If you want to understand why the senate voted down Obama’s veto 97-1 last week, pick up this 400 page book and start reading it. It will grip you so hard, you’ll only be able to put it down when you’re done.

It is difficult to discuss “Ghost Wars” and avoid hyperbole.

What we have here is not just a level-headed, comprehensive and exhaustive account of Afghan history from 1980 to 2011. This masterpiece of a book is nothing less than the full and definitive account of the manner in which overt and covert American foreign policy mixed with Pakistani and Saudi domestic politics (and their projection on foreign policy goals) to directly foster the gestation and development of Islamic terrorism as we know it today.

You find out about the events in Afghanistan leading up to the Soviet invasion, the rise of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan’s struggles between Islam and secularism, the Soviet invasion, the puppet government the Soviets installed, the Afghan resistance and its protagonists, the pact with the devil between the CIA and the ISI to support the religiously most radicalized factions of the resistance, the donations to the cause that the US actively solicited and obtained in the Gulf on behalf of the ISI, the routing of the Soviets chiefly by Tajiks warriors under Ahmed Shah Massoud, Uzbeks under warlords like Dostum and the Pakistan-assisted Islamists of Haqqani and Hekmattyar and their American-supplied Stinger missiles. Next you move to the almost equally bloody struggles between them all, the subsequent total abandonment of Afghanistan by the West to the interests of Pakistan, all the way through to the disgraceful period when US policy to the region was dictated by inconsequential interests of second-rate players in the oil industry and the misrule the west tolerated in Kabul after the departure of the Soviets.

From there you move almost naturally to the rise of the morally virtuous, home-grown, ethnically Pashtun, Wahhabi-educated, Pakistan-armed and Pakistan-supported Taliban, their intolerance of diversity and the hijacking of their cause by Osama Bin Laden, who not only bought their way into Kabul but very carefully cultivated and won the support of their leader, the one-eyed mullah Mohammed Omar.

After that, the author gives a full account of the terrorist activities of Osama Bin Laden up to September 11 and takes care to set them within the context of other Middle Eastern terrorism, secular and religious, while in parallel documenting in full the CIA-led efforts to fight it. George Bush Sr. and Bill Clinton, especially, do not come out if this account smelling of roses. Clinton, in particular is accused of first mistrusting the CIA and then of being incapacitated by his need to manage public opinion in view of his personal scandals, but also of his famous tendency to “triangulate” between getting results and keeping a distance from any collateral damage.

It really is all there!

All of the above, while true, is still not the best thing about this book.

What makes this an unbelievable read is that it really gets hold of you. Steve Coll has managed to convert this very convoluted history into a gripping narrative with character development and a clear storyline. By the end of the book, you feel you really know the Uzbeki Massoud, Americans Casey, Shroen and Berger, the Saudi Prince Turki, Pakistanis such as Zia-Ul-Haq, Musharraf and all the heads of the ISI; you get to see a darker side of Benazir Bhutto, too. Special care is given to understanding the motivations of all the players, the multiple levels on which they were acting, the multiple goals they were pursing at the same time and the physical terrain in which they operated.

It is fair to say that there isn’t a single character in this play who’s not having to make a number of compromises. The author tells you enough about everybody so you can judge where he’s coming from. Pakistan’s ISI needed to fight the Soviets, for example, but only if it could be beaten by its own proxies. And it also needed to secure secret bases from which to train guerrillas for its secret war in Kashmir. And all this it needed to do while still receiving financial assistance from the US and while pretending the country was on a path to democracy. The Saudi princes’ motivations are explained in similar detail, as are the sundry resistance fighters’. And you are left with zero doubt that western interests at some point simply went absent without leave.

You ride with all these guys. You climb on their helicopters with them, you dodge bullets with them, you watch them hang their enemies from the high mast, you feel the shrapnel tear through you when they fall.

If this was a novel, basically, you’d find yourself unable to put it down. Except, of course, it’s all documented fact. From the first skirmish at the US Embassy in Pakistan all the way through the development of our now favorite means of delivering “justice,” the dreaded Predator, and to the last chapter of the book (not unlike the last scene in the Godfather, except it’s Osama Bin Laden sitting in the –figurative- opera house while his opponents are eliminated) what you have here is a truly educational thriller.

I have no idea how anybody can put together such a tremendous book within three years of the event that gave rise to what could easily have been a lifelong project for a lesser author. But Steve Coll, managing editor of the Washington Post when he wrote this book some thirteen years ago, pulled it off.

And now I’ve read “Ghost Wars,” it’s clear to me that the US Congress has only really covered half the bases here. An equitable decision would also have cleared the way for US citizens to sue the Pakistani state, perhaps over and above Saudi Arabia.

Then again, the American way is to sue for money. When will we all learn?

Think Like Amazon is a book of ideas based on the author's personal knowledge of how Amazon has followed 14 Leadership Principles ever since he was a key executive there in the difficult years of 2002 through 2005, back when AMZN was selling for under $10 a share. Rossman joined Amazon as the company's first Director of Merchant Integration, in which role he created the third-party platform that now accounts for more than half of physical gross merchandise sales at Amazon.com. In 2002, success was by no means a sure thing. eBay dominated the space, and Amazon had failed twice before to launch its own platform for third-party sellers.

Although he worked at Amazon for only three years 14 years ago, Rossman supplements his direct experience with close attention to the annual shareholder letters written by Jeff Bezos, as well as continuing contacts with people still at the company. After leaving Amazon, Rossman created a niche business advisory firm, Rossman Partners. His clients have included the Gates Foundation, Microsoft, Nordstrom, T-Mobile, and Walmart. He is also a frequent speaker on the topics of innovation and corporate culture.

The writing in his book is generally crisp and clear, organized in usefully concise chapters, one for each actionable idea. As Rossman suggests, it would be a good resource for a team of innovators to read and discuss together, taking up one of the 50 ideas each week for a year (with two weeks off, maybe to rest!). Some of the content, however, felt like padding to me, such as a lengthy Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) which the author helped prepare for a startup company named Modjoul.

When Rossman was at Amazon, the 14 Leadership Principles had not yet been formalized, but he and his fellow executives "talked about them every day and used them to make decisions."

If you've ever wondered "what would Jeff Bezos do" in a business challenge or opportunity you are facing, you might benefit from studying Rossman's list of ideas and then filling in your own second half to the question which he poses as Idea 50 1/2: "How will you build the traits of the truly digital business and culture to ensure Amazon-like results, to become the best digitally enabled business you can be and not become roadkill on the side of the digital disruption highway?"

Good question. Good book, too.

Super cute!!!! No complaints. Can’t wait to give this to my 6 year old niece for her bday. I know she’ll be over the moon. I may even update this with her reaction. :) edit: she went wild!! Hugging it. cuddling it. And she even brought it with her the next day when she went to see her grandparents. So cute.

My product got here fast seeing that I ordered it on a Sunday or Monday and received it on a Wednesday. Well before Halloween so that was great! I took away a star because it smells like perfume or cologne. It’s not even a light smell, very heavy. So someone either returned it after wearing or the seller dosed it in perfume to cover a smell. Good thing is that i only need it for one day and more than likely will not wear it a second time. Other than that, everything is good. My measurements are 40G bust, 38 waist and 47 hips so I’m pretty heavy everywhere. I’m ordered a large which is my usual in costumes and it’s a little tight in the chest area but I have a minimizing bra so that’s not a problem. The tights fit great but the belt is small on me. I probably won’t wear it anyway because I will be at work and don’t want to deal with putting it back on every time is comes off lol. I will upload photos on Halloween. Hope this helps!

The costume fit much better than I expected. Overall I am very happy with it.

Though the straps and accessories can use some work overall I’m not upset. Also If you want a cosplay worthy mask I’d suggest buying a separate one.

The costume is as advertised if not better. There is some funky stitching and delicate zippers but it’s not anything a tailor can’t fix.

I orginally was worried that a Large would be ill fitting. I’m extremely happy I purchased the large. I am around 5,8 and 185 pounds. It fits like a glove but affords mobility. Personally I think it fits better than some of the more expensive 300 dollar costumes I see online.

In conclusion, For the price and quality it is a great buy. If you are up for a project. Get some craft paint to dirty up the fabric, buy a new mask for about $30 and touch up the accessories. Once that’s done this $149 costume can compete with the ones $300 and up.

(Update)

Please note:
In regards to the pictures I uploaded, the mask and a few of the straps are from outside vendors. I also weathered the fabric

Love these to give away during Read Across America.

The artwork of One Piece volume 83 is amazing, it's very reminiscent of 1930's cartoons. Just one look at the trees on the cover and you'll know Big Mom's arc is going to be very different. Well done Eiichiro Oda, it is good to see you imaginative as ever.

As for the volume itself it does 2 things primarily. First it introduces us to Big Mom and her family. Each one of them is unique both in character design and personality. Though there seems to be a certain level of madness that they all share. Of course Big Mom is the star of her family and she is terrifying. After such a long wait I can't believe we are finally at a point where we get to know the 4 Emperors of the Sea.

The other major part of the volume is the plan to rescue Sanji. Which surprisingly Luffy is fine with this being a stealth mission. With the hope of them one day returning to face off against Big Mom. But we see how that goes, after all this is Luffy we are talking about. Overall it's an exciting start to a new arc, with one of the most colorful pirate crews in One Piece yet.

Ralph Gardner's biography of the great Horatio Alger leaves little to be desired. It covers all aspects of the great man's life and career. It also includes a bibliography of Alger's work and a First Edition identifier.

I only have one issue with this audio book set. After a certain point in each disc (don't recall the exact duration into each story), the audio starts to "skip" slightly. It's not a HUGE deal but it does get a bit annoying. It's like dropping half a syllable of a word every few minutes...example: He picked up the sh-gun (shotgun) and...". It's like a micro-pause that drops half a syllable but then just keeps going. I looked at the discs and there are no scratches or defects. I know it is not my car CD player because the rest of the same discs work fine--as I stated, it only starts after about 3/4 of the way through the story on each disc--and other other discs work fine as well. Defect in making the discs? Pushing too much data on them (they are MP3 format)???

Uma leitura honesta sobre um tema cotidiano vivido com emoção.
Elocubrações de um homem sensível despido de maiores pretensões, coisa que talvez sua idade e virtude tenham deixado para traz, junto a tudo de supérfluo que na vida adulta imaginamos ser necessário amealhar.
Talvez por isso uma leitura adolescente que nos fala sobre reflexões que hoje adultos desconsideramos como coisa séria.
Daí sua força atemporal, porque se um dia tivemos esse espírito, nessa leitura simples de verdades singelas, podemos por um instante recuperá-lo.
Revivi boas recordações com Paulo.
Gratidão!

LOVE ASTRO BOY!!!! Please oh please make more seasons!!!!! I watched this on Netflix and I loved it!!!! Please make more seasons!!!! I know a lot of other people in the world would want more Astro! Please:'( for me and a lot of those kids in the world....MAKE ALOT MORE SEASONS!!!! PLEASE!!!!!! :'( :)

Okay, so this film isn't what most Grisham fans, especially those who have seen adaptions such as "The Firm" and "The Rainmaker", and the author himself were hoping for, but it wasn't all bad. For one thing, it had Gene Hackman playing the aged condemned Klansman Sam Cayhall, a role Mr. Hackman aced. Chris O'Donnell wasn't all bad as Adam Hall, though this film was released not far from "Batman and Robin" so I involuntarily find myself making an unfavorable comparison between these two of Mr. O'Donnell's roles...he has better ones in the future once people have had a chance to recover from the trauma of that Batman disaster. Ultimately timing seems to have been against the young lad during this film. My other beef with this picture is it's noticeable deviations from it's source material. I consider "The Chamber" to be a classic Grisham work and one of my favorites in his bibliography, which is why I wanted to see this film. I certainly have no problem with a book's film adaptions steering away a bit from it's source material (i.e. The Shawshank Redemption), but when the alterations to the plot just don't work, that's when a film suffers. For example, this film's plot device of a secret society sanctioned by the state government (at the very least) being in league with the KKK was just an over-the-top attempt to explain racism in Mississippi during the Civil Rights era...the book's way of explaining that same issue may create some fictional events, but those are on a much smaller scale and are properly incoperated into history...therefore, the book's way works. As for the villain, Raymond J. Barry's role of Rollie Wedge was expanded from it's source material in the hopes that Jack Nickelson would take up the role. Unfortunetly that didn't happen. I'm not convinced that Mr. Barry couldn't have handled the role. Rather, I criticize the way the character was written in this adaption. I wasn't entirely thrilled with the character in the book either as he seemed to be too slick and undetectible in there. I think a hybrid of the book and movie versions would have made for the perfect villain for this plot. I did like that the FBI in the film knew something about him whereas they were completely unaware that he had even been born in the book. Perhaps he ought to have been more slick in the film but allow the FBI to know something anyway...they are pretty good. Also, having pose as the condemned man's brother without us having met any real brother (another deviation as we met one brother in the book) lessoned the impact of suspense that that scene could have had. But, for all the dissappointments that this film gave to Grisham loyalists like myself, the acting was still solid and the plot was just similar enough to the book that we can make the connection. If you're a die-hard Grisham fan who must have it all, include this in your collection. Otherwise, I'll leave it up to you. Enjoy.

Tired of menial tasks, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura ask for a tougher assignment. But you should always be careful what you wish for! Along with their sensei, Kakashi, the trio must guard a cranky old man from the Land of Waves. But Tazuna the bridge builder is in more danger than anyone could have imagined. And now the young ninja are too! James Sprouse Jr Author of The Hit Book Angelcat. 

I am very pleased with the rolling tray. It is made very sturdy with a durable finish. I received a discount for my honest review.

If you are like me, you have often wondered how our most talented novelists would see important historical characters. Gore Vidal has whetted our appetite with his novels about the first hundred years of the United States. In Aspire to the Heavens, talented mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark makes George Washington come alive as a simple man with many personal challenges in his life. Although I was familiar with the material in this book, Ms. Clark did a wonderful job of both making it more interesting and accessible by making his life into a personally focused biographical novel. As a result, I got a lot of new perspectives on my own life that I will benefit from for many years to come.
The book's title alludes to a promise that George Washington's mother asked for and received from him. She wanted him to always do his utmost. In her family, that had meant "Aspire to the Heavens." He took on that promise with her encouragement. Out of his own character, though, he decided to be the most decent man he could possibly be. That latter promise to himself is the one that this book focuses on.
The form of this book is to describe George Washington through the lens of his personal life, rather than his public accomplishments. The style reads more as though it is a novel rather than a biography, and there is certainly some literary license in the ascriptions of motives and personal thoughts. Yet, these devices work well as long as you remember not to take them too seriously and literally.
Although Washington will always seem larger than life to all Americans, he was a man who had many setbacks in his own life. Before the Revolutionary War, he was certainly not considered to be the great man most now believe him to have been.
Life was hard as a youngster. His father died when he was fairly young, and his mother carried a whip to help assert her authority over him and his siblings. She did not keep a very attractive household, which young George resented. Although she loved her son, she put him down verbally at every opportunity. Her opposition to his desire for an ocean-going career was a fortunate one for the United States and democracies everywhere, but a bitter disappointment to him at the time. George sought escape from her whenever possible, especially to the home of his half-brother at Mount Vernon (which he would eventually inherit and buy out from his sister-in-law).
An early friendship with the Fairfax family led to a long relationship with the first and greatest love of Washington's life, Sally Fairfax, his proposal to her similar-appearing sister (which was refused), as well as his interest in surveying as a career.
His mother constantly tried to discourage his military career, and complained bitterly about the risks he was taking during the colonial campaigns before the Revolutionary War. She blamed the early death of George's favorite half-brother on war-related illnesses.
It is fun to read Martha Washington referred to by her pet name of "Patsy" throughout the book. You will also read here a sensitive interpretation of Washington's frustrations as a step-father and in securing Patsy's love and attention. As you may know, the story ends tragically as both step-children die at fairly young while, while the Washingtons never have children of their own. Their step-daughter asks them to adopt two of her children after her husband dies, whom the Washingtons' raise.
The book's structure is an interesting one. The main historical thread is the aftermath of John Adams's inauguration and the Washingtons' trimphant return to Mount Vernon to farm. This development is interspaced with flashbacks of key moments in the lives of both George and Patsy.
After you have finished enjoying the book, I suggest that you evaluate your own life from the perspective of how you will be remembered as a family member and as a friend. Many people focus too much on their careers and public accomplishments. This book can help you assess the balance you have achieved in your life. All of us can learn from how George Washington came to keep silent when something upset him rather than creating a fuss that would have hurt his closest relationships. He was a fine family man and friend, as a result, as well as an inspiring, steady leader.
Show loving support for all those you care about . . . always!

This is a great piece and worth every penny for those who love to collect memorabilia from the movies.

parfait

Purchased for a gift. Arrived timely and is just as advertised.

So far so good! There are only two downsides to this phone that I want to share. First, there is only 16 gb of memory to this phone, so I highly recommend buying an sd card to add extra memory that you may need. Second, this phone will not let you move apps to your sd card so you can save memory on your phone. Uh!

Other than these two issues, I love using this phone.

At times this felt like homework. At times the conversations and stream of consciousness were revealing and interesting, but the overall colonialism, sexism, and racism is fatiguing. It doesn't have a satisfying ending where things "come together" and main characters "learn or grow", so again, the -ism's are tiring and if anything, deepen at the conclusion. I enjoy books set in India, usually they paint beautiful, colorful, stark, rich, diverse and dichotomous images that represent the country itself but this was quite limited and often condescending somehow.

Hearing my favorite songs through these "in-ear monitors" is a revelation for someone like me, accustomed to good but still mass-market headphones (price range: several hundred dollars).

I hear instrumental details that I never discerned in 35 years of listening to some songs, first on vinyl or tape, and now in a CD-quality lossless format, with a variety of amplifiers and headphones. This is to say that I know the music well and find new pleasure in listening to it with these monitors.

When you get the sizes right, the ear tips block most outside noise, making these monitors suitable for use even in public environments.

An interruption-free listening session is best, because putting these on just right takes time. They're not like ordinary earbuds, which can be pushed in and pulled out quickly.

The cables are of just the right length, and they don't tangle.

The storage solution is overdesigned, requiring you to coil the cable around your fingers, squeeze the plastic holder, slip in the coiled cable, push in the monitors, and slide them down into the keyhole positions. If you look closely at that last page of the manual, the monitors are drawn backwards in the holder. It would not be possible to orient the ear hangers as shown, unless you turned the MMCX plugs each time you put the monitors away, and turned them back before listening. Dispensing with the clumsy plastic holder, laying the coiled cable in the case, laying the monitors on top of the cable, and closing the lid, seems to work just fine.

Last but not least, it's preposterous that Sony provides only a 1-year warranty for a product as expensive as this.

I haven't tried the balanced cable, but results with the conventional cable, using either my Sony digital music player or my Oppo headphone amplifier, are excellent.

I wanted cheap socks to sleep in ... I got cheap socks which I can sleep in. I am a shoe size 8.5 US, 6.5 UK and a 39.5 European. I have average feet. These socks fit fine. The colours are fun and the length is as expected. Keep in mind these are cheap socks, so I was not expecting great things and they lived up to my expectations. The inside of the socks have LOTS of loose threads. They are not thick and not particularly soft. They are ok socks to sleep in. For the price point, I got five socks for around a dollar and some change each. Will these last long? I doubt it, but I will not be putting them through their paces (pardon the bad pun) as they are simply bed socks for me. I am not sure of the material used in these as the packing lacked this information. There was a claim that there was wool in there somewhere, I can't neither deny or confirm this. Packaging was cute. No harsh words because quality comes at a cost. These socks are ok.

Value for money.

The purifier itself is fantastic, for the first 6 months that you have it... then you have to purchase the replacement filters at $60 each. No filters are sold by levoit, they only sell the air purifiers on their website, if you contact them looking to buy a replacement filter they send you a link to amazon to purchase the filter. The reviews on amazon for the replacement filter are less than ideal, with filters getting stuck in the machine, and only lasting 3 months instead of 6. Once the replacement filter gets stuck in the machine the product is useless because the warranty provided is voided at that point and levoit will not replace the product. Sketchy practice by a sketchy company.