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The remarkable and touching story of a singular friendship between
the author (an affluent Western correspondent) and his Pashtun
interpreter who meet in an Afghan war-zone and resume their
friendship when Mir becomes an asylum seeker in London's East End.
In the spring of 1997, James Fergusson, a young freelance British
correspondent, encounters a local Pashtun interpreter named Mir in
rebel-controlled Afghanistan. They soon become firm friends, with
Mir an invaluable guide not only to the battle zone, but to the
country's complex politics, culture and traditions. Not long after
James's return home, Mir and his family are forced to flee
Afghanistan, fearing for their lives. When Mir arrives in London
seeking asylum, it is to James that he turns for help. Now their
roles reverse: the guided becomes the guide as James introduces Mir
to the bewildering customs of the infidel West. Yet in many ways it
is Mir who remains the guide - this time to a side of his own
homeland that James had never noticed or engaged with before. He
discovers whole communities of Afghans scattered throughout London,
and the shadow economy in which asylum seekers are forced to work.
He accompanies Mir through the labyrinthine asylum system, with its
endless round of tribunals, appeals, delays and disappointments;
and introduces him to the important things in life like Tesco's,
bank holiday weekends and the seaside. James Fergusson's moving and
remarkable portrait of a singular friendship gives a human face to
one of the most tangled and emotive issues of our time. Powerfully
evoking the no-man's land between the Third and the First Worlds,
between Islam and the West, 'Kandahar Cockney' also places a very
contemporary story in a greater historical context, showing how
surprisingly enduring the legacy of Britain's colonial era really
is.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has undergone
wide-ranging changes since 2006, when it was given a new maritime
warning mission and the NORAD Agreement was signed in perpetuity.
Andrea Charron and James Fergusson trace NORAD's recent history,
marked by innovations in technology and in command and control, but
also by unprecedented threats. The shared defence of North America
remains an important issue that should extend to other areas, such
as the joint defence of the maritime and cyber domains. Fuelled by
a deep curiosity about the command and its decisions made in the
face of inevitable geopolitical and technological changes, this
book uses a functional lens to evaluate NORAD's options and the
technological and organizational solutions needed to defend North
America. The authors investigate the ways in which the NORAD
command might adapt in the future as it struggles to modernize and
keep ahead of new threats. This book comes at a critical time. The
rise of new peer competitors requires a fundamental reconsideration
of North American defence. As one of very few contemporary analyses
of the command and its future, NORAD will be a vital tool for
scholars and practitioners.
Although the war in Afghanistan is now in its endgame, the West's
struggle to eliminate the threat from Al Qaeda is far from over. A
decade after 9/11, the war on terror has entered a new phase and,
it would seem, a new territory. In early 2010, Al Qaeda operatives
were reportedly "streaming" out of central Asia toward Somalia and
the surrounding region.
Somalia, now home to some of the world's most dangerous terrorists,
was already the world's most failed state. Two decades of anarchy
have spawned not just Islamic extremism but piracy, famine, and a
seemingly endless clan-based civil war that has killed an estimated
500,000, turned millions into refugees, and caused hundreds of
thousands more to flee and settle in Europe and North America.
What is now happening in Somalia directly threatens the security of
the world, possibly more than any other region on earth. James
Fergusson's book is the first accessible account of how Somalia
became the world's most dangerous place and what we can--and
should--do about it.
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Rude Stone Monuments
James Fergusson
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R2,281
R2,160
Discovery Miles 21 600
Save R121 (5%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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Rude Stone Monuments
James Fergusson
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R2,809
R2,649
Discovery Miles 26 490
Save R160 (6%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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A writer's travels along the legendary yet contested Jordan
River-exploring the long conflict over water supply Access to water
has played a pivotal role in the Israel-Palestine dispute. Israel
has diverted the River Jordan via pipes and canals to build a
successful modern state. But this has been at the expense of the
region's cohabitants. Gaza is now so water-stressed that the United
Nations has warned it could soon become uninhabitable; its
traditional water source has been ruined by years of
over-extraction and mismanagement, the effects exacerbated by years
of crippling blockade. Award-winning author and journalist James
Fergusson travels to every corner of Israel and Palestine telling
the story of the River Jordan and the fierce competition for water.
Along the way, he meets farmers, officials, soldiers, refugees,
settlers, rioting youth, religious zealots, water experts, and
engineers on both sides of the Green Line. Fergusson gives voice to
the fears and aspirations of the region's inhabitants and
highlights the centrality of water in negotiating future peace.
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Three Lakes
Alan Tulppo, Kyle McMahon, …
Paperback
R653
R545
Discovery Miles 5 450
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