'Just World News' with Helena Cobban

Australia's thought-provoking Apology

Okay, I am merely nine months late in commenting on the breakthrough apology that Australian PM Kevin Rudd offered to the indigenous peoples of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands...

Ramazani: "Bridging the Divides"

** Updates posted below ** As regular justworldnews readers will recognize, Helena and I have presented and commented on numerous essays here by R.K. - "Ruhi" - Ramazani. Here's one...

Mia Farrow: "virtual hostage"

Irony alert Those familiar with Farzaneh Milani's path-breaking literary analysis will recognize the phrase "hostage narrative," a term she has been devloping over many years to apply to that best-selling...

Iranian Bikers for peace...?

I'm all for exploring new ways to work for peace, including by demonstrations, marches, marathons, even "honking for peace." Sure beats marching for war -- like when Jerome Corsi (of...

Reconciliation, from Africa to the Middle East

Actually, the reason that I received a paper copy of the latest issue of the Palestine-Israel Journal, which I have just written about on JWN here, is that it...

Waterloo, Iranians & the Mennonite Dialog

On Memorial Day, American and Iranian diplomats finally managed to "talk" in Baghdad, Iraq -- as we noted here with approval. The same day, by contrast, protesters forced the cancellation...

Studying peace and reconciliation in Coventry

Are you or anyone you know interested in doing some post-graduate work in Peace Studies? I got an email earlier this week from Andrew Rigby, the Director of the Centre...

Factors for successful peacemaking: Northern Ireland

I am so joyful that it now looks as if the people of Northern Ireland can enjoy a much better, more peaceful future, thanks to the peace agreement announced on...

"We Want Peace" on YouTube

Hagit Tarnari, one of the dedicated pro-peace Israeli participants in our recent U.N. University conference on nonviolence in Amman, Jordan, made a little video at the end of the conference...

Nonviolent peace organizations gathering in Virginia

If you're anywhere near the east coast of the USA on July 7-9 and are interested in the work of the Christian Peacemaker Teams, Peace Brigades International, or other organizations...

Ending insurgencies, building peace

I'm having this very weird life these days. My main task is to complete the last revision of my book manuscript on peacebuilding in Africa-- title as of now: Amnesties...

South Sudan peace in the balance

Pray for peace in Southern Sudan. Pray hard. Southern leader John Garang, who was made into a vice-president as part of the recent peace accord between southerners and the central...

Summer Peacebuilding Institute, Shenandoah Valley

I'm in Harrisonburg, Virginia, these days, teaching a course in Session II of Eastern Mennonite University's justifiably renowned Summer Peacebuilding Institute. It's pretty awesome for me. Firstly because I've never...

Truth commissions in context

I'm at the analytical place in my book on strategies that three African countries used to address the legacies of recently-past conflicts where I want to try to put the...