rn: Global Resources Bank news

1999-08-09

Jan Slakov

Dear RN,                    Aug. 9

Yesterday, after posting to you the two messages with information on how the
Y2K event will likely be used to a)impose martial law and b)impose a global
free trade agreement on us, I felt like asking Paul Swann (who sent us the
first of those postings) how his work as an activist is coming along.

I didn't get around to actually asking Paul, but the posting he sent out
while I was sleeping gives an answer. Certainly, I think the posting gives
us a sense of some of the exciting things that people are doing to go beyond
lamenting what corporate globalization is doing to the Earth and to us.

I would suggest people contact Paul Swann to ask to be put on his GRB News
list. I am not sure, but it seems to me that traffic is very low, only about
one per month.

all the best, Jan
****************************************************************
Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1999 00:04:15 +0000
From: Paul Swann <•••@••.•••>
Subject: G R B  n e w s - 2 


___________________________________________________________


                                     ~ G R B  n e w s ~

  "The ecological money solution that all people can feel good about"

                                     http://www.grb.net

___________________________________________________________


                    ....visualize a secure global society....


The GRB is the transparent clearinghouse for an equitable and ecologically
sustainable global economy. Credits that measure the economic value of
ecosystem product capitalize the Bank. The relationship between GRB credit
and the value of gross ecosystem product establishes a natural
resource-based global credit system. The GRB exchanges its credits for
existing currencies and the current public debt,  thereby replacing the
current monetary system over time. The Bank is directed by its
shareholders - who are all the people of the world. You own a share in the
Bank as your birthright.

___________________________________________________________


August 1999

Welcome to the second edition of G R B n e w s, the Global Resource Bank
newsletter. We hope you find something of interest in the selection of
articles, news and links that we've included below.

Further progress has been made on the GRB over the past few months - please
check out the website if you haven't visited for a while. Do register any
businesses that you run and ask your family and friends to register too.

Some of us will be meeting again from August 12th-15th for the latest in the
series of conferences on "Strategies for Transforming the Global Economy".
This will take place at Los Gatos, California and is being organised by GRB
shareholder Carol Brouillet <•••@••.•••>.

With the clock ticking away to the new millennium and the global economy
looking shakier by the day, we grow in confidence that the GRB will have a
major role to play before long in the formation of a new economic system.

To a large extent, the medium of exchange will determine the future of
life on earth. The shareholders' agreement to use the value of ecosystem
 product as their medium of exchange will enable a secure global society.

Peace & love,

John Pozzi        <•••@••.•••>
Fran Fox            <•••@••.•••>
Paul Swann      <•••@••.•••>
Lennart Bylund <•••@••.•••>

___________________________________________________________


~ CONTENTS ~


Damanhur Declaration

Footnews

Adbusters: Is economic "progress" killing the planet?

The butterfly and the chainsaw

j18

Roll Over Y2K...Bring On the GRB!

The Post Corporate World

John Kutyn article

Global Resource Open Information Foundation

y2053: Transition

Monetary system poll

___________________________________________________________


~ DAMANHUR DECLARATION ~


In May John attended an Eco-Village Conference on "Structure and
Economics with a Vision" at the Damanhur community, Italy. The conference
produced the following declaration:


We, the participants in this "Structure and Economics with a Vision"
conference, endorse our intention to further the development of sustainable
eco-villages and communities through the promotion of inter-community
trading and exchange of skills, services and products.

We will do this by:

1) Establishing a complementary currency system among eco-villages and
    communities.

2) Using a share of the resources generated through this eco-village
    exchange system to support other eco-villages and communities.

3) Working towards a global economic structure that affirms the real value
    of human energy and planetary resources and ends the current exploitation
    of both.

4) Adopting a code of ethics to guide the economic values and policies of
    our communities and the relationships between them.


Code of Ethics

* Currency exchange must work in a way that restores the environment

* Capital flow systems should discourage speculation.

* Economic exchange and money circulation should not produce interest
   rates and should remain debt free.

* Money should not be used to produce money.

* Money circulation should be stable so that inflation and deflation
   are not created

* Each community will offer its maximum sustainable discounts to
   other communities to rise above the profit motive.


John adds:

Item 3 in the Declaration is the GRB. The code of ethics is incorporated in
the Bank's Charter, apart from the last item.

___________________________________________________________


~ F O O T N E W S ~


(Excerpts)

Newsletter 1
12th of June 1999
-----
Ecological Footprints on the Internet
http://www.demesta.com/ecofoot
•••@••.•••
-----

This is the first FootNews newsletter, a newsletter that will be published
on an irregular basis.

General News about Ecofoot
==========================

Ecofoot was developed by me while I was writing my MA thesis in human
ecology, just to have something else to do sometimes. It is hosted at
Demesta, a small part-time computer company I run just for the fun of it.
Nevertheless, Ecofoot is completely free to use for anyone interested.
Ecofoot has a number of objectives: 1) to increase awareness of the
EF-concept, and 2) to make it possible to use EF-analysis as an integral
part in education at any level.

For further questions about Ecofoot or this FootNews newsletter, contact:

Carl Nordlund
•••@••.•••

___________________________________________________________


~ ADBUSTERS: IS ECONOMIC PROGRESS KILLING THE PLANET? ~


http://www.adbusters.org/information/network/index.html

The Culture Jammer's Network

We are a loose global network of artists, activists, writers, students,
educators and entrepreneurs who want to launch the new social activist
movement of the information age. Our aim is to topple existing power
structures and forge a major shift in the way we will live in the 21st
century. We believe culture jamming will become to our era what civil
rights was to the '60s, what feminism was to the '70s, what
environmental activism was to the '80s. It will alter the way we live
and think. It will change the way information flows, the way
institutions wield power, the way TV stations are run, the way the food,
fashion, automobile, sports, music and culture industries set their
agendas. Above all, it will change the way we interact with the mass
media and the way meaning is produced in our society.


ASK THE QUESTION:

IS ECONOMIC "PROGRESS" KILLING THE PLANET?


You have a rare chance to ask this timely question of your leaders and
economists. Picture them facing the issue they would rather avoid - a
concern that you, along with a creative group of culture jammers, have
subversively slipped into the public imagination. Public interest will
then demand the Big Question be answered at the WTO closing press
conference.

Here are your resources. Used effectively and in conjunction with
others, these strategies will launch memes that challenge our outdated
ways of thinking about progress.

1. Download the campaign poster. Whether posted in an office, printed in
a publication or worn as a t-shirt, this image will bring the big
question into the public arena.

2. Make sure the media represents your interests. Urge your local news
source to bring up "The Big Question" in their coverage of the WTO
Conference. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper to
encourage community debate on the big question.


AIR THE QUESTION:

IS ECONOMIC "PROGRESS" KILLING THE PLANET?


While advertisements and news briefs on economic growth swamp most TV
stations during economic summits, you have the means to interrupt
scheduled programming by broadcasting "moments of truth." The more these
mindbombs hit the airwaves, the more the public mind will wonder why the
Big Question has not been addressed by world leaders.

This past June, Adbusters aired a sixty-second "uncommercial" titled G8:
Ecocide on CNN Headline News. This November, we'll challenge the
WTO's target of a vast, ever-expanding global economy by airing yet
another uncommercial on CNN. This upcoming uncommercial will be
provided free of charge to any group or person who can secure airtime on
a public access station or community network.


DEBATE THE QUESTION:

IS ECONOMIC "PROGRESS" KILLING THE PLANET?


Around the globe and throughout the year, students have a special
opportunity to challenge our outdated economic models right at the
source. Look your teachers, professors and fellow students right in the
eye and ask them how they measure economic "progress."

Bring the question into your classroom:

1. Start an in-class debate on economic models. Hand out articles to your
classmates and profs on neoclassical economics versus bioeconomics.
Make your classroom the starting point for a cross-campus initiative.

2. Find out how students at Harvard University and the University of
Victoria staged dramatic "teach ins." These inspiring examples show that
it is possible to take your Economics department to task for continuing
to promote the outdated tenets of neoclassical economics.

___________________________________________________________


~ THE BUTTERFLY AND THE CHAINSAW ~

by Fran Fox
•••@••.•••


Julia "Butterfly" Hill, twenty-five years old, has lived in the now-famous
redwood tree "Luna" (named on the full-moon night when tree-sitters first
occupied her) since December 12, 1997. This action is one of many to stop
the destruction of Humboldt's ancient forests.

Julia is still there, 180-feet above a ridgetop, with both the Eel River
valley and the ocean in view. She has endured the ferocity of El Nino
storms and terrifying helicopter harrassment during Maxxam/Pacific Lumber's
logging of the fragile, steep slope below. Much of that slope had been
devastated by a landslide that obliterated seven homes in the tiny town of
Stafford.

Julia has received an honorary doctorate degree and international attention
for her record-breaking achievements and has opened many hearts to the
plight of the forests and their dependent communities. She patiently
reminds the clamoring media that her vigil is a message to protect the
future of both the forests and the timber workers. This gentle warrior is
one of many who resist ecocide with simple courage and great generosity of
spirit.

She says:

 "...For two and a half weeks there were massive, windy storms with sleet
and hail and rain. On the worst night there were ninety-mile-an-hour gusts
that broke four massive branches around me one from above that collapsed
half my fort. I was getting thrown three feet with the hardest gusts and
all my tarps were shredding. I was wrapped in one like a burrito, holding
on to Luna for dear life just flipping out......"


For those who may not know, Maxxam's CEO, Chas. Hurwitz, arranged a
leveraged buyout of Pacific Lumber Company with junk bonds in order to
recover losses for a Texas savings and loan failure in the late1980s,
thereby plundering the remaining privately owned old growth redwoods known
as the Headwaters. Pacific Lumber was previously family owned for
generations, practicing  responsible timber harvest methods. The new
owners of Pacific Lumber have trippled the harvest and continue to
violate wildlife and conservation laws. Maxxam practices the Hurwitz
Golden Rule: "He who owns the gold rules."


Reproduced in part with permission from:

Sojourn
May/June l999 issue - Julia Butterfly: The Heart of the Matter
P. O. Box 1951
Mendocino, CA 95460

For the entire article see: http://www.sojourn.org/ + Julia Butterfly Hill
Additional information: http://www.lunatree.org/action.htm

___________________________________________________________


~ j18 ~


June 18th was a globally co-ordinated day of carnival and action in the
financial and banking districts at the heart of the global economy.
Protests took place in many cities around the world, with the event in the
City of London providing dramatic pictures of fires and riots. By all
accounts the rioting was a relatively small part of an otherwise peaceful
day, during which thousands of people expressed their frustration with a
system that is well past its sell-by date.

One of the flyers for the event said:

"If you say the organisation of society and its domination by unaccountable
tyrannies, which is what it is, is improper and unjust...you have to
consider what the alternatives are and how you move towards the
alternatives...and those are not trivial matters; they require organised
popular movements which think things through, which debate, which act,
which experiment, which try alternatives, which develop the seeds of the
future in the present society".

The GRB is one alternative that is trying to do this.

In the aftermath of the riot, a letter from one of the participants was
printed in The Guardian. Marie Mulley from London wrote:

"I am glad that "we" caused trouble, trashed buildings and some personal
property. I am glad that "we" provoked police into riotous scenes. I am
glad because "you" had to notice us, "you" had to wake up and see us
express what "we" passionately feel: capitalism hurts everyone."

And in a Guardian article the following day, activist Glenn Jenkins said:

"Since turning my back on meaningless work, I've broadened my understanding
of spirituality. I feel safer, more whole and more able to love."

The author of the article asked "How many fat cats can say that?"


Some of the Global Activist Networks involved in organising j18 were:

Peoples' Global Action:
<•••@••.•••>
http://www.agp.org

Campaign Against the Arms Trade:
<•••@••.•••.u>k

Reclaim The Streets:
<•••@••.•••>
http://www.gn.apc.org/rts

A SEED Europe:
<•••@••.•••>
http://www.antenna.nl/aseed

___________________________________________________________


~ ROLLOVER Y2K...BRING ON THE GRB! ~

by Paul Swann
•••@••.•••


With just a few months to go to the millennium, the outcome of the Year
2000 computer problem looks as unpredictable as ever. Depending on whom
you talk to, we're in for either a bump in the road or TEOTWAWKI - the end of
the world as we know it.

I've lived with Y2K for a year now...it was August last year when I
downloaded an article from the Internet called "The Year 2000: Social Chaos
or Social Transformation?" <http://www.angelfire.com/ca/rhomer/social.html>
Since then I've read a large number of the many articles that have been
written on this bizarre problem, and have written a couple myself ("Y2K In
Context" <http://www.provide.net/~aelewis/y2ko/y2ko_504.htm>, and another
called "Y2K: A Systems View", available on request).  I've also set up several
Y2K email discussion lists and a Y2K Community Action Network in the UK.

While my technical understanding of computers is close to zero, I do have a
grasp of systems thinking and looking at the problem from this perspective
gives me plenty to be concerned about.

Will there be problems when the date rolls over to 2000? Of course there
will be. How serious will the problems be? A crucial factor in determining
the extent of the anticipated chaos will be the effect on nuclear reactors
and weapons systems.

Two campaigns are underway to reduce the risk of nuclear catastrophes as a
result of Y2K-related systems failures.

On August 6th - Hiroshima Day - a Y2K Nuclear De-Alerting Letter was
sent to Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin, expressing public concern about
the possibility of nuclear missile launches by accident or miscalculation.
So far the letter has been signed by over 250 organisations and
politicians. The campaign co-ordinator is John Hallam <•••@••.•••>

Another campaign is calling for a Y2K WASH - World Atomic Safety Holiday -
over the critical period. As well as demanding the de-alerting of nuclear
weapons, Y2K WASH is seeking the closure of all reactor and nuclear
processing facilities from December 1st until the crisis is over. The
campaign co-ordinator is Yumi Kikuchi <•••@••.•••>.

An egroup has been set up to facilitate information exchange and campaign
planning between activists who are working on the two campaigns. To
subscribe send a blank email to:

•••@••.•••


It looks as if we may be in for a rough ride. Will it be TEOTWAWKI? Well, we
might just scrape through by the seat of our pants, though it will be a
close run thing.

I prefer to look at it instead as an opportunity for TBOTWAWWI - the
beginning of the world as we want it! And if there's one thing I'd like to
see in this new world, it's "an economically and ecologically secure global
society".

Roll over Y2K...make way for GRB!


Contact Paul for a free copy of the latest Trend Monitor report on
"The Millennium Reckoning: Implications of the Year 2000 Computer Timebomb"

___________________________________________________________


~ THE POST-CORPORATE WORLD ~


The first edition of GRBnews included an article from the Spring 1999 issue
of Yes! magazine.

Another article that's well worth reading from that "Economics as if Life
Matters" issue is David Korten's "The Post-Corporate World" - the title of
his new book.

It's available on the Yes! website at:

http://www.futurenet.org/9economics/kortendave.html

Here's an excerpt:


>From Global Capitalism to Mindful Markets

The relationship of capitalism to a market economy is that of a cancer
to a healthy body. Much as the cancer kills its host - and itself - by
expropriating and consuming the host's energy, the institutions of
capitalism are expropriating and consuming the living energies of
people, communities, and the planet. And like a cancer, the institutions
of capitalism lack the foresight to anticipate and avoid the inevitable
deathly outcome.

We have a collective cancer, and our survival depends on depriving it
of its power by restructuring our economic rules and institutions to end
absentee ownership, rights without accountability, corporate welfare,
and financial speculation. Specific measures to these ends are
elaborated in The Post-Corporate World....

In [a self-organizing, self-sustaining] economy, enterprises would be
owned by community members who work in them, depend on their
products, and supply their inputs - with each entitled to a fair return to
their labor and their investment.

Community economies would be self-organized by community members
according to their self-determined priorities and mutually agreed rules.
They would have their own speculation-proof currencies to facilitate
local exchange.

The Earth and its resources would be managed as the common property of
posterity, a sacred trust whose principal is to be maintained as its
product is equitably shared.

The design of production-consumption processes would give high
priority to working in balance with the natural productive processes of
the ecosystem, using local renewable material and energy resources, and
generating zero waste. Each community economy would have its distinctive
features and culture reflecting its history, the circumstances of its
place, and the preferences of its members. All would engage in mutually
beneficial trade with their neighbors on their own terms, while freely
sharing useful information and technology.

If enough of us decide we value life more than money, we have the
means and the right to create an economy that nurtures life and restores
money to its proper role as life's servant. Moreover, the actions
involved are familiar and give expression to principles that underlie
millions of years of evolution, along with more recent human values of
democracy, community, and freedom. Curing a cancer is rarely easy, but
once we become clear that the task centers on reclaiming our life
energies to live fully and well, this cure might actually be fun.


Reproduced with permission from:

YES! A Joumal of Positive Futures
Spring 1999 issue - Economics as if Life Matters
PO Box 10878, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
http://www.futurenet.org

___________________________________________________________


~ JOHN KUTYN ARTICLE ~


Despite the laborious title, "The Death of Rational Knowledge and the
Creation of a New Paradigm" by John Kutyn will be of interest to GRB
shareholders. It concludes:

"This article has provided a solution to our economic problems, as well as
describing the consequences should these solutions not be inplemented. As
such, it provides a blueprint of our destiny."

Not such an inspiring blueprint as the GRB's perhaps, but well worth reading
all the same.

http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_digest_99/kutyn071099.html


___________________________________________________________


~ THE GLOBAL RESOURCE OPEN INFORMATION FOUNDATION (GRO) ~


Lennart Bylund has set up the GRO-Foundation in Sweden to support the GRB's
development, particularly in Eastern Europe.

John Pozzi attended a Foundation board meeting at the Stockholm offices of
Scarptor on August 2nd-3rd. Also attending with Lennart and John were
Richard Lundgren - Scarptor's Chairman, Mats Brunell - IT Strategy Consultant,
Bo Toresson - Political Consultant, and two Scarptor IT programers. The agenda
items included: the use of GRB credits as hard currency; registration;
biometric ID; shareholder feedback; and communication providers.

Phase 2 progress will be reported regularly in the GRB newsletter.


Lennart Bylund
InfoCenter Scandinavia AB
Box 182
830 23 HACKÅS
SWEDEN

Tel: +46 (0)70 5703081
Fax: + 46 (0)70 6123381
Email: •••@••.•••
http://www.heab.se/motell/ics


July 9, 1999

AGENDA:

The Global Resource Open Information Foundation (GRO) is a research
association supporting activities that focus on human rights and democracy
issues within the development of the forthcoming information society.

The development of an alternative Global financing system based on direct
democracy and in harmony with the environment with the help of information
technology on a Global scale is of great interest for the Foundation.

The Foundation will use at least eighty percent of its assets on a yearly
basis for activities and scholarships for reaching its goal.

The Foundation will support the Global Resource Bank Initiative (GRB).
See http://www.grb.net/

The Foundation will also focus on development in Eastern Europe but will
work on a Global scale.

The Foundation is a non governmental organization and is non-commercial,
non-political and non-religious.

InfoCenter Scandinavia AB, a joint-stock company in Sweden, will contribute
10% of its net income to GRO. Further contributions are accepted.
http://www.heab.se/motell/ics

The Foundation will also support the creation of a Global Internet based
Open Academy for life-long learning and promote open information
development on the Internet.

Activities 1999-2000

* The Foundation will seek finances to make an investigation of existing
LETS and similar organizations in Scandinavia and the Baltic rim and
encourage them to become members of GRB, thus enabling a global extension
of trade....

* The Foundation will find a system which is similar to e-commerce for use
in the developing e-trade sector....using the same e-bank safe and
recognized security for real money but using local currency. The idea is to
offer the same system for local exchange trading and offer them a global
trade with GRB...The first step will be 2-3 pilot sites in north west
Russia and northern Scandinavia.

* Launch a massive information and marketing campaign about the benefits of
creating a global economy on the Internet using the GRB idea as its basis.

___________________________________________________________


~ y2053: TRANSITION ~

by GRB shareholder William Stocker
•••@••.•••


Near the end of the twentieth century, as dates were reckoned at
that time, the human species began to show considerable awareness.
Like any development, it was reposited in many pockets and beset by
many forces.

I write this in the mid twenty-first century, 2053 to be exact.  It is
intended to be read in the last six months of the year 1999, before the
transition. My purpose is to tell you, who will not know, that your
fate was not without value.

The period of time was called The Industrial Revolution.  How vain
it was to give it a name. Mankind has always tinkered with whatever
surrounds him. He has also used the abundance until it became scarce.
Then he would growl at his neighbor or move to another place.

In the last fifty years of the twentieth century, mankind had depleted the
resources of earth and permanently destroyed about one third of the earth's
ecosystems and many millions of defenseless human lives. There was no place
to move to. Man was forced to his last resort, intelligent behavior.

An electronic development made it possible for a very small portion of
humanity to commit murder, theft and the cowardly dominance of defenseless
people. A great portion of otherwise noble people assisted in the carnage for
a small portion of the spoils.

This same development made possible communication and connection between
all people on earth.

The required intelligence had been there waiting in every cell of every
human body. There was no escape.  People became anxious from knowing that
they must assert themselves. Fortunately it was inevitable that the people
would find a document that made their task clear.

The document declared that all people alive owned the planet earth.
Together they opened a bank and declared each person would have one share
on deposit. Each shareholder could vote. All decisions were made
democratically by the shareholders.

Anyone who became aware of this bank needed only to register in order to
enjoy their birthright of a basic income. People felt the harmony deep
within themselves.

When a lake experiences a steady drop in temperature in early winter,
single crystals of ice form and un-form with increasing rapidity.
When these crystals do not find enough space to move easily,
the top layer of a lake becomes solid within a few seconds
with a crunching sound. There will be good skating tomorrow.

___________________________________________________________


~ MONETARY SYSTEM POLL ~


GRB shareholder Keitan Gonzales is conducting a global monetary
system survey at http://www.moonphase.com/

We encourage you to participate.

___________________________________________________________


~ GRB EGROUP ~

The GRB has an 'egroup', or email discussion list, to facilitate further
discussion of the GRB.

To subscribe, simply send a blank email to:

•••@••.•••

___________________________________________________________


Please forward any comments about this newsletter to the GRB egroup
(after subscribing!).

If you would like to contribute an article for the next issue, please
forward to the G R B n e w s editor:

Paul Swann <•••@••.•••>

If you would rather not receive G R B n e w s, please let us know.

___________________________________________________________


Copyright Global Resource Bank 1999

This newsletter may be circulated freely in its entirety for non-commercial
purposes.

Please contact the editor <•••@••.•••> for permission to
re-post or print individual articles.

___________________________________________________________