The New Censorship Inside the Global Battle for Media Freedom by Joel Simon

The New Censorship Inside the Global Battle for Media Freedom

by Joel Simon is a book written by the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists and published by Columbia University Press.

His long career as foreign correspondent in sensitive places of Earth, and his analysis of reporters in risking everyday of dying (most of them were killed) for reporting truth permits to the author, a real fighter of rights of journalists  to seeing if exists real freedom of expression in all countries, analyzing various realities and his personal history. You will see that there is still a lot of work to be done.

Very often journalists are under attack, or they are killed or they are treated very bad because they report what they see, what they are experiencing; a reporter remains a voice too dangerous for any government at every level.

But the main question is: what does a place without the free press mean? 

If censorship is a characteristic of a dictatorship, free press is direct sign of democracy of a democracy. We will also see that keeping internet a safe and free place where people can express their emotions, feelings, spreading news without to be blocking will also mean for free press that is marching always more close with this new way of communicating, the possibility of a real expression at various levels.

The book is clear, so it is for all readers and for all that people interested in discovering the difficult world of medias and freedom. 

I thank Columbia University Press for the physical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

  

The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo

It was an age that I wanted to read a book by Michael Morpurgo

but for a reason or another I hadn't never found a copy. I found a children's book written by him at the second-hand bookshop of Umbertide. The title, The Butterfly Lion. I finished this children's book in 2 hours or so.

The story is absolutely fascinating.

Written on 1996, this one is the story of a friendship between a kid and a white lion, a rarity, but sometimes it happens. 

Modern times: a boy decides of going away from the horrible school where his parents put him.

Walking in the countryside he meets a big house with an old lady. She asks him if he wants to come on in, offering him a lot of scones and various cup of teas. They start to talk and the story is this one. 

Bertie lived in Africa, we are at the beginning of the 1900s and once he discovered a mother lion with his little one, completely white. Once returned home he tells the story to his parents but no one believe him. Then, the tragedy: the white little lion becomes orphan because his dad killed the mother. Bertie, meeting again the little lion asks to his father if he can keep him home. All the family accept. That little lion is nice, he is not violent and he grows up  peacefully, till the day that the parents of Bertie decide of selling it to the owner of a french circus. They could not keep a lion forever. They become big animals.

For Bertie is a real shock, but the promise is great: once he would have found him again and they would have been reunited.

From Africa, Bertie affords in the UK for studying. He wouldn't want to study too distantly but after all he will be more close to his white lion. 

He grows up with close to him another friend, who later would have become his wife; at first, played together, then when in the teen-age age they not understood that they loved each other; they were separated by war, and only later their reunion and the discovery of the white lion.

The end if wonderful; I do strongly believe in these magical meetings.

It's a children's book written incredibly well, with great love, passion and I adored it.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Perché comincio dalla Fine by Ginevra Lamberti

I lost a lot of people during these past years. With this spirit I asked to reading Perché comincio dalla Fine

by Ginevra Lamberti published by Marsilio.

This one is a real dark and lucid analysis of the situation paradoxically lived by living ones: finding answers for the other world thanks to a miriad of opportunities that the market of the sector offers. Ginevra's tale starts from old memories, remembrances of a lost time, and her real situation: the one of a girl without a place in the cemetery when she will pass away; honestly a house not searched spasmodically by anyone I guess.

This book is great because it takes in consideration all the voices of a sector that, if you don't know that, it's in expansion and try to offer all the time the best for the dead one.

The writer doesn't leave alone all the creatives who treated death in various measure and moments of their existence.

Beauty, strong, absolutely very well written.

I thank Marsilio for the physical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Le livre de Decisions De Bourdieu au Swot, 50 modeles a appliquer pour mieux reflechir by Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschappeler translated by Amelie de Maupeou and adapted in french by Mathieu Jehanno

Le Livre de Decisions De Bourdieu au Swot, 50 modeles a appliquer pour mieux reflechir by Mikael Krogerus

and Roman Tschappeler translated by Amelie de Maupeou and adapted in french by Mathieu Jehanno is a great self-help book that wants, through many pshychologicals and not only models to trying to suggest to you the best way for taking decisions. Big decisions, but also little decisions.

We know all that most of us are procrastinators, that sometimes we don't launch ourselves in new adventures and decisions and that sometimes we are like trapped in a sort of multiples, different decisions that create confusion in our minds; because our interests, because our hobbies, we can't focus with attention on the important things of the existence.

Eisenhower, loved to saying that "les choses urgentes sont rarement importantes, et les choses importantes sont rarement urgentes", the urgent choices are rarely important, and the important choices are rarely urgents.

Men focus mainly on two kind of choices: urgent and importants.

Seeing and analyzing various methods and helped also by important tools in grade to clarify in your mind (this book contains pages where you will write down your priorities) choosing should become more simple and your mind more vivid and motivated.

Following the method of Warren Buffett you can write down a list of priorities that need to be done today trying to see how it works, starting from the first one. 

SWOT analyzes not just projects but also their Strenghts, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. 

Obviously when a person is close to a dilemma it's also important, remark the authors to trying to understand what is your most important quality. Knowing yourself is a great method for going on well in life, taking the best choices for you.

The example in the book the one of a marathon. A person not too much trained can't think of running a marathon.It's too long. Maybe it would be better to thinking of running for 30 minutes everyday. 

It's important to control our thughts. 

The Talmud says: 

Surveille tes pensées, car elles deviennent tes mots.

Surveille tes mots, car ils deviennent tes actions.

Surveille tes actions, car elles deviennent tes habitudes.

Surveille tes habitudes, car elles deviennent ton caractère.

Surveille ton caractère, car il devient ton destin.

When our choices are important and our expectations big there is the big risk that they won't work and so Barry Schwarts recommends to focus on a choice. When you go to a restaurant, tries to focus on a certain dish. It would be better and so on. 

Profusion when ideas not too clears, add the authors create a lot of confusion.

This book is pretty long, I received a long extract, but for every voice of the existence, from cars to trips and much much more you will receive tips, suggestions and how to take the best decision.

Surely a great book for chronicle unsecure people!

I thank Editions Leduc for the copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Antidemocracy in America Truth, Power, and the Republic at Risk edited by Eric Klinenberg, Caitlin Zaloom and Sharon Marcus

I start to be a fan of Public Books. The second book I just finished to read is Antidemocracy in America

Truth, Power, and the Republic at Risk edited by Eric Klinenberg, Caitlin Zaloom and Sharon Marcus and published by Columbia University Press it is a great account of what it is going on these years in the USA.

Where to start? It's a beautiful book, and what I read created me a great sufferance. 

President Trump is the son of these times; populistic times. Citizens can't find answer in the establishment and the so-called "elite" and so they vote for a populist candidate. Because of wrong choices made in the past by other politicians. 

Trump wouldn't never been elected if times would have been different, more happy, cheerful and plenty of good answers. 

Three wives,so a divorced man, when in the past candidates couldn't run anymore for the Presidency if they had cheated their wife also once, strong opinions regarding women, sex and power, Trump received anyway wagons of votes also from women. 

Being business man, he acts as a business man also in office; and he has a a great ego. 

President Trump is a weird creature, in grade of capturing the votes of suprematists, white ones, people anti-semitic and racists.

Not only: his policy of anti-immigration has caused a lot of chaos and sufferance, let's think at all that children divided maybe forever by their families, or the ban established against some countries considered nests of terrorists.

His position regarding foreign policy remains embarassing, like also what he is creating everyday in the domesticity of his country.

Knowledge and education for Trump are not important and his opinion of public schools remain poor as remarked; Trump doesn't think that environment, climate change are priorities. He doesn't mind of scientists, he doesn't appreciate who, in various fields of knowledge try in a way or in another to bettering this world.

His lies, admit contributors in this book are many: media are constantly telling lies, everything is wrong; the truth just the one he tells to his electorate.

Twitter became with the time the most crucial instrument of communication of the President, more important than his briefings with reporters. 

The ObamaCare, a first temptative of a different health system, more human has been deleted. 

Teaching, remarks in a chapter a contributor is becoming always more difficult in the age of Trumpism, because it's difficult to explain rationally what it is going on at various levels.

The country wanted by President Trump is extremely divided; people voted him in search of answers, because too unsecure of their future. This one is the certainty but who knows if all these people found answers or their personal situation is the same one of three years ago. 

In the USA there is a heavy air. Old phantoms that people thought buried forever as anti-semitism, are re-starting to take some shape. You will read a vivid analysis of the situation starting from the 1930s.

Racism is incresead, thanks to the messages spread by the President and the anxiety regarding the wall he wants to build. 

The USA remains a country of immigrations. Realistically the only real citizens of the USA and entire America were the Native Americans ones. Killed and dilaniated by the arrival of Europeans.

A beautiful book this one divided in three sections: Part I. The crisis: where we are. Part II. The Collapse: How We Got Here. Part III. The Solutions: What We Can Do.

Written with extreme clarity, Antidemocracy in America is for everyone, for understanding the moment, but also the past; and for trying to see a different future where people will be more united.

I thank Columbia University Press for the physical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Shannon Eizenda New Executive Director of the Gubbio Project

Shannon Eizenda is the new

Executive Director of the Gubbio Project. Founded by Fr. Louie Vitale on 2004, the charity assist the homeless located in the area of Tenderloin, a place pretty poor of the city of San Francisco.

Eizenda has experience leading collaborative teams as director of academic programs of a progressive multi-religious, justice centered seminary; she has experience working with street-folks because she worked in a health center focusing in particular on mental problems. Third, she is an experienced fundraiser. Douglas Pierce from the Board Chair of the Gubbio admits that he is thrilled at the chance of working with her.

At the same time Shannon introducing herself to the community of the Gubbio Project remarks that "The Gubbio exists as a hope in a time of crisis - Hope in another way for us to be together." Eizenda adds that "We are living in unprecedent times pf dramatic inequity and injustice."

The final words are for donors and supporters: "There is much to be done as we work towards a more loving and inclusive world and we cannot do it without you."

To Shannon Eizenda, all the staff and guests of the Gubbio Project a big hug from Gubbio.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Questione di Chimica by Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim

Questione di Chimica

by Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim is an electrifying new book published by Marsilio. Have you ever seen The Big Bang Theory? Right: the approach of this young chemist is this one: absolutely wonderful and unique in the genre! This book can be read pretty quickly but at the same time will leave you more conscious of the world where we live in and what happen in our daily life. While I was reading it I thought at the big difference that there is when someone is prepared in the topic, and others are not. You can't never appreciate a topic like physics of chemistry if, at school you don't meet a "divulgative brain." Mai Thi is all this; starting from his daily life, her companion, her best friend Christine, analyzes in detail what happen in a day or more seen and read with the brain of a chemist.

Reading this book it was clear to me that this past summer I left my smartphone in areas of the house too much warm sometimes for example. Many years ago my private english teacher of the high school, I met her at the supermarket sounded pretty scared: "Oh no, not this one and neither the other one. I can't buy these toothpastes. Why, I replied? No sure you, I have some favorite brands and in general without too much thinking I put them in the basket.

"They contain a mortal substance. It causes cancer," she answered me back.

I was deadly scared at the idea. I clean my teeth, 5 times per day. Bloody hell, I thought I will die pretty soon. In this book I found a good explanation and I am reassured that I shouldn't die for any mortal illness caused by toothpaste.

Substantially Mai Thi's family 8s largely composed by chemists and Mai Thi  started to appreciating chemistry since she was little and her dad started to explaining her the world seen and read with his eyes. It's a creative world, where there are little little particles that can be seen just in lab.

Once completed her studies and a master at the Harvard University located in Cambridge, Massachusetts Mai Thi decided of opening a YouTube channel for speaking something about The Secret Life of Scientists. She thinks that it's important to let know to everyone how beauty chemistry is. According to her there are too many false myths that must be corrected regarding this job and people working in the field.

I always say that we live in a world populated by chemistry, physics, math and geometry.

With the eyes of a chemist, Mai Thi will guide you in a fascinating trip, with experiments that you can repeat at home, speaking about what happen everyday in our existence, and our interactions with the most common tools, substances of our daily life.

In a divulgative way Mai Thi teach to all of us chemistry, entering in details in the various segments she analyzes in the chapter taken in consideration, so she will introduce us atoms and the world surrounding them; or what happen in our mouth when we eat and at our teeth in particular; but she will also explain us what happen chemically to food and ingredients like coffee, chocolate, telling us what makes the difference in the various fats and why some of them are more nocive than other ones. Not only; water, smartphone, name a daily activity. It's here!

I would suggest this book to everyone but in particular at students and teachers as well. 

I thank Marsilio for the physical copy of this book composed by a lot of particles as my body, my keyboard and the entire world surrounding me.

Anna Maria Polidori