Malanding, All the questions you asked are intricately tied to the question of sovereignty and sovereign being. People who are capable of making their own decisions, and to what extend those decisions impact on the overall dynamics of changing the course of our political history. Consider the political history of the Gambia, and the kinds of relations that has ensued between those who govern and the people; the characteristics of those relations, and how far they have gone to perpetuating a status quo that is both entrenched and ingrained in the minds of people. The Gambia is a very diverse country both in terms of people and their interests relations. This diversity and interest relations does impinge on the political reality, such that overtly or covertly it does influence and shape the outcome of our political deliberations. The question therefore is: does this diversity and interest relations shape the outcome negatively or positively? From my own standpoint, and I believe from the standpoint of PDOIS, the most fundamental question is the unifying factor; the one constant that holds the country together. A political order that is rooted in law, and a constitution that embodies the aims and aspirations of our diverse interest. The question why PDOIS can or cannot seemingly make an impact for the last 20 years, should be considered within the context of the various possibilities you have explored. Is it because of tribal politics or political ignorance? Is it because of a lack of good delivery system or that the message was too complex for people to understand? Are there any metrics to gauge the impact of PDOIS's effectiveness or lack thereof to the people? The only way I can respond to the metrics of gauging the effectiveness of PDOIS's orientation programs, both social and political, is to look at it from an analogous viewpoint. If you have a well of knowledge, and a lot of people drink from that well, how are we going to know the people who drank from the well if they didn't say so themselves. Unfortunately, there has never been any recourse in which PDOIS or any other person for that matter can carry out polls or surveys to determine the effectiveness of their programs or policies. However, there are some which are quite visible. Also, a lot of people have gained from PDOIS's political orientation, including my humble self. Again how can you quantify that without carrying out a poll or survey to determine who and how many are they. May be you should conduct a poll or survey, and we will all learn from it. Rene ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい