Mar 4 2013in Direct Democracy, FoO Media, Workshops by mbsteisslinger No Comments »
One of the most important things you can do for yourself and your community this spring is to take yourself and a friend to a Democracy School. Democracy Schools are hosted by local grassroots groups and taught by staff and friends of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF). They challenge just about everything we [...]
Nov 19 2012in Assemblies, Commons, Direct Democracy, FoO Media, Identity & Strategy by FoO-Steward The New Putney Debates: Is a New Agreement of the People emerging?
Throughout this month Occupy London have been hosting the New Putney Debates, with hundreds attending and participating in this huge collective series of events. With the intention to catalyze debate and discussion around the themes raised in the original Putney debates in the context of our contemporary crises one theme brought to our attention has [...]
Oct 30 2012in A Top Story, Direct Democracy, FoO Media by FoO-Steward Comments Off
The New Putney Debates – a series of debates at the edge of the Occupy movement, hosted by Occupy London. Welcoming cross sector engagement on matters of social justice, civil rights and equal access to the land in recognition of, and holding true to the spirit of the Levellers’ and Diggers’ in their debates 365 [...]
Sep 6 2012in Activism, Direct Democracy by mbsteisslinger OWS Proposes New Voting Methods, shows truer voice of the people
As most of the country is distracted by the hoop-la of the big two conventions, some are actively working to find alternatives to the sorry state of democracy in the U.S. The challenges: New laws in many States to purge select voters from rolls, redrawing voting districts to minimize African American votes, turning formerly able [...]
Jun 24 2012in A Top Story, Direct Democracy, FoO Media, Working Groups by mbsteisslinger The Youth tell it straight at close of Rio+20 Earth Summit, Shame Governments and “Green Economy” Corporations
I admire my friends from the Major Group of Children and Youth, one of the 9 United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development Major Groups (ie. global civil society stakeholders). These groups went to Rio+20 in the hopes of salvaging something, ANYTHING useful out of those deliberations. Rio+20 was supposed to set an international agreement [...]
Apr 19 2012in Commons, Direct Democracy, FoO Media, Social Innovation by mbsteisslinger Occupy, the World Social Forum and the Commons… social movements learning from each other
The World Social Forum has been around since 2001, and with their rallying call “Another World is Possible”, they share much in common with the system critiques emerging out of the Occupy and Commons Movements. When Occupy burst forth in the U.S. this past Fall, hot on the heels of the Arab Spring and uprisings in Spain, [...]
Apr 19 2012in Activism, Direct Democracy, FoO Media, Interviews, Reports by mbsteisslinger What Leaders in the US Social Forum are saying about Occupy
In a recent US Social Forum update two key organizers of the USSF are interviewed regarding their thoughts on the Occupy Movement. Here are the some of the insights shared with us by Maureen Taylor, the State Chairperson of Michigan Welfare Rights Union and co-chair of the Detroit Local Organizing Committee for the 2010 USSF and George [...]
Apr 9 2012in Assemblies, Commons, Direct Democracy, FoO Media, Identity & Strategy, Social Innovation, Working Groups by mbsteisslinger Co-Governing Our Commons: Local to Global Decision-Making through Public Deliberation
Using Public Deliberation: Co-governing the Commons By Jan Inglis Commons: gifts of nature & society; wealth we inherit or create together and must pass on, undiminished or enhanced, to our children; e.g. water, oceans, culture, technology, seeds etc Public Deliberation: a process for reaching agreements by deeply considering the costs, consequences, and trade offs of various [...]
Apr 9 2012in Commons, Direct Democracy, Economics, FoO Media, Identity & Strategy, Social Innovation by mbsteisslinger Social Charters: A comprehensive program for (re)claiming sovereignty over our natural and social commons resources
Social Charters: Praxis of the Commons By James Bernard Quilligan, Commons Economist & Advocate Beyond the Market State There are two operating systems involved in the provision and allocation of goods and services in modern society. Each has familiar roots in history. Adam Smith’s legacy is that the self-interest [...]
Apr 8 2012in Commons, Direct Democracy, FoO Media, Social Innovation by FoO-Steward First, Occupy the Market State: Second, Claim Sovereignty: Third, Practice Subsidiarity
Occupy and allied movements have uncovered the glaring truth, we the citizens of most nations have little or no power to reform the current Market State system that is wreaking such havoc on our economies, our communities and our ecosystems. Can we stop the blatant enclosure of the ways and means of production (Market) and governance [...]
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