Peanut Gallery: The Coptic Church is celebrating its 1st Christmas under the leadership of its new Pope – Tawadros II. Coptic Christmas is celebrated with midnight mass on January 6… Christmas Day falling on January 7 by the Julian calender.
The celebrations are marred by bombing threats to churches, street protests and clashes with Egyptian security forces.
In this environment, Pope Tawadros II was interviewed by Al Jazeera TV. Please pray for Egypt and its minority Coptic people.
President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood have campaigned heavily in favour of the draft document, which may define Egypt for years to come.
Opponents say it is poorly drafted and overly favours Islamists.
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The BBC’s Jon Leyne reports from Cairo that the referendum is more than a vote on obscure clauses – it is about whether Egypt should be an Islamic country or a secular one.
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The opposition National Salvation Front coalition has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to rig the vote.
However, the ballot, which is staggered over Saturday and a second day of voting in a week’s time, appears to be going smoothly with indications of a high turnout.
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BBC correspondents at polling stations report a relaxed mood. Many people said they were voting for the restoration of stability in Egypt. Continue reading “Egypt Votes: Round One – Choose Secular or Islamist? (BBC News Re-Post)”
Christmas trees or ‘Holiday’ trees?
Posted on December 13, 2012 by kathleen
Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as Holiday Trees for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America …
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Ben Stein
The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.
My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejewelled trees, Christmas trees. I don’t feel threatened. I don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are, Christmas trees.
It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, ‘Merry Christmas’ to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crèche, it’s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don’t like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat. Continue reading “Christmas trees or ‘Holiday’ trees? – Ben Stein”
Peanut Gallery: Morsi has decided to “bifurcate” the referendum on Egypt’s new constitution… setting the dates a week apart – Dec 15 & 22.
Andrew McCarthy details below why this works to Morsi’s advantage and why he and the Muslim Brotherhood are likely to prevail.
For those of you who would like a larger perspective on the “Arab Spring” and the “Islamic Supremacy” movement, I commend to you McCarthy ‘s book “Spring Fever” coming soon in paperback. McCarthy also writes regularly for PJMedia.com.
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Morsi Staggers Referendum on Constitution by Andrew McCarthy (December 12th, 2012 – 7:55 am)
Amid the continuing unrest in Egypt, President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood has now decided to bifurcate the referendum on the proposed sharia constitution. The voting will go forward as scheduled this Saturday, but only in ten governorates. The rest of the country will then vote the following Saturday, December 22.
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The whole point of Morsi’s presidency, the point of everything he’s done for the last five months, is the implementation of a sharia constitution. As I explain in Spring Fever: The Illusion of Islamic Democracy (soon to be published in paperback), that is what Morsi and the Brotherhood promised to do during the campaign leading to his election as president. Sharia implementation is the goal behind his seizures of dictatorial powers: In August, Morsi awarded himself legislative authority Continue reading “Update on Egypt Vote: Divide and Conquer”
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