Kashmir has been in geopolitical limbo since the partition of the British Raj in 1947. A region of stunning natural beauty and diverse ethnicities and cultures, its people have experienced violence, state oppression, and terrorism for generations. This book provides an introduction to the region, and its people, and reveals the everyday realities and experiences of conflict from personal accounts. It explores the reasons for the tensions within Kashmir itself as well as the wider implications of those tensions. The international relations between Indian, Pakistan and China, are crucial to understanding the conflict, as are the relationships between those nations and the wider world. This book highlights the many reasons that peace in the region needs to be a priority for global leaders, and the serious implications for world peace if that does not happen.
Paul Diggens has had extensive experience in many of life's roles - as a pirate radio operator, a clerk in the Telephone Manager's Office, a journalist and press officer with the Post Office and for many years Head of PR & Media. In the early years working as a clerk he was told that the Post Office were looking for young men with new ideas to promote what was an old-fashioned civil service organization that was stuck in the past. This gave Paul the opportunity of a life-time and Diary of a Publicity Guru is a richly illustrated book full of originality and startling surprises. Confessing to originalities, bringing initiatives into the Post Office with the brain of 'Walt Disney' this book outlines the brilliance of public relations, marketing, and media over four decades. He was told in no uncertain terms that rules were made for the guidance of wise men and for the obedience of fools! Most certainly this is apparent in his diary, but his role included being a 'brand guardian' i.e. defending the Post Office at all times and under all circumstances.
The happy family memories of a young German girl in pre-War Czechoslovakia, and the daunting story of her flight, and that of her relatives, to the West after the end of the World conflict.
A fantasy story about the journey of a young girl and her companion dogs into a nightmare world of fearsome creatures yet which nonetheless provide sanctuary of choice and for some unable to cope in the human world.
The story of one man's dark descent and golden recovery after an unanticipated change of circumstances; an insight into how he recalibrated his thinking during a journey - emotional and geographical - in which he learned much about mental health and the human condition.
When Alfie Blackdale is brought home from boarding school by his father, he expects to lead the normal life for a teenager. How wrong he is! Soon, he is dragged onto the Golden locomotives' most important Express train of the year, hauled by one of his family's most prized railway engines. The day goes off without a hitch until unexpectedly the engine is derailed and almost reduced to scrap, so risking the family "empire" for good. Along with new-found friends, and a sense of adventure that he never knew he had, Alfie sets out to save his father's engine, but most importantly, to find himself as well.
This is a novel that explores in depth a third alternative to Creationismor Darwinian Evolutionin explaining the origin of the human race on planet earth. The hero, John Willoughby, an anthropologist, is the author of a book entitled, The Human Enigma, in which he argues that no theory for human origin is sacrosanct, unassailable or written in stone, and that every person is free to choose any theory best suited to their temperament. John knew that his colleagues were well aware that Richard Leaky had admitted, on behalf of his profession, that "the important issue of human origins remain unresolved, the fossil record is scrappy and incomplete, and all we possess is a meagre fragmented array of single teeth and bones and portions of skulls," and, "that the study of human DNA and blood groups shows no connection with the ancient apes." This opens the opportunity for John Willoughby to develop his own theory linking human origins with external sources from outside planet earth. In conjunction with his friend, David Villiers, a TV producer and barrister, a television programme is presented in which the conflicting or possibly complementary theories, are aired to millions of viewers. The novel then records the unexpected public response, before drawing to a hopeful and happy conclusion.
A critique of abstract modern art from a constructive common sense perspective.
The takeover of democracy by the financial institutions and the imposition of debt through the collapse of home-based productivity, and what we should do about it.
Harry and Tom Eeles both served in the Royal Air Force as pilots over the time span of 1929 to 2010, eighty years of the Royal Air Force's one hundred year's existence. Joining the adolescent Royal Air Force from an unlikely background, Harry Eeles had a varied and interesting career as a fighter pilot, aide-de-camp, weapons instructor, Battle of Britain fighter squadron commander, numerous high profile staff and command appointments including two years working for Chief of Air Staff and four years as Commandant of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.Tom Eeles followed his father into the Royal Air Force and had a wide range of operational and instructional flying tours, including embarked time on an aircraft carrier with the Fleet Air Arm, a tour as the Royal Air Force's chief examiner of instructional flying and command of a large flying training base.Royal Air Force pilots are required to record all their flying in a logbook. During his research the author, whilst looking through his father's flying logbooks, was struck by some of the entries, which seemed to have an interesting story behind them. He has chosen a selection of flights from both his father's and his own flying logbooks and has elaborated on what was originally a simple one-line entry, recording just the date, type of aircraft and duty undertaken, into a full description of the personal and technical issues associated with each individual flight. Marshal Sir Ian Macfadyen, who joined the Royal Air Force at the same time as the author at Cranwell in 1960, has written the foreword. His father was Harry Eeles's first flying instructor at Cranwell in 1929, thus neatly completing the link between the past and the present. Flying in Father's Slipstream is a book of great historical, technical and human interest.
The true story of a public execution in Saudi Arabia interspaced with a businessman's observations on the culture of Arab and Islamic life throughout the Gulf region, and its impact on the ex-pat population and peoples further afield.
An analysis of the worldwide problem of Islamic culture and religiosity and its incompatibility with the demands of modernity, and how a secular Islam may be created for a harmonioys future for all humanity.
The Curse of the Great Train Robbery tells the thrilling story of the robbery and reveals the series of subsequent events which will leave readers to ponder whether this was a crime which was both cursed and doomed to fail from the very outset.
A comprehensive illustrated guide to understanding the history, structure, and purpose of England's cathedrals.
A story of the author's childhood and that of her family leading up to and following the Soviet invasion of Eastern Poland in September 1939, a political move made in conjunction with the simultaneous Nazi invasion of the country from the West.
An account of one of the most notorious Soviet spy episodes during the Cold War period of the mid-1960s that took place in Scandinavia.
Is western civilisation based on a mistaken understanding of humanity? Fundamental to any society is its comprehension of human nature. It shapes attitudes and policies on a whole range of issues: interpersonal relations, child-rearing, discipline and punishment, economics and welfare. For millennia western societies were based on the idea that human nature is flawed. This was turned upside down 300 years ago during the Enlightenment by writers such as Rousseau, who argued that we are born good and later warped by parents and society; a liberal view of human nature which is now being challenged by scientific discoveries in the fields of the mind, the brain, and genetics (including the Human Genome), evolutionary psychology, and anthropology.This fundamental change has had profound effects. If we are essentially good then we can safely maximize freedom and abandon morality, religion and tradition. Many aspects of life have been liberalised - sexual behaviour, alcohol consumption, censorship, gambling, divorce laws and economic activity. Economic liberals thought free markets were rational and good and favoured minimal government interference and light-touch regulations. This led to the credit crunch and the greatest financial crisis since World War Two.Many parents now hesitate to discipline their own children. The belief that we are essentially good but corrupted by society has also influenced penal policy. Liberals see criminals as victims, not as wrongdoers; because surely no-one would choose to do something wrong. This is a world far removed from the self-sacrifice and fraternity shown during World War Two. It has not brought happiness but rather more alienated individuals. The outcome of egalitarian aims or methods has often missed its mark: e.g., in education it has led to the dumbing down of academic standards, grade inflation and a decline in social mobility. Egalitarian regimes from the French Revolution to the Soviet era have been amongst the most bigoted, brutal and bloody in history. The drive for greater social justice and fairness must remain an essential objective. There is, therefore, an urgent need to separate out the positive from the negative aspects of liberal thought and practice, as otherwise there is the risk of descent into moral anarchy and social disintegration.
This illuminating broad-based political and cultural study presents the definitive account of the campaign to abolish capital punishment in the period 1955-69. It comprises a work of contemporary history exploring the theme from a number of angles, both pro and contra, which have not been covered so extensively before.From the sphere of governmental and parliamentary politics, to the relevant pressure groups, to the role of the mass media, to the significance of the different churches, and the influence of professional bodies, such as those representing the police and prison officers, the book skilfully identifies their interaction with one another. It examines the effect on the campaign of fluctuations in public opinion, and of controversial murder cases such as those of Timothy Evans, Derek Bentley, Ruth Ellis and James Hanratty, which in turn often informed the state of public opinionThe work sets the campaign in the context of the social and cultural ferment of the era (the advent of the permissive society), and contrasts the fortunes of the movement with those of other "e;conscience issues,"e; such as the legalisation of abortion, homosexual law reform, divorce liberalisation and the abolition of theatre censorship. It seeks to account for the success of the campaign within a relatively short time span in the face of intense public antipathy and a concerted effort by various elements of the establishment to thwart its fulfilment.It asks why the campaign succeeded when so many others facing lesser institutional obstacles failed, and it asks why it succeeded when it did and in the way it did, and considers whether the success of the campaign can be accounted for by the Zeitgeist. On one level it is a study of the politics of social reform, but at a deeper level it is a study of the way in which social trends feed through into political action at the parliamentary level, and illustrates the process of policy formation in the area of private members legislation and free votes where "e;party"e; has voluntarily taken a back seat.
The story of a young Australian adventurer, Edward Presgrave, who enlisted in an irregular unit in the Boer War and stayed on in the Northern part of the Cape Colony to fight alongside Jakob Morengo and the Nama peoples in their epic guerrilla war against the Germans in German Southwest Africa, or present day Namibia. It records the adventure, sacrifice, deception and betrayal touching on major themes dominating the history of Southern Africa in the early years of the 20th century.The book vividly describes the Herero and Nama rebellions against the Germans in the years 1903-1907, and the shattering aftermath of concentration, death and work camps and the German policy of genocide. It also details the full cost of the war in human terms to both the Herero and Nama peoples as well as to the German occupiers.Little was known about Edward Presgrave until the present author engaged in his long and painstaking research through a host of differing sources, and the tracing of family contacts. On reconstructing the real events of what really happened during those years of hidden imperial conflict between the major powers, the author uncovers the attempts of their governments to conceal what might have resulted in public controversy and the undermining of international relations.There is an investigation of the social, economic and political aspects of life in German Southwest Africa as well as life along the German/Cape Colony border with its gun running, cattle raiding and support for the rebels. It discusses German public opinion of their colony in Southern Africa and the debates the Herero and Nama rebellions engendered in The Reichstag.
Democracy understood as people power, which is the only proper definition of the word, is put forward in this book as the panacea for resolving the most pressing issues of our time. But democracy as a practicable system hinges on many conditions which are seldom appreciated by our world leaders, international institutions, or relevant bodies of learning.The evolution of democracy as a system of government and way of life, and the problems to which the former gives rise is broadly discussed by the author. Of most significance are those situations, in both East and West, when democracy is ideologically used as a cover for ulterior purposes.It is powerfully argued that the left/right divide which for 200 years has served as the rationale for advancing social progress in sustaining democracy is now destroying it, as partly witnessed through the collapse of both party memberships and voting figures in most advanced industrial economies. This has occurred through the transformation of society and the world of work over the past 60 years, and has left our parliamentary representatives trapped in a time-warp of the past in their inability to meet the actuality of contemporary issues.It is clearly shown, through a variety of reasons, that democracy as an all-inclusive system of government is only workable within the nation state. This partly explains the crises of the EU, and the shortcomings of the UN's Security Council. The greatest threat to democracy, since it limits the power of the nation state to carry through electoral promises, is international finance and transnational corporations, which are unaccountable to any responsible authority and liable to bring economic catastrophe in their wake.This is a book which seeks to empower our national politicians, irrespective of party, so they may more effectively represent the interests of their electorates. A way must be found for our politicians to resolve their predicament, even though it may entail a shift in their attitudes and ideals.
This is a moving tale about mid-19th century Poland, based on the experiences of the author's forebears, during the time when her country was under the yoke of Tsarist oppression. The story is about a young noblewoman, Kamila, in the struggle to retain her inheritance, following the arrest and deportation of her parents to Siberia following their involvement in the struggle for Poland's freedom.The novel opens in the Eastern half of the country with the execution of her two brothers during that year of European revolutions of 1848. With the deportation of her parents two years later - and from whom she was never to hear again - her aunt marries her off to an only surviving son, Karol, on his deathbed, to ensure that her property would not also be confiscated.On the death of Karol from consumption, Kamila, who is still in her teens, is obliged to take over the management of the estate, and when shortly thereafter her aunt dies also, she is left without relatives for the guidance of her life ahead.The story then follows her trials and tribulations, including the malice of a dismissed employee who makes an attempt on her life. She is forced to learn quickly about the ways of the world, and through the support of old and new friendships, she triumphs over adversity, and the fact-based story concludes with a happy ending. The book presents a vivid picture of provincial Poland in the 19th century, and is a gripping read for enthusiasts of the realistic-romantic genre.
Taking a multi-purpose and inter-denominational approach, this is a book addressed to all Christians, who in this sceptical age, may be experiencing a religious crisis or doubts as to their commitment to Christ's teaching and Revelation. Whilst this book is written from the basis of conviction, it insists on demonstrating factual evidence. Nothing is presented which is contrary to the reason of the ordinary man or woman in arguing the basis of religious truth. With this in mind, the reader is taken through the Bible, from the book of Genesis onwards, and answers are offered for many of those difficult questions which usually arouse anxiety in the minds of the faithful from time to time. In addition, the book offers questions and discussion topics at the conclusion of each chapter. This is an ideal handbook which religious teachers and ministers of all denominations will find helpful, written by a fully-qualified scholar holding a doctorate in theological studies.
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