John D McRuer, Chairman, Global Systems Project, Canadian Association for the Club of Rome, submitted some excellent and challenging feedback: "I am most impressed with your advocacy efforts with respect to sustainability. I would like very much to see you succeed. I work with a group from the Canadian Association for the Club of Rome doing simulations of environment-economy interactions, projecting scenarios for the global system from 2004 to 2104. The process we use is called Integrated Assessment Modelling; it is of a family of techniques used by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). However, we go beyond just climate change, for there are other crises looming that are exacerbated by climate change, but not caused by it. I will spare you the details, but our primary focus is on strategy: what is the prognosis? What has to be done to improve it? How likely is it to be done? What are the consequences of not doing it? Should we assume that the system of human civilization will collapse? If so, what can be done to create a soft landing? Who has to do it? Who CAN do it?
"Addressing such questions inevitably causes controversy and there is never any certainty. However, with the use of interactive (i.e. Game-like) simulation we do the best we can, and do get a few glimpses of how things might turn out when various political, social, and religious responses are made. The results tend to be pretty gloomy, but there is no evidence that the world is about to end.
"Considering the obvious effort you are putting into “Solidarity and Sustainability” I am a bit distressed about its naivety. I can’t go into a detailed critique here, but I will point out a few serious problems. ....."
Response: Surely I am naive; only a very naive person can attempt making some sense of how things happen at the intersection of economics, ecology, human sexuality, social addictions, organized religion ..... but this is my retirement project, and it may not be satisfactory to more analytical minds, but it is certainly entertaining for me. Please be assured that I am taking this project seriously, but not too seriously.
Having said this, may I remind you that sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between naivete and intuition. A mathematical analysis of the complex global issues under consideration is virtually impossible, due to the many nonlinearities involved. There are simulation methods that overcome this obstacle, but they are restricted to what can be measured with numbers. Surely, you can quantify intangibles, but then again, what seems reasonable to one person seems naive to another. Except in a simulated world, the complex global issues under scrutiny are not amenable to scientific experimentation under controlled conditions. It follows, that any number crunching you do, no matter how precise and accurate, must be submitted to judgement, intuition, the data of experience, and wisdom, before any policy recommendations can be made; else, the resulting policies would be *really naive.*
Your comments bring to mind another important point. I am using the so-called "spiral" method of writing, as opposed to linear writing. In linear writing about A --> B --> C, you fully explain A, then B, then C, and you are done. But when A --> B --> C --> A, the linear method of writing brakes down, as I am sure you know, because A cannot be fully explained until it has been affected by B and C. One alternative is spiral writing, where you provide some degree of understanding of A, then the same for B, then the same for C, then you can go back and provide a better understanding of A, and you may have to go through several iterations before a full explanation of A, B, and C is given. Some readers who are impatient to see the "bottom line" find this approach difficult, and the first iteration may seem naive to them. This is unfortunate, but there is no way in the world that these complex global issues can be explained by linear writing. Perhaps I should be more explicit in informing the readers of the newsletter that we are following the spiral method, and have yet to complete the first iteration around the main loop of our process model.
Note: Several long emails followed in both directions .... some agreements to agree, some agreements to disagree .... among the agreements to agree:
John D McRuer: "I am very strong in my belief that whatever solutions there are must come from the grass roots. The grass roots are the constituency that legitimizes the leaders; they can't get away for long doing anything the grass roots won't accept. It doesn't matter whether the polity is democratic or authoritarian. (The difference lies only in the way they fire their leaders.) Leaders get fired when they are either irrelevant or toxic, although like Saddam, they generally hang on for a long time before they get dumped. Our group's game is to use simulations to let grass roots opinion leaders find out for themselves what the real (i.e. the simulated) situation is. We need a new leadership and we won't get it without much more informed grass roots, with new and creative ideas about how to fix the system that generates leaders."
Response: I basically agree. However, in order to generate more grassroots leaders, the patriarchal mindset problem must be overcome. We are making some progress in this area. For instance, goal 3 of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals is to achieve gender equity. And the feminist movement has contributed to make gender discrimination politically incorrect, at least in most of the West. But nothing human is perfect, and the feminist movement has at times been radicalized to the extent of creating animosity between men and women. This is bad. Also bad (in my opinion) is the emphasis on the "reproductive rights of women," including abortion.
Something that really bothers me, is the fact that the largest religious institutions (Roman Catholic + Islam = 2+ billion people) are resisting any reformation of their internal patriarchal structure. This is a very unfortunate situation (I think, God knows better) because it keeps so many people thinking that, if they reject patriarchy, they would go to hell ... or something like that. I refrain from speculating on the motivations for such strategy, but I know it is not for doctrinal reasons, and I know it is not for pastoral reasons either. Something smells fishy ...
Links to the Archive
The following are links to previous issues of the newsletter:
V1 N1 May 2005
V1 N2 June 2005
- The Phallocentric Syndrome
V1 N3 July 2005
- From Patriarchy to Solidarity
V1 N4 August 2005
- Synthesis of Patriarchy and Solidarity
V1 N5 September 2005
- From Solidarity to Sustainability
V1 N6 October 2005
- Dimensions of Sustainability
V1 N7 November 2005
- Analysis and Synthesis of Objective Evidence
Resources
The United Nations
The United Nations Organization has an extensive network of websites, some of them including global databases. Some of the most useful are listed below. For an index of all the UN websites, go to the UN Website Locator.
UN Main Portal
UN CyberSchoolBus
UN Development Program
UN Environmental Program
UN Millennium Goals
UN Millennium Campaign
UN Millennium Project
UN Statistical Division
UN University
UN University for Peace
UN WomenWatch
UNESCO, UNICEF,
UNFPA
UNIFEM, UNFAO,
UNFPA
WHO, WTO,
ILO
Reform the UN
International
African Union
Club of Amsterdam
Club of Rome
Earth Global Community
European Union
Future Brief
Global Community Foundation
Global Scenario Group
Global Trade Watch
Int'l Biodiversity Program
Int'l Data Base
Int'l Human Dimensions Programme
Int'l Monetary Fund
Int'l Standards Org
Int'l Union Sci Study Pop
PeaceWeb
ReliefWeb
SE Asian Nations
Stockholm Environment Institute
Third World Network (TWN)
Union of Int Assoc
World Bank
World Development
World Energy Council
World Environment Center
Zero Emissions Research
ZNet Communications
United States
Bureau of Economic Statistics
Census Bureau
Endowment for the Humanities
Energy Information
Environmental Health
Environmental Protection
Federal Reserve
Geological Survey
Library of Congress
National Academies
Political Economy Institute
Redefining Progress
U.S. Government
Women's Bureau
Solidarity
Amnesty International
CIVICUS
Clinton Global Initiative
CSRwire Directory
Earth Light
ECC-Platform
Europe Solidarity Forum
Global Exchange
International Solidarity
Facing the Future
Gender & Development
Gender Equity Links
Gender Issues
Global Issues
Global Security
Mind & Life Institute
New Economics Foundation
Nonviolence International
Religious Freedom Center
Social Capital
South Asian Network
Trade & Gender
Women/Gender Resources
Sustainability
Asia-Pacific Network Global Change
Basic Concepts
Best Environmental Directories
Center for Steady State Economy
Climate Change Network
Earth Policy Institute
Earth System Science Partnership
EcoEarth Info Gateway
Ecocosm Dynamics
Economic Dynamics
Ecoliteracy Center
Ecology and Society
Ecological Economics
Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems
Encyclopedia of Sust Dev
Energy Storm
Env Risk Analysis
Env Sustainability
Env Sustainability Index
Friends of the Earth
Gender & Energy
Gender & Sustainability
Global Change System (START)
Global Environmental Strategies
Global Scenario Group
Global Sustainability
Inter-American Inst Global Change
Int'l Geosphere-Biosphere Program
Int'l Inst for Sust Dev
New Energy Movement
Novartis Foundation for Sust Dev
Population Coalition
Population-Environment Research Network
Population & Sustainability
Social Science Research Network
Sustainable Measures
Sustainability e-Journal
Sustainability Institute
Sustainability Now
Sustainability Internetwork
Sustainability Web Ring
Society Human Ecology
The AtKisson Report
The Kyoto Protocol
War Times
World Bus Council for Sust Dev
World Climate Research
Patriarchy and Gender
Bahá'í Int Community
Buddhism
Domestic Violence
Eastern Orthodox
Gender & Sexism
Gender & Society
Gender Resources
GenderWatchers
Hinduism
Islam
Judaism
Lutheran Federation
Patriarchy Website
Quakers
Roman Catholic
Salvation Army
The Patriarchal Family
Women & Sustainability
World Council of Churches
World Congress of Faiths
World Religious Texts
Web Research Tools
Deep Web Research
Humanities
Engineering
Environment
Internet Public Library
Librarian's Internet Index
Library of Congress
Life Sciences
Online Books Directory
Physical Sciences
Population Index on the Web
ResearchBuzz
Research Discovery Network
ResourceShelf
Search Engines Directory
Snips, Store & Share
Social Sciences
Social Psychology Network
Vatican Library
Webfeeds Directory
Wikipedia Encyclopedia
Worldwide Governments
Worldwide Religions
Worldwide Stock Markets
Worldwide Universities
New Resources
Recently published:
OECD Factbook 2005: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics. Includes statistics on the following subjects: Demographic trends -- Trade -- Employment -- Air, water and land --
Government deficits and debt -- Taxes -- Regional disparities -- World energy supply -- Gross domestic product (GDP) -- Productivity -- Commodities: production and supply -- Consumer and producer prices -- Purchasing power and competitiveness -- Research and development (R&D) -- Information and communication technology (ICT) -- Expenditure on education -- Health -- Work and leisure -- Crime -- Transport.
Renewables 2005: Global Status Report, Eric Martinot, Worldwatch Institute for the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (PDF Download), November 2005. "This report provides statistical information on the status of renewable energy technology. The report finds that technologies such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and small hydro now provide 160 gigawatts of electricity generating capacity, about 4 percent of the world total. A good source of information for those investing in the renewable energy sector."
The Death of Feminism: What's Next in the Struggle for Women's Freedom, Phyllis Chesler, Palgrave Macmillan, November 2005, 256 pages. For a good commentary, see For a Feminist Foreign Policy, Alyssa A. Lappen, FrontPageMagazine.com, 22 November 2005.
2005 State of the Future Report, Jerome C. Glenn and Theodore J. Gordon, Millennium Project, American Council for the United Nations University, November 2005. The executive summary is a free download. Excerpt: "The world has grown to 6.5 billion people, the annual economy is approaching $60 trillion, and the Internet is connecting 1 billion people. [...] This year's annual military expenditures will reach $1 trillion, and annual income for organized crime has passed $2 trillion. Yet the world has not dedicated the resources needed to stop water tables from falling, to narrow the rich-poor gap, or to provide safe and abundant energy."
Moral Sentiments and Material Interests: The Foundations of Cooperation in Economic Life, Edited by Herbert Gintis, Samuel Bowles, Robert T. Boyd and Ernst Fehr, MIT Press, July 2005. "Multidisciplinary research into cooperation and the implications for public policy, drawing on insights from economics, anthropology, biology, social psychology, and sociology."
The State and the Global Ecological Crisis, Edited by John Barry and Robyn Eckersley, MIT Press, June 2005. "Explores the prospects for reinstating the state as the facilitator of
environmental protection, through analyses and case studies of the green democratic potential of the state and the state system."
Global partnerships - the way forward, United Nations and the Findhorn Foundation, 2005.
Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, Lester R. Brown, Earth Policy Institute, forthcoming January 2006. Chapter 1 is a free download.
Recent Headlines
Standing Alone in Mecca, Asra Q. Nomani, Harper, San Francisco, 2005. See also A Gender Jihad For Islam's Future, Asra Q. Nomani, Washington Post, November 6, 2005, page B2.
Free And Equal Under The Qur'an. Havva G. Guney-Ruebenacker, alt.muslim, 7 November 2005. "Only with non-apologetic, rational and principled reformist Islamic thought is it possible to deduce egalitarian and realistic Qur'anic interpretations."
Islamic states called for end to female genital mutilation, Asian Tribune, 10 November 2005. "Ministers of nearly 51 Islamic countries and more than 20 Arab and Islamic organizations have called for an end to harmful traditional practices including child marriage, female genital mutilation, and gender discrimination in education.
Blazing a trail for Africa's women, Lucy Fleming, BBC News, 11 November 2005. "African women are celebrating, as Liberia's Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf looks set to become the continent's first elected woman president ... Mrs. Sirleaf says she wants "to bring motherly sensitivity and emotion to the presidency" as a way of healing the wounds of war. ... The 67-year-old grandmother said she hoped her win would "raise the participation of women not just in Liberia but also in Africa".
More Internet, Less Poverty?, Marty Logan, IPS, 17 November 2005. "ICTs are essentially tools that can be used to increase the competitiveness of an economy and the productivity of enterprises," added the professor from the University of Manchester. The problem with addressing the digital divide is there's this sort of obsession with trying to create a level playing field, trying to be inclusive and really attacking a problem that is too big for ICTs to solve. The problems of poverty, the problems of rural deprivation are really nothing to do with ICTs; they're to do with a whole range of other issues, such as water, sanitation and health," added [British Researcher Richard] Duncombe."
WSIS Ends on Mixed Note, Hilmi Toros, TerraViva Online, 18 November 2005. "The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) concluded Friday night with claims of success by the United Nations, governments and the private sector, but civil society refused to wholeheartedly embrace its outcome."
Greenpeace launches most ambitious ship expedition ever undertaken, ISNET, 18 November 2005. "We are facing a growing wave of ocean extinction; our seas have reached a tipping point, with scores of species, fish, birds and mammals edging toward extinction. In response, Greenpeace is launching its most ambitious ship expedition ever to defend our oceans and to call for a vast network of marine reserves that are needed to protect and restore the health of the planets oceans."
Chile's Michelle Bachelet Poised for Presidency, Jonathan Franklin, WeNews, 20 November 2005. "After surviving torture under Chile's Pinochet regime, Michelle Bachelet has been helping the country reconcile its troubled history. Now she is the frontrunner for the Dec. 11 presidential election."
Chancellor Angela Merkel, International Herald Tribune, 20 November 2005. "One trait Angela Merkel shares with her political godfather, Helmut Kohl, is that she is commonly underestimated. Affable, professorial and not particularly charismatic, the pastor's daughter from East Germany is no Teutonic Margaret Thatcher. But the simple fact that Merkel, who will be elected by the Parliament on Tuesday, managed to come this far in a mere 15 years, a woman from the East without a constituency of her own competing against men reared in the clubby world of West German politics, should be a warning against underestimating her."
Peace, Democracy and Solidarity, Taranath Ranabhat, Peace Journalism, Issue 13 - November, 2005. Excerpts of the statement by Speaker Taranath Ranabhat at the 6th General Assembly of the AAPP [Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace], Pattaya City, Thailand on November 19. "I believe that it is only through mutual understanding and reconciliation among diverse thoughts and ideologies that peace, harmony and democracy can get a boost. Peace, harmony and democracy cannot be the agenda of a single nation. It is the common agenda of the entire world community. Setting the common interests and goals at global and regional parliamentary forums like this can cement the common bond and promote mutual solidarity."
Let's say NO to the violence against women, Radio Cadena Agramonte, Camaguey, Cuba, 25 November 2005.
Fighting Violence Against Women, DW-World, Deutsche Welle, Germany, 25 November 2005.
Iran-Women: Islamic fundamentalism will be defeated by struggle of women, Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, NCRI, 26 November 2005.
Click on the picture for a glimpse
at the life of Maryam Rajavi
The World Is Tilted: The popular idea that America is one step smarter and more sophisticated than its rivals is a dangerous myth, and a threat to the global economy., Clyde Prestowitz, Newsweek, Issues 2006. "For most of the last 50 years, globalization has been a win-win proposition, making America richer while lifting hundreds of millions in the developing world out of poverty and despair. Recently, however, it has begun to operate differently, undermining U.S. welfare while creating imbalances likely to end in a global economic crisis."
Speak out against gender violence, East African churches urged, Ecumenical News International, Nairobi, 28 November 2005. "Churches in East Africa are being urged to speak out against violence against women and children, as momentum gains in a global campaign against gender-based violence. "As churches we have to speak out and make sure this does not continue," said the Rev. Fred Nyabera, executive director of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa. "We also need to hold offenders accountable."
Dalai Lama Gets Meditation Lesson, Dan Orzech, Wired News, 30 November 2005.
For more news about solidarity, sustainability, and other issues
of global stewardship, go to
collected webfeeds.
Fundamental Reminders
United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development
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Announcements
Global Dialogue 2006
Global Dialogue 2006 begins January 1st, 2006, on the Internet, and end August 31st. Roundtable Discussions begin on the Internet today, now. Participate now. No need to wait until August 2006 to dialogue. You can organize your own Discussion Roundtable.
Latest newsletter: Global Dialogue 2006: Politics and Justice without borders, Global Community Earth Government Newsletter, Volume 3, Issue 8, November 2005. Theme: "Direct democracy" is a community right on the Scale of Human and Earth Rights.
For more information, click here.
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Conferences and other Events
Symposium on Educating Global Citizens, Mount Mary College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 31 March 2006. Proposals are due 18 November 2005. Authors of accepted papers will be notified by 6 January 2006. Please send proposals to: Diana Bartels, bartelsd@mtmary.edu, or Kristi Siegel, siegelkr@mtmary.edu. For more information, visit Mount Mary's 2006 Symposium.
The Role of Religion in the Longer- Range Future. The Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future is in the preliminary planning stages for its tenth bi-annual workshop/conference, to be held at Boston University. Participants will consider "the role of religion in the longer-range future." Possible co-sponsors and collaborators include the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, Boston University's Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs, The School of Theology, and the College of Arts and Sciences/Religion. Tentative dates: March or April 2006. For updated information contact The Pardee Center at pardee@bu.edu or call 617-358-4000.
2006 International Symposium on Technology and Society. Theme: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery. June 8-10, 2006. Queens College, City University of New York New York City, NY. Sponsored by IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology. Abstracts are due December 1, 2005. For further information visit IEEESSIT. Point of contact: Adam Henne, University of Georgia, ahenne@uga.edu.
The Research Committee on Society and Environment of the International Sociological Association (ISA) is organizing 15 sessions at the ISA 16th World Congress of Sociology, to be held in Durban, South Africa, July 23-29, 2006. To present a paper in one of the sessions, please submit an abstract before October 31, 2005. For more information visit the ISA World Congress.
ICOHTEC 2006. The International Committee for the History of Technology's 33rd Symposium in Leicester, U.K., 15 - 20 August 2006. Theme: Transforming Economies and Civilizations: The Role of Technology. The ICOHTEC welcomes proposals for individual papers and sessions. Deadline for proposals is 1 February 2006. Please send all proposals to James Williams, Program Committee Chair at techjunc@pacbell.net. For more details, visit the ICOHTECH.
The online journal Invisible Culture is seeking papers for an upcoming issue on the theme of The Symptom. The deadline for receipt of submissions of 2,500 to 6,000 words in length is February 1, 2006. Please email inquiries to Michael Williams, mwillia4@rochester.rr.com or Linda Edwards, elinda1@rochester.rr.com.
The 14th international conference of the Society of Human Ecology (SHE) will take place 18-21 October 2006 at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. SHE welcomes proposals not only for sessions but for multi-session symposia, as well as submissions of individual papers. Contact the Conference Committee, SHE XIV, humanecology@coa.edu.
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Recommended Film
2004 (c) coop99
From the film flyer:
"Darwin's Nightmare is a tale about humans between the North and the South, about globalization, and about
fish.
"Some time in the 1960's, in the heart of Africa, a new animal was introduced into Lake Victoria as a little scientific experiment. The Nile Perch, a voracious predator, extinguished almost the entire stock of the native fish species. However, the new fish multiplied so fast, that its white fillets are today exported all around the world.
"Huge hulking ex-Soviet cargo planes come daily to collect the latest catch in exchange for their southbound cargo… Kalashnikovs and ammunitions for the uncounted wars in the dark center of the continent.
"This booming multinational industry of fish and weapons has created an ungodly globalized alliance on the shores of the world’s biggest tropical lake: an army of local fishermen, World bank agents, homeless children, African ministers, EU-commissioners, Tanzanian prostitutes, and Russian pilots."
For more information, click here.
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Women Priests in the Catholic Tradition
"Catholic woman, is Christ calling you to the priesthood?"
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If Christ is calling, and you want your vocation to be tested,
contact us and we shall refer you to a bishop in the Catholic Tradition who ordains women, albeit not under the jurisdiction of the Vatican.
Critically examine everything. Hold on to the good.
Saint Paul, 1 Thessalonians 5:21
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