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Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Controversial knowledge
In many parts of the contemporary world, spirit beliefs and
practices have taken on a pivotal role in addressing the
discontinuities and uncertainties of modern life. The myriad ways
in which devotees engage the spirit world show the tremendous
creative potential of these practices and their innate adaptability
to changing times and circumstances. Through in-depth
anthropological case studies from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand,
Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, the contributors to this book
investigate the role and impact of different social, political, and
economic dynamics in the reconfiguration of local spirit worlds in
modern Southeast Asia. Their findings contribute to the
re-enchantment debate by revealing that the "spirited modernities"
that have emerged in the process not only embody a distinct feature
of the contemporary moment, but also invite a critical rethinking
of the concept of modernity itself.
Kirsten W. Endres is a Senior Research Fellow and Head of
Research Group at Department II, Max Planck Institute for Social
Anthropology, Halle/Saale. Her monograph, "Performing the Divine:
Mediums, Markets and Modernity in Urban Vietnam" (2011), examines
the flourishing of urban spirit mediumship as part of the recent
revival of popular religion in Vietnam.
Andrea Lauser is Professor in the Department of Social and
Cultural Anthropology, Georg-August-University, Gottingen, Germany.
She is a member of and lecturer in a new area studies network
"Dynamics of Religion in Southeast-Asia," composed of the Southeast
Asia departments of Hamburg, Berlin, Muenster, Heidelberg and
Gottingen, and funded by the German Ministry of Education and
Research (BMBF).
1969, Chappaquiddick, Martha's Vineyard: Mary Jo Kopechne is the
unsuspecting victim of a fatal car accident. The driver is Senator
Edward (Ted) Kennedy. This is a story that details the
investigation, inquest, and grand jury deliberations into the young
woman's untimely death. Leslie H. Leland, jury foreman, gives his
own account of how the entire grand jury was stymied in seeking
evidence relating to the accident caused by Senator Ted Kennedy and
the threats made on his and his family's lives. A never before
reported analysis of how the grand jury was denied its own legal
rights, Left to Die is one example of how power and corruption can
override America's justice system. Upon hearing the details, one
judge stated, "That was not only intimidation, that was tampering
with the grand jury." Author Bio: About the authors: Leslie H.
Leland is a retired pharmacist. His background is detailed within
the book. J.B. Shaffer grew up in Chicago and currently resides in
southeast Florida. He is a retired advertising and marketing
businessman who has written advertising copy and articles for trade
magazines.
Mystery. Manipulation. Murder. Cults are associated with all of
these. But what really goes on inside them? More specifically, what
goes on inside the minds of cult leaders and the people who join
them? Based on the hit podcast Cults, this is essential reading for
any true crime fan. Cults prey on the very attributes that make us
human: our desire to belong, to find a deeper meaning in life, to
live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense
that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff's edge
and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged
dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it's this mindset that
keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it's
that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply
in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick. The
premier storytelling podcast studio Parcast has been focusing on
unearthing these mechanics--the cult leaders and followers, and the
world and culture that gave birth to both. Parcast's work in
analyzing dozens of case studies has revealed patterns: distinct
ways that cult leaders from different generations resemble one
another. What links the ten notorious figures profiled in Cults are
as disturbing as they are stunning--from Manson to Applewhite,
Koresh to Rael, the stories woven here are both spellbinding and
disturbing. Cults is more than just a compilation of grisly
biographies, however. In these pages, Parcast's founder Max Cutler
and national bestselling author Kevin Conley look closely at the
lives of some of the most disreputable cult figures and tell the
stories of their rise to power and fall from grace, sanity, and
decency. Beyond that, it is a study of humanity, an unflinching
look at what happens when the most vulnerable recesses of the mind
are manipulated and how the things we hold most sacred can be
twisted into the lowest form of malevolence.
A journalist who has followed the rise of QAnon explains what it
is, how it has gained a mainstream following among Republican
lawmakers and ordinary citizens, the threat it poses to democracy,
and how we can reach those who have embraced the conspiracy and are
disseminating its lies. Over the last year, as the Covid-19
pandemic spread worldwide, so too did the pro-Trump cabal known as
QAnon. What began as a fringe online conspiracy in the mid 2000s is
now embraced by millions of Americans across the country-and the
globe-including new members of Congress and the thousands of Trump
followers, armed with guns and a variety of makeshift weapons, who
attacked the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, searching
for lawmakers including the Vice President, shouting "hang Mike
Pence." Following internet clues from a mysterious figure named
"Q"-who has claimed to be a high-level government insider with a
Q-level clearance-QAnon adherents, fueled by paranoia and hatred of
the left, believe that Donald Trump has been anointed by God to
stop evil Democrats who sexually abuse, kill, and eat children;
that Trump won the 2020 election that was stolen from him and will
soon order mass executions of Democrats, including Hillary Clinton,
the Obamas, George Soros, and many others. QAnon believers continue
to spout lies and disinformation about politics and the pandemic;
their beliefs have ruptured friendships and family bonds and caused
untold damage. While in office, Trump praised QAnon believers as
"people who love our country," invited them to the White House, and
retweeted their crazed messages on a near-daily basis. Though he is
gone, the threat of widespread violence from his acolytes-"the
Storm is coming"-remains high. What can we do about Q's growing
platform? Daily Beast reporter Will Sommer has been reporting on
the QAnon conspiracy for years and has been targeted by the group.
In this timely and essential book, he explains the genesis of
QAnon, his experience covering its members online and in the real
world, Q's lies and how they are spread, how Q has overshadowed
politics, and what the nation must do to address this growing
danger-including how to help friends and family who have fallen
under Q's pernicious sway.
A masterclass in cat-and-mouse espionage suspense - and the last
lost novel - from the iconic Number One bestselling author of A
SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES 'Ian Rankin is a genius' Lee Child It
always starts with a small lie. That's how you stop noticing the
bigger ones. After his friend suspects something strange going on
at the launch facility where they both work - and then goes missing
- Martin Hepton doesn't believe the official line of "long-term
sick leave"... Refusing to stop asking questions, he leaves his old
life behind, aware that someone is shadowing his every move. The
only hope he has is his ex-girlfriend Jill Watson - the only
journalist who will believe his story. But neither of them can
believe the puzzle they're piecing together - or just how shocking
the secret is that everybody wants to stay hidden... A gripping,
page-turning suspense masterclass - experience the brilliance of
the iconic Ian Rankin.
Do prophecies fail? A small group led by spirit mediums,
infiltrated by social scientists, and reported on at intervals by
the press: Together, these different parties create a sequence of
mutual misunderstandings that leads both to a series of missed
appointments with flying saucers from distant planets and to
success in averting a global catastrophe.This volume proposes a
re-reading of Leon Festinger's classic work on cognitive
dissonance, offering a different account of the motivations and
meanings of a group expecting the arrival of spacemen from another
planet and anticipating the End of the World, and incorporating the
social scientists who studied them into the picture.The author
explores the relations between anthropology and psychology and
between social scientific and natural scientific accounts of human
behaviour, contributing to ideas about the role of science in
contemporary society and to the sociology of secrecy..
Investigative journalist David Gardner turns his uncompromising
gaze on the many conspiracy theories connected with the COVID
pandemic. With first-hand reporting and detailed investigations
into the people who originated these COVID theories - some of them
plausible, some driven by an agenda, and some plainly mad - he
answers the questions that everyone has been asking for nearly two
years since the pandemic began, and left us doubting our leaders as
never before. When COVID-19 struck early in 2020, first in China
and inexorably through the rest of the world, it quickly became the
subject of the most virulent outbreak of conspiracy theories we
have ever seen. The pandemic quickly became an infodemic. The
President of the United States championed bleach as a cure, the
Chinese government blamed the Americans, and the American
government blamed the Chinese - a Cold War over a cold virus. David
Icke said that COVID does not exist. People blamed 5G phone
networks, genetically modified crops, Bill Gates, Corona beer,
aliens, bats and pangolins . . . Yet these theorists are not all
the obsessive cultists and paranoid mavericks with whom the
conspiracy-theory label is often associated. They are your parents,
your next-door neighbour, your boss at work. The question marks
over the origins of COVID-19, the dangers of the virus. The world
has been changed for ever by the events of the past two years. It
is crucial that history offers an accurate account of what
happened. This book will play a key role in revealing what - and
what not - to believe.
'Damning' - Mail on Sunday 'Utterly horrific and compelling' - The
Guardian 'This investigation rings true' - Publishers Weekly On 1
August, 1990, British Airways Flight 149 departed from Heathrow
airport, destined for Kuala Lumpur. It never made it there, and
neither did its nearly 400 passengers and crew. Instead, Flight 149
stopped in Kuwait, as Iraqi troops invaded - delivering the
passengers and crew into the hands of Saddam Hussein. Why did BA
Flight 149 land, even as all other flights were rerouted - and even
though British and American governments had clear intelligence that
Saddam was about to invade? The answer lies in a secret,
unaccountable organization - authorised by Margaret Thatcher -
carrying out a 'deniable' intelligence operation. The plane was the
'Trojan Horse', and the plan - as well as the horrific consequences
for the civilian passengers - has been lied about, denied and
covered up by successive governments ever since. Soon to be a major
TV drama, this explosive book is written with the full cooperation
of the survivors, as well as astonishing and conclusive input from
a senior intelligence source. It is a story of scandal, betrayal
and misuse of intelligence at the highest levels of UK and US
governments - which has had direct impact on terror attacks in the
West and the shape of the Middle East today. It is high time the
truth is told.
As soon as the armed man realized that iron and steel were the best
defences for his body, he would naturally insist that some sort of
a guarantee should be given him of the efficacy of the goods
supplied by his armourer. This system of proving armour would be
effected by using those weapons commonly in use, and these, in the
early times, were the sword, the axe, the lance, the bow, and the
crossbow. The latter seems to have been the more common forms of
proof, though as late as the seventeenth century we have evidence
that armour was proved with the "estramaon" or sword blow. -from
"The Proof of Armour" Not a history of defensive armor but rather a
guide to the actual making of armor, as well as the regulations
that governed the artisans who made it, this is a fascinating-and
practical-handbook on the production, selling, and wearing metal
traditional medieval body armor. First published in 1912, this
classic book-by British historian and author CHARLES JOHN FFOULKES
(1868-1947), curator of London's Royal Armouries-draws on records
of the time to detail the tools and appliances of the trade, the
decoration and cleaning of armor, the use of leather and fabrics,
and much more to offer a complete reference for readers of period
fiction and history, wargamers, costumers, and anyone fascinated by
the craft of the armorer. This replica of the 1912 edition is
complete with all of the original diagrams, illustrations, and
photos.
Stop those who want to double gasoline and diesel prices overnight
So how does abandoning South Louisiana effect you? It affects
everyone that uses gasoline, diesel, or home heating oil. It
affects every taxpayer whose money has been almost totally wasted
by FEMA and other federal government agencies.
Insurance companies are being allowed to not pay thier policies
And, it can happen to you next
The levee protection system has not begun in most places. People
are still suffering. Progoganda and disinformation is deceiving the
nation about the progress of the recovery. The Iraq War is being
used to "Wag the Dog" and distract the nation from the real
threat--That a hurricane could wipe out South Louisiana and it's
oil refining abilities. We could lose half the county's gasoline
refining capabilities in one storm. The price of gas and diesel
could double overnight for you the consumer.
It would result in higher prices of everything that must be
shipped. Inform yourself by reading this book which is chocked full
of true facts and true life experiences. The same abandonment could
happen in your area next.
Also consider the common sense solutions that are offered to save
a region so critical to everyone in the United States and all
connected to the new global economy.
10 cents from every book will go to Katrina Surivor relief. Please
help U.S. citizens victimized by the lack of recovery efforts
How-and why- were UFOs so prevalent in both conspiracy theories and
the New Age milieu in the post-Cold War period? In this
ground-breaking book, David G. Robertson argues that UFOs
symbolized an uncertainty about the boundaries between scientific
knowledge and other ways of validating knowledge, and thus became
part of a shared vocabulary. Through historical and ethnographic
case studies of three prominent figures-novelist and abductee
Whitley Strieber; environmentalist and reptilian proponent David
Icke; and David Wilcock, alleged reincarnation of Edgar Cayce-the
investigation reveals that millennial conspiracism offers an
explanation as to why the prophesied New Age failed to arrive-it
was prevented from arriving by malevolent, hidden others. Yet
millennial conspiracism constructs a counter-elite, a gnostic third
party defined by their special knowledge. An overview of the
development of UFO subcultures from the perspective of religious
studies, UFOs, Conspiracy Theories and the New Age is an innovative
application of discourse analysis to the study of present day
alternative religion.
This book is a contribution to contemporary debates on social
research with a unique focus on the relationship between methods
and the crafting of knowledge. Nine experienced researchers from
different disciplines have come together to explore what really
matters to them in the process of doing qualitative research.
Did COVID-19 actually break out to kill 6 million people because of
a leak from a Chinese laboratory? What are the links between QAnon
and Russiagate, Alex Jones and Donald Trump? Why did our own MI5
try to block evidence about the death of Iraq weapons inspector Dr
David Kelly and the radioactive poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko?
Putin is a brute who lies as a matter of policy. Hitler tried to
blame Poland for starting WWII. We live in a world of fake news and
false flags, secret plots and unexplained deaths. But what on earth
can you believe, when nothing's ever quite what it seems? In
Conspiracy, Ian Shircore cuts through the fog and the fairy tales
to deliver a balanced analysis of the stories that shape the times
we live in. New evidence - from Freedom of Information requests,
WikiLeaks files, deathbed confessions and declassified archives -
has solved some classic mysteries. Yet it raises more questions
than ever about the assassinations of the 1960s, the dirty secrets
of the late 20th century and the deadly traumas of the last few
years. Now fully updated with new cases, material and evidence.
Rockefellerocracy: Kennedy Assassinations, Watergate, and Monopoly
of the "Philanthropic" Foundations is a portal to a universe of
political and economic supremacy, revealing links to the crimes of
the century. Kennedy had a dream for the nation, but Nelson
Rockefeller, a ruthless megalomaniac, had his own selfish scheme to
become president. After a ten-year-long course of wrongdoing to
steal American democracy, his nomination to the vice presidency by
President Gerald Ford was not the hand of fate. Congressman Ford
had served as an integral part of the Warren Commission whitewash.
The two men formed the first administration not elected by the
people This release coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the
JFK assassination, that infamous weekend in November of 1963 that
author Richard James DeSocio remembers well. He even witnessed Jack
Ruby execute Lee Harvey Oswald in front of a live TV audience.
Originally searching for answers to satisfy his own curiosity, that
led to twenty-five years of painstaking research, the author has
unraveled the dark mystery that baffled a nation for half a
century. The verdict is radically different from the official
version.
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