Posts with the tag military

PA-05: McCracken for Congress -- Working the Final Week to Take Back Our Future

Victor M. Ordonez — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:52:23 EDT

The campaign schedule has been pretty intense over the last week and will continue to be so until the BIG day on Tuesday, November 4th. I want to congratulate everyone for putting so much effort into this year's election, not just for an individual campaign, but for the entire Democratic ticket. I've seen people in every community throughout the 5th district working to make sure the message is getting out.

I want to remind everyone it is important that we finish strong. Don't take anything for granted, ignore the polls and work like the polls show our candidates 5 points down. Remember, while all indications show Barack Obama will be our next president, if we believe the polls, Al Gore would be concluding his second term or we would be working to re-elect President John Kerry right now.

McCain and the Military

Democrat in Saint Helena Island, SC — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:49:11 EDT

McCain is tough but with more or less average intelligence. It is highly unlikely he would have got into the Naval Academy had his father and grand father were not high ranking naval officers. McCain graduated at the bottom of his class and probably would not have made it to graduation without his legacy. He also piled up more demerits than anyone else in his class. McCain, while in the Navy, crashed several of his aircraft. McCain has a reckless streak similar to Wâ��s.

Obama made it on his own all way to being the editor of the Harvard Review. Obama is modest and self disciplined, not to mention highly intelligent. The US has a great military and will do a great job carrying out any mission given to them. The big responsibility for assigning missions is for the President to make. Would anyone seriously trust McCain to make these types of decisions? I certainly would not!

Senator Obama, bring back the National Space Council

Democrat in Mason, MI — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:54:45 EDT

This is being re-posted from my diaries over at dailykos

In many of my past diaries, I commented on Senator Obama, and his lack of a space policy, and the concern that he is anti human spaceflight. These diaries have ranged from long explanations, to something that was probably close to a rant.

However, today I want to talk about something that, Senator Obama can do, which doesn't require massive new spending, but would show an openness to the idea of manned spaceflight, and would fit well within his comments and concerns about having a coherent space policy. Senator Obama, please bring back the National Space Council.

Remember when conservatives and liberals could have a rational debate?

Damien — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:50:16 EDT

Actually, I don't. It was apparently before my time. But have a look at these debates between William F Buckley and Noam Chomsky.

part 1
part 2

I especially liked Chomsky's analysis of military intervention for so-called "humanitarian" causes. These discussions centered on America's involvement in Vietnam, but have relevance to today.

Why Foreign Policy is Important

Peter Calvet — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:23:51 EDT

Ever wonder why gas prices are so high? How about groceries? Is there anything more basic than this? The main reason everything is artificially sky high is due to our weakened dollar. In a global economy, (yes, we are in a global economy whether we like it or not) the relative worth of our currency determines what we pay for essentials like fuel oil.

The reason our dollar is so low is that our President has seen fit to spend billions on unnecessary military adventures and essentially borrowed money to do it. We are not actually paying for these wars. We are on the installment plan and as enormous debtors we suffer the consequences of people who are in over their heads. Their credit rating goes down. When individuals do this, they pay more in interest, maybe get their car repossessed, or their home foreclosed. When nations do it their currency gets devalued, cheapened, if you will.

Most of our troubles today are directly related to the Bush foreign policy which has made us more isolated, more despised, and weaker, especially economically. Sure, a few people are doing very well, either by sucking up to dictators, or by getting lucrative contracts, but the average person is stuck with the bill. Since we indeed live in a global economy, it might be fair to say that even the term foreign policy is becoming obsolete. A better term might be global policy since we are not outside the world, but participants in it.

Fewer Choices for Vetrans

smffy — Sat, 17 May 2008 22:08:31 EDT

McCain is against a measure that would fund education for veterans, proposing legislation that would provide less money to encourage venterans to re-enlist.

The original GI bill sent thousands of WWII veterans back to school and in doing so strengthend our economy and built the economy by fostering an educated workforce which made us the econmic force in the world that we have been.

The veterans are returning home, many with severe injuries they would not have survived in other wars because of cutting edge medical care in the field. These disabled vets deserve everything we can provide for them.

Many of those who are not physically injured suffer from post traumatic stress and there is a high suicide rate among returning soldiers.

Recurring deployments are taking a toll on the military. Trying to divert them from education to continued combat service is inhumane.

McCain, for all his military experience, has delivered a blow to veterans.

24 souls

annie b (mcliberal) — Sun, 11 May 2008 10:00:53 EDT

the pentagon has released the names of 24 americans who died in the past two weeks in iraq and afghanistan. ages 19, 5 at age 21, 6 at age 22, 2 at age 24, age 25, 4 at age 26, 2 at age 30, age 31, age 32, age 45. may god bless these brave warriors and bring comfort and peace to their grieving families and friends.

the sorry state of the us military

annie b (mcliberal) — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:31:11 EDT

this is appalling. from usa today:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-05-07-nondeploy_N.htm

soldiers who are medically unfit for combat were sent anyway. what the hell is going on here?

networks ignore nyt expose on military analysts

annie b (mcliberal) — Sat, 03 May 2008 08:18:41 EDT

hmmm. i wonder why. once again, our good friends at mediamatters.org are asking the tough questions.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200805020010?lid=276388&rid=7676531

The end of the debate

JoeBill — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:02:07 EDT

I have supported Senator Obama since my candidate Gov Richardson had droped out, have hung on every word of change, hope and a new begining. The one thing that is regularly missing is straight talk of the issues and what his ideas to change are. All I have been hearing the last three months is the same old Potomac Two Step, basaically his ideas are not that much different than Senator Clinton since I have read and reread his answers on the issues.

In the begining Senator Clinton acted like she was the anoited one to be the next President and said she would not redeployed troops from Iraq until her second term. She has sinced changed her tune on Iraq, and has openly stated what her stances on the issues are.

As for me, stubborn buttheaded, I have changed also. I can not support someone who will not tell me what he will do different, and I am willing to take a second look at a candidate who has apears to say what she thinks. I leave for Europe in the morning and completed my absentee ballot this morning. It is over for me, and I ask all fellow democrats to make up your minds and vote and lets end this crap. Sen Obama I asked for the meat of the issues and got nothing so I gave you nothing in return. ISSUES are the key!

Military Service

JoeBill — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:02:02 EDT

As I filed my ballot I started reading candidate government experience background. No one on the Oregon ballot lists any military experience.

My dad was retired Navy, I am disabled Army, one brother in law is disabled Marine, one brother in law was Army National Guard, and one brother in law is a son of Navy Seal killed in Vietnam.

Having been around so many with military experience I thought everyone had some, I guess not. Most are from Yale, Harvard, Princeton, or some other big school with only civilian civil service if any.

Military Recruiting

Paul Thompson — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:48:50 EDT

In the movie Stripes, Harold Ramis elicits a laugh when the Army recruiter asks if he'd ever been convicted of a felony: "Convicted?"

Apparently, that line has lost its humor. According to Yahoo News, more and more people convicted of serious crimes are being allowed into the Armed Services.

People convicted of arson, burglary, aggravated assault and sex crimes are being issued M16s and khaki underwear. Well, only if the sex crimes were not of a homosexual nature, of course...

God bless America.

Please Unite To Help Our Soldiers

Jan CO — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 13:53:33 EDT

I had a feeling when I posted the following at 4:00 this morning that I should have waited until around now to do so. It has been bothering me ever since and because it something so important and appalling I feel a need to post it one more time on behalf of our Military over seas.

Our Female Soldiers Need Our Help Now!

A fellow blogger, and I am so sorry I don’t remember who it was, shared some information recently about supporting our military people in Iraq and Afghanistan, one of the links given was for anysoldier.com. Have any of you ever gone in there to read about our men and women over there and look at the pictures they've posted? If not you really should; I believe it will be an eye opener for a lot of people.

As I read about the different units with young men and women, most of them kids, from all over the United States and looked at their pictures it wasn’t long before I started noticing a very disturbing pattern. Our military is not, in very plain English, NOT, providing our women with the very basic of necessities that women need.

To put it gently from men making the requests “the females are asking for girlie things and “needs” – “My female soldiers need the items that only women know about and understand”.

In polite terms from some, “Please send feminine hygiene products as our PX carries very little of this for them and it is always in short supply” – “Female products can be hard to come by” – “items for females are tampons they are a hard find out here”

To put it in plain English from others, “please continue to send feminine items (ie. feminine wipes, pads, liners, tampons)…” - “for the females: Nonscented baby wipes, Tampons (plastic), Thin pads, These specifics we don't have or can't get very often in our area” – “Most of our female soldiers are going without necessary feminine products i.e. tampons, spray, napkins, etc”

This is beyond deplorable! Once I began seeing the pattern, I spent hours reading the different requests. This is not just a few units asking, requesting, and even almost begging for these items, this is a majority of units with women in Combat Areas. Not only are these items in extremely short supply but also as far as a PX or “shopette” goes they are either very small carrying very, very, little that goes very quickly and/or are miles away and therefore not easily accessible. They desperately need our help.

Our government has spent over $500 BILLION dollars on this war and our soldiers are NOT being taken care of. Where is all that money going?

FIVE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS and our government cannot even provide the basic of necessities for our military people… please tell me I am not the only one angered by this.

Other than female hygiene products the one thing requested by many men and women are just letters from home. It doesn’t matter if you’re a stranger they are homesick and most have a long time before they will see home again. All they want is to know someone cares about them, knows they are there and to hear a little about our everyday life in the states. When I repeatedly read of the soldiers that still have not received one piece of mail from anyone…just a simple letter… and “how sad it is to see these soldiers faces when their name is not called at mail call”, I cried. Most of the ones that don’t receive any mail are single, many with no families. I wanted to adopt every one of them right then and there; I still do.

I have been going into anysoldier.com every night for the past week desperately trying to think of some way of helping these women and any men and women that don’t receive a simple letter. Common sense hit me first, I am not wealthy or even close, I cannot adopt them all, I must choose whom I can realistically help but that doesn’t ease my mind much as that still leaves thousands of women and men that are going without. I’ve come to the conclusion that I must do what most of these women and men cannot do, I am spreading their requests for help beyond that website to anyone that reads my words.

It’s so easy and at the least it will only cost you a postage stamp, at the most, well that depends on what you can afford and how much you want to help but whichever you can do either one will fill your heart with a wonderful feeling and mean so much more to a soldier in need. Just go to anysoldier.com, read their FAQ real quick to familiarize yourself with the site, it will only take you a few minutes and is worth reading! They have a very nice search feature so you can sort the contacts by sex, state, branch, country stationed, etc. As they say on their site, Warning, this is addicting! I would like to add that before you decide to request a contacts address to make sure you are ready to respond by either a letter or a letter and a package otherwise people assume those requests will be responding giving a false number.

I am especially asking all the women on here to spread the word and start putting together basic needs care packages for the women we have overseas and this includes women in remote regions of Afghanistan and Germany but most are in Iraq. If you can’t afford to send a package on your own get with your family and friends, your knitting circle, book club, sorority or parents group and do one together and don’t forget to include a few special girlie items such as nice smelling lotion, shampoo and conditioner. Have the kids do pictures the next time you have play dates to include too. Whatever you can put together and send they will so dearly love and appreciate. However, you need to keep in mind that you may not hear back from your soldier/unit since many are in situations that don’t allow them to do so, or they don’t have the means; most of them do try though especially if you include writing paper, envelopes and pens/pencils; they do not need stamps.

As of this past January, the US Post Office has put together a special overseas care package mailing kit that costs you nothing and even though you only pay postage as far as either New York or California, they have lowered the cost of postage on these special packages and mailers making it even cheaper to send.

If you are one of those that love to send letters to Washington then please start doing so for the sake of our soldiers. It doesn’t matter if you are a Hillary, Obama or McCain supporter, the important thing is that our military women and men are not being taken care of the best they can be and should be and we all need to take action on it now.

I am in no way, shape, or form affiliated with anysoldier.com; I am just someone who cares.

Jan

Our Female Soldiers Need Our Help Now!

Jan CO — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:58:14 EDT

To put it gently from men making the requests “the females are asking for girlie things and “needs” – “My female soldiers need the items that only women know about and understand”.

To put it in plain English from others,”please continue to send feminine items (ie. feminine wipes, pads, liners, tampons)…” - “for the females: Nonscented baby wipes, Tampons (plastic), Thin pads, These specifics we don't have or can't get very often in our area” – “Most of our female soldiers are going without necessary feminine products i.e. tampons, spray, napkins, etc”

Our government has spent over $500 BILLION dollars on this war and our soldiers are NOT being taken care of. Where is all that money going?

FIVE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS and our government cannot even provide the basic of necessities for our military people… please tell me I am not the only one angered by this.

Other than female hygiene products the one thing requested by many men and women are just letters from home. It doesn’t matter if you’re a stranger they are homesick and most have a long time before they will see home again. All they want is to know someone cares about them, knows they are there and to hear a little about our every day world. When I repeatedly read of the soldiers that still have not received one piece of mail from anyone…just a simple letter… and “how sad it is to see these soldiers faces when their name is not called at mail call”, I cried. Most of the ones that don’t receive any mail are single, many with no families. I wanted to adopt every one of them right then and there; I still do.

I have been going into anysoldiers.com every night for the past week desperately trying to think of some way of helping these women and any men and women that don’t receive a simple letter; I’ve lost sleep almost every night because of this dilemma. My emotions range from anger to tears. Common sense hit me first, I am not wealthy or even close, I cannot adopt them all, I must choose whom I can help realistically but that still doesn’t ease my mind much as that still leaves thousands of women and men that are going without. I’ve come to the conclusion that I must do what most of these women and men cannot do, I am asking all of you for your help to help them.

It’s so easy and at the least it will only cost you a postage stamp, at the most, well that depends on what you can afford and how much you want to help but whichever you can do either one will fill your heart with a most wonderful feeling. Just go to anysoldiers.com, read their FAQ real quick to familiarize yourself with the site, it will only take you a few minutes and is worth reading! They have a very nice search feature that so you can sort the contacts by sex, state, branch, country etc. As they say on their site, Warning, this is addicting! I would like to add that before you decide to request a contacts address to make sure you are ready to respond by either a letter or a letter and a package otherwise people assume those requests will be responding.

I am especially asking all the women on here to start putting together basic needs care packages for the women we have overseas and this includes women in remote regions of Afghanistan and Germany but most are in Iraq. If you can’t afford to send a package on your own get with your family and friends and do one together and don’t forget to add one or two special girlie items such as nice smelling lotion or shampoo and conditioner. Have the kids do pictures the next time you have play dates to include too. Whatever you can put together and send they will so dearly love and appreciate however, you need to keep in mind that you may not hear back from your soldier/unit since many are in situations that don’t allow them to do so, or they don’t have the means; most of them do try though.

Jan

IRAQ AWAITS CRITICAL FATWA

funkfresh01 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:50:17 EDT

Date Posted: Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Posted By The Media Line Staff

IRAQ (The Media Line) April 8, 2008 â€" Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki announced on Monday he would ban a powerful Shi'ite parliamentary bloc from running in the next local elections unless it disarmed its 60,000-strong armed force.

The 'Sadri parliamentary bloc, led by Muqtada A-'Sadr, responded by saying it would disarm its armed force, known as the Mahdi Army, only if the Shi'ite religious authorities ordered them to do so.

"The Mahdi Army does not accept its orders from anyone except A-'Sadr and the religious authorities with whom he consults. If the religious authorities would ask him to disarm the Mahdi Army, he will definitely execute their demand," spokesman for the 'Sadri bloc, 'Salah A-'Ubeidi told reporters.

Weakening American Power-- the Republican Legacy

Gordon Schultz — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:13:04 EDT

The constant, persistent erosion of American power that began with Ronald Reagan has led to a world crisis of ever-growing international instability. The current administration, by weakening America for eight years, has made the world more dangerous than at any time since the "Twenty Years Crisis" (E.H. Carr) period between World Wars 1 and 2.

How is it that administrations widely thought to be proponents of a strong America in contrast to their Democratic opponents whom they bullied into silence or co-optation by painting them as cowardly appeasers of America's enemies, actually weakened American power and reduced its ability to act on behalf of its own long term interests?

TEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

funkfresh01 — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 22:05:26 EDT

For all the coverage this week of Senator John McCain's background, you will not learn some important things about him from the TV networks. His carefully crafted positive image relies on people not knowing this stuffâ€"and some of it might surprise you.

Please check out the list below, and then forward it to your friends, family, and coworkers. We cannot rely on the media to tell folks about the real John McCainâ€"but if we all pass this along, we can reach as many people as CNN Headline News does on a good night.

Click here to tell us how many people you can pass it on toâ€"and to see our progress nationally:

http://pol.moveon.org/mccain10/?id=12407-5077189-XKR_ot&t=231

Ten things you should know about John McCain.

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he has continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban Waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3

4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5

6. He is one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6

7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he is too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than McCain has any of the other presidential candidates.8

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a zeroâ€"yes, zeroâ€"from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10

John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be. Please help get the word outâ€"forward this email to your personal network. And if you want us to keep you posted on MoveOn's work to get the truth out about John McCain, sign up here:

http://pol.moveon.org/mccaintruth/?id=12407-5077189-XKR_ot&t=232

Thank you for all you do.

â€"Eli, Justin, Noah, Laura, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Saturday, April 5th, 2008

Sources:
1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html

"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008
http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/

2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us

"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/

3. "McCain Sides with Bush on Torture Again, Supports Veto of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/

4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/

5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008
http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007

"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/

6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80

"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home

7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022

"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/

8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What the Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/

"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251

9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html

"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/

"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/
10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/

Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.2 million members. We have no corporate contributors, no foundation grants, and no money from unions. Our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you would like to support our work, you can give now at:

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the gratitude campaign

annie b (mcliberal) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:26:00 EDT

give thanks. and mean it.

http://www.gratitudecampaign.org:80/fullmovie.php

US ELECTION DIARY - THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT

funkfresh01 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:23:59 EDT

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E4C51233-2D21-4FBB-85FD-7D7F5AF173D9.htm

By Rob Reynolds in Columbus, Ohio

On the road to clinching the Republican Party nomination for president, John McCain worked hard for the endorsement of influential Evangelical Christian ministers.

The ministers are helping shore up McCain's support on the party's right wing, which has always been skeptical about whether the Arizona senator is a true-blue conservative.

But one of those minister's beliefs about Islam and Muslims raise disturbing questions.

Rod Parsley, the pastor of a large and profitable Ohio mega-church, calls Islam a false religion. He says Allah is a demon spirit and that Muslims are bent on world conquest.

Parsley endorsed McCain in February, praising him as a "strong, true, consistent conservative".

(Please goto the above link or URL to continue with this story, thank you.)

OKLAHOMA CONFERENCE TO EXAMINE ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE ON TERRORISM

funkfresh01 — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:56 EDT

(This post is for everyone; but I wondering if anyone out there can pass this a long to the Clinton and Obama campign. This is a good chance for them to show up and give there thoughts about Terrorism. Maybe I was just dreaming, but it never hurt to try.)

OKLAHOMA CONFERENCE TO EXAMINE ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE ON TERRORISM

(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, 3/25/08) - On Saturday, April 5th, the Institute of Interfaith Dialog will host a day-long conference, "Denouncing Violence in the Name of God: The Case of Islam." Participants at the event will have an opportunity to hear Islamic scholars, academics, law enforcement officials, and journalists discuss the "Islamic perspectives on terror, especially terror that is associated with Islam."

WHAT: Institute of Interfaith Dialog's "Denouncing Violence in the Name of God: The Case of Islam"
WHEN: Saturday April 5, 2008, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Oklahoma City University, The Henry Freede Center (Southwest corner of 27th and Florida)

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr. Cherif Bassiouni - Professor of Law at DePaul University College of Law and President Emeritus of the International Human Rights Law Institute

ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS: Robert Pape - University of Chicago; Muhammad Abu Laylah - Al-Azhar University, Egypt; Fred Von Der Mehden - Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University; Greg Barton - Monash University, Australia; Dr. Robin Myers - Oklahoma City University; Ekrem Dumanli - Editor of Zaman newspaper, Turkey; John Coyle - Special Agent of FBI, Oklahoma; Andrew Tevington - Daily Oklahoman; and Dr. Imad Enchassi â€" Imam of Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City (ISGOC)

CONTACT: Orhan Kucukosman, Phone: (405) 426 5425, E-Mail: osmanokc@gmail.com

The conference is free of charge and open to the public. Lunch will be provided.

Orhan Kucukosman, from the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, stated the reason for holding the conference in Oklahoma: "In the early days of Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, there were speculations on individuals associated with a religion who might be responsible for the bombing.
As the truth was revealed, the bombing had no connection with any religion, but was a consequence of mentally challenged personality."

Sponsors include Wimberly School of Religion at Oklahoma City University, OU Religious Studies, Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism Texas, Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City and Mainstream Baptists, and the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK).

For more information goto:
http://www.interfaithdialog.org/