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Archive 1986 - 2017

Positive news, views & stories Features collected by TFF • October 20, 2004

Are you sick and tired of only hearing and seeing negative stuff about the world? Do you feel powerless, losing hope?
Then be inspired and charge you social change batteries by reading some of these stories…stories about civil courage, standing up, speaking out, showing solidarity, about inventiveness, new ideas – in short, about the fact that individuals do make a difference!
We hope to make this a recurrent theme in TFF’s work.

Daniel Ellsberg – Common Dreams
A call to patriotic whistleblowing

The Japan Times
Former Japanese hostage in Iraq to help rebuild Fallujah school
– moving story about courage and the Japanese government misunderstanding it all…
Here is another, from Asahi Shimbun
Trauma notwithstanding, former hostage continues humanitarian battle

Transnational Institute, Holland
Walden Bello: Beirut 2004 is a Milestone in the global struggle against injustice and war

The Beirut Declaration – representing millions of people, it has hardly been mentioned in the mainstream press…and neither has this one:

Final Statement ASEM People’s Forum V “People’s actions for human security in Asia and Europe” – Hanoi, Vietnam, 9 September 2004

TruthOut
Freed Italian hostage speaks out: The rebel war in Iraq is justified

And to Aljazeera, Simona Toretta says that Italy ought to withdraw the troops
“I said it before the kidnapping and I repeat it today,” she told Corriere della Sera newspaper in an interview published on Friday. You have to distinguish between terrorism and resistance. The guerrilla war is justified, but I am against the kidnapping of civilians.”

EAPPI
Learn about the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel

The WorldWatch Institute
Good stuff? A Behind-the-Scenes Guide to the Things We Buy
Have you ever wondered where chocolate comes from, if antibacterial soap is good for your family, or how to recycle an old computer? If you’ve had these or other questions about the environmental and social impacts of the products you buy and use, Good Stuff is for you. It contains many of the tips, facts, and links you’ll need to start making more informed purchases that benefit your health and the environment.
Stephen Hesse in The Japan Times reviews this marvellous publication

Full of fun and energy in Burundi @ Jan Oberg 2004

Bruderhof Communities
Ordinary virtue. On the Unnoticed Gestures of Insignificant People
“I want to do something, but what can I do? I’m just one person, an average person. I can’t have an impact. I live with the despair of my own powerlessness. I can’t bring myself to do anything. The world is so screwed up, and I have so little power. I feel so paralyzed.”
But there are ways out. Somebody are walking them…

Paul Loeb’s book
The Impossible Will Take a Little Time
A Citizens Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear
“For anyone worn down by Bushism, The Impossible Will Take a Little While is a bracing double cappuccino!” – said Barbara Ehrenreich about it.

Desmond Tutu in the International Herald Tribune
About Aung San Suu Kyi, nonviolencve and the connections between human rights and fighting all wars
My fellow Nobel Peace laureate, the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, is now spending her ninth year in detention.
If only as much noise, money and effort was spent supporting the peacemakers of this world as is made in support of the use of war. If only those governments that claim to be against war showed their determination to support those at the front line of peace. If only those who say that for them war is the last resort proved this by supporting those struggling for nonviolent solutions to avert such last resorts. Where are the statesmen, the visionaries of our time, with regard to Suu Kyi’s nonviolent struggle for freedom? The words of protest at her detention from world leaders ring hollow when they do not translate into action.

Anthony Spaeth in TIME Asia
20 under 40 The Bold and the Young
Let’s do the math. Asia has more people than any other continent. And with 70% of its population under the age of 40, Asians as a group are the youngest people on the planet. If you were to search anywhere for young heroes, you couldn’t find a better-stocked pond.
TIME shines the spotlight on 20 individuals who have done something brave, bold or remarkable&emdash;before they’ve reached the age of 40.

Bruderhof Communities
Peacemakers’ Guide – and Why Forgive?
A magnificent collection of books, articles and links to essential, hope-inducing reading about the human dimensions of war, hate, reconciliation and love…

Christian Science Monitor
Iraq’s looted heritage makes a steady – if slow – comeback
In all, about 15,000 objects (from small jewelry pieces to ancient seals) were stolen, but about 4,000 of those were recovered, Hameed says, while another 4,000 are “on their way back” – from places like Amman and Paris and New York’s Kennedy Airport, where officials have confiscated more than 600 pieces…A good story from Iraq!

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