On February 1st the Chilean humanist Thomas Hirsch took part in the International Conference for Peace that took place at Munich, called "Non violent ways of regime change." We publish here the transcript of his words: "The name proposed for this conference is already arguable. Firstly, as a reflection rather than a criticism, if I am asked to talk about nonviolent regime change is because the basic assumpt ...

The interesting thing about a piece of good news that defies apparently established prejudice, discrimination and even a state of undeclared war is that it can “shock” us out of our acceptance that “things are the way they are”, people hate, fear, exclude and attempt to destroy others in all kinds of conflicts. This we call “normality” and it seems to validate a creeping belief that human nature is rather n ...

World without Wars and Violence Statement Once more the Middle East, centred on modern day Israel and Palestine, is in a situation of war and we find it again necessary to take a position. We base our position on the following points that seem relevant to us: Although this conflict may be about control of territory, there are outside interests involved who are making large amounts of money at the expense of ...

As some kind of ceasefire inches its way ahead with the help of surrounding interested parties the 'you started first' usual rhetoric from both sides involved in the present round of missiles exchange between Hamas and Israel leaves everybody none the wiser about: Why? Why now? What do they expect to achieve? Who else is pulling strings? Will it stop?  Is there a long term solution? What can we do? As for w ...

Media loves to project Islam as most violent religion, and certainly more violent than any other religion in the world and certainly so compared to Christianity, if not any other religion as far as western media is concerned. Journalism, even scholarship is not always pure journalism or scholarship with truth as a value. It is often motivated or imitated blindly or results of ignorance. Before we proceed fu ...

In March 2012 we reported on a new project between Israelis and Iranians to oppose the sabre rattling rhetoric of their leaders: We Love You. This initially run as a Facebook initiative and it has been growing and developing. About a week ago 70 buses rode the streets of Tel Aviv carrying their message for peace. Faces of young Iranians and Israelis saying to each other "we love you". Many put their own lin ...

From Athens, on the International Day for Peace, a significant day for the most profound expectations of all humans, we have the honor to announce the names of the winner’s photographers contest known as "Peace Is" for both categories: Category “General” Farooq Samina, Pakistan Bhattacharya Sanjoy, India Dutta Arindam, India Cohen Amanda, USA Tran Viet Van, Viet Nam Ilianna Giannousi, Greece Basak Pranab, I ...

Entering its fourth week for more than two dozen U.S. cities, the Caravan for Peace, led by poet Javier Sicilia, arrived today in Chicago with its message of curbing violence that corrodes Mexico. The group includes, among others, relatives of people killed or missing in the country from causes related to the war against drugs developed by the government of Felipe Calderon since 2006. According to the progr ...