What shapes our ideas about northern territories? How should a new government tackle its first term in office? How can political ideals thrive in a homogenized global marketplace? How can honourable relations be created between the different cultures of natives and settlers?

These are the types of questions asked and answered by Tony Penikett, a former Yukon Premier and a writer who kept writing during an almost accidental political career that lasted a quarter of a century. He brings both the writer's eye and the insider's insight to events at the local, national and international levels.

Early essays reflect on the forces that have shaped the North and on creating one's own political compass. Later work focuses on balancing the complexities of power: economy and environment, European and aboriginal, regional and national, principles and practicalities. A writer's sense of humour appears, too, when describing the "politics of moose" to his constituents or his life as "a meeting man" to his children.

---

The final words of the "Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag", "With Liberty and Justice for All", are powerful words, as powerful as any words found in any of our national documents. Every day, millions of children say the "Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag" in schools throughout the country. They are words that stir the emotions and inspire individuals to great acts of courage. They are words that inspire patriotism and national spirit.

Liberty and Justice often seem elusive. Liberty and Justice mean different things to different people. Many people feel freedom gives them the absolute right to do what they choose without regard to other people. For many people, justice is considered a legal judgement rather than a moral judgement. In the courts, when a judgement has been rendered, the decision may be legally correct, but not "morally" correct. Justice and Liberty are like beauty; they are in the "eyes of the beholder". It is time to reexamine what these words mean and what they should mean.

As the title says it, the main reason that I wrote or put together this book is to try to change even just one Zairian/Congolese/ African's mentality in a positive way so that he/she might become socially, economically and politically independent, both abroad and, above all, back home in Africa. Zairian/ Congolese/African people must move beyond the stage of being passive consumers and become producers or active consumers in order to start taking care of themselves instead of sitting and waiting for help from the White man.

I'm completely convinced that Zairian/Congolese/African people are intelligent people and that we can do just as well economically/socially/politically as European/North Americans by taking advantage of the brains that God has given to everyone (Black, White, Yellow, etc.). We must start trusting in ourselves (in our brains, which are not different from the Europeans'/North Americans'); for without doing this, we will remain dependent on the Europeans/North Americans and will continue to escape the reality back home by immigrating to Europe/North America.

This book is simply a collection of articles written by different brothers/sisters (engineers, military officers, journalists, medical doctors, computer-scientists, pastors, linguists, and many other kinds of people) who have gained a lot of experience by living/working in different areas of the planet (Zaire/D.R. Congo, South Africa, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Togo, Niger, Cameroon, Russia, Angola, Congo-Brazzaville, Holland, R.C. Africa, China, Gabon, Belgium, France, Canada, USA, England, etc.)This book is divided into 22 chapters, addressing different subjects/topics regarding Zaire/D.R. Congo in particular and Africa in general, from King Leopold II up to the present day. The book talks about witchcraft, religion, Peter Botha's speech on apartheid, Papa Wemba's arrest in France, Grooming (Religion "Kitendi"), sterility, questions regarding the legitimacy of Joseph Kabila's presidency, the Linguistic inferiority complex, lack of creativity among Black people, Mobutu's theory of resort to authenticity, and many othertopics.

---

Growing up in the suburbs of New York City on Long Island, I took a keen interest in all forms of transportation, especially trains. Afer graduating college, I worked as an industrial engineer for private sector corporations progressing to a middle management position within a Fortune 25 Company. In 1983 I accepted a job opportunity with the Long Island Rail Road as an industrial engineer. The LIRR is a government-subsidized agency that is part of a larger regional organization called the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The LIRR had embarked on a very ambitious improvement program to upgrade their physical plants. This plan included the construction of a new railcar maintenance facility. The new facility was to replace their one hundred year old maintenance shops. I was hired to develop facility layouts for the most advanced rail car maintenance facility in the country. Friends and professional colleagues advised me to decline the job offer. However, I was a railroad buff and the opportunity to work for a railroad overshadowed any tredpidations. For decades, the LIRR had bore the brunt of adverse publicity. I would often consider much of the critisism as being too harsh and misguided. Not long after commencing employment, my perspective of the LIRR would be completely transformed. The inefficient and workplace abuses I witnessed first hand could only flourish in publicly subsidized environment. My job required me to observe and analyze the maintenance and repair operations performed on commuter railcars. My next step was identifying more efficient methods. I would then implement these improvements into the design of the new railcar maintenance facilities. I was met with a wall of resistence and non-cooperation from the unionized workforce. The LIRR had languished in decades of inefficient work habits supplemented with managerial coplacency and rampant nepotism. I would operate in a very hostile environment that had no incentive to embrace improvements. It would be in the better interests of the unions to maintain low productivity and therefore justify the gross overstaffing that existed for decades.

Upon completion of developing the facility layouts, the next phase of my responsibilities involved coordination with design consultants hired by the LIRR. The consultants were responsible for the architectural and structural designs of the new maintenance facility. The consultans typically were selected based on political connections and not their level of expertise. The design phase was muddled with incompetence and waste. Inept project management would add tens of millions of dollars and lengthly delays to the construction phase of the project. Upon completion of construction, a new regime intent on maintaining the status quo within the LIRR assues control of the new maintenance facility. The new regime is not committed to capitalizing on the labor efficiencies offered by the new facility. Key positions are then filled with managers' intent in preserving the traditional inefficient ways of the LIRR. My story concludes with the agendas of the new regime and conflicts with those who were trying to transform the LIRR into a socially responsible institution. My trials and tribulations along with personal victories and setbacks are all the basis of my book.

Ante la amenaza de la delincuencia, corrupción y otros tantos vicios que nos encadenan al tercer mundo, LA VERDAD SOCIAL nos presenta una nueva visión del mensaje de Jesús, en la cual es posible concebir su "Proyecto para el Desarrollo Social". En este proyecto, Jesús nos propone asumir un adecuado Esquema Mental basado en los verdaderos principios y valores humanos. Concebir la factibilidad de estos preceptos nos hará posible cimentar la fe. Y en la medida en que los hagamos parte de nuestro ser, en esa misma medida adoptaremos una Actitud Correcta Ante la Vida.

Esta actitud, junto con el constante trabajo reflexivo, nos hará llegar al terreno de las convicciones. Y cuando uno no puede actuar en contra de sus propias convicciones, se presenta el "Hombre Auténtico". El cuál, bien se puede considerar como: "La Unidad Fundamental para el Desarrollo Social".

Porque Hombres Auténticos, con especialidades en todas las áreas del conocimiento humano, son el único requisito para darle solución a los conflictos, problemas y necesidades de la población, apegándose al bien común y a la justicia social. Sólo una minoría virtuosa de Hombres Auténticos podrá darle forma al Estado Ideal e instituir en el mundo una manera más civilizada para gobernar a los pueblos, llevando a la democracia hacia su perfección.

Este es el camino que Jesús nos sugiere como medio para construirnos un Estilo de Vida con calidad humana, paz y auténtica libertad: fundamentar el progreso de los pueblos en la capacidad y talento que Dios Padre otorga entre las personas que forman parte de nuestra sociedad.

Este es el camino que inevitablemente ha de conducirnos hacia el desarrollo y bienestar de la humanidad, las preguntas obligadas son: ¿Seremos capaces de entrar en esta dinámica transformadora? ¿Llegaremos a la convicción de que el bien común, a largo plazo, es más provechoso que el beneficio inmediato de los particulares?

VENTAS EN MÉXICO DIRECTAMENTE CON EL AUTOR: oscar_avila@hotmail.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78xcGdfRXEU Video titulado: "El Fundamento de la Democracia"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zyEH8wVU5E&feature=related Video titulado: "Yo Soy el Camino"

http://www.youtube.com/user/OscarAvilaC#p/a/u/2/BAOG7XGK18w Video Titulado: "Proyecto Democrático"

Ante la amenaza de la delincuencia, corrupción y otros tantos vicios que nos encadenan al tercer mundo, LA VERDAD SOCIAL nos presenta una nueva visión del mensaje de Jesús, en la cual es posible concebir su "Proyecto para el Desarrollo Social". En este proyecto, Jesús nos propone asumir un adecuado Esquema Mental basado en los verdaderos principios y valores humanos. Concebir la factibilidad de estos preceptos nos hará posible cimentar la fe. Y en la medida en que los hagamos parte de nuestro ser, en esa misma medida adoptaremos una Actitud Correcta Ante la Vida.

Esta actitud, junto con el constante trabajo reflexivo, nos hará llegar al terreno de las convicciones. Y cuando uno no puede actuar en contra de sus propias convicciones, se presenta el "Hombre Auténtico". El cuál, bien se puede considerar como: "La Unidad Fundamental para el Desarrollo Social".

Porque Hombres Auténticos, con especialidades en todas las áreas del conocimiento humano, son el único requisito para darle solución a los conflictos, problemas y necesidades de la población, apegándose al bien común y a la justicia social. Sólo una minoría virtuosa de Hombres Auténticos podrá darle forma al Estado Ideal e instituir en el mundo una manera más civilizada para gobernar a los pueblos, llevando a la democracia hacia su perfección.

Este es el camino que Jesús nos sugiere como medio para construirnos un Estilo de Vida con calidad humana, paz y auténtica libertad: fundamentar el progreso de los pueblos en la capacidad y talento que Dios Padre otorga entre las personas que forman parte de nuestra sociedad.

Este es el camino que inevitablemente ha de conducirnos hacia el desarrollo y bienestar de la humanidad, las preguntas obligadas son: ¿Seremos capaces de entrar en esta dinámica transformadora? ¿Llegaremos a la convicción de que el bien común, a largo plazo, es más provechoso que el beneficio inmediato de los particulares?

VENTAS EN MÉXICO DIRECTAMENTE CON EL AUTOR: oscar_avila@hotmail.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78xcGdfRXEU Video titulado: "El Fundamento de la Democracia"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zyEH8wVU5E&feature=related Video titulado: "Yo Soy el Camino"

http://www.youtube.com/user/OscarAvilaC#p/a/u/2/BAOG7XGK18w Video Titulado: "Proyecto Democrático"

When I was on the Sheriff's Honor Guard, I thought it was designed for the honoring of fallen officers and for real special events. I was horrified and disgusted to find, in reality, it is used for any political function that Director Ganef saw fit. That goes along with the allegation of abuse of overtime for himself and his chosen band of misfits. I left the Honor Guard after being lied to more than once about a promotion. You remember Director Ganef. He is another political appointed administrative aide to the sheriff (as was his partner when both were Chicago policemen). He has a fabulous salary and benefit package as well. He was able to get his nephew on the sheriff's Police and promoted to the rank of sergeant (see Chicago Tribune article by John Kass July 14, 1999 and June 4, 2002 and Chicago Sun-Times article by Andrew Herrmann may 21,2002). You may remember the newspaper stories of an innocent African American couple chased through multiple Chicago suburbs while being shot at and terrorized by a bunch of allegedly drunken off duty sheriff's officers that a judge later acquitted. Of course, it was a bench trial, and of course, the judge was later re-elected. You know the fix is in at the county when heavy clout babies get a bench trial. Proverbs 17:23 "Corrupt judges accept secret bribes, and then justice is not done." Good News Bible Today's English Version Nelson. Director Ganef's nephew was a part of that crowd and the primary shooter. Do not forget that same crew tried to extort the taxpayers to cover their legal fees (see Chicago Tribune article's by John Kass on August 31, 1998 and May 17 and 19, 1999). Let us not forget the wife of one of the acquitted officers who allegedly embezzled money from the law firm where she was the office manager to use for her husbands' defense. (Chicago Tribune Metro March 26, 2004). I wonder what positions the all hold now, and at whose expense?

The final words of the "Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag", "With Liberty and Justice for All", are powerful words, as powerful as any words found in any of our national documents. Every day, millions of children say the "Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag" in schools throughout the country. They are words that stir the emotions and inspire individuals to great acts of courage. They are words that inspire patriotism and national spirit.

Liberty and Justice often seem elusive. Liberty and Justice mean different things to different people. Many people feel freedom gives them the absolute right to do what they choose without regard to other people. For many people, justice is considered a legal judgement rather than a moral judgement. In the courts, when a judgement has been rendered, the decision may be legally correct, but not "morally" correct. Justice and Liberty are like beauty; they are in the "eyes of the beholder". It is time to reexamine what these words mean and what they should mean.

As the title says it, the main reason that I wrote or put together this book is to try to change even just one Zairian/Congolese/ African's mentality in a positive way so that he/she might become socially, economically and politically independent, both abroad and, above all, back home in Africa. Zairian/ Congolese/African people must move beyond the stage of being passive consumers and become producers or active consumers in order to start taking care of themselves instead of sitting and waiting for help from the White man.

I'm completely convinced that Zairian/Congolese/African people are intelligent people and that we can do just as well economically/socially/politically as European/North Americans by taking advantage of the brains that God has given to everyone (Black, White, Yellow, etc.). We must start trusting in ourselves (in our brains, which are not different from the Europeans'/North Americans'); for without doing this, we will remain dependent on the Europeans/North Americans and will continue to escape the reality back home by immigrating to Europe/North America.

This book is simply a collection of articles written by different brothers/sisters (engineers, military officers, journalists, medical doctors, computer-scientists, pastors, linguists, and many other kinds of people) who have gained a lot of experience by living/working in different areas of the planet (Zaire/D.R. Congo, South Africa, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Togo, Niger, Cameroon, Russia, Angola, Congo-Brazzaville, Holland, R.C. Africa, China, Gabon, Belgium, France, Canada, USA, England, etc.)This book is divided into 22 chapters, addressing different subjects/topics regarding Zaire/D.R. Congo in particular and Africa in general, from King Leopold II up to the present day. The book talks about witchcraft, religion, Peter Botha's speech on apartheid, Papa Wemba's arrest in France, Grooming (Religion "Kitendi"), sterility, questions regarding the legitimacy of Joseph Kabila's presidency, the Linguistic inferiority complex, lack of creativity among Black people, Mobutu's theory of resort to authenticity, and many othertopics.

---

What shapes our ideas about northern territories? How should a new government tackle its first term in office? How can political ideals thrive in a homogenized global marketplace? How can honourable relations be created between the different cultures of natives and settlers?

These are the types of questions asked and answered by Tony Penikett, a former Yukon Premier and a writer who kept writing during an almost accidental political career that lasted a quarter of a century. He brings both the writer's eye and the insider's insight to events at the local, national and international levels.

Early essays reflect on the forces that have shaped the North and on creating one's own political compass. Later work focuses on balancing the complexities of power: economy and environment, European and aboriginal, regional and national, principles and practicalities. A writer's sense of humour appears, too, when describing the "politics of moose" to his constituents or his life as "a meeting man" to his children.

---

Growing up in the suburbs of New York City on Long Island, I took a keen interest in all forms of transportation, especially trains. Afer graduating college, I worked as an industrial engineer for private sector corporations progressing to a middle management position within a Fortune 25 Company. In 1983 I accepted a job opportunity with the Long Island Rail Road as an industrial engineer. The LIRR is a government-subsidized agency that is part of a larger regional organization called the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The LIRR had embarked on a very ambitious improvement program to upgrade their physical plants. This plan included the construction of a new railcar maintenance facility. The new facility was to replace their one hundred year old maintenance shops. I was hired to develop facility layouts for the most advanced rail car maintenance facility in the country. Friends and professional colleagues advised me to decline the job offer. However, I was a railroad buff and the opportunity to work for a railroad overshadowed any tredpidations. For decades, the LIRR had bore the brunt of adverse publicity. I would often consider much of the critisism as being too harsh and misguided. Not long after commencing employment, my perspective of the LIRR would be completely transformed. The inefficient and workplace abuses I witnessed first hand could only flourish in publicly subsidized environment. My job required me to observe and analyze the maintenance and repair operations performed on commuter railcars. My next step was identifying more efficient methods. I would then implement these improvements into the design of the new railcar maintenance facilities. I was met with a wall of resistence and non-cooperation from the unionized workforce. The LIRR had languished in decades of inefficient work habits supplemented with managerial coplacency and rampant nepotism. I would operate in a very hostile environment that had no incentive to embrace improvements. It would be in the better interests of the unions to maintain low productivity and therefore justify the gross overstaffing that existed for decades.

Upon completion of developing the facility layouts, the next phase of my responsibilities involved coordination with design consultants hired by the LIRR. The consultants were responsible for the architectural and structural designs of the new maintenance facility. The consultans typically were selected based on political connections and not their level of expertise. The design phase was muddled with incompetence and waste. Inept project management would add tens of millions of dollars and lengthly delays to the construction phase of the project. Upon completion of construction, a new regime intent on maintaining the status quo within the LIRR assues control of the new maintenance facility. The new regime is not committed to capitalizing on the labor efficiencies offered by the new facility. Key positions are then filled with managers' intent in preserving the traditional inefficient ways of the LIRR. My story concludes with the agendas of the new regime and conflicts with those who were trying to transform the LIRR into a socially responsible institution. My trials and tribulations along with personal victories and setbacks are all the basis of my book.

Is it possible for us to establish a Sane Society? Is each of the following a realistic goal or an oxymoron: Inspiring Education, Honest Communication, Compassionate Community, Humanistic Economics, Moral Politics, Ethical Business, and Enlightened Military. The introduction to the book quotes as follows:
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world;
indeed it's the only thing that ever has.
- MARGARET MEAD (1901-1978), AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

We rely so much on each other and are so interconnected that without a sense of
universal responsibility, a feeling of universal brotherhood and sisterhood, and
an understanding that we really are part of one big human family, we cannot
hope to overcome human suffering, let alone bring about peace and happiness.
- TENZIN GYATSO, THE FOURTEENTH DALAI LAMA OF TIBET

In part, this book is a survey of the positive news in the world. There are so many good people doing good things. The more we know about this side of things the more we empower each other and ourselves to deny programs, policies, and actions that are dishonest, uncaring, and evil.

As an early reviewer noted: This book provides a real service because it pulls together innovative thinking and approaches addressing many of the world's problems. One should read this book if one has concerns for the state and future of the world and wishes to obtain guidance as to how to get involved. Personal experiences and examples are used to highlight points being made.

Is it possible for us to establish a sane world? This book says emphatically YES! And to quote and ancient Chinese proverb: The people who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing it.

Whether we are retelling history or reporting the daily news our culture seems to focus on the bad news - the wars and tragedies. Does our psychology condemn us to a fascination with destruction and disaster?

The children of the world, who will inherit what is left, deserve a good earth. I, personally, have no faith in space stations as an alternative to living on the earth. We should focus on cleaning up the mess we have here. That mess includes the pollution in our minds and hearts as well as the pollution all around us. With open minds that can hold a very broad vision and with the development of world law and equitable economic and social situations, we just might survive and thrive. A brief note on the organization of the book: I have kept the chapters short and have appended, at times, fairly lengthy references and footnotes. Whenever possible I have also appended websites where readers can acquire even more information in depth. This three-tiered approach allows readers to determine where they wish to explore.

---

Review

I had only started with the book, but even with just starting to go though it, I felt this was a book I wanted to recommend. I have now finished the book and I wanted to give you a short review and recommend that you go and purchase a copy.

This book is non-fiction and consists of nine chapters. It makes literal use of the Buddhism and Shambhala philosophies and teachings.

Basically the Shambhala teaching is that basic human nature can help solve personal problems and even the world's problems! How to wake up and appreciate every moment of our lives. How difficulties and obstacles do not have to defeat us.

It has been a long time since I read a book that has impacted me like this. Probably since I was in High School! It is very thought provoking and I have found that my mindset must be almost all in networking, every chapter I read reminded me of my philosophies that I have for my business.

This is not a book that you should just sit down, read and put on the shelf. This is a book that I will be using as a daily part of my personal growth for probably the rest of the year. At the end of every chapter are references and footnotes and most of these lead to more information on the web.

You know how important I think personal growth is for you to achieve success in your business. This is a book I recommend you to go and purchase and to use for your own personal growth reading. This one book is basically all you will need for a year if you use the book for further study.

It is not that the book will take a year to read, for it is less then 200 pages. But it is what I am going to use for my "study" book by further digging into depth by using the footnotes and reference pages.

I am excited about this! As I mentioned, I do a lot of reading, but this book MADE me want to go beyond just reading it. I am going to take each chapter now that I have read the book, and study the areas I want to explore even further.

I love so many parts of this book, but I will leave you with the introduction to Chapter 3 - Clear Communication.

"The point is you have to work. And that's why the propaganda system is so successful. Very few people are going to have the time or the energy or the commitment to carry out the constant battle that's required to get outside of the MacNeil/Lehrer or Dan Rather or somebody like that. The easy thing to do you know - you come home from work, you're tired, you've had a busy day, you're not going to spend the evening carrying on a research project, so you turn on the tube and say its probably right, or you look at the headlines in the paper and then you watch the sports or something. That's basically the way the system of indoctrination works. Sure the other stuff is there, but you're going to have to work to find it."

from NOAM CHOMSKY, MANUFACTURING CONSENT:NOAM CHOMSKY AND THE MEDIA

Peggy Hendricks, Associate of QuickPros and Life Force International