Word: briefing
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Jeffs' "convulsive" condition, his taped "recantation" of his role as Prophet and a recent brief hospital stay away from jail prompted speculation about his control of the FLDS and over who might assume the leadership of the sect. Will it be a return to a more benign leadership, or could there be a battle that might turn bloody, as some splits in polygamist communities have proved in the past...
...protesters, devotees of a fierce "protector deity" called Dorje Shugden, claim that the spiritual leader of Tibet has curtailed their civil rights as part of a religious vendetta. For now, the allegations of the Shugdenpas (as they are known) are hard to prove or disprove. But even a brief investigation provides a vivid look into what experts call "the shadow side" of Tibetan Buddhism, contrasting the tolerance and rationalism that the Dalai Lama represents globally and the theological hardball over mystical principles that he seems to play on his home turf...
...outlets pointed out that the true cost of the prisoner swap should include destruction wrought by the July war: 1,200 people killed, 400,000 wounded, 1 million displaced and $15 billion in economic damage. Yet, after more than 18 months of internal political stuggles that culminated in a brief armed takeover of Beirut by Hizballah last May, the group has for now effectively ended all debate over its continued bearing of arms. It has secured a veto power in the Cabinet and a sympathetic new President who just announced that, from now on, Hizballah would become part of Lebanon...
...rain. Black clouds ahead, I hurried through a Tribeca street, vainly attempting to speed ahead of the menacing roars of thunder bellowing from New Jersey. My worried eye met an amused server behind the cupcake display in a café. I faltered, looked behind me, and obeyed her brief beckon to rescind my futile mission. Of course, she got some business, but she also knew that I would not out-maneuver the elements, and she nodded approvingly as I sank into a chair. Over the steam of a cup of coffee and a prime view of a spectacular water show...
...Good Feeling. True, McCain was among the first lawmakers of any party to take on Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld directly - and did so with such force and frequency that "it began to really annoy the President," says a former top aide to Bush. And for a brief moment in the fall of 2006, it seemed that McCain's truce with Bush would fall apart over the President's support for interrogation techniques that McCain, who is something of an expert on the subject, considered torture. But through all that, says a McCain associate, "it never got to DEFCON...