By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Israeli President Shimon Peres spoke today in favor of peace in the Middle East, but some in the audience likely couldn’t hear his call, as protesters within the room shouted him down. Three eruptions of protesters in the audience were stopped by police. The protesters shouted from tabletops and waved signs saying “stop the occupation” and “free gaza.” This all transpired at the Washington DC Convention Center, at a conference led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Peres spoke of his commitment to the peace process, saying that one of the big challenges they all faced was to “disconnect religion from terror”, so extremists are not killing in the name of a higher power.

“History is on the side of peace… history’s on our side,” Peres said. He continued that the extremists leading Iran “are on the wrong side of history.” Peres acknowledged that most Iranians are good people whom he respects, but pointed his finger at extremists like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as being the problem.

“Iran is not threatened by anybody,” Peres said, and continued that Iran’s new missile programs are unnecessary. He said that Iran’s missile development and nuclear program are a threat to Israel “and the global community at large.”

Peres said that he trusts President Obama to make meaningful bilateral negotiations, and to contribute significantly to the peace process.

by Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service and Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

Talk Radio News Service speaks with Lilly Ledbetter after a news conference to discuss her Fair Pay Act 2009. January 22, 2009.

 

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“We want a level playing field with a fair conversation,” said Burns Strider concerning the recent organization of the Democrats as a party that will be able to use their faith and religion like the Republicans have over the past twenty years. The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and Religion and Ethics Newsweekly held a discussion about the role of religion in the 2008 election season and how it has differed from previous elections. Strider, a member of the panel, was the Director of Faith Outreach for Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and has watched the Republicans lose their former comfortableness in speaking about their faith publicly. Now the Democrats have organized positions such as his, to help religion become a more talked about and present topic on the minds of candidates.

Julian Zelizer, another member of the panel, is a professor of history and public affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School. Zelizer said that the “crisis of the Bush presidency has been equivalent to a crisis for religious groups.” He also compared the current shift of political strength from conservatives to liberals to Reagan’s usurpation of the religious discussion, only in reverse. Both men believed that the evangelical base is a cultural one and has thus been divided by this election. Also, unlike the usual dependence of values voters to support the conservative vote, the economy has taken center-stage as the issue at hand, and many people, conservatives and liberals, are voting Democratic.

Despite the ease that the Democrats have found, particularly Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama, when speaking about their faith, many evangelical Christians are still voting for Sen. McCain because issues like abortion and same-sex marriage are considered deal breakers.

Zeyno Baran, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, says that we must not confuse religious Islam and politcal Islamism. She says that all Islamist terrorists start with non-violent Islamism. (1:12)

 

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Arthur Brooks, author of the newly released Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America—and How We Can Get More, says that “all religious practicing groups are on average much, much happier than secularists.” (0:25)

 

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Arthur Brooks, author of the new release Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America—and How We Can Get More of It spoke at the Heritage Foundation to discuss his ideas on how America’s reported happiness levels are related to its various religious, political, and cultural perspectives.
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The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom announced their 2008 recommendations to Secretary of State Rice on CPC’s, or countries of particular concern. Their 2008 annual report was also released to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress on U.S. policy. The countries that the commission designated as CPC’s include Burma, North Korea, China, Sudan, and Turkmenistan among others. (more…)

A passionate news conference to condemn human rights abuses by China only 99 days before they host the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing was held today., The news conference included speeches by prominent senators such as Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Sam Brownback (R-KS), and human rights activists from organizations including SaveDarfur.org and Amnesty International.

The crowd, activists, and each of the speakers was incredibly passionate about protesting the United States’ involvement in the Olympic games. The press conference’s attendees called for President Bush to not attend the opening ceremonies, and described the Chinese as oppressive people, who violate human rights and are the biggest supporters of the genocidal Sudanese government in the world. (more…)