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Peace Journalism Perspective

EDITORIAL

Toward a Northeast Asian Conference on Peace and Security

Organizing a weeklong conflict resolution dialogue in December 2025 in Okinawa, which is home to extensive U.S. military bases, reminded me of the constant fear and unspeakable suffering endured by local communities under conditions of heightened regional insecurity.

TRANSCEND VIDEOS

UN Security Council Convenes Emergency Meeting on Venezuela

5 Jan 2026 - Colombia, backed by Russia and China, requested the council hold an emergency meeting after the US attacked Venezuela and kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro to charge him on drug trafficking in New York.

PAPER OF THE WEEK

A Reassessment of Marx’s Theory as a Political Theory and a Theory of Conflict Resolution

I present an assessment of Marx's theory based on a new understanding of the foundations of social science, consisting of two dichotomies. Based on these dichotomies, Marx's theory implicitly assumed alternatives to those of the dominant economic theory of capitalism.

TMS PEACE JOURNALISM

Venezuela and the Collapse of a World Order Built on Treaties

7 Jan 2026 - The crisis surrounding Venezuela exposes an illusion in international politics: the belief that defending international law requires choosing between opposing external coercion and opposing internal authoritarianism. This is a false dilemma.

Other Commentaries

SPOTLIGHT

After Trump’s Threat, Venezuela’s Acting President Calls for Cooperation with the US

5 Jan 2026 - Venezuela’s acting president, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, issued a statement yesterday calling for cooperation with the US after President Trump threatened her with a fate worse than President Nicolas Maduro’s if she did not do the US’s bidding.

Venezuela and Truth

4 Jan 2026 - The mainstream media covered Venezuela non-stop yesterday. They did not mention that the elected governments of Hugo Chávez reduced extreme poverty by over 70%, reduced poverty by 50%, halved unemployment, quadrupled the number receiving a state pension and achieved 100% literacy. Chávez took Venezuela from the most unequal society for wealth distribution in Latin America to the most equal.

How Many International Laws Can the United States Break against Venezuela and Still Get Away with?

8 Jan 2026 - Smashing International Laws - The absence of U.N. and O.A.S. condemnations of Washington’s attacks on Venezuela indicates the absolute mafia-type power the U.S. wields in the world.

The ‘Cartel de los Soles’ Does Not Exist, the U.S. Justice Department Admits

6 Jan 2026 - Updated indictment no longer alleges it is a formal criminal, terrorist organization.

The U.S. Desperately Wants Back in the Business of Empire with Venezuela

8 Jan 2026 - The USA carried out a coup in Venezuela to plunder the country’s resources. But Latin Americans will have the last word. Precious few elected officials have raised the fundamental question: Does the U.S. have the right to infringe upon another nation’s sovereignty?

CONFLICT RESOLUTION - MEDIATION

Ukraine: Conditional Recognition against Referendum

A Framework for a Lasting Solution in Donbass - The framework is based on the principle that lasting peace cannot be achieved by freezing a conflict or relying on trust that does not exist. Mechanisms must be established that solve root problems, and build trust in the process.

The Role of Advisers in Mediating Worldview Conflicts

Mediation, understood as an assisted negotiation, is a complex process involving the parties in conflict, a third party (the mediator/facilitator), and a constellation of “fourth parties” who can significantly influence the course and outcomes of mediation.

HUMAN RIGHTS

5 Crises to Watch Out for in 2026

As the world rings in a new year, the need to address ongoing and long-lasting humanitarian crises remains urgent. In 2026, several regions will face challenges that will demand global attention. 

TRANSCEND MEMBERS

Shame on the UN: Ratifying Genocide, Legitimating the Trump Plan

7 Jan 2026 - The 3 Jan acts of US aggression against Venezuela rationalized as ‘law enforcement’ is a geopolitical expression of extra-legal prerogatives shielded from UN censure and sanctions by the veto power of the P5, and in that sense reflects the same mentality underlying the complicity with Gaza genocide.

Ela Gandhi’s Statement on the US Attack on Venezuela

On 5 Apr 1930 Gandhiji wrote to a U.S. businessman: “I want world sympathy in this battle of right against might.” Today in the face of US aggression against Venezuela and labelling South Africa for genocidal intent against Afrikaners while ignoring genocide in Gaza, we are reminded of this quote and ask: Can the world stand by and allow this kind of aggression to continue?

The Leeches on Humanity Have Unmasked Themselves in Palestine & Venezuela

8 Jan 2026 - Criminal White Supremacist Arses have roamed our planet for way too long. Enter the European slave trade, the most successful trade of its kind in recorded history, that kicked off in AD 1440. In 2026, there still are Class A criminals in the ruling circles of Europe, N. & S America, and Australia- that is, the world of White Supremacy encompassing both Zionist and White nationalist strains.

War and Oil: Connecting the Dots

And Why Everyone Should Boycott Chevron

Responses to Evil, Even as It Has Grown within Social Structures

Abandoning a religious ethic of absolute commandments emanating from a higher Being and abandoning the concept of ethics as determined by nature itself, human reason has sought a new basis for ethics in a philosophical ontology...

From Minneapolis to Here and There: One Empire, Many Graves

This is not about one murder, one massacre, one “tragic incident,” one regrettable “mistake” explained away by a press release and a blue-ribbon commission. This is about a system that perfects cruelty, routinizes violence, and then asks us to admire its efficiency.

Iran: Dark Clouds, Future Uncertain

8 Jan 2026 - Since the "12-day war" of Israel and the U.S.A. against Iran in June 2025, Iran has been a powder key with unresolved political tensions, deepening economic turmoil, and rising domestic dissent.  With the start of 2026, the keg has exploded.  Protests have started in some 32 cities and larger towns throughout the country.

The War for the Elusive Word of Peace: A Search for Common Ground in Abrahamic and Dharmic Hermeneutics (Part 1)

Hermeneutics:  Confronting the Bimodal Interpretive Crisis in Global Religions”

IN FOCUS

Grand Illusion

8 Jan 2026 - We are cursed by what the historian Barbara Tuchman calls the “bellicose frivolity of senile empires.”

Teetering on the Brink: WWIII or Just Another Round of Global Poker?

11 Jan 2026 - The world in early 2026 – a veritable chessboard where kings posture, pawns get pulverized, and everyone pretends they’re not bluffing.

Neocolonial Drug Trafficking and the British Empire’s Opium Wars

Today’s “Narco-States” and “The Laundering of Drug Money” - Rarely acknowledged by the mainstream media, the “Global War on Terrorism” which was launched on 9/11 coupled with an extensive dollarization of the global economy has a bearing on the global trade in narcotics, which is controlled by powerful financial interests.

ACTIVISM

An Urgent Appeal to Save the Lives of Palestine Action Hunger Strikers in UK

11 Jan 2026 - We write in uncompromising solidarity with the hunger strikers from Palestine Action held today in British prisons. They are imprisoned on remand, without trial and without conviction. For some, their remand has lasted over a year, and for most, they will not see trial for two.

Until His Final Day, Mohammad Bakri Would Not Be Crushed by Israel

6 Jan 2026 - Israel’s courts, military, and mainstream media united to punish the Palestinian actor for giving voice to his people. But he remained unbroken to the end.

ANGLO AMERICA

Withdrawing the US from International Organizations, Conventions and Treaties

Presidential Memoranda 7 Jan 2026 - Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies

The Trump Doctrine Exposes the US as a Mafia State

7 Jan 2026 - The Venezuela incursion is in line with this logic, made even plainer as the US eyes Greenland.

Ex-Presidents and Democratic Leaders Silent on the Impeachment of Donald Trump

9 Jan 2026 - Imagine, if you will, what would happen if these four wealthy politicians (George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden), who still have most of their voters liking them, decided to band together and take on Trump full throttle.

U.S. the Rogue State

5 Jan 2026 - The evisceration of the rule of law at home and abroad solidifies the USA as a rogue state.

ASIA--PACIFIC

A New Year’s Thought: A Farewell to Warriors!

A One Hundred Two -Year-Old War Survivor Speaks About "War"

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Who’s Really Running Venezuela?

9 Jan 2026 - The world was mystified when Trump said that the US would “run” Venezuela. He has since made it clear that he wants to control Venezuela by imposing a U.S. monopoly on selling its oil to the rest of the world, to trap the Venezuelan government in a subservient relationship with the US. 

The Path to Success in Governing Venezuela

8 Jan 2026 --- Five days have passed since the Trump administration's US military raided Venezuela, abducted President Maduro and his wife, and declared that "the United States will govern Venezuela until it begins to stabilize and develop."

The Imperial Crosshairs Move to Cuba

12 Jan 2026 - It’s incredible how rapidly the empire has been shoving through longstanding regional domination agendas in the Middle East and Latin America since late 2023.

PALESTINE ISRAEL GAZA GENOCIDE

Gaza under Engineered Collapse: How Israel Is Dismantling an Entire Humanitarian System

7 Jan 2026 - What is unfolding in Gaza is no longer merely the humanitarian fallout of war. It is the systematic construction of a humanitarian void — a man-made catastrophe driven by Israeli policy and sustained through overlapping political, military, and administrative controls that have transformed civilian survival itself into a battlefield.

This Is How Israeli Settlers, Backed by the Military, Erased a Palestinian Village from Existence Last Week

4 Jan 2026 - The last family in the Palestinian village of Yanoun left their home last week, joining a growing list of communities that have been erased from existence through the establishment of Israeli "shepherding outposts" in their place.

World Council of Churches Calls for Sanctions on Israel

31 Dec 2025 - The World Council of Churches has called on the European Union to impose sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel over what it described as a war of genocide in the Gaza Strip and violations against Palestinians in the West Bank.

As the World Welcomes a New Year, We, in Gaza, Dread What It Will Bring

31 Dec 2026 -Another year has passed, and life in Gaza is still trapped between Israel’s killing machine and the growing indifference of the world. It is another year added to our unique calendar of loss, destruction and death.  We have seen so much evil this year that we are afraid to imagine the future.

UNITED NATIONS

Thematic Report – Israel’s Discriminatory Administration of the Occupied West Bank, Including East Jerusalem

7 Jan 2026 - This thematic report considers the human rights situation in the occupied West Bank with a focus on Israel’s discriminatory administration in violation of Article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination, which prohibits racial segregation and apartheid.

Maduro Seized, Norms Tested: Security Council Divided as Venezuela Crisis Deepens

5 Jan 2026 - The UN Security Council met on Monday against a sharply altered diplomatic backdrop, following US strikes on the Venezuelan capital and seizure of President Nicolás Maduro.

MEDIA

‘Cover-Up’: The Complicity of the Press in US Violence

4 Jan 2026 - All governments lie. Seymour Hersh built his journalism career around the creed that it’s a reporter’s job to expose government lies, especially those told by the United States government. 

The Most Censored News Website in Canada

6 Jan 2026 - One thing in our world of non-stop wars is for sure: As long as citizens seeking balanced political coverage of international conflicts are presented with only one side of the story, the democratic knowledge needed to achieve world peace can never occur.

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Transcripts of Three International Phone Calls Intercepted by Pegasus Spy Transponders Last Week

The First conversation: ‘Hello there! Donald! This is your friend Carney! How you doing today, eh? I have very good news for you! ...

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES

(Castellano) El buendesarrollo en la universidad franquista y qué hacer hoy

La universidad franquista nació subdesarrollada en el contexto de la autarquía y murió maldesarrollada en su adaptación al capitalismo. Durante toda la dictadura se produjeron impulsos democráticos y transformadores...

IN-DEPTH VIDEOS

Amb. Chas Freeman: Attack on Venezuela Will Destroy the US Empire

5 Jan 2026 - Can a superpower simply kidnap a foreign leader and charge them with possessing weapons on their own soil? Now that the U.S. has effectively "caught the car" in Venezuela, is there any road left for international law, or have we fully entered the era of the outlaw state?

Venezuela after Trump’s Strike: John Bolton vs John Mearsheimer

6 Jan 2026 - Tom Switzer challenges John Bolton and John Mearsheimer on the Trump administration’s move to remove Nicolás Maduro from power. Will Beijing and Moscow draw lessons for Taiwan and Ukraine? Can Washington control Venezuela’s oil without nation-building? And how does this intervention square with Trump’s promise to avoid foreign entanglements?

SHORT VIDEO CLIPS

Economic Warfare, Asset Theft, and Global Destruction

6 Jan 2026 - Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Rodríguez’s Masterclass on US Sanctions

Jeffrey Sachs Slams US “Power Grab” Over Venezuela at UN Security Council

5 Jan 2026 - Economist and UN adviser Jeffrey Sachs delivered blistering remarks at an emergency UN Security Council meeting, condemning U.S. strikes on Venezuela and the capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Sachs warned of U.S. “hegemonic power grabs,” urging the Council to defend the UN Charter and international law.

Fantaisie-Impromptu Chopin Op. 66 (Music Video of the Week)

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