proposalsworld

Type 1 - Class Conflict (i.e. related to Power, Money, Resources, Greed, (Global) Domination, etc.):

G.D. PAIGE’S NONKILLING THESIS: A VISION OF NEW POLITICS, by Balwant (Bill) Bhaneja, Senior Fellow, Program for Research in Innovation Management and Economy (PRIME), University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada. Email: billbhaneja@rogers.com Click on this link for an excellent 16 page pdf Overview Paper for the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Conference Budapest, Hungary, September 08-10, 2005. Paige's book is a landmark work which is being translated in 24 languages and already published in English, French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Urdu, HIndi, Singhalese. Telgu, Mongolian, Bhojpuri... You can download the complete book freely from internet at www.globalnonviolence.org . Highly recommended 5 star reading.

Article by Robert Stewart on inter- and intra-country bullying - a summary, tailored from anti-bullying in schools and communities - Since the United States (the world’s “sole superpower”),

Canada

, the United Nations, and the rest of the countries of the world are being childish, being complicit and/or directly or indirectly exhibiting violent and victim behavior to the detriment of the whole world, I would like to provide the following guidance to stop Inter- or Intra- Country Bullying and Violence. I am very disappointed in our Community, Provincial, National and World Leaders for not taking corrective action, for which they should be thoroughly reprimanded. I know that they are capable of much better behavior than this. If not, they should consider a career change. We have a vested interest in the behavior of all countries in our world, and particularly

Canada

’s behavior with the International Community.

A Canadian non-governmental working group is putting together its efforts towards asking the federal government to establish a Federal Department of Peace. In view of number of studies being done on development and security funding envelopes at federal level and similar initiatives being explored in the USA, Germany, UK etc., time is ripe for a serious consideration of this proposal to be a focal point for peacebuilding in the government. For details on the proposed initiative, see below. The website address is: http://www.departmentofpeacecanada.com

Social intelligence new gauge of abilities, by Harvey Schachter (Friday, February 4, 2005 Globe and Mail, page C-1). “Emotional intelligence – essentially, the ability to recognize yours and others’ emotions – has become an increasingly popular measure for assessing workplace abilities. Now management consultant Karl Albrecht says it’s time to pay attention to another measure: social intelligence – your ability to deal with people. ‘Social intelligence can reduce conflict, create collaboration, replace bigotry and polarization with understanding, and mobilize people toward common goals. Indeed, it may be the most important ingredient in our survival as a species,’ he writes in Training magazine. The five key dimensions:

He notes that fans of emotional intelligence have long attempted to include interpersonal skills within its conceptual envelope on the premise that an individual’s interior experience forms the basis for his or her interaction. But he argues that’s only partly true and social intelligence should be a separate dimension of competence.”

The Canadian Peace Initiative (“CPI”) is a process to simply provide the venues, support and guidance to ‘Open Space to Open Minds to Peace’. The CPI process is open, transparent, patient and committed, drawing people from all walks of life, freeing them from their stasis and mobilizing them. All members of the Culture of Peace movement have to be leaders in their own right, drawing on their own potential and inner strengths, galvanizing, inspiring and energizing the peace movement. Everyone is a peace leader and peace educator. Every day we must take ownership of ourselves and our relationships: we can do anything we set our minds and hearts to; we do no harm, expect and demand no harm be done to us or others; no one is better than another; we are critical thinkers, finding our own truths; education is our best investment and information our most important resource. Building a healthy culture is about building healthy relationships – we can do that. As we take ownership of peace others will follow – because it will be uplifting it will be infectious, and lead to sudden, massive, cultural change.

(As in all things peaceful, this enlightening statement is the result of many contributors and supporters. The CPI process has led to the Canadian Culture of Peace Program.)

The Practice of Peace - by Harrison Owen. I wish to tell you about this because I see another convergence between the comments that the peacebuilding happens during the process of working on projects (for example), and using the Open Space conferencing in the process. Owen is the leader behind Open Space Technology. Open Space Technology or methodology of conferencing is very complimentary to what we have come around to thinking in terms of Servant Leadership style, non-hierarchical organizing, and the principles contained in the draft Charter (borrowed from the World Social Forum). I have come to believe (an "aha" moment) that essentially the Canadian Peace Initiative may be as simple as providing venues or "Open Spaces to Open Minds to Peace". (Another "reality check" -- It has been my personal view that I saw my contribution as simply providing venues where peace educators and peace builders could come together to dialogue, network, disseminate information, plan, etc. - in a sense, I/we have been doing Open Space for the past 3 years + without realizing it, through our conferences, my web site, our email listservers, etc.) What Harrison Owen is saying is, "do not worry about spending a lot of time organizing an agenda. Just provide an Open Space, have a general theme(s), invite people with a passion to come, the conference will organize itself based on what these passionate people really want to discuss". He confirms what I think many of our participants have said at the last National Peace Education Conference -- that our best time was in the personal chats outside the presentations. Harrison puts it much better than I. You can order the book (and I highly recommend it to you) from the Open Space Institute of Canada in Quebec, by printing an order form off the Internet at http://www.openspacecanada.org/books.htm and mailing it with a cheque (CDN$33.00). Alternatively, you can read the 146 page book on the Internet at Practice of Peace, Chapters 1,2 Practice of Peace, Chapters 2,4 Practice of Peace, Chapters 5,6, Practice of Peace, Chapters 7,8 , Practice of Peace, Chapters 9,10 . (the only thing is, the Internet version is missing about 4 pages - but it doesn't really matter). Suggestion: do all your group work as a series of Open Space conferencing. In Owen's words, it will be self-organizing (which coincidentally takes a lot of stress off you). You may well think that I have gone a bit crazy with this Open Space stuff. However, I feel it is right for us, for what we have been working on, for the peace constituents, and for these times. Open Space has all the features of a Culture of Peace (eg. democratic participation, respect, listening to understand, etc.) Click on this link to read Highlights of the Book. 5 Star Must Reading.

Before Going to Mars by Manisha Sharma, M.A., M.Ed. and a simple house wife from India. I believe that before trying to reach Mars or any other planet for that matter it is more important to educate people down here first that we all homosapiens are one. It is important if we the residents of this planet want to survive in the cosmos. And that is why I request you to let the poets, sportsmen, musicians and simple 'illiterate' and 'not so educated' people take active part in the efforts for world peace. For God sake, for Earth sake let us not depend only on the political heads of states for this. Peace and Global harmony is not the field of their expertise or interests. A lay man not living in shielded or guarded house would be more interested for efforts for peace around the world. ... Yes, there is a humble suggestion- your organization can persuade UNICEF at least, to include “peace education” in its most important works around the world and through UNICEF an exemplary starting can be done, the kind which every person all around the world belonging to any race, religion or class can find suitable.

ENFORCING HUMAN RIGHTS FOR BUSINESSES Statement Of Support For The UN Human Rights Norms For Business "We, the undersigned representatives of Civil Society wish to express our support for the UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with regard to Human Rights (hereafter also: UN Human Rights Norms for Business or UN Norms). In our view, the UN Human Rights Norms for Business represent a major step forward in the process of establishing a common global framework for understanding the responsibilities of business enterprises with regard to human rights." Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=21003

AMNESTY PUSHING NATIONS TO END GENDER VIOLENCE http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/1755 Amnesty International aims to force governments to recognize their complicity in gender-based violence when they fail to create or enforce laws against it. As the latest step in this, the London-based human rights organisation this month launched an international campaign to raise awareness of violence against women as a human rights violation. "Amnesty International has been working on holding governments accountable to prevent, punish and investigate violence against women by state and non-state actors," said Sheila Dauer, director of the Women's Human Rights Program at Amnesty International U.S.A., based in New York City. "This campaign will take on that issue."

SOCIAL CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AND THE ROLE OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT http://www.whrnet.org/docs/issue-corporate.html "Many corporations continue to move their production zones to developing countries in order to benefit from cheap labour and lax standards. They pay low wages, make their workers work long hours in unsanitary and dangerous working conditions, they sexually harass them, verbally and physically abuse them, and they prohibit them from unionising to defend their rights, and violate other human rights as well. It is clear that inequalities of power, access, position and condition between global labour market actors as well as gender inequities in public and private responsibilities, make it such that commercial and economic policies impact women and men in disproportionately different ways." In the month of February, Women's Human Rights Nets explored the diversity of legal and extralegal mechanisms of social corporate responsibility (SCR) as well as the opportunities and challenges that these mechanisms represent for the exercise and improvement of women's rights. Visit their web site for more information.

Canadian Peace Education Foundation For a World Fit For Children - The Canadian Peace Education Foundation for a World Fit For Children (“CPEF”) purpose is to raise funds for education for building peace, and to consider results-oriented peacebuilding educational projects at home and abroad. Our ultimate goal is to significantly reduce the human cost of violence against children and others. If you support this worthwhile cause, please consider making a contribution and including the following insert under your email signature line [via Tools/Options/Signatures] to spread the message as widely as possible --

Making an Impact: Your gift to the Canadian Peace Education Foundation will do much to reduce the human cost of violence in our communities and world through education about peace and the future in classrooms. Your gift will have a critical impact on future generations. You will enable youngsters to widen their sights by exploring alternate paths to transforming conflicts and building a better world. Gifts of cash, securities, and planned gifts are welcome and may be sent to the Canadian Peace Education Foundation, Box 70, Okotoks, AB, Canada, T1S 1A4. For more information, visit the website at http://www.peace.ca/foundation.htm

I believe that there is a lot complimentary between the work (and challenges) of Futurists (working to build a better world) and Peacebuilders (working to build a more peaceful world). I think we can learn a lot from each other, and work together. This is a new section linking Peace and the Future.

Toward Delegitimizing War - a proposal to mobilize the collective will to achieve reform and render war as a means for resolving disputes illegitimate.

GENDER EQUITY AND PEACE BUILDING
http://www.icrw.org/docs/gender_peace_report_0303.pdf This paper from the International Center for Research on Women is the product of a review of recent literature on issues of gender in the context of conflict and post-conflict reconstruction. It was prepared as background material for an international workshop on gender equity and peacebuilding jointly convened by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Key findings and research questions are presented in relation to the effective integration of gender concerns into policies and programs that shape post-conflict societies. There has been progress in considering a gender perspective in international thinking, policy statements, and programs related to peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction, as evidenced by recent documentation on this topic from the United Nations. Findings reported below indicate a slow but positive shift in international opinion and understanding about the consequences of conflict on women and the importance of their participation in peacebuilding processes and post-conflict social transformation. However, gender discrimination continues through political exclusion, economic marginalization, and sexual violence during and after conflict, denying women their human rights and constraining the potential for development.

"Emerging global government?" - Amitai Etzioni, an adviser to the Carter administration in the 1970s, and pioneering development of the "communitarian" movement with its stress on civic responsibilities, suggests that in the global anti-terrorism coalition, in which over 140 countries are more or less formally involved, we are seeing the emergence of a new "Global Safety Authority" in which governments are banding together to share intelligence information, to make arrests, to track terrorist finances and so on. Etzioni then notes that similar transnational authorities and structures have become established in other sectors of global interchange. Put all these together, Etzioni suggests, and "the building blocks of a new global architecture" begin to emerge. For more information, read the linked article.

History scholars fight present war- Growing numbers of professors cite patterns of the past to rally public opinion against the conflict.

The Lysistrata Project - 'The first-ever world-wide theatrical event for peace' - New York, NY (Press Release) On March 3, 2003, the Lysistrata Project will present worldwide readings of Aristophanes¹ bawdy ancient Greek antiwar comedy Lysistrata. To date, 792 play readings are scheduled in 46 countries and in all 50 U.S. states to voice opposition to the war on Iraq; those numbers increase hourly. Readings will raise money for charities working for peace and humanitarian aid in the Middle East and elsewhere. Lysistrata tells the story of women from opposing states who unite to end a war by refusing to sleep with their men until they agree to lay down their swords. Powerless in their society, with too many of their sons and husbands being slaughtered in battle, the women take the only tactic available to them: a sex strike.
Fast-forward 2,400 years: swords are now weapons of mass destruction. Faced with the prospect of massive loss of human life -- both Iraqi and American -- Lysistrata Project participants worldwide take a new tactic and add their voices to the mounting clamor of global antiwar protests. For the full press release, visit: http://www.pecosdesign.com/lys/press.html . For more information about the project, including reading locations and scripts, visit: http://www.pecosdesign.com/lys/ . For more PeaceWomen campaigns please visit: http://www.peacewomen.org/campaigns/outreachindex.html

Psychology for Peace Activists by David Adams. Excerpt: On the question of peace, there are many people who never develop to the point of action. We have all met people who seem to share our values, purpose and anger for peace and justice, but who, for one reason or another, preach only "armchair theory" and "dry-as-dust gospel," as described by Martin Luther King Jr.: "A faithful few had always shown a deep concern for social problems, but too many had remained aloof from the area of social responsibility. Much of this indifference, it is true, stemmed from a sincere feeling that ministers were not supposed to get mixed up in such earthly temporal matters as social and economic improvements; they were to "preach the gospel," and keep men's minds centered on "the heavenly." But however sincere, this view of religion, I felt, was too confined....Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them is a dry-as-dust religion." King could easily have been speaking about certain university professors in the same words he used for religious ministers. (5-Star 'must' reading). See also Peace Psychology below.

The Art of War (and Peace) - About 400 BC, a Chinese general named Sun Tzu wrote The Art of War. In it he identified five essentials for victory that should be considered also for "The Art of Peace":
1. Timing: knowing when to fight and when not to fight.
2. Management and strategy: knowing how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
3. Vision: ensuring that your army's spirit is consistently animated throughout its ranks.
4. Planning: being prepared and waiting to take the enemy unprepared.
5. Commitment and authority: having the necessary military capacity.
Although written in the context of war, General Sun Tzu's doctrine holds a great deal of value in today's peacebuilding environment. Peacebuilding is a very serious undertaking, as you are dealing with the hopes, aspirations and livelihoods of a great many people, including yourself. Be careful, know your stuff, and reduce your risk as much as possible. Basically, we peacebuilders can learn from military strategies.

Finnish Peace Strategies - From the department of creative activism: You've heard of hunger strikes, but what about baby strikes? Hundreds of Finnish women have signed a petition declaring that they will not bear children for the next four years unless the country's Parliament scraps plans to build a fifth nuclear reactor in their homeland. The protest has a precedent: In 1986, following the Chernobyl disaster, some 4,000 Finns signed a similar petition to block construction of a nuclear power plant. The government eventually caved and agreed not to build that reactor, but it now claims a new one is necessary to meet the country's growing energy demands without increasing greenhouse emissions. Elina Venesmaki, one of the organizers of the current petition, said, "This form of protest is logical because this issue doesn't concern just our generation." straight to the source: Planet Ark, Reuters, 05 Apr 2002 < http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15325/story.htm >

And some thoughts from ... Patricia who sent this item...: It (Finnish Peace Strategy) reminds me of one of my favourite movies, Amazing Grace and Chuck, in which a teenage boy who has become famous (which is a story in itself) stops talking as a protest to nuclear armaments. When tens of millions of other kids stop talking, disarmament happens. When this 1987 movie (starring Gregory Peck among others) disappeared from theatres after a few weeks, I wondered why... Maybe it was a little too easy to imitate... I wonder what else could be done like that -- using powerful not-doing....

Children as Peacebuilders: Transforming Conflict by Restoring the Potential of Youth by Ed Gillis, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs http://www.cda-cdai.ca/pdf/gillis.pdf - Children as peacebuilders initiatives (CPBIs) are founded upon an idealism that aims to replace the world’s conflict, war, and enmity with a global culture of cooperation, peace, and camaraderie.

USA-IRAQ: THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES! - AND RESISTANCE IS POSSIBLE By Johan Galtung, Co-Director and Founder, TRANSCEND - Lecture at the Social Summit in Porto Alegre, January 2003 - The ceaseless bombing and imminent invasion of Iraq by the USAand allies, particularly the UK, is one more step in the geo-fascist march toward world hegemony. It is "fascist" because of ruthless use of blunt state power, only "geo" as long as some US democracy is left. Serving a three-point agenda--oil, bases and Israel--other points have been brought up to legitimize war.

A Proposal Regarding Peace In The Middle East By Bassam Abu-Sharif, with introduction by Gershon Baskin, Ph.D., Co-Director, IPCRI - Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information. Bassam Abu Sharif is a political advisor to Yasser Arafat. He has long been known as someone who seeks dialogue and understanding with Israelis.

September 11, 2001: Diagnosis, Prognosis and Therapy by Dr. Johan Galtung - 5 Star Must Reading - Attached please find an analysis of the global conflict at the root of the events of September 11, and a list of strategies to prevent terrorism, by Johan Galtung, the founder and director of TRANSCEND, a global peace and development network. It will be a chapter in the second revised edition of "Searching for Peace: the Road to TRANSCEND" by Johan Galtung, Carl G. Jacobsen and Kai Frithjof Brand-Jacobsen, being published by Pluto Press in London early next year. You are welcome to share it widely, also with news organizations.

Thoughts in the Presence of Fear by Wendell Berry - A worthy synthesis of the state of our western world , with the problems well articulated and the future addressed with wisdom and visionary insight . Also, a good response to all those news articles criticizing "demonstrators against globalism".

TOWARD A STRATEGY FOR DEALING WITH FUNDAMENTALIST TERRORISM or TRYING TO PUT THE GENIE BACK INTO THE BOTTLE - Personal View by Hans Sinn. In this article are some 5570 words by means of which I have put on paper what I would say to my fellow Canadians, who are not associated with any peace movement, if they were to ask me where I believe we are right now and where we should go - or not go. My ideas are to discussion and I hope they will improve and become more focused as our collective understanding improves. Only this morning Chaiwat Satad-Anand from Thailand sent me an email which he spoke of "the tyranny of violence and its logic". Very true. An apt description of what the peace and justice movement is about might be people who are trying to liberate themselves from "the tyranny of violence and its logic." The liberation begins with our intellectual defence against the logic of violence.

Agenda of the Hague Appeal for Peace - Recommendations from the Hague Appeal for Peace conference:
Emerging from the conference also were ten basic principles for a just world order which include:
1. Every parliament should adopt a resolution prohibiting their government from going to war, like the Japanese article number nine.
2. All states should - accept compulsory jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court of Justice.
3. Every Government should ratify the International Criminal Court and implement the land mines Treaty.
4. All states should integrate the New Diplomacy, which is the partnership of Governments, international organizations and civil society.
5. The world cannot be bystanders to humanitarian crises; every creative diplomatic means must be exhausted before resorting to force, then under the United Nations authority.
6. Negotiations for a Convention Eliminating Nuclear Weapons should begin immediately.
7. The trade in small arms should be severely restricted.
8. Economic Rights must be taken as seriously as civil rights.
9. Peace Education should be compulsory in every school of the world.
10. The plan for the Global Action to prevent war should become the basis for a peaceful world order.
- To learn more, visit the HAP website at http://www.haguepeace.org/

Global Campaign for Peace Education - Peace education is a participatory process which changes our way of thinking and promotes learning for peace and justice. The Hague Appeal for Peace Global Campaign for Peace Education has two goals. First, to build public awareness and political support for the introduction of peace education into all spheres of education, including non-formal education, in all schools throughout the world. Second, to promote the education of all teachers to teach for peace. "A culture of peace will be achieved when citizens of the world understand global problems, have the skills to resolve conflicts and struggle for justice non-violently, live by international standards of human rights and equity, appreciate cultural diversity, and respect the Earth and each other. Such learning can only be achieved with systematic education for peace." http://www.ipb.org/pe/index.htm See meeting note at http://www.peace.ca/globalcampaignforpeaceeducation.htm

Global Campaign for Education - At the dawn of a new millennium, development NGOs and teachers unions operating in 180 countries have joined forces to launch the Global Campaign for Education (GCE). With this initiative, we seek to make governments liable for the fact that 125 million children world-wide are denied access to basic education and that moreover, one adult in every three - representing an additional 880 million people - is illiterate. It is high time that governments and international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, the IMF etc. recognise that education is a fundamental human right and that the responsibility of providing quality education lies with the states themselves. We believe that only world-wide mobilisation of civil society will force the stakeholders to take action. And mobilisation is what we are actively committing ourselves to. The coalition represents organisations active in over a hundred countries, including Oxfam International, Education International, the Global March against Child Labour, Action Aid and dozens of national NGO coalitions in developing countries. The binding element of the organisations in the GCE is a deep concern about the lack of official action to achieve Quality Education for All. The GCE members therefore agreed to jointly mobilise public opinion and lobby together to hold governments accountable to their promises made in Jomtien and Copenhagen. For more information, contact: Richard Langlois, Campaign Co-ordinator, c/o Education International, 155 Bd Emile Jacqmain, 1210 Brussels, Belgium; Tel: (32 2) 224 06 55, Fax: (32 2) 224 06 06, Mobile: (32 ) 477 54 46 36
E-mail: global.edu.campaign@ei-ie.org ; Web Site: http://www.campaignforeducation.org/index.html

Rotary Peace Plus Program - The mission of Rotary, among other things, is to help build a better world, and to advance the search for peace in the world.. It is our Rotary Dream that Rotary International will adopt a "Peace Plus Program", analagous to Polio Plus, with ambitious goals (in terms of violence reduction throughout the world) to be achieved by a specific deadline. In keeping with a Rotary spirit of Thinking Globally and Acting Locally, Peace Plus would include building peace at the world, community, family and individual levels. Read the proposal submitted to Rotary International by clicking on the link. Read the Honolulu PeacePlus Declaration signed April 3, 2002. and learn about Rotary peace programs. This might be of interest to the Lions International Clubs as well, as they also have in their mission to help advance peace in the world.

Mandela wants wives to push peace - July 22, 2000 Globe & Mail - Arusha. Former South African president Nelson Mandela urged the married women of Burundi to hold back services from their husbands if they refuse to sign a peace deal he has spent months trying to broker. "It is for you the women to say to your husbands, 'If you don't agree to sign the agreement on the 28th of August, then I am not going to talk to you, I am not going to cook for you, then you will have to cook for yourselves,' " Mr. Mandela said. He was speaking to a delegation of more than 50 women from Burundi on the fringes of peace talks in the Tanzanian town of Arusha. The women have asked for a 30 percent quota for women in Burundi's legislature and judiciary, and to have women's rights specifically protected in Burundi's constitution.

The Coming Spiritual Age - The "Wild Card" among breakthroughs for the next century, something that will have an unexpectedly dramatic impact on the future by William E. Halal (George Washington University Forecast of Emerging Technologies www.gwforecast.gwu.edu ): "I suspect the wild card is going to be the realization that you can only do so much with information, that we are approaching a domain beyond knowledge. Information technology is going to mature in the next 10 to 20 years. The systems will be up, the earth will be wired, and we will be able to do everything we want with information. We will then enter an era of spirit. You can see it starting today as people embrace values, beliefs and visions - all of those things that are essential to navigate through the mass of information, to find meaning and purpose. The emergence of this era of spirit is going to become startlingly clear soon. There will be a change in basic assumptions. For example, the concept of the corporation will be scrutinized. How are you going to justify corporate profit-taking in a world of values, meaning, and purpose? The flaunting of wealth and materialism may be reversed as people reconsider the gap between the rich and the poor. In about 10 years, certainly no more than 20 years, we will talk about a spiritual age the way we now talk about the information age." (courtesy of Future Times, Summer 2000, published by the World Future Society) Also see a comparison of Spirituality and Religion by clicking on this link.

On Monday, April 3, 2000, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan unveiled his report to the Millennium summit entitled "We the Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century" at a meeting of the General Assembly. The report calls on heads of States to ensure the benefits of globalization for all people. The full text of the report is available at http://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report/ . In his Millennium Report, the Secretary-General identifies pressing challenges faced by the world's peoples and proposes a number of priorities for Member States to consider at the Millennium Summit. He also recommends several immediate steps that can be taken at the Summit itself. The new initiatives he is proposing, followed by targets and recommendations he has outlined for consideration by Heads of State can be found at http://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report/key.htm

Invitation to join new Coalition on Militarized Commerce - The Coalition on Militarized Commerce (CMC) will push the Canadian Government to adopt policies to deal with the problem of involvement by Canadian companies in what is being called "militarized commerce".

MANIFESTO AGAINST CONSCRIPTION AND THE MILITARY SYSTEM

Peace between Nations, by Walter Fritz. The causes of war, the underlying situation from the point of view of intelligent systems are described. Based on this, we show how to avoid wars. Web site http://www.anice.net.ar/intsyst/peace.htm

Business urged to 'get involved' - Okotoks chartered accountant Bob Stewart says the whole community must pull together to fight violence

Concluding Statement of the Meeting of Religious Leaders at Davos - Switzerland, 30 January 2001 - An extraordinary gathering of religious leaders from the world's major faiths today endorsed a nine-point program designed to bring the moral authority of religion to the great challenges on the global agenda. "The declaration sends an important message. Religion can be a force for world peace and social progress, and the leaders of the great religions are committed to working with each other to make these words a reality"

Type 2 - Proposals/Solutions on All Other Problems/Issues driving world level violence:

Groundwork for Peace - Violence is a disease, we have an Antidote (click on the link to read the article)

MICRO-FINANCE AND ICTS: EXPLORING MUTUAL BENEFITS AND SYNERGY http://www.electronicmarkets.org/files/cms/67.php Much of the success of better socio-economic development in emerging economies hinges on progressive policymaking, access to finance, a culture of change, and enabling infrastructure like ICTs. Within this context, micro-finance and ICTs play an important role in developing countries, and exploring mutual benefits and synergy between the two disciplines can yield promising dividends. There are two kinds of linkages between these sectors: the use of ICTs by micro-finance organisations on the one hand, and the use of microfinance models to enable broader access to ICTs on the other.

POLITICS COULD BE GOOD FOR CHILDREN'S HEALTH - Families worried about their children's futures should get them engaged in election issues, says a University of Michigan professor. Young people who are highly aware about social issues may be less likely to engage in risky behaviors such as using drugs or becoming violent, according to research psychologist Marc Zimmerman. They are also more likely to feel better about themselves and to help their communities. Talking to youngsters about important civic issues--and demonstrating civic commitment by voting--is a good way to show them that they have a say in their own futures, he suggests. "We find that adolescents, especially high school aged kids, are very important because they're soon going to be in that 18- to 24-year range," Zimmerman notes. "And if you don't instill some interest in voting, civic duty, civic pride, and engagement in the world before they get there, you've lost them." Involvement in civic and extracurricular activities also makes children less likely to be depressed and more likely to feel better about themselves and to develop critical thinking skills. DETAILS: University of Michigan Health System , http://www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2004/hmvoter.htm

Peace Psychology - American Psychological Association (APA) Division 48 has sponsored development of the first college textbook on peace psychology (all proceeds are donated to the division). "Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology for the 21st Century" edited by D. Christie, R. Wagner, and D. Winter (2001) is now available from Prentice Hall. The book is a 426 page paperback, very attractively packaged. If you teach at the college level, this may be the perfect text for your peace psychology or conflict and violence course. Knowing that an excellent text is available, some of you may now want to develop the first peace psychology course for your college. Click on the link to Peace Psychology to read an excellent summary and ordering information. See also, Psychology for Peace Activists above.

50 Ways to build World Peace - a beautiful, poster provided by Laurie Phillips of Dorset, England (suitable for printing, I laminated several and distribute them widely)

INVEST IN PEACE - The Nonviolent Peaceforce is issuing 100,000 Peace Bonds which will sell for 10 Euros, 7 Pounds Sterling, 10 US Dollars, 470 Indian Rupees, or 1,180 Japanese Yen each. All proceeds from Peace Bonds will go toward the development of the Nonviolent Peaceforce and our pilot project in Sri Lanka, a country striving for peace after nearly twenty years of civil war. Mel Duncan, Executive Director of the Nonviolent Peaceforce, explains, "We have set the price low, to make it possible for many people to invest in our hopes for a peaceful future. We hope all our supporters agree that these bonds not only represent a sound investment but also make perfect gifts!" How can buyers redeem these "bonds"? In 2010, when they mature, investors will have a functioning Nonviolent Peaceforce that will help transform violent conflicts around the world. Peace Bonds can be purchased through the Nonviolent Peaceforce web site, www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org , a secure site that accepts credit cards. They make great gifts for births of babies, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and passages. Each investor will receive a Peace Bond certificate. No goods or services will be directly exchanged for the bonds. They are tax deductible in the USA. We are relying on our supporters to promote the Peace Bonds. Please share this information by circulating this announcement to your e-mail lists, linking your site with our peace bond site, putting an article in your newsletter and promoting the bonds in any way you can think of. We hope most people will order Peace Bonds through the website. Let's show the world a way to invest in a peaceful future. We can do it together!

"I picked up a new quote when I recently visited the Matsunaga Peace Institute in Hawaii: "We need more owls - not doves or hawks" (or parrots;>). My opinion, for what it is worth - Canada can not (and should not) compete with the hawks of the world (that is a no-win situation for us); Canada's time and resources would be better invested in developing a role as owl. First of all, we would have next to no competition. Second, it suits us better (we have special skills to bring). Third, we could actually have a significant impact (which currently we have less or little). Fourth, if nothing else it would build people (as versus building tanks, airplanes, guns, military, etc.). Our university strategic studies programs, Department of National Defence ("DND") and Department of Foreign Affairs ("DFAIT") have totally failed at informing and educating Canadians (and others) on "strategic issues" (strategic to the world and Canadians) and Canadian foreign policy, in order to make wise choices. They have been, and are, unable to protect us from our greatest threat - U.S. hegemonic foreign policy (in fact, they do not even acknowledge it publicly and put Canadians on notice). They get paid, in fact their empires expand, when world conditions deteriorate (i.e. they have a vested interest, just like companies that provide arms). So our attempts to change them, while necessary, will bear little fruit in the near term. This is why Canadian peacebuilders must work around these institutions, bringing pressure on them with public opinion. Because of their failure, Canadian peacebuilders will (have to) fill the role of informing and educating Canadians (and others) on "strategic issues" (strategic to the world and Canadians) and Canadian foreign policy, in order to make wise choices. I expect that current university strategic studies programs, DND and DFAIT will go the way of the Dodo if they do not change." Bob Stewart

AFRICA LAUNCH OF THE DIGITAL DIASPORA INITIATIVE http://www.wougnet.org/Events/UNIFEM/ddi_ug.html
Information and communications technologies (ICT 1) are becoming widely accepted as integral means for transforming the path of development. As envisaged in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the importance of harnessing information and communication technologies for poverty eradication cannot be overemphasized. Yet, as statistics describing the growing digital divide demonstrate, women and girls are at particular risk for exclusion from opportunities presented by ICT to secure better livelihoods and other rights.

GLOBAL CAMPAIGN FOR FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
ARTICLE 19 has agreed to lead in the drafting of a Charter that will set out the standards to which the disclosure policies of the international financial and trade institutions (IFTIs) should conform. This will form a centrepiece of ARTICLE 19's campaign to promote broader notions of the right to access information and the obligations of global governance actors. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=15196

Previously, I had thought that the formal curricula was more of a significant barrier to peace education in public education. It appears that the formal curricula is not the major barrier I had thought (i.e. the flexibility in the curricula to incorporate peace education appears to exist). It appears the major barriers are resources (or the lack thereof). The needed resources being:
1. information resources (eg. the knowledge, methodology and training tools),
2. human resources (eg. teachers/educators motivated and trained in peace education),
3. time (i.e. time in the curricula or in addition to), and
4. money (eg. to pay for information resources, teachers, training, etc.).
To bring peace education to all students, we need to find solutions to these 4 major barriers. We started this discussion at last year's Conference and will continue this year. For example, we have had some discussion about a Peace Education Foundation to raise funds for peace education, teacher training, a Canadian Peace Education Handbook, etc.. All significant efforts to do.

I'm about to come out with a book I'm writing that I'm calling World Peace Through Common Ground. My approach seems to align with many other methods but yet manages to be extremely innovative at the same time. We don't have world peace yet and it doesn't look like we will get there without some challenges being faced. I've been developing my concepts for over a quarter of a century and it's now near publication. I feel my methods are key and although similar to other approaches the differences are major. My system involves what I call One Problem-One Solution*. The problem- Too many poor choices due to lack of understanding. The solution- More good choices due to improved understanding. The number of poor choices occurs mainly because available reasoning options available to ordinary people are not sufficiently workable (too complex). Simplicity is the secret of peace! First, the masses can work with simplicity but not complexity. Second, as the degree of simplicity increase, the versatility expands exponentially. Third, nearly all available reasoning tools for making decisions are too complex even for the most advantaged (exponential reduction of success). My book details what I refer to as common ground principles. Along with this there are extremely basic "reasoning tools" that are so versatile they can be used by all people under almost all situations involving behavior, whether individual or group in nature. I've had to conclude that my program can work and that any method that manages world peace will use a system very much like mine. I believe that peace will come sooner or later and simplicity will be a key part of the path to peace. This method is based on the assumption that a bottom up approach is best. Most other high profile types seem to concentrate on a top down focus. Top down is important but leaders tend to reflect the masses more than the other way around regardless of how much it may not look that way. Peoples with better understanding nearly always have better leaders because of that understanding. My system is focused is such a way as to be so basic that the concepts can be universally accepted without undue conflict with pre-existing belief patterns or cultural considerations. We all eat and care about friends, and breath oxygen. I like simplicity! I'm looking for feedback and suggestions on how to promote my book. Contact: Monty Palmer, email mpalmer@Gain.com

Theory of Small Wins, applied to Peace Education by Floyd Rudmin

The Nonviolent Peaceforce Feasibility Study, one of the most comprehensive examinations of third party nonviolent intervention ever produced. You may access it on our website: www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org, at the top of the home page. It is available in both HTML and for download in the more readable PDF formats. We hope this study advances all of our work in creating nonviolent approaches to peacemaking and peacekeeping. The document provides tremendous background information to the Nonviolent Peaceforce as we develop our pilot project. We also make it available to any of you to aid in your peacemaking work or in your further research. Feel free to download, use or quote any portion of it. A very skilled team, directed by Christine Schweitzer, worked over one year in producing this research. Major contributors included: Donna Howard, Mareike Junge, Corey Levine, Carl Stieren and Tim Wallis. Without Mark Sherman, Judy Miller and Sister Pat Keefe the study would not have been put on the web. The research was conducted with support from the United States Institute of Peace. Comments should be directed to Christine XSchweitz@aol.com

THE MEDIA AND PEACEBUILDING - A DISCUSSION PAPER [AND DRAFT OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK] Robin Hay, Global Affairs Research Partners, The Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society, http://www.impacs.org/freemedia/mediadiscussion.htm

CATHOLIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL PEACE - Full report: <http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr69.html>
Religion and Peacemaking Web Links <http://www.usip.org/library/topics/rp.html> In Brief:
-- Religious organizations are making important contributions to international peacemaking. The styles of such peacemaking are
dependent on the theology and tradition of the religious bodies involved.
-- Despite the criticisms that have been leveled at the Roman Catholic Church for not contributing to peace adequately at the time of the Holocaust and the genocide in Rwanda, the Catholic Church, both in the United States and worldwide, has an impressive record of peacemaking initiatives and accomplishments.
-- The Catholic vision of peace consists of (1) human rights, (2) development, (3) solidarity, and (4) world order, but until
recently has placed less emphasis on conflict resolution and transformation.
-- Vatican pronouncements have given more attention in recent years to non-violence and downplayed just-war analysis.
-- Following Vatican II (1962-65), the establishment of bishops' conferences throughout the world and the establishment of justice
and peace commissions have enhanced the church's ability to promote conflict resolution.
-- Pope John Paul II has played an unprecedented role in promoting peace and justice in countries like Lebanon, Poland, and Haiti.
Individual bishops like Bishop Samuel Ruiz in Mexico, Bishop Belo in East Timor, Archbishop Monswengo in Congo, and Patriarch
Michel Sabbah in Jerusalem have all played significant roles in their countries in promoting peace with justice.
-- Deeply affected by the Rwandan genocide, Catholic Relief Services, based in the United States but operating internationally, now assesses a project's impact on justice and peace as one important indicator of the project's value.
-- Sant'Egidio, a Catholic lay organization based in Rome with an American branch, has made dramatic interventions to promote peace in Mozambique, Burundi, Congo, Algeria, Kosovo, and elsewhere. Its peacemaking style is deeply rooted in Catholic tradition and theology.
About the Report: The United States Institute of Peace launched its Religion and Peacemaking Initiative in July 2000, building on experience gained from an earlier Institute program entitled Religion, Ethics, and Human Rights. This new initiative endeavors to aid American religious organizations in being more active and more effective as international peacemakers. One component of this initiative has been the organization of a series of workshops on the peacemaking activities of various American religious communities. A workshop on Mennonite peacemaking was held in November 2000. In December 2000 a workshop explored the sources of conflict resolution in Judaism. On February 5, 2001 the initiative organized a workshop on Catholic peacemaking. The purpose was to explore the peacemaking activities of key Catholic organizations and to explicate the distinctively Catholic nature of peacemaking by these and other Catholic organizations. The discussion focused on the Vatican, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Relief Services, and the lay organization Sant'Egidio. This Special Report summarizes the presentations at that workshop. It has been prepared by David Smock, director of the Religion and Peacemaking Initiative.

"Concern-for-others" hormone deficiency pill: This series started by listing the bombings and rebel-gang killings for the week, worldwide. The purpose was to show how prevalent it is that some men will voluntarily join gangs for the purpose of killing. To attain peace, we need to focus on "Why do men kill?" This series suggested that men are attracted to guns and bombs because they give the owner power over other men. Those who collect an arsenal, build bombs and join rebel gangs are in need of psychological help. The name suggested for the malady was "kill-power pleasure" which should instead be "kill-power obsessive." The emotions that testosterone generates, as reported by Paul D. MacLean, Carl Sagan and others have been listed in this series. But obviously, it is not testosterone alone that causes men to kill; only 2% of men will commit murder in their lifetimes. Possibly, other hormones keep testosterone under control. This is only conjecture, but is there a "concern for others" hormone in our makeup? I have not heard of anyone disclosing that there is. People have different degrees of concern for others. Babies are born selfish and it takes a lifetime of training to teach people to be generous, and some people can never be trained. Psychopaths, who can kill without remorse, might be lacking in the "concern-for-others" hormone. The TV program, "60 Minutes" interviewed a man who was a hit man for the Mafia. He said that he had no remorse for his victims because "I didn't know them." He had a concern for family and friends, but no one else. To have a peaceful world, those in charge and the predominate public opinion should contain a concern for all the people in the world. In other letters, I have proposed that we promote "World Jeffersonianism", where "all men are created equal" is worldwide. Dr. Stanton E. Samenow, in his book, "Inside the Criminal Mind", wrote that criminals perceive people as pawns to be pushed around at their will. They scorn and exploit people who are kind, trusting, hard working and honest. I propose that criminals lack the concern-for-others hormone. Pharmaceutical companies are marketing mood-altering drugs. Shyness has been found to be a genetically produced problem. They now market drugs to overcome "social anxiety disorder". They have done wonders with correcting other chemical deficiencies, such as Prozac for depression, so why not for the "concern-for-others" deficiency? Of course, the drug should be prescribed only by a psychologist for persons who have criminal tendencies or are kill-power obsessive. This may sound a little visionary, but I would like to hear a pharmaceutical company say that it can't be done. Your additions or corrections to this are invited. Best regards, Crandall (Dale) Kline nfn16396@naples.net

Aggression fades when kids' TV time reduced (The Province, Page A10, 15-Jan-2001) PHILADELPHIA -- Cutting back on the time children spend watching TV and playing video games may lead to a decrease in aggressive behaviour, a new study suggests. Researchers at Stanford University devised an experiment in which third and fourth graders at one school went about their normal TV and video habits, while students at a similar school were encouraged to limit themselves. When the researchers checked back seven months later, they found that those students who limited TV and video activities were acting less aggressively toward their peers and on the playground. Numerous studies have indicated a connection between exposure to media violence and aggressive behaviour in children. The Stanford researchers say their work goes a step further by showing that children's behaviour can actually improve if the TV is turned off more often. ``The very good news is that if you help your child reduce their exposure to media . . . you'll see a reduction in aggressive behaviour,'' said Thomas Robinson, assistant professor of pediatrics and medicine at Stanford, who led the study. It was published today in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Robinson suggested that parents start by taking the TV out of their children's bedrooms and then work with the children to develop a weekly ``TV and video budget.'' A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 1999 found that children, on average, spend more than five hours a day engrossed in TV, video games and other media, and more than half of kids have a TV in their bedroom. By one estimate, the typical American child will be exposed to 200,000 acts of violence on TV by the age of 18. Experts also believe that repeated exposure to media violence can desensitize children and teens to violence or make them believe that the world is a mean and scary place.

CALL FOR ACTION ON SUSTAINABILITY FROM Professor Helmut Burkhardt, President, Council on Global Issues, and President, Science for Peace, Canada. Julia Morton-Marr, Director, Council on Global Issues; and President of the International Holistic Tourism Education Centre - IHTEC. JUNE 19, 2000. SUSTAINABILITY BASICS. The core of any sustainable civilization is Paul Ehrlich's 'world' formula " I = P*A*T ". "I" stands for impact on the global ecosystem. In order to keep the earth's ecosystem in a healthy, natural balance 'I' must be kept low. How can it be kept low? -- by keeping each one of the factors 'P', 'A', and 'T' low. "P" this factor represents the global population of humans. "A" characterises affluence. The A-factor represents the average amount of disposable income per person. Affluence gives rise to consumerism. The product of the two first factors 'P*A' represents the affluence of all of humankind, the whole world's GNP is a measure for 'P*A'. If humans get wealthier they are tempted to consume more, which results in a greater negative impact on the environment. "T" measures the environmental impact of the technology used to create one unit of wealth, i.e. 1$ of GNP or income. The T-factor can be kept low by using appropriate technology rather than inefficient, ineffective, destructive technology. For example, appropriate use of renewable energy, or replacing the law of force by the force of law reduces the T-factor My three recommendations to all of humanity, the three 'commandments' are derived from Ehrlich's world formula: 1. Procreate moderately; 2. Consume modestly; 3. Use technology wisely. Moderate procreation is to prevent a large value of the P-factor. Modest consumption is to keep the A-factor in check. The wise use of technology is to reduce the T-factor in Ehrlich's environmental impact formula. All three factors are important in creating a sustainable human civilization. Helmut (Ken) Burkhardt, Adjunct Professor of Physics, Ryerson Polytechnic University 350 Victoria Street; Toronto ON Canada M5B 2K3. Tel: 416-979-5000 x 7346; Fax: 416-979-5343; Email: burkhard@acs.ryerson.ca

Kids Tackle War Issues - Toronto National Forum 2000 - Young Canadians, including kids who have experienced war in Africa, Europe and Latin America, met in Toronto May 20 to contribute their ideas to help the world's war affected children. The first meeting of the National Forum 2000 for Youth on War Affected Children was organized in partnership with the Centre for Victims of Torture. More than 40 young people from ages 10 to 20 actively participated in a day of discussion, sharing, thinking and cultural events. Among their key recommendations: - focus foreign policy attention on preventing war; - promote lower military spending around the world, and more attention to education; - recognize that international economic sanctions harm children and normal people, not government leaders; - control gun sales and trade, cut off the supply of small arms; - get rid of all landmines; - arrest and punish all war criminals; - more help from Canada to war affected families abroad, especially children who have lost families and homes.

In a speech delivered to the U.N. Security Council, 25 September 1997, on the situation in Africa the Secretary-General said "Without peace, development is not possible; without development, peace is not durable." It is imperative that peace building and development go hand in hand. We in the United Nations system recognize that helping societies emerge from post-conflict situations is a challenge that must be met. ... We believe, very strongly, in giving people the means to provide themselves and their families with jobs and security, education and health - in peaceful and secure environment. Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Choices Magazine, December 1999. http://www.undp.org/