Love your neighbours and your enemies

I had pledged not to eat anything and drink only still water until at least 101 people signed this Petition of Love.  It took exactly 7 days or 168 hours (from 11 to 18 October 2007,  5pm British Summer Time (GMT plus 1 hour) or 10pm Bangladesh Time) for 101 people to sign.
 
I fasted to remind people of all the millions of people who have died in famines worldwide and the many millions who continue to die  every year due to poverty.  You can read about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famines and a related article: http://www.globalhunger.net/sharma2.html

YOU have saved my life and potentially, the lives of billions of other people by the simple act of signing this Petition of Love.

By signing this, YOU will also be making history. Please remember that every minute at least 20 children die due to poverty. The time to act is NOW.

The Cover Letters to this petition were received by Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II and the Right Honourable Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom on 27 October 2007.  We think that the Right Honourable Pesident Geroge W. Bush Jr. has also received his Cover Letter by now.  It was posted on 23 October 2007 by Air Mail.  We are unable to track Air Mail delivery.

1% (66 million people) of the world population (6.6 billion people) own 40% of the wealth.  10% (660 million people) of the world population own 90% of the wealth.  The remaining 90% (5.94 billion people) of the world population are scavenging over the remaining 10% of the wealth.  Amongst these 5.94 billion people, 3 billion people live on less than $2 a day and 1.3 billion people live on less than $1 a day.  Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/guides/457000/457022/html/nn5page1.stm

Map of the people who live on up to $1 a day:
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=179

Map of the people who live on up to $2 a day:
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=180

History of poverty from 1 C.E. (common era) to 2002 C.E.:

http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=159
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=160
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=161
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=162
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=163
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=169

Ongoing e-conference about Making Poverty History:
http://cultureventure.freeforums.org/viewtopic.php?t=27

It is better to have Fair Trade than unfair trade.  We do request that FREE TRADE is replaced by FAIR TRADE policies and practices worldwide.  However, trade requires production and transportation and consumption - all of which has ecological impact. It would be even better to have less consumption and more sharing. All we need to do is distribute resources evenly so every one has enough. It can be done if those who have would agree to share with those who do not have.  As Gandhi said, 'The world has enough for everyone's needs but not enough for even one man's greed.'

==============================================

Your Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Right Honourable Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Right Honourable President George Bush Jr. of the United States of America.

Thank you for taking the time to read our petition.  We would like to make the following sincere requests.  It is not our intention to cause offence or hurt.  Therefore, kindly refrain from taking offence or being hurt.  We merely request an honest, ethical and consistent response.

Given that the Union Jack of the U.K. is made up of the flags of Saint George, Saint Andrew and Saint Patrick and given that the Right Honourable President George Bush Jr. called the U.S.A. 'One nation under God' and 'In God we trust' has been the American national motto since 1956, we request that the U.K. and the U.S.A. decommission all weapons in the U.K. and the U.S.A and try to get all other countries to do the same through your laudable example.  Also, we request that the British and American troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan and Iraq.  Please see the documentary called 'Distorted Morality: America's War on Terror?' by Professor Noam Chomsky for more information about the unethical nature of the American and British 'War on Terror'.  We further request that private ownership of guns are banned in the U.S.A. and in all other countries where they are not already banned.
 
We also request that the U.K. and the U.S.A. supported Zionist occupation of Israel is ended immediately and reparations are made by Israel and their supporters for wrongdoings committed since 1882 when the British began the bringing of jews to Palestine.  Please see: http://www.occupation101.com/ for more information about the situation.

The U.S.A. currently donates 0.2% and the U.K. less than 0.4% of their respective gross national incomes as official aid.  Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_development_assistance for more information about aid given by rich countries to poor countries.

Your Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Right Honourable Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Right Honourable President George Bush Jr., given that the Bible urges Christians to love their neighbours as themselves, we request that you donate 50% of the gross national income of the U.K. and the U.S.A. to helping those in need worldwide.  Given that 75% of the Americans and 72% of the British identify themselves to be Christians we expect that they would be only too grateful for this opportunity to show their loving obedience of God  After all, God is love, and all who live in love, live in God (1 John 4:16).

Your Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Right Honourable Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Right Honourable President George Bush Jr., Given that Christians pray 'Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors', we request that all debts owed by developing countries are cancelled.

The rich countries owe 27 times more in carbon debt than poor countries pay in debt repayments to wealthy nations.  Source: http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/?lid=3337

We request that this carbon debt is repaid as sustainable development grants for developing countries.

We also request that the U.K. and the U.S.A. cut carbon emission by at least 80 per cent by 2008.  The U.K. gives £10.4 billion subsidy to the aviation industry every year.  Given that flying already accounts for 13 per cent of the U.K.'s climate change impact and is our fastest growing source of greenhouse gases, we request this subsidy is stopped and flying is discouraged through higher taxation.

We further request that the British power plants which use coal and gas as fuel and are only 35 per cent efficient (and thus waste 65 per cent of the power produced), be replaced with decentralised combined heat and power plants which are 95 per cent efficient and are supplemented by renewable energy farms such as those using solar, wind and hydro-electric systems.

The United Kingdom, with 1% of the worlds population, has 5% of the IMFs votes. Sub-Saharan Africa, with 12% of the population, has 4.6%. The U.K.s share equals that of China and India put together.  The U.K.s share is 5 times as big as Argentinas, 19 times Bangladeshs, 35 times Kenyas, 124 times bigger than Malawis. The U.S.A. with 4.5% of the worlds population, has 17% of the votes.  THe E.U. with 7.5% of the wordls population, has 32% of the votes.  The G7 nations: the U.K., U.S.A., Japan, Germany, France, Canada and Italy together possess 45% of the vote.  The other 177 members are left to squabble over the remains.
For example, 47 African countries have, between them, 5% of the votes.  Even these numbers tell only half the story. The five countries with the biggest quotas - the U.S.A., U.K., Japan, Germany and France are each allowed to appoint their own executive director to the IMFs board. The rest must submit their candidates for election.  Source: http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007/04/17/the-emperor-of-africa 

This is unethical and non-democratic.  For more information on unethical policies (and their effects) of the World Bank and the IMF please see: http://www.wdm.org.uk/resources/multimedia/maps.htm

We request that the IMF and the World Bank are reformed so that they are ethical.  We also request reparations for past unethical actions of the IMF and the World Bank.

The IMF and the World Bank has been forcing developing countries to adopt capitalistic health care systems modelled on the unethical American health care system.  Even the British NHS is plagued by privatisation.  We request that the British NHS is returned to its 1948 socialist health care approach.  We also request that all countries have FREE universal integrated health care systems modelled on countries such as Cuba where excellent health care is provided for free to all who need it despite Cuba being a developing country.  Clearly, the issue is not money, the issue is policy.  While we are at it, we also request that all privatised pharmaceutical companies are banned and medication development be brought under the control of the public and/or the voluntary sector.  The Scotsman Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin and refused to patent it because he put people before personal profit.  Many seem to have forgotten this example.  It is NOW time to change the priorities and put people before profit, once and for all.  If anyone is not convinced of the wisdom of this change, please watch the documentary called 'The Corporation' by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan and the documentary called 'Sicko' by Michael Moore.

Your Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Right Honourable Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Right Honourable President George Bush Jr., given that the U.K. and the U.S.A. never made reparations for their worldwide wrongdoings across the centuries, on behalf of humanity, we request that reparations are carried out.  The U.K. and the U.S.A. have developed at the expense of the developing countries through colonisation and slavery.  The reparation for wrongdoings is long overdue.

For a small selection of reminders of broken pledges and wrongdoings by the British and the Americans, we respectfully invite you to look at the slideshow called Bengal to Dundee Virtual Journey which is downloadable for FREE from http://www.CanWithCandle.org/websites.htm

Please remember that 1 child dies of poverty every 3 seconds.  Please remember that 20 children die of poverty every single minute.  Please remember that 1,250 children die of poverty every single hour.  Please remember that 30,000 children die of poverty every single day.  Please remember that 210,000 children die of poverty every single week.  Please remember that 900,000 children die of poverty every single month.  Please remember that 10,950,000 children die of poverty every single year.  Please remember that 109,500,000 children die of poverty every single decade.  Right now is the time to act in a life promoting manner.

We also request that people from overpopulated and disaster prone regions such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and other countries are helped to emigrate to underpopulated countries such as Scotland, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.  All of these countries are under the Crown of the Defender of the Faith, your Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II.   We request that your Majesty kindly make good use of your God given position of power because with great power, comes great responsibility.

http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=251  This link shows deaths from storms from 1975 to 2000.  500,000 people died in Bangladesh (then, East Pakistan) in 1970 and 138,987 in 1991 in Bangladesh.

Please remember that the Bible (Matthew 5:42) says to 'Give to those who ask.'  We are asking for all of the above on behalf of all of humanity.

Please accept our sincere gratitude for taking the time to read and of course, act, in accordance to our petition.  Please remember that 'All things are possible with God.' (Matthew 19:26)

Here are some reminders from the Bible:

Galatians 5:14
The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbour as yourself."

Matthew 5:40-42
If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and do not turn away from those who want to borrow.

Matthew 5:44
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Matthew 19:21-24
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Phillippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Acts 2:44-45
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as they had need.

Luke 6:37
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

1 John 4:16
God is love, and all who live in love, live in God.

Yours faithfully,
Sazib Mahmud Bhuiyan (Citizen of Bangladesh & the U.K.)
Founder
Can With Candle & Culture Venture
http://www.canwithcandle.org/ & http://www.cultureventure.org/
147 Forth Crescent
Dundee DD2 4JA
Scotland, U.K.

==============================================

Can With Candle is an international charity registered in Scotland.  Charity registration number with OSCR is: SC038605
You can look us up on OSCR's website: http://www.OSCR.org.uk

The charity has the legal structure of a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee: SC329232.  You can look us up on this website:
http://www.companies-house.gov.uk

Culture Venture is an international not-for-profit social enterprise registered in Scotland.

The not-for-profit social enterprise has the legal structure of a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee: SC306480.  You can look us up on this website:
http://www.companies-house.gov.uk

I had pledged not to eat anything and drink only still water until at least 101 people signed this Petition of Love.  It took exactly 7 days or 168 hours (from 11 to 18 October 2007,  5pm British Summer Time (GMT plus 1 hour) or 10pm Bangladesh Time) for 101 people to sign.
 
I fasted to remind people of all the millions of people who have died in famines worldwide and the many millions who continue to die  every year due to poverty.  You can read about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famines and a related article: http://www.globalhunger.net/sharma2.html

YOU have saved my life and potentially, the lives of billions of other people by the simple act of signing this Petition of Love.

By signing this, YOU will also be making history. Please remember that every minute at least 20 children die due to poverty. The time to act is NOW.

The Cover Letters to this petition were received by Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II and the Right Honourable Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom on 27 October 2007.  We think that the Right Honourable Pesident Geroge W. Bush Jr. has also received his Cover Letter by now.  It was posted on 23 October 2007 by Air Mail.  We are unable to track Air Mail delivery.

1% (66 million people) of the world population (6.6 billion people) own 40% of the wealth.  10% (660 million people) of the world population own 90% of the wealth.  The remaining 90% (5.94 billion people) of the world population are scavenging over the remaining 10% of the wealth.  Amongst these 5.94 billion people, 3 billion people live on less than $2 a day and 1.3 billion people live on less than $1 a day.  Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/guides/457000/457022/html/nn5page1.stm

Map of the people who live on up to $1 a day:
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=179

Map of the people who live on up to $2 a day:
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=180

History of poverty from 1 C.E. (common era) to 2002 C.E.:

http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=159
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=160
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=161
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=162
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=163
http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=169

Ongoing e-conference about Making Poverty History:
http://cultureventure.freeforums.org/viewtopic.php?t=27

It is better to have Fair Trade than unfair trade.  We do request that FREE TRADE is replaced by FAIR TRADE policies and practices worldwide.  However, trade requires production and transportation and consumption - all of which has ecological impact. It would be even better to have less consumption and more sharing. All we need to do is distribute resources evenly so every one has enough. It can be done if those who have would agree to share with those who do not have.  As Gandhi said, 'The world has enough for everyone's needs but not enough for even one man's greed.'

==============================================

Your Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Right Honourable Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Right Honourable President George Bush Jr. of the United States of America.

Thank you for taking the time to read our petition.  We would like to make the following sincere requests.  It is not our intention to cause offence or hurt.  Therefore, kindly refrain from taking offence or being hurt.  We merely request an honest, ethical and consistent response.

Given that the Union Jack of the U.K. is made up of the flags of Saint George, Saint Andrew and Saint Patrick and given that the Right Honourable President George Bush Jr. called the U.S.A. 'One nation under God' and 'In God we trust' has been the American national motto since 1956, we request that the U.K. and the U.S.A. decommission all weapons in the U.K. and the U.S.A and try to get all other countries to do the same through your laudable example.  Also, we request that the British and American troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan and Iraq.  Please see the documentary called 'Distorted Morality: America's War on Terror?' by Professor Noam Chomsky for more information about the unethical nature of the American and British 'War on Terror'.  We further request that private ownership of guns are banned in the U.S.A. and in all other countries where they are not already banned.
 
We also request that the U.K. and the U.S.A. supported Zionist occupation of Israel is ended immediately and reparations are made by Israel and their supporters for wrongdoings committed since 1882 when the British began the bringing of jews to Palestine.  Please see: http://www.occupation101.com/ for more information about the situation.

The U.S.A. currently donates 0.2% and the U.K. less than 0.4% of their respective gross national incomes as official aid.  Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_development_assistance for more information about aid given by rich countries to poor countries.

Your Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Right Honourable Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Right Honourable President George Bush Jr., given that the Bible urges Christians to love their neighbours as themselves, we request that you donate 50% of the gross national income of the U.K. and the U.S.A. to helping those in need worldwide.  Given that 75% of the Americans and 72% of the British identify themselves to be Christians we expect that they would be only too grateful for this opportunity to show their loving obedience of God  After all, God is love, and all who live in love, live in God (1 John 4:16).

Your Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Right Honourable Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Right Honourable President George Bush Jr., Given that Christians pray 'Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors', we request that all debts owed by developing countries are cancelled.

The rich countries owe 27 times more in carbon debt than poor countries pay in debt repayments to wealthy nations.  Source: http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/?lid=3337

We request that this carbon debt is repaid as sustainable development grants for developing countries.

We also request that the U.K. and the U.S.A. cut carbon emission by at least 80 per cent by 2008.  The U.K. gives £10.4 billion subsidy to the aviation industry every year.  Given that flying already accounts for 13 per cent of the U.K.'s climate change impact and is our fastest growing source of greenhouse gases, we request this subsidy is stopped and flying is discouraged through higher taxation.

We further request that the British power plants which use coal and gas as fuel and are only 35 per cent efficient (and thus waste 65 per cent of the power produced), be replaced with decentralised combined heat and power plants which are 95 per cent efficient and are supplemented by renewable energy farms such as those using solar, wind and hydro-electric systems.

The United Kingdom, with 1% of the worlds population, has 5% of the IMFs votes. Sub-Saharan Africa, with 12% of the population, has 4.6%. The U.K.s share equals that of China and India put together.  The U.K.s share is 5 times as big as Argentinas, 19 times Bangladeshs, 35 times Kenyas, 124 times bigger than Malawis. The U.S.A. with 4.5% of the worlds population, has 17% of the votes.  THe E.U. with 7.5% of the wordls population, has 32% of the votes.  The G7 nations: the U.K., U.S.A., Japan, Germany, France, Canada and Italy together possess 45% of the vote.  The other 177 members are left to squabble over the remains.
For example, 47 African countries have, between them, 5% of the votes.  Even these numbers tell only half the story. The five countries with the biggest quotas - the U.S.A., U.K., Japan, Germany and France are each allowed to appoint their own executive director to the IMFs board. The rest must submit their candidates for election.  Source: http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007/04/17/the-emperor-of-africa 

This is unethical and non-democratic.  For more information on unethical policies (and their effects) of the World Bank and the IMF please see: http://www.wdm.org.uk/resources/multimedia/maps.htm

We request that the IMF and the World Bank are reformed so that they are ethical.  We also request reparations for past unethical actions of the IMF and the World Bank.

The IMF and the World Bank has been forcing developing countries to adopt capitalistic health care systems modelled on the unethical American health care system.  Even the British NHS is plagued by privatisation.  We request that the British NHS is returned to its 1948 socialist health care approach.  We also request that all countries have FREE universal integrated health care systems modelled on countries such as Cuba where excellent health care is provided for free to all who need it despite Cuba being a developing country.  Clearly, the issue is not money, the issue is policy.  While we are at it, we also request that all privatised pharmaceutical companies are banned and medication development be brought under the control of the public and/or the voluntary sector.  The Scotsman Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin and refused to patent it because he put people before personal profit.  Many seem to have forgotten this example.  It is NOW time to change the priorities and put people before profit, once and for all.  If anyone is not convinced of the wisdom of this change, please watch the documentary called 'The Corporation' by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan and the documentary called 'Sicko' by Michael Moore.

Your Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Right Honourable Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Right Honourable President George Bush Jr., given that the U.K. and the U.S.A. never made reparations for their worldwide wrongdoings across the centuries, on behalf of humanity, we request that reparations are carried out.  The U.K. and the U.S.A. have developed at the expense of the developing countries through colonisation and slavery.  The reparation for wrongdoings is long overdue.

For a small selection of reminders of broken pledges and wrongdoings by the British and the Americans, we respectfully invite you to look at the slideshow called Bengal to Dundee Virtual Journey which is downloadable for FREE from http://www.CanWithCandle.org/websites.htm

Please remember that 1 child dies of poverty every 3 seconds.  Please remember that 20 children die of poverty every single minute.  Please remember that 1,250 children die of poverty every single hour.  Please remember that 30,000 children die of poverty every single day.  Please remember that 210,000 children die of poverty every single week.  Please remember that 900,000 children die of poverty every single month.  Please remember that 10,950,000 children die of poverty every single year.  Please remember that 109,500,000 children die of poverty every single decade.  Right now is the time to act in a life promoting manner.

We also request that people from overpopulated and disaster prone regions such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and other countries are helped to emigrate to underpopulated countries such as Scotland, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.  All of these countries are under the Crown of the Defender of the Faith, your Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II.   We request that your Majesty kindly make good use of your God given position of power because with great power, comes great responsibility.

http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=251  This link shows deaths from storms from 1975 to 2000.  500,000 people died in Bangladesh (then, East Pakistan) in 1970 and 138,987 in 1991 in Bangladesh.

Please remember that the Bible (Matthew 5:42) says to 'Give to those who ask.'  We are asking for all of the above on behalf of all of humanity.

Please accept our sincere gratitude for taking the time to read and of course, act, in accordance to our petition.  Please remember that 'All things are possible with God.' (Matthew 19:26)

Here are some reminders from the Bible:

Galatians 5:14
The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbour as yourself."

Matthew 5:40-42
If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and do not turn away from those who want to borrow.

Matthew 5:44
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Matthew 19:21-24
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Phillippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Acts 2:44-45
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as they had need.

Luke 6:37
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

1 John 4:16
God is love, and all who live in love, live in God.

Yours faithfully,
Sazib Mahmud Bhuiyan (Citizen of Bangladesh & the U.K.)
Founder
Can With Candle & Culture Venture
http://www.canwithcandle.org/ & http://www.cultureventure.org/
147 Forth Crescent
Dundee DD2 4JA
Scotland, U.K.

==============================================

Can With Candle is an international charity registered in Scotland.  Charity registration number with OSCR is: SC038605
You can look us up on OSCR's website: http://www.OSCR.org.uk

The charity has the legal structure of a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee: SC329232.  You can look us up on this website:
http://www.companies-house.gov.uk

Culture Venture is an international not-for-profit social enterprise registered in Scotland.

The not-for-profit social enterprise has the legal structure of a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee: SC306480.  You can look us up on this website:
http://www.companies-house.gov.uk