Ten Finalists Selected in the Mars Project Challenge
The Mars Society is proud to announce the selection of ten finalists in our Mars Project Challenge. The goal of the MPC was to collect ideas from our members for the next Mars Society project; a project that will provide a REAL contribution to future human missions to Mars.
"First of all, I want to thank all those who submitted proposals," said Mars Society Executive Director Chris Carberry. "All the submissions represented a lot of work and commitment to the Mars exploration cause. I am impressed by the range of concepts that these finalists represent and I am sure that all of these final ten entries could be wonderful projects for The Mars Society to undertake in the upcoming years."
All those participating were required to submit their concept on a quad chart and a one page summary and needed to address a key aspect of humans to Mars exploration and have the potential to stimulate public and media interest. All ten teams or individuals will be invited to make a 15 minute presentation at The Mars Society Convention in Boulder to make the argument of why their concept should be the next big project.
The finalists are as follows:
Autonomous Planetary Agriculture System (Submitted by Robert Van Dyk)
Mars Navigation Aid Demonstrator (Submitted by Guy de Carufel)
Mars Open Source Operations Commander (Submitted by Jason Held and Saber Astronautics)
Mars Sample Return Prototypes Competition (Submitted by Kent Nebergall)
Martian Flying Saucer - Wiki Design (Submitted by Sherry Draisey)
Martian Meteorite Simulation (Submitted by Steve McDaniel, Gary Fisher, Gus Frederick, Penny Boston)
Project Mars Power: ISPP on Mars (Submitted by Mark K. Moran, B.S.A.E., M.S.P.H.)
Tethered Experiment for Mars (TEMPO^3) (Submitted by Tom Hill)
The Mars Foundation: "The Mars Education Center" (Submitted by The Mars Foundation Design Team, with special thanks to: Bruce Mackenzie, Bart Leahy, Georgi Petrov, Shaun Moss, and Susan Martin
Tumbler (Submitted by Jason Held and Saber Astronautics)
VOTE NOW FOR A PROJECT
From now until The Mars Society Convention, paid Mars Society members will be able to vote for the projects that they think would best advance the cause of Mars exploration. While this will not be a binding vote, the Mars Society Steering Committee will take this vote into account when they select the next project. The winning project will be announced at the Mars Society banquet on August 16, 2008 in Boulder.
When voting, members can select their first, second, and third choices, in order of preference; points will be apportioned based on that ranking (i.e. a project receiving a first-choice vote will earn more points than one receiving a third-choice vote). Anyone having difficulty voting should first check that their account is paid up-to-date, and if not, renew their membership before voting. If your account is current and you are still experiencing difficulty, please contact the Webmaster for help.
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11th Annual International Convention Preliminary Schedule
The Mars Society is pleased to release a preliminary schedule for this year's convention to be held on the campus of the University of Colorado at Boulder, August 14-17, 2008. This year's four-day event includes a diverse panel of speakers who will cover a range of subjects including up-to-the minute reports from the Phoenix and Cassini-Huygens science teams, as well as two special tracks that invite debate and discussion on the topics "Science and Religion" with noted scholars Brother Guy Consolmagno and Ted Peters, and "U.S. Space Policy" with representatives from the campaigns of Senators Barack Obama and John McCain.
The schedule is available online at the 2008 Convention site. We look forward to seeing you in August. Please register online!
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Dr. Michael Simpson - President, International Space University
The Mars Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Michael Simpson, President of the International Space University (ISU), Strasbourg, France, will be one of several keynote speakers during the Plenary Sessions at the Mars Society Convention this August. The International Space University is a world leader in space education, and as such sets the standard for excellence with its international, interdisciplinary, and intercultural academic programs. ISU's alumni represent 95 countries, and rank among the world's most respected space science advocates and scientists. The ISU is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Dr. Simpson has likewise pursued a standard of excellence with his own academic preparation. He holds a Bachelors Degree magna cum laude from Fordham University, a Ph.D. from Tufts University-The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, a MBA from Syracuse University; and two Master of Arts degrees from The Fletcher School. He has also completed the French Advanced Defense Institute (Institut des Hautes Études de Défense Nationale) and the General Course of the London School of Economics, both programs as prestigious as they are rigorous. He retired from U.S. Naval Reserve in 1993. Dr. Simpson has served as president of both Utica College and the American University of Paris, and has taught courses in political science, international relations, business management, leadership and economics in both the United States and France.
While serving as President of the ISU, Dr. Simpson works to establish an international network of institutional partners, including the University of Stuttgart in Germany and University Louis Pasteur in France, and has recently negotiated agreements with the countries of India and Canada. His work is instrumental not only toward the mission of the ISU, but to advance and promote the cause for international cooperation in the exploration of space, all with the hope that in doing so, we will find solutions to Earth's global challenges.
Please join us in August in Boulder to hear Dr. Simpson and our many other celebrated guests.
REGISTER NOW FOR A SPECTACULAR CONVENTION!
WHERE: Back to where it all began in 1998: University Memorial Center, University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado.
WHEN: August 14-17, 2008
REGISTRATION: Available online
HOTEL INFORMATION: Available online
SPEAKERS: We have an impressive list of knowledgeable, inspiring speakers already scheduled:
J. Michael Straczynski (Creator of Babylon 5) - Tentative
Dr. S. Pete Worden (Brig. Gen., USAF, ret.; NASA Ames Research Center Director)
Elon Musk (Founder and CEO of SpaceX)
Dr. Jim Garvin (Chief Scientist, NASA Goddard)
Dr. Carolyn Porco (Cassini Imaging Team Leader)
Dr. Chris McKay (NASA Ames Research Center)
Dr. Carol Stoker (NASA Ames Research Center)
Dr. Bill Clancey (NASA Ames Research Center)
Dr. Matt Mountain (Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute)
Dr. Michael Simpson (International Space University)
Geoffrey Yoder (NASA - Director, Directorate Integration Office - Exploration Systems Mission Directorate)
Joe Cassady (Aerojet: Director for Business Development in Emerging Space markets)
George Whitesides (Executive Director, National Space Society)
Dr. Robert Zubrin (President and Founder, The Mars Society)
Dr. Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11) Tentative
Brother Guy Consolmagno (Vatican Observatory; Curator, Vatican Meteorite Collection)
Dr. Ted Peters (Co-Editor: Theology and Science; The CTNS Journal of Science and Religion)
Dr. David Spires (Senior Instructor, University of Washington)
Dr. Michael Simpson (President, International Space University)
Monday, July 14, 2008
Muslims Top New List of Public Intellectuals
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92529367
Time has its Person of the Year. People has its Sexiest Man Alive. Not to be outdone, Foreign Policy magazine has just completed its online survey of the world's top public intellectuals.
No. 1 on the list is Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim religious leader from Turkey. In fact, the top 10 of the leading 20 are all Muslim thinkers from countries with dominant Muslim populations.
That's not a coincidence, says Kate Palmer, a Foreign Policy editor. In addition to being highly subjective, the survey generated a competition fueled by legions of supporters and, in some cases, by the intellectuals themselves.
Gulen is closely associated with the Turkish daily newspaper, Zaman, which mentioned the poll on its front page in May. Within hours, his supporters were voting and waging a vigorous campaign online and through word of mouth. Foreign Policy notes that Gulen, who is considered by many to be a moderate Islamist, is controversial in Turkey because he's still seen as a threat to Turkish secularism.
Gulen has a global network of followers. Foreign Policy editors think that once Gulen's supporters cast their votes for him, they stuck around on the site and then voted for other Muslim thinkers. Still, says Palmer, Gulen garnered many more votes than the second intellectual on the list, Muhammad Yunus, whose efforts to promote microfinancing won him the Nobel Prize two years ago.
Palmer thinks that many upwardly mobile, educated Muslims may have seen the poll as a real opportunity for recognition. "Maybe it's an enthusiasm for being included in this list, when many of these people are ignored by so many in other parts of the world," she says.
Time has its Person of the Year. People has its Sexiest Man Alive. Not to be outdone, Foreign Policy magazine has just completed its online survey of the world's top public intellectuals.
No. 1 on the list is Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim religious leader from Turkey. In fact, the top 10 of the leading 20 are all Muslim thinkers from countries with dominant Muslim populations.
That's not a coincidence, says Kate Palmer, a Foreign Policy editor. In addition to being highly subjective, the survey generated a competition fueled by legions of supporters and, in some cases, by the intellectuals themselves.
Gulen is closely associated with the Turkish daily newspaper, Zaman, which mentioned the poll on its front page in May. Within hours, his supporters were voting and waging a vigorous campaign online and through word of mouth. Foreign Policy notes that Gulen, who is considered by many to be a moderate Islamist, is controversial in Turkey because he's still seen as a threat to Turkish secularism.
Gulen has a global network of followers. Foreign Policy editors think that once Gulen's supporters cast their votes for him, they stuck around on the site and then voted for other Muslim thinkers. Still, says Palmer, Gulen garnered many more votes than the second intellectual on the list, Muhammad Yunus, whose efforts to promote microfinancing won him the Nobel Prize two years ago.
Palmer thinks that many upwardly mobile, educated Muslims may have seen the poll as a real opportunity for recognition. "Maybe it's an enthusiasm for being included in this list, when many of these people are ignored by so many in other parts of the world," she says.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
profiling
The U.S. Justice Department is considering a change in the grounds on which the FBI can investigate citizens and legal residents of the United States. Till now, DOJ guidelines have required the FBI to have some evidence of wrongdoing before it opens an investigation. The impending new rules, which would be implemented later this summer, allow bureau agents to establish a terrorist profile or pattern of behavior and attributes and, on the basis of that profile, start investigating an individual or group. Agents would be permitted to ask "open-ended questions" concerning the activities of Muslim Americans and Arab-Americans. A person's travel and occupation, as well as race or ethnicity, could be grounds for opening a national security investigation.
The rumored changes have provoked protests from Muslim American and Arab-American groups. The Council on American Islamic Relations, among the more effective lobbies for Muslim Americans' civil liberties, immediately denounced the plan, as did James Zogby, the president of the Arab-American Institute. Said Zogby, "There are millions of Americans who, under the reported new parameters, could become subject to arbitrary and subjective ethnic and religious profiling." Zogby, who noted that the Bush administration's history with profiling is not reassuring, warned that all Americans would suffer from a weakening of civil liberties.
In fact, Zogby's statement only begins to touch on the many problems with these proposed rules. The new guidelines would lead to many bogus prosecutions, but they would also prove counterproductive in the effort to disrupt real terror plots. And then there's Attorney General Michael Mukasey's rationale for revising the rules in the first place. "It's necessary," he explained in a June news conference, "to put in place regulations that will allow the FBI to transform itself as it is transforming itself into an intelligence-gathering organization." When did Congress, or we as a nation, have a debate about whether we want to authorize the establishment of a domestic intelligence agency? Indeed, late last month Congress signaled its discomfort with the concept by denying the FBI's $11 million funding request for its data-mining center. . .
Muslim Americans and Arab-Americans, along with members of some other ethnic groups, are therefore understandably alarmed that the Department of Justice may soon have the tools to bring them under investigation without any proof of wrongdoing. As CAIR national legislative director Corey Saylor noted in a statement, "Any new Justice Department guidelines must preserve the presumption of innocence that is the basis of our entire legal system ... Initiating criminal investigations based on racial or religious profiling is both unconstitutional and un-American."
Muslim Americans and Arab-Americans have already suffered from being profiled in a de facto sense. Unsurprisingly, to have that injustice become policy concerns them. The protests would be even louder if so many in the community were not afraid to speak up and draw attention to themselves, as one of my Muslim American Facebook correspondents pointed out to me. Another remarked sadly that not only had George W. Bush not brought democracy to the Muslim Middle East, but he had also damaged its prospects in America itself. (MORE)
The rumored changes have provoked protests from Muslim American and Arab-American groups. The Council on American Islamic Relations, among the more effective lobbies for Muslim Americans' civil liberties, immediately denounced the plan, as did James Zogby, the president of the Arab-American Institute. Said Zogby, "There are millions of Americans who, under the reported new parameters, could become subject to arbitrary and subjective ethnic and religious profiling." Zogby, who noted that the Bush administration's history with profiling is not reassuring, warned that all Americans would suffer from a weakening of civil liberties.
In fact, Zogby's statement only begins to touch on the many problems with these proposed rules. The new guidelines would lead to many bogus prosecutions, but they would also prove counterproductive in the effort to disrupt real terror plots. And then there's Attorney General Michael Mukasey's rationale for revising the rules in the first place. "It's necessary," he explained in a June news conference, "to put in place regulations that will allow the FBI to transform itself as it is transforming itself into an intelligence-gathering organization." When did Congress, or we as a nation, have a debate about whether we want to authorize the establishment of a domestic intelligence agency? Indeed, late last month Congress signaled its discomfort with the concept by denying the FBI's $11 million funding request for its data-mining center. . .
Muslim Americans and Arab-Americans, along with members of some other ethnic groups, are therefore understandably alarmed that the Department of Justice may soon have the tools to bring them under investigation without any proof of wrongdoing. As CAIR national legislative director Corey Saylor noted in a statement, "Any new Justice Department guidelines must preserve the presumption of innocence that is the basis of our entire legal system ... Initiating criminal investigations based on racial or religious profiling is both unconstitutional and un-American."
Muslim Americans and Arab-Americans have already suffered from being profiled in a de facto sense. Unsurprisingly, to have that injustice become policy concerns them. The protests would be even louder if so many in the community were not afraid to speak up and draw attention to themselves, as one of my Muslim American Facebook correspondents pointed out to me. Another remarked sadly that not only had George W. Bush not brought democracy to the Muslim Middle East, but he had also damaged its prospects in America itself. (MORE)
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Interfaith
In a first for a Saudi Arabian leader, King Abdullah will convene a conference in Madrid as part of a Saudi outreach to defuse interfaith tensions, improve Islam's image, and restore respect for religious values.
King Abdullah's initiative – a three-day meeting starting July 16 that will include Muslim, Christian, and Jewish clerics, as well as representatives of Eastern religions – stands out among interfaith gatherings that have become commonplace in the post-9/11 world. . .
Nihad Awad, founding executive director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, says the venue demonstrates that the Saudis are willing to meet Western religious leaders on their home turf.
"It's good to bring people in [to Saudi Arabia]; however, we want more Muslim scholars and leaders to go and interact with Western intellectuals, and Spain is a good choice to start with as it represents a place of interfaith tolerance historically," says Mr. Awad, who recently met Abdullah. "The fact that the king is going is a powerful statement that he's investing in this personally and wants it to succeed."
King Abdullah's initiative – a three-day meeting starting July 16 that will include Muslim, Christian, and Jewish clerics, as well as representatives of Eastern religions – stands out among interfaith gatherings that have become commonplace in the post-9/11 world. . .
Nihad Awad, founding executive director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, says the venue demonstrates that the Saudis are willing to meet Western religious leaders on their home turf.
"It's good to bring people in [to Saudi Arabia]; however, we want more Muslim scholars and leaders to go and interact with Western intellectuals, and Spain is a good choice to start with as it represents a place of interfaith tolerance historically," says Mr. Awad, who recently met Abdullah. "The fact that the king is going is a powerful statement that he's investing in this personally and wants it to succeed."
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Space race who is winning
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR2008070803185.html?g=1
China plans to conduct its first spacewalk in October. The European Space Agency is building a roving robot to land on Mars. India recently launched a record 10 satellites into space on a single rocket.
Space, like Earth below, is globalizing. And as it does, America's long-held superiority in exploring, exploiting and commercializing "the final frontier" is slipping away, many experts believe.
Although the United States remains dominant in most space-related fields -- and owns half the military satellites currently orbiting Earth -- experts say the nation's superiority is diminishing, and many other nations are expanding their civilian and commercial space capabilities at a far faster pace.
"We spent many tens of billions of dollars during the Apollo era to purchase a commanding lead in space over all nations on Earth," said NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin, who said his agency's budget is down by 20 percent in inflation-adjusted terms since 1992.
"We've been living off the fruit of that purchase for 40 years and have not . . . chosen to invest at a level that would preserve that commanding lead."
In a recent in-depth study of international space competitiveness, the technology consulting firm Futron of Bethesda found that the globalizing of space is unfolding more broadly and quickly than most Americans realize. "Systemic and competitive forces threaten U.S. space leadership," company president Joseph Fuller Jr. concluded.
Six separate nations and the European Space Agency are now capable of sending sophisticated satellites and spacecraft into orbit -- and more are on the way. New rockets, satellites and spacecraft are being planned to carry Chinese, Russian, European and Indian astronauts to the moon, to turn Israel into a center for launching minuscule "nanosatellites," and to allow Japan and the Europeans to explore the solar system and beyond with unmanned probes as sophisticated as NASA's.
While the United States has been making incremental progress in space, its global rivals have been taking the giant steps that once defined NASA:
· Following China's lead, India has announced ambitious plans for a manned space program, and in November the European Union will probably approve a proposal to collaborate on a manned space effort with Russia. Russia will soon launch rockets from a base in South America under an agreement with the European company Arianespace, whose main launch facility is in Kourou, French Guiana.
· Japan and China both have satellites circling the moon, and India and Russia are also working on lunar orbiters. NASA will launch a lunar reconnaissance mission this year, but many analysts believe the Chinese will be the first to return astronauts to the moon.
for more goto
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR2008070803185_2.html?g=1&sid=ST2008070900751&pos=
China plans to conduct its first spacewalk in October. The European Space Agency is building a roving robot to land on Mars. India recently launched a record 10 satellites into space on a single rocket.
Space, like Earth below, is globalizing. And as it does, America's long-held superiority in exploring, exploiting and commercializing "the final frontier" is slipping away, many experts believe.
Although the United States remains dominant in most space-related fields -- and owns half the military satellites currently orbiting Earth -- experts say the nation's superiority is diminishing, and many other nations are expanding their civilian and commercial space capabilities at a far faster pace.
"We spent many tens of billions of dollars during the Apollo era to purchase a commanding lead in space over all nations on Earth," said NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin, who said his agency's budget is down by 20 percent in inflation-adjusted terms since 1992.
"We've been living off the fruit of that purchase for 40 years and have not . . . chosen to invest at a level that would preserve that commanding lead."
In a recent in-depth study of international space competitiveness, the technology consulting firm Futron of Bethesda found that the globalizing of space is unfolding more broadly and quickly than most Americans realize. "Systemic and competitive forces threaten U.S. space leadership," company president Joseph Fuller Jr. concluded.
Six separate nations and the European Space Agency are now capable of sending sophisticated satellites and spacecraft into orbit -- and more are on the way. New rockets, satellites and spacecraft are being planned to carry Chinese, Russian, European and Indian astronauts to the moon, to turn Israel into a center for launching minuscule "nanosatellites," and to allow Japan and the Europeans to explore the solar system and beyond with unmanned probes as sophisticated as NASA's.
While the United States has been making incremental progress in space, its global rivals have been taking the giant steps that once defined NASA:
· Following China's lead, India has announced ambitious plans for a manned space program, and in November the European Union will probably approve a proposal to collaborate on a manned space effort with Russia. Russia will soon launch rockets from a base in South America under an agreement with the European company Arianespace, whose main launch facility is in Kourou, French Guiana.
· Japan and China both have satellites circling the moon, and India and Russia are also working on lunar orbiters. NASA will launch a lunar reconnaissance mission this year, but many analysts believe the Chinese will be the first to return astronauts to the moon.
for more goto
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR2008070803185_2.html?g=1&sid=ST2008070900751&pos=
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Anti-Islam Preacher Subject of IRS Inquiry
Bill Keller, founder of LivePrayer.com, is in the news - again.
The Internal Revenue Service is investigating the St. Petersburg-based evangelist for possible violations of his nonprofit tax exemption.
The comment that triggered the inquiry came in the heat of the Republican primary battle last year when Keller told listeners on his call-in Internet program that "a vote for Mitt Romney is a vote for Satan."
This isn't the first time Keller's comments have evoked criticism. He's also angered the Muslim community with anti-Islamic statements made on his program, such as referring to Mohammed as a "murdering pedophile," and Barack Obama supporters for saying the presidential hopeful is not a Christian.
Keller said Thursday he got the letter from the IRS in early February and "complied fully" with the government's request for copies of his program, letters, e-mail, financial documents and other supporting materials.
"We got everything to them within two weeks and now we've been left hanging," Keller said. "We could have stonewalled, but we acted quickly. Now they're holding us hostage until they make a decision."
Keller said the IRS letter came as a "shock" because he has never endorsed or supported a political candidate.
"I have never told people who to vote for and I never will," he said. "But I have every right to talk about a candidate from a spiritual perspective. I fully expect to be exonerated."
He acknowledged that the investigation - which he mentioned to The New York Times this week while being interviewed on another matter - is putting a "cloud over my ministry." He claims LivePrayer, which is broadcast live from 10 to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday from a Largo-based studio, is seen by an estimated 50,000 viewers worldwide. He needs to raise about $40,000 a month to keep the program on the air.
Keller said he stands by his comments on Romney. As far as he's concerned, the Mormon religion is a cult.
"His influence as president could lead people to that cult teaching and into hell," Keller said. "That's how I feel about him spiritually. Politically, I agree with a lot of the same things he believes in."
Local Mormon leader Victor Patrick, who serves as president of the Tampa stake, said in a written statement that he was not familiar with Keller or his views on Romney.
"There are about 10,000 members of our church in the Tampa Bay area. I hope that anyone who wants to know about the Latter-day Saints and our doctrine would feel comfortable turning to a Latter-day Saint friend or coworker," Patrick wrote. "We aspire to be followers of the Savior Jesus Christ and the lives of our local members reflect that aspiration."
Ahmed Bedier, president of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Human Rights Council, said he's not surprised by the IRS investigation into Keller's ministry.
Bedier, former director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has debated Keller on several occasions over the evangelist's public comments on Islam.
Bedier said Keller seems to enjoy any publicity, even if it's bad. But making outrageous comments against other faiths will catch up to him one day, Bedier predicted.
"He likes to be on the fringe," Bedier said. "He doesn't like to play by the rules. And that's going to bring him down at some point. I think there's some divine justice in this whole thing."
The Internal Revenue Service is investigating the St. Petersburg-based evangelist for possible violations of his nonprofit tax exemption.
The comment that triggered the inquiry came in the heat of the Republican primary battle last year when Keller told listeners on his call-in Internet program that "a vote for Mitt Romney is a vote for Satan."
This isn't the first time Keller's comments have evoked criticism. He's also angered the Muslim community with anti-Islamic statements made on his program, such as referring to Mohammed as a "murdering pedophile," and Barack Obama supporters for saying the presidential hopeful is not a Christian.
Keller said Thursday he got the letter from the IRS in early February and "complied fully" with the government's request for copies of his program, letters, e-mail, financial documents and other supporting materials.
"We got everything to them within two weeks and now we've been left hanging," Keller said. "We could have stonewalled, but we acted quickly. Now they're holding us hostage until they make a decision."
Keller said the IRS letter came as a "shock" because he has never endorsed or supported a political candidate.
"I have never told people who to vote for and I never will," he said. "But I have every right to talk about a candidate from a spiritual perspective. I fully expect to be exonerated."
He acknowledged that the investigation - which he mentioned to The New York Times this week while being interviewed on another matter - is putting a "cloud over my ministry." He claims LivePrayer, which is broadcast live from 10 to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday from a Largo-based studio, is seen by an estimated 50,000 viewers worldwide. He needs to raise about $40,000 a month to keep the program on the air.
Keller said he stands by his comments on Romney. As far as he's concerned, the Mormon religion is a cult.
"His influence as president could lead people to that cult teaching and into hell," Keller said. "That's how I feel about him spiritually. Politically, I agree with a lot of the same things he believes in."
Local Mormon leader Victor Patrick, who serves as president of the Tampa stake, said in a written statement that he was not familiar with Keller or his views on Romney.
"There are about 10,000 members of our church in the Tampa Bay area. I hope that anyone who wants to know about the Latter-day Saints and our doctrine would feel comfortable turning to a Latter-day Saint friend or coworker," Patrick wrote. "We aspire to be followers of the Savior Jesus Christ and the lives of our local members reflect that aspiration."
Ahmed Bedier, president of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Human Rights Council, said he's not surprised by the IRS investigation into Keller's ministry.
Bedier, former director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has debated Keller on several occasions over the evangelist's public comments on Islam.
Bedier said Keller seems to enjoy any publicity, even if it's bad. But making outrageous comments against other faiths will catch up to him one day, Bedier predicted.
"He likes to be on the fringe," Bedier said. "He doesn't like to play by the rules. And that's going to bring him down at some point. I think there's some divine justice in this whole thing."
Sheriff's Apology for Bigoted E-Mails
HOUSTON, TX, 6/27/08) – The Houston chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston) today welcomed an apology from the Harris County Sheriff’s Department for e-mails circulated in the department that included derogatory statements and bigoted jokes about Muslims and Latinos.
Recent media reports indicated that the e-mails included cartoons and statements suggesting that law enforcement officers should be suspicious of all Muslims in the United States. An e-mail from a top commander in the sheriff’s department to another official said, "we continue to under estimate [sic] these ‘dumb’ foriegners [sic].” The official’s reply expressed concern over the "number of foreigners who own gas stations."
SEE: Community Outrage Over Sheriff’s Department Emails (ABC 13)“These crude and derogatory messages are particularly disturbing because they were distributed by law enforcement officers who are entrusted with upholding public safety and operate based on public trust,” said CAIR-Houston Communication Coordinator Asma Siddiqi. “We welcome the sheriff’s apology and hope policies and procedures are implemented to prevent this type of incident from occurring in the future.”
Siddiqi added that a town hall meeting with the sheriff’s department and local community leaders, including CAIR-Houston representatives, has been scheduled to open up dialogue about citizen concerns.
CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/13_undercover&id=6231196
Recent media reports indicated that the e-mails included cartoons and statements suggesting that law enforcement officers should be suspicious of all Muslims in the United States. An e-mail from a top commander in the sheriff’s department to another official said, "we continue to under estimate [sic] these ‘dumb’ foriegners [sic].” The official’s reply expressed concern over the "number of foreigners who own gas stations."
SEE: Community Outrage Over Sheriff’s Department Emails (ABC 13)“These crude and derogatory messages are particularly disturbing because they were distributed by law enforcement officers who are entrusted with upholding public safety and operate based on public trust,” said CAIR-Houston Communication Coordinator Asma Siddiqi. “We welcome the sheriff’s apology and hope policies and procedures are implemented to prevent this type of incident from occurring in the future.”
Siddiqi added that a town hall meeting with the sheriff’s department and local community leaders, including CAIR-Houston representatives, has been scheduled to open up dialogue about citizen concerns.
CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/13_undercover&id=6231196
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