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Professional sports have become a prism through which Americans view complex issues such as race, gender, violence, and commercialism. The essays in this volume survey how sports have historically served as a mirror of society and how they continue to reflect major trends and issues within American culture. (20020401) ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition (prior to June 2010, the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports), is an American government organization that aims to "promote, encourage and motivate Americans of all ages to become physically active and participate in sports". It is part of the Office of Public Health and Science, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The Council publishes guidelines for awards that are given out. They are the Presidential Physical Fitness Award, the National Physical Fitness Award, and the Participant Physical Fitness Award. Additionally, there is the Health Fitness Test as an alternative, the Active Lifestyle Award for staying active, and the Presidential Champions Award for raising their amount of activity. ... Read more

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The traditional Culture of Samoa is a communal way of life based on Fa'a Samoa, the unique socio-political culture of Samoa. In Samoan culture, most activities are done together. There are 3 main parts in the Samoan culture, that is Faith, Family and Music.The traditional living quarters, or fales houses, contain no walls and up to 20 people may sleep on the ground in the same fale. During the day, the fale is used for chatting and relaxing. One's family is viewed as an integral part of a person's life. The aiga or extended family lives and works together. Elders in the family are greatly respected and hold the highest status, and this may be seen at a traditional Sunday umu underground oven. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Rajasthan State Sports Council is the apex body in Rajasthan at the State level to look after the development of sports activities and providing coaching to the players of the state. It was set up in 1957 by the Government of Rajasthan.Rājasthān is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert), which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan. The state borders Pakistan to the west, Gujarat to the southwest, Madhya Pradesh to the southeast, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to the northeast and Punjab to the north. Rajasthan covers an area of 132,150 sq mi or 342,239 km². The proportion of the state's total area to the total area of the country is 10.41 per cent. ... Read more

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Basque Country (greater region). Basque Language, History of the Basque People, ETA, Basque Rural Sports, Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque People, Nationalisms and Regionalisms of Spain, Basque Prehistory. ... Read more

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The FIA?FOTA dispute was a series of ongoing political clashes between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) over proposed changes to the rules and regulations for the 2010 Formula One season. The debate began over the introduction of a budget cap and culminated on the eve of the 2009 British Grand Prix with the FOTA teams announcing their intention to form their own rival breakaway series. From that point onwards, the dispute was eased to the point at which a new Concorde Agreement was signed in August 2009. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Das Abwehramt (AbwA) ist der Inlandsnachrichtendienst des österreichischen Bundesheers und untersteht, genau wie sein Partnerdienst Heeresnachrichtenamt, dem Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung und Sport (BMLVS). Das Abwehramt dient dem ?Eigenschutz? des Heeres, d.h. es soll Angriffe auf militärische Einrichtungen und auf die militärische Sicherheit in Österreich aufklären und verhindern. Außerdem soll es besonders gefährdete Personen und geheime Informationen schützen. ... Read more

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Since 1990, Britain has seen a period of unprecedented public investment in, and political commitment to, sport. In this book, Iain Lindsey and Barrie Houlihan examine and analyze sport policy since the appointment of John Major as leader of the Conservative Party in 1990.

John Major’s period as Prime Minister was a watershed in British sport policy marking the beginning of a prolonged period of public and lottery investment and relatively high political salience. The text also locates Labour sport policy not only in relation to the previous government of John Major, but also in relation to the Labour government’s broader concerns and ambitions related to modernisation of British institutions, its ambition to tackle the ‘wicked issues’ epitomised by its focus on achieving greater social inclusion, and its interest in facilitating greater stakeholder involvement in the policy process.

Lindsey and Houlihan provide the first analysis that examines sport policy as a field of government and that discusses how the various sectors (e.g. youth/school sport, mass sport, etc.) have been affected by government policy and the competition for public resources.

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This special issue brings together conceptual ideas and empirical findings on the possible outcomes--both positive and negative--that arise from children's involvement in physical activity, sports, and recreation. The contributors demonstrate the connection between these youth programs and the potential for the development of healthy venues for conflict resolution in everyday life. The articles deal with many of the far-reaching empirical and theoretical issues at the forefront of current scholarly concern as follows:

* How physical education settings can provide the opportunity for the maturation of motor, organizational, and social skills;
* How sports programs can be designed to teach values, conflict resolution skills, and empowerment to children in at-risk communities;
* How the disappearance of community support for sports programs in urban areas affects the youth population as a result; and
* How the sports context can be used as a way to teach healthy competition or to foster the development of aggression.

... Read more

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The role of sport in international development has only recently begun to attract serious academic interest. The case study that is central to this volume offers an intriguing view of theinterrelationship between sport and grassroots development.Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) is an innovative organization in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, that links youth withsport and developmental initiatives.From humble beginnings, MYSAhas become one of the largest grassroots organizations in Kenya.MYSA affords some exciting avenues for research, particularlyregarding the role of youth in development, the ability of sport tochallenge gender stereotypes and the overarching question of therelationship between sport and development. As relevant now aswhen it was originally written in 1999, this book traces the earlyyears of one of the most remarkable development organizations inthe world. MYSA continues to go from strength to strength, and haseven been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. ... Read more

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In all human societies the right is dominant. For about fifty centuries about ninety percent of the world''s popuation has been right-handed. Throughout history the left hand and arm has been regarded as inferior in power, dexterity and dignity.The book discusses the causes of left-handedness and the penalities (and sometimes) benefits of spending ones life with a dominant left hand. It looks at the dominance of the right in religion, politics and superstition. Half of the book deals with some 800 of the most famous and infamous left handers throughout history. It includes many lesser known facts and fallacies about a very important minority who have achieved much in spite of the sinister interpretation that has sometimes been placed on the fact that they favor their left hand ... Read more

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This engrossing autobiographical account of a student athlete who is hardened by a tough coach in a soon-to-be famous high-school setting, brings the civil rights era into focus. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Racial Tolerance Is A Key Theme in "Good Ground..."
In "The Good Ground of Central High," author George Cate shares the life lessons he learned from a tough, old coach in the days just before his high school became famous during the desegregation crisis in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957.
One of those lessons had to do with racial tolerance and coach Wilson Matthews taught it to the entire student body. An African-American man named Riley "Doc" Johns was the team trainer and an "unofficial" member of the coaching staff. He often acted as a mentor to the boys on Central's all-white team, which for decades was one of the country's top football programs.
Coach Matthews demanded that all of Central's students treat Johns with the same respect they showed for other adults. Given this atmosphere of racial tolerance, Cate writes that he later was shocked to learn about the problems at Central High in 1957 when federal troops entered Little Rock to enforce integration at the school. ... Read more

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The Washington Post has said that the work of John M. Barry, author of the award-winning Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, has "the potential to change the way we think." Now in his new book, Power Plays: Politics, Football, and Other Blood Sports, Barry once again makes us see the world differently, as he examines power from different and striking angles.

Barry tells the compelling inside story of House Speaker Newt Gingrich's rise to power, and the subsequent fall of Speaker Jim Wright.Vice President Dick Cheney, Senate Republican leader Trent Lott, and House Democratic whip David Bonior all play major roles in this story.Barry, a former Washington journalist who has written for the New York Times and the Washington Post,offers a deep and original analysis of the media as well, providing a provocative view of its inner workings and of the pressures on journalists and on all those who compete.

But Barry also sees power in broader terms.In chapters that range from the isolating triumphs of world record-holding hurdler Renaldo Nehemiah, to the raw physical might of an Olympic weightlifter, to the weight of a culture bearing down upon a young man sent to Vietnam, Barry looks at individuals struggling against both the world and themselves.Based on his own experiences as a major college football coach, he also profiles players he coached who pursued their dreams of succeeding in the National Football League. His is an uncommon perspective on sport and on the price of winning and losing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fragments of Everything
I have to diagree with the other two reviewers.Like them, I bought it because I liked the author's books on the 1918 Flu and the 1927 Flood.This book is a mess, conceived of a way to get random pieces of previously published essays into a book with a common theme.Barry fails badly.Portraits of generally obscure athletes, very brief usually, are intertwined with the horrible Gingrich's attempts to destroy Speaker of the House Jim Wright in the 1980's,(Gingrich later got what HE deserved.)But the book just doesn't jell, at least for me.An athlete trying to be the fastest man in the world for personal glory just doesn't align with a politician trying and failing to do the right thing for America.

makes newspaper reporters look naive
Like the other reviewer, I came to this book after reading another of Barry's books, in my case his latest, "The Great Influenza." (Next I'll try "Rising Tide.") What amazes me about this writer is he can handle so well, and in such depth, very very different topics. While I found much of the material on sports moving and interesting-- short profiles ranging from a world record holder in track to athletes trying to make it in the NFL-- the core of the book is its take on the political media. He looks at models of crowd behavior studied by a Nobel laureate and applies them to the press corps. It works magnificently. This is a very very original book, and extermely well written and readable.

provocative, informative, and good reading
I looked for this book because of Rising Tide, a magnificent work by the same writer, and was not disappointed. The author says he's writing about power from different perspectives, from the way athletes marshall power over themselves to the way political institutions work. So this is a collection of things that on the surface wouldn't seem to fit together-- a story on a friend of the author who went to Vietnam, pieces on football players and world record holding athletes originally published in places like Sports Illustrated, and chapters on politics, especially on Congress, Newt Gingrich and the Washington media. As strange a mix as that seems, somehow they do all fit together. And the individual chapters are not only moving, but on occasion extraordinarily insightful. If you think you understand Congress, read this and you'll discover a new world. If you think you understand the media, read this and you'll understand how and why it funcstions as it does at a level deeper than you ever have before. If you think you understand what makes world class and pro athletes tick, read this and you'll see that you didn't. ... Read more

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Whether you re a law enforcement officer wanting to improve your edge or a martial artist wanting to expand your knowledge of street proven techniques, you will find Defensive Tactics: Modern Arrest and Control Techniques for Today's Police Warrior is filled with invaluable information including:

* Joint manipulation that works
* Leverage control vs. pain control
* Hitting with the hands, feet, forearms and elbows
* Safely and quickly crossing the gap
* Blocking an assailant's strikes
* Using vulnerable points to gain compliance
* Head disorientation
* Safe application of sleeper holds
* Controlling a suspect on the ground * Arresting big guys
* Fighting concepts to take on patrol
* Weapon retention in close quarters and on the ground

Written by a retired cop and high-ranking martial artist who survived all that the mean streets threw at him while working patrol, gang enforcement and dignitary protection, Defensive Tactics goes beyond what is taught in the academy, officer's in-service training, and what is allowed by the administration. BONUS: Includes a chapter on proven ways to control a suspect on the ground written by LAPD officer Mark Mireles, an MMA coach, police academy trainer, and wrestling champ.

Customer Reviews (10)

Is Defensive Tactics on your bookshelf ?- Should be.!
This is the very best; most practical text on Defensive Tactics I have ever seen.The author is a been there and done that (for real) instructor.You can tell that he wants to make sure everyone goes home at the end of his /her shift.Excellent!!!

An excellent reference source for police officers and defensive tactics instructors.
Having had the pleasure of reviewing numerous books and videos of Loren Christensen, I found this book to be an excellent reference source and review of the many techniques I have been teaching officers for more than forty years. This book is comprehensive in scope and the photographs are clear and easy to follow. I do not think just reading this book alone without real hands-on training is the best way to learn the material.However, if you are a police officer who has had the basic police defensive tactics course, this book will provide a good review to reenforce the material learned in class.In conclusion, this is a book every police defensive tactics instructor and those who are also involved in teaching law enforcement should have as a resource text.Rating: 5 Stars.Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Monadnock Defensive Tactics (MDTS) System, Use of the Monadnock Straight Baton, PR-24 Police Baton Advanced Techniques, Martial Art Myths, Never Trust a Politician, Knife Handling and Knife Defense Course Manual).

Not my favorit
I have been reading a number of books since I joined the department and this was not my favorit.This book might be better suited to those that have not gone through defensive tacticks (DT) yet.Having already done DT nothing that this book introduced was new.I also found that the book during its instructions of the moves did not acount for any resistance on the part of the suspect or it jumped a few steps.It did make me aware of some things that I had not thought of before and gave perspective in other areas as well.The book was not my favorit but I did benifit from it but would only highly recommend it to a person that has not been through DT yet.

Defensive Tactics
Loren Christiansen has always written great books on Defensive Tactics for police professionals. In this book he again scores with another good one on various techniques easily learned and employed to defend oneself and control a subject.

Great overview
This book provides a great overview of simple DT moves and how to employ them. I found it to be easy to read and follow along with the instructions. The pictures in the text were clear and understandable and matched the descriptions given in the text. I enjoyed the text very much and thought it was a good book. ... Read more

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A journalistic take of the cultural rift between America and Japan focuses on an American insurance agent living and working in Tokyo and a Harvard-educated Japanese man living and working in New York. By the author of Liar's Poker. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The Pacific Separates China from America Also
This book may belong to recent history, however like most good history, it has a great deal of relevance to today and to tomorrow.

Michael Lewis's perspective and approach can easily be adopted and applied to the issues with China. In fact, this time the scale is even larger due to the globalization of trade, finance, crises, production, services, labour and capital.

There are definitely sociological differences between cultures. These differences are passed on to the new generations through sieves and gate-keepers and Jungian stereotypical behavior due to pure and learned instincts and emotions. One needs to understand these differences before conducting international trade and gambling in the international financial arena or investing in new geographies.

Books like the "Pacific Rift" may give you some instruments to deal with the current world by allowing you to consider other cultures and past events and perspectives of former actors in these events.

The book is not dull although the significance of the cultural/economic "clash" between United States and Japan has gone the way of classical Greek tragedies. It is written reasonably well. And. most importantly, it will leave a residue with you after you have read it, without having to refer back to it.

Even today, it is worth the money you spend on it if you think you deal or would like to deal in the global arena and believe that you are good at making associations between the past, the present and the future.

significant
This is significant and not dated.Lewis explores how the Japanese rose fromthe defeat of World War II to defeat America on most fronts.On a pound for Pound basis Japan is still outperforming America on most fronts.If it looks like they are not it is only because Taiwan and South Korea and Germany and Sweden are also doing so well.The integration between government and industry in Japan is like nothing our own economics professors and statesmen are capable of describing or reacting to.

Interesting stories on Japan
Michael Lewis, famous for Liar's Poker and Moneyball, writes what was once a timely book (early 90s when Japan bashing was still trendy) about the challenges of American's in Japan.Learn about the American (Robert Collins, author of Max Danger) trying to import cows in lieu of beef to cut steak prices at the Tokyo American Club, and other misadventures in a world where America was still coming to grips with Japan's emerging power.

The worst of Lewis
After reading, and thoroughly enjoying, Mr. Lewis' other books, I decided to complete my collection with Pacific Rift.

Big mistake.This slim (just over 100 pages) book on early 90s-era U.S.-Asian relations is both dated and poorly conceived.I lost much interest before the 50 page mark.

Pick it up only if you are a Lewis completist.Otherwise, stick to his much better writings like "Moneyball" and "Liar's Poker."

Worthy Follow Up to Liar's Poker
Michael Lewis, the controversial author of Liar's Poker, and later writer for the New York Time's Magazine, is quite a writer.He proves his talent yet again in this work about Japanese-American business relations and cultural differences in the 1980s.

As the saying goes, if you liked Liar's Poker, you'll love Pacific Rift.

My only word of caution is that the book may seem dated now that the U.S. isn't scared to death of the Japanese economic "machine".However, the book now gives a nice historical review of what things were like only ten to fifteen years ago.

It's a shame the book is out of print. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Sporting News, published by Sporting News Publishing Co. on March 18, 2005. The length of the article is 340 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Caught on the fly: yet another knockoff network, this one called ESPNU, debuted last week. Rest assured, the flagship station will be known as ESPNme-me-me-I-I-I.(Know It All)(Brief Article)
Publication: The Sporting News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 18, 2005
Publisher: Sporting News Publishing Co.
Volume: 229Issue: 11Page: 8(1)

Article Type: Brief Article

Distributed by Thompson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Sporting News, published by Sporting News Publishing Co. on March 4, 2005. The length of the article is 345 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Caught on the fly.(Know It All)(Brief Article)
Publication: The Sporting News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 4, 2005
Publisher: Sporting News Publishing Co.
Volume: 229Issue: 9Page: 6(1)

Article Type: Brief Article

Distributed by Thompson Gale ... Read more