The Dalai Lama Says Chinese Communist Party Should 'Retire with Grace'

By Chingyu Wang-Talk Radio News Service

The Dalai Lama stated Friday that China's communist party should "retire with grace" due to its lack of support and solid ideology.

The Tibetan religious figure's remarks came after meeting with President Barack Obama Thursday at the White House, during a trip to the Library of Congress Friday for the Democracy Service Medal presented by The National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

[In] any country, the real change must come to people, to individual creativity," said the Dalai Lama. "[Under] the totalitarian system, without freedom, that opportunity to utilize individual creativity stops."

The Democracy Service Medal was created in 1999 "to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the progress of democracy around the world," said NED vice chairman Judy Shelton.

The Dalai Lama has been proceeding to develop and promote democracy system around the world. In the early 1950s, the Dalai Lama sought democratic reform in Tibet's system of government; in 1963, a democratic constitution was promulgated in India shortly after his departure.

The Dalai Lama explained that he views elections as an important symbol of democracy since "that gives people have some sort of power to control to change, and that also give them some kind of sense of responsibility and involvement."

There Is A Place for Gays In Conservative Politics, Says British Politician

By Chingyu Wang - Talk Radio News Service

Conservatism is not only compatible with the principle of equality between homosexuals and heterosexuals, but such equality is an essential element of conservatism, says prominent British politician Nick Herbert.

Herbert, who was elected and became the first openly gay conservative member of Parliament in 2005, participated in a panel discussion on Wednesday hosted by the Cato Institute, along with notable gay blogger Andrew Sullivan and National Organization for Marriage President Maggie Gallagher.

"If we stand against equality of opportunity, which should be an article of faith for the Right, it becomes the preserve of the Left," said Herbert. "For the modern Conservative Party, embracing gay equality is neither a temporary phenomenon, nor an agenda which can be reversed."

Herbert said that although his party was once against homosexuality, current leadership has helped changed its agenda.

Gallagher, who opposes gay marriage, doesn't see the U.S. following the footsteps of the British political system, citing data produced from a recent Gallup Poll that showed 48% of Americans oppose gay marriage, while just 13% support it.

After sharing his experience of same-sex marriage, Sullivan pointed out that the GOP isn't as supportive of gay marriage as the British Conservative Party.

"In this country, those of who proudly call ourselves gay conservatives have struggled against the gay Left, and now we are struggling against the far Republican Right, which is now the Republican Party," said Sullivan.

Rosa Parks Statue Will Be Displayed In U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall

By Chingyu Wang- Talk Radio News Service

A statue of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks will soon find a home in the U.S. Capitol's statuary hall.

"The Rosa Parks statue will be a fitting tribute to the American hero inside the most visible symbol of the America democracy," said Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.) during a ceremony Thursday honoring the late-Parks' 97th birthday.

Parks was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give her seat on the bus to a white man in segregated Alabama.

"Happy birthday, Rosa Parks. By sitting down, you showed us how to stand up," added Jackson.

Each U.S. state is permitted to place two statues in the Capitol. Statuary hall, a room that once served as the House floor when former President Abraham Lincoln served in Congress, is a highly visited section of the building. Jackson steered a bill to place the stature in the highly-visible location in 2005.

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who attended the ceremony, encouraged people to travel to her state to view a piece of Parks' legacy.

"I ... want to mention and invite you, if you are not from Michigan, to come to Henry Ford and Dearborn where the bus, where she made her standing is on display."

Identfying Attacks Becoming Increasingly More Difficult, Says Blair

By ChingYu Wang - Talk Radio News Service

When asked during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Wednesday whether or not the U.S. can adequately prevent future terrorist attacks, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said "as a result [of] the recent rash of the attacks last year both successful and unsuccessful, identifying individual terrorists, smaller groups, short histories, using simple attack methods is a much more difficult task."

Blair identified the current violent extremism facing the U.S. as a tough situation and said the intelligence community is "working hard to improve."

"The violent extremism threat is evolving," Blair added.

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) questioned Blair on whether the U.S. has adequate resources in place to prevent future terror attacks from happening. Replied Blair, "however much we improve, we cannot count on intelligence to catch and identify every threat."

Chairman Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) asked Blair to address issue of the intelligence community leaking information to the media prior to informing Congress.

"We are emphasizing administrative measures, which we can take with any agency, to investigate quickly, to check the various ways of keeping in track of what our people are doing," said Blair.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) , the committee's Ranking Member, told Blair that the intelligence community's biggest concern should be the growing trend of enemy groups recruiting Americans to fight against their country. "There's nothing more dangerous to this country than Americans who have joined the enemy," said Hoekstra.

Blair responded by saying, "We take direct action against terrorists in the intelligence community. If we think that direct action will involve killing an American, we get specific permission to do that."

Bill To Cut Off Funding For Kahlid Sheikh Mohammed Trial Finds Bipartisan Support

By ChingYu Wang-Talk Radio News Service

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), along with a bipartisan collection of Senators, announced a bill Tuesday to deny federal funding for the trials of 9/11 conspirators if they take place in a New York City civilian court.

"Why in the world would this country take the people who planned 9/11, put them in the middle of 8 million people in New York City, less than 2 miles from where they attacked the country, and think that's a good thing?" Graham asked.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) expressed concern over the heavy financial burden the trials could pose to taxpayers, saying that costs could be in the millions.

"The president's budget that was released yesterday shows how much these decisions will cost American tax payers. In the budget, the Justice Department has given almost $75 million to assist with transferring prosecutions of Guantanamo detainees," said Lieberman.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) stressed that a military tribunal was the only solution to the problem.

"The fact is, we should not try these people in New York, we shouldn't try them in Illinios, we shouldn't try them in Pheonix. We should try them in a court room, in Guantanamo Bay, and we should try them according to the military commission's act. That's the frost and intent of this legislation," said McCain.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) agreed that it is inappropriate to try the terrorists in major cities due to their war criminal identities.

"I believe these individuals are war criminals," said Lincoln. "Trying these conspirators in civilian court is giving them a public stage to advocate their cause. Carrying out the civilian trials also has the potential, I think, to compromise classified intelligence and put our national security at great risk."