Empowering civic activism toward a culture of peace.

Ted Nunn's Blog (18)

U.S. Spends $2.16 Trillion Annually on "Violence Containment Industry"

From Bob Baskin @ The Peace Alliance, 10/10/12...

“By defining a new industry as the ‘Violence Containment Industry,’ it is now possible to aggregate all expenditures related to the containment or consequences of violence. Our research indicates that when measured as a percentage of GDP this industry has expanded by 25% in the past ten years.”

- Steve Killelea, Executive Chairman of IEP…

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Added by Ted Nunn on October 10, 2012 at 11:33am — No Comments

Department of Defense as a "Jobs Program"?

Watchdog Yaël Ossowski offers an interesting take on the topic:

http://watchdog.org/45968/military-industrial-congressional-complex/

Added by Ted Nunn on August 5, 2012 at 8:12pm — No Comments

National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence

I was browsing Google for news on "violence" today (something I have not done in quite some time) and came across this post from Robert Listenbee Jr., of the Defender Association of Philadphia. Mr. Listenbee writes about the ever-present issue of violence in our inner cities and the impact that violence has on children.

Rather than just being another in an endless…

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Added by Ted Nunn on April 22, 2012 at 2:30pm — 1 Comment

Growing Food Instead of Gangs in California

I thought I'd share an uplifting article that came through the internets this week. Creative, thoughtful, caring people have come up with an alternative to gang membership that benefits youth and the surrounding community by getting at-risk youth into agriculture. …

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Added by Ted Nunn on November 20, 2011 at 7:30pm — 6 Comments

Catholic Support For Peacebuilding

In the current issue of U.S. Catholic magazine, Maryann Cusimano Love discusses the role Catholics should be playing in peacebuilding worldwide. Ms. Love highlights the long history the followers of the Prince of Peace have had with hands-on community activism, how this should be…

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Added by Ted Nunn on August 17, 2011 at 12:03pm — 1 Comment

The Department of Peace Act is Reintroduced in the 112th Congress!

In a timely response to recent budget slashing that included eliminating financing for the U.S. Institute of… Continue

Added by Ted Nunn on February 21, 2011 at 2:28pm — 4 Comments

Capt. Paul Chappell - A Military perspective on Waging Peace

Captain Paul Chappell is a West Point graduate and veteran of the Middle East wars. He has a very credible and persuasive argument about nonviolent approaches to securing the peace we all desire. "War makes us less safe." Check out the video interview series on YouTube:

PART 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9J9io4A5qQ

PART 2…

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Added by Ted Nunn on December 1, 2010 at 1:00pm — 5 Comments

The "First Aid" Model for Peacebuilding in Communities

As often happens, I recently found myself wandering the corridors of the internet inspired to learn more about the story behind one of the cool videos posted on DoPeace. The producer of the video hails from TheRSA.org, a U.K. group that describes itself as:

"... an enlightenment organisation devoted to finding innovative practical solutions to today’s…

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Added by Ted Nunn on September 11, 2010 at 12:18pm — 2 Comments

Dollar "Billboarding" for Peace

Awhile back, I read an interesting article entitled "When Dollars Call for Change" by Emma Dumain on Congress.org. Ms. Dumain chronicles how activists and activist groups have been using dollar bills as inexpensive and effective means to get their message out to the public.

With a…

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Added by Ted Nunn on August 29, 2010 at 3:30pm — 2 Comments

How's Your Activism Going?

I just finished reading an interesting (IMHO) article from Paul Loeb (author of "The Soul of the Citizen") on Huffington Post about the importance of personal contact when trying to elicit support for an important issue. (Read the full article here.) Mr. Loeb points out how easy it has become for us to sign an online petition and feel as though we have accomplished some great democratic feat. Or how a… Continue

Added by Ted Nunn on August 7, 2010 at 12:30pm — 5 Comments

Department of Peace Act Makes the Top Ten!

... list of Most Hopeless Bills on Congress.org. According to the author, Kristin Conyer:

"During 2007 and 2008, 11,077 bills were introduced in Congress, while just 460 were signed into law. That means for every new law that session there were 23 bills that didn't make it out of Congress. To be fair, some of those bills were resolutions…

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Added by Ted Nunn on April 19, 2010 at 8:00pm — 9 Comments

Empowering Civic Activism?

I greatly admire those who dedicate themselves, not only to championing important social causes, but also to the effort of engaging others in the democratic process. It seems as though more and more people and organizations are jumping on the bandwagon, which bodes well for the future IMHO. Change.org and Care2.com are leaders in this area, with millions of… Continue

Added by Ted Nunn on April 18, 2010 at 5:03pm — No Comments

Peacebuilding in Action - Post-election Reconciliation in Kenya

I had the opportunity to attend a meeting in DC this week related to getting language about peacebuilding included in the rewrite of the Foreign Assistance Act (currently before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs) and in the State Department Authorization (currently before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee). We heard several inspiring stories about the effectiveness of peacebuilding in helping to stabilize… Continue

Added by Ted Nunn on April 17, 2010 at 11:43am — 4 Comments

Promote Peacebuilding in Just a Few Minutes a Day

By your presence on this post at this time, I'll assume you think peacebuilding is worthwhile concept. Maybe you think the Department of Peace legislation should be at the top of the Administration's priority list, or you believe the Youth PROMISE act is the best thing that could possibly happen to help reduce violence in our communities. Wouldn't you like to see everyone, everywhere embrace the concepts of peace and nonviolence? Okay, now… Continue

Added by Ted Nunn on April 4, 2010 at 12:00pm — 10 Comments

Peacebuilding Ideas on Change.org

Change.org has launched it's 2010 search for "Ideas for Change in America", and already several peacebuilding ideas have been proposed. The top 10 ideas will be given the support of Change.org organizers and pushed forward. Go to Change.org and cast your votes for:

a) Establish a U.S. Department of Peacebuilding -…

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Added by Ted Nunn on January 26, 2010 at 6:03pm — 1 Comment

"Global Family Day" Program Offers $1000 Scholarship for Best Letter or Video to President Obama

The "Global Family Day" campaign is offering a $1000 scholarship for best 250 word letter/video-letter to President Obama, telling him why we need Global Family Day, a January 1st day of observance to practice peace and sharing as one human family. It's already approved by the U.S. Congress and UN General Assembly. All we need is ...for the president to proclaim it. The winning letter will be published in the Honolulu Star Bulletin on… Continue

Added by Ted Nunn on December 26, 2009 at 11:30am — 4 Comments

Canada introduces Department of Peace legislation!

Hot off the presses is the following article from the Vancouver Sun about how the Canadian lawmakers are pursuing the idea of creating a Department of Peace. Way to go, Canada! Now, what can the rest of us do to help make this happen? We can start by sending MP Bill Siksay a big "THANK YOU!" at Siksay.B@parl.gc.ca or visit his… Continue

Added by Ted Nunn on October 2, 2009 at 3:30pm — 10 Comments

Veterans for Peace resolves to Support the Youth PROMISE act!

At the recent Veterans for Peace convention in College Park, Maryland, our own Jim Ramelis introduced a resolution for VFP to support the Youth PROMISE act - and it was approved! The below text is from the VFP website:

"YOUTH PROMISE ACT

Whereas Veterans for Peace affirms its responsibility to serve the cause of world peace in its "Statement of Purpose",… Continue

Added by Ted Nunn on August 20, 2009 at 4:00pm — 10 Comments