Traces Of mr.,Obama’s Faith..[ 1687 ]

Obama's Personal Faith Leaves Public Wondering

by Don Gonyea

n.p.r.,August 22, 2010

Audio for this story from Weekend Edition Sunday will be available at approx. 12:00 p.m. ET

• Transcript

 

Enlarge Andrew Wardlow/AP

A new poll by Pew Research says that only one person in three knows President Obama is a Christian, while nearly one in five think he's a Muslim.

Andrew Wardlow/AP

A new poll by Pew Research says that only one person in three knows President Obama is a Christian, while nearly one in five think he's a Muslim.

n.p.r., August 22, 2010

A new poll this week shows a majority Americans are in the dark about President Obama's religion. The Pew Research survey says that only one person in three knows Obama is a Christian, while nearly one in five think he's a Muslim.

It's an unusual subject for people to be this uncertain on, but one reason may be what the White House calls the president's personal rather than public approach to religion.

Traces Of Obama’s Faith

President George W. Bush was a regular at Sunday church services. Obama, however, is not a regular churchgoer, which may well contribute to public confusion about his religion.

A spokesman says the president prays daily, often with others, sometimes in conference calls with spiritual leaders, including one recently aboard Air Force One. He has given speeches where he has spoken of how his faith helps him in his job, and he has spoken explicitly in Christian terms, as he did this year on Easter Sunday at a White House breakfast reflecting on Christ's final moments on the cross.

"'Father,' he said, 'into your hands I commit my spirit. Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.' These words were spoken by our Lord and Savior, but they can just as truly be spoken by every one of us here today," Obama said.

Past Presidents

In 1960, John F. Kennedy was running for president and everyone knew his religion. As a Roman Catholic, he had to battle critics who said he'd be taking orders from the Vatican.

"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute; where no Catholic prelate would tell the president — should he be Catholic — how to act, and no protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote," Kennedy said at the time.

Then came President Johnson: His Protestant denomination, Disciples of Christ, was a non-issue. Richard Nixon was a Quaker; Gerald Ford an Episcopalian. Ronald Reagan was Presbyterian; George H.W. Bush was another Episcopalian; Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter were Baptists. Carter, a self-described born-again Christian, was among the most overtly religious of recent presidents, but so too was George W. Bush, a Methodist.

During the 2000 campaign, Bush was asked to name the political philosopher who most influenced him.

"Christ," he said. "Because he changed my heart."

Challenge For Presidents

John Green of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life says the challenge for any president when he talks about religion is to be spiritual, inclusive and careful.

"It's a really difficult thing, on the one hand, to balance talking about religion versus all the other topics that the president has to talk about, but then get the religious message exactly right," Green says.

Houston pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell has been an informal spiritual adviser to Obama and Bush. He says polls that show one in five Americans think Obama is a Muslim are troubling. He says it's religious misinformation spread to defeat the president politically.

"It is fair and civil to attack the president's politics and his policies," he said. "I think it's unfair, uncivil, and even un-American to attack the man's personal, fundamental faith."

He says the president shouldn't have to respond, though politically Obama may indeed have to do what none of his predecessors have had to do while in office — continue to find ways to reinforce with the public who he is and what he believes when it comes to his faith.

Spain's ETA terror suspect was arrested in Belgium ..[ 1686 ]

Terror suspect from Spain arrested in Belgium

By the CNN Wire Staff

August 21, 2010 -- Updated 1022 GMT (1822 HKT)

 

Photo of ETA suspect Luis Maria Zengotitabengoa.

(CNN) -- One of Spain's most wanted terror suspects was arrested in Belgium on Saturday, Spanish interior ministry officials said.

Luis Maria Zengotitabengoa, an alleged member of the terrorist ETA group, was captured by Belgian police as he checked into a hotel in the city of Ostend.

Zengotitabengoa became a wanted man in January when police found evidence linking him to a van carrying explosives in the city of Zamora, near the Spain-Portugal border.

His brother Andoni was arrested in March at the Lisbon airport before boarding a plane to Venezuela using a fake Mexican passport.

According to the interior ministry, 67 alleged ETA members and collaborators have been arrested this year.

CNN's Gustavo Valdes contributed to this report.

Russia, bomber killed in a clash with security forces..[ 1685 ]

Russia kills Moscow metro attacks mastermind

Published: Saturday August 21, 2010 The modest IT teacher in her village school was identified as the second suicide bomber responsible for the attack on Lubyanka metro station in Moscow on March 29.

Russian security forces Saturday killed a top militant suspected of organising the deadly suicide attacks on the Moscow metro and who was reportedly married to one of the female bombers.

Magomedali Vagabov was killed in a clash with security forces in the Caucasus region of Dagestan that left four other militants dead, the national anti-terror committee said in a statement published by Russian news agencies.

The double bombings carried out by two female suicide bombers on the Moscow metro on March 29 killed 40 and wounded more than 100.

"Vagabov was the organiser of the suicide bombings on the Moscow metro, was actively involved in recruiting youth for the underground and organised the training for the suicide bombers," the committee said.

He was described in the official statement as the number two figure in the Islamist-inspired insurgency that has plagued the Russian Northern Caucasus over the last years, after its overall leader Doku Umarov.

The clash, described as being brief, took place in the village of Gunib -- in the mountains of Dagestan southwest of the local capital Makhachkala -- where the militants were holed up in a house.

"Once the fire from the building was put out, one of the corpses was identified as Magomedali Vagabov," the statement said.

According to some reports, Vagabov was the husband of Mariam Sharipova, one of the metro suicide bombers.

This has been strongly denied by her father in media interviews but the Russian news agency reports described her as Vagabov's "sharia wife", implying he had made her one of a number of spouses.

As well as the Moscow metro attacks, Vagabov had also planned a string of attacks against security forces and on railway infrastructure, the statement said.

It said he had received training at a militant camp in Pakistan and had contacts with a number of international terror groups who had also passed on financing.

"The annihilation of the well-known bandit Vagabov and his henchmen is a success for the security forces and shows even the most sophisticated means will not allow bandits to escape responsibility for their deeds," it said.

There were no casualties among the security forces or the civilian population in the village.

The Russian security forces had targeted Vagabov in previous special operations but had until now failed to track him down. Russian media reported at the time of the attacks he lead a 40-strong group in the forested mountains.

Umarov, who heads the Caucasus Emirate group seeking to establish Islamic rule across the Caucasus mountains, has for years evaded capture or killing by the Russian security forces.

This month he unexpectedly announced he was stepping down in favour of a younger successor but then days later withdrew the announcement and vowed to carry on killing "enemies of Allah".

Nasa and the Music....[ 1684 ]

Nasa's new 'Idol' song competition 'to give new music to space astronauts'

Nasa astronauts are to be roused by new music first thing in the morning during space missions, after an "Idol" style compeition was launched.

 

Use of music to wake astronauts on space missions dates back to at least the Apollo Program. Photo: REUTERS

 

The "American Idol for space" competition will give budding musicians the chance to create a new original tune for the Endeavour mission early next year. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Andrew Hough
Published: 8:00AM BST 21 Aug 2010

Space agency officials have created the first ever “wake up” competition, which will help choose a catchy tune to rouse the Discovery’s shuttle crews during their final two flights later this year.

Meanwhile, the “American Idol for space” competition was announced, where budding musicians were urged to create a new original tune for the Endeavour mission early next year, the last scheduled space shuttle flight.

 

Traditionally, the songs played to wake up astronauts are selected by friends and family of the crew members.

But the "Wakeup Song Contest" competition has opened that privilege up to the general public for the first time, who can select songs from a list of the top 40 previous “wakeup calls”. 

The choices include Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon" and Tom Petty's "Free Fallin," as well as some U2 and Elton John.
Countdown, by Rush, was the early leader after the competition was announced on Friday, followed by the Star Trek theme and U2’s Beautiful Day.
The two songs with the most votes will be played to crew as crew wakeup calls on the final scheduled flight of space shuttle Discovery in November before the fleet retires.
The newly created song will be played during the Endeavour, which is set to launch Feb. 26 next year.

After 130 space shuttle missions, only four remain before the fleet is scheduled to retire.
"We're looking forward to hearing which songs the public wants played for us," said Steve Lindsey, the Discovery mission’s Commander.
"It's going to be a difficult choice, because there have been so many great songs played over the years."
Mark Kelly, the Endeavour’s commander, added: “Space shuttle crews really enjoy the morning wake-up music.
“While we don't have the best quality speaker in the space shuttle, it will be interesting to hear what the public comes up with. We are looking forward to it."
Use of music to wake astronauts on space missions dates back at least to the Apollo Program.

Astronauts returning from the moon were “serenaded by their colleagues in mission control with lyrics from popular songs that seemed appropriate for the occasion”.

In June, Nasa revealed a stellar line up of musical stars which were used to entertain astronauts while they are on space missions.
The usually serious ground control, play everything from The Beatles' Here Comes the Sun as the spacemen wake up to Sinatra's Fly Me To The Moon as they set off.

A record of the records played was published by the space agency’s “Historical Division” tracing songs in space right back to the 1965 US Gemini Mission.

The song competition has echoes of Nasa’s “Face in Space” contest after the space agency announced it will fly photographs of anyone who uploads a head shot onto their Face in Space website to the International Space Station.

The "Merchant of Death". to stand trial, in U.S..[ 1683 ]

Thai court orders extradition of Russian arms dealer to U.S.

Viktor Bout, a suspected Russian arms dealer, listens to reporter's questions from inside a court cell at the criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand Friday, Aug. 20, 2010. An appeals court ruled in favor of a U.S. request to extradite the elusive Russian businessman dubbed "The Merchant of Death." (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

By Jerry Seper

-

The Washington Times

12:55 p.m., Friday, August 20, 2010

International arms dealer Viktor Bout, the so-called "Merchant of Death" named in February in a federal grand jury indictment in New York on charges of conspiring to finance an aircraft fleet to arm bloody conflicts and support rogue regimes worldwide, will be returned to the United States to stand trial, a court in Thailand ruled on Friday.

In overturning a lower court's decision that blocked his return, a Thai appeals court agreed with U.S.Mr. Bout, 43, should be returned to answer the accusations. He was being held in Thailand on a U.S. indictment handed up in 2008 accusing him of selling weapons to Marxist rebels in Colombia to kill Americans. prosecutors that

The U.S. government, which summoned the Thai ambassador in Washington this week to push for extradition, had considered the case as one of the nation's highest priorities, according to the State and Justice departments.

"We are extremely pleased that the appeals court in Thailand has granted the extradition of Viktor Bout to the United States on charges of conspiring to sell weapons to a terrorist organization for use in killing Americans," said Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler.

"We have always felt that the facts of the case, the relevant Thai law and the terms of our bilateral extradition treaty clearly supported the extradition of Mr. Bout on these charges," he said, adding that while the Bout prosecution was "of utmost priority to the United States," the criminal charges he faces are not solely an American concern.

"He has been sanctioned by the United Nations for alleged arms trafficking activity and support of armed conflicts in Africa," Mr. Grindler said.

Justice Department officials based at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok were in court to hear the verdict, and declined comment to the media. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blasted the ruling, saying his country intended to have Mr. Bout returned to that country.

"This decision, according to the information that we have, was taken under very strong pressure from the outside. This is sad," Mr. Lavrov said, referring to the United States . "I assure you that we will continue to do everything necessary to obtain his return to the motherland."

Mr. Bout and an associate, Richard A. Chichakli, were accused of money-laundering, wire-fraud and of conspiring to purchase two aircraft from companies in the U.S. in violation of economic sanctions that prohibited such financial transactions.

According to the indictment, Mr. Bout carried out a massive weapons-trafficking business by assembling a fleet of cargo planes capable of transporting weapons and military equipment to various parts of the world, including Africa, South America and the Middle East.