Helen Thomas
Helen Thomas, a member of the White House press corps for 57 years, will be a keynote speaker at FCNL’s Annual Meeting this November. Two weeks after the November 2008 elections, Helen will help FCNL Committee members understand the results of the elections and discuss what to expect in 2009.
Commonly referred to as “the first lady of the press,” she has covered every president from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. She is noted for breaking through barriers for women reporters, and she was named one of the 25 most influential women in the United States by the World Almanac. Thomas has traveled the world to report on stories, including accompanying President Richard Nixon on his historic trip to China in 1972. She has also written several books, including Front Row at the White House and Watchdogs of Democracy?
Some of Helen Thomas's exchanges with the White House
March 21, 2006: " I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did you really want to go to war?" Watch the exchange and read the transcript.
March 6, 2008: "Does the President realize he's going to further tarnish our image for humanity if he vetoes a ban on torture?" Read the transcript.
Barbara Slavin
Journalist and writer Barbara Slavin will talk about U.S. policy toward Iran and the history of missed opportunities on both sides for improving relations. Two weeks after the elections, Barbara will talk about the prospects for negotiations or military action under the next administration. Barbara Slavin is Assistant Managing Editor for World and National Security of The Washington Times. Prior to joining The Washington Times, she was a senior diplomatic reporter for USA Today.
Barbara draws from many years of reporting on the Middle East, which includes six trips to Iran, extensive coverage of U.S.-led negotiations between Arabs and Israelis, the Iran-Iraq war, the evolution of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism, among many other issues.
In addition to The Washington Times and USA Today, Slavin has written for the New York Times, the Economist, Business Week, Newsday, and the Los Angeles Times. She is a frequent commentator on National Public Radio, C-SPAN, and PBS. In 2006, she was a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, where she completed her first book, Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the U.S. and the Twisted Path to Confrontation (2007) .
Worship Leader: Ken Comfort
Ken Comfort has been on the pastoral team of Reedwood Friends Church in Portland, Oregon, for the past seven years. He preaches, does pastoral care ministry and has mentored and worked with Reedwood’s emerging Hispanic group within the congregation.
Ken is widely known among Friends through his involvement with Friends World Committee for Consultation. Prior to joining the Reedwood team, Ken was a Friends missionary in Bolivia and Peru for sixteen years under appointment by Northwest Yearly Meeting.
He and his wife, Tonya, are parents of high school freshman, Katie. Ken is a car and fishing enthusiast who relates warmly and easily to people of all ages.
FCNL's 2008 Annual Meeting will be held November 13-16 at the Georgetown University Conference Center in Washington, DC. Find out more and register.
Reviewed:
11/10/2008
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