FIGU Special Bulletin 031

IMPORTANT NOTE

This is an authorised but unofficial preliminary translation of FIGU material. It has been approved for this website by Jamesm

Introduction

• FIGU Special Bulletin Number: 31
• FIGU Special Bulletin Date: November 2006
• Translator(s): Dyson Devine and Vivienne Legg
• Date of Translation: 16th December 16th 2006

Synopsis

Billy and Ptaah discuss the following topics:

• North Korean atomic bomb test
• the USA/Mexico border fence
• George W. Bush & the Republicans
• Saddam Hussein's death sentence
• Iraq
• Israel's plan to bomb Iranian nuclear plants

FIGU Special Bulletin 31 Translation

An Important Message for the Reader of this Document / Eine wichtige Nachricht an den Leser dieser Schrift

We (Dyson Devine and Vivienne Legg of www.gaiaguys.net) have been given permission by Billy Meier (www.figu.org) to make these unofficial, preliminary translations of FIGU material. Please be advised that our translations may contain errors.

Please read this explanatory word about our translations.

Pages 14 to 16

English	German
Reader's question	Leserfrage
Do you still maintain contacts with the Plejaren, and are there new statements from them regarding the atom bomb tests in North Korea, and are there any predictions about the US House of Representatives/Senate elections, and, what is the status of the prophecy in regard to the Third World War which is prophesied for the year 2006?	Pflegen Sie immer noch Kontakte mit den Plejaren und gibt es von diesen neue Aussagen bezüglich der Atombombentests in Nordkorea, und gibt es irgendwelche Voraussagen auf die US-Abgerordnetenwahlen sowie den Stand der Prophetie in bezug des Dritten Weltkrieges, der für das Jahr 2006 prophezeit ist?
P. Trachsel, Switzerland	P. Trachsel, Schweiz
Answer	Antwort
Naturally the contacts with the Plejaren still always continue and will also further exist until the point in time when I exit from the scene.	Natürlich bestehen die Kontakte zu den Plejaren noch immer und werden auch weiterbestehen bis zu dem Zeitpunkt, da ich von der Bildfläche abtrete.
The latest visit and the latest contact conversation took place four days ago, therefore I want to quote something in line with your question from the official contact conversation No. 436, from October 15th, because it has something to report regarding your several-part question as well as also in regard to other things, however, which were not addressed by you, whereby it is simplest to convey the following extract from the contact conversation:	Der letzte Besuch und das letzte Kontaktgespräch fand vor vier Tagen statt, weshalb ich aus dem offiziellen Kontaktgespräch Nr. 436 vom 15. Oktober etwas gemäss Ihrer Frage zitieren will, denn es gibt bezüglich Ihrer mehrteiligen Frage einiges zu berichten, wie aber auch hinsichtlich anderer Dinge, die von Ihnen nicht angesprochen wurden, wobei es am einfachsten ist, folgenden Auszug aus dem Kontaktgespräch widerzugeben:
Billy	Billy
But there is still North Korea in regard to which you say that the atom bomb test had been feigned, however, in spite of that, an uproar arose around the world.	Da ist aber noch Nordkorea, wozu du sagtest, dass der Atombombentest ein fingierter gewesen sei, dass aber trotzdem rund um die Welt ein Aufruhr entstehe.
Allegedly, however, atomic particles were indeed confirmed to be in the atmosphere, for which reason I wonder why you say the entire thing is only feigned - have I perhaps wrongly understood something in regard to this, because by feigned I understand that something is simulated?	Angeblich wurden aber doch atomare Partikel in der Atmosphäre festgestellt, weshalb ich mich wundere, dass du sagtest, das Ganze sei nur fingiert - verstehe ich diesbezüglich vielleicht etwas Falsches, denn unter fingiert verstehe ich, dass etwas vorgetäuscht wird?
Ptaah	Ptaah
Your understanding corresponds also to that which I have addressed with feigned, because with the so-called test of atom bombs it did not deal with a large atomic bomb, rather with a small test object which, among other things, must also be labelled a target object and an object of provocation which demonstrates less than a kiloton of explosive material, which is ridiculously little and cannot be designated as an actual atom bomb, rather only as an object of deception, with which, additionally, commercial explosives still played a certain role.	Dein Verständnis entspricht auch dem, was ich mit fingiert angesprochen habe, denn bei dem sogenannten Atombombentest handelte es sich nicht um eine grosse atomare Bombe, sondern um ein kleines Testobjekt, das unter anderem auch als Zweckobjekt und als Provokationsobjekt bezeichnet werden muss, das weniger als eine Kilotonne Sprengmasse aufwies, was lächerlich gering ist und nicht als eigentliche Atombombe bezeichnet werden kann, sondern nur als Täuschungsobjekt, bei dem zudem noch kommerzieller Sprengstoff eine gewisse Rolle spielte.
As a matter of fact the entire thing was only calculatingly arranged in order, on one hand, to provoke the countries who are leading in regard to atomic weapons, and on the other hand, in order to warn the USA that North Korea could hit back atomically should they attack the country.	Tatsächlich wurde das Ganze berechnend nur veranstaltet, um einerseits die führenden Staaten in bezug auf Atomwaffen zu provozieren, und andererseits, um die USA zu warnen, dass Nordkorea atomar zurückschlagen könnte, sollten diese das Land angreifen.
That thereby, however, the world was transferred into uproar, is an effect which was not adequately born in mind and which can bring great damage for North Korea which, firstly, at the least, will be as a result of sanctions, whereby, however, North Korea will again feel justified in announcing further atomic actions and making loud threats.	Dass aber damit die Welt in Aufruhr versetzt wurde, ist ein Effekt, der nicht genügend berücksichtigt wurde, und der für Nordkorea grossen Schaden bringen kann, was erstlich zumindest noch durch Sanktionen sein wird, wodurch sich aber Nordkorea wieder bestätigt fühlen wird, um weitere atomare Aktionen anzukünden und Drohungen lautbar werden zu lassen.
Billy	Billy
A dangerous matter, for which, however, primarily the USA carries the guilt, I think.	Eine gefährliche Sache, woran jedoch hauptsächlich die USA die Schuld tragen, meine ich.
Ptaah	Ptaah
Actually the USA, with its delusion that it plays the role of world police and must snatch world control for itself, is to blame for all that which is evil and bad which it officially brings about in North Korea, in Afghanistan, in Iran and in Iraq, as well as in various other countries of the Earth politically, militarily and seditiously, and will yet further bring about.	Tatsächlich sind die USA mit ihrem Wahn, dass sie die Rolle einer Weltpolizei spielen und die Weltherrschaft an sich reissen müssten, schuld an all dem, was sich offiziell an Üblem und Bösem in Nordkorea, in Afghanistan, im Iran und im Irak sowie in verschiedenen anderen Staaten der Erde politisch, militärisch und aufständisch zuträgt und sich noch weiter zutragen wird.
Also to say, in regard to that, is that the irresponsible US President George W. Bush, through a corresponding law, openly supports torture as an interrogation method of prisoners, and indeed especially of political prisoners who are accused of terror.	Diesbezüglich ist auch zu sagen, dass der verantwortungslose US-Präsident George W. Bush durch ein entsprechendes Gesetz offen die Folter als Befragungsmethode von Gefangenen befürwortet, und zwar speziell von politischen Gefangenen, die des Terrors verdächtigt werden.
Also, future so-called terror processes are intended to be carried out through military courts.	Auch sollen künftighin sogenannte Terror-Prozesse durch Militärgerichte durchgeführt werden können.
The corresponding law is already worked out and Bush's signature is as good as given whereby the monstrosity can come into power and the USA can yet further, and more cruelly, ignore all human rights.	Das entsprechende Gesetz ist bereits ausgearbeitet, und die Unterschrift Bushs ist so gut wie gegeben, wodurch die Ungeheuerlichkeit in Kraft treten und die USA sich noch weiter und grausamer über alle Menschenrechte hinwegsetzen können.
Further to report is that US President Bush drives his megalomania and delusion of power so far, making it publicly known that space belongs to the USA and, so to say, nobody has the right to use it apart from the USA.	Weiter ist zu berichten, dass US-Präsident Bush seinen Grössen- und Machtwahn soweit treibt, öffentlich bekanntzugeben, dass der Weltenraum den USA gehöre und sozusagen niemand das Recht habe, ausser den USA, diesen zu nutzen.
Further, this completely irresponsible sectarian signs a document to the effect that a fence, well over 1000 kilometers long, will be erected on the Mexican border in order to hold back the unwanted Mexican economic refugees from reaching the USA and for which the Israelis' wall against Palestine, as well as the former East Germany's wall against West Germany, serve as criminal models for the USA.	Weiter unterschreibt dieser völlig verantwortungslose Sektierer ein Dokument, demgemäss an der mexikanischen Grenze ein weit über 1000 Kilometer langer Zaun errichtet wird, wozu die Mauer der Israelis gegen Palästina sowie die Mauer der ehemaligen DDR gegen West-Deutschland den USA als verbrecherisches Vorbild dient, um unerwünschte mexikanische Wirtschaftsflüchtlinge davon abzuhalten, in die USA zu gelangen.
There is, beside all this, however, something good in regard to the USA to nevertheless report, as I have already explained to you in a quite private way in the 428th contact conversation on the 10th of July of this year; namely, that in the beginning of November, with the election in the USA's House of Representatives/Senate, the irresponsible US president Bush, as well as his vassals and all his Republican followers, will suffer a grave defeat and the Democrats will win the upper hand.	Etwas Gutes ist in bezug auf die USA nebenbei jedoch trotzdem einmal zu berichten, wie ich dir bereits beim 428. Kontaktgespräch am 10. Juli dieses Jahres in ganz privater Weise erklärt habe, nämlich dass Anfangs November bei den Wahlen im Abgeordnetenhaus der USA der verantwortungslose US-Präsident Bush sowie seine Vasallen und all seine republikanischen Anhänger eine schwere Niederlage erleiden und die Demokraten die Oberhand gewinnen werden.
Thereby it will be that the Bush government's secret and crazy plans can no longer be translated into reality, whereby many factors fall away through which a Third World War still threatened before the end of the year 2006.	Dadurch ergibt sich, dass geheime und verruchte Pläne der Bush-Regierung nicht mehr in die Wirklichkeit umgesetzt werden können, wodurch viele Faktoren wegfallen, durch die noch vor Ende des Jahres 2006 ein Dritter Weltkrieg drohte.
Therefore the prophecy, that this year this war threatened, will not be fulfilled.	Also wird sich die Prophetie nicht erfüllen, die diesen Krieg für dieses Jahr androhte.
That this extensive war will, however, not come to be, will actually only be thanks to all those who vote for the Democrats in the USA and thereby will show the war-mongering Republicans, together with their President and his vassals, the boundaries.	Das jedoch, dass dieser umfassende Krieg nicht stattfinden wird, wird tatsächlich nur all jenen zu verdanken sein, die in den USA die Demokraten wählen und damit die kriegshetzenden Republikaner samt ihrem Präsidenten und seinen Vasallen in die Schranken weisen werden.
Were that not to happen, then the Third World War, which Bush would actually still launch in November, if the Republicans could win the election, would not be avoided.	Würde das nicht sein, dann wäre der Dritte Weltkrieg nicht zu vermeiden, den Bush tatsächlich noch im November vom Stapel brechen würde, wenn die Republikaner die Wahlen gewinnen könnten.
His defeat by the Democrats, however, will bind his hands and restrict him in his murderous and criminal behaviour such that the prophecy will not be fulfilled.	Seine Niederlage durch die Demokraten aber wird ihm die Hände binden und ihn in seinem mörderischen und verbrecherischen Handeln derart einschränken, dass sich die Prophetie nicht erfüllen wird.
Nevertheless, however, factors threaten again in later years which could indeed still lead to a Third World War, whereby, however, it is to hope that also then the Earth humans' reason is victorious and the right thing will be done by all who can bring their influence to bear.	Nichtsdestoweniger drohen jedoch zu späteren Jahren wieder Faktoren, die doch noch zu einem Dritten Weltkrieg führen könnten, wobei jedoch zu hoffen ist, dass auch dann die Vernunft der Erdenmenschen siegt und von all jenen das Richtige getan wird, die ihren Einfluss geltend machen können.
Nevertheless, however, still other dangers threaten which can have malignant worldwide effects, as, for example, the fact that the irresponsible powers of Israel have worked out secret plans regarding a rocket and air-force attack against the atomic facilities in Iran.	Nichtsdestoweniger jedoch drohen noch andere Gefahren, die bösartig weltweite Auswirkungen haben können, wie z.B. die Tatsache, dass die verantwortungslosen Mächte Israels geheime Pläne ausgearbeitet haben hinsichtlich einer Raketen- und Luftwaffenattacke gegen die Atomanlagen im Iran.
However, what comes of that in the short term is still not apparent.	Was sich jedoch daraus ergibt, ist über kurze Zeit hinweg noch nicht ersichtlich.
At any rate, such an attack will be supported by the USA, that is certain, because it then does not have to directly interfere in this, and the blame can be shifted onto Israel if something goes awry.	Jedenfalls wird eine solche Attacke durch die USA befürwortet, das steht fest, weil sich diese dann nicht direkt einmischen müssen und die Schuld auf Israel abwälzen können, wenn etwas schief geht.
Further, in the beginning of November, in Iraq, as a result of pressure from the USA government, Saddam Hussein will be condemned to death, along with all who were his closest co-workers.	Weiter wird Anfang November im Irak auf Drängen der USA-Regierung hin Saddam Husain zum Tode verurteilt, nebst jenen, welche seine engsten Mitarbeiter waren.
The US American pressure on the court in Iraq, and in regard to the death penalty strived for by the USA against Hussein and his allies, consists of a US government criminal intrigue in the form that, as a result of the death penalty, the republicans are supposed to win the planned House of Representatives/Senate elections.	Der US-amerikanische Druck auf das Gericht im Irak und in bezug auf das von den USA angestrebte Todesurteil gegen Husain und seine Verbündeten besteht in einer verbrecherischen Intrige der US-Regierung in der Form, dass durch das Todesurteil die Republikaner die anstehenden Wahlen des Abgeordnetenhauses gewinnen sollen.
While these events come about, a renewed incursion of the Israeli Army into Palestine will occur whereby an evil massacre amongst the civilian population will be carried out in Beit Hanun and great destruction will come about in the city.	Während sich diese Ereignisse zutragen, ergibt sich ein erneuter Einbruch der israelischen Armee in Palästina, wobei in Beit Hanun ein böses Massaker unter der Zivilbevölkerung angerichtet wird und in der Stadt grosse Zerstörungen entstehen.
However, because the criminal acts will be condemned worldwide, these criminal Israeli machinations will be trivialized by Israel through lies to the effect that it concerned an oversight and a targeting failure.	Diese verbrecherischen israelitischen Machenschaften jedoch werden, weil weltweit die Verbrechenshandlung verurteilt wird, von Israel durch die Lüge bagatellisiert werden in der Weise, dass es sich um ein Versehen und um einen Zielfehler handle.
The USA will do the rest in regard to that so that Israel will not be publicly rebuked in the least by the UN for the crimes because the USA will veto such a motion.	Den Rest dazu werden die USA tun, damit Israel nicht zumindest durch die UNO öffentlich für das Verbrechen gerügt wird, denn bei einem derartigen Antrag werden die USA ein Veto einlegen.
The events will, however, lead to the Palestinian Hamas organization likewise breaking the negotiated cease-fire and newly threatening Israel with grave assassinations and also carrying these out.	Das Geschehen wird aber dazu führen, dass die palästinesische Hamas-Organisation ebenfalls den ausgehandelten Waffenstillstand bricht und neuerlich mit schweren Attentaten gegen Israel droht und diese auch verübt.
Also the Arabic countries will remove their financial blockade against the Hamas organisation ...	Auch werden die arabischen Staaten ihre Finanzblockade gegen die Hamas-Organisation widerrufen …
Then still this information from a further conversation	Dann noch diese Information aus einem weiteren Gespräch
Billy	Billy
That is indeed so.	Das ist wohl so.
Yet tell me what you think in regard to Iraq?	Doch sag mal, was du hinsichtlich des Irak denkst?
In my opinion the civil war down there has already long begun even if the entire thing is officially not yet labelled as such.	Meines Erachtens hat der Bürgerkrieg dort unten schon lange begonnen, auch wenn das Ganze offiziell noch nicht so bezeichnet wird.
Ptaah	Ptaah
That is actually the case, whereby it concerns a religio-political civil war which is led between the believers of the Sunnis and the Shiites, for which the USA alone carries the guilt, because this is the true initiator and through its irresponsible bellicose invasion and, through the occupation and exploitation of Iraq, it has thrown the entire country and the population into chaos.	Das ist tatsächlich der Fall, wobei es sich um einen religiös-politischen Bürgerkrieg handelt, der zwischen den Gläubigen der Sunniten und den Schiiten geführt wird, woran die Schuld allein die USA tragen, weil diese die wahren Urheber sind und durch ihren verantwortungslosen kriegerischen Einfall und durch die Besetzung und Ausbeutung des Iraks das ganze Land und die Bevölkerung ins Chaos gestürzt haben.
On the coming 23rd of November the civil war will take on even worse forms because on this day several murderous assassinations will result of which altogether, in Baghdad alone, 236 humans will fall victim, which, however, will be trivialized with a much lowered number by the USA and the new Iraqi government.	Ab dem kommenden 23. November wird der Bürgerkrieg noch schlimmere Formen annehmen, denn an diesem Tag erfolgen mehrere mörderische Attentate, denen gesamthaft allein in Bagdad 236 Menschen zum Opfer fallen werden, was jedoch mit einer viel niedrigeren Zahl durch die USA und die neue Irak-Regierung bagatellisiert werden wird.
That is, therefore, the extent of the extract from the contact conversation, about which there is indeed nothing further to add.	Soweit also der Auszug des Kontaktgespräches, dem wohl weiter nichts hinzuzusetzen ist.
Billy	Billy

---

Equality for ALL

«All men are created equal» is a principle that we Americans have heard repeatedly throughout our lifetime. It appears in our Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, and is considered the foundation of American democracy. This principle was intended to guarantee the basic freedoms and natural rights of all citizens of the United States. Many Americans, however, including women, ethnic minorities and people with lesser abilities, poorer education and little or no material possessions have been denied equality from day one of our national independence. As a matter of fact, the Father of our Constitution, James Madison, did his best to limit this universal principle to white, male property owners by inventing a principle of his own, known as the «unequal faculties of acquiring property», which he explained in ‹The Federalist no. 10›. According to this principle, property owners, who were solely wealthy white men back in 1787, are endowed with unequal faculties, from which their rights to acquire property originate. Furthermore, the first object of government, according to Madison, is the protection of these faculties. In other words, the main job of government is to protect the privileged property owners from the unprivileged populace (see «All Men Are Created Equal?» by Steven Hill).

Has equality in America improved since 1776? Well today, the top 20 percent of American earners take over half of the national income, while the bottom 20 percent only take 3.4 percent. Moreover, the U.S. has 269 billionaires, who live in unimaginable luxury, while 37 million Americans live below the poverty line, many of whom, by the way, work two or three jobs (see «37 Million Poor Hidden In The Land Of Plenty» by Paul Harris). On a global basis, the world's 356 richest families own 40 percent of humanity's wealth, while the remaining 7 billion members of our global family have to more or less fight for a slice of the rest of the pie. Nearly half of the human population is losing this fight and now lives in poverty. Inequality is the root cause of all discrimination, intolerance, disrespect, degradation, oppression, exploitation, mismanagement and slavery. Combined with a rapidly growing population, it inevitably leads to mass unemployment, the collapse of traditional social services like health care and old age assistance, a shortage of food, water, housing and energy and ultimately to poverty, hunger and disease. These consequences have already hit many of America's hard-working lower and middle class citizens, whereas the upper class continues to swim in luxury due to the unequal right of propertied citizens to acquire more wealth, more riches and more property than the rest of humanity, based on their unequal faculties. If we as Americans and as a global humanity do nothing to stop this inequality, it will lead us deeper and deeper into a quagmire of irreversible consequences that include tyranny, dictatorship, violence, greed, hatred, terror, global war, civil war, national dissolution and anarchy.

It's quite obvious that the problem of inequality hasn't changed much in America since 1776. Its consequences, however, are far worse today than ever before due to our far greater population. On July 4th, 1776, the population of the first 13 American colonies was about 2.5 million. Today, some 230 years later, the U.S. population has increased 120-fold to nearly 300 million. This extremely high growth rate becomes even more apparent when compared to the current American Indian population which is less than 3 million. As a result of this alarming increase in population, most people in our present-day, profit-oriented society have been reduced in value to mere cost factors. If the jobs we have cost big business owners too much, they're simply rationalized without regard to the human consequences for millions of families across the country. After all, profit maximization is of greater value today than a human being. Why turn a mere profit of millions or billion of dollars a year, when it's possible to double or triple that profit by simply out-sourcing local American jobs to countries where labor is cheap. On a global level, the problem of inequality is even worse: 20 percent of the population in developed nations consume 86 percent of the world's resources. How can we possibly divide our global pie equally among a rapidly growing family of over 7 billion members? It's downright impossible! And with a current global birthrate of 2.25 percent, by the year 3000, each person on earth will have less than 2 square centimeters of living space (see www.ueberbevoelkerung.at). That's why the first logical step to solving the problem of inequality is to establish a global commission of experts to draw up a truly humanitarian program of birth control with the aim of significantly reducing and maintaining our global population at a level where all the people of earth have enough to live on, so we can all lead a life that is truly worthy of human dignity. This global birth control program must equally apply to all nations and must be approved by the people, before it is put into practice. One example of such a program is a 7-year cycle birthrate check, which is explained in an article by Christian Frehner at

www.figu.org/us/overpopulation/birthrate_check.htm.

According to Articles 1 and 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all human beings are equal in dignity and rights, without distinction of any kind. This means that no human being is more valuable or less valuable than another human being, regardless of all differences, such as sex, age, race, belief, education, intelligence, abilities, skills, etc. All people are equal in dignity and worth and are therefore entitled to equal human rights, such as the right to equal treatment and equal respect as a human being, the right to equal opportunities in life, the right to equal education, equal health care, equal housing, equal wages, equal benefits, etc. According to Article 7 of the human-rights declaration, «all are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law». This means that the human rights of all people must be equally protected by the law.

As a result of the increasing globalization, driven by profit maximization, combined with a rapidly growing world population and the rationalization of ever more jobs due to the advancement of computer and information technology (see interview with Jeremy Rifkin), the value of a human being in our society diminishes with each passing day, and this global trend is going from bad to worse, as our global birthrate continues to boom, while the job market gradually shrinks. In 1995, 800 million people were unemployed or underemployed worldwide, and in 2001, this number rose to over one billion. How can we stop this global trend and its devastating consequences? Certainly not by ignoring it or pretending it doesn't exist! We have to wake up and face reality. We are dealing with a ticking time bomb called overpopulation that only we can defuse and bring under control, if we start to use the common sense we were born with to develop an effective solution. If we do not reverse this trend and reduce our global population, all other problems we face today, including inequality, will only get worse and eventually become unsolvable. So instead of fighting each other for the last remaining resources on earth, let's tackle this problem with our ingenuity like rational human beings. We can easily do this by introducing a global birth control program, like the 7-year cycle birthrate check mentioned above. Such a measure would be of great help to us in our fight for equality.

Human equality, by the way, also means that no work of any human being is more valuable or less valuable than the work of another human being. All work fulfills an important function in society and is therefore absolutely equal in value. Consequently, the work of every human being is an equally valuable contribution to society, be it the work of a computer specialist at Microsoft or a burger flipper at McDonalds. As a society, we are indebted to specialists like Bill Gates whenever we use a computer and we are equally indebted to our nation's burger flippers whenever we're on the go and need a quick meal. However, it's hard teaching young people that one job is just as valuable as another, when a privileged minority like Bill Gates rakes in billions of dollars a year, while millions of hard-working American families can barely make ends meet. In a truly democratic and humanitarian society, it's the right and the duty of every responsible citizen to question such inequality. After all, 37 million working Americans live below the poverty line, and that is unworthy of human dignity! If all work is equally valuable and worthy of human dignity, then why aren't all wages?

The prevailing wage inequality throughout the world stems from a false and arrogant assumption that certain jobs are more valuable than others because they allegedly require greater responsibility or a higher education. All jobs, however, require responsibility and know-how, whether it's the job of a teacher, a farmer, a musician, a writer, an office cleaner, a scientist, a street sweeper, a politician or whatever. Every human being fulfills an important function in society through his work, and viewed as a whole, no human being is more or less important or more or less valuable than another in the fulfillment of his work. Therefore, no work of any human being is better, higher, nobler, more important, more meaningful or more valuable than that of another. Every job is equally important and should therefore receive equal pay.

Decisive in performing any work is the effort put forth. Therefore, all human beings have an equal obligation to perform their work to the best of their ability. In return, they should be paid according to the human effort they invest. This means that whoever performs a job to the best of his ability should be paid more than whoever performs a job far below his ability. A system based on rewarding human effort would be more just than the current system of rewarding performance alone because no two people are alike in their abilities and skills. Why should someone be punished with a lower wage for doing his best, when he is less skilled, or rewarded with a higher wage for performing below his potential, when he is more skilled? Besides, a fair system of payment, based on human effort, would be a great incentive for every human being to do his best at work.

All people determine the course of their own life by the decisions and actions they take, and as human beings, we are all obliged to do what we can to fight injustice and to improve our situation in life. Since we alone carry the full responsibility for all of our problems in life, we should also be invested with the full power of self-governance, so we alone can determine the most effective solutions to our problems. After all, a real democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. However, if we as a people choose to ignore our problems or expect other people, like politicians, to solve them for us, we will never overcome them. The people of the United States or any other nation of the world can easily put an end to the inequality they suffer by simply taking control of their own lives and practicing self-governance. The Swiss have been doing this for nearly 150 years now. (See Direct Democracy in Switzerland by Gregory Fossedal at www.adti.net/ddis/DDinSwitzerland_031203.htm and also www.direct-democracy. geschichte-schweiz.ch)

How can we acquire more self-governance? Well, we can start by promoting the organization of people's referendums at all levels of society, so all people can exercise their right to vote on world, national, state and local matters. That way, we the people no longer have to support the activities of political parties or leaders that no longer represent our interests or succumb to the whims of some big business that decides to rationalize jobs in our towns and communities. With people's referendums at world, national, state, county and local levels, we the people - not the politicians - decide whether we as a nation go to war, whether we approve of a particular tax or whether we permit big business to rationalize jobs in our communities. On a global level, we alone decide when and where to send our multinational peace-fighting troops to restore peace in the world (see «World Peace and Multinational Peace-Fighting Troops» by Barbara Harnisch and Billy Meier under ‹Friedenskampftruppen›). The power of a nation will therefore rest in the hands of the people and not the politicians or any other leaders. Our leaders, who must be wise and knowledgeable experts from all walks of life, will only serve in an advisory capacity to educate the population on all issues of concern to the people. They will only be permitted to bring ideas before the people and must then put them into action, once they are voted on.

With the help of people's referendums, we can even put an end to wage inequality. Fair wages for all can be achieved by organizing a nation-wide referendum to vote on this issue. Just think, if we vote for a maximum wage of 120,000 dollars a year in the United States, millions of new jobs can be created, and the wages of all workers can be raised to 50,000 dollars or more a year. This will not only improve the quality of living in America but it will also be a real incentive for all people, young and old, to find work and do their very best on the job. Similar referendums can be organized in all countries of the world. As a matter of fact, if equal wages are established globally, it will quickly put an end to all cheap labor and with it the outsourcing of our jobs and the exploitation of foreign workers.

Many people throughout the world have come up with great solutions to common problems that are just begging to be put into practice. As a matter of fact, the ingenuity of the common people is the most valuable asset of any nation. I've heard better solutions to many of our world and national problems from secretaries, housewives and cleaning ladies than from most politicians. Walt Whitman described the common people with the following words: Genius, «is not best or most in its executives or legislatures, nor in its ambassadors or authors or colleges or churches or parlors, nor even in its newspapers or inventors … but always most in the common people.»

All people have the right to practice self-determination and the responsibility to free themselves from all forms of tyranny so they can go on to accomplish all the things that free and sovereign people have ever dreamed of, such as true freedom, lasting peace and equality for all.

What is Direct Democracy?

Twelve Questions and Answers

(The following questions and answers are from the Direct Democracy Campaign)

Q What is Direct Democracy?

A Direct Democracy is a form of government under which we the people vote directly on many of the issues, unlike the existing Representative Democracy where we basically just vote for a political party to make all the decisions for us.

Q You mean it's about referendums?

A Yes, that's the main bit, although it also encourages people to get more generally involved in running their communities.

Q So what is the Direct Democracy campaign?

A It's a campaign set up to work for direct democracy. It is not tied to any particular political cause or party, and there are many similar groups working for the same thing in other countries around the world.

Q But why set up a new group when you could just as easily campaign from inside one of the political parties?

A Because the leaders of the political parties are deeply opposed to direct democracy. After all, nobody likes having some of their powers taken away.

Q All right, but what are the advantages of Direct Democracy anyway?

A Many! For a start, it means that voters are not just restricted to voting for a party manifesto once every four years or so, even when they disagree with many of the policies contained in it. Under Direct Democracy we will be able to vote for those policies we actually agree with, but against the ones we think are wrong. It means that politicians will not be able to get away with policies that the voters at large don't want. It means that voters themselves will be able to raise issues that the politicians are avoiding. It means…

Q Hold on, are you saying that it won't just be the government who could call referendums?

A Yes! Under Direct Democracy anybody can call a referendum, be they government or just an agreed percentage of the electorate signing a petition detailing the question to be asked. There is no reason why writing the question should always be in the hands of the politicians.

Q Doesn't all this mean an awful lot of voting all the time?

A Not really! In Switzerland the government deals with all the legislative details then puts the big questions to the voters to decide on, along with any issues which the voters themselves have raised. Voters vote up to four times a year, and in the future that will probably be done electronically from home, rather than having to traipse to the polling station every time.

Q So you're saying that Direct Democracy exists in Switzerland already?

A Yes, they've had it for nearly a hundred and fifty years now, and it not only works nationally, but they use it at county and local levels as well. The Swiss people really are in control of their government and local councils, not the other way round. The people vote on economic and social issues, on the constitution, foreign affairs, health, the environment, and also all the issues that crop up at the local level right down to planning applications. And the Swiss are not the only ones. Most democracies hold referendums at some time or another, but some hold far more than others. Recently Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Denmark and Ireland have held referendums, and over half of the states of the United States hold them on a regular basis as a way of making decisions on local issues.

Q OK, this all sounds very fine, but surely the politicians know better than we do, what's right for the country?

A That's what they'll tell you of course, but ask yourself: If the politicians are so good at knowing what's best for the country, then why is it that the two parties are always going at each others throats, each insisting that the other one in government is totally incompetent? The reality is that we the voters would be just as good at making the decisions as they are, if not better. Remember that the Swiss are now the richest country per head of population in Europe. They don't seem to have done too badly with Direct Democracy.

Q But it's different here. We don't have a tradition of using referendums.

A No, but then we didn't have a tradition of votes for women either before we gave women the vote. Tradition must never be an excuse to avoid change. Today, we are better educated than ever before, more inclined to argue with our politicians and much more aware, via the media, of what's going on in the world. We have grown up, and it's time to start making decisions for ourselves.

Q All right, but what about all those pressure groups - big business and the like? Wouldn't they use money to influence the outcome of referendums?

A There are about 220 million voters in the U.S. So there is no way that pressure groups can influence that many people.

Q OK, so what can I do to help?

A Lots of things! Today we have only partial democracy. Internationally, Direct Democracy is the way of the future, but because our government institutions are so deeply entrenched, it will only happen here in the near future if we make it. Direct Democracy itself is about each of us playing our part. So with or without the politicians' agreement, let's get to work. You can find more information on Direct Democracy under the following links:

o The Plea for Direct Democracy: voicesfordd.com

o Direct Democracy League: dleague-usa.net/index.html

o Direct Access Democracy: etches.net

o Worldwide Direct Democracy Movement: world-wide-democracy.net

Let the people decide …

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References

• gaiaguys.net (backup copy)