Centroids : Uhhh, what gives ? Not long ago Obama appointed an ambassador to Islam. Now, when Buddhism is concerned, the Dalai Lama is spurned. What kind of message is this supposed to send ? Billy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - W Post October 8 , 2009 Calls for Obama to Reconsider Dalai Lama Rebuff By Michelle Boorstein There's some new pressure from Capitol Hill for President Obama to reconsider his rebuff of the Dalai Lama. Obama is the first U.S. president in nearly two decades not to meet with the Tibetan leader during a D.C. trip, and Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia is pressing him to change his mind and not "kowtow to the Chinese government, a government that brutally oppresses its own people." Wolf made the comments on the House floor yesterday. Leonard Leo, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (a federal body created to give guidance on the subject to the highest U.S. officials), told the AFP the Obama move is "_a strategic snub_ (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jqPL3HZAX2beZ6moZdFU47mVBO7w) ." Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee later this afternoon (4 p.m.), right after he attends an award ceremony for people who have boosted the Tibetan cause. Among the interesting folks there will be a group of Chinese who have spoke out in defense of the Tibetans. Our colleague Maureen Fan a few months ago _wrote a fabulous article _ (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/02/18/ST2009021803418.html) about the rise of Chinese pursuing Tibetan Buddhism. Actor and celeb-Buddhist Richard Gere, a very longtime ally of the Dalai Lama, will also be there today at the ceremony at 1:30 p.m. at Sidney Harman Hall downtown. By Michelle Boorstein | October 7, 2009
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