A 15-month Peace Media and Counterterrorism project is coming to a close today and tomorrow in Kampala, Uganda.

The project, which is funded with a $150,000 U.S. State Department grant, has brought together media and security/government officials in 12 seminars around Uganda. The goal is for media and…

In my last post, I considered one factor contributing to mass violence—a form of domestic terrorism–in the United States. That factor is the corrupting of the U.S. Constitution by extremist right wing groups—often supported by and aligned with the National Rifle Association.

U.S. Bill of Rights. Image in public…

This happened during the first few hours of the first day of our three day peace media and counterterrorism seminar…

A new project aims to counter ‘violent extremism’ by connecting former self-identified extremists with ‘at risk’ youths.

Self-identified former “extremists” and survivors have formed a social network aimed at helping young people avoid political violence and gang culture. The Against Violent Extremism network believes that radicalization is less of a religious and ideological issue…

The missing piece in Pakistan's anti-militancy puzzle

About the book:



Globalisation has created an interconnected world, but has not diminished violence, militarism and inequality. The Economics of Killing describes how the power of global elites, entrenched under globalisation, has created a deadly cycle of violence.



In this groundbreaking work, Vijay Mehta shows how attempts at peaceful national development are routinely blocked by Western powers. He locates the 2008 financial crisis in US attempts to…

Commenting on the Occupy Wall St protests recently, the anti-war activist Matthew Good complained that protesters were wasting their time camping in downtown Manhattan. They should, he argued, be gathering around the Pentagon. After all, the 700 billion dollars that US spent bailing out the bankers is a pittance when set against the annual one trillion dollar US defence budget.

His analysis assumed that the issues of rogue banks and outlandish defence spending were separate. Yet our…

the economic condition of the world as whole and the USA and its allies specially is getting worst with each passing day. no doubt there would be more then one reasons behind this collapse of economy, but the War Against Terrorism has also played a vital role in this regard. undefined war has destroyed the world from many aspects. specially the financial support involved in all military operations is the lion's share as commpared to the funds utilised for construction.

So it is the…

The recent terrorist tragedy in Norway has garnered major attention in the news as of late, and also sparked much outrage at the instant accusations launched against Muslims for the attack. The media ran purely on speculation that the attacks were linked to an Islamist group based on incomplete and unverified information, and although the real culprit, a blonde and blue eyed Norwegian, has now been caught, the vast majority of the media has shown that so-called “Islamic” terrorists and…

To the Families of Norway, the families of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows send deepest sympathy. We join with people the world over who intimately feel the pain of the inestimable losses thrust upon you by the force of killing hatred. That one person, or three or five, would choose the path of killing his brothers and sisters, is the terrible story of the ages. We understand too well the depth of the…

Getting a second life – the victim of June 13, 2011 suicide bombing speaks.

Monday June 13, 2011 was another day at work, and Waseem Umar went to the bank at about 2:30 pm, for a transaction. Parking his motorbike in front of the bank next door like so many times before, he admired the red colors of its signage. The guard at the door frisked him with a hand held metal detector, and waved him in.

As he sat with the customer service executive, she asked him for…

It has been a week since I arrived back in my home city, Islamabad. However, I do not feel the same attachment for the place, as it feels alien to me now. The city, being the capital of Pakistan, has perhaps the largest number of security checkpoints in the country, manned by both police and army personnel. The scale of security apparatus has both pros and…

The Peaceful Tomorrows' Say Your Peace video contest is your chance to share your ideas for supporting the U.S. Constitution and creating a more peaceful world for everyone. Winners in three age categories will each receive a cash prize of $1,000.

The SAY YOUR PEACE video contest grows out of our desire to hear how individual Americans think our nation can respond alternatively to terrorism and violence.…

anew

17:30, june 28, 2010

in losing you

i have lost

the will

to live

against all edicts

all reasoning

all sermons

from pulpits high

sitting

day in day out

wondering

why

terror dawned

to start my day

the dusk of which

took you away

where can i again

regain

the will

for it was you

all the…

i believe that general zia ul haq, the military ruler of Pakistan from 1977 till 1988 was the architect of the taliban phenomena, and the current situation we face is a consequence of his rule.

zia ul haq

had you known

how much we would have

to do more

to please the masters of fate,

keep your double clasp,

with the double hug in place,

and the grin and uniform intact.

would you still have

gone to…

Sudan is undergoing a schism, the dividing line being the north-south axis. North is the predominantly Muslim section, with large infusion of Arab genetics into the ancient black ethnicities of the area; south, the Christian section, with predominantly Negroid ethnicities as core…

The 2010 Democracy Index, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has just been released.

It shows a decline in democracy over the last 2 years. The Index correlates well with the Global Peace Index but one of its sub-components, the well-functioning of government, correlates even strongly with peace.

The EIU states "Problems in the functioning of democracy in leading Western states diminish the scope for credible external democracy promotion. The…