Re: [WDDM] Re: GlobalDemo.org now ready...

[Lata Gouveia <latalondon(at)yahoo.co.uk>]

Hi Hamid,
The idea is good. I believe in guys like you, Antonio, David Parker and a few others. I believe you are motivated enough to really DO something.

I think there is a big critical mass problem. The numbers are not on our side. Even petitions with hundreds of thousands of signatories don't get much joy from our elected representatives and our institutions... even at local level, let alone the UN.

That's why I believe we have to turn the DD movement into something with mass appeal and real grassroots backing, otherwise it will always be the same ten guys on here discussing the finer points of ethics or some obscure academic work that can never create a real movement.

Unfortunately, movements tend to need a figure head, a charismatic leader, which goes completely against the principle of trying to erode representation in favour of a more direct form of democracy. We need a marketing genious to help us.

I actually think that the EU provides a very good opportunity at this point in history. People are genuinely concerned with the democratic deficit within it and, at the same time, its constitutional framework is still evolving, there will be more treaties. We could actually sneak in... whilst it's fresh in people's minds.

I really think that the creation of an EU grassroots political party aimed at Direct Representation in the EP and based on the objective of gradual constitutional reform towards participatory democracy could really gain momentum now. They already have an inside plan in the Lisbon Treaty that allowes for a citizen initiative programme... but it's probably cosmetic,

All we need is to recruit national representatives in the 27 countries, create a manifesto that appeals to a reasonably sized slice of the population (if you go too radical you lose everything) and then to start recruiting membership. The European Party For Real Democracy would grow exponentially right now.

We would have to play by their rules and have "representatives", but our internal rules could dictate that they are in fact spokespeople and cannot make decisions without the approval of the membership base, so that in fact, if we had 30 MEPs, they would have to submit the EP legislation to the wider membership of hundreds of thousands and would have to vote the way the membership tells them to, according to internal democratic voting mechanisms. This is where I think weighed voting could prevent knee-jerk mob-like behaviour... but that's another story.

There will never be a better chance. Pretty soon we will all feel the weight of new internet censorship laws, under the guise of protection from the bad guys... so, time is of the essence. If they have their way, pretty soon we will not be able to discuss this kind of thing without being tracked, black listed, etc.

All those in favor of this, please respond, elaborate upon these ideas. Lets get practical. It does not matter if you don't live in the EU because it's just another branch of a global government, every human being has a legitimate stake in this. It might become increasingly dangerous though....there are people willing to kill to stop something like that from happening. I even feel paranoid writing this...

What say you all?

---

From: Esi <esi1mohseni2(at)hotmail.com>
To: wddm@world-wide-democracy.net
Sent: Tuesday, 27 October, 2009 17:55:19
Subject: Re: [WDDM] Re: GlobalDemo.org now ready...

Hi

I am satisfied with discussions and international communications via WDDM.

I wonder if we can go one step longer and make real changes toward dirrect democracy in the world as example by voting on different subjects and sending the results to authorities in

different countries and UN? Subjects can be suggested by anyone, facts about the subjects gathered or/and referred to by anyone, ideas and solution alternative discussed and suggested by

anybody who is interested of the subject, voting / refrandoms arranged by WDDM and its members and afterward the results be sended to authorities who can make real changes.

Are there any other suggestions about how we can progress to real changes?

Regards

Hamid

From: Lata Gouveia

Sent: Monday, October 26, 2009 9:50 PM

To: wddm@world-wide-democracy.net

Subject: Re: [WDDM] Re: GlobalDemo.org now ready...

Dear Antonio,
It really does. WDDM seems to be perfect for networking with other people interested in DD.
Perhaps it's because you can take it or leave it, go away for a few months, come back, give your opinion when and if you want to..
Convenience is very important to people and WDDM have got that right.

However, there is a lot of time that's going to waste, not because the ideas in here are not valid but because I think there will be a massive new age of censorship aimed at the Web and we will end up divided and unable/afraid to exchange "dangerous" ideas. This is coming, there is no question. Then we will wish we would have DONE something sooner. I wish I was wrong, missinformed or paranoid.

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From: Antonio Rossin <rossin(at)tin.it>
To: worldcit(at)googlegroups.com
Cc: wddm@world-wide-democracy.net
Sent: Monday, 26 October, 2009 7:53:53
Subject: [WDDM] Re: GlobalDemo.org now ready...

Hi James,

everything helps.

Anyway, I was thinking about the democratic necessity of
having an overall DD website to collect, co-ordinate and
show ALL our DD activities, proposals, etc., and supposed
the WDDM website already performed this DD function.

Regards,

antonio


James Sadri ha scritto:
> Hi Antonio,
>
> There are direct democracy advocates who are not into global/transnational democracy and vice-versa, so to me they're not the same thing. Anyway, if you think we're replicating something, let's find a way to work together.
>
> Just for clarification, *GlobalDemo.org is not a direct democracy website*, it's not somewhere we vote and make decisions. It somewhere to find out more, discuss opinions, network and find out how to take action.
>
> We have had this discussion many times along the way and we decided there were many places where people come together to vote but that this neutral platform wasn't going to be one of them.
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> J
>
> On Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 5:52 PM, Antonio Rossin <rossin(at)tin.it> wrote:
>
>
>    Hi
>
>    it looks like all DD lovers volunteers and activists are
>    going to set-up a DD web site and a DD Charter each
>    (myself excluded    )
>
>    antonio
>
>
>
>
>
>
>    James Sadri ha scritto:
>    > Hello friends,
>    >
>    > After much work (all voluntary) from many people we have finally
>    > arrived at a website that we think serves as a platform for the
>    > various people/groups who make up the global
>    > democracy/mundialist/world citizen movement.
>    >
>    > There will undoubtedly be problems with the site - which is why
>    we are
>    > launching it to this list first - but please use the 'feedback'
>    tab on
>    > the right hand side to help us improve it with your bug reports and
>    > suggestions. There is a little users guide that we're drawing up for
>    > the site, but for the moment let's try and test how
>    > intuitive/confusing it is.
>    >
>    > Almost everything in the site is editable by the community (that
>    means
>    > you!) so if you're not happy with a particular section - change it!
>    > Just click on the 'edit' tab at the top of the post. Don't worry
>    > though, previous revisions are automatically stored so you can't
>    > delete things by mistake..
>    >
>    > We're thinking of hiring some professional designers to add the
>    > finishing touches to the site, but for now it would be great to get
>    > some feedback on how it works and what features you like or not.
>    >
>    > Check it out: GlobalDemo.org <http://GlobalDemo.org>
>    >
>    > _About the site_
>    >
>    > *Local/Global*
>    >
>    > The site has been structured to encourage local/national activity
>    > while also being global at the same time. This is because we believe
>    > that although we're dealing with global issues, local/national
>    action
>    > is critical to getting things done.
>    >
>    > So on your 'country page', for example, there is a forum which shows
>    > posts from all over the world which you can add to. You can however
>    > limit it to posts from your country only.
>    >
>    > Similarly, on country pages there is a sidebar with information
>    about
>    > local groups, politicians, etc and their positions regarding global
>    > democracy.
>    >
>    > *Events*
>    >
>    > You can view events from your country or elsewhere on your country
>    > page, where you can also add you own events.
>    >
>    > *Organisations*
>    >
>    > However, there is also an 'organisations' page which lists global
>    > organisations and initiatives. You can identify yourself as a
>    > supporter of a particular initiative or organisation and the popular
>    > ones are listed on the right.
>    >
>    > *Library*
>    >
>    > The 'library' is somewhere where you can read/watch articles and
>    films
>    > about global democracy and discuss them in the comments. You can
>    also
>    > recommend library items and again popular items will be shown on the
>    > right. The library can be restricted by language too.
>    >
>    > *Member profiles*
>    >
>    > As a result of feedback, we made member profiles quite sophisticated
>    > so we can learn more about each other. Each user has a listing of
>    > recommended books and organisations they support as well as a
>    > 'real-life network' where they can show which people on the site
>    they
>    > have actually met.
>    >
>    > *Languages*
>    >
>    > We have setup the site to be fully translatable, with the official
>    > source language being English. We've got a way to go with
>    translation
>    > - so far German is the only language with near complete. We need
>    your
>    > help. If you could help translating the site (the text on
>    buttons etc)
>    > into other languages please get in touch at
>    > <translations(at)globaldemo.org> .
>    > Translators have a little web interface so they can translate
>    the site
>    > while they surf.
>    >
>    > *Who are we?*
>    >
>    > The GlobalDemo.org webteam is a group of volunteers. Details are
>    here
>    > http://globaldemo.org/en/about . We'd love anyone and everyone to
>    > join, so get in touch if you'd like to help out.
>    >
>    > *Finally...*
>    >
>    > Thank you to everyone who has helped out along the way (so far).
>    > Everyone is always busy with other projects so I think we should
>    > celebrate the fact that we managed to come together and achieve this
>    > neutral platform for the movement.
>    >
>    > Thanks to: Alan, Bruce, Chris, Didier, Filip, Fred, Josep, Ken,
>    > Mikael, Rob, Rasmus, Ryan, Rufo, Shimri, Tabs and everyone else who
>    > has contributed at one time or another..
>    >
>    > Cheers,
>    >
>    > GlobalDemo.org Webgroup
>    >
>    >
>