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Iran Nuclear Talks. A fresh tone in Washington with a breath of Oregon

It is easy to be a cynic listening to some of the more nonsensical chatter coming out of Congress. Despite the most comprehensive international agreement between the United States and its P5+1 partners (the members of the UN Security Council and Germany) with Iran on its nuclear program, the calls to bomb Iran are still … Read more

TPP, Peace and Conflict: It’s Not about Trade, It’s about How We Trade

Let’s get one thing straight to begin with. Trade is good. We do it all the time. Trade has been pretty much part of recorded human history and evidence reveals prehistorical trade routes in many parts of the world. It becomes a little bit trickier when we look at large-scale international trade agreements. The question … Read more

Wars are not fought for peace and democracy

The Myth Wars are for peace & democracy Debunk Wars for democracy are unsuccessful. The US has a long history or invading and occupying others. War is more likely to happen when there is oil. Forcing democracies does not work. Wars brew hatred and violence in the aftermath. Wars are … Read more

War is not the last resort

The Myth War is the last resort Debunk People assume and expect that decisions to use force are made when no other options exist. No war can satisfy the conditions of absolute last resort. There always are many good, nonviolent alternatives. The price of war is too high, when people … Read more

War is not part of human nature

The Myth Humans will always go to war Debunk War has not always been around, humans invented war. Most of the time in human history we did not wage wars. It’s not in our genes. We have to be trained to be able to kill. War does not break out. … Read more

Fight terror again, and again, and again. Or end it by refusing to participate in its creation

The cycle of violence. When will it be interrupted? The attack on Charlie Hebdo was another incident of “Terror in [fill in the blank]… attackers part of [fill in name of terror network]”. It was an incident of home-grown terror, since the attackers were French-born second-generation immigrants. It is time to shift away from ineffective, … Read more

ISIS, Ebola, Ferguson (nukes?)

Did you notice? Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel just announced plans to massively “upgrade” the US nuclear arsenal. It might have been swallowed by other breaking and ongoing news: ISIS and another beheading, Ebola, Ferguson, or the historic comet landing of Philae – at least one positive story. In addition to local news, stories in … Read more

USS Oregon/USS Portland: Not in my name

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus was in Portland last Friday to announce the resurrection of the USS Portland and USS Oregon names for two new warships. I am offended that this is being done in my name and in the name of all other Oregonians who have for decades consistently professed values of non-violence … Read more

War Prevention Initiative featured in Shift Network

The Hopeful Alternative – A Global Peace System, by War Prevention Initiative’s Executive Director Patrick Hiller was featured in the Shift Network’s “The Catalyst”. Click her to see the full article: http://theshiftnetwork.com/blog/2014-09-18/hopeful-alternative-global-peace-system

More leaks in the faulty national security debate – and how to fix them

A little leak can be quickly fixed by stuffing it. Large leaks, however, often require more structural repairs or completely different solutions. Bradley Manning’s and just days ago Edward Snowden’s leaking of classified information demonstrates just how big our structural repairs need to be. What they exposed are further indicators of the faulty framework of … Read more

Seeing Systems Discussion Course book created in collaboration with the Northwest Earth Institute

We worked with the NW Earth Institute to develop a discussion course for use within living rooms, community settings, classrooms and may other settings. The discussion course titled, “Seeing Systems: Peace, Justice and Sustainability” was released in April 2014. Within these links you will find a description of the course – http://www.nwei.org/discussion-courses-2/seeing-systems-peace-justice/

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