THE CHILLING FINALE OF THE SPECTRA FILES TRILOGY
The Wade House has been reduced to ash, but the dreams that plagued Becca Philips and Jason Brooks when they slept in that abomination continue to haunt them. After years of facing trans-dimensional monsters in the service of SPECTRA, a few lingering nightmares are to be expected. But when Becca starts singing in her sleep—an ancient song that conjures dreadful things from mirrored surfaces—she fears that the harmonics she was exposed to during the Red Equinox terror event may have mutated not only her perception, but also her voice. It’s a gift—or curse—that she shares with a select group of children born to other witnesses of the incursion.
While a shadowy figure known as the “Crimson Minstrel” gathers these children to form an infernal choir, something ancient stirs on the ocean floor. And Becca, hearing its call, once again finds herself running from an agency she can no longer trust, into the embrace of cosmic forces she can barely comprehend. Views: 289
World War II is raging, but in this dusty backwater of the Belgian Congo, the biggest problem is finding a cold beer. That's the case, at least, for Hooper Taliaferro, a U.S. government gofer sent to Africa on a vague errand related to the war effort. What he finds at the failing Congo-Ruizi plantation won't help the Allies much. Like colonialism itself, the owner is dying of a slow poison, and neither his staff nor his sluttish wife can muster the energy to care. But along with Hooper arrives Dr. Mary Finney, a formidable missionary with both moral outrage and sleuthing skills to spare. The Devil in the Bush introduces Dr. Finney as a sort of blunt-spoken Yankee Miss Marple, with likable, lightweight Hooper as her faithful scribe. Views: 289
The purpose of this essay, and that of the series to which it belongs, is the formulation of a complete theory of social reality and of human nature. If it is certainly true that only appeals to the revolution or at the holy war, they can galvanize the populations, while is much less exciting the appeal at achieve a quantum leap in the field of the knowledge of social reality and of human nature.The world is governed by an entity which can be defined as omnipotent. Any reasonable person can believe it’s true, easily, since the evolution of world history takes place unconsciously and unexpectedly, and it is also unpredictable for scholars of “social sciences” and the rulers, even the most powerful. That such an entity is to be defined as “good” and “that does justice”, only those who have had, from the same entity, the “grace” of an irrational faith, can believe it. Such irrational faith seems to allow you to place the maximum trust in such entity right in the periods of more apathy. In historical periods when, instead, there is greater emphasis fideistic (which ends, often, in the fanaticism), you end up believing the entity which it is object of faith (that religions have identified in one, or more, deities, and the non-religious people, in less sacred entity, but equally abstract, such as the “Proletariat”) as needing the intervention and human support (in the form of: wars, riots or revolutions). Such “voluntary” positions arouse accusations of “blasphemy” by those who have positions “fatalistic” or “confidants in the Providence” (for those who have religious views), while arouse accusations of “treason” (for those who have “secular” conceptions or political-social type). All this shows that: the “goodness”, the “fairness” and the “morality”, attributed to the entity that dominates the world, is simply a justification of historical reality, since the mere finding of reality can’t leave doubt about the real: unfairness, lack of freedom and morality, of all of historic reality. Sociologists speak, by always, of the “St. Matthew's Law”, to indicate the sentence given by the evangelist Matthew at the verse 25-29, uttered by Jesus Christ: “For to everyone who has will be given, and he shall have abundance; but to those who has not, it shall be taken away even what he has". Everyone can easily see how the world, namely: each society, where more where less, is based on this principle. All (or most people) they would make false papers in order to have a modicum of power or influence on other people. But no one, not only politicians and bureaucrats, they love (and, even, they accept, easily,) of assume liability for the consequences of the choices generated by that power. To exempt, the deities, by any liability for the resulting harm to their power and authority, they have done this the theologians, who have invented, specifically, the concept of "arbitrariness free", that would be endowed, for this theory, humans, which they would be, therefore, the only ones responsible for all the "moral evil" which exists in the world. To induce the gods (of any religion or ideology), by definition, omnipotents, to assume their responsibilities, you will need to make human beings fully responsible for their own actions, or truly free and, especially, authentically mature, regardless of the so-called "free will". The dominant culture of various historical societies, with the support of religions, identifies everything, that is: the good, the well and the right, with what is foreign to human beings: God, religion, the Church, the Ethics and the State. Conversely, all that is: evil, vicious, unfair, irrational; is identified with human beings, who need to feel that their most authentic needs are responsible for all the evil that there is in the world and therefore must rely, at dead body, in the hands of these external entities with respect to oneself, or “transcendental”, disregarding their being more authentic, in order to be “saved”. The reversal of this vision of reality, it is a precondition for a radical change in the human condition, will be the beginning of human redemption, and the instrument for the attainment of happiness! Views: 289
‘An absolute delight to read … Paris is brought to life on the pages of this exquisite book’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars Views: 289
'We need effective citizen-lobbyists – not just likers, followers or even marchers – more than ever. I have no hesitation in lobbying you to read this book.'Bill Emmott, former editor in chief, the EconomistMany democratic societies are experiencing a crisis of faith. Citizens are making clear their frustration with their supposedly representative governments, which instead seem driven by the interests of big business, powerful individuals and wealthy lobby groups.What can we do about it? How do we fix democracy and get our voices heard?The answer, argues Alberto Alemanno, is to become change-makers – citizen lobbyists. By using our skills and talents and mobilizing others, we can bring about social and political change. Whoever you are, you've got power, and this book will show you how to unleash it.From successfully challenging Facebook's use of private data to abolishing EU mobile phone... Views: 289
Lucas, a gifted shaman and member of the Salish-Shidhe Council, is respected for his arcane talents among his tribe. When he’s blinded during a shadowrun on an Evo Corporation outpost, he’s fitted with a set of cybereyes during his recovery. But upon his return to the Council, the tribe banishes him, saying the cyberware he’s accepted makes him unfit to be a shaman. Distraught, Lucas heads to Seattle and spends time in the Barrens attempting to scrape by.Wanting revenge against Evo, he teams up with a group of shadowrunners, influencing them to take runs against the megacorporation. During one such run, they determine that Evo is retrieving an arcane artifact from a dig site located in Salish-Shidhe territory. Lucas convinces his team to take the initiative and either stop the dig or steal the artifact. But when a team member double-crosses Lucas and the others, he must race against time to discover the true masterminds behind this... Views: 289
The only good man in Kate's life is her precocious puppy Baxter. That is until Baxter helps bring her and a handsome stranger together.Tall, dark and mysterious, there's something regal about the stranger—not that Kate would ever notice. She doesn't have time for men, even men with manservants and unlimited credit cards.But the sexy stranger has noticed her! And with Baxter's help he'll make sure she notices him, too. Royal Duties Book One is a modern, feelgood fairy tale.But be warned! This short, steamy romance contains smoking hot scenes between a nurse and a sexy, exotic Prince Charming suitable for adults only. Views: 289
To deny freedom is to deny the human spirit. Fugitive Resistance fighter Tommy Bailey has come out of hiding to help rescue Careen Catecher from the clutches of the Office of Civilian Safety and Defense, where she's being held and interrogated for information about the rebel group. The OCSD is poised to launch the Cerberean Link, a security device that will put all minors under constant surveillance under the guise of protecting them. Convinced that activating the Link will result in irreversible and total control of the population, the Resistance puts its own plan in motion to sabotage the Link and oust the OCSD's wolfish director. Just when everything seems leveraged in their favor, treachery, lies, and long-held secrets threaten to derail it all. Views: 289
The development of nuclear weapons by the Manhattan Project during World
War II was one of the most dramatic scientific/technological episodes
in human history. This book, prepared by a recognized expert on the
Manhattan Project, offers a concise survey of the essential physics
concepts underlying fission weapons.The text describes the
energetics and timescales of fast-neutron chain reactions, why only
certain isotopes of uranium and plutonium are suitable for use in
fission weapons, how critical mass and bomb yield can be estimated, how
the efficiency of nuclear weapons can be enhanced, how the fissile forms
of uranium and plutonium were obtained, some of the design details of
the 'Little Boy' and 'Fat Man' bombs, and some of the thermal, shock,
and radiation effects of nuclear weapons. Calculation exercises are
provided, and a Bibliography lists authoritative print and online
sources of information for readers who wish to pursue more detailed
study of this fascinating topic. Views: 289
