The main thrust of A Blueprint for Survival is to offer proposals for the solution of the most serious problems, both economic and political, that burden the nation. It recognizes the fact that comprehensive economic justice and peace can only be achieved by the restructuring of the economic and political systems themselves.

The first part of the book is devoted to presenting the inherent flaws in the nation's private capitalist system. Without understanding how the economic and political systems are wrongly structured resulting in the nation's most egregious problems, millions suffering unmet needs, there cannot be a full understanding of the proposals for a National Cooperative Commonwealth that is proposed in the second part of the book.

The four major flaws in our economic-political systems are dealt with:

• Absence of any restraints on the growth of "unnatural entities," called corporations.Since the inception of our nation, they have progressively taken over the nation's productive capability until today through accelerated mergers they are oppressively dominant in every area of the nation's products, services and all levels government.
• Unconstitutional control of the nation's money and credit by private financial entities. Such control has led to the astronomical debt of trillions of dollars with the private citizens and their government in perpetual bondage to non-producers. Most seriously, they have had the power to place liens against the workers' future earnings as the only means by which they could purchase what they, in the accumulate, had already produced.
• Those who control the economic an financial systems control the political processes by which government operates. First, they have gotten control of the nation's issuance of money and credit, then corralled all of its industrial assets and technology, and finally through these interlocking monopolies underwritten all major candidates who will be beholden to act according to the wishes and dictates of their underwriters.
• Inability of the social-economic-financial system to constructively accommodate the advancements in science and technology. It has been a two-edged sword with strides made in many fields of human endeavor but at the same time it has created threats to life itself. The most potent indictment against the private capitalist system is that there have existed serious unmet needs while at the same time there has been unused technological capability to fulfill those needs!

The primary purpose of the book is to enlighten the people as to the inevitable breakdown of adversary systems like private capitalism and the need to embrace cooperative (teamwork) systems. The secondary purpose and most defining in terms of hope and the future, is to present the legal steps that can be taken within the framework of the Constitution leading to the adoption of a National Cooperative Commonwealth.

Employing the principle of incorporation, a National Cooperative Commonwealth is simply incorporating the entire productive capability of the nation (its natural resources, its productive machinery, its human skill and its technology) into a Grand Corporation in which every citizen is a common shareholder and a preferred shareholder, giving each citizen a decision-making voice and also giving each a purchasing claim against the total goods and services produced.

It is a Commonealth in which the people democratically coordinate the full productive capability of the nation so that it can be unleashed for an abundant, equitable and creative life for all.

It is a Commonealth in which the nation's work capability would be automatically unleashed in direct ratio to the determined needs and services of the total citizenry devoid of all the stultifying burdens of indebtedness and confiscatory taxation.

It is a Commonealth in which there would be full implementation of basic human rights by way of universal health care, universal education, universal employment and a decision-making voice in the enactment of all major legislation and national policy.

Much stress in the book is underscoring the constant sovereign power of the people to make all changes for their betterment. Abraham Lincoln is cited respecting this inherent power when in his first inaugural address, March 4, 1861 he stated:

This country with its institutions belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amendment, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it.

Blueprint for Survival is unique in that it offers something to be for instead of just something to be against. People want change but they don't know what to do or what must be done.

The single purpose of this book is to instill renewed hope in the hearts of a downcast and very troubled people, and to assure them that there is an attainable and realistic solution to the serious problems that beset the nation.

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

The law changed in the sixties and that promise is no longer made or valid. However, it turns out that the promise never was valid.

The book looks at the law concerning discrimination of employers to its employees. The Federal Government is the largest employer in the world with both civilian and military employees. The laws on the books, put there by the government, state that employers cannot discriminate concerning areas of pay and retirement, as well as others, however, the others do not address the military and civilian employees.

The civilian government employees have always enjoyed the benefit of receiving both retired pay as well as disability pay. The military retirees have never enjoyed both retired pay and disability pay. That is blatant discrimination. But it exists today.

When a military retiree applies for disability to the Veterans Administration, and that disability is determined to be service-connected by the V.A., the Veterans Administration will determine the value in dollars to be paid to the military retiree. However, that same amount will be deducted from the reiree pay that the military retiree is receiving for having served 20 or more years of service to his country. As it turns out, the military retiree is paying for his service-connected disability and not the government.

The book addresses the above issues and takes a look at how the government spends or gives away its money. The government has always used the excuse that there are not sufficient funds to pay for full medical for all military retirees, but has sufficient funds to send billions of dollars to foreign countries yearly and give many more billions to Fortune 500 companies and others that do not need the funds. There is also tremendous waste, misuse and mishandling of our tax dollars by the government. That is also addressed in the book.

Finally, the book closes with some suggestions for saving American funds so that the government can keep its promises to its heroes and its patriots, many of whom have paid the ultimate price for the freedom we, as Americans, all enjoy.

A Mayor's Proclamation is a book about the covert policies of an African American Mayor which are designed to systematically displace the African American population in our nation's capital, Washington, D.C. Furthermore, it addresses the mutation of the old Jim Crow laws into today's society and how they are enacted through the institutions of law enforcement, the courts and media.

Indeed, the South has risen again. And, it oftentimes hides behind African American leaders and elected officials to advance their agenda; an agenda of institutionalized bigotry and hatred.

There is no need for medicare to cover the cost of all medical services for all the population all the time. There is still a need for patients to be responsible for some direct costs.

This book shows that the problems of our multi-tiered medicare system could be solved or improved by a single-tier system which starts everyone at the same level. Some patients will need additional help. However, in any one year most Canadians will not have any serious illness, and in any one year some will have serious illness. Financial help will be needed for most of those serious illness, as well as the timely availability of appropriate medical services.

Factors described include the wants, needs, rights and responsibilities of patients, doctors and the paying agencies. Misconceptions about the health care business are mentioned, to add to understanding the system as it is and as it should be.

A crucial point is the need to relieve anxiety that people have about the possibility of bankruptcy from medical costs. They need the peace of mind that can come from knowing that the safety net is in place.

THE WORLD TODAY - TOMORROW begins with drawing our attention to the dastardly, violent, global corruption rampant in the world today. Then it attempts to find the causes, by pointing at governmental systems; the super rich elites; and at conspiration organizations - with a big question mark! The third section concludes with a proposition to convert the global government systems into a 'participatory direct democracy' in which government members are transformed into public servants - serving, and administering the will of the people, who in turn are strictly guided by the dictates of 'moral Law' at the core of the national Constitutions. All legislation local, national, and foreign policy; and or any proposition affecting the lives of the people - must conform to the dictates of moral precepts at the heart of the Constitution.

'This is a very detailed case study of 50 Kosovan asylum seeker families living in the East End of London. The living conditions and experiences of these families are discussed in the context of the United Kingdom's policy on asylum seekers. It is a useful study in documenting the problems and dilemmas faced by asylum seekers. While this is a case study of Kosovan asylum seekers in the UK, many of the problems and dilemmas discussed in this book are likely to be relevant to asylum seekers elsewhere.

The issue of asylum seekers is a very important one for many European countries as well as Britain because of the large number of asylum applications received by these countries in the last fifteen years, as shown in Chapter Two of this study. Many countries are trying to address the issue of asylum seekers and this case study of Kosovan families in London provides information that will be helpful in this regard'

Review - Siew-Ean Khoo, Australian Centre for Population Research

This Book will tell show us HOW Canada got into the mess that it is in, and by whom.

Through the Eyes of a Concerned Liberal argues that the socio-political position of liberalism is the only one that can get us back on course toward the now-vanishing "enlightenment ideal". This was the vision of the "founding fathers," looking to a time when all of the conditions of life--social, political, moral, and intellectual, as well as material--would be realized for everyone--the "American dream."

Taking a hard look at the present social-political situation in North America, Dr. Zeigler offers a self-evaluation test for the reader to determine his/her socio-political=political stance on a spectrum (from far right to far left). (Other "tests" serve to evaluate, respectively, both one's philosophy of life and/or religion and recreational quotient "RQ".) The United States, the author asserts, simply does not appreciate that its current "imperial" status will be sorely tried in the 21st century.

The U.S.A. must now prove that its brand of capitalism and democracy, one that purports to offer a maximum of individual freedom within a democratic political system, is the best approach for the entire world to emulate. However, capitalism and ecology have become social forces on a collision course in this evolving cultural matrix. The individual citizen in this setting must be fully informed and must serve actively and responsibly to implement a liberal agenda.

The author offers 49 short essays, columns, and self evaluation devices that reflect his position. In the final analysis, each person should choose a life purpose based on (1) a comprehensive philosophy of life, (2) a concurring, socio-political stance, and (3) a search for "the good life" in a hopefully free society.

The book provides an insight and descriptive analyses of health sector reforms that are being implemented in African countries, with particular application to Zimbabwe. In some cases the Zimbabwean experience is blended with those of other countries in Africa. The book elaborates on the various elements of health sector reforms which include; health financing options, organizational restructuring, core health service packages, the introduction of market forces, hospital autonomy and the Sector Wide Approach to health development. These reform elements are described from a theoretical perspective; the rationale, implications, implementation modalities, their potential impact which the author provocatively links to the practical experiences of the selected country. The book highlights the fact that reforms in African countries have a different thrust to those in developing countries, though in both cases the ultimate objectives are the same.

Whilst each chapter is dedicated to an element of the reform process, other chapters provide the background to reforms, the interactions between reforms and the notion of equity and the monitoring and evaluation of health reforms. The last chapter attempts to consolidate the experiences of the reforms in Zimbabwe and their impact and propose a possible way forward for the troubled health sector.

The targeted readership includes students in community medicine, nursing programs, public health medicine students and practitioners, professional health managers and administrators and development workers in the health field in Africa.