Look out, here comes some more threats of damaged relations from China. This time (which is nothing new), a senior Chinese official strongly warned President Obama not to meet with the Dalai Lama. White House officials have said that Obama plans to meet with the Dalai Lama early this year. The senior Chinese official said that any country would suffer consequences if their leaders met with the Dalai Lama (who China considers as a dangerous separatist). The official did not elaborate on what actions China would take. In late 2008 China had protested the president of France (Sarkozy) meeting with the Dalai Lama, and threatened economic sanctions against France. But those never materialized. (Full Story)
I hope Obama does meet with the Dalai Lama and doesn't bend to the will of China -- like last November when Obama declined to meet with the Dalai Lama in order to prevent angering China before his first trip to Beijing that took place that same month.
"President Obama has decided not to attend a United States-European Union summit meeting schedule for Madrid in May, and European Union officials found out about the decision through news outlets late on Monday, senior European officials said Tuesday morning... The White House explained the decision as a matter of scheduling, insisting that the May visit to Europe was never on the president's agenda, so it could not be said to have been canceled." (Full Story)
It sounds like Obama is the aloof, unavailable boyfriend that breaks up with his girlfriend over facebook.
The Pope has spoken out against a UK Equality Bill that would ban discrimination in employment, services, and education. The Pope is opposed to the bill because it could end the right of the church to ban gay people from being hired as staff (not including the positions of priest or minister). He said the bill "violates natural law", and he urged Catholic bishops in England and Wales to fight the bill with "missionary zeal." The Pope said the bill "impose[s] unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs." There is a fear among some Catholics that gay people will be able to hold senior positions. A Catholic MP said, "This isn't a debate about homosexuality, this is a debate about religious freedom... If a faith teaches, as major faiths do, that something is wrong, then quite clearly you cannot have somebody who believes that it's right actually occupying a very senior position." A Liberal Democrat MP, who sits on the Joint Committee on Human Rights, said, "Religious people can be reassured that there is nothing in the Equality Bill which imposes gay priests on religions, but it does protect the general workforce from prejudiced employers."
Critics of the Pope's stance say that the Church shouldn't be exempt from the Equality Bill. There should be no exception when it comes to discrimination. A human rights campaigner said of the Pope, "His ill-informed claim that our equality laws undermine religious freedom suggests that he supports the right of churches to discriminate in accordance with their religious ethos. He seems to be defending discrimination by religious institutions and demanding that they should be above the law." Critics argue that the Catholic Church should be preaching about ending discrimination, not perpetuating it. Some say they will oppose the Pope's visit to the UK later in the year. The National Secular Society president said, "The taxpayer in this country is going to be faced with a bill of some 20 million pounds for the visit of the Pope -- a visit in which he has already indicated he will attack equal rights and promote discrimination." (Full Story)
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