...a few days back - forget by whom (Sageman's latest - solid, not so dense as the last one, but solid - I'm done, but it's still in the teetering stack). Top three only (believe me, there are more):

Most of the interest in NLW, however, centers on issues of controlling civilian populations in operations other than war, not fighting wars, where -- as in the case of riots, for example -- deadly force might be inappropriate. Nevertheless, the money that is spent on developing, purchasing, stockpiling, and maintaining NLW cannot be applied to other military purposes, which stands as a genuine economic concern at a time of decreasing defense budgets. Some advocate pursuit of NLW precisely for this reason."

Barnett, R.W. (2003). Asymmetrical Warfare: Today's Challenge to US Military Power. Brassey's: Dulles VA.

Some 700 were injured in the attack on the Mojahedin headquarters at Qa'emshahr in April, 400 in Mashad. Ten members of the organization lost their lives in clashes between February and June 1980.
Preachers were often the instigators of these attacks."

Bakhash, S. (1984). The Reign of the Ayatollahs: Iran and the Islamic Revolution. Basic Books: New York.

Even if the Shah himself were to run over a dog belonging to an American, he would be prosecuted. But if an American cook runs over the Shah, the head of state, no one will have the right to interfere with him.
Why? Because they wanted a loan and America demanded this in return."

Moin, B. (1999). Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah. Thomas Dunne Books: New York.

I won't inflict it on anyone else...but hey, if folks want to share, it's always fun.

"A survey data set containing imputed values should not be analyzed uncritically as if all the data were real values." ~ Graham Kalton

Page 123 had two sentences on it... and then lots of white space...

game over 4 me... :)

Paul Johnson's A History of Christianity. It's got plenty more than 123 pages - so here goes:

Oh, bollocks! Page 123 is a title page:

Mitred Lords and Crowned Ikons (450 - 1054)

Maybe I'll play again later.

Glen Baxter, The Billiard Ball Murders.

I am post-literate.

“The Playboy reader invites a female acquaintance in for a quiet discussion of Picasso, Nietzsche, jazz, sex.” - Hugh Hefner

I am the Grandee's wife, and neither of us is your friend. My husband, however, is a weak man. In Jahilia they think he's cunning, but I know better.

These hired guns, such as "Wild Bill" hickok and Wyatt Earp and his brothers, were usually Republicans, ex-Union soldiers, or from northern states. On the other side were those who opposed corporate encroachment on their lands and vehemently fought against the incorporation of the West. They had the support of gamblers, saloon owners, and prostitutes concerned about earning a living.

And most of you are really heavy nonfiction. Mine:

When the autopsy proved his wife had died in a heart attack in her sleep, they finally let him go home, but for two years, he has faced trial on unspecified charges. In a reprise of Kafka, the government, unable to decide on a charge, has kept changing the trial date. A particularly nasty feature of the case is the government claim to a judge that they had found documents proving Kurtz supported terrorism.

-- Writing in an Age of Silence, Sara Paretsky

Financial stress makes aggressive investment difficult or impossible, but today's financial stress originates in underinvestment in the past. If you look closely, you'll also see eroding or declining quality standards. (By quality, we mean all the things that matter to a customer, such as product quality, service quality, and delivery reliability).

'twas a great book on organizational learning...

--
http://bexhuff.com
Of COURSE you can trust the US Government! Just ask the Indians.

If it's about "books close at hand", there's nothing for dead-tree reading material within fifteen feet of my computer except the most hermetic and arcane manuals and publications - and I can't find one that goes as high as 153 pages.

The 9/11 Commission Report:

But Pakistan's military intelligence service, known as the ISID (Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate), was the Taliban's primary patron, which made progress difficult.

Additional pressure on the Pakistani's -- beyond demands to press the Taliban on Bin Laden-- seemed unattractive to most officials of the State Department. Congressional sanctions punishing Pakistan for possessing nuclear arms prevented the administration from offering incentives to Islamabad.

At that moment the surf was too high to land, so Wilkes ordered his officers to attempt to appease the natives by throwing them some trinkets. But when the trade goods washed up at their feet, the natives scornfully kicked the baubles aside. By this point Sac, standing at the boat's bow with a boat hook in his hand, had struck up a converstion with the group's leader.