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John D. Rockefeller: The Secret Covenant – Unraveling the Myth and the Man
Introduction:
John D. Rockefeller, the name conjures images of unparalleled wealth, ruthless business tactics, and a legacy shrouded in both admiration and condemnation. While his phenomenal success as the founder of Standard Oil is undeniable, whispers of a "secret covenant" – a pact, agreement, or even a mystical force – fuel continued fascination. This article delves deep into the life and business practices of Rockefeller, separating fact from fiction surrounding the alleged "secret covenant." We will explore the strategies that built his empire, examine the criticisms leveled against him, and analyze the enduring myths that continue to shape our perception of this complex figure. This isn't just a biographical sketch; it's an investigation into the real strategies behind his success, dispelling the enigmatic "secret covenant" narrative.
I. The Rise of an Oil Empire: Fact vs. Fiction
John D. Rockefeller didn't stumble upon his fortune. His success was built upon a meticulous foundation of shrewd business practices, relentless innovation, and a keen understanding of the emerging oil industry. Let's debunk the romanticized "secret covenant" notion by examining the actual methods employed:
Vertical Integration: Rockefeller's mastery lay in his vertical integration strategy. He controlled every aspect of the oil business, from drilling and refining to transportation and distribution. This eliminated intermediaries, slashing costs and giving him an insurmountable competitive advantage. This wasn't some mystical secret; it was brilliant business strategy.
Ruthless Efficiency: Rockefeller was known for his relentless pursuit of efficiency. He implemented cost-cutting measures across his operations, constantly seeking ways to streamline production and reduce expenses. This was a hallmark of his success, not some hidden pact.
Strategic Partnerships and Acquisitions: He wasn’t solely reliant on internal growth. Rockefeller strategically acquired competing oil companies, often driving them out of business through aggressive pricing and leveraging his control over distribution networks. This was a calculated business strategy, not a mystical intervention.
Technological Innovation: Rockefeller invested heavily in refining technologies, constantly improving efficiency and reducing costs. This dedication to technological advancement was a key component of his success, showcasing his forward-thinking approach rather than reliance on anything secretive.
II. The Philanthropic Legacy: A Counterbalance to the Critics
The criticism leveled against Rockefeller often focuses on his monopolistic practices and the ruthless tactics employed to eliminate competitors. However, it's crucial to acknowledge his substantial philanthropic contributions. The Rockefeller Foundation, the University of Chicago, and numerous other institutions benefited enormously from his generosity. This act of giving back suggests a complex individual, one whose motivations cannot be easily reduced to simple narratives of greed. This charitable giving also served as a powerful form of public relations, softening the harsh image he projected during his business dealings.
III. Debunking the "Secret Covenant" Myth
The "secret covenant" narrative surrounding Rockefeller is primarily a construct of later interpretations and embellishments. There's no credible historical evidence to support the existence of a clandestine agreement, secret society, or mystical pact that propelled his success. His empire was built on hard work, strategic thinking, and a ruthless dedication to business acumen. The myth likely emerged from a combination of factors:
Jealousy and Resentment: Rockefeller’s immense wealth and power inevitably bred resentment and envy, leading to the creation of narratives designed to diminish his achievements.
Sensationalism: The narrative of a secret covenant adds a layer of intrigue and mystery, making for a more compelling story than the reality of diligent business practices.
Misinterpretations of Business Practices: His aggressive business tactics were often misrepresented as evidence of some shadowy conspiracy rather than the result of calculated business strategy.
IV. The Enduring Legacy: A Mixed Bag
Rockefeller's legacy remains a complex and multifaceted one. He was a visionary entrepreneur who revolutionized the oil industry, leaving an indelible mark on American business history. However, his ruthless methods also left a trail of broken competitors and fostered criticism regarding the ethical implications of his wealth accumulation. His philanthropic activities offer a contrasting side, showing a commitment to society that tempers but doesn't entirely erase the negative aspects of his business practices. Ultimately, understanding Rockefeller requires a nuanced approach that avoids simplistic narratives and acknowledges the complexities of his life and work.
V. Conclusion: Beyond the Myth
The "secret covenant" surrounding John D. Rockefeller serves more as a captivating myth than historical reality. His success was primarily the result of his astute business acumen, strategic planning, and relentless pursuit of efficiency. While his legacy is undoubtedly intertwined with both extraordinary achievements and harsh criticisms, it is crucial to engage with his story critically, separating fact from fiction and acknowledging the full spectrum of his impact on the world.
Book Outline: "The Rockefeller Enigma: Beyond the Secret Covenant"
Introduction: An overview of John D. Rockefeller’s life and the pervasive myth of the "secret covenant."
Chapter 1: The Early Years: Rockefeller’s upbringing, early business ventures, and the development of his entrepreneurial spirit.
Chapter 2: Building Standard Oil: A detailed account of the strategies employed to build Standard Oil, focusing on vertical integration, cost-cutting measures, and strategic acquisitions.
Chapter 3: The Antitrust Battles: An examination of the legal challenges faced by Standard Oil and the controversies surrounding its monopolistic practices.
Chapter 4: The Philanthropic Rockefeller: A discussion of Rockefeller's philanthropic contributions and their impact on various institutions and causes.
Chapter 5: Debunking the Myth: A thorough analysis of the “secret covenant” narrative, separating fact from fiction and providing historical context.
Chapter 6: The Rockefeller Legacy: An evaluation of Rockefeller's enduring impact on the business world, society, and American culture.
Conclusion: A synthesis of the key themes explored in the book, offering a nuanced perspective on the complex legacy of John D. Rockefeller.
Article Explaining Each Point of the Book Outline:
Each chapter outlined above would necessitate a separate, in-depth article exploring its specific content. For example, "Chapter 2: Building Standard Oil" would delve into specific business strategies such as vertical integration, cost-cutting, and aggressive acquisitions, providing detailed examples and historical context. Similarly, "Chapter 5: Debunking the Myth" would rigorously examine claims of secret pacts, analyze primary sources, and present counterarguments to the narrative of a "secret covenant." This granular approach would ensure thorough coverage of each facet of Rockefeller's life and legacy.
FAQs:
1. Did John D. Rockefeller actually have a "secret covenant"? No, there is no credible historical evidence to support the existence of a secret agreement or pact. His success was built on sound business practices.
2. What was Rockefeller's most effective business strategy? Vertical integration was arguably his most effective strategy, allowing him to control all aspects of the oil industry and drastically reduce costs.
3. How did Rockefeller respond to criticism of his business practices? He largely ignored direct criticisms, focusing instead on building his business and later engaging in extensive philanthropy to improve his public image.
4. What was the impact of the antitrust lawsuit against Standard Oil? The lawsuit led to the breakup of Standard Oil into smaller, independent companies.
5. What is the legacy of Rockefeller's philanthropy? His philanthropy had a profound and lasting impact, funding numerous institutions and significantly advancing scientific research and education.
6. How did Rockefeller maintain his competitive edge? Constant innovation, ruthless efficiency, and strategic acquisitions were key to maintaining his competitive advantage.
7. What role did technology play in Rockefeller's success? Investment in and implementation of advanced refining technologies were critical to his cost reduction efforts.
8. Why does the "secret covenant" myth persist? The myth likely persists due to a combination of jealousy, sensationalism, and misinterpretations of his aggressive business tactics.
9. Is Rockefeller a figure to be admired or condemned? Rockefeller's legacy is complex and merits a nuanced understanding. His contributions to business and philanthropy must be balanced against the criticism stemming from his sometimes ruthless business tactics.
Related Articles:
1. The Standard Oil Trust: A Case Study in Monopoly: Examines the structure and operation of the Standard Oil Trust and its impact on the American economy.
2. Vertical Integration and the Rise of Big Business: Explores the concept of vertical integration and its influence on the development of large corporations.
3. The Gilded Age and the Robber Barons: Discusses the historical context of the Gilded Age and the criticisms leveled against industrial titans like Rockefeller.
4. The Sherman Antitrust Act and its Legacy: Analyzes the impact of the Sherman Antitrust Act on the regulation of monopolies in the United States.
5. Rockefeller's Philanthropy: A Legacy of Giving: Focuses specifically on the scope and impact of Rockefeller's charitable contributions.
6. The Social Impact of the Oil Industry: Explores the broader societal effects, both positive and negative, of the development and expansion of the oil industry.
7. Comparing Rockefeller to Other Industrialists of the Era: Compares and contrasts Rockefeller's business practices with those of other prominent industrialists of the Gilded Age.
8. The Cultural Depiction of John D. Rockefeller: Examines how Rockefeller has been portrayed in popular culture, analyzing both positive and negative representations.
9. The Evolution of Antitrust Law in the 20th Century: Traces the historical development of antitrust laws and their effectiveness in regulating monopolies.
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The Rockefellers Peter Collier, David Horowitz, 1976 This is the story of an American dynasty. It is the story of the father, who built the fortune. Of the son, who cleansed the name. Of the Brothers, who manipulated both the name and the fortune to their own ends. And of the Cousins, who often wish they had inherited neither. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The Arc of a Covenant Walter Russell Mead, 2023-10-03 A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • A groundbreaking work that overturns the conventional understanding of the Israeli-American relationship and, in doing so, explores how fundamental debates about American identity drive our country's foreign policy. In this bold examination of the Israeli-American relationship, Walter Russell Mead demolishes the myths that both pro-Zionists and anti-Zionists have fostered over the years. He makes clear that Zionism has always been a divisive subject in the American Jewish community, and that American Christians have often been the most fervent supporters of a Jewish state, citing examples from the time of J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller to the present day. He spotlights the almost forgotten story of left-wing support for Zionism, arguing that Eleanor Roosevelt and liberal New Dealers had more influence on President Truman's Israel policy than the American Jewish community--and that Stalin's influence was more decisive than Truman's in Israel's struggle for independence. Mead shows how Israel's rise in the Middle East helped kindle both the modern evangelical movement and the Sunbelt coalition that carried Reagan into the White House. Highlighting the real sources of Israel's support across the American political spectrum, he debunks the legend of the so-called Israel lobby. And, he describes the aspects of American culture that make it hostile to anti-Semitism and warns about the danger to that tradition of tolerance as our current culture wars heat up. With original analysis and in lively prose, Mead illuminates the American-Israeli relationship, how it affects contemporary politics, and how it will influence the future of both that relationship and American life. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Democracy and Philanthropy Eric John Abrahamson, 2013-10 |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The History of the Standard Oil Company Ida Minerva Tarbell, 2020-09-28 One of the busiest corners of the globe at the opening of the year 1872 was a strip of Northwestern Pennsylvania, not over fifty miles long, known the world over as the Oil Regions. Twelve years before this strip of land had been but little better than a wilderness; its chief inhabitants the lumbermen, who every season cut great swaths of primeval pine and hemlock from its hills, and in the spring floated them down the Allegheny River to Pittsburg. The great tides of Western emigration had shunned the spot for years as too rugged and unfriendly for settlement, and yet in twelve years this region avoided by men had been transformed into a bustling trade centre, where towns elbowed each other for place, into which three great trunk railroads had built branches, and every foot of whose soil was fought for by capitalists. It was the discovery and development of a new raw product, petroleum, which had made this change from wilderness to market-place. This product in twelve years had not only peopled a waste place of the earth, it had revolutionised the world’s methods of illumination and added millions upon millions of dollars to the wealth of the United States. Petroleum as a curiosity, and indeed in a small way as an article of commerce, was no new thing when its discovery in quantities called the attention of the world to this corner of Northwestern Pennsylvania. The journals of many an early explorer of the valleys of the Allegheny and its tributaries tell of springs and streams the surfaces of which were found covered with a thick oily substance which burned fiercely when ignited and which the Indians believed to have curative properties. As the country was opened, more and more was heard of these oil springs. Certain streams came to be named from the quantities of the substance found on the surface of the water, as “Oil Creek” in Northwestern Pennsylvania, “Old Greasy” or Kanawha in West Virginia. The belief in the substance as a cure-all increased as time went on and in various parts of the country it was regularly skimmed from the surface of the water as cream from a pan, or soaked up by woollen blankets, bottled, and peddled as a medicine for man and beast. Up to the beginning of the 19th century no oil seems to have been obtained except from the surfaces of springs and streams. That it was to be found far below the surface of the earth was discovered independently at various points in Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania by persons drilling for salt-water to be used in manufacturing salt. Not infrequently the water they found was mixed with a dark-green, evil-smelling substance which was recognised as identical with the well-known “rock-oil.” It was necessary to rid the water of this before it could be used for salt, and in many places cisterns were devised in which the brine was allowed to stand until the oil had risen to the surface. It was then run into the streams or on the ground. This practice was soon discovered to be dangerous, so easily did the oil ignite. In several places, particularly in Kentucky, so much oil was obtained with the salt-water that the wells had to be abandoned. Certain of these deserted salt wells were opened years after, when it was found that the troublesome substance which had made them useless was far more valuable than the brine the original drillers sought. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The Double Life of Herman Rockefeller Hilary Bonney, 2012 In January 2010 a law-abiding, church-going father of two from Melbourne's leafy eastern suburbs didn't come home after a business trip and his burnt remains were found in a northern suburb - the wrong side of town - a week later. A police investigation uncovered the shocking truth- Herman Rockefeller met with an alcoholic single mum and her older boyfriend for sex and the liaison had gone horribly wrong. Was the respectable, successful businessman (worth $400 million) leading a double life as a swinger? Why didn't he just pay for whatever sex took his fancy instead of taking the sordid option? How did the two very different worlds of killers and victim connect in the first place? Rockefeller has taken some answers to the grave, but Hilary Bonney takes us right inside the world of the killers and behind the scenes of the investigation to bring us the story of the multimillionaire who fell from grace. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Random Reminiscences of Men and Events John D. Rockefeller, 2003-06 CONTENTS Some Old Friends The Difficult Art of Getting The Standard Oil Company Some Experiences in the Oil Business Other Business Experiences and Business Principles The Difficult Art of Giving The Benevolent Trust -- The Value of the Co?perative Principle in Giving |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Modernity At Large Arjun Appadurai, 1996 |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The Secrets of the Federal Reserve -- The London Connection Eustace Mullins, 2018-09-13 From the Foreword. In 1949, while I was visiting Ezra Pound who was a political prisoner at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Washington, D.C. (a Federal institution for the insane), Dr. Pound asked me if I had ever heard of the Federal Reserve System. I replied that I had not, as of the age of 25. He then showed me a ten dollar bill marked Federal Reserve Note and asked me if I would do some research at the Library of Congress on the Federal Reserve System which had issued this bill. Pound was unable to go to the Library himself, as he was being held without trial as a political prisoner by the United States government. After he was denied broadcasting time in the U.S., Dr. Pound broadcast from Italy in an effort to persuade people of the United States not to enter World War II. Franklin D. Roosevelt had personally ordered Pound's indictment, spurred by the demands of his three personal assistants, Harry Dexter White, Lauchlin Currie, and Alger Hiss, all connected with Communist espionage. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies: The Ultimate A–Z of Ancient Mysteries, Lost Civilizations and Forgotten Wisdom John Michael Greer, 2010-06-10 Discover everything you ever wanted to know about secret societies like the Freemasons, the historical mystery of Atlantis, why King Arthur, Leonardo da Vinci and Hitler are key figures, plus conspiracy theories, forgotten sciences and ancient wisdom. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Torture (Academic Edition) Senate Select Committee On Intelligence, 2020-02-18 The study edition of book the Los Angeles Times called, The most extensive review of U.S. intelligence-gathering tactics in generations. This is the complete Executive Summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee's investigation into the CIA's interrogation and detention programs -- a.k.a., The Torture Report. Based on over six million pages of secret CIA documents, the report details a covert program of secret prisons, prisoner deaths, interrogation practices, and cooperation with other foreign and domestic agencies, as well as the CIA's efforts to hide the details of the program from the White House, the Department of Justice, the Congress, and the American people. Over five years in the making, it is presented here exactly as redacted and released by the United States government on December 9, 2014, with an introduction by Daniel J. Jones, who led the Senate investigation. This special edition includes: • Large, easy-to-read format. • Almost 3,000 notes formatted as footnotes, exactly as they appeared in the original report. This allows readers to see obscured or clarifying details as they read the main text. • An introduction by Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones who led the investigation and wrote the report for the Senate Intelligence Committee, and a forward by the head of that committee, Senator Dianne Feinstein. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The NSA Report President's Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies, The, Richard A. Clarke, Michael J. Morell, Geoffrey R. Stone, Cass R. Sunstein, Peter Swire, 2014-03-31 The official report that has shaped the international debate about NSA surveillance We cannot discount the risk, in light of the lessons of our own history, that at some point in the future, high-level government officials will decide that this massive database of extraordinarily sensitive private information is there for the plucking. Americans must never make the mistake of wholly 'trusting' our public officials.—The NSA Report This is the official report that is helping shape the international debate about the unprecedented surveillance activities of the National Security Agency. Commissioned by President Obama following disclosures by former NSA contractor Edward J. Snowden, and written by a preeminent group of intelligence and legal experts, the report examines the extent of NSA programs and calls for dozens of urgent and practical reforms. The result is a blueprint showing how the government can reaffirm its commitment to privacy and civil liberties—without compromising national security. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Rules for Radicals Saul Alinsky, 2010-06-30 “This country's leading hell-raiser (The Nation) shares his impassioned counsel to young radicals on how to effect constructive social change and know “the difference between being a realistic radical and being a rhetorical one.” First published in 1971 and written in the midst of radical political developments whose direction Alinsky was one of the first to question, this volume exhibits his style at its best. Like Thomas Paine before him, Alinsky was able to combine, both in his person and his writing, the intensity of political engagement with an absolute insistence on rational political discourse and adherence to the American democratic tradition. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The Last Utopia Samuel Moyn, 2012-03-05 Human rights offer a vision of international justice that today’s idealistic millions hold dear. Yet the very concept on which the movement is based became familiar only a few decades ago when it profoundly reshaped our hopes for an improved humanity. In this pioneering book, Samuel Moyn elevates that extraordinary transformation to center stage and asks what it reveals about the ideal’s troubled present and uncertain future. For some, human rights stretch back to the dawn of Western civilization, the age of the American and French Revolutions, or the post–World War II moment when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was framed. Revisiting these episodes in a dramatic tour of humanity’s moral history, The Last Utopia shows that it was in the decade after 1968 that human rights began to make sense to broad communities of people as the proper cause of justice. Across eastern and western Europe, as well as throughout the United States and Latin America, human rights crystallized in a few short years as social activism and political rhetoric moved it from the hallways of the United Nations to the global forefront. It was on the ruins of earlier political utopias, Moyn argues, that human rights achieved contemporary prominence. The morality of individual rights substituted for the soiled political dreams of revolutionary communism and nationalism as international law became an alternative to popular struggle and bloody violence. But as the ideal of human rights enters into rival political agendas, it requires more vigilance and scrutiny than when it became the watchword of our hopes. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Fellowship Point Alice Elliott Dark, 2022-07-05 NATIONAL BESTSELLER “Engrossing...studded with wisdom about long-held bonds.” —People, Book of the Week “Enthralling, masterfully written...rich with social and psychological insights.” —The New York Times Book Review “A magnificent storytelling feat.” —The Boston Globe The “utterly engrossing, sweeping” (Time) story of a lifelong friendship between two very different “superbly depicted” (The Wall Street Journal) women with shared histories, divisive loyalties, hidden sorrows, and eighty years of summers on a pristine point of land on the coast of Maine, set across the arc of the 20th century. Celebrated children’s book author Agnes Lee is determined to secure her legacy—to complete what she knows will be the final volume of her pseudonymously written Franklin Square novels; and even more consuming, to permanently protect the peninsula of majestic coast in Maine known as Fellowship Point. To donate the land to a trust, Agnes must convince shareholders to dissolve a generations-old partnership. And one of those shareholders is her best friend, Polly. Polly Wister has led a different kind of life than Agnes: that of a well-off married woman with children, defined by her devotion to her husband, a philosophy professor with an inflated sense of stature. She strives to create beauty and harmony in her home, in her friendships, and in her family. Polly soon finds her loyalties torn between the wishes of her best friend and the wishes of her three sons—but what is it that Polly wants herself? Agnes’s designs are further muddied when an enterprising young book editor named Maud Silver sets out to convince Agnes to write her memoirs. Agnes’s resistance cannot prevent long-buried memories and secrets from coming to light with far-reaching repercussions for all. “An ambitious and satisfying tale” (The Washington Post), Fellowship Point reads like a 19th-century epic, but it is entirely contemporary in its “reflections on aging, writing, stewardship, legacies, independence, and responsibility. At its heart, Fellowship Point is about caring for the places and people we love...This magnificent novel affirms that change and growth are possible at any age” (The Christian Science Monitor). |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Bloodlines of the Illuminati: Fritz Springmeier, 2019-03-04 The iLLamanati have emerged from hidden places of the Earth to shed light on the dark side of human endeavors by collating and publishing literature on the secrets of the Illuminati. Representing the Grand Llama, an omniscient, extradimensional light being who is channeled by our Vice-Admiral, Captain Space Kitten, the iLLamanati is organized around a cast of interstellar characters who have arrived on Earth to wage a battle for the light.Bloodlines of the Illuminati was written by Fritz Springmeier. He wrote and self-published it as a public domain .pdf in 1995. This seminal book has been republished as a three-volume set by the iLLamanati.Volume 1 has the first eight of the 13 Top Illuminati bloodlines: Astor, Bundy, Collins, DuPont, Freeman, Kennedy, Li, and Onassis.Volume 2 has the remaining five of the 13 Top Illuminati bloodlines: Rockefeller, Rothschild, Russell, Van Duyn, and Merovingian.Volume 3 has four other prominent Illuminati bloodlines: Disney, Reynolds, McDonald, and Krupps. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: En Route to Global Occupation Gary Kah, 1992 The author demonstrates that there is an ominous cooperation between the globalists, who are promotintg the one world government, and one new religion. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Population and the American Future United States. Commission on Population Growth and the American Future, 1972 |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The Scientific Background of the International Sanitary Conferences, 1851-1938 Norman Howard-Jones, 1975 |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: John D. Rockefeller Grace Goulder Izant, 1972 For more than sixty years, Rockefeller called Cleveland home: it was where he married and raised his children, where he launched his business career, where he kept a secluded retreat, and where he was buried. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Killing Hope William Blum, 2022-07-14 In Killing Hope, William Blum, author of the bestselling Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower, provides a devastating and comprehensive account of America's covert and overt military actions in the world, all the way from China in the 1940s to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and - in this updated edition - beyond. Is the United States, as it likes to claim, a global force for democracy? Killing Hope shows the answer to this question to be a resounding 'no'. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The State Anthony De Jasay, 1998 The State is a brilliant analysis of some of the fundamental issues of modern political thought from the perspective, not of individuals or subjects, but of the state itself. The author poses the query, What would you do if you were the state? The state usually is understood as an instrument, not a personality, and it is presumed to exist so that people can achieve their common ends. However, Jasay asks, what if we suppose the state to have a will and ends of its own? To answer these questions, the author traces the logical and historical progression of the state from a modest-sized protector of life and property through its development into an agile seducer of democratic majorities, to the welfare-dispensing drudge that it is in many countries today ... Is the rational next step a totalitarian enhancement of its power? The State presents what has been termed a disturbingly logical 'agenda' for the state in pursuit of its 'self-fulfillment.'--Inside jacket flap. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The Democratization of Artificial Intelligence Andreas Sudmann, 2019-10-31 After a long time of neglect, Artificial Intelligence is once again at the center of most of our political, economic, and socio-cultural debates. Recent advances in the field of Artifical Neural Networks have led to a renaissance of dystopian and utopian speculations on an AI-rendered future. Algorithmic technologies are deployed for identifying potential terrorists through vast surveillance networks, for producing sentencing guidelines and recidivism risk profiles in criminal justice systems, for demographic and psychographic targeting of bodies for advertising or propaganda, and more generally for automating the analysis of language, text, and images. Against this background, the aim of this book is to discuss the heterogenous conditions, implications, and effects of modern AI and Internet technologies in terms of their political dimension: What does it mean to critically investigate efforts of net politics in the age of machine learning algorithms? |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The Covenant Barbara Newman, Barbara Rogan, 1989 Bashir Gemayel...was commander-in-chief of Lebanon's Christian forces; [Barbara Newman] was an ABC news investigative producer doing a segment in Beirut for '20/20.' Eighteen months later, in 1982, Gemayel was, at the age of thirty-four, elected president of Lebanon, and he and Barbara Newman had become lovers. Their romance developed against the backdrop of Gemayel's rise to power from Beirut's bloodiest days of civil war through the Israeli invasion. It ended with his assassination. In the years since..., Newman and the world have witnessed Beirut's descent into the mindless horror of anarchy and terrorism. But Newman did not sit helplessly by as Gemayel's country abandoned the ideas and dreams for which he died. Rather, she laid siege to Lebanon, utilizing all her investigative skills. In that process Newman turned up some of the most revealilng stories of the war, all of them never before told, including who killed Bashir Gemayel--from jacket flaps. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Titan Ron Chernow, 1998 There are worse men than John D Rockefeller,' Arena magazine observed at the turn of the century. 'There is probably not one, however, who in the public mind so typifies the grave and startling menace to social order.' The son of a flamboyant bigamist and pedlar of patent medicine, Rockefeller was by then America's richest man, the mastermind and creator of the country's first and most powerful monopoly: the Standard Oil Company. Reaching into every household across America, Standard Oil controlled 90% of all oil refined in the US, as well as its production, transportation, marketing and distribution. The story of Rockefeller is the story of a pivotal moment in modern history: the shift, after the American Civil War, from small-scale business to economy of scale, and the development of the first modern corporation. In Ron Chernow's magisterial work we see this transition in all of its nuances - accompanied by the rise in labour militancy, the tabloid press and large-scale philanthropy. TITAN is a business epic that, by illuminating the past, teaches us much about where we are today. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: God and Gold Walter Russell Mead, 2008-10-14 A stunningly insightful account of the global political and economic system, sustained first by Britain and now by America, that has created the modern world. The key to the two countries' predominance, Mead argues, lies in the individualistic ideology inherent in the Anglo-American religion. Over the years Britain and America's liberal democratic system has been repeatedly challeged—by Catholic Spain and Louis XIV, the Nazis, communists, and Al Qaeda—and for the most part, it has prevailed. But the current conflicts in the Middle East threaten to change that record unless we foster a deeper understanding of the conflicts between the liberal world system and its foes. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Towards Knowledge Societies Jérôme Bindé, Unesco, 2005 Urges governments to expand quality education for all, increase community access to information and communication technology, and improve cross-border scientific knowledge-sharing, in an effort to narrow the digital and knowledge divides between the North and South and move towards a smart form of sustainable human development. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Guide to U.S. Elections Deborah Kalb, 2015-12-24 The CQ Press Guide to U.S. Elections is a comprehensive, two-volume reference providing information on the U.S. electoral process, in-depth analysis on specific political eras and issues, and everything in between. Thoroughly revised and infused with new data, analysis, and discussion of issues relating to elections through 2014, the Guide will include chapters on: Analysis of the campaigns for presidency, from the primaries through the general election Data on the candidates, winners/losers, and election returns Details on congressional and gubernatorial contests supplemented with vast historical data. Key Features include: Tables, boxes and figures interspersed throughout each chapter Data on campaigns, election methods, and results Complete lists of House and Senate leaders Links to election-related websites A guide to party abbreviations |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Applied Ethics in Animal Research John P. Gluck, Tony DiPasquale, F. Barbara Orlans, 2002 This volume is a collection of chapters all contributed by individuals who have presented their ideas at conferences and who take moderate stands with the use of animals in research. Specifically the chapters bear of the issues of: notions of the moral standings of animals, history of the methods of argumentation, knowledge of the animal mind, nature and value of regulatory structures, how respect for animals can be converted from theory to action in the laboratory. The chapters have been tempered by open discussion with individuals with different opinions and not audiences of true believers. It is the hope of all, that careful consideration of the positions in these chapters will leave reader with a deepened understanding--not necessarily a hardened position. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Modern Art Despite Modernism Robert Storr, Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.), 2000 Essay by Robert Storr. Foreword by Glenn D. Lowry. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: American History: A Very Short Introduction Paul S. Boyer, 2012-08-16 This volume in Oxford's A Very Short Introduction series offers a concise, readable narrative of the vast span of American history, from the earliest human migrations to the early twenty-first century when the United States loomed as a global power and comprised a complex multi-cultural society of more than 300 million people. The narrative is organized around major interpretive themes, with facts and dates introduced as needed to illustrate these themes. The emphasis throughout is on clarity and accessibility to the interested non-specialist. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The Divo and the Duce Giorgio Bertellini, 2019-01-15 At publication date, a free ebook version of this title will be available through Luminos, University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. In the post–World War I American climate of isolationism, nativism, democratic expansion of civic rights, and consumerism, Italian-born star Rodolfo Valentino and Italy’s dictator Benito Mussolini became surprising paragons of authoritarian male power and mass appeal. Drawing on extensive archival research in the United States and Italy, Giorgio Bertellini’s work shows how their popularity, both political and erotic, largely depended on the efforts of public opinion managers, including publicists, journalists, and even ambassadors. Beyond the democratic celebrations of the Jazz Age, the promotion of their charismatic masculinity through spectacle and press coverage inaugurated the now-familiar convergence of popular celebrity and political authority. This is the first volume in the new Cinema Cultures in Contact series, coedited by Giorgio Bertellini, Richard Abel, and Matthew Solomon. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The Creature from Jekyll Island G. Edward Griffin, 1995 |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Guide to the Presidency SET Michael Nelson, 2007-07-02 Guide to the Presidency is the leading reference source on the persons who have occupied the White House and on the institution of the presidency itself. Readers turn to this guide for its vast array of factual information about the institution and the presidents, as well as for its analytical chapters that explain the structure and operations of the office and the president's relationship to co-equal branches of government, Congress and the Supreme Court. This new edition is updated to include: A new chapter on presidential power Coverage of the expansion of presidential power under President George W. Bush |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: The Secret Founding of America Nicholas Hagger, 2016-11-15 The widely accepted story of the founding of America is that The Mayflower delivered the first settlers from Plymouth to the New World in 1620. Yet in reality, the Jamestown settlers had already become the first English-speaking outpost thirteen years earlier in 1607. The Secret Founding of America introduces these two groups of founders - the Planting Fathers, who established the earliest settlements along essentially Christian lines, and the Founding Fathers, who unified the colonies with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution - and it argues that the new nation, conceived in liberty, was the Freemasons' first step towards a new world order. Drawing on original findings and an in-depth understanding of the political and philosophical realities of the time, historian Nicholas Hagger charts the connections between Gosnold and Smith, Templars and Jacobites, and secret societies and libertarian ideals. He also explains how the influence of German Illuminati worked on the constructors of the new republic, and shows the hand of Freemasonry at work at every turning point in America's history, from Civil War to today's global struggles for democracy. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Philanthropic Foundations in Canada Peter R Elson, Sylvain A Lefèvre, Jean-Marc Fontan, 2020-05-11 This book is a turning point in the evolution of Canada's philanthropic landscape - a testament to new and ground-breaking knowledge that reflects a distinct Canadian foundation sector. Explore established and emerging landscapes, Indigenous perspectives on philanthropy and creative and innovative pathways to change. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: New Individualist Review Milton Friedman, 1981-05 Over its life the Review printed seminal writing on free market and conservative topics by remarkably mature students and by Russell Kirk, Ludwig von Mises, George Stigler, Benjamin Rogge, and other already established men. What characterized the Review writers was their rigor of thought and concern for principles, features that coexist naturally. —Chronicles Initially sponsored by the University of Chicago Chapter of the Intercollegiate Society of Individualists, the New Individualist Review was more than the usual campus magazine. It declared itself founded in a commitment to human liberty. Between 1961 and 1968, seventeen issues were published which attracted a national audience of readers. Its contributors spanned the libertarian-conservative spectrum, from F. A. Hayek and Ludwig von Mises to Richard M. Weaver and William F. Buckley, Jr. In his introduction to this reprint edition, Milton Friedman—one of the magazine's faculty advisors—writes that the Review set an intellectual standard that has not yet, I believe, been matched by any of the more recent publications in the same philosophical tradition. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Yoga Fitness for Men Dean Pohlman, 2018-05-08 Maximize athletic performance and increase strength and endurance through the power of yoga. Incorporating yoga into your fitness regime can help you perform better on the sports field and in the gym! Learn how yoga works and integrate key yoga poses and routines to improve flexibility, core strength, and prevent injuries. For centuries yoga has been used to improve overall health and strengthen the mind and body. This yoga guide focuses on helping men perform at their highest fitness levels. Inside the pages of this yoga book you'll find: - More than 50 postures with full-colorr photos and step-by-step instructions. - Over 20 workout routines tailored to specific performance goals, such as endurance and power, or improving your running or weightlifting performance. - Focuses on the functional aspects of yoga, including sports performance and injury prevention. - Information on how yoga can specifically benefit men. - Easy-to-follow steps to execute yoga postures. Yoga is known to have plenty of benefits, but did you know that it also has benefits specifically for men and athletes? At the core, this ancient practice is based on stretching different muscle groups for greater flexibility, ease of movement, and greater power. And these benefits translate to sports performance, gym gains, and overall health - allowing your body to move as it should. No chanting required to master these yoga postures and workouts! Written by Dean Pohlman, sports coach and author, this yoga book for men is focused on yoga's functional fitness benefits and less on the spiritual or emotional aspects. A wonderful gift and fitness resource, Yoga For Men: Build Strength and Improve Performance will help men meet their performance goals, play harder and feel better. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: "Enduring Freedom" Human Rights Watch (Organization), 2004 Background : Operation Enduring Freedom -- Violations by U.S. forces -- International legal context -- Conclusions -- Recommendations -- Appendix : U.S. criticisms of mistreatment and torture practices -- Acknowledgments. |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Great White Fleet to Coral Sea Russell Parkin, 2008 |
| john d rockefeller the secret covenant: Mega Gifts Jerold Panas, 2010 |
