Fatal Future

The nature and goals of terrorist organizations have changed profoundly since the Cold War standoff among the U.S., Soviet, and Chinese superpowers gave way to the current "polyplex" global system, in which the old rules of international engagement have been shattered by a new struggle for power among established states, non-state actors, and emerging nations. In this confusing state of global disorder, terrorist organizations that are privately funded and highly flexible have become capable of carrying out incredibly destructive attacks anywhere in the world in support of a wide array of political, religious, and ethnic causes. This groundbreaking book examines the evolution of terrorism in the context of the new global disorder. Richard M. Pearlstein categorizes three generations of terrorist organizations and shows how each arose in response to the global conditions of its time. Focusing extensively on today's transnational (i.e., privately funded and internationally operating) terrorist organizations, he devotes thorough attention to the two most virulent types: ethnoterrorism and radical Islamic terrorism. He also discusses the terrorist race for weapons of mass destruction and the types of attacks, including cyberterrorism, that are likely to occur in coming years. Pearlstein concludes with a thought-provoking assessment of the many efforts to combat transnational terrorism in the post-September 11 period.

STILL LEGAL, STILL LETHAL Most Americans mistakenly believe asbestos was banned long ago. In fact, it is still legal and can still kill you. Its microscopic fibers cause painful and incurable diseases. Despite being outlawed in nearly every other industrialized country, asbestos remains a legal component of more than three thousand common products in the United States. These include toasters, washers/dryers, ovens, building supplies, and automobile brakes. Our confusion about asbestos is no accident. Fatal Deception is a chilling exposé of the asbestos industry's successful seventy-year campaign to hide the deadly effects of its products from the American people. The stakes are high -- tens of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. Michael Bowker rips the cover off the decades of deceit, including the treachery in Libby, Montana, site of the most deadly environmental disaster in U.S. history. He also unveils a startling and ongoing cover-up at Ground Zero -- where thousands of New Yorkers may still be suffering from exposure to dangerous levels of asbestos fibers. Compelling, enraging, and very timely, Fatal Deception is not just a fascinating story, it is a plea to the government and to the American people to help sponsor research into asbestos-related diseases -- and a call to arms to ban asbestos now.

Active killer attacks frequently dominate the headlines with stories of seemingly random mass killings in school, campus, and workplace settings. Nearly all of the attacks are over before the police can respond, leaving unanswered questions as to why these attacks happen and what can be done to prevent them. Fatal Grievances: Forecasting and Preventing Active Killer Threats in School, Campus, and Workplace Settings takes a proactive view of active killer threat management and resolution to prevent the attack before it occurs. Drawing from established threat assessment, behavioral analysis, and law enforcement negotiation theory and practice, the book presents models and methods designed to forecast and prevent an active killer attack through the process of identification, assessment, and engagement. This approach begins with definitions and orientations to violence, the importance of the primacy of focusing on direct behaviors of planned lethal violence over other more indirect behaviors, understanding how to identify a fatal grievance and that only fatal grievances result in planned lethal violence, the importance of understanding the process of crisis intervention as the key to eliminating the fatal grievance and the motivation to kill, and the use of time-series predictive behavioral threat forecasting methods to prevent an active killer attack. Case studies from within the United States (US) and abroad support this unique approach to threat assessment and make the concepts and principles accessible to professionals working in the fields of education, human resources, and security.

This book approaches the prevention of fatal incidents in outdoor education and related fields through detailed study of past tragedies. Although safety in many fields is built on accumulated lessons from past incidents, tragedies on school or youth group camps and excursions are so infrequent and so widely scattered that knowledge from previous incidents can elude those who would benefit. Nevertheless, the emergence of unlearned lessons from the past weighs heavily when those affected by a tragedy judge whether an incident should have been prevented. This book provides a foundation for a detailed and comprehensive understanding of fatality prevention in outdoor education, and in youth camps and excursions. It compiles, examines, and analyses information on fatal incidents that have occurred over many decades, involving many kinds of groups and endeavours, from around the globe. No previous work has attempted this task.

Explore a new and effective method for seizing opportunity in the face of uncertainty In Provoke: How Leaders Shape the Future by Overcoming Fatal Human Flaws, renowned strategy consultants and best-selling authors Geoff Tuff and Steven Goldbach deliver an insightful exploration of how people tend to act tentatively in the face of uncertainty and provide the tools we need to do things differently. Tuff and Goldbach offer up a compelling argument for the proposition that taking a "wait and see" approach is the exact opposite of what helps visionary leaders change the world. Drawing on principles from business and behavioral economics, the book shows readers from all walks of life how to provoke action as a mechanism to advance. In this book you’ll discover: An overview of the assortment of cognitive biases which tend to restrain and distort leadership decision making in the face of uncertainty How to recognize the 'phase change' that occurs when an uncertainty resolves from being a question of "if" to being a matter of "when" Five different models of provocation which can be used alone or in combination to anticipate, drive through and exit that phase change in a way that creates the future you desire How true "provocateurs" shake the foundations of their industries, firms, sectors, and governments by overcoming their need for certainty before action Perfect for leaders or aspiring leaders in all walks of life where uncertainty abounds—which is to say, almost everywhere —Provoke will become your go-to guide to overcoming those natural human instincts that keep us frozen in place and prevent us from seizing our opportunities.

This work offers a critical re-reading of fictions of humanity, history, technology and postmodern culture. Taking psychoanalysis into cyberspace, the book develops a theoretical perspective on the relationship between bodies and machines.

Wild Law - In Practice aims to facilitate the transition of Earth Jurisprudence from theory into practice. Earth Jurisprudence is an emerging philosophy of law, coined by cultural historian and geologian Thomas Berry. It seeks to analyse the contribution of law in constructing, maintaining and perpetuating anthropocentrism and addresses the ways in which this orientation can be undermined and ultimately eliminated. In place of anthropocentrism, Earth Jurisprudence advocates an interpretation of law based on the ecocentric concept of an Earth community that includes both human and nonhuman entities. Addressing topics that include a critique of the effectiveness of environmental law in protecting the environment, developments in domestic/constitutional law recognising the rights of nature, and the regulation of sustainability, Wild Law - In Practice is the first book to focus specifically on the practical legal implications of Earth Jurisprudence.