This is a ok book but I don't think that it is very realistic and it is kind of stupid. Thank You

I review this book Giants Don't Go Snowboarding would seem like a good book since i've read alot of these kinds of books from Baily School Kids collecten. These are really injoyable books to read. I would reccomend this book to people who like adventures.

This book was really cool! I liked it best when Hugh Mongus threw giant snowballs at the kids and when they helped him figure out a way stay out of trouble. It made me want to read all the other Bailey School Kids books by Marcia Thornton Jones.

That is what the title of this book should have been called.America is the greatest country in the world and I am a proud American. However, I am not too proud of the government that orchestrated this fiasco.What a waste of American Tax payers dollars! I highly recommend that you read "Con Man or Saint?", "Turner, Turner, Turner: The King of Network Marketing" and especially "The Unstoppable American", if you can still get a copy.

I'll be brief. This is a story of government persecution, prejudice and abuse of power, spawned by the Richard Nixon Watergate era. It's a story of tragic, willful, systematic destruction of a man and his people, for the purpose of passing laws against a system of marketing, a feat that would b e the making of a lot of people's reputations.

Fanned by the flames of irresponsible yellow journalism and executed by young prosecutors who were like young surgeons fresh out of medical school and yearning to cut on someone, anybody, to test their skills, these young men and women could not wait to get into court.

Glenn Turner was a suitable victim. Meaning well, and perhaps even bringing themselves to believe that were fighting "the good fight," these government officials were not ignorant of the aclaim and prominence they would garner by bringing down a man of Glenn Turner's stature. Most of them needed little invitation to hop aboard the band wagon and join the lynching party of Glenn Turner and his people.

And they were successful. Glenn W. Turner was stripped of his wealth, reputation, his companies, and even his family. They were so successful that, even today, nearly 30 years afterward, there are many people who never met Glenn Turner, or were involved in any way, who accept without question that the man was a crook, a swindler, a cheat, as the government and the media said he was, forgetting that the government of that day was proven to be the abusers of power, corrupt and consumate liars.

And the media, then as now, does not like a hero and loves to perpetrate negativity against the wealthy and successful. The media revised Turners image to meet with what would sell, regardless of whether it was true or not.

This is the story of the way a man and his people were treated. In the opinion of those who knew him, know him now and are familiar with his companies, it was unfair, un-American, and unconscionable. It is one more black mark against the Wtergate government of Richard Nixon and further indication as to how far that corruption spread before it was brought down.

Truly what happened to Glenn Turner was a Travesty of Justice indeed.

The great American mail fraud trial is a graphic example of why being rich and being right can be harmful to your wallet, particularly if you are a proponent of Multi-Level Marketing and Personal Development Systems and in the 1970's.

Multi-Level Marketing (today known as network marketing) was euphamistically referred to as pyramiding. Personal development systems were and in some cases still referred to as "feel good" hokey pokey programs designed for the gullible.

Imagine a 8th grade drop out with a severe speech impediment due to a harelip challenging people to "Dare to Be Great" and having the audicity to presume that he could lead people to financial independence and freedom!

The fact is that Glenn W. Turner did in fact turn five thousand dollars into over a quarter of a billion in under three years and through his company, Turner Enterprises, paved the way for 800 people to achieve a 7 figure income in the 1970's and in record breaking time.

He showed people how to "better their best" and taught success and leadership principles used through the centuries.

Turner amassed a net worth reportedly in excess of $350 million, owned a lear jet, a castle in Oveido, Fl, was one of the largest employers in Orlando and became "American of the Year" in 1972 beating out people like Art Linkletter.

Turner had 700 lawsuits filed against him ostensibly by over eager lawyers and spurred on by politicians looking for votes.
Glenn W. Turner was a rich, easy target. Multi-Level Marketing was an easy industry to attack and Turner was the King of MLM in 1970's USA.

Turner successfully defended 699 lawsuits, but the suits and negative media publicity achieved it's intended purpose bleeding Turner of his cash flow and his lawyer. Turner lost one lawsuit and spent some time in prison as a result. But the real question still remains, "Did Glenn W. Turner really do anything wrong?"

To the people who worked with and knew Turner personally, GWT exuded charisma and integrity. He was a real life hero, bigger than life who challenged them to "Dare to Be Great" and then showed them how they could indeed become great.

Koscot cosmetic products were state of the art. Dare to Be Great success program delivered on it's promises.

Unfortunately, to the American media, Turner was a hero that they despised and they revised his image even though it had nothing to do with fact or reality.

To the American courts, MLM was an "illegal pyramid scheme" and needed to be taken down. Be aware that these were the same courts that attempted to stop franchising a decade earlier on the basis that franchising was "an illegal pyrimid scheme" and "was robbing people of their life savings."

Today network marketing also known as muti-level marketing or MLM has attained respectability and is a huge industry. But Glenn W. Turner paid a heavy price as a pioneer and as the King of Network Marketing.

There are books such as "Con Man or Saint" and "The unstoppable American" and "Turner, Turner, Turner: The King of Network Marketing" which go into greater detail about KOSCOT Interplanetary, Dare to Be Great and The Great American Mail Fraud Trial.

Did Glenn W. Turner really do anything wrong? Did he bother people that much only because he was worth millions while they were worth thousands?

I submit that Glenn W. Turner didn't do anything wrong. And what he did do was to develop people and show them that they could have anything they wanted in life if only they were willing to step up on their toes and go for it!

Laura Bradley has created a slow moving story with characters of questionable motivation. Full of short, choppy sentences, this story was like a ride in rush hour traffic. Go. Stop. Go. Stop. It took days just to read the first 20 pages. The story didn't hold my attention and I found I didn't care what happened to the characters. I just wanted the book to end. One of the worst novels I've read in years.

I wasn't impressed.

Plot full of thrills and chills; characters I fell in love with. I wanted to have coffee with Miranda and a candlelight dinner with Cole. Please, Ms. Bradley, a sequel?!

When I saw that Wicked Liasons had made the finals in the Holt Medallion (not once, but twice!!!) I couldn't wait to get this book. After reading this wonderfully written and suspenseful book, I now understand why it made it as a finalist for Best First Book for the Holt Medallion. If you want a psychological book of mystery, then you WANT this incredible treat by Laura Bradley.

Bravo, Ms. Bradley, I can't wait for the next novel.

The authors warn against the dangers of genetically modified (GM) grains and cotton. These dangers involve possible escape of the artificially inserted gene(s) for pesticide or insect resistance, overspray of pesticide onto non-resistant crops, insects acquiring resistance to the Bt gene, corporate control of seeds to be used with specific herbicides, failure of transgenic crops, and the lack of increase in crop yields. All of these are genuine concerns, for which the authors admit that there is no proof, just worries; but the advantages get short shrift.

No evidence is presented on actual failures except for one set of transgenic cotton plants. Escape of genes could be fought with new seeds not containing the gene. The dread that insects will build resistance to the natural bacterial toxins of the Bt gene is poorly couched, because all prior experience is that insects will do so in time, and the amount of time is all that is in doubt. Corporate control of seeds and herbicides will last only as long as the patents, and then "generics" are likely to appear. We have had corporate control of hybrid seeds and pesticides for 3/4 century as it is. If crop yields become significantly lower, the transgenic strains will be dropped. It is unlikely that all crops will fail at the same time.

Nobel Prize winner Norman E. Borlaug, the father of the green revolution, and not an inventor of transgenic plants, could have spoken against them, but has done the opposite. In the Wall Street Journal, 22 Jan 03, pA.14, he wrote: "Although there have always been those in society who resist change, the intensity of the attacks against GM crops from some quarters is unprecedented and, in certain cases, even surprising, given the potential environmental benefits that such technology can bring by reducing the use of pesticides. Genetic engineering of crops -- plant breeding at the molecular level -- is not some kind of witchcraft, but rather the progressive harnessing of the forces of nature to the benefit of feeding the human race. The idea that a new technology should be barred until proven conclusively that it can do no harm is unrealistic and unwise. Scientific advance always involves some risk of unintended outcomes. Indeed, "zero biological risk" is not even attainable.

"Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa says he's been told by anti-biotechnology groups that donated American corn is "poison" because it contains GM kernels. Based on such misinformation, he is willing to risk thousands of additional starvation deaths rather than distribute the same corn Americans have been eating for years with no ill effects."

Another cautious, reasonable view is that of Bjørn Lomborg, The Skeptical Environmentalist, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2001, pp342-348. Examples of faked data on the toxicity of GM potatoes on rats and overblown fears of the effect of Bt corn on the monarch butterfly were given. Lomborg thinks the gains are worth the risks, and advises proceeding very cautiously, thus not to drop all the GM programs.

*****
The main reason for my 1-star rating for this book is not its conclusions, but its style. Despite academic-style referencing, albeit with almost no peer-reviewed papers on the actual subject of GM foods, the authors use practically every ploy practiced by propagandists.

The herbicide bromoxynil is said to have a toxic nitrile function (p.viii). The most common nitrile, acetonitrile, has an LD50 orally in rats of 3800 mg/kg, thus is less toxic than salt!

A "...horrible debacle from overuse of DDT..." (p.16) is not exemplified, but we are to think it had to do with thinning of birds' eggshells, which was disproven before DDT was banned in the USA by the EPA.

"Many countries like India are at the balance between survival and famine" (p.17). Then how is it then that 1/2 of south Asian adults are overweight and 1/3 are obese? (Lancet 2003;361:79).

"But the metabolic fate of DBHA [metabolite of bromoxynil] in the mammalian body has never been studied -- or at least reported" (p.42). A quick search of PubMed turned up: St John LE, Lisk DJ. Fate of the herbicides bromoxynil and casseron in cows. J Dairy Sci 1967;50(4):582-4.

The paucity of chemical knowledge of these authors is shown by the following: "Bromoxynil octanoate, the active ingredient in bromoxynil, is converted into bromoxynil phenol (what we have been calling DBHA) when it is metabolized in mammals. Although this step is designed to detoxify bromoxynil and make the molecule more easily excreted by the body, the by-product remains at least as toxic as its parent compounds" (p.43-4). The octanoate ester is the oil-soluble form of bromoxynil used in formulations; it is not the active form, which is bromoxynil itself, which is a phenol, so should not be called "bromoxynil phenol". Since most bromoxynil is metabolized to its acid derivative, DBHA, this "by-product" cannot be more toxic than its parent.

"Roundup [glyphosate] may also damage many non-target plants" (p.54). Well, of course! How many of us use Roundup to knock off all plants before seasonal planting?

"In 1993, 6 out of 7 plots...showed lower yields for conventional vs. transgenic soybeans" (p.83). This is exactly the opposite of one of the main points these authors tried to make -- that GM plants give lower yields!

Several times the authors trot out the old vegetarian aphorism that cattle convert their food to meat with only 10% efficiency (p.87), with 12% efficiency (p.112,135), and with 40 % efficiency (p.147). The authors do not seem to understand that humans do not like to eat wild grass, hay, alfalfa, or soybean hulls.

Diethylstilbestrol (DES) which had been used in cattle feed with some health problems in humans is trotted out like DDT as a scare mechanism, but it is not a plant product or a result of GM foods.

The "undesirability" of corporate profits is emphasized many times.

An attempt is made to foment alarm in orthodox religionists by hinting that GM foods may not be kosher or Halal.

As a scientist working in the bio-industry, I felt compelled to read this book. Unfortunately, while it makes a number of good points and correctly identifies areas of uncertainity, it somewhat marres the pleasure of reading it by suboptimal craftmanship - incidentally one of the criticisms that are correctly made to our industry. I resented some factual mistakes and the impression that the book was not proofread before going to print, leaving it with some contradictions and loose ends. But, I repeat, the essence is right: "wait a minute!"

In only 150 pages, "Against the Grain" debunks many of the myths surrounding biotechnology and the genetic engineering that is revolutionizing US (and world) agriculture.One of the myths which "Against the Grain" debunks is the claim that genetically engineered crops are aimed at feeding the hungry of the world. As "Against the Grain" quite lucidly points out, if genetically engineered crops were aimed at feeding the hungry of the world then companies like Monsanto would develop seeds with certain characteristics such as: the ability to grow in substandard soils; the ability for plants to produce more protein, with increased per-acre yield, without increasing the need for expensive machinery, chemicals, fertilizer or water; they would aim to favour small farms over large farms; seeds would be cheap and freely available without restrictive licensing; they would be for crops that feed people, not animals.

None of the genetically engineered crops now available have any of these characteristics. In fact new genetically engineered seeds require high-quality soils, huge investment in machinery and an increased use of chemicals.As "Against the Garin" so adeptly illustrates, the genetic engineering revolution has nothing to do with feeding the world's hungry but everything to do with enriching a priviledged few.

You can learn alot from reading this book, about such things as The building of America, the law, and citizenship from a black perspective, but I wanted to learn more about the few inputs from the men that were interviwed for this book. Most of the book was written from the author's viewpoint instead of a lot of different men that I throught I was gonna be getting when I first brought this book.

This gets to the heart of it. This really seems to be a book from the heart. Learned a lot from it.

The first few chapters covers various voice analysis - which I found useful: (Traffic, echo, QoS, CAC). The strengths of this book are in the tips, advice and some great scenarios. The weakness is the lack of details, - no running configs, and too few sample configurations.etc. The book tries to cover a broad spectrum of voip - prepaid, pbx, fax, unified messaging. This is where is fails. Each one of these topics should have their own book. I feel as if this book fails to explain in better detail how a dial-peer works, what options (hidden or otherwise) exist and how to overcome common problems. The gatekeeper coverage is lacking (mostly theory which is discussed as if the reader is experienced with Gatekeepers) and I would not recommend this book for a practical setup. It is very apparent that it was written by several authors, the topics are disconnected. It was helpful to some degree - in conjunction with Troubleshooting Cisco IP Telephony (Cisco Press) and the *very* useful Cisco technical support knowledge base. I would like to see a more comprehensive book that covers all possible configurations for a Cisco router/access gateway(runing-config) and in what cases it would be beneficial, with scenarios. I gave it 3 stars - because I feel that a great void exists in good technical manuals for VOIP, and this book is a step in the right direction.

This is not a book that is aimed at helping the reader to pass exams. There are no questions, cram sheets or exam hints. Having said that, it does give a very good explanation of Echo, QoS and CAC. The only part that lets it down is that it's explanation of Unified Messaging is based on the older uOne product and not Unity. I found the IOS configuration examples to be very informative and useful in a real world scenario.

Overall, a useful reference book - but not one for passing exams.

Here he is again, the infamous Beetle Bailey. Fill out your collection.

Older Beetle Bailey is better Beetle Bailey as this collection of strips shows.

The book is cute; it's thick and durable with pages about the size of a toddler book. This is definitely not a story for children aged 4-8 years old as there is no plot. It's probably best for kids age 2-4 years old. The pictures are very 1980ish and while the poses are cute the story is disappointing, lacking a lot of basic, good, just getting started with French vocabulary. It's like a mini-illustrated dictionary without lots of basic entries. To be fair, the mother/child poses are cute, but if you're parent who does not speak any French, the pictures will not stiumulate any further dialogue in French afterwards that the other reviewer spoke of. Also, your kids will be bored by French conversation (that this book is supposed to stimulate after reading it) unless they already understand French. Furthermore, there is no pronunciation guide or glossary. Only parents who speak French (well enough to hold an active conversation about the illustrations) should try this book out for their kids. For parents who do not speak French, try "Pierre et la mer", or bilingual books for children--there's a whole series out there that is really excellent. It includes stories like "I'm too big", "What's for supper?", and so fourth.

In my wife's words, "Ma Maman" is "very cute." We bought this book as well as several others so that she could begin to read to our young son in French. Although it is listed as a book for children from four to eight years of age, it is an excellent book for infants and toddlers as well. It is a board book, so he can gnaw on it while she reads to him (he rates the flavor as 5 stars). Each page shows a photograph of a mother and child (or children) interacting, with a simple sentence underneath which describes the picture (first-person from the child's point of view). The photographs are happy and warm, and they invite further conversation. Sometimes she reads the words, sometimes she just talks to him in French about the pictures. Another strenth of the book is that families of various races are depicted. Be advised that this is not one of the bilingual books that Amazon offers-- there is no translation, glossary, or help with pronunciation.

...Good use of a rainy day, but the themes of the book are terribly dated. The loose woman with a heart of gold, the unscrupulous card sharp with a heart of gold, and the protagonist, a stock fraudster with a heart of gold. (The demimondaine is of course much more interesting than the official heroine.) On the other hand, it was worth the (low) price for two other great period lines. After the hero returns to the ruined city whose once-idle industry is revived, he glories in the air pollution! It was too clean before! And it's great news when the hero, incarcerated, reduces stress and gains lots of weight!

Warning BTW for the politically correct: no f-word, no s-word, but the n-word.... Times do change.

Synopsis: Henry Warren, wealthy London merchant banker, finds himself incognito in the hospital of a depressed northern English town. During his convalescence, he is confronted with the unhappy state of the town since the local shipyard, its sole industry, closed down five years before. Returning to London, he decides to start up the shipyard again in order to revitalize the town; but the problem is finding the first customer. He is forced to resort to some rather shady deals which could land him in prison if discovered.

I am of two minds about this novel. On the one hand, it's classic Shute -- the quiet, competent hero who succeeds through conviction and kindness to others, with the mandatory love story and Shute's characteristic heartwarming plot, enlivened by the ancient "king masquerading as beggar" device.

On the other hand, the central plot is a case of the end justifying the means, which I find rather disturbing; and the novel seems to glorify socialism (not without a dig or two at communism) -- though of course this was written in 1938, when socialism seemed a more viable solution. The novel grapples with one of the fundamental economic problems facing our society -- what to do with people whose skills are superseded by changing circumstances -- and though the answer Shute propounds does not seem workable to me, at least he makes you think about the issue.

On the whole, this is definitely worth reading, especially if your only experience of Shute is "On the Beach". But you may want to try another of his novels first -- "A Town like Alice", "No Highway", "Trustee from the Toolroom", or "The Chequer Board".

I do not discourage anyone form reading "Esoteric Healing" or any of Bailey's other works (her "Treatise on Cosmic Fire" has many insights). I do not question Bailey's extensive theosophic knowledge (from wherever or whomever it comes). I do wish to remind the readers of Bailey's works to have an alert mind and watchful, discriminating eye. I know in my heart and soul that the path to truth and wisdom cannot be paved with words of hate, but with tolerance, kindness, love and the pursuit of knowledge of our individual spiritual paths and evolution,the spiritual planes and the workings of the external and internal universes. Whenever divisive words of hate come one's way, it should automatically send up a red flag that something is not quite right. That red flag exists with Alice Bailey and should always remain in the back of one's mind when reading her works.

Alice Bailey continues the centuries old despicable tradition of blaming the Jews for the world's problems and depicting the Jew as evil and corrupted. What distinguishes her writing from the usual anti-semitic drivel is that she promotes these views under the guise of "New Age" wisdom imparted to her by a "Tibetan Master".

Some quotes directly from her book:

1) "Today the law of Karma is working and the Jews are paying the price, factually and symbolically, for all they have done in the past. Factually and symbolically...they stand as they have ever chosen to stand, for separation ...."

2) "They have never yet faced candidly and honestly (as a race) the problem of why the many nations, from the time of the Egyptians, have neither liked or wanted them...Yet there must be some reason, inherent in the people themselves, when the reaction is so universal and general... Their demand has been for the Gentile nations to put the matter right, and many Gentiles have attempted to do so."

3)"Until, however the Jews themselves face up to the situation and admit that there may be for them the working out of the retributive aspect of the Law of Cause and Effect, and until they endeavor to ascertain what it is in them, as a race, which has initiated their ancient and dire fate, this basic world issue will remain as it has been since the very night of time...The Jewish problem will be solved by the willingness of the Jew to conform to the civilization, the cultural background and the standards of living of the nation to which...he is related and with which he should assimilate..."

4)"The evil karma of the Jew today is intended to end his isolation, to bring him to the point of relinquishing material goals, of renouncing a nationality that has a tendency to be somewhat parasitic within the boundaries of other nations, and to express inclusive love, instead of separative unhappiness."

Sean David Morton, in his article, "Dark Prophet" states about these quotes:

"This Alice Bailey tirade was not written in 1920 or 1930. Alice Bailey penned these words under the direction of a so-called "Tibetan Master" in 1949 when the entire world knew what had just happened to the Jews in Europe. Perhaps she felt the same way about the Tibetans when the Chinese were slaughtering them by the millions in the 1950's. Maybe she felt that the Tibetans had it coming' for some mass Karmic Crime."

The irony of this bigotry is that Bailey represented herself as continuing the theosophic traditions of HP Blavatsky. One of the basic tenets of theosophy, however, is "to form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or colour." Clearly, Bailey's "tirades" against the Jews are antithetical to this basic tenet, and should be vigorously opposed by any thinking, good-hearted and truly spiritual individual.

HP Blavatsky in "Isis Unveiled" herself stated that "Very few Christians understand, if indeed they know anything at all, of Jewish theology". Perhaps if Bailey (and her supposed "Master") had taken the time to study and understand Judaism, instead of blindly attacking it, she would have seen and felt the deep spirituality inherent underneath the surface.

The soul is a great spiritual reality--the source of all that is good, noble, true and healthy in the life of the human individual (the personality). The soul is the true healer. As the Tibetan Teacher, Djwhal Khul says, is his superb volume on the art and science of esoteric healing, "All disease is the result of inhibited soul life". The task of healers in the New Age will be to promote the flow of soul energy through the personality--sweeping away the miasms of mind, emotions and body.

The Tibetan Teacher is a Master on the second ray--the Ray of Love-Wisdom. He is known for His profound understanding of the human energy system--spiritually, psychologically and physically. His 'secretary' Alice Bailey--a woman of great illumination, compassion and understanding worked with Master DK for thirty years and produced these wonderful volumes of esoteric thought, thus laying the groundwork for many arts and sciences which will grow and flourish in the Aquarian Age.

The Tibetan's perspective is vast. He views the world as an initiate of the fifth degree. He is beyond prejudice and pettiness, no matter how some readers may interpret his often frank words. His task is to see and reveal truth to those who can respond. The causes of disease are known to Him and these He must isolate--in individuals and groups. Many nations, groups and individuals have come under his luminous scrutiny. Many have not liked what they have read, considering it erroneous or prejudiced because it is so clear and frank.

Because of His clear analysis of the virtues and strengths of the Jewish People, and also of elements of character requiring transmutation, the charge of anti-Semitism has been leveled at the Tibetan and at Alice Bailey, too. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some of the Tibetan's closest cooperators were Jewish, and several among Alice Bailey's most trusted friends and co-workers were Jewish. I, who write this, am also a Jew.

All groups of people, all individuals, have over a long incarnational past made mistakes. No individual or group is immune. It is far better to understand and correct these errors (based upon astrological and ray energies) that to accuse the source that points them out.

A really fair reading of Alice Bailey's work will reveal the utter falsity of such charges. The Tibetan's writings and hers, resound with compassion for the entire human race, and with the loving-will to see the human condition raised into a state of true spirituality.

We ordinary people (not yet initiates of high degree, not yet Masters of the Wisdom) have our own prejudices arising out of the limitations of our perceptions. If we want to advance spiritually and be really useful, we will have to broaden our point of view, and avoid responding personally and emotionally to statements with which we disagree.

Who is the Jew? Who is the Gentile? Who is the Oriental? We are all one humanity and as reincarnating souls we could incarnate in any race, national or cultural group.

A great healing for humanity will occur when we learn to see things from the perspective of the soul. We will see the things which have to be corrected and, without personal reaction, we will take the necessary action.

The Tibetan Master assisted Helena P. Blavatsky as He did Alice Bailey--to bring forward a new teaching which emphasizes brotherhood and the one soul of humanity. On the way to that brother/sisterhood and unity, let us be frank about our shortcomings--as individuals, as groups, as nations, as races--there is much to be improved, and it is within our power to take the needed steps.

As a Jew, I affirm the love, compassion and wisdom of the great Teacher known to us as Djwhal Khul, and I equally affirm these qualities in his trusted co-worker Alice Bailey. Whoever refuses to read and understand the great Teaching given by the Tibetan and AAB because of a suspicion of prejudice and, especially, of anti-Semitism, will deprive themselves of a priceless revelation of illumined wisdom.

Sincerely,

Michael D. Robbins, Ph.D.
President
University of the Seven Rays