Word: speakers
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Visitors to the Basilica of the National Shrine in northeast Washington often do a double take when they see Newt Gingrich and his familiar shock of white hair slip into a pew for the noon Mass on Sundays. The former Speaker of the House is known for many things, but religious zeal is not one of them. In fact, the social conservatives who fueled his Republican revolution in 1994 often complained about Gingrich's lack of interest in issues like abortion or school prayer...
Gingrich's spiritual awakening has struck more than a few political observers as a bit of positioning for the GOP nomination in 2012. (In the first half of 2009, the former Speaker raked in $8.1 million through his political committee, far outpacing his party rivals.) While he wouldn't be the first to experience a conversion on the road to Des Moines, there are simpler ways of understanding the new godly Gingrich. American Catholicism has been losing members at a remarkable rate; an April 2009 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life report found that for every person who joins...
...days later, in what was supposed to be the quiet Friday before Ramadan, the ministers of the defense, interior and national security and the head of the Baghdad Security Command were angrily grilled during a special meeting called by the deputy speaker of parliament and the defense and security committee of the legislature. Parliament is technically in recess and on holiday until the end of Ramadan (Sept. 19); only two dozen legislators were on hand. But the session, which started at 10 a.m. and lasted past lunch and into the afternoon, was so contentious the deputy speaker asked parliament security...
...Deputy speaker of parliament Khalid al-Attiya tried to radiate calm and unity at a press conference after the special session. "I have a message to all of the brothers, the journalists, and all the politicians," Attiya said, "What has happened is so big and sad and it reached all of the Iraqi people in all its factions, because this act didn't target the government or a specific sect in Iraq, or the security apparatus performance, or other blocks in the parliament. But this targeted all the Iraqi people." He went on to say that Iraqis "should stand...
...Larijani has been a very ineffective speaker," says Iran scholar Shaul Bakhash. "[Parliament] has been a virtual no-show on all issues during his leadership ... And his investigation of allegations of mistreatment of prisoners was clearly slapdash...