(Canceled due to Hurricane Sandy aftermath. Next Coffeehouse in December)
PeaceSmiths November 2012 Coffeehouse will feature:
PeaceSmiths Coffeehouse
Friday, November 2, 2012
8pm-11pm Continue reading Friday, Nov 2nd: Long Island peace community meets for music and pre-election networking
Surprise! There should be a big jump in the Daily Peace Index today!
(Update: The PAXi Peace Index number for today, Oct. 13, 2012 is, in fact, “754”. A new high, and a giant leap from yesterday!)
One of the key indicators is a search for “peace” at Google News.
Today, the Google News number is over 60 million! Compare that to the past few days: 10/10 was 4,020,000; 10/11 was 3,790,000; 10/12 was 4,040,000. Also, the highest day yet for the PAXi/Daily Peace Index was on September 11, 2012. On that day, the Google New/peace figure was 20,100,000 and PAXi came out to 337. When we do the figures later today, we will probably have that beat! (Come back to the front page this evening to check on today’s PAXi number!)
In searching for causes of the jump, I reviewed what the top Google News stories about peace were this morning. I think the main story pushing this jump is the Nobel Peace Prize being given to the EU/European Union. Though, I was also happy to see a third party candidate shaking up the peace discourse: On the first page of the Google News results, Roseanne Barr for President on the “Peace and Freedom Party” line shows up!
P
eace is difficult to quantify. Though, we have been trying to measure it somewhat with our PAXi Index, the Daily Peace Culture Index for the United States.
PAXi began on July 15th. The PAXi for that day was 131, the lowest PAXi has been in its two month history. In the last few weeks, PAXI has hovered at the 140’s and 150’s. The highest number so far has been 158. Until today…
Today, on the anniversary of the September 11th tragedy, PAXi has jumped up to 337. Continue reading Peace Index climbs on September 11th
Howard Zinn‘s 1970 essay Vietnam: The Moral Equation is the seventeenth chapter of The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace . I am proponent of Zinn’s People’s History of the United States, and especially the graphic novel version, A People’s History of American Empire. And Zinn seems to be a force behind this book of pacifism, including contributing the introduction.
Yet, here I go committing heresy: Howard Zinn is wrong. In the first few paragraphs of this essay he gives away the whole pacifist store. Now I am all for the concept of free, but not when it means surrendering my pacifism from the get-go. Zinn starts by giving up on pacifism:
I would start such a discussion from the supposition that it is logically indefensible to hold an absolutely nonviolent position . . . . Continue reading Howard Zinn’s The “Moral Equation” of War is Wrong
The PAXi — The Daily Peace Culture Index of the United States — recently achieved the 150 level for the first time. PAXi was 150 on August 8th. And, today, Wednesday, August 29, 2012, DPCIUS/PAXi reached another new high of 153.
In trying to uncover why PAXi is so high on certain days, there is some guesswork involved. Though, we can also search the same indicators that got us to the PAXi score, and see what some of the stories and/or content is about.
So, here are some goings on in the universe of peace and nonviolence, which may have led to today’s impressive amount of discussion about peace, nonviolence, and antiwar sentiment: Continue reading US Daily Peace Index reaches new high on 8/29/2012
The Duke and Duchess of Peace do not own a television. Often, we just ignore controversies about TV shows, because TV is not part of our personal universe. Though, this week, I heard about the “Stars Earn Stripes” controversy on: a FAIR radio show; an e-mail from a local activist; and the press release below, which had been re-posted on a leftist list-serve. So, I guess we were meant to take a stand on it:
A press release posted at Nobelwomensinitiative.org
Ten Nobel Peace Laureates Call on NBC to Cancel “Stars Earn Stripes”
August 13, 2012
New show promotes an “inglorious tradition of glorifying war and armed violence”
(Ottawa)–Ten Nobel Peace Laureates today issued an open letter to the Chairman of NBC Entertainment, as well as General Wesley Clark and others involved in the new “reality” show premiering tonight on NBC—“Stars Earn Stripes”—calling on them to walk away from the show immediately. Continue reading TV and the culture of war and peace: Ten Nobel Peace Laureates call on NBC to cancel “Stars Earn Stripes” program
(See bottom for running tally of Peace Index numbers leading up to and after International Day of Peace.)
On July 15, 2012, Duchess Susanna introduced PAXi, which is the nickname for the Daily Peace Culture Index for the United States [DPCIUS]. PAXi is designed to describe the amount of energy and discussion devoted to peace in The United States each day. The PAXi number is posted prominently at Peace Couple every day.
According to our friends at the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR):
Each year on Sept. 21, the United Nations marks the International Day of Peace. Passed by the U.N. General Assembly in 2001, the day is to be “devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.” Beginning in 2004, the World Council of Churches has marked the day with an International Day of Prayer for Peace. A spiritually-based, multifaith 24-hour vigil for peace has taken place each year around the world.
There will global celebrations of peace leading up to September 21st. The Fellowship of Reconciliation will be marking “the occasion in a couple of ways, including an all-day event with affiliate Global Days of Listening. FOR is also sponsoring On Earth Peace’s network of local events around the theme Peace Day: Praying for Ceasefire. Read on for more information!”