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Consensus Democracy – How the Occupy Wall Street protesters reach decisions in a very diverse group 4 Nov 2011, 11:43 am

Consensus Democracy – How do the Occupy Wall Street protesters reach decisions in a very diverse group?

We filmed at the Occupy Wall Street protests recently. One of the wonderful things to emerge in these protests has been the Consensus Democracy approach: broad, highly inclusive, community-focused and introspective – everyone has a voice. This form of decision-making is similar to older forms – for example, Quaker Letters – used to find central commonalities among diverse groups.

Consensus Democracy is very powerful. When decisions are reached, you know that the vast majority agree; and that essentially all in the group will accept the result. There is a lot of listening required: deeply understanding the others’ points of view and priorities – good skills for us to re-learn now, especially in U.S. politics!

The use of Consensus Democracy is here described by Andrew, one of the Media Team members of the #OWS group who was present from the beginning, and had been there for more than a month when we interviewed him in October 2011.

Cast: Kevin Hansen

Tags: governance, G, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, change, city, commons, OWS, #OWS and democracy

Source: Vimeo / Kevin Hansen’s videos | Kevin Hansen

Prerna: Girls Refusing Forced Marriages, Choosing Education First 3 Jul 2011, 7:47 pm

We filmed this incredible story of girls choosing education over forced marriage, in the City of Lucknow, India, in 2008. The girls’ video footage includes what the girls filmed themselves, with their Hindi original+English subtitles.

These incredible girls – most of them 14 to 18 years old – were standing up to every form of pressure, with the help of a very incredible school Principal/founder Dr. Urvashi Sahni, and many of them won.

Krista wrote the following about our visit:

“….”

Cast: Kevin Hansen

Tags: marriage, forced, girl, education, Prerna, Lucknow, India, hope, live, inspiration, inspire, young, youth, Urvashi and Sahni

Source: Vimeo / Kevin Hansen’s videos | Kevin Hansen

Common Healing – trailer v3 23 Jun 2011, 12:51 am

Twelve Benefits of a Commons-Based Approach
By Kevin Hansen, June 2011

During the process of filming the documentary Common Healing, it has become clear that there are many benefits from re-looking at difficult, immovable situations from the ancient perspective of the commons.

One: Actionable

A commons approach is actionable now. It can resolve stalled situations by providing new opportunities for movement. A commons framing does not require government approval as a prerequisite.

Two: Declarative

A commons approach is declarative. By invoking action via a declaration of sovereignty, this act redefines the entire situation on commons terms. The striking act of declaring a new sovereignty over a commons could also garner wide interest.

Three: Practical

A commons approach offers a practical management of inspired intent. Because the principles underlying commons action are innately both subjective and objective, the internal flow of intuition must be invoked in order for commons principles to be actuated in physical form. This effectively “channels” inspiration into the everyday world. Commons principles frame those ideals described as part of the wise teachings renowned across major religions and spiritual/philosophical thinking. They are effectively the “user manual for higher intent.”

Four: Goodwill

The commons approach requires goodwill. We begin to recognize our essential interconnectedness via commons thinking – and thus act to help others’ interests as our own. Broad thinking is required in the understanding of the underlying meaning and intent of other people and living beings. These require some measure of essential goodwill, trust, service and cooperation to be manifested in actual work.

Five: Social Legitimacy

Social-chartered organizations are essential to commons work – and carry a far greater weight of social legitimacy.

Six: Commonsense Understanding

The tests of a successfully run commons are commonsense: a) are all included in the benefits of the commons? b) are all responsible for its well-being? c) are the commons healthy, improving, or both? d) is their management fair and sound?

Seven: Examples Abound

Examples of successful commons management abound. For example, a credit union or farmers’ cooperative might readily be adapted into a full-fledged social-chartered organization because they already embody similar ideals. Existing organizations can be better adapted to be aligned with social-chartered objectives.

Eight: Restorative Sustainability

A commons approach naturally incorporates the “restoration of value” implicit in natural ecosystems – expanded to human endeavor. It thereby embodies sustainability as a foundational element, so that ecologically focused action is natural.

Nine: Nature is Explicitly Represented

The natural world is explicitly incorporated in a commons approach. Humanity serves as Trustee for other living beings.

Ten: Better Integration Across Domains

Commons approaches require action to be integrated across domains; with broad-minded thinking, this requires much better integration of practices formerly in ‘silos.’

Eleven: Economics and Politics Get Re-Framed in Positive Ways

The economics and politics needed by shared organizing get re-framed as the practical implementation of inspired intent. This realignment of economics and politics along higher-minded and higher-principled directions provides an outlet for – and an objective for – good governance and fair economics.

Twelve: Rights and Responsibilities for All

A commons approach innately presumes responsibility and rights for all. No one is left out. It is the responsibility of all commons trustees (effectively, this means everyone) to be responsible – even for those who do not speak. Because of the broad-mindedness requirements noted above, this includes not only the young, elderly or disabled people who cannot speak for themselves. It also means the disenfranchised, the poor, the indigenous and other humans who have traditionally not had a significant voice in politics and economics. However, it goes further because the rights of other living organisms are expressly held in trusteeship via a commons approach. In other words, the living world, the natural world has a voice too. Theirs are voices that we must not only respect, but also empower as part of the mutuality-dialogue essential to commons thinking.

Intractable situations like climate change, corrosive political stalemate, social justice and economic empowerment might benefit from such practices.

Common Healing is the commons documentary we are producing. This draft effort is a step towards describing the vision of a ‘third way’ beyond government and business, where people can directly organize around commons they share. Kevin Hansen is a filmmaker, scientist and inventor living in the U.S. near Philadelphia.

Cast: Kevin Hansen

Tags: commons and share

Source: Vimeo / Kevin Hansen’s videos | Kevin Hansen

Organic Food, Diverse Food, Abundant Food: Dr. Vandana Shiva 8 Mar 2009, 10:47 am

Note: if playing is slow or interrupted, try turning HD ‘off.’

Dr. Vandana Shiva, a physicist and powerful leader in the worldwide, growing movement towards organic food, describes her vision for the diverse, healthy ecosystems that once sustained, can provide ample food for humanity.

In a stunning critique, she describes her research demonstrating that organic, diverse food-ecosystems provide far more food, better quality food, better ecosystems/habitat, and more profitability for organic farmers.

Using first-hand investigations, she shows how the debt-cycle of chemical monoculture farming is impoverishing farmers while devastating the ecosystems that sustain our food supply.

Dr. Shiva describes how the farm debt burden of chemical monocultures underlies the terrible suicide problems faced by Indian farmers – and how organic farmers are profitable.

Her vision is an important counterpoint to the discredited notion that chemical monocrop agriculture was preferential.

Author Krista Keenan interviewed Dr. Shiva at the Delhi offices of Navdanya (navdanya.org), Dr. Shiva’s NGO.

Cast: Kevin Hansen

Tags: food, organic, shiva, vandana, diversity, ecosystem, monocrop, chemicals, pesticide, pollinator, india, green and revolution

Source: Vimeo / Kevin Hansen’s videos | Kevin Hansen

The Power of Love is Greater than the Love of Power 5 Mar 2009, 1:07 pm

Jonathan Granoff, Esq. speaks at Common Ground Fellowship in January 2007 about the power of love. This is a wonderful speech. Kit Thomas, a leader/founder of Common Ground, introduces Jonathan.

Jonathan is the President of the Global Security Institute, a longtime leader of the peace and anti-nuclear movements, and a student of the late Bawa Muhaiyadeen.

Cast: Kevin Hansen

Tags: love, peace, hope, power, granoff, jonathan, common, ground, nuclear, philadelphia, bawa and muhaiyadeen

Source: Vimeo / Kevin Hansen’s videos | Kevin Hansen

Thinking Outside the Bomb 18 Feb 2009, 3:14 am

(Note: if Playing is slow or interrupted, try turning off HD – High Definition)

This conference had a stellar lineup of nuclear weapons experts, and it provides the best synopsis I’ve seen online of all the major nuclear weapons issues – filmed in 2007 but still very relevant.

Leading experts on the risks of nuclear weapons, space weaponization, nuclear proliferation, Iran, North Korea and nuclear terrorism gathered to develop a path toward “A World Free of Nuclear Weapons” – a path forward also recently described by George P. Shultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger, and Sam Nunn in the Wall Street Journal on January 4th, 2007.

Featured speakers included Dr. Hans Blix, Dr. Craig Eisendrath, Edward Aguilar, Esq., Ambassador Thomas Graham, Jonathan Granoff, Ambassador Robert Grey, Dr. Helen Caldicott, Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, William Hartung, Dr. Laura Grego, John Isaacs, Dr. Michael McCally, Alexandra Toma, Dr. Jim Walsh, and Stephen Young, at Beyond Nuclear Weapons, a high-level conference of nuclear experts in Washington, DC, March 28th at the National Press Club.

The conference was sponsored by the Project For Nuclear Awareness. PNA is a collaborative project of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, the Global Security Institute, the Lawyers Alliance for World Security, NPRI – Nuclear Policy Research Institute, and Physicians for Social Responsibility. Look for more information about PNA online at The Project For Nuclear Awareness.

Produced by: Kevin Hansen, 8/5/2007
Language: English
Run Time: 60 min. 0 sec.
Story Level 2 = Children may need to ask their parents about the meaning of the Story

Cast: Kevin Hansen

Tags: nuclear, weapons, peace, space, weaponization, iran, north korea, proliferation, blix, eisendrath, granoff, caldicott, edgar, graham, mccally, isaacs, hartung, ambassador, treaty and grey

Source: Vimeo / Kevin Hansen’s videos | Kevin Hansen

Sun Run: No Electric Bills at a Remarkable Passive/Active Solar Home 17 Feb 2009, 12:56 am

(Note: if Playing is slow or interrupted, try turning off HD – High Definition)

Marian Peleski shows how she pays only $2 or so for electricity many months in her custom-designed solar home. She shows how a great solar home works – especially how heat moves. Passive design makes a spring-like shell, with a comfortable living place inside.

Produced by: Pierre Terre, 3/20/2006
Language: English
Run Time: 28 min. 30 sec.
Story Level 2 = Children may need to ask their parents about the meaning of the Story

Cast: Kevin Hansen

Tags: solar, heat, efficiency, electricity, home, environment, construction, climate, passive solar + pv and sustainability

Source: Vimeo / Kevin Hansen’s videos | Kevin Hansen

Community By Design 16 Feb 2009, 2:52 am

Lawrence New Jersey takes action to design an ecologically sustainable future for itself through a FutureSearch conference. They create a marvelous vision of a livable, productive and sustainable future, using The Natural Step principles. See: sustainablelawrence.org/

Produced by: Pierre Terre, 5/8/2006
Language: English
Run Time: 29 min. 48 sec.
Story Level 2 = Children may need to ask their parents about the meaning of the Story

Cast: Kevin Hansen

Tags: communities, new jersey, future, planning, action, visualization, hope, friend, civic, citizenship, development, economy, employment & jobs, environment, energy and life & living

Source: Vimeo / Kevin Hansen’s videos | Kevin Hansen

Dr. Hans Blix, Chairman of the WMD Commission, introduced by Jonathan Granoff, Esq. 15 Feb 2009, 11:06 pm

(Note: if Playing is slow or interrupted, try turning off HD – High Definition)

Dr. Hans Blix, Chairman of the WMD Commission and former Chief Inspector of the IAEA, presents the WMD Commission Report “Weapons of Terror” in Philadelphia, on June 2, 2006 at the National Constitution Center. Dr. Blix provides hope for practical and effective ways of reducing world tensions over Weapons of Mass Destruction. The WMD Commission report gives many specific ways of easing world tensions and moving towards a more peaceful world.

Jonathan Granoff, Esq., President of the Global Security Institute introduces Dr. Blix. See the WMD Commission report and further details at: WMD Commission Report and Global Security Institute

Produced by: Pierre Terre, 6/13/2006
Language: English
Run Time: 34 min. 12 sec.
Story Level 2 = Children may need to ask their parents about the meaning of the Story

Cast: Kevin Hansen

Tags: nuclear, security, Blix, Granoff, weapons, war, hope, peace, disarmament, terrorism, chemical and biological

Source: Vimeo / Kevin Hansen’s videos | Kevin Hansen

Jumping Joyous Urban Jumble 15 Feb 2009, 2:02 pm

(Note: if Playing is slow or interrupted, try turning off HD – High Definition)

Judy Wicks, owner of the White Dog Café in Philadelphia, shares the origins of her incredible business success. Judy has created a vibrant restaurant business committed to organic-only food, fair trade in all products, humanely-raised animals, living wages for her employees, and a host of other leading-edge practices.

While promoting local business, she has helped found the Sustainable Business Network (SBN), the White Dog Foundation (20% of all Café profits go here!), the Fair Foods project, and the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). Judy speaks at the BALLE national conference on June 9, 2006. See SBN Philadelphia, BALLE – Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, White Dog Café and White Dog Foundation

Produced by: Pierre Terre, 6/26/2006
Language: English
Run Time: 29 min. 0 sec.
Story Level 2 = Children may need to ask their parents about the meaning of the Story

Cast: Kevin Hansen

Tags: economy, local, farming, community, food, joy, judy, wicks, humane, fair, living wage, sustainable and women

Source: Vimeo / Kevin Hansen’s videos | Kevin Hansen