Defending Our Dreams

The unique experiences, perspectives and visions of young feminists are extremely valuable in both understanding the current world order and in shaping a better future. Young feminists are engaged as advocates, organisers, protesters, researchers and strategists, and their energies, visions, solidarity, creativity and passion are instrumental in defining social movements globally. This pioneering collection brings together analyses by feminists of diverse identities on a range of themes including women's rights and economic change; new technologies; sexuality; and feminist organizations and movements. Defending Our Dreams includes analyses by contributors from Uruguay, Venezuela, South Africa, Tanzania, Nepal, India, Canada, the USA, Australia, Barbados and the UK. This book is essential reading for all those engaged in feminist research, organizing and activism.

During the 1980s, 2,000 family farms went out of business every week. Fields Without Dreams tells Hanson's passionate, angry, loving, and lyrical story. A fifth-generation California vine and fruit grower, Hanson and his family faced an overwhelming personal crisis when the great "raisin boom" of the 1970s was followed by the great "raisin crash" of the 1980s.

In The Sum of Our Dreams, Louis P. Masur offers a sweeping yet compact history of America from its beginnings to the current moment. For general readers seeking an accessible, single-volume account, one that challenges but does not overwhelm, and which distills and connects the major events and figures in the country's past in a single narrative, here is that book. Evoking Barack Obama's belief that America remains the "sum of its dreams," Masur locates the origin of those dreams-of freedom, equality, and opportunity-and traces their progress chronologically, illuminating the nation's struggle over time to articulate and fulfill their promise. Moving from the Colonial Era, to the Revolutionary Period, the Early Republic, and through the Civil War, Masur turns his attention to Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, the Progressive Age, World War One, the Great Depression, World War Two, the Cold War, Civil Rights, Vietnam, and Watergate, and then laying out clearly and concisely what underlies the divisiveness that has characterized American civic life over the last forty years-and now more than ever. Above all, however, Masur lets the story of American tell itself. Inspired by James Baldwin's observation that "American history is longer, larger, more beautiful and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it," he expands our notion of that history while identifying its individual threads. The Sum of Our Dreams will be the new go-to single volume for anyone wanting a foundational understanding of the nation's past, and its present.

Robert Hamlin, a 19-year-old college student lacking self-confidence and motivation, returns home from college one weekend. After another long conversation with his mother about "it’s now time to pick a college major . . . ", Bob goes to sleep for the evening and his future is revealed to him by a series of dreams. While in college, two major events occur in Robert Hamlin’s life. First, he wins the Illinois lottery, co-winning a $12 million purse. His great luck financially permits him to create a successful political consulting firm and be elected to the U.S. Congress at the age of 25. Second, the U.S. Constitution is amended to prohibit discrimination in employment by one’s age. He later uses the amendment to run for the U.S. presidency----and gets elected at the age of 29. In his short political career and young age, he offers policy proposals with a strong sense of candor, not too often seen by elected officials in our democracy today. In doing so, he subsequently wins over the hearts of both men and women by working with people to realistically address the problems facing our country. Throughout the story, he addresses the disbelief young people have toward politics from repeated scandals of corruption, lying, and other "questionable" activities. Robert Hamlin lives his life in a manner to demonstrate how elected officials can help our nation’s citizens. He believes that, "Public officials have forgotten that they are elected and paid by us." He summarizes the need to move forward by saying, "Let the future begin." The first in an anticipated series of three stories, In My Dreams helps to inform Americans about the political process. More importantly, it tries to serve as a symbol of hope for a better future in our political system--by giving people an opportunity to "vote for a candidate, rather than against one."

Just Blow it Up: Firepower for Living an Unlimited Life will provide the reader with: A dependable, repeatable process for eliminating barriers Authentic life-expanding tools while demolishing cliches How to recognize the symptoms, causes, and types of brick walls How to pursue a life where "nothing is impossible" Ways to refuse the bricks life offers and reclaim their power Pulling together her experiences from years of coaching entrepreneurs and consulting in hundreds of small businesses across America, along with stories shared with her by mentors and teachers such as Richard Bach, Bob Burg, Mitch Matthews and John David Mann, Dixie builds a credible case for taking on the "impossible" dream and blowing up any barrier that stands in the way. Just Blow It Up gives a step-by-step process for challenging those barriers, weakening those walls, and finally applying the "real dynamite" and powering right on through.

What is love? What does it truly mean to search for it within ourselves, in the world, and in the depths of our hearts? In this debut reflective memoir, J. J. Laakso masterfully interweaves one man’s personal growth with timeless, familiar, yet often forgotten truths. Through a combination of poetic spiritual awakening and philosophical pondering, Laakso constructs clear definitions and thought-provoking equations to answer some of life’s most profound questions. In an increasingly disconnected world, this book illuminates our eternal search for what we truly desire, both individually and collectively, in a manner that is unparalleled. So that we may one day love our effects with every breath of the rest of our lives As shapes of the infinity of our hearts drawn with the same love that shines As everything we are Sustainably happy Together

The management of social, religious and ethnic diversity is a key social policy concern in Britain, and Muslims in particular have become a focus of attention in recent years. This timely and topical volume examines the position of Muslims in Britain and how they are changing and making social, political and religious space. With contributions from world renowned scholars on British Muslims and from policy makers writing on issues of concern to Muslims and others alike, the book explores how British Muslims are changing social and religious spaces such as mosques and the role of women, engaging in politics, creating media and other resources, and thus developing new perspectives on Islam and transforming Muslim society from within. Chapters cover issues of religion and politics, Britishness, governance, parallel lives, gender issues, religion in civic space, ethnicity, and inter ethnic and religious relations, as well as the role of intellectuals, chaplains and activists in reforming Islam and renovating the British political landscape. Providing a broad and comprehensive examination of the key issues surrounding Muslims in the UK, this book will be a valuable resource for students, lecturers and researchers in sociology, social policy, geography, politics, Islamic studies and other related disciplines.