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His Excellency Dr Ban, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Head of the Mission of the Republic of Bongo Bongo Land responds to Godfrey Bloom's outburst on foreign aid in a letter to the British Prime Minister. We have seen a copy of it. Due to its significant global importance, we wish to share it with you. Please see below:
“Dear Prime Minister
As the Ambassador to the Court of St James representing the Government of Bongo Bongo Land, I am writing following the disparaging remarks of the British politician Godfrey Bloom, of the UK Independence Party, with regard to the British aid budget and its contribution to the economic development of my country.
You might suppose that I would want to join the chorus of condemnation of the Ukip MEP's offensive and erroneous characterisation of the people of Bongo Bongo as designer-wearing, Ferrari-driving owners of swish apartments in Paris. But you would be wrong.
Robust, politically incorrect language is part of the lexicon of popular public debate. Mr Bloom is an oafish clown who seems to have escaped from the set of 1950s Carry On up the Cliché, a comedy in which he would have been played by Jimmy Edwards, propping up the bar of the Dog and Gun in the gin-and-Jag belt. But we can live with his language and evaluate it as we would his comments on one of his Yorkshire constituents as "the most delicious bimbette – absolutely thick, but with other notable assets".
This was, after all, the man who, as a member of the European Parliament's women's rights committee, opined that trafficked sex slaves were prostituted because they liked the job, and if they didn't would find work "as a Tesco check-out girl instead". I think others can form their own views on Mr Bloom without help from me.
His caricature of the people of my country is about as accurate as characterising the United Kingdom as Wonga Wonga Land, a country whose citizens are payday-indebted, tax-dodging, child-abusing, internet trolls – whose politicians are all Ukip Victor Meldrew soundalikes of the ilk I believe you yourself, Mr Cameron, once described as "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists".- Details
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“Fifty years on, it is clear that in eliminating legal segregation – not racism, but formal, codified discrimination – the civil rights movement delivered the last moral victory in America for which there is still a consensus. While the struggle to defeat it was bitter and divisive, nobody today is seriously campaigning for the return of segregation or openly mourning its demise. The speech's appeal lies in the fact that, whatever the interpretation, it remains the most eloquent, poetic, unapologetic and public articulation of that victory.”
"So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream."…
…And people had become exhausted with waiting and extreme heat. It was a very hot day in Washington DC. But then:
“But if they were exhausted, they were no less excited. Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson had lifted spirits with I've Been 'Buked and I've Been Scorned. Joachim Prinz, president of the American Jewish Congress, followed, recalling his time as a rabbi in Berlin under Hitler: "A great people who had created a great civilisation had become a nation of silent onlookers. They remained silent in the face of hate, in the face of brutality and in the face of mass murder," he said. "America must not become a nation of onlookers. America must not remain silent."
King was next. The area around the mic was crowded with speakers, dignitaries and their entourages. Wearing a black suit, black tie and white shirt, King edged through the melee towards the podium.- Details
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From Oxford 2002 to Oxford 2014: Portrait of a Great Journey for the Common Good
Plater College, Oxford (2002) - St. Petersburg, Russia (2003) - Dubai, UAE (2004) - Nairobi and Kericho, Kenya(2005) - Chaminade University, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA (2006) - Fatih University, Istanbul, Turkey (2007) - Trinity College, University of Melbourne, Australia (2008) - Loyola University, Chicago, USA (2009) - California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, California, USA (2010) - Alexandria Bibliotheca, Alexandria, Egypt (2011—Postponed, due to the Revolution in Egypt) - School of Economic Science, Oxford Campus, Waterperry House, Oxford (2012) - Cité universitaire internationale, Paris (2013)- School of Economic Science, Oxford Campus, Waterperry House, Oxford (2014)
“The Value of Values: Spiritual Wisdom in Everyday Life”
Waterperry House, Oxford
Sunday 31 August- Thursday 4 September, 2014
Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative (GCGI)
Annual Conference Series
In association with
School of Economic Science
http://www.schooleconomicscience.org/
Waterperry House, Oxford
http://www.schooleconomicscience.org/waterperry-house/
School of Economic Science is delighted to announce that it will host the 12th annual conference of Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative. This major global conference is being convened by Prof. Kamran Mofid, Founder, Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative and Mr. Ian Mason, Principal of the School of Economic Science.
“The Value of Values: Spiritual Wisdom in Everyday Life”
See GCGI 2014 Oxford Conference: Call for Presentation and Participation
“The Value of Values: Spiritual Wisdom in Everyday Life”
http://www.gcgi.info/news/476-gcgi-2014-oxford-conference-call-for-presentation-and-participation
Businesses, governments, institutions, and societies are experiencing ever-increasing complexity, multiple systemic challenges, unpredictability, volatility and constant change. Patterns of possibility and patterns of crises are emerging which are inter-connected and inter-dependent. Oneness and consciousness of individuals, organizations and whole-systems can transform crises into possibilities with lasting positive results.
We have important spiritual resources that can assist and guide us to overcome these crises, and create a better world of peace and universal brother/sisterhood. Throughout history spirituality and spiritual values have helped to sustain life, love and laughter in challenging life conditions. Our universal spiritual values will focus our minds on our common humanity and destiny. The renaissance of this traditional way of being ignites the heart of compassion and love for the common good into positive action.
This Conference will attempt to approach spirituality as a resource for renewal. Moreover, it will also approach nature as a source of wisdom and explore the potential of this vision for management theories and practices. As our mindset is currently so strongly imbued with materialistic and instrumental approaches to nature, we need to be challenged by radical ideas to disclose new horizons. The Conference will also attempt to help participants find answers to questions such as:
What is the relationship between the inner life of spirit and the outer life of service in the interest of the Common Good?
What spiritual values apply in economics, education, business, management and ecology?
How can the secular and sacred elements of life be better integrated to advance the common good?
How can the wisdom and insight gained through inner exploration be used to better our individual and collective health?
In short, how do we regain the basic values of a healthy society? How do we integrate the values of finance, business and economics, with those of families and communities? Can we discard market-fundamentalism, the false belief that market knows best, and begin to believe that “The market was made for human beings - not human beings to serve the market”? How can we discard the false values of modern economics and in the real understanding that the only things that have value in themselves are love, beauty and the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom?
Applying our common spiritual values as sources for renewal is, in large part, a matter of how this Conference hopes to respond to the economic, social, and ecological mandate now placed before us by the converging crises of our time. This is our moral assignment. As a matter of personal and societal responsibility, we can enter fully into reshaping economic policy and economic behaviour on behalf of the common good.
Details on how to submit abstracts, the selection procedure, accommodation, registration and fees will be provided in September 2013
- The Story of Thatcher’s Privatisation Series: Rewarding of Greed and Incompetence for fleecing the public
- Yes, it is true: “Education is what makes us fully human”
- Debunking Michael Gove’s “nasty little assumption” of English education policy
- Revisiting the Persian cosmopolis: The World Order and the Dialogue of Civilisations
- Love Always Wins: A Lesson for Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding