20 February 2001
REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD)
unmoderated group talk.better.world
This is a formal Request For Discussion (RFD) for the creation
of a world-wide unmoderated Usenet newsgroup talk.better.world
This is not a Call for Votes (CFV); you cannot vote at this time.
Procedural details are below.
Newsgroup line: Talking about a better world.
RATIONALE: talk.better.world
Every year on our planet millions of children die of hunger, or of diseases
that existing medicines, if available to them, could cure; whole nations
suffer the effects of famine; a third of the earth's population has
insufficient food to provide adequate sustenance and all this in a world
that has the resources to feed over six billion people. The problem would
seem to have more to do with organization, and hence politics, than with
any real shortage of food. 10 percent of the world's population owns
almost 90 percent of its total wealth. Hundreds of millions of people work
for less than one dollar a day. And the jobless number over a billion.
Although we now live in a time of "peace", across the globe fifty different
wars are being waged; in many countries capital punishment still exists for
crimes of ideology, in many others people are condemned without a proper
trial, tens of governments are openly dictatorial, in countless nations
there is racial, political, ethnic or religious persecution (twenty million
people are refugees), minorities are without civil rights, freedom of
speech is something many individuals can only dream of.
The extinction of species of animal life, global warming, uncontrolled
deforestation, advancing deserts (a quarter of the world's population lacks
sufficient water), toxic waste disposal; the risks inherent in nuclear
energy and in unregulated exploitation of the earth's resources, frequently
attributable to the interests of multinationals; the dangers implicit in
genetic engineering, organized crime, tax havens, political corruption.
I believe these issues touch each and every one of us. And yet our
political leaders do not always show concern for solving the problems of
the community, on account of the enormous private interests of powerful
lobbies.
CHARTER: talk.better.world
The purpose of this newsgroup is to provide every individual with an
opportunity to make his or her voice heard, since I regard newsgroups
as the only means by which people can express their opinions in public
without their views being "filtered" in some way (i.e. by the media).
Are human beings satisfied with the world they live in? Will man ever
succeed in solving problems of this kind? Is it possible that things will
ever change? Can things ever get better? Will humankind ever be able
to put an end to the present sorry state of our planet? And let's not
forget - what's more - that all this is happening in the third millennium,
in the era of so-called "technological progress" and "prosperity".
Are we (or the persons who represent us politically) doing everything
possible for our less fortunate fellowmen? talk.better.world sets out to
offer a meeting point for all those people who firmly believe solutions can
be found for these problems. It is a forum for everyone who is convinced
that the blame is very often to be attributed to bad organization and to
the lack of political co-operation between nations, rather than to human
beings' indifference. It is a platform for people who are also aware that
man has the means and knowledge to tackle these issues, in order that
life on this earth may one day be better for everyone.
Any topic related to achieving improvements in the critical areas listed
in this charter can be discussed in this newsgroup. It will also welcome
contributions from users living in places affected by the issues addressed
since they will be able to provide first-hand information about all the
problems experienced in their own local context. Because I firmly believe
that in this era of "globalization" - but also of the "global village" -
these problems concern all of us, irrespective of nationality or borders.
Will the Internet ever become a means for changing the world or will it be
nothing more than a means of access to a new, global market built solely
for people with the money to take advantage of it?
END CHARTER.
PROCEDURE:
This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase of
the process, any potential problems with the proposed newsgroups should be
raised and resolved. The discussion period will continue for a minimum of
21 days (starting when the first RFD for this proposal is posted to
news.announce.newgroups), after which a Call For Votes (CFV) may be posted
by a neutral vote taker if the discussion warrants it. Please do not
attempt to vote until this happens.
All discussion of the proposal should be posted to news.groups.
This RFD attempts to comply fully with the Usenet newsgroup creation
guidelines outlined in "How to Create a New Usenet Newsgroup" and "How to
Format and Submit a New Group Proposal". Please refer to these documents
(available in news.announce.newgroups) if you have any questions about the
process.
DISTRIBUTION:
news.announce.newgroups
news.groups
Proponent: Giovanni Greco
https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/news.groups/c/7FAveL02YrU/m/NHnKWyxIPzAJ