Violence-prevention

By Johan Galtung
3 July 2017
There are many of them – of different kinds – in world geography. We can try to identify the characteristics of their peacefulness.
Or we can start by identifying belligerent societies and then see peaceful societies as their negations. Let us try this one first.

By Gunnar Westberg
TFF Board member
An easy Q & A session:
Question: What does Kim Jong-un and the leaders of DPRK, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea want?
Answer: Security for themselves, power and privileges.
Q. Are their privileges and their leadership threatened?
A: Yes. From outside and from inside.
Q: What outside danger?
A: An attack from the USA.

By Jonathan Power
June 20th 2017
Frederick the Great of Prussia was a friend of Voltaire and enjoyed ribald evenings with the philosopher discussing the intricacies of life’s dos and don’ts. Before becoming king he was persuaded by Voltaire to become a pacifist.

West of Jondal is Torsnes, named after the Nordic war god Thor with his Hammer, a center of the Viking era from 800 to 1050, only 250 years. Why so short? Successful with raids and colonization–Gardarike in Russia, Iceland, Greenland, Vineland in Canada. And then: fini. Why?
Because they had no future. Evil Lóki had killed Good Baldur–next to Torsnes is Belsnes=Baldursnes. They were doomed. Enters Christianity with Evil Satan and Good God, restoring hope. The end.

By Johan Galtung
It is amazing. The United Nations have decades, years, weeks and days, dedicated to more values, goals and concerns than most of us are aware of. Compare it to nation-states usually with only one day, their day, their national day, celebrating nobody but themselves.
Maybe the UN overdoes it, that one decade flows into the next without leaving more than some verbal traces?

The Debate with Jim Walsh, MIT and Jan Oberg, TFF
Lund, Sweden – May 30, 2017
Last night “The Debate” on PressTV was devoted to the future of European-US relations in the wake of the NATO Summit, President Trump’s words and omissions and the – historic – words, in particular, of Chancellor Angela Merkel immediately after.

This is TFF Live on Facebook on the occasion of NATO’s Summit in Brussels on May 25, 2017.
We use TFF Live on Facebook because it is handy, personal and interactive and because such live broadcasts have a larger organic spread that texts, images, links and even YouTube videos. And we want to make use of the technological developments as they help TFF reach out to ever more.

By Johan Galtung
A key slogan during the student revolt in Paris May 1968, soon 50 years ago, was Imagination au pouvoir! Bring imagination to power!
We were there, walking with thousands from Champs-Élysées to Place Etoile where a stentorian voice commanded us to sit in small groups in the circles under the Arch to “discuss the situation”. So we did.

By Jonathan Power
May 16th 2017
During the French election no candidate talked about France’s nuclear weapons. In Britain, the subject has been raised in its election in an attempt to undermine the Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn. But the long-time anti-bomb activist compromised his views, saying in effect he was against them but Labour Party policy was for them.

By Gunnar Westberg
TFF Board member
April 17, 2017
North Korea was utterly destroyed in the Korean war. The people of DPRK, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, are not allowed to forget that USA considered using nuclear weapons against them.