Pakistan Taliban considers peace talks: report | Reuters

Pakistan Taliban considers peace talks: report | Reuters: "Pakistani leaders said after an all-party meeting attended by top military and intelligence officials last month they would seek reconciliation with militants to end an insurgency.

And Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was quoted by newspapers as saying the government was ready to talk peace.

"Our shura (council) will decide whether and when can we enter into talks with the government, with the military," the Express Tribune quoted Maulvi Wali-ur-Rehman Mehsud, deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban, as saying.

"But I think we would like to involve countries we trust ... they are in the Arab world. Let's say Saudi Arabia."

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Taliban Movement of Pakistan (TTP), which is close to al Qaeda, was formed in December 2007 as an alliance of Pakistani militant groups to attack the Pakistani state.

It has been blamed for many of the suicide bombings across Pakistan.

Several army offensives against the group's strongholds on the Afghan border have failed to weaken its campaign. Thousands of Pakistani soldiers, policemen and civilians have been killed in the conflict."

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Re: Israelis & Palestinians...- there is a strong belief from int'l community that now is the time to get back to negotiations without pre-conditions

The Brussels talks among members of the Middle East Quartet - the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union - follow its call in September for stalled peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians to resume within 30 days. The Quartet wants the two sides to reach a deal next year.

The Middle East peace process was top news at the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York last month, when Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas formally applied to the Security Council for full U.N. membership. The United States has threatened to veto the bid, arguing that Palestinian statehood can only be achieved through direct peace talks with Israel. But in a September interview with the BBC, the Quartet's special representative Tony Blair sounded an optimistic note. "
Mideast Quartet Discusses Way Forward on Peace Process | Middle East | English: "Blair said the Quartet members are close to agreeing on details of peace negotiations. He said that would make it easier to bridge differences between Palestinians and Israelis once they actually sit down for talks.
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Ms. Zara Jane Juan, UN Ambassador for the International Day o... on Twitpic

Ms. Zara Jane Juan, UN Ambassador for the International Day o... on Twitpic:

@casupm

CAS UP Manila September 21, 2011

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Ms. Zara Jane Juan, UN Ambassador for the International Day of Peace 2011, speaks on "Wellness, Climate Change and Peace.""

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Nobel Peace Prize laureates Tawakkul Karman of Yemen, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Liberian "peace warrior" Leymah Gbowee

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Left to right: Nobel Peace Prize laureates Tawakkul Karman of Yemen, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Liberian "peace warrior" Leymah Gbowee.Nobel Peace Prize Goes To Women Striving For Peace In Liberia And Yemen : The Two-Way : NPR: ""I believe we both accept this on behalf of the Liberian people and the credit goes to them, because we're now going into our ninth year of peace," Johnson Sirleaf continued. "And every Liberian has contributed to it. We particularly give this credit to Liberian women, who have consistently led the struggle for peace, even under conditions of neglect. It sends a message to the Liberian people that peace must prevail as Liberia goes through this critical event; that we must demonstrate to the world that we can be peaceful, that we can be politically mature and that we can all work together for a better Liberia.""

'via Blog this'Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian peace activist Leymah Roberta Gbowee and Yemeni protest leader Tawakkul Karman are being honored.

This year's Nobels come with about $1.5 million. That amount will be divided between the three laureates.

"The concept of peace in Oslo is that elastic."

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg up for the Nobel Peace Prize? - latimes.com: "There are thousands of people who are eligible to nominate contenders, and it's entirely possible that Zuckerberg was nominated.

Also, keep in mind that this was the year of the Arab uprisings, a revolution that some observers say was possible only because of the way online platforms like Facebook and Twitter allowed protesters to connect.

Zuckerberg himself has downplayed Facebook's role in the Arab Spring.

"It would be extremely arrogant for any specific technology company to claim any meaningful role," he said at the e-G8 summit in Paris earlier this year. "The thing that was both necessary and sufficient was a population of people who felt very strongly that change needed to happen."

But perhaps that humility makes him all the more ... Nobel?

National Review writer Jay Nordlinger, who has a book on the history of the Nobel Peace Prize coming out this March, said it's possible that Zuckerberg could win this year.

"I wouldn't bet on him, but I wouldn't bet against him," he said. He said Zuckerberg would be an "out there" choice, even for the famously eccentric Nobel prize committee."

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This year's Nobel Peace prize winner is "obvious,"..."What are the major forces pushing the world in the right direction?",Thorbjoern Jagland

Nobel Peace Prize "A record 241 nominations — 188 individuals and 53 organizations — were submitted for this year's peace prize. Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina, the secret-spilling group WikiLeaks, and Cuban dissidents are among candidates who have been publicly announced by those who nominated them.

Jagland said the independent, five-member committee decided upon the laureate at its final meeting Friday. But keeping one of the world's biggest annual secrets appeared tough.

Asked if the Arab Spring might be a source of the honoree, he said: "That is one, but there are others too."
Some speculation has centered on the 27-nation European Union, which many consider a peace-building institution. Although Norway is not an EU member, Jagland is a strong supporter of the bloc.

"Yes, of course, but today it's ..." he said, his voice trailing off for 10 seconds of silence before a press handler intervened.

Would it be a big name?

"Not necessarily a big name, but a big mission — something important for the world.""
The Associated Press: AP Interview: Nobel Peace Prize winner 'obvious':

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"I'm not so interested in politics & I don't have much hope of changing society but when u live w/such...even if u don't care..politics will care.."

China urged to release wife of jailed Nobel peace prize laureate | World news | The Guardian: In an interview with the Observer last year, Liu Xia said of her husband: "I'm not so interested in politics and I don't have much hope of changing society… But when you live with such a person, even if you don't care about politics, politics will care about you."......."The fate of his wife has caused particular concern. Liu Xia has been out of contact since a few days after the Nobel committee announced they were awarding her husband the peace prize..... Some thought it might be a temporary measure to prevent her collecting the prize, but she has remained incommunicado and is believed to be under house arrest, although it is thought she has been allowed to see a handful of relatives. Her only known contact with the outside world came in February, when she managed to get online briefly and told a friend that she was miserable, that no one could help her, and that "my whole family are hostages".

"The Chinese government denies there are any restraints on Liu Xia. "

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/04/china-dissident-wife-liu-xia?newsfeed=true

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