Friends,
There are about 1200 of us in the cj & rn community, and
most have been around for quite some time. Over the years
we've talked about many issues and we've been exposed to a
wide range of information and viewpoints. Sometimes our
lists function as one-way news channels, and at other times
they host challenging discussions. Often postings from our
lists are forwarded on to other lists, and sometimes we've
had useful cross-list discussions with other online
communities.
I've received hundreds of 'feedback messages' during this
time, nearly all of them supportive. Dozens of people have
sent in enthusiastic messages like these recent ones:
"Thank you very much for the information which you have been
sending. I am selectively doing print-outs and mailing to
news media, politicians and friends not on internet as I
find appropriate for the person's interests. I am very
pleased with what you are doing and can only say a very big
thank-you..."
"...again, really enjoy your insight, views, and thoughts on nwo
etc.... thanks for missing info i requested on your police
state article!! good luck richard and please keep up the
good work, it is really appreciated..."
"Your observations have clarified and confirmed many of my
own observations during a lifetime of mundane activity.
I am sure that many people will appreciate the contribution
which you are undoubtedly making towards the course of human
evolution..."
---
Because of these considerations, I think it is fair to say
that our posting archives are a valuable resource. There is
material there, according to numerous testimonials, which is
capable of opening people's minds on important issues of the
day. How can this information resource be put to good use?
I've made the complete archives available on our website,
but that's only a beginning; that only establishes the raw
database. For that to be useful, we need a 'front end' --
an online document which is capable of holding people's
attention, and which makes it easy for them to get to the
information of most value to them.
Below is a draft home-page for such a document. It's
organized as a 'book' of six 'chapters', and each 'chapter'
is described by the questions it deals with. An adjacent
link will take the reader off to a one-page summary of how
those questions have been dealt with on our lists. The text
on each summary page will contain lots of links to the
posting archives, to online articles, and to other useful
websites. You can see the formatted version of this draft
home page at:
http://cyberjournal.org/cj/guidebook/
You can see the raw archives at:
http://cyberjournal.org/cj/message_browser/
Please help out by sending in your comments and ideas.
all the best,
rkm
-------------------------------------------------------------
Guidebook How the World Works
and How We Can Fix It
-----------------------------------------
What are they talking about?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What do all those acronyms mean, such as
IMF, OECD, WTO, CFR, WIPO, and GATT?
What do officials and the media mean by
decoding such terms as reform, liberalization,
modernspeak transparency, and international
community? What are the hidden meanings
behind such words, and in what subtle
ways does their usage mold our
perceptions?
How does the world work today?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What is globalization, really? How is it
connected to world policing, and to
national politics? Is it a force of
nature or an intentional project? Where
is it heading, and where is it taking
our societies? Why, in our modern
democracies, is there so little
the world today connection between what people want and
what government delivers? How are major
global decisions made, who makes them,
and toward what ends? To what exetent is
the world driven by the inevitability of
capitalist economics, and to what extent
by specific plans made by particular
people and groups? What did George Bush
mean when he declared the establishment
of a New World Order?
How did things get this way?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
How and why did the West achieve world
dominance? How does imperialism work and
who benefits? Why did republics replace
kingdoms, and did they bring us
democracy? Why were European powers
how we got here involved in regular warfare for
centuries, and why did peace between
them become inevitable after 1945? Why
were industry and nationalism so long
closely linked, and why is capitalism
now so committed to globalization and
weakened nation states?
What kind of world do we want?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What economic alternatives are there to
capitalism? Is prosperity possible
without capitalist methods? Is a better
world consistent with human nature? What
about Marxism and socialism? Why must we
transcend ideology? How do we decide the
a livable world agenda for a new world? What does it
mean to talk about "we" as a conscious
entity? What is meant by the term civil
society? What is democracy, how can it
be achieved, and how can it be
preserved? How can world peace be
established and how can the peace be
made stable? Is world government a good
idea?
How can we change things?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What can be accomplished by means of
electoral politics? Is reform of
capitalism possible? Will capitalism
collapse from its own contradictions?
What is the difference between a change
of government and a change of regime?
How have regimes been changed in the
causing change past? What is the role of a mass
movement in bringing about radical
change? What are the pitfalls that every
movement must avoid in order to achieve
victory? What exactly is the prize upon
which we must keep our eyes? Why did the
recent demonstrations in Seattle and
Washington DC signal a profound
historical turning point?
What is holding us back?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
How do we move on to the next step
beyond demonstrations? How can alliances
be built between groups with different
values and beliefs? Why are such
alliances the key to victory? Why is the
ability to listen more important than
having answers? How can the movement
getting on with it reach out to every part of society? Why
is that necessary? How can the movement
achieve global solidarity? Why is that
necessary? How can the movement act
effectively and be democratic at the
same time? Why is "Don't follow leaders"
good advice? What kind of leadership is
appropriate in a democratic movement?
Why do the means always become the ends?
What are you waiting for?
-------------------------------------------------------------
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