Here is a lecture I held at the World Peace Academy in Basel, Switzerland. I show here some pf my photos from my Iran trip, I outline why the present Western policies on Iran are counterproductive and, third, what must be done instead. It's only a hint - so much can be done to both prevent a looming war and to build trust.



I'd be happy to receive your comments and for your sharing it throughout your system.…

What you mostly hear in the Western mainstream media is extremely biased.



This newTFF PressInfo 1-2013 outlines why a) what you hear is basically one-sided, demonizing and missed the relevant factors and the wider regional apsects - and b) what should be done instead. Because, if the present US-EU-NATO policy is maintained for long, it is bound to lead to war - whether intended or not.…

By Daniel Moskowitz

Denver, Colorado USA

“A war based on the premise of potential development of nuclear arms that the United States and Israel already have in their possession? I think we have some talking to do instead.”…

Dear friends

Here is 19 constructive proposals in the direction of war-prevention and long-term peace.

It contrasts sharply the present discourse which is dominated by intellectually lazy and anachronistic talk about war as an option. War on Iran is not an option!



It's been published by IPS - the Inte Press Service. You are welcome to use it but you must print the © of IPS and myself as author.

I look forward to your comments here on…

http://www.conflicttalk.com/2012/04/existential-threats-and-trayvon-martin-the-bumper-sticker-politics-of-fear/

Existential Threats and Trayvon Martin: The bumper sticker politics of fear.

From Change for Equality

This was originally posted on Change for Equality. We were excited to hear these Iranian women call for peace on International Women's Day last week.

***

War does not happen in the course of a day. There is no need for war to land in our cities with a bomb. The shadow of war is also frightening. The possibility of war too changes the lives of women. Every day that we…

• At least 35 soldiers and some 14 suspected militants were reportedly killed in twin suicide bombings and…

“Sometimes there are no alternatives to confrontation”

(then - 2008 - candidate Obama)…

This is President Obama's most nasty, bellicose, one-sided and perversely power-arrogant speech ever. The Nobel Committee ought to revoke its Prize to him, but of course it won't.

This cynical man speaks about the goodness of even more "crippling" sanctions on a country of 75 million people of which 25 % are children under 14.

At every single aspect he touches upon, he takes the wrong path: towards making war irreversible. There is no excuse that it was for AIPAC. In contrast to…

• At least 28 people were reportedly killed in clashes on Saturday between government troops and opposition forces in Syria as the Red Cross continued efforts to evacuate civilians from the city of Homs; while at least 89 people were reportedly killed nationwide. On Sunday, the ICRC said that…

As a professional mediator, I am always encouraged by the use of mediation to resolve international conflicts. However, in the case of Syria, I have little confidence that mediation will bring peace to the conflict. Very few of the essential elements for successful mediation are present in this conflict.

The first consideration in convening any mediation is deciding who the parties at the table will be. In this case, the current Syrian government will certainly be a party. However,…

• China announced on Friday that it had yet to receive a formal invitation to a meeting of international powers in Tunis next week to discuss the crisis in Syria; the government reportedly blocked a premiere live stream website, Bambuser, that has been used by dissidents to…

• A new report in the Atlantic this week suggests that a barely perceptible shift occurred in recent months that make the possibility of Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear sites more possible, as the benefits outweigh the costs. NBC reported last week…

• Human Rights Watch alleged that authorities in Iran are intimidating and arresting relatives and friends of Persian-language journalists working abroad on Friday; while American spy chiefs told Congress that they believed Iran’s leaders are now more willing to attack the US in…

Here at the United States Institute of Peace's Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding, we are excited to share with you about two upcoming courses on nuclear non-proliferation, taught by Bruce MacDonald and Mike Lekson at USIP's state-of-the-art facilities:  

(1)  …

• The Guardian ran a special report on the mistreatment of Palestinian children locked in Israel’s military justice system; allegations that many vehemently denied. Last Wednesday, an Israeli military court ordered Hamas MP Aziz Dweik, the speaker of…

New on TFF's new blog...

I'm pleased to alert you to a new comment on what increasingly looks to me as a build-up to yet another terrible unnecessary war. I argue that the Iran issue is not about nuclear weapons, that is only stage-setting. There is a larger drama in the theatre that is about to take fire - and it is the giant global change of forces and the…

As the insanity grows between Israel and Iran, over the nuclear proliferation in the Middle East. The question becomes where will it end when the State of Israel is the only Middle Eastern nation who has undeclared nuclear weapons today. Almost no one in the world except for a few people in Iran who want to hold onto power, want to see Iran become a nuclear military nation. It is almost globally unanimously seen as going the wrong way for global peace and security.  As it is…