How do ordinary people become revolutionaries? In 2000, too-cool-to-care Belgrade rock kid Srdja Popovic found himself at the centre of a movement which was about to change the world. Popovic was one of the unexpected leaders of the student movement Otpor! that overthrew dictator Slobodan Milosevic and established democracy in Serbia — all by avoiding violence and opting for something far more powerful: a sense of humour. In this inspiring and entertaining guide for would-be activists, he tells his story and those of other ‘ordinary revolutionaries’ who have created real social change using non-violent techniques. Now the director of an organisation that helps to train pro-democracy activists, Popovic has worked with some of the most significant movements of our times, including the architects of the Arab Spring. Through examples such as a protest of Lego men in Siberia (when flesh-and-blood people would have been shot), and a boycott of cottage cheese in Israel to challenge price inflation, Popovic tells stories of the true and sometimes ingeniously clever ways in which non-violent resistance has achieved its means. From Occupy Wall Street to Tahrir Square, and from Nelson Mandela to Harvey Milk, the tales Popovic tells are hilarious, accessible, inspiring, at times outrageous, and always about ordinary people achieving extraordinary things.

Digital audio, video, images, and documents are flying through cyberspace to their respective owners. Unfortunately, along the way, individuals may choose to intervene and take this content for themselves. Digital watermarking and steganography technology greatly reduces the instances of this by limiting or eliminating the ability of third parties to decipher the content that he has taken. The many techiniques of digital watermarking (embedding a code) and steganography (hiding information) continue to evolve as applications that necessitate them do the same. The authors of this second edition provide an update on the framework for applying these techniques that they provided researchers and professionals in the first well-received edition. Steganography and steganalysis (the art of detecting hidden information) have been added to a robust treatment of digital watermarking, as many in each field research and deal with the other. New material includes watermarking with side information, QIM, and dirty-paper codes. The revision and inclusion of new material by these influential authors has created a must-own book for anyone in this profession.
*This new edition now contains essential information on steganalysis and steganography
*New concepts and new applications including QIM introduced
*Digital watermark embedding is given a complete update with new processes and applications

This collection of poetry celebrates all types of sports (from soccer, baseball, tennis, football, basketball and even snowball fights). It attempts to portray what it is like to experience these sports, in all their forms. Sometimes it's about the special emotion we have for our favorite ball or pair of cleats. At times, it's hitting the winning shot, others its sitting on the bench, watching others win. Or maybe its just the fun of play. All these things are captured in this short book of poems. Written by middle school students for a special class during Bethany Christian's J-Term. "It sinks through with grace, even misses with dignity." - from "Naturally" by Reed Miller

I am going to be completely honest about how I came up with this piece of work. I managed a warehouse that sold bags of rags. Two months in, my 'boss' tells me that I should be cutting open one bag a shipment to see if the rags were cut right. Even though I knew she was just trying to create more work for me I cut open a bag anyway. The first and only bag I ever had to 'check' had inside of it a small pack of 5"x3 1/2" pink paper tied with a pink bow. It seemed surreal to me so I threw it into my desk drawer. The next day at work I thought of something intriguing and decided to write it down. Opening my desk, I realized what the pink paper was for. Eventually I ran out of the little pieces of pink paper but I continued to think of things worth writing about, so I continued to write them down. I had so much written down on paper it became hard to take care of, so I typed them up. Then there were times when I felt lost and confused so I would read them and feel better, editing them as I went. Feeling confident with what I had written, I was compelled to share it with anyone who was willing to see the world from a strange perspective. I hope you enjoy

Did you know?
Knoxville used to get enough snow to host a sleigh carnival! On one day over two dozen tornadoes tore through the eastern half of Tennessee! Temperatures have reached 106oF in East Tennessee! Winters used to be cold enough to freeze the Tennessee River from one side to the other several inches thick! From being buried under a blanket of snow to gazing on dazzling displays of fall color on a clear autumn day, the variety of weather experienced in East Tennessee makes living in this beautiful slice of America even more interesting. Each day holds its weather oddities and "Weird, Wild & Unpredictable" looks back at some of our biggest weather surprises over the years. The changes in the climate of East Tennessee since the area was settled will fascinate you as you reminisce the big storms and wicked weather you lived through. You'll see East Tennessee weather from a whole new perspective...a regional photo album of our weather past!

It is a truism that the issues politicians discuss in campaigns deserve study, but what about the issues they do not discuss? The question of what gets on a presidential campaign s radar screen, what does not, and why is central to understanding how effectively campaigns function as tools of self-government.

This issue of The Annals examines dimensions of these questions through articles originally commissioned for two conferences at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. If these articles together amount to a catalogue of complaints about the quality of America s presidential debate, perhaps that is to be expected. Views on what candidates ought to discuss will always lie in the eye of the beholder. What the contributors to this volume share, however, is the conviction that campaign discourse matters and that defining the campaign agenda is central to democracy.

So long as candidates seek to win 50 percent of the vote plus one, while citizens struggle to find expression of and answers for their concerns, the question "Whose campaign is it anyway?" will be with us."

It is a truism that the issues politicians discuss in campaigns deserve study, but what about the issues they do not discuss? The question of what gets on a presidential campaign s radar screen, what does not, and why is central to understanding how effectively campaigns function as tools of self-government.

This issue of The Annals examines dimensions of these questions through articles originally commissioned for two conferences at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. If these articles together amount to a catalogue of complaints about the quality of America s presidential debate, perhaps that is to be expected. Views on what candidates ought to discuss will always lie in the eye of the beholder. What the contributors to this volume share, however, is the conviction that campaign discourse matters and that defining the campaign agenda is central to democracy.

So long as candidates seek to win 50 percent of the vote plus one, while citizens struggle to find expression of and answers for their concerns, the question "Whose campaign is it anyway?" will be with us."

In 1872, China ravaged by poverty, population growth, and aggressive European armies sent 120 boys to America to learn the secrets of Western innovation. They studied at New England s finest schools and were driven by a desire for progress and reform. When anti-Chinese fervor forced them back home, the young men had to overcome a suspicious imperial court and a country deeply resistant to change in technology and culture. Fortunate Sons tells a remarkable story, weaving together the dramas of personal lives with the fascinating tale of a nation s endeavor to become a world power. "

Suppose someone told you that for just two cents on the national dollar we could have a country where everyone had health insurance, full-time workers earned a living wage, poor children had great teachers in fixed-up schools, and politicians no longer had to grovel to wealthy donors. And suppose that when we were done, government would still be smaller than it was when Ronald Reagan was president. If you're like most people, you'd probably think that for two cents on the dollar this sounds like an intriguing deal. But 2 percent of America's GDP is more than 200 billion a year- way beyond what politicians in Washington think is possible. Between our proper intuition that 2 percent is a small amount, and the Washington consensus that a 2 percent shift in priorities is beyond imagining, lies the opportunity to transform American politics. In this agenda-setting book, Matthew Miller challenges our country (and those who would lead it) to change the way we think about our public responsibilities before the baby boomers' retirement siphons all the money out of the system. The Two Percent Solution is a call to arms that no serious candidate, Republican or Democrat, can afford to ignore.

At the twilight of the nineteenth century, China sent a detachment of boys to America in order to learn the ways of the West, modernize the antiquated empire, and defend it from foreigners invading its shores. After spending a decade in New England s finest schools, the boys re-turned home, driven by a pioneering spirit of progress and reform. Their lives in America influenced not only their thinking but also their nation s endeavor to become a contemporary world power, an endeavor that resonates powerfully today. Drawing on diaries, letters, and other first-person accounts, Fortunate Sons tells a remarkable tale, weaving together the dramas of personal lives with the momentous thrust of a nation reborn. Shedding light on a crucial yet largely unknown period in China s history, Fortunate Sons provides insight into the issues concerning that nation today, from its struggle toward economic supremacy to its fraught relationship with the United States."

"Lili Marlene," the unlikely anthem of World War II, cut across front lines and ideological divides, uniting soldiers across the globe. This love song, telling the story of a young woman waiting for her lover to return from the battlefield, began as a poem written by a German solider during World War I. The soldier-poet's words found their way to Berlin's decadent cabaret scene in the 1930s, where they were set to music by one of Hitler's favored composers. The song's singer, however, soon found herself torn between her desire for fame and a personal hatred of the Nazi regime. In a gripping and suspenseful narrative, the three artists' remarkable stories of arrests and close calls intertwine with the recollections of soldiers on all sides who fought their way through deserts and towns, seeking solace and finding hope in "Lili Marlene."