1.    Take relationships seriously, envisioning yourself in an interconnected web of people, institutions and the environment. 2.    Try to be aware of the impact – potential as well as actual – of your actions on others and the environment. 3.    When your actions negatively impact others, take responsibility by acknowledging and seeking [...]

It is a little known fact of history that Muhammad, the founder of the Islamic religion/nation, once sent a letter to the Orthodox Christian monastery of Mount Sinai (Saint Catherine’s) vowing to protect its inhabitants as well as all Christians (the Achtiname of Muhammad, c. AD 628). This was to be in effect forever, and [...]

By NOAM CHOMSKY “The Arab world is on fire,” al-Jazeera reported on January 27, while throughout the region, Western allies “are quickly losing their influence.” The shock wave was set in motion by the dramatic uprising in Tunisia that drove out a Western-backed dictator, with reverberations especially in Egypt, where demonstrators overwhelmed a dictator’s brutal [...]

LONDON & EDINBURGH, February 01, 2011: Governments and agencies in the C21st “need to radically re-orient their policies away from armed force and violence as the prime determinants of social change,” says the beliefs and values think-tank Ekklesia. The call for “long-term investment in conflict transformation, participatory democracy, peacemaking and peace-building techniques rather than military [...]

“Now that he is safely dead Let us praise him, build monuments to his glory, sing hosannas to his name. Dead men make such convenient heroes: They 
cannot rise 
to challenge the images we would fashion from their lives. And besides, it is easier to build monuments than to (build) a better world.” Carl Wendell [...]

The Misuse of Martin Luther King, Jr. By Mark Engler, January 16, 2011 Cross-posted from the Dissent Magazine blog Arguing the World. You might remember Martin Luther King, Jr. as someone who railed against the triple evils of “racism, materialism, and militarism.” But according to Obama’s Department of Defense, “today’s wars are not out of line with [...]

A new standard is about to remake American Jews’ dietary code. By Louis Nayman January 7, 2011 Kosher is about to get an American makeover. Sometime between Passover and Chanukah 2011, a new social responsibility certification–the Magen Tzedek (Star of Justice)–is expected to begin appearing on the labels of selected kosher food products throughout the [...]

Pakistan was still reeling from the shock of Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer’s assassination when his murderer, Mumtaz Qadri, revealed that he had informed his colleagues about the murder plot. Qadri said that he had asked them to let him finish his ‘job’ and then arrest him alive. An FIR against Qadri was lodged by the [...]

Interview with Tim Keller by Kristen Scharold | posted 12/06/2010 09:23AM Tim Keller has strong words for people who do not care about the poor: “All I know is, if I don’t care about the poor, if my church doesn’t care about the poor, that’s evil.” The head pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church and author [...]

By Keith Suter Posted Thursday, 25 November 2010 The sudden flare up of violence on the Korean peninsula is extremely worrying. South Korea is now on its highest peacetime alert. This is one of the most dangerous situations since the 1953 Korean War armistice (there is still no peace treaty). We don’t know for sure [...]

Pop quiz on the news: who said this week, referring to the dispute between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. military commander David Petraeus over U.S. Special Forces “night raids” that break into Afghans’ homes in the middle of the night: Many Afghans see the raids as a … humiliating symbol of American power. Was [...]

Afghanistan is legendary as a difficult and dangerous place to live – and work. So when there’s good news it’s especially worth celebrating. TEAR’s partner SERVE Afghanistan recently reported some exciting milestones from its Eastern Region Community Development Program. This project works with poor and vulnerable rural families, including returning refugees. Over the past five [...]