Ongoing Atrocities in West Asia
John Hoskyns-Abrahall, host of BCTV’s “Centering on Peace,” interviewed Faramarz Farbod, DV Co-editor, discussing Israel, Palestine, the war on Iran, the US, international law, imperialism, capitalism, and resistance.
Latest articles
A Plain Guide for the Solidarity Activist
The Canadian State, the NGOs, and the Complicity They Share
“There is no excuse for those who realize the idea and abandon it.”
“If we are failed defenders of the cause, it’s better to change the defenders, not the cause.”
—Ghassan Kanafani
“I want to give the call to prayer out to people and ask them: Where is their cause? And where has it reached? I want to draw for the simple people, those who understand and those …
Reconnecting with Nature
A visceral invitation to consider one’s own (dis)connection with nature, while providing many paths forward into how human societies can best find their place in this natural world.
— John Zelenski, Prof. of Psychology, Director of Happiness Laboratory, Carleton University
Fools’ Paradise (lost?), directed by Alexandra Lexton
Motivated by her sudden acquisition of an organic apple farm, filmmaker Alexandra Lexton begins searching for stories of others who have reconnected with nature and brought those experiences into the world in an impactful, meaningful way.
Fools’ Paradise (lost?) finds Lexton eliciting wisdom from 10 …
School Deaths and Narco Killings: The UN and US Crimes in International Law
This month has seen the United Nations issue two reports alleging the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the United States in two theatres of engagement. In one, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran concluded that the US had committed war crimes in two attacks on Iran on the first day of the war killing civilians, including over 120 children. The other, featuring exploits in the Caribbean Sea entitled Operation Southern Spear, involved the extravagantly murderous campaign waged by the …
Sonic Violence
The Israeli military uses acoustic weapons to inflict physical and psychological harm on Palestinian and Lebanese communities. Learn more from “Sonic Violence,” a visual developed in partnership with audio journalist Ahmed Ashour.
There’s no way to forget [the war] when the sound is always there.
— Interview with N.J., for Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.
US & Iran: What to Expect at the UN General Assembly
Azerbaijan’s AnewZ_tv interviewed DV co-editor Faramarz Farbod on Tuesday as President Trump finished delivering his remarks at the UN General Assembly.
Nonviolent Tactics Deepen MAGA Decline and Division
Think for a moment: what if, in response to all that the Trumpists starting doing after taking office 20 months ago, small groups of angry and pissed off leftist activists had engaged in repeated, explicitly violent acts of street fighting or similar action as ICE continued to assault our neighbors and friends and communities in cities and town across the country? Or what if, rather than millions of people five different times in every state and Congressional District all over the country taking part in explicitly nonviolent No Kings and other …
Stop Mad King Donald’s Iran War
An Open Letter to Members of the US Congress: The war with Iran is Trump’s folly but Congress’s disgrace for not stopping it.
Dear Members of Congress,
In truly deranged remarks to world leaders at the UN, Donald Trump declared that “I have a big decision to make,” whether to negotiate a deal with Iran or instead to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and drive Iran “into hell with no chance of survival.”
He posed it as his personal choice. The fact that the American people are dead set against Trump’s war means nothing. And as for the voters, he added that he gives “absolutely no credence” to the coming midterm elections in deciding on his actions and on Iran’s fate.
Nothing binds this President. He is …
Bidding Wars and Nonsense Targets: Cutting Migration Down Under
It’s become the disease of affluence: How do wealthy countries limit, restrict or totally bar migrants (whether they arrive through regular channels or otherwise) who are seen as ills to be shunned rather than solutions to be treasured? A country like Australia would be a shadow of itself without its migrants, either of the long stay variety or those of shorter duration who come in and do the indispensable, from offering medical services to fruit picking and filling the “hospo” (hospitality) sector. But the malady of affluence has afflicted the Canberra establishment, much of it due to the jittery demagoguery …
Women in Power or Power-hungry Women?
Media treatment of leftist Latina leaders in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Mexico
(L to R) Rosario Murillo, Claudia Sheinbaum, Delcy Rodriguez
Women who attain political power are often judged by the US-aligned corporate press not simply by what they do but by how politically acceptable they are. This is evident in the strikingly different media treatment of three Latin American leaders, all lifelong leftists, raising the question of how relations with the US shape media judgments of political legitimacy.
Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez
The Guardian’s profile of Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez acknowledges that she is a “pragmatic, witty and intelligent workaholic” who worked her way …
US Increases Sanctions on Iran and Russia
It is with some frustration to realize that details of the Ukraine-Russia war remain anonymous to many members of the House of Representatives; especially those who have a Committee responsibility to be fully aware and informed on foreign policy details.
It is not that those details are obscure or complicated since Russia’ s Special Military Operation began in February, 2022. It is, however, required that each elected Representative is required to have an open mind, an independent thought process as well as a willingness to accept reality.
To date, too many Members of the House have willfully abandoned their Constitutional responsibilities …
Canadian Political Leader’s Call for Jewish Atonement Elicits Pro-Israel Anger
The hypocrisy is stunning. Those who link Judaism to Zionism are outraged a politician said Jews have “failed to do our part to stop an ongoing genocide committed in our name.”
On Sunday NDP leader Avi Lewis posted, “Tonight Yom Kippur begins, the most sombre moment of the Jewish calendar. It’s a time of atonement — a time to grieve those who have been lost, a time to acknowledge and take responsibility for …
When Your Publisher Demands You Deny a Genocide
“I’d like to publish your book on Gaza refugees,” my new publisher began. “You only need to change one thing: You can’t use the word genocide. There is no genocide. They’re just war crimes. Otherwise, you have a great book.”
Then he told me he was Jewish.
I thought I had done everything right. I met this publisher at the AWP 2023 Writer’s Conference and Bookfair (the nation’s largest marketplace for independent literary presses) and had kept in touch with him over email in hopes that he might be interested in publishing one of my books someday. His publishing …
Waging War Against the People on Behalf of Capital: The Roots of U.S. Domestic Repression
On July 16, 2026, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio convened a gathering of United States government officials, congressional representatives, and governmental officials from 65 nations at the State Department. Informally called the “Antifa summit,” the topic that brought everyone together was the supposed resurgence of “left” political terrorism.
Secretary Rubio declared that U.S. counterterrorism doctrine has “had a blind spot—a blind spot when it comes to extremist violence from the political left. Even today, the very idea that far-left terrorism could be a serious threat is treated as a right-wing fever dream, or worse, as a …
War, War, War
When will peace break out in the world?
The Venezuela Flex: Back to School “Fairy Tales”
Venezuelan children returned to classes this September – alongside millions around the globe.
Caracas authorities estimate over six million youngsters grudgingly squeezed into their tight-fitting uniforms, shook off stitched-up backpacks and dug out their dog-eared textbooks after the summer break.
But what awaited them when they trudged down to the country’s 27,000 schools with a tempered mix of trepidation, excitation and maybe even loathing rippling through their heads? Had authorities painted or repaired their classrooms, had they supplied new backpacks and classroom equipment, what delights might the school meals …
Erasing the Record: The Trump Administration’s Drive to Control US History
On September 8, historian Lonnie G. Bunch III announced that he was resigning as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, a federal government-created educational nonprofit and trust, which manages eighteen museums including the National Museum of American History (NMAH), the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), and the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). Since taking over as head of the Smithsonian in 2019, Bunch, the founding director of the NMAAHC, has supported efforts to include the stories of people of color, women, and other disempowered groups in the Institution’s presentation of US history, championing and fundraising for …
The Urgency of Recognizing the Ansar Allah Government in Yemen
The Trump administration came perilously close to launching another bombing campaign against Yemen this weekend. According to a September 20 New York Times report, US commanders had approved their targets, American troops were loading bombs onto warplanes, and an attack on Yemen’s Ansar Allah forces was about to begin when President Trump abruptly reversed course.
For two weeks, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had been pleading with Trump to intervene as Ansar Allah (Houthi) forces swept through Saudi-backed forces’ positions along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. Trump initially resisted, but after another urgent call from the Saudi crown prince, he …
4,700 Charter Schools Closed In 24 Years
Charter schools have been around for roughly 35 years. The first charter school in the country, City Academy High School, opened in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1992.
Data from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools shows that 4,690 charter schools closed between 1998 and 2022; that is, nearly 4,700 charter schools have closed in 24 years. The real number of closures is likely higher. The same source says about 8,100 charter schools are operating today.
The Network for Public Education (NPE) points out that “more than one in four charter schools close by the five-year mark. By year 10, …
Trump’s Rubicon
As the 2026 midterm elections approach, the usual stakes of a congressional referendum are eclipsed by the fact that – unless something is done soon to prevent it – the Trump presidency is about to be skewered by its own mismanagement of domestic and foreign affairs. This much even President Trump will be acutely aware of.
Already in serious trouble according to the polls – approval ratings are at 36% to 38% – to arrest and turn around its self-inflicted rapid fall from grace, the Trump administration will need to …
False Advertising: Albanese, Digital Safety, and Australia’s Security Council Bid
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made digital safety, especially regarding children, a mooring of his premiership. Politically, he is so invested in it as to have become a salesman of sorts. In September last year, when paying a visit to the UN General Assembly High-level week in New York, he hosted an event at a room overlooking the East River. A motley crew were in attendance to hear from grieving families whose children had taken their lives after sustained online bullying. Leaders from Greece, Fiji, Tonga and Malta …
Some “Lefties” Work with Genocidal Zioists
No matter how many Palestinians, Lebanese or Iranians Israel kills some lefties will work with genocidal Jewish supremacist lobby organizations.
On September 22, University of Manitoba Professor Sean Carleton and Niigaan Sinclair are scheduled to speak on their new book Truth Before Reconciliation: Confronting Residential School Denialism in a virtual forum organized by the Montreal Holocaust Museum. MHM openly backs genocide in Gaza and its main benefactor is the sponsor of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).
Israeli flags hang at MHM events and last month the museum put …
Casting Allegations that Demonize Non-Westerners while Ignoring War Crimes in One’s Backyard
The article, “Alex Ovechkin claims he’s ‘not in politics’. His pro-Putin video says the opposite,” starts with an assertion — “When Russian launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022,” — an assertion because the writer, Colin Horgan, did not provide any evidence or rationale of Russia launching an invasion, which Russia contends was a special military operation to protect the people of Donbass from military attacks launched from western Ukraine.
In the subheading, Horgan says because Ovechkin appeared in an ad for the political party United Russia that “it’s …
Artificial Intelligence = Alienation Instructors
China Officially Stands for World Peace Yet Cooperates with U.S. War-Making, Part 3
China produces 70% of the world’s sex dolls used to replace human sex and love. Source: cbc.ca.
I am conscious of being alienated. Feeling, knowing we have no real control over our lives, or over what happens around us throughout the world. Many of us who look honestly inside feel isolated, estranged from people, society, ourselves. Hopelessly living limply with depression.
Che Guevara on alienation: “In capitalist society individuals are controlled by a pitiless law usually beyond their comprehension. The alienated human specimen is tied to society as a whole by an invisible umbilical cord: …
Guinness Meditations and Fine Retreats: The Drunken Poet Turns Twenty
Ale house readings, spiritual zest, and the inevitable crapulous effect: a pub, the public house, the inn, the tavern, that home that functions between your actual home and the funeral rites that lie ahead, a space where so much living is done, the indifferent years passing in unnoticed flow. “There is no private house in which people can enjoy themselves so well as at a capital tavern,” the garrulous lexicographer Samuel Johnson is documented as saying in March, 1776. “There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by …
Questioning Pro-Israel Charities Criminal, Says Zionist
Is it criminal to call on the Canada Revenue Agency to investigate registered charities violating the Income Tax Act? That seems to be the position of Unapologetically Jewish.
On Wednesday, Matthew Taub of Unapologetically Jewish held a press conference on Parliament Hill to attack grassroots activist group Just Peace Advocates (JPA). The opening line in their release says they are “calling on the CRA and RCMP to examine” JPA and Taub repeatedly suggested the anti-genocide group has engaged in some criminality. Taub said that he’d reached out to both the RCMP and …
Randy Fine and the Ministry of Acceptable Journalism
Calla Walsh, Jackson Hinkle and Christopher Helali have been accused of disinformation and propaganda. They are nontraditional journalists, certainly. They do not spend their days interviewing retired generals for mainstream outlets about why this week’s bombing campaign is regrettable but necessary, and they don’t wait until truth commissions to be on the right side of history. Instead, they travel to countries the United States considers enemies, talk to people Americans are told to hate and fear, and report perspectives that rarely penetrate our Western media echo chamber. The trio were among …
Art as an Element in Citizens’ Diplomacy and Dialogue toward a Better World
Peace can be promoted not only through texts, as usual here, but also through art. It does not indicate a trend change, just see it as a bonus.
This post is a bit different from what you usually get from TFF. It does not indicate a trend change, just an added perspective, a bonus post: We believe that peace can be promoted in many, different ways, including art. And this poster is an invitation to you.
*****
I am a peace and future researcher. But many may not know my ‘second’ life as an art photographer. In the first, I have formal professional degrees and titles; in the second, I have none of that, but 75 years …