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 8 Mar 2003 @ 22:25, by ming. Social System Design
Joi Ito has an emergent democracy brainstorm with John Vasconcellos and friends."The discussion was quite fascinating. We started talking about the republic and representative democracy. It was pointed out (sorry, I took notes, but not always about who said what....) that the republic was not formed for the sake of efficiency but out of a more elitist attitude that certain people were more fit to govern and that it would be impossible for an uneducated mob to rule. In that sense, it really wasn't just a more efficient democracy. I asked John what he thought about the current representative democracy and he said, 'not functioning well, but functioning barely'. He said the people are 'so busy, distracted and spoiled'. I agreed with them that a direct democracy in our current environment was not feasible, but that maybe our thoughts on emergent democracy might, in the short term, be a great tool for supporting a the 'not functioning well, but functioning barely' representative democracy that we have today." Very interesting point there about representative democracy in the form of a republic, like in the U.S. It isn't to allow the people to decide. It is to remove the mob from deciding. However brilliant and freedom minded the fathers of the U.S. Constitution were, it wasn't direct democracy they had in mind. So, it is time for something altogether new. More >
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7 Mar 2003 @ 22:42, by newdawn. Activism
A thought for all women and men every where. Wow, I guess that includes all of us! More >
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 7 Mar 2003 @ 22:07, by letecia. Activism
Tomorrow is International Women's day. Around the globe women will be gathering to celebrate the day. Gather the Women
Beginning the week of March 3-8, 2003, linked globally by our interactive website, we are inviting women to demonstrate their courage to risk leaving old conformities by joining with millions of others throughout the world in thousands of unique events celebrating woman's true worth, expressing shared concern for our human family, and creating and supporting actions that will enable humanity to live together in a world based on life-affirming values.
Gather the Women is a project of Women of Vision and Action, a nonprofit, 501c3 organization established in 1994. Please click on the links below to learn more about the individuals and organizaitons who are working behind the scenes to make this initiative successful.
WOVA is a network of established and emerging women leaders who share the following beliefs:
We believe in the qualities of compassion and courage, and that spirit-based social action can change the world. We believe in the creative ability of all people as part of one human family, who are united in one global community. We believe in the positive uses of technology for peace, information services, communication and cooperation for all people. We believe in the right of all individuals to a healthy, safe and productive life. We believe in the methods of dialogue and mediation to resolve disputes both personal and global. We honor the sacredness of ALL life and the gifts of diversity in ethnic, racial, religious backgrounds, beliefs and ideologies. We embrace all children of the world and seek to create a world where they can thrive.
I first became aware of WOVA shortly after doing a project for the UN Conference of Women in 1995. Check here for more information.
Women around the world are gathering to celebrate Peace. Check these links to participate in actions near you:
Global Women's Strike
United for Peace
Code Pink
Women In Black
Peace Women
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Women's Action for New Direction
Grandmothers for Peace
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5 Mar 2003 @ 13:51, by ming. Violence, War
Britt Blaser posts some well-balanced thoughts about empowered dialogue in regards to war or no war."In the fall of 1967, I was flying C-130s in Viet Nam and my fiancée was marching for peace in Washington. We didn't see that as a conflict—more like covering both sides of the story. Nor did we feel any tension around this. I was there because I was expected to be there, and, having been born in 1942, I had grown up with the expectation of military service. She marched because our generation was working out a new voice and that view had to be sent to the politicians." Indeed, it is not as simple as a for or against, and that everybody is just one or the other. It is vital to examine all sides. Preferably to step into the shoes of all sides. Personally I'm not even particularly a pacifist, in the sense of refusing all uses of violence. Sometimes it is the best solution to kill people. If you threaten me and my family enough with physical harm, and I don't see any other solution, I'd kill you too. But violence and death is a very real and serious matter. The people you kill will be dead. The people you didn't quite succeed in killing, or that were just accidentally standing too close to the action, they will be messed up. They'll have missing body parts, and they'll have lost people they loved. Their husbands and wives and children and parents. It is very ugly. It isn't just something you can decide remotely, to make a political statement. Anyway, Britt is somebody who's experienced war first hand, who's been shot at, shot down in a plane, who's pals have been killed, so I certainly pay attention to his angles on this. Anyway, one of the main points Britt is making here, which could lead to uncomfortable conclusions is along the lines of:"If we don't occupy Iraq now, the body count goes up—not because that's where the terrorists are, but because we will not have been forceful enough to do so and silence the Arab machismo affect." The idea being that there are terrorists out there. They'll kill people if they can get away with it. But it is more like a street fight than a war. But that it is necessary to send a signal of strength, or the other parties will exploit our weakness. Hm, I can see that, but at the same time I don't agree. I think that the people we're dealing with, in the Middle East, and the groups we're concerned with as sources of terrorism, I think they certainly respect strength. They might be likely to respect displays of power more than they respect talk. But at the same time they feel morally obliged to revenge and pay back injustices believed to be carried out against their people, whatever definition they have of what 'their' people are, or of what injustices are. I think that's the motivation. It isn't just because they can, and nobody's stopping them. Violence that in any way can be regarded as unjust will tend to foster more payback violence, in the form of terrorism. But strength itself doesn't necessarily create that backlash. I think the Arab machismo is a big factor, but I think the worst you can do about it is to humble it. The trick is to display unarguable strength, but not to force your opponents to lose face. If you do, they will be morally obliged to use their very last breath to try to regain their pride.
The whole thing has been handled badly in terms of diplomacy from the U.S. side. It is set up so that Bush, and his pal Blair, would lose face if they don't get their war. Because they've spent a lot of energy on talking about how they're going to bomb Iraq no matter what. So, of course, if they're forced to back down, it looks a bit stupid, and they look weak. They've played their cards very badly diplomatically. It could very well have been a useful thing to send all those soldiers and all that hardware down there to stand and look very threatening. It could have been done in a way where it would have been a victory if war didn't become necessary. Right now it would look like a loss of face, even if Hussein spontaneously disappeared altogether.
I don't think the lack of a war now would in any way increase the likelyhood of something worse happening later. On the contrary. What makes this war almost inavoidable is only the unwillingness of the side of the current U.S. administration to look weak, or to be caught being wrong. It is about proving that one is right by proceeding with the original plan, even though it was greatly bungled. More >
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 5 Mar 2003 @ 02:50, by ashanti. Developing World
The invisible people of the world speak out: The Non-Aligned Movement Summit, held in Malaysia earlier this week and attended by almost 110 countries representing about two-thirds of the worlds' population, made a strong call for multilateralism, global peace and development. More >
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 4 Mar 2003 @ 21:56, by koravya. Visual Arts, Graphics
Having found the geometric underpinning
At the heart of the design of the Aztec calendar,
Where Do I go from here?
Here is a geometric symbol from Tibet,
One of the Eight Auspicious religious symbols,
The endless Knot, the Knot of Eternity,
Described on one site as symbolizing
“the unity of all things and the
illusory character of time.”
See also,
[link]
I’ve expanded it a little.
Don’t know where I’m going with this.
Here is a path. More >
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 4 Mar 2003 @ 14:07, by raypows. Activism
In line with cultural influences on males. I think this is an important topic. I'm glad this is being talked about. I wonder about the physical and psychological effects of circumscribed mutilation. What effect it had on me as well as with the effect of not being breast fed since it wasn't the trend in the 50's.
Maybe this is why I keep searching for the missing piece. :)
CIRCUMCISION OPPONENTS USE THE LEGAL SYSTEM AND LEGISLATURES
By Adam Liptak
New York Times
January 23, 2003
FARGO, N.D., Jan. 16 < Josiah Flatt, like about 60 percent of other newborn American boys, was circumcised soon after he was born here, in the spring of 1997. Two years later, his parents sued the doctor and the hospital.
They did not contend that the circumcision was botched or deny that Josiah's mother, Anita Flatt, had consented to the procedure in writing. They said,instead, that the doctor had failed to tell them enough about the pain,complications and consequences of circumcision, removing the foreskin of the
penis.
The suit will be heard by a jury next month. In declining to dismiss the case here before trial, Judge Cynthia Rothe-Seeger acknowledged that the case was unusual in that nothing "went `wrong' during the procedure." The
main harm Josiah seeks compensation for, Judge Rothe-Seeger noted, is "diminished sexual sensation injury."
The suit is but one effort by a small but energetic group of loosely affiliated advocates and lawyers to use the legal system to combat the practice < most American newborn boys undergo the operation when they are days old < which they liken to genital cutting in girls.
The advocates have been active in state legislatures, too. Ten states no longer allow Medicaid to pay for circumcision.
"They have reached the ears of legislators and insurance companies," Dr.Thomas Wiswell, a professor of pediatrics at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a proponent of the procedure, said about the opponents. "They are far more vocal than proponents of circumcision."
J. Steven Svoboda, director of Attorneys for the Rights of the Child, a group devoted to the issue, contends that circumcision is wrong as a matter of law, medicine and philosophy. Children of both sexes, Mr. Svoboda said,
should be entitled to "bodily integrity."
Josiah Flatt's case appears to be the first to go to trial based on the theory that the absence of an exhaustive medical briefing about the risks and benefits of circumcision is tantamount to a lack of informed consent.
Among the possible complications in the operation are excess bleeding,infection and ulceration and occasional permanent damage to the penis.
"This could be a very important test case," said Geoffrey P. Miller, a professor of law at New York University who has written about legal and cultural issues of circumcision.
Links and More >
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 2 Mar 2003 @ 16:40, by quidnovi. Spirituality
"The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity."
---G. W. Bush (State of the Union Address, 2003)
Well, so much for G. W. Bush's electoral promise to conduct our foreign policy with humility.
As a dear friend of mine recently put it:
"Being filled with the spirit of Christ is something amazing, It is the best pair of glasses a man can have."
But then, again, if such glasses of which he speaks lead to such clarity, why is it that Christians argue with other Christians and sometimes slaughter each other and their fellow human beings over such arguments? Fanaticism (and sadly Christianity had its share of it) has lead throughout history to some of the most brutal, heartless, and senseless madness known to man. The historical examples are not difficult to recall: the Crusades; the Inquisitions; the Witch-burnings; the St. Barthelemy; and many more. More >
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27 Feb 2003 @ 13:28, by jewel. Ideas, Creativity
Sometimes I forget all the joy around me,
The available 'support' that Life avails..
If we could just get out, over,
and beyond Our Selves -
Perhaps just over my shoulder,
Surfing the waves coming into
The Space where I am adrift...
Something, Someone Magical is
Splashing into our life!
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27 Feb 2003 @ 03:29, by sevenlamb. Communities
Why do we bow to, and cataclysmically serve, absurd ideas and classifications relating to templates such as race and class? More >
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