July 6, 2006: Global Expertise or Governance? Digital Universe & ManyOne.net

For those who were interested in the posts on global governance, the UN / UNESCO influence in Canada (Frost Hits the Rhubarb: Jan. 15-22, 06 -- check below), there follows information about a parallel internet or alternet and who influence, control, own various aspects ... There are some familiar names and organizations

Who are the ones fit to choose and deliver the appropriate content ... and who makes the choices? Who will oversee your and your children's environmentally sensitive, socially conscious life?

Below, you will read that there will be the free flow of information, undoubtedly channelled through a leftist progressive bias, with the Digital Universe partners ... Additionally, there will be "socially-responsible commercial services". Wasn't it supposed to be ad-free?

ManyOne Opens Door to Fulfilling Internet's Original Potential ... A world-class team of executives and staff from USWeb, Microsoft, UTStarcom, HP, Sony, ... Maurice Strong and other social leaders and scientists worldwide ...
http://www.dufoundation.org/press/press200601163.php

[....] The Digital Universe is being developed by some of the most respected experts in the world, through a new public-private partnership founded and catalyzed by the technology platform and operating company, ManyOne Networks in partnership with the Digital Universe Foundation. [Check for the overlap.] Experts now involved work at leading universities, government agencies, non-profit institutions and select corporations, including:

[Search each -- informative ...]

* National Council for Science and the Environment

* World Resources Institute [ WRI and The Board ]

[...]

* ESRI

[world leader in GIS (geographic information system) modeling and mapping software and technology.... -- Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) ... GIS software .... Since 1984 .... -- and here

GIS is being used to build operational systems for better management of our infrastructure, controlling urban growth, mitigating natural disasters, reducing poverty and crime, maintaining biodiversity, sustaining economic growth, finding new sources of energy, and securing our safety. GIS is also being used to provide new services to the public including web portals for driving directions, spatially searching electronic yellow pages, tracking children with global positioning systems (GPS) enabled phones, vehicle navigation and visualizing our world [mapping]. [....]

Search: ArcGIS , ArcGlobe web service , Alex Miller, President

Geography Network Canada portal Search: WWF -- ESRI Canada presents UNB with an Award of Excellence at ESRI Canada's 7th annual ESRI Regional User Conference -- [Service NB and others use the software -- tied in to using Microsoft products, it appears]

* Humane Society of the United States

[...]

* Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography

[...]

* University of Tokushima

* World Nuclear Organization

In the Digital Universe, ... experts will guide the selection and creation of subject-specific “portals” — Web pages with new features such as 3D navigation and advanced information services .... tie together thousands of ad-free portals and millions of the Web’s best links

... building the “Earth Portal” — a zoomable, pannable 3D replica of Earth upon which environmental, educational and entertainment content and socially-responsible commercial services ... Two examples of participating organizations are National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE), the hub of a environmental scientist and educator network at over 140 universities from Stanford in the west to Yale in the east; and ESRI, the “Microsoft of Geographical Information Systems” serving more than 250,000 professional map makers around the world. Both are playing key roles in the development of the Earth Portal in partnership with the Digital Universe team .... highest-quality information available...” said Dr. Cutler Cleveland, Chair of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies at Boston University, and Chair of the coalition of scientists developing the Earth Portal and related portals spanning Earth’s environment.[....]

We wouldn't want to interfere with the free flow of information, would we? Does anyone else see CONTROL writ large? ......... What about the scientist or environmentalist who is not part of that select group, one who has a theory, an idea or even proof of something that does not fit into what is being presented by the "ad free" portal, home of those presenting the "environmental, educational and entertainment content and socially-responsible commercial services"? Isn't there a contradiction in that last sentence somewhere?

But there is more:

About ManyOne Networks [Maurice Strong's ManyOne.net of which I wrote in January -- see Background section below]

ManyOne is a vehicle for people and organizations to collaborate in the creation of a new, socially responsible information medium. ManyOne and its partners are pioneering new ways for people to learn about our world and universe, communicate, work and trade with each other and experience each others' talents. ManyOne's vision is to fulfill the original potential of the Internet as an open, democratic medium that inspires creativity, communication, collaboration and education. The organization is working with a growing alliance of partners worldwide to evolve a dazzling new kind of Web experience.

ManyOne embodies a new standard of social responsibility in governance, objectives and conduct for for-profit companies. For more information ... visit ManyOne Networks

[....] SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — January 16, 2006 — ManyOne Networks (http://ManyOne.net) ... pilot version of a next-generation multimedia Internet medium called the Digital Universe (http://DigitalUniverse.net)

[....] "... to serve the public at large and the thousands of non-profit organizations that are working for positive social and environmental change," [....]

Organized within a socially responsible financial and ownership model [....]

A world-class team of executives and staff from USWeb, Microsoft, UTStarcom, HP, Sony, AOL/Netscape, Nokia and Lockheed have joined forces over the past three years to build this unique enterprise. [....]


ManyOne is a company with an ethical compass. An integral facet of its unique business plan is that it will become wholly owned by the international nonprofit ManyOne Foundation as of 2006. The Foundation’s Board of Directors, which will include Jane Goodall, Paul Hawken, Maurice Strong and other social leaders and scientists ... the assets and activities of ManyOne Networks, along with profits paid out to the Foundation, go to advancing the greater public good. [Who will decide what is the greater public good? ]

The ManyOne Foundation will become the owner of ManyOne Networks in 2006, and is guided by the Earth Charter, a roadmap of principles for realizing a just and sustainable world. Its Board of Directors, .... individuals presently committed to join the Board include:

* Mahnaz Afkhami, Founder and President of Women's Learning Partnership (WLP), former Minister of State for Women's Affairs in Iran, and a leading advocate of women's rights for more than three decades

* Jane Goodall, anthropologist, conservationist and founder of the Jane Goodall Institute

* Khadija Haq, President of Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre and a leader on issues of economic and social development and women’s empowerment

[ Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative - EGI ... Khadija Haq (Pakistan) President, Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre. ]

* Paul Hawken, environmentalist, educator, entrepreneur, journalist and best-selling author

[Natural Life Magazine #44 - The Future According to Paul Hawken ... According to futurist and writer Paul Hawken, they're concepts we have to understand if we want to ... The Industrial Age, Paul Hawken says, is dead. ...

Natural Capitalism News: We can create new jobs, restore our environment, and promote social stability. The solutions are creative, practical, and profitable. By Paul Hawken ...

True Cost Economics : Paul Hawken -- A spider can spin silk as strong as kevlar, without using high ... In his acclaimed book Natural Capitalism, Paul Hawken (with co-authors Amory ...

Paul Hawken and The Ecology of Commerce -- Paul Hawken is also emerging as one of the leading philosophers of the sustainability movement. ... As Paul Hawken told Leila: "Your products are beautiful. ...

NCI Intro The Natural Capital Institute is a direct offshoot of Paul Hawken’s work and writings, in particular his books Ecology of Commerce and Natural Capitalism: ... ]

* Hazel Henderson, world-renowned authority on sustainable economics [definition?]

* Ashok Khosla, social entrepreneur, environmental visionary, and 2002 winner of the prestigious UNEP Sasakawa Environment Prize

[A small digression in case anyone wants to apply for the UNEP Sasakawa Environmental Prize; this organization is located in Nairobi, Kenya and mail may be slow.

United Nations Environment Programme -- UNEP Sasakawa Prize

The UNEP Sasakawa Prize is awarded every year to individuals who have an established track record of achievement and the potential to make outstanding contributions to the protection and management of the environment consistent with the policies and objectives of UNEP.

Nomination forms for the UNEP Sasakawa Prize are available online or from:
The Secretary
UNEP Sasakawa Prize
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Division of Communications and Public Information
P.O. Box 30552
Nairobi, Kenya ...
Deadline: 15 March 2007]

[Further information from the YouthXchange -- The prize is not limited to adults, note. ]

UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) ... to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment [....]

United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972 .... Pahlavi Prize ....In 1982, the UNEP Governing Council accepted an endowment of US$1 million from the Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation ... would be administered by UNEP.

[....] Candidates can be associated with any field of the environment. Those eligible to make nominations include, but are not limited to, specialists in environmental sciences, academies of science, engineering and research, members of the United Nations system, governments and inter-governmental organisations, trade unions and non-governmental organisations. [You may not be an expert but if you're appointed to an NGO, become a trade union member or are appointed a UN representative ....... do apply. That opens the field considerably. ]

cool for you: take part and fill the nomination form you can download at UNEP.org ]

* Richard Perl, a founder of the Social Venture Network and the Threshold Foundation

* Hans Schoepflin, entrepreneur and philanthropist

[ManyOne Opens Door to Fulfilling Internet's Original Potential ... ... Richard Perl, a founder of the Social Venture Network and the Threshold Foundation; Hans Schoepflin, entrepreneur and philanthropist; Maurice Strong, ...

ManyOne – The Foundation -- Hans Schoepflin: Entrepreneur and philanthropist. Maurice Strong: Former Senior Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and to the President ...

Bioneers -- Hans Schoepflin is the founder and president of Panta Rhea, a family foundation which strives to create social change by supporting a broad spectrum of ... -- Oakland Institute Motto: "There is no such thing as spontaneous public opinion. It all has to be manufactured from a center of conviction and energy." - Beatrice Webb

[The list of a few publications is indicative of the political slant. ]

Why We Oppose CAFTA-DR May, 2005

Contamination by Experimental Genetically Engineered Crops Should Not be “Found Acceptable” March, 2005

Inequity in International Agricultural Trade: The Marginalization of Developing Countries and Their Small Farmers March 2005

America AmBUSHed: Report Card on Bush's Four Years in the White House October 2004

Referendum in Venezuela: An Eyewitness Account of a Historical Home Run August 2004

Activist Cash Website -- Panta Rhea Foundation Also known as Schoepflin Foundation

Environmental Grantmakers Association is funded by the Panta Rhea Foundation, along with several others, including the Tides Foundation, numbering 250 foundations from around the world ]

* Maurice Strong, former Senior Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and to the President of the World Bank

* Jonah Wittkamper, biologist, technologist and organizer of the world’s youth community

* Professor Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, which launched the worldwide micro-credit movement

[See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grameen_Bank

The Hilton Foundation & Humanitarian Prize jury have included: Princess Salimah Aga Khan of Geneva, Switzerland, Professor Muhammad Yunus, William H. Foege, M.D., M.P.H., chairman of the Global Health Council, senior advisor to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation .... -- Impact of the Grameen Bank on Local Society -- Last year the bank made a profit of US$ 680000. Thus the Grameen Bank is an ... Architecture Award by the jury of the Swiss based Aga Khan Foundation. ... -- Nonprofits pursue private investors Business Week, Microfinance: Services the Poor Can Bank On by Chris Farrell, 2 May, 2006

[....] Philanthropy is a vital source of risk capital in this industry. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave $2.2 million over three years to the microfinance organization Opportunity International to develop a trans-African network of new commercial banks for the poor. The Gates Foundation also gave a $5.5 million grant to the Aga Khan Foundation USA for a microinsurance initiative in Pakistan and Tanzania. ]

On microfinancing, see

Grameen Bank
http://www.grameen-info.org/
bank/GBdifferent.htm

Aga Khan Development Network
http://www.akdn.org/
agency/akf.html

Memory Lane: Background

Frost Hits the Rhubarb: Jan. 15-22, 06 There are several posts; check the list at the top.

January 20, 2006: Global Ministry of Truth

Search: ManyOne , OneWorld T.V. , Human Rights , the power of the media to benefit children , ManyOne Foundation , integrate social objectives in business , Green Economic Movement Strategies , GEMS , Climate Institute and Equinox Energy Solutions , Khadija Haq , social development and women’s empowerment , have the ideological zealots doing the writing and editing , OneWorld and Irfan Khan's Training Video on Radio-browsing Techniques , OneWorld and UNESCO , SchoolNet telecollaboration

January 19, 2006: OneWorld, Maurice Strong, UNESCO & The Global Governance Gang -- Search:

One World Home Page
Updated: Our Freedom alert! Maurice Strong, Internet, Democracy Watch , the UNESCO cabal , nongovernmental organizations
Compassion & the Global Guilt Gang [including:]

The global guilt crowd ... saving the world ... [HIV/AIDS, Stephen Lewis]
Canadians & the Global Guilt Mafia , The global guilt crowd ... saving the world ... speaking engagements ... cushy sinecures ... international hotel rooms ... fine dining ... and our guilt
appointed by the Organization of African Unity
A Personal View: the UN's Lewis sounds like a disciple of Maurice Strong ...
Hindsight ... always 20-20 ... Inuit activists [with a Washington connection]
Strong Road to Global Governance
Strong Revamped Oil-for-Food

Scroll to April 21, 06: More Stephen Lewis & the Global Guilt & Governance Gang -- or check here