Peace Intelligence – Page 339 – Public Intelligence Blog

A frightening prospect if there ever was one…

3. Islamic Bloc Wants Permanent Seat on Security Council

The Islamic world should be granted permanent member status on the United Nations Security Council, according to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's secretary-general.

At a recent speech in Moscow, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu asserted that the 57-member OIC, the largest international organization outside the U.N., deserves “a new position.”

“I think there should be a seat for OIC in the Security Council,” he said. “If you look to the structure of the Council today, you have the [five permanent members] and there are representatives of different civilizations, different cultures, political powers.

“But you won't find a representative of more than 1.6 billion people of the Muslin world.”

Continue reading “Marcus Aurelius: Islamic Seat on UN Security Council”

2013/09/232013/09/23

SchwartzReport: Parks Make Us Smarter

Benjamin Franklin understood the truth this report discusses. In his will of 1789, Franklin left money for the building of parks to Boston and Philadelphia, because he believed that creating aesthetic public spaces created greater comity in the community. More than two centuries later we are still learning this lesson.

Parks Make us Smarter – Science Proves It!

HENRY GRABAR – Salon

Last year, a group of Edinburgh architecture researchers asked a dozen students to take a walk. They began on a tree-lined shopping drag, turned along the tranquil northern edge of the Meadows, one of the city’s larger parks, and wound up in a busy commercial district some half-hour later. The pastoral section of an otherwise urban jaunt, the researchers found, induced a significant increase in meditative thinking.

This may not strike you as a novel discovery. Thanks to Henry Thoreau’s trip to Walden Pond, Teddy Roosevelt’s sojourn in the Badlands, and America’s other legends of retreat, the idea that nature has restorative powers is deeply embedded in our culture. Science is in support: A raft of studies credit bucolic settings with reducing aggression, alleviating depression, and improving mental function.

Continue reading “SchwartzReport: Parks Make Us Smarter”

2013/09/23

David Swanson: Two Congress Members — One A Republican Questioning War, the Other a Deaf Dumb and Blind Democrat Bought and Paid For….

Peace Intelligence

A Tale of Two Congress Members

By David Swanson

In 2010 in Virginia's Fifth Congressional District, many people who prioritize peace over war probably voted for Democrat Tom Perriello over Republican Robert Hurt. I know many who did just that.

Here's what Congressman Hurt said on Tuesday about Syria:

“I have repeatedly stated … that before the United States should commit any of its precious American lives or military resources to an attack on the Syrian regime, the President must articulate a compelling American national security interest that requires military action. I have attended classified briefings, and I have concluded that, at this time, the President has not demonstrated that a compelling national security interest is at stake. Because of this, I will not be able to support the Authorization for Use of Military Force resolution should it come to a vote under current circumstances.”

Meanwhile, former Congressman Perriello has advocated, with his colleagues at the Center for American Progress for the United States to “increase its assistance to the Syrian opposition with the goal of supporting an alternative opposition government that is better organized than at present.” According to Perriello the U.S. has a “national security interest” in “preparing the groundwork for a political and economic transition to a new regime in Syria in the foreseeable future.”

Continue reading “David Swanson: Two Congress Members — One A Republican Questioning War, the Other a Deaf Dumb and Blind Democrat Bought and Paid For….”

2013/09/23

SchwartzReport: Bolivia to Sue US for Crimes Against Humanity

07 Other Atrocities, Peace Intelligence

Not a word of this in the American corporate press, but I take this as further evidence of our declining status in Latin America as a result of the U.S.'s bullying behavior. The craziness and paranoia ginned up in this country after 911 looks, to people outside of it, like a kind of national madness.

Bolivian President to Sue US Govt for Crimes Against Humanity

RT (Russia)

Bolivian President Evo Morales will file a lawsuit against the US government for crimes against humanity. He has decried the US for its intimidation tactics and fear-mongering after the Venezuelan presidential jet was blocked from entering US airspace.

‘I would like to announce that we are preparing a lawsuit against Barack Obama to condemn him for crimes against humanity,” said President Morales at a press conference in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz. He branded the US president as a ‘criminal” who violates international law.

Continue reading “SchwartzReport: Bolivia to Sue US for Crimes Against Humanity”

2013/09/23

Berto Jongman: Peacebuilders 2013 – Focus on Working With Young

Peace Intelligence

Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders awards 2013 – the winners

September 21 2013: Today we announce the winners of this year’s Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders competition. Out of 244 applications, from 54 countries, an international group of experts have found four of the most exciting and innovative peacebuilding organisations from around the world.

EXTRACT:

But one trend does emerge. The vast majority of local peacebuilders are working with young people as a key part of their programme. The entrants we spoke with all emphasise the key role they see young people playing in building peace. Again and again, they talk about working with young people to counter propaganda and prejudice, and creating opportunities for young people to prevent them from being drawn into violent groups.