NEWSLETTER

 

WORLD BEYOND BORDERS
NEWSLETTER

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This is the official newsletter of World
Beyond Borders (www.worldbeyondborders.org).
It reports site news and world events that affect
our quest for a united Earth. To subscribe, go to
www.worldbeyondborders.org/tinc?key=zeckXWXA&RegistrationFormID=4819
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Volume 2, Issue 11
November 1, 2004

TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1. Quote of the Month
2. What's New at World Beyond Borders
3. Eleven Days of Global Unity
4. Reader Letters
5. What You Can Do
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1. QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"World federation is an ideal that will not die. More and more people are coming to realize that peace must be more than an interlude if we are to survive; that peace is a produce of law and order; that law is essential if the force of arms is not to rule the world." --William O. Douglas, US Supreme Court Justice

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2. WHAT'S NEW AT WORLD BEYOND BORDERS

This month at World Beyond Borders, we have some exciting news to report. Josep Lluis, head of the Community of World Citizens has requested that World Beyond Borders join forces with his organization, which is merging with the Registry of World Citizens. We were happy to accept this honor and look forward to working together with two prominent organizations involved in the unification movement of humanity.

A little more about these two organizations can be found at their websites. The Community of World Citizens homepage is http://cwc.betterdemocracy.net. The website of the American branch of the Registry of World Citizens is http://www.worldcitizens.org.

The Community of World Citizens is run by Josep Lluis, along with 56 members. It is currently on the verge of merging with the the Consultative Assembly of the Peoples' Congress, which Mr. Lluis has been asked to coordinate. In 1969, the People's Congress was created as the first assembly of direct representatives of inhabitants of the Earth. At the end of 2003, it had 20 delegates and 20 deputy delegates chosen by electors from 110 countries in 10 transnational elections. It is the foreshadowing of a World People's representation capable of establishing world institutions in order to solve the great problems facing the human race. Their site can be found at http://ascop.editme.com/ .

Mr. Lluis envisioned World Beyond Borders functioning as a proponent and focal group for global government proposals. He was quick to point out that we would gain many advantages through association with CWC, including a large audience already committed to global governance ideas, the possibility of a good debate, the possibility of having global government-related proposals voted on, and even having representatives elected. The formal association statement is designed to allow the associated organizations complete independence, so as to create a win-win situation for everybody.

The association statement between World Beyond Borders and the Community of World Citizens can be found at http://cwc.betterdemocracy.net/wbb. Mr. Lluis was excited about working with us in the future and pointed to the following site as an example of the kind of cross-collaboration that was made possible by the CWC and RWC merger: http://cwc.betterdemocracy.net/partnershipact .

Our new articles this month are all in "How Might We Get There?".

How Might We Get There?

*"The Local in the Global, the Global in the Local" by Jane Shevtsov tries to go beyond the local/global dichotomy. What if we adopted a worldplace perspective -- one that sees how every place connects to every other place? What specific projects might promote this way of looking at the world? www.worldbeyondborders.org/worldplace.htm

*"Olympic Aspirations" by K. Titchenell. What if athletes could compete in the Olympics under a world flag? www.worldbeyondborders.org/olympics.htm

Please send article ideas or submissions to Jane Shevtsov, jane@worldbeyondborders.org.

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3. ELEVEN DAYS OF GLOBAL UNITY: CELEBRATING THE UN INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE
by Eli Williamson-Jones

An illustrated version of this article is available at www.worldbeyondborders.org/11days.htm.

Recently I had the honor to attend the opening session of Eleven Days of Global Unity, titled, Our Voices, Our World celebrating the UN International Day of Peace in New York City. It took place at the Avalon located on 20th Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan. Featured guests of the program included Adotei Akwei, (Africa Advocacy Director of Amnesty International) Clarence Jones, (speech writer and lawyer for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.) Tad Daley, (Former Deputy to Senator Alan Cranston and former Senior Policy Advisor to Congressman Dennis Kucinich) Marianne Williamson, (Co-Founder, Global Renaissance Alliance; author, A Return to Love) and Dr. Jane Goodall. (founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and U.N. Messenger of Peace)

I arrived to the event early and settled down in the auditorium for an introduction by Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Host of First Voices on WBAI/Pacifica Radio. Tiokasin is a Lakota and reminded us that humanity must make decisions with the Earth in mind and not the Bank accounts. After Tiokasin, we had a moment of silence, the same practice observed at the beginning of all U.N. sessions.

Michael Johnson then presented symbols to remind us of various groups on Earth whose voice needed to be heard. These symbols were an empty bowl, (representing the hungry) a feather, (representing the 300 million indigenous peoples remaining on earth) antlers, (representing the earth's animals) and water. (representing sacred water)

Susan Zipp was next with an Earth Charter Initiative breakdown. Adotei Akwei came after for Amnesty International. He began his talk to remind us that the U.N. was brought into being to prevent a third world war. Mr. Akwei also brought attention to the problems in Darfor, Sudan which he described as being hell on Earth. He then told us about the plight of the 1.4 million who have been displaced and the tragedy of the thousands already dead.

After Mr. Akwei, L.A. Music Award Recipients Danielle Bistutti & Jared Mason performed a song about 9-11.

Clarence Jones came next and gave a very inspiring speech encouraging us to make change in the world by creating a new base of power. He reminded us all that power doesn't concede without a demand. Bringing our attention to the current administration, he demanded that they be accountable for the mishandling of Iraq's reconstruction. He left us all with a prophetic statement concerning the current militaristic trends we've been witnessing. "Institutionalized violence make peaceful change impossible but revolution inevitable."

Tad Daley gave the next talk. He spoke about the new nuclear danger in the world and how the hypocrisy of world powers forbidding smaller nations from having nukes is simply driving their ambitions to acquire their own arsenals. He invited us to imagine that if current trends continue, a world of 20-25 nuclear weapon states is close on the horizon especially if doctrines of preemptive violence continue. Mr. Daley challenged us all to take the march towards a nuclear free world.

The band Blacksmith performed next and between the next speaker, it was announced that Spike Lee and Bruce Springstein phoned in to offer their support to the 11 days event. A woman named Mary got up to represent Achilles, the International War Veterans organization.

The next speaker was Marriane Williamson who gave an excellent speech. She began by challenging the audience to transform the world by rethinking it. She then called for a critical mass of people who stand and are committed to a world view based on love. Williamson then described what the kind of world we could live in if this became a reality. It would be a world in which children would one day ask their parents if it was true that war ever happened. Parents would then say, "yes, it used to exist, but it doesn't happen anymore." Williamson went on to say that you and I could someday say that we were there to make a difference and make this happen. Especially by making Dennis Kucinich's proposal for a department of peace possible and that if we became as sophisticated for waging peace as we were for fighting war, world peace would be inevitable.

The next speaker was Jane Goodall but unfortunately I couldn't stay for her presentation.

Overall, this beginning to the 11 days of global unity was informative and I was happy to attend while representing World Beyond Borders.

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4. READER LETTERS

You have been remarkably quiet -- hopefully, not because we have been remarkably boring! Last month's newsletter got no response beyond a "good job, guys" from World Beyond Borders friend Tad Daley in Los Angeles, California.

Hopefully, our topics this month will stimulate discussion. What do you think of the Olympics idea? Can you see your city as a worldplace? What does global citizenship mean to you?

Please send letters to news@worldbeyondborders.org. We may edit the letter for clarity and length.

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5. WHAT YOU CAN DO

*If you're involved with the planning of any sports event, ask that an Earth flag be flown beside your national flag.

*Take a walk and think about how the things you see reflect the wider world. Share the perspective with somebody else.

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We want your stories! Email Jane Shevtsov at jane@worldbeyondborders.org.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/

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