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Doom : the politics of catastrophe / by Ferguson, Niall,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Setting the great crisis of 2020 in broad historical perspective, Niall Ferguson challenges the conventional wisdom that our failure to cope better with disaster was solely a crisis of political leadership, as opposed to a more profound systemic problem. Disasters are by their very nature hard to predict. Pandemics, like earthquakes, wildfires, financial crises and wars, are not normally distributed; there is no cycle of history to help us anticipate the next catastrophe. But when disaster strikes, we ought to be better prepared than the Romans were when Vesuvius erupted, or medieval Italians when the Black Death struck. We have science on our side, after all. Yet the responses of a number of developed countries, including the United States, to a new pathogen from China were badly bungled. Why? The facile answer is to blame poor leadership. While populist leaders have certainly performed poorly in the face of the pandemic, more profound problems have been exposed by COVID-19. Only when we understand the central challenge posed by disaster in history can we see that this was also a failure of an administrative state and economic elites that had grown myopic over much longer than just a few years. Why were so many Cassandras for so long ignored? Why did only some countries learn the right lessons from SARS and MERS? Why do appeals to "the science" often turn out to be magical thinking? Drawing from multiple disciplines, including history, economics, public health, and network science, Doom is a global postmortem for a plague year. In books going back nearly twenty years, including Colossus, The Great Degeneration, and The Square and the Tower, Niall Ferguson has studied the pathologies that afflict modern America, from imperial hubris to bureaucratic sclerosis and online schism. Doom is the lesson of history that this country--indeed the West as a whole--urgently needs to learn--if we want to avoid the doom of irreversible decline"--
Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); COVID-19 (Disease); Epidemics; Political leadership.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The future of capitalism / by Varoufakis, Yanis,panelist.; Brooks, Arthur C.,1964-panelist.; Vanden Heuvel, Katrina,panelist.; Brooks, David,1961-panelist.; Griffiths, Rudyard,editor.;
"In Western societies, the capitalist system is facing a level of distrust not seen in decades. Economic inequality is rampant. Life expectancy is falling. The environment is being destroyed for profit. Political power is wielded by wealthy elites and big business. For capitalism's critics, it is clear that the system is not designed to help average people. Their solution is a top-to-bottom reform of the "free market" along more socialist and democratic lines. For proponents of capitalism, however, this system has been the greatest engine of economic and social progress in history. Not only has capitalism made all of us materially better off, its ideals are responsible for everything from women's rights to a cleaner environment to political freedoms. The answer to society's current ills is more capitalism, more economic freedom, and more free markets. The twenty-fifth semi-annual Munk Debate, held on December 4, 2019, pits editorial director and publisher of the Nation Katrina vanden Heuvel and former finance minister of Greece Yanis Varoufakis against Harvard professor Arthur Brooks and New York Times columnist David Brooks to debate whether the capitalist system is broken."
Subjects: Economics.; Capitalism; Capitalism; Capitalism; Capitalism;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Policing Black lives : state violence in Canada from slavery to the present / by Maynard, Robyn,1987-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Policing Black Bodies is a timely and much-needed exposure of historical and contemporary practices of state-sanctioned violence against Black lives in Canada. This groundbreaking work dispels many prevailing myths that cast Canada as a land of benevolence and racial equality, and uncovers long-standing state practices that have restricted Black freedom. A first of its kind, Policing Black Bodies creates a framework that makes legible how anti-Blackness has influenced the construction of Canada's carceral landscape, including the development and application of numerous criminal law enforcement and border regulation practices. The book traces the historical and contemporary mobilization of anti-Blackness spanning from slavery, 19th and 20th century segregation practices, and the application of early drug and prostitution laws through to the modern era. Maynard makes visible the ongoing legacy of a demonized and devalued Blackness that is manifest today as racial profiling by police, immigration agents and social services, the over-representation of Black communities in jails and prisons, anti-Black immigration detention and deportation practices, the over-representation of Black youth in state care, the school-to-prison pipeline and gross economic inequality. Following the dictums of the Black Lives Matter movement, Policing Black Bodies adopts an intersectional lens that explores the realities of those whose lives and experiences have historically been marginalized, stigmatized, and made invisible. In addressing how state practices have impacted Black lives, the book brings from margin to centre an analysis of gender, class, sexuality, (dis)ability, citizenship and criminalization. Beyond exploring systemic racial injustice, Policing Black Bodies pushes the limits of the Black radical imagination: it delves into liberatory Black futures and urges the necessity of transformative alternatives."--
Subjects: Blacks; Blacks; Race discrimination;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Milk! : a 10,000-year food fracas / by Kurlansky, Mark,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.According to the Greek creation myth, we are so much spilt milk: a splatter of the goddess Hera's breast milk became our galaxy, the Milky Way. But while mother's milk may be the essence of nourishment, it is the milk of other mammals that humans have cultivated ever since the domestication of animals more than ten thousand years ago, originally as a source of cheese, yogurt, kefir, and all manner of edible innovations that rendered lactose digestible, and then, when genetic mutation made some of us lactose-tolerant, milk itself. Before the industrial revolution, it was common for families to keep dairy cows and produce their own milk. But during the nineteenth century mass production and urbanization made milk safety a leading issue of the day, with milk-borne illnesses a common cause of death. Pasteurization slowly became a legislative matter. And today milk is a test case in the most pressing issues in food politics, from industrial farming and animal rights to GMOs, the locavore movement, and advocates for raw milk, who controversially reject pasteurization. Profoundly intertwined with human civilization, milk has a compelling and a surprisingly global story to tell, and historian Mark Kurlansky is the perfect person to tell it. Tracing the liquid's diverse history from antiquity to the present, he details its curious and crucial role in cultural evolution, religion, nutrition, politics, and economics.
Subjects: Dairy products; Dairy products industry; Milk;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Canada 1919 : a nation shaped by war / by Cook, Tim,1971-editor.; Granatstein, J. L.,editor.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."With compelling insight, Canada 1919 examines the year following the Great War-a war that was, for Canada, completely unexpected in its magnitude. In the midst of relief that the killing had ended, economic and political tensions were fraught as the survivors attempted to right the country and chart a path into the future. The Canadian Corps had played a significant role in the war and were hailed as the "shock troops" of the British empire. They came home full of both sorrow and pride in their accomplishments, wondering what they would do, and how would they fit in with their families. The military stumbled through massive demobilization. The government struggled to hang on to power, labour seethed, and the threat of Bolshevism emerged. At the same time there were positive changes, and a new Canadian nationalism was forged. This book offers a fresh perspective on the concerns of the time: the treatment of veterans, including nurses and Indigenous soldiers; the place of children; the influenza pandemic; the rising farm lobby; the role of labour; Canada's international standing; and commemoration of the fallen. Canada 1919 exposes the ways in which war shaped Canada-and the ways it did not."--
Subjects: World War, 1914-1918;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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We are still here : Afghan women on courage, freedom, and the fight to be heard / by Atwood, Margaret,1939-writer of foreword.; Shahalimi, Nahid,1973-editor.;
Includes bibliographical references."A collection of first-hand accounts from courageous Afghan women who refuse to be silenced in the face of the Taliban. After decades of significant progress, the prospects of women and girls in Afghanistan are once again dependent on radical Islamists who reject gender equality. When the United States announced the end of their twenty-year occupation and the Taliban seized control of the country on August 15th, 2021, so began a steep regression of social, political, and economic freedoms for women in the country. But just because a brutal regime has taken over doesn't mean Afghan women will stand by while their rights are stripped away. In We Are Still Here, artist and activist Nahid Shahalimi compiles the voices of thirteen powerful, insightful, and influential Afghan women who have worked as politicians, journalists, scientists, filmmakers, artists, coders, musicians, and more. As they reflect on their country's past, stories of their own upbringing and the ways they have been able to empower girls and women over the past two decades emerge. They report on the fear and pain caused by the impending loss of their homeland, but above all on what many girls and women in Afghanistan have already lost: freedom, self-determination, and joy. The result is an arresting book that issues an appeal to remember Afghan girls and women and to show solidarity with them. Like us, they have a right to freedom and dignity, and together we must fight for their place in the free world because Afghanistan is only geographically distant. Extremist ideas know no limits."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Women's rights; Women; Women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The road to ruin : the global elites' secret plan for the next financial crisis / by Rickards, James,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The bestselling author of The Death of Money and Currency Wars reveals the global elites' dark effort to hide a coming catastrophe from investors. A drumbeat is sounding among the global elites. The signs of a worldwide financial meltdown are unmistakable. This time, the elites have an audacious plan to protect themselves from the fallout: hoarding cash now and locking down the global financial system when a crisis hits. Since 2014, international monetary agencies have been issuing warnings to a small group of finance ministers, banks, and private equity funds: the U.S. government's cowardly choices not to prosecute J.P. Morgan and its ilk, and to bloat the economy with a $4 trillion injection of easy credit, are driving us headlong toward a cliff. As Rickards shows in this frightening, meticulously researched book, governments around the world have no compunction about conspiring against their citizens. They will have stockpiled hard assets when stock exchanges are closed, ATMs shut down, money market funds frozen, asset managers instructed not to sell securities, negative interest rates imposed, and cash withdrawals denied. If you want to plan for the risks ahead, you will need Rickards's cutting-edge synthesis of behavioral economics, history, and complexity theory. It's a guidebook to thinking smarter, acting faster, and living with the comforing knowledge that your wealth is secure. The global elites don't want this book to exist. Their plan to herd us like sheep to the slaughter when a global crisis erupts--and, of course, to maintain their wealth--works only if we remain complacent and unaware. Thanks to The Road to Ruin, we don't need to be"--
Subjects: Monetary policy.; Banks and banking.; Financial crises;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Pandemic panic : how Canadian government responses to COVID-19 changed civil liberties forever / by Baron, Joanna(Lawyer),author.; Manning, Preston,1942-writer of foreword.; Van Geyn, Christine,author.;
Includes bibliographical references.The COVID-19 pandemic was a huge event-politically, culturally, economically, personally. 'Pandemic Panic' is a vital investigation into the way governments in Canada dealt with the pandemic and is a valuable and detailed mastication into an event that can no longer be swept under the carpet.
Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-; COVID-19 vaccines.; Social conflict; COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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American Coup. by Lichtenstein, Brad,film director.; Richen, Yoruba,film director.; Campbell, Alan,actor.; David, Keith,actor.; Deni, Michael,actor.; Giddens, Rhiannon,actor.; Hobson, Thomas,actor.; Graham, Varshay,actor.; PBS (Firm),dst; Kanopy (Firm),dst;
Alan Campbell, Keith David, Michael Deni, Rhiannon Giddens, Thomas Hobson, Varshay GrahamOriginally produced by PBS in 2024.AMERICAN COUP: WILMINGTON 1898 tells the story of a deadly race massacre and carefully orchestrated insurrection in North Carolina’s largest city in 1898. Stoking fears of “Negro Rule,” ​​self-described white supremacists used intimidation and violence to destroy Black political and economic power and overthrow Wilmington’s democratically-elected, multi-racial government. From American Experience.Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subjects: Documentary films.; Political science.; Social sciences.; Enthnology.; History, Modern.; Sociology.; Documentary films.; Ethnicity.; Current affairs.; United States--Politics and government.; History.; African Americans.; Racism.; North Carolina.;
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We are not ourselves [sound recording] / by Thomas, Matthew,1975-; Winningham, Mare.;
Read by Mare Winningham."Born in 1941, Eileen Tumulty is raised by her Irish immigrant parents in Woodside, Queens, in an apartment where the mood swings between heartbreak and hilarity, depending on whether guests are over and how much alcohol has been consumed. Eileen can't help but dream of a calmer life, in a better neighborhood. When Eileen meets Ed Leary, a scientist whose bearing is nothing like those of the men she grew up with, she thinks she's found the perfect partner to deliver her to the cosmopolitan world she longs to inhabit. They marry, and Eileen quickly discovers Ed doesn't aspire to the same, ever bigger, stakes in the American Dream. Eileen encourages her husband to want more: a better job, better friends, a better house, but as years pass it becomes clear that his growing reluctance is part of a deeper psychological shift. An inescapable darkness enters their lives, and Eileen and Ed and their son Connell try desperately to hold together a semblance of the reality they have known, and to preserve, against long odds, an idea they have cherished of the future. Through the Learys, novelist Matthew Thomas charts the story of the American Century, particularly the promise of domestic bliss and economic prosperity that captured hearts and minds after WWII. The result is a powerfully affecting work of art; one that reminds us that life is more than a tally of victories and defeats, that we live to love and be loved, and that we should tell each other so before the moment slips away. Epic in scope, heroic in character, masterful in prose, We Are Not Ourselves is a testament to our greatest desires and our greatest frailties."--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Historical fiction.; Audiobooks.; Irish Americans;
© p2014., Simon & Schuster Audio,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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