March 18, 2008

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Assessing Race in America, Obama Calls Pastor Divisive
Jeff Zeleny/New York Times (03/18/2008)
Senator Barack Obama renewed his objection to the controversial statements delivered by the longtime pastor of his church, but declared that it was time to “move beyond some of our old racial wounds.”

Obama Tackles Race Relations In Major Campaign Speech
Nick Timiraos/Wall Street Journal (03/18/2008)
Obama delivered a major speech on race relations in the wake of the controversy over remarks by his former pastor.

Obama denounces preacher, says can't disown him
Caren Bohan/Reuters (03/18/2008)
PHILADELPHIA - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday criticized his preacher for racially charged rhetoric but said he could not disown the man who baptized his children and officiated at his wedding. Obama sought to quell a firestorm of controversy ignited when attention was called to frequent sermons from the pulpit by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, which the Illinois senator attended for two decades.

Obama: We can move beyond racial wounds
CNN (03/18/2008)
Barack Obama addressed the race issue head on today, urging Americans to reject the "racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years." Obama's speech comes after spending the weekend on the defensive over racially charged statements from his former minister.

FAITH LEADERS
Dalai Lama to Resign if Violence Worsens
Gavin Rabinowitz/Associated Press (03/18/2008: chicagotribune.com)
DHARMSALA, India - The Dalai Lama threatened Tuesday to step down as leader of Tibet's government-in-exile if violence committed by Tibetans in his homeland spirals out of control. The rioting prompted Premier Wen Jiabao to denounce the Dalai Lama's supporters as separatists and accuse them of instigating the violence in Tibet's capital of Lhasa. It was China's highest-level response to date to the unrest.

Congregation Defends Obama's Ex-Pastor
Eli Saslow/Washington Post (03/18/2008)
CHICAGO -- The Rev. Jeremiah Wright spent 36 years teaching this congregation how to recognize injustice, and his parishioners sense it all around them now. On Sunday, more than 3,000 of them filled Trinity United Church of Christ on the city's South Side to pray for their former pastor.

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
Money, fidelity go hand in hand
Sharon Jayson/USA Today (03/18/2008)
Sex may be the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "infidelity," but there are other types of "unfaithful or disloyal acts," other ways spouses cheat on each other. A major one is money.

DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE
Christians, Muslims move ahead on global talks
Jane Lampman/Christian Science Monitor (03/18/2008)
Religious leaders plan to meet this year in the US, Britain, and at the Vatican to defuse tensions.

ARTS AND MEDIA
Actor Quits Big Break on Rabbis' Orders
Anne Marie Dorning/ABC News (03/18/2008)
It's every aspiring actor's dream -- the big break. So 25-year-old Abraham Karpen was the envy of every Shia Lebouf wannabe when he was cast as Natalie Portman's husband in the film "New York I Love You." But Karpen isn't going to be on the red-eye to La-la-land any time soon because last week the Hasidic Jew from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, said goodbye to his budding acting career and quit the film.