Israelis and Palestinians were told to restart direct talks and try to reach a settlement by the end of next year

Pushing on for Mideast peace - The Washington Post: "The Palestinian statehood bid appears to have resulted in a very wise decision on the part of the United Nations [“Major powers push for new Mideast talks,” news story, Sept. 26]. The Israelis and Palestinians were told to restart direct talks and try to reach a settlement by the end of next year.

The two parties have given assurances that they want a peaceful settlement and that they are willing to consider a two-state solution. Both have declared in no uncertain terms what they want and what they are unwilling to consider. Since the conditions they have put on the table are irreconcilable, some compromise will be necessary. Both parties will have to give up some of their demands."

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West Philippine Sea forum scheduled | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online

West Philippine Sea forum scheduled | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online: "The Carlos P. Romulo Foundation for Peace and Development (CPR), in collaboration with the Institute of South East Asian Studies, Singapore (ISEAS) will host a "by invitation only" forum on West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) on October 17 in Manila.

At least 23 notable former officials and authorities from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) member-countries, China, Australia, India, Canada, the United States, and Europe are expected to attend.

In a statement, CPR Foundation chair Roberto R. Romulo noted that tensions between claimants to the potentially oil-rich waters and land features of the South China Sea, where also a quarter of the world's shipping passes, has risen to potentially dangerous levels with incidents involving China, the Philippines and Vietnam in recent months.

“All claimants agree that the disputes should be resolved through peaceful means, including dialogue, although progress has been slow,” said Romulo."

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UN / Communiqué on Somalia mini-summit, news, StarAfrica.com

UN / Communiqué on Somalia mini-summit, news, StarAfrica.com: (pls click link for complete article) " Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, convened a high-level meeting on Somalia in New York on 23 September 2011. Participants included representatives of Burundi, China, Denmark, Djibouti, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Norway, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uganda, African Union, European Union, League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, and Jean Ping, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, gave an update on recent political and security developments in Somalia, as well as the humanitarian situation.

Participants reaffirmed respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity of Somalia. They noted that recent political and security developments created an opportunity to further peace and reconciliation in Somalia, and stressed the importance of establishing broad-based and representative institutions through an inclusive political process."

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Arab Spring, focus of speculation for 2011 Nobel Peace Prize

A Nobel Peace Prize for the Arab Spring? - CBS News: ""It's particularly hard in the context of these protests where there hasn't always been an identifiable leadership," said Kristian Berg Harpviken, the director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, and a prominent voice in the Nobel guessing game.

His top picks are Egyptian activists Israa Abdel Fattah, Ahmed Maher and the April 6 Youth Movement, a pro-democracy Facebook group they co-founded in 2008. They "played an instrumental role in the mobilization of protests on both the Internet and on the street," Harpviken said.

His second choice is Wael Ghonim, a marketing executive for Google, for re-energizing the protests on Cairo's Tahrir Square after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak."

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Surveys Show Israelis’ Two Sides - Pessimistic but Happy - NYTimes.com

Surveys Show Israelis’ Two Sides - Pessimistic but Happy - NYTimes.com: "JERUSALEM — With the start of the Jewish New Year at sunset on Wednesday, a traditional time for stock taking in Israel, the public mood seems paradoxical: a growing disillusionment with the prospect of Middle East peace yet a marked sense of satisfaction with life here.

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That gap, reflected and discussed in media commentaries, was evident in a survey of Israeli Jews published on Wednesday in the newspaper Yediot Aharonot. Two thirds of the survey’s respondents said there was no chance — ever — of achieving peace with the Palestinians. But asked if Israel was a good place to live, 88 percent said yes.

In an article accompanying the poll results, the survey’s director, Mina Zemach of the Dahaf Institute, was quoted as saying she could not remember a time when skepticism about the possibility of peace ran so high."

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Peace for Humanity - Muhammad (PBUH) The Merciful - YouTube

Peace for Humanity - Muhammad (PBUH) The Merciful - YouTube: "24th September 2011 @ Wembley Arena under the supervision of Shaykh ul Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir ul Qadri (Founder of Minhaj Welfare Foundation)

Special Guests:
Shaykh Dr Ahmed Omer Hashim (Former Chancellor Al-Azhar University Egypt)
Shaykh Dr Abd Al-Fadeel Al-Qawsi (Senior Al-Azhar University Delegate)
Shaykh As'ad Muhammad Sagharji (Syria)
Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad (University of Cambridge, UK)
Dr Joel Hayward (Royal Air Force College, UK)
Shaykh Hassan Mohiuddin Qadri (President MQI Supreme Council)
Shaykh Ahmed Babikir (UK/Sudan)
Shaykh Muhammad Al-Ninowy (USA)
Prof John L. Esposito (USA)
Dr Rowan Williams (UK)
Mesut Kurtis - Famous Nasheed Artisit (Macedonia)"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gxm7C5m8g8

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“Peace for Humanity” sponsored by Minhaj-ul-Quran Int'l (MQI), a rally to promote moderate, inclusive version of Islam

The American Muslim (TAM): "An estimated twelve thousand Muslims and interfaith leaders gathered for an event called “Peace for Humanity” sponsored by Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI). The event was broadcast live to dozens of countries, and was a rally against extremism and to promote a moderate, inclusive version of Islam. The event in Wembley Arena was led by Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a respected Pakistan-born Islamic scholar.

The Press Association reported that

The conference heard a series of lengthy and impassioned speeches, some in Arabic, from Islamic scholars denouncing terrorism and extremism.

There were also prayers for peace from a range of representatives from different religions including the Bishop of Barking, the Rt Rev David Hawkins, Jewish rabbis and representatives from the Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh faiths." (pls click link for complete article)

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The Peace Corps celebrates five decades | The Journal Watchdog by Community Journals, a media company based in Greenville, S.C

The Peace Corps celebrates five decades | The Journal Watchdog by Community Journals, a media company based in Greenville, S.C: "The inspiration for the Peace Corps came on Oct. 14, 1960, when Kennedy, in an impromptu campaign speech, asked University of Michigan students to give two years to help people in countries of the developing world.

It was a theme he followed with his inaugural urging: “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”

Within three months of Kennedy taking the oath of office Jan. 20, 1961, the Peace Corps was up and running under R. Sargent Shriver, who was director for five years.

The first group of 51 Peace Corps volunteers arrived in Ghana the next August. Today, 8,655 volunteers and trainees are working in 76 countries.

Volunteers typically spend 10 weeks of in-country training and 24 months of service in the field. Today, 37 percent of the volunteers are in Africa, 24 percent in Latin America, 21 percent in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, seven percent in Asia, 5 percent in the Caribbean, 4 percent in North Africa or the Middle East and 2 percent in the Pacific Islands."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2J8ljzZsRA

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Netanyahu responded more positively to the initiative by the Quartet

Peace No Closer as Netanyahu, Abbas Emerge Unscathed at UN - Businessweek: "Netanyahu responded more positively to the initiative by the Quartet, comprised of the U.S., UN, European Union and Russia. He will begin consultations today with his ministers on issuing a formal response, according to an Israeli official who spoke anonymously because he wasn’t authorized to speak on the record.

The Quartet proposal came after Abbas spoke at the UN General Assembly on Sept. 23 and called on the Security Council to recognize a Palestinian state and grant it full UN membership.

Israeli Satisfaction

Israeli officials expressed satisfaction with developments at the UN, especially the speech by U.S. President Barack Obama stressing Israel’s security needs and not mentioning settlements or referring to the 1967 borders, two issues of contention.

“This was a political win for Netanyahu, most importantly the Obama speech which was a reconciliation with the U.S. on his own terms, and the failure of the Palestinians to bring a vote on their statehood initiative to the Security Council,” said Gerald Steinberg, political scientist at Bar Ilan University outside Tel Aviv."

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“The truth is Israel wants peace. I want peace,” Netanyahu

U.N. UPDATE: Bibi Extends 'Hand of Peace' to Palestinians – Forward.com: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations and insisted that Israel wants to achieve peace through talks.

“The truth is Israel wants peace. I want peace,” Netanyahu said. “The truth is: We cannot achieve peace through U.N. resolutions. We can only achieve peace through negotiations.”

“I extend my hand to the Palestinian people with whom we seek a just and lasting peace,” Netanyahu told the General Assembly, to a smattering of applause. “Our hope for peace never wanes.”

He said it would be folly for Israel to trade peace for land without firm security agreements and vowed Israel would be first in line to recognize a Palestinian state in the context of a comprehensive peace deal."

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“In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground....

Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Dies at 71 - NYTimes.com: “In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness,” she said, “to reach a higher moral ground. A time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now.” (Wangari Maathai)

"Dr. Maathai was as comfortable in the gritty streets of Nairobi’s slums or the muddy hillsides of central Kenya as she was hobnobbing with heads of state. She won the Peace Prize in 2004 for what the Nobel committee called “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.” It was a moment of immense pride in Kenya and across Africa.


Her Green Belt Movement has planted more than 30 million trees in Africa and has helped nearly 900,000 women, according to the United Nations, while inspiring similar efforts in other African countries."


Background Info:

Wangari Muta Maathai was born on April 1, 1940 in Nyeri, Kenya, in the foothills of Mount Kenya. A star student, she won a scholarship to study biology at Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kan., receiving a degree in 1964. She earned a master of science degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

She went on to obtain a doctorate in veterinary anatomy at the University of Nairobi, becoming the first woman in East or Central Africa to hold such a degree, according to theNobel Prize Web site. She also taught at the university as an associate professor and was chairwoman of its veterinary anatomy department in the 1970s.

A day before she was scheduled to receive the Nobel, Dr. Maathai was forced to respond to a report in The East African Standard, a daily newspaper in Nairobi, that she had likened AIDS to a “biological weapon,” telling participants in an AIDS workshop in Nyeri that the disease was “a tool” to control Africans “designed by some evil-minded scientists.”

She said her comments had been taken out of context. “It is therefore critical for me to state that I neither say nor believe that the virus was developed by white people or white powers in order to destroy the African people,” she said in a statement released by the Nobel Committee. “Such views are wicked and destructive.”

In presenting her with the Peace Prize, the Nobel committee hailed her for taking “a holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights and women’s rights in particular” and serving “as inspiration for many in the fight for democratic rights.”

Dr. Maathai received many honorary degrees, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh in 2006, as well as awards, including the French Legion of Honor and Japan’s Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.

She is survived by three children, Waweru, Wanjira and Muta, and a granddaughter, according to the Green Belt Movement.

Former Vice President Al Gore, a fellow Peace Prize recipient for his environmental work, said in a statement, “Wangari overcame incredible obstacles to devote her life to service — service to her children, to her constituents, to the women, and indeed all the people of Kenya — and to the world as a whole.”

In her Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Dr. Maathai said the inspiration for her work came from growing up in rural Kenya. She reminisced about a stream running next to her home – a stream that has since dried up – and drinking fresh, clear water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT98uQ74X1c

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World Peace Update: Egyptian-Israeli Peace Stretches Thin : NPR

Egyptian-Israeli Peace Stretches Thin : NPR:

NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson joins host Scott Simon from Cairo to talk about the latest there. (pls clink link for complete transcript)

"SIMON: And the trial of former president Hosni Mubarak continues. What's the latest on that front?

NELSON: Well, today is another closed session. This time they're looking at CDs featuring critical evidence, according to Al-Ahram, which, of course, is a state-run newspaper here. But it's been very difficult to find out what's been going on.

Last week we had many top officials testifying, including the former vice president, and intelligence chief and a former interior minister. All those sessions were closed. But this is still the prosecution's turn. They're very much trying to prove that Hosni Mubarak and his interior minister basically issued shoot to kill orders for protesters, which resulted in the deaths of about 850 protesters. And they're case, at least as far as we've been able to ascertain, because again, the government has now shut down coverage - in fact - banned coverage for a while with threatening to put people in jail. But so far it seems the prosecution's had a very tough time making their case."

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World Peace Update: Residents rally for peace in Palmetto

Residents rally for peace in Palmetto: "The rally comes just a week after a shooting at Club Elite in Palmetto left 2 people dead and another 22 injured.

Event organizer Shavonda Bailey says there needs to be more cooperation between the community and local law enforcement.

"We've got to start working together as one unit as a team because it's going to take a team to fight the crime that's taking place in the community," said Bailey

Bailey knows the pain of gun violence all too well.

In 2007 her aunt was shot and killed when a masked intruder broke into her Palmetto home.

She said the Club Elite shooting should serve as a wake up call.

"22 lives were injured, 2 people dead. Isn't that enough?" asked Bailey.

Those who spoke Saturday touched many topics but stressed that the community needs to help the police to get a handle on crime in their neighborhoods."

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World Peace Update: U.S. focuses on peace talks as Palestinians' bid for UN membership looms | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

U.S. focuses on peace talks as Palestinians' bid for UN membership looms | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: "White House officials say it's unclear what course the Palestinians will take in New York. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that he will ask the UN Security Council to endorse his nationhood bid, though he said he was open to other unspecified options. The U.S. has pledged to veto the bid, and the Obama administration has senior diplomats in the region making a last-ditch effort to persuade the Palestinians to drop the measure.

But the White House insists its main focus is on resuming direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. U.S. officials contend that those negotiations provide the only credible pathway for the Palestinians to achieve nationhood.

"Whatever happens at the United Nations, there's going to have to be a process to get these two parties back to the table when we get beyond next week," White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Friday."

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World Peace Update: Peace, not vengeance - The Whig Standard - Ontario, CA

Peace, not vengeance - The Whig Standard - Ontario, CA: "Filipov joined Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, the organization founded by family members of those killed on 9/11 to turn their grief into action for peace. She also had a strong ally in Lombard who, for religious reasons, had been a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War.

The decision by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to lash out at Afghanistan and then Iraq was troubling.

"We had everyone caring, but we lost this (sentiment) because of the president," Filipov said.

Queen's professor Jill Scott has been thinking and writing a lot about revenge and forgiveness at the university's department of languages, literature and culture.

In the collective mourning following 9/11, says Scott, Americans have gotten so wrapped up in rhetoric that even the soldiers "who come back in body bags" from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are considered 9/11 victims.

She has much admiration for Filipov and Lombard and the peace and justice forum movement coming out of Concord.

"They have to be extremely courageous people to do this, even within their own congregation," Scott said."

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Opinion: Peace is the way

Peace is the way: "For some of these terrorist groups who are Muslims, a major reason why they resort to terrorism is prolonged anger and frustration at the continued suffering of the Palestinians (who are mostly Muslims), who are being persecuted and besieged by the Israelis, with the support of the US (and the “West”).

And since the plight of the Palestinians has not changed in the last 10 years (in fact it is worse now since they are under economic blockade as well, living in squalid conditions in the largest open prison in the world), we can expect these terrorist acts to continue.

While the world looks to negotiations and diplomacy to solve these problems and work for peace, there will always be those who are impatient and resort to terrorism to express their point of view; if only they realise that terrorism never brings peace.

The only way to achieve peace is to think peace, love peace, and work for peace. That is why all our religions preach peace. Our religious greetings invoke peace. The meaning of Islam is the “religion of peace”."

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World Peace Update: Expert says regional peace deal needed in Afghanistan|World|chinadaily.com.cn

Expert says regional peace deal needed in Afghanistan|World|chinadaily.com.cn: "Anatol Lieven, chair of International Relations and Terrorism Studies at King's College London, said Taliban insurgents should be accepted as a political force in Afghanistan through talks as the country would otherwise fall into a civil war after 2014, when most international troops are set to leave. "I think America's biggest role in the future could, and should, be to broker a regional peace settlement rather than trying to devise or dictate a peace settlement itself," said Lieven, who covered the Soviet war in Afghanistan as a journalist in the 1980s.

The ongoing war in Afghanistan began in October 2001 as the armed forces of the US, Britain and the Afghan United Front (Northern Alliance) launched Operation Enduring Freedom, invading the country in response to the Sept 11, 2001, attacks with the stated goal of dismantling the al-Qaida terrorist organization and ending its use of Afghanistan as a base.
Although the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had managed to overthrow the Taliban government in late 2001 and kill former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden on May 2, peace for Afghanistan has still not been achieved."

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World Peace Update: Peace Pole to Be Planted at New PBS Center - Bethlehem, PA Patch

Peace Pole to Be Planted at New PBS Center - Bethlehem, PA Patch: "As part of a September 11 Commemoration at the PBS39 Public Media and Education Center Plaza at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, a World Peace Flag Ceremony and Peace Pole dedication will be held Sunday from 3:30 to 5pm, PBS39 has announced.

According to a press release issued by the public television station, the event will celebrate "11 Days of Global Unity" with prayers for peace, speakers and music, and is part of the grand opening of the station's new headquarters at 839 Sesame Street on the SteelStacks campus in South Bethlehem.

The World Peace Flag Ceremony will feature a display of flags from every nation, and will conclude with the planting of a permanent Peace Pole in front of the PBS39 building.

Bearing the message "May Peace Prevail On Earth" in various languages, the pole has become a recognized symbol of the international peace movement.

"It is estimated that there are more than 200,000 Peace Poles that have been dedicated in nearly every country on Earth," the release stated.

In addition to marking the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, "11 Days of Global Unity" is encouraging participation in the United Nations International Day of Peace on Sept. 21."

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World Peace Update: "9/11" remembered by ECC students believing that kindness is the pathway to peace

ECC students remember 9/11 victims, push for peace - Courier News: "More than 100 students and faculty members attended the 9/11 Remembrance ceremony Friday outside the entrance to the community college’s Student Resource Center.

The ceremony included music, poetry and a moment of silence to remember victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93, and of the subsequent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Several international students also recited “May peace prevail on Earth” in their native languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Gaelic, Russian, Sanskrit, French, Urdu, Korean and Portuguese.

That sentiment is written on the college’s “peace pole,” which was set up on the lawn outside the Student Resource Center for the event.

The ceremony also included remarks by Elgin Community College Police Officer Lori Hermesdorf, who remembered the first responders who worked to rescue victims of the terrorist attacks. When the World Trade Center towers collapsed, 411 firefighters, paramedics and police officers were killed."

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