Re: Women Strike 11-11

(message to fis@listas.unizar.es from bvogl@cruzio.com)

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Dear Friends and Sentient Beings,

I want you to know about this action that began in a conversation group
in its fourth meeting here in Santa Cruz a couple of weeks ago.

Would you get it out to your extensive network? This is just the
beginning. Nine months later on Mothers Day we will have another one and
another one and on and on and on till REAL changes are made.

Love and thanks for all your forwards,
Barbara

Women Strike 11-11

A worldwide day to raise consciousness and stand up to proclaim that:

… We CAN live together in joy and celebration without fear and
deprivation.

… We CAN stop the insanity of greed and violence which is driving
humanity to its own annihilation.

… Many of us CAN stop the destructive actions of the few.

This is a call to gather together in celebration of respect for all life

and all love.

Women-
Stop offering your service at work and in your communities
on 11-11-02, and beyond as needed.
  Like-hearted men please support the women in your life to participate.

Why Women?
Women contribute fully 2/3 of the work in the world with next to no
voice among the leadership of the world. By this call, we can stop
the world and the destructive path of the world leaders. The values of
nurturing, kindness, caring, dignity, integrity, -and loving one
another have been turned upside down and ignored far too long.

The themes of terrorism and retaliation are rooted in the loss of human
dignity and disregard for human life. They are promoted by
focusing on our differences without recognizing our interconnectedness.
We all know the horrors plaguing our world. Thousands of
children die daily of starvation. Too many people are homeless. Yet, the

knowledge, technology and resources are available to feed, clothe
and house every person on earth without harm. The global economy is
collapsing as untold billions of dollars are diverted to wars and to
the pockets of a few executives. Women do not give birth to watch our
babies die in war and poverty and our families devastated.

This is a human call that transcends politics, cultures, and religions
because we are all impacted by the insanity. Insanity is doing the
same thing over and over and thinking the results will be different. We
have thought we were powerless, therefore we were powerless.
As women, constituting over 51% of the population, we are powerful; our
numbers can demand and create the changes that are
desperately needed. As women, we have had to do many things in our lives

when we didn't know how to do them. Yet we knew they had
to be done, so we set our intention and somehow accomplished our goal.

We also know we can work together - we jump to immediate action in a
crisis for our family, friends and neighbors during illness,
natural disaster or direct attack. Is not the crisis of all the wars in
our world sufficient to take a stand now? Is not the economic crisis
created by the philosophy of greed as devastating as any natural
disaster?

Let us all join together on 11-11, in the streets and in spirit, to make

the transformation we know in our hearts is needed for us to
survive and thrive. The time is Now. In the spirit of celebration, we
strike the tone of how we want to live. Fear is a strategy to keep us
powerless. Don't fall victim to it. Let the strength of our numbers and
commitment show the world we must change now.

Nobel Plea for Justice
"To survive in the world ... we must learn to think in a new way.
As never before, the future of each depends on the goodness of all."
Nobel Laureates, Nobel Peace Prize Centennial Symposium, December 6,
2001

Suggested Actions for Women Strike 11-11
o Send this notice to everyone you know.
o Stop work for one day or more to gather and celebrate our connection
(as long as it doesn't put you at personal risk
or extreme economic hardship.)
o Wear purple, if possible.
o Gather peacefully in your town center, on your block or in your living

room. Invite others to gather with you or if
you can't gather, hold this action in your heart.
o Have all the bells of your community ring together at 12 noon in your
town and ring your own.
o Choose a specific time for a connecting activity. Make it simple,
human and meaningful: meet and greet each other
with respect, honor and joy.
o For large public gatherings please check if you need permits.
o Create a local fund for women who cannot afford to take a day off.

What do we want?
A new agenda that asks different Questions
o How can we assure real peace talks in the mid-east immediately?
o What commitments can leaders make to end homelessness and poverty now?

o How can funds be diverted from military rule to humane efforts?
o How can we work towards safety, peace & harmony among all the peoples
of the world?
o When will policies of terrorism, racism, corporate manipulation and
government abuse of power cease?
o What more is needed to support and build the peace economy?
o Add your own questionsSS

Why 11-11 as the day for Striking & Celebration of Our Humanity?
Very importantly 11-11 is Remembrance Day for Europe and Veterans Day
for the United States, the day to celebrate
the end of all wars, the end of World War I in 1918. Obviously, that did

not happen. Let's make that happen now.

Why Participate in Women Strike 11-11?
This is a simple action that everyone can do, with little funding or
planning, and most importantly the only affiliation
needed is to be a member of the human race who is fed up with the
horrors and stupidity of war, greed and
deprivation.

Our current political, social, religious, civic and economic activities
and theories have not been able to stop the many
horrors in our world. Women Strike 11-11 is not presenting any specific
philosophy except that we are all human and
we are all affected by the insanity. The very act of coming together
will accomplish much: show the world just how
great the numbers are who want change, provide the foundation for new
ideas, meet and greet our community.

We cannot wait in fear and trembling, praying for the "powers that be"
to change. We must live that change and
announce it to the world. Gandhi and Martin Luther King achieved change
- we are the change. A day of striking from
work and gathering to celebrate will ignite this change.
When people can hold the vision of a world in joy with basic human needs

met, they change their lives. When enough
people do this, the world changes.

Genesis of Women Strike 11-11
This idea could have come from any number of people or groups worldwide
who are deeply concerned with the status
of our world. However, a small group of 10 women, aged 35 to 94 were
meeting bi-weekly for 2 months because of
their frustration and sense of hopelessness with the world situations.
These women brainstormed Women Strike. They
realized that the power of the Internet and individual networking could
generate the numbers to make an impact.

Reach & Impact of Women Strike 11-11
o In the first week we have contacts in 23 countries. Please extend our
reach around the world.
o The goal is to have individuals and groups worldwide from all walks of

life, cultures, religions, political, civic, and social
affiliations to spread the word and participate in the Women Strike.
o The more women in communities worldwide who participate in small and
large groups, and notify the press in their
area, the more effective Women Strike 11-11 will be.

Please let us know what you're doing through our web site or by writing
or calling.

Women Strike was birthed in the home of a 94 year old woman who
remembers
that when she was ten years old she was filled with the incredible joy
of celebrating 11-11-1918 which was declared Armistice Day.
The joy was that this was the end of the war that
  was promised to be the end all wars.
Let us fulfill that promise!

For More Information

PO Box 3481 Santa Cruz, CA 95063 888-549-5922
womenstrike1111@yahoo.com
      www.womenstrike.net
                                                            --
                                              Nobel Plea for Justice
       "To survive in the world, ... we must learn to think in a new way.

As never before, the future of each depends on the goodness of
all." excerpt from Nobel Laureates at the Nobel Peace Prize Centennial
Symposium, December 6, 2001. The signatories include: His Holiness The
Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Oscar Arias
Sanchez. source-- yes! a journal of positive futures, spring 2002

Hina Branah Pendle, Ph.D.
UsPartners, Organizational Development and Transformation
voice 831-662-2232 fax 831-662-2256 pager 800-356-6288
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Received on Mon Aug 26 12:13:37 2002