This monograph is the first modern research study in English to provide history of the Amur Society ( known as Black Dragon Society due to a mistranslation from Japanese to English), its genesis, its members and its activities in historical context from 1901-1945. Using original sources, some consulted for the first time, Dr Jacob discusses the Amur Society as a key driving force in Japan's embrace of national expansion and analyzes the effect of this ultra-nationalist secret society on Japanese history from before the Russo-Japanese War(1901 +) to the bitter defeat of 1945 and the end of colonial empire, military rule and international aggression . The Amur Society was seen by its enemies as an almighty secret society, one which determined the course of Japanese history from the murky background of Japanese civil and military politics. Founded in 1901 the Amur-Society was aimed at stopping the Russian expansionist ambitions in East Asia and preparing Japan for a war against the tsardom. The members of the society followed a double-sided strategy to achieve this goal. In public they rooted for an anti-Russian mood of the Japanese society by starting a propaganda campaign which consisted of pamphlets and public lectures. In secret their members began spying in Korea, Manchuria and even Siberia gathering information would be of value during the upcoming war with Russia. Although the Russo-Japanese War started in 1904/05 and the Japanese troops gained victory after victory, the diplomats were not able to build on these t victories during the negotiations in Portsmouth, NH where Russia - especially Sergej Witte - won the only Russian victory of that conflict. Although the Kokuryûkai( Amur Society) ,due to the conclusion of the war and the Russo-Japanese diplomatic relations in the years after 1905, had lost its raison d'être it still till 1946. During the years after 1905 the society became more engaged in Korean affairs and tried to accelerate a political unification with Korea and the destruction of Korean cultural and poliical elites as well as Christian religious practice . After Uchida Ryôhei (the leader of the society) was not able to influence Ito Hirobumi -g overnor general in Korea - he returned to Japan and the Kokuryûkai involved in influencing Japanese society via newpapers,books as well as propaganda aimed at army leadership. Their new aim was to influence Japan's pan-Asianism and to force it onto a more expansionistic course. During the Shôwa period, the Kokuryûkai tried to establish an ultranationalist mass movement and founded the Greater Japanese Productive Party (Dai-Nippon Seisantô), but even if it was able to recruit a few thousand members it became not influential mass movement but an open conspiracy against democratic, labor and pacifistic organizations. Terrorism was embraced and practiced against the enemy i.e. felow Japanese.The early death of Uchida in 1937 marked a startling decline of the Kokuryûkai's general influence as even more radical ideas took hold as Japan waged war throughout China then Southeast Asia attacking America and Australia in the Pacific and India in South Asia .

In the ever-evolving landscape of medicine, the boundaries between science, technology, and human experience continue to blur, leading us into uncharted territories where the possibilities seem as infinite as the universe itself. Narrative Frontiers: Essays at the Edge of Medicine and the Multiverse, by Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA, is a collection born from this intersection, where the art of healing meets the frontier spirit of exploration and innovation.Each essay in this collection is a probe of these intersecting dimensions, drawing connections between the tangible realities of healthcare and the expansive, often speculative worlds of science fiction, artificial intelligence, and contemporary societal issues. By venturing into these diverse realms, Dr, Lazarus illuminates the ways in which our understanding of medicine can be enriched and expanded through the lens of storytelling and imagination. As a practicing psychiatrist, Dr. Lazarus has witnessed firsthand the many ways in which medical practice intertwines with the broader narratives of our time. He invites you to journey to the edge of medicine and beyond, where the familiar world of clinical practice meets the dynamic forces shaping our future. Through these essays, you will encounter thought-provoking insights that challenge conventional perspectives, offering new ways to think about the role of medicine in our lives and its potential to transform societies. Whether you are a healthcare professional, a patient, a science enthusiast, or simply curious about the future, you will find in these pages a tapestry of ideas that provoke reflection and inspire innovation.

By engaging with the essays in Narrative Frontiers, you will gain a deeper appreciation of the interconnectedness of medicine and the myriad forces influencing it. You will discover how embracing a multidisciplinary approach can lead to more holistic and effective healthcare solutions, and how the narratives we construct around medicine can shape our understanding of health and healing. Ultimately, this collection seeks to open doors to new possibilities, encouraging you to envision a future where medicine is not just a practice but a search for deeper understanding of human potential. Welcome to the frontiers of narrative, where the journey is as enlightening as the destination.

Consciousness is Curvature envisions consciousness—human and artificial—as a dynamic curvature of informational and computational spaces, drawing parallels with the theory of general relativity’s malleable spacetime and with quantum theory’s probabilistic nature. This collection of philosophical essays on artificial intelligence (AI) sees intelligence as a universal, relational phenomenon, transcending the binary of human minds versus thinking machines. It explores how AI, from narrow systems to potential Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Superintelligence (ASI), will affect humanity’s future and its very connection to the cosmos, reshaping human understanding of awareness and meaning. While confronting the risks—uncontrolled systems, amplified biases, and the erosion of human essence—the book rejects techno-pessimism’s dystopian tropes. Instead, it offers a balanced vision, embracing AI’s potential to elevate human existence and deepen humanity’s exploration of the cosmos. These meditative, forward-looking essays invite readers to ponder the possibilities and perils of AI’s future, while advocating a nuanced approach to a technology that will inevitably redefine humanity’s place in the universe.

In the decades since 1945, Western Europe has undergone a seismic social and political transformation. The evils of racism, authoritarianism, and exclusionary nationalism, which once prevailed, have been defeated and marginalized. Through an arduous process of democratization and liberalization, today’s Western Europe is almost unrecognizable from the one our grandparents were raised in. Yet despite this commendable progress, alarm bells are ringing. Civilization is facing a new crisis, and once again, the Jews find themselves in great danger. This time, however, the menace facing Europe’s oldest Other does not come from the extreme right. Rather, to the surprise of many, it emerges from a fellow minority.

In this book, which was cancelled by its original publisher because of the “sensitive nature” of the topics covered, Harry Saul Markham reveals how well-intentioned policies—meant to advance democracy and foster inclusion—have instead endangered the very fabric of our democratic societies and betrayed the principles upon which the postwar Europe was founded. Although this book confronts head-on the normalization of Islamist thinking within swathes of our Muslim communities, as well as the silence and complicity of mainstream institutions, The Melted Pot is not a repudiation of diversity. With its foreword by a leading British Sheikh who is working for change, this urgent book presents a vision for a new multiculturalism, one that does not compromise on core democratic values and instead empowers voices for change. This book is essential reading for anyone who believes in the promise of diverse, free societies and refuses to surrender to the illusions of either naïve utopianism or divisive nationalism.

Beyond its novel revelations, and meticulous research, this work is endorsed by concerned Muslim voices, as well as other leading experts, journalists, and intellectuals. As such, what Markham has produced is valuable not merely for its content, but as a symbol of concerned citizens of all faiths who are eager for an honest reckoning with multiculturalism in Western Europe.

In this mature dialogue Plato takes great pains to nail down what a sophist really is, since he finds the sophist a dangerous individual. But is the sophist so for us? The term has fallen into disuse as if obsolete. We might find in Plato’s attempt neither urgency nor even interest, unless...

... unless we ask ourselves how we have become inured to living in a world devoted to a cult of images, counterfeits, and appearances, starting even with ourselves? A world where money has become the criterion for all other values and misrepresenting merchandise is the pinnacle of commercial astuteness? 

Where we are no longer shocked by the commodification of culture, where expressing opinions has become synonymous with liberty, where all dialogue becomes debate and all debate a spectacle for its own sake? What is worst is that all this is leading us fundamentally to mistrust language and to deny it any possibility of being true. But in the Sophist it is no less than language and its truth that Plato sets out to save, by anchoring it in being; and thereby he becomes able to deal with the most redoubtable of difficulties. 

For these reasons the Sophist is without doubt the most radical and the most thrilling of all the Dialogues of Plato.