NOVEMBER 2003 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
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Volume 1, Issue 3
November 3, 2003

TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1. Quote of the Month
2. What's New at World Beyond Borders
3. A Force for Peace
4. What You Can Do
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1. QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"So long as you are ready to die for humanity, the life of your country will be immortal." --Giuseppe Mazzini, Italian political leader, 1805-1872

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2. WHAT'S NEW AT WORLD BEYOND BORDERS

This month at World Beyond Borders we have three new articles. They are listed by section.

Why Global Government?
* Prevention Beyond Borders: The Threat of Disease and the Need for a Global Government by Chuck Woolery. The author examines the connection between global government and successfully combating infectious diseases. Dangerous pathogens do not recognize political boundaries and unless we fight against them on a global scale, our ability to control them will be insufficient.
* How to Abolish Unjust Wars -- After This One Is Over: The Elements of World Peace Are Present on Both Sides of the Global Debate by Byron Belitsos.
In this elegant essay, Byron Belitsos makes it clear that the dying remnants of imperialist unilateralism must be met with an equally opposing measure of world law enforcement. He argues that this can only be done by moving towards a global governing structure upheld by a democratic constitution for all humanity.

How Might We Get There?
* The First Drops of a Global Waterfall by Eli Williamson-Jones. This short essay examines the importance of cooperation along with the feelings of individual value needed to successfully build a world beyond borders.

That's all until next month. Please send article submissions to Jane Shevtsov, jaia@ucla.edu.

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3. A FORCE FOR PEACE
by Jane Shevtsov

In September 2003, eleven men and women arrived on the island of Sri Lanka. The small country was torn apart by a decades-long civil war until a cease-fire was negotiated in 2002. Still, peace is fragile and violence threatens communities. That is why the eleven, representing countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and North and South America, have come. They work for the Nonviolent Peaceforce, a new organization sending people trained in non-violence to places where the most urgent need is a space for peace.

In Sri Lanka, the Nonviolent Peaceforce will work closely with local citizens' groups to address local citizens' needs. But what can a handful of unarmed people do? If they are strategic, quite a lot. The three basic techniques used by the Nonviolent Peaceforce are protective accompaniment of threatened leaders or activists, international observation and interposition. They are neutral, there to protect peace rather than any particular party. These methods have worked in central America, Palestine and other regions. Still, there are no guarantees.

Looking at the issue from another point of view, immediate effectiveness seems almost beside the point. Whatever the Nonviolent Peaceforce actually accomplishes in the short run, its very existence lends visibility to the growing constituency of global citizens around the world. Peaceforce workers put their lives on the line for people their governments ignore. Moreover, they are inventing unofficial ways to do so because there are no official ones. In the long run, strengthening this planetary patriotism may be the Nonviolent Peaceforce's most important victory.

For more information:
Nonviolent Peaceforce website, http://www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org

Yes: a Journal of Positive Futures, Michael N. Nagler, "Building a New Force", http://www.futurenet.org/23livingeconomy/nagler.htm

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4. WHAT YOU CAN DO

*Visit our resources section and scroll down to the very bottom. You'll find printable bookmarks that you can use, give away, leave in library books, etc.

*Also in the resources section is the World Beyond Borders quote database. Why not pick one and put it in your email signature? You can also create a link to World Beyond Borders. (If you're not sure how to do this, just type "www.worldbeyondborders.org".)

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We want your stories! Email Jane Shevtsov at jaia@ucla.edu.

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

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