Statements of Deception

Spy the Lie: Three Former CIA Officers Reveal Their Secrets to Uncloaking Deception by Philip Houston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When someone is lying to you it is rather difficult to spot the deception. Humans are not natural lie detectors. Unless you know the truth for certain will never be able to know if someone is lying. Some things that make it difficult are that we assume people tell the truth. Our biases also help blind us. In addition we try to absorb information but that still does not help.

The model for detecting deception is simple. The first point is ignore truthful statements that do not deal with the issue. Most people tell lies within five seconds of hearing unpleasant stimulus. Look for clusters of behavior when determining deception. Communication consists of verbal and nonverbal behaviors. If there are three indicators of deceptive behavior chances are the person is being deceptive. People will often mask their crime by telling the truth about something unrelated.

What does deceptive behavior look like? When we take an oath in court we agree to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. There are three kinds of lies, the first kind of lie is a lie of commission where we tell a bald face lie. The second lie is a lie of omission where we leave out part of the truth. The third is a lie of influence , wherein the deceived tries to make themselves appear truthful. Here are some tactics people will use when being deceptive. Such behaviors include failure to answer, lack of clear denial,refusal to answer, repeating questions, non answer statements, inconsistent statements, overly specific answers, extreme politeness, high concern and procedural complaints among others.

When a liar does not have the facts on their side they will resort to making what is called convincing statements. For example let us say that you accuse someone of stealing something. They will not respond by denying the theft rather they will say “ I would never do that I am an honest person.” They lack sticking to the facts.
Another tactic liars use when the facts are not on their side is going on the attack mode. They will act all indignant and verbally attack the person who is asking the questions.

As noted earlier communication consists of verbal and nonverbal cues. When a deceptive person is lying you can often discern their untruthfulness by their physical reactions. Some physical reactions might be a behavioral pause or delay when asked a direct question if they did something or not. There may be a verbal/nonverbal. Which means that they might say yes if they shake their head back-and-forth right to left that would be a disconnect. Another behavior to look at his hiding their mouth or their eyes. As people live they tend to get more nervous nervous behaviors can include throat clearing or swallowing before answering a tough question. Another behavior might be increased and to face activity. Moving th anchor points is a significant teller of whether one was speaking truth or lie, also increased grooming gestures.

Other tactics to fish out liars include presumptive questions where In the questioner makes an assumption and puts it in question form. Hopefully the liar takes the bait. The second question is a baiting question that causes nervous tension in the liar. For example if you were accused of robbing s certain house and the questioner asked would there be any reason a neighbor saw you near the house?

The book was written by three former CIA trainers . There are case examples to test your skills and see the concepts in application.

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The Hidden War Against American Entertainers

The Covert War Against Rock: What You Don't Know About the Deaths of Jim Morrison, Tupac Shakur, Michael Hutchence, Brian Jones, by Alex Constantine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Think about all the rock stars who have died untimely deaths over the years and you kind of wonder if there is a conspiracy going on. Sounds far fetched at first and you may not believe what you read at first, why would the government care about musicians.?

Music has long had an impact on human consciousness and the musicians that were being killed were involved in social issue. As the book correctly notes there is a cooperation going on between the mafia, cia , record labels and drug labs. The American government has long wanted to subvert the hippie movement of the 60’s. One way to do this was to malign rock stars and make them look like drug addicts. The American government teamed up with LSD labs for the purpose of both human experimentation and both to get the LSD put there so as to poison the hippie movement. The mafia, government and record labels worked to keep rock music out of the top 40s and jukeboxes.

Sound surprising ? Consider the fact that recently it has been revealed that the FBI has kept files on various entertainers based on remarks they have made in public. Some of these Rock Stars who have died left behind muddled investigations where things do not add up. Take for instance Jim Hendrix. The great guitar player had a road manager who used to work for the government . This guy terrified Jimi Hendrix. Used to rip him off, set him up for drug busts and finally arranged for his death. The connections between the entertainment industry, government and the mob run deep.

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Old Style Witchery

Folk Witchcraft: A Guide to Lore, Land, and the Familiar Spirit for the Solitary Practitioner by Roger J Horne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Here comes a book that I found to be perfect for the novice witch and even beneficial for the intermediate witch. The book is not heavy on ritual and tools it does employ them. In many ways we are living in a golden age of witch craft . Thousands of books are coming out and scholars are investigating the old texts to determine the truths. New traditions are springing up all the time. Only problem is that they tell you how to do the magic but not the why. This could lead to an empty ritual. All traditions are valid. Witch craft does not stay the same but rather changes with the times. Usually techniques and traditions are culled from reading the classics.
There are three paths to initiate into the craft. First is through the lore, that means essentially studying the texts. The next is through the land and the spirits who dwell there. The last path is through spirit. Going into the realm of life one of the first few chapters has an in depth list of books along with a brief informative summary. Among the books covered are ; Reginald Scot’s The Discoverie of Witchcraft, Alexander Carmichael’s Carmina Gadelica, 1900, Folger Shakespeare Library MS. V.b.26, Lelands Aradia, Nicolas Culpeper’s Complete Herbal, 1653, History of the Devil and a slew of other books.
Witches work with spirits. This means that sometimes they work with the fae, old ones and the spirit . The old ones are usually the pagan gods of old like Cernunnos, Hekate, Nicniven and others. The author emphasises finding our own meanings and not to rely so heavily on books. The author advocates study the landscape of our immediate area and familiarize yourself with what it is and who the spirits are that dwell there. He also advised studying the lore of the land.
The magic performed by witches is frequently either sympathetic or contagious. Sympathetic magic works by using a stand-in for the person who is the target of the magical act. Contagious magick involves taking something that belonged to the person like some hair or something they touched and incorporating that into your magic. Folk Witchcraft does not hold much by karma or the threefold law. If justice must be done it is up to the people to carry it out. There is no karma. Malificium is magic that is meant to incure harm while beneficium is magic that is used to help or heal. Moon phases also determine what kind of magic we will do. Curses, hexes (maleficium), and the removal of things is frequently associated with the waning moon. The full moon is associated with powerful magic and is an opportune time for ritual. The waxing moon is a time for positive workings for luck, prosperity, healing, and gain (beneficium). Days and times also have an impact on the magic we will perform. Sunday is ruled by the sun and is associated with healing, happiness, and good fortune. Monday is ruled by the moon and is associated with the second sight and divination. Tuesday is ruled by Mars and is associated with defense and victory over enemies. Wednesday is ruled by Mercury and is associated with trade, communication, and travel. Thursday is ruled by Jupiter and is associated with prosperity, luck, and favor. Friday is ruled by Venus and is associated with love, friendship, and beauty. Finally, Saturday is ruled by Saturn, associated with curses, the dead, and baneful workings.
The book covers alot of ground and it gives over simple instructions on how to Do it. The author has included a small mini grimoire in the back. There are rituals, spell and healing. Enjoy.

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Have a Drink On Me

The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks by Amy Stewart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Curious as to how different alcoholic beverage are made ? Then this might be the book you wanna read. This book covers all the flowers, fruits, grains, trees, herbs and grains that go into making our favorite alcoholic beverages.

The first part of the book discusses the process of fermentation and distillation . The second part of the book tells how brewmasters suffuse their beverages with different herbs and plants and fruits. Finally there is the trip to the garden.

Contained in this book is not only the natural herbal material that goes into making the different alcoholic beverages but there are also recipes for different cocktail which the home drink maker can easily make use of. There are also recipes for different syrups that can be used to flavor your drinks. Along with a discussion on the plant and beverages there is also some history thrown in to give a bigger.

One easy recipes for a cocktail is the one for Black Gold. This just requires 1 1/2 of Karlsons Gold Vodka along with crushed black pepper over ice cube. Prickly pears are like the fruit part of a cactus. A recipes for Prickly Pear syrup would involve taking 10 to 12 of the fruits along with a cup of sugar and a cup of water along with an optional ounce of vodka. Chop up the fruit and boil with the sugar and the water. Then once your done store it in a glass container.

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Back History of the Game of Thrones

The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Before you watch or read Game of Thrones I think you may want to give this book a read . It gives you the whole back history of the series, especially Westeros.

Westeros is where the series takes place. Before men came over on a land bridge Westeros was inhabited by the children of the forest and Giants. The children of the forest worshipped their gods and carved their faces into the trees. Eventually the first men came over from Essos. They at first were friendly with the children of the forest but eventually hostilities would erupt and the children of men would drive them away. The first men set up small kingdoms which were petty for the most part. Then came the Andals on their ships from essos. THey were driven out by the wars over there, especially with the Valerians. When the Andals came they conquered all of Westeros and drove the children and the giants away further into the woods.

In Essos war was constant. Valeria is a volcanic land from where the Dragons and the Targaryans come from . The Valerians are known not only for dragons but also for their steal swords and their purple eyed women. Eventually the Valerians would set up 9 free cities in Essos each one independent. When the Targaryans came over first they settle on Dragonstone before conquering Westeros. Eventually they took kings landing for their own rebuilding the old castle. Other groups like the Royner came over on ships fleeing war between Andals and Valerians.

Agon the conqueror and his sisters would conquer the Westeros and it would be house Targaryans that would ruled Westeros for 700 years. During this time there would be uprising and civil wars. The Dance of the Dragons was the Civil war that saw the demise of the dragon. There would also be Valerian rivals like the Blackfires and the 9 simple kings .

The Royner would eventually join the Dorns. This is a desert land and home of formidable warriors. They would eventually bend the knee after a real long time. The Iron Born from the IRon islands would make their fortune off raiding and mining. Their main god was the drowned god. Eventually they would turn to trading.

There is history on Essos as well. The Dothraki civilization is discussed along with what lies beyond the bone mountains , like the Yi TI, Ying Island and a haunted city.

For all die hard GOT fans this book will be a good edition to your library. If you are just starting this will give you a good background and you will get more out of the stories you are following.

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Travel Through the Mediterranean

How Shall We Sing? : A Mediterranean Journey Through a Jewish Family by Aline P'Nina Tayar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jews have always been on the move so to speak, regardless of religiosity or politics. Aline’s family was constantly on the move for any variety of reason. Jews are always seen as the other, never being fully accepted where they settle. The authoress’s family came from two distinct points in the Mediterranean. Her mother came from Tunisia while her father came from Malta. Jews moved around quite fluidly in the Mediterranean. They were seen as the eternal business people or cosmopolitan, hence an outsider.

For a certain time Jewish life was rather stable in that region. Her mother Lina grew up in a religious house with a very strict grandfather. There was a clash between modernity and conformity to religious values.


Most of the Jews would leave either to find spouses or work opportunities. In Tunisia, A Muslim country Jews seemed to have warmer relations with their neighbor than they did in Catholic Malta.
World Wars shake things up and that bought in the colonial European powers. The powers did bring in economic opportunity and further chances for emigration. World War II saw an increase in antisemtism. The family moved for the Middle East to Italy and then back to Malta. The Nazis brought in anti-Semitism which most people living in Italy were not hip to, they hated the SS which oppressed everyone. Most of Italy’s Jews survived the Holocaust.
The family moved briefly back to Malta and then to Israel. Her family was disillusioned with life in Israel on the kibbutz. After an injury they move to Australia and then Finally to England.


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The Rise of King Matthias

Riding on the Tail of the Devil by Danielle DeVor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A great fun and entertaining read. Lighthearted and of good cheer. I would call this horror light as nothing in her was remotely frightening. The main character Matthias was your typical average American teenager. At an early age his parents are killed in a car crash and he is sent to live with his abusive aunt. Not only is the aunt abusive but her children are sadistic and resort to torturing young Matthias. After a particularly brutal session Matthias decides to run away. Living out on the streets he is taken in by Lucretia. She gives him a place to stay and she teaches him thee ways of the street. Alas good things never last, she is eventually killed by her pimp.

Eventually Matthias needs money so he consults a sorcerer named Nic. Nic sends him on a mission that practically gets him killed. It is Vladimir Tepes that saves him....by turning him into a vampire. Thus Matthias is thrust into the world of vampires.

The mythology on this volume original. Lilith was supposed to be the first vampire queen and someone else was supposed to be her consort. Unfortunately Adam messed thing up. They’re two types of vampires Lilitu and Myrdin. They are pretty much unified now. Matthias in an old incarnation was king of the Myrdin while Lilith was queen of the Lilitu. In another life she killed him.

Now that Matthias has been reborn as a vampire it is off to the university for him so he can learn what he needs in order too survive the vampires world.

Some parts of the plot are reminiscent of Harry Potter. Sort of like Matthias is the chosen one whose parents die in a crash and all the sudden he is given to relatives that do not like him and are rather mean to him. The University is kind of like Hogwarts. There is no romance in the book and we do not get a glimpse into the other vampire lives at the University. That would have been nice. This book could have made for a great young adult fiction but there is mention of certain situation and the there is profanity. The elements are in place to launch this into a classic .

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