Over 100 states, dozens of nongovernmental organizations, international companies, academics, experts and intellectuals attended the meetings. Both events were opened by speeches by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The Alliance of Civilizations forum, co-chaired by the prime ministers of Turkey and Spain under the UN, seeks to achieve, as I understand it, both “civilization” and “alliance” in a world gone wild by extremisms of all sorts, consumerism, ego-centrism and growing injustices. Civilization is not an abstract concept for academic discussion. It refers to a state of law, ethics and humanity whereby human beings live a free and dignified life. It underlies our fundamental humanity and the need to create conditions in which our potential as rational and moral beings can be realized.
Given the disturbing realities of the 21st century world, the present state of humanity can hardly be qualified as anything approaching rational and moral. Wars, nuclear arms, the defense budgets of nation-states, global warming, the growing gap between the rich and the poor, the deepening xenophobia, new forms of racism and a host of other social and political ills make “civilized life,” the purported goal of humanity, an increasingly rare commodity. This is a fact despite the hubris of the modern thinkers who believe in a sort of universal progressivism and transcendent civilizationism and naively hold that humanity, as it continues to mature, will overcome its problems by being more aggressive in its drive to create more advanced technological devices, high-speed communications and larger global economic institutions. The problem is not the new and better modern technological devices but what we do with them.
Modern societies have already lost the “coherent, integral and organic” ways of living, what the German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies called “Gemeinschaft” (community in a large sense of the term) almost a century ago, and have replaced them, willingly or not, with the “secondary, anonymous and functional” relationships of Gesellscaft, or what we call modern societies today. Late modernity’s attempt to make civilization the definition of reason, law and ethics is an impossible enterprise because its anonymous and pragmatic ethos reduces reality to utility and instrumental rationality. “Only that which is directly related to us is real” says one hard-core description of modern pragmatism. And it continues, “Things do not exist in themselves; they are no longer substances but they exist in and for the sake of what they do with us and what we do with them.”
The not-so-subtle attitude that we can do anything we want because we have the means to do so has already created many catastrophes for the natural environment and human societies. But since the belief in progressive civilizationism and ego-centric humanism remains strong, we pretend that we live rational, moral and civilized lives. But the reality is that reason, law and ethics, the three pillars of any human civilization, are subverted by the premises and practices of global capitalism and nation-state politics.
A just and civilized world order is contingent upon law and ethics. A global legal system is necessary to ensure the rights of individuals. But it is not enough because law is eventually underpinned by ethics. For any legal system to function properly and effectively, one also needs ethics, a morality that teaches individuals, communities and states to respect the rights of others and nurture a sense of compassion and sympathy. There are many cases in which a legally lawful action, such as profiteering, can be morally indefensible. We need both law and ethics for a civilized world.
This goes to the very core of our humanity. One of the root meanings of the word human, “al-insan” in Arabic, is related to nurturing empathy for others. The human person is one who has empathy for the natural world and other human beings. A civilized life also means developing genuine empathy and compassion for others.
This brings me to the UN Somalia Conference held in İstanbul around the same time as the Alliance of Civilizations Partners Forum last week. With its civil war, famine and poverty, Somalia is another dark stain on the state of our humanity in the 21st century. Like many other human catastrophes, it exposes the extent to which our high-tech global world has become insensitive to human suffering.
A civilized world order will emerge not with more technological gadgets or plans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but with law, ethics and a genuine sense of compassion and empathy for others.
Source: www.todayszaman.com
K-Solo Marriage Breaks**Moves Out Of Matrimonial Home - Modern Ghana
Popular producer, Solomon Oyeniyi a.k.a. K solo who has quite done some music production for the likes of Timaya, Clever-J and others allegedly said to have moved out of his matrimonial home, abandons his legal wife, Kikelomo for his mum's home.
According to the information, K Solo marriage to the top business woman, Kike has been going through trouble waters for sometime now. The delectable woman, we learnt, hasn't too comfortable with K Solo's recklessness and insatiable appetite for anything in skirt.
"As a good wife who wants the success of her hubby, she has the right to query her hubby whenever he comes back home late, smelling of alcohol. This, in most times, doesn't go down well on him and he keeps on complaining of Kike nagging all the time." An insider told nigeriafilms.com
Kike, as a supplier had some transaction with Nigeria Breweries Limited, she was expected to be paid her money that month and K-Solo came up with some unbearable demands and Kike, we gathered, turned down his proposal claiming that the money she was expecting from her supply was going back into the business. This, we learnt, frustrated K-Solo and he allegedly said to have beaten a hell out of her.
"The following day, he packed his things and moved to his mum house where he permanent keeps his former girlfriend" another source told us.
Source: www.modernghana.com
New South African press law 'more harmful than apartheid-era censorship' - The Guardian
The new protection of state information law is more harmful to South African press freedom than apartheid-era censorship, according to the widow of the legendary anti-apartheid journalist and editor, Donald Woods.
Woods was stripped of his editorship of the Daily Dispatch newspaper and banned from public speaking because of his investigation into the death of black activist Steve Biko in 1977. He fled South Africa after threats to his life and family, settling in London, where he died in 2001. He is best remembered as the author of Biko biography, which became the basis for the film Cry Freedom.
Despite her husband's experiences, Wendy Woods believes the vagueness of the legislation passed by the African National Congress government makes it potentially more restrictive.
"I would say it's more insidious that what my husband had to deal with," Woods told the Guardian. "There were many laws in his time restricting journalists, but they knew what they were. This bill allows any government official to deem any information a state secret. It's worse than the apartheid era because its so unspecific. You don't know what it is you are up against."
"The penalties sound dreadful: 25 years in prison, which is horrendous," she added. "The prospect of 25 years in jail would scare anyone, I would have thought."
Speaking in an interview at home on the outskirts of London, Woods said she was heartened by what she called "a huge groundswell of opposition" to the new law by former colleagues in the anti-apartheid movement. Her husband would also have been "outrageous and vociferous" in resisting it, she said.
" [It will] disempower journalists because they won't have a working knowledge of what they can or cannot say, which is more or less what they had during the apartheid era. Donald said through experience and instinct he grew to know … what he could or couldn't say," Woods recalled.
For example, he would reserve his most outspoken editorials skewering the apartheid system for Friday, in the knowledge that most government ministers had farms they would go to at the weekend. They would have two days to cool down before returning to their offices and deciding on a response. Under Woods editorship no Daily Dispatch journalists were jailed for what they wrote.
The new law, Wendy Woods said, is by comparison "too all-encompassing". She said South African journalists old enough to remember apartheid "will feel it's back to the old days". But she added: "They are ready to fight, because they remember what it felt like."
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
'My mum-in-law seeing me in an Ann Summers Santa outfit makes it less sexual' - The Sun
Here TV sports presenter GABBY LOGAN explains her Paul Weller obsession, her Ann Summers outfit and what hubby Kenny keeps in his drawers.
YOU were a rather good gymnast in your day. Are you still bendy? Can you still do a handstand and wrap your legs around your neck? Or anyone’s neck, come to that?
I can do the splits three ways — left, right and middle — and maybe we should leave that one there.
How come your hubby Kenny used to call you Teletubby then?
He’s from a tough school. When I met him I wasn’t firing on all cylinders in the fitness department. I was a casual jogger but liked a pie too.
I’m married to a sofa surfer, whose only exercise is to brush the crumbs off his lap. I expect marriage to a sporting hero is more of an incentive to get fit.
I have always loved training so he reignited my passion for it. I train more than him now but he’s still in decent shape for a 40-year-old.
Does he have to nag you about it though, drag you out jogging in the rain?
No, I genuinely like exercise. I get a bit grumpy if I go a few days without doing it. I like feeling sore and tight after a good training session.
You must have got terribly fit doing Strictly Come Dancing with him. Have the pair of you kept it up at all?
Sadly, when you dance with a world-class dancer it’s tough to dance with anything less. So no, I don’t really dance with Kenny, although we do foxtrot round the kitchen to embarrass the kids. I used to do my jive when drunk.
The pair of you obviously enjoy dressing up... is it true that you have a Mrs Santa Claus outfit from Ann Summers?
I do... but the fact my mother-in-law saw me in it makes it less sexual, don’t you think?
I gather you’ve feng shui’d your house. Does that mean Kenny’s not allowed to leave stuff lying around in case it blocks the flow of energy? Do explain.
It’s very amateur feng shui. The other day I caught Kenny putting the toilet lid down because he said money would flow out of the house! So he’s obviously taken something on board.
I just make sure the beds face the right way and that the ceiling does not have any ceiling beams going down the middle of the marital bed, basic stuff.
Kenny’s got his own cupboard, which I must say is pretty generous of you. Mr Brisk is only allowed a couple of drawers. What does Kenny keep in his?
He has a fine range of tools and gadgets. He loves a new bit of kit. He has an industrial leaf blower, a strimmer, some welding equipment and lots of lights and batteries.
I hear Paul Weller is your secret fantasy. What is it about him?
Weller is cool and it is that which I think I am drawn by. He is naughty and slightly angry, not husband material but a good fantasy.
Mr Brisk’s idea of romance is to avert his eyes when I’m squeezing into my Spanx. Turns out that Kenny’s a bit of an old romantic. What sort of things does he do?
He is very thoughtful, he seems to know what I need or want before I do. I’m very lucky.
If football was suddenly banned altogether and you had to choose a new career, what would you go for, do you think?
I’d be a race horse trainer. I know nothing about it but I like the idea of 6am on the gallops and jockeys are always good fun.
UEFA Euro 2012 starts on Friday on BBC1 with Match Of The Day Live at 4.15pm.
Source: www.thesun.co.uk
Essex recall Tom Craddock for Northants match - East Anglian Daily Times
Tom Craddock, who is recalled to the Essex side for the match at Northamptonshire
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
9:00 AM
ESSEX have named their side in advance of the LV= County Championship match against Northamptonshire, starting today at Wantage Road, and the side includes Ryan ten Doeschate who will make his first appearance in the competition this season.
The 31-year-old has been playing in the IPL for winners Kolkata Knight Riders and head coach Paul Grayson is naturally delighted to have the all-rounder back in the line-up.
“It’s good to have Tendo back, he’s a good experienced cricketer and he’s looking forward to playing four-day cricket again,” Grayson said.
“Last year, when he came back to us, he had been playing a lot of cricket around the world and looked a bit tired but this time, he’s looking fresh.”
Alviro Petersen has returned to South Africa and Essex will go into the match without an overseas player although they do have Ravi Bopara back who missed the defeat to Derbyshire in the previous Championship match because of injury. Tom Craddock also comes into the side with the leg-spinner replacing pace man Tymal Mills.
Although Essex have only one Championship win to their name thus far in 2012, Grayson believes that his side can still have a say in the push for promotion.
“We are still in with a chance in Championship cricket, there are nine games to go and if you get back-to-back wins in four-day cricket, you can soon shoot up the table,” he said.
“We had a very encouraging win against Gloucestershire Gladiators on Monday in the Clydesdale Bank 40 which is just what we needed. I thought that we bowled really well for 35 overs and although they got a few runs at the end of their innings when we didn’t quite get our yorkers right and we need to look at our death bowling, our performance overall with the ball was pleasing.
“Then Ravi batted beautifully and I thought that Tom Westley’s innings was superb and he’ll take a huge amount of confidence from that as well. They made the run-chase comfortable and helped us to a comfortable first win in that competition.”
The match between Essex and Northamptonshire earlier in the season at Chelmsford fell victim to the weather when the only play possible came on day two of the four days and then only 27 overs were sent down. In that time, Essex had reached 54 for six wickets with Mark Pettini was the only batsman to reach double figures.
Of the other 167 County Championship contests between the two counties, Essex have won 53 matches and lost 42 whilst one game finished as a tie.
Essex: J Foster (wkt, capt), M Pettini, T Westley, O Shah, R Bopara, B Foakes, R ten Doeschate, G Napier, D Masters, C Willoughby, T Craddock.
Source: www.eadt.co.uk
Muse tease new album 'The 2nd Law' - watch video trailer - Digital Spy
Source: www.digitalspy.co.uk
NRA-Backed Law Spells Out When Indianans May Open Fire on Police - Bloomberg
Every time police Sergeant Joseph Hubbard stops a speeder or serves a search warrant, he says he worries suspects assume they can open fire -- without breaking the law.
Hubbard, a 17-year veteran of the police department in Jeffersonville, Indiana, says his apprehension stems from a state law approved this year that allows residents to use deadly force in response to the “unlawful intrusion” by a “public servant” to protect themselves and others, or their property.
“If I pull over a car and I walk up to it and the guy shoots me, he’s going to say, ‘Well, he was trying to illegally enter my property,’” said Hubbard, 40, who is president of Jeffersonville Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 100. “Somebody is going get away with killing a cop because of this law.”
Indiana is the first U.S. state to specifically allow force against officers, according to the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys in Washington, which represents and supports prosecutors. The National Rifle Association pushed for the law, saying an unfavorable court decision made the need clear and that it would allow homeowners to defend themselves during a violent, unjustified attack. Police lobbied against it.
The NRA, a membership group that says it’s widely recognized as a “major political force” and as the country’s “foremost defender” of Second Amendment rights, has worked to spread permissive gun laws around the country. Among them is the Stand Your Ground self-defense measure in Florida, which generated nationwide controversy after the Feb. 26 shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Florida teenager.
Amended Law
Asked about the Indiana law, Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the Fairfax, Virginia-based association, said he would look into the matter. He didn’t return subsequent calls.
The measure was approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Republican Governor Mitch Daniels in March. It amended a 2006 so-called Castle Doctrine bill that allows deadly force to stop illegal entry into a home or car.
The law describes the ability to use force to “protect the person or a third person from what the person reasonably believes to be the imminent use of unlawful force.”
Republican state Senator R. Michael Young, the bill’s author, said there haven’t been any cases in which suspects have used the law to justify shooting police.
‘Public Servant’
He said “public servant” was added to clarify the law after a state Supreme Court ruling last year that “there is no right to reasonably resist unlawful entry by police officers.” The case was based on a man charged with assaulting an officer during a domestic-violence call.
Young cited a hypothetical situation of a homeowner returning to see an officer raping his daughter or wife. Under the court’s ruling, the homeowner could not touch the officer and only file a lawsuit later, he said. Young said he devised the idea for the law after the court ruling.
“There are bad legislators,” Young said. “There are bad clergy, bad doctors, bad teachers, and it’s these officers that we’re concerned about that when they act outside their scope and duty that the individual ought to have a right to protect themselves.”
Bill supporters tried to accommodate police by adding specific requirements that might justify force, and by replacing “law enforcement officer” in the original version with “public servant,” said Republican state Representative Jud McMillin, the House sponsor.
Preventing Injury
The measure requires those using force to “reasonably believe” a law-enforcement officer is acting illegally and that it’s needed to prevent “serious bodily injury,” Daniels said in a statement when he signed the law.
“In the real world, there will almost never be a situation in which these extremely narrow conditions are met,” Daniels said. “This law is not an invitation to use violence or force against law enforcement officers.”
Jane Jankowski, a spokeswoman for Daniels, referred questions about the measure to that statement.
Opponents see a potential for mistakes and abuse.
It’s not clear under the law whether an officer acting in good faith could be legally shot for mistakenly kicking down the wrong door to serve a warrant, said state Senator Tim Lanane, the assistant Democratic leader and an attorney.
“It’s a risky proposition that we set up here,” Lanane said.
Intoxicated Suspects
Those who are intoxicated or emotional can’t decide whether police are acting legally, and suspects may assume they have the right to attack officers, said Tim Downs, president of the Indiana State Fraternal Order of Police. The law didn’t need to be changed because there isn’t an epidemic of rogue police in Indiana, he said.
“It’s just a recipe for disaster,” said Downs, chief of the Lake County police in northwest Indiana. “It just puts a bounty on our heads.”
Downs said he canceled his NRA membership after the organization pressed for the Indiana legislation.
The NRA helped get the measure through the Legislature and encouraged its members to contact lawmakers and Daniels.
The organization’s Indiana lobbyist attended all the Legislative committee hearings, said State Representative Linda Lawson, the Democratic floor leader and a former police officer.
Political Support
Lawmakers respond to the NRA because the group brings political support, Lawson said.
The legislation reversed an “activist court decision,” and “restores self-defense laws to what they were,” the NRA said on its legislative website.
In Clay County, Indiana, outside Terre Haute, the Sheriff’s Department changed its procedures because of the law. Detectives in plain clothes and unmarked cars now must be accompanied by a uniformed officer on calls to homes, Sheriff Michael Heaton said.
“I’m not worried about the law-abiding citizens,” said Heaton, who also is president of the Indiana Sheriff’s Association. “It’s the ones that really don’t understand the law and they just think, ‘Cop shows up at my door, I can do whatever I want to him.’”
Hubbard, the officer in Jeffersonville, in southeastern Indiana, said the law causes him to second-guess himself. He serves on the department’s patrol division and is a member of its special weapons and tactics unit. The department serves “thousand” of warrants a year, he said.
“It puts doubt in your mind,” said Hubbard, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining the department. “And hesitation in our job can mean somebody gets hurt or killed.”
Hubbard said he hasn’t changed his approach to his job or noticed a difference in how civilians he encounters are behaving.
The law has changed Hubbard’s view of the NRA.
He said he has been “a proud member of the NRA for years,” and while he’s still a member and NRA firearms instructor, “the day I found out the NRA was pushing behind this bill was the day I became a not-so-happy NRA member.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Niquette in Columbus, Ohio, at mniquette@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Merelman at smerelman@bloomberg.net
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels
Patrick Fallon/Bloomberg
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed a state law this year that allows residents to use deadly force in response to the “unlawful intrusion” by a “public servant” to protect themselves and others, or their property.
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed a state law this year that allows residents to use deadly force in response to the “unlawful intrusion” by a “public servant” to protect themselves and others, or their property. Photographer: Patrick Fallon/Bloomberg
Source: www.bloomberg.com
Loose bowling tops County order of Essex troubles - This is Gloucestershire
ALEX Gidman was left to rue a sluggish start with the ball as a Ravi Bopara-inspired Essex eased to an eight-wicket CB40 victory over Gloucestershire.
On his return to the Eagles line-up the England star stroked an imperious unbeaten 120 as the hosts powered through to win with 19 balls to spare.
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Kane Williamson hit 73 for Gloucestershire
Earlier a superb 73 from Kiwi star Kane Williamson and gutsy half-century from Ian Cockbain helped Gloucestershire post a competitive 224 for five.
But despite claiming the early wicket of Mark Pettini, thanks to a catch from skipper Gidman off Ian Saxelby the Eagles took control.
Bopara took control, combining in a partnership of 185 for the second wicket with Terry Westley (82) to punish some errant bowling as the hosts took firm control.
"We didn't bowl as well as we can at the start of the Essex innings. If you give class players easy scoring opportunities they will take them," Gidman said.
"The pitch stayed pretty consistent all through and if you bowled at the top of off stump it was hard to score. Essex did that better than us."
Gidman was happy with the way his side wrestled back their innings after a slow start in which the Essex bowling attack got on top.
Kiwi star Williamson, who will leave for New Zealand's tour of the West Indies at the end of the month, again looked in fine form.
There were also telling lower order contributions from Ian Cockbain, who hit an unbeaten half-century, and seasonal debutant Jack Taylor who blasted 22 off 12 balls.
"I felt momentum was with us at the end of our innings. We are a developing batting unit and have guys who can strike the ball well in the closing overs," Gidman said.
"It might have been a slightly below-par score, but if we had taken a few wickets early on it would have been competitive.
Dspite defeat Gidman remains confident that Gloucestershire can challenge for the top positions in their CB 40 group this term.
The Netherlands have raced away at the top of the table, but with plenty of home games to come, not least a triple header at the county's Cheltenham Festival fortress, Gidman is taking an optimistic outlook.
"It's a blow, but only the Netherlands are on a roll in our group, with the rest of the teams beating each other, so we are still well in it," he said.
Gloucestershire return to CB40 action on Sunday when they make the short trip to New Road to face Worcestershire.
The Friends Life t20 then kicks-off on Thursday with the visit of local rivals Somerset to Bristol for a game that star t20 signing Muttiah Muralitharan is set to play.
Source: www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk
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