Tag Archives: ISIS

Books

September’s chapter of sizzling Simon & Schuster must-have, must-read books

John Kerry tells the story of his remarkable American life—from son of a diplomat to decorated Vietnam veteran, five-term United States senator, 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, and Secretary of State for four years—a revealing memoir by a witness to some of the most important events of our recent history. Every Day is Extra ($35) is John Kerry’s candid personal story. A Yale graduate, Kerry enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1966, and served in Vietnam. He returned home highly decorated but disillusioned, and testified powerfully before Congress as a young veteran opposed to the war. Kerry served as a prosecutor in Massachusetts, then as lieutenant governor, and was elected to the Senate in 1984, eventually serving five terms. In 2004 he was the Democratic presidential nominee and came within one state—Ohio—of winning. Kerry returned to the Senate, chaired the important Foreign Relations Committee, and succeeded Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State in 2013. In that position he tried to find peace in the Middle East; dealt with the Syrian civil war while combatting ISIS; and negotiated the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement.
Every Day Is ExtraEvery Day is Extra  shows Kerry for the dedicated, witty, and authentic man that he is, and provides forceful testimony for the importance of diplomacy and American leadership to address the increasingly complex challenges of a more globalized world.

 

Best-selling author, Pulitzer Prize winner and “America’s Historian-in-Chief”, Doris Kearns Goodwin has written a fascinating book, Leadership: In Turbulent Times ($30), is a culmination of five decades of work in presidential history.

Combining her signature storytelling with essential lessons from four of our nation’s presidents—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson—Goodwin shows how they recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized as leaders by other. She explores their unique journeys to as they navigated and grew through adversity, and she analyzes how they emerged to confront the challenges and contours of their times. Are leaders born or made? Where does ambition come from? How does adversity affect the growth of leadership? Does the leader make the times or do the times make the leader? This seminal work provides an accessible and indispensable road map for aspiring and established leaders in every field. In today’s polarized world, these stories of authentic leadership in times of apprehension and fracture take on a singular urgency.

Uproarious, highly anticipated, and yes, totally fake, The Mueller Report: The Leaked Investigation into President Donald Trump and His Inner Circle of Con Men, Circus Clowns, and Children  ($16) shares with the American public the findings of  Mueller’s investigation into the election of asshole known as Alfred Frump, leaked to the Very Biased and Highly Unemployed comedy writer Jason O. Gilbert by an anonymous source known only as “Melania T.”

The Mueller Report: The Leaked Investigation into President Donald Trump and His Inner Circle of Con Men, Circus Clowns, and Children He Named After Himself by [Gilbert, Jason O.]

This is a hoot,  a hilarious inventory of the dirt, grime and Big Mac crumbs that the special counsel has collected on President Trump during his months of investigation. Filled with interview transcripts, intercepted phone calls, incriminating emails, text exchanges, ALL-CAPS TRUMP TWEETS WITH SPELING ERRORS, and more, it whisks readers from the leaky White House to an even leakier Ritz-Carlton hotel room in Moscow, from Donald Trump Jr.’s covert meeting with Russians in Trump Tower to Michael Cohen’s secret sale of a Trump Tower apartment to a shell corporation called Oligarch LLC. And, for the first time, you’ll find out what really happened in that Moscow Ritz-Carlton hotel room between Donald Trump and two well-hydrated Russian escorts. NOT GOOD!

DVDs, Movies, TV

A trio of PBS Distribution DVDs that Start the New Year Off with Must-See Moments

Titles we have seen and will see again:

Martin Luther: The Idea That Changed the World
Luther stepped onto the world stage exactly 500 years ago last fall, as he nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. The printing and distribution of the Theses—and other crowd-pleasing critiques of the powerful—quickly made him the most famous person in Europe.

https://youtu.be/2p4QIlHHytY

Martin Luther: The Idea that Changed the World follows this thread, and others, to offer an engaging look at the dramatic moments that shaped Luther’s life: the massive lightning storm that nearly killed him, the bleak self-punishment of his time in the monastery, the corruption that unleashed his anger, his trial before the most powerful man in Europe, and the staged kidnapping that helped him escape the death penalty.
Padraic Delaney stars as Luther. In a quest for authenticity, every word of Luther’s dialogue in the film was taken verbatim from his actual writings and speeches. Similarly, dozens of historians were interviewed, with a careful eye to ensure that all sides of the story are represented.

Mindfulness Goes Mainstream
Mindfulness meditation has gone beyond mainstream into the most unlikely places—from British Parliament to the Marine Corps to Fortune 100 boardrooms—fueled by scientific evidence that confirms its benefits and positive impact on health and well-being. No longer limited to Eastern philosophers or California hippies, mindfulness is now embraced by millions of ordinary people trying to survive in a totally stressed out world.

https://youtu.be/LFzG34zDRn4

More than 1,500 studies have now been published citing how meditation lowers stress, improves heart and lung functionality and dramatically enhances focus and performance. Steve Jobs credited his daily meditation practice with the ability to clear his mind in order to access intuitions that led to the creation of Apple products. Tina Turner attributes meditation as the key to turning her life around. And when the coach and most of the players on the Seattle Seahawks are meditating regularly, we have crossed a tipping point.
And the best news of all is that we don’t need to sit on the sidelines and view mindfulness meditation as a spectator sport. Anyone can do it with remarkable results. In the midst of the busyness and chaos of our lives, bombarded by 24/7 news, we long to find a way to remain calm, balanced, centered and effective. Meditation, one of the oldest methods for cultivating inner calm and stability, has now been proven by modern science to have a positive impact on our health and quality of life.
Mindfulness Goes Mainstream explores mindfulness through the voices of some of the very best teachers, business leaders and experts in the field, focusing on areas where mindfulness has proven to have significant benefits, including stress, anxiety and depression; pain, cravings and mindful eating; focus and performance, and compassion and empathy.

Frontline: Mosul
The program is an extraordinary inside look at the brutal battle to drive ISIS out of Iraq’s second largest city, which some military commanders have described as the deadliest urban combat since World War II.  The people of Mosul endured the repressive rule of ISIS for more than two years. This is the story of the men who fought back–and defeated the Islamic State in their heartland. Filmed on the ground by director Olivier Sarbil over the course of the entire nine-month fight, the program is a stunning look at the high cost of the Iraqi Army’s victory over ISIS in the city—large parts of which have been destroyed, with hundreds of thousands of civilians still displaced.

http://https://youtu.be/aGRsBxgO4j4

A qualifier for this year’s Documentary Short Subject Academy Awards following its theatrical release in Los Angeles this past summer, this vivid documentary follows the experiences of four young soldiers in a team of Iraqi Special Forces tasked with leading the fight to drive ISIS out of Mosul as the terror group held civilians captive there.