Quaker argues that patriotism is deadly, no matter where or why it is practiced – Based on my life experience, studies, intellect, and conscience, I am led undeniably to the conviction that patriotism is immoral: It is selfish and irrational, hinders our judgment, divides the world, contributes to militarization, causes war, and contradicts the teachings [...]

21/06/2011 by Imad Karam and Kees Hulsman Imam Mohammed Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye from Nigeria were invited to Egypt to deliver training workshops on ‘Early Warning – Early Response’, a technique they developed to combat and prevent communal conflict. They conducted two workshops in Cairo and Egypt’s second city Alexandria. The workshops, which took [...]

Greg Foyster June 19, 2011 The year is 2001. You live in a large sharehouse on the south side of town. The place has millions of rooms and people are always coming and going. One day a stranger knocks on the door. ‘Help!’ he shouts. ‘The people in my house are trying to kill me! [...]

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF KOLKATA, India M. is an ebullient girl, age 10, who ranks near the top of her fourth-grade class and dreams of being a doctor. Yet she, like all of India, is at a turning point, and it looks as if her family may instead sell her to a brothel. Her mother is a [...]

By Hasnain Kazim in the Swat Valley, Pakistan For two years, the Taliban terrorized the beautiful Swat Valley in northern Pakistan. Now that Islamabad has regained control, it is trying to resocialize those who supported the Islamist radicals. In “deradicalization” courses, they learn how they can be good Muslims without killing non-believers. Faiz Ali Khan’s hand are shaking [...]

I had just finished a weekend retreat on the Sermon on the Mount in Los Angeles when I heard the news that the U.S. had killed Osama bin Laden. Unlike the president, the U.S. military, and the hundreds who cheered and waved flags, I did not celebrate. I do not support or cheer the killing [...]

The Vatican has said that a Christian “never rejoices” in the face of someone’s death, even if that person has committed heinous crimes. The comment came as part of a short response to the worldwide news that Osama bin Laden, taken to be a key al-Qaida leader, has been killed by US forces in Pakistan, [...]

April 17 2011 at 05:24pm In early 2005, Cairo-based computer engineer Saad Bahaar was trawling the internet when he came across a trio of Egyptian expatriates who advocated the use of non-violent techniques to overthrow strongman Hosni Mubarak. Bahaar, then 32 and interested in politics and how Egypt might change, was intrigued by the idea. [...]

The Paradox of Our Media Age—and What to Do About It By Laura S. Washington April 5, 2011 We live in a communications desert. How can this be, you, say? Our 24/7 news cycle delivers information by the millisecond to our living rooms, ears, laptops and cell phones. Every day, Americans are barraged with millions [...]

By Terrence McNally, AlterNet Posted on March 18, 2011, Printed on March 29, 2011 http://www.alternet.org/story/150295/ “This is a book of repentance,” Sherry Turkle has said of Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. “I have been studying computers and people for thirty years. I didn’t see several important things. I [...]

By David Noonan – Wednesday, 16 March 2011 The nuclear emergency that is compounding the human tragedy of Japan’s earthquake sends a clear warning to Australia to steer clear of the risks of nuclear energy. The terrible human cost of the earthquake in Japan is being made even worse by radiation escaping from damaged nuclear [...]

By Michelle Chen March 16, 2011 While local residents and staff fled the widening danger zone surrounding the crippled reactors, the anonymous Fukushima worker uttered words that could brand him one of the first martyrs of Japan’s monumental triple-catastrophe. He reportedly told an official that he “was not afraid to die, that that was his job.” [...]