The Mixed Economic Progress of Immigrants

Book Description

A revealing and surprising new study on immigration and the economy.

Book Description

A comprehensive history of market-shaping industries and their impact on how we invest today
This engaging book highlights the history of industrial development and its impact on investors. Today's investors will learn about past approaches to technological advances such as-electricity, the railroad, the telephone, the computer, and much more-while gaining insights on how to appraise the "new technology" companies of the future. This complete and well researched history of industries and investing wouldn't be complete without a look at: how Thomas Edison lost control of his company, the impact of the Standard Oil breakup, the early days of the wireless industry, and the changing face of the computer industry today. Investors looking for industry-shaping investments will undoubtedly use Engines That Move Markets as their guide.

Customer Reviews:

Be a player in the world to come.......2005-06-01

At first glance Engines that Move Markets appears to be directed at investors. I would argue that this book is equally, if not more, valuable for entrepreneurs creating any venture aimed at somehow changing the world. After all, true entrepreneurs are by definition "change advocates."

Technology has, is, and will continue to change the world around us. Engines That Move Markets explores the impact of some great technological inventions of the past two hundred years.

Chronologically, Nairn explores the historical context of major innovations ranging from canals and railroads to the PC and the Internet.

Do you want to know what the Next Big Thing will be? More importantly, do you want to be part of creating the future and the fortunes that will be created? If you do, this is the book for you. It will stimulate your mind in such a way as to let you be a player in the world to come, instead of a mere spectator.

------------------
Michael Davis, Editor - Byvation

Required reading for serious investors.......2002-03-19

Nairn has written an epoch work that is worthy reading for any serious student of the financial markets. Having recently passed thru an investment bubble of titanic proportions, Nairn's trip thru the history of other vaunted technological breakthroughs helps us realize that wise students of stock market history might have been able to both participate in the upside of the bubble while still having a chance, based on the historical precendents he so methodically outlines, of identifying when to get out and avoid the downside debacle that follows every such market insanity. This book should be required reading for every student in MBA programs and most especially for all those stock analysts churning out buy recommendations on speculative stocks in March 2000! Common investors should read it also so they can know how to identify those analysts who have failed to read it and gained the useful perspective the book offers.

Insightful history of investment and industrial development.......2002-01-26

I didn't know what to expect from this lengthy tome but found it to be a fascinating history of inventions and their impact on the investing world. The author discusses developments that we take for granted--computer, railroad--and explores how these advances changed society and business. This is terrific book for anyone interested in both investing and history.

Book Description

The story of the rise of the human rights movement by the renowned international attorney, in a newly revised and expanded edition.

For centuries it seemed an impossible dream that international institutions could ever tell nation-states how to treat their own citizens. But after a century in which 160 million lives have been wasted by war, genocide, and torture, the worldwide human rights movement is gaining popular and political strength.

In a book that has been called "an epic work" by The Times (London), Geoffrey Robertson, one of the world's leading human rights lawyers, weaves together disparate strands of history, philosophy, international law, and politics to show how an identification of the crime against humanity, first defined at Nuremberg, has become the key that unlocks the closed door of state sovereignty, enabling the international community to bring tyrants and torturers to heel.

This newly revised and expanded edition features additional chapters on Iraq and Guantánamo, and incorporates insights from the author's experience since 2002 as a UN appeals judge for the Special Court on war crimes in Sierra Leone. Robertson also brings us up to date on the trials against Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein and the International Criminal Court at Darfur.

Customer Reviews:

A Fantastic Read!!.......2007-08-24

After readinbg Geoffrey Robertson's book "The Justice Game" (which was just so good.....) I again wanted to have some more of his personal style, wit and in-depth knowledge of his subject - in "another terrifIcally good read".

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Understanding Evil: Lessons from Bosnia
Keith Doubt
Manufacturer: Fordham University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Eastern | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0823227006
Release Date: 2006-11-15

Book Description

In Understanding Evil, Keith Doubt uses the horrors of the recent war in Bosnia to develop meaningfully adequate accounts of evil within the context of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Since the foundations of the social are found in human action, evil's assault on these foundations results in the demise of the social. In Bosnia, not only were individuals, families, homes, and buildings destroyed, but entire towns and cities were obliterated. Not only were individual human beings murdered, but so was the history and memory of vibrant communities. Crimes against humanity in Bosnia, Doubt argues, were "sociocidal"; they were systematic attacks on social life itself. The book develops the significance of "sociocide" as what evil is in order to understand the suffering and tragedy of the people and communities in Bosnia.

Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice

Average customer rating:

Refreshing revival of a dead letter
Allow yourself to be challenged, at least
David Takes on a Goliath Task
5 stars to the book, zero star to "davidpet"'s review
MIGHT MAKES RIGHT

Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice
Geoffrey Robertson
Manufacturer: New Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

International | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Human Rights and Private Wrongs: Constructing Global Civil Society (Global Horizons)
Morality and Contemporary Warfare
Stay the Hand of Vengeance: The Politics of War Crimes Tribunals
Subverting Hatred: The Challenge of Nonviolence in Religious Traditions (Faith Meets Faith Series)
Season of Blood: A Rwandan Journey

ASIN: 1565846680

Book Description

How human rights have come to dominate world politics, from Kosovo to East Timor. Hailed by the Observer as "a book to stop another Holocaust," Crimes Against Humanity is the first work to weave together history, philosophy, international law, and politics into a comprehensive and engrossing account of the increasingly significant movement for world human rights. Robertson, one of the world's leading human rights lawyers, reveals how human rights, a concept virtually unknown before the second world war, has over the last fifty years penetrated the legal armor of the sovereign state, providing a justification for the international community—with or without the United Nations—to bring down tyrants and torturers. Called "absorbing and important" by the Guardian [London], Crimes Against Humanity defines a whole new field of inquiry.

Customer Reviews:

Refreshing revival of a dead letter.......2002-11-27

Before 1990, international law was a dead letter office. Its foundations post-dated a universal church and pre-dated the Enlightenment.

The justification of common law is its origin in a time out of mind for "time out of mind" releases jurists from the Godlike role by means of precedent. International law's foundations are shakier, for *jus sovereignis* is the will of dead white males.

International law predated the idea that rights flow not from the sovereign but from people and therefore is an intellectual and moral anomaly. Anomalies like American slavery tend to produce disasters, and the anomaly of *jus sovereignis* produced the Balkan disaster, as old-school diplomats seemed compelled to stand idly by.

Diplomacy and international law seem to the layperson to be a pleasant affair involving bun-fights, at the better sort of spa. The problem is the Monty-Pythonesque intrusion of reality, as seen by British and Argentine diplomats in 1982, by international economists in Seattle, and in the Balkan mess. No-one expects the Spanish Inquisition, Srebenica, or the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacreýexcept the truly first-rate, like Richard Holbrooke here in the USA or Geoffrey Robertson in Britain.

The dyslexic may object that I have been hornswoggled by Holbrooke's and Robertson's purple prose. The problem is that both write well, in this book and in Richard Holbrooke's recount of the long road to the Dayton peace conference of 1995. The problem is that writing well is constituted in a conformance to both moral vision and facts on the ground.

The modern international law movement reacts to the recurrence of absolute evil in Europe and Africa in the 1990s, this time unjustified by Communist or free market ideology, and unexplained by Fascist pseudo-ideology.

Absolute evil is to the moral imagination the converse of the needs of one's own children to Bertrand Russell. Despite his skeptical precommittments, Lord Russell said that the needs of kids are something that "skepticism does not easily question". Skepticism did not easily process the return, in August 1992, of concentration camps in the former Yugoslavia, and Robertson's response is the deconstruction of absolute national sovereignity. Skepticism dare not question the redress of crime.

One objection, mentioned by Robertson, is that international law, other than a purely naturalistic law based on jus sovereignis, is cultural imperialism.

Cultural imperialism has indeed misapplied norms. But you cannot apply cultural relativism in an absolute way: this is mere self-contradiction.

There is also the objection against a natural law as inconsistent with an open society.

The problem is that unthinking adherence to a natural law in an open society results in a confused expansion of natural law when we tolerantly seek to reconcile views, as to what the practical implications of natural law might actually be.

This resulted in America's "Black Hawk Down" disaster in Mogadishu in which idealism combined with our Pentagon's vainglorious refusal to serve in a unified command to send underpowered Rangers into Mogadishu, and the Rangers were rescued by Pakistanis with the sense to serve as part of the rest of the UN.

The natural law was you don't let people starve, even when they are far away, and, if bullies are taking the aid you have sent, you send soldiers. Clinton failed to enforce this because the Pentagon vaingloriously refuses to serve under UN command.

The failures of international law in the early 1990s produced, not abstract theories, but hard work like that of QC Robertson, the benefit of which skepticism does not easily question.

This included the arrest of General Pinochet.

The flaccid skepticism of America's media about Pinochet's guilt does not easily question Robertson's factual recitation of what happened, in the 1970s, to people in Chile.

In recent years USA circles have been oppressed with a skeptical cynicism which proclaims the impossibility of securing the good because, don't you know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

This makes it possible for pro-Pinochet American conservatives to easily question the veracity of torture reports, or, failing this, the innocence of the disappeared, or, failing this, the "realism" of letting philosophy majors scuttle around Santiago, or, failing this, the free-market ideological bona fides of the messenger. This epistemological curse, of a doubt which is really a bias and a form of intellectual schlamperei, going along to get along with the free market god, is pervasive in American culture.

In Rome we reasoned against the fact that people die when modern states collapse that some future Rusty Calley jest might get nailed. We like to talk about "do-gooders" and their ineffectuality when our own ineffectuality was on display in Vietnam and Mogadishu.

What we fail to see is the Kantianism that abstract ideals DO NOT EXIST without acts: but pure acts show a bad will because they are uninformed by a consistent ideal, but were, in Mogadishu, the product of a monstrous "will" that made the Pentagon an equal partner with the Chief Executive.

Note the laziness, note the sloppiness, note the flaccidity.

For we apply Constitutional "separation of powers" to the Pentagon which as part of the executive doesn't get power independent of the commander in chief.

QC Robertson's vigorous prose is clearly evidence of a first-class mind sorely absent in American councils of state. If this is at all indicative of the abilities of people at The Hague, I for one am an American who would welcome those fabled black helicopters.

He puts me in mind of the astonishing statement at the beginning of Kant's Metaphysic of Morals, for Kant says the only thing we can know to be good is a good will.

On the face of it, this seems to be one of those marvelous-but-false-at-the-critical-point German ideas, like zoos, Zeppelins or the Schlieffen plan: for as we know the road to hell or Srebenica is paved with good intentions. But upon closer examination, will wills itself into pragmatic daily action, and the road to hell is seen to be paved with action and inaction and not good will.

Allow yourself to be challenged, at least.......2002-09-12

Geoffrey Robertson is a passionate advocate of human rights - and (possibly paradoxically) of the ability to affect them within the system/s in which we try to enforce them. This book makes no claim to be a perfect history, but knowing Robertson's experience, we are better to hear his opinion and understanding than a dry history of the progress of human rights law itself. If you love this book, good. If you hate it, good. The idea is to make you think about it... and that is what Robertson is best at. This may be the only law history book you will ever read which will make you laugh and cry - occasionally at the same time. I read some other reviews of this and am saddened at their negativity - Robertson has personal experience most "experts" never have, and combines that with a wicked wit, enormous intelligence and a humanitarian heart. This is some book, and Geoffrey Robertson is some man - read whatever you can of his.

David Takes on a Goliath Task.......2002-04-19

Geoffrey Robertson's "Crimes Against Humanity" is a thoughtful and thorough analysis of modern attempts at global justice. I have struggled with this issue for some time and have found most books of little help, perhaps because the amount of material to be digested is so substantial. Robertson does an excellent job of assembling, organizing, and presenting an extremely complex body of knowledge. There are many books on individual topics covered here and some readers would no doubt like their pet topics to have been discussed in more detail. The beauty of the book, however, is not in its detailed coverage of any single issue, but in it ability to integrate a large number of topics (e.g., the Lieber Code, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,The Geneva Conventions, Nuremberg, Truth Commissions, International Criminal Court, etc.). The author is able to show how these various issues are connected in a string of advances toward a global system of human rights -- advances that are admittedly glacial in their pace but advances nonetheless. Anyone who has tried to organize this vast body of knowledge can appreciate what Robertson has accomplshed. A fine companion to this book is Samantha Power's book "A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide." Taken together, these two books will take the reader a long way toward understanding international efforts at global justice.

5 stars to the book, zero star to "davidpet"'s review.......2001-01-28

Does Robertson accuse that the US "constantly" makes mistakes? Has the US ever done anything right when it comes to human rights? Or, put it the opposite way: Even if the US has done something right, does it necessarily mean that the US has done nothing wrong? Did the US sign to ban land mines? Does the US respect the authority of the Inter-American court? Did the US commit any crimes in Vietnam? Has the US government ever committed crimes against humanity within its very own territory, even after the establishment of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Has the US government done anything wrong while it accuses other governments of crimes against humanity? Is Robertson's book really a joke? Or is the joke on the ignorant reader himself? Universal human right is a dream for those who live in turmoil, but just an internet gossip topic for those who live in oblivion. It's too much to ask these people to put themselves in the shoes of others, and it may be easier for victims to give up hopes than to hope for help from the ignorant.

MIGHT MAKES RIGHT.......2000-11-10

Geoffrey Robertson's book, Crimes against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice (The New Press, 2000), merits a different title: "Might Makes Right. Or: Bombs Away!" In brief, Robertson's book is a 550-page joke. One could do a page-by-page analysis of this "human rights" artefact--the United States constantly makes "mistakes" while other regimes intentionally commit "crimes against humanity" and "genodice." Go figure. Robertson even falsifies the advances in international law of the 20th Century, esp. the League of Nations and the UN Charter, both of which were responses to and attempts to tame the self-devastation of the First and Second World Wars--hardly a bad idea. That is to say, by focusing on human rights treaties, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) in particular, Robertson himself seriously downplays what from the point of view of the Great Powers which had destroyed each other not once but twice in a 25-year period what was the crowning achievement of the UN Charter: the notion of the EQUALITY OF STATES WITHIN THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM, and the surrender of that part of state sovereignty tied to the threat of or resort to force.-Does anybody--except the guys dropping the bombs, of course--honestly think that undermining an interstate system such as this is a good idea???

But for Robertson, who is a leading advocate of the right of states to participate in "humanitarian interventions" (i.e., an interstate system in which the greater the power, the greater the right--or "Might makes right"), concerns of this kind are dismissed as the "myth of state equality" (p. 446), a very insidious myth that in his opinion the more enlightened members of the "international community, a.k.a. "coalitions of the willing," need to put behind them. All very sickening. And dangerous.

Transitional Justice: How Emerging Democracies Reckon With Former Regimes : General Considerations (Transitional Justice)
Average customer rating:

Superb reference

Transitional Justice: How Emerging Democracies Reckon With Former Regimes : General Considerations (Transitional Justice)

Manufacturer: United States Institute of Peace Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Transitional Justice

Transitional Justice and the Rule of Law in New Democracies (Title from the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies)

Unspeakable Truths: Facing the Challenges of Truth Commissions

Closing the Books: Transitional Justice in Historical Perspective

Transitional Justice in the Twenty-First Century: Beyond Truth versus Justice

ASIN: 1878379437

Customer Reviews:

Superb reference.......2000-11-20

This three-volume collection is an invaluable reference for anyone researching the ethical dilemmas newly democratized regimes confront when dealing with their nations' checkered pasts. Volume One provides a variety of theoretical essays, Volume Two gives case studies of more than 20 regime transitions, and Volume Three provides selected translated primary documents from the countries detailed in Volume 2. Although the case studies can occasionally be difficult to follow, on the whole this book is an excellent starting point for researchers and students examining the ethics of regime transition.

From Sovereign Impunity To International Accountability: The Search For Justice In A World Of States

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From Sovereign Impunity To International Accountability: The Search For Justice In A World Of States

Manufacturer: United Nations University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Limits of International Law
Lawless World: The Whistle-Blowing Account of How Bush and Blair Are Taking the Law into TheirOwn Hands
War Law: Understanding International Law and Armed Conflict

ASIN: 9280811002

Transitional Justice and the Rule of Law in New Democracies (Title from the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies)

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Transitional Justice and the Rule of Law in New Democracies (Title from the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies)

Manufacturer: University of Notre Dame Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Transitional Justice
Closing the Books: Transitional Justice in Historical Perspective
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Breaking the Cycles of Hatred: Memory, Law, and Repair
Truth v. Justice

ASIN: 0268042039

Bringing the Khmer Rouge to Justice: Prosecuting Mass Violence Before the Cambodian Courts (Criminology Studies)

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Bringing the Khmer Rouge to Justice: Prosecuting Mass Violence Before the Cambodian Courts (Criminology Studies)

Manufacturer: Edwin Mellen Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0773459944

Accountability for Atrocities: National and International Responses (International and Comparative Criminal Law Series)

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Accountability for Atrocities: National and International Responses (International and Comparative Criminal Law Series)

Manufacturer: Transnational Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1571052798

Atrocities and International Accountability: Beyond Transnational Justice

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Atrocities and International Accountability: Beyond Transnational Justice

Manufacturer: United Nations University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Confronting Past Human Rights Violations: Justice vs. Peace in Times of Transition (The Cass Series on Peacekeeping)

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Confronting Past Human Rights Violations: Justice vs. Peace in Times of Transition (The Cass Series on Peacekeeping)
Chandra Sriram
Manufacturer: Frank Cass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0714655996

Book Description

This book examines what makes accountability for previous abuses more or less possible for transitional regimes to achieve. It closely examines the other vital goals of such regimes against which accountability is often balanced. The options available are not simply prosecution or pardon, as the most heated polemics of the debate over transitional justice suggest, but a range of options from complete amnesty through truth commissions and lustration or purification to prosecutions. The question, then, is not whether or not accountability can be achieved, but what degree of accountability can be achieved by a given country.

The book examines five countries' experiences in detail - El Salvador, Honduras, Argentina, South Africa and Sri Lanka - and offers a comparative survey of nearly 30 countries' experiences. It discusses three factors that affect the accountability achieved: international or external influences, the balance of forces between civilians and the military and or government and opposition forces, and the extent and nature of previous rights abuses. The book also examines strategies of transition, trade-offs and compromises that regimes (and international actors assisting them) may make in an attempt to achieve greater accountability or greater stability. The focus of the book is on the politics of transition: what makes accountability more or less feasible and what strategies are deployed by regimes to achieve greater accountability (or alternatively, greater reform). The result is a more nuanced understanding of the different conditions and possibilities that countries face, and the lesson that there is no one-size-fits-all prescription that can be handed to transitional regimes.

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