Political Corruption

In this vivid, deeply-reported book, Matt Stroud shows that our new policing tools are overhyped and ineffective. Instead of wrestling with tough fundamental questions about their work, police leaders have looked to technology as a silver bullet, and stood by as corporate interests have insinuated themselves ever deeper into the public institution of law enforcement. With a sweeping history of these changes, Thin Blue Lie is a must-listen for anyone seeking to understand how policing became what it is today.

Mathis Cross, the hard-driving police commissioner, cleaned up a corrupt city and a more corrupt police force. Taking Gen. Patton’s advice to heart, his motto is ‘lead me, follow me, or get the hell out of my way’. Given that the mayor appoints the police commissioner--not surprisingly, Mathis has a keen interest in the upcoming mayoral election. As do the wealthy politicos accustomed to running the city and determined to get rid of Mathis Cross once and for all. As her sneering detractors declare, Gracie D’Amico hasn’t so much as run for prom queen, much less mayor. Her shy ...

In this audiobook, William L. Riordan, one of the "muckracker" journalists, records Plunkitt's take on politics in Plunkitt's own words - as delivered from the bootblack stand at the New York County Courthouse, Plunkitt's only office. His take on life, politics, and morality is as delightfully frank as it is astonishingly cynical. Enjoy!

Guillermo Trejo y Sandra Ley ofrecen en este libro una teoría novedosa y necesaria sobre la violencia criminal, que enfatiza la influencia crucial de la política. A diferencia de estudios previos, que ven a los grupos de crimen organizado como empresas económicas libres que operan en oposición a las autoridades estatales, Trejo y Ley los conciben como grupos ilegales íntimamente relacionados con el Estado. Por tanto, estos grupos responden al cambio político: el crimen organizado no puede existir ni operar con éxito si no cuenta con algún grado de protección estatal.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is credited with driving through the deal between the apartheid government and the African National Congress that was at the heart of South Africa’s democratic constitution. He was the ANC’s lead negotiator and the man who persuaded one of the most recalcitrant racist governments in the world to buy into a settlement based on one of its most enlightened bills of rights. But once the ink had dried on the constitution, Ramaphosa found himself politically sidelined.

The American people depend on a free press to keep a close and impartial watch on the national security operations that are carried out in our name. But in many cases, this trust is sadly misplaced, as leading journalists are seduced and manipulated by the secretive agencies they cover. While the press remains silent about its corrupting relationship with the intelligence community - a relationship that dates back to the Cold War - Spooking the News will blow the lid off this unseemly arrangement.

Former CIA operative Robert Baer examines the dangers behind America's collaboration with Saudi Arabia. Nominally based on a "harmony of interests" - the Saudis sold their oil to the American government very inexpensively - what we offered in exchange has damaged our position in the Middle East and left our country vulnerable to economic and terrorist threats. Baer goes behind the scenes to show how the US willingly overlooked the corruption of the Saudi royal family, its financing of violent Islamic fundamentalist groups, and its bribery of American officials.

Peace, Love and a Dirty Bomb Cole Sage has settled into his new job in San Francisco, when cryptic call from an unhinged eco-terrorist from the sixties, Jason Reed—a man on a mission to bring about mass destruction in the name of Mother Earth. As the clock ticks down to Reed’s catastrophic plan, Cole finds himself racing across the city to do Reed’s last interview. Can Cole prevent a disaster that could claim thousands of lives? A warning phone call from notorious cult leader Charles Manson from San Quinten warns Cole just who he is up against. But San Francisco isn’t the only ...

*A vicious corrupt candidate faces trial. *For murder… among other crimes. *It will take a miracle to take her down. *Enter Calian Begay. Against the odds, Calian Begay, the arrogant Native American sheriff arrested Secretary of State Whitney Chabot and her wealthy political cohorts. In addition to underwriting a human trafficking cartel, it doesn’t help that Whitney’s choice of lovers is a tad too close to home. Now all Cal has to do is get the reprobates convicted. Given who is leading the prosecution, success is far from a certainty. When the corrupt attorney general is thrown off ...

In An Uncivil War, Washington Post journalist Greg Sargent vividly lifts the curtain on the nightmare dynamic that is transforming American politics into little more than a naked power struggle. Yet An Uncivil War is not only a thorough dissection of an ultimately immoral system, but a handbook for turning that around by restoring authentic democracy. Given the incredibly high stakes in 2018 and 2020, Sargent’s book could not be more essential.

Though mankind has traded tangible goods for millennia, recent technology has changed the fundamentals of trade, in both legitimate and illegal economies. In the past three decades, the most advanced forms of illicit trade have broken with all historical precedents and, as Dark Commerce tells, now operate as if on steroids, tied to computers and social media. Author Louise Shelley examines how new technology, communications, and globalization fuel the exponential growth of dangerous forms of illegal trade and considers diverse ways of responding to this increasing challenge.

A detective novel set in the quaint town of Shamborough, England, during the early 20th century. Murder of a Mayor embarks you on a gripping journey through the cobblestone streets and misty moors of Shamborough, an idyllic English town where tradition prevails. With its high stake investigation and complex web of characters, this book plunges you into a world of mystery, intrigue and suspense, with every twist and turn demanding your undivided attention. Unraveling the Deceit When the beloved Mayor Samuel Sanderson is found brutally murdered in his office, it sends shockwaves through the ...

Lie Machines is full of riveting behind-the-scenes stories from the world's biggest and most damagingly successful misinformation initiatives - including those used in Brexit and US elections. Howard not only shows how these campaigns evolved from older propaganda operations, but also exposes their new powers, gives us insight into their effectiveness, and shows us how to shut them down.

A world ruled by autocrats and plagued by terrorism. Is there No Other Way? His mission is to save the country from eco-terrorists. Those who will stop at nothing to break fossil fuel’s stranglehold on the world’s economies. She has dedicated her life to saving the world from the devastating effects of climate change. Is her vast wealth enough to make a difference? A mysterious text message and a senseless attack at a football game beg the question, who are the terrorists? Religious zealots or eco-nuts? Who, exactly, is he fighting? Can he stop them before it's too late? She thinks ...

We see it everywhere: shady zoning regulations in a small town; taxpayer money diverted into political campaigns; deals that enrich the few at the expense of the many; billion-dollar bailouts; and much more. When private interests need a political favor, they know whom to call. When politicians need money, they also know whom to call. The people involved try to keep most of it concealed behind closed doors. This is the system that prevails in Russia after the fall of Communism. But increasingly it is America's system as well.

Delve into "America Hijacked," a critical and expansive exploration spanning the past 80 years of US political history. This compelling narrative embarks on a journey from the conflicts of Vietnam and Korea, traversing through the tumultuous wars in the Middle East, unearthing the layers of deception and criminal corruption interwoven within the legacies of the Bush, Clinton, and Biden families.

Award-winning American news presenter Rachel Maddow investigates remarkable stories from around the globe, all leading back to the same crooked source: the unimaginably lucrative and equally corrupting oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry has weakened democracies in developed and developing countries, fouled oceans and rivers and propped up authoritarian thieves and killers.

When Richard Griffiths meets attractive Andrea Nelson he is expecting nothing more than a holiday romance. But soon he is embroiled in a sinister web of deceit and corruption which reaches into the highest levels of the European parliament. As atrocity follows atrocity, Richard’s cousin, Commander Nick Hunter RN of the International Force Against Terrorism, is called in to chase down the villains before more innocent lives are lost. In a fight against time, this is Henke at his pause-resisting best.

Southeastern Narcotics Bureau Agent Bo Schollenberger’s solved his cases using his brains and not a gun, and with his partner, not alone. Now he’s handed a tough new case involving designer drugs that turn users violent. One false move could end his life as he immerses himself into a motorcycle gang to locate the source. His fate depends on how well he can impersonate someone else. Someone named Cyrus Cooper.

Using examples of government corruption from one of the most troubled US states, the authors warn that until all citizens unite in opposition to, and the exposing of, all government corruption, nothing in our society will change, and our government of the people, by the people, and for the people will continue to hurt the people it was intended to help.