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WASHINGTON — The Dalai Lama said he was "deeply touched" Wednesday by his receipt of the Congressional Gold Medal, which he received in an ornate ceremony under the U.S. Capitol dome -- but not before having a hearty laugh over his inability to speak perfect English. "It is a great honor for me to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. This ... will bring tremendous joy and encouragement to the Tibetan people, for whom I have a special responsibility," the Dalai Lama said, reading from his prepared remarks. The Dalai Lama was surrounded by top congressional leaders and President Bush Wednesday...

Former President May Still Be Ultimate Power Broker (CBS) HARLEM -- At about 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, 13 floors above 125th Street off Fifth in Harlem, the former President of the United States walks into a packed double conference-sized room with not enough room on the riser in the back for all the TV cameras. And only two or three of the cameras are from local news or the usual networks. Many are from business outlets, and half are from international news agencies, particularly outfits that cover Latin America. Because standing there with Mr. Clinton are Frank Giustra, one of...

In a move to increase its relevance in the presidential selection process, the Golden State is set to jump up its primary from June of 2008 to February 5th, less than a year away. This may benefit New York's presidential aspirants, and especially its Republican one. Last week I noted Giuliani's electric support at the California Republican Party convention. A recent poll has resoundingly brought forth the same message. This morning, the Wall Street Journal's John Fund notes the following numbers: With California moving its presidential primary to Feb. 5 of next year, what Golden State voters think about White...

Pundits of all political persuasions have been chattering about whether Rudy Giuliani, whose name is invariably modified by the description "social liberal," can overcome the objections of many religious conservatives to win the Republican nomination. Will his assurances to appoint judges in the mold of Roberts, Alito and Scalia be "enough" to put their concerns to rest? Will conservatives overlook social issues in an election focusing largely on foreign policy? The more interesting question is whether Giuliani can establish a new description of what it means to be "socially conservative." Perhaps to be socially conservative means something more than just...

Giuliani Strikes a Note With California GOP Testing the Waters, Former N.Y. Mayor Garners 4 Ovations SACRAMENTO, Feb. 10 -- Rudolph W. Giuliani came west to learn whether his brand of Republican politics has a chance among party members significantly more conservative than himself. By the time he had received a fourth standing ovation Saturday at the California Republican Party convention, the answer seemed clear. Equating the U.S. fight against terrorism with the Civil War and the Cold War, Giuliani told about 750 of his party's faithful that failure in Iraq would turn that country into a "massive headquarters for...

At first glance, the congregation gathered in a warehouse in Doral, Fla., seems like a typical Hispanic evangelical group. There's the 10-piece band, the singing and swaying, the whooping and hollering. But look a little more closely. There's not a cross in sight. The lectern is emblazoned with a near replica of the U.S. presidential seal, except that it reads in Spanish, government of god on earth. Off to the side stand three burly guys in dark suits with Secret Service-style earpieces. When a door by the stage opens, the guards leap into action. They surround the man with slicked-back...

What can be more astonishing between a saint confusing people and a rogue speaking the truth? Two such unexpected observations became media bytes recently. The Dalai Lama, on a month-long trip to the US and South America, said at San Francisco and Chicago that Islam is a religion of compassion which is being unfairly marginalised by few extremists. Ye Xiaowen, the Director of State Administration for Religious Affairs, recently said that Buddhism can reduce social divisions in China better than Islam and Christianity, adding Buddhism can help believers cope with fast-changing society plagued by wealth gap and social unrest. In...

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Authorities say a businessman pardoned by former President Clinton has been found dead inside his South Beach condo. Miami Beach police say 63-year-old Almon Braswell was found dead October 28th in his Ocean Drive condo by his employees. It's believed he died from a previous injury. Additional information hasn't been released. The Miami-Dade County medical examiner is labeling Braswell's death as "unclassified" pending more tests. Clinton granted 177 pardons and clemencies just before leaving office in 2001. Braswell was pardoned of convictions for fraud and other crimes stemming from false claims in 1983 about...

ROME (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama said after meeting Pope Benedict on Friday that "a few mischievous Muslims" should not be allowed to give the Islamic faith a bad name. Muslims worldwide were offended by a speech by the Pope last month in which he quoted a Byzantine emperor who said the Prophet Mohammed spread Islam by the sword. The backlash has been sometimes violent and hardliners declared war on the Pope. The exiled spiritual leader of 6 million Tibetan Buddhists living under Chinese Communist rule said Benedict and his predecessor John Paul II, who died last year, shared with...

Veteran U.S. civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, right, walks past an anti-U.S. banner placed among the rubble of a building that was destroyed following Israeli bombardment during the 34-day long Hezbollah-Israel war, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006. Jackson, who said Tuesday that an Israeli soldier seized by Palestinian militants and two others held captive by Hezbollah are alive, also said Syria, a main backer of both Hamas and Hezbollah, wanted to be involved in a prisoner swap that included the three Israelis and Syrian nationals detained by Israel in the Golan Heights....

Mel Gibson has become the designated Hitler-of-the-Month for August 2006, displacing both Saddam Hussein and Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the previous front-runners. However, conservative Christians, before rushing to condemn or defend their fallen hero, might ponder the incident for a moment, before presuming to form an opinion. To give credit where it is due, Zev Chafets, in his LA Times commentary “Slurring More than His Words”, makes several valuable points. To begin with, Mr. Gibson’s first line of defense—the Tequila made him do it—is absurd. As Chafets commnts, “Evidently Gibson wants people to believe that, although he personally loves Jews, the...

Dalai Lama has links with CIA, Indian Army: China Saibal Dasgupta BEIJING: China on Wednesday accused the Dalai Lama of collaborating with CIA and Indian armed forces to organise the 'Indian Tibetan special border troops'. They also accused him of being involved in a 'swindle' by using wrong facts to mislead world opinion about the situation in Tibet. The Dalai Lama continues to work for Tibetan independence under the guise of seeking autonomy for the region, China said in a statement. The Dalai Lama's demand for "one country, two systems" for Tibet as is the situation in Hong Kong and...

Link to story due to copyright restrictions: Evangelist arrested on federal charges (opens in new window)

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese man who conned dozens of farmers out of 2 million yuan (135,770 pounds) to grow trees he said would be used in the 2008 Olympics has been jailed for 12 years, a Chinese newspaper said on Tuesday. Liu Lutang was barking up the wrong tree when he duped more than 50 farmers into contracts to buy saplings of a maple tree for 20 yuan ($2.50) each, promising them he would buy them back at a higher price after six months, the Beijing News said. "He told the farmers (they) would be used in the Olympics,"...

Former President Bill Clinton praised evangelical Christians on Thursday for their recent efforts on global warming and debt relief for poor nations and said he sees growing understanding between people of different faiths. Clinton made the remarks while accepting an award from the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding. He said that as president he had "a consuming interest in the intersection of religion and politics." He said evangelicals, few of whom voted for him, "were instrumental in the biggest debt relief initiative in history in my last year as president because they believed in the admonition of the Scripture to...

SAN FRANCISCO - The Dalai Lama urged religious leaders Saturday to reach out to Muslims, saying Islam is a compassionate faith that has been unfairly maligned because of a few extremists. 'snip' He said all human beings are prone to violence if they lose control of their emotions and not to judge an entire faith based on a few people. "A few mischievous people are always there," he said.

The Dalai Lama says that were Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden killed that hatred would cause another 10 like him to spring up, in an interview with a British newspaper. He also revealed the workings of his relationship with US President George W. Bush, said Westerners had become too self-absorbed and repeated his opposition to homosexuality in a wide-ranging interview. The Dalai Lama said modern terrorism was born out of jealousy of Western lifestyles. "Fundamentalism is terrifying because it is based purely on emotion, rather than intelligence," the 70-year-old monk said at the seat of his government-in-exile in the northern...

It's past time for the Church to start acting like the Church and lift the bushel off of her smoldering candle. The abortion holocaust "will" end only when the Church says so. Thus far She hasn't shown much concern over millions of dead children. The play-dough Jesus that many serve just doesn't seem to care enough about murdered children to "call" more Christians to action. He has, after all, been molded into our image and wouldn't think of demanding something of his people that isn't self gratifying and comfortable. That's the great thing about play-dough; you can reshape it into...

A part-time business professor at the University of Southern California was arrested Friday on charges of conning investors, including former students, out of millions of dollars he claimed he was using for real estate projects. Barry Landreth, 36, was arrested at his home in Coto de Caza, where FBI agents also seized a luxury car, bank accounts and show horses, authorities said. Landreth ran Webster Realty Investors and apparently told his victims he was developing commercial property in Las Vegas and Chicago, and that investments in the projects would bring returns of 190 percent in 30 to 45 days. "This...

Walk in Supernatural Strength in 2006 By Pastor Benny Hinn Samson was at one time a man of great strength. Judges 16:29 presents the picture of a man who had been physically broken and taken captive by the Philistines. He was shackled and chained to the pillars. In addition, the Philistines had gouged out his eyes, drained his strength, humiliated and abused him, and threw him into prison as a slave. A captive of his enemies, the man was sick and blind. But in that seemingly hopeless setting, God gave him supernatural health and strength at the moment he prayed....