Democracy Now!
Syrian security forces shot dead 15 protesters today when they used live ammunition in several cities to disperse protests demanding the ouster of President Bashar Assad. A special military court in Bahrain convicted 21 mostly Shiite activists on Wednesday on charges of conspiring to overthrow the government during street demonstrations this year, sentencing eight to life
Gene Sharp, the leading theorist of nonviolent resistance alive today, doesn’t speak in public much anymore. He has been giving a lot of interviews in the last few months, to be sure—including one with me—and an exciting documentary about him is soon to be released. A new book, Sharp’s Dictionary of Power and Struggle, is forthcoming
In my post about Happy World—the short documentary about the absurdity of everyday life under the dictatorship in Burma—I forgot to mention several of the great bonus features, which, along with the movie, can all be enjoyed for free online. In an interview with the French news site Ownie, the filmmakers call their project an
Yesterday the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict presented its first James Lawson Award for Nonviolent Achievement—or, rather, awards. The ceremony took place over lunch in a multi-purpose room at Tufts University, midway through ICNC’s annual, week-long Fletcher Summer Institute for the Advanced Study of Nonviolent Conflict. All four Lawson Award winners are taking part in FSI
I spoke recently as part of a panel at an interfaith gathering. Our challenge for the evening and beyond, until the world and its people is healed and whole, was to share the wisdom of each tradition, seeking together the will and the way to move “Be...
In my lucky situation teaching at "The People's University" at Portland State, I get to meet and have collegial conversations with my intellectual betters and with amazing scholars from all over the world. Yesterday, I talked with Veronica Dujon, origi...
After being held in prison by China without being charged for nearly 3 months, leading Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei was finally released earlier today. While the Chinese government says that they decided to let Ai go home because he confessed to tax evasion, promised to pay back the money he owes, and has been facing worsening health problems, as the Los
Take Action! It’s very encouraging that the US Conference of Mayors just passed a strong resolution initiated by CODEPINK for bringing our “war dollars home” (read press release or NY Times article on this). Unfortunately, later this week the House … Continue reading →
The Seattle Times, June 19, 2011Lawyers for three former editors of Bahrain's main opposition newspaper told a court Sunday the journalists were tricked into publishing false news about the Sunni monarchy's crackdown on Shiite-led protesters as part of...
Ramin Jahanbegloo, CS Monitor, June 15, 2011Where does Iran's opposition stand two years later? The price of speaking out has been high. Even so, the movement has achieved its goal by gaining moral high ground, revealing the true face of the Islamic re...
Michael Schawarts, New York Times, June 18, 2011Andrei Sakharov was one of the best-known dissidents of the Communist era — a celebrated physicist persecuted for crusading for human rights and against Soviet brutality. He won the Nobel Peace Prize, a...
Simon Tisdall, Brisbane Times, June 22, 2011Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese democracy leader and Nobel peace prize winner, has issued a passionate manifesto for freedom in an unprecedented international broadcast describing the continuing 21-year-long st...
In this video, Syria expert Joshua Landis and Syrian activist Ausama Monajed have a lively discussion on Bloggingheads.tv about how things are unfolding in Syria. In general, Monajed is far more optimistic than Landis that Assad’s regime will eventually crumble without devolving into a civil war. One key factor he argues will be getting European countries
Eric Stoner, Waging Nonviolence, June 20, 2011In this short video put together by students and professors at the 2011 Narco News School of Authentic Journalism, Ivan Marovic, who was one of the leaders of Otpor, the nonviolent student-led movement that...
In the Guardian last week, Carne Ross asks an important question: What can people living outside of countries where movements are struggling to bring down repressive regimes do to help? He asks readers to contribute ideas for “practical suggestions for nonviolent action to help those struggling against repression and dictatorship” in the comment section, which
In a Paris metro station, United4Iran and Move4Iran organized a silent flash mob (video above) on June 9, to commemorate the second anniversary of the elections in Iran and raise awareness about the continuing human rights abuses in the country. And in New York, Where Is My Vote – NY held a candlelight vigil (video
