Democracy

It is important for you to join at least one service club in your area to help your small business in the community. It might be wise to get with other small businesses which are friends and figure out how each of you can join a different service club to maximize your word of mouth referral base in the community. If you are a franchised business, then meet with some of your nearest franchisee businesses of your system. If your neighboring franchisees belong to certain groups, you should belong to a group, which they do not. For instance, if one belongs to the Rotary, another to Kiwanis and a third to the Optimist Club, you should join the Elks, Lions or be on the board of directors for the Future...

Throughout our lives we are learning all the time, by the time we have reached what is called maturity we could put many the things to rights that we did wrong when young. We do learn from others as we go along but many the time they are not around when we seem to need them most, having then to take the reins in our own hands and do the best we can with the knowledge at the time possessing. When looking back we see many the pitfalls which we fell into, not because we did wrong but because we knew nothing about it at the time. Now that we know how we would handle the many situations that we encountered in the past, we no longer have those problems or difficult decisions to make. They say life is a...

One of the best qualities of a true leader is they know what they don't know. One of the greatest answers you can hear from someone in leadership is - I don't know, followed with - but I will find out. Leadership certainly is intuitive, certainly there is some people are born leaders even if they aren't very good at leadership, but they attract, and people follow. But a great leader is someone who has the charisma to produce followers and the humbleness to be accountable to outside knowledge and to admit to their knowledge gaps. In our lives, most true leadership we see one on one ourselves, in something we are personally involved in. Someone in our field of endeavor who shines, and we recognize...

Every year, millions of Canadians travel to the United States in their vehicles, or they rent cars once they have arrived. As in Canada, The United States traffic laws must be obeyed. Most traffic laws that Canadians tend to violate are speeding tickets and parking violations. When Canadians drive in the US, they should be aware of how the traffic ticket system works. When it comes to speeding tickets, fines can vary because many states determine the amount of the fine based on how many miles per hour the driver was driving above the speed limit. The faster you are traveling, the higher the fine. Many US states have a higher maximum speed limit than in Canada. Many U.S. highways have a maximum speed...

I love music and I often reminisce with my kids and grandkids about sitting around the table at night, when I was young and listening to the radio. The Lone Ranger and The Shadow always kept us spell bound. I used to listen to music just like the youngsters today, but my mobility was limited by the length of the electrical cord. Now I want our youth listening to music where ever they go. Their music is portable and can be enjoyed anywhere and any time. They are using portable electronics. For an old 20th century person in the 21st century I feel somewhat limited when it comes to the many electronic gadgets and gizmos that are on the market today. I would never have dreamed of any of these in...

You know it seems to me having done much business with Arab Gentlemen that if you do not BS a little they really do not respect you much, and the problem is that under US law you have to be truthful. They like to catch you in a tall tale, it makes them feel smart and then they BS back and everyone laughs and they say; "You know I like you." It really is a cultural thing, it is not really lying it is more like creating falsehood after falsehood until everything is so G-darn convoluted you don't know what's up anymore. It is fun in a way to negotiate like that, but it is nearly impossible for written contracts, because the negotiation really starts once you have already signed the agreement you see or...

Did you ever consider why a whole city would listen to one man? Especially if the message from that one man was for every person in that city to change their lifestyle and belief system that they had held for generations. Along with this advice was a threat of annihilation if the message was not taken seriously. And not only that but there was a deadline! A deadline it was for after the end of 40 days if results were not seen then destruction was as sure as Jonah himself was standing on the city streets. The Biblical report reads that the whole city took the advice of that one man. What was the underlying motivation that caused the people of this ancient city to take notice of the reluctant...

Providing long distance elder care has always been a challenge for adult children who are scattered across the globe, but now there is help. A cottage industry of elderly monitoring services is hoping to cash in on an explosive need: to provide peace of mind to elder people's children and extend autonomy/independent living to their aging parent(s). This challenge is being addressed by placing sensors in an elderly person's home, allowing the senior citizen to live independently while providing loved ones who live far away access to data gathered by the sensors. Data collection involves tracking when and where the elderly person has been in the house and even what parts of the rooms have been...

Making the decision as to where to live depends on many things including health, move-ability and finances. We just recently went through this experience with my father-in-law. After my mother-in-law passed away two years ago, he was able to stay in his house and take care of things. He quickly deteriorated out of loneliness and age and it was soon apparent he wouldn't be able to stay in his own home. Unfortunately before anything was done about it he fell and broke his hip forcing the family to find better living conditions for him. After surgery he was moved to an assisted living center where he found companionship, activities, and decent meals three times a day. He did stay in his room for much...

Last night, while attending a high school graduation, I saw something that must surely exemplify one of the major problems in public education. An administrator followed protocol with no adaptation for individual settings. This mantra is precisely why our public education system is struggling so hard to meet the needs of our children today. The situation was this: as typical in most graduations, a line of students waited to receive their diplomas (or mock-diplomas). The student's name was called, the family cheered, and then the student walked over, shook hands with the principal, hugged or shook hands with another teacher/administrator or two, then paused to have their picture taken. The system...

If you want or need to get an MBA course, the best option will be an online college MBA course. This will allow you to continue working at your professional occupation during the regular hours of the day and devote your free time to acquiring the MBA degree. Online classes are very flexibly scheduled. This is designed to accommodate clients in other countries who may be living in another time zone. Hence, schools offering online courses internationally need to make their teachers available at any time of their day. This means that you yourself can take classes 24 hours a day. Among the many prestigious colleges offering college MBA courses you have: 1. Regent University (US) online college MBA...

ign="center"> Jam Sports Marketing, TX gives the organizers a chance to save great amounts of money and provide all the products to their students for free. Jam Sports Marketing TX was created with the aim to provide schools and businesses a mutually beneficial relationship in which both parties benefit from the partnership. Jam Sports provides the highest level of services to both business owners and schools. The businesses can get their name and products advertised to a core group of targeted audiences and the schools can get free merchandise for their events. Events as such can be a drain on the resources of schools as a lot of products have to be arranged for such events. Jam Sports Marketing...

Do you need fast cash now? Have a light utility that needs paying or do you need financial help with your recent car troubles? Both of these situations can be fixed, as well as any other problems you might have. You need to stop seeing banks as a way to get fast cash. Banks do not hand out fast cash, that is just not a true statement, at least not when it comes to extending loans out to people who have bad credit. If you have bad credit, this is where the hassle from banks will come into play or they probably will just not give you the loan period. What are the benefits of this loan? 1. No collateral is needed 2. Bad credit is accepted 3. Credit history is not checked 4. Can payback loan with...

Because of the enhancements and changes of different retirement plans and accounts, many people are thinking of converting their previous IRAs mostly the traditional ones to that of the Roth IRA. The primary reason is the tax benefits that they would get from a Roth IRA and the flexibility of its rules. There are companies in the financial business that offers facilitating the rollover between IRAs. These companies are actually good in persuading people, aside from showing you the advantages they will do almost everything on your behalf all you have to do is sign documents and wait. This is a very attractive offer, most of these financial firms have similar services and they have dedicated...

Zoology is a program you can take as an undergraduate course or as a graduate course that focuses on studying the evolution, behavior and function of all animals. There are few schools in the United States offering Zoology as an undergraduate course. Most of the time students need to take a biological science course for their undergraduate years and take up Zoology as a graduate program. 1. Michigan State University is one of the best colleges for zoology in the United States. MSU has a program that can give the students the solid foundation they need for learning more about the life of the animals. The program lets students learn more about how diverse the lives of the animals in the world are...

Under the new law with respect to each U.S. account (any financial account held by one or more specified U.S. Persons or U.S. owned foreign entities (IRC 1471(d)(1)(A)), the foreign financial institution must provide information about account gross receipts and withdrawals. U.S.-Source investment income is subject to U.S. information reporting and tax withholding. Every person engaged in a trade or business in the United States must file with the IRS a Form 1099 information return for payments totaling at least $600 that it makes to a U.S. Person in the course of its trade or business (IRC 6041). To avoid 28% back-up tax withholding (IRC 3406), a U.S. Person must furnish the payor with Form W-9...

These days you will come across thousands of charities or charitable organizations. These organizations are playing a vital role in changing the world in a better way. The following tips will be of considerable help to you if you are looking to be associated with charitable organization for children. Firstly, you need to find out how exactly you can help children. These organizations have got defined area and support. This may include a variety of topics like safety, health, livelihood etc. You should decide on the areas you will like to work on like education, health, safety etc. This is very much required to have a perfect start. Before you join a charitable organization, it is recommended that...

Hashtags can help add value to your brand and expand your visibility quickly. On Twitter, hashtags are fun little tools for tracking topics, conversations, communities and live events. One popular (almost old) hashtag is #followfriday. This is where people recommend other people that you should follow. So they'd list the twitter id of a person and include the hashtag at the end of the post. For instance, if someone was recommending me, they would tweet my user id plus #followfriday (and maybe they'd include a note saying, "follow her, she's great"). Personally, I don't go looking for hashtags. They are usually already attached to a conversation that I want to add to. However, here are a few...

Are there any genuine businessmen in the world today? The rest of this article will answer this question. What is the genuine businessman, an ultimate capitalist. I think so and I know so. I shall take the rest of the article to tell why this is, read on: Indeed, at the most basic level, you need capital to start a business, even when regulated or semi-regulated, no regulatory body can evade that honesty, no matter how "godlike" or stately. Time, capital, honesty and hard, strong integrated work are needed to start a business. So, I ask again from that direct basis, are there any genuine businessmen in the world today? And if there is, what would I define him as? I would define him as an ultimate...

Imagine being stuck with $5 fees for ATM transactions. Paying big bucks for insurance you don't need on a rental car or forking over $20 -$25 a day for supposedly "free" wireless internet. When you use banks, cell phones, and credit cards or book hotels and airline tickets, you face the prospect of getting ripped off. Here are just a few examples of what you are up against: - You didn't fill up the rental car with gas? The gas costs $7-$10 a gallon here. - Your bank balance fell below the minimum by $1.00 for one day? That'll be $25.00 - You miss one payment on that 18-month same-as-cash loan? Gotcha! That'll cost you $512.00 extra. - You're one day late on that electric bill, or you accidentally...

Genuine links to your website from other trusted sites will improve its ranking. But don't confuse links from trusted sites with link spam, link spam will eat up your time and budget and in the long run prove to be a waste of time. Concentrate your efforts on securing links that help people, links that add value, links that will help you over the long haul. A link from a site to yours is effectively a vote for your site that tells Google your site has great content, or at least tthat's the theory. But remember, Google looks at not just the content on the sites that link to you, but also who's linking to them to check the relevance and quality of the votes you're getting. The more votes you get from...

On Friday, Sebastian Telfair playing for the Boston Celtics publicly denied that he is under investigation for the shooting of rapper Skylar John Jackson, who is also known as Fabolous. While the basketball player explained that he has only been robbed that night and has nothing to do with the shooting, the police are stating that they are currently investigating Telfair. Indeed, the New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne explained that police is investigating whether there is a connection between the reported robbery and the shooting. Telfair, 21, was wearing a $50,000 chain when a robber snatched it from his neck early on Tuesday morning. The robbery took place outside Justin's, a...

I recently gave a presentation that involved the use of a handout at an Advanced Toastmasters club. It was a precursor to making a presentation to service clubs and non-profit organizations.The presentation did not go over as well as I anticipated, but I learned quite a bit, and I made my mistakes in a "sandbox" environment where it did not cost me anything to make a mistake. Hear are some of the things that I learned: 1. People really liked when I moved about the room and made eye contact with each person. 2. Don't do a speech-in-a-speech. It steals valuable time, and reduces clarity, and reduces the opportunity for humor. I was trying to achieve two purposes. 3. There was huge amount of...

Congratulations! You're getting married. Because you're adults who are able to do so, you've decided to pay for your own wedding. The thing I've noticed when couples are paying for their own weddings is that they're often much simpler. That may simply be because people paying for their own weddings are generally older and have more clarity about who they are and how they live. They tend to design their weddings in their own image. As you're planning your wedding, you'll want to consider the roles you want your families to play in creating your wedding day and the roles they might want to play. 1. Determine the style and size wedding that makes sense to your budget, your lifestyle and your...

I read the thought-provoking article "an open letter to the people of Middle East from we are not that stupid Americans" with great interest. The article makes some interesting refrains that I have commonly come across in my interactions with my American friends. And I know that they are certainly very sincere when they make the claims such as that are made in this article. These claims broadly seek to distinguish between the government and the people these governments represent. I believe that these comments, genuine as they are, miss the basic point. But before I state anything, let me make two things very clear. First, I have as much sympathy for the American soldiers who lost their life as for...

As part of the struggle for 'The Good Society', it is necessary to aim for the right economic, political and social mix. In pursuit of this, one response is the pursuit of a 'democratic mixed economy': an economic template which pursues economic democracy, strategic planning and public ownership, and the harnessing of market forces. Already we have considered this in 'part one' of this series. The "Good Society", however, is more than a question of how best to manage the economy. Underlining Australian democracy - and democracies the world over - is a presumed social contract of liberal democratic consensus. The maintenance of social compromise, here, is critical. To begin with, such a compromise...

The global search for answers will draw on the attempts of different cultures to seek answers to problems of the human condition. Within each culture, the process will begin with an exploration of its own culturally specific values, ideals, concepts and stories as the way that their culture has dealt with those problems. These can then be compared to the values, ideals, concepts and stories in other cultures so that we can appreciate similarities and differences. Different cultures have much to learn from each other. For example, Anglo-American ideology has been strong on emphasizing the importance of individuals but has tended to be weak on understanding institutions. Institutions are often reduced...

We can learn a great deal from History. The details in old stories awake our curiosity. Knowing what has happened in the past gives us perspective. Trying to figure out explanations renders us thoughtful; comparing sources, insightful. Theories unconfirmed by facts prompt a man to stop, not to move. Doubts make us reflect and yearn for proof. Giacomo Casanova's autobiography is an outstanding literary achievement that has elevated its author to the prototype of perfect seducer. Few novels or essays have equalled his vivid depiction of the best and worst in human nature. His portrayal of vanity and foolishness has remained fresh through the centuries, providing evidence of how little the world has...

People are showing scrutiny for portrait photography as an art form. One artist says that his work is based from his reaction toward the nature of portraiture being traditionally confrontational. He did not feel satisfied with his career of taking pictures in a laid back sort of way. He has raised a point. Usually, media portraiture is boring and insubstantial despite ideas that it is cool and has a large following. The subjects of such work adopt curious gestural poses in unexpected settings, usually at the behest of the photographer whose impact is only immediate. He concludes that breaking the banality in this type of work can be done if the sitter is more involved in the shoot. It took...

There are several ways in the market that are used to win this brilliant game of Pick 5 lottery and people love to play the lottery in hopes that they can win and change their life for the better. Some people believe in the use of mathematics to hit the Pick 5 lottery and there are many people and scientists who have done a lot of research and have vast knowledge about how to involve mathematics to hit the Pick 5 lottery as they have gained a lot from their own practice and have won the superb game of lottery many times. Not only that, they are using their past experiences to help other people to use their strategies and be successful winners in life. Using mathematics to hit the Pick 5 lottery...

Depending on the kind, there are different kinds in which sports can involve people. When we are going through tough times, we generally pay more attention to it; and when times are good, they still like it! Besides providing people with physical fitness and exercise, it also helps them in building team spirit and becoming fit mentally and socially. When we talk about a team like football and basketball, it teaches the importance of working together and developing communication skills. On the other hand, individual activities such as running and swimming help people with a sense of importance and accomplishment. It is the joyful activity which reduces stress, burns calories, makes people healthier...

Good salesmen know the power of using sales techniques to persuade prospects. The best among them understands the unfair advantage they get when they involve prospects in their presentation. Many of these elites choose the demonstration close to showcase the prowess of their product. This elegant technique also helps them conclude the presentation on a high note. You gain a lot of leverage as prospects interact with your product. Their five senses are engaged and they are likely to feel a sense of ownership. Simply by letting your product "speak for itself", you can get wonderful results. In 1984, Steve Jobs unveiled the first Macintosh with an awe-inspiring presentation. He began by making a simple...

In the beginning it's all hands to the pump. You probably start off with a few staff. Sometimes it's just you and maybe one other who has a dream to create a product or a service. You go through the usual pain of finding that initial funding, that elusive investor that will help your dream come true. Like most entrepreneurs you work slavishly at getting your business off the ground. Twenty fours hours a day, always connected to e-mail and your mobile phone. Then the excitement of your first client, your first sale. And your business is off and running. It's starting to grow. And it grows and grows. That growth is good news. When you have so much to do and not enough staff to do it, it's a nice...

Half-gone are the theories that economic prosperity is dependent solely on communism, capitalism, socialism or some other dogma. Well, for the Chinese model, progress is anything that works. With a large labor force willing to accept relatively low wages, China's growth remains assured. Chinese leaders know this cheap labor in light industry will not last forever and are investing heavily in manufacturing and education. China currently graduates more engineers than any country. Although numbers matter, they do not necessarily translate into quality. As China floods the labor market with cheap labor and skilled workers, it will attract more western industries scurrying to make large profits. The...

This article is a sequel to the article "A Historical/Reflection: Leadership in Primitive Africa. When the roles and functions of leaders in traditional Africa are examined and considered together with the way leaders were recognized or acknowledged, the traditional concept in African leadership can be fully understood. In this section therefore the role of the leaders will be examined so that one can have a full understanding of the traditional concept in African leadership. THE ROLES AND FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY INDIGENOUS AFRICAN LEADERS In discussing the way leaders were recognized or acknowledge in traditional Africa. Some of the functions they performed have been mentioned in passing. These...

Military backed interim government in Bangladesh is gradually proceeding with its ultimate plan of planting non-political people as ‘people’s representative’ in order to attain the goal of ultimately depolitizing the country. Contrary to the Election Commission’s roadmap, local government adviser Anwarul Iqbal recently announced a timeline for holding elections to the local government bodies. The adviser said that the elections to four city corporations and seven municipalities would be held in April while polls to 100 upazila parishads [sub district councils] would take place in May this year. It may be mentioned here that, according to the ‘roadmap’ announced by the Election...

Tunisia, a country located in North Africa is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast. Sahara desert occupies forty percent of the country. Most of the remaining part consists of fertile soil and a 1300 km coastline. According to the reports by the World Economic Forum, Tunisia ranks high among Arab and African nations. The capital city of present Tunisia, called Tunis is responsible for giving the country its name. It can also be associated with the Phoenician goddess Tanith or the ancient city of Tynes. Tunisia has a republic presidential system characterized by bicameral parliamentary system. It includes the Chamber of Representatives and the Chamber of Advisors. Zine El...

The present-day Uganda was forged by the British between 1890 and 1926. The name Uganda was derived from the Buganda Kingdom. It is important to note that the British were not the first people to unite Uganda. Before the British united Uganda, the Bachwezi dynasty controlled or influenced parts of Uganda, Rwanda, Congo and Tanzania between 1100 AD and 1600AD. Names like Ndahura (Ndawula), Mulindwa, Wamala, Kagoro, Kyomya, Mugasha (Mukasa), which are Bachwezi names are found throughout these areas. Further evidence is provided by historical sites like Bigo bya Mugyenyi and Omunsa. Also, the Luo were linked to the Banyoro and Batoro through the Babiito dynasty. Before colonialism, present-day Uganda...

"> Mozambique - A New Democracy in Africa Independence Did you know- In the mid-1970s, like Seychelles (Africa), Suriname (South America), Guinea Bissau (Africa), and Papua New Guinea (Oceania), Mozambique became an independent nation on the Planet.Following over three centuries under Portuguese rule, Mozambique, a resource-rich nation, won its independence on June 25, 1975. In the succeeding months, the modern nation of Mozambique, a former war-torn country (1977 -1992), joined the United Nations. World-famous Women Did you know- In the 1990s and 2000s, the Olympic team was led by Maria de Lourdes Mutola, who won a host of medals and trophies, including a gold medal at the XXVII Summer Olympics in...

"It is wrong not to lay the lessons of the past before the future." [Winston Churchill: The Gathering Storm] The association of Pakistan with the countries lying to its West has a long history, reminiscences of which can still be seen in Pakistan's national life today. Due to these influences, it so happened that a distinct nation emerged within the sub-continent that continued to live without a name for centuries, and took to be referred as a religious minority. Hence, when the name of 'Pakistan'1 was allotted to this un-named nation (the areas where Muslims were in majority) and when after the process of self-discovery and self-realization the Muslims realized that they were indeed a 'nation...

The massacre of more than 200 persons in Baghdad on the American Thanksgiving Day holiday highlighted anew the violence that is now tearing Iraq apart. During the 2006 U.S. political campaign, progress in Iraq was overstated and setbacks were discounted at times. Behind the scenes, the situation in Iraq was growing steadily worse. At present, the real situation in Iraq is grim. Semantics and political posturing aside, Iraq is embroiled in a civil war. Various sectarian groups are fighting one another over power and authority. "The fight to define post-Saddam Iraq has been primarily an intra-Arab struggle to determine how power and authority will be distributed... The conflict...is increasingly a...

is essay, I outline Five futures for Pakistan: (1) the Pendulum continues forever, (2) Collapse, (3) Joining Chindia, (4) the Great Game, and (5) a South Asian Confederation. The most familiar and likely are based on the pendulum of rule by the military and rule by landlord/politicians. However, what is needed is to move from the more likely and less desirable futures to a process of anticipatory democracy where the citizens of Pakistan consider, create and commit to building their preferred future. DEEP STRUCTURES AND ARCHETYPES While the assassination of Benazir Bhutto certainly plunged Pakistan into one of its works crisis in decades, the recent successful electionsi appear to have brought hope...

Invisible puzzles are mechanisms hidden inside products and services you use, and the social/political systems you interact with. They are invisible due to the use of manufactured perception and deniability-tactics. These puzzles are designed to harness everyone's efforts to silently maintain and operate an Invisible Slavery System... Many people have been taught that what is legal is right, and what is not legal is wrong. As if this were an absolute base line for right and wrong. Some will even tie this into their religious convictions, so that it cannot be questioned at all. And some will come up with a "right and wrong" from a specific mix of the two. This is all a matter of brainwashing. As soon...

Over the past few decades, Nigeria has emerged as one of the key political leaders in Africa. Despite a long history of under-performance, driven primarily by leadership and visioning problems, it remains a key global strategic energy partner. It has crude oil and thus the capacity to influence the dynamics of global commerce and industry. But when our oil reserve gets exhausted, we will witness dramatic national transformations with enormous consequences. Oil has been the driving force of Nigeria's economic wellbeing. Oil dominates our foreign earnings. The progress we made in agriculture before the dawn of petroleum has been left behind. The challenge for Nigeria is not necessarily what happens...

In John P. Roche's essay "A Reform Caucus in Action", he suggests that the constitutional framing process was a highly democratic process involving the interests of each state of in the Union. The paper was written as a response to those who believed the framing of the document was a reflection of the elitist views of its framers. The Constitution of the United States has been one of the most hotly debated topics in American history since its inception in 1787.  Charles Beard attempted to characterize the delegates of the Constitutional Convention as money grubbing landowners who intended nothing more than the protection of their most valuable asset, property.  Other writers have argued the...

I was lucky to meet the late Prof Geremek in 2005, when he predicted that 2009 would be a year of change for Europe with many elections, including the election for the European Parliament taking place in 2009. He had said that maybe Europe would shine after that- depending on the kind of political decisions that the new leaders are able to take. Change is in the air with major European countries UK, Germany and Norway scheduled to hold elections in 2009. And of course, the European Parliament is due for election in mid 2009- the largest trans-national election ever. But it is not just Europe that is going to have new leaders, new policies and new alignments in the next year. The election scheduled...

"body"> Like other world's states, Cambodia has adopted the ideology of liberal democracy and Montesquieu's theory of separation of power into its internal justice administration. One of the most common elements of liberal democracy is the separation between the judiciary, executive and legislative powers. Separation between the three supreme powers of the State is the indispensable approach to a fair trial. Article 1 of the Provision Dated September 10, 1992, Relating to the Judiciary and Criminal Law and Procedure Applicable in Cambodia during the Transitional Period, stipulates: 1. The independence of the judiciary must be ensured in accordance with the Basic Principles on the Independence of the...

The recently signed deal on Nuclear Assistance between India and USA is a huge failure of President Bush to tackle the real nuclear threats that we face. Bush has done what his all predecessors even his own father refused to do - break the US and international law to aid India's nuclear-weapons program. The deal was cooked by a handful of senior officials and never reviewed by the departments of State, Defense or Energy before it was announced. Congress was never consulted. This appears to be another give away to a foreign government and corporate interest of personal friends of President Bush and Vice President Cheney at the expense of US national-security interests. Underlying the Bush...

om-link"> New technology is invariably disruptive and destabilizing. Paradigm shifts in science and revolutionary leaps in technology are frequently coterminous with political and military upheavals. The dust usually requires three centuries to settle. Such seismic waves and tectonic shifts occurred between the 12th and 14th centuries AD, again starting with the 15th and ending in the 17th century AD, and, most recently, commencing in the 19th century and still very much unfolding. These quakes portend the emergence of new organizing principles and novel threats. Power shifts from one set of players and agents to another. And the scope and impact of the cataclysm increases until it peaks with the...