December 2013 - P2P-Foundation - lists.ourproject.org

Re: [P2P-F] Fwd: Wired : learner centered movement
by George Pór 10 Dec '13

10 Dec '13

Dante and others on this list, If any of the "learner centered movement" ideas interest you, then you may also enjoy the "reversed e-electure" and "learning expedition" educational models that I proposed first to the Program on Social and Organizational Learning (PSOL) of the School of Public Policy at George Mason University, USA, in 1996 (!). See below. As frequently happens, it was a bit ahead of the time. Is it still, or do you think the times caught up with my those models? If yes, do you know any educational decision-makers who may be interested to explore the possibility to turn them into reality? george What if we grew some kind of strategic alliance between PSOL and Community Intelligence Labs for launching and supporting a Learning Expedition to discover and develop advanced tools and processes for large-scale, collaborative meaning-making in virtual workplace communities? Following my passion for helping communities of learners become communities that learn, I discovered an important missing element. What we frequently miss in both mission-oriented and discipline-oriented online communities is truly powerful "harvesting" tools, containers, and processes that people can use for collaborative meaning making when there's a large volume of shared information and knowledge. The course will be a learning expedition using my "reversed e-lecture" model. A learning expedition has four kinds of outcome: • Individual learning, defined as individual capability development • Team learning, defined as team capability development • Research: advancing the field of study • Development: co-producing a knowledge product (Source: Larry Victor) The developmental outcome of the learning expedition could be, for example, a knowledge ecosystem that the current and next generation of students can contribute to and draw on. A knowledge ecosystem is a key enabler of the move from a community of learners to a community that learns. Our "expedition" will lay the foundation for the knowledge ecosystem, and will cover the following four phases. 1. Instructor "seeds" the knowledge ecosystem with initial content; Students develop their own e-lectures. Unlike a conventional e-lecture posted by the instructor, this "reversed e-lecture" will be comprised of: (a) a large set of quotes from a wide variety of sources, pertinent to the territories and goals of the expedition, and (b) invitations to the students to discover and identify web-like patterns of meaningful connections in the seed content. 2. Students post their lectures. Students share their discoveries by: (a) posting their e-lectures which contain hyper-trails and webs of quotes, that they built in the knowledge ecosystem, mixed with their annotations and commentaries, and (b) engaging in conversation about them. 3. Instructor provides a menu of focusing questions; Students choose and organize themselves for collaborative inquiry. The focusing questions will be provided from the perspective of evolutionary social science and "emergence" frameworks. They will be oriented towards 'real world' applications of the students' findings. The instructor will make available, through the expedition's web pages, a small, initial set of electronic and conceptual tools and methods for collaborative meaning-making. 4. Students gather around an electronic campfire of the virtual base camp to share the "bounty." The "bounty" is the meaning (new purpose) emerging from the network of conversation that made up the Learning Expedition. George Pór On Fri, Nov 29, 2013 at 3:15 AM, Dante-Gabryell Monson < dante.monson(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Just noticed the use of this concept : > > *"Flipped Teaching"* > *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_teaching*<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_teaching> > > Turning Education Upside Down > > http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/turning-education-upside-do… > > Flipped School > http://www.flippedhighschool.com/ > > /// > > *Flip teaching* (or flipped classroom) is a form of blended learning<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_learning> in > which students learn new content online by watching video lectures, usually > at home, and what used to be homework (assigned problems) is now done in > class with teacher offering more personalized guidance and interaction with > students, instead of lecturing. This is also known as*backwards classroom* > , *reverse instruction*, *flipping the classroom* and *reverse teaching*. > > > On Wed, Nov 6, 2013 at 2:13 AM, Dante-Gabryell Monson < > dante.monson(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> Thanks Maria. >> >> I found this 2007 archive, copied below, where Michel shared a list of >> references from the wiki, >> in reply to a longer thread which I initially titled >> >> *" No curriculum , No students , No teachers / but Interconnected >> Questions , Initiatives , and Peers of all ages CREATING - with access to >> Unlimited Knowledge Pools "* >> >> longer thread reposted here >> >> https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/econowmix/qGFtigVrVqA >> >> >> note : R.I.P. Parker Rossman >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: Michel Bauwens < michelsub2004(a)gmail.com <michelsub2004(a)gmail.com>> >> Date: May 7, 2007 9:26 AM >> Subject: Re: No curriculum , No students , No teachers / but >> Interconnected Questions , Initiatives , and Peers of all ages CREATING - >> with access to Unlimited Knowledge Pools >> To: Parker Rossman <g.p.ross(a)mchsi.com> >> Cc: dante.monson(a)gmail.com, >> >> Hi Parker, >> >> >> >> some links that may be of interest to your investigation, all collated >> from our p2p learning pages, see also the inspiring citations at the >> bottom: >> >> >> >> >> http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Education >> >> http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Educational_Resources <http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Educational_Resources> >> >> http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Textbooks >> >> tags >> >> http://del.icio.us/mbauwens/Open-Education <http://del.icio.us/mbauwens/Open-Education> >> >> http://del.icio.us/mbauwens/Open-Textbooks >> >> http://del.icio.us/mbauwens/P2P-Learning >> >> >> misc on free curricula >> >> http://opencontent.org/blog/ >> >> http://www.eliteskills.com/free_education/?foo=x >> >> http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Free_Curricula_Center >> >> http://opencontent.org/ocwfinder/ >> >> >> various open concepts as related to education >> >> >> - OER Commons <http://www.p2pfoundation.net/OER_Commons> >> - One Laptop per Child<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/One_Laptop_per_Child> >> - Online Gradebooks <http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Online_Gradebooks> >> - Online Learning Communities<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Online_Learning_Communities> >> - Open Access <http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Access> >> - Open Archives <http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Archives> >> - Open Archives Initiative<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Archives_Initiative> >> - Open Biology <http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Biology> >> - Open Code <http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Code> >> - Open Content <http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Content> >> - Open CourseWare Finder<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_CourseWare_Finder> >> - Open Courseware Initiative<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Courseware_Initiative> >> - Open Curriculum Movement<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Curriculum_Movement> >> - Open Data <http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Data> >> - Open Education <http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Education> >> - Open Education 2006<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Education_2006> >> - Open Educational Resources<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Educational_Resources> >> - Open Learning <http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Learning> >> - Open Media Registry<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Media_Registry> >> - Open Science <http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Science> >> - Open Source Education Models<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Source_Education_Models> >> - Open Source Knowledge Building<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Source_Knowledge_Building> >> - Open Source Schools<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Source_Schools> >> - Open Source Software Distribution Initiative<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Source_Software_Distribution_Initiative> >> - Open Source Virtual Worlds<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Source_Virtual_Worlds> >> - Open Textbooks <http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Open_Textbooks> >> >> >> >> citations >> >> Citation 1: The Open Education movement is gaining momentum >> >> "*The field of open education is gaining momentum around the world. >> Literally hundreds of open education projects are springing up from Tokyo >> to Boston to Paris to Beijing. Over 2000 courses are now available through >> OpenCourseWare projects alone. Add to this the growing number of open >> access learning object repositories, increases in the number and >> quality ofopen source educational software projects, the open education >> work agencies like UNESCO and the OECD are doing, and the field is >> diversifying as quickly as it is growing.*." ( >> http://cosl.usu.edu/conferences/opened2006/ <http://cosl.usu.edu/conferences/opened2006/> >> ) >> >> >> >> Citation 2: Schools need to open up to peer-based learning models >> >> "When you look at children's learning outside school, it is driven by >> what they are interested in, which is the direct opposite of school-based >> learning. For example, inthe United States a group of students were >> interested in Manga, the Japanese animated cartoons. In order to get >> hold of them before they were due to arrive on themarket, this group got >> together, taught themselves Japanese, subtitling and web streaming, because >> they were motivated to. >> >> >> What is the relationship with this idea that education is handing down a >> general baseof knowledge? I think that is one of the tensions. >> >> >> When you look at learning in the home you see knowledge-building >> communities. Children can act as teachers, they are allowed to adopt >> different identities and they are not just learners. They have control over >> the time of their learning and how long it will take. The school system >> needs to know a lot more about what is happening outside school in terms >> of children's passions, interests and abilities than it does at the >> moment. >> >> >> *We need a shift towards an education system that is about listening to >> what thelearners are bringing into the school situation, as well as >> thinking about an education system that is pushing things out*." ( >> http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2006/07/smart_learning_.html <http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2006/07/smart_learning_.html> >> ) >> >> >> [ edit<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/More_Citations_about_Peer_to_Peer_Learning?tit…> >> ] >> Citation 3: the Learning 2.0 approach >> >> "The traditional approach to e-learning has been to employ the use of a >> Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), software that is often cumbersome and >> expensive - and which tends to be structured around courses, timetables, >> and testing. That is an approach that is too often driven by the needs of >> the institution rather than theindividual learner. In contrast, >> e-learning 2.0 (as coined by Stephen Downes) takes a 'small pieces, >> loosely joined' approach that combines the use of discrete but >> complementary tools and web services - such as blogs, wikis, and other >> social software - to support the creation of ad-hoc learning >> communities." (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/e-learning_20.php <http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/e-learning_20.php> >> ) >> >> >> [ edit<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/More_Citations_about_Peer_to_Peer_Learning?tit…> >> ] >> Citation 4: Education is diverging from schooling >> >> "Education, the means by which young people learn the skills necessary >> to succeed in their place and time, is diverging from schooling. >> >> Media-literacy-wise, education is happening now after school and on >> weekends and when the teacher isn't looking, in the SMS messages, >> MySpace pages, blog posts, podcasts, videoblogs that technology-equipped >> digital natives exchange among themselves. >> >> This population is both self-guided and in need of guidance, and >> although a willingness to learn new media by point-and-click exploration >> might come naturally to today's student cohort, there's nothing innate >> about knowing how to apply their skills tothe processes of democracy." ( >> http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2006/11/14/participatory_media_and_the_p…<http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2006/11/14/participatory_media_and_the_p…> >> ) >> >> >> [ edit<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/More_Citations_about_Peer_to_Peer_Learning?tit…> >> ] >> Citation 5: Theresa Williamson on The power ofpeer teaching >> >> *"Everybody knows the proverb about how it's better to teach a man to >> fish than just to give him a fish, but there's a step beyond that: it's >> better that a man's neighbor is the one teaching him to fish, his peer. If >> some expert swoops in from afar you miss half the value of the interaction >> because of the inequality in that relationship. But if it's his peer >> teaching him? Then the man is much more likely to offer something in >> return. You are much more likely to create a real sustainable relationship >> rather than just a new dependency*." >> >> Theresa Williamson, Founder, Catalytic Communities ( >> http://www.nextbillion.net/node/1723 <http://www.nextbillion.net/node/1723> >> ) >> >> >> [ edit<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/More_Citations_about_Peer_to_Peer_Learning?tit…> >> ] >> Citation 6: John Maloney on the new knowledge leaders >> >> From http://www.kmcluster.com/ (newsletter, 2004) >> >> >> *"The silent killers of effective knowledge leadership are the pervasive >> 20th-century traditions of linear, mechanical and reductionist thinking >> paired with their obsolete managerial behaviours of control, dominance >> and technocracy.* >> >> Top knowledge leaders routinely 'suspend their disbelief' to unlearn >> their harmful industrial-era habits and models. They learn from the emerging >> future through authentic conversation. 21st-century knowledge leaders >> actively pursue external interactions and continuously use genuine >> action/research networks to their strategic and collaborative advantage." >> >> >> [ edit<http://www.p2pfoundation.net/More_Citations_about_Peer_to_Peer_Learning?tit…> >> ] >> Citation 7: From learning "just in case" to "learning on demand" >> >> Paul D. Fernhout: >> >> "Ultimately, educational technology's greatest value is in supporting >> "learning on demand" based on interest or need which is at the opposite >> end of the spectrum compared to "learning just in case" based on someone >> else's demand. Compulsory schools don't usually traffic in "learning on >> demand", for the most part leaving that kind of activity to libraries or >> museums or the home or business or the "real world". In order for >> compulsory schools to make use of the best of educational technology and >> what is has to offer, schools themselves must change." ( >> http://patapata.sourceforge.net/WhyEducationalTechnologyHasFailedSchools.ht… <http://patapata.sourceforge.net/WhyEducationalTechnologyHasFailedSchools.ht…> >> ) >> >> >> >> On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 3:56 AM, Maria Droujkova <droujkova(a)gmail.com>wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> On Sun, Oct 27, 2013 at 4:31 PM, Dante-Gabryell Monson < >>> dante.monson(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> :) >>>> >>>> Thanks Maria >>>> >>>> This is a list of spaces , which may correspond to the spirit >>>> >>>> http://emergentbydesign.com/2012/01/08/93-superhero-schools-collaboratories… >>>> >>>> As for names for such approaches... >>>> >>>> Connectivism may be one of such learning approaches ? ( some see it as >>>> related to constructivism ? ) >>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectivism >>>> >>>> ... >>>> I am very tempted, though this may be more general, >>>> to add Buckminster Fuller >>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller >>>> and Ivan Illich ( " Tools for Conviviality" , ... ) >>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Illich >>>> >>>> >>>> Thank you! These general resources help as well, because people who >>> actively follow Buckminster Fuller ideas (for example) tend to form >>> flexible learning/working groups more than other demographics. >>> >>> Very helpful! >>> >>> >>> Cheers, >>> Dr. Maria Droujkova >>> moebiusnoodles.com >>> 919-388-1721 >>> =~+~+~= >>> >>> >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > P2P Foundation - Mailing list > http://www.p2pfoundation.net > https://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation > >

5 10

P2P Foundation @ 30c3 ??
by Kevin Flanagan 09 Dec '13

09 Dec '13

Hello, I just booked my ticket to 30c3 in Hamburg and I'm wondering if any other members of the community here will be attending this year? https://events.ccc.de/congress/2013/wiki/Main_Page Kevin

1 0

Fwd: [commoning] The Co-operative University
by Michel Bauwens 09 Dec '13

09 Dec '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Joss Winn <jwinn(a)lincoln.ac.uk> Date: Mon, Dec 9, 2013 at 9:02 AM Subject: [commoning] The Co-operative University To: "commoning(a)listen.jpberlin.de" <commoning(a)listen.jpberlin.de> I wanted to let list members know about a seminar in London on Thursday, but more generally, about emerging work around 'co-operative higher education'. The easiest way to do this is to point to a few blog posts, where I'm trying to document what is happening in the UK: Seminar details: http://josswinn.org/2013/12/co-operative-university-seminar/ On-going bibliography: http://josswinn.org/2013/11/co-operative-universities-a-bibliography/ A personal account: http://josswinn.org/2013/11/a-co-operative-university/ Summary of recent report: 'Realising the co-operative university': http://josswinn.org/2013/12/realising-the-co-operative-university/ Tag to follow: http://josswinn.org/2013/11/a-co-operative-university/ Buried in that last link is a critique of 'Labour Managed Firms', which might interest list members. Of course, if anyone is able to attend the seminar this week or is interested in discussing any of this further, please do get in touch. Thanks Joss -- Joss Winn Senior Lecturer Centre for Educational Research and Development University of Lincoln LN6 7TS http://staff.lincoln.ac.uk/jwinn The University of Lincoln, located in the heart of the city of Lincoln, has established an international reputation based on high student satisfaction, excellent graduate employment and world-class research. The information in this e-mail and any attachments may be confidential. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender immediately and remove it from your system. Do not disclose the contents to another person or take copies. Email is not secure and may contain viruses. The University of Lincoln makes every effort to ensure email is sent without viruses, but cannot guarantee this and recommends recipients take appropriate precautions. The University may monitor email traffic data and content in accordance with its policies and English law. Further information can be found at: http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/legal. _______________________________________________ commoning Mailingliste JPBerlin - Politischer Provider commoning(a)listen.jpberlin.de https://listen.jpberlin.de/mailman/listinfo/commoning -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

2 1

Do we know about Linked Data ? Are we interested is understanding its potentials ? Quick survey - Thanks !
by Dante-Gabryell Monson 09 Dec '13

09 Dec '13

What would be your answer ? ( reply on this list or in private to me ) *A ) Interested in ( getting to know more about ) its potentials* *B ) Not interested* and *1 ) Never heard of Linked Data <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linked_data>* *2 ) Know about it* *3 ) Actively researching Linked Data <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linked_data> applications ( in support of p2p 4 commons ? )* ( or whatever other replies you wish to give ) // Context of my question : Michel noted that in his view Linked Data has not been a topic with much interest on the p2pf related forums. I wish to understand if this is simply because not many of us know about Linked Data, and its potentials ? Or is it simply because it seemed too complex or technical to bring it up on this specific list ? I know some of us are working on Linked Data applications, including in support of Sharing Economy applications. I personally have been interested in some of its applications for a few years, without being a programmer. I collaborated with a programmer over the last years, to explore some of the approaches that can be taken to create certain applications. /// The first aim I have with this email is to have some kind of quick , hopefully sufficiently representative set of replies. It does not have to be on the public list - you can also reply to me in private if you like. >From there on, I wish to open up another thread to further explain what Linked Data can be used for with those of us who may have explored the topic and may see potential in supporting such research as to manifest them into certain applications, in support of , for example, p2p commons oriented political economies. Cordially, Dante

2 2

Fwd: Do we know about Linked Data ? Are we interested is understanding its potentials ? Quick survey - Thanks !
by Dante-Gabryell Monson 09 Dec '13

09 Dec '13

*pre-note : I try to understand if we can , possibly collectively, * *write an article that could be published on the p2pfoundation blog,* *as to better explain, in words and with images / graphics , * *some of the potentials of building on, for example, Linked Data - and/or similar technologies enabling us to more easily redefine our realities collectively -* *If anyone wrote on these topics, or is interested in combining our efforts and research in writing about these topics, or if some can help in making such article in a enjoyable reading moment ( combining it with nice imagery and stories ? Like some science fiction authors manage to do - yet talking about the present ? ) it would be great. I mean, not only about one specific application or project, but about the potential to work together on various applications based on common protocols.* *Some call it a "Global Brain" , or a "Web Operating System" , ... * *Below is what I want to say to open up the topics for now ... I am open to brainstorm further, and progressively collectively organize an easier to understand blog post, or series of blog posts, on such topics.* Thanks Bob, Thanks Helene, for your replies. I sent this message initially motivated by the realization, after an email exchange with Michel. Michel pointed that in his view there seemed to be little interest regarding Linked Data / Semantic Web approaches on p2pf related forums. So I wondered if this was really the case, and if so, what could be the reason, and how could it be better communicated. Possibly showing how different projects may have an interest in using such technologies in their research and development of applications, showing overlap of different applications that want to embody such technologies, and overlap and re-use of the data generated by each of these applications to enable yet new applications. For example, Bob in collaboration with Sensorica for Open Value Network tools... Although the technologies can be re-used and adapted for a variety of applications, hence Netention ( mostly Seth coding for now ) researching approaches, and inviting others into such research and development, which hopefully can be re-used for Open Value Networks, or for alternative forms of learning building on available information on our wiki's , etc Other projects, such as metamaps, are also interested ( or already including ) such approaches ... Pavlik was already talking about FOAF ( one aspect / approach using Linked Data concepts ) many years ago. I now notice Pavlik is regaining interest, including in Schema and Json , ... midst others, in support of Sharing Economy applications ? /// But in a larger sense, I feel it is about contributing to the development of remedies regarding Anoptism ( which Olivier talks about , http://p2pfoundation.net/Anoptism , while facilitating at first Holoptism ) In the understanding which I developed by interacting with Seth and others via lists such as "Global Survival List"<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/global-survival> , such Web 3.0 approaches get us closer to the concept of " Noosphere " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noosphere Or should I be already speaking of Web 4.0 , since I can notice a convergence with artificial intelligence. See : http://novaspivack.typepad.com/RadarNetworksTowardsAWebOS.jpg ( and another graph about internet evolution http://www.didael.it/sito/evoluzione_web.htm , also calling some phases we have technologies for and for which we need more collaboration in research to reduce the threshold for its usage , "the metaweb" http://koolaidantidote.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/metaweb_graph.gif ) Emergent Collective Consciousness, Approaches to Collective Intelligence, to Emergent forms of Networked Political Economies, ... and can be combined with , for example, understanding in the field of Artificial Intelligence. ( could be interesting to refer to the Global Brain Institute ? http://globalbraininstitute.org/ ) There are so many implications regarding decision making, collaboration and collective intelligence, learning, resource allocation , and even finance... I see a lot of parallels between the potentials of Linked Data approaches, and the spirit of the Meta Currency project. Although there are indeed different potential approaches and technologies, and hopefully we can choose inter-operable ones. There are series of existing Ontologies. RDF Schema being one approach which seems to be receiving wider acceptance. There is also the use of Json. Then there is the potential combination between Folksonomies and Ontologies, into Folksontologies... And I did not even mention other interesting approaches ( slightly different then the W3C approach ? ) , such as that of Pierre Levy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_L%C3%A9vy and IEML http://p2pfoundation.net/Information_Economy_Meta_Language At least in spirit, in my understanding of it. - for each application, various combinations of technologies may been considered, yet I see potential in enabling inter-operable formats, and data that can be re-used along compatible data graph approaches... How can this best be explained with imagery that anyone could understand, and beyond any one specific project ? Enable the imagery of a new way of creating and using data... re-using such data, enabling us to contextualize and choose the ( political and economic ) "games" we play based on such contextualization layers ? Enabling us to interact with others, and across various applications, beyond any proprietary approaches, and beyond any social silos... Yet at the same time, enabling "machines" to understand ... Opening up whole new dimensions in terms of what seems to be widely called "The Internet of Things" <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things> / Spimes <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spime> , including in support of the Sharing Economy, or better still in my view, A Contribution Economy based on Peer Production in support of the Commons. That this can be enabled by experimenting further with various existing modules and protocols... reducing threshold for their usage, reducing the threshold for generating data together, reducing the threshold for organizing ourselves using such data ... There are many more themes this relates to. For example, Architecture - Urbanism, etc ( such as Modular Parametric Design , based on Lego Like components that can easily be re-assembled ? ) There are also many risks - and in my view, a need to think how we can be ahead of understanding the technology, to avoid it being used to trap us in it - and instead use it to liberate and empower us. Please feel free to correct me where you see fit, complement views, give your own perceptions, etc There is existing code from various projects for such kind of "Web 4.0" browsing - there has been already a lot of research. In my view, one of the main challenges now, is to get people to work together on open sourced code and libre licenses, for developing inter-operable tools using such open protocols... Making the various interfaces easier to understand and use... But first, in my view, we need to see if people grasp these concepts, and understand that these potentials are very real and are current - and we can participate in their development, and hopefully soon benefit from its potentials. Also, there is funding available - for those of us who are good with funding applications - and can enable access to such larger partnerships -, willing to contribute to the work of programmers, or willing to motivate programmers to converge around a commons oriented approach - see : http://fisa.future-internet.eu/index.php/FIA_Research_Roadmap http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/ssai/fp8preparations_en.html Note : There are also all kinds of existing video materials that can be used to illustrate such concepts... I am willing to bring them together. Those who can do video editing, I d be interested in supporting research for creating a new video document too, in addition to blog articles. Forwarded conversation Subject: Do we know about Linked Data ? Are we interested is understanding its potentials ? Quick survey - Thanks ! ------------------------ From: *Dante-Gabryell Monson* <dante.monson(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, Dec 9, 2013 at 6:50 AM To: p2p-foundation <p2p-foundation(a)lists.ourproject.org> What would be your answer ? ( reply on this list or in private to me ) *A ) Interested in ( getting to know more about ) its potentials* *B ) Not interested* and *1 ) Never heard of Linked Data <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linked_data>* *2 ) Know about it* *3 ) Actively researching Linked Data <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linked_data> applications ( in support of p2p 4 commons ? )* ( or whatever other replies you wish to give ) // Context of my question : Michel noted that in his view Linked Data has not been a topic with much interest on the p2pf related forums. I wish to understand if this is simply because not many of us know about Linked Data, and its potentials ? Or is it simply because it seemed too complex or technical to bring it up on this specific list ? I know some of us are working on Linked Data applications, including in support of Sharing Economy applications. I personally have been interested in some of its applications for a few years, without being a programmer. I collaborated with a programmer over the last years, to explore some of the approaches that can be taken to create certain applications. /// The first aim I have with this email is to have some kind of quick , hopefully sufficiently representative set of replies. It does not have to be on the public list - you can also reply to me in private if you like. >From there on, I wish to open up another thread to further explain what Linked Data can be used for with those of us who may have explored the topic and may see potential in supporting such research as to manifest them into certain applications, in support of , for example, p2p commons oriented political economies. Cordially, Dante ---------- From: *Dante-Gabryell Monson* <dante.monson(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, Dec 9, 2013 at 6:56 AM To: Connor Turland <connorturland(a)gmail.com>, Bob Haugen < bob.haugen(a)gmail.com>, Ishan Shapiro <ishanshapiro(a)gmail.com>, Benjamin Brownell <solaureum(a)gmail.com>, Arthur Brock <artbrock(a)geekgene.com>, Eric Harris-Braun <eric(a)harris-braun.com>, "me(a)larky.org" <me(a)larky.org>, elf Pavlik <perpetual-tripper(a)wwelves.org>, Dan Robles <ingenesist(a)gmail.com>, S H <seh999(a)gmail.com>, Helene Finidori <hfinidori(a)gmail.com> sent this to p2pf list ... Cordially, Dante ---------- From: *Helene Finidori* <hfinidori(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, Dec 9, 2013 at 9:33 AM To: Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson(a)gmail.com> Cc: Connor Turland <connorturland(a)gmail.com>, Bob Haugen < bob.haugen(a)gmail.com>, Ishan Shapiro <ishanshapiro(a)gmail.com>, Benjamin Brownell <solaureum(a)gmail.com>, Arthur Brock <artbrock(a)geekgene.com>, Eric Harris-Braun <eric(a)harris-braun.com>, "me(a)larky.org" <me(a)larky.org>, elf Pavlik <perpetual-tripper(a)wwelves.org>, Dan Robles <ingenesist(a)gmail.com>, S H <seh999(a)gmail.com> Good idea. Wasn't this what we were trying to do at the Ouishare labs camp last May? Find ways to de-silo-ize the web, enable interoperability and info to 'find each other' based on people's (agent's') intentions and capacities? It would indeed be interesting to 'package' the 'value proposition' a bit :) in a compact and direct 'aha that's what I could use it for , or that's how it could concretely benefit society' generating way. And yes, create a collective... ---------- From: *Bob Haugen* <bob.haugen(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, Dec 9, 2013 at 10:03 AM To: Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson(a)gmail.com> Cc: Connor Turland <connorturland(a)gmail.com>, Ishan Shapiro < ishanshapiro(a)gmail.com>, Benjamin Brownell <solaureum(a)gmail.com>, Arthur Brock <artbrock(a)geekgene.com>, Eric Harris-Braun <eric(a)harris-braun.com>, " me(a)larky.org" <me(a)larky.org>, elf Pavlik <perpetual-tripper(a)wwelves.org>, Dan Robles <ingenesist(a)gmail.com>, S H <seh999(a)gmail.com>, Helene Finidori < hfinidori(a)gmail.com> We are doing some of what Linked Data requires: providing derefenceable URIs for all objects. Most have them now; all will have them eventually. We are not currently using or investigating RDF. We are starting to offer JSON as a serialization format, which so far is the only format that has been requested. Would happily learn and use RDF if needed. We also plan to offer value streams (like activity streams but of value-creating and using activities). The pace of offerings depends on somebody wanting to use them. ---------- From: *Dante-Gabryell Monson* <dante.monson(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, Dec 9, 2013 at 4:35 PM To: Helene Finidori <hfinidori(a)gmail.com> ... while at the same time enabling people to understand that this is a research project, that we do not have ready products, and that people are invited to contribute to make such visions into reality... including via their own projects, using standardized modules and/or offering frameworks people can re-use for their own purposes...

1 0

Fwd: Public-Commons Partnership as alternative to "Conservative Nanny State" ?
by Michel Bauwens 09 Dec '13

09 Dec '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson(a)gmail.com> Date: Sun, Dec 8, 2013 at 6:22 PM Subject: Public-Commons Partnership as alternative to "Conservative Nanny State" ? To: "econowmix(a)googlegroups.com" <econowmix(a)googlegroups.com> http://deanbaker.net/books/the-conservative-nanny-state.htm The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer Economist Dean Baker debunks the myth that conservatives favor the market over government intervention. also see : http://truth-out.org/news/item/20467-noam-chomsky-interview /// http://p2pfoundation.net/Category:P2P_State_Approaches http://p2pfoundation.net/Public-Commons_Partnership -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

1 0

Fwd: Pope Francis--the Good News! by Matthew Fox
by Michel Bauwens 08 Dec '13

08 Dec '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tikkun <magazine(a)tikkun.org> Date: Sun, Dec 8, 2013 at 2:22 AM Subject: Pope Francis--the Good News! by Matthew Fox To: Michelsub2004(a)gmail.com Even as we mourn the loss of Nelson Mandela, hope springs high for the possiibility that Pope Francis might become another warrior for peace, economic justice, environmental sanity, and love among all human beings. Matthew Fox, himself silenced by Cardinal Ratzinger (subsequently Pope Benedict), is not usually an optimist about the Church, so this essay for Tikkun is particularly impressive. Meanwhile, of course, no leader can change history without the commitment and active involvement of millions of others who provide leadership at a less global level. So we want to again invite you to come to our Transformative Activist Training Jan 17-20(Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend) in Berkeley, Ca., (or organize one in your home town--if you get 50 people to sign up for it, Rabbi Lerner and co-trainer Cat Zavis will be there!). Check it out: go to www.spiritualprogressives.org/training<http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=BGZadjGH%2B3z8v3%2B37rX4f6JNfI…>. Don't miss this!!--Tikkun Magazine staff *Pope Francis: A Breath of Fresh Air? * by Matthew Fox I recently wrote a book on Pope Francis, or better a book to him, entitled Letters to Pope Francis. The book was released in Italian on Thanksgiving Day. In it I challenge him to live up to his purposefully chosen namesake and that people would hold his feet to the fire because no other pope had ever taken up that name, ikon that it is, and that most people do know what St Francis of Assisi stood for: Ecology and nonchauvinistic relationships to the plant and animal worlds; a preferential option for the poor; and (this may be slightly less acknowledged) an admirable and almost startling balance of gender justice and consciousness. In his celebrated poem, “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” he moves back and forth, back and forth, between masculine and feminine names for the sacred. People who care about such matters recognize fresh consciousness in the pope's refusal to move into the palatial headquarters known as the papal apartments; in his refusal to drive in limousines and his call for bishops and cardinals to follow suit; his trips to embrace embattled refugees on islands off southern Italy; his visits to favelas or slums in Rio de Janairo as well as his work in the same in Argentina over the years. These actions, plus his strong words denouncing the “idols” and “gods” of the marketplace together seem to be framing a story of a different kind of pope and papacy from anything we have had since Pope John Paul I who was (most probably) murdered after thirtyone days in the office some thirtyfour years ago. It raises hopes in the minds and hearts of activists and progressive Catholics many of whom have left the church behind but still recognize its potential power as a source for good in many parts of the world. Theologically, Pope Francis is speaking the radical language of Vatican II abandoned by his two predecessors, that the church is NOT the hierarchy but “the people” whose “sensus fidelium” actually matters. The effort to poll parishioners about such subjects as birth control, abortion, women's rights and homosexual unions is a first (though quite lame effort as the survey was unprofessionally done asking for essay answers and not direct answers and in many cases has been ignored by the bishops who are simply filling in the blanks according to their own theological whims). One sign that Pope Francis is being heard is the steam emerging from people who do not want to hear about justice, economic equality or church as people of God. (Rush Limbaugh, for example, had lots to complain about and did so loudly regarding the pope's recent take on Wall Street calling the pope's words “pure Marxism.”) But rightwing catholic naysayers are caught in something of a trap. It will be interesting to see how they emerge and this includes stalwart power brokers like the four right wing Catholics on the Supreme Court, all of whom voted for “Citizens United” Scalia, Thomas, Alioto and John Roberts. (Throw in Kennedy, another Catholic though not so extreme right for his scandalous vote in favor of Citizens United.) Then there is Newt Gingrich, a new convert to Catholicism (under pope Ratzinger); aspiring presidential candidate Paul Ryan (whose philosophy owes much more to atheist Ayn Rand than to the Gospels or papal pronouncements but who still claims to be a stalwart Catholic); Rick Santorum; John Boehmer. How these politicians dance around this pope's pronouncements on economic justice will be a spectacle that deserves watching. (Recall how the Catholic bishops under Pope John Paul II were instructed not to give communion to Catholic politicians who advocate for the right to abortion and how this cost Kerry the election in 2004. Will the same threats obtain for Catholic politicians who deny rights of the poor? And who are shills for the interests of the “deified market” (the pope's words) and “a “new tyranny” (the pope's words) of current day capitalism? Stay tuned. The pope has essentially told the shrill right wing Catholics who received such support under the previous two popes, to chill out and to cease reducing theology to “a condom” or a set of rules and to get moving on social and economic justice. There are currently Catholic writers who have made a living denouncing social justice such as George Weigel and it will be interesting to watch them squirm also with this new pope. Weigel is famous for complaining about Catholics who take some of the teachings of the church and leave others out. He did the same with: 1) the war in Iraq (both popes he so admires were against it)he was and is a committed neocon who has never apologized for getting us into Iraq and 2) economic alternatives to Wall Street rape of Main Street, i.e consumer capitalism. Yet he constantly trumps his version of Catholicism, which is really papalism, as the only way. “The truth of what is taught by the pope and the college of bishops is not a matter for debate” (61) he tells us in his most recent (and scariest) book, Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21 reading what this pope is preaching? How is it then that Weigel supported the invasion of Iraq when two popes opposed it? Why did he run from papal teachings on distributive justice? And from their teachings on the death penalty? When it comes to seminary training, Weigel says it should begin with the Catechism and only then move into Biblical studies which “should build upon this solid foundation so that each candidate has a deep understanding of what the Church teaches—and why.” He says this is the way one learns to think “with the Church” as if the Church is the maker of catechisms—not the people of the world or the carrier of Sacred Scripture. (By the way, the great idea for a catechism came from none other than the pedophile champion, Cardinal Law, as I make clear in my book, The Popes War.) Yes, we will soon learn what really constitutes the theology of our hard right Catholic propagandists and I suspect for many if not all of them Wall Street will trump the Vatican. But beyond the Catholics squirming in and out of political office, there are the larger issues that the pope is addressing to the capitalistic system itself at this time of history. Being the first pope from what we call “the third world,” Pope Francis can be expected to understand the tides of history and of economic oppression differently from being the recipient of years of abuse than from being the source of it. I end my letters to the pope suggesting that he and the Dalai Lama make a world tour together hitting most continents to speak to the “Revolution in Values” that our times call for. This is not because change comes primarily from the top down but because a few at st Century Church. Will he continue to invoke papalism after the top whom the media will be almost required to report about can, by speaking out together, put wind in the sails of those millions and indeed billions who pray for and/or work for a saner world. Together they could speak to the obvious and real moral issues of our day: Economic inequality based on a system of avarice not only at the top but in the consumer bottom and middle; gender injustice (something the Catholic Church has to address internally as well); ecological destruction; unemployment, especially among the young; the pressing need for religious and spiritual interfaith or deep ecumenism; the necessary and desired marriage of science and spirituality (as opposed to silly fundamentalism either by religion or by science). The young could be deeply inspired by such a road show and I have no doubt that the two principals would themselves learn from one another. This pope has displayed a refreshing humility and eagerness to learn from other religious leaders as in his book of dialogs with Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Argentina (who is also a PhD in science). It is a fine book and they got together over a two year period to produce it. Teachings of Pope Francis that stand out include some of the following. 1. A walking of his talk of simpler lifestyle. Pope Francis was well known in Argentina for taking public transportation to work and refusing any limousinelike service which so many prelates take for granted. He has done the same in his new position as pope where he chooses not to live in the papal apartments but in a far more modest guest house or hotel in the Vatican. He drives a Ford Focus in Vatican city. Might he give over the apartments to Rome's homeless? He has also drawn some press recently for sneaking out at night from the Vatican in the simple priestly garb of black suit and color and hanging out with homeless in the streets of Rome. One senses he is trying to walk the talk and follow his own preaching about simplification. And he is putting pressure on other prelates to do the same. 2. As for his talk, he tends to mince no words when speaking of the divergence of wealth and poverty today. He speaks to globalization this way: “The globalization that makes everything uniform is essentially imperialist...it is not human. In the end it is a way to enslave the nations.” (Fox, 24)[1] Is globalization enslaving the nations? Serious words worthy of a serious discussion. 3. He says: “Christianity condemns both Communism and wild capitalism with the same vigor” and one needs to reject the “wild economic liberalism we see today” and “seek equal opportunities and rights and strive for social benefits, dignified retirement, vacation time, rest, and freedom of unions.” 4. He praises St Francis because “he brought to Christianity an idea of poverty against the luxury, pride, vanity of the civil and ecclesiastical powers of the time” and for this reason “he changed history.” 5. He takes on the neocon preoccupation with “world terrorism” and the fear such language arouses when he declares that “human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.” How important is that? To equate economic structures with terrorism? Yes, Wall Street terrorizes. Ask any Main Street citizen. 6. He denounces the “flight of money to foreign countries” as a sin because it dishonors “the people that worked to generate” that wealth. He also condemns those who hide their wealth in offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes that are so important for the common good. 7. Pope Francis has said: “The option for the poor comes from the first centuries of Christianity. It is the Gospel itself.” And he remarked that were he to preach sermons from the first fathers of the church on the needs of the poor he would be called a “Maoist or Trotskyte.” (119) 8. He critiques clericalism as a “distortion of religion” and says priests should not declare “I am the boss here” but listen to the community. “The Catholic Church is the entire people of God” he declares a la Vatican II—not words the previous two popes were at all home with. (85) 9. “Human rights are violated by...unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.” (71) 10. On Holy Thursday P:ope Francis washed the feet of young people in jail including the feet of some women, one of them being Muslim. It is a custom to do this ritual after the memory of Jesus who also did it—but the Catholic right wing is up in arms about his daring to wash women's feet and those of a Muslim woman! 11. He endorses the concept of small communities over what he calls “hierarchical megainstitutions” because these better “nurture their own spirituality” and after all the “origin of Christianity was 'parochial and later organized into small communities.” (94) 12. “Repair my church in ruins” he said on taking over the office of the papacy. He seems to get it. The schismatic church of John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) has left a Catholicism which the young have abandoned en masse. They left a church in ruins run by fascist leaning opus dei cardinals and bishops all over the world. One Catholic paper in India declared “there is a civil war in the church.” I for one do not believe this pope or any pope could return Catholicism to its previous state—or should. As I concluded in my book, “The Pope's War,” I see the destruction of the Catholic Church as we know it the work of the Holy Spirit. It is time to simplify the message and the presence of those who follow a Christ path. It is time to travel with backpacks on our backs, not basilicas. The pope's work will not bring Catholics “back to the church” but hopefully it will inspire Christians and nonChristians alike to consider the basic teachings of Jesus around compassion and justice and start acting accordingly. 13. Says Pope Francis: “The worship of the golden calf of hold has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any human goal.” We need, he says, a “balanced social o;order that is more humane” and that resits consumerism. “Money has to serve and not rule.” It is a “savage capitalism” that teaches “the logic of profit at any cost” and exploitation of people. 14. Says the pope: “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.” Structures can “give us a false sense of security” and “rules makes us harsh judges...while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us, “give them something to eat.'” He wants to decentralize the church for “excessive centralization, rather than proving helpful, complicates the church’s life and her missionary outreach.” 15. Unfettered capitalism is a “new tyranny” “Today we are living in an unjust international system in which 'King Money' is at the center.” This “throwaway culture discards young people as well as its older people.....A whole generation of young people does not have the dignity that is brought by work.” A “diminishing of the joy of life” is the result of such idolatry (125f) and interestingly he chose a parallel phrase, the “Joy of the Gospel” for the title of his most recent pronouncement. In his recent document entitled “The Joy of the Gospel” Pope Francis speaks bluntly as all the prophet do. He says No—as all the prophets do. He denounces “trickledown” economics as “never having been confirmed by the facts” and being built on a “crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power....Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting.”[2] Following are some of his No's presented in his own words: 1. “No to an economy of exclusion....An economy of exclusion and inequality kills....Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.” 2. “No to the new idolatry of money....While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority form the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few.....Selfserving tax evasion has] taken on worldwide dimensions. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits....Whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a defied market, which becomes the only rule.” 3. “No to a financial system which rules rather than serves. Ethics is seen as counterproductive, too human, because it makes money and power relative. It is felt to be a threat, since it condemns the manipulation and debasement of the person.... Money must serve, not rule! The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but he is obliged in the name of Christ to remind all that the rich must help, respect and promote the poor. I exhort you to generous solidarity and a return of economics and finance to an ethical approach which favors human beings. 4. “No to the inequality which spawns violence. [Violence happens not]simply because inequality provokes a violent reaction from those excluded form the system, but because the socioeconomic system is unjust at its root. Just as goodness tends to spread, the toleration of evil, which is injustice, tends to expand its baneful influence and quietly to undermine any political and social system, no matter how solid it may appear.....Evil crystallized in unjust social structures...cannot be the basis of hope for a better future. Pope Francis speaks out against an “education that would tranquilize the poor, making them tame and harmless.” And he defines injustice as “evil.” He has invited liberation theologian Gustavo Gutierrez to the Vatican and the word is out that he will canonize Archbishop Romero. A different kind of papacy? Surely from the past two popes; much more like Pope John XXIII. Does that mean we go back to papalolatry? Absolutely not. But it does mean that it is good that a person in the public eye is keeping his sights on values that matter and speaking up for the kind of people of conscience who read and act on the values that Tikkun represents. When it comes to issues of women, Pope Francis has much to learn (including how women were leaders in the early church). But I think he is capable of learning. On homosexuality, he has uttered a telling line, “Who am I to judge?” that certainly distances him from the previous two popes. On issues of abortion, at least he has spoken to the need to care about the women involved. Pope Francis is not perfect—none of us is—but he is an ally to all those seeking a world of justice and therefore peace. [1]subsequent citations are from Matthew Fox, Letters to Pope Francis (South Orange, NY: LevelFiveMedia, 2013 [2]Aaron Blake, “Pope Francis denounces 'trickledown' economics, The Washington Post, Nov. 26, 2013. Subsequent citations are found in this article.Pope Francis: A Breath of Fresh Air? Matthew Fox I recently wrote a book on Pope Francis, or better a book to him, entitled Letters to Pope Francis. The book was released in Italian on Thanksgiving Day. In it I challenge him to live up to his purposefully chosen namesake and that people would hold his feet to the fire because no other pope had ever taken up that name, ikon that it is, and that most people do know what St Francis of Assisi stood for: Ecology and nonchauvinistic relationships to the plant and animal worlds; a preferential option for the poor; and (this may be slightly less acknowledged) an admirable and almost startling balance of gender justice and consciousness. In his celebrated poem, “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” he moves back and forth, back and forth, between masculine and feminine names for the sacred. People who care about such matters recognize fresh consciousness in the pope's refusal to move into the palatial headquarters known as the papal apartments; in his refusal to drive in limousines and his call for bishops and cardinals to follow suit; his trips to embrace embattled refugees on islands off southern Italy; his visits to favelas or slums in Rio de Janairo as well as his work in the same in Argentina over the years. These actions, plus his strong words denouncing the “idols” and “gods” of the marketplace together seem to be framing a story of a different kind of pope and papacy from anything we have had since Pope John Paul I who was (most probably) murdered after thirtyone days in the office some thirtyfour years ago. It raises hopes in the minds and hearts of activists and progressive Catholics many of whom have left the church behind but still recognize its potential power as a source for good in many parts of the world. Theologically, Pope Francis is speaking the radical language of Vatican II abandoned by his two predecessors, that the church is NOT the hierarchy but “the people” whose “sensus fidelium” actually matters. The effort to poll parishioners about such subjects as birth control, abortion, women's rights and homosexual unions is a first (though quite lame effort as the survey was unprofessionally done asking for essay answers and not direct answers and in many cases has been ignored by the bishops who are simply filling in the blanks according to their own theological whims). One sign that Pope Francis is being heard is the steam emerging from people who do not want to hear about justice, economic equality or church as people of God. (Rush Limbaugh, for example, had lots to complain about and did so loudly regarding the pope's recent take on Wall Street calling the pope's words “pure Marxism.”) But rightwing catholic naysayers are caught in something of a trap. It will be interesting to see how they emerge and this includes stalwart power brokers like the four right wing Catholics on the Supreme Court, all of whom voted for “Citizens United” Scalia, Thomas, Alioto and John Roberts. (Throw in Kennedy, another Catholic though not so extreme right for his scandalous vote in favor of Citizens United.) Then there is Newt Gingrich, a new convert to Catholicism (under pope Ratzinger); aspiring presidential candidate Paul Ryan (whose philosophy owes much more to atheist Ayn Rand than to the Gospels or papal pronouncements but who still claims to be a stalwart Catholic); Rick Santorum; John Boehmer. How these politicians dance around this pope's pronouncements on economic justice will be a spectacle that deserves watching. (Recall how the Catholic bishops under Pope John Paul II were instructed not to give communion to Catholic politicians who advocate for the right to abortion and how this cost Kerry the election in 2004. Will the same threats obtain for Catholic politicians who deny rights of the poor? And who are shills for the interests of the “deified market” (the pope's words) and “a “new tyranny” (the pope's words) of current day capitalism? Stay tuned. The pope has essentially told the shrill right wing Catholics who received such support under the previous two popes, to chill out and to cease reducing theology to “a condom” or a set of rules and to get moving on social and economic justice. There are currently Catholic writers who have made a living denouncing social justice such as George Weigel and it will be interesting to watch them squirm also with this new pope. Weigel is famous for complaining about Catholics who take some of the teachings of the church and leave others out. He did the same with: 1) the war in Iraq (both popes he so admires were against it)he was and is a committed neocon who has never apologized for getting us into Iraq and 2) economic alternatives to Wall Street rape of Main Street, i.e consumer capitalism. Yet he constantly trumps his version of Catholicism, which is really papalism, as the only way. “The truth of what is taught by the pope and the college of bishops is not a matter for debate” (61) he tells us in his most recent (and scariest) book, Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21 reading what this pope is preaching? How is it then that Weigel supported the invasion of Iraq when two popes opposed it? Why did he run from papal teachings on distributive justice? And from their teachings on the death penalty? When it comes to seminary training, Weigel says it should begin with the Catechism and only then move into Biblical studies which “should build upon this solid foundation so that each candidate has a deep understanding of what the Church teaches—and why.” He says this is the way one learns to think “with the Church” as if the Church is the maker of catechisms—not the people of the world or the carrier of Sacred Scripture. (By the way, the great idea for a catechism came from none other than the pedophile champion, Cardinal Law, as I make clear in my book, The Popes War.) Yes, we will soon learn what really constitutes the theology of our hard right Catholic propagandists and I suspect for many if not all of them Wall Street will trump the Vatican. But beyond the Catholics squirming in and out of political office, there are the larger issues that the pope is addressing to the capitalistic system itself at this time of history. Being the first pope from what we call “the third world,” Pope Francis can be expected to understand the tides of history and of economic oppression differently from being the recipient of years of abuse than from being the source of it. I end my letters to the pope suggesting that he and the Dalai Lama make a world tour together hitting most continents to speak to the “Revolution in Values” that our times call for. This is not because change comes primarily from the top down but because a few at st Century Church. Will he continue to invoke papalism after the top whom the media will be almost required to report about can, by speaking out together, put wind in the sails of those millions and indeed billions who pray for and/or work for a saner world. Together they could speak to the obvious and real moral issues of our day: Economic inequality based on a system of avarice not only at the top but in the consumer bottom and middle; gender injustice (something the Catholic Church has to address internally as well); ecological destruction; unemployment, especially among the young; the pressing need for religious and spiritual interfaith or deep ecumenism; the necessary and desired marriage of science and spirituality (as opposed to silly fundamentalism either by religion or by science). The young could be deeply inspired by such a road show and I have no doubt that the two principals would themselves learn from one another. This pope has displayed a refreshing humility and eagerness to learn from other religious leaders as in his book of dialogs with Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Argentina (who is also a PhD in science). It is a fine book and they got together over a two year period to produce it. Teachings of Pope Francis that stand out include some of the following. 1. A walking of his talk of simpler lifestyle. Pope Francis was well known in Argentina for taking public transportation to work and refusing any limousinelike service which so many prelates take for granted. He has done the same in his new position as pope where he chooses not to live in the papal apartments but in a far more modest guest house or hotel in the Vatican. He drives a Ford Focus in Vatican city. Might he give over the apartments to Rome's homeless? He has also drawn some press recently for sneaking out at night from the Vatican in the simple priestly garb of black suit and color and hanging out with homeless in the streets of Rome. One senses he is trying to walk the talk and follow his own preaching about simplification. And he is putting pressure on other prelates to do the same. 2. As for his talk, he tends to mince no words when speaking of the divergence of wealth and poverty today. He speaks to globalization this way: “The globalization that makes everything uniform is essentially imperialist...it is not human. In the end it is a way to enslave the nations.” (Fox, 24)[1] Is globalization enslaving the nations? Serious words worthy of a serious discussion. 3. He says: “Christianity condemns both Communism and wild capitalism with the same vigor” and one needs to reject the “wild economic liberalism we see today” and “seek equal opportunities and rights and strive for social benefits, dignified retirement, vacation time, rest, and freedom of unions.” 4. He praises St Francis because “he brought to Christianity an idea of poverty against the luxury, pride, vanity of the civil and ecclesiastical powers of the time” and for this reason “he changed history.” 5. He takes on the neocon preoccupation with “world terrorism” and the fear such language arouses when he declares that “human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.” How important is that? To equate economic structures with terrorism? Yes, Wall Street terrorizes. Ask any Main Street citizen. 6. He denounces the “flight of money to foreign countries” as a sin because it dishonors “the people that worked to generate” that wealth. He also condemns those who hide their wealth in offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes that are so important for the common good. 7. Pope Francis has said: “The option for the poor comes from the first centuries of Christianity. It is the Gospel itself.” And he remarked that were he to preach sermons from the first fathers of the church on the needs of the poor he would be called a “Maoist or Trotskyte.” (119) 8. He critiques clericalism as a “distortion of religion” and says priests should not declare “I am the boss here” but listen to the community. “The Catholic Church is the entire people of God” he declares a la Vatican II—not words the previous two popes were at all home with. (85) 9. “Human rights are violated by...unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.” (71) 10. On Holy Thursday P:ope Francis washed the feet of young people in jail including the feet of some women, one of them being Muslim. It is a custom to do this ritual after the memory of Jesus who also did it—but the Catholic right wing is up in arms about his daring to wash women's feet and those of a Muslim woman! 11. He endorses the concept of small communities over what he calls “hierarchical megainstitutions” because these better “nurture their own spirituality” and after all the “origin of Christianity was 'parochial and later organized into small communities.” (94) 12. “Repair my church in ruins” he said on taking over the office of the papacy. He seems to get it. The schismatic church of John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) has left a Catholicism which the young have abandoned en masse. They left a church in ruins run by fascist leaning opus dei cardinals and bishops all over the world. One Catholic paper in India declared “there is a civil war in the church.” I for one do not believe this pope or any pope could return Catholicism to its previous state—or should. As I concluded in my book, “The Pope's War,” I see the destruction of the Catholic Church as we know it the work of the Holy Spirit. It is time to simplify the message and the presence of those who follow a Christ path. It is time to travel with backpacks on our backs, not basilicas. The pope's work will not bring Catholics “back to the church” but hopefully it will inspire Christians and nonChristians alike to consider the basic teachings of Jesus around compassion and justice and start acting accordingly. 13. Says Pope Francis: “The worship of the golden calf of hold has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any human goal.” We need, he says, a “balanced social o;order that is more humane” and that resits consumerism. “Money has to serve and not rule.” It is a “savage capitalism” that teaches “the logic of profit at any cost” and exploitation of people. 14. Says the pope: “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.” Structures can “give us a false sense of security” and “rules makes us harsh judges...while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us, “give them something to eat.'” He wants to decentralize the church for “excessive centralization, rather than proving helpful, complicates the church’s life and her missionary outreach.” 15. Unfettered capitalism is a “new tyranny” “Today we are living in an unjust international system in which 'King Money' is at the center.” This “throwaway culture discards young people as well as its older people.....A whole generation of young people does not have the dignity that is brought by work.” A “diminishing of the joy of life” is the result of such idolatry (125f) and interestingly he chose a parallel phrase, the “Joy of the Gospel” for the title of his most recent pronouncement. In his recent document entitled “The Joy of the Gospel” Pope Francis speaks bluntly as all the prophet do. He says No—as all the prophets do. He denounces “trickledown” economics as “never having been confirmed by the facts” and being built on a “crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power....Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting.”[2] Following are some of his No's presented in his own words: 1. “No to an economy of exclusion....An economy of exclusion and inequality kills....Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.” 2. “No to the new idolatry of money....While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority form the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few.....Selfserving tax evasion has] taken on worldwide dimensions. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits....Whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a defied market, which becomes the only rule.” 3. “No to a financial system which rules rather than serves. Ethics is seen as counterproductive, too human, because it makes money and power relative. It is felt to be a threat, since it condemns the manipulation and debasement of the person.... Money must serve, not rule! The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but he is obliged in the name of Christ to remind all that the rich must help, respect and promote the poor. I exhort you to generous solidarity and a return of economics and finance to an ethical approach which favors human beings. 4. “No to the inequality which spawns violence. [Violence happens not]simply because inequality provokes a violent reaction from those excluded form the system, but because the socioeconomic system is unjust at its root. Just as goodness tends to spread, the toleration of evil, which is injustice, tends to expand its baneful influence and quietly to undermine any political and social system, no matter how solid it may appear.....Evil crystallized in unjust social structures...cannot be the basis of hope for a better future. Pope Francis speaks out against an “education that would tranquilize the poor, making them tame and harmless.” And he defines injustice as “evil.” He has invited liberation theologian Gustavo Gutierrez to the Vatican and the word is out that he will canonize Archbishop Romero. A different kind of papacy? Surely from the past two popes; much more like Pope John XXIII. Does that mean we go back to papalolatry? Absolutely not. But it does mean that it is good that a person in the public eye is keeping his sights on values that matter and speaking up for the kind of people of conscience who read and act on the values that Tikkun represents. When it comes to issues of women, Pope Francis has much to learn (including how women were leaders in the early church). But I think he is capable of learning. On homosexuality, he has uttered a telling line, “Who am I to judge?” that certainly distances him from the previous two popes. On issues of abortion, at least he has spoken to the need to care about the women involved. Pope Francis is not perfect—none of us is—but he is an ally to all those seeking a world of justice and therefore peace. [1]subsequent citations are from Matthew Fox, Letters to Pope Francis (South Orange, NY: LevelFiveMedia, 2013 [2]Aaron Blake, “Pope Francis denounces 'trickledown' economics, The Washington Post, Nov. 26, 2013. Subsequent citations are found in this article.Pope Francis: A Breath of Fresh Air? Matthew Fox I recently wrote a book on Pope Francis, or better a book to him, entitled Letters to Pope Francis. The book was released in Italian on Thanksgiving Day. In it I challenge him to live up to his purposefully chosen namesake and that people would hold his feet to the fire because no other pope had ever taken up that name, ikon that it is, and that most people do know what St Francis of Assisi stood for: Ecology and nonchauvinistic relationships to the plant and animal worlds; a preferential option for the poor; and (this may be slightly less acknowledged) an admirable and almost startling balance of gender justice and consciousness. In his celebrated poem, “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” he moves back and forth, back and forth, between masculine and feminine names for the sacred. People who care about such matters recognize fresh consciousness in the pope's refusal to move into the palatial headquarters known as the papal apartments; in his refusal to drive in limousines and his call for bishops and cardinals to follow suit; his trips to embrace embattled refugees on islands off southern Italy; his visits to favelas or slums in Rio de Janairo as well as his work in the same in Argentina over the years. These actions, plus his strong words denouncing the “idols” and “gods” of the marketplace together seem to be framing a story of a different kind of pope and papacy from anything we have had since Pope John Paul I who was (most probably) murdered after thirtyone days in the office some thirtyfour years ago. It raises hopes in the minds and hearts of activists and progressive Catholics many of whom have left the church behind but still recognize its potential power as a source for good in many parts of the world. Theologically, Pope Francis is speaking the radical language of Vatican II abandoned by his two predecessors, that the church is NOT the hierarchy but “the people” whose “sensus fidelium” actually matters. The effort to poll parishioners about such subjects as birth control, abortion, women's rights and homosexual unions is a first (though quite lame effort as the survey was unprofessionally done asking for essay answers and not direct answers and in many cases has been ignored by the bishops who are simply filling in the blanks according to their own theological whims). One sign that Pope Francis is being heard is the steam emerging from people who do not want to hear about justice, economic equality or church as people of God. (Rush Limbaugh, for example, had lots to complain about and did so loudly regarding the pope's recent take on Wall Street calling the pope's words “pure Marxism.”) But rightwing catholic naysayers are caught in something of a trap. It will be interesting to see how they emerge and this includes stalwart power brokers like the four right wing Catholics on the Supreme Court, all of whom voted for “Citizens United” Scalia, Thomas, Alioto and John Roberts. (Throw in Kennedy, another Catholic though not so extreme right for his scandalous vote in favor of Citizens United.) Then there is Newt Gingrich, a new convert to Catholicism (under pope Ratzinger); aspiring presidential candidate Paul Ryan (whose philosophy owes much more to atheist Ayn Rand than to the Gospels or papal pronouncements but who still claims to be a stalwart Catholic); Rick Santorum; John Boehmer. How these politicians dance around this pope's pronouncements on economic justice will be a spectacle that deserves watching. (Recall how the Catholic bishops under Pope John Paul II were instructed not to give communion to Catholic politicians who advocate for the right to abortion and how this cost Kerry the election in 2004. Will the same threats obtain for Catholic politicians who deny rights of the poor? And who are shills for the interests of the “deified market” (the pope's words) and “a “new tyranny” (the pope's words) of current day capitalism? Stay tuned. The pope has essentially told the shrill right wing Catholics who received such support under the previous two popes, to chill out and to cease reducing theology to “a condom” or a set of rules and to get moving on social and economic justice. There are currently Catholic writers who have made a living denouncing social justice such as George Weigel and it will be interesting to watch them squirm also with this new pope. Weigel is famous for complaining about Catholics who take some of the teachings of the church and leave others out. He did the same with: 1) the war in Iraq (both popes he so admires were against it)he was and is a committed neocon who has never apologized for getting us into Iraq and 2) economic alternatives to Wall Street rape of Main Street, i.e consumer capitalism. Yet he constantly trumps his version of Catholicism, which is really papalism, as the only way. “The truth of what is taught by the pope and the college of bishops is not a matter for debate” (61) he tells us in his most recent (and scariest) book, Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21 reading what this pope is preaching? How is it then that Weigel supported the invasion of Iraq when two popes opposed it? Why did he run from papal teachings on distributive justice? And from their teachings on the death penalty? When it comes to seminary training, Weigel says it should begin with the Catechism and only then move into Biblical studies which “should build upon this solid foundation so that each candidate has a deep understanding of what the Church teaches—and why.” He says this is the way one learns to think “with the Church” as if the Church is the maker of catechisms—not the people of the world or the carrier of Sacred Scripture. (By the way, the great idea for a catechism came from none other than the pedophile champion, Cardinal Law, as I make clear in my book, The Popes War.) Yes, we will soon learn what really constitutes the theology of our hard right Catholic propagandists and I suspect for many if not all of them Wall Street will trump the Vatican. But beyond the Catholics squirming in and out of political office, there are the larger issues that the pope is addressing to the capitalistic system itself at this time of history. Being the first pope from what we call “the third world,” Pope Francis can be expected to understand the tides of history and of economic oppression differently from being the recipient of years of abuse than from being the source of it. I end my letters to the pope suggesting that he and the Dalai Lama make a world tour together hitting most continents to speak to the “Revolution in Values” that our times call for. This is not because change comes primarily from the top down but because a few at st Century Church. Will he continue to invoke papalism after the top whom the media will be almost required to report about can, by speaking out together, put wind in the sails of those millions and indeed billions who pray for and/or work for a saner world. Together they could speak to the obvious and real moral issues of our day: Economic inequality based on a system of avarice not only at the top but in the consumer bottom and middle; gender injustice (something the Catholic Church has to address internally as well); ecological destruction; unemployment, especially among the young; the pressing need for religious and spiritual interfaith or deep ecumenism; the necessary and desired marriage of science and spirituality (as opposed to silly fundamentalism either by religion or by science). The young could be deeply inspired by such a road show and I have no doubt that the two principals would themselves learn from one another. This pope has displayed a refreshing humility and eagerness to learn from other religious leaders as in his book of dialogs with Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Argentina (who is also a PhD in science). It is a fine book and they got together over a two year period to produce it. Teachings of Pope Francis that stand out include some of the following. 1. A walking of his talk of simpler lifestyle. Pope Francis was well known in Argentina for taking public transportation to work and refusing any limousinelike service which so many prelates take for granted. He has done the same in his new position as pope where he chooses not to live in the papal apartments but in a far more modest guest house or hotel in the Vatican. He drives a Ford Focus in Vatican city. Might he give over the apartments to Rome's homeless? He has also drawn some press recently for sneaking out at night from the Vatican in the simple priestly garb of black suit and color and hanging out with homeless in the streets of Rome. One senses he is trying to walk the talk and follow his own preaching about simplification. And he is putting pressure on other prelates to do the same. 2. As for his talk, he tends to mince no words when speaking of the divergence of wealth and poverty today. He speaks to globalization this way: “The globalization that makes everything uniform is essentially imperialist...it is not human. In the end it is a way to enslave the nations.” (Fox, 24)[1] Is globalization enslaving the nations? Serious words worthy of a serious discussion. 3. He says: “Christianity condemns both Communism and wild capitalism with the same vigor” and one needs to reject the “wild economic liberalism we see today” and “seek equal opportunities and rights and strive for social benefits, dignified retirement, vacation time, rest, and freedom of unions.” 4. He praises St Francis because “he brought to Christianity an idea of poverty against the luxury, pride, vanity of the civil and ecclesiastical powers of the time” and for this reason “he changed history.” 5. He takes on the neocon preoccupation with “world terrorism” and the fear such language arouses when he declares that “human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.” How important is that? To equate economic structures with terrorism? Yes, Wall Street terrorizes. Ask any Main Street citizen. 6. He denounces the “flight of money to foreign countries” as a sin because it dishonors “the people that worked to generate” that wealth. He also condemns those who hide their wealth in offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes that are so important for the common good. 7. Pope Francis has said: “The option for the poor comes from the first centuries of Christianity. It is the Gospel itself.” And he remarked that were he to preach sermons from the first fathers of the church on the needs of the poor he would be called a “Maoist or Trotskyte.” (119) 8. He critiques clericalism as a “distortion of religion” and says priests should not declare “I am the boss here” but listen to the community. “The Catholic Church is the entire people of God” he declares a la Vatican II—not words the previous two popes were at all home with. (85) 9. “Human rights are violated by...unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.” (71) 10. On Holy Thursday P:ope Francis washed the feet of young people in jail including the feet of some women, one of them being Muslim. It is a custom to do this ritual after the memory of Jesus who also did it—but the Catholic right wing is up in arms about his daring to wash women's feet and those of a Muslim woman! 11. He endorses the concept of small communities over what he calls “hierarchical megainstitutions” because these better “nurture their own spirituality” and after all the “origin of Christianity was 'parochial and later organized into small communities.” (94) 12. “Repair my church in ruins” he said on taking over the office of the papacy. He seems to get it. The schismatic church of John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) has left a Catholicism which the young have abandoned en masse. They left a church in ruins run by fascist leaning opus dei cardinals and bishops all over the world. One Catholic paper in India declared “there is a civil war in the church.” I for one do not believe this pope or any pope could return Catholicism to its previous state—or should. As I concluded in my book, “The Pope's War,” I see the destruction of the Catholic Church as we know it the work of the Holy Spirit. It is time to simplify the message and the presence of those who follow a Christ path. It is time to travel with backpacks on our backs, not basilicas. The pope's work will not bring Catholics “back to the church” but hopefully it will inspire Christians and nonChristians alike to consider the basic teachings of Jesus around compassion and justice and start acting accordingly. 13. Says Pope Francis: “The worship of the golden calf of hold has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any human goal.” We need, he says, a “balanced social o;order that is more humane” and that resits consumerism. “Money has to serve and not rule.” It is a “savage capitalism” that teaches “the logic of profit at any cost” and exploitation of people. 14. Says the pope: “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.” Structures can “give us a false sense of security” and “rules makes us harsh judges...while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us, “give them something to eat.'” He wants to decentralize the church for “excessive centralization, rather than proving helpful, complicates the church’s life and her missionary outreach.” 15. Unfettered capitalism is a “new tyranny” “Today we are living in an unjust international system in which 'King Money' is at the center.” This “throwaway culture discards young people as well as its older people.....A whole generation of young people does not have the dignity that is brought by work.” A “diminishing of the joy of life” is the result of such idolatry (125f) and interestingly he chose a parallel phrase, the “Joy of the Gospel” for the title of his most recent pronouncement. In his recent document entitled “The Joy of the Gospel” Pope Francis speaks bluntly as all the prophet do. He says No—as all the prophets do. He denounces “trickledown” economics as “never having been confirmed by the facts” and being built on a “crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power....Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting.”[2] Following are some of his No's presented in his own words: 1. “No to an economy of exclusion....An economy of exclusion and inequality kills....Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.” 2. “No to the new idolatry of money....While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority form the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few.....Selfserving tax evasion has] taken on worldwide dimensions. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits....Whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a defied market, which becomes the only rule.” 3. “No to a financial system which rules rather than serves. Ethics is seen as counterproductive, too human, because it makes money and power relative. It is felt to be a threat, since it condemns the manipulation and debasement of the person.... Money must serve, not rule! The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but he is obliged in the name of Christ to remind all that the rich must help, respect and promote the poor. I exhort you to generous solidarity and a return of economics and finance to an ethical approach which favors human beings. 4. “No to the inequality which spawns violence. [Violence happens not]simply because inequality provokes a violent reaction from those excluded form the system, but because the socioeconomic system is unjust at its root. Just as goodness tends to spread, the toleration of evil, which is injustice, tends to expand its baneful influence and quietly to undermine any political and social system, no matter how solid it may appear.....Evil crystallized in unjust social structures...cannot be the basis of hope for a better future. Pope Francis speaks out against an “education that would tranquilize the poor, making them tame and harmless.” And he defines injustice as “evil.” He has invited liberation theologian Gustavo Gutierrez to the Vatican and the word is out that he will canonize Archbishop Romero. A different kind of papacy? Surely from the past two popes; much more like Pope John XXIII. Does that mean we go back to papalolatry? Absolutely not. But it does mean that it is good that a person in the public eye is keeping his sights on values that matter and speaking up for the kind of people of conscience who read and act on the values that Tikkun represents. When it comes to issues of women, Pope Francis has much to learn (including how women were leaders in the early church). But I think he is capable of learning. On homosexuality, he has uttered a telling line, “Who am I to judge?” that certainly distances him from the previous two popes. On issues of abortion, at least he has spoken to the need to care about the women involved. Pope Francis is not perfect—none of us is—but he is an ally to all those seeking a world of justice and therefore peace. [1]subsequent citations are from Matthew Fox, Letters to Pope Francis (South Orange, NY: LevelFiveMedia, 2013 [2]Aaron Blake, “Pope Francis denounces 'trickledown' economics, The Washington Post, Nov. 26, 2013. Subsequent citations are found in this article.Pope Francis: A Breath of Fresh Air? Matthew Fox I recently wrote a book on Pope Francis, or better a book to him, entitled Letters to Pope Francis. The book was released in Italian on Thanksgiving Day. In it I challenge him to live up to his purposefully chosen namesake and that people would hold his feet to the fire because no other pope had ever taken up that name, ikon that it is, and that most people do know what St Francis of Assisi stood for: Ecology and nonchauvinistic relationships to the plant and animal worlds; a preferential option for the poor; and (this may be slightly less acknowledged) an admirable and almost startling balance of gender justice and consciousness. In his celebrated poem, “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” he moves back and forth, back and forth, between masculine and feminine names for the sacred. People who care about such matters recognize fresh consciousness in the pope's refusal to move into the palatial headquarters known as the papal apartments; in his refusal to drive in limousines and his call for bishops and cardinals to follow suit; his trips to embrace embattled refugees on islands off southern Italy; his visits to favelas or slums in Rio de Janairo as well as his work in the same in Argentina over the years. These actions, plus his strong words denouncing the “idols” and “gods” of the marketplace together seem to be framing a story of a different kind of pope and papacy from anything we have had since Pope John Paul I who was (most probably) murdered after thirtyone days in the office some thirtyfour years ago. It raises hopes in the minds and hearts of activists and progressive Catholics many of whom have left the church behind but still recognize its potential power as a source for good in many parts of the world. Theologically, Pope Francis is speaking the radical language of Vatican II abandoned by his two predecessors, that the church is NOT the hierarchy but “the people” whose “sensus fidelium” actually matters. The effort to poll parishioners about such subjects as birth control, abortion, women's rights and homosexual unions is a first (though quite lame effort as the survey was unprofessionally done asking for essay answers and not direct answers and in many cases has been ignored by the bishops who are simply filling in the blanks according to their own theological whims). One sign that Pope Francis is being heard is the steam emerging from people who do not want to hear about justice, economic equality or church as people of God. (Rush Limbaugh, for example, had lots to complain about and did so loudly regarding the pope's recent take on Wall Street calling the pope's words “pure Marxism.”) But rightwing catholic naysayers are caught in something of a trap. It will be interesting to see how they emerge and this includes stalwart power brokers like the four right wing Catholics on the Supreme Court, all of whom voted for “Citizens United” Scalia, Thomas, Alioto and John Roberts. (Throw in Kennedy, another Catholic though not so extreme right for his scandalous vote in favor of Citizens United.) Then there is Newt Gingrich, a new convert to Catholicism (under pope Ratzinger); aspiring presidential candidate Paul Ryan (whose philosophy owes much more to atheist Ayn Rand than to the Gospels or papal pronouncements but who still claims to be a stalwart Catholic); Rick Santorum; John Boehmer. How these politicians dance around this pope's pronouncements on economic justice will be a spectacle that deserves watching. (Recall how the Catholic bishops under Pope John Paul II were instructed not to give communion to Catholic politicians who advocate for the right to abortion and how this cost Kerry the election in 2004. Will the same threats obtain for Catholic politicians who deny rights of the poor? And who are shills for the interests of the “deified market” (the pope's words) and “a “new tyranny” (the pope's words) of current day capitalism? Stay tuned. The pope has essentially told the shrill right wing Catholics who received such support under the previous two popes, to chill out and to cease reducing theology to “a condom” or a set of rules and to get moving on social and economic justice. There are currently Catholic writers who have made a living denouncing social justice such as George Weigel and it will be interesting to watch them squirm also with this new pope. Weigel is famous for complaining about Catholics who take some of the teachings of the church and leave others out. He did the same with: 1) the war in Iraq (both popes he so admires were against it)he was and is a committed neocon who has never apologized for getting us into Iraq and 2) economic alternatives to Wall Street rape of Main Street, i.e consumer capitalism. Yet he constantly trumps his version of Catholicism, which is really papalism, as the only way. “The truth of what is taught by the pope and the college of bishops is not a matter for debate” (61) he tells us in his most recent (and scariest) book, Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21 reading what this pope is preaching? How is it then that Weigel supported the invasion of Iraq when two popes opposed it? Why did he run from papal teachings on distributive justice? And from their teachings on the death penalty? When it comes to seminary training, Weigel says it should begin with the Catechism and only then move into Biblical studies which “should build upon this solid foundation so that each candidate has a deep understanding of what the Church teaches—and why.” He says this is the way one learns to think “with the Church” as if the Church is the maker of catechisms—not the people of the world or the carrier of Sacred Scripture. (By the way, the great idea for a catechism came from none other than the pedophile champion, Cardinal Law, as I make clear in my book, The Popes War.) Yes, we will soon learn what really constitutes the theology of our hard right Catholic propagandists and I suspect for many if not all of them Wall Street will trump the Vatican. But beyond the Catholics squirming in and out of political office, there are the larger issues that the pope is addressing to the capitalistic system itself at this time of history. Being the first pope from what we call “the third world,” Pope Francis can be expected to understand the tides of history and of economic oppression differently from being the recipient of years of abuse than from being the source of it. I end my letters to the pope suggesting that he and the Dalai Lama make a world tour together hitting most continents to speak to the “Revolution in Values” that our times call for. This is not because change comes primarily from the top down but because a few at st Century Church. Will he continue to invoke papalism after the top whom the media will be almost required to report about can, by speaking out together, put wind in the sails of those millions and indeed billions who pray for and/or work for a saner world. Together they could speak to the obvious and real moral issues of our day: Economic inequality based on a system of avarice not only at the top but in the consumer bottom and middle; gender injustice (something the Catholic Church has to address internally as well); ecological destruction; unemployment, especially among the young; the pressing need for religious and spiritual interfaith or deep ecumenism; the necessary and desired marriage of science and spirituality (as opposed to silly fundamentalism either by religion or by science). The young could be deeply inspired by such a road show and I have no doubt that the two principals would themselves learn from one another. This pope has displayed a refreshing humility and eagerness to learn from other religious leaders as in his book of dialogs with Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Argentina (who is also a PhD in science). It is a fine book and they got together over a two year period to produce it. Teachings of Pope Francis that stand out include some of the following. 1. A walking of his talk of simpler lifestyle. Pope Francis was well known in Argentina for taking public transportation to work and refusing any limousinelike service which so many prelates take for granted. He has done the same in his new position as pope where he chooses not to live in the papal apartments but in a far more modest guest house or hotel in the Vatican. He drives a Ford Focus in Vatican city. Might he give over the apartments to Rome's homeless? He has also drawn some press recently for sneaking out at night from the Vatican in the simple priestly garb of black suit and color and hanging out with homeless in the streets of Rome. One senses he is trying to walk the talk and follow his own preaching about simplification. And he is putting pressure on other prelates to do the same. 2. As for his talk, he tends to mince no words when speaking of the divergence of wealth and poverty today. He speaks to globalization this way: “The globalization that makes everything uniform is essentially imperialist...it is not human. In the end it is a way to enslave the nations.” (Fox, 24)[1] Is globalization enslaving the nations? Serious words worthy of a serious discussion. 3. He says: “Christianity condemns both Communism and wild capitalism with the same vigor” and one needs to reject the “wild economic liberalism we see today” and “seek equal opportunities and rights and strive for social benefits, dignified retirement, vacation time, rest, and freedom of unions.” 4. He praises St Francis because “he brought to Christianity an idea of poverty against the luxury, pride, vanity of the civil and ecclesiastical powers of the time” and for this reason “he changed history.” 5. He takes on the neocon preoccupation with “world terrorism” and the fear such language arouses when he declares that “human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.” How important is that? To equate economic structures with terrorism? Yes, Wall Street terrorizes. Ask any Main Street citizen. 6. He denounces the “flight of money to foreign countries” as a sin because it dishonors “the people that worked to generate” that wealth. He also condemns those who hide their wealth in offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes that are so important for the common good. 7. Pope Francis has said: “The option for the poor comes from the first centuries of Christianity. It is the Gospel itself.” And he remarked that were he to preach sermons from the first fathers of the church on the needs of the poor he would be called a “Maoist or Trotskyte.” (119) 8. He critiques clericalism as a “distortion of religion” and says priests should not declare “I am the boss here” but listen to the community. “The Catholic Church is the entire people of God” he declares a la Vatican II—not words the previous two popes were at all home with. (85) 9. “Human rights are violated by...unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.” (71) 10. On Holy Thursday P:ope Francis washed the feet of young people in jail including the feet of some women, one of them being Muslim. It is a custom to do this ritual after the memory of Jesus who also did it—but the Catholic right wing is up in arms about his daring to wash women's feet and those of a Muslim woman! 11. He endorses the concept of small communities over what he calls “hierarchical megainstitutions” because these better “nurture their own spirituality” and after all the “origin of Christianity was 'parochial and later organized into small communities.” (94) 12. “Repair my church in ruins” he said on taking over the office of the papacy. He seems to get it. The schismatic church of John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) has left a Catholicism which the young have abandoned en masse. They left a church in ruins run by fascist leaning opus dei cardinals and bishops all over the world. One Catholic paper in India declared “there is a civil war in the church.” I for one do not believe this pope or any pope could return Catholicism to its previous state—or should. As I concluded in my book, “The Pope's War,” I see the destruction of the Catholic Church as we know it the work of the Holy Spirit. It is time to simplify the message and the presence of those who follow a Christ path. It is time to travel with backpacks on our backs, not basilicas. The pope's work will not bring Catholics “back to the church” but hopefully it will inspire Christians and nonChristians alike to consider the basic teachings of Jesus around compassion and justice and start acting accordingly. 13. Says Pope Francis: “The worship of the golden calf of hold has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any human goal.” We need, he says, a “balanced social o;order that is more humane” and that resits consumerism. “Money has to serve and not rule.” It is a “savage capitalism” that teaches “the logic of profit at any cost” and exploitation of people. 14. Says the pope: “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.” Structures can “give us a false sense of security” and “rules makes us harsh judges...while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us, “give them something to eat.'” He wants to decentralize the church for “excessive centralization, rather than proving helpful, complicates the church’s life and her missionary outreach.” 15. Unfettered capitalism is a “new tyranny” “Today we are living in an unjust international system in which 'King Money' is at the center.” This “throwaway culture discards young people as well as its older people.....A whole generation of young people does not have the dignity that is brought by work.” A “diminishing of the joy of life” is the result of such idolatry (125f) and interestingly he chose a parallel phrase, the “Joy of the Gospel” for the title of his most recent pronouncement. In his recent document entitled “The Joy of the Gospel” Pope Francis speaks bluntly as all the prophet do. He says No—as all the prophets do. He denounces “trickledown” economics as “never having been confirmed by the facts” and being built on a “crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power....Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting.”[2] Following are some of his No's presented in his own words: 1. “No to an economy of exclusion....An economy of exclusion and inequality kills....Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.” 2. “No to the new idolatry of money....While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority form the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few.....Selfserving tax evasion has] taken on worldwide dimensions. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits....Whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a defied market, which becomes the only rule.” 3. “No to a financial system which rules rather than serves. Ethics is seen as counterproductive, too human, because it makes money and power relative. It is felt to be a threat, since it condemns the manipulation and debasement of the person.... Money must serve, not rule! The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but he is obliged in the name of Christ to remind all that the rich must help, respect and promote the poor. I exhort you to generous solidarity and a return of economics and finance to an ethical approach which favors human beings. 4. “No to the inequality which spawns violence. [Violence happens not]simply because inequality provokes a violent reaction from those excluded form the system, but because the socioeconomic system is unjust at its root. Just as goodness tends to spread, the toleration of evil, which is injustice, tends to expand its baneful influence and quietly to undermine any political and social system, no matter how solid it may appear.....Evil crystallized in unjust social structures...cannot be the basis of hope for a better future. Pope Francis speaks out against an “education that would tranquilize the poor, making them tame and harmless.” And he defines injustice as “evil.” He has invited liberation theologian Gustavo Gutierrez to the Vatican and the word is out that he will canonize Archbishop Romero. A different kind of papacy? Surely from the past two popes; much more like Pope John XXIII. Does that mean we go back to papalolatry? Absolutely not. But it does mean that it is good that a person in the public eye is keeping his sights on values that matter and speaking up for the kind of people of conscience who read and act on the values that Tikkun represents. When it comes to issues of women, Pope Francis has much to learn (including how women were leaders in the early church). But I think he is capable of learning. On homosexuality, he has uttered a telling line, “Who am I to judge?” that certainly distances him from the previous two popes. On issues of abortion, at least he has spoken to the need to care about the women involved. Pope Francis is not perfect—none of us is—but he is an ally to all those seeking a world of justice and therefore peace. [1]subsequent citations are from Matthew Fox, Letters to Pope Francis (South Orange, NY: LevelFiveMedia, 2013 [2]Aaron Blake, “Pope Francis denounces 'trickledown' economics, The Washington Post, Nov. 26, 2013. . ------------------------------ Click here to unsubscribe<http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=HQNYExGMxsJlyM5geB1l16JNfIL7y4…> if you are having trouble unsubscribing Click here <kay(a)tikkun.org> Copyright 2012 Tikkun Magazine. Tikkun is a registered trademark. 2342 Shattuck Avenue, #1200 Berkeley, CA 94704 510-644-1200 Fax 510-644-1255 [image: empowered by Salsa] <http://www.salsalabs.com/?email> -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

1 0

CAMRI Seminar (Jan 22): A Conversation with Nicholas Garnham - Revisiting the Political Economy of Communication
by Christian Fuchs 08 Dec '13

08 Dec '13

Revisiting the Political Economy of Communication: A Conversation with Nicholas Garnham Wednesday, January 22nd, 2014. 14:00-16:00 CAMRI Research Seminar University of Westminster, Harrow campus (Metropolitan Line, tube stop: Northwick Park) Room A6.08 (6th floor, A block) http://www.westminster.ac.uk/camri/research-seminars/revisiting-the-politic… Registration at latest until January 19th, per e-mail to christian.fuchs(a)uti.at Nicholas Garnham has played a major role in British Media and Communication Studies, the emergence and development of what James Curran has termed the Westminster School of Media and Communication Studies, and the Political Economy of Communication. His works have focused on and have influenced the intellectual debates on topics such as capitalism and communication, the cultural industries, information and communication technologies, information society theory, media and modernity, media and telecommunications policy, public service media, the public sphere, the relationship between Cultural Studies and Political Economy in Media and Communication Studies, and the theory and sociology of culture. The Political Economy of Communication is today an established field of study that has been institutionalised in the form of research networks such as the International Association of Media and Communication Research’s (IAMCR) Political Economy Section, journals, conferences, handbooks, the regular publication of new books, chapters and articles, undergraduate and postgraduate modules, textbooks, continuous works by PhD students, etc. The task of this seminar is to revisit some of Nicholas Garnham’s ideas, writings and contributions to the study of the Political Economy of Communication and to reflect on the concepts, history, current status and perspectives of this field and the broader study of political economy today. Christian Fuchs will chair this conversation. Recommended Readings: Garnham, Nicholas. 1979. Contribution to a Political Economy of Mass Communication. Media, Culture & Society 1 (2): 123-146. Available at: http://www.uk.sagepub.com/devereux/website%20material/Proofed%20web%20mater…'Contribution%20to%20a%20Political%20Economy....pdf Garnham, Nicholas. 2011. The Political Economy of Communication Revisited. In The Handbook of Political Economy of Communications, eds. Janet Wasko, Graham Murdock and Helena Sousa, 41-61. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Biographies: After studying English Literature at Cambridge University Nicholas Garnham worked from 1963-70 in Television as film editor and film director. He joined the Polytechnic of Central London (that is now the University of Westminster) in 1972 to teach film making and film theory. In 1974 he was made head of the newly created Department of Communications and headed the team that created the first Media Studies degree in the UK. He is founding editor of the journal Media, Culture and Society. In 1986 he founded the Centre for Communication and Information Studies (CCIS) – that today is the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI) – and remained its director until he retired from the University of Westminster in 2002. In 1987 he started with William Melody the annual European Communication Policy Research Conference. Since 2002, Nicholas Garnham is Emeritus Professor of Media Studies, University of Westminster. He is author of many contributions to Media and Communication Studies, including the books The Economics of UK Television (Sage 1987, with R. Collins and G. Locksley), Capitalism and Communication: Global Culture and the Economics of Information (Sage 1990), Emancipation, the Media and Modernity (Oxford University Press 2000). Christian Fuchs is Professor of Social Media at the University of Westminster’s Communication and Media Research Institute and the Centre for Social Media Research. He is the editor of the journal tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique (http://www.triple-c.at) chair of the European Sociological Association’s Research Network 18 – Sociology of Communications and Media Research, Vice Chair of the EU COST Action “Dynamics of Virtual Work” and author of books such as “Social Media: A Critical Introduction” (Sage 2014), “Digital Labour and Karl Marx” (Routledge 2014) and “Foundations of Critical Media and Information Studies” (Routledge 2011).

1 0

Article : How to Burst the "Filter Bubble" that Protects Us from Opposing Views - #FilterBubble
by Dante-Gabryell Monson 08 Dec '13

08 Dec '13

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/522111/how-to-burst-the-filter-bubble-… ( *found via David Brin on fb - see copied comments of David after article excerpts* ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_bubble *How to Burst the "Filter Bubble" that Protects Us from Opposing Views* *Computer scientists have discovered a way to number-crunch an individual’s own preferences to recommend content from others with opposing views. * *The goal? * *To burst the “filter bubble” that surrounds us with people we like and content that we agree with.* *...* *the filter bubble—being surrounded only by people you like and content that you agree with. * *the danger is that it can polarise populations creating potentially harmful divisions in society. * *Today, Eduardo Graells-Garrido at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona as well as Mounia Lalmas and Daniel Quercia, both at Yahoo Labs, say they’ve hit on a way to burst the filter bubble. * *Their idea that although people may have opposing views on sensitive topics, they may also share interests in other areas. And they’ve built a recommendation engine that points these kinds of people towards each other based on their own preferences. The result is that individuals are exposed to a much wider range of opinions, ideas and people than they would otherwise experience.* *///* copied comment from David Brin ( https://twitter.com/DavidBrin ; https://www.facebook.com/thedavidbrin ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Brin ) In my novel EARTH (1989) I spoke about the problem of user bubbles… where internet inhabitants inevitably create filters that allow in materials that agree with their preconceptions and prejudices and exclude inconveniences, even clear refutations. In the novel, this is portrayed as extremely dangerous to a democratic society, creating little Nuremberg Rallies that reinforce strong dogmas and undermine our native abilities to see the other side, to negotiate and learn from each other. In EARTH, a community of hackers has responded with wall-penetrating programs that slip in the inconvenient fact, from time to time… http://www.technologyreview.com/view/522111/how-to-burst-the-filter-bubble-…<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.technologyreview.com%2Fvie…> …exactly the thing that cable news owners strenuously avoid, by preventing their captive "dittohead" audiences from hearing or seeing dissenting opinions. Especially not refutations of all-out lies! Alas that forecasts in science fiction novels get little credit. Today, this "newly discovered" phenomenon is called "the filter bubble—being surrounded only by people you like and content that you agree with." STill, have a look at this clever suggested partial solution. "They also say that challenging people with new ideas makes them generally more receptive to change. That has important implications for social media sites. There is good evidence that users can sometimes become so resistant to change than any form of redesign dramatically reduces the popularity of the service. Giving them a greater range of content could change that."

1 0

Fwd: 3de ITUC Congress en 4de Global Solidarity Conference in Berlin
by Michel Bauwens 07 Dec '13

07 Dec '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Chapullers OrsanS <orsan1234(a)gmail.com> Date: Sat, Dec 7, 2013 at 7:46 AM Subject: 3de ITUC Congress en 4de Global Solidarity Conference in Berlin Beste mensen, collegas, vrienden, comrades, Zie beneden uitnodiging voor de Global Solidarity Conference die mogelijk interessant voor je is. Aanmelden kan bij de site hier: http://www.labourstart.org/2014/hello-world/ Het Conference gaat plaats vinden op 23-25 Mei 2014, net daarna de 3rde ITUC Congres (18-23 Mei), in Berlijn. De FNV delegatie en de anderen plannen naar toe gaan voor de ITUC Congres gevraagd comradely om nog twee dagen in Berlijn bleijven om in die belangrjk informeel ruimte, waarin vakbonden, vakbondisten, leden en activisten kunnen uitwisellen en samen werken voor een bredere 'globaal solidariteit' op te bouwen. Aub. verspreden de uitnodiging en de informatie in jullie netwerken als breed als je kan.. Met vriendelijke groet, *Orsan Senalp* Kaderlid FNV bondgenoten Coordinator *NetworkedLabour* <http://www.networkedlabour.net/> *&* *NetwOrg <http://networg.wordpress.com/>* LabourStart’s 4th Global Solidarity Conference [image: berlinnight]<http://www.labourstart.org/2014/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/berlinnight.jpg> In May 2014, LabourStart <http://www.labourstart.org/> will hold its next Global Solidarity Conference in Berlin. The goal of this conference, as for previous ones, is to provide a forum where trade union activists from different countries can meet and discuss the most important issues facing the international labour movement. It is a very informal event with no decision-making capacity; motions are not voted on and resolutions are not passed. The long range goal of the conferences, and of LabourStart itself, is to strengthen international working-class solidarity and face-to-face meetings play an important role in this. Learn more about the planned programme here.<http://www.labourstart.org/2014/programme/> We are looking for organisations and individuals to cooperate with in preparation of the conference. If you’re interested in supporting and helping to prepare the conference, please contact <http://www.labourstart.org/2014/contact/> us. -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

1 0