Group Seeks to Mobilize Global Political Action Through Internet
By Nathan King Washington 28 April 2008
The Internet has transformed virtually everything from shopping to social networking and now global politics. Three of the world's most successful mobilizers of e-protest -- Moveon.org and Res Publica in the United States -- and GetUp.org.au in Australia -- pooled their resources last year to create an organization whose name means "voice" in Hindi, Urdu and Turkish. Avaaz.org is a global campaigning organization that says it acts as the voice for its members. Nathan King reports from New York
Pro-Tibet demonstrators in front of China's embassy in Washington, DC, 16 Mar 2008
Hundreds of people protested outside the White House in Washington after the recent crackdown in Tibet. The protest was part of an international day of action, and from this small New York office on the same day, Avaaz.org delivered a petition of 1.4 million signatures to Chinese Embassies and consulates around the world without taking to the streets. It called on China to open meaningful talks with the Dalai Lama.
Avaaz is harnessing the power of the Internet for global campaigns that it says most people everywhere want -- a world with stronger protections for the environment, greater respect for human rights and concerted efforts to end poverty, corruption and war.
Founder Ricken Patel says the idea is to bring together millions of people who care about global issues.
"It was an idea that there is this global community and that people everywhere feel this sense of being human being first and citizens of their country second and caring about people and that human life is precious, no matter what passport you carry," he said.
Like a social networking site, people sign up, they get e-mail alerts for campaigns and most importantly for Avaaz, it is the membership that essentially decides what issues to tackle.
As with a political campaign, members are polled over and over again. Using the language of the Internet, 10,000 members are blasted [contacted] each week, asking them what issues to address and what action to take. Action can be as simple as a global petition -- delivered to global leaders -- a call for mass demonstrations or a call for a fundraising benefit to help -- like the current drive to help human rights groups based in Tibet.
When issues really take off, Avaaz calls it "going viral."
Global advocacy on the Internet
"On Tibet, in three weeks our members told 12 million people about the campaign and that is just astonishing. It is a very exciting time when you really do feel like the world is coming together," Patel said.
Critics say given Avaaz.org's wide membership it can only address global issues in the broadest of terms and that Avaaz.org is empowering the already empowered -- those who have a computer, Internet access and are educated on global issues.
Avaaz says it has members in every country in the world and its e-mail list operates in 13 languages. As technology spreads to the developing world, Avaaz says, so will its membership there.
Patel says, "We still have a massive democratic deficit in the world today and the technology revolution that has been sweeping the globe has allowed people to connect across borders like never before and that is what we are doing. We are trying to connect up this huge global community to be able to take action rapidly and effectively when moments of opportunity on these issues present themselves."
Avaaz is also claiming successes. According to media in Tokyo, Avaaz's climate change campaign helped changed the Japanese governments stance at the Climate conference in Bali.
So far Avaaz has held back from asking its members for money, but it aims to be entirely member funded in the future and donate to causes the membership wants to back.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/about.php
http://www.avaaz.org/en/report_back_1/
CONVENTION OF THOSE WOUNDED IN LOVE
General provisions:
A – Whereas the saying “all is fair in love and war” is absolutely correct;
B – Whereas for war we have the Geneva Convention, approved on 22 August 1864, which provides for those wounded in the battle field, but until now no convention has been signed concerning those wounded in love, who are far greater in number;
It is hereby decreed that:
Article 1 – All lovers, of any sex, are alerted that love, besides being a blessing, is also something extremely dangerous, unpredictable and capable of causing serious damage. Consequently, anyone planning to love should be aware that they are exposing their body and soul to various types of wounds, and that they shall not be able to blame their partner at any moment, since the risk is the same for both.
Article 2 – Once struck by a stray arrow fired from Cupid’s bow, they should immediately ask the archer to shoot the same arrow in the opposite direction, so as not to be afflicted by the wound known as “unrequited love”. Should Cupid refuse to perform such a gesture, the Convention now being promulgated demands that the wounded partner remove the arrow from his/her heart and throw it in the garbage. In order to guarantee this, those concerned should avoid telephone calls, messages over the Internet, sending flowers that are always returned, or each and every means of seduction, since these may yield results in the short run but always end up wrong after a while. The Convention decrees that the wounded person should immediately seek the company of other people and try to control the obsessive thought: “this person is worth fighting for”.
Article 3 – If the wound is caused by third parties, in other words if the loved one has become interested in someone not in the script previously drafted, vengeance is expressly forbidden. In this case, it is allowed to use tears until the eyes dry up, to punch walls or pillows, to insult the ex-partner in conversations with friends, to allege his/her complete lack of taste, but without offending their honor. The Convention determines that the rule contained in Article 2 be applied: seek the company of other persons, preferably in places different from those frequented by the other party.
Article 4 – In the case of light wounds, herein classified as small treacheries, fulminating passions that are short-lived, passing sexual disinterest, the medicine called Pardon should be applied generously and quickly. Once this medicine has been applied, one should never reconsider one's decision, not even once, and the theme must be completely forgotten and never used as an argument in a fight or in a moment of hatred.
Article 5 – In all definitive wounds, also known as “breaking up”, the only medicine capable of having an effect is called Time. It is no use seeking consolation from fortune-tellers (who always say that the lost lover will return), romantic books (which always have a happy ending), soap-operas on the television or other such things. One should suffer intensely, completely avoiding drugs, tranquilizers and praying to saints. Alcohol is only tolerated if kept to a maximum of two glasses of wine a day.
Final determination:
Those wounded in love, unlike those wounded in armed conflict, are neither victims nor torturers. They chose something that is part of life, and so they have to accept both the agony and the ecstasy of their choice.
And those who have never been wounded in love will never be able to say: “I have lived”. Because they haven’t.
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Copyright © 2007 by Paulo Coelho – Warrior of Light Online comes out twice a month, and may be distributed for free on the Internet and placed in pages whose content is free, as long as the source “Warrior of Light Online, published by HYPERLINK "http://www.paulocoelho.com.br/" \n _blankwww.paulocoelho.com.br” is quoted.
Translated from the Portuguese by James Mulholland.
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Spanish Version
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CONVENCION DE LOS HERIDOS DE AMOR
Disposiciones generales:
A – Considerando que el dicho de que “en el amor y en la guerra todo vale” es completamente verdadero;
B – Considerando que en lo relativo a la guerra contamos con la Convención de Ginebra, adoptada el 22 de agosto de 1864, que determina cómo debe tratarse a los heridos en el campo de batalla, mientras que hasta hoy no se ha promulgado ningún documento que regule la situación de los heridos de amor, muy superiores en número;
Se decreta que:
Art. 1 – todos los amantes, independientemente de cuál sea su sexo, quedan advertidos de que el amor, además de ser una bendición, también es algo extremadamente peligroso, imprevisible, que puede acarrear serios daños. Por lo tanto, quien tenga la intención de amar, debe ser consciente de que está exponiendo su cuerpo y su alma a heridas de muy diferentes tipos, sin poder culpar por ello a su pareja en ningún momento, puesto que ambos corren el mismo riesgo.
Art. 2 – Una vez alcanzado por una flecha del arco ciego de Cupido, debe solicitarse inmediatamente al arquero que dispare la misma flecha en la dirección opuesta, con el objeto de no sufrir la herida conocida como “amor no correspondido”. En el caso de que Cupido se niegue a hacerlo, la Convención que en estos momentos se promulga exige del herido que de manera inmediata se arranque la flecha del corazón y la tire a la basura. Para llevar esto a buen puerto, debe evitar llamadas telefónicas, mensajes de correo electrónico, envíos de flores (siempre rechazadas), o cualquier otra forma de seducción, pues semejantes medios, si bien pueden dar algún resultado positivo a corto plazo, no resisten el paso del tiempo. La Convención decreta asimismo que el herido debe buscar sin falta la compañía de otras personas, así como debe imponerse al pensamiento obsesivo que le dice “vale la pena luchar por esta persona”.
Art. 3 – En el caso de que la herida provenga de un tercero, es decir, que el ser amado se sienta atraído por alguien que no estaba a priori en el guión, queda expresamente prohibida la venganza. En este caso, se permite el uso de lágrimas hasta que los ojos se sequen, así como algunos puñetazos en la pared o en la almohada, o reuniones con amigos donde poder insultar a gusto al antiguo(a) compañero(a), incidiendo en su perfecta falta de gusto, pero sin llegar a difamar su honra. La Convención determina que también se aplique en este caso la regla del Art. 2 que mueve a buscar la compañía de otras amistades, sólo que evitando en la medida de lo posible los lugares que la otra persona frecuenta.
Art. 4 – En lesiones leves, clasificadas aquí como pequeñas traiciones, pasiones fulminantes que no duran mucho, o desinterés sexual pasajero, debe aplicarse con generosidad y rapidez el medicamento llamado Perdón. Una vez aplicada tal medicina, no se debe volver atrás bajo ninguna circunstancia, y el asunto debe ser definitivamente olvidado, no utilizándolo jamás como argumento en una discusión o en momento de odio.
Art. 5 – En todas las heridas definitivas, también conocidas como “rupturas”, el único medicamento que tiene algún efecto se llama Tiempo. De nada sirve buscar consuelo en cartomantes (que siempre prometen el regreso del amor perdido), leer libros románticos (que siempre acaban bien), engancharse a una telenovela o cosas por el estilo. Se debe sufrir con intensidad, evitando radicalmente las drogas, los calmantes o las oraciones a los santos. En cuanto al alcohol, sólo serán permitidos dos vasos de vino diarios.
Consideraciones finales:
Los heridos por el amor, al contrario de los heridos en conflictos armados, no son víctimas ni verdugos. Optaron por algo que forma parte de la vida, y deben asumir, por consiguiente, la agonía y el éxtasis de su elección.
Y los que jamás fueron heridos por el amor, nunca podrán decir: “he vivido”. Porque no vivieron.
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Traducido del portugués por Diego Chozas Ruiz Belloso.
