We want our type of justice

He’s definitely correct.

We want justice. We love it. However, because we grew up with insincere slogans that were full of lies, such as, "Surrender to the tender arms of justice," when we knew that justice treats everyone differently, we tend to support a people’s kind of justice, instead of that produced by the law. Additionally, every group in society has its own kind of understanding of justice. The way soldiers, scientists, journalists and religious fundamentalists view justice is completely different from each other as each wants its own version to dominate.

We are always right and our conduct is always beyond reproach. It is always the law and the judges that are unfair.

Cicek is doing everything he can to reveal to us the facts. We can only wait and see if the disparities and faults in the nation’s sense of justice will be mended over time.

When the going gets easy, the AKP gets tough
One cannot believe one’s own eyes.

Why does the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) keep creating trouble for itself at the most inopportune moment?

This is not a first. There have been many previous examples. They are experts at creating unsolvable problems at the worst possible times.

Weren’t the debates over the Higher Education Board (YOK), headscarves and imam-hatip high schools all the same? They opened these Pandora’s boxes and retreated when they realized they were not strong enough for the challenge. At the time, Turkey was involved with Cyprus and the reform packages.

Now we are arguing over the adultery issue. Why? Where did it come from? Who initiated the matter? No one knows. Couldn’t we have waited for a few months? We are on the cusp of the release of the progress report by the European Union Commission. No one knows what the AKP is aiming to gain.

Either the AKP leadership has no understanding of the concept of "timing," or it is us who don’t understand what’s going on.

I liked Fahrenheit 9/11, but…
I watched Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 at the gala held by CNN-Turk. I really liked some parts of it, but disliked others.

I liked:

The wonderful screen engineering and the editing technique.
Its good sense of humour.
The use of music.
The way the contradictions before and after the war was portrayed.
Its timing.
I did not like:

The choice of language, which was very confusing.
It being too long.
Its emphasis on conspiracy theories, without making them believable.
The movie’s entirely anti-Bush attitude.
In short, 9/11 is not a documentary, but a very enjoyable TV show.

10 injured in earthquake measuring eight
Japan has once again been struck by an earthquake. We watched how the earthquake struck on our TVs. It was so vivid that one found it hard not to be frightened. We wondered how many had lost their lives, but only 10 people were injured.

We learnt what it means to be civilized when such things happen. When we remember that thousands of people have lost their lives in Turkey due to earthquakes measuring between seven and eight on the richter scale, we realize how much human life is important to us.

We also suffer from earthquakes, but refuse to take any precautions. Officials and scientists talk about it, but none of us take them seriously.

Our general attitude is, "It will happen to someone else," and we still say, "It’s fate, no one can run from it."

I ask you, who has an earthquake kit at home?

When tragedy strikes, we blame everyone but ourselves. It is usually the state or officials that are accused of dereliction of duty.

We are a strange people.

Verheugen’s latest visit
Guenter Verheugen has made his final visit to Turkey as the EU’s commissioner for enlargement. He has been a very influential name on the Turkish public agenda for the past five years. Despite initially giving the impression that he was against Turkey’s membership, in the past few years he has been our most important supporter. If we have achieved anything, it is due to his efforts.

Veheugen will take a different post in the new commission and will take office in November, but his eyes will still be on Turkey.

We can summarize his four-day visit by saying: "Turkey will be given a date to start the membership negotiations. There can be no delay. The real hardship will start after getting the date."

How can this be sport?
One is an athlete with great promise. Despite the necessity of training with coaches with international experience, she chooses to train with her husband. And then she walks into a doping trap only because of ignorance.

The other is a weightlifting trainer who is accused of beating his athletes. What is truly strange is that the same trainer is defended by another of his charges, who says: "Yes, he beat me, because I did not want to go to the Olympics. He beat me and forced me to go. Thank god he did it, because I went there and became an Olympic champion."

What a primitive state of mind. If the country’s outlook on sport is this, our efforts will lead us nowhere.

We are displaying the most evident examples of primitive behaviour.