ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Rev. Larry Snyder, President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) responds to the President’s State of the Union:

“Catholic Charities USA was heartened by the initiatives outlined by President Obama in this evening’s State of the Union speech that have the potential to improve the lives of many. We were very encouraged by the President’s discussion on immigration and the recognition of the need for increased access to quality education and job training as important pathways to opportunity. However, we feel an urgency to also place a priority on addressing more effective methods for delivering vital services to those most vulnerable among us.

“While there is a very robust discussion occurring in Washington today about how much money should be spent on various federal programs that serve the poor, few are engaged in conversation about how better to administer those services, how to maximize efficiency in delivery and how to identify new solutions to prevent and alleviate poverty at large. We are hopeful that moving forward the President will lead a national conversation about identifying new methods and strategies for lifting more Americans onto a path of opportunity and self-sufficiency in a way that is economically sustainable for the nation, ensuring not just an ‘America Built to Last’, but an ‘America Built to Last – For All.’

“While the President discussed a deficit of trust between Main Street and Wall Street, CCUSA remains focused on addressing the needs of those on Back Street. At the moment, our nation’s safety net system is focused on helping these people get by, when we should be making sure they thrive. We need comprehensive reform of the nation’s service delivery system that is market driven, results oriented and locally controlled, enabling the country to permanently make a difference in the lives of those living in poverty, and establishing accountability for the investment of taxpayer dollars.

“We recognize that the challenge at hand is great, but with great challenge comes great opportunity. Catholic Charities USA embraces this challenge and looks forward to working with the President to ensure we fulfill the moral responsibility of creating opportunity for everyone, ensuring an America built to last for all.”

About Catholic Charities USA

Catholic Charities USA’s members provide help and create hope for more than 10 million people a year regardless of religious, social, or economic backgrounds. For almost 300 years, Catholic Charities agencies have worked to reduce poverty by providing a myriad of vital services in their communities, ranging from health care and job training to food and housing.

SOURCE Catholic Charities USA

BALTIMORE, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Lutheran World Relief is providing emergency water services to families who still have no access to clean drinking water more than a month after a devastating typhoon ripped through the Philippines island of Mindanao, killing 1,257 people and affecting more than a million.

The storm, which hit on December 16 and destroyed more than 14,000 homes, also disrupted water supply in the city of Cagayan de Oro. Repairs to the water supply system are underway, but families in the western part of the city will not have access to piped water until at least the end of January.

“I do not know where to get water now,” said Maryann Lagara, 24, a mother of two in the affected area, who lost her home in the storm. Speaking to an LWR staff member in early January, she reported that without assistance, she would be forced to get water from the nearby river, which is not safe to drink.

Thanks to a $31,500 grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, LWR is now delivering water to 230 families in an impoverished area in western Cagayan de Oro through the end of January. Each family will receive 15 liters per person per day for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene, in accordance with Sphere standards, the generally accepted best practices in humanitarian response. Families will also receive jerry cans for water storage, and training on how to properly clean and care for the cans.

“These are very poor families, many of whom lost their means of earning a livelihood as the result of the storm, so they have no way to purchase water even if it were readily available,” said Joanne Fairley, LWR’s regional director for Asia and the Middle East. “Thanks to this grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, they will have access to clean water until the city water system is repaired.”

In addition to emergency water delivery, LWR is reaching out to flood-affected communities with emergency cash assistance to buy food, medicine and other necessities. LWR is also distributing Quilts, Personal Care Kits, and School Kits from its warehouse in Mindanao, as well distributing other critically needed items to flood-affected families.

LWR is also planning a longer-term response that will include cash-for-work programs, provision of clean water, building shelter and rehabilitating homes for more than 900 families.

WHO IS LWR? Lutheran World Relief, an international nonprofit organization, works to end poverty and injustice by empowering some of the world’s most impoverished communities to help themselves. With partners in 35 countries, LWR seeks to promote sustainable development with justice and dignity by helping communities bring about change for healthy, safe and secure lives; engage in Fair Trade; promote peace and reconciliation; and respond to emergencies. LWR is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. and has worked in international development and relief since 1945. For more information, please visit lwr.org.

Lutheran World Relief is a ministry of U.S. Lutherans, serving communities living in poverty overseas.

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation was created in 1944 by international business pioneer Conrad N. Hilton, who founded Hilton Hotels and left his fortune to help the world’s disadvantaged and vulnerable people. The Foundation currently conducts strategic initiatives in five priority areas: providing safe water, ending chronic homelessness, preventing substance abuse, caring for vulnerable children, and extending Conrad Hilton’s support for the work of Catholic Sisters. Following selection by an independent international jury, the Foundation annually awards the $1.5 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to a nonprofit organization doing extraordinary work to reduce human suffering. For more information, please visit hiltonfoundation.org.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s leading Muslim civil liberties organization, today condemned “inaccurate and offensive” remarks by GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, who said yesterday that the concept of equality “doesn’t come from Islam” or “Eastern religions.” He claimed equality comes from “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

SEE: Santorum Says Equality ‘Doesn’t Come from Islam’ But From ‘God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’

http://tinyurl.com/7r52g4n

In a statement, CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said:

“The Quran, Islam’s revealed text, is the best refutation of Mr. Santorum’s inaccurate and offensive remarks, which are unbecoming of anyone who hopes to hold our nation’s highest office. Christians, Jews and Muslims all worship the same God and share religious traditions that promote justice and equality.

“God states in the Quran: ‘Say ye: ‘We believe in God and the revelation given to us and to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and it is unto Him that we surrender ourselves.’ (The Holy Quran, 2:136)

“The Quran and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stress racial and gender equality. The Prophet said: ‘All people are equal as the teeth of a comb.’

“As the Prophet said in his last sermon: ‘All humankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Also, a white person has no superiority over a black person, nor does someone who is black have any superiority over someone who is white — except by piety and good action.’

“The Prophet once told a companion: ‘You are not better than people (of other races) unless you excel them in piety.’ (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1361)

“Islam’s holy text also promotes gender equality when it states: ‘So their Lord answers their prayers, saying: ‘I will never let the (good) work of any of you, whether male or female, be wasted. You are members one of another.’ (The Holy Quran, 3:195) The Quran also states: ‘The believers, men and women, are protectors, one of another.’ (Quran 9:71)

“The Prophet Muhammad said: ‘Whoever has a daughter and does not bury her alive (a pre-Islamic practice forbidden by Islam), does not insult her, and does not favor his son over her, God will enter him into Paradise.’

“We suggest that Mr. Santorum educate himself about Islam and the American Muslim community by reading the Quran that we will send to his campaign headquarters next week.”

[NOTE: CAIR has an initiative designed to send free copies of the Quran to the nation's opinion leaders and policy-makers. The Qurans are sponsored and distributed through CAIR's ongoing "Explore the Quran" campaign. SEE: Explore the Quran - http://www.explorethequran.com/ ]

Hooper noted that CAIR recently called on Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and other GOP representatives to reaffirm their support of an American republic that treats citizens of all faiths as equals after Gingrich told a South Carolina town hall that he would only support a Muslim for the presidency if that person would “commit in public to give up Sharia [Islamic principles].”

CAIR Reminds Gingrich That All Faiths are Equal in America

http://tinyurl.com/7rvpa2e

A number of other recent reports have documented the growth and promotion of Islamophobia nationwide.

CAIR: Same Hate, New Target

http://tinyurl.com/66enzm8

Center for American Progress: Fear, Inc.

http://tinyurl.com/7cozjxg

Southern Poverty Law Center: Jihad Against Islam

http://tinyurl.com/3qsv2v8

People for the American Way: The Right-Wing Playbook on Anti-Muslim Extremism

http://tinyurl.com/6j9fttw

CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. 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.

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (PEI) and BOMBAY SAPPHIRE announce Tampa’s Andy Nguyen as the winner of the Playboy Shorts Series: BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Imaginative Filmmakers Spotlight, a nationwide contest which asked filmmakers (21+) from all backgrounds to create inventive, thought-provoking short films that ignite imagination and inspire self-expression among viewers. His winning film Boomerang – a thoughtful story about a man at war with himself for breaking up with a woman – will have the distinct honor of being screened at a Playboy/BOMBAY SAPPHIRE event during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, which will be hosted by actor Anthony Mackie.

After having been unanimously revered by Talenthouse.com viewers, Nguyen was finally selected by a panel of experts in filmmaking as the inaugural winner of the Playboy Shorts Series: BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Imaginative Filmmakers Spotlight. The Tampa native and current Columbia University School of the Arts student beat out finalists from cities that included New York and Chicago. In addition to the exclusive film screening, Nguyen will also receive a cash prize and the career-changing opportunity to be mentored by some of the film industry’s top professionals.

The relationship between BOMBAY SAPPHIRE and Playboy Enterprises evolved from both brands sharing a longstanding support of the arts.

Long a patron of film and film preservation, Hugh Hefner has donated a significant amount of money and time to fostering cinematic expression, including the Hugh M. Hefner Chair for the Study of American Film at University of Southern California. In addition, Hefner personally founded a course in Censorship in Cinema at the University of Southern California, for which he serves as a guest lecturer. He has also been a major contributor to UCLA’s project to restore classic films.

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Senior Brand Manager Richard McLeod adds, “BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin has a long history of commitment to the arts and a well-established identity within the creative community. It gives us such pleasure to be able to help provide a platform for new talent to gain the recognition that they deserve.”

Over the past decade, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE has been honored to support aspiring filmmakers, designers and artists in unlocking their potential and sharing their imagination with the world. Last year BOMBAY SAPPHIRE expanded upon its nine-year presence at Art Basel Miami by initiating the Artisan Series program, a nationwide search to identify the finest undiscovered talent in the field of visual arts.

The Imaginative Filmmakers Spotlight Competition is not associated with, sponsored, endorsed or administered by The Sundance Institute or The Sundance Film Festival.

About Playboy Enterprises, Inc.
Playboy is one of the most recognized and popular consumer brands in the world. Playboy Enterprises, Inc. is a media and lifestyle company that markets the brand through a wide range of media properties and licensing initiatives. The company publishes Playboy magazine in the United States and abroad and creates content for distribution via television networks, websites, mobile platforms and radio. Through licensing agreements, the Playboy brand appears on a wide range of consumer products in more than 150 countries as well as retail stores and entertainment venues.

About BOMBAY SAPPHIRE
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® is the fastest growing premium gin in the world and world’s number one premium gin by value. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is created with a unique combination of ten hand-selected botanicals, sourced from around the globe. The brand’s global essence and signature vapor infusion process impart a refined and perfectly balanced taste, versatile enough for both classic cocktails and exotic recipes. Infused with Imagination, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is a symbol of the exploration of worldly and sophisticated lifestyles. For more information, please explore www.bombaysapphire.com.

BE BRILLIANT AND INSPIRED. DRINK RESPONSIBLY!
www.bombaysapphire.com
©2011 BOMBAY SAPPHIRE AND SAPPHIRE ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS.
IMPORTED BY THE BOMBAY SPIRITS COMPANY U.S.A., CORAL GABLES, FL. GIN – 47% ALC. BY VOL

About Talenthouse
Talenthouse, based in Palo Alto with offices in Los Angeles and London, is the leading platform for creative collaboration, providing life-changing opportunities for the creative community. Talenthouse embraces artists at every level of their career, as well as all supporters of the arts. Attracted by the potential for discovering, collaborating with and mentoring emerging talent many acclaimed industry icons and global brands partner with Talenthouse by hosting projects and initiatives known as “Creative Invites.” Artists and brands choose Talenthouse to engage with their audience in a targeted, relevant and credible context.

To date, Talenthouse has launched more than 150 Creative Invites with global brands and entertainment icons such as Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Rod Stewart, Brett Ratner, Sequoia Capital, Queen, Kylie Minogue, Dolce & Gabbana, Paul Oakenfold, Nokia, Adidas, Florence + the Machine, Glamour Magazine, Island Def Jam, Maroon 5, Rihanna, Naomi Campbell, The Stan Lee Foundation, Todd McFarlane, Sander van Doorn, Rusko, Andy Moor, Kelly Cutrone, Ryan Leslie, Taio Cruz, Anne Klein, Gavin Bond and Prismacolor.

SOURCE BOMBAY SAPPHIRE®

Mark Zuckerberg’s closely-watched, 2010 trip to China isn’t the only reason why Facebook may be the safe bet on which of the major U.S.-based social networks will be the first to get the go-ahead to operate in China.

Access to Facebook, Google+ and Twitter are all currently banned by the Chinese government. Google may be renewing expansion efforts in China, but a recent crackdown on popular Chinese microblogging sites designed to mimic Twitter suggest that if any of the big three get the permission to operate in China, the nod will go to Facebook.

A Chinese pilot program in five cities that requires microbloggers to register their real names is expected to be expanded. Known as weibo sites, about half of China’s 513 million Internet users access the sites, and their use has quadrupled in the past year.

“On the one hand, microblogs can reflect the social situation and public opinion, and broadcast a positive public voice,” Wang Chen, the minister in charge of the State Council Information Office, told Reuters “At the same time, microblogs… can make it easy to disseminate a few irrational voices, negative public opinion and harmful information.”

The Chinese pilot programs require new weibo users to register their real names before they can post, and would eventually require existing users to register their real names as well. The sites have frequently been a source of information about government wrongdoing within China.

China has given no time frame of when it or even if it will open up to U.S.-based social networks, but the pilot program seems to favor a social network that already requires users to register with their real names. Twitter famously allows people to sign up anonymously, and Google+ was banned in China one day after it was launched last summer. But Facebook has tight rules on users registering its real name, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly planning another trip to China.

Despite the tight rules on free speech, which palso prohibit Internet users from saying anything negative about the ruling party, China remains the world’s second biggest economy and a largely-untapped market for major U.S. tech companies. Last year, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg told Time “it’s impossible to think about connecting the whole world right now without also connecting China.”

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust has elected Dr. R. Scott Colglazier, Senior Minister to Los Angeles’ oldest Protestant congregation, to its Board of Directors, making him the first Christian clergyperson in the museum’s fifty year history to serve in this way.

“We’re thrilled to have Dr. Colglazier join our board,” says Mark Rothman, Executive Director of the oldest Holocaust museum in the United States. “As I’ve gotten to know him I’ve grown to admire his role as a strong community leader. He brings us wisdom borne of the wealth of his management experience. His deep work in post-Holocaust studies gives him broad knowledge that can only inform our pursuit of the Museum’s dual mission of education and commemoration. Finally, it would be remiss of me not to talk about the extremely valuable and fresh perspective he will bring as a non-Jewish Board member. Combine all that with his warm, engaging and caring personality, and I can only predict great things we will accomplish together.”

With a proven dedication to bringing people together, Dr. Colglazier has been an influential leader in the area of interfaith dialogue here in Los Angeles, having recently created a noted Jewish/Christian/Muslim event at FCCLA when he invited both a Rabbi and an Imam for open dialogue about the commonalities and difference that exist for each of these religions. In addition, he introduced a Yom Hashoah service at FCCLA that was positively embraced by both the Christian and Jewish community.

Throughout his career, Dr. Colglazier has served some of the great churches in America, including University Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas, the Riverside Church in New York City, and now First Congregational Church of Los Angeles (FCCLA), and he has always been an outspoken advocate for human and civil rights. While in Fort Worth, he was instrumental in brokering a peaceful agreement for that school system during a highly-charged period of racial protest. As part of the Gates of Chai Lecture Series held at Texas Christian University, he was honored to offer a Christian response to a major speech given by Nobel Prize recipient Elie Wiesel.

“I am honored to serve on the Holocaust museum board,” Dr. Colglazier recently commented. “I am convinced that the horrors of the Holocaust should never be forgotten, and I think Christians have a special burden to carry in this matter, given that centuries of anti-Jewish theology was perpetuated by the Church, and tragically, paved the way for many of the atrocities that took place under Hitler.”

Dr. Colglazier earned his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. Throughout his career he has served on a variety of nonprofit Boards, including Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University, National City Christian Church in Washington, D.C., and Planned Parenthood, and Christian Theological Seminary to name a few. He has become a national pulpit voice with a positive message, and has been featured on, among others, The Today Show and CBS’s The Early Show. Author of numerous books, his latest, A Dictionary of Faith: For Open-Hearted, Open-Minded People is set for wide release in February of this year. His is also the founder of a popular spirituality blog titled Take a Breath, and can be heard from the pulpit of FCCLA most every Sunday.

For more information, contact Curtis Rhodes, Director of Communications of First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, 213-355-5235 or crhodes@fccla.org.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday celebrates the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America. We commemorate as well the timeless values he taught us through his example — the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership. On this holiday, we commemorate the universal, unconditional love, forgiveness and nonviolence that empowered his revolutionary spirit.

We commemorate Dr. King’s inspiring words, because his voice and his vision filled a great void in our nation, and answered our collective longing to become a country that truly lived by its noblest principles. Yet, Dr. King knew that it wasn’t enough just to talk the talk, that he had to walk the walk for his words to be credible. And so we commemorate on this holiday the man of action, who put his life on the line for freedom and justice every day, the man who braved threats and jail and beatings and who ultimately paid the highest price to make democracy a reality for all Americans.

The King Holiday honors the life and contributions of America’s greatest champion of racial justice and equality, the leader who not only dreamed of a color-blind society, but who also lead a movement that achieved historic reforms to help make it a reality.

On this day we commemorate Dr. King’s great dream of a vibrant, multiracial nation united in justice, peace and reconciliation; a nation that has a place at the table for children of every race and room at the inn for every needy child. We are called on this holiday, not merely to honor, but to celebrate the values of equality, tolerance and interracial sister and brotherhood he so compellingly expressed in his great dream for America.

It is a day of interracial and intercultural cooperation and sharing. No other day of the year brings so many peoples from different cultural backgrounds together in such a vibrant spirit of brother and sisterhood. Whether you are African-American, Hispanic or Native American, whether you are Caucasian or Asian-American, you are part of the great dream Martin Luther King, Jr. had for America. This is not a black holiday; it is a peoples’ holiday. And it is the young people of all races and religions who hold the keys to the fulfillment of his dream.

We commemorate on this holiday the ecumenical leader and visionary who embraced the unity of all faiths in love and truth. And though we take patriotic pride that Dr. King was an American, on this holiday we must also commemorate the global leader who inspired nonviolent liberation movements around the world. Indeed, on this day, programs commemorating my husband’s birthday are being observed in more than 100 nations.

The King Holiday celebrates Dr. King’s global vision of the world house, a world whose people and nations had triumphed over poverty, racism, war and violence. The holiday celebrates his vision of ecumenical solidarity, his insistence that all faiths had something meaningful to contribute to building the beloved community.

The Holiday commemorates America’s pre-eminent advocate of nonviolence — the man who taught by his example that nonviolent action is the most powerful, revolutionary force for social change available to oppressed people in their struggles for liberation.

This holiday honors the courage of a man who endured harassment, threats and beatings, and even bombings. We commemorate the man who went to jail 29 times to achieve freedom for others, and who knew he would pay the ultimate price for his leadership, but kept on marching and protesting and organizing anyway.

Every King Holiday has been a national “teach-in” on the values of nonviolence, including unconditional love, tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation, which are so desperately-needed to unify America. It is a day of intensive education and training in Martin’s philosophy and methods of nonviolent social change and conflict-reconciliation. The Holiday provides a unique opportunity to teach young people to fight evil, not people, to get in the habit of asking themselves, “what is the most loving way I can resolve this conflict?”

On the King Holiday, young people learn about the power of unconditional love even for one’s adversaries as a way to fight injustice and defuse violent disputes. It is a time to show them the power of forgiveness in the healing process at the interpersonal as well as international levels.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is not only for celebration and remembrance, education and tribute, but above all a day of service. All across America on the Holiday, his followers perform service in hospitals and shelters and prisons and wherever people need some help. It is a day of volunteering to feed the hungry, rehabilitate housing, tutoring those who can’t read, mentoring at-risk youngsters, consoling the broken-hearted and a thousand other projects for building the beloved community of his dream.

Dr. King once said that we all have to decide whether we “will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. Life’s most persistent and nagging question, he said, is `what are you doing for others?’” he would quote Mark 9:35, the scripture in which Jesus of Nazareth tells James and John “…whosoever will be great among you shall be your servant; and whosoever among you will be the first shall be the servant of all.” And when Martin talked about the end of his mortal life in one of his last sermons, on February 4, 1968 in the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church, even then he lifted up the value of service as the hallmark of a full life. “I’d like somebody to mention on that day Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to give his life serving others,” he said. “I want you to say on that day, that I did try in my life…to love and serve humanity.

We call you to commemorate this Holiday by making your personal commitment to serve humanity with the vibrant spirit of unconditional love that was his greatest strength, and which empowered all of the great victories of his leadership. And with our hearts open to this spirit of unconditional love, we can indeed achieve the Beloved Community of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream.

Just when you thought the idiots from the half-wit tea party people couldn’t get worse. Read the following article about Pamela Gellar.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today condemned remarks by Pamela Geller, the leader of an anti-Muslim hate group and a frequent speaker at Tea Party events, applauding the alleged desecration of Afghan corpses by U.S. Marines.

On her hate blog, Geller wrote in response to CAIR’s condemnation of the desecration: “I love these Marines. Perhaps this is the infidel interpretation of the Islamic ritual of washing and preparing the body for burial.”

SEE: Screen Shot of Pam Geller’s Post

http://www.cair.com/images/pamella-geller-01-12-2012.jpg

While Geller praised the desecration video, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called it “utterly deplorable.” CAIR yesterday expressed concern that enemies of the United States will use the video to further their anti-American goals.

Panetta: Urination Video ‘Utterly Deplorable’

http://tinyurl.com/7tn7gb7

CAIR Condemns Alleged Desecration of Bodies by U.S. Marines

http://tinyurl.com/7xalnof

Hate-filled comments on Geller’s post included:

“I’ve never been prouder to be an American!”

“My heroes!! Best video I’ve seen in awhile ”

“Nicest movie I’ve seen in years.”

“These sick mutts need to be urinated on. Defecated on too.”

“Have you burned a Koran today. All around the campfire. Burn, baby, burn.”

“The marines should have dumped the bodies in PIG BLOOD; soaked those bodies, in PIG BLOOD.”

“Looked to me as though the marines were showing respect. They had their heads bowed and observed silence while rinsing off the corpses.”

Desecration by urination is a favorite Geller theme. She has posted images on her blog that include a fake photo of President Obama urinating on an American flag.

Another image posted by Geller, headlined “Piss Be Upon Him,” showed one of the controversial Danish cartoons of the prophet covered in urine. (“Piss Be Upon Him” is designed to mock the traditional phrase “Peace Be Upon Him” that Muslims use when mentioning any prophet of God, including Abraham and Jesus.)

Earlier this year, CAIR thanked Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Governor Rick Scott for declining to speak at a Florida Tea Party convention that featured a presentation by Geller and another Islamophobe. Two hotels, one in Texas and another in Tennessee, dropped scheduled Tea Party and anti-Muslim events that featured Geller as a speaker.

Another Hotel Turns Away Pamela Geller and Anti-Shariah Group

http://tinyurl.com/3mgw6pn

Geller is co-founder of Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA), an organization designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and author of a new book offering step-by-step instructions on how to stop mosque construction in American communities. The SPLC named Geller as a member of the “anti-Muslim inner circle.”

SPLC: Active Anti-Muslim Groups

http://www.splcenter.org/node/3502/activegroups

SPLC: The Anti-Muslim Inner Circle

http://tinyurl.com/6xl4d4h

Geller has bragged that she uses a Quran, Islam’s holy text, as a doorstop. She claims that “Hitler and the Nazis were inspired by Islam” and that Islam “mandates” lies and deception. In a 2010 blog entry, Geller posted a video claiming that Muslims engage in bestiality. Her hate blog was cited frequently by the terrorist who went on a killing spree last year in Norway.

SEE: Pamela Geller: The Looniest Blogger Ever

http://tinyurl.com/pamgellerloony

According to Geller, Muslim groups “control information and how it is processed at senior levels of the CIA, the FBI, the Pentagon, and the various branches of the military.”

Video: TV Host Exposes Pamela Geller’s Anti-Muslim Bigotry

SIOA is an Anti-Muslim Hate Group

http://tinyurl.com/29qfrns

CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. 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.

Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational

Subscribe to CAIR’s E-Mail List

http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe

Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed

http://twitter.com/cairnational

Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/cairtv

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, or 202-488-8787, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

Sculpture made from 100,000 of the 2 million cranes folded during “Paper Cranes for Japan” campaign

SEATTLE, Jan. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Today, a massive sculpture will be unveiled in Japan’s Sendai Train Station created from 100,000 paper cranes folded by children worldwide after the devastating March 2011 earthquake and tsunami—a sampling of the over 2 million cranes mailed in during the Paper Cranes for Japan campaign. The sculpture is the centerpiece of a three-day public event Jan. 13 – 15 called “Gift by Gift for a Better World,” featuring interactive workshops with several area schools.

This is the latest chapter for DoSomething.org and Students Rebuild’s Paper Cranes for Japan campaign, a worldwide movement that has mobilized thousands of young people in more than 38 countries and all 50 U.S. states, and raised $500,000 in matching funds for rebuilding projects in the Tohoku region. Last fall, acclaimed artist Vik Muniz donated his time and ingenuity to the effort through the creation of a massive visual piece using thousands of the cranes, which was chronicled in a 4-minute film and featured in the New York Times Magazine.

“Gift by Gift for a Better World” is a three-day public event Jan. 13 – 15, which takes place at Sendai Train Station in S-Pal Square. The centerpiece of the event is the public unveiling of a magnificent Paper Crane Sculpture, designed by the students at the Tohoku University of Art & Design. Utilizing 100,000 paper cranes, the sculpture will be representative of the outpouring of support from young children around the world, who folded over 2 million cranes that generated $500,000 in matching funds. The funding supports Architecture for Humanity’s efforts to rebuild youth and community centers in the Tohoku region, in partnership with Japanese architects and builders.

“Architecture for Humanity’s approach to reconstruction and recovery isn’t just about building schools or community centers, but also about inspiring a renewed sense of community and belonging,” says Hiromi Tabei, Program Coordinator for Architecture for Humanity’s Tohoku Rebuilding Program. “By bringing young people together for this participatory workshop, we hope to celebrate the importance of children carrying forward the spirit of optimism imbued in the Paper Cranes for Japan challenge.”

After the installation is presented at Sendai Station, young people and their families will gather to make gift boxes filled with paper cranes for their peers throughout Japan as a symbol of hope and healing.

EVENT DETAILS
When: Opening Ceremony – Friday, January 13 at 10:00 a.m.
Workshops – Friday, January 13, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. / Saturday, January 14, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. / Sunday, January 15, 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Where: S-Pal Square in the S-Pal Sendai near Sendai Train Station
S-Pal Sendai at 1-1-1 Chuo, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi

ABOUT PAPER CRANES FOR JAPAN
In response to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11th, Students Rebuild partnered with DoSomething.org’s “Paper Cranes for Japan” campaign to inspire young people worldwide to support their Japanese peers. Together, we issued a simple challenge to kids online: Make and mail a paper crane, and trigger funding for recovery and reconstruction from the Bezos Family Foundation. The goal: 100,000 cranes, which would generate $200,000 to fund Architecture for Humanity’s Tohoku reconstruction efforts. The response: An astounding 2 million cranes from young people in 38+ countries and all 50 U.S. states, inspiring a total of $500,000 for recovery and rebuilding in Japan.

ABOUT ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY’S RECONSTRUCTION EFFORTS IN JAPAN
The Tohoku Rebuilding Program is a collaboration between local design and construction professionals that seeks to re-energize communities devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The Tohoku Rebuilding Program helps local businesses and community partners recover, reopen, create jobs, and collectively provide a sustainable financial future for affected communities.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Students Rebuild Paper Cranes for Japan website: http://studentsrebuild.org/japan

Architecture for Humanity’s Tohoku Rebuilding Program: http://architectureforhumanity.org/programs/tohoku-earthquake-and-tsunami-rebuilding

Paper Cranes for Japan Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/papercranesforjapan

Twitter: @studentsrebuild (Follow the event live: #pc4j)

High resolution images and video are available.

CONTACTS
Welling Savo Justin, Students Rebuild & the Bezos Family Foundation, (+1) 206-275-2048 x113 or welling@bezosfamilyfoundation.org

SOURCE Bezos Family Foundation

Panel of Experts Address Hard Questions at the Newseum on Jan. 18

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — On Jan. 18, at 7:30 p.m., a panel of experts will separate fact from fiction in the current debates about Islam in the United States. Anti-mosque protests, anti-Shariah legislation and related controversies have left many Americans confused about Islam and Muslims in America. During this town hall-style program, the audience will have an opportunity to ask hard questions of leading authorities on Muslim Americans, religious liberty, and interfaith relations. The event will take place at the Newseum, in the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Theater (555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.)

The panel discussion will follow a presentation of the film “My Fellow Americans” (www.myfellowamerican.us), which seeks to increase understanding of Muslims in America. Alex Kronemer, co-founder of the Unity Productions Foundation, will make opening remarks, and Charles C. Haynes, director of the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum, will moderate the panel.

Panel members include:

Haroon Mogul, Columbia University and the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding
Rabbi Marc Schneier, Foundation for Ethnic Understanding
Melissa Rogers, Center for Religion and Public Affairs, Wake Forest University
Asma Uddin, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding
The event is sponsored by The Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum, the Unity Productions Foundation, Wesley Theological Seminary, the Faith and Politics Institute and the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.

The Religious Education Freedom Project at the Newseum educates the public about the vital importance of religious freedom through events, educational programs and outreach. The project is an initiative of the First Amendment Center, a program of the Freedom Forum, and is affiliated with the Newseum. The First Amendment Center’s nonpartisan work supports the First Amendment and builds understanding of its core freedoms through education, information and entertainment. The center does not lobby or litigate. For information about the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum, and analysis about First Amendment issues, go to www.firstamendmentcenter.org.

SOURCE The Religious Education Freedom Project at the Newseum

Newstex ID: PRMO-110644-13264966248979996800