The press release:

The Empire of Ignorance, Hypocrisy and Obedience
what's wrong with America...and how we can fix it
by Julian Ninio

Published by Scribe Publications, May 2004

Julian Ninio and Michael Moore have much in common. Both are American citizens and both have written comprehensively on the ills of America, but Ninio goes one step further – he offers a radical plan to 'cure' America of its ills.

THE EMPIRE OF IGNORANCE, HYPOCRISY AND OBEDIENCE is an immensely persuasive indictment of the most powerful country on earth. This comprehensive, highly original overview of the American 'disease' examines its unchecked corporations, media bias, urban poverty, gun violence, voter apathy, carefree consumerism and burgeoning empire. It discovers the syndrome linking all these ills, and it offers a plan of action that everyone (American or not) can undertake to cure America.

Part One compares the United States' self-image with the reality: the 'best way of life' that offers recurring wars and record-low social services; the 'cradle of democracy' that governs for corporations and attacks other countries; the 'land of plenty' that destroys the environment and leaves every sixth child in poverty; the 'beacon of justice' that employs biased judges and promotes inequality; and the 'land of the free' that demands compliance and imprisons a huge number of citizens.

Part Two argues that the United States' ills stem from a single disease: the 'IHO syndrome'—a unique concept that offers an extraordinarily powerful way to interpret American society.

Part Three picks up where most other books about America leave off: it lays out a radical plan to 'cure' the nation. Rather than offering policy prescriptions for government, the plan contains practical actions that readers inside and outside the US can take to remedy America's ills and tame the empire.


THE AUTHOR
Julian Ninio has at least two things in common with President Bush: an American passport and a Harvard MBA. Born in France, he was educated in both countries. He has spent half his adult life in Japan and Australia, which allows him to look at the US as both an informed insider and with the perspective of an outsider. He now lives in Sydney and has just become an Australian citizen.