In Participatory Democracy: The Case of Parish Development Committees in Jamaica, Marc Anthony Thomas expands the existing knowledge on participatory democracy. Parish development committees were established as a means for Jamaicans to inform government policy, and Thomas explores the extent to which supportive institutional, infrastructural and superstructural conditions allow for robust implementation of this democratization initiative. His analysis is bolstered by an appreciation of the emancipatory politics employed by the country's general population since slavery not only to survive oppression, but also to influence the nation's political agenda. Riots during slavery and in the present day, for example, have offered citizens an avenue towards self-determination. The democratization initiative symbolized by parish development committees promotes inclusiveness yet is led predominantly by older, educated middle-class individuals with talents and capacities garnered from several years of experience in various fields. Thomas argues that the opportunity cost of a more inclusive order explains this fact, in that Jamaica's finite resources mean there is limited space for a learning curve and the cash-strapped committees have only been able to survive when their members could help to defray the cost of their operations. By observing more than one hundred hours of parish development committee activities and interviewing sixty key informants and four focus groups, Thomas finds that the emergence, survival and thriving of parish development committees in Jamaica is determined largely by the extent to which emancipatory political tactics are successfully applied by committee stakeholders to combat a number of continuing challenges. His analysis provides a micro-scale view of the interaction of factors that have shaped the power and possibility of Jamaica's democratization initiative.

This dramatic tale is about two brothers, the eldest, Rodney Bryant and the younger Nicholas. The two have had a tumultuous upbringing; the relationship with their father has left more than just bruises; it has embedded deep rooted fear and keeping them detached from most of the world. One of the many obstacles that they face respectively. Rodney is of bi-racial makeup which makes him look radical to his younger brother giving the world another thing to pass judgment on. The brothers do not let this trivial thing interfere with their lives always respecting each other as just brother. Their mother has always been their rock, but at the start of the story she has her own demons to settle. The brothers must learn to cope with her situation and as a turn of fate would have it their luck dramatically changes. The brothers go on a journey that turns out to be just a vacation, but a cross country trip that ends in self-discovery and forgiveness.

This book is a work of fiction, but built on a topic that is very real. Bullying has become a pandemic in the US that is growing rapidly. During my time in school I was a victim of bullying and I understand the the shame, the embarrassment, the loneliness and of course the Fear. The story tells the tale of James Anderson, an eighteen year old high school student who has been through his fair share of heartache. When James is eight years old he is involved in a tragic car accident that leaves his mother dead and him scarred for life. The young boy becomes disconnected from everyone, his father, his older sister and his best friend Felicity Evans. James and Felicity are close as two best friends can be, but the circumstances break them apart. James doesn't know how to be around others any longer and he creates a makeshift toy that he calls Clandestine. Clandestine is the one he unloads his emotions, his secrets his everything onto; which he does for the next eight years. In high school, James is known as a freak and a loser keeping to himself. Felicity has now moved on to a new group of friends becoming one of the popular crowd. James' biggest rival comes in the form of the school's quarterback, Russell Ford who makes it his daily mission to make James' life a living hell. After school one particular day, Russell and a few of his friends decide to give James the beating of his life, just because they feel like it; leaving him more downtrodden and alone than ever. James tells Clandestine everything, and out of anger, he wishes that something awful would happen to his assailants; and later that same night, one of them is brutally murdered in his home. Within a few days more of them are slain, leaving the town of Christina Bella, Arizona rocked. During all of this, James and Felicity find their way back to each other after the eight year gap. They start to realize that the time divided has made the heart grow fonder. Before the two of them can have anything together they must survive this horrifying ordeal that they have become trapped in by a dark figure that no one can seem to pin-point. James and Felicity must ban as one to stop this before they are once again separated from one another; this time . . . . by their deaths.

Following a severe road traffic accident as a pillion passenger on a motorcycle at the tender age of 13, Marc Richardson was hospitalised for over 12 months and spent many more months recuperating after that. During the numerous major operations he had at such a young age, Marc had many "out of body experiences" which he can still vividly recall. On one particular day during one of these operations Marc was honoured and privileged to be connected with his now inseparable spirit guide "Tommy," whom from that day to this has guided and taught him about this world, the afterlife and about sharing his knowledge with others.

Audrey Martin is an unconventional seventeen year old girl who longs to leave her hometown of Acerville. The town is typical and small hindering her potenial of what she wants out of life. In the meantime she spends time with her loving boyfriend Teddy and her best friends Lena and her friend Shawn. One night there is a gruesome murder of the school bad boy that leaves the small town in an uproar. Many think it's a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; while Audrey thinks something more sinister is at work. She tells others of her concerns, but they do not take her theories to heart. Slowly, one by one the people that she cares about and several locals are being picked off by the madman that has been dubbed Porcelain Man; due to the distinct mask he wears hiding his true identity. With the help of local detective Matthew Elliott, he and Audrey set out on their respective missions to uncover who this fiend is before more innocence people have to die. In the end, neither of them are prepared for what they find; which will blow the top of Acerville's past mystery that reaches back ten years. Can Audrey discover who this sadistic man is before it's too late . . . . before she becomes the next victim?

Since the recent attacks of September 11, 2001, the intelligence community has been on a hiring binge. According to some estimates, over half of those currently employed in the agencies and departments that comprise the U.S. intelligence community have less than six years experience. Consequently, there are a lot of people "learning the ropes" on how to become an intelligence professional. A Spy's Resume describes what people can expect when they decide to leave government or military service. In this book, Marc Anthony Viola assists government and military professionals transitioning into the civilian world, using techniques from the U.S. intelligence community. While Viola includes advice on resume writing and interviewing, his book goes beyond "how to find a job" to the challenge of conceptualizing a new vocation, as well as looking at the personal journey from the perspective of a former intelligence professional transitioning to the civilian sector. Viola uses experiences and observations from his own military intelligence career in ways that are of interest and of benefit to anyone thinking of changing careers or in transition with his or her own life.

A fiercely ecstatic tale of betrayal and self-sacrifice. Messiahs centers on two nameless lovers, a woman of east Asian descent and a former state prisoner, a black man who volunteered incarceration on behalf of his falsely convicted nephew, yet was "exonerated" after more than two years on death row. In this dystopian America, one can assume a relative's capital sentence as an act of holy reform-"the proxy initiative," patterned after the Passion. The lovers begin their affair by exchanging letters, and after his release, they withdraw to a remote cabin during a torrential winter, haunted by their respective past tragedies. Savagely ostracized by her family for years, the woman is asked by her mother to take the proxy initiative for her brother-creating a conflict she cannot bear to share with her lover. Comprised of ten poetic paragraphs, Messiahs' rigorous style and sustained intensity equals agony and ecstasy.

Artist: Marc Anthony. Format: Compact Disk CD. General Subject: Latin - Pop Popular Music. Library Subject: 2001-2010 2001-2010. Popular music Salsa (Music) Songs Spanish Songs Spanish. Release Date: 7/11/2006. Disc 1 of 1:. 1 - Dmelo. 2 - No Me Ames. 3 - Da La Vuelta. 4 - Muy Dentro De M (You Sang To Me). 5 - Celos. 6 - Tragedia. 7 - Barco A La Deriva. 8 - Ahora Quien. 9 - Valio La Pena. 10 - Se Esfuma Tu Amor. 11 - Tu Amor Me Hace Bien. 12 - Lamento Borincano. 13 - Lo Que No Di. 14 - Que Precio Tiene El Cielo.