Documents

"A brilliant account of the politics of shit. It will leave you speechless." Written in Paris after the heady days of student revolt in May 1968 and before the devastation of the AIDS epidemic, History of Shit is emblematic of a wild and adventurous strain of 1970s' theoretical writing that attempted to marry theory, politics, sexuality, pleasure, experimentation, and humor. Radically redefining dialectical thought and post-Marxist politics, it takes an important—and irreverent—position alongside the works of such postmodern thinkers as Foucault, Deleuze, Guattari, and Lyotard. Laporte's eccentric style and ironic sensibility combine in an inquiry that is provocative, humorous, and intellectually exhilarating. Debunking all humanist mythology about the grandeur of civilization, History of Shit suggests instead that the management of human waste is crucial to our identities as modern individuals—including the organization of the city, the rise of the nation-state, the development of capitalism, and the mandate for clean and proper language. Far from rising above the muck, Laporte argues, we are thoroughly mired in it, particularly when we appear our most clean and hygienic. Laporte's style of writing is itself an attack on our desire for "clean language." Littered with lengthy quotations and obscure allusions, and adamantly refusing to follow a linear argument, History of Shit breaks the rules and challenges the conventions of "proper" academic discourse.

Catalog of reports, decisions and opinions, testimonies and speeches.

The enactment of the Japanese Imperial Government Disclosure Act (P.L.106-657) and the issuance of Executive Order 13110 (Jan. 11, 1999) aimed at making U.S. government records related to Japanese war crimes and war criminals in World War II more accessible. Records surveys implementing these requirements disclosed that there were relatively few remaining security-classified relevant documents waiting for disclosure. On the other hand, better identification of relevant documents and improved access to these records was a primary goal of the White House. The Interagency Working Group (IWG) staff took up the admonition from the National Security Advisor that “Agencies should bring to light hitherto unknown relevant unclassified or declassified records encountered in the course of the search for relevant classified records.” In selecting documents, the IWG Staff focused on several subjects and topics that have longstanding interest and concerns for researchers: Japanese research and experiments in biological warfare (BW) Japanese instigation of biological warfare attacks in World War II Japanese biological warfare experiments on living humans and animals Japanese atrocities against prisoners of war Japanese atrocities against civilian populations Allied decisions to hold Japanese responsible for war crimes Allied decisions to hold war crimes trials Allied decision to consider Emperor Hirohito as a person responsible for war crimes Allied decisions to investigate specific Japanese scientists and military personnel for BW crimes American POWs held at Mukden POW Camp Hoten and any evidence of BW experiments on them Some subjects of current interest, such as “comfort women,” were specifically searched for, but with little success. This collection will continue to expand as new documents are discovered.

International Democracy Documents is the first comprehensive compilation on democracy at the international level. It covers the most important international documents relating to democracy, while at the same time providing a focused approach.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1869.