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Newsletter from the Human Rights House Network, 30th August 2005

Newsletter from the Human Rights House Network, 30th August 2005

1 Polish TV cameraman prevented from entering Belarus
The harassment of Polish journalists in Belarus continues. On Thursday, Belarussian border guards refused entrance to Roman Varszytski, a TV cameraman from Poland.
See also:
- Repressive measures against Poles in Belarus
- Norwegian NGOs protest against harassment of Polish journalists in Belarus
- Letter from the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Poland

2 Human Rights House Network meeting in Baku 9-10 September
Activists from established and emerging Human Rights Houses in ten countries will meet in Baku, Azerbaijan, 7-10 September to support human rights defenders. UN Special Representative for human rights defenders, Hina Jilani, will also attend the meeting.

3 Aggressive attacks on press freedom in Nepal
The government of Nepal is sanctioning the use of threats, violence, detention and censorship against the media community. In a letter sent yesterday, the Norwegian Journalists Association, the Norwegian PEN and the Human Rights House Foundation (HRH) asked King Gyanendra to reinstate press freedom in Nepal.

4 UK editor faces charges of racial incitement
A Scots local newspaper editor is facing charges of incitement to racial hatred after he published an editorial opposing a proposed refugee centre in the north-east of Scotland. Index on Censorship reports.

5 Polish gay activist fined
The head of the Polish Campaign Against Homophobia was fined by the court esrlier this month for his statement which, according to the court, was aimed at offending Catholics. Lawyers have doubts as to the course chosen for making the verdict and the qualification of the offence itself.

6 Rights of asylum seekers violated in Bosnia
The rights of asylum seekers are violated more frequently than rights of other citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights.

7 Rafto Foundation raises money to help maltreated Saharawi
The Rafto Foundation has organized a fundraising campaign to get medical treatment for 20 year old Sidi Elfakraoui. Elfakraoui was thrown out of a window from the 4th floor by Moroccan police, and consequently broke his back, arm and both his legs.

8 - Human rights training of our prison staff needed, says Kurdish Deputy PM
- Our prison staff could do well with some basic human rights training, said Imad Ahmad, Deputy Prime Minister of the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) Administration of one of the two self-determined Kurdish regions within Iraq. Mr. Ahmad recently visited the Norwegian Council for the Rights of the Kurdish People at the Human Rights House.

9 Russian activists met CoE's human rights Commissioner
The Commissioner for human rights of the Council of Europe, Alvaro Gil-Robles, has compared Russia to a train full of passengers that don’t know where they are going. Last month he met Russian human rights activists.

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Free of charge news and background service from the Human
Rights House Network, an international forum of cooperation between
independent human rights houses. It works to strengthen cooperation and
improve the security and capacity of the 70 human rights organizations in
the Network. The Human Rights House Foundation in Oslo is the
secretariat.

To subscribe, please send an email to:
newsletter-subscribe@humanrightshouse.org

More news and background on www.humanrightshouse.org

******************************************************************

Sent by:
Borghild Tønnessen-Krokan
Editor/Project Manager
Human Rights House Foundation (HRH)
Address: Menneskerettighetshuset,
Tordenskioldsgate 6b, 0160 Oslo, Norway
Tel: (+47) 22 47 92 47, Direct: (+47) 22 47 92 44,
Fax: (+47) 22 47 92 01
Website: http://www.humanrightshouse.org,
http://www.menneskerettigheter.no

Posted by Evelin at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)
Some Fulbright Scholar Opportunities Still Available

SOME FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR AWARDS STILL AVAILABLE

Some Fulbright Scholar opportunities to lecture or conduct research abroad
during the 2006-2007 academic year remain available in international
relations around the world, including awards in conflict resolution or
peace studies in Korea, Nicaragua, Tunisia, Ukraine and Venezuela.
Conflict Resolution is also a priority field for some All Disciplines
awards for which applications continue to be accepted, for example in
Bosnia, Cyprus, Georgia, and Guatemala. Awards for both faculty and
professionals range from two months to an academic year. Foreign language
skills are needed in some countries, but most Fulbright lecturing
assignments are in English. U.S. citizenship is required for all awards;
university teaching experience is required for all lecturing awards. For
available awards, other eligibility requirements, and online application,
visit our Web site at www.cies.org. Awards are closing daily,
so consult the relevant program officer before applying.

Posted by Evelin at 09:39 AM | Comments (0)
The Journal of Positive Psychology

The Journal of Positive Psychology
Dedicated to furthering research and promoting good practice
New for 2006

Editor-in-Chief: Robert A. Emmons - University of California, Davis, USA
Editorial Information

Publication Details:
Volume 1, 2006, 4 issues per annum
ISSN Print 1743-9760 ISSN Online 1743-9779

2006 Subscription Rates
Institutional: US$288/£160; “Early bird” rates (institutional subscriptions received before end March 2006): US$216/£120
Individual: US$72/£40

Posted by Evelin at 09:33 AM | Comments (0)
The Common Ground News Service, August 30, 2005

Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
August 30, 2005

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

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ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

1. "A Sensible Path to Arab Modernity" by Rami G. Khouri
Rami G. Khouri, editor-at-large for the Daily Star, asks all the controversial questions about Arab and Islamic societies. Why are they violent and unstable? Why do they spawn terrorists? Why are they underdeveloped? Based on the comments of his co-panelists at a recent Beirut Conflict Resolution workshop, he argues that the answer is simply dysfunctional enterprises of citizenship and statehood in the Arab world.
(Source: Daily Star, August 20, 2005)

2. "Science and diplomacy" by Michael B. D'Arcy and Michael A. Levi
Despite the negative view of the United States, Arabs still look positively at American technology. Michael B. D'Arcy, Science and Technology Fellow at The Brookings Institution and Michael A. Levi, Nonresident Science Fellow at The Brookings Institution, that the United States reach out with scientific cooperation as a tool of diplomacy with the Islamic World.
(Source: The Washington Times, August 16, 2005)

3. "Needed: Arab leadership and vision" by James J. Zogby
James J. Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute, looks one-by-one at the hot spots in the Arab world, and outlines how Arab leadership and vision can make a difference in each unique context.
(Source: Jordan Times, August 23, 2005)

4. "London: Resilient, Forgiving" by Lubna Hussain
Saudi writer Lubna Hussain gives her experience as a veiled woman visiting London after this summer's bombings. Although critical of the anti-Islamic acts that unfolded in the aftermath, she still has a number of reasons to love London.
(Source: Arab News, August 26, 2005)

5. YOUTH VIEWS "Iraq and morality" by Justin H. Schair
Justin Schair, a graduate of Hofstra University and former Editor-in-Chief of Hofstra's student newspaper the Chronicle asks when and how the United States will withdraw from Iraq. He suggests that civil society must step up to condemn the type of violence and killing that is taking place and redefine what is morally and socially acceptable.
(Source: CGNews-PiH, August 30, 2005)

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ARTICLE 1
A Sensible Path to Arab Modernity
by Rami G. Khouri

BEIRUT -- What's wrong with the Arabs? Why do so many Islamic societies spawn terrorists? Why are our societies so violent and unstable? What is needed to transform the societies of the Middle East, North Africa and west-central Asia into stable, prosperous countries?

These are the sorts of sweeping, big sticker questions that many people within the Middle East ask every day, looking simultaneously at internal factors as well as external causes of our many excesses. It was heartening and instructive for me earlier this week to have the privilege of sharing in a panel discussion with two of the clearest thinking, most articulate analysts in the Arab world - George Corm and Clovis Maksoud, both Lebanese -- as we discussed the impact of the last three Arab Human Development Reports published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The issues they raised and the analytical suggestions they made deserve a wider hearing than the students and staff participating in a summer course on conflict-resolution organized in Lebanon by UNDP and Lebanese American University. I suspect their way of thinking correctly identifies the key challenges facing the Arab world, reflects the views of the vast majority of Arabs, and offers a practical, realistic route out of the Arab world's current dilemma of stagnation, frustration and confrontation.

Corm, a professor of economics at St Joseph University in Beirut and a former Lebanese cabinet minister, makes the point that the Arab region undoubtedly needs real reform, but there is no consensus on the reasons for this. Is current and historical foreign interference the main problem, he asks? Domestic power distortions? Patriarchal social culture? Polarized societies fragmenting into smaller and smaller units based on ethnicity, religion and ideology? Hostility among Arab states and leaderships?

A combination of these and other reasons explains the burdensome, humiliating fact that the Arab region is the only part of the world where foreign armies today still regularly invade, occupy, and try to remake societies. More troubling is his observation that Arabs today face virtually the same challenge that confronted our societies around 150 years ago, in the late Ottoman period: why are Arab societies underdeveloped, and dominated by foreign influences, interests and forces?

Among the answers to his questions, Corm mentions the devastating impact of the Arab rentier economies that are not productive or creative, but live off "rent" derived from foreign payments or protection, or from oil and gas production. Rent economies make it impossible to develop liberal, democratic regimes, he says, and so must be replaced with job-creating, productive economies.

Arab nationalists never sufficiently focused on the economic dimension of nationalism, independence and statehood, he says, and Arab intellectuals today spend too much time responding to Western accusations and focus too much on day-to-day politics. Instead, our intellectuals and activists should ignore Samuel Huntington, Bernard Lewis and others of their ilk, and spend more time building our culture and society. We should especially draw on the rich but neglected Arab tradition of thinkers who have sought in the past century to prod reform, modernity, prosperity and genuine national sovereignty anchored in dignity.

The Arab people need and deserve a "second Nahda of Arab freedoms", he says, referring to the broad intellectual, cultural, political and religious movement in parts of the Arab world around 1880-1920 that has been called the Arab Awakening or Renaissance, el-Nahda in Arabic. Our own continuous quest for modernity and liberalism can be compatible with key religious and cultural values. He defined modernity as that which allows you to promote prosperity, compete globally, defend yourself militarily, and defend the overall integrity of your society from foreign domination.

Clovis Maksoud, university professor, columnist, former Arab League ambassador and current director of the Center for the Study of the Global South at American University in Washington, D.C., approaches the same challenge through the eyes of the team that wrote the Arab Human Development Reports, of which he is a member.

"The Arabs are a wealthy nation of poor people," he notes, who recklessly engage in either confrontation with the West or submission to it, with both options leading to self-destruction. We need to find a way to reconcile the legality of the modern Arab state system with the legitimacy of the wider Arab national idea, he says. The Arab Human Development Report offers an action-oriented analysis that aims to spark a dialogue between the Arab citizen, civil society and the state authorities.

One of our common weaknesses -- very evident in Lebanon, he says -- is that the individual Arab citizen does not have a direct relationship with his or her state except through the intermediation of ethnic, religious or tribal groups. The narrow identities and interests of sovereign states have come to dominate the two other important dimensions of people's lives in the Arab region -- their rights as citizens of a state, and their sense of belonging to a larger Arab national identity of some sort.

He says that "the weakness of patrimonial Arab consciousness has given way to the strength of legal state sovereignty." Consequently, Arab countries wave their flags vigorously, advocating "Jordan first", "Lebanon first", "Syria first" and "Egypt first"; yet their citizens steadily become increasingly angry with life conditions at home and the international double standards they suffer from Israel and the West.

"Anger is an invitation to dialogue," he suggests, and one of the aims of the Arab Human Development Reports is to spark dialogue that can also plant the seeds of an Arab Renaissance.

George Corm brings the argument back to the historical legacy of an Arab region that wants to change, reform and modernize, but has always resisted doing so under foreign pressure or threat. Totally adopting or rejecting Western reform agendas is not useful, he says, and instead we need to spur a genuine Arab reform agenda for modernity and freedoms that primarily builds on our own values, analyses, and priority goals.

These are sensible and timely ideas, doubly significant because they are not unique or unusual; they reflect the richness of the debates that take place every day in homes, schools, coffee shops and offices throughout the Arab world. They also provide a powerful, appropriate antidote to the prevailing nonsense that we hear from quarters of the West, especially the United States, about clashes of civilization, the need for Islamic reformation, hatred of the West, the madrasa problem, or the inherent violence of Arab and Islamic culture.

The matter is much simpler, and should not be muddled by tangential intellectual fantasies or the silliness of confused, angry small town politicians from abroad: In the past century or so, citizenship and statehood in the Arab world have become mutually dysfunctional enterprises, due to a combination of local and foreign factors that must be treated simultaneously.
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* Rami G. Khouri is editor-at-large of the Beirut-based Daily Star newspaper, published throughout the Middle East with the International Herald Tribune.
Source: The Daily Star, August 20, 2005
Visit the Daily Star at www.dailystar.com.lb
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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ARTICLE 2
Science and diplomacy
Michael B. D'Arcy and Michael A. Levi

From the beginning of the war on terrorism, both the Bush administration and its critics have touted the value of public diplomacy -- the art of bringing peoples, rather than governments, to America's side. The recent confirmation of Karen Hughes, a close confidant of the president, as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs puts an influential figure in charge of leading a revamped effort. As Mrs. Hughes seeks to make headway in the Islamic world, she should take advantage of an unlikely tool: the appeal of American science and technology. Just as the United States worked through scientific networks to promote its values during the Cold War, it should be reaching out through scientists and engineers today.

A Pew survey of six predominantly Muslim countries, released last month, confirmed that majorities in all the countries surveyed had negative views of the United States. Yet last June, a Zogby International poll of six Arab states found that in all but one, American science and technology were viewed favorably by a majority (often overwhelming) of the population. (Even in the exception, Saudi Arabia, 48 percent approved; in Morocco, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates, over 80 percent admired American science and technology.) No other aspect of American society -- not movies, not education, not even democracy -- attracted as much support. Such disparities suggest an important opportunity for the United States to leverage the positive image of its science and technology as it seeks to improve its standing in the Islamic world.

Indeed, science and technology are ideally suited to fostering the "four Es" -- engagement, exchanges, education, empowerment -- that Mrs. Hughes has emphasized as being the core of public diplomacy.

The United States has an encouraging track record of engagement in science and technology with the Islamic world. Seismologists have been working with partners in the Middle East and Central Asia to anticipate earthquakes. Scientists in Morocco have worked with American universities under grants funded by the National Science Foundation. USAID has worked with food scientists in Sub-Saharan Africa to harness biotechnology. This cooperation, though laudable, is but a start; the United States can do better. Many opportunities remain unexploited, from cooperation in developing science education and research networks, to promoting clean water, to equipping Islamic world industrialists to join the high-technology world, as a few of them -- most notably in Malaysia -- already have.

The next two "Es," exchange and education, work closely together. The United States has been strong here -- in the 2000-2001 academic year, more than 70,000 students from majority-Muslim states studied in the United States, and, by our estimates, between 10,000 and 30,000 of those studied science or engineering. Those who return home enrich their societies' scientific bases, while those who stay in the United States provide links for their compatriots who remain abroad.

However, despite being a shining example of American efforts, this area has seen problems since September 11. Reacting to the genuine and troubling dangers posed by advanced technology in the wrong hands, the United States clamped down hard on student visas, and the number of visitors sharply declined. In the short term, such crude measures may have been inevitable, but with time to reflect, a more nuanced policy that balances the real, and mutual, benefit from exchange should be possible. The State Department has taken important steps in this direction, but must do more.

There can be little doubt that strengthening the science and technology capacities of Islamic-world states, through engagement, exchange and education, can empower their populations. By helping solve basic societal problems, whether in health or safety, science and technology can help to provide the social stability needed for economic and political development. Scientific education permits economic progress. And by engaging with industry, American science and technology can help Islamic-world societies build upon this base. Of course, caution is essential: the wrong technology in the wrong hands can be empowering in far more threatening ways. But the great promise of empowering whole populations demands that we meet this conflict head-on and develop creative solutions, rather than withdraw.

Almost every obstacle faced in using science and technology to reach out to the Islamic world was confronted and surmounted before, when the United States used science to reach behind the Iron Curtain. Then, the United States was able to craft a careful but effective policy for harnessing science and technology's appeal, to mutual advantage. It can do the same today.
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* Michael B. d'Arcy and Michael A. Levi, science fellows at The Brookings Institution, are co-authors of "Untapped Potential: U.S. Science and Technology Cooperation with the Islamic World."
Source: The Washington Times, August 16, 2005
Visit the Washington Times at www.washingtontimes.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
For permission to reprint, please contact the Washington Times at www.washingtontimes.com.

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ARTICLE 3
Needed: Arab leadership and vision
James J. Zogby

The Arab world is facing critical challenges in Iraq and Palestine. Passivity will not do, nor will merely blaming others, even if they justly deserve blame for having created these crises in the first place. It is past time for demonstrations of leadership and vision.

What can be done?

Let's start with Palestine.

Israel's evacuation of its colonies in Gaza presents challenges and opportunities that must be addressed - and quickly. The Israelis are carrying out their plan largely unilaterally, showing little inclination to move forward on the roadmap towards negotiations. In addition, critical issues remain unresolved.

Israel is leaving Gaza, but will remain the occupying power over this congested and impoverished Strip, since it will continue to control all land, sea, and air routes into the area. Without unimpeded access to the West Bank and the outside world, Gaza cannot be considered free, nor will it be possible to develop a viable and sustainable economy.

Nevertheless, it is critical that work begin to build Gaza's infrastructure, to radically transform the conditions of daily life by providing jobs and hope to Gaza's young and to assist the Palestinian Authority in meeting its responsibility to provide services and security for Gaza's over one million people.

The wise decision of the UAE's Sheikh Khalifa Ben Zayed to invest $100 million in building a new city for 30,000 - 40,000 Gazans shows the way. But more must and can follow.

The UAE's action should not stand alone. An emergency Arab Reconstruction and Development Fund for Gaza should be established. Even before solutions are found to the many real problems that remain (the closed borders being only one of those), Arab leaders should announce that help is on the way and take quick steps to provide some immediate relief.

A decade ago I proposed the creation of the Gaza equivalent of the US' Depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Together the WPA and CCC created hundreds of thousands of government-funded make-work jobs provided hope and needed cash to the nation's unemployed. The Palestinian Office for Disengagement Affairs, headed by Mohammed Dahlan, reports that something akin to this is under way, with 1,800 being employed making flags and T-shirts for a Gaza celebration/clean-up campaign. With broader Arab support, this endeavour can be expanded to hire 50,000 and can engage in a number of labour intensive reconstruction projects. All that is required is leadership and vision.

Simultaneous with these largely economic efforts designed to bring hope to Palestinians and demonstrate concrete support and buy time for the Palestinian Authority, additional efforts can take place on the political front as well.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia should breathe new life into his Arab League-endorsed peace initiative. Simply announcing it, after the 2002 Beirut Summit, was never enough. The Arab League, after embracing the peace offer, needed to embark on an international campaign focused primarily at transforming US and Israeli opinion. The plan needs to be elaborated and sold. In doing so, Arabs will take the initiative away from Sharon, providing a real vision of a comprehensive peace. By projecting such a vision, Arab leadership will not only help to impact the policy debate in the US and Israel, they will also inspire and empower the forces for peace and give hope and a political horizon to Palestinians.

That Sharon will reject this Arab peace offer is a given, but this should not stop Arabs from taking the high road and demonstrating leadership and vision. In the end, none of this is being done as a favour to Sharon. Making Gaza work, giving hope to young Palestinians and challenging Israel's resistance to a comprehensive peace, these are Arab interests.

Iraq requires Arab attention and action as well. The US, it is clear, has made a mess of the situation and still has no plan to move the country forward. But, especially in light of the problems being dealt with in Iraq's debate over a new constitution, realities must be faced.

A new and potentially explosive situation has been created in the heart of the Arab world. The Kurdish leadership has a vision for their region and the Iranians, as we say, are "sitting pretty." But besides worrying about outcomes, debating the identity and unity of Iraq, or bemoaning the present state of affairs, where is the Arab vision and leadership for Iraq?

An Arab-led effort at "Reconstruction and Reconciliation" can be launched to engage all of Iraq's communities in a collective discussion about the future of the country and its role in and relationship with the broader region.
It is imperative that Arabs not wait for the US to solve Iraq, it cannot. And, if left alone, the centripetal forces of ethnic and sectarian divisions will continue to pull Iraq apart, encouraged by some groups determined to foment internal strife. But a concerted, positive, and independent Arab effort to engage Iraq's new leadership, coupled with offers to assist rebuilding the country's infrastructure and proposals as to how Iraq can take its rightful place in the region, can help provide a new direction.

The choice here is a simple one. The long beleaguered Kurdish people have been empowered and Iraq's majority Shia community are now in a strong position as well. It is imperative to recognise these new realities. What Arab leadership and vision can provide is a bridge between the old Iraq and this new Iraq that is in formation - helping the country's complex constituency to find their place in the Arab family.

What is needed is leadership and vision.
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*James J. Zogby is founder and president of the Arab American Institute.
Source: The Jordan Times, August 23, 2005
Visit the Jordan Times at www.jordantimes.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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ARTICLE 4
London: Resilient, Forgiving
Lubna Hussain
(Source: Arab News, August 26, 2005)

"But why London of all places?" implored a friend of mine more perturbed than necessary over my choice of holiday destination. "I love London!" I effused passionately, much to her disapproval, as if my fickle admiration for the place under the current political circumstances was insufficient to justify my trip. I wondered if I would have sounded as convincing had I said "I love Baghdad!" or "I love Kabul!"

"I just don't know about you," she said in defeat rolling her eyes. "And I suppose that you're thinking of traveling the subway wearing that hijab of yours? Just to add insult to injury," she speculated idly. I thought seriously about crawling under her all too sensitive skin with the statement "I love hijab!" and watch in glee as she squirmed in agony, but refrained from doing so.

"How can a length of black cloth insult or injure?" I asked rhetorically.

"Can't you just buy a nice looking hat?" she pleaded. I shook my head defiantly as she raised the white flag in surrender. Her parting shot was, "Well to any Londoner riding on the tube, or foreigner for that matter, you will come across as the personification of Mrs. Osama Bin Laden. Carriages will clear at the sight of your head scarf and you may even be shot dead for looking like a potential suicide bomber!"

Her last statement made me chuckle inside. How ironic that all these years I spent traversing the Piccadilly Line I cowered in terror at the prospect of being followed, mugged or raped by some destitute weirdo from the swelling ranks of criminal elements within the city and now I would become a source of fear myself.

Much as I am loathe to admit it, my friend's sensationalistic lamentations did have a subliminal impact upon my psyche and when I disembarked at Heathrow Airport I expected inherent hostility from the immigration guys, topped with a possible cavity search to ensure that I was not importing any semtex, or other explosive derivative, along the length of my gastrointestinal tract.

My Saudi passport has a special stamp on it that effectively renders it an EC passport whenever I am in the region and I prepared myself for having this privilege instantly revoked.

I shuffled in the queue trying not to look suspicious and was greeted by a kindly Indian gentleman who flicked through my passport to the correct page, grinned in my direction (even though I looked stupefied and as guilty as sin) and shooed me onward. There were no sniffer dogs to greet my luggage in the baggage hall. No untoward groping in customs. In short I was out in half an hour trying to hold onto the fast evaporating image that I may be seen as a palpable threat to national security. A man even held the lift doors open for me and another walked the entire length of the building in an attempt to show me how to exit it.

As I write this I am sitting on a packed Central Line tube donning my Saudi garb and have yet to clear a single seat adjacent to me, leave alone an entire carriage.

As has been the case for as long as I can remember, people on the London underground never make eye contact with fellow commuters, unless of course they happen to be foreigners unversed in the etiquette of public transport.

It is as if the entire compartment full of people are working toward a PhD in advertising judging by the duration, intensity of concentration and tremendous interest they exhibit whilst reading and re-reading the overhead billboards.

No. There is no perceptible difference between this trip and any other I have made. I thought that I would be spat at, verbally abused and tried about my complicity in crimes that I didn't commit.

But no. No such excitement. People were as detached, impersonal, friendly or unfriendly as they have ever been. That is why I still love London. The considerable fallout after the London bombings is highly unfortunate, but, nonetheless entirely understandable. It proved extremely painful to read accounts of how mosques, Islamic Centers and Muslim-owned houses and shops had been targeted and desecrated by those who had hijacked the opportunity to serve their own political ends.

Such an incident always allows the more extreme elements in any society to vent freely with little or no repercussion. That's not really surprising. What is surprising though is just how resilient and forgiving the average Londoner is.

The tube, to most people is the nerve center of the city. This attempt to paralyze a universally used conveyance by people of all faiths was more than just symbolic. It was meant to serve a blow to the equanimity and multiculturalism of the city. What it actually did, in effect, was to damage the essential image of the faith in whose name the atrocity was allegedly committed the in the first place.

The most oft-forgotten element of the whole equation is that invariably the brunt of any of these terrorist-inspired attacks by so-called "Islamists" is borne by the entire length and breadth of the Muslim world. Violent misinterpretations to further the political agendas of a few have set back the aspirations of over a billion Muslims world wide.

The aftermath of the tragedies of 9/11, the Madrid Bombings, the Bali Bombings et al have affected the Muslim community more than any other. We suffered and still suffer the consequences of these acts and our future looks bleak with a guarantee of further persecution yet to come.

We steel ourselves daily for another onslaught by strangers we have never countenanced, have nothing in common with and who have become our own worst enemies. We are expected to apologize for these crimes on their behalf as if we are somehow communally responsible for them.

But why is it that we are so afraid to examine and identify the root causes of this reign of terror?

The bitter irony of the whole situation is that this monster of terrorism that we have watched grow and thrive in the world has been neither created nor inspired by any of us.

It was the Americans who played the part of Dr. Frankenstein when they promoted the spread of jihadist ideology during their struggle to eliminate the 'Godless Soviets' from Afghanistan. They encouraged the propagation of madrasas rallying the young to abandon their lives in favor of the sweet rewards of martyrdom. Much of the literature guiding innocent minds to pursue such a dangerous path was published and distributed by their agencies in an endeavor to achieve their own self-satisfying political ends. So it's okay to sponsor and abet that kind of activity. Murdering Russians using the strategy of Holy War is absolutely justified.

This same exception for Americans can be seen in the call by Pat Robertson to assassinate Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez. How can a nice American be seen as perpetrating an act of terror? No. That can't be right. After all, we as Muslims have a strict monopoly on all terrorists. Not forgetting, but of course, that those of us who have engaged in conflicts to promote American hegemony in the past, are also exempt from the general definition.

As Muslims we are desperately trying to dissociate ourselves from the acts of a few misguided individuals. However, when it comes to someone like Pat Robertson, would that make him representative of all Christians? I guess that's a fair assumption judging by how our community is evaluated.

I personally find it absolutely amazing that no other religion is held accountable for the acts of a few of their deviants. Massacres of innocents take place all over the world and yet no followers of any faith other than that of Islam are called up to denounce, ask for forgiveness and grovel in contrition the way that Muslims are forced to. Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time, but regret for the things we didn't do leaves us inconsolable.
###
* Lubna Hussain is a Saudi writer based in Riyadh.
Source: Arab News, August 26, 2005
Visit the Arab News at www.arabnews.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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ARTICLE 5 - YOUTH VIEWS
Iraq and morality
Justin H. Schair

The question seems to just keep on looming. How will the United States ever leave Iraq? Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld recently said that the insurgency could last as long as 12 years. That's not what the Bush administration promised a world skeptical of a sea change in Iraq.

Iraq has been so mismanaged from get go it's hard not to be concerned about its future. On a visit to Egypt and Jordan last month I found the Arab street still had its fair share of criticism of American policy in Iraq, but I never heard from anyone with a plan that would actually help the Iraqis move forward. The critical tone there was neither constructive nor effective, it was about what America is doing wrong and how they need to leave Iraq. The Arab street appears more focused on looking at what went wrong and who's to blame instead of offering viable solutions. The argument that America should leave the country sooner rather than later holds considerable merit, but it's ludicrous to ignore the dire situation of Iraq's security, which Iraqi officials have said they cannot manage on their own.

But the Arab street isn't alone in missing the big picture.

Whoever is officially in charge of security in Iraq is missing what is clear to any outsider observing the ongoing violence. For every insurgent killed there is another ready to give their life for that fight, and the continuing clashes are only deepening the wedge between the insurgency and reformists, and military force is proving insufficient.

There needs to be an ideological assault on the notion that it's okay to kill innocent people. Bombing schools, voting booths and police stations has somehow become "socially acceptable" in certain circles there. Courageous Iraqis are taking a vested interest in reforming their country, but they are so far from enjoying reasonable security that it's hard to imagine how things will ever change.

A message that says it's unequivocally wrong to kill innocent people must come from all religious authorities in Iraq. A social condemnation is much more effective when it comes from civil society, instead of the government. Iraq is undergoing a civil war and the progressives will win, but at the expense of an unnecessary bloody battle. This civil war would be much better fought through dialogue not only because bombs will stop going off but also because those opposed to a Shiite government will in fact accomplish much more using public discourse instead of public panic.

Right now these suicide bombers and even the more moderate members of the opposition have little credibility - much of that stemming from the boycott of the January 30 elections by a large number of Sunnis.

There are already many examples of imams elsewhere standing up to terror - even before the London bombings, one recently emerged. In London, the Finsbury Park Mosque community, after a police raid looking for evidence on imam Abu Hamza al-Masri's involvement was terrorism, organized his removal last year. The new imam has radically changed the tone and tenor of the mosque, formerly a hornet's nest of terrorist wannabes, and surprisingly to those who think Muslim communities in the West are home to nothing but seething rage, attendance at prayers has tripled since al-Masri's ouster, showing that the mainstream Muslim community wants nothing to do with terror.

If and when there is a change in the violence in Iraq, it will most definitely begin with a redefinition of what is socially and morally acceptable.

I recently met the Afghan Ambassador to the United States, Said Jawad. In the initial stages of Afghanistan's reconstruction, Jawad served as President Hamad Karzai's chief of staff. I asked him how Afghanistan was dealing with the remaining supporters of the Taliban. He explained to me that their policies allowed anyone to participate in the political process as long as they had not been involved in any sort of terrorism or murder.

This is exactly the message Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, needs to be sending: the individual is more powerful and has more credibility when they engage in the democratic process and respect the basic principals of humanity.
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*Justin H. Schair is a graduate of Hofstra University where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Chronicle, the university newspaper. You may e-mail him at jschair@aol.com.
Source: This article was written for CGNews-PiH Youth Views.
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Posted by Evelin at 02:37 AM | Comments (0)
Asia Reemergence a Boon for the World by Wang Ronghua

Asia's Reemergence a Boon for the World

by Wang Ronghua

The author is president of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. The article is adapted from his speech at the International Convention of Asia Scholars 4 which ended in Shanghai on Wednesday.

Shanghai Daily, Friday 26 August 2005, page 5

Any study of Asia’s future must proceed from its long history, and from a respect of for that history.

In the past several millennia, this continent was the cradle of a host of great civilizations, including the ancient Mesopotamian civilization, the ancient Hindu civilization, the ancient Chinese civilization, and various other civilizations.

What’s more, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity all grew up in Asian soil. In comparison with other lands, Asia has shown a more colorful mosaic of civilizations.

The diversity of Asian civilizations exists hand in hand with mutual tolerance among Asian cultures. Over more than 2,000 years, Confucianism spread from china to other parts of East Asia; Buddhism from South Asia to East Asia; and Islam from West Asia to Central and Southeast Asia.

The peaceful coexistence among different civilizations in Asia far exceeded their conflicts or confrontations.

Contemporary Asian cultures, as a result of such encounters and interactions that characterized the growth of the historical Asian civilizations, testify to the Asian spirit of peace and tolerance.

This spirit of peace and tolerance enables us to value communication, understanding and cooperation in the face of differences in the 21st century.

It is against such a cultural background that Asia is reemerging peacefully as a vital force in the world.

Asia is changing its passive and marginalized role assigned to it long since the Industrial Revolution. The vitality released from Asia’s self-reform and resurrection is being translated into a strong power propelling the whole human development in the 21st century.

On their tortuous road of integration into the modern world since the 19th century, the Asians have made persistent efforts for an equal status in the international arena.

Though long at an advanced forefront of human civilization, Asian countries lagged behind in the modern world. They have been providing cheap raw materials and labor to the developed countries, while making attempts to assimilate the modern elements of the West.

The result has been an imbalance of development between the East and West, and an unequal position in international affairs as well.

Many problems in contemporary Asia are to a great extent rooted in history. Resolving these problems, while demanding insight and courage from the Asians, requires joint efforts of the East and the West.

At present, great changes are taking place in both the East and the West, particularly so in Asia, where East Asia and South Asia are showing as strong momentum of peaceful reemergence. What the peaceful rise of Asia promises to the world is increasing balance, faster growth, and greater stability.

Of course, there is no denying that Asia itself has pockets of poverty and warfare in certain countries and regions.

But this just proves from the other side that Asia is in need of peace and development.

Given its size, the peaceful rise of Asia will be a most direct contribution to the world.

With Asia’s accumulation of wealth, its social transformation, and the rise of its international standing, a real equality between the East and the West will come true.

It is natural that there are differences as well as agreements. The Chinese philosophy has always emphasized the existence of harmony in differences, and stressed the importance of seeking common ground while putting aside differences.

In the contemporary world, the coexistence and combination of various cultures manifests itself in a pluralistic model, towards modernization.

The road for Asia’s development will fully embody a pluralistic model, a diversified culture, and a multiple pattern.

China belongs to Asia, and the Chinese people have a deeply-felt attachment to and identification with Asia.

Like many Asian countries, China is a developing country, sharing into the rest of Asia.

As fan Zhongyan, an ancient Chinese philosopher once remarked, “to worry before everyone else, and to rejoice after everyone else,” we would also like to follow this principle in sharing the weal and woe of our fellow Asians.

China, based on her experience of turmoil, war, poverty, and humiliation, knows that it is never easy to secure peace and development.

As Chinese President Hu Jintao recently said, we should “remember well our history, never forget the past, treasure peace, and work for an even brighter future.

That is why we are so committed to the notion of peace, development and cooperation.

Confucius said, “To be established yourself, help others to be established; to be successful yourself, help others to be successful.” He is also well known for saying, “Do not do unto others as you would not have them do unto you.”

These teachings tell us unequivocally that one can get one’s rightful position only in practicing fair play to others; one can achieve development only when involving others in the common development; and one should never impose on others what you yourself do not desire.

When China walks onto the world stage and integrates into Asia, such notions are naturally assimilated into its international behavior and relations, as reflected in this policy of peaceful development and its proposal to “befriend, secure, and benefit our neighbors.”

China, as a developing country, needs to be modest and keen on learning from other nations. Even if China becomes stronger in the future, it will still need to respect other nations, an d learn from others.

When we today talk about the future of Asia, we inevitably talk about the future of China. The international community has witnessed various speculations about China’s future, with some believing that this is and agnostic topic.

However, if one understands the Chinese culture, one may come up with a very clear picture of the spiritual state of the future China, and with it, get a good grasp of the future China’s attitude toward the test of the world.

Posted by Evelin at 09:45 AM | Comments (0)
Westerners and Easterners See the World Differently

Westerners and Easterners See the World Differently
22:00 22 August 2005
NewScientist.com news service
Zeeya Merali

Chinese and American people see the world differently – literally. While Americans focus on the central objects of photographs, Chinese individuals pay more attention to the image as a whole, according to psychologists at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, US.

“There is plenty of anecdotal evidence suggesting that Western and East Asian people have contrasting world-views,” explains Richard Nisbett, who carried out the study. “Americans break things down analytically, focusing on putting objects into categories and working out what rules they should obey,” he says.

By contrast, East Asians have a more holistic philosophy, looking at objects in relation to the whole. “Figuratively, Americans see things in black and white, while East Asians see more shades of grey,” says Nisbett. “We wanted to devise an experiment to see if that translated to a literal difference in what they actually see.”

The researchers tracked the eye-movements of two groups of students while they looked at photographs. One group contained American-born graduates of European descent and the other was comprised of Chinese-born graduate students who came to the US after their undergraduate degrees.

Each picture showed a striking central image placed in a realistic background, such as a tiger in a jungle. They found that the American students spent longer looking at the central object, while the Chinese students’ eyes tended to dart around, taking in the context.

Harmony versus goals
Nisbett and his colleagues believe that this distinctive pattern has developed because of the philosophies of these two cultures. “Harmony is a central idea in East Asian philosophy, and so there is more emphasis on how things relate to the whole,” says Nisbett. “In the West, by contrast, life is about achieving goals.”

Psychologists watching American and Japanese families playing with toys have also noted this difference. “An American mother will say: ‘Look Billy, a truck. It’s shiny and has wheels.’ The focus is on the object,” explains Nisbett. By contrast, Japanese mothers stress context saying things like, “I push the truck to you and you push it to me. When you throw it at the wall, the wall says ‘ouch’."

Nisbett also cites language development in the cultures. “To Westerners it seems obvious that babies learn nouns more easily. But while this is the case in the West, studies show that Korean and Chinese children pick up verbs – which relate objects to each other - more easily.

“Nisbett’s work is interesting and suggestive,” says John Findlay, a psychologist specialising in human visual attention at Durham University, UK. “It’s always difficult to put an objective measure on cultural differences, but this group have made a step towards that.”

Nisbett hopes that his work will change the way the cultures view each other. “Understanding that there is a real difference in the way people think should form the basis of respect.”

Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (vol 102, p 126-29)

See this article at http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7882

Posted by Evelin at 08:48 AM | Comments (0)
Global Nomads Group Newsletter

Global Nomads Group Newsletter

The bell is about to ring! September is right around the corner and school will soon be back in session! We here at GNG are busily preparing to launch our largest and most exciting program to date, CURRENTS: HIV/AIDS around the World, but thought we'd take a moment to update you on some of the exciting stuff happening at GNG.

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Contents
Update on CURRENTS
GNG in the News
Rwanda Alive in Film Festivals
Celebrate Peace Workshops
GNG Summer Interns
Recent Testimonial
Support GNG


Update on CURRENTS

In just under 2 weeks, GNG will launch CURRENTS, a 3-month voyage around the world with Semester at Sea.

CURRENTS is an international education program that unites young Americans with their peers around the world via videoconferencing and the internet to discuss the most pressing global issues of our time and work together to help solve them.

In the Fall 2005 semester, the issue participants will explore is the HIV/AIDS epidemic as it is unfolding in countries around the world. To find out more, log on to the CURRENTS website(folow the link below) - there you can access a schedule of broadcasts, team blogs, and follow this program.

Do you know anyone in the port cities we will be working in? Please bear in mind when you respond that we will only have 5 days in each country and will not be venturing far from the port. That said, if you do have contacts in the following cities, please send them to info@gng.org:

- La Guiara, Venezuela
- Salvador, Brazil
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Mombasa, Kenya
- Chennai, India
- Yangon, Myanmar
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Hong Kong, China
- Kobe, Japan

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GNG in the News

GNG was featured in the July issue of Urbanology and the July/August issue of Flaunt magazine. If you are on our snail mail list, you should be receiving a copy of the articles shortly.

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Rwanda Alive in Film Festivals

In other exciting news, GNG's latest documentary Rwanda Alive: Those Who Listen has been picked up for review at FOUR Film Festivals.

In Michigan, it was shown at the Waterfront Film Festival. In Los Angeles, it will be shown at the Los Angeles Short Film Festival.

In Hot Springs, Arkansas, it will be shown at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.

In Montreal, it will be shown at the World Film Festival.

If you live in the area and want to support GNG by attending the screening of our film, or bringing friends and family, please do so! Click the name of the film festival above for the festival's website and details.

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Celebrate Peace Workshops

Celebrate Peace, an initiative of Peace Cereal, Peace x Peace, Spirit Voyage, Breathe magazine, and Utne magazine, is a nationwide series of weekend workshops to spread a hopeful message, and cultivate the practice of peace in daily life through music, meditation, lectures and workshops on how to become a peace builder. GNG is working with Celebrate Peace to create a PULSE program for this Fall. Stay tuned…
Clink for more information

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GNG Summer Interns

GNG would like to thank our tremendous summer interns who worked so hard this past summer, and accomplished so much on behalf of GNG and CURRENTS. Without them, a lot of this Fall's work would not have been possible, so THANK YOU!

Gene Tsenter- Media Production
Loria Wilson - Development
Elizabeth Mohan - Education
Grace Converse - Sustainability
Jessica Longoria - Education
Olivia Slavin - General Office Support
Alida Jay - General Office Support
Kate Mauer - Accounting

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Recent Testimonial

We recently received the following email from a teacher whose class participated as a "view-only" school for our Iraq program – she sent it in response to a query from us regarding whether or not her students took action following participation in a GNG conference. We were humbled by her response and we wanted to share it with you:

"Here at suburban, private Cincinnati Country Day School, our student population largely comes from conservative, upper-class families. In our academically edenic setting, the teenage bent for self-oriented, non-global awareness is heightened to some degree. Nearly four years ago, just a few weeks before the outbreak of the US war with Iraq, the GNG offered the chance to witness via videoconference a dialogue between Iraqi students in Baghdad and students in the US. Serendipitously, my ninth grade humanities students were studying Islam, so I thought the experience might serve as tangential food for thought. Who knew it would, rather, become a banquet--a veritable intellectual feast?

As a viewing and not participating school, we were only going to watch for 45 or 50 minutes, the length of a class bell. My students, as the videoconference progressed, became absolute riveted, remarking, throughout the hour and a half for which we stayed, at the similarities between "us and them," at the humbling English language prowess of the Iraqi students, and at the sophisticated level at which those students seemed to understand the world.

We headed back to my classroom, a little awestruck, when the students positively stunned me: they asked if I would be willing to clear our class plans for the next two or three weeks so that they could research the cause of the heightening US/Iraq tensions. Delighted to oblige, I asked what they wanted to learn. They broke themselves into groups, each focusing on something they had heard in the videoconference or in the news. "What's the UN?" "What are these resolutions that Saddam Hussein has broken?" "What's a weapon of mass destruction? A ballistic weapon?" "Is this about oil?" "Wasn't there a war there before?"

They spent the next few weeks absorbed in conversation, researching, sharing information, and internalizing forces at work on a global level. They had made an emotional connection to the Iraqi kids half-way around the globe, and wanted to understand what could possibly be so big that they might be put in harm's way. In short, they learned how to care, and how to use that emotional prompt to learn. They spoke more frequently and more knowledgeably about the news and became angry that so many of their peers didn't seem to know much.

As the war continued, the students understandably grew increasingly concerned that the kids they had "met" had died. That fall, GNG sent the follow-up video, wherein my students got to see and hear from the very faces of the students they had seen before the war. They were reassured that all were safe, that the conflict had not been in vain, but that there was much work to be done on the part of the US if the war was to be worth it to the people of Iraq. We await, eagerly, our next opportunity to have the GNG facilitate another miracle. This time, I'll be prepared to carve out the time and space to turn interest into action."

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Support GNG

None of the exciting activity described above would be possible without the support of our donors and friends. Please consider donating to GNG today!
Donate to GNG

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Global Nomads Group
381 Broadway, 4th floor
New York, New York 10013

Posted by Evelin at 08:27 AM | Comments (0)
Annual Peace Education Conference in Canada

ANNUAL PEACE EDUCATION CONFERENCE IN CANADA http://www.peace.ca/CanadianAgenda2005.htm

"The world is dangerous not because of those who do harm, but because of those who look at it without doing anything." - Albert Einstein

WHAT FUTURE WILL YOU CREATE? - 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 and empowering, 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. http://www.cultureofpeace.ca)

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

Posted by Evelin at 07:08 AM | Comments (0)
Upcoming September Events at Meaningfulworld

Upcoming September Events at Meaningfulworld

On Sunday, September 4, 2005, Dr. Kalayjian will chair and join a symposium and panel at the WFMH 2005 Biennial World Congress in Cairo, Egypt. The first symposium is entitled "Psychosocial and Spiritual Impact of Tsunami." Judy Kuriansky, PhD, Vikram, and Nicole Moore will also present at the symposium. Dr. Kalayjian will later join a panel entitled "Forgiveness and Transcendence: Pathways toward reconciliation and peace”.

For more information on this conference, please go to http://www.medical-design.net/mentalhealth2005/.

On Tuesday, September 6, 2005, Dr. Kalayjian will present a lecture entitled "Partnering with the Media" at Fordham University. This Conference is entitled "Behavioral science and the global agenda: Making a difference in the 21st Century." In this lecture, Dr. Kalayjian will discuss how the media has helped her gain support for projects, such as the MHOP, and increase awareness of global conflicts such as genocide and terrorism. To attend the conference, please email Harold Takooshian at takoosh@aol.com.

On Friday, September 9, 2005 from 1:15-2:30pm, Dr. Kalayjian and Dr. Judy Kuriansky will co-moderate an interactive workshop entitled “Achieving Collective Security: Partnerships to prevent fear, violence, genocide and terrorism through targeting the MDG goals”. For more information, please go to http://www.unngodpiconference.org

PAST EVENTS

At the 2005 American Psychological Association Convention in Washington, D.C, Dr. Kalayjian was invited to the International Suite at the Renaissance Hour to share her experiences of the Post Tsunami Mental Health Outreach Project. During that same week, Dr. Kalayjian chaired a panel on Human Rights, Mental Health & Aging and joined two panels, one discussed Aging & Mental Health and the second focused on Internationalizing Counsulting.

IN THE MEDIA

On Friday, August 12, 2005, Dr. Kalayjian appeared on ABC News, Channel 7 with Shade Baderinwa and Andrea Williams. She discussed the psychological impact of the post 911 release of EMS & police records. The interview was followed by a webchat on WABC on the same topic.

On August 23, 2005, she was invited on talk about the impact of the climate change on one's emotions and psyche on WTOP, a radio station based in Washington, DC.

………………………………………………………………………………...

About Dr. Anie Kalayjian: She is an educator, logotherapeutic, psychotherapist, researcher, and consultant. She also holds a certification from the American Red Cross in Disaster Management, an advanced Certification in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress & Board Certified Expert in Crisis Management.

About the Association for Disaster and Mass Trauma Studies: A non-profit organization that promotes the advancement of knowledge about the immediate and long-term human consequences of traumatic events. The association also promotes effective methods of relief, restoration, and prevention to both traumatized populations and those treating them. For updates and current information about the MHOP project, please email Dr. Kalayjian at kalayjiana @ aol.com or call 201-941-2266.

Posted by Evelin at 06:57 AM | Comments (0)
From Personal Stories to Dialogue: Developing Skills in Practices and Research

A Proposal to the Koerber Stiftung

From Personal Stories to Dialogue: Developing Skills in Practices and Research

Dan Bar-On, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, March, 2005.

Aim
A European Institute or training program will be established in Hamburg, at the Koerber Foundation for European English speaking practitioners in the helping professions (teachers, social and community workers, therapists, nurses, decision makers in these fields) to learn skills how to use personal stories to bring people into dialogue, especially across ethnic, religious and cultural dividing lines, and how to develop research methods that will enable practitioners to reflect on their work and generalize from it.

This is a learning process, aimed to create a cadre of practitioners and researchers in Europe, based on thirty years of experience of Prof. Bar-On and his students in the German-Jewish aftermath of the Holocaust and in the Palestinian –Israeli conflict, and his work with the TRT (To Reflect and Trust) group that included also practitioners from Northern Ireland and South Africa. It will be a three-year program, based on bi-annual short seminars in Geneva and their implementation in the home-setting of the participants, supervised by Prof. Bar-On. The documentation and evaluation of the program will include in depth interviews with the participants, observation of their interventions in their home settings, questionnaires (before and after) and comparison to alternative interventions in this field.

Theoretical Background
Since the end of the Cold War and the relatively successful process of peacefully ending the Apartheid regime in South Africa, implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, there is a growing awareness and interest to end intractable conflicts in different parts of the world by combining top-down peace agreements with a bottom up social and educational reconciliatory process, (Rothstein, 1999; Saunders, 1999; Kriesberg, 1998; Lederach, 1998; Bar-Tal, 2000; Coleman, 2003).

Today, it is widely accepted that without such a bottom-up complementary process, there is a real danger that the top-down peace agreement or accord will not become sustainable and violent outbreaks might follow. Though it is generally believed that new common economic and political interests will outweigh the animosity and build bridges across previous divisive lines, this did not happen many times in reality (Bar-Siman-Tov, 2003).

Within a bottom-up reconciliatory process, several issues have to be addressed simultaneously: specifically, unresolved issues regarding the perpetrators and victims of the conflict. One could deliberate if the perpetrators should be brought to trial and punished (like in the Nuremberg trials or the current tribunal in de Haag) or if they should confess and be provided amnesty like in the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). One has to relate to the victims as well: How should the victims, who lost their dear ones, be compensated? Who will address their on-going plight, stemming from the conflict or from before its violent outbreak?

These aspects have been dealt with mostly as legal issues of the aftermath of the conflict. But reconciliation has a psychosocial component as well (Bar-Siman-Tov, 2003). The concept of reconciliation assumes that the enemies of yesterday will give up and let go of their pain, hatred, animosity and wish for revenge, and will reconstruct their identity that had been constructed around the conflict. One expects that a new identity construction will develop together with new relationships between former enemies that will address the roots of the conflict, not only its unfortunate outcomes. But how can we create such a deep change in people who were committed to the conflict, in some places for generations, in others for a substantial part of their lives? Are these expectations realistic or is it wishful thinking and talking that has little substance in intractable conflicts (Ignatieff, 1999)? Basically, a psychodynamic approach is necessary to tackle some of the underlying issues, if one wants to reach a sustainable peace agreement (Volkan, 1991). According to this approach, one has to work-through the past, before new energy will be available to make these difficult changes in the identity constructed around the conflict together with openness and willingness to enter a dialogue with the enemy of yesterday.

Bar-On developed over thirty years a historically and socially contextualized psychodynamic approach to work on these complex issues, in relation to the Holocaust (with Jews and Germans) and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He started in the mid-seventieth conducting therapy and research with families of Holocaust survivors (Bar-On, 1995a). Through his work with students at the university and their interviews with Holocaust survivors and their descendants he and others recognized the role of "the conspiracy of silence" that prevented their working through of the past: The survivors had subjective reasons not to talk about they had experienced ("Survival guilt") and the society that absorbed them after the war was over was not able or willing to listen to them and help them heal their emotional wounds (Bar-On, 1995; Danieli, 1988).

First step: two three-days seminars in February and June, 2006
A group of 16-20 participants will convene in Hamburg in February 2006 for the first seminar that will focus on personal stories, related to the constructions of one’s own identity, learning to conduct interviews in the biographical tradition, and how to move from the personal story-telling into the dialogue between people and groups divided by long and painful conflict situations. There will be an advantage if participants will come therefore in couples from conflict zones, representing the different sides of the divide, so that they can later use their training to facilitate dialogue in their own context.

During the period between February and June, each participant will conduct and transcribe one interview, related to issues of their own identity construction, as part of their own social context. One should be aware that biographical interviewing is different from therapeutic interviewing, as one is not supposed to help the interviewees but rather learn to systematically gather information from them (though of course these may have therapeutic benefits for both sides). These transcriptions will be delivered to me in English and will serve as the initial material for the second June seminar, which will focus on analysis of the interviews and how to move from the individual interviewing and analysis phases into the dialogue and group phase.

Participation
People who wish to register for these seminars have to commit themselves for at least these two full seminars. The seminars are open to persons who speak English, and have at least 5 years of experience in their professional field (teachers, social workers, therapists, nurses, legal authorities and decision makers in these fields)

There is an intention and option that these two seminars will be followed by four additional ones, over the following two years: In the second year, participants will learn to implement these skills in their own context, and will learn to handle the difficulties of that process and its special contextual features, in a kind of on the job training. The seminars will be devoted to study methods of group facilitation, conflict management, power and status structures, evaluation and documentation. During the third year the students will develop participatory research and strategic intervention skills which will enable them to become multipliers in their own context: Teach others what they have learned over the period of two years. Part of that learning will include a special attention, how to incorporate decision makers in this process in order to bring a better synchrony between top-down and bottom-up efforts.

Participants will have to pay an annual amount of XXX Euro per seminar for their participation, in addition to their travel, meals and lodging expenses. Special subsidies will be provided for potential participants from less privileged areas, who are qualified for this seminar but cannot pay for it, and in whom the Koerber Foundation will have an interest.

People interested to apply for this training program will be asked to send their applications to danbaron@bgu.ac.il , including their CV, their work area (5 years at least of experience required), their interest in this training and where they could apply it in the future, and two recommendations of known authorities in their field. As mentioned earlier, we recommend that people who come from conflict zones will come with a partner from the other side of their context that could help later in the implementation process.

References
Adwan, S. & Bar-On, D. (2001). Victimhood and Beyond: The Bethelehem Encounter, October 1999. Jerusalem: PRIME.
Albeck, J.H., Adwan, S. & Bar-On, D. (2002). Dialogue groups: TRT's guidelines for working through intractable conflicts by personal storytelling in encounter groups. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 8, 4, 301-322.
Bar-On, D. (1989). Legacy of Silence: Encounters with Descendants of the Third Reich. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bar-On, D. (1990). "Children of Perpetrators of the Holocaust: Working through one's moral self." Psychiatry, 53, 229-245.
Bar-On, D. (1993). First encounter between children of survivors and children of perpetrators of the Holocaust. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 33, 4, pp. 6-14.
Bar-On, D. (1995a). Fear and Hope: Life-Stories of Five Israeli Families of Holocaust Survivors, Three Generations in a Family. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA.
Bar-On, D. (1995b). Encounters between descendants of Nazi perpetrators and descendants of Holocaust survivors. Psychiatry, 58, 3, pp. 225-245.
Bar-On, D. (1998). The Israeli society between the culture of death and the culture of life. Israel Studies, 2, 2, pp. 88-112.
Bar-On, D. (1999a). The "Other" Within Us: Changes in the Israeli Identity from a Psychosocial Perspective. Jerusalem: Ben Gurion University with Mosad Bialik (in Hebrew). (2001) Hamburg: Koerber Foundation (in German).
Bar-On, D. (1999b). The Indescribable and the Undiscussible: Reconstructing Human Discourse After Trauma. Budapest, Hungary: Central European University Press.
Bar-On, D. (Ed.) (2000). Bridging the Gap. Hamburg: Koerber Foundation.
Bar-On, D. (2002). Why did the Jews not take revenge on the Germans after the war: A case of displacement. Socio-Analysis, 4, 53-65.
Bar-On, D. (2004). Erzaehl dein Leben! Meine Wege zum Dialogarbeit und Politischen Verstandigung. Hamburg: Koerber. (In German).
Bar-On, D. & Charny, I.W. (1992). "The logic of moral argumentation of children of the Nazi era." International Journal of Group Tensions, 22, 1, pp. 3-20.
Bar-On, D. & Kassem, F. (2004). Storytelling as a way to work-through intractable conflicts: The TRT German-Jewish experience and its relevance to the Palestinian – Israeli context. Journal of Social Issues. 60, 2, 289-306.
Bar-Tal, D. (2000). From intractable conflict through conflict resolution to reconciliation: Psychological analysis. Political Psychology, 21, 761-770.
Bar-Siman-Tov, Y. (2004). (Ed.). From Conflict Resolution to Reconciliation. New York: Oxford University Press.
Boggio, H. (2002). The experience of reconciliation in Guatemala. A lecture presented at a Conference on Refugees and Reconciliation, in Castellon, Spain, on May 12, 2002.
Boraine, A. & Levy, J. (Eds.) (1995). The Healing of a Nation? Justice in Transition. Cape Town, SA: Institute of Democracy.
Danieli, Y. (1988). Confronting the unimaginable: Psychotherapists reactions to victims of the Holocaust. In J.P. Wilson, Z. Harel & B. Kahana (Eds.) Human Adaptation to Extreme Stress. New York: Plenum, pp. 219-238.
Dorff, E.N. (1992). Individual and communal forgiveness. In D. Frank (Ed.): Autonomy and Judaism. New York: State University of New York Press. pp. 193-217.
Gibson, J.L. (2000). Social identities and political intolerance: Likages within the South African mass public. American Journal of Political Science, 44, 2, 278-292.
Ignatieff, M. (1998). The Worrier’s Honor. New York: Henry Holt - Owl Books.
Irany, G.E & Funk, N.C. (2000). Rituals of Reconciliation: Arab-Islamic Perspectives. Washington: USIP.
Jackson, M. (2002). Politics of Storytelling:Violence, transgression and intersubjectivity. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press.
Kriesberg, L. (1998). Coexistence and the reconciliation of communal conflicts. In E. Weiner (Ed.). The Handbook of Interethnic Coexistence. New York: Continuum. pp.182-198.
Lederach, J.P. (1998). Beyond violence: Building sustainable peace. In E. Weiner (Ed.). The Handbook of Interethnic Coexistence. New York: Continuum. pp.236-245.
Lieblich, A., Tuval-Masshiach, R. & Zilber, T. (1998). Narrative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Maoz, I., Bar-On, D., Steinberg, S. & Farkhadeen, M. (2002). The Dialogue between the “Self” and the “Other”: A Process Analysis of Palestinian-Jewish Encounters in Israel. Human Relations, 55, 8, 931-962.
Nader, K., Dubrow, N. & Stamm, B.H. (1999). Honoring Differences. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner & Mazel.
Rittner, C. & Roth, J.K. (2000). Indifference to the plight of the Jews during the Holocaust. In C. Rittner, S.D. Smith & I. Steinfeldt (Eds.) The Holocaust and the Christian World: Reflections on the Past and Challenges for the Future. London: Kuperard. pp. 38-41.
Rosenthal, G. (1993). Reconstruction of life stories. Principles of selection in generating stories for narrative biographical interviews. In: The narrative study of lives. Sage, 1 (1), 59-91.
Ross, M.H. (1993). The Management of Conflict. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Rothstein, R.L. (1999). After the Peace: Resistance and Reconciliation. NLondon: Lynne & Reinner.
Saunders, H.H. (1999). A Public Peace. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Steinberg, S. & Bar-On, D. (2002). An analysis of the group process in encounters between Jews and Palestinians using a typology for discourse classification. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 26, 199-214.
Time Watch, BBC. (1993) Children of the Third Reich (a documentary on the TRT group).


Posted by Evelin at 05:31 AM | Comments (0)
Journal of International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict, Issue 3, Year 2005

Journal of International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict, Issue 3, Year 2005

The third issue of 2005 of the Journal of International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict is out. If you are interested in buying a copy of subscribing the journal, please contact Ms Pfeiffer (verlag@drkservice.de)

Das Thema / Topic
- Toni Pfanner: "David gegen Goliath oder asymmetrische Kriegsführung"
- Hans-Joachim Heintze: "Las Palmeras v. Bamaca-Velasquez und Bakovic v. Loizidou? Widersprüchliche Entscheidungen zum Menschenrechtsschutz in bewaffneten Konflikten"
- Eberhard Pförtner: "Menschenrechte in Friedensmissionen - Erfahrungsbericht eines Rechtsberatersabsoffiziers"
- Thomas Hemingway: "Military Commissions: A Tool of Justice in the War on Terror"

Beiträge / Notes and Comments
Artikel / Articles

- Gauthier de Beco: "Compliance with International Humanitarian Law by Non-State Actors"
- Manoj Kumar Sinha: "The Role of the National Human Rights Commission in India in Protection Human Rights"

Verbreitung / Dissemination
- Deutsches Rotes Kreuz: "Verbreitung des Humanitären Völkerrechts in Deutschland"

Vorträge / Speeches
- Bernard Dougherty: "Decisions of the United States Courts in Regards to the Guantanamo Bay Detains; How Do they Comport with International Humanitarian Law?"

Fallstudien / Case Studies
- Noelle Quénivet: "Isayeva v. the Russian Federation and Isayeva, Yusupova and Bazayeva v. the Russian Federation: Targeting Rules according to Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights"

Panorama
Konferenzen / Conferences
- Roland Otto: "9. Seerechtsseminar am Taktikzentrum der Marine: 'Develop RoE for NEO!', Bremerhaven, 14.-18. März 2005

Buchbesprechungen / Book Reviews
- Anthony R. Turton: "Gus Martin, Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives and Issues"
- Michael A. Newton: "Geert-Jan Alexander Knoops, An Introduction to the Law of International Criminal Tribunals: A Comparative Study"
- Sascha Rolf Lüder: "Ricarda Dill, Stephan Reimers und Christoph Thiele (Hrsg.), Im Dienste der Sache: Liber Amicorum für Joachim Gaertner"
- Thomas Goumenos: "Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, West Papua Network and Watch Indonesia, Autonomy for Papua: Opportunity or Illusion?"
- Emilian Kavalski: "Albrecht Schnabel and David Carment (eds.), Conflict Prevention from Rhetoric to Reality"
- Regine Reim: "Deboara Machini-Griffoli und André Picot, Humanitarian Negoation - a Hand book for Securing Access, Assistance and Protection for Civilians in Armed Conflict"
- Jeannine Drohla: "Yoram Dinstein, The Conduct of Hostilities under the Law of International Armed Conflict"
- Anna Sabasteanski: "Karen J. Greenberg and Joshua L. Dratel (eds), The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib"

Posted by Evelin at 03:02 AM | Comments (0)
9th World Leisure Congress in Hangzhou, China
Experiments in Education: A Special Symposium Issue on "Humiliation in the Academic Setting"

Experiments in Education: A Special Symposium Issue on "Humiliation in the Academic Setting"

January 2006
Editor
Dr. D. Raja Ganesan

Guest Editor
Annette A. Engler*

The January 2006 issue of Experiments in Education will be a symposium on the theme ‘Humiliation in the Academic Setting’. It can be thought of as a follow up of the editorial, ‘The Feeling of Being Humiliated in the Classroom’ carried in our January 2001 issue.

The aim of the proposed symposium is to highlight the varieties of humiliation generated and suffered in the larger academic setting. An announcement about this symposium inviting contributions has been put up in the website of the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies www.humiliationstudies. This is an international network of academics and professionals committed to the eventual elimination of humiliation from the face of the earth, founded by Dr. Evelin Gerda Lindner, affiliated, among others, to the Conflict Resolution Network, Columbia University, U.S.A.

Contributions from scholars are invited for this symposium. The length and format as well as the types of contributions are broadly the same as given in our guidelines to contributors on the third cover page.

Contributions may please be sent by e-mail to the guest editor, Ms. Annette A. Engler at AnnetteAEngler@aol.com with a copy to the editor, Dr. D. Raja Ganesan, at drajaganesan@rediffmail.com.

The last date for receipt of contributions is November 2005

*Ms. Annette Anderson-Engler does her doctoral work focusing on humiliation and displaced identity in children. at Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

Posted by Evelin at 02:51 AM | Comments (0)
Newsletter of the World Movement for Democracy: Call for Items

The WMD's DemocracyNews
Electronic Newsletter of the World Movement for Democracy - www.wmd.org

CALL FOR ITEMS

POSTING NEWS:
We welcome items to include in DemocracyNews. Please send an email message to world@ned.org with the item you would like to post in the body of the message.

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Dear World Movement Participants:

The next issue of DemocracyNews will go out on September 12, 2005. In order to make DemocracyNews as useful as possible, we ask you to send us any items related to democracy work that you think would be of interest to others.

The next deadline for submitting items is ** September 2** Please send items to: world@ned.org.

You are encouraged to submit items under any area of democracy work. We welcome items announcing publications, upcoming events, reports on research, new Web sites, and other information, and we are most interested in posting requests for partnerships between organizations on collaborative projects, brief descriptions of collaborative projects already underway or completed, and ideas for new initiatives in which others may be interested. We hope DemocracyNews will be a source not only for information about participants' activities, but also for new ideas about strategies to advance democracy.

Please share this message with your colleagues.

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To subscribe send an email to subscribe-democracynews@lyris.ned.org.

Posted by Evelin at 02:48 AM | Comments (0)
Teachers Intercultural Rights: A Plea by Francisco Gomes de Matos

Teachers’ Intercultural Rights: A Plea by Francisco Gomes de Matos

FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DES PROFESSEURS DE LANGUES VIVANTES THE LATEST ON LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES

WORLD NEWS: No. 40 October 1997


Teachers’ Intercultural Rights: A Plea by Francisco Gomes de Matos

The XIX World Congress of FIPLV (Recife,March 24 -26 l997) had as its central them Toward Intercultural Understanding for the 21st Century. By stressing such a crucial dimension of language education, that event has helped pave the way for what I would call a movement in favor of the identification, recognition, and implementation of teachers' and learners' intercultural rights. The latter are conceived not only as a new relation of cultural rights or as a kind of residual cultural rights but rather as another growth point from which an ever-broadening and ever-deepening concept of human rights can develop, so that new context be created for individuals, groups, and communities to understand and respect one another's systems of beliefs, values, and attitudes, as reflected by choices made by users of languages.

In order that each teacher and student can develop the maximum of his or her intercultural potential, educational systems and organizations functioning therein should cooperate so that Article 27(1) of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS "everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community" can be applied cross-culturally, thus leading to what has been highlighted by Article 28 in the 1996 UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF LINGUISTIC RIGHTS : "All language communities are entitled to an education which will enable their members to acquire a thorough knowledge of their cultural heritage (history, geography, literature, and other manifestations of their own culture), as well as the most extensive possible knowledge of any other culture they may wish to know". The UDLR's emphasis on the need for education to "always be at the service of linguistic and cultural diversity and of harmonious relations between language communities throughout the world" (Article 23: 3) is a powerful reminder to all of us concerned with constructing and sustaining a global cross-cultural vision. In such spirit, I have been including the cooperative formulation of language teachers' intercultural rights and responsibilities in workshops for Brazilian teacher trainers and teachers as, for example, in the Seminar for teachers of Portuguese as a foreign language, sponsored by SIPLE - International Society for the Teaching of Portuguese as a FL, held in Nitersi, Rio de Janeiro State, October 1996.

Here is one example of one of such intercultural rights for teachers: Teachers should have the right to be prepared to interpret perceptions of their national cultures by key thinkers( in arts, education, politics, science, etc.), through their speeches and/or written texts and to be able to compare such perceptions with those of corresponding thinkers in other cultures.

Here is an example of an intercultural responsibility of language teachers:

Teachers should challenge their students identify and correct stereotyped perceptions of aspects of their own culture as well as of the culture in which the new language is embedded.

How effectively have we been doing our job as cross-cultural agents? Although over 50 years have elapsed since the phrase "cross-cultural studies" started being used in the literature, and notwithstanding advances in cross-cultural communication research, since Lado's classic ( 4O years old in l997) Linguistics across cultures, much remains to be done by us, either as teacher-educators and/or teachers ourselves, to contribute significantly to making the Intercultural Rights and Responsibilities of students a permanent component in the process of language learning. If, as Kramsch et al cogently put it, "even a first-year learner of a foreign language" is a cross-cultural decision-maker, it follows that the formidable task of preparing teachers accordingly likes on the shoulders of far-sighted, innovative professional communities such as those within the expanding FIPLV network.

May this be a plea for us to do our job as a effectively as possible, so as to live up to the principles of cross-cultural understanding, tolerance, and communicative peace characterizing FIPLV 's organizational vision and mission.

References

Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights. World Conference on Linguistic Rights. Barcelona, June 1996. International PEN and CIEMEN. 27-page quadrilingual text:Catalan, French, English, and Spanish. Available on the Internet at this site http://www.troc.es/mercator/dudl-gb.htm.

Lado, R. 1957. Linguistics across Cultures. Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan Press (note the conceptual-terminology vitality of the phrase "across cultures" in the current specialized literature).

Kramsch, C., A. Cain & E. Murphy-Lejeune, 1996. ‘Why should language teachers teach culture? In: Genevihve Zarate, Michael Byram and Elizabeth Murphy-Lejeune (Eds) Special issue on Cultural Representation in

Language Learning and Teacher Training. Vol.9: 1.

Language, Culture, and Curriculum. Multilingual Matters, Clevedon, U.K.,p.106

Editor’s note: Dr. Francisco Gomes de Matos is a professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil. He has been advocating a humanrights-and-peace approach to language teaching since 1977. E-mail fcgm@it.com.br, Fax: 55-81-3268670

Posted by Evelin at 02:21 AM | Comments (0)
The Common Ground News Service, August 23, 2005

Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
August 23, 2005

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

**********

ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

1. "Trading Cricket for Jihad" by David Brooks
David Brooks, a columnist for the New York Times, dispels myths of the impoverished, devoid-of-hope terrorist and paints a picture of the educated, modern terrorist that facts and data have shown actually exists. In this context, Brooks then looks at certain U.S. foreign policy that is misguided in its attempt to dispel terrorism and suggests alternative steps.
(Source: New York Times, August 4, 2005)

2. "Fighting Terrorism: Blair Has Made a Rod for His Own Back" by Sir Cyril Townsend
Sir Cyril Townsend, former British Member of Parliament, although generally appreciative of Blair's responses to terrorism, worries that Blair has made some critical errors, particularly in the areas of freedom of speech and human rights. He warns that "[a] balance is essential between containing terrorism and protecting the rights of an individual."
(Source: Arab News, August 16, 2005)

3. "What next after the Gaza withdrawal?" by Daoud Kuttab
Daoud Kuttab, Director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Ramallah, worries that the seemingly unilateral action to withdraw from Gaza leaves many gaps. He argues that Palestinians and Israelis, as well as the peace process's multilateral guarantors, the United States and its quartet partners - the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia, should have been involved in the withdrawal to a greater extent to avoid practical problems employment, legitimacy, governance concerns - that will show themselves in the aftermath.
(Source: AMIN.org, August 18, 2005)

4. "Wars Need to Be Prevented, Not Stopped" by Stan Moore
Stan Moore, a member of several falconry and ornithological clubs and organizations, in an article rife with idealism, points out the role of the individual in changing international policy and particularly government-led violence or war. He also highlights the importance of prevention of conflict, not merely resolution, at a time when this theme is being heavily discussed amongst international organizations and communities.
(Source: Middle East Times, August 15, 2005)

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ARTICLE 1
Trading Cricket for Jihad
David Brooks

Nothing has changed during the war on terror as much as our definition of the enemy.

In the days after Sept. 11, it was commonly believed that the conflict between the jihadists and the West was a conflict between medievalism and modernism. Terrorists, it was said, emerge from cultures that are isolated from the Enlightenment ideas of the West. They feel disoriented by the pluralism of the modern age and humiliated by the relative backwardness of the Arab world. They are trapped in stagnant, dysfunctional regimes, amid mass unemployment, with little hope of leading productive lives.

Humiliated and oppressed, they lash out against America, the symbol of threatening modernity. Off they go to seek martyrdom, dreaming of virgins who await them in the afterlife.

Now we know that story line doesn't fit the facts.

We have learned a lot about the jihadists, from Osama bin Laden down to the Europeans who attacked the London subways last month. We know, thanks to a database gathered by Marc Sageman, formerly of the C.I.A., that about 75 percent of anti-Western terrorists come from middle-class or upper-middle-class homes. An amazing 65 percent have gone to college, and three-quarters have professional or semiprofessional jobs, particularly in engineering and science.

Whether they have moved to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, England or France, these men are, far from being medieval, drawn from the ranks of the educated, the mobile and the multilingual.

The jihadists are modern psychologically as well as demographically because they are self-made men (in traditional societies there are no self-made men). Rather than deferring to custom, many of them have rebelled against local authority figures, rejecting their parents' bourgeois striving and moderate versions of Islam, and their comfortable lives.

They have sought instead some utopian cause to give them an identity and their lives meaning. They find that cause in a brand of Salafism that is not traditional Islam but a modern fantasy version of it, an invented tradition. They give up cricket and medical school and take up jihad.

In other words, the conflict between the jihadists and the West is a conflict within the modern, globalized world. The extremists are the sort of utopian rebels modern societies have long produced.

In his book "Globalized Islam," the French scholar Olivier Roy points out that today's jihadists have a lot in common with the left-wing extremists of the 1930's and 1960's. Ideologically, Islamic neofundamentalism occupies the same militant space that was once occupied by Marxism. It draws the same sorts of recruits (educated second-generation immigrants, for example), uses some of the same symbols and vilifies some of the same enemies (imperialism and capitalism).

Roy emphasizes that the jihadists are the products of globalization, and its enemies. They are detached from any specific country or culture, he says, and take up jihad because it attaches them to something. They are generally not politically active before they take up jihad. They are looking to strike a vague blow against the system and so give their lives (and deaths) shape and meaning.

In short, the Arab world is maintaining its nearly perfect record of absorbing every bad idea coming from the West. Western ideas infuse the radicals who flood into Iraq to blow up Muslims and Americans alike.

This new definition of the enemy has seeped into popular culture (in "Over There," the FX show about the Iraq war, the insurgent leaders are shown as educated, multilingual radicals), but its implications have only slowly dawned on the policy world.

The first implication, clearly, is that democratizing the Middle East, while worthy in itself, may not stem terrorism. Terrorists are bred in London and Paris as much as anywhere else.

Second, the jihadists' weakness is that they do not spring organically from the Arab or Muslim world. They claim to speak for the Muslim masses, as earlier radicals claimed to speak for the proletariat. But they don't. Surely a key goal for U.S. policy should be to isolate the nationalists from the jihadists.

Third, terrorism is an immigration problem. Terrorists are spawned when educated, successful Muslims still have trouble sinking roots into their adopted homelands. Countries that do not encourage assimilation are not only causing themselves trouble, but endangering others around the world as well.
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* David Brooks is a columnist for the New York Times.
Source: The New York Times, August 4, 2005
Visit the New York Times at www.nytimes.com.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright is held by the New York Times. Please contact reprint2@nytimes.com for reprint information.

**********

ARTICLE 2
Fighting Terrorism: Blair Has Made a Rod for His Own Back
Sir Cyril Townsend

Whichever political adviser it was - and nowadays there are some 100 in Downing Street - who came up with Prime Minister Tony Blair's sound bite for his Press Conference on Aug. 5, can give himself a pat on the back because it was rather a good one. "Let no one be in any doubt, the rules of the game are changing."

Tony Blair was using his monthly press conference in front of Britain's top political journalists, to announce sweeping anti-terrorist proposals, which could lead to the deportation of many Islamic extremists before the year is out. Parliament is likely to be recalled next month to debate the measures, some of which will not need legislation.

"Coming to Britain is not a right and, even when people have come here, staying here carries with it a duty. That duty is to share and support the values that sustain the British way of life. Those who break that duty and try and incite or engage in violence against our country or our people have no place here," said the prime minister.

Tony Blair is a great political communicator, and few world leaders can handle a press conference with a better touch. Hearing extracts of this conference on the radio and television suggested he had given a powerful performance, but when I read my newspaper at breakfast next morning my heart sank. When examined his proposals appeared rushed and not properly thought through. He had made a big splash, before departing for his family summer holiday, and I suspect he will regret some of his proposals at leisure over the next year or so.

In recent weeks and up to this conference Tony Blair has been magnificent. His handling of European issues, his visit to Singapore to help London win the Olympic Games, his leadership of the G-8 summit in Scotland, his calm yet firm reaction to the bombings in London on July 7, have all combined to greatly enhance his reputation. He worked hard to prevent a backlash against British Muslims. He suggested the "ideology" of the suicide bombers represented a poisoned "perversion" of Islam. Perversion seemed to many to be just the right word.

His announcement of the most sweeping anti-terrorism proposals in the last fifty years took the Home Office by surprise. Blair, who had attempted to build up a political consensus over terrorism, gave Charles Kennedy only 30 minutes notice of what was being cooked up; and the leader of the Liberal Democrats responded by saying the prime minister could not count on his party's support. He believed the proposals risked "inflaming tensions and alienating Muslims".

The hostile reaction from the Muslim community was most significant. Very sensibly Blair had leading Muslims into Downing Street in July to plan the way forward. Now there was anger at his plans to ban certain Islamic organizations, shut down bookshops and deport radical preachers to countries that torture their prisoners.

Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain Sir Iqbal Sacranie has a key role at this time. But he was "concerned and alarmed" at what was being proposed. He thought Muslims speaking out in favor of the Palestinian cause might face prosecutions.

"Our faith of Islam commands us to speak out against injustice wherever it occurs."

A leading group against the Iraqi war was the Muslim Public Affairs Committee. It feared the proposals would marginalize young Muslims. Its spokesman, Asghar Bakhari, declared: "These sound like draconian and quite stupid laws... All the mainstream groups that have spoken against British foreign policy are worried that they will be on the list to be banned. This no longer looks like it's about fighting terrorism, it looks like it's about getting Muslims."

Another anti-war group, the Muslim Association of Britain, feared Blair would "marginalize the Muslim community."

Kate Allen, the UK director of Amnesty International, argued: "Some rules have not changed. Torture is wrong, and always will be." Cherie Blair, the prime minister's wife and a top human rights lawyer, recently warned the government not to interfere with the independence of the courts. The prime minister has unwisely warned the judges that, if they continue to resist the deportation of extremists, he would be prepared to amend the Human Rights Act. Inevitably he has stirred up within Britain considerable and highly articulate legal criticism.

While some of this reaction could be regarded as over-the-top, Blair has made a rod for his own back. A balance is essential between containing terrorism and protecting the rights of an individual. His hasty announcement, before going on a holiday, suggests he is failing to achieve that balance. Hopefully Parliament after the summer will build in the necessary cautions and corrections. One of its traditional tasks is to control the enthusiasm of the executive.

###
* Sir Cyril Townsend is a former British Member of Parliament.
Source: Arab News, August 16, 2005
Visit Arab News at www.arabnews.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 3
What next after the Gaza withdrawal?
Daoud Kuttab

The withdrawal of Israeli troops and the evacuation of Jewish settlers from Gaza, after 38 years of occupation, is the most recent proof of the limits of military power, even when that power is overwhelming. Now is the time to take stock of the lessons learned from the years of occupation and resistance in order to understand what Israelis and Palestinians should do next.

To begin with, it is imperative to understand how much credit Palestinians can validly claim for the Israeli withdrawal. True, Palestinian resistance and sacrifices were a contributing factor in Ariel Sharon's decision to reverse a policy he had espoused for decades. But it would be a mistake to attribute the Israeli withdrawal exclusively to Palestinian attacks. After all, this bittersweet Israeli action was neither a clear result of military defeat nor a consequence of political negotiations.

But unilateralism is not a rational long-term and effective policy, for it will not lead to a genuine and lasting peace in the Middle East. Just as President Bush has discovered in Iraq, Sharon will also be forced to acknowledge the limits of his strategy.

Unilateralism seems very expedient to short-sighted politicians, for it obviates the need for what they perceive as the mess of actual negotiations - that is, meeting their counterparts face to face and discovering the human results of their policies. Going it alone also seems politically advantageous domestically, because leaders can decide how much and how far they want to carry out a particular policy.

To be fair, unilateralism is convenient not only for a reluctant Israeli prime minister who does not wish to make substantial compromises during negotiations; it is also attractive to hard-line Palestinians who regard multilateralism as a means of pressing them to make unpopular concessions.

In any case, the day after the completion of the Gaza withdrawal, Israelis and Palestinians will be confronted with important unresolved questions. There is no doubt that the evacuation of Jewish settlers in areas that Israelis consider part of their God-given territory represents a huge ideological reversal. But after years of preaching and practising one of Zionism's main tenets, will the removal of settlements continue in the West Bank, or will this be a one-time exception?

Palestinians, for their part, will be expected to answer questions - in deeds, not just in words - about their ability to build a modern pluralistic state. How will the Palestinian body politic deal with the growing power of the Islamic movements that undoubtedly will expect a significant share of power in post-withdrawal Gaza?

The international community also will have to answer some key questions. According to the Palestinian Economic Council for Reconstruction and Development (PECDAR), annual per capita income in Gaza continues to average roughly $700, while Israelis enjoy incomes averaging a $16,000 per capita. In the absence of relatively well-paying jobs, what will happen to the lines of unemployed Gazans? The potential flight of employment seekers - a formidable force worldwide - is only one problem. More immediately, if Gazan families are not well fed, the recurrence of cross-border violence, if not the eruption of a third Intifada, will only be a matter of time.

While the economic situation in Gaza is a critical issue, the future of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will be determined mainly by the next steps in the peace process. Permanent-status issues concerning borders, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and refugees must be dealt with bilaterally. Any serious observer of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will no doubt acknowledge that there can be no unilateral solution to these issues.

As for the peace process's multilateral guarantors, the United States and its quartet partners - the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia - have failed to provide even the most basic facts regarding Israel's withdrawal or how it relates to the "roadmap" agreed in 2003. They cannot continue to sit on the sidelines. Washington's quixotic decision to call Israel's unilateral move part of the roadmap has failed to convince many Palestinians. The prevailing opinion among Palestinians is that the roadmap will be put into deep freeze once the Israelis complete their Gaza withdrawal.

But the Palestinian and Israeli peoples, their leaders, and the international community must all respond to the challenges that will follow. Most importantly, the future of the conflict and the chances for genuine peace in the region will depend on understanding the limits of offensive military power, defensive resistance, and unilateralism. Serious face-to-face talks, in accordance to international law and with the help of the international community, are the only way forward.

###
* Daoud Kuttab is Director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Ramallah.
Source: AMIN.org, August 18, 2005
Visit AMIN.org at www.amin.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 4
Wars Need to Be Prevented, Not Stopped
Stan Moore

One matter that should be very clear from the Cindy Sheehan experience is that neither George W. Bush, nor his administration, nor his supporters in the public media or the countryside are about to admit that the 'Iraq war of conquest' was a mistake. No matter what the evidence of lies, no matter what the "intelligence" really said, no matter what the damage to the nation and its citizens and soldiers, warmongers will be warmongers.

Moreover, political parties in the so-called but no longer seen "loyal opposition" no longer have the political strength or wherewithal to stop wars in progress. Wars take on inertia that makes them almost impossible to stop once initiated. A big reason for this phenomenon is likely the financial benefits of warmongering to professional politicians, who tend to be of the investor class and who often benefit financially from military spending, which is now a huge portion of the entire US economy.

Peacemakers and peacekeepers need to learn that wars must be prevented, not stopped. Peacemakers must anticipate causes of war. Peacemakers must see the signs of impending war, such as claims by their government that "all options are on the table", or outright dismissals that war is an imminent option. Peacemakers must give close attention to the inevitable demonization of foreign nations and their leaders, which is a sure sign of the process that leads to war.

The peaceful must find ways to speak truth to government deceit in real time. The peaceful must oppose war as an instrument of foreign policy on the grounds that wars waste property and lives and often victimize the innocent and civilians, and thus must be considered an outdated method of solving human conflict.

Peacemakers must oppose ALL war and especially pre-emptive wars that are aggressive and not defensive in the least. Peacemakers must develop coherent, logical, truthful arguments to instruct the public as to the harm caused by war to even the victors of military conflict. Peacemakers must devise strategies to influence public debate when emotions run high in favor of war, such as at times of grievous tragedy, such as immediately after the attacks of Pearl Harbor or 9/11/2001.

John Lennon had it right - we must give peace a chance. Edwin Starr was right when he said that "war is good for nothing; it can't give life but can only take it away".

We need more entertainers, more musicians, and more celebrities to espouse the peace movement for the younger generation. The Vietnam War resistance sprang to a large degree from young people who were at risk of being drafted in a conscript army. A volunteer army of today poses less of a threat to those who refuse to volunteer, but we need more brothers and sisters and cousins of veterans to oppose the war, and not just mothers of casualties. We need Crosby Stills and Nash to spur "young people [to be] speaking their minds [on the wrongful of war].

We need to prevent the planned war against Iran. We need to prevent war on North Korea. We need to prevent war against Venezuela and Syria and Cuba. We can see them coming, and we have to prevent these wars. We need religious leaders and celebrities and young folk and we need politicians and soccer moms and ex-military and wise elders and young parents and environmentalists and poor folks and everyone to oppose war and to prevent the next one.

What if they gave a war and nobody came? What if the politicians had to hold bake sales to finance wars? What if politicians and rich folk had to raise armies from their own children? What if the public stopped wars by preventing their governments from starting them?

We must prevent the next war while simultaneously stopping the current one. We can do it and we must.

###
* Stan Moore is a member of several falconry and ornithological clubs and organizations. Acknowledgement to Media Monitors Network.
Source: Middle East Times, August 15, 2005
Visit the Middle East Times at www.metimes.com.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity, brought to you by Search for Common Ground, seeks to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. This service is one outcome of a set of working meetings held in partnership with His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal in June 2003.

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Posted by Evelin at 05:30 AM | Comments (0)
Internet Resources Provided by the Project on Defense Alternatives

Dear Colleague:

The Project on Defense Alternatives has just added one thousand full-text links to its public access Internet Library pages. These links lead to online documents, reports, and articles published in 2005 by more than 200 official and NGO sources.

Our libraries include:
Terrorism, counter-terrorism, homeland security: http://www.comw.org/tct

Defense Strategy Review: http://www.comw.org/qdr

Chinese Military Power: http://www.comw.org/cmp

Revolution in Military Affairs: http://www.comw.org/rma

Occupation Distress: http://www.comw.org/od

War Report (Iraq & Afghanistan): http://www.comw.org/warreport

The sites also contain more than 4,000 document links from pervious updates. I hope you find them useful for research, reference, and teaching. If so, please share the URLs with others.

Also see: PDA publications index: http://www.comw.org/pda/pub-list.html

And: PDA Military, War, & Peace Bookmarks: http://www.comw.org/pda/milbkmrk.html

Sincerely, Carl Conetta
Project on Defense Alternatives
186 Hampshire Street
Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Posted by Evelin at 05:11 AM | Comments (0)
Cornell Conference on Language and Poverty

Cornell Conference on Language and Poverty
October 14-16, 2005

This conference, organized by the linguistics department at Cornell University, has two central objectives: (1) to highlight the complex interconnections of language and poverty for a general audience, and (2) to promote exchange among scholars of language and of culture and poverty as well as community-based language activists on work with endangered languages in impoverished communities.

Day one pursues the first objective of outreach and general education; days two and three are primarily devoted to the second and more specialized effort. Distinguished scholars and community workers from around the world will be joined by commentators drawn from a wide range of departments and programs at Cornell.

There is no registration fee but those planning to participate are asked to register at http://ling.cornell.edu/language_and_poverty/ so that we can plan for refreshments and the conference dinner on Saturday.

Some scholarship support is still available to defray travel and accommodations costs for those who do not hold regular academic appointments or have access to travel funding. Graduate students and people working in their own communities on language revival and maintenance projects are strongly encouraged to apply for this support through our website. Preference will be given to applications received by Friday, September 9, 2005. There is also limited crash space available; you may request crash space when you register online for the conference, or by sending a message to Wayne Harbert at weh2@cornell.edu. Please do so as soon as possible but preferably no later than Friday, September 30, 2005 if you would like somewhere to put your sleeping bag. A list of local hotels is available on the conference website.

The conference organizers,

Wayne Harbert weh2 @ cornell.edu
Sally McConnell-Ginet smg9 @ cornell.edu
Amanda Miller am332 @ cornell.edu
John Whitman jbw2 @ cornell.edu

Posted by Evelin at 04:40 AM | Comments (0)
Call for Papers from the Journal of Multicultural Discourses

Call for Papers from the Journal of Multicultural Discourses

Editor-in-Chief: Shi-xu

‘an exciting and much needed new development. The new journal will help to question existing assumptions about discourse analysis and ultimately widen understanding of the processes of language.’ Michael Billig, co-editor, Discourse & Society, University of Loughborough, UK

Please see the full details here or at the journal's website.

Posted by Evelin at 02:15 AM | Comments (0)
Press Release: Floyd Rudmin won the Klineberg Intercultural and International Relations Award!

Press Release:
Floyd Rudmin won the 2004-2005 Klineberg Intercultural and International Relations Award, given by SPSSI (Div. 9 of the APA) with his paper Debate in Science: The Case of Acculturation!

THE 2004-2005 OTTO KLINEBERG INTERCULTURAL AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AWARD

This year SPSSI's Otto Klineberg Intercultural & International Relations Award Committee read19 papers published across a wide array of topic areas including policy, political science, experimental social psychology, developmental and clinical psychology. After careful review, the committee selected as first place winner, Floyd Rudmin's paper Debate in Science: The Case of Acculturation. It is "an exceptionally sophisticated and provocative paper, and we anticipate it will be highly influential." Also of high merit and worthy of honorable mentions were Viorica Marian & Margarita Kaushanskaya's, Self-Construal and Emotion in Bicultural Bilinguals, published in Journal of Memory and Language, 2004, 51, pp. 190-201, and Jonathan Mercer's, Rationality and Psychology in International Politics, in press, with International Organization. This year, the Klineberg Committee consisted of Drs. Daphna Oyserman (chair), Tracy McLaughlin-Volpe, and Donald Taylor.

The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) was founded in 1936 and became Division 9 of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1945. This award commemorates Otto Klineberg (1899-1992), a founding member of SPSSI and a life-long advocate of psychological science in the service of international peace and human justice. For example, SPSSI, Dr. Klineberg, and psychological evidence were all active in the 1954 US Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education ending racially segregated schools.

Posted by Evelin at 01:54 AM | Comments (0)
Search for Common Ground Update

The August issue of New Internationalist Magazine features an article about the power of radio in effecting conflict in Africa, focusing on Search for Common Ground's Studio Ijambo in Burundi.

Attention!

Death swept quickly through Burundi. It was October 1993. Just months earlier this small Central African country had sworn in its first Hutu President, Melchior Ndadaye, in the first democratic elections since it gained independence in 1962. President Ndadaye's rule lasted only 103 days. His life - and the country's first experiment in democracy - came to an abrupt end on 21 October 1993 at the hands of a group of soldiers from the Tutsi-dominated army. Over 50,000 people were killed in the months that followed.

Testimony of hate

On the road where one of the confrontations had taken place, I watched helplessly as a group of four or five Tutsi boys with machetes cut the throats of two small Hutu girls, six or seven years old,' recalls Alexis Sinduhije, a journalist with the state-owned radio station at the time. 'All of my Hutu colleagues wanted [this story] to be broadcast. My Tutsi colleagues opposed it.' And so did the Tutsi-controlled radio station for which Alexis worked. It refused to broadcast his report.

'Kill your neighbors before they kill you.' This was the message being sent out by media to both the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority. Alexis appealed to his radio colleagues to challenge such hate speech. Again, his colleagues refused.

Six months later, neighboring Rwanda fell headlong into a genocidal abyss. The speed and scale of the slaughter - where almost a million Tutsis and Hutus were killed in just over three months - was a chilling warning to neighboring Burundi. Pivotal in provoking the Rwandan slaughter was Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines, which called on Hutus to destroy the inyezi (cockroaches) - the term that Hutu extremists gave to Tutsis. Soon after, in Burundi, Radio Rutomorangingo ('the radio that tells the truth') began to broadcast similar hate speech.

The power of radio is far-reaching in Burundi. As one listener explains: 'We are an oral culture for whom the radio is much more important than any other media. People gather around the radio daily with banana beer and comment on what the radio is saying.'

It was against this backdrop that Studio Ijambo ('wise words') was launched in 1995. Established by Search for Common Ground (a US-based charity working to help prevent violent conflict in 'hot spots' around the world) it had a clear brief to reach the largest number of people - both perpetrators and victims of violence - with eyewitness accounts that would define the conflict in human terms.

'The Studio aimed for journalism that highlighted tolerance, different perspectives and the views of ordinary people. These things really hadn't been done before in Burundi,' recalls Adrien Sindayigaya, who joined Alexis Sinduhije shortly after the launch. One of the early 'ground rules' set by the Studio was the use of mixed Hutu-Tutsi teams to cover stories. For security reasons, it made sense to travel in mixed teams to minimize the threat of being attacked by one group or another at impromptu roadblocks. In addition, it gave listeners both Hutu and Tutsi perspectives on sensitive issues, while sending a message that living and working together is possible. 'The challenge of remaining neutral is a skill that helps us in our personal lives too,' says producer Francine Gahimbare.

Perseverance prospers

'Initially some people called us mercenaries and traitors because we were ready to denounce violence from any side, even from our own communities,' says Adrien. On one occasion, Studio Ijambo staff barely escaped an ambush that was believed to have been ordered by an army commander furious that the journalists had visited an area where there had been heavy fighting between the army: 'If you see these journalists, treat them as you would your enemy.' Despite these risks the journalists persevered - and prospered.

Studio Ijambo isn't a radio station. It's a production studio. Rather than having to invest heavily in the infrastructure necessary for broadcasting, the staff have been able to focus solely on making quality programs which - through partnerships with stations in Burundi and neighboring countries - now reach millions of people across Central and East Africa. And since the Studio's programs proved so popular with ordinary Burundians, it wasn't long before other media organizations began copying its style and format. Its output has been prolific. In addition to award-winning news reports, it also produces stories about the peace process in Burundi; discussion programs involving youth, refugees and women's groups; as well as Heroes - a program about ordinary people who saved the lives of others during the conflict. Perhaps its best-known production is Umubanyi Niwe Muryango ('Our Neighbors, Our Family'). A phenomenally successful radio drama about a Tutsi and Hutu family living next door to each other, the challenges facing ordinary Burundians are reflected in these two families as the country moves from war to peace.

Can Studio Ijambo be as powerful a force for peace as it is against hate? The Studio's former director, Francis Rolt, acknowledges that there are limitations to what can be achieved by media alone. The promotion of human rights and fair elections, and the elimination of corruption and small arms, are just some of the issues that need to be tackled to reduce the chances of future conflict. It is in part a measure of the Studio's success that such issues are now being discussed openly in Burundi.

'Conflict is not just about war,' Adrien says. 'There are a lot of conflicts in Burundi right now: conflicts over good governance; disarmament; the repatriation of displaced people; land tenure; justice; women's issues. We need to have a dialogue on all these issues. There is plenty more work for us to do.'

Dylan Matthews
New Internationalist
August 2005

Posted by Evelin at 12:49 AM | Comments (0)
Children of the Sea

Children of the Sea
Fri, 19th August - Sun, 28th August 2005, 8:30 pm, Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh Festivals

Tales of hope from the people of the tsunami. Performers from Indonesia and Sri Lanka play out their stories in mask music and dance in a outdoor torchlit promenade under the stars. The festival's best venue.
0131 552 7171

This show:
http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/listings.cfm?sid=10217

Reviews:
Children of the Sea ****
Evening News - Monday, 15th August 2005
http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/reviews.cfm?id=1785042005&sid=10217

Pericles brings a wave of hope to tsunami kids
The Scotsman - Friday, 12th August 2005
http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/reviews.cfm?id=1765892005&sid=10217

The Found Man / Children of the Sea ****
The Scotsman - Saturday, 6th August 2005
http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/reviews.cfm?id=1735272005&sid=10217

Hands across the sea (preview)
Scotland on Sunday - Sunday, 31st July 2005
http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/reviews.cfm?id=1701822005&sid=10217

Venue:

Royal Botanic Gardens
West Gate, Aboretum Place and East Gate, Inverleith Row
Edinburgh
EH3 5LR
Tel: 0131 552 7171
http://www.rbge.org.uk

Posted by Evelin at 05:47 AM | Comments (0)
AfricAvenir News, 19th August 2005

AfricAvenir News are kindly sent out by Eric Van Grasdorff:

Liebe/Liebe Freunde,

am kommenden Sonntag, den 21. August startet unsere Filmreihe 'African Perspectives' in die neue Saison, wie gewohnt um 17.15 Uhr im Filmtheater Hackesche Höfe. Besonders hinzuweisen ist auch auf die Konferenz zu “Kolonialismus und Rassismus im öffentlichen Straßenbild des Bezirkes Mitte von Berlin” am 24. August.

AFRICAVENIR NEWS UND VERANSTALTUNGEN

African Perspectives: Landscape of Memory
Im Rahmen der Filmreihe „African Perspectives“ lädt AfricAvenir in Kooperation mit der INISA und dem South African Club am Sonntag, den 21. August, um 17.15 Uhr zu einer Filmvorführung mit anschließender Diskussion ins Filmtheater Hackesche Höfe ein. Gezeigt wird die Kurzfilmreihe Landscape of Memory des Produzenten Don Edkins, bestehend aus vier Filmen zum Versöhnungsprozess im südlichen Afrika.
http://africavenir.com/news/2005/08/161/african-perspectives-landscape-of-memory#more-161

Stratégies de survie des populations camerounaises dans une économie mondialisée
Du 5 au 15 septembre 2005 la fondation AfricAvenir organise un forum de dialogue intitulé “Stratégies de survie des populations camerounaises dans une économie mondialisée – du secteur informel au secteur formel- Comment nos populations s’en sortent-elles ou pas ?” Il s’agit, pendant dix jours, d’organiser des forums de dialogue et des palabres africaines, dans la tradition des débats de la Fondation AfricAvenir sur le sujet énoncé.
http://www.africavenir.com/africavenir/douala/dialogue-forum/informal-economy.php

Prinz Kum’ a Ndumbe III: Anthologie der deutschen Schriften
AfricAvenir und Exchange & Dialogue präsentieren die Anthologie der deutschen Schriften von Prinz Kum’ a Ndumbe III. Mit der Vorbestellung der 11-bändigen Anthologie unterstützen Sie auch die Etablierung eines neuen und unabhängigen Verlags (Exchange & Dialogue), der besonders afrikanische Autoren fördert. http://www.africavenir.com/exchange/publishing/anthologie.php

TIPPS UND LINKS

New Voices of Nigerian Poetry
Papers are invited for publication in 2006 edition of the New Nigerian Poetry Journal, NNP. The 2005 issue, dedicated to retiring professor of English, Romanus Egudu for his contributions in expanding the frontiers of African literature and Nigerian poetry. Deadline: December 2005.
http://africavenir.com/news/2005/08/166/new-voices-of-nigerian-poetry

Langues occidentales en Afrique, moteurs de l'oppresion culturelle
Avec la tenue de la 36ème conférence parlementaire du Commonwealth au Cameroun, le 28 Juillet dernier, M. Yann Yange revient sur la problématique de l’utilisation des langues coloniales, comme moteurs de la domination culturelle en Afrique depuis plusieurs années. http://grioo.com/info5129.html

African Visions and Visions for Africa
African Studies Association of Ireland will be holding its 6th Annual Conference at the University College Dublin on Saturday 3rd December and herewith calls for paper contribution. The theme of the conference will be: ‘African Visions and Visions for Africa’. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/08/165/african-visions-and-visions-for-africa

Reclaiming the Land
ZED-Books
‘Reclaiming the Land’ brings together original investigations of the new generation of rural social movements in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Dispossessed peasants and unemployed workers have used land occupations and other tactics systematically to confront the neoliberal state. http://zedbooks.co.uk/titles/1 84277 424 7

Universalism, Global Apartheid, and Justice
New interview-article on Polylog - Forum for Intercultural Philosophy: Ali A. Mazrui in Dialogue with Fouad Kalouche about globalization, eurocentric universalism and global Africa. http://them.polylog.org/4/dma-en.htm

The New Imperial Order - Indigenous Responses to Globalization
Makere Stewart-Harawira, ZED-Books
The New Imperial Order discusses the political economy of world order and the basic ideological and ontological grounds upon which the emergent global order is based. Starting from a Maori perspective it examines the development of international law and the world order of nation states. In engaging with these issues across macro and micro levels, the international arena, the national state and forms of regionalism are identified as sites for the reshaping of the global politico/economic order and the emergence of Empire. Overarching these problematics is the emergence of a new form of global domination in which the connecting roles of militarism and the economy, and the increase in technologies of surveillance and control have acquired overt significance. http://zedweb.cybergecko.net/cgi-raw/a.cgi?1%2084277%20528%206

Jesse Owens (1913-1980) : Le plus grand athlète du 20è siècle?
Owens battit trois records du monde en 70 minutes en 1935 et fut le premier athlète de l'histoire à gagner 4 medailles d'or aux jeux olympiques de Berlin en 1936. http://grioo.com/info50.html

La naissance des "Black Panthers"
Le Black Panther Party fut crée par Huey P Newton et Bobby Seale en 1966. http://www.grioo.com/info169.html

Crime Prevention and Morality - The Campaign for Moral Regeneration in South Africa
Janine Rauch, ISS Monograph No 114, April 2005
This monograph aims to chart the development of the moral regeneration campaign, and assess its relevance to the national crime prevention effort in South Africa. The campaign was initiated by former President Mandela in 1997, in an engagement with religious leaders from various faiths in South Africa. It has since taken on a variety of forms, and its messages have taken on political, religious and secular, ethical, and nation-building aspects. The campaign for moral regeneration, albeit difficult and diffuse, has been an interesting and unique effort in the context of crime prevention and the rebuilding of social fabric in post-apartheid South Africa. http://www.iss.org.za/pubs/Monographs/No114/Contents.htm

WEITERE VERANSTALTUNGEN

Mode in Afrika - Mittel der Selbstinszenierung und Ausdruck der Moderne
Vom 15. September bis 13. Oktober findet im Hamburger Museum für Völkerkunde eine Ausstellung afrikanischer Mode statt. Dazu wird ein umfangreiches und anspruchsvolles Begleitprogramm geboten. http://www.modeinafrika.de/

“Kolonialismus und Rassismus im öffentlichen Straßenbild des Bezirkes Mitte von Berlin”
Am 24. August um 20 Uhr findet das zweite Forum “Kolonialismus und Rassismus im öffentlichen Straßenbild des Bezirkes Mitte von Berlin” im Neuen Stadthaus, Parochialstraße 3 (Raum 125) statt. Erörtert werden u.a. die Folgen des deutschen Kolonialismus auf das Stadtbild Berlins. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/08/163

Gedenkzug Maji-Maji Krieg
Vor Hundert Jahren brach in Tansania der Maji-Maji Krieg gegen die deutsche Kolonialregierung aus. Zum Gedenken an dieses Datum und als Aufruf gegen den heutigen Rassismus organisieren der Umoja wa Watanzania Berlin/Brandenburg und die Werkstatt der Kulturen am 27. August einen inszenierten rituellen Gedenkzug von der Werkstatt der Kulturen zum Schlossplatz in Berlin Mitte. Für diese Aktion suchen wir dringend noch Teilnehmer, die nicht nur am 27. mit uns gehen wollen, sondern sich auch an dem inszenierten Teil des Zuges beteiligen. Deshalb unsere Bitte: kommen Sie am Samstag, dem 20.8. um 16.00 Uhr zur Probe in die Werkstatt der Kulturen und verteilen Sie diesen Aufruf unter Freunden und Bekannten, die Interesse an dieser Aktion haben könnten. www.werkstatt-der-kulturen.de

Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin 2005
Der Kartenverkauf für das Abendprogramm im Haus der Festspiele hat nun auch für über 40 weitere Veranstaltungen begonnen. Tickets können telefonisch unter 030- 254 89-100 oder im web unter www.berlinerfestspiele.de gebucht werden. Es sind auch dieses Jahr namhafte afrikanische Autoren dabei, wie z.B. Gcina Mhlophe (Südafrika), Mia Couto (Mozambique) oder Ingrid de Kok (Südafrika). http://www.literaturfestival.com/

www.AfricAvenir.org
Wollen Sie Fördermitglied von AfricAvenir International e.V. werden?
Kontaktieren Sie Ann Kathrin Helfrich, Fon: 030-80906789, a.helfrich @ africavenir.org

Redaktion des Newsletters: Eric Van Grasdorff, e.vangrasdorff @ africavenir.org
AfricAvenir International e.V. ist nicht für die Inhalte externer Webseiten verantwortlich.

Posted by Evelin at 03:35 AM | Comments (0)
Democracy News - August 18, 2005

The WMD's DemocracyNews
Electronic Newsletter of the World Movement for Democracy - www.wmd.org
August 2005

POSTING NEWS:
We welcome items to include in DemocracyNews. Please send an email message to world@ned.org with the item you would like to post in the body of the message.

******************************************************************

CONTENTS

DEMOCRACY ALERTS/APPEALS
1. Urgent Appeal to Save the Arab Institute for Human Rights
2. Bhutanese Group Appeals to the United Nations for Repatriation of Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
3. Idasa/Fairlady Magazine Conversations: The Human Cost of HIV and AIDS, August 17, 2005, Johannesburg
4. Seminar on Ensuring Public Access in Latin America, held on July 18-21, Mexico City
5. The International Center for Not-For-Profit Law Will Host a Global Forum on Civil Society Law, November 17-19, 2005, Istanbul, Turkey

CIVIC EDUCATION
6. Egyptian Association Shares Experience in Human Rights Education

ECONOMIC REFORM AND THE BUSINESS SECTOR
7. Conference Report: Regional Corporate Governance Forum
8. Worldblu Forum: Rewriting the Rules of Business for a Democratic Age, October 26-29, 2005, Washington, DC

ELECTIONS
9. New Kenyan NGO to Focus on Elections

HUMAN RIGHTS
10. Asian Centre for Human Rights Publishes Briefing Papers
11. Human Rights Report on Post-Tsunami Relief Efforts
12. Ill-treatment at Police Station in Belgrade
13. Concern over Expansion of Emergency Food Program in Shan State, Burma
14. West Papuan Human Rights Leader Wins 2005 John Humphrey Freedom Award

INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE AND SOLIDARITY
15. "Region in Transition" Program Offers Grants to Polish NGOs Working in Former Eastern Block

INTERNET, MEDIA, AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
16. Journalists Training Program in Poland
17. New Publication: “Media and Democracy in Israelâ€
18. New Web Site Monitors Freedom of Expression in Tunisia

POLITICAL AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION OF YOUTH
19. Traveling Seminar on Participation of Youth in Social Change

RESEARCH
20. Fellowship Opportunities for Threatened Scholars
21. Free Access Portal for Social Science Researchers Launched

RULE OF LAW
22. Liberian Group Seeks Assistance with Police and Security Survey

TRANSPARENCY AND ANTI-CORRUPTION
23. Online Program on Countering Corruption

WOMEN’S ISSUES
24. Online Report on Sexual Violence by Burmese Army Troops

25. WORLD MOVEMENT PARTICIPATING NETWORKS, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE

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DEMOCRACY ALERTS/APPEALS

1. Urgent Appeal to Save the Arab Institute for Human Rights
On July 25, 2005, the Community of Democracies issued an urgent appeal to save the Arab Institute for Human Rights. The appeal is a reaction against Tunisia authorities’ use of antiterrorism laws as a pretext to freeze the assets of the Arab Institute, an Arab nongovernmental organization founded in 1989 initiative of the Arab Organization for Human Rights, the Arab Lawyers' Union, and the Tunisian Human Rights League, with support from the United Nations Centre for Human Rights, UNESCO and UNICEF. The Community of Democracies is a coalition of democratic countries, initiated in 1999 with the common goal of strengthening democratic institutions and values at the national, regional, and global levels.
Go to: www.santiago20005.org

2. Bhutanese Group Appeals to the United Nations for Repatriation of Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal
The Peoples Forum for Human Rights and Development (PFHRD) appealed to the 57th Session of the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, to take urgent measures to repatriate the Bhutanese refugees now languishing in eastern Nepal camps. In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the 57th Session, Mr. S.K.Pradhan, Secretary General of PFHRD, discussed the situation of 100,000 Bhutanese refugees who have remained stateless for over a decade.
For more information, contact: skpfhrd@mos.com.np

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

3. Idasa/Fairlady Magazine Conversations: The Human Cost of HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa
HIV and AIDS not only threaten an unprecedented number of lives in sub-Saharan Africa, but also undermine the institutions that govern and sustain democracy. As the effects of the epidemic escalate, people may feel or experience a threat to their ability to participate in the economy and to participate actively in democratic processes. The Institute for Democracy in South Africa's (Idasa) Governance & AIDS Program and Fairlady Magazine have thus joined forces to encourage and enrich the discussion between citizens and South Africa’s decision makers about HIV/AIDS. The Idasa /Fairlady Conversation Series will be an opportunity for members of HIV/AIDS communities to engage with people of influence and to provide a forum that will explore issues beyond the health system. The focus of the first conversation will be on how the HIV/AIDS epidemic has forced South African society to reconsider and redefine the roles and responsibilities of women, men, children and employers.
For more information, contact: vasanthie@idasa.org.za

4. Seminar on Ensuring Public Access in Latin-America, held in Mexico City
On July 18-21, 2005, the Access Initiative (TAI) hosted a seminar in Mexico City on "Implementation of Principle 10 in Latin-America." Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development was adopted in 1992 to ensure public access to information, participation in decision making, and access to justice as key principles of environmental governance. This meeting took place within the framework of TAI, a global coalition of civil society groups that promote the accelerated and enhanced implementation of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration in different countries around the world. Civil society representatives from Latin America countries shared the assessments on their governments' performance regarding the implementation of Principle 10. The discussion resulted in the development of national and regional strategies.
Go to: www.accessinitiative.org/

5. The International Center for Not-For-Profit Law to Host a Global Forum on Civil Society Law, November 17-19, 2005, Istanbul, Turkey
The International Center for Not-For-Profit Law (ICNL) will host a Global Forum on Civil Society Law on November 17-19, 2005, in Istanbul, Turkey. The Forum will draw together approximately 100 leading experts in the field of civil society law, and will address five thematic issues: Reform and Advocacy; Contemporary Issues and CSO law; CSO Sustainability and the Law, CSO Accountability, Transparency, and Regulations; and CSO-Government Relations. In addition, the Forum will include regional workshops to enable participants to share experiences and develop regional networks of civil society law reformers.
Go to: www.icnl.org/globalforum.

CIVIC EDUCATION

6. Egyptian Group Shares Its Experience in Human Rights Education
The Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement (EACPE), working on human rights, and democracy development in Egypt, share the experience of its project, “Promoting Human Rights Culture among School Children.†The project targeted children between ages 12 and 18 in over 20 public schools in the Cairo Governorate. As part of this project, students designed posters expressing different principles and articles from the International Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Egyptian Constitution.
The designs were then printed on covers of notebooks and distributed to students. In addition, the organization facilitated the volunteer efforts of students and teachers in establishing Human Rights Clubs (HRC) in 20 schools and organized a Human Rights Training Camp for members of the clubs in July 2005. Responding to students’ increasing interest, EACPE expects to work with more schools in the future.
For more information, contact: cpe_eg@yahoo.com

ECONOMIC REFORM AND THE BUSINESS SECTOR

7. Conference Report: Regional Corporate Governance Forum
A report on the Middle East and North Africa Regional Corporate Governance Forum, organized by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), is now available online. The event brought regional private sector associations together to highlight regional private sector-driven initiatives advancing corporate governance reform. Nearly 50 private sector representatives and members of the media participated from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Participants discussed regional trends and outlined the next steps in corporate governance reforms in the region. Top priorities included the need to work closely with small and medium-sized enterprises and family-owned businesses in implementing the reforms, and to introduce corporate governance into school curricula, promote regional cooperation, and increase private sector participation in overall economic decision making.
Go to: www.cipe.org/regional/mena/RCGFReport.pdf

8. Worldblu Forum: Rewriting the Rules of Business for a Democratic Age, October 26-29, 2005, Washington, DC
The WorldBlu Forum is a global conference for next generation leaders dedicated to exploring organizational democracy and freedom-centered leadership. It is an event connecting highly successful CEOs, pioneers, and visionaries with the next generation of business leaders shaping our world. The goal is to explore the changing design of business in a democratic age, ultimately inspiring the building of 1000 democratic companies around the world by 2020.
For more information: www.worldblu.com

ELECTIONS

9. New Kenyan NGO Focuses on Elections
Elections International is a voluntary nongovernmental organization in Kenya that strives to build peace and enhance democratic practices by empowering citizens to conduct transparent electoral processes and services. Elections International was formed this year by citizens from diverse professional backgrounds with experience as electoral officers, election observers, civic education providers, and human rights advocates. The organization’s objectives are to empower citizens to conduct and participate in free and fair elections; monitor and observe electoral processes; analyze and advocate for reforms in electoral policies and statutes; build the capacities of electoral management bodies, electoral reform organizations, political parties, legislatures, and judiciaries in matters pertaining to elections; and to build partnerships with organizations with similar objectives.
For more information, contact: electint@yahoo.com

HUMAN RIGHTS

10. Asian Centre for Human Rights Publishes Briefing Papers
The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) is publishing a series of briefing papers, entitled: "NHRIs: Good, Bad and Ugly," which examines the functioning of the National Human Rights Institutions of Thailand, India and Nepal. The first issue, "A Good Case: NHRC of Thailand," argues that Thailand's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) work has been commendable due to its opposition to the emergency decree, and human rights violations, and making appropriate interventions. The second issue, "A Bad Case: NHRC of India Clogged Under Operational Inefficiency," makes the case that India's NHRC is ineffective due to its operational inefficiencies, such as non-registration of complaints, denial of the right to information on the complaints, not providing response of the State in the course of considering complaints, closure of cases on frivolous grounds, exposing the complainants, flawed investigation processes, and lack of follow-up mechanisms for prosecution. The forthcoming issue will address Nepal's NHRC.
Go to: www.achrweb.org/review.htm

11. Human Rights Report on Post-Tsunami Relief Efforts
The latest issue of Human Rights Features, entitled "From Relief to Recovery: Post-Tsunami Human Rights Implications for India," argues that while several international and domestic organizations and the Government of India have made commendable contributions to the relief effort by providing resources to address the immediate needs of the tsunami victims, much remains to be done in the area of building a sustainable framework within which tsunami victims may be permanently rehabilitated. Numerous reports have surfaced documenting problems arising from the relief operations themselves, the most notable of which are consistent discrimination in the distribution of aid and rehabilitation services, unsustainable solutions to relocation and insufficient means for livelihood. The report points out that prioritizing human rights while rebuilding tsunami-affected communities is important not only to ensure long-term survival, but also to address longstanding human rights issues.
Go to: www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfeatures/HRF123.htm

12. Ill-treatment at Police Station in Belgrade
The Humanitarian Law Centre (HLC) has asked the Inspector General of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) to order a prompt and proper investigation into the ill-treatment of two citizens, Aleksandar Petrovi? and Ivan Marinkovi?, at the Stari Grad police station (OUP) in Belgrade. According to HLC, three uniformed police officers from the Stari Grad police station entered the apartment of Aleksandar Petrovi? at 3 Fruškogorska Street in Belgrade without authorization and detained Petrovi? and his friend. After being detained, they were brutally beaten up at the police station. As a result of their treatment at the police station, Petrovi? and Marinkovi? suffered numerous injuries which doctors later substantiated. The HLC, which has complete medical records about the injuries sustained by the victims as well as their statements, intends to file criminal complaints and sue the police officers for damages on behalf of the victims.
Go to: www.hlc.org.yu

13. Concern over Expansion of Emergency Food Program in Shan State, Burma
Several Shan State Burmese NGOs (Lahu National Development Organisation, Palaung Youth Network Group, Pa-O Youth Organisation, Shan Democratic Union, Shan Health Committee, Shan Human Rights Foundation, Shan Relief and Development Committee,
Shan State Organisation, Shan Women's Action Network) issued a statement of concern about the World Food Program (WFP) doubling the size of its program in Shan State, despite the failure of the government to implement reforms in response to the WFP. The NGOs also question WFP's actions in light of the increasing political repression in Shan State since early 2005, including the arrest of Shan political leaders. Their statement of concern cover such issues as selection of areas of assistance, rice purchasing procedures, Food for Work program, transparency, and accountability.
Go to: www.shanwomen.org

14. West Papuan Human Rights Leader Wins 2005 John Humphrey Freedom Award
The Montreal-based Rights & Democracy announced that Yan Christian Warinussy of West Papua, Indonesia, is the winner of its 2005 John Humphrey Freedom Award. Mr. Warinussy is Executive Director of the Institute for Research, Analysis and Development of Legal Aid, also known as LP3BH, an organization committed to defending the rights of West Papuans affected by the Indonesian military's efforts to assert control over the region, which occupies the western half of the island shared by Papua New Guinea. Mr. Warinussy has distinguished himself by his frontline role as a defense lawyer to those in West Papua's remote regions who would otherwise have no legal representation. He also has played a leading role in the defense of West Papuan human rights campaigners working to expose human rights violations committed by the Indonesian military and paramilitary groups. Created in 1992, the John Humphrey Freedom Award is given each year by Rights & Democracy. Named in honor of John Peters Humphrey, the Canadian law professor who prepared the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the award includes a $25,000 grant as well as a speaking tour of Canadian cities aimed at raising public awareness of the recipient's work on behalf of human rights.
For more information: www.dd-rd.ca/frame2.iphtml?langue=0&menu=m01&urlpage=/english/commdoc/prelease1/jhfa2005july.html

INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE AND SOLIDARITY

15."Region in Transition" Program Offers Grants to Polish NGOs Working in Former Eastern Block
The Education for Democracy Foundation is accepting applications for the 2005 round of the "Region in Transition" (RITA) Program of the Polish American Freedom Foundation. The goal of the program, administered by the Education for Democracy Foundation, is to facilitate the transfer of Polish NGO experience to the societies of the former Eastern Bloc and to support their democratic and free market transformations. During the past four years, RITA has provided grants for 300 projects of Polish nongovernmental organizations and education institutions working in post-communist countries. Grant making competitions are carried out on two tracks: (1) Co-operation at the Local Level and (2) The Best Polish Experience (a competition aimed at transfer of the most efficient Polish transformation experience). Since it is obligatory for Polish applicants to have partners in the former Eastern Bloc, organizations from the region are encouraged to contact their Polish partners and encourage them to develop joint project proposals. For those who don't have established contacts in Poland, information about potential Polish partners is available at www.ngo.pl or on a CD-rom, "Activity of Polish NGOs Abroad," disseminated by the Education for Democracy Foundation. Deadlines for applications are: September 15, 2005 and March 15, 2006 for the Cooperation at the Local Level track; and November 15, 2005 for the Best Polish Experience track.
Go to: www.edudemo.org.pl/rita/articles.php?lng=pl&pg=123 or
Contact: rita@edudemo.org.pl

INTERNET, MEDIA, AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

16. Journalists Training Program in Poland.
The Polish - Czech - Slovak Solidarity Foundation accepts applications this year's journalists internship program, "Independent Media 6." Journalists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine are encouraged to apply. During study visits in Poland, participants will visit the editorial offices of newspapers and magazines, radio and TV stations, Internet portals, and information agencies. They will acquaint themselves with the work and experiences of their Polish colleagues. The study visits will be tailored to the professions and specializations of the guests. Also planned are seminars and lectures on such subjects as the transformation of the Polish media after 1989, laws regulating public and private media, investigative journalism, media ethics, journalists' organizations, advertising and the media, the problem of competition in the media, political lobbying, and independence of the media.
For more information, go to: www.spczs.engo.pl/index_en.php?dzial=news&newsid=98 or contact: fundacja@spczs.engo.pl; spczs@szpitalna.ngo.pl

17. New Publication: MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY IN ISRAEL
The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), a Jerusalem-based think-tank dedicated to promoting democracy and enriching the public discourse in Israel, announces the recent publication of MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY IN ISRAEL. This book, part of the "Auditing Israeli Democracy" project headed by IDI Senior Fellow Professor Asher Arian, provides statistical information about how different sectors of Israeli society view the Israeli media in comparison to other institutions, as opposed to how the media views itself. For example, over the past three years, the level of trust Israeli citizens have had in the media has remained constant, while the amount of trust they have had in other institutions has decreased. However, Israelis also see the media as a source of stress and conflict surrounding the pending disengagement plan. Other books in this series include an annual ISRAELI DEMOCRACY INDEX, which examines how Israeli citizens assess their own democracy. IDI is a member of the World Movement's Network of Democracy Research Institutes (NDRI).
Go to: www.idi.org.il/english/catalog.asp?pdid=340&did=50
For more IDI publications, go to: www.idi.org.il/english/catalog.asp
For more information on the NDRI, go to: www.wmd.org/ndri/ndri.html

18. New Web Site Monitors Freedom of Expression in Tunisia
The Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition of 13 organizations affiliated with the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), recently launched its new Web site. The site details the state of free expression in Tunisia and challenges the government to end Internet blocking in the lead-up to the November 2005 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to be held in Tunisia. The Web site is available in English, French, and Arabic.
Go to: campaigns.ifex.org/tmg/

POLITICAL AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION OF YOUTH

19. Traveling Seminar on Participation of Youth in Social Change
The Global Youth Action Network (GYAN) completed its first traveling seminar on youth activism, which took place in Brazil. Participants from Europe, Africa, and Brazil visited headquarters and project sites of many diverse youth organizations in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Curitiba and exchanged their experiences in activism from the local to the global level. The purpose of the seminars was to showcase important youth organizations and their movements, bring attention to marginalized people and their often ignored challenges, facilitate greater understanding among traditionally separated peoples, and celebrate the diversity of the global youth movement. Similar seminars will be organized in the future, and GYAN is looking for organizations interested in taking part in this program. GYAN's Brazil office serves as the secretariat of the World Movement's Youth Movement for Democracy.
To learn more and register for tours, go to: www.youthlink.org/tours/
For more information on the Youth Movement for Democracy, go to: www.wmd.org/youth/youth.html

RESEARCH

20. Fellowship Opportunity for Threatened Scholars
In 2002, Institute of International Education trustees Dr. Henry Jarecki, Thomas Russo and Jeffrey Epstein, together with George Soros, founded the Scholar Rescue Fund. This program provides support to scholars around the world who are threatened as a result of their academic work. The Scholar Rescue Fund has rescued over 80 scholars from 34 countries since 2002, enabling them to continue their teaching and research and, essentially, saving their academic work. Academics, researchers and independent scholars from any country, field or discipline may qualify. Deadline for applications is January 1, 2006. Applications from female scholars and other under-represented groups are strongly encouraged.
Go to: www.iie.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/Activity/ActivityDisplay.cfm&activityid=399

21. Free Access Portal for Social Science Researchers Launched
Global Development Network's (GDN's) Journal Access Portal enables social science researchers based in developing or transitional countries to access a searchable, full-text, online database of more than 120 leading social science journals. In order to provide this service, GDN has teamed up with Project MUSE, one of the academic community's primary electronic journals resources, to give GDN-registered researchers no-cost access. Eligible GDN-registered researchers can download full-text articles at no cost to themselves or their institutions through the GDN Journals Access Portal. Journals in the collection include Demography, World Politics, Journal of Democracy, Anthropological Quarterly, Technology and Culture, and several regional-studies journals.
Go to: www.gdnet.org/knowledge_base/researchers/acceptance_policy/index.html

RULE OF LAW

22. Liberian Group Seeks Assistance with Survey on Police and Security
The Center for Criminal Justice Research and Education (CCJRE) of Liberia has asked World Movement participants and other civil society organizations around the world to respond to a global survey on police and security institutions. The purpose of the questionnaire is to gather data on law enforcement agencies and procedures around the world for consideration in developing policies and administrative guidelines on the restructuring and improvement of law enforcement agencies in Liberia. The questionnaire should be completed by a member of the police/security service or a human rights activist with extensive knowledge about law enforcement and security institutions.
Please contact the Center in Liberia at: linlealiberia94@yahoo.com to receive questionnaires no later than August 20, 2005.

TRANSPARENCY AND ANTI-CORRUPTION

23. Online Program on Countering Corruption
On July 18, 2005, the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) based in Bulgaria delivered a video conference on "Public-Private Partnerships in Countering Corruption" to participants at the Ukrainian Academy of Public Administration in Kiev and a group of development practitioners at the World Bank Country Office in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The video conference was part of a pilot program on anti-corruption developed by CSD and Coalition 2000, which has been delivered through the Global Development Learning Network. The GDLN is a global partnership of learning centers that use advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs) to connect people around the world working in development. The Program on Anti-Corruption is designed to enable the community of anti-corruption practitioners in Europe and Central Asia to learn from global and regional best practices and from each other. The program consists of a series of five videoconference sessions "Public-Private Partnerships in Countering Corruption;" "Corruption Monitoring and Assessment Techniques;" "Civic Initiatives for Judicial Reform and Countering Corruption;" "Hidden Economy and Corruption;" and "Organized Crime and Corruption." The remaining sessions will take place in September and October 2005.
Go to: www.csd.bg/artShow.php?id=6221

WOMEN'S ISSUES

24. Online Report on Sexual Violence by Burmese Army Troops
"Catwalk to the Barracks," a report authored by the Woman and Child Rights Project (WCRP) of Southern Burma and the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), documents sexual violence by Burmese troops affiliated with the military regime against 50 women and girls aged 14 to 50. Half of the incidents have taken place since 2002.
Despite the ceasefire between the New Mon State Party and the military regime since 1995, the regime has deployed 20 more battalions in Mon areas, leading to increased incidents of sexual violence. According to the report, during the years 2003-2004, village headmen in southern Ye township were ordered by the Burmese army to provide young women to serve as "comfort women" or sex slaves at the local barracks. Schoolgirls were also forced to parade on a catwalk for the entertainment of military officers. The authors of the report urge the international community, especially ASEAN members, to pressure the Burmese regime to end state-sponsored sexual violence and to begin a process of meaningful political reform.
For more information go to: www.rehmonnya.org/catwalk-to-the-barracks.php

25. WORLD MOVEMENT PARTICIPATING NETWORKS, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE

* Center for Criminal Justice Research and Education (CCJRE)- linlealiberia94@yahoo.com
* Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)- : www.cipe.org
* Community of Democracies- www.santiago20005.org
* Education for Democracy Foundation (FED)- www.edudemo.org.pl
* Global Youth Action Network (GYAN) – www.youthlink.org
* Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA)- www.idasa.org.za
* Israel Democracy Institute (IDI)- www.idi.org.il
* Network of Democracy Research Institutes (NDRI)- www.wmd.org/ndri/ndri.html
* Peoples Forum for Human Rights and Development (PFHRD)- skpfhrd@mos.com.np
* Polish - Czech - Slovak Solidarity Foundation- www.spczs.engo.pl
* Rights and Democracy- www.dd-rd.ca
* Shan Women's Action Network- www.shanwomen.org
* Youth Movement for Democracy – www.wmd.org/youth/youth.html


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Posted by Evelin at 03:26 AM | Comments (0)
The Common Ground News Service, August 16, 2005

Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
August 16, 2005

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

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ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

1. "Expanding the rules of war - to Iraq" by Chris Binkley
Writer Chris Binkley, considers the rules of war as they apply in Iraq. Finding the United States has turned to certain extra-legal measures in this conflict, he makes some suggestions for how to "rehabilitate" the world's image of the U.S. in this regard.
(Source: CGNews-PiH, August 16, 2005)

2. "The Arabs need to care more about public diplomacy" by William Fisher
William Fisher, who has managed economic development programs in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia for the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, turns the tables on the common argument that the U.S. needs to improve public diplomacy and asks Arab countries to do the same. Interestingly, he thinks the U.S. can help.
(Source: The Daily Star, August 08, 2005)

3. "Rage against the killing of the light" by Norman Solomon
Norman Solomon, author of the new book "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death," uses Cindy Sheehan's death to remind us of the how the loss of loved ones affects those in America and Iraq in the same way.
(Source: Jordan Times, August 14, 2005)

4. "King Fahd and Saudi friendship with the United States" by James J. Zogby
James Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), looks at the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia historically in guide King Abdullah as he takes over.
(Source: Arab American Institute, August 8, 2005)

5. "British literature offers few answers to July 7" by Graham Bowley
Graham Bowley, journalist and frequent contributor to the International Herald Tribune, investigates the literary roots of the July bombings in London.
(Source: International Herald Tribune, August 10, 2005)

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ARTICLE 1
Expanding the rules of war - to Iraq
Chris Binkley

The Battle of Solferino, fought in 1859, caused so many deaths and casualties in such a brief period of time that the carnage disgusted even Emperor Napoleon III of France, who had agreed to a war of convenience with Italy to oust the Austrians from Piedmont in exchange for territory occupied by Italy in the south of France.

The battle was said to have seen brutal behavior and the killings of prisoners of war by both sides, prompting Henri Dunant, a businessman, to form an international society to protect prisoners of war and care for the wounded - today's International Red Cross - through the first Geneva Conventions. Subsequent additions to the treaty banned chemical weapons and biological warfare, introduced more rules for the protection of prisoners of war and civilians and rules regarding the behavior of soldiers in wartime, including such banal, but important requirements, as wearing uniforms.

How things have changed. In Iraq, in the present day, the carnage of war is now almost exclusively inflicted on civilians, as insurgents, who are supposedly fighting to free the country of American imperialism, kill on average 30 Iraqis a day. These monstrous tactics are understood by most analysts as an example of asymmetric warfare, in which the terrorists, who understand they cannot defeat the United States militarily, resort to simple carnage in order to destabilize the political process and/or cause public opinion in democratic countries to capitulate (as they managed to do in Spain). The U.S. has also turned to extra-legal, if less deadly, tactics, arguing that because the insurgents have no legal status, and because they are so dangerous, the U.S. has the right to jail indefinitely captured insurgents in Iraq. Yet it contradicts itself, stating that these actions are legal because the U.S. is at war - a term that lends some legitimacy to the Iraqi insurgents, and designates them as opponents for the military (and thus deserving of Geneva protections), instead of Iraqi and American police forces.

To some, these are murky legal problems best left to grey-bearded scholars, but attention to them now could be one way of reducing the level of violence in Iraq. The U.S. has a strong interest in stopping the daily Iraqi horror show because of the instability it is generating - yet military and terrorism experts generally agree that attacks on civilians can never be stopped, even with hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. and Iraqi troops. There is simply no way, even in a closed, authoritarian society, for every bomb to be intercepted.

It may be time for the U.S. to take a page from Henri Dunant, and attempt to restrain, rather than attempt to end, the bloodshed. If the terrorists could be convinced to cease their attacks on civilian targets, and attack only military ones, not only would the sickening flow of civilian blood stop, but a great deal of the fear and instability paralyzing Iraq would also disappear, allowing the political process to move forward. The insurgents of course would require something in return, since killing civilians is one of the only tactics they have at their disposal that U.S. might cannot counter. Doubtless, native Iraqi insurgents would much prefer to kill U.S. soldiers instead of other Iraqis - the proof that they would rather do so is that wide scale attacks on civilians did not begin until more than a year and a half after the invasion. If they believed they could accomplish this goal, they might cease such attacks. Thus, in return for an agreement to stop targeting civilians, the U.S. could agree to restrain itself when attacking insurgent positions, by, for instance, abandoning the use of disproportionate force, such as the use of air power or heavy armor when attacking insurgent positions, making the war less asymmetric in nature. Or, as Israel has done, the U.S. could release prisoners, or at least promise to try, rather than indefinitely imprison, captured insurgents.

In this manner, not only would the conflict be steered away from civilians, but the U.S. would show that it is truly a nation that believes in the rule of law, bolstering its position in Iraq. More importantly, creating a legal framework that restrains the allowable scope of violence would be a concrete step toward ending the conflict. And the insurgents would be given something they most crave - a certain political legitimacy, which would flow to them as a direct result of participation in negotiations and their agreement to be bound by any legal framework at all, and because Iraqis might be more willing to support their efforts if they were directed purely at forcing the American army out of Iraq. Broader negotiations with Iraqi and American authorities would be a logical, but not strictly necessary, next step.

There is no getting away from the fact that opening any kind of dialogue with the insurgents would be extremely distasteful - for both Americans and many Iraqis - as it would seem to lend legitimacy to the tactic of deliberately killing civilians. But the fact is many experts both within the military and without believe the insurgents' tactics may well prove undefeatable, giving rise to an even bloodier civil war in Iraq. At some point the thousands of lives already destroyed and the thousands of lives likely to be lost must be weighed against the unknown consequences of granting terrorists any kind of serious legal recognition.

It may turn out that the insurgents break the agreement, and that attacks on civilians continue. For far too many already, it is an effective and justified tactic. But by bringing the Iraqi insurgents into some sort of legal framework that disallows attacks on civilians, the U.S. might divide the Iraqi insurgency, and strike a lethal blow to terrorism by making it easier to root out, with the help of less homicidal ex-comrades, the terrorists who continue to kill civilians indiscriminately. Such an agreement could even have an effect on other, non-Iraq based terrorist organizations.

Taking such a step would be bold and risky. But it would do much to rehabilitate the world's image of the U.S. as a country that flouts and ignores international law and international institutions. And considering the bloody chaos that Iraq is becoming, as well as continually eroding domestic support for the war, the administration has little to lose. The only ones who certainly will are those suffering the most in Iraq - Iraqi civilians.
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* Chris Binkley is a freelance writer.
Source: This article was written for CGNews-PiH, August 16, 2005
Visit Search for Common Ground at www.sfcg.org.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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ARTICLE 2
The Arabs need to care more about public diplomacy
William Fisher

It's only a small stretch to argue that the only thing less effective than U.S. public diplomacy in the Middle East is the pathetic effort of the Arab world to communicate anything credible to American and other Western audiences. The reasons are numerous. Many of the people who work in the mid- to upper-levels of Arab governments are either technocrats or owe their jobs to cronyism, and are often ill equipped to carry out their tasks There are many bright, technically proficient men and women serving in communications-related jobs in Arab governments, but they are largely employed in putting out propaganda for domestic consumption on state-owned media. These governments do not have formal public diplomacy programs.

There is also the fact that, as a collectivity, Arab states find it impossible to agree on much; so, for example, the Arab League has little to communicate, even if it does have a public diplomacy program. Finally, any Arab communication strategy must overcome Western prejudices against the Arab world, so that it would take considerable skills, and serious resources, for Arab states to be heard and believed.

Yet, absent any public diplomacy initiative from the Arabs, its conversation with the West will continue to be a dialogue of the deaf. All the more reason why Arab governments need to know about a new private-sector American program: the first-ever Master's degree in Public Diplomacy, just launched by the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles.

But how, governments may ask, can an American program help Arab public diplomacy? One of the program's "Toolbox" courses offers an example: "The rhetoric of war, peace and religion" will look in a non-partisan way at cross-cultural rhetoric. The two professors developing this course have specialized in analyzing messages from both sides of the equation. Their research and instruction focuses on the motivations and roots surrounding conflict, American versus Middle Eastern ways of war (from the U.S. concepts of presidential checks and balances to motivations of national honor), to the role of rogue states as global players and the messages of their actors.

The program will also offer special topics courses. For example, a Middle East-centered course called "media diplomacy" looks at the role of non-state media actors in cultivating favorable images abroad, from examination of the "CNN effect" - the impact of cable and satellite television such as Al-Jazeera in shaping public opinion in and of the Middle East - to cyber diplomacy and the role of official Web sites.

There are two core courses devoted to examining comparative global and historical practices of public diplomacy. There is also an international broadcasting course that includes guest lecturers from around the world, who discuss their strategies, tactics, successes and failures in using this tool for public diplomacy. USC is also working to create a scholarship to fund to help Middle Eastern mid-career professionals, including government employees, to study in the Master's program.

Joshua S. Fouts, executive director of USC's Center on Public Diplomacy, says, "Because we are an academic institution, we do not have an agenda of training people to think a certain way about the U.S. or the U.S. government."

Why should Arab governments care? The reasons might seem obvious, but are, arguably, not being appreciated in the Arab world. In the West, three things are "known" about Arabs: first, Arabs are terrorists, and terrorists are Muslims; second, Arabs care only about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and America's failure to "fix it;" and, third, Arabs control the price of petrol at the pump. People in the United States or France or Germany or the United Kingdom know virtually nothing about Arab traditions, civilization, scholarship, arts and literature, sense of family and hospitality.

Yet Arabs make up substantial minorities of the populations of Europe, Canada, and the U.S. Informing indigenous populations there might help keep more Arabs and Muslims from becoming second-class citizens.

Moreover, the West is the principal investor in Arab economies and the principal customer for Middle East exports. Western countries pump billions of dollars of aid into North Africa and the Middle East. And, if all that were not enough, there is the issue of pride: The Middle East has much to be proud of and should feel an obligation to let others know that.

These days, it's hard for any voice to be heard. But it's even harder if no one is trying. And, among Arab nations, no one is really trying. Just about the only time the West hears anything about Arabs and Muslims - aside from bombs exploding - is through media reports about brutal, repressive governments, prisoners being tortured or disappearing, elections being rigged, or an Arab League Summit breaking up because of squabbles.

As a matter of simple self-interest, it's time for the Arabs states to begin reversing this flow of negative information. In exactly the same way the U.S. now finds itself in a very long-term struggle to win hearts and minds in the Middle East, the Middle East faces a no less daunting challenge in getting the West to begin to understand its own priorities. This can't be done quickly. But it can't be done ever if someone doesn't make a start.

That will require will and skill and knowledge not currently present. That's why the USC initiative is important.
###
* William Fisher has managed economic development programs in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia for the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. He wrote this commentary for the Daily Star.
Source: The Daily Star, August 8, 2005.
Visit the Daily Star at www.dailystar.com.lb.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 3
Rage against the killing of the light
Norman Solomon

Mid-August 2005 may be remembered as a moment in US history when the president could no longer get away with the media trick of solemnly patting death on its head.

Unreality is a hallmark of media coverage for war. Yet "most of all" war is about death and suffering. War makers thrive on abstractions. Their media successes depend on evasion.

President George W. Bush has tried to keep the loved ones of America's war dead at middle distance, bathed in soft fuzzy light: Close enough to exploit for media purposes, distant enough to insulate the commander in chief's persona from the intrusion of wartime mourning in America.

What's going on this week, outside the perimeter of the ranch-style White House in Crawford, is some reclamation of reality in public life. Cindy Sheehan has disrupted the media-scripted shadow play of falsity. And some other relatives of the ultimately sacrificed have been en route to the vigil in the dry hot Texas ditches now being subjected to enormous media attention a few miles from the vacationing president's accommodations.

At this point, Bush's spinners are desperate to divert the media spotlight from Sheehan. But other bereft mothers arriving in Crawford will hardly be more compatible with war-making myths.

Consider the perspective of Celeste Zappala, whose oldest son Sherwood Baker was a sergeant in the Pennsylvania national guard when he died 16 months ago in Baghdad. She is a co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace, and what she has to say is gut wrenching and infuriating: "George Bush talks about caring about the troops who get killed in Iraq. Sherwood was killed protecting the people looking for weapons of mass destruction on April 26, 2004. This was one month after Bush was joking [at the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner, on March 24] about looking for weapons of mass destruction. And then my Sherwood is dead trying to protect people looking for them because Bush said it was so important to the safety of our country."

Disregarding the tacit conventions of jingoistic newspeak, Zappala adds: "I don't want anyone else to go through this, not an American, not an Iraqi, no one. As a person of faith, I firmly believe we have the ability to provide better answers on how to resolve conflict than what Bush is offering us. I've tried to meet with Rumsfeld at the Pentagon, I was turned away by armed guards. It's incumbent upon everybody to take responsibility about what is happening in our country. I have no recourse but to go to Crawford to do what I can to change the disastrous course we are currently on and to bear witness to the true costs of this war."

The true costs. Not the lies of omission.

War PR and war grief have collided at the Crawford crossroads at a time when the Bush administration is in the midst of launching its scam about supposed plans to begin withdrawing US troops from Iraq. On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that a spokesman for Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said "he did not know how many extra troops might be needed during the referendum and election period through the end of this year." The AP dispatch added: "Other officials have said that once the election period has passed and the troop total recedes to the 138,000 level, a further reduction in the range of 20,000 to 30,000 is possible next spring and summer. That could change, however, if the insurgency intensifies or an insufficient number of US-trained Iraqi security forces prove themselves battle-ready."

When a mass killer is at the helm of the ship of state, taking a bow now and again while "Hail to the Chief" booms from big brass bands, a significant portion of the country's population feels revulsion. And often a sense of powerlessness - a triumph for media manipulation. Passivity is the health of the manipulative media state.

Cindy Sheehan and Celeste Zappala have joined with others in Crawford to insist that death is not a message for more death - that we can understand death as a profound reality check, imploring us to affirm and defend life. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light," Dylan Thomas wrote. The unavoidable dying of life is bad enough. The killing is unacceptable.
###
* Norman Solomon is author of the new book "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death." Excerpts are posted at: www.WarMadeEasy.com He contributed this article to The Jordan Times.
Source: The Jordan Times, August 14, 2005.
Visit the Jordan Times at www.jordantimes.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 4
King Fahd and Saudi friendship with the United States
James J. Zogby

The first of my many visits to Saudi Arabia was in 1981. Therefore, for most of the time that I have known the kingdom and its people, Fahd Ben Abdulaziz Al Saud was king and a friend of the United States.

Saudis and "experts" in the affairs of the country will make their own assessments of his reign. I write merely as an American friend and an observer. What's clear to me is that during the time of King Fahd, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia made remarkable progress, faced significant challenges, and was forced to make critical and difficult decisions. In order to begin to define the legacy of King Fahd's rule, I believe that it is important to weigh all of these factors in the balance: The progress, the challenges, and the fateful decisions - since they are all intimately connected to one another.

While US critics of the kingdom (and there are a few) deride the country's traditionalism, it is important to consider how rapidly the country has been transformed. Within the past half-century, for example, the population of Saudi Arabia grew from 3.5 million to over 24 million. During that same time, its capital, Riyadh, was transformed from a desert outpost of several thousand to a modern metropolis of four million.

King Fahd's reign, which covered about half of this period, oversaw much of this expansion and its massive investment in infrastructure, social services, and development. Such rapid modernisation and urbanisation, inevitably, created social and cultural strains and pressures for change.

While dealing with these internal factors, the kingdom was also being confronted by dramatic external challenges that also had internal consequences. The Iranian revolution posed not only a regional security threat to Saudi Arabia and its Arab Gulf allies, but, an internal threat, as well, as became clear in the wake of Iranian-inspired violent clashes in Mecca in the early 1980s. Further complicating Gulf stability was the long, bloody, and costly Iran-Iraq war and the 1990 Iraq invasion and occupation of Kuwait. These regional challenges were not the only crises roiling the Arab world and impacting Saudi society during the period of King Fahd's rule. There was, of course, the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. The initially homegrown Afghan resistance against the Soviets inspired broad support among Muslims, including Saudis. Lebanon's long civil war, compounded by Israel's brutal invasion, bombardment, and occupations took a toll, as did the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, culminating in 1987 in the first Palestinian Intifada.

In the face of all these challenges and crises, King Fahd made a strategic decision to deepen the political and military ties that already existed between the US and Saudi Arabia, support a moderate course of action in international affairs, and foster continued domestic development, all the while attempting to balance domestic pressure (both those resulting inevitably from social change and those occurring in reaction to external events).

It was, as we say, "a tough row to hoe." But as his leadership was challenged, King Fahd responded with decisions to protect his country, its traditions and role, and its development.

The US and Saudi-backed Afghan resistance defeated the Soviets and, in Desert Storm, Kuwait was liberated. The Saudi-supported Taif accords brought an end to Lebanon's terrible decade and one-half of war. King Fahd also took leadership on the Palestinian issue in proposing the historic 1982 Fahd peace plan and providing critical support for the convening of the US-led Madrid peace conference.

Even in years of declining oil revenues, domestic development programmes continued and, later in King Fahd's rule, initial steps were taken towards internal reform. Too small for some, too threatening to others, these steps, nevertheless, have laid the foundation for further advances.

While confronting challenges and making critical decisions, King Fahd attempted to make the best of an extraordinarily difficult set of circumstances, many beyond his control. The deplorable behaviour of Saddam Hussein, the unpredictable nature of the revolutionary Iranians, the failures of the United States (to "stay the course" in post-Soviet Afghanistan, to be more vigorous in pressing for peace in the post-Madrid era, to restrain aggressive Israeli behaviour in the occupied lands and Lebanon, and to act in a more consultative manner with friends and allies in the region), all compounded the difficulties faced not only by Saudi Arabia.

Through it all, the kingdom, under King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, remained resolute allies of the US - even as their friendship was tested and challenged by some at home and abroad.

King Abdullah, Fahd's partner for many years, now assumes the mantle of leadership, facing many of the same challenges and building on the foundation he helped to prepare with his predecessor. As he proceeds, King Abdullah will need to continue to face down the threat of domestic terror, while moving forward with his domestic reform agenda and finding new ways to expand job creation for an ever-growing Saudi population. He will also need to work hard to strengthen ties and resolve outstanding issues with Saudi Arabia's Gulf partners.

The US can help, of course, principally by relieving pressures on the entire region created by the Iraq debacle and the lack of real progress in establishing Palestinian rights. It's the least we can do to reward the friendship and provide support for an ally.
###
* James J. Zogby is founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI).
Source: Arab American Institute, August 8, 2005
Visit the Arab American Institute at www.aaiusa.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 5
Letter from Britain: British literature offers few answers to July 7
Graham Bowley

Immigrants' lives in modern Britain have been chronicled in abundance in a string of recent novels. But have books like "White Teeth" by Zadie Smith and "Brick Lane" by Monica Ali captured correctly - or even touched upon - the forces that produced the London bombers of July 7 and the attackers of July 21?

Like the United States after Sept. 11 and the Netherlands after the daylight murder of the filmmaker Theo van Gogh, Britain has been grappling with what these horrific events say about it as a country and as a society. With the disclosure a few days after July 7 that the bombers had been homegrown, the questions have grown more urgent.

A nation with a powerful literary tradition, the British are accustomed to finding answers to these sorts of existential quandaries in the writings of their novelists. But while Britain has a growing fiction of multiculturalism, it has only begun to wrestle with the deeper social tensions between immigrants and natives that the bombings seem to have exposed.

"White Teeth" is perhaps the most critically acclaimed of the recent novels. Set in the melting pot of north London, it is a riot of racial engagement as creeds and communities interact successfully. Some of Smith's characters join a radical group, but Keepers of the Eternal and Victorious Islamic Nation, or Kevin, is comical rather than menacing. The story is far from being a journey toward nihilism.

"Brick Lane" is a gloomier tale about a woman from Bangladesh in London's East End. It includes a group of Islamic extremists, but Nazneen, the protagonist, never takes that path.

"Both of these books celebrate the idea of multicultural London," said Kasia Boddy, a lecturer in contemporary fiction at University College London. "They are about the joys of multiculturalism."

The fact that they were best sellers suggests that these are the kind of positive stories about immigration that the audiences they are written for want to read.

The British book-buying public, and, more widely, the Western one, want to be told that assimilation or multiculturalism works, Boddy said.

Two other chroniclers of the immigrant experience, Salman Rushdie and V.S. Naipaul, describe this positive yearning for the new homeland. Rushdie, according to Boddy, distinguishes between "proper London," iconic sites like Big Ben or King's Cross that his characters want to visit, and "improper London," the mundane suburbs where they actually
have to live.

In "The Enigma of Arrival," Naipaul's protagonist expects to experience a Thomas Hardy-like bucolic England, but instead finds a modern countryside in flux.

Such characters may be disappointed in their new home. But none put on a backpack and set off to blow up the great symbolic sites of the society.

"If one is to presuppose some kind of nihilism" in the calculation bombers make, "that is not present at all in my experience in modern British multicultural literature," said Fiammetta Rocco, literary editor of The Economist, who was a judge for the Man Booker Prize last year.

None of the 132 novels she read that were entered for the prize, she said, "came anywhere near" describing the forces that drove the Islamist extremists to kill on July 7.

"You may have to look back to the great 19th-century writers who portrayed the struggle between the individual and the forces of the world or God to find the same kind of relationship and despair between a single human being and his environment," she said.

But while current published novelists may steer clear of describing the Islamist extremists' urges, the terrorists' urge has long been present in literature, said Alex Houen, lecturer in English Literature and American Studies at Sheffield University and author of "Terrorism
and Modern Literature."

In the late 19th century, shortly after the first detonation of dynamite, Irish republicans attacked prime London sites like Victoria Station, Nelson's Column, Parliament and the Tower of London, he said.

The bombings bred a spate of what were called "dynamite novels." But the period with the strongest parallels to today's events, Houen said, came at the turn of the last century, when anarchists carried out assassination attempts across Europe and London was home to a group of international terrorists bent on anarchic destruction. They inspired Joseph Conrad to write "The Secret Agent," in which anarchists attack modern notions of science by trying to blow up Greenwich Observatory.

One reason for the current deficit of novels about Islamist terrorism may be that fiction about immigration mostly concerns London rather than places like Beeston, for example, the poor Leeds neighborhood that produced some of the July 7 bombers.

Another reason, noted John Sutherland, one of Britain's leading critics, is that "fiction is not a quick response" business. There may be books about Islamist terrorism out there; they just haven't been finished, or if finished they haven't come off the presses yet.

One book about terrorism that was punctual was a new thriller, "Incendiary," by Christopher Cleave, about an attack by Islamist extremists on a soccer stadium in north London. By chance it was published on July 7, the day of the London bombs.

Cleave suggests one important reason for not writing about terrorism. "Any book featuring terrorism is inevitably going to do two things: It will present the issues in an original way - which might be challenging, entertaining, or even therapeutic - but it will also contribute to the focusing of our minds on the terrorist agenda rather than our own, which is the terrorists' aim. As a writer, therefore, you need to be pretty sure that your book has a significantly useful
new thing to say about the post-9/11 world before you put it out there."

Cleave's book was timely, but even this story is told from the white middle-class point of view of the heroine whose family is killed. It deals primarily with the aftermath, and not the forces that created the attackers.

"It has something to say about the shamefulness of holding the 'Muslim community' responsible for the sins of a very few individuals," Cleave said, "and in that sense it addresses factors contributing to the alienation of Muslims, but it doesn't really get further than that." A
story about struggle, in the end it, too, has a bright, life-fulfilling message, like "White Teeth" and "Brick Lane."

In the starker world after 7/7, the message may be about to change.
###
* Graham Bowley is a journalist and frequent writer for the International Herald Tribune.
Source: International Herald Tribune, August 10, 2005.
Visit the IHT at www.iht.com.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity, brought to you by Search for Common Ground, seeks to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. This service is one outcome of a set of working meetings held in partnership with His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal in June 2003.

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New Book in the Blue Book Series: Post-Conflict Reconstruction

New Book in the Blue Book Series: Post-Conflict Reconstruction

The latest book in the blue book series of the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict has just been released:

Horst Fischer & Noelle Quénivet (eds), Post-Conflict Reconstruction: Nation- and/or State-Building, Bochumer Schriften zur Friedenssicherung und zum humanitären Völkerrecht, Band 52, Berliner Wissenschaftsverlag, Berlin, 2005, 194 pp., ISBN 3-8305-1003-9

Table of Contents

Foreword
Noëlle Quénivet
Lessons Learned and Applied? Post-Conflict Reconstruction:
Nation- or State-Building in Iraq 9

Introduction
Dirk Salomons
In Search of Credibility and Capacity: The Role of the United Nations in
Nation-Building 23

Country Reports
Erica Harper
United Nations Transitional Administration: Missions in State or
Nation-Building? 33

Manit Sum
State Building in a Post-Conflict Environment: Cambodia’s Experience 55
Brigitte Piquard
Nation-Building in Afghanistan: War Heritage and Sustainable
Peace Process 65

M.A. Mohamed Salih
Current Patterns of State Building in East Africa 95

Thematic Reports
Peter van der Vaart
The Role of UNHCR in Helping Refugees Return to Post-Conflict States 127

Carsten Stahn
Justice under Transitional Administration: Contours and Critique
of a Paradigm 141

Milbert D. Shin
The Role of Civilian Police in Peace-Building Operations and the
Importance of Training Police Forces in Post-Conflict States 169

Conclusion
Howard Roy Williams
The Reconstruction of Iraq amid the Realities of Failed Assumptions:
Consequences of the Actions of a Trusteeship of the Powerful 185

Final Declaration
The 4th EDUSAT Conference 193

Posted by Evelin at 12:10 AM | Comments (0)
Humiliation Flowering from Historical Roots: An Australian Experience by Hilarie Roseman

DIGNITY AND HUMILIATION STUDIES:

HUMILIATION FLOWERING FROM HISTORICAL ROOTS:
AN AUSTRLAIAN EXPERIENCE

Hilarie Roseman
METUNG
AUSTRALIA
15th August, 2005

THE INGATHERING OF HUMANKIND
As the ingathering of humankind (Lindner 2005) gathers momentum on planet Earth, the yearning for recognition and respect becomes magnified. The denial of recognition and respect, experienced as humiliation could force human beings apart, just as they are coming together. This paper examines Australia’s denial of recognition and respect to asylum seekers and office workers. The disrespectful behaviour is traced to its roots, the sadistic behaviour of the colonial masters over convicts. Human Rights ideals do not condone the mere replacement of old tyrants with new ones; they envisage the dismantling of entire hierarchical systems. The task is to build institutions, both globally and locally, to ensure that people are not being oppressed, discriminated against or humiliated.

Please see the full paper here.

Posted by Evelin at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)
Books: The Psychology of Terrorism

The Psychology of Terrorism
[Four Volumes]
Series: Psychological Dimensions to War and Peace
Chris Stout
Foreword by Klaus Schwab
2002

Responding directly to the events of September 11, 2001, an outstanding interdisciplinary group of academics, clinicians, and activists from around the world united to produce this clear exploration of terrorism. Contributors, including Pulitzer Prize-winner Dr. John E. Mack, present an enormous range of terror-related factors in this important multivolume set. Chapters address terror and violence perpetrated by children, compare terrorists to cultists, and separate the fact, fiction, and hysteria surrounding bioterrorism.

Reviews:
This four-volume collection of writings by more than 40 academics, clinicians, thinkers, and activists represents another ambitious attempt to address the causes of terrorism in the aftermath of 9/11. Published under the auspices of The World Economic Forum, and in the "Psychological Dimensions to War and Peace" series, these volumes offer readers diverse opinions and perspectives in order to generate further thinking on the complex subject of terrorism....these contributions go a long way in expanding readers' general knowledge of politically motivated violence, as well as elucidating the causes and consequences of 9/11. Essential. For those interested in the psychology of political violence--from general readers and undergraduates to faculty, diplomats, and policy makers. —Choice

This set is easily the most thorough treatment of terrorism's complexities on the market today. Masterfully edited....suitable for students interested in true-crime, international affairs, or upper-grade research. It is highly recommended for public and high-school libraries. —VOYA

Endorsement From Pat DeLeon, Ph.D. Past-President of the American Psychological Association:
The Psychology of Terrorism, in its four topical versions, provides well written information for interested readers, regardless of their specific area of interest. Dr. Stout, as the architect of the project, is successful in banding together a diverse set of international authors having expertise in clinical, theoretical, and/or activist areas of interest.

Endorsement From Lawrence W. Osborn, M.D. The National Institute of Mental Health:
Dr. Stout's series of books will be an essential resource for any practicing clinician, not just to help understand the general fears in populations exposed to terrorism from the experiences in Middle Eastern, European countries and elsewhere in the last several decades, but also to anticipate the ongoing impacts of our new Terror Era in the USA. Author Information:
CHRIS E. STOUT is a licensed clinical psychologist who has published or presented over

Posted by Evelin at 07:55 AM | Comments (0)
New Book: Undo The "Curses" Of Negative Predictions

Undo the "Curses" Of Negative Predictions
From Kindness: Making a Difference in People's Lives: Formulas, stories, and insights
by Zelig Pliskin

Printed with Permission of Shaar Press
Sent to us by http://www.PartnersInKindness.org

"You’ll never amount to anything."
"You won’t be able to cope with such a difficult situation."
"You’re too stupid to understand."
"No one will marry you, and if some unlucky person does, your marriage will be a disaster."

Many people carry an invisible burden. This is the weight of unfavorable predictions about their abilities and future. These "curses" are usually a product of someone’s frustration, anger, resentment, or spite. At times well-meaning parents, teachers, or friends will deliver their negative prognosis in the form of giving advice.

You have the ability to undo these curses. You can point out the limitations of the people who gave those negative forecasts. Some of the things you can say are:

* "No human being has the right to limit another person. Whoever tries to limit you is wrong."
* "You already have learned so much. Keep it up and th is trend will take you much further than anyone could foresee."
* "This person was just speaking out of anger. An angry person makes mistakes and spouts untruths. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about."
* "There are others with far less natural intelligence, talents, and skills who have coped well and accomplished much."
* "Don’t give up. If you quit, you will be defeating yourself. By devoting all your inner resources, I guarantee you that you will succeed in the end."

Experts in a field can have the experience to make positive predictions:
* "I’ve been teaching for thirty years and I tell you that you have the intelligence to do well."
* "You have what it takes to cope well. I’ve seen people who couldn’t and I know that you can."
* "I’ve met people with greater handicaps who have put in the effort and have accomplished greatly."

When you meet people who aren’t doing well in some area, interview them for potential negative predictions. "What were the messages your parents and teachers gave you about your abilities and future?" "Has anyone ever told you that you wouldn’t be able to succeed?" Use your knowledge, experience, and creativity to help transcend and transform counterproductive predictions to ones that are helpful and beneficial.

It’s easy to issue limiting predictions. It can be difficult to undo their effects. If someone has internalized a negative picture, it can take a lot of effort on your part to counteract it. Be persistent. Your success will help transform this person’s life.

Posted by Evelin at 01:56 AM | Comments (0)
"Reflective Practice" - A New Section in "Patient Education and Counseling"

Dear Leaders and Writers in Narrative Medicine, Medical Humanities, and Reflective Practice,

Below you will find a call for papers for the new Reflective Practice section in the international journal, Patient Education and Counseling. Please forward the announcement to anyone you think might be interested. We welcome your submissions.

Regards,
Beth Rider
-----------------------------
Elizabeth Rider, MSW, MD, FAAP
Co-Director, Communication Skills Teaching Program
Coordinator of Faculty Development
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA 02115
email: elizabeth_rider @ hms.harvard.edu

----------

Call for Papers

Reflective Practice:
Patient Education and Counseling, presents a new section
comprised of selected narratives on reflective practice.

Reflective Practice provides a voice for physicians and other healthcare providers, patients and their family members, trainees and medical educators. The title emphasizes the importance of reflection in our learning and how our patient care and own self-care can be improved through reflective practice, similar to other health care provider skills. We welcome personal narratives on caring, patient-provider relationships, humanism in healthcare, professionalism and its challenges, patients' perspectives, and collaboration in patient care and counseling. Most narratives will describe personal or professional experiences that provide a lesson applicable to caring, humanism, and relationship in health care.

Submit manuscripts through the Patient Education and Counseling on-line, electronic submission system at http://ees.elsevier.com/pec. Patient Education and Counseling is an international journal indexed in Medline and 13 other related indexes. All manuscripts, including narratives, are peer-reviewed.

If you would like an electronic copy of the editorial describing the Reflective Practice section, "Sharing Stories: Narrative Medicine in an Evidence-Based World", please e-mail Dr. Hatem or Dr. Rider.

Editors:

United States:
David Hatem, MD, University of Massachusetts Medical School
HatemD @ ummhc.org

Elizabeth A. Rider, MSW, MD, Harvard Medical School elizabeth_rider @ hms.harvard.edu

Europe:
Florence van Zuuren, PhD, University of Amsterdam and the Free University in The Netherlands FJ.van.Zuuren @ psy.vu.nl

Posted by Evelin at 01:23 AM | Comments (0)
On Acculturation by Floyd Webster Rudmin

Floyd Webster Rudmin's paper "Debate in Science" won the 2005 Otto Klineberg Prize from SPSSI!

Our warm congratulations, dear Floyd!
Evelin

Posted by Evelin at 01:06 AM | Comments (0)
Conference "Globalization and the Good Corporation"

ICCA's SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
GLOBALIZATION AND THE GOOD CORPORATION
June 24-28, 2007
Vertical Campus, Baruch College, New York

ICCA is pleased to announce its Second International Conference to be held
at the Vertical Campus of Baruch College in New York City. The general
theme of the conference is "Globalization and the Good Corporation."

The conference will build on the success of ICCA's First International
Conference that was held in May of 2004. The theme of that conference was
"Corporate Codes of Conduct for Multinational Corporations: Promises and
Challenges."

The Second Conference will broaden the scope of issues covered under the
umbrella theme of "Globalization and the Good Corporation." Some of the
topic areas to be developed include:

- Globalization, Corporate Governance and Social Accountability
- Corporate and Industry-based Voluntary Codes of Conduct - A New Form of
Corporate Governance and Social Accountability
- Globalization and Human Rights
- United Nations Global Compact and Corporate Social Accountability
- Globalization, Outsourcing, and Supply-Chain Management - Issues of
Fairness and Distributive Justice
- Corporate Reputation in the Age of Globalization: How to Build It and How
Not to Lose It
- Corporate Communications, Advocacy Advertising, Transparency and
Accountability
- Corporate Social Performance Transparency and Accountability
- Environmental Protection and Sustainable Growth
- Eco-Friendly Business Practices
- Socially Responsible Investing
- Institutional Investor, Public Pension Funds, and Sustainable Investment
- Corporate Global Citizenship

Early indications are that this conference will draw even greater
participation from different parts of the world than the First Conference,
which drew over 350 participants. It would bring in representatives from
four major constituencies, i.e., academic scholars and researchers,
corporate executives, members of civil society and nongovernmental
organizations, and, representatives from various government agencies, and
international financial and development assistance organizations.

The conference will be organized around plenary sessions, roundtable
discussions, paper presentations on original research, experiential
learning, exchange of ideas, and development of best practices. Special
effort will be made to facilitate dialogue and discussion among various
individuals and groups representing the academic community, corporate and
industry groups, civil society organizations, international development
assistance organizations, and governmental bodies.

We already have tentative agreements for joint sponsorship from the United
Nations Global Compact and the World Bank. We expect a very significant
participation from the business community. In addition, a number of major
academic institutions and non-governmental organizations from around the
world would be co-sponsors of the conference.

An important element of the conference is to facilitate participation on
the part of non-governmental organizations from developing countries. Our
experience from the First Conference clearly demonstrated that these NGOs
have a great deal to offer from their work in the field handling real
problems and in real time. We believe that sharing their experience
promises to inject a dose of realism in all our deliberations.

Deliverables from the Conference

We expect that a large number of papers and presentations made at the
conference will be published either as individual papers or as "Special
Issues" of top tier and internationally known academic and professional
journals. This expectation is based on the fact that selected papers from
the First Conference have been published in special issues of five highly
recognized and heavily cited academic and professional journals.

YOU ARE INVITED

We are devoting the next four to six months to soliciting ideas and
suggestions on the themes stated here. We would also like your input as to
plenary sessions, roundtable discussions, and thematic sessions, to name a
few.

PLEASE COMMUNICATE WITH US

We would like to set up individual country-region coordinating groups to
identify and solicit participation for the academic community, corporations
and industry groups, non-governmental organizations, government bodies, and
other national and regional organizations.

Please let us know of your interest in being part of this organizational
effort. We would be grateful for all the help we can get.
For further inquiries or information, please contact:

Ms. Olga Emelianova
Director for Project Services
International Center for Corporate Accountability, Inc.
Tel.: (646) 312-2230
Fax: (646) 312-2231
Oemelianova @ CorporateAccountability.org
or
Olga_Emelianova @ baruch.cuny.edu

Posted by Evelin at 12:34 AM | Comments (0)
Peace Education Center, Teachers College Columbia University Training Workshops

Peace Education Center, Teachers College Columbia University
TRAININGS & WORKSHOPS
Fall 2005

Peacemaking and Conflict: A Holistic Approach

ITSF4094.017/CRN 33094 (“Educational Planning in IED”)
September 23-24, September 30-October 1, 2005
Fridays (4:00pm-9:00pm), Saturdays (9:00am-6:00pm)
Available for 2 credits @ $935 per credit or 2.6 CEU’s@ $400
Instructor: Janet Gerson

This course explores the spectrum and interrelationship of approaches to conflict toward management, resolution forgiveness, and transformation. Core peace education concepts, values, knowledge and skills will provide a framework for understanding. The course will also provide specific methodologies, international and regional lesson samples suited to elementary, middle and secondary levels. Adaptability to students’ learning settings will be emphasized.

Peace Education Perspectives on Security: Alternatives to War and Armed Conflict

ITSF 4094.018/CRN 33814 (“Educational Planning in IED”)
October 7-8, 14-15, 2005
Fridays (4:00pm-9:00pm), Saturdays (9:00am-6:00pm)
Available for 2 credits @ $935 per credit or 2.6 CEU’s@ $400
Instructor: Leonisa Ardizzone

Issues of security are a central concern of educating for peace. The question of what constitutes security and its connection to global problems and relationships are addressed in this intensive workshop. Special emphasis will be placed on possibilities of curricular implementation of the United Nations study on disarmament and non-proliferation education and the special challenges it raises for peace education. Participants will be guided and assisted in formulating their own learning units on alternatives to force and violence.

Education for a Culture of Peace & Justice: Human Rights Perspectives

ITSF 4094. (section TBD)/CRN (TBD)
October 28-29; November 4-5, 2005
Fridays (4:00pm-9:00pm), Saturdays (9:00am-6:00pm)
Available for 2 credits @ $935 per credit or 2.6 CEU’s @ $400
Instructor: Peter Lucas

This is an intensive two weekend workshop on how to design human rights curriculum for schools or informal NGO education environments. Thematically, the class will focus on “child labor.” The curriculum projects will revolve around a documentary film set in Bangladesh, “A Kind of Childhood.” We begin with the documentary (to be placed in the middle of the curriculum) and then the class will create modules about child labor which will wrap around the film. Students will break up according to areas of interest such as early childhood, middle school, secondary school, and adult education, to create a finished group lesson on child labor to present to the class by the end of the second weekend. The class is set up as a workshop environment and much of the design and curriculum writing will happen in the class during the second weekend. Readings outside of class will offer an introduction to peace education, human rights education, and child labor. For educators, students should leave the class with many new ideas about how to design human rights curriculum projects on any theme and how to fold human rights into existing educational environments. More broadly, the class should interest students who would like to study the intersection of media and human rights/peace education.

REGISTRATION & CONTACT INFORMATION
If you are already a Teachers College student you may register for our workshops as normal (via the phone or web) without prior instructor approval. For non-credit or non-matriculated registration for our trainings or workshops, please contact The Center for Educational Outreach & Innovation (CEO&I) by phone 800-209-1245 or by email: ceoi_mail@tc.columbia.edu .

For further information, please visit us on the web at: www.tc.edu/PeaceEd
Or contact us by phone or email: peace-ed@tc.edu / 212.678.8116

Tony Jenkins
Coordinator (Director of Administration and Research)
Peace Education Center, Teachers College Columbia University
General Coordinator, International Institute on Peace Education
Peace Education Center * Teachers College - Box 171
Columbia University * New York, New York 10027
(Office Address 278 Grace Dodge)
Tel: (212) 678-8116 * Fax: (212) 678-8237
Web: www.tc.edu/PeaceEd

Posted by Evelin at 11:36 PM | Comments (0)
What is Terror? Conference Organised by the Society for European Philosophy and Forum for European Philosophy

What is Terror?
The University of Reading, UK
September 8th - 10th 2005
Society for European Philosophy and Forum For European Philosophy
Joint Conference

Anyone wishing to make a residential booking needs to do so by Wednesday August 3rd.

Details about the conference are available via the conference link at
www.philosophy-forum.org

Catherine Lowe
www.philosophy-forum.org
Forum for European Philosophy
Room J105, European Institute
London School of Economics
WC2A 2AE
020 7955 7539

Posted by Evelin at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)
The Common Ground News Service, August 9, 2005

Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
August 9, 2005

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

**********

ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

1. "The Inequality of Empathy" by Samir Shehata
Samir Shehata, an Egyptian-American professor at Georgetown University, asks why Americans find it easier to identify with the suffering of Londoners than with the suffering of Egyptians, Saudis or Iraqis, in the hopes of improving collective security based on a common humanity.
(Source: Al Ahram, August 4-10, 2005)

2. "Beyond the condemnation of terrorism" by Louay M. Safi
Louay M. Safi, author of Peace And The Limits Of War: Transcending Classical Conception of Jihad, Tensions and Transitions in the Muslim World and the Challenge of Modernity, admires the "strong stand taken by American Muslim leaders against indiscriminate violence as a testimony of a remarkable maturity and the clarity of vision in dealing with a complex issue" and points out where both Muslim leaders and Western policies do not go far enough.
(Source: Middle East Times, August 2, 2005)

3. "Muslims in Europe: Cultural Integration Is a Two-Way Street" by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Senior Researcher at the Foreign Policy Centre and writer of a weekly column in the Independent, talks about how fear and racism are preventing positive integration of minorities, particularly Muslims, in Europe. She warns readers that "[w]ithout socializing, real and virtual ghettoes soon form blotting out the common humanity we all share."
(Source: The Independent, August 2, 2005)

4. ~ Youth Views ~
"The U.S. Should Step up Cultural Exchange Programs" by Rebecca P. Tollefson
Rebecca P. Tollefson will be attending the American University's School of International Service this fall. She explains why exchange between the United States and the Arab world must increase, arguing that "[the West] must do far more than welcome immigrants and sponsor study programs for others to come to us. We must also push ourselves to try and understand cultures that are markedly different from our own." This is particularly important as our world becomes much smaller and its people much closer.
(Source: CGNews-PiH, August 9, 2005)

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ARTICLE 1
The Inequality of Empathy
Samer Shehata

When bombs explode in London killing dozens of commuters they attract far more attention in the United States than explosions in Egypt that kill even greater numbers of innocent civilians. Why is it that American television programmes, media commentators and elected officials spend more time discussing the recent bombings in London than the more recent terrorist attacks in Sharm El-Sheikh? Why do Americans find it easier to identify with the suffering of Londoners than with the suffering of Egyptians, Saudis or Iraqis?

We know the answers to these questions yet we are seldom prepared to talk about them openly. Simply put: some lives are worth more than others. Western European lives are worth more than Arab, African or Asian lives. American life is the most precious of all. Even in death there is little equality.

I can say this because I am both Egyptian and American. Born in Egypt, I grew up in Ohio. I've lived in New York City, London (directly off Russell Square, where the No 30 bus blew up), Cairo and now Washington, DC. I've vacationed in Sharm El-Sheikh on many occasions. I empathise identically with the victims of 9/11 and the London and Sinai bombings. Death really does make us all equal.

Of course, there are perfectly reasonable explanations for the discrepancy in US media coverage of the London and Sharm El-Sheikh bombings. The London bombings took place on a weekday morning. By the time most Americans awoke on Thursday 7 July, news of the attacks was already on the radio and the major networks. As Americans prepared to go to work, they witnessed familiar images of violence and destruction. The attacks in Egypt, by contrast, took place early Saturday morning, local time, making it already past 6pm on the east coast of the United States. The news cycle in America has its own logic and weekend coverage is notoriously slow. For example, when the White House wants to bury a story, they release it on a Friday evening, ensuring it gets little coverage until Sunday TV talk shows are broadcast, or the Monday papers printed. And London is the British capital, after all, in addition to a financial and media hub. Adding to the media focus, Prime Minister Blair, President Bush and other leaders -- as well as their usual media entourage -- were assembled in Scotland for the G8 summit. Sharm El-Sheikh, by contrast, is a resort town on the Red Sea, home to holidaymakers and the occasional Middle Eastern summit.

But there's also something less reasonable about why Americans pay more attention to death in London than in Egypt, not to mention Palestine or Iraq. Americans find it easier to sympathise with Western Europeans, and particularly the British, than with brown, yellow or black peoples. They feel their pain more easily; they understand their grief quite literally. The attacks in London, like the attacks on New York City and Washington DC on 11 September 2001, were perpetrated by the likes of Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda -- products, it is said, of an alien culture and an adversarial religion. As Europeans and Christians, the British suffered the same barbarism as the Americans.

In Cairo or Riyadh, it's much harder to differentiate the victim from the victimiser. They're all Muslims after all; they're all Arabs. According to the US Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Lt General William Boykin, "I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol -- they all worship Allah." New Yorkers and Washingtonians can literally understand the cries of horror and agony of Londoners. They can imagine themselves in their situation. After all, they suffered similarly on 9/11. But so did Egyptians and Pakistanis, and Palestinians, well before 11 September. Suffering and horror know no nationality. And no one has a monopoly on injustice.

The sad irony, of course, is that those who died in London were Muslims and Christians, whites and blacks, and everything in between, as were the victims in Egypt. The killing of innocents is grotesque whether it takes place in Israel or Palestine, Iraq or the United States. The London bombings were acts of barbarism and savagery irrespective of Tony Blair's policies in Iraq. The Sharm El-Sheikh bombings were equally barbaric regardless of our assessment of the Mubarak regime.

But until we can sympathise with the victims of terrorism regardless of their nationality, skin colour or religion -- whether they are Egyptian or British, Palestinians or Israelis, Iraqis or Americans -- all of us are in store for a great deal of more anguish. Our ability to empathise with "the Other", whoever he or she may be, to see the world from a different perspective, to feel other people's pain, share their grief and understand their injustice, better enables us to address the misunderstandings, as well as the practical problems, that divide us. By acknowledging the legitimacy of other peoples' grievances, their disappointments and frustrations, we demonstrate to the world that we care not only about ourselves. We also come to see the world differently and act in it accordingly. Recognising our common humanity is the first step towards creating a better future for all of us: a world with less violence, less suffering and possibly even less terrorism. It might make us collectively safer. It will also make us more human.

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* Samir Shehata is an Egyptian-American professor at Georgetown University
Source: Al Ahram, August 4-10, 2005
Visit Al Ahram at weekly.ahram.org.eg
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.


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ARTICLE 2
Beyond the condemnation of terrorism
Louay M. Safi

London terrorist bombings elicited familiar response: Islamic organizations and Muslim communities in Europe and North America condemned the terrorist attacks and stressed the dissonance between the deplorable acts of the terrorists and the humane principles of Islam. Tony Blair paid tribute to the intrinsically peaceful teaching of Islam and reminded his countrymen that British Muslims are law-abiding and contributing members of the British society, as he condemned the militant ideology espoused by the terrorists.

"We know that these people act in the name of Islam," Blair stressed, "but we also know that the vast and overwhelming majority of Muslims here and abroad are decent and law-abiding people who abhor terrorism every bit as much as we do".

Pundits of the militant Right found in the London attacks another opportunity to equate Islam with terrorism, to question the sincerity of the Muslim rejection of terrorism and to incite the public against Islam and Muslims. Given the loud and extensive condemnation of terrorism by Muslims, particularly in North America and Europe, the militant Right cry has shifted from "why Muslim leaders do not speak out against terrorism?" to "are Muslim leaders sincere in their condemnation of terrorism, or are they doing it to deflect anger and prevent a backlash?"

Clearly, Muslims are genuinely appalled by the brutality of the terrorist acts, and some are going the extra mile to make sure that their condemnation is made loud enough, and is repeated enough, so that they can be heard by the deafest of their critics. The fatwa issued by the Religious Council of North America, and supported by major Muslim organizations, is the latest effort in this regard.

The strong stand taken by American Muslim leaders against indiscriminate violence is a testimony of a remarkable maturity and the clarity of vision in dealing with a complex issue. The loud condemnation of terrorism is important to cut through the anti-Islam rhetoric and to reassure the public that Muslims reject indiscriminate violence and the killing of innocent civilians.

Muslim leaders cannot, however, stop their quest for justice at condemning atrocities committed by few misguided Muslim youth. They must do more to show young Muslims how to turn their moral indignation into a positive force that brings more balance and justice to the world, instead of exploding in anger. Muslim leaders must work more to shed light on the double-standard approach adopted by many Western governments and institutions toward Muslims.

This is not only the right thing to do, but also the only path to ensuring that Muslim leaders continue to speak for the values and interests of the larger Muslim community and address Muslim concerns. The expression of justice and compassion should not be reserved to atrocities committed by the terrorists against Western civilians, but must also address Muslim pain and suffering visited on them by the action of Western democracies.

Muslim leaders must do more to expose the harsh reality of many Muslims throughout the world and speak for the Muslim suffering; they must do more to pressure political leaders and leaders of public opinions to address the roots of anger and frustration that breed militancy and give rise to terrorism.

The key here is the foreign policy of Western powers, particularly the United States, toward Islam and Muslims. Ignoring legitimate grievances and applying double standards in dealing with Muslim societies and issues must stop if the war on terrorism is to bear fruit.

Muslim leaders and organizations have been repeatedly asked to condemn terrorism and repudiate individuals and groups connected with terrorist acts. This is a fair demand and Muslims should respond positively and take unequivocal stand against the violent attacks by angry Muslim radicals against innocent civilians and bystanders. By the same token Muslim leaders should put similar demands on Western leaders and insist that the same set of standards be applied to all.

It does not help addressing the problem of terrorism when someone like Thomas Friedman put all the blame for terrorism on the Muslim world and feel that the West might be justified for treating every "Muslim living in a Western society" as a suspect and "a potential walking bomb", and in cracking "down even harder on their own Muslim populations".

Friedman conveniently forgets that Western governments must take responsibility for befriending brutal dictators throughout the Muslim world, and supporting the daily humiliation of Palestinians in occupied Gaza and the West Bank.

It does not help when American leaders press hard to liberate European societies and Christian minorities in western Indonesia and southern Sudan from the yoke of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, but remain passive in the face of authoritarian regimes in the Muslim world, or in the face of the Israeli, the Indian or the Thai aggression against Muslim populations that live under their control.

Similarly, Muslims do not hear loud condemnation when critics like Ann Coulter, Daniel Pipes, Franklin Graham, Michael Savage or Pat Robertson use venom to demonize Islam and Muslims, incite the attacks against both Western and eastern Muslims, or openly call for violation of the basic human rights of all Muslims.

Muslim leaders must continue to speak against violence, brutality and injustice, as they reject terrorism and indiscriminate violence against civilians and demand that the Islamic respect for the sanctity of human life, and the Islamic injunction against the killing of innocents be strictly observed.

But this is not enough. Muslim leaders must go beyond the condemnation of terrorism to become more active in the roots of violence, hatred and terrorism. They must reject exclusivist ideologies that privilege particular religious or ethnic communities whether it takes the form of Jewish, Christian or Muslim exclusivism.

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* Louay M. Safi, Ph.D., is the author of Peace And The Limits Of War: Transcending Classical Conception of Jihad, Tensions and Transitions in the Muslim World and The Challenge of Modernity. Acknowledgment to Media Monitors Network (MMN)
Source: Middle East Times, August 2, 2005
Visit the Middle East Times at www.metimes.com.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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ARTICLE 3
Muslims in Europe: Cultural Integration Is a Two-Way Street
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

As you know, I think the bombers and plotters wrecking the spirit of London are scum - men without hearts or heads who, after they have been properly tried, should be put away for life. I think most Muslims in Europe have heard the call to attend to the pestilence of violent hatred which has spread among some of their own around the world.

We may be at an extraordinary, momentous turning point, as Muslims feel a surge of emotional loyalty for our violated capital and the country which has been home to so many over so many decades. The bombs were an electric shock to the confused brain of the Muslim collective, which has led to saner, wiser counsel and a recognition that our British identity defines us profoundly; that we want to belong and must belong to this complex, multiracial nation with dreams that stirred the Olympic Committee and inspire the world - in spite of racism, nationalism and the battles between traditionalism and modernity.

We must make this mix work; the prophets of doom will be buried, including the ghost of Enoch Powell - who today haunts the nation again, holding up his spectral arms in grim victory. But it won't be easy nor fast. Not when the public is in such a state of dread and rage and leaders are proving to be unreliable masters of our destiny.

I am revolted by the political sanctimony and the casual demonization of all Muslims, all Asians and blacks, all immigrants, all asylum-seekers - all under the false pretext of national interest. Leading white commentators, left and right, are exploiting this moment to push retro-jingoism, as if the bombers will vanish as soon as Muslim Britons are forced to kiss the Union Flag and sing God Save the Queen in Urdu.

Blood did run down the streets in London - more probably will - but our citizenry must grow closer in joint cause to beat the murderers who would divide us. The protests against the war in Iraq brought us together; this crisis must deepen the bonds. We Britons of color, Muslims in particular, understand our responsibilities. Do white Britons understand theirs? Sir Max Hastings, the former editor of The Daily Telegraph and the Evening Standard is one the few prepared to ask that question and to answer it truthfully: "I acknowledge an embarrassing truth. In the course of my life I have entertained only perhaps a dozen black guests at parties and never had a Muslim to dinner in my house. The same must be true for many British middle-class people. Until interracial experience finds a path into our own lives, it remains hard to boast that we are contributing much to the assimilation we deem vital to our future. This is a two way street." Amen I say. And yes, Sir Max, do ask me to that next shooting party. I like pheasant.

Research by the Commission for Racial Equality bears this out. Mixed race and mixed faith love is blooming; much less so is friendship between the tribes of Britons. Without socializing, real and virtual ghettoes soon form blotting out the common humanity we all share.

The reason so many young Muslim and black men feel and behave like outsiders in the UK is because they have been made to feel outsiders from the time they were children. This does not make criminality inevitable, but it does make their integration impossibly difficult. This Friday, a young black man's life was brutally ended. He was 18-year-old Anthony Walker, a black A-level student walking with his white girlfriend. Police believe the killing was racist - and racism is, in itself, a rejection of integration.

These days, some of the most vile, racist e-mails arrive when I describe myself as British. You can never be one of us, they say, you "Paki", "Black Bitch" and so on. How integrated do I need to be to be accepted? Some middle-class acquaintances are getting bolder about confessing their distance from people like me. I can talk like them, think like them, dress like them, but this Muslim thing makes them uneasy, they say. I return the compliment by telling them I worry about them too and don't trust them not to turn treacherous.

Hazel Blears, the Home Office minister whose hard certainties scare me, is about to start a nationwide tour to meet Muslims. I understand the need for this. Only with wide-scale Muslim cooperation can the bombers be discovered and stopped. But is she also going to meet with Muslim professionals outside the "representative" circuit - the doctors, lawyers, teachers, writers, artists, journalists and others not part of the bearded and hijabi great and good, but people who have ease and modern, multiple identities? This outreach work is of no use if the government doggedly refuses to take seriously the anxieties and anger of Muslims who detest the war in Iraq and our blind loyalty to the neocons in the US. How dare Tony Blair lecture Muslims on the dangers of fundamentalism while remaining blindly insistent of the special relationship with the US? If integration means having to consent to that fundamentalist foreign policy, I'll have none of it. If it requires of me acquiescence in human rights violations, you can count me out.

Public unity is built on narratives. Successive British governments have done little to upgrade the national stories so that all Britons feel like equal stakeholders. Sadly, Muslim leaders have done nothing either to tell their young about the deep and long historical and contemporary engagement between Islam and the West.

We have been friends and allies as well as honorable and dishonorable enemies. Neither side would be what it is today without the other. Muslims brought coffee and geometric art to Britain; Britain sent liposuction and Shakespeare to Arabia.

In the 50s, the men from these families were lured here by factories which needed good workers without attitude. They worked well and more were welcomed. For some years, the profits kept rolling in. When the factories went, both white and non-white workers were left for dead. The neglect led to the rot we now see. British industrialists and politicians hold some responsibility for what has followed. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims volunteered to join the allies to defeat Nazism. Jews and Muslims who loathe each other today forget this fact. Yemeni and Bangladeshi lascars, Indian Muslim royal servants, brilliant Muslim lawyers and businessmen - they are as much a part of the story of Britain as American soldiers in World War II, Jewish writers and musicians and Italian cooks.

Integration is a team sport. Our nation will fall apart; the center will not hold, the bombers will win, unless we all play our part.

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* Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is Senior Researcher at the Foreign Policy Centre and writer of a weekly column in the Independent.
Source: The Independent, August 2, 2005
Visit the Independent at www.independent.co.uk
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
First published in The Independent 02/08/2005. (c)Yasmin Alibhai-Brown.

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ARTICLE 4
YOUTH VIEWS
The U.S. Should Step up Cultural Exchange Programs
Rebecca P. Tollefson

The latest program from the State Department to sponsor student exchange to promote cultural understanding to issue illustrates, ironically, exactly what is missing in such programs today in the US: exchange.

In a press release dated July 12, 2005, the State Department announced the creation of a new project under the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), "Study of the US". For the next two months, students from the Middle East and North Africa will study at three universities in the US: Benedictine University, University of Delaware and Montana State University.

Notably absent from the program is a real effort on the part of the government to send US students abroad. MEPI states that its key goal is to "increase mutual understanding between the people of the US, Middle East and Northern Africa." However, mutual understanding both implies and requires give and take; while it is certainly invaluable for Muslim students to come and experience America, it is equally important for students from the US to experience the Middle East and North Africa.

It is insufficient and oxymoronic to merely promote mutual understanding in a one-sided manner; it implies that Western-Islamic relations would be improved if "they" only understood us better, or perhaps even that they need to learn how to be like us. At this crucial juncture in modern history, with terrorism and religious fanaticism setting an agenda of divisiveness and hate, mutual understanding must also include first-hand American encounters with the rest of the world and the Middle East in particular.

Unfortunately, particularly when great distances separate two civilizations, myths about the "other" are continually perpetuated through ignorance and misinformation as a result of the lack of day-to-day contact that would otherwise lead to more mutual understanding. This forces both sides to depend on the media, stereotypes and political rhetoric to form their respective views of the "other." And despite the diversity within both the United States and Middle East, complexities and nuances are wiped away as both sides attempt to pigeonhole hundreds of millions of people as having this or that characteristic, this or that tendency, and this or that way of thinking. Instead they are "the other," and exhibit all the traits that we like least in ourselves - an exercise in collective psychological displacement.

Needless to say, there is a great danger in this practice. For example, many people in the Middle East glean their information about the West from Hollywood movies. Often these movies contain violence and sexually explicit material and are denounced in Muslim countries and an assumption is made that the lifestyle depicted in movies is one that all Americans subscribe to. In reality, most Hollywood blockbusters are spectacles, carefully crafted to appeal to the largest number of potential viewers worldwide by indulging viewers' desires to watch things get blown up and the hero take the girl to bed.

On the other side, things are not much better. In US media, news items involving Arabs and the Middle East invariably feature acts of violence, terrorism and suicide bombers. Each edition of the evening news treats Americans to new grainy images of Arab suspects accused of horrific and terrifying crimes. Terror and violence sells in modern America. The point to be made here is not that these men don't exist, because they do, but that they do not by themselves represent the Middle East and the diversity of the millions of people who live there. Yet with few other depictions available, it is inevitable that such images become representative of Arabs and other denizens of the Middle East in the minds of many Americans.

Political rhetoric also contributes to this problem. On both sides of the clash, political leaders strive for simplification in their message and meaning. While it is understandable that leaders use layman's terms in their explanations to their populations of world events and national policy, there is an inherent danger in simplifying too much. For example, to denounce whole countries as an "Axis of Evil" automatically precludes any form of mutual understanding, and instead continues to divide the world into easily graspable categories of "good" and "evil."

The divisive problems that Americans and Middle Easterners face require more than one solution. However, one viable answer is cultural exchange programs. Experiencing a country firsthand can dispel cultural stereotypes and myths. It literally has a mind-opening effect. This new awareness can be transplanted back to the home country through viral marketing, as former participants challenge what is heard over the airwaves and seen on television. It can also lead to policy changes, and, with enough participation, can begin the laborious process of reducing the use of stereotypes and needless racism.

It should be a matter of some concern that there are few opportunities for students to study in places other than familiar Europe and Australia. To challenge firmly held beliefs, generalizations and stereotypes exchange programs need to be expanded to as many countries as possible, especially ones that do not share in the United States' Judeo-Christian heritage. Of course, safety concerns do serve as an important and necessary barrier to programs in some countries. However, there are still many countries in the Middle East and elsewhere that are both safe and willing to welcome American students, such as the Persian Gulf states, Egypt, and Morocco.

In the West, we must do far more than welcome immigrants and sponsor study programs for others to come to us. We must also push ourselves to try and understand cultures that are markedly different from our own. On the path to world peace, security screens, soldiers and guns will only get us so far. The remaining distance can only be covered by cultural exchange programs that help us discard dangerous stereotypes and find ways to share a globe that is becoming uncomfortably smaller at an ever increasing rate.

###
* Rebecca P. Tollefson recently graduated from Centre College in Kentucky with a degree in International Studies, and will be attending the American University's School of International Service this fall.
Source: Search for Common Ground - CGNews-PiH, August 9, 2005
Visit Search for Common Ground at www.sfcg.org.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

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Posted by Evelin at 12:58 AM | Comments (0)
Tagung Scham - Beschämung - Anerkennung

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

bitte erlauben Sie mir, Sie auf die Tagung zum Thema 'Scham - Beschämung - Anerkennung' hinzuweisen, die vom 18. - 20. November 2005 an der Katholischen Akademie Freiburg i.B. stattfindet. Es würde uns freuen, Sie dort begrüßen zu dürfen und bitten Sie freundlich, das beiliegende Programm an Interessenten weiterzuleiten.

Vielen Dank und freundliche Grüße,
Stephan Marks

Wer sich schämt, will im Boden versinken, sich den Blicken der anderen entziehen. Scham ist eine versteckte Emotion, die so schwer erträglich ist, dass sie häufig abgewehrt wird: Um sich nicht selbst schämen zu müssen, werden andere beschämt, verhöhnt, verachtet, wie Dreck behandelt, ausgeschlossen oder vernichtet. Frühe, sog. »Scham-Kulturen« bedienen sich vorwiegend der Scham zur Regulierung ihrer zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen. Nach diesem Muster funktionierte auch die Diskriminierung und Verfolgung von jüdischen und nichtkonformen Bürgern im Nationalsozialismus: Sie wurden öffentlich gedemütigt, aus der »Volksgemeinschaft« ausgestoßen und vernichtet.

Scham ist ein sozialer Affekt, der in allen zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen akut werden kann. Daher ist es für alle, die mit Menschen arbeiten, wichtig, Scham und Schamabwehr zu erkennen, um damit umgehen zu können. Etwa in Psychotherapie und psychologischer Beratung, wenn Klienten ihre Gefühle als »Schwäche« erleben und abwehren müssen. In Medizin und Altenarbeit, wenn kranke oder alte Menschen sich ihrer Abhängigkeit oder des Kontrollverlusts von Körperfunktionen schämen und dies verleugnen.

In Sozialarbeit und Sozialpädagogik, wenn Arbeitslosigkeit oder Armut als Makel erlebt werden. Oder in der Pädagogik, wo es nicht darum geht, Schüler für ihre Fehler zu beschämen, sondern das Lernpotenzial von Fehlern zu erkennen und zu nutzen. Lehrer selbst sind heute, wie kaum eine andere Berufsgruppe, öffentlichen Beschämungen ausgesetzt (»faule Säcke«).

Die verschiedenen Beiträge und die zum Teil geschlossenen, berufsbezogenen Arbeitsgruppen untersuchen Scham und ihre Abwehrformen, ihre geschichtlichen und aktuellen Auswirkungen und ihre Bedeutung für psychosoziale und pädagogische Arbeitsfelder. Möglichkeiten des konstruktiven Umgangs mit Scham und Wege zu einer Kultur der Anerkennung werden erarbeitet.

Die Tagung richtet sich an alle Interessierten, besonders an die in den genannten Berufsfeldern Tätigen sowie an Studierende. Sie ist als zertifizierte Fortbildungsveranstaltung für Ärzte und Psychologen anerkannt. Zum Gespräch mit den Referierenden und untereinander sind Sie herzlich eingeladen.

Thomas Herkert
Akademiedirektor

Monika Rappenecker
Studienleiterin

Bitte sehen Sie mehr auf www.scham-anerkennung.de.

Posted by Evelin at 12:22 AM | Comments (0)
AfricAvenir News, 9th August 2005

AfricAvenir News are kindly sent out by Eric Van Grasdorff:

Liebe/Liebe Freunde,

Ein Blick in das Programm des Kultursenders ARTE brachte folgende Ergebnisse...

Mittwoch, 10. August 2005 um 20:50
VPS : 20.50; Wiederholungen : 12.08.2005 um 16:45

Die algerische "Befriedung"
Dokumentation, Frankreich 2002, ARTE F, Regie: Andre Gazut

"Drecksarbeit" ist der erste von zwei Dokumentarfilmen, die André Gazut zum Thema Algerienkrieg realisierte. Seine Fragen, wohin die Unterwerfung unter die Autorität führt und wo die Verantwortung des Individuums beginnt, sind allgemeingültige Fragen, die sich jeder Gemeinschaft stellen, die mit Gewalt konfrontiert wird.

-------------------------------------
Sonntag, 14. August 2005 um 10:25
VPS : 10.25

Afrika Live 2005
Musik, Frankreich 2005, ARTE F, Erstausstrahlung, Regie: Martin Meissonnie

Auf Initiative des senegalesischen Musikers Youssou N'Dour wurde am 11. und 12. März 2005 in Dakar ein Konzert mit dem Titel "Roll Back Malaria" ("Haltet die Malaria auf") veranstaltet. Im Rahmen einer weltweiten Kampagne rief es zur Unterstützung von Menschen auf, die von der Infektionskrankheit Malaria betroffen sind. Künstler aus allen schwarzafrikanischen Ländern spielten vor 40.000 begeisterten Besuchern im Demba-Diop-Stadion. ARTE zeigt bis zum 28. August jeweils sonntags gegen 10.30 Uhr die Höhepunkte des Konzerts in vier Teilen und rundet das Programm mit Interviews und kurzen Berichten ab.

-------------------------------------
Dienstag, 16. August 2005 um 21:35, VPS : 20.50
Wiederholungen : 16.08.2005 um 21:40, 17.08.2005 um 15:15, 17.08.2005 um 16:00

Ruanda, den Himmel gibt es nicht
Dokumentation, Frankreich 2005, Erstausstrahlung, Regie: Jennifer Deschamps

Wo war Gott in Ruanda? Der Genozid in dem afrikanischen Staat begann am 6. April 1994. Allein in der kleinen Stadt Nyamata und der benachbarten Ortschaft N'tamara wurden in Gotteshäusern und Kirchen 10.000 Tutsi getötet. Die Überlebenden des Völkermordes wenden sich von Gott ab, der sie in seinem eigenen Haus im Stich gelassen hat - so sollte man meinen. Das Gegenteil aber war der Fall. Weil sie nicht mehr an den Menschen glauben, vertrauten sich viele Überlebenden Gott an, und die Bedeutung von religiösen Bewegungen und Sekten wächst ständig.

-------------------------------------
Dienstag, 23. August 2005 um 20:50
Wiederholungen : 24.08.2005 um 15:15

Gefängnis Elternhaus

Sie sind Franzosen, Deutsche, Briten oder Österreicher. Sie sind zwischen 15 und 18 Jahre alt. Ihre Eltern kamen aus Afrika, der Türkei oder Nordafrika nach Europa, wo sie sich Arbeit und eine gesicherte Zukunft erhofften. Doch einfach ist ihre Geschichte keineswegs. Die so genannte "zweite Generation" fühlt sich in Widersprüche verstrickt, hin und her gerissen zwischen einem als feindlich empfundenen Hier und einem fernen verklärten Anderswo. Lange haben diese Kinder mit dem Gedanken an die "Rückkehr" gespielt, bis zu dem Tag, an dem aus dem Spiel bitterer Ernst wurde und sie dem Gesetz - dem Gesetz der Eltern - unterworfen wurden. Das bedeutet im Einzelfall arrangierte Zwangsverheiratung oder auch die ungewollte Rückkehr in den Herkunftsort der Eltern.

-------------------------------------
Sonntag, 28.08.2005, 20.15 Uhr

Black Spring - Heddy Maalem

Acht afrikanische Tänzer in einer Choreographie des Franko-Algeriers Heddy Maalem.

www.AfricAvenir.org
Wollen Sie Fördermitglied von AfricAvenir International e.V. werden?
Kontaktieren Sie Ann Kathrin Helfrich, Fon: 030-80906789, a.helfrich @ africavenir.org

Redaktion des Newsletters: Eric Van Grasdorff, e.vangrasdorff @ africavenir.org
AfricAvenir International e.V. ist nicht für die Inhalte externer Webseiten verantwortlich.

Posted by Evelin at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)
New Book: Sexual Offenses in Armed Conflict and International Law

SEXUAL OFFENSES IN ARMED CONFLICT AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
By Noëlle N.R. Quénivet
2005

300 pages. 1-57105-341-7. $115.00/hardcover

Sexual Offenses & International Law provides a careful analysis of the recent jurisprudence of the international criminal tribunals on sexual offenses, taking into account the claims propounded by feminist writers and the reality of the norms and conflicts. Sexual offenses are examined under the headings of the four main categories of severe international crimes: torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The key issues of the debate about sexual offenses such as consent, physical integrity, persecution, discrimination are well researched and mirrored with both judgments and ‘feminist’ critique.

By covering the past decade with its tremendous development in theory and practice of international criminal law, Dr. Quénivet’s book sheds new and interesting light on the recent jurisprudence and new trends in dealing with sexual offenses in times of armed conflict. It provides answers to difficult issues concerning the subtleties of international law definitions applicable to armed conflict situations and to international criminal law dealing with the punishment of perpetrators of serious individual and mass crimes.

The book is of particular importance for its careful consideration of the growing relationship between international humanitarian law, international criminal law and feminist approaches to international law. It is recommended for all those who are involved with the subject from a scholarly perspective, those who want
to benefit from the author’s recommendations on how to deal with some of the specific open issues, or those who wish to refine their approach towards international law.

Noëlle N.R. Quénivet is a researcher at the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict.

Transnational Publishers, Inc. • 410 Saw Mill River Road • Ardsley, New York 10502-2615

Posted by Evelin at 03:19 PM | Comments (0)
Public Conference on Humiliation in Intercultural Relations in Berlin

Public Conference: „Humiliation in Intercultural Relations“
(Konferenz in englischer Sprache)

Samstag. 17.9.2005 13:00 – 17:00 Uhr

Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
Hackesche Höfe
Rosenthaler Str. 40/41
10178 Berlin

Erniedrigung im interkulturellen Austausch – mit diesem Thema befasst sich die Jahreskonferenz von Humiliation and Dignity Studies. Zu diesem internationalen Netzwerk gehören Akademiker und Praktiker, die sich mit dem Thema Erniedrigung und deren Auswirkungen befassen.

Dr. Dr. Evelin Gerda Lindner, Gründerin des Netzwerks:

„Wir leben in historischen Zeiten, die das Potential für bewaffneten Konflikt verstärken.

Unsere Welt rückt zusammen. Das hat zwei Auswirkungen:
Zum einen befinden wir uns dadurch häufiger im interkulturellen Konflikt. Mangelndes Verständnis führt zu Erniedrigung, diese kann sich in Gewalt entladen. Internationaler Terrorismus ist nur die Spitze des Eisbergs, die anzeigt, dass sich da draußen ein Meer von Erniedrigung befindet.

Zum anderen hat das Menschenrechtszeitalter begonnen. Das bedeutet, dass Menschen, die bisher in Unterdrückung gelebt haben, zunehmend erfahren, dass diese Unterdrückung nicht gottgegeben ist und eine Verletzung ihrer fundamentalen Rechte darstellt.“

Programm der Konferenz:

- Erniedrigung im interkulturellen Austausch – Einführug von
Prof. Evelin Gerda Lindner (Oslo Universität, Columbia University)

- Hilfe und Erniedrigung, Versöhnung zwischen Konfliktgruppen
(Prof. Arie Nadler, Tel Aviv University)


Evelin Gerda Lindner steht Ihnen gerne für Interviews zur Verfügung.
Gerne verabreden wir auch individuelle Interviewtermine außerhalb der Konferenz.
Mögliche Themenschwerpunkte: Terrorismus, Entwicklungshilfe, Konfliktmanagement.

Kontakt:
Humiliation and Human Dignity Studies Network,
Christine Locher Tel 0151 – 12728386, christine.locher @ web.de

weitere Informationen in englischer Sprache: www.humiliationstudies.org

Posted by Evelin at 12:58 AM | Comments (0)
International Forum on the Social Science-Policy Nexus in February 2006 in Argentina

Madam/Sir,

We would like to inform you that the Government of the Republic of Argentina
and UNESCO have agreed to postpone the International Forum on the Social Science – Policy Nexus originally scheduled for 5 to 9 September 2005.

In response to the enthusiastic and overwhelming interest shown in the Forum and with a view to accommodate academic calendars as well as political agendas from different regions of the world, it has been decided, in wide consultation with the members of the International Steering Committee for the Forum and all relevant partners, to hold the International Forum on the Social Science – Policy Nexus from 20 to 24 February 2006 in Buenos Aires, Rosario, Cordoba and Montevideo.

UNESCO, the Government of the Republic of Argentina and the Government of
the Eastern Republic of Uruguay are committed to ensure full success and the widest participation of the international community at this event. Therefore, with a view to make this Forum an outstanding international event and in order to ensure its great participative character, an innovative concept is being developed to set up its practical organization.

Argentina and Uruguay, where the culture of public exchanges and spontaneous open discussions is at its most, appear to be the most appropriate places to organize this worldwide platform for debate. Alongside conference centers, workshops and activities of the Forum will also be organized in various places such as libraries, theaters, cultural spaces, which should contribute to give a very lively and positive atmosphere to the
Forum.

We realize that this postponement may create problems for certain participants
and apologize for the inconvenience. Therefore, fully committed to do our best to find adequate solutions to each problem, we invite those who may face difficulties to contact as soon as possible Mrs. Christine Allan (ifspworkshops@unesco.org; Tel: + 33 1 45 68 38 27; Fax: + 33 1 45 68 57 20).
We count upon your understanding and cooperation in this endeavor.

Yours sincerely,

Pierre Sané
Assistant Director-General of UNESCO
for Social and Human Sciences

Daniel Filmus
Minister of Education and Culture
Republic of Argentina

Estimado Sr./Sra.:

Por medio de la presente deseamos poner en su conocimiento que el Gobierno de la República de Argentina y la UNESCO han convenido aplazar la celebración del Foro Internacional sobre el Nexo entre Ciencias Sociales y Política, que estaba previsto del 5 al 9 de septiembre de 2005.

A la vista del extraordinario interés que ha suscitado el Foro en muchos países,
además de la necesidad de tener en cuenta los calendarios académicos y acontecimientos políticos previstos en diferentes regiones del mundo, se ha decidido, tras una amplia consulta con los miembros del Comité Internacional del Foro, así como con todos los organismos implicados, que el Foro Internacional sobre el Nexo entre Ciencias Sociales y Política tenga lugar del 20 al 24 de Febrero de 2006 en Buenos Aires, Rosario, Córdoba y Montevideo.

La UNESCO, el Gobierno de la República de Argentina y el Gobierno de la
República Oriental del Uruguay mantienen su compromiso de trabajar conjuntamente por el pleno éxito de este acontecimiento, con la más amplia participación posible de la comunidad internacional. Para ello, se ha creado un concepto innovador en la realización de su organización práctica, que esperamos contribuya a que el Foro sea un acontecimiento internacional excepcional y asegure su marcado carácter participativo. Argentina y Uruguay, países donde la cultura de los intercambios públicos y los debates abiertos y espontáneos está muy arraigada, parecen los lugares más idóneos para
organizar esta plataforma de debate mundial: paralelamente a eventos en centros de conferencias, talleres de trabajo y otras actividades propias del Foro, se organizarán encuentros en diferentes lugares, como librerías, teatros, centros culturales, etc. para que el Foro se desarrolle en el marco de un ambiente ameno y positivo.

Somos perfectamente conscientes de que este aplazamiento puede acarrear
problemas para algunos participantes y les rogamos tengan la amabilidad de disculparnos. Nos comprometemos, por lo tanto, a hacer lo que esté en nuestro poder para encontrar soluciones adecuadas a cada problema individual e invitamos a las personas que lo requieran a dirigirse a la brevedad posible a la Sra. Christine Allan (ifspworkshops@unesco.org; Tel: + 33 1 45 68 38 27; Fax: + 33 1 45 68 57 20).

Agradecemos de antemano su comprensión y colaboración en esta tarea y le renovamos la expresión de nuestra distinguida consideración.

Pierre Sané
Subdirector General para las
cias Sociales y Humanas,
UNESCO

Daniel Filmus
Ministro de Educación y Cultura
blica de Argentina


Madame,
Monsieur,

Nous souhaitons vous informer que le Gouvernement de la République
d’Argentine et l’UNESCO se sont accordés pour reporter le Forum International sur les Interfaces entre Politiques et Sciences Sociales initialement prévu du 5 au 9 septembre 2005.

En réponse à l’enthousiasme et l’immense intérêt démontrés pour ce Forum et en vue d’accommoder les calendriers académiques ainsi que les agendas politiques des différentes régions du monde, il a été décidé, après consultation des membres du Comité scientifique international pour le Forum et l’ensemble des partenaires, de tenir le Forum International sur les Interfaces entre Politiques et Sciences Sociales à Buenos Aires, Rosario, Cordoba et Montevideo du 20 au 24 février 2006.

L’UNESCO, le Gouvernement de la République d’Argentine et le Gouvernement
de la République orientale de l’Uruguay sont déterminés à assurer le plein succès et la meilleure participation de la communauté internationale à cet événement. C’est pourquoi, afin de faire de ce Forum un événement hors du commun et en vue de lui assurer un fort caractère participatif, un concept novateur d’organisation pratique est en train d’être développé. L’Argentine et l’Uruguay, où la culture de l’échange public et des discussions est prédominante, sont les lieux idéaux pour organiser cette plate-forme internationale de débat. En plus des centres de conférences traditionnels, des ateliers et des activités du Forum seront organisés dans divers tels que des librairies, théâtres, centres culturels, ce qui devrait contribuer à donner une atmosphère dynamique et positive au Forum.

Conscients que ce report est susceptible de créer des problèmes pour certains
participants, nous vous présentons toutes nos excuses pour toute gêne occasionnée. C’est pourquoi, déterminés à faire de notre mieux pour trouver une solution à chaque problème, nous invitons ceux qui seraient confrontés à quelconques difficultés à contacter, au plus vite, Mme Christine Allan (ifspworkshops@unesco.org; Tel: + 33 1 45 68 38 27; Fax: + 33 1 45 68 57 20).

Comptant sur votre compréhension et coopération, nous vous prions d’agréer,
Madame, Monsieur, l’assurance de ma considération distinguée.

Pierre Sané
Sous-directeur général de l’UNESCO
pour les Sciences sociales et humaines

Daniel Filmus
Ministre de l’Education et de la
Culture République d’Argentine

Posted by Evelin at 01:09 AM | Comments (0)
Conference on Emotion

You are invited to attend the first-ever Pre-Conference on Emotion,
preceding the January 2006 meeting of the Society for Personality and Social
Psychology (SPSP) in Palm Springs, CA.

The inaugural Emotion Pre-Conference is scheduled to begin on the evening of
January 25th and to continue during the day of the 26th. The meeting will
feature exciting symposia on current topics in affective science, chaired by
Ed Diener, Lisa Feldman Barrett, James Gross, Dacher Keltner, Richard
Robins, and June Tangney, and will also include a keynote address by Robert
Levenson and a poster session in which participants can present their work.
Registration information will follow in the coming months and will be posted
soon on the Pre-Conference website. In the meantime, please check out the
website for details on speakers and symposia, think about submitting a
poster, mark your calendars, and plan to attend!
www.emotionpreconference.org

Sincerely, your Pre-Conference organizer:
Jessica L. Tracy
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Department of Psychology
University of California, Davis
jltracy@ucdavis.edu

Posted by Evelin at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
FEN Announces Full Text from Risk Journal

The Financial Economics Network (FEN) and Social Science Research
Network (SSRN) are pleased to announce electronic access to the
following scholarly journal:

Journal of Risk

The full text papers from this journal will now be part of the SSRN
eLibrary on a pay-per-view basis. SSRN will provide announcements of
the individual papers through its 400+ email abstracting journals.
They can be accessed through the SSRN eLibrary search at
http://papers.ssrn.com or can be browsed directly at the following
SSRN URL:

Journal of Risk
http://www.ssrn.com/link/Journal-of-Risk.html
The Journal of Risk is the forum for research into financial risk
management. Edited by Philippe Jorion of the University of California
at Irvine, the Journal includes an expansive range of cutting edge
technical papers written by leading academics in the field and
peer-reviewed by a distinguished editorial board. As well as the
latest innovations on theoretical and empirical studies in financial
risk management covering the management of market and credit risk,
capital allocation and volatility estimation. Full text articles from
this journal will be available electronically for $28.

You may view the complete list of the Full Text journals on the Fee
Based Partner Publications page
http://www.ssrn.com/update/general/partners.html. They are also
included in the SSRN eLibrary on the SSRN Browse List in each of the
networks under Full-Text Journals http://ssrn.com/browse.

If you have any questions please call 877-SSRNHelp (877.777.6435).

-----------------------------------------

SSRN's eLIBRARY
SSRN's searchable electronic library contains abstracts, full
bibliographic data, and author contact information for more than
97,000 papers, approximately 51,000 authors, and full text for over
70,000 papers. The eLibrary can be accessed at http://papers.ssrn.com

Authors may upload papers to the eLibrary without charge through SSRN
User Headquarters at http://hq.ssrn.com All author-uploaded papers
are available for world-wide free downloading. Downloads from the
SSRN eLibrary are running at an annual rate of over 2.5 million, with
approximately 9 million downloads since inception.

SSRN's PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY
Searching on an individual's name in the author field on our search
page at http://papers.ssrn.com provides the best single professional
directory of scholars in accounting, economics, finance, law, and
management. Complete contact information for authors including email,
postal, telephone and fax information is available there.

SSRN'S MISSION
SSRN's objective is to provide worldwide distribution of research to
authors and their readers and to facilitate communication among them
at the lowest possible cost. In pursuit of this objective, we allow
authors to upload papers without charge. And any paper an author
uploads to SSRN is downloadable for free, worldwide.

SSRN reinvests all of the cash it receives (principally from
subscriptions to our abstracting journals and from institutions that
use SSRN to distribute their research papers), after servicing debt,
to enhance our services to authors and users. None of SSRN's academic
principals have been paid for the time they contribute to SSRN, nor
has SSRN ever paid a dividend to its shareholders. If the future
financial position allows it and it can be done without violating our
commitments to authors and users, SSRN plans to compensate its
principals for the time and capital they have contributed to SSRN.

Posted by Evelin at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)
AfricAvenir News, 5th August 2005

AfricAvenir News are kindly sent out by Eric Van Grasdorff:

Liebe/Liebe Freunde,

Am 21. August startet die von AfricAvenir mitorganisierte Filmreihe 'African Perspectives' wieder an gewohntem Ort im Filmtheater Hackesche Höfe mit der Kurzfilmserie 'Landscape of Memory'. Besonders hinzuweisen ist außerdem auf den Vortrag des Philosophen Prof. Dr. Emmanuel Eze am 11. August im Afrikahaus.

AFRICAVENIR NEWS UND VERANSTALTUNGEN

African Perspectives: Landscape of Memory
Im Rahmen der Filmreihe „African Perspectives“ lädt AfricAvenir in Kooperation mit der INISA und dem South African Club am Sonntag, den 21. August, um 17.15 Uhr zu einer Filmvorführung mit anschließender Diskussion ins Filmtheater Hackesche Höfe ein. Gezeigt wird die Kurzfilmreihe Landscape of Memory des Produzenten Don Edkins, bestehend aus vier Filmen zum Versöhnungsprozess im südlichen Afrika. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/08/161/african-perspectives-landscape-of-memory

Stratégies de survie des populations camerounaises dans une économie mondialisée
Du 5 au 15 septembre 2005 la fondation AfricAvenir organise un forum de dialogue intitulé “Stratégies de survie des populations camerounaises dans une économie mondialisée – du secteur informel au secteur formel- Comment nos populations s’en sortent-elles ou pas ?” Il s’agit, pendant dix jours, d’organiser des forums de dialogue et des palabres africaines, dans la tradition des débats de la Fondation AfricAvenir sur le sujet énoncé. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/07/152/strategies-de-survie-des-populations-camerounaises-dans-une-economie-mondialisee

Prinz Kum’ a Ndumbe III: Anthologie der deutschen Schriften
AfricAvenir und Exchange & Dialogue präsentieren die Anthologie der deutschen Schriften von Prinz Kum’ a Ndumbe III. Mit der Vorbestellung der 11-bändigen Anthologie unterstützen Sie auch die Etablierung eines neuen und unabhängigen Verlags (Exchange & Dialogue), der besonders afrikanische Autoren fördert. http://www.africavenir.com/exchange/publishing/anthologie.php

TIPPS UND LINKS

Johnny Gomas: Voice of the Working Class - A political biography by Doreen Musson
The increasing politicization of the oppressed and exploited masses of South Africa/Azania demands the constant re-writing and re-assessment of the past. New voices, muted until now, must be heard, and old fighters given their rightful place in the annals of struggle in this country. http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/sources/johnny-gomas/gomas-index.htm

Languages of Instruction for African Emancipation
This path-breaking collection of case studies from seven African countries poses questions such as: What alternatives are there for educational language policies towards African emancipation? What efforts have governments made to change the language policy in favour of African languages and how far have they succeeded? http://africavenir.com/news/2005/07/150/languages-of-instruction-for-african-emancipation

Reclaiming the Land
‘Reclaiming the Land’ brings together original investigations of the new generation of rural social movements in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Dispossessed peasants and unemployed workers have used land occupations and other tactics systematically to confront the neoliberal state. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/08/162/reclaiming-the-land

Universalism, Global Apartheid, and Justice
New interview-article on Polylog - Forum for Intercultural Philosophy: Ali A. Mazrui in Dialogue with Fouad Kalouche about globalization, eurocentric universalism and global Africa. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/08/160/universalism-global-apartheid-and-justice

Genocide, War Crimes and the West - History and Complicity
Genocide, War Crimes and the West expands the growing scholarly debate around genocide by exploring the involvement of the USA and other liberal ‘Western’ democracies in activities supposedly restricted to totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/08/158/genocide-war-crimes-and-the-west-history-and-complicity

Afrika und die deutsche Sprache
Zentrales Anliegen der Herausgeberinnen Susan Arndt und Antje Hornscheidt ist es, ein Bewusstsein dafür zu schaffen, dass Rassismus und Sprache eng miteinander verknüpft sind. Viele heute gebräuchliche Begriffe haben eine kolonialistisch geprägte, rassistisch wirkende Bedeutungsgeschichte, die auch heute noch zum Ausdruck kommt. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/08/157/afrika-und-die-deutsche-sprache

Postkoloniale Theorie. Eine kritische Einführung
Im deutschsprachigen Raum ist eine Einführung in das komplexe, interdisziplinäre Forschungsfeld der postkolonialen Theorie längst überfällig. Mit bemerkenswerter Klarheit werden die sperrigen Schriften von Gayatri Spivak und Homi Bhabha Nicht-Spezialisten zugänglich gemacht und eine nuancierte Sicht des in Deutschland vernachlässigten Werks von Edward Said vermittelt. Mit seiner souveränen Mischung aus Engagement und kritischer Distanz trägt der Band dazu bei, die verspätete Rezeption postkolonialer Theorien hierzulande voranzutreiben und nicht zuletzt zu versachlichen. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/07/154/postkoloniale-theorie-eine-kritische-einfuhrung

Comment dire l’infamie de l’esclavage ?... par Dénètem Touam Bona
L’esclavage des « noirs » n’a rien de « figuré » ! Il s’étend sur près de quatre siècles, saigne l’Afrique d’environ quinze millions de personnes, prend dans des colonies comme Saint-Domingue la dimension d’un véritable génocide (celle d’un « esclavage-mouroir » où le renouvellement de la population servile n’est assuré que par des arrivages continuels de navires négriers). Plus les exploitations esclavagistes sont grandes, plus la main d’œuvre est nombreuse, plus la traite s’accélère (les cargaisons de « bois d’ébène »), et moins la vie d’un « nègre » n’a de valeur. C’est la logique du marché, la loi de l’offre et de la demande : la valeur d’un produit - l’esclave est d’abord une marchandise - est fonction de son abondance ou de sa rareté. http://www.africultures.com/index.asp?menu=affiche_article&no=3918

The South African Communist Party in Exile 1963-1990 ...by Eddy Maloka...
The South African Communist Party is important in both the liberation history of South Africa of South Africa and the present-day government of the country. But its history remains largely shrouded in mystery, and is inaccessible to ordinary people. In this, Eddy Maloka attempts to shed light on a period of which comparatively little has been written... http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/specialprojects/menu.htm

WEITERE VERANSTALTUNGEN

Presentation by Prof. Dr. Emmanuel Eze on Philosophy, Science and the Principles of Cultural Reason
Prof. Dr. Emmanuel Eze will present a philosophical paper on Thursday 11 August at 20 hrs at the Afrika Haus, Bochumerstrasse 25, on the topic of “Philosophy, Science and the Principles of Cultural Reason”. The Gesellschaft für Afrikanische Philosophie is kindly inviting you to share this evening with us. Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze, Ph.D., Associate Professor, DePaul University, Chicago Emmanuel was educated at Fordham University in New York in addition to universities in Nigeria. He specializes in African Philosophical Thought, Social and Political Theory, Postcolonial Thought, Theories of Race and Racism, and Philosophy and Human Rights. He edited Race and the Enlightenment: A Reader (Blackwell 1997), Postcolonial African Philosophy: A Critical Reader (Blackwell 1998), and authored Achieving our Humanity: The Idea of the Postracial Future (Routledge, 2001). His recent articles have appeared in these journals: South Atlantic Quarterly, Journal of the History of Ideas, Telos, Soundings, Philosophical Papers, and Philosophia Africana. http://africavenir.com/news/2005/08/159/lecture-by-prof-dr-emmanuel-eze-on-philosophy-science-and-the-principles-of-cultural-reason

Simbabwe: Politische und humanitäre Dimensionen der Krise
vom 23. - 25. September 2005 veranstaltet die INISA zusammen mit der Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Baden-Württemberg ein Seminar zur aktuellen Situation in Simbabwe in Bad Urach (Nähe Stuttgart). Das vorläufige Seminarprogramm finden Sie hier als PDF. Anmeldungen sind ab sofort bei der Tagungsstätte möglich und ich wäre für die weitere Verbreitung des Programms sehr dankbar. http://www.inisa.de/index2.html

www.AfricAvenir.org
Wollen Sie Fördermitglied von AfricAvenir International e.V. werden?
Kontaktieren Sie Ann Kathrin Helfrich, Fon: 030-80906789, a.helfrich @ africavenir.org.

Redaktion des Newsletters: Eric Van Grasdorff, e.vangrasdorff @ africavenir.org
AfricAvenir International e.V. ist nicht für die Inhalte externer Webseiten verantwortlich.

Posted by Evelin at 09:19 AM | Comments (0)
2005-2006 Fellowships for Threatened Scholars Worldwide

2005-2006 Fellowships for Threatened Scholars Worldwide

Dear Friends,
Queridos Amigos,
Chers Amis,

Following please find an announcement concerning new fellowships for
threatened scholars. Scholars from any country and any field may qualify.
We invite you to nominate suitable candidates, and ask for your help in
forwarding the announcement to any academic colleagues who may be
interested. We are especially eager to identify candidates still facing
threats in their home country/region, who may not be aware of the program.
At the same time, we invite participation from universities and colleges
that might be willing to host fellowship recipients. We are especially
eager to identify universities and colleges outside of the US, especially
French, Spanish and Russian language institutions.

Adjunto se encuentra usted un anuncio de becas para académicos en riesgo.
Los académicos de cualquier país o área de especialización pueden
solicitar. Los invitamos a nominar candidatos y les pedimos compartir
este anuncio con colegas interesados. Estamos interesados en identificar
candidatos que se encuentren en riesgo actual en su país de origen y que
no están enterados del programa. A la vez, invitamos la participación de
las instituciones académicas dispuestas a recibir a los becarios de este
programa. Estamos especialmente interesados en identificar universidades
fuera de los Estados Unidos en instituciones superiores donde el idioma de
enseñanza esta en español, francés y ruso.

Veuillez trouver ci-dessous une annonce concernant les bourses destinées
aux professeurs, chercheurs et intellectuels indépendants dont la vie et
le travail sont menacés. Les intellectuels de tous pays et do tous
niveaux d'études peuvent être qualifiés. Nous vous invitons à nominer
plusieurs candidats et à diffuser cette annonce à vos collèges
susceptibles d'être intéressés. Nous souhaitons plus particulièrement
identifier des candidats qui subissent toujours les menaces et qui
ignorent l'existence de notre programme. Aussi, nous sollicitons la
participation des établissements universitaires qui seraient disposés à
accueillir les boursiers menacés, et en particulier les établissements en
dehors des États Unis dont la langue d'enseignement est le français,
l'espagnol ou le russe.

Thanks for your help,
Gracias por su ayuda,
Merci pour votre aide,

Rob Quinn
Executive Director
IIE Scholar Rescue Fund

------------------------------------------------------------------------
2005-2006 FELLOWSHIPS FOR THREATENED SCHOLARS
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scholar Rescue Fund Fellowships

The Institute of International Education's Scholar Rescue Fund provides
fellowships for scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home
countries. These fellowships permit scholars to find temporary refuge at
universities and colleges anywhere in the world, enabling them to pursue
their academic work and to continue to share their knowledge with
students, colleagues, and the community at large. When conditions improve,
these scholars will return home to help rebuild universities and societies
ravaged by fear, conflict and repression.

How the Scholar Rescue Fund Works:

* Academics, researchers and independent scholars from any country, field
or discipline may qualify. Preference is given to scholars with a Ph.D. or
other highest degree in their field; who have been employed in scholarly
activities at a university, college or other institution of higher
learning during the last four years (excluding displacement or
prohibition); who demonstrate superior academic accomplishment or promise;
and whose selection is likely to benefit the academic community in the
home and/or host country or region. Applications from female scholars and
under-represented groups are strongly encouraged.

* Universities, colleges and research centers in any country may apply to
serve as hosts.

* Applications and nominations should be made to the Fund's Selection
Committee. Institutions interested in hosting a particular scholar should
submit a letter with the scholar's application. Fellowships are awarded to
institutions for support of specific individuals, to be matched in most
cases by the institution or third-party. Fellowship recipients are
expected to continue their work in safety at the host
institution-teaching, lecturing, conducting research, writing and
publishing. Fellowships from 3 months to one calendar year will be
considered with up to 25 fellowships awarded annually. The maximum award
is US $20,000.

* Applications are accepted at any time. Emergency applications receive
urgent consideration. Non-emergency applications will be considered
according to the following schedule:
Fall 2005: Applications received by September 1; decision by November 1.
Winter 2006: Applications received by January 1; decision by March 1.
Spring 2006: Application received by April 1; decision by June 1.

To apply, please download the information and application materials
from: www.iie.org/srf/home

For additional information and to learn how your institution might host an
SRF scholar, contact:

IIE Scholar Rescue Fund Fellowships
809 U.N. Plaza, Second Floor
New York, New York 10017
Tel: (USA) 1-212-984-5472
Fax: (USA) 1-212-984-5401
E-mail: SRF@iie.org
Web: www.iie.org/SRF

Posted by Evelin at 06:17 AM | Comments (0)
New Book: Honour, Edited by Sara Hossain and Lynn Welchman

Honour Edited by Sara Hossain and Lynn Welchman
Crimes, Paradigms, and Violence Against Women

This book arises from the practical insights and experiences of individuals and organisations addressing so-called 'honour crimes' in different geographic and social contexts, including 'honour killin...

http://zedbooks.co.uk/titles/1%2084277%20626%206

Posted by Evelin at 03:40 AM | Comments (0)
New from the University of Pennsylvania Press

New in Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights
Prof. Bert Lockwood, Series Editor

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Crimes of the Holocaust
The Law Confronts Hard Cases
Stephan Landsman

The problem of prosecuting individuals complicit in the Nazi regime's "Final Solution" is almost insurmountably complex and has produced ever less satisfying results as time has passed. In Crimes of the Holocaust, Stephan Landsman provides detailed analysis of the International Military Tribunal prosecution at Nuremberg in 1945, the Eichmann trial in Israel in 1961, the 1986 Demanjuk trial in Israel, and the 1990 prosecution of Imre Finta in Canada. Landsman presents each case and elaborates the difficulties inherent in achieving both a fair trial and a measure of justice in the aftermath of heinous crimes. This volume will be compelling reading for legal scholars as well as laypersons interested in these cases and the issues they address.

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The Performance of Human Rights in Morocco
Susan Slyomovics

The Performance of Human Rights in Morocco is a unique distillation of politics, anthropology, and performance, offering both a clear picture of the present state of human rights and a vision of a possible future for public protest and dissidence in Morocco.

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The Pinochet Effect
Transnational Justice in the Age of Human Rights
Naomi Roht-Arriaza

"Naomi Roht-Arriaza has produced a modern day version of Hannah Arendt's classic Eichmann in Jerusalem. Although nonfiction, The Pinochet Effect reads like a novel, eloquently recounting the saga and consequences of one of the most important cases of our time."--Michael P. Scharf, author of Slobodan Milosevic on Trial

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Our address: 3905 Spruce Street
Philadelphia , Pennsylvania 19104-4112

Posted by Evelin at 11:27 PM | Comments (0)
Chicken Soup for the Soul - Stories for a Better World

Chicken Soup For the Soul - Stories for a Better World

August 2, 2005, Sara Spence of Milwaukee WI, wrote an original short story that has been published in the newly released Chicken Soup For the Soul - Stories for a Better World, the most recent and 101st book in the #1 NY Times best selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

This story is titled Pets Teach Peace. In 'Pets Teach Peace' Dr. Ian Harris and his wife Sara Spence share how nonviolence can be used with more than people for conflict resolution. They trained their family's dog by using verbal communication instead of physical force as a means of discipline.

It was selected from over a thousand of potential stories submitted to be included in Chicken Soup For the Soul - Stories for a Better World because of its ability to touch the hearts of one person so that that person can in turn touch the heart of another person, and so on down the line. As author Howard Zinn says, small acts multiplied by millions of people, can change the world.

Released on August 9, 2005, Chicken Soup For the Soul - Stories for a Better World is a unique and magical book that contains a very special collection of all new stories of inspiration, understanding and love all dedicated to making the world a better place. Within these pages you ll find true guidance on how to make the world a little better every day so that together, just maybe, we will all truly make a difference.

We all have a story to tell. The elderly relative of Linda K. Williams, one of the senior co-authors for this book, was murdered by a drug addict for her Social Security check. Instead of letting that terrible act beat her down, Linda turned her pain into a movement to put an end to senseless violence.

This is just one of the 101 Chicken Soup for the Soul - Better World moments. Every story isn t as dramatic as Linda s but each story, poem or cartoon arrives as a moment as timeless as a small child giving water to her thirsty puppy. Innocent love is a window into a better world. Sometimes that window is as simple as a smile. Each of the stories selected and presented here is intended to rekindle the sense of wonder you felt when you experienced those wonderful goose bumps of emotion for the first time.

The stories selected for this book will challenge you, inspire you, make you cry, and make you laugh. Most of all, these stories will encourage us to imagine how we can make our world a safe place for our children, help us learn ways to resolve conflicts without violence, and inspire all of us to strive for a world where every individual is treated with respect and compassion.

The Chicken Soup for the Soul books were first published in 1993 and quickly rose to number one on the New York Times bestseller list. With over 80 million copies sold and 65 titles in 37 languages, Chicken Soup for the Soul has made international publishing history and garnered numerous prestigious awards for creators, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. Canfield and Hansen are joined on this book with coauthors Candice C. Carter, Susanna Palomares, Linda K. Williams, and Bradley L. Winch.

Media kits, review copies and local author interviews available on request.

For more information please hit reply or call Linda K. Williams on 619-583-8454 or email her directly at lindawms @ sdcoe.k12.ca.us

Posted by Evelin at 02:32 PM | Comments (0)
Non-violent Strategies for Confronting Global Terrorism and for Promoting Peaceful Social Change

New Directions in Peace and Conflict Research:
Non-violent Strategies for Confronting Global Terrorism and for Promoting Peaceful Social Change
A CPS research conference, University of Tromsø, Norway, 7th-9th September 2005

Conference theme

The nature and political potential of non-violence continues to be a central concern of Peace Studies in general and of the Centre for Peace Studies (University of Tromsø) in particular. This conference aims to explore the possibilities of non-violence in the context of contemporary forms of violence, and social resistance and political activism.

The principal aims of the conference are to illuminate the research dimensions of these specific themes and more generally to examine the character and purpose of Peace Studies both as a multidisciplinary discipline and as a catalyst for non-violent social change.

As keynote speakers we have among others Professor Anat Biletzki, Chair of the Dep. of Philosophy, University of Tel Aviv, Israel, who will talk about "The language of Terrorism."

The presuppositions behind "Nonviolent Strategies for Confronting Global Terrorism: include the obvious existence of violent strategies for confronting global terrorism, but also the consensual perception of terrorism itself as being violent, the idea that there is such a thing as global terrorism, and, finally, the dichotomy between terrorism and its enemies. My suggestion in this talk is that these presuppositions are fallacious, at worst, and facile and rhetorically cynical, at best.

Professor Anat Biletzki

Submission information
Extendet deadline:
Abstracts of proposed papers: August 12th 2005.
Registration fee: 1200,- NOK (regular) 600,- (students)
See our web page for further details http://uit.no/cps/
Place: Campus University of Tromsø
Contact: Conference Coordinator Line N. Sandanger, linsan@sv.uit.no

---------------------------------------------
Line N. Sandanger
Conference coordinator
Senter for fredsstudier
SV-fak, Uitø, 9037 Tromsø
Tlf.: 776 46304
e-post: linsan@sv.uit.no
www.peace.uit.no
----------------------------------------------

Posted by Evelin at 12:49 AM | Comments (0)
Linking & Learning Programme on ESC Rights for the Latin America Region

- Linking & Learning Programme on ESC Rights for the Latin America Region -

Social Watch and Dignity International are pleased to announce that the application procedure to the Linking & Learning Programme on ESC Rights for the Latin America Region that will take place in Uruguay, from 7 to 15 November 2005 is now open. A limited number of full and partial scholarships can be made available.

You can apply by filling the application form attached and sending it, before 5 September, to: curdesc@socialwatch.org

Below you will find all information related to the programme and the Information Document and the Application form are attached. Information is also available at the Social Watch and Dignity International websites.

Thank you for your interest,
All the best,
Graciela Dede, Social Watch
Simone Andrade, Dignity International

** ** ** **

- Linking & Learning Programme on ESC Rights for the Latin America Region -
7 to 15 Novembre 2005 – Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
Organisers: Social Watch and Dignity International
In partnership with: COHRE – Americas Programme and DECA Equipo Pueblo
With the support of: Primate’s World Development
And the Auspices of: Ministry of Education and Culture of Uruguay and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay

For the first time, Social Watch and Dignity International organise this programme in Latin America, with the objective of equiping selected participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to integrate human rights in their daily work

The programme is aimed at activists from social and economic justice movements and at those working directly with persons living in poverty. The programme will bring together ‘catalysts’ from different countries of Latin America. These persons will be in a position to spread knowledge and skills they have acquired from the programme and to introduce/implement what they have acquired within their own organisations or environment.

Summary of the programme:

This Regional Linking & Learning Programme is organised with the conviction that a human rights framework by empowering the poor and their movements will contribute to establishing the primacy of dignity of individuals over trade and markets and ensure adoption of effective policies and programmes by governments for eradication of poverty.

The Linking & Learning Programme for the Latin American region is being organised in response to repeated demands from the region over the past 3 years. It follows directly from the achievements of the Annual Global Linking & Learning Programme on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, organised since 2002, by Dignity International in partnership with Forum-Asia and the International Human Rights Internship Program and by the International Network for ESC Rights (ESCR-Net), and which counts on the support of NOVIB (OXFAM Netherlands) and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

For the Information Document (in English), please see: http://www.dignityinternational.org/A/P1/cursoDESC_documento_informativo.pdf (Spanish)
http://www.dignityinternational.org/A/P1/cursoDESC­_informative_document.pdf (English)

For the Application form, please see: http://www.dignityinternational.org/A/P1/cursoDESC_formulario_inscripcion.doc

Documents also available for download at: www.socialwatch.org

If you have difficulties accessing the documents from the website and would like the documents to be sent via e-mail, please send a mail to: curdesc@socialwatch.org

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 5 SEPTEMBER 2005

Posted by Evelin at 12:29 AM | Comments (0)
NATO Research Workshop on Social and Psychological Factors in the Genesis of Terrorism

NATO Research Workshop on Social and Psychological Factors in the Genesis of Terrorism, September 14-17, 2005 in Italy!

ISPP member Jeff Victoroff (University of Southern California) is pleased to announce that NATO is sponsoring an Advanced Research Workshop titled "Social and Psychological Factors in the Genesis of Terrorism." The meeting will take place September 14-17th at Castelvecchio Pascoli, Italy--a lovely resort in the hills between Florence and Pisa.

All ISPP members interested in this area are urged to attend. Participants will have a chance to help shape NATO policy as we attempt to reach a preliminary consensus on psychologically-informed responses to the threat of substate terrorism.

To receive the official announcement, the full program, and travel information, send a brief email request to victorof@usc.edu, or see http://ispp.org/announcements.html.

Radell Roberts
ISPP Central Office Coordinator

Posted by Evelin at 05:42 AM | Comments (0)
Army Bullying Probe

Film leads to Army bullying probe
Story from BBC NEWS

The Army has begun an investigation into the training of young recruits after the BBC obtained video footage.

Amateur film by a soldier at the Army's School of Infantry in Catterick last year appears to show a soldier putting his boot on a recruit's neck.

Anti-bullying campaigner Lynn Farr said the "fine line" between discipline and abuse is "crossed over far too much".

Last month the MoD accepted there had to be a complete change of culture in the training of recruits.

It followed a House of Commons committee report which criticised the MoD for failing in its "duty of care" towards young soldiers.

Please read the entire article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/4739955.stm

Posted by Evelin at 02:52 AM | Comments (0)
Poverty a Killer for Australian Children, Article in The Age

Hilarie Roseman kindly made us aware of the following article:

Poverty a killer for Australian children
By Janelle Miles
August 1, 2005
The Age

About 1500 Australian children aged 14 and under die each year because of socioeconomic disadvantage, researchers say.

Death rates among Australian children rise in association with worsening levels of disadvantage, the academics report in the latest Medical Journal of Australia.

In a combined literature review and opinion piece, Karen Zwi and Richard Henry, of the University of NSW, said despite Australia's material wealth, many indicators of health and wellbeing in children were discouraging.

For example, they said 15 per cent of four to 12-year-olds had emotional or behavioural problems and a third of deaths in children aged one to four were from preventable causes — such as drownings, car accidents and assaults.

"Preschoolers from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to experience developmental delay, injuries and hospitalisations and are less likely to have been breastfed, to be fully immunised and to attend good quality child care," they wrote.

Advertisement
Advertisement"Adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds are at higher risk of poor literacy, behaviour disorders, unwanted pregnancy and attempted suicide.

"It has been calculated that each year in Australia, 1500 deaths of children aged 0-14 years can be attributed to socioeconomic disadvantage."

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that suicide rates in young Australian men have quadrupled in the past 30 years.

The researchers said it appeared that adverse environments in early life, combined with a child's genetic and temperamental predisposition, brought biological changes that affected coping, resilience and health as an adult. "This creates some pressure on society to 'get it right', as children in adverse circumstances are being programmed in a way that sets patterns of health for later life," they wrote.

About 20 per cent of Australian children were deemed to have suffered poverty during 1995 to 1997, based on the most stringent definition.

The researchers said developing social capital — described as cohesion in communities, a sense of belonging and involvement in community affairs — might be a key way to improve a child's health outcomes.

"Social capital represents the degree to which people feel they can request assistance from their neighbours, allow their children to play outside in safety, and participate in community activities," they wrote. "Social capital results in independent improvements in health indicators: higher behavioural scores in children, reduced school drop-out rates, less criminality, and lower smoking rates among women.

"A systematic review of the qualitative evidence suggests that good family relationships, friendships and neighbourhood networks help to mitigate the impact of disadvantage on the wellbeing of children and young people."

The researchers suggested the marginalisation of certain groups, such as Aborigines and asylum seekers, might be undermining social capital.

"It has been argued that 'institutional racism' is inherent in our health services, and takes the form of inadequate funding … inequitable Medicare primary health care spending on indigenous groups, lack of access to Medicare for some asylum seekers and culturally insensitive health services," they said.

They have suggested early intervention and home visiting programs to improve child health outcomes.

Posted by Evelin at 02:05 AM | Comments (0)
Endogenous versus Exogenous Origins of Crises by Didier Sornette

Endogenous versus Exogenous Origins of Crises

by Didier Sornette

SHORT SUMMARY:
Analysis of precursory and aftershock properties of shocks and ruptures in finance, material rupture, earthquakes, amazon.com sales, etc: we find ubiquitous power laws similar to the Omori law in seismology that allow us to distinguish between external shocks and endogenous self-organization.

LONG SUMMARY:
Self-organized criticality, and more generally, complex system theory contend that out-of-equilibrium slowly driven systems with threshold dynamics relax through a hierarchy of avalanches of all sizes. Accordingly, extreme events are seen to be endogenous, in contrast with previous prevailing views. But, how can one assert with 100% confidence that a given extreme event is really due to an endogenous self-organization of the system, rather than to the response to an external shock? Most natural and social systems are indeed continuously subjected to external stimulations, noises, shocks, sollications, forcing, which can widely vary in amplitude. It is thus not clear a priori if a given large event is due to a strong exogenous shock, to the internal dynamics of the system, or maybe to a combination of both. Adressing this question is fundamental for understanding the relative importance of self-organization versus external forcing in complex systems.

This question, whether distinguishing properties characterize endogenous versus exogenous shocks, permeates many systems, for instance, biological extinctions such as the Cretaceous/Tertiary KT boundary (meteorite versus extreme volcanic activity versus self-organized critical extinction cascades), commercial successes (progressive reputation cascade versus the result of a well orchestrated advertisement), immune system deficiencies (external viral/bacterial infections versus internal cascades of regulatory breakdowns), the aviation industry recession (9/11 versus structural endogenous problems), discoveries (serendipity versus the outcome of slow endogenous maturation processes), cognition and brain learning processes (role of external inputs versus internal self-organization and reinforcements) and recovery after wars (internally generated (civil wars) versus imported from the outside) and so on. In economics, endogeneity versus exogeneity has been hotly debated for decades. A prominent example is the theory of Schumpeter on the importance of technological discontinuities in economic history. Schumpeter argued that ``evolution is lopsided, discontinuous, disharmonious by nature... studded with violent outbursts and catastrophes... more like a series of explosions than a gentle, though incessant, transformation''. Endogeneity versus exogeneity is also paramount in economic growth theory. Our analysis suggests a subtle interplay between exogenous and endogenous shocks which casts a new light on this debate.

We study the precursory and recovery signatures accompanying shocks in complex networks, that we have tested on a unique database of the Amazon sales ranking of books and on time series of financial volatility. We find clear distinguishing signatures classifying two types of sales peaks. Exogenous peaks occur abruptly and are followed by a power law relaxation, while endogenous sales peaks occur after a progressively accelerating power law growth followed by an approximately symmetrical power law relaxation which is slower than for exogenous peaks. These results are rationalized quantitatively by a simple model of epidemic propagation of interactions with long memory within a network of acquaintances in the case of the Amazon data and by the ``multifractal random walk'' model in the case of the financial volatility time series. The slow relaxation of sales implies that the sales dynamics is dominated by cascades rather than by the direct effects of news or advertisements, indicating that the social network is close to critical.

Please see related articles at http://www.ess.ucla.edu/faculty/sornette/essay_endogenous.asp#endogenous

Posted by Evelin at 01:45 AM | Comments (0)
The Common Ground News Service, August 2, 2005

Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
August 2, 2005

The Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab World and countries with predominately Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, all copyright permissions have been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and CGNews, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

**********

ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

1. "Here's what America can do to be loved by Muslims" by Craig Charney
Craig Charney, president of Charney Research, explains why one graying 60 year old with a pencil mustache Egyptian said, "I wish it would get back to what it was. I used to love America." He uses research to demonstrate that the United States really can change its image in the minds of Muslims worldwide.
(Source: Daily Star, July 25, 2005)

2. "Terror shifts Muslim views" by Dan Murphy
Dan Murphy, staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor, explains what leads Mohammed Mahdi Akef, the Supreme Guide of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to begin by saying "I can never agree to the American occupation and the US ability to impose its will on the region" and conclude "But I can't support a resistance that commits so many crimes. Each seems as bad as the other."
(Source: The Christian Science Monitor, July 26, 2005)

3. "Women politicians or pseudo men?" by Ghada Karmi
Ghada Karmi, a Palestinian political activist based in London and the author of In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story, worries that the issue of women's rights "[like] so many others, has become one of the Arab world versus the West." She challenges women not merely to emulate men, but to bring with them a new perspective that is so needed in today's world.
(Source: bitterlemons-international.org, July 28, 2005)

4. ~YOUTH VIEWS~ "Why U.S. Public Diplomacy Failed in the Arab World" by
Nancy El-Gindy
Nancy El-Gindy, a student at the American University in Cairo and a former participant in the Soliya Arab-American online dialogue program, evaluates post 9/11 US public diplomacy efforts in the Arab World and takes a stab at explaining where they went wrong.
(Source: CGNews-PiH, August 2, 2005)

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ARTICLE 1
Here's what America can do to be loved by Muslims
Craig Charney
(Source: Daily Star, July 25, 2005)


Picture this: eight angry Egyptian men in a Cairo focus group venting rage at all things American for an hour. Then a graying 60 year old with a pencil mustache sighed, saying: "I wish it would get back to what it was. I used to love America." His words pointed to something surprising we learned from 14 recent focus groups in Egypt, Morocco and Indonesia: many Muslims could change their minds about America.

The research showed that the United States can improve its image in the Muslim world, despite the widespread anti-Americanism there. Perceptions matter. Muslims do not hate Americans for "who we are" or "what we do;" they are angry at what they perceive the U.S. has done in Iraq, the war on terrorism, Palestine, and to Muslims in American. Moreover, they continue to admire the U.S. in the domains where their countries need help, but most are unaware of the large and growing U.S. aid programs in these areas.

Awareness is growing of the dangers posed to the U.S. by anti-American sentiment in Muslim countries. These feelings aid terrorist recruitment, diminish America's ability to promote reform in Muslim countries, and threaten U.S. business, troops and tourists. These concerns were underscored by the choice of Karen Hughes, one of U.S. President George W. Bush's closest associates, to head the State Department's public diplomacy efforts. The Muslim world may always hate and love America, but her appointment suggests Washington wants to swing the balance in its favor.

Our findings showed that the keys to a new U.S. dialogue with the Muslim world are a humbler tone, a focus on partnership with local initiatives, and a sustained effort with major resources. When Muslims knew of U.S. help on issues that matter to them, like tsunami relief in Indonesia or women's rights in Morocco, it made a real difference. So did facts on other U.S. aid programs. As they heard them, many agreed with the Moroccan man who declared: "If these things are true, we would be friends of the U.S.!"

It was no news that Egyptians, Moroccans and Indonesians are hostile to America and U.S. power. They associated the U.S. with "blood" and "domination," called it "ferocious" and "manipulative," and gave Bush uniformly bad marks. Anger spilled over from U.S. policy to American firms and citizens. Such perceptions were based on information about America chiefly drawn from highly critical television stations, such as Al-Jazeera, the largest Arabic-language satellite network.

Yet Muslims are still impressed by the U.S., even if grudgingly. An older Indonesian woman said: "We hate its arrogance, but like the positive aspects." These included America's economy, schools and legal institutions, areas where the groups most wanted help for their own countries, tempering their anger against America. They felt that, as a 20-something Jakarta woman put it: "Despite the drawbacks, we need America."

U.S. assistance, however, has become all but invisible to Muslim audiences. Older Cairo residents remembered bags of grain with the U.S. Agency for International Development handshake logo from their youth, but are unaware that lately America has provided low-pollution buses and family planning clinics. "Now we don't see any of this," said a 50-year-old woman with a headscarf. Egyptians put U.S. aid to Egypt over the last 10 years in the millions; they reacted with disbelief when told it was $7.3 billion.

But when Muslims learned of U.S. efforts to help them, the impact was positive. After the massive U.S. relief program for victims of the Asian tsunami, follow-up groups in Jakarta in January voiced appreciation and were less hostile to America than those a month before. Similarly, the U.S. has vigorously backed reform of the family code and increased women's political participation in Morocco, and women there were the only ones in the study who said that America's message was not force, but democracy. As information was provided about other aid programs in the groups, reactions were similar to that of the Egyptian woman who said: "If it's helping us, we'll thank them!"

Yet if America is to have a new conversation with the Islamic world, this depends not just on saying something new, but on how America says it. The groups rejected with scorn claims that the Bush administration was working for the good of the Islamic world by fighting terror and promoting democracy and reform. Defending U.S. military action and presenting America as a force driving change angered them. (A young Jakarta woman wrote on a mock postcard to the White House, "Dear President Bush: Please help us with our economy but let us run our country!") In contrast, a more modest U.S. perspective based on listening, backing Muslim initiatives for democracy and growth, and agreeing to disagree over the war on terrorism, won wide support.

The groups also showed that Muslims will listen to what America says about their own lands only if the U.S. can agree to disagree over contentious issues like Iraq or Afghanistan, which provoked rage that shut down the dialogue whenever they were mentioned. The fate of Iraq and Afghanistan will in any event chiefly depend on their own citizens' views, not external opinion. If the main U.S. interest in other Islamic countries, like Indonesia, Morocco, or Egypt, is helping them reform, it must tolerate disagreements over its more controversial policies elsewhere.

As an older Casablanca man in a suit put it: "We have to recognize, there are things we agree on and disagree on."

To reach Muslims, America should vigorously engage local and regional news media - including Al-Jazeera - and also purchase paid advertising. However, changing the current situation will require major efforts and resources for an extended period. America's image problem took years to develop and won't end quickly.

Of course, there are limits to even the best communications efforts. Attitudes will be influenced by events the U.S. cannot control, as the recent storm over the Koran desecration story showed. Yet while Muslims care about what happens elsewhere in the Islamic world, the focus groups also showed that America's relationship with the respondents' own countries matters just as much. A sea change in attitudes may be impossible, but we saw that real progress can be made in opening Muslim minds about the U.S.

The U.S. now has a window of opportunity to reach out to the Islamic world, thanks to a series of developments this year that have improved the atmosphere. These included the Iraqi elections, renewed hopes for Israeli-Palestinian peace, Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon, and the possibility of a multi-candidate presidential election in Egypt, as well as the tsunami relief campaign.

The challenge for the U.S. now is to reach people like the Egyptian woman who said: "America is like this great guy who every once in a while does something immature and you begin to hate him." She was mad when she said it. But she was smiling, too.

###
* Craig Charney is president of Charney Research, a New York polling firm. His study of how America can respond to Muslim anti-Americanism, "A New Beginning: Strategies for a More Fruitful Dialogue with the Muslim World," was recently published by the Council on Foreign Relations. He wrote this commentary for THE DAILY STAR.
Source: The Daily Star, July 25, 2005
Visit the Daily Star, www.dailystar.com.lb.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 2
Terror shifts Muslim views
Dan Murphy

CAIRO - When the American invasion of Iraq began, Adel al-Mashad and his activist comrades sprang into action.

The next day they helped organize an antiwar protest in Cairo that brought tens of thousands of Egyptians onto the streets; it evolved into the biggest public attack on President Hosni Mubarak's rule since he came to power in 1981.

Mr. Mashad says that protest, which tied the anger at the US invasion to the aspirations for democratic change at home, is one of his proudest moments.

But that was March 20, 2003. Today, the voices of Mashad and activists in other Arab capitals are largely mute when it comes to Iraq.

They still fervently oppose the US presence. But they are increasingly put off by the brutal tactics used by the insurgency against civilians. Similarly, many Muslims are angry over the tactics used by terrorists in the name of Islam.

Among the manifestations of this shift in public attitudes:
* On Sunday, about 1,000 Egyptians, mostly hotel workers, marched through Sharm el-Sheikh, where a weekend bombing killed scores of people, chanting: "There is no God but God; terrorism is the enemy of God."
* In Pakistan, an Islamist call for nationwide protests against a crackdown on militants fell flat Friday with rallies drawing just a few hundred people.
* A recent Pew poll showed a decline in public support for suicide bombings in Muslim countries (see chart).

Mashad says he's been appalled by recent incidents in Iraq, such as the suicide attacks that killed 25 children receiving candy from US soldiers two weeks ago, and more than 50 Iraqis in a separate incident near a Shiite mosque.

And with suicide attacks on civilians spreading to places like Egypt, with 88 killed in the country's worst terrorist attack Saturday, he and many others are asking how one can honorably oppose American foreign policy without lending support to brutal tactics.

"The people fighting in Iraq, we don't know them and it's hard to be comfortable with them,'' he says. "We want to support the Iraqi people, but the situation now is so complicated and confused, and there's so much that happens that simply can't be tolerated. You ask me who do we support, and the answer is: It's hard to say."

Recent weeks have seen an outpouring of concern and condemnation of the culture of suicide terror.

In a talk given in Los Angeles last Friday, Maher Hathout, a senior adviser to the US Muslim Public Affairs Council, an organization that opposed the US invasion of Iraq, condemned suicide bombings. He spoke of a "perversion" of Islam as having affected the men who attacked London. "Somehow, some person [made] them swallow the bait that transformed them into [being] willing to blow themselves up and take with them innocent lives that God created," he said. "So many hearts that were supposed to be opened are closed; so many minds that could have been guided by the light of Islam have been confused."

"Confusion" is now the operative word for millions of Arabs, alarmed by the daily suicide attacks on civilians in Iraq, Europe, and now Egypt.

That has left secular activists like Mr. Mashad, an electrical engineer with a small contracting business, and some Islamists in the position of condemning both the US and the tactics used against US and Iraqi soldiers. "These are the tactics of extremists who are against democracy,'' he says.

Still, many Arabs continue to make distinctions between "legitimate" resistance that targets American forces and the "illegitimate" resistance that has become common in Iraq.

"There are both resistance fighters and terrorists," says Mahmud Kaswani, who runs a small store in Damascus. "The resistance has a right to continue to fight. [But] the people who are killing civilians - they are the terrorists.... I am against anybody who kills civilians - even British or American civilians."

But there are those who see attacks on civilians as a necessary component of an asymmetric war. Ayman Samarra, who sells scarves and robes in Damascus, says he supports the expansion of terror tactics to places like London. Iraq "was a safe country and now ... it is turning into a civil war. This is what America did. Everybody is against the Arabs. The bombings in London - things like this have to happen because before the war in Iraq, there were hundreds of protests and nobody listened."

Mohammed Mahdi Akef, the Supreme Guide of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, has repeatedly said killing civilians "contradicts religion and its laws." But he has tempered his criticism by saying the US and its allies bear some of the blame.

Mashad remembers thinking that a nationalist Iraqi resistance would quickly emerge after the US invasion, focused on getting America out of Iraq and creating a democracy. Just as his organization had organized material and political support for Palestinian groups fighting Israel, he envisioned similar efforts on behalf of the national Iraqi resistance.

Instead, he sees the insurgency in Iraq as mostly religious extremists and former supporters of Saddam Hussein who want to restore dictatorship to Iraq. Were that to happen, the interests of democracy in the region would be hurt as badly as it has been by, in his view, an illegal US invasion to impose its views on Arabs from the outside.

"I can never agree to the American occupation and the US ability to impose its will on the region," he says. "But I can't support a resistance that commits so many crimes. Each seems as bad as the other."

###
* Rhonda Roumani in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report by Dan Murphy, staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor, July 26, 2005
Visit the Christian Science Monitor at www.csmonitor.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright belongs to the Christian Science Monitor. To request permission to reprint, please contact Lawrenced@csps.com.

**********

ARTICLE 3
Women politicians or pseudo men?
Ghada Karmi

A friend of mine, an American woman very active in advocating for the Palestinian cause, met the late President Yasser Arafat not long before he was taken to Paris on his last journey.

Arafat was always very sympathetic toward women's causes. It is well known that no one representing women's rights organizations would ever leave a meeting with Abu Ammar empty handed. It was perhaps therefore especially poignant that before my friend left him, he confided in her his two greatest fears for the future should he die. One was what would happen to religious pluralism. The other was the issue of women's rights.

In the Arab world today, the issue of women's rights has become something of a political football. It is not just a matter of modernity versus traditionalism, or secular versus Islamist; the issue, as so many others, has become one of the Arab world versus the West.

This is extremely unfortunate. The issue of women's rights is one of equality, not emulation, whether emulation of the West or emulation of men. But perhaps it would be useful to look at the experience of our sisters in the West to see what could be used and what should be avoided.

Back in the 1960s, female politicians in the West were focused very much on women's rights. This is no longer the case. Instead, women politicians behave more and more like pseudo men. Two examples spring readily to mind. In Britain, Margaret Thatcher very ably beat men at their own game to become prime minister and earn the reputation as an Iron Lady. In the United States today, Hilary Clinton is the most prominent female politician, and one often spoken of as a potential future president. She has become so by playing a male game better than her male competitors.

But if women are to enter politics merely to do what men do, the question is, why bother? After all, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the course of history was charted by men playing men's games by men's rules. Men's tendency to resolve conflict with violence is what has led to the frequency of war, the building of many walls and the state of the world today.

There are many women in politics today. There are a fair number of women in Arab parliaments, the Palestinian Legislative Council a notable example. But the presence of women in the halls of power is not sufficient. That is mere tokenism. What matters is the effect of that presence.

I don't want to pay flippant lip service to feminism. When we talk about equality we must talk about equality of opportunity rather than equivalence. The real reason women should be engaged in politics at all levels is not to emulate men but to bring a unique feminine weltanschauung to bear on the decision-making process.

This has never been tried. The only example I can think of where exclusively female action led to political change comes from literature. In Aristophanes' Lysistrata, the women, exasperated by their men's unwillingness to resolve an age-old conflict, decided to withhold matrimonial privileges until the menfolk agreed to end their conflict. Not surprisingly, it worked.

Arab women are several steps behind their sisters in the West with regards to claiming their rights. Insofar as it forces Arab women to focus on the issue of what their rights are, this is not a bad thing. That loss of focus in the West has led to confusion. Equal rights mean being able to bring your own perspective to bear. It does not mean doing what men do, and how they do it.

And if ever there was a time when a new perspective and a new weltanshauung was needed in politics, whether in the Middle East or globally, it surely is now.

###
* Ghada Karmi is a Palestinian political activist based in London and the author of In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story.
Source: Bitterlemons-international.org, July 28, 2005
Visit Bitterlemons at Bitterlemons-international.org.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

ARTICLE 4 - YOUTH VIEWS
Why U.S. Public Diplomacy Failed in the Arab World
Nancy El-Gindy

At the Foreign Press Center podium in Washington, three weeks after 9/11, stood Ms. Beers, chairman and CEO of J. Walter Thompson Worldwide and Ogilvy & Mather, one of the biggest public relations agency in the United States, and recently appointed Undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs, responding to a question about whether there will be a "poster child, man or woman" to represent America abroad. Interestingly enough, Ms. Beers exclaimed: "Well you know, in a way, our poster people are President Bush and Secretary Powell, whom I think are pretty inspiring symbols of the brand, the United States."

This unusual exchange was, perhaps not unexpectedly, mocked and ridiculed with questions such as: "Is it possible to sell Uncle Sam the way you sell Uncle Ben?"

Ms. Beers and Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, outlined their program at a press conference in 2001, concentrating on the Middle East.

The plan included schemes such as using charming and important American athletes, celebrities or singers to spread the message, direct interaction with Muslim journalists, interviews with Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld or then National Security advisor Condoleezza Rice on Al Jazeera, Middle East Broadcasting or Lebanese Broadcasting, and banner ads on websites designed to tease Arab net users into coming to view websites full of inspiring information on Muslim life in America.

Not only did they discuss the newly acquired marketing plan for project America, but also explained how they would defend American policies and values. The word "freedom," Beers stated, would be defined and communicated to the outside world better, in order for those who don't have it to understand what it represents in the "land of the free." In turn, Boucher stated that they were going to do all they could to stand up for and explain U.S policy, because they believed they were doing the right thing.

Though this plan seemed polished enough to put into action, the shine of the polish seemed to blind them to all its huge flaws. It was thus no surprise to anyone when the widely publicized effort was a tremendous flop, and Beers resigned "for health reasons" in March, 2003. Said one anonymous official, "Nothing she did worked."

According to research from the Pew Global Attitudes Project, Mr. Bush Jr., who Ms. Beers believed to be the perfect 'poster man' of the values of the United States to overseas audiences, had horrible ratings in the Muslim world. From Morocco to Pakistan, Bush received disapproval rates of 60 to 90 percent.

The problem with Beers' response was of course that it was "who I think" not "who the general foreign public thinks" represents the best of America. Clearly having Bush as the "poster man" of the United States in the Muslim world did not contribute to a positive outcome.

Rather than try to better understand the grievances of Arab people against various policies, Mr. Boucher also clearly stated that they would continue to embrace such policies even though it is these political actions that are at the heart of the growing gap between the West and the Muslim world.

Results from a poll conducted by the Arab American Institution found 75 to 86 percent of people all around the Arab world blamed American policy - not American values - for their attitudes toward the U.S. For the most part, Muslims around the world understand and respect American values.

The Beer/Boucher strategy of speaking about the 'war on terrorism' and convincing Muslims that U.S policies are justified faced insurmountable odds anyway, since recent polls have shown that Muslims do not trust the U.S and its war on terror, not to mention its unshakeable support for Israel's actions at the expense of the Palestinians.

All that aside, the program's most significant flaw was probably that the main components of their public diplomacy strategy were not aimed at the right audience. By using the internet, celebrities and singers, and Al Jazeera, they were not targeting the audience who they had the greatest interest in reaching.

There have been many studies on the background of terrorists. Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim's, who interviewed Islamic extremists' detainees after attacking the Egyptian Military Academy in 1974 concluded that they were all from the middle and lower classes.

Another study by Albert Hourani on the growth of the Muslim Brotherhood in the late 1930's, also suggested that 'terrorists' or extremists usually emerge from the same social milieu.

Hence, using celebrities and the internet would not have been effective. Such programs will probably only exert influence over the minority upper educated class who, despite their opposition to U.S policies, are usually not involved in such radical activities.

If the U.S. intends to make another attempt at strengthening its public diplomacy efforts, possibly the best strategy would be to restructure the State Department's efforts so they reach the lower classes through the use of respected and trusted religious leaders and authority figures in small towns to spread moderate teachings of Islam and denounce the use of violence for political ends.

This technique will most likely be the best way to reach out to the people of the Middle East since a war on terrorism should be constructed to prevail over extremist ideologies that approve of violence for political purposes rather than simply celebrating American values and policies, as the former are already well-understood by Arab elites and the latter not always appreciated by Muslims of all classes in the Middle East.

###

* Nancy El-Gindy is a student at the American University in Cairo and a former participant in the Soliya Arab-American online dialogue program.
Source: Written for Search for Common Ground - CGNews-PiH, August 2, 2005
Visit Search for Common Ground at www.sfcg.org.
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

**********

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ObsMedia News Update, August 2005

AMARC ObsMedia News Update for August 2005

August 2, 2005

***********

Welcome to ObsMedia's monthly electronic update.
The AMARC international media observatory, ObsMedia, monitors community media development worldwide and reports on the progress of governments in opening up their airwaves to community media and civil society access to broadcasting.

Community media recognition is an important factor in the development of a truly inclusive Information Society. AMARC advocates for the recognition of community media as a new tiers of communication. As well, the organization calls for the recognition of communication rights and the right to communicate, as well as access to radio spectrum worldwide.

We encourage you to contribute to the development of ObsMedia by submitting information related to community media in your area. To do so, please write to obsmedia@amarc.org. ObsMedia is currently available in English ( obsmedia@amarc.org ) and Spanish (http://alc.amarc.org/legislaciones.) But contributions in French are encouraged.

The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) is an international non-governmental organization serving the community radio movement. AMARC represents the interests of more than 3,000 community radio stations in over 110 countries. For more information, please visit the AMARC's Web site at http://www.amarc.org

NEWS

Sandwiched between a hostile regime and armed Maoist rebels, journalists in Nepal are facing harassment and torture.

July 31, 2005. Deepak Adhikari returned to his small newspaper office from a story assignment one day in February to find his three journalistic staff had been hauled off by the military. He phoned the barracks and was told to come down and get them, but when he arrived he was himself blindfolded and taken to a small, blood-spattered bunker where he was held and tortured for the next eight days.

First independent Palestinian news agency receives license

Palestine, 28 July 2005. The Palestine News Network, as the first operational independent Palestinian news agency, received the first official license in the West Bank from the PA Ministry of Information this week.

AMARC Calls for Solidarity with Community and Independent Radios in Nepal

Nepal, July 17, 2005. The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), called today for a global solidarity campaign in favor of freedom of expression and communication rights of the Community and independent Radio Stations of Nepal.

Gender and ICT Issues at Women's World Congress

Korea, July 18, 2005. Gender and ICT advocates from all world regions joined some 2,000 other women activists at the Women's Worlds Congress 2005 - the 9TH International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women - held at Ewha University in Seoul, Korea, June 19-24.

Mission statement: International Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression Mission to Nepal

Nepal, July 18, 2005. From 10 to 16 July 2005, twelve international organisations, including UN agencies, global media associations, freedom of expression advocates and media development organisations, undertook a mission to Nepal concerning freedom of expression and press freedom.

Cameroon: Government lifts two-year ban on private radio station

(CPJ/IFEX) USA, July 14, 2005 - Government officials unsealed the studios of Freedom FM on Tuesday, more than two years after the Communications Ministry shuttered the private radio station just as it was about to broadcast for the first time. Based in the southwestern port city of Douala, the station was founded by Pius Njawé, a veteran independent journalist and 1991 recipient of CPJ's International Press Freedom Award.

Andebu asks government not to legalize "pirate" radios

Uruguay, July 1, 2005. The secretary general of the National Association of Broadcasters of Uruguay (Andebu) is urging the government not to authorize the operation of community radios. According to the association, the market is saturated with media outlets and there is no need to encourage pluralism because the official left already has enough airtime to disseminate its message.

Jordan to host AMARC 9

Canada, July 6, 2005. AMARC, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, is pleased to announce that Jordan will be the host country for the Ninth World Assembly of Community Radio Broadcasters. AMARC 9 will be a week long event in the second half of 2006. It is expected to bring together 300-400 community broadcasters from over 100 countries and all regions of the world.

Jordan:AmmanNet begins Experimental Transmission in Amman

Jordan, July 1, 2005. AmmanNet, the Arab world's first Internet radio, begun experimental terrestrial transmission of its FM frequency in the greater Amman municipal boundaries on June 29th.

The threat to community radios in Brazil comes from the legislation

Brazil, July 1, 2005. With the emergence of radio stations belonging to the Movement Eclesial de Base (MEB), in the 80s, thousands of community radios were born in Brazil. They were operated by groups representing various sectors (unions, students, artists, neighbors) and who have very little or no knowledge of the medium.

Union Cabinet goes for 330 new FM frequencies, retains 20 per cent foreign investment cap

India, July 1, 2005. In India, the second phase of FM broadcasting in the private sector will start soon as the Union Cabinet approving on 30 June, 2005, a revenue sharing model, in which the emphasis is more on the growth of services than on generating revenue for the government. The Indian airwaves are set to witness action with the government opening up 330 new FM frequencies to the private sector.

REGIONAL RADIO BROADCASTING ASSESSMENTS

*Africa
Broadcasting sector in Burundi
Broadcasting sector in Guinea
Broadcasting sector in Malawi
Broadcasting sector in Mozambique
Broadcasting sector in Namibia
Broadcasting Sector in Niger(FR)
Broadcasting Sector in Tchad
Broadcasting Sector in Uganda
Broadcasting Sector in Zimbabwe

*Latin America and the Caribbean (Drafts)
Informe sobre situación en Chile
Informe sobre situación en Colombia
Informe sobre situación en Ecuador
Informe sobre situación en México
Informe sobre situación en Venezuela

NOUVELLES

OLPA indigné par le mauvais traitement infligé à un journaliste à Kisangani

RDC, le 19 juillet 2005. L'Observatoire de la Liberté de la Presse en Afrique (OLPA), réseau africain d’experts juristes et journalistes volontaires pour la défense et la promotion de la liberté de la presse en Afrique, est profondément indigné par le mauvais traitement infligé par les éléments de la 9ème région militaire des Forces armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (RARDC) a bienvenu Makpanga Basibazu, correspondant à l'Agence Congolaise de Presse (ACP) et animateur d'émissions a la Radio-Télé Interconfessionelle Viens et Vois (RTIV), émettant à Kisangani, chef-lieu de la province Orientale, au Nord-Est de la République Démocratique du Congo. www.societecivile.cd/membre/OLPA

OLPA inquiet après la convocation d’un journaliste à Kinshasa

RDC, le 27 juillet 2005. L'Observatoire de la Liberté de la Presse en Afrique (OLPA), réseau africain d’experts juristes et journalistes volontaires pour la défense et la promotion de la liberté de la presse en Afrique, exprime sa vive inquiétude après la convocation par la police judiciaire des parquets de José Nawej Karl, directeur de publication du quotidien Forum des As, paraissant à Kinshasa, capitale de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC), mercredi 27 juillet 2005. www.societecivile.cd/membre/OLPA

NOTICIAS

Cabildos indígenas cuestionan cierre de radio del pueblo Nasa

ALERTA - Colombia - 29 de julio de 2005. Cabildos indígenas cuestionan cierre de radio del pueblo Nasa. En ejercicio de sus potestades como autoridades tradicionales del pueblo Nasa en el norte del Cauca, dirigentes de los cabildos indígenas han rechazado las acciones y respuestas del Ministerio de Comunicaciones de Colombia frente al cierre de Radio Nasa. Acusan a las autoridades de "negar el derecho a la comunicación", "romper la armonía de la comunidad" y ponerla en "alto riesgo". Texto completo en http://legislaciones.amarc.org/

AMARC saluda creación de mesa de Diálogo en Guatemala

Guatemala - 27 de julio de 2005. La Asociación Mundial de Radios Comunitarias (AMARC-ALC) hizo conocer su satisfacción al Estado de Guatemala por la creación de una Mesa de Diálogo que el gobierno ha instalado desde el 8 de julio para dar cumplimiento a las recomendaciones y compromisos internacionales en materia de radiodifusión y los derechos de los ciudadanos de ese país para que puedan ejercer efectivamente la libertad de expresión e información. Texto completo en http://legislaciones.amarc.org/

Piden al Ministerio Público detener allanamientos contra radios

Cerigua- Guatemala - 9 de julio de 2005. Un pedido al Ministerio Público para que detenga los allanamientos contra las radios que funcionan sin autorización en el país, durante el proceso de discusión, fue uno de los resultados de la primera reunión sostenida entre el Estado y representantes de las emisoras comunitarias. http://legislaciones.amarc.org/

Delegación Internacional de AMARC en Guatemala

Cerigua - Guatemala - 6 de julio de 2005. Revisar la legislación nacional sobre libertad de expresión y radiodifusión y hacer recomendaciones para eliminar las barreras a las libertades de información y expresión, es la misión de una comitiva de la Asociación Mundial de Radios Comunitarias para América Latina y el Caribe (AMARC-ALC) que se encuentra en el país. http://legislaciones.amarc.org/

Posted by Evelin at 12:52 AM | Comments (0)
Aids verändert afrikanische Gesellschaft - Der Neue Überblick

Aids verändert afrikanische Gesellschaft - Der Neue Überblick

Tansania, Sambia, Kenia, Malawi, Botsuana, Uganda, Kamerun, Südafrika,
Burkina Faso, Argentinien, Irak, Indien, Indonesien

HIV/AIDS hat in Afrika die Familien und die Gesellschaft verändert.
Großmütter, die ihre infizierten Kinder bis zu deren Tod gepflegt haben,
müssen sich jetzt auch um die Enkel kümmern. Waisenkinder gründen zusammen mit ihren Geschwistern eigene Kinderhaushalte. Das Bild von Witwen in der Gesellschaft hat sich verändert. Gemeinschaftliche Versorgungssysteme
leben wieder auf, wo die Generation der Brotverdiener von AIDS
hinweggerafft wurde. Und vielerorts wird das durch AIDS verursachte Elend
mit Hexerei in Verbindung gebracht.

Diese und andere Themen finden Sie in der neuen Ausgabe von "der
überblick" (Euro 5,50 + Versandkosten).

www.der-ueberblick.de (herausgegeben i.A. vom Evangelischen Entwicklungsdienst und von Brot für die Welt).

Vergangene Schwerpunkte: Pfingstkirchen, Entwicklungspolitik, Fisch und
Welternährung, Afrika, Umgang mit Tod und Trauer weltweit, Bildung,
Migration, Tansania, Sklaverei heute, Energie, NGOs, Exil, Vorsorge,
Grenzen, Mexiko, Aids, Gefaengnisse, Maghreb.

Mit freundlicher Empfehlung
die Redaktion

Posted by Evelin at 12:36 AM | Comments (0)
Teaching Guide on Peace Education for English Language Learners

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) has produced an on-line
Teaching Guide on Peace Education for English Language Learners that can
be viewed at http://www.usip.org/class/guides/conflict.html

The guide is divided into 5 sections (trust building, defining conflict,
prejudice reduction, communication, conflict management) and includes
lesson plans, handouts and instructions. The guide was developed to help
students develop conflict resolution skills and to become effective,
responsible individuals.

Posted by Evelin at 02:19 AM | Comments (0)