Gas makes or breaks economies, as shown by the effects of the 2009 Ukraine/Russia gas supply crisis. Joshua Posaner looks at four case study countries in Central and Eastern Europe. He examines the interdependence between the domestic political structure of a gas import-dependent country and the price it paid for imports up to 2014, using the level of reliance on the dominant supplier as an indicator. The more dependent a country is on a single supplier, the more it pays for its supplies. The author aims to explain why capitals prioritize energy security and balance their import portfolios differently, while taking a new angle on the European gas system. He offers a timely investigation into an oft-reported subject, with Russia’s perceived “energy weapon” and themes of “energy dependence” weighing heavily on European political discourse.
In September 1996, fifty-three year old heroin addict Billy Ochoa was sentenced to 326 years in prison. His crime: committing $2100 worth of welfare fraud. Ochoa was sent to New Folsom supermax prison, joining thousands of other men who will spend the rest of their lives in California's teeming correctional facilities as a result of that state's tough Three Strikes law. His incarceration will cost over $20,000 a year until he dies. Hard Time Blues weaves together the story of the growth of the American prison system over the past quarter century primarily through the story of Ochoa, a career criminal who grew up in the barrios of post-World War II L.A. Ochoa, who had a long history of non-violent crimes committed to fund his drug habit, who cycled in and out of prison since the late 1960's, is a perfect example of how perennial misfits, rather than blood-soaked violent criminals, make up the majority of America's prisoners. This is also the story of the burgeoning careers of politicians such as former California Governor Pete Wilson, who rose to power on the "crime issue." Wilson, whose grandfather was a cop murdered by drug-runners in early twentieth century Chicago, scored a stunning come-from-behind re-election victory in 1994. In so doing, he came to epitomize the 1990s tough-on-crime politician. Award-winning journalist Sasha Abramsky uses immersion reportage to bring alive the political forces that have led America's prison and jail population to increase more than four fold in the past twenty years. Through the stories of Ochoa, Wilson, and others, he explores in devastating detail how the public has been manipulated into supporting mass incarceration during a period when crime rates have been steadily falling. Hard Time Blues deftly explores the War on Drugs, the Rockefeller Laws, the growth of the SuperMax Prisons, the climate of fear that led to laws such as Truth-in-Sentencing, and how the stunning repercussions of imprisoning two million citizens affect all of America. In the tradition of J. Anthony Lukas's Common Ground and Melissa Fay Greene's The Temple Bombing, Abramsky explores this new and dangerous fault-line in American society in a dramatic and compelling manner. From the opening courtroom scene through the final images behind the electrified fences of the nation's toughest, meanest prisons, Abramsky paints a grimly intimate portrait of the players and personalities behind this societal earthquake. Hard Time Blues combines a sense of history with a powerful narrative, to tell a story about issues and people that leads us to understand how The Land of the Free has become the world's largest prison nation.
Ward's Anaesthetic Equipment familiarizes the anesthetic trainee very thoroughly with anesthesia and intensive care equipment and it remains the recommended text for Parts II, III and the final FRCA and FFARCSI exams. The newest edition has been completely updated and revised to ensure the close integration of the physical principles and clinical applications of equipment throughout the text. It is the only comprehensive equipment textbook based on UK equipment and practice. This is a comprehensive and highly practical one-stop source of information on the latest anesthetic and intensive care equipment currently in use. Key points and key references are included in every chapter and the text has been rewritten to be very clear and concise. Provides the trainee with a very accessible source of information to aid in the understanding of the basic and more advanced key principles behind equipment and design. Extensively and painstakingly cross-referenced by an experienced author that ensures easy access to consistent, related information. Ward's has been expanded to include intensive care and advanced monitoring equipment in greater detail as well as an expansion of the growing practice of TIVA (total intravenous anesthesia) written with the new syllabus of the FRCA and FFARCSI (Fellowship of the Royal College of Anesthetists and Fellowship of the Irish College of Anesthetists) in mind. Four color photographs throughout Manufacturer's diagrams and schematics simplified and carefully explained to the reader. With 10 additional contributors.
