February 28, 2007

Peace Summit' held in Seoul

SEOUL, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Hundreds of political leaders from the globe gathered in Seoul this week to discuss peace on the Korean peninsula and in the world.

During the four-day meeting, dubbed "2007 Peace Summit," some 400 participants from 130 countries vowed to join efforts to bring a permanent peace to the peninsula hit by North Korea's nuclear and missile tests last year, organizers said Friday.

In an address, Kwak Chung-hwan, chairman of the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace, IIFWP, asked the political leaders to mobilize "all possible resources and tools" to resolve the issues of peace and development.

The IIFWP was founded by Rev. Moon Sun-myung of the Unification Church.

The "Peace Summit" is part of the IIFWP's worldwide campaigns for making peace focused on the Middle East and Asia, organizers said.

The IIFWP has also pushed for a series of projects in North Korea to promote peace and stability on the peninsula.

UPI

February 25, 2007

NPR : Political Cartoons, Protest and Free Speech

 

World

Political Cartoons, Protest and Free Speech

Listen to this story...

Talk of the Nation, February 7, 2006 · Protests over cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad grew more violent Tuesday. What should be done when freedom of expression conflicts with deeply held religious beliefs? Is anything off limits in a pluralistic society?

Guests:

Mona Eltahawy, a New-York based Egyptian columnist; board member of Progressive Muslim Union of North America

Matt Davies, syndicated cartoonist for The Journal News in White Plains, N.Y.; won the Pulitzer in 2004

Anne Gordon, managing editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Source: NPR : Political Cartoons, Protest and Free Speech

 

"If they knew the reaction would be so violent . . . they would not have done it (printing of the cartoon)."  A quote from one ot the quests. 

An interesting mind set for the theory behind, "All that is fit to print."  Actually, I haven't seen the media shrink from an opportunity to offend any religion with what they print.  All this aside, I did enjoy the effort made to explore this topic.  However, I wonder why leaders of other religions were not sought out for this round-table discussion.   What do you think?