The Threat

The Threat tells the darkly comic story of Melvin Levin, a middle-aged man who is dissatisfied with his dull and mediocre life. That is, until he receives a mysterious death threat in the mail. Terrified at first, Levin soon becomes accustomed to the threat—and then, increasingly, delighted with it, thrilled with his newfound importance as a “threatened man.” But as his obsession with maintaining this identity becomes all-consuming, he risks blinding himself to the twin dangers of the threat itself and—perhaps worse—his own deranged mind. At once absurdist, moving, and savagely funny, The Threat is a timeless parable of the comic lengths to which people go to protect the delusions that validate them.

After fifty years of widespread speculation about UFOs and abductions by aliens, a distinguished historian and UFO researcher presents the first evidence-based explanation of alien intentions. Based on over thirty years of personal research, Professor Jacobs exposes the aliens' profoundly alarming agenda: to create a breed of alien-human 'hybrids' who will eventually colonise - and control - Earth. He explains why aliens are here, what they want and why their agenda has been kept secret. In doing so he presents a disturbing picture of a profoundly changed future in which humans will be relegated to inferior status. This incredible story is all the more remarkable because every account of an alien abduction is thoroughly documented and is corroborated by independent testimony. This book answers in astonishing depth some of the most important questions about the UFO phenomenon that researchers have been asking since the beginning of the controversy.

There is a new Animorph. And he's arrived just in time, because the Yeerks are preparing their biggest takeover ever. Their ultimate target: the world's most powerful leaders, all gathered together in one place. What better way to get into the minds of humans? Literally.At first, David joins the fight with a vengeance. But there's definitely something wrong. Because he's starting to break the rules, taking risks that could get them all captured. Or killed. The Animorphs don't know what to do. There was a time when the Yeerks were their greatest enemy, but that's about to change...

Based on access to never-before-seen task forces and FBI bases from Budapest, Hungary, to Quantico, Virginia, this book profiles the visionary agents who risked their lives to bring down criminals and terrorists both here in the U.S. and thousands of miles away long before the rest of the country was paying attention to terrorism. Given unprecedented access, thousands of pages of once secret documents, and hundreds of interviews, Garrett M. Graff takes us inside the FBI and its attempt to protect America from the Munich Olympics in 1972 to the attempted Times Square bombing in 2010. It also tells the inside story of the FBI's behind-the-scenes fights with the CIA, the Department of Justice, and five White Houses over how to combat terrorism, balance civil liberties, and preserve security. The book also offers a never-before-seen intimate look at FBI Director Robert Mueller, the only U.S. national security leader still in office from 9/11, and the most important director since Hoover himself. Covering more than 30 years of history and coming right up until the present day of the Obama administration's response to terrorist attacks like that on Christmas Day 2009 in Detroit, the book explores the transformation of the FBI from a domestic law enforcement agency, handling bank robberies and local crimes, into an international intelligence agency--with more than 500 agents operating in more than 60 countries overseas today--fighting extremist terrorism, cyber crimes, and, for the first time, American suicide bombers. Brilliantly reported and suspensefully told, The Threat Matrix peers into the darkest corners of this secret war and will change your view of the FBI forever.

The democratic opening presented by Nigeria's successful transition to civil rule (June 1998 to May 1999) unleashed a host of hitherto repressed or dormant political forces. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly difficult to differentiate between genuine demands by these forces on the state and outright criminality and mayhem. Post-transition Nigeria is experiencing the proliferation of ethnic militia movements purportedly representing, and seeking to protect, their ethnic interests in a country, which appears incapable of providing the basic welfare needs of its citizens.It is against the background of collective disenchantment with the Nigerian state, and the resurgence of ethnic identity politics that this research interrogates the growing challenge posed by ethnic militias to the Nigerian democracy project. The central thesis is that the over-centralization of power in Nigeria 's federal practice and the failure of post-transitional politics in genuinely addressing the "National Question," has resulted in the emergence of ethnic militias as a specific response to state incapacity. The short- and long-term threats posed by this development to Nigeria 's fragile democracy are real, and justify the call for a National Conference that will comprehensively address the demands of the ethnic nationalities.

In the aftermath of major crises governments turn to public inquiries to learn lessons. Inquiries often challenge established authority, frame heroes and villains in the public spotlight and deliver courtroom-like drama to hungry journalists. As such, they can become high-profile political stories in their own right. Inquiries also have a policy learning mandate with big implications because they are ultimately responsible for identifying policy lessons which, if implemented, should keep us safe from the next big event. However, despite their high-profile nature and their position as the pre-eminent means of learning about crises, we still know very little about what inquiries produce in terms of learning and what factors influence their effectiveness in this regard. In light of this, the question that animates this book is as important as it is simple. Can post-crisis inquiries deliver effective lesson-learning which will reduce our vulnerability to future threats? Conventional wisdom suggests that the answer to this question should be an emphatic no. Outside of the academy, for example, inquiries are regularly vilified as costly wastes of time that illuminate very little while inside social scientists echo similar concerns, regularly describing inquiries as unhelpful. These commentaries, however, lack robust, generalizable evidence to support their claims. This volume provides evidence from the first international comparison of post-crisis inquiries in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, which shows that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the post-crisis inquiry is an effective means of policy learning after crises and that they consistently encourage policy reforms that enhance our resilience to future threats.

This book explores the mindset of American government officials who decided that necessity required that American democracy should be defended by actions and policies contrary to traditional ideals of democracy. The works of Aristotle, current mental health professionals, Edmund Burke, Reinhold Niebuhr, Friedrich Meinecke, and George Kennan bolster this analysis.