leader in need of sage advice or a dedicated player seeking to form your own community, The Guild Leader's Handbook is an essential guide to managing a guild successfully in any MMO game.


BetweenBrains

BetweenBrains

Author: Omar Hatamleh

Publisher: Dr. George Tilesch

Published: 2020-05-09

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1734931809

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AI is a present reality: we live at the threshold of an AI-dominated era. AI is more than a Technology wave. In the 21st century and beyond it is the very core source of power that fuels politics, business, and society: our minds, our work, and our homes. AI also rewrites the rules and forces us to lose no time in rethinking fundamental questions of our humanity. Our human brains will soon be required to adapt at hyper speed to a new paradigm of omnipresent machine intelligence. We all have to deal with both its opportunities and threats in a conscious manner. Presently AI obscurity, hypotheticals, hype, and hysteria are aggravating problems of increasingly polarized and disconnected societies. However, whose image AI development will take and how the AI Age will be shaped is still in the hands of informed and clear-sighted citizens and leaders. The authors undertook the task of making sense of AI, especially its impact on the present and the near future for responsible readers worldwide.


The Flock of One: The Kingdom of the Mountain and the Hills

The Flock of One: The Kingdom of the Mountain and the Hills

Author: Vasile Dorinel Mirel

Publisher: Vasile Dorinel Mirel

Published: 2021-03-10

Total Pages: 83

ISBN-13:

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A story of men from a far-away land who flee in search of greener pastures and sweeter wine. Along their arduous journey across pastures and hills, they find themselves under attack from the dwarven inhabitants of the realm they have reached. In what could have been their darkest hour, they find an unlikely ally to come to their rescue. Should this stranger be trusted? Or will he end up leading them to their death?


A Mortal Mistake

A Mortal Mistake

Author: Vince Seim

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2013-08

Total Pages: 545

ISBN-13: 1475970668

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The Fist of Metzor was once a beloved war hero, but even the legendary are susceptible to the power of a single mistake. And with the blood of ten thousand Metzonian deaths upon his hands, he was cast out by his father to walk amongst the swirling sands of the Desert of Lost Souls. After five years, and with a promise to his dying mother, his brother marches into the desert to find and bring the Fist back from exile. Yet no one knows that a darkness returns within the Fist's heart, one that intends to change the world. Cast out from the High Heavens, the fallen angels of the Order have cast the beacon of Light over Humanity for centuries. Under the wisdom of the Fallen Five, the former servants of Heaven have carried their mortal worshippers along Heaven's path of peace and prosperous enlightenment. But the Fallen have dark secrets and deadly enemies whom lay forgotten in the shadows. As one mistake leads to another, a young man and his sister will scramble with what remains of the followers of the Light as they attempt to correct the terrible mistakes of those around them before it is too late.


An American Dream

An American Dream

Author: Ray Banister

Publisher: Page Publishing Inc

Published: 2020-01-29

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1684565693

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Beginning quite mysteriously in September 1845, healthy green leaves on potato plants suddenly turned black, curled; and then rotted. Then like an uncontrollable wildfire in a wind-swept forest, winds from southern England carried that mysterious blight to leaves of healthy potato plants around the Dublin countryside. As fungal spores they multiplied, cool breezes quickly spread that same unchecked blight to surrounding plants throughout all the potato fields of Ireland. This blight quickly became an imperiling devastation; casting Ireland into a horrifying tribulation. One-third of Ireland's population had become solely dependent on the potato to sustain their livelihood...the Irish potato famine would reduce the already desolate Irish people to penniless dehumanized paupers and homeless outcast...the infamous Irish potato famine had begun. Caught-up in the famine's inescapable grasp was the Andrew and Mattie O'Malley family, innocent Catholic potato farmers with three children: two teen-age sons and a six-year old daughter named Rose. Their survival and existence now at the mercy of English and Anglo-Irish land owners that were loyal members of The Anglican Church of England The British Government defended the vindictive landowners by failing to initiate any reactionary measures to relieve the devastating problems of the Irish people. The effects of not taking measures to address or reconcile those issues, created a host of political, social and economic factors that forever etched irreconcilable resentment and distrust on the English and Irish demographic landscape. But, far worse, was the direct devastation subjected on the helpless Irish people. Over the next six years, more than a million Irish men, women and children would die from mass starvation or from infectious diseases resulting from that mysterious blight and the lack of government intervention. Another million would flee Ireland on questionable sea-worthy disease infested sailing ships dubbed "famine ships" or "coffin ships" to America. This is a story of unrivaled courage shown by an eight-year old Irish girl; orphaned by the infamous Irish potato famine in the 1840's. She came to America alone on a disease infested famine ship during the time of legalized slavery and uncontested bigotry and dedicated her life's work to eradicate both.


Media, Spiritualities and Social Change

Media, Spiritualities and Social Change

Author: Stewart M. Hoover

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2010-11-11

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1441189130

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This book maps emergent global practices and discourses of mediated, spiritualized social change. Bringing together scholarly perspectives from around the world and across disciplines, the authors explore how 'spiritualities' express themselves through and with media - from television to Internet, from fashion to art murals - as socially transforming voices and practices. The very fluidity of the meaning of spirituality is part of its appeal: it can service as easily as a reference to a perceived common essence of humanness as it can work to legitimate market-based practices. While the involvement of spiritual life with social transformation is certainly not peculiar to contemporary societies, what has changed is the upsurge of media in these matters. In the specific case of religion, globalization has unleashed a cascade of unexpected and unpredictable implications, many of which are consequences of the media. The authors here show ways in which media and spiritualities are engaged around the world in efforts to restructure paradigms, institutions, beliefs and practices to affect social change.


Godslayer

Godslayer

Author: Jacqueline Carey

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2006-06-27

Total Pages: 428

ISBN-13: 1429910968

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Supreme Commander Lord Tanaros was once human. But he chose darkness and immortality when his wife betrayed him with his king. He killed them both, and fled the realms of Men and now cares nothing for their fates. A thousand years passed. His only allegiance is to his master, the dark god Satoris, who gave the gift of Life to the race of Men. Satoris, who rebelled against his elder brother God Haomane who had demanded that gift be taken away. Their fight cracked the very world in two; the name of Satoris became the word for evil throughout all the races, while the legend of Tanaros is the seminal tale of treachery. And yet not all tales told are true. A final prophecy has begun to unfold, and the races are uniting in their quest to rid the world of Satoris. The elder gods and goddesses, stranded on the other side of the world, send dreams to spur all to destroy Satoris and Tanaros, but those loyal to their god know a different side of the story and try to defend their citadel of Darkhaven, where Satoris sits in sorrow, controlling his own dominion, seeking neither victory nor vengeance. Satoris's followers capture the beautiful Elvish princess Cerelinde, and without her the Allies cannot fulfill the prophecy. All who support Satoris clamor for her death-but Satoris refuses to act like the monster that he is made out to be, for he recognizes in Cerelinde a spark of the love that he once bore for his fellow gods. She is a great danger to Satoris--and a greater danger for Tanaros and all that he holds dear. For she reminds him that not all women need be false... and that though he may be immune to death, his heart is still very much mortal. Strong storytelling with evocative, compelling, and unforgettable characters, Godslayer is the thrilling conclusion to the events begun in Banewreaker, a haunting tale of love and loss that ultimately asks the question: If all that is considered good considers you evil, are you? At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.