At the dawn of the great ice age, a group of three animals embark upon an epic journey. Sid the sloth, Manfred the mammal, and Diego the sabre-toothed tiger team up to help return a human baby to its father, and must risk life and limb as they traverse boiling lava pits and travel through dangerous ice caves to complete their mission. Along the way they also meet Scrat, a squirrel-rat determined to plant an acorn in a glacier. Features the voices of John Leguizamo, Denis Leary and Jack Black.

A collection of children's animated adventures from the Blue Sky studios. In 'Epic' (2013), Mary Katherine (voice of Amanda Seyfried) lives in a cabin in the woods with her eccentric father, Professor Bomba (Jason Sudeikis), who studies the local fauna. One day, when he doesn't return from a hike in the forest, she sets out to find him, inadvertently stumbling across some strange glowing leaves. Clutching one, Mary Katherine is shrunken down to the forest floor, where, after meeting up with a group of warriors known as the Leafmen, she finds herself helping her new friends in their war to save their world from the clutches of the evil Boggans. In 'Horton Hears a Who!' (2008), a jungle elephant named Horton (Jim Carrey) discovers a race of tiny beings living in a solitary dandelion. Recognising the dangers they face, the friendly pachyderm resolves to keep his microscopic pals safe. However, as Horton is the only one who hears the inhabitants of 'Whoville', his other animal pals are convinced he's gone crazy and resolve to do something about it. Horton and his miniscule friends must struggle against these impossible odds to prevent disaster. In 'Ice Age' (2002), a group of three animals embark upon an epic journey at the dawn of the great ice age. Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo), Manfred the woolly mammoth (Ray Romano), and Diego the sabre-toothed tiger (Denis Leary) team up to help return a human baby to its father, and must risk life and limb as they traverse boiling lava pits and travel through dangerous ice caves to complete their mission. In 'Ice Age 2: The Meltdown' (2006), Manny is ready to start a family, but nobody has seen another mammoth for a long time; in fact, Manny thinks he may be the last one. That is until he miraculously finds Ellie (Queen Latifah), the only female mammoth left in the world. The only problem is, they can't stand each other... In 'Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs' (2009), Scrat the squirrel (Chris Wedge) is still trying to get his paws on that ever-elusive nut, Manny and Ellie anxiously await the birth of their mini-mammoth, and Diego wonders if he's growing too laid-back living the life of a pampered house cat. Meanwhile, Sid the sloth gets into trouble when he creates his own makeshift family by hijacking some unusually large eggs, and inadvertently discovers a mysterious underground world where dinosaurs still roam. In 'Ice Age 4: Continental Drift' (2012), when the entire continent is set adrift following a global cataclysm, Manny, Diego and Sid find themselves separated from the rest of the herd. Commandeering a nearby iceberg as a makeshift boat, they take to the high seas. Fearsome sea creatures and battlethirsty pirates are among the challenges faced by the intrepid trio as they ride the waves of the world in search of their family. In 'Rio' (2011), Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) is a rare macaw living in a bookshop in small-town Minnesota. Believing himself to be the last of his kind, he is thrilled to hear that a female macaw of the same species has been spotted in South America. Blu must now overcome his social ineptitude and fear of flying and set out for Rio de Janeiro to track down the feisty and independent Jewel (Anne Hathaway) and try to win her heart. Finally, in 'Robots' (2005), Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan McGregor) is a small town robot who has a gift for inventing things and a hope of moving beyond his quaint surroundings. Dreaming of doing something better than working alongside his dad in a restaurant, Rodney, armed with his unique talent for inventing, embarks on a journey to Robot City to meet his idol, the majestic inventor Bigweld (Mel Brooks).

Double-bill of animated movies about a gang of prehistoric animals who become close friends. In 'Ice Age' (2002), the story begins at the dawn of the great ice age, when a group of three animals embark upon an epic journey. Sid the sloth, Manfred the mammal, and Diego the sabre-toothed tiger team up to help return a human baby to its father, and must risk life and limb as they traverse boiling lava pits and travel through dangerous ice caves to complete their mission. Along the way they also meet Scrat, a squirrel-rat determined to plant an acorn in a glacier. The film features the voices of John Leguizamo, Denis Leary and Jack Black. In 'Ice Age 2 - The Meltdown' (2006), Manny the woolly mammoth (voice of Ray Romano), Sid the sloth (Leguizamo), Diego the saber-toothed tiger (Leary), and the hapless prehistoric squirrel/rat known as Scrat (Chris Wedge) are back in this sequel to the popular 2002 film. Manny is ready to start a family, but nobody has seen another mammoth for a long time. In fact, Manny thinks he may be the last one. That is until he miraculously finds Ellie (Queen Latifah), the only female mammoth left in the world. The only problem being that they can't stand each other. Ellie comes with some excess baggage in the form of her two possum friends, Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck), a couple of daredevil pranksters and cocky, loud-mouthed troublemakers. When a huge glacial dam holding off oceans of water is about to break, threatening the entire valley, the only chance of survival lies at the other end of the valley. So our three heroes, along with Ellie, Crash and Eddie, form the most unlikely family as they embark on a mission across an ever-changing, increasingly dangerous landscape.

Broadband technology is changing our lives, our economy, and our culture. By making it possible to access, use, and share information, news, and entertainment with ever increasing speed, broadband knits geographically-distant individuals and businesses more closely together, increases our productivity, and enriches our quality of life. In so doing, it fuels economic growth and job creation that, in turn, provide unparalleled new opportunities for our nation's citizens. The procompetition telecommunications policies underpinning the administration's broadband strategy is examined in this book. Among other things, it stabilised the market for planning and investment, provided needed spectrum resources to expand existing services and support new innovations, and spurred the development and deployment of technologies and infrastructure necessary to deliver them. The same technology that enables governments, banks, corporations and other institutions to manage affairs of state and international finance and trade now makes critical contributions to health care, education, public safety, and the productivity of individuals and small businesses, as well as a host of other activities. The swift growth in broadband technologies and services that has occurred over the last several years are also discussed in this book.

Nonviolent action, well planned and implemented, is shown in this lucid, timely, and compelling work to effect dramatic outcomes against opponents utilizing violence. Ackerman and Kruegler recognize that not all nonviolent efforts meet with success and they are careful to stress that a nonviolent approach involves great risks as well as opportunities. It is the effectiveness of the strategies employed which will determine whether those using nonviolent means can prevail against opponents who rely on violence in pursuit of objectives. Twelve principles of strategic nonviolence are established in this book--they serve as a conceptual foundation and enhance the prospects of success in nonviolent campaigns of resistance. The authors also develop six twentieth century examples of nonviolent action from the early Russian Revolution of 1904-1906 through the Solidarity movement in 1980-1981. Each campaign narrative constitutes a fascinating reading experience and illustrates common themes, strategies, and important aspects of behavior on the part of major participants in nonviolent encounters. This is a singularly important book. It offers more than a mere plea for nonviolence. Ackerman and Kruegler provide hard lessons based on important, and often painful, historical efforts: principles to govern the choice and implementation of strategies when nonviolence is the determined response; and insightful analysis to guide assessment and policy. Finally, the authors consider the evolving international situation and relate current themes and policies to the potential inherent in astute and deliberate programs of nonviolence. A work which will focus analysis, impact decision-making, stimulate policyconsideration, and invigorate research, this volume will well serve professionals and students in international relations and numerous related fields.

Nonviolent action, well planned and implemented, is shown in this lucid, timely, and compelling work to effect dramatic outcomes against opponents utilizing violence. Ackerman and Kruegler recognize that not all nonviolent efforts meet with success, and they are careful to stress that a nonviolent approach involves great risks as well as opportunities. It is the effectiveness of the strategies employed which will determine whether or not those using nonviolent means can prevail against opponents who rely on violence in pursuit of objectives. Twelve strategic principles are established in this book which serve as a conceptual foundation to enhance the prospects of success in nonviolent campaigns. The authors also develop six twentieth-century examples of nonviolent action from the early Russian Revolution of 1904-1906 through the Solidarity movement in 1980-1981. Each campaign narrative constitutes a fascinating reading experience and illustrates common themes, strategies, and important aspects of behavior on the part of major participants in nonviolent encounters. This is a singularly important book. It offers more than a mere plea for nonviolence. Ackerman and Kruegler introduce their work by noting the surprising extent to which nonviolent sanctions are currently employed to pressure adversaries in the international political arena. They go onto provide hard lessons based on important, and often painful, historical efforts; principles to govern the choice and implementation of strategies when nonviolent action is the determined response; and insightful analysis to guide assessment and policy. A work which will focus analysis, inform decision-making, stimulate policy consideration, andinvigorate research, this volume will well serve professionals and students in international relations and numerous related fields.