-------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 10:19:08 -0400 From: Diana Skipworth Subject: Re: rkm report : new posting policy To: •••@••.••• Dear Richard, A couple of weeks ago I went to Chicago to attend the 5th annual Chicago Summit of the Earth Charter. The Earth Charter is a fantastic document and I had never heard of it before, have you? Their Website: http://www.earthcharter.org [ Earth charter available also: http://cyberjournal.org/cj/show_archives/?id=823&lists=newslog - rkm ] Respect and care for the community of life, Ecological Integrity, Social and Economic Justice, Democracy Nonviolence and Peace. ---<snip>--- Regards, Diana Skipworth Geneva, IL 60134 --------- Hi Diana, The Charter is inspirational in its vision, as regards humanity's relationship to the environment, etc. As regards political strategy - and this may be appropriate - It has little to offer. It calls for our current systems to become more accountable, transparent, etc. In that context, such objectives are neither achievable politically, nor sufficient, in terms of making any real difference. From the charter: This requires a change of mind and heart. It requires a new sense of global interdependence and universal responsibility. We must imaginatively develop and apply the vision of a sustainable way of life locally, nationally, regionally, and globally. Our cultural diversity is a precious heritage and different cultures will find their own distinctive ways to realize the vision. We must deepen and expand the global dialogue that generated the Earth Charter, for we have much to learn from the ongoing collaborative search for truth and wisdom. This makes a lot of sense. Cultural change is, I believe, the right focus for the kind of social transformation we need. In order to build a sustainable global community, the nations of the world must renew their commitment to the United Nations, fulfill their obligations under existing international agreements, and support the implementation of Earth Charter principles with an international legally binding instrument on environment and development. As I see it, national governments are not, in general, going to take radical positions until after overwhelming public sentiment has forced them to do so. That means we need to be thinking in terms of grassroots movements before we begin to make demands on governments. John Bunzl, and Simpol, have an approach that combines a 'grassroots movement' initiative with an 'influence governments' initiative (see: next contribution). Perhaps John and the Charter folks could collaborate. thanks for bringing this to our attention, rkm -------------------------------------------------------- From: "John Bunzl" <•••@••.•••> To: <•••@••.•••> Subject: Re: rkm report : new posting policy Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 16:43:43 +0100 Richard, Great to hear this! To the extent that you might feel Simpol fits your criteria for 'what we can do', please let me know how you feel it can best be put forward to your audience. all the best John ------- Hi John, Nice to hear from you. As regards introducing Simpol, how about this?... give us a few paragraphs explaining what Simpol is about, URLs for more info, plus an update on how your membership is shaping up, how many adopters, etc. Also, how are you doing on having a 'policy' to be simultaneously 'adopted'. Have you already seen the Earth Charter? best regards, rkm -------------------------------------------------------- From: "SHRIKUMAR" <> To: <•••@••.•••> Subject: Re: Launching 'positive themes'... Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 11:19:24 -0400 Dear Richard: Greetings from Michigan. I am sending you the literature about us via priority mail today.... We are village based network and do not have a website yet. However, we will someday. We can certainly share names and help in fundraising etc. Today, I leave for India for 6 months and had hoped to contact you and visit you...but may be you did not get my email earlier. I have been active in the US peace movement and Democracy movement in India and now ofcourse this new network. Next five days I am in UK and can be contacted on the phone at 1-727-84-0920 from Sat to Wednesday...c/o of Dr. Kedia in St. Albans. Regards, Shrikumar Poddar --------------- Shrikumar, Looking forward to literature. As regards a website, it is easy to set up simple websites for free, or blogs, on a number of services. rkm -------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 11:21:31 -0400 From: david creighton <> To: •••@••.••• Subject: Re: rkm report : new posting policy Glad to hear it Richard ("focusing on 'what we can do'"). As I've said before, there is a law of thermodynamics that goes, for every action there is an equal [sic] and opposite reaction. This applies to human activities as well. So, as an example of on what you are redirecting your attentions, here's something from WorldWatch: World Watch Magazine November/December 2005 <http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20051020/pubs/mag/2005/186/> Featured in this month's issue of World Watch Magazine: <http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20051020/pubs/mag/2005/186/> Environmental Tipping Points In places as diverse as the Philippines, India, and New York City, people are addressing complex environmental problems by finding their positive "tipping points"--a point where catalytic action can set off a cascade of positive changes that tip the system towards sustainability. <http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20051020/pubs/mag/2005/186/> You Say You Want A Revolution? "Economic insecurity radically weakens all forms of civil society network building, including those that nurture democracy and communities' interests in their environments..." <http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20051020/pubs/mag/2005/186/> Trade and Consequences As demand for cheap, imported goods into the U.S. grows, so does the potential for catastrophic consequences from the ever-widening stream of marine freight.... China Watch <http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20051020/features/chinawatch/> A joint initiative of the Worldwatch Institute and Beijing-based Global Environmental Institute (GEI), <http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20051020/features/chinawatch/> China Watch reports on energy, agriculture, population, water, health, and the environment in China-with an emphasis on big-picture analysis relevant to policy makers, the business community, and non-governmental organizations. This Week in China Watch.... <http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20051020/features/chinawatch/stories/20051020-2/> China Aims to Build Energy-Efficient Society in Next Five Years The Chinese government has included a goal of building an energy-efficient, less resource-intensive society in a new proposal that feeds into the 11th Five-Year Plan of 2006-2010. These are what we call TATAs, from Susan George's immortal reply to Margaret Thatcher's arrogant "TINA--there is no alternative" (to neoliberalism). George replied, "There are thousands of alternatives"--TATA! (Onomatopoeic as well). May you find a thousand TATAs in your new search. And thanks for your good works, David Creighton Ottawa ------- David - thanks for the references - rkm -------------------------------------------------------- From: "Thomas Greco -- CIRC2" <•••@••.•••> To: <•••@••.•••> Subject: Re: rkm report : new posting policy Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 10:50:57 -0700 Dear Richard, In order for us to "gain the power to transform our societies" we need to understand how we have given our power away, how it has been taken from us, and how it has been concentrated in so few hands. As a result of more than a quarter century of research into money and banking, I've concluded that it is these structures that are the single most important mechanisms for concentrating power (and wealth). They have been carefully crafted to do that. But the good news is that we have the tools we need to reinvent money and the exchange process, bypassing the parasitic elements that enable oligarchs to do so much damage. I have written a great deal about that, and am working on still another book, taking much of my inspiration from E. C. Riegel. In sum, money is credit; credit is money. The future of money is NO MONEY, but the deployment of mutual credit clearing systems. Such systems are being implemented in both the grassroots and commercial realms. We are assembling the best available materials on our website http://www.Reinventingmoney.com. Thomas H. Greco, Jr., Director Community Information Resource Center P. O. Box 42663, Tucson, Arizona 85733 520-795-8930 •••@••.••• circ2.home.mindspring.com www.Reinventingmoney.com "Generosity is the virtue that produces peace." - from a Buddhist Sutra -------------- Hi Thomas, What is the relationship between 'mutual credit clearing systems' and 'community currencies'? Is 'credit clearing' what happens between communities? I think we'd like to hear more about this topic. cheers, rkm -------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 10:16:34 -0700 Subject: note re: new posting policy From: Jan Slakov <> To: "Richard K. Moore" <•••@••.•••> Dear Richard, I don't know whether to say "congratulations" or "great, but..."... I guess some of both. I do think it would be useful and refreshing for you to focus more or some of the amazingly good things that are happening. .... Maybe they won't be enough to prevent horrible disaster, but at least we can be happier as we travel that road to disaster :)... but seriously, I do think that when we can truly be grateful and experience things like love and joy, we contribute to an emotional, spiritual climate that is healing. And lord knows we need healing in our world! My "but" is to remind you (and me) that an alternative news source ("samisdat" kind of thing) is part of the creation of a better world. I won't be subscribing to your newslog as I just can't handle more e-mail, but it has been interesting to get the odd posting from you of that sort. On the other hand, I have learned to be fairly cautious about believing some of what you send out. Some, like that report about a hurricane in Florida, seem too far out for me to believe and in that case at least, prove indeed to be false. In any case, I thought I'd like to suggest two things for your new direction. One is the magazine: Yes! A Journal of Positive Futures <http://www.yesmagazine.org>. Even though it comes out of the US (Seattle area) and so I have to use Us dollars to buy it, and even though it mainly covers US initiatives, I still find it worth subscribing to. Another is Nonviolent Communication. It's quite "big" in the western US and Canada. Here on Salt Spring there are several groups studying it. It would fit quite well with the dynamic facilitation approach, at least from what I understand of that. I'll copy below a posting about it, FYI. all the best, Jan --------- Hi Jan, I posted you Nonviolent Communication article to newslog: http://cyberjournal.org/cj/show_archives/?id=832&lists=newslog Don't worry, the 'alternative news source' will continue on newslog. nice to hear from you, rkm -------------------------------------------------------- From: Janaia Donaldson <> Subject: Re: rkm report : new posting policy Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 16:00:13 -0700 To: •••@••.••• I value your analyses. When you post them to the cj list I'm on, I'd appreciate your including the first paragraph so I get the drift and can know whether to follow the link. I also look forward to *practical* initiatives and ideas for transformation. I am working to organize our community in northern California to relocalize our economy. At the very start of a long road. Thank you, ------ Hi Janaia, Are you using a community currency in your attempts to relocalize? Yes I do hope we focus on practical initiatives, and ones that can help lead to transformation. I try to make the titles of the newslog postings as descriptive as possible. I usually don't have time to add paragraph descriptions but I'll do it when I can. rkm -------------------------------------------------------- From: "Brian Hill" <•••@••.•••> To: <•••@••.•••> Subject: RE: rkm report : new posting policy Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 21:23:36 -0700 Organization: Institute for Cultural Ecology Natural resources = the commons ----------- Hi Brian, Yes, and in the book I use the phrase "reclaiming the commons" to describe the necessary re-definition of ownership, as part of the transformation process. rkm -------------------------------------------------------- From: •••@••.••• Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2005 02:15:12 EDT Subject: Re: Heads up! : here comes the indictments... To: •••@••.••• rkm> keep your eyes open, history could change, this could be the start of a whole lot of smiling. How interesting to know that a moment in world history is coming and that it will be a little item of a single website and pow!! the curtain may be pulled back and the wizard of Oz may be seen trembling at the shock of exposure. I've been fearing for his life. these guys play very rough and very dirty. -- -------------------------------------------------------- http://cyberjournal.org "Apocalypse Now and the Brave New World" http://www.cyberjournal.org/cj/rkm/Apocalypse_and_NWO.html Posting archives: http://cyberjournal.org/cj/show_archives/?date=01Jan2006&batch=25&lists=newslog Subscribe to low-traffic list: •••@••.••• ___________________________________________
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