CNN: US House apologizes for slavery, Jim Crow injustices
“The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a resolutionapologizing to African-Americans for slavery and the era of Jim Crow.The nonbinding resolution, which passed on a voice vote, wasintroduced by Rep. Steve Cohen, a white lawmaker who represents amajority black district in Memphis, Tennessee.” (07/29/08)
Congressional candidate Jack Kevorkian, who gained fame in the 1990s
after being convicted of second-degree murder for his role in an
assisted suicide, will hold his first town hall meeting Friday.
Kevorkian is running as an independent in the 9th Congressional
District against U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Township, and
Democrat Gary Peters, a former state senator and lottery commissioner.
At the meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Birmingham Community
House, 380 South Bates in Birmingham, Kevorkian will discuss his
philosophy on foreign and domestic affairs, the economy and what he
plans to do if elected.
Kevorkian, who served more than eight years in prison before his
release last June, admitted to participating in more than 130 assisted
suicides during the 1990s.
Turkey has been ranked seventh in the list of most hit countries by terror in the second quarter of 2008, according to a research released by the Center of Excellence – Defense Against Terrorism.
Seventy-one separate terrorists incidents, which killed 38 people and injured 88 others, put the Turkey on the seventh place of the most-hit countries in the second quarter of 2008, the article titled “General Overview of the Terrorist Activities (April-June 2008)”, said.
“The main suspect of these terrorist incidents was PKK/KONGRA-GEL terrorists. The most volatile city in this period was Sirnak in southeastern Turkey. Seventeen separate terrorist incidents killed 9 people and wounded 18 others in the city,” it said.
According to the article, 2,396 terrorist incidents occurred worldwide in the period. A total 4,204 people were killed and 7,614 were injured in these incidents.
Iraq topped the list of the most-hit countries with 857 separate attacks in which 1,575 people were killed and 3,247 others were injured.
Thirty-five percent of total attacks in the world, 37 percent of total fatalities and 42 percent of total casualties sustained worldwide were recorded in Iraq, it added.
First ten countries most hit by terrorism in the second quarter of the year are as follows:
Countries : Number of terror incidents
——————————
Iraq : 857
Afghanistan : 334
Sri Lanka : 327
Pakistan : 216
India : 195
Somalia : 112
Turkey : 71
Thailand : 55
Nepal : 44
Israel : 31
Turkey discussed to turn Istanbul into a financial center on Thursday. Making Istanbul a financial center would contribute to development of not only this city, but also Turkey, Deputy PM Nazim Ekren said.
“It will also help Turkey gain a global prestige,” Ekren also said in Istanbul Province Economic and Social Council Meeting. Ekren said that the timing of the project was right after the mortgage crisis in the United States.
Ekren also said that the government was planning to establish a development agency in Istanbul within this year.
Istanbul is a city where 20 percent of Turkey’s total population is living of which population has been up by 10-folds since 1950 and almost 15 million people are residing.
Ekren said that Istanbul was providing one-fourth of the gross domestic product (GDP), 38 percent of overall industrial income, more than half of services, and 40 percent of tax revenues.
“Istanbul can be a financial, cultural and logistic center of Turkey, thanks to its unique geographical location; rich historical, cultural and architectural heritage; giant infrastructural investments; economic links with Europe, Asia and the Balkans; and relatively cheap labor force,” the minister said.
The “Seyahatname” exhibition of travel books will be on display at the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art in 2010. “Seyahatname” is a book reflecting the Ottoman Empire’s relations with other states and describing foreign cultures of cities that travelers visited.
Curator of the exhibition Sinan Dirlik and art director Eray Makal say they see the exhibition as a lyric to Istanbul — the pearl of the Ottoman Empire, and are making their preparations on the grounds of this perception.
The exhibition will be produced by Ece Seki and the 2Yaka Communication Company, as well as a research team of Ali Ay and Nihal Boztekin.
The exhibition is planned go on display in January 2010 at the Istanbul Modern.
While researchers and designers are preparing the project, contributions of other institutions and amateur researchers are expected to complete the project.
Turkey: The nation that straddles Europe and Asia is also torn between secular and Islamic views of government, between cultural stability and terrorist violence. The direction Turkey takes will say much about the future of both regions | Jill Nelson
Turkey
BODRUM and ISTANBUL, Turkey–It is 10:19 pm in the bustling resort town of Bodrum on the southwestern coast of Turkey, and the call to prayer sounds from a small mosque surrounded by several couture shops. Less than 10 men—summoned for the last of the five prayers said each day by devout Muslims—are praying inside its open doors, and those on the streets pay scant attention to the beckoning loudspeaker.
A few blocks down the street, the Bodrum Marina Yacht Club begins a call of its own. Popular Turkish and American tunes draw more than a -hundred people to an outdoor stage to listen to a five-piece jazz band and a popular Turkish singer. Like other night clubs in Turkey, its music will pulse several hours past midnight. Although Bodrum lies in the Asian portion of Turkey, this town feels more a part of the West than the East.
