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The sisterhood : the secret history of women at the CIA / by Mundy, Liza,1960-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The New York Times bestselling author of Code Girls reveals the untold story of how women at the CIA ushered in the modern intelligence age, a sweeping story of a "sisterhood" of women spies spanning three generations who broke the glass ceiling, helped transform spycraft, and tracked down Osama Bin Laden. Upon its creation in 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency instantly became one of the most important spy services in the world. Like every male-dominated workplace in Eisenhower America, the growing intelligence agency needed women to type memos, send messages, manipulate expense accounts, and keep secrets. Despite discrimination--even because of it--these clerks and secretaries rose to become some of the shrewdest, toughest operatives the agency employed. Because women were seen as unimportant, they moved unnoticed on the streets of Bonn, Geneva, and Moscow, stealing secrets under the noses of the KGB. Back at headquarters, they built the CIA's critical archives--first by hand, then by computer. These women also battled institutional stereotyping and beat it. Men argued they alone could run spy rings. But the women proved they could be spymasters, too. During the Cold War, women made critical contributions to U.S. intelligence, sometimes as officers, sometimes as unpaid spouses, working together as their numbers grew. The women also made unique sacrifices, giving up marriage, children, even their own lives. They noticed things that the men at the top didn't see. In the final years of the twentieth century, it was a close-knit network of female CIA analysts who warned about the rising threat of Al Qaeda. After the 9/11 attacks, women rushed to join the fight as a new job, "targeter," came to prominence. They showed that painstaking data analysis would be crucial to the post-9/11 national security landscape--an effort that culminated spectacularly in the CIA's successful efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden and, later, Ayman al-Zawahiri. With the same meticulous reporting and storytelling verve that she brought to her New York Times bestseller Code Girls, Liza Mundy has written an indispensable and sweeping history that reveals how women at the CIA ushered in the modern intelligence age"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; United States. Central Intelligence Agency; Espionage, American; Intelligence service; Women intelligence officers; Women spies;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The coming wave : technology, power, and the twenty-first century's greatest dilemma / by Suleyman, Mustafa,author.; Bhaskar, Michael,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A stark and urgent warning on the unprecedented risks that a wave of fast-developing technologies poses to global order, and how we might contain them while we have the chance--from a cofounder of the pioneering AI company DeepMind. Imagine a world in which anyone with a $20,000 desktop DNA synthesizer could develop and unleash a deadly virus. Imagine an undetectable deepfake video of a U.S. president making a racial slur racing across the internet on the eve of an election. Imagine terrorists or paramilitaries stockpiling autonomous weapons designed to make their own decisions about when to engage. As cofounder of DeepMind, the pioneering AI company now owned by Google, Mustafa Suleyman has witnessed firsthand just how rapidly our technology is advancing--and how flawed our approaches to grappling with these changes are. The coming decades, he argues, will be defined by a burst of innovation, an inevitable wave of powerful, fast-proliferating new technologies across fields like synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. Driven forward by immense strategic and financial incentives, these breakthroughs will solve huge challenges and create vast wealth--but upheaval, too, on a once unimaginable scale. Will humankind make it through the narrow corridor between dystopia and catastrophe? In The Coming Wave, Suleyman shows how this new technological super-wave fits a historical pattern of innovation and proliferation, while departing from it in key ways: namely, the speed of change, the breadth of risks, and the wave's potential to democratize access to dangerous, world-altering power. The cumulative risks threaten the very nation state, humanity's centuries' old "grand bargain" of living under centralized authority in exchange for security. As our fragile governments sleepwalk into catastrophe, humanity is left in an existential bind, with techno-authoritarianism on one side and even more catastrophic outcomes, like societal collapse, on the other. We are about to cross a critical threshold in the history of our species. In this groundbreaking book from the ultimate AI insider, Suleyman firmly establishes "the containment problem"--or the challenge of maintaining human control over dangerous technologies--as the essential dilemma of our age, showing that radical steps must be taken if we are to live alongside technology of once unimaginable power"--
Subjects: Artificial intelligence; Information technology;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Gruffalo's child [videorecording] / by Aubry, René.; Bonham Carter, Helena,1966-; Brydon, Rob,1965-; Coltrane, Robbie.; Donaldson, Julia.; Heidscht̲ter, Uwe.; Pope, Martin,1961-; Rose, Michael.; Stuttmann, Johanna,1979-; Weiland, Johannes.; KaBOOM! Entertainment.; Magic Light Pictures.; Orange Eyes (Firm); Phase 4 Films (Firm); Studio SOI (Firm);
Music, René Aubry; editor, Robin Sales.Narrator: Helena Bonham Carter; voices, Helena Bonham Carter, Rob Brydon, Robbie Coltrane.Based on the best-selling children's book, The Gruffalo's Child, tells the tale of when the Gruffalo's child ignores her father's warnings and bravely tiptoes out into the woods in search of the Big Bad Mouse. She meets Snake, Owl and Fox but no sign of the fabled Mouse. He doesn't really exist ... or does he?Canadian Home Video Rating: G.DVD ; widescreen presentation ; Dolby digital 2.0.
Subjects: Animals; Animated films.; Children's films.; Curiosity; Feature films.; Mice; Video recordings for children.; Video recordings for the hearing impaired.;
© c2012., Distributed by KaBOOM! Entertainment,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Lytton : climate change, colonialism and life before the fire / by Edwards, Peter,1956-author.; Loring, Kevin,1974-author.;
Includes bibliographical references."From bestselling true-crime author Peter Edwards and Governor General's Award-winning playwright Kevin Loring, two sons of Lytton, BC, which burned to the ground in 2021, offer a meditation on hometown -- when hometown is gone. Before it made global headlines as the small town that burned down during a record-breaking heat wave in June 2021, while briefly the hottest place on Earth, Lytton, British Columbia, had a curious past. Named for the author of the infamous line, "It was a dark and stormy night," Lytton was also where Peter Edwards, organized-crime journalist and author of over a dozen books, spent his childhood. Although only about 500 people lived in Lytton, Peter liked to joke that he was only the second-best writer to come from his tiny hometown. His grade-school classmate's nephew Kevin Loring, a member of the Nlaka'pamux Nation at Lytton First Nation, had grown up to be a Governor General's Award-winning playwright. The Nlaka'pamux called Lytton "The Centre of the World," a view Buddhists would share in the late twentieth century, as they set up a temple just outside town. In modern times, many outsiders would seek shelter there, often people who just didn't fit anywhere else and were hoping for a little anonymity in the mountains. You'll meet a whole cast of them in this book. A gold rush in 1858 saw conflict with a wave of Californians come to a head with the Canyon War at the junction of the mighty Fraser and Thompson rivers, one that would have changed the map of what was soon to become Canada had the locals lost. The Nlaka'pamux lost over thirty lives in that conflict, as did the American gold seekers. A century later, Lytton hadn't changed much. It was always a place where the troubles of the world seemed to land, even if very few people knew where it was. This book is the story of Lytton, told from a shared perspective, of an Inidigenous playwright and the journalist son of a settler doctor who quietly but sternly pushed back against the divisions that existed between populations (Dr. Edwards gladly took a lot of salmon as payment for his services back in the 1960s). Portrayed with all the warmth, humour and sincerity of small-town life, the colourful little town that burned to the ground could be every town's warning if we don't take seriously what this unique place has to teach us."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The life-changing science of detecting bullshit / by Petrocelli, John V.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Expanding upon his viral TEDx Talk, psychology professor and social scientist John V. Petrocelli reveals the critical thinking habits you can develop to recognize and combat pervasive false information that harms society in The Life-Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit. Bullshit is the foundation of contaminated thinking and bad decisions leading to health consequences, financial losses, legal consequences, broken relationships, and wasted time and resources. No matter how smart we believe ourselves to be, we're all susceptible to bullshit-and we all engage in it. While we may brush it off as harmless marketing sales speak or as humorous, embellished claims, it's actually much more dangerous and insidious. It's how Bernie Madoff successfully swindled billions of dollars from even the most experienced financial experts with his Ponzi scheme. It's how the protocols of Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward resulted in the deaths of 36 million people from starvation. Presented as truths by authority figures and credentialed experts, bullshit appears legitimate, and we accept their words as gospel. If we don't question the information we receive from bullshit artists to prove their thoughts and theories, we allow these falsehoods to take root in our memories and beliefs. This faulty data affects our decision making capabilities, sometimes resulting in regrettable life choices. But with a little dose of skepticism and a commitment to truth seeking, you can build your critical thinking and scientific reasoning skills to evaluate information, separate fact from fiction, and see through bullshitter spin. In The Life-Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit, experimental social psychologist John V. Petrocelli provides invaluable strategies not only to recognize and protect yourself from everyday bullshit, but to accept your own lack of knowledge about subjects and avoid in engaging in bullshit just for societal conformity. With real world examples from people versed in bullshit who work in the used car, real estate, wine, and diamond industries, Petrocelli exposes the red-flag warning signs found in the anecdotal stories, emotional language, and buzzwords used by bullshitters that persuade our decisions. By using his critical thinking defensive tactics against those motivated by profit, we will also learn how to stop the toxic misinformation spread from the social media influencers, fake news, and op-eds that permeate our culture and call out bullshit whenever we see it"--
Subjects: Critical thinking.; Reasoning.; Decision making.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Ten birds that changed the world / by Moss, Stephen,1960-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."For the whole of human history, we have shared our world with birds. We have hunted and domesticated them for food, fuel and feathers; placed them at the heart of our rituals, religions, myths and legends; poisoned, persecuted and often demonized them; and celebrated them in our music, art and poetry. Even today, despite a growing disconnect between humanity and the rest of nature, birds continue to play an integral role in our lives. Ten Birds that Changed the World tells the story of this long and intricate relationship, spanning the whole of human history, and featuring birds from all seven of the world's continents. It does so through those species whose lives, and their interactions with us, have - in one way or another - changed the course of human history. From when Noah sent out the Raven from the Ark, birds have been central to our superstitions, mythology and folklore. Once humans switched from hunter-gathering to settled societies they began to domesticate wild birds: first the Rock Dove - now the domestic or feral Pigeon - used to communicate over long distances; and then the Wild Turkey and other species for food - later, they became the centerpiece of the annual family festivals of Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Dodo of the Indian Ocean is the icon of extinction, while Darwin's Finches changed the way we look at life on our planet, and the droppings of the Guanay Cormorant provided vast amounts of phosphates, kickstarting a global agricultural revolution. In North America, the Snowy Egret almost disappeared when its plumes were used for fashion; this led to the modern bird protection and conservation movement. The Bald Eagle is the proud symbol of the USA, but eagles have a checkered history, especially in Roman and Nazi propaganda. In China, Mao's 'Great Leap Forward' turned out to be the exact opposite. His call to kill millions of Tree Sparrows meant the insects they ate destroyed the grain harvest - leading to a famine in which thirty million people died. Finally, the Emperor Penguin of Antarctica stands as a potent symbol of how humanity's future is now in the balance, as it heads towards becoming the first global casualty of the Climate Emergency. It is an urgent sign, warning us about our own survival on the planet? Ten Birds that Changed the World is a 'big picture' view of global human history, seen through a unique and original viewpoint: our relationship with birds, as crucial to our lives today as is has ever been"--
Subjects: Birds; Human-animal relationships;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Aftershocks : pandemic politics and the end of the old international order / by Kahl, Colin H.,1971-author.; Wright, Thomas J.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The COVID-19 crisis is the greatest shock to world order since Worlwd War II. Millions have been infected and killed. The economic crash caused by the pandemic is the worst since the Great Depression, with the International Monetary Fund estimating that it will cost over $9 trillion of global wealth in the next few years. Many will be left impoverished and hungry. Fragile states will be further hollowed out, creating conditions ripe for conflict and mass displacement. Meanwhile, international institutions and alliances already under strain before the pandemic are teetering, while the United States and China, already at loggerheads before the crisis, are careening toward a new Cold War. China's secrecy and assertiveness have shattered hopes that it will become a responsible stakeholder in the international order. Colin Kahl and Thomas Wright's Aftershocks is both a riveting journalistic account of one of the strangest years on record and a comprehensive analysis of the pandemic's ongoing impact on the foundational institutions and ideas that have shaped the modern world. This is the first crisis in decades without a glimmer of American leadership and it shows -- there has been no international cooperation on a quintessential global challenge. Every country has followed its own path -- nationalizing supplies, shutting their borders, and largely ignoring the rest of the world. The international order the United States constructed seven decades ago is in tatters, and the world is adrift. None of this came out of the blue. Public health experts and intelligence analysts had warned for a decade that a pandemic of this sort was inevitable. The crisis broke against a global backdrop of rising nationalism, backsliding democracy, declining public trust in governments, mounting rebellion against the inequalities produced by globalization, resurgent great power competition, and plummeting international cooperation. And yet, there are some signs of hope. The COVID-19 crisis reminds us of our common humanity and shared fate. The public has, for the most part, responded stoically and with kindness. Some democracies -- South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, New Zealand, among others -- have responded well. America may emerge from the crisis with a new resolve to deal with non-traditional threats, like pandemic disease, and a new demand for effective collective action with other democratic nations. America may also finally be forced to come to grips with our nation's inadequacies, and to make big changes at home and abroad that will set the stage for opportunities the rest of this century holds. But one thing is certain: America and the world will never be the same again"--
Subjects: COVID-19 (Disease); Epidemics; Epidemics;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Silent night / by Groom, Juliet.; Warnes, Tim.; Gruber, Franz Xaver,1787-1863.Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht.;
Loosely based on the German Christmas song, celebrates a wonder-filled night and the joys of nature.LSC
Subjects: Stories in rhyme.; Night; Spiritual life; Children's songs;
© c2010., Good Books,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Terminator. [videorecording] / by Cameron, James,1954-film director,screenwriter,film producer.; Furlong, Edward,1977-actor.; Hamilton, Linda,1956-actor.; Morton, Joe,1947-actor.; Patrick, Robert,1958-actor.; Schwarzenegger, Arnold,actor.; Wisher, William,screenwriter.; Lions Gate Films,publisher.; Lightstorm Entertainment (Firm),production company.; Pacific Western (Firm),production company.;
Director of photography, Adam Greenburg ; Industrial Light & Magic visual effects supervisor, Dennis Muren ; special make-up and Terminator effects producer, Stan Winston ; editors, Conrad Buff, Mark Goldblatt, Richard A. Harris ; music, Brad Fiedel.Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, Joe Morton, Edward Furlong.A lethal cyborg, the T-1000, has been sent back from 2029 A.D. to present day Los Angeles on a mission to kill the boy destined to lead the freedom fighters of the future. The original Terminator cyborg is reprogrammed and sent to save the boy, assisted by the boy's mother, a woman warrior whose warnings of a world headed toward nuclear disaster go unheeded.Canadian Home Video Rating: 18A.MPAA rating: R.DVD ; widescreen presentation ; Dolby Digital 5.1.
Subjects: Science fiction films.; Feature films.; Video recordings for the hearing impaired.; Cyborgs; Time travel; Mothers and sons; Los Angeles (Calif.);
For private home use only.
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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I love you to the moon and back / by Hepworth, Amelia.; Warnes, Tim.;
A joyful celebtration of the love between a parent and the special little person in his or her life.LSC
Subjects: Stories in rhyme.; Parent and child; Bears; Forest animals; Love, Maternal;
© 2015., Tiger Tales,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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