Led by actress Alyssa Milano, a group of about 50 celebrities signed an open letter Thursday addressed to Gov.

Brian Kemp (R) and Hon. David Ralston (R), the Georgia Speaker of the House, saying that they do not want H.B. 481 to become law.

Milano films her show "Insatiable" in Georgia.

"We've always found (Georgia) to be populated with friendly and caring people," says the letter.

"We've found the hotels in which we stay and restaurants in which we dine while filming there to be comfortable and of a high quality. We've been glad to bring billions of dollars in revenue to support Georgia's schools, parks, and communities." Read more

A spokesman for the ministry said Francis was expected to attend the funeral, along with US President Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Prince Charles and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

However, the Vatican has announced the Pope's scheduled visit to Georgia will go ahead as planned on Friday. Read more

A proposed bill would impose a 100 lari fine (US$120) for "insults to religious feelings", which would double for a repeat offence.

Desecrating a religious symbol could cost up to 1000 lari.

The average monthly salary is Georgia is no more than about 818 lari.

Supporters argue that the bill is intended to protect all religious persuasions, although minority groups say they don't expect to benefit.

Critics say the bill could be used against any organisations not following the official Georgian Orthodox church line.

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The same may be said of the planet as a whole.

Whether intellectually or intuitively, many are asking the same question: Where are we heading?

How do we explain the long list of financial, environmental and humanitarian emergencies, epidemics, small and larger conflicts, genocides, war crimes, terrorist attacks and military interventions?

Why does the international community seem powerless to prevent any of this?

There is no simple or single answer to this conundrum, but two factors can shed much light.

The first involves a global power shift and the prospect of a new Cold War.

The second relates to globalisation and the crises generated by the sheer scale of cross-border flows.

Is a new Cold War in the making?

The geopolitical shift has resulted in a dangerous souring of America's relations with Russia and China.

The dispute over Ukraine is the latest chapter in the rapidly deteriorating relationship between Washington and Moscow.

In what is essentially a civil war in which over 3,000 people have been killed, the two great powers have chosen to support opposing sides in the conflict by all means short of outright intervention.

The incorporation of Crimea into Russia, Moscow's decision to use force in Georgia in 2008 and its support for the independence of the two breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are part of the same dynamic.

The conduct of Russian governments in the Putin era has been at times coercive and often clumsy at home and abroad.

But the United States has also much to answer for. For the last 25 years its foreign policy has been unashamedly triumphalist.

In his 1992 State of the Union address, President George Bush senior declared: "By the grace of God, America won the Cold War". Continue reading

Source

• Joseph Camilleri in The Conversation

Joseph Camilleri OAM was the founding Director of the Centre for Dialogue, La Trobe University.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta did this in response to a new Georgia law that will allow licensed gun owners to carry arms into schools, churches and other places.

"Before this legislation takes effect in July, I will officially restrict the presence of weapons in our Catholic institutions except for those carried by the people that civic authorities have designated and trained to protect and guard us - and those who are duly authorised law and military officials," Archbishop Gregory said.

Critics have dubbed the legislation the "guns everywhere bill".

Georgia's Catholic bishops and more than 200 other faith groups in the state opposed the new law.

"The last thing we need is more firearms in public places, especially in those places frequented by children and the vulnerable," Archbishop Gregory said.

Previously in Georgia, licensed gun holders were not permitted to carry a firearm into a house of worship.

The new law continues to prohibit weapons in houses of worship "unless the governing body or authority of the place of worship permits the carrying of weapons or long guns by license holders".

However, the law diminishes the penalty for carrying weapons in a house of worship to a US$100 fine with no arrest permitted for a licensed gun holder.

A person carrying a weapon without a licence would only face a minor charge.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed the Safe Carry Protection Act on April 23, saying it strengthened the rights of gun ownership as outlined in the United States Constitution.

Archbishop Gregory said that rare occasions of past violence in churches are not sufficient justification to allow people to bring more weapons in God's house.

The archbishop said he did not mean to suggest restricting firearms in "places where they are needed to protect one's home and property or to defend the public by officials who are entrusted with our protection".

"Yet this new legislation de facto makes firearms more available in places where they may allow violence to escalate," he added.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Image: Atlanta Journal-Constitution