KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2010 / NEWS
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
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Dalai Lama meets Obama
The priest doesn't fault Obama for low-key reception
BY GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - The Dalai Lama says he doesn't fault President Obama for his low-key reception in Washington because he recognizes that the president must juggle ties to the Tibetan spiritual leader with concerns about angering China.
The Dalai Lama told The Associated Press he understands that Obama must be practical in exercising his commitment to human rights worldwide.
"No disappointment. The last six decades my heart hardened. I do not consider important political gestures. I don't care. The important is meet face-to-face," said the Dalai Lama, who was sometimes assisted by a translator.
"With President Clinton, the first meeting was a 'drop-in,'" he said. "People asked me the same question (then). I don't care."
The Dalai Lama made the remarks while in Los Angeles to support Whole Child International, an organization that advocates better care for orphans worldwide.
Obama hosted the Dalai Lama on Thursday in Washington, D.C., but kept the get-together off-camera and low-key in an attempt to avoid inflaming tensions with China.
Revered in much of the world, the Dalai Lama is seen by Beijing as a separatist seeking to overthrow Chinese rule of Tibet. Though he says that is untrue,
China regards any official foreign leader's contact with the Buddhist monk as an infringement on its sovereignty over the mountainous region and as a particularly unwelcome snub.
"You should develop cordial, close relations mainly in the economic field. "
"You should develop cordial, close relations, mainly in the economic field at the same time (as) your principles, these universal values of democracy and rule of law," he said, as he sat in an armchair in his hotel suite, with his bare feet tucked under him. "In these principles, you should stand firm."
The Tibetan spiritual leader
Meetings between the Dalai Lama and U.S. presidents became standard nearly 20 years ago, but they are always delicately choreographed and scrutinized because of China's sensitivity.
THE DALAI LAMA Buddhist leader
This time, China had urged Obama not to meet with the 75-year-old spiritual leader, saying the visit "seriously harms U.S.-China relations."
The Dalai Lama said Saturday it is crucial for the U.S. to develop an economic relationship with China without forgoing America's founding principles.
also briefly addressed the Tiger Woods scandal and the golf star's public comments Friday about straying from his Buddhist faith. Woods said he was raised
Buddhist but needed to loc anew on finding balance between his faith and professional life.
The Dalai Lama said he did not know who Woods was, but said self-discipline is among Buddhism's highest values.
When it comes to adultery, he said, "all religions have the same idea."
The Dalai Lama is seen during an interview with the Associated Press as a member of the security detail stands in the background during a visit to Southern California, in Beverly Hills, Calif., Saturday. The Dalai Lama was in los Angeles to advocate for better care for international orphans.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NATIONAL
Train kills 3 teens in Florida
BY MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Fla. — Three teenage girls were joking around and taking pictures on a narrow bridge when they were hit by a train, killing them as a friend watched helplessly, police and a witness said Sunday.
The girls and the fourth teenager, a boy, had been hanging out in Melbourne's downtown area — known for its shops and night-clubs — when they decided to cross the trestle around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Lt. Curtis Barger said. Their parents had dropped them off at a mall, and then they took a bus downtown where they were "just goofing off," he said.
"You know how kids are," Dumas said. "They probably wanted pictures of themselves on the track."
The boy yelled for the girls to
The girls were about midway across when the train barreled
down the tracks, blowing its whistle continuously, he said. Dumas said he could hear the sound of the brakes. After the impact, he heard a girl screaming and cr
run when he saw the train approach, then told them to jump. Barger said. Crane Creek, about 20 feet below the bridge, is slow-moving and about 10 feet deep. The girls
screaming and crying
"It'going to be hard for me to get to sleep. I can't get it out of my mind."
"I think the train was on them so fast they froze and didn't know what to do." Dumas said. "It's crazy to watch a young life snuffed out like that. They didn't have a chance
Reichert, who was 15 and went to Southwest Middle School in Palm Bay. He did not want to comment any further.
"I think the train was on them so fast they froze and didn't know what to do."
did not have enough time.
On Sunday, there was little
Bruce Dumas, 53, said he was fishing under the bridge when he saw the teens walk onto the trestle around sunset. He warned them to be careful, but he said they didn't pay much attention to him.
BRUCE DUMAS Witness
to live yet."
JOHN VALLEE Witness
all the teens were from the area, but their identities weren't likely to be released until Monday, after officials can compare dental records.
Ralph Smith said one of the teens killed was his niece, Jennifer
The teens could have jumped onto an old, rusty trestle next to the one they were on, though it was unclear why they didn't.
Barger said
evidence of the tragedy. A concrete post says, "Private property, not trespassing." Another sign had fallen onto the ground and was covered in gravel, and a
third was twisted and difficult to see.
Graffiti with the words "more love," with the "o" in the shape of a heart was on the bridge. Andy Ziegler, a member of the Brevard County school board, said teens have painted graffiti on the bridge for the past three decades, but he had never before heard of an accident there.
John Vallee, 54, lives near the trestle and was watching TV when he heard a loud screech. He told the Florida Today newspaper he went outside and first thought he saw a blanket tangled under a rail car. Then he realized it was a person.
"It's going to be hard for me to get to sleep," Vallee told Florida Today. "I can't get it out of my mind."
POLITICS
Health care drama headed to daytime
WASHINGTON — Coming soon to daytime television: America's long-running civic drama over how to provide better health care to more of its people without breaking the bank.
President Barack Obama summons anxious Democrats and aloof Republicans to a White House summit Thursday — live on C-SPAN and perhaps cable — and gambles that he can save his embattled health care overhaul by the power of persuasion. Adversaries and allies alike were surprised by Obama's invitation
Ahead of the meeting, the White House will post on its website a health care plan that brings together major elements of the bills passed by House and Senate Democrats last year.
to reason together at an open forum, as risky as it is unusual.
Associated Press
Putting our Energy into Education
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Students interested in applying for a scholarship should contact their school counselor. The application also is available online. Go to www.blackhillsenergy.com/scholarships and enter your ZIP Code. Then choose "Scholarships" from the list.
Questions? Contact:
Black Hills Energy
External Affairs Department
110 E. 9th St.
Lawrence, KS 66044
Or, call 785-832-3918.
Students are eligible to apply if they meet the following criteria:
A parent or guardian is a natural gas customer of Black Hills Energy.
The student ranks in the top 25 percent of his or her graduating class or scores 21 or higher on the ACT or 980 or higher on the SAT.
The student plans to attend an accredited college or university as a full-time student to obtain a bachelor's degree.
Relatives of current or retired Black Hills Energy employees are not eligible to participate in this program. A relative is defined as a child, grandchild, brother, sister, stepchild, foster child, spouse or in-law.