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Bernard Lewis is the West's greatest historian and interpreter of the Near East. Books such as The Middle East and The Arabs in History are required reading for anybody who hopes to understand the region and its people. Now Lewis offers What Went Wrong?, a concise and timely survey of how Islamic civilization fell from worldwide leadership in almost every frontier of human knowledge five or six centuries ago to a "poor, weak, and ignorant" backwater that is today dominated by "shabby tyrannies ... modern only in their apparatus of repression and terror." He offers no easy answers, but does provide an engaging chronicle of the Arab encounter with Europe in all its military, economic, and cultural dimensions. The most dramatic reversal, he says, may have occurred in the sciences: "Those who had been disciples now became teachers; those who had been masters became pupils, often reluctant and resentful pupils." Today's Arab governments have blamed their plight on any number of external culprits, from Western imperialism to the Jews. Lewis believes they must instead commit to putting their own houses in order: "If the peoples of Middle East continue on their present path, the suicide bomber may become a metaphor for the whole region, and there will be no escape from a downward spiral of hate and spite, rage and self-pity, [and] poverty and oppression." Anybody who wants to understand the historical backdrop to September 11 would do well to look for it on these pages. --John Miller
Book Description
For centuries, the world of Islam was in the forefront of human achievement -- the foremost military and economic power in the world, the leader in the arts and sciences of civilization. Christian Europe was seen as an outer darkness of barbarism and unbelief from which there was nothing to learn or to fear. And then everything changed. The West won victory after victory, first on the battlefield and then in the marketplace.
In this elegantly written volume, Bernard Lewis, a renowned authority an Islamic affairs, examines the anguished reaction of the Islamic world as it tried to make sense of how it had been overtaken, overshadowed, and dominated by the West. In a fascinating portrait of a culture in turmoil, Lewis shows how the Middle East turned its attention to understanding European weaponry, industry, government, education, and culture. He also describes how some Middle Easterners fastened blame on a series of scapegoats, while others asked not "Who did this to us?" but rather "Where did we go wrong?"
With a new Afterword that addresses September 11 and its aftermath, What Went Wrong? is an urgent, accessible book that no one who is concerned with contemporary affairs will want to miss.
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The New York Times bestselling history of the encounter between Islam and the West and what happed to Islamic civilization in the modern era.
Customer Reviews:
Good Question; Poor Answer.......2007-10-09
I found this book to be fairly disappointing. Lewis came up with some interesting insights here and there, but most of the book was a comparison of Islam and the West, without actually getting to the question posed in the title. There were only hints and suppositions, but no overarching thematic answer. I was hoping for more than that in an answer to an admittedly complex conundrum.
In the process of not answering, Lewis proposes key differences between civilizations, like the approach to music, and then doesn't get around to elucidating this difference for another two chapters. When he does (looking at how cultural differences in time effect music form), his hypothesis are intriguing, but not exceptionally relevant to the question of the book. And even in this, there are major elements that Lewis simply gets completely wrong- like how music is the one cultural element that had not invaded from the West into the Middle East. Even in 2002, when the book was published, any casual traveler in the Middle East would notice the profound depth of the MTV invasion, not just as an import but now as a form used within the culture. Most children in the Middle East- anyone below the age of thirty- listen to Western styles of music more than Middle Eastern styles. This has been true for awhile, and I can't comprehend how Lewis could have been unaware of this.
Towards the end of the book Lewis describes "the blame game", and again, this hints at a possible answer to what went wrong. But he never follows through on the idea, and only gives it a cursory glance.
This is a book with a lot of promise, but it's all build-up with no satisfaction. There are some good ideas, but you have to be familiar with the discipline to weed through the good from the bad. I don't recommend it for most readers.
Finally, a clear-eyed view.......2007-09-14
Dr. Lewis presents a rather important thesis, albeit not a new one. He suggests, that as long as the bond between religion and state power remains strong, the modern Islamic civilization will be unable to compete with the West. "In the secularization of the West, God was twice dethroned and replaced--as the source of sovereignty by the people, as the source of object of worship by the nation..."
The Optimistic Jew.......2007-08-31
The title is the theme of the book. This is a critique of the culture of victimization of the Arab world in particular - blaming all their problems on the Americans and the Jews instead of cultivating a culture of self-criticism. In my own book "The Optimistic Jew: a Positive Vision for the Jewish People in the 21st Century" I claim it is also a cautionary for the future of Zionism - lest we Zionists desert our tradition of self-criticism and begin blaming our problems on external enemies and internal traitors -- as many on the paranoid Israeli right are already doing. Having the fifth most powerful army in the world and still cultivating a culture of victimization is truly in poor taste.
Abysmal.......2007-08-13
Lewis is supposed to be a major scholar of Islam but this book would probably fail a high school assignment. He may be an expert on the Ottoman Empire but he hasn't set foot in the Middle East for 40 years - and his lack of exposure shows in this book. When you take into account Lewis' neo-Conservative propensities, it becomes easier to understand the context, and more importantly the motivations, behind his work. Deeply disappointing.
Good look into the Islamic world........2007-07-28
A bit difficult to wade through, but, all in all a fascinating look into the Islamic world, a world which remains largely isolated from and unknown to the average American.
Book Description
The ultimate inside story: how bureaucracy, politics, and a disregard of science combined to cripple—perhaps forever—a great American city
As deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, Ivor van Heerden had for years been warning state and local officials about New Orleans's vulnerability to flooding. But like Cassandra's, his predictions were ignored—until Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29, 2005. Suddenly, van Heerden found himself at the center of a media maelstrom. Stepping forward to challenge the official version of events, he revealed the truth about the city's shoddy levee construction.
Now, in The Storm, van Heerden shares up-to-the-minute reporting from his investigations and connects the dots among the Army Corps of Engineers, the bureaucrats, the politicians, and the chain of events—both natural and human—that culminated in catastrophe. An epic of cutting- edge science and systemic bureaucratic failure, The Storm is the first book from a major player in the Katrina disaster and a riveting narrative that brings expertise, passion, and a human viewpoint to America's greatest natural disaster.
Customer Reviews:
The Storm.......2007-05-14
Good description of what happened during Katrina and the causes of it. However, it is a first person narrative with a bit of self-congratulation embedded throughout (which is kind of annoying).
Read This, and worry about your town..........2007-01-09
I am a New Orleanian. I was there, I know the details, and I know this writer has a lot to teach about disasters and personal responsibility to the community. He's a good guy who a lot of politicians tried to gag.
The book does a lot of CYA- people who knew what they were doing during Katrina have taken a lot of bludgeoning from fools. Mostly fools in politics and the Corps of Engineers- who caused the whole damn New Orleans disaster through sheer idiocy.
Rad this book and weep, for us, for yourselves. Where ever you live, there's the same incompetance waiting to fail you.
Worth The Time.......2006-11-15
Let me first start by explaining that Ivor Van Heerden is my step father, and Mike Bryan is my good friend. During the months in which this book was written, my family was not only dealing with the aftermath of Katrina, but the effects of someone with such huge ideas and opinions trying to fit them into a few hundred pages. The amount of time and dedication that went into this book alone was enough to encourage me to read it, but once i did i realized that it's positively genius. The detailes he goes into just to make sure the readers can understand what he is about to discuss definitly sets him apart from other katrina authors. And Mike Bryan's years of writing experience really bring eveything together in this book. All in all I have to say that this book is definitly worth your time, if you want to understand the big picture behind katrina, as well as the things not many people knew at the time.
Eye-Opening .......2006-08-04
Get your dictionary out for acronyms... very confusing at times. Great storytelling in the first half of the book, but much finger pointing at the end. Van Heerden is very passionate about his work and point of view. Story matches reality I guess in relation to this catastrophic, horrible event. Very eye-opening, as our government continues down the same road, levee's ...FEMA... wars..... cover-up after cover-up.... Etc...
The Sad Truth.......2006-07-14
As a former emergency management planner, I found this book to be an excellent analysis of what really went wrong in New Orleans. It is a treatise for government officials to learn what not to do and an outline of what we as citizens should demand from our government leaders. It presents very technical information and scientific analysis in a manner that even an elected official can understand. But, beyond presenting the scientific basis of why New Orleans flooded, it presents an outline of solutions that should and must be considered. It is an great testament to the fact that some issues should be above everyday politics and that some important decisions that a government may be asked to make should be based upon science and not political considerations. This is a must read for every citizen and should be a mandatory read for every elected official.
Dr. Barksdale
Book Description
An easy answer guide to the difficult questions surrounding Enron
What Went Wrong at Enron explains the critical steps, transactions, and events that led to the demise of a company that was once considered one of the most innovative corporations in the United States. Energy risk management expert Peter Fusaro gets inside Enron and provides a coherent account of the who, why, where, and when of this corporate debacle, without sacrificing the complexity of what has happened. Enron has been front-page news for months, but confusion still remains about what actually happened. What Went Wrong at Enron is written for readers who find themselves wondering what exactly is an energy trading company, what was the sequence of events that caused the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history, and what does this all mean for me.
Customer Reviews:
This is the thinnest book on Enron that I read; it covers the whole affair very superficially........2006-05-20
I don't get the impression from reading the book that the authors have even tried to analyzed the financial holdings that was set up. It is the thinnest book on Enron that I read, for very good reason.
When Too Much is Barely Enough.......2005-06-10
Fusaro, P. and Miller, R. M., 2003. What went wrong at Enron, Everyone's guide to the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. John Wiley and Sons, paperback, 240 p.
The moral and cultural lessons of Enron range from the need for ethical behaviour, grounding in truthfulness, honesty, transparency and a need for complete disclosure in accounting and corporate structure. This is the ultimate source of insight into how it all happened. Other sources also point to the underlying dangers represented by a betrayal of trust within the capitalism market system.
The Enron style of approach to flourish in newly deregulated energy and utility markets that have been engineered by governments since the mid 1980s. The levels of executive culpability and it shows the decay and or frailty of underlying value systems which should stand against such events. The events and actions that led to Enron's demise have far more and significant implications to the fate and quality of our own society.
But is Enron a systemic problem or is the ultimate problem the nature of market capitalism itself. If the latter then to avoid more Enron's it is necessary to have moral and ethical tethers to clearly defined absolute terms such as right and wrong (good and evil) in a corporate business environment, otherwise concepts on which an economic system depends, such as trust between all participants, will ultimately breakdown.
Internally, the dynamics of the Enron enterprise set out in this book show a salutary lesson of what should not be present in an apparently healthy and profitable corporate enterprise: failure of 'knowledge conditions', senior management being isolated from those at operational levels (?); individuals pursuing sub-goals that are contrary to overall corporate goals; restrictions on the flows of bad news as opposed to any positive 'spin'.
The underlying causes of an Enron outcome are in fact within the nature of corporations themselves. Their hierarchical structure, limited span of control, self-interest, limited discourse and intimidatory corporate culture all point to a flaw in the nature of many public-listed corporations. Some suggest that the Enron case is one which warrants a revaluation of the shareholder centric model of corporations; management actions should not longer be orientated at maximising the current share price.
Some see the lessons of Enron as being a company that, when in trouble, was unwilling to admit its own shortcomings and thus became driven to cover-up a few bad decisions by making even worse ones. An early admission and some critical changes in operations could have saved the trading side of the business. Instead profit growth at all costs an unwillingness to admit that poor decisions had been made, led to even more exaggeration and fraudulent reporting.
The key problem with Enron was that it had all the surfical signs of a good corporate citizen in place with corporate social responsibility, business ethics tools and status symbols all in place. The greatest danger is that the Enron situation is not atypical of many aspects of many corporate organisations: those who closed their eyes to wrong doings (in Enron) were rewarded; others who sought to give warnings were punished; the win-at-all-costs mentality. The Enron lesson is that business is in the long term only going to survive by virtue of developing and following ethical behaviour. No one single error occurred just the compounding of many errors, all of which were preventable. It was based on a success at all cost culture where the ends always justified the means.
Enron is not explicable as just ethical and moral failure without examining why these failures occurred. Enron was a corporate product of both willingness to bend the rules and the opportunity to bend them. Others suggest that there are limited lessons to be learnt from the Enron story: that is to say Enron is bankrupt because of speculation and legal but unsound accounting and financing schemes. This view suggests that this proves that the free-market works; speculators and those at the margin of the market must suffer as and when the market turns. As such Enron investors were punished by the stock market for their poor judgment. The energy markets adjusted to Enron's collapse with few problems. As for the stock market crash, well, booms and busts are a natural part of a healthy capitalist economy.
A must have book for anyone who wants to know the inside story.
Other academic reading:
. Benston, G. J., and Hartgraves, A. L., 2002. Enron: what happened and what can we learn from it. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 21, 105-127.
Carson, T. L., 2003. Self-interest and business ethics: some lessons of the recent corporate scandals. Journal of Business Ethics, 43, 389-394.
Chatergee, S., 2003. Enron's incremental descent into bankruptcy: a strategic and organisational analysis. Long Range Planning 36, 133-149.
Cohan, J. A., 2002. "I didn't know" and "I was only doing my job": Has corporate governance careened out of control? A case study of Enron's information myopia. Journal of Business Ethics, 40, 275-299.
Currall, S., and Epstein, M. J., 2003. The Fragility of Organizational Trust: Lessons from the rise and fall of Enron. Organizational Dynamics, 32 (2), 193-206.
Desai, A. B. and Rittenberg, T., 1997. Global ethics: an integrative framework for MNEs. Journal of Business Ethics, 16, 791-800.
Sims, R. R. and Brinkman, J., 2003. Enron ethics (or: culture matters more than codes). Journal of Business Ethics 45, 243-245.
Spector, B., 2003. HRM at Enron: the unindited co-conspirator. Organizational Dynamics, 32 (2), 207-22.
Dr I Lavering
Adjunct Professor
MBT Program UNSW
Thin.......2003-07-30
Let's start with the positives:
- the book is easy to read and reasonably well written;
- the basic facts of the story are covered;
- the book starts the story way back before the problems emerged so that you get a feel for what the business was up to.
But
- it is very short book for such a complex subject
- the "unravelling" - the investigations into "what went wrong" are (ironically) not well covered
- there is almost no coverage of the Andersen issues
So save your dollar, pound, euro or yen - don't waste it on this book.
A Shakespearean tragedy.......2003-07-09
What really went wrong at Enron?
A question that cannot be answered easily due to its nature of complexity. Thousands and hundreds investors, including Enron¡¦s employees who vested their retirement benefits in the s401k plan solely with Enron shares¡K..The horrible downfall alarmed the investment community, hurt the professional society (accountant, lawyer, underwriter etc.) and credibility of the monitoring commission¡K. The U.S. government reacted with the new legislation (Sabanes-Oxley Act) as an ¡§attempt¡¨ to tackle the problem, trying to put the company¡¦s management back on track to shoulder its fiduciary duty to the company¡¦s shareholder. But, does it work? The extent to which the various parties¡¦ responsibilities is still clouded.
If we do not really analyze the root causes which led to the Enron¡¦s downfall, we never know the answer. This book, written with the targeted general audience, is published at the right time to give the public a good chance to find the ashes in the smoke. At least for the moment.
According to this book, the tragedy was played by an arrogant CEO, greedy senior executive, loyal whistleblower, with the backdrop of a wrongly conceived free economy principle. The book is well written and gives insightful analyses based on the available evidence and traces. Some of the factors leading to the tragedy noted by the authors are:
*X The use of SPE (Special Purpose Vehicles) in accounting to keep off the accounting profits as well as to hide the potential liabilities
*X The constantly fearing environment built by the Corporate Culture emphasizing on a sense of urgency
*X Over-extension of operations in the deregulated energy and telecommunication market
*X Mark-to-market accounting principles
*X Less than full company¡¦s disclosure tendency
*X Valuation problem of customized contracts
* Making commitment as a counter-party to every trade in arbitrage markets
*X Trading from natural gas to electricity to bandwidth to 1800 different products in the Enron online
*X Conflicting company¡¦s strategy: asset-lite vs. debt heavy financed investments
*X Manipulated earning estimated to meet expectations
*X Deals financed by high Enron¡¦s stock price
*X Excessive investment in optic fibre networks
The list could go on and on. In fact, Enron went to the extent that deals were made just for the sake of making them. The more you read about the book, the more you feel it is a Shakespearean tragedy ¡V things are certain to get worse with all of these interrelated factors playing on stage. The general audience, those who believed that the play had a good ending, bought the tickets but found that the play was ultimately turn out to be a tragic one. They suffered. However, the director said: ¡§You bought the tickets because you believed in the play had a good ending. I didn¡¦t say that it would end in that way.¡¨ Refund? No.
The investigation into Enron¡¦s alleged sham trading and potential fraud scheme is still in progress as of this writing¡K..I highly recommend the book to the general readers, although it is better if you are financially literate. It is a thought-provoking and interesting read, especially to the CPAs.
Lacks specifics, too many pointless analogies........2003-05-22
Enron's greed and financial scandals, along with the rise and fall, are interesting in itself. This book, though it does explain the fall and is easily readable, isn't intriguing enough to capture the reader's attention. In fact, more than half is a description of how Enron came to be and what there business model is. A chunk of the book is just photocopied evidence pasted in the appendix. Only a minute section describes the scandal and accounting frauds.
The author loves anologies. He devotes pages to baseball card trading, and then sort of compares it to Enron's business. While these analogies help with understanding the business model, it's often over-simplified with a glaring lack of details. What I found was a lack of hard numbers and statistics which meant I couldn't put the failings into perspective. Also, the first half of the book where he details Enron, he seems to be praising their business, then hand wavingly, he points to a few corrupted examples. It almost appears that the author thinks Enron would still be a powerhouse if it wasn't for a few specific incidents.
As a book, it gets the job done. It shows the errors of Enron in a way that any non financial person could understand. It does tend to oversimplify, and it's glaring lack of numbers and details hurt it in the end.
Book Description
A pair of insiders and a host of corporate directors reveal the all-too-human failings that lead to corporate mismanagement and malfeasance. Seymann and Rosenbaum argue that the corporate meltdowns of 2002 resulted more from a lack of director focus than a lack of rules, and they come up with commonsense solutions that can be implemented immediately. In Plain English, they dissect the corporate practices that defy logic, the questions that are never asked or answered, and the hidden traps that snare so many corporate boards. The Governance Game is required reading for CEOs and directors, for investors and consumers, and for anyone who wants to understand what went wrong with corporate America - and how to fix it.
Download Description
A pair of insiders and a host of corporate directors reveal the all-too-human failings that lead to corporate mismanagement and malfeasance. Seymann and Rosenbaum argue that the corporate meltdowns of 2002 resulted more from a lack of director focus than a lack of rules, and they come up with commonsense solutions that can be implemented immediately. In Plain English, they dissect the corporate practices that defy logic, the questions that are never asked or answered, and the hidden traps that snare so many corporate boards. The Governance Game is required reading for CEOs and directors, for investors and consumers, and for anyone who wants to understand what went wrong with corporate America - and how to fix it.
Customer Reviews:
The Governance Game.......2003-12-16
As the environment for corproate governance continues to evolve, this book offers a quick, insightful read for what is expected in today's climate.
governance.......2003-08-04
The author makes bold, logical and necessary recommendations for the enhancement of corporate governance in a reader friendly format. This is a valuable contribution to the subject and should be carefully considered by all boardroom constituencies - directors, emloyees, investors and other key stakeholders.
by Susan Shultz, author, The Board Book(AMACOM)
Book Description
This fascinating and disturbing book is the official record of testimony taken by the Democratic Members and Staff of the House Judiciary Committee, presided over by Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the Ranking Member. Originally published in January, 2005 by the Government Printing Office, it has been edited and re-designed for maximum readability. Both a riveting and alarming report on the status of our ailing presidential election process, this book provides new insights into the abuse and manipulation of electronic voting machines and the arbitrary and illegal behavior of a number of elected and election officials which effectively disenfranchised tens of thousands of voters in order to change the outcome of an election. The material in this report should be used as a guidebook to fixing our federal elections.
Customer Reviews:
how to "fix" an election.......2007-07-12
I love the Editorial Review book description 'The material in this report should be used as a guidebook to "fixing" our federal elections.'
There's Something Rotten in the State of Ohio.......2006-09-27
In his book "Armed Madhouse..." author Greg Palast quotes Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. "It's not the votes that count. It's who counts the votes." After you read the dry but factual 116 pages of this book, you will come to the inescapable conclusion that the election was stolen from presidential candidate John Kerry and given to Mr. Bush.
The book is divided into facts (what happened) and analysis (the motive and how it could have happened). It starts with Ohio's secretary of state, a republican, Kenneth Blackwell who promised to "fill in the blanks" regarding voting anomalies but has kept silent in the finest tradition of "political omerta." He has refused to initiate any investigations, and has tried his best to have the ballots destroyed.
Here's some of what Conyers uncovers:
Republican challengers were at every precinct causing massive voting delays. This is called caging, and it is illegal. Republican challengers targeted 97% of new voters in black areas. They only challenged 14% of new voters in white areas.
There were voting machine lockdowns preventing observation of ballot counts. This too is illegal.
There were flipped votes. Voters reported that they had voted for Kerry and watched their vote register for George Bush. These "glitches" were called "calibration problems."
The number of votes vs. voters. In many places the number of voter turn-out exceeded 100%. (?) In one case nearly 19,000 votes were added after all precincts reported.
There were repairs being made by the electronic voting machine company while the ballots were being recounted. This too is illegal.
In Ohio the exit polls which asked the people how they voted, showed that Kerry had won. Men and women voters gave a majority to Kerry. These polls are usually very accurate. So, how did exit polls that put Kerry ahead 52% to 48% turn around after the ballots were counted?
After reading this book, you can only arrive at one conclusion: There's something rotten in the state of Ohio.
Update: Blackwell ran for governor in Ohio this past November and was defeated. Those ballots he could not manage to hide.
An American Patriot, John CONYERS For President........2006-09-07
As with his always-learned, always JUDICIOUS "sponsorship," or whatever the REPUB. "Americans$$," allowed him to term it, of the explosive DOWNING STREET MEMO(S) hearings of June, 2005, Congressman Conyers has done it again, with this telling and factually-based book, telling just a part of the story, of yet again, the FAS$CISTS$, ie the REPUB. "Americans$$$," under this "King" George The Second, with his Utterly SERVANTILE, Election-THIEVING CRIMINAL, as Ohio's only ALLEGED 'Secretary of State," IE his being the Co-CAMPAIGN HEAD for OHIO, of the BUSH-CHENEY Campaign.
(*****-And what IF JOHN F. KERRY, had won Ohio, or any OTHER State's "Votes," and "Election," under such Criminally UNETHICAL Circumstances?! The REPUB. "Americans$$" in the White House and Congress$$$, would be calling for Kerry';s head, if not his Public CRUCIFIXION, much like they REFUSED to "PATRIOTICALLY, and Decently," Back up DULY-ELECTED President CLINTON in his AIRSTRIKES and MASSIVE CRUISE Missile Strikes against Bin Laden's Camps in Afghanistan, AND his Chemical Weapon PRECURSOR Material Factor in Al Shifa, Sudan. INSTEAD these Repub. "Americans$$" would only cry out., "No Wars for MONICA," and "Hand over the semen-stained BLUE DRESS"?! 9 or MORE of the Repub. "Americans$" on the Repub. "Impeachement" teams, in seanate and congress, were SERIAL WIFE-CHEATERS, themselves!) Well Done, congressman Cponyers, Sir, a TRUE American Patriot, in utter CONTRAST to the FAS$CISTS, such as KARL ROVE, GW BUS$H, and Ohio Secretary of State, Ken, toally, ANTI-"Black"WELL!!
They, GW and Karl ROVE also MET with BLACKWELL
< right on that TUESDAY, Nov. 2nd, "Election" Day Morning in COLUMBUS, OHIO, to Further FINALIZE their Plans to STEAL OHIO. That CRIMINAL MEETING, alone, merits impeachment hearings, though SO VERY MUCH more, lawless WIRETAPPING of tens of MILLIONS of Americans(when AL QUEDA, long since, years ago, STOPPED Using the internet and even cell phones in their important communications, they only USE COURIERS, according to our OWN Intel. Services), the AGGRESSIVE WARS$ in IRAQ, and Iran to follow, for their OIL RESERVES$$, the Pre-9/11/2001 DEALINGS$ with, and Bribings$ of the TALIBAN LEADERSHIP, in AFGHANISTAN, for the CENTRAL ASIAN Gas/Oil Pipelines$, this TRAITOROUS$, as well, as Outgoing Clinton OfficialS, many of them TRIED TO WARN all of the incoming "Elected"(after 12/12/2000 UNSIGNED "Ruling," by the CRIMINAL US Supreme, "Court," ah-hem) BUS$H ADMINISTRATION,m that the AL QUEDA THREAT would be their greatest THREAT and Concern, throughout the Bush Presidency, this "way back"(but a blink of the eye, to "God," though, Folks!) in Dec. 2000-January 2001!!
Add to this GW Bus$h's seeing the August 6th, 2001 FULLY Documented CIA, etcetera, Dire Warning and "Memo"{though it was much MORE involved than THAT, as were the INTEL. Agency warnings in Summer-fall of 2001, from over 20 Allied and other Nations, of an IMMINENT AL QUEDA Attack on US Soil, so much so that at the july, 2001 Genoa G-8 Economic talks, the ENTIRE AREA of the talks and of genoa, Italy, was RINGED with anti-aircraft MISSILES, and GW had to Sleep off shore in a Battleship or aircraft carrier, John ASHCROFT stops flying Commercial AIRLINES in June-July 2001, onwards, but has his FBI warn NO ONE, in the nation's aviation system?!), etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, and you can see why, ... well, we need a U.S. "GOVERMENT-IN-EXILE" to start, against this Twice, "elected" Bunch, folks, like it or don't.
Again, well done, Congressman CONYERS, SIR!! Leftist and PROUDLY, PROGRESSIVELY-PATRIOT, "Ex" Marine(who took my pledge to Uphold the US CONSTITUTION, above ALL ELSE!!) herein, God Bless Yee, good Lad!!
And to OHIO's "Secretary of State," and perhaps, to be Criminally "Elected," as well, as "Governor" of Ohio, Mr. J. Kenneth, ANTI-"BLACK"-Well, Sir, ... May The Good Lord, Blessed Jesus, i.e., JOSHUA, I.E., The Christ of Human History, I.E.,the PRINCE, ... of PEACE, have mercy on your LOST SOUL, Sir.
Democrats always right, Republicans always wrong.......2006-05-01
Clinton 1996, 49% of vote - winner
Bush 2004, 51% of vote - loser
Right...
What went wrong in Ohio??.......2006-02-15
The only thing that went wrong in Ohio is that it gave the idiot Dems another thing to WHINE ABOUT!! Which we Republicans are pleanty tired of!! Mrs. Miller, please don't quit your day job!! The book really needs help.
Average customer rating:
- How to Destroy a Charity's Reputation
|
The United Way Scandal: An Insider's Account of What Went Wrong and Why (Nonprofit Law, Finance, and Management Professional)
John S. Glaser
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Inc
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ASIN: 0471591149 |
Customer Reviews:
How to Destroy a Charity's Reputation.......2006-07-25
If you are looking for the kind of scandal reporting that titillates, this book will probably disappoint you. John Glaser has written a rather scholarly report on how Bill Aramony ruined the public image of the organization he devoted several decades to building. Although Glaser does mention Aramony's much-rumored womanizing, he focuses more on his achievements, his arrogance, and the failure of others to stop his mistakes.
The book tries to be both a narrative of one man's rise to infamy AND a textbook for nonprofit professionals. Those who are responsible for managing or overseeing charities should read this book for its valuable lessons. Other readers may want to skim over the scholarly research and concentrate on the story of how power can corrupt a brilliant man who originally sought to excel at public service but became too convinced of his own infallibility.
I purchased this book because I once worked for United Way of America, but left long before the 1992 scandal so was curious to read the inside story. I knew John Glaser and Bill Aramony. I liked and respected Glaser. He has written an honest and valuable book.
Customer Reviews:
"Following is bad enough; limping in the rear is far worse.".......2007-03-09
"By all the standards that matter in the modern world - economic development and job creation, literacy and educational and scientific achievement, political freedom and respect for human rights - what was once a civilization has indeed fallen low." Thus, near the end of this 160 page meditation on "What Went Wrong," Bernard Lewis sums up the present status of the Middle East.
Earlier in the book he notes "according to a World Bank estimate, the total exports of the Arab world other than fossil fuels amount to less than Finland, a country of five million inhabitants. Nor is much coming into the region by way of capital investment. On the contrary, wealthy Middle Easterners prefer to invest their capital abroad, in the developed world." (Note the importance of the comment, "other than fossil fuels".)
This brief book, which is a re-written conflation of several lectures and articles by Lewis, is an uncompromising assessment of the modern Middle East. (Although published in 2002, it was written prior to the events of Sept. 11, 2001.) Professor Lewis examines a number of theories which purport to explain why, after centuries of superiority, the Islamic Middle East finds itself "poor, weak, and ignorant."
He notes the claims by Muslims that they are victims. "The question `Who did this to us?' has led only to neurotic fantasies and conspiracy theories." And in the end, Lewis concludes "...it is precisely the lack of freedom - freedom of the mind from constraint and indoctrination, to question and inquire and speak; freedom of the economy from corrupt and pervasivement mismanagement; freedom of women from male oppression; freedom of citizens from tyranny - that underlies so many of the troubles of the Muslim world."
This short book is well worth reading.
The failure of modernization.......2006-04-25
Lewis is the dean of Middle- Eastern historians. In this work he attempts to understand why most of the nations of the Middle East failed to meet the challenge of Modernity. One major source of this was the traditional relation to Women. Another major source was the closure of Mind which would not admit that the West had developed in ways which the world of Islam could learn from. A sense of defeat and inferiority did not lead to honest introspection and reform, but rather to Denial. The increasing sense of failure enabled the retaining of power by bureaucratic and governmental elites which worked not for the benefit of people or nation as a whole, but rather for their own narrow clan and group interests.
Book Description
WHAT WENT WRONG WITH AMERICA … AND HOW TO FIX IT: RECLAIMING THE POWER THAT RIGHTFULLY BELONGS TO YOU
By Darrell Ankarlo
In What Went Wrong with America … And How to Fix It, radio host Darrell Ankarlo identifies the key elements of how our society is rotting from within, mostly due to an uninformed and uninvolved citizenry that has allowed it to happen. Providing inspiration from the Founding Fathers and modern American movements, he shows how he has used the platform of his radio show to inform his listeners and encourage them to get involved in their communities.
In order to encourage citizens to use the power they already have, he provides a practical road map for ordinary Americans to follow in making their voices heard. He equips readers to change the pattern of disengagement by utilizing broadcast and print media to spread their messages, organize rallies and protests, and become involved in the political system. He encourages people to engage in effective letter-writing and e-mail campaigns to rally support for their ideas, even to the point of running for elected office if necessary.
Find out how one talk-radio host who loves his country and its troops organized a massive demonstration of support for the American military and sparked a nationwide movement of pro-American, pro-troop rallies. These achievements were accomplished by average Americans who took the time to make a difference. What Went Wrong with America … And How to Fix It provides the tools necessary for anyone who cares about the future of the nation and wants to make a big difference on the local, state, and national level.
Customer Reviews:
It's TERR-ible...........2006-04-05
Ankarlo practically advocates execution of anyone who disagrees with his viewpoints. He especially hates Jews, Catholics, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics. And he exploits his son's service in the military for his own financial gain. His book is an advertisement to buy his book, advising readers that they can reach idealogical nirvana if they sleep in a bathtub full of his books.
Why do you hate America so much, Mr. Ankarlo? Why do you want to burn the City of Boston to the ground? Every time you open your mouth, George W. Bush weeps. Every time you congratulate yourself for your son's military service, McCain cringes. Every time you mention your book on your show, Cheney nearly has another heart attack. And, yes, when you espouse your "the Republic must fall" viewpoints, even Ann Coulter blushes.
Save us all the trouble and stay in your bunker without a laptop - so you CAN'T write another piece of garbage.
More of the same....Thank God!.......2005-01-15
This is the most detailed and highly researched (and sourced) book I have ever read! I listen to Darrell Ankarlo daily on 570 KLIF in DFW. I'm glad to see that his book is of the same great quality that his daily morning show is. Darrell has changed my life over the course of the last few years. He has opened my eyes to what is going on around me, and is a constant motivator to me and the rest of his audience. Darrell leads by example and encourages others to lead their charge as well. I truly believe the "nay-sayers" whom I see commenting on this book just don't get it!
MUST HAVE FOR EVERY AMERICAN.......2005-01-11
This book will open your eyes as to what is really wrong with America and give you ideas as to how you can fix it on your own. Truly inspirational you will laugh, cry, and cheer while reading this book. Give a listen to the web cast of Mr. Ankarlo off the KLIF site if you need an indication of what is in the book.
A Must Read for Conservatives.......2004-12-06
For anyone who truly wants to make a difference in this country, are concerned about those who are eroding the American way life, and want to stand up for what is right, this book is a must read. I just read it and feel empowered as a single citizen to be able do something! Darrell Ankarlo says everything that has been on my mind for years but I couldn't effectively put into words and didn't know what to do about it. Now I do. This book has given me a reason to stand up and be counted in a more visible way to save the country I love from those who would tear down the moral fiber on which it was built. It will shock you, encourage you, and even bring you to tears in places. But it goes beyond that; it gives detailed, practical ways to use your talents to help this great nation.
If conservatives want to save a rapidly deteriorating country, they must get involved--and quickly. This book tells them how. There is power in one person with conviction standing up for what is right; even more so if two, or three, or a thousand stand together. Please read it--and get involved!
Warning: read at your own risk!.......2004-11-15
[...]
Now onto my review of the book...
I just finished reading Mr. Ankarlo's book and I am grateful he wrote it! This book opened my eyes to things I was not aware of; you know the kind of things that you should have known and afterwards kind of say to yourself "well duh". This book is insightful, resourceful and provoking; causing the reader to be very aware of the need to stand up and make a difference while providing a plethora of contact information and resources to empower the reader into the action it provokes. Great job Darrell! Great job to all who make a difference! Great job to all those who serve and have served to keep this nation free, THANK YOU! And God bless the USA!!!
Customer Reviews:
The Best Laid Plans..........2006-11-24
Given the enthusiasm with followed the aftermath of the Vatican II Council and the allegiance with which Catholics both liberal and conservative still give to its memory, one has to ask why could such a universally revered meeting of the Catholic Church's bishops leave such complete confusion in its wake. At the dawn of the council, the Catholic Church seemed remakably healthy with booming vocations to the priesthood, strong attendance at Mass by lay Catholics, and widespread respect for the Catholic clergy. Now the news is not nearly so optimistic in these and other areas and often involves scandalous revelations of clerical beahvior. What went wrong with the Catholic Church since Vatican II?
Ralph M. McInerny has had a unique vantage point to see the dissolution of the pre-Vatican II Catholic Church into the current state of affairs. As a professor of philosophy at Notre Dame University and one of the few remaining notable defenders of Thomism as a vital force in Catholic thought in the post-conciliar period, he has seen first hand the forces at work and as a faithful believer in the truth of the Catholic faith places it in perspective for traditional Catholics trying to make sense of the confusion around them.
This perspective comes to the fore early in What Went Wrong with Vatican II as McInerny immediately defends the correctness of the council and the importance for faithful Catholics to uphold its teachings. He emphasizes the actual teachings of the Council often differ greatly from those innovations that have been introduced in its name and when properly understood fall within the Tradition of the Catholic Church.
For McInterny, the flashpoint for the crisis in the Church was Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae that maintained consistency with the Magisterium's prior teachings by maintaining the ban on the use of artificial contraception. At this point, he asserts, more liberal theologians in effect set themselves up as a "rival magisterium" and confused many Catholics by stating the edict could be ignored and believers could follow their own consciences on the issue.
McInerny then covers the continuing struggles of the Vatican to bring theologians and priests in line with official teaching and end the undermining of the Church's teaching to the laity. The Vatican's attempts at discipline and the resulting resistance among theologians - particularly in the West - is featured as attempts to implement a profession of faith is covered. The author suggests that the way to fix what ails the Church must begin with a change of heart within its members and a renewed desire to follow the Church's true teachings.
The recent scandals within Catholicism are not mentioned since they came became known after the publication of this book but they reinforce the warning of the dangers that lie ahead when traditional Christian teaching on moral issues is set aside. In What Went Wrong with Vatican II, Ralph McInerny has given us a case study in how the faith can be undermined in the name of "reform". For those Catholics wishing to understand how the optimism in the wake of the council could give way to the crises in the Catholic Church in the post-Conciliar period, there is much food for thought.
Hint: It wasn't the Council...........2006-07-26
In the decades following the second Vatican Council, Catholics remain confused about it. What was its purpose? Did it really change everything and try to strip away Catholic identity? Why did we even need it? The Catholic Church was in great shape in the years immediately preceding the council.... wasn't it?
This book provides some valuable insight into what the council was about and why it was necessary. It also exposes how renegade theologians, not hierarchy as is commonly believed, ruined the council's implementation. Vatican II was never the problem. It didn't destroy Catholic identity or try to undermine the faith. In fact, it wasn't until 1968, years after the close of the council, that the real crisis in obedience began in the Church, and that had to do with Pope Paul VI's landmark encyclical, Humanae Vitae. Dissident theologians were publicly embarrassed when the pope did not come out in support of artificial contraception after they'd said he would. They told Catholic married couples that the encyclical could be ignored and fostered disobedience. This book explores the rebellion among the theologians and its bitter fruit of disobedience to lawful Church authority. It's a real eye-opener to anyone who's often wondered just what Vatican II taught and why this council is singularly blamed for everything wrong with the Church today.
The best part is, like Dr. von Hildebrand before him, Mr. McInerney not only identifies the crisis, he identifies its cure. Above all else, his message is: Trust the Church and do not bail out on her. Christ gave her to Catholics to bring them to Heaven and promised that the gates of hell would never overcome her.... and He never breaks His promises.
Prophetic.......2003-11-26
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I did not find the title misleading because what went wrong with Vatican II was not Vatican II itself. Unfortunately, the Council, its documents, and subsequent documents with Church authority have been deliberately misinterpreted or ignored by people acting without authority.
Thought provoking, but it begs some questions.......2003-10-11
If you have any read any other reviews, you realize that this book is more about Humanae Vitae that about Vatican II. But that should not concern you as Humanae Vitae provides all the examples that Mr. McInerny needs.
The book is basicly a short primer on the ways that dissident theologians have attacked the authority of the Church and set themselves up as the final arbitrators of the Faith. The book is fairly written, though rather brief (with a large font). Mr. McInerny makes no bones about his position, but he does treat his opposition fairly. It is for this reason that you should read this book if are interested in this subject (even if you have made up your mind one way, or the other).
But the one topic that Mr. McInerny does not address is the history of the opposing theologians. One is given the impression that the dissident theologians came to being during Vatican II---without any pre-history. Of course, this is absurd. Life long commitments are not changed in an instant. But Mr. McInerny does not look at the topic of why there were dissenting theologians pre-Vatican II and what engendered them.
But, all in all, the book is a brief, but good read. I should add that I do live in South Bend (home of Notre Dame, where Mr. McInerny teaches), but I do not know Mr. McInerny.
Very Repetitive.......2002-07-31
I felt that the author stretched the focus of this book by repeating the main point of the book over and over again. I would have perferred to learn more about how this problem came about in the first place and maybe how and why other religions have handled it.
Books:
- When I Lay My Isaac Down: Unshakable Faith in Unthinkable Circumstances
- When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race
- Wilderness of Mirrors: Intrigue, Deception, and the Secrets that Destroyed Two of the Cold War's Most Important Agents
- 23 Minutes in Hell
- A Death in Belmont (P.S.)
- A Hundred Little Hitlers: The Death of a Black Man, the Trial of a White Racist, and the Rise of the Neo-Nazi Movement in America
- A Lifetime To Get Here: Diana Ross: The American Dreamgirl
- A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
- A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
- A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Books Index
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The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror
The Middle East
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From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting the Middle East
The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order
