(In keeping with the demands of the season, activity here will be slow over the next few days.)
Tips in the comments.
And thanks to all of you for the kind notes in the comments (as well as cards sent and tip jar donations!). Merry Christmas to you all, as well, and thanks for the tips and insights you’ve provided over the past year.
Merry Christmas Kate!
(./sermon)
As for the rest of you sorry lot,an important safety tip from The Invincible Phantom.
Just remember: Happiness is your reward for not being a jerk. So if you’re miserable… ~:D
(/.sermon)
Merry Christmas kiddies. See you on the other side.
“Is the Alberta, could’a- been-a-Conservative MP, ‘Jimbo’, the publisher?”
No Irwin noteven close…this is a paleo-conservative publication…you know, real Republicans like Goldwater and Reagan…the author teaches at the Bush institute.
Rudy is a doctrinaire neocon (read: soviet-liberal)creep…remember his NY gun bans and his support for illegal alien community.
Let me offer a word of gratitude to all whose comments here make this site work so well. Thank you.
And a great big thank you to Kate for what you do. How do you find the time?
Merry Christmas to you all and may the season bring you happiness and health.
A 7th century ape has a special Christmas message:
“Hate cleric Omar Bakri calls for ‘ban’ on Christmas”
(thisislondon.co.uk)
Bakri claims Christmas should be ‘completely forbidden’
Hate preacher Omar Bakri, who is barred from Britain, is calling on Brits to boycott Christmas.
Using the internet to post a rant against the festive season, Bakri claims Christmas should be “completely forbidden”.
In another chilling post the radical cleric said Christmas Day would be the perfect day to launch a terror attack on the UK.
He said: “To have Christmas tree, visit so-called Christmas Father – that is completely forbidden.
“Make sure you do not watch TV. Do not let them hear jingle bells. Do not send your children on Christmas trip.”
Excerpts from a Bat Ye’or interview (globalpolitician.com):
BY:…because in Egypt and everywhere in an Arab country they say “after Saturday, it is Sunday“, meant when you finished with the Jews you go on against the Christians.
PG: Oh, my God.
BY: Yes, everyone knew that, this was a current saying. I mean, everyone knew, “after Saturday, it is Sunday”.
BY: Yes, first of all as a counter-power. It is thanks to America that the dictatorships like fascism, like Nazism were defeated. So America was the big enemy. It was a democratic and it was the big enemy of dictatorship and of the fascism regimes. Now, there were many Nazis who immigrated to Egypt and lived in Egypt under the Nasser regime, and of course they were very friendly with the Mufti, so this plan was built up against America and against Israel. Now de Gaulle thought to bring it not only to France, but to the European community. Then the nine countries. Because this time de Gaulle and Germany were building together the European community; the integration.
PG: Yes, the integration, it would eliminate the European countries, so to speak.
BY: Not only that. It would make out of Europe a huge block because it would not be only France, it would be nine countries allied with twenty-two Arab countries. It would have make a fantastic block which would be more powerful than America, and this was the object, and for the Arabs, not so much for the French although there were many anti-Semites still in France. France was an ally of the German regime, the German Nazi regime, so it has collaborated in the deportation of Jews and the extermination of Jews.
PG: But the people in Europe really were not onboard with this, they didn’t know that this was happening.
BY: No, they didn’t know but still there were people who were very favorable to such a position because from the beginning of the century there was such an anti-Semitic climate in France and in whole of Europe. If it wouldn’t have been, there wouldn’t have been also the genocide of the Jews, if the climate was not so anti-Jewish. And it is not as if the Allies succeeded in crushing down Nazism [and so] all those feelings disappeared from one day to another.
PG: Oh no, it could never happen!
BY: So it has continued under another name, and this was of course the anti-Zionists and the hate of the state of Israel, but it was the same anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism. So what happened then? After the Yom Kippur War, the European countries that were reluctant to follow the French plan [finally] accepted [it] because they were faced with the oil boycott.
PG: Yes, in the 70s.
BY: Yes, and not only that but with Palestinian terrorism which started in 1968 in Europe, in several cities of Europe.
PG: And they handled it very badly.
BY: Yes, and they didn’t know. It was the first time it happened so they didn’t know how to answer on that.
PG: They should have crushed it!
BY: Yes, but how to crush it? They didn’t know, so they thought: “Okay, we’ll go into that plan, we do this appeasement policy“ because this was the European countries who wants to have good relations with the Arab world, and with the countries now producing so much oil, so they needed oil for their economy. So they say: “Okay, we go into this alliance with the Arab world, and we shall do business with them”.
But the Arab League put as a condition to open a dialogue with the European countries two conditions: that Europe will (1) recognize [Yassir] Arafat as the only representative of the Palestinian people and that they will support the PLO, which was a terrorist organization and (2) have a policy contradict to that of America. So they enter into this dialogue.
PG: Yes, the deal with the devil.
BY: Yes, the deal with the devil. And from that moment Europe changed it policy against Israel, but I think its soul changed because…
PG: Europe’s soul changed. That’s important; an important quote.
BY: Yes. Because it has to support the Palestinian war, jihad against Israel.
PG: It has to support barbarism.
BY: Which is support barbarism, which is to support jihad ideology which is, as well, as much anti-Jewish as anti-Christian, and which is legitimized by the evilness of the Jews and Christians or of the infidels also. It is based on that, so when Europe support this and legitimize it intellectually, and also with its heart, its soul and heart support the destruction of the state of Israel, it supported also its own evilness and its own destruction. And since this moment it follows therefore the Palistinization of Europe, of the whole mentality of Europe — the whole vision and interpretation of history and of events according to the Palestinian vision , which is the eternal evilness of its enemy Israel, which is linked also to the Christian and the West. So Europe destroyed itself. It destroyed its own, first of all, Christianity, and gave in to the Palestinians [who] attack Christians in Lebanon. The Palestinian war was not only against Israel. The Palestinians, you have to see them as a tool or as an instrument of the Arab world to destroy Israel, and also as a channel to penetrate into Europe and Islamize Europe. It is exactly what they have done.
PG: I understand, but even the word Palestinian is a marketing term. What was really the Palestinians? The Arabs living in Gaza, but were Egyptian Arabs.
Yes.
PG: So they came with this term in 1967. It’s a myth. It’s an Arab narrative.
BY: Yes. You phrase it totally. I think the Palestine and the myth of the Palestinian was created by European anti-Semites like Jacques Berque, who is a great islamologue and arabist who is teaching on the Institute Francaise. He’s very well known because he was he champion of this anti-Israeli policy of the French government, but there was others also in England and in other countries. But in Europe the leftist movement was behind the Palestinians, so all the communists and the leftist movement supported the Palestinians, supported this vision because they were anti-American. So at this moment there was a real polarization of the political life in Europe, with the left, the communists, the socialists supporting the Palestinian and the destruction of Israel and the fight against America.
PG: Oh, our universities has been submitted to cultural jihad!
BY: Yes, because we adopt the Islamist view of history, which deny the history of the dhimmitude, the history of the dhimmis. This is why we don’t know it in the West. Before that — this change in policy 1973 — this history of Islamic expansion and Islamic treatment of the countries I has conquered, and the population it has conquered and submitted, they were known. It was told in universities.
PG: It was told in universities.
BY: Yes, this was 40 years ago, 50 years ago, this was because it was texts on it, it was books on it. Muslim books.
globalpolitician.com/articles.asp?ID=3930&print=true
To all of you I wish a Very Blessed Christmas.
Merry Christmas Kate. Thanks for starting this blog and bringing a lot of Canadians and other nationalities together. Hope you can keep up the good work. With a bit of work by all that read this site we may be able to drive the stake in a little deeper this year into the CBC. Best Wishes for 2008.
Strange, I thought I left a question here earlier for you today Kate, guess I forgot to hit the post button.
I just report the question any.
The Question,
Kate do you have a time limit that automatically closes off comments on older threads? If there is such a limit, what is it?
Not suggesting anything sinister here Kate, just want to know if and what the posting limits are on your blog.
Thanks in advanced, and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Zorph
oops, sorry Kate, found my original question. Guess I’m having one of those days where I can’t even read my name, d’oh!
UK FARMERS WARNED NOT TO SELL LAMBS FOR MUSLIM CEREMONIAL SACRIFICES
http://tinyurl.com/28u69m
“” Muslims are asking farmers to illegally slaughter animals as part of their Eid celebrations.
Environmental health chiefs are warning farmers against the illicit practice after one was approached by a group of Muslims wanting to ritually sacrifice 40 lambs.
(…)
Sacrificing an animal, usually a sheep, is a religious practice performed at Eid-ul-Adha.
It commemorates the time when the Prophet Ibrahim was willing to sacrifice his son for Allah. “”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hmmmmmm a barbaric practice abandoned by Jewery who relocated to Europe in the 1st century…other cultures seem to be slightly retarded in abandoning barbaric religious rituals
Merry Christmas, Kate, and to all of us mouth-breathers! I think you’ve a great thing going here, Kate, and it’s become an important part of my daily routine.
I passed through your neck of the woods yesterday on the way to Saskatoon, along with half of Alberta. I honked at Santa, who was riding horseback by the side of the highway waving at motorists. He was just west of Delisle along with his dog, who was frolicking alongside in the snow.
Merry Christmas to all!
Cheers,
Norm
Merry Christmas Kate and all SDA readers/posters!
Many thanks for this great blog and all the best for 2008!
Caroline
Gatineau, QC
Merry Christmas to one and all, and an added nod to Sammy:)
Thank you again, Kate, for the information that comes to this site.
All the best for the new year. It is sure to be a humdinger. Cheers:)
Merry Christmas, and I hope the season brings peace, joy, and happiness to all. – Jimbo
Re: Christmas songsheets Posted by: Vitruvius at December 24, 2007 12:02 AM
Thanks Vitruvius, you saved me! I had downloaded these to print off at Office Depot, but forgot. They’ll be closed by the time I get off work, and my family’s counting on me to bring these, so I’m printing them at work. Don’t tell my boss.
What did our newslife consist of before blogs, such as sda ? When we only could reLIE on the media ? —- in a word, SPIN.
aka; expert opinion
aka; leading analysist
aka; investigative journalism
aka; fifth estate
aka; media opinion polls
aka; guest panelists
aka; in depth columnist
aka; reality check
aka; we report, you d….
aka; pravda
aka; wpg fp
aka; our legal expert
aka; our science reporter
aka; barney the dinosaur
aka; pasionate eye
aka; hi hi, I’m don oldman
aka; editorials
aka; opened for letters to the ed
aka; for cbc news, i’m blah blah, in up to my knees in it
Best gift of all — the Internet and blogs !!
Merry Christmas !
Re: Irwin Daisy
“RUDY GIULIANI DEPICTED AS A “FACIST” ON CONSERVATIVE MAGAZINE COVER”
“Is the Alberta, could’a- been-a-Conservative MP, ‘Jimbo’, the publisher?”
Ha ha.. I thought it was “Al-Jimbo”
You’re missing something (besides the obvious). It’s very much a right wing magazine, from what I understand. I’m sure that’s the opposite of the point you’re trying to make, but hey, feel free. Just don’t pop a blood vessel.
And by the way, I like Rudy Guliani, and George W. Bush, and it’s could’a been a Conservative MLA, FYI.
To Kate:
A very Merry Christmas and a wish for a prosperous New Year for you.
Thanks so much with putting up with those of us from south of the border, and a very special thanks for the cross-border meld. The perspective it offers is enlightening and heartening.
Yoop
Sitting here and looked at the clock. Came to realize that it is about to turn midnight in Afghanistan and soon too the Persian Gulf and Iraq.
So to all my brothers in arms at KAF and aboard HMCS Charlottetown, a thank you from this hairy bag sailor back home in Slackers, aka Halifax.
And I would like to extend that to all the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, be you Canuck, Yank, Brit, Aussie, Kiwi, whatever colours you serve. It is always hard to be away from home and in harms way, but more so at this time of year.
Know that you are in the thoughts of those of us safely back in the homes that you secure.
How ever each of you feel it, know that I mean you all when I say Merry Christmas and Thank You
Zorph – Yes, comments close after a few days, due to the volume (and to foil spammers). I can’t follow all the threads as it is.
from a troll
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
And a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make this country great (not to imply that North America is necessarily greater than any other region or is the only “America” in the Western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith, gender or sexual orientation of the wishee.
This wish is limited to the customary and usual good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first. “Holiday” is not intended to, nor shall it be considered, limited to the usual Judeo-Christian celebrations or observances, or to such activities of any organized or ad hoc religious community, group, individual, or belief (or lack thereof).
Note: By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all. This greeting is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. This greeting implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for the wishee her/himself or others, or responsibility for the consequences which may arise from the implementation or non-implementation of same.
In other words Merry Christmas
Interesting:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22960858-2703,00.html
“THE first military exercises between India and China began yesterday after an Indian Air Force aircraft landed in the Chinese province of Yunnan, signalling a major thaw in relations between the two countries with the world’s largest armies.
The IAF aircraft, carrying troops from the 15 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, was the first Indian military flight ever to land in Chinese territory.
Its arrival was greeted with cries of “Hindi-Chini bhai bhai” (India and China are brothers, in Hindi) by gathered ranks of the People’s Liberation Army.
The two countries, who went to war in 1962, will practise urban counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism drills, codenamed Hand in Hand 2007, over the next five days and are planning similar exercises in India next year….
While military experts played down the significance of the exercise, saying it was too short and involved too few soldiers, there’s no doubting the symbolic importance of the event.
Relations between New Delhi and Beijing deteriorated in 1959 after India gave refuge to Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, when he was forced to flee the country. Three years later, China defeated India in a war over a disputed Himalayan border and China’s military aid to Pakistan….
Trade is growing rapidly, having risen from $3 billion to $13billion in just three years. Dr Singh, when he goes to Beijing early next month, will take with him a raft of proposals for further expanded trade and other co-operation.”
Merry Christmas Kate and to all the visitors to Small dead Animals. I owe you for all the good reading and the platform from which to mouth off. I promise to help you in your noble cause. I suggest readers should consider the words of Robert Service in THE CREMATION OF SAM McGEE: “Now a promise made is a debt unpaid”.
Speaking of yelling back at the radio, a report this morning on CBC’s eight a.m. news, covered the standard “Christmas in Bethlehem” story. It occurred to me that while every third news report from the Islamic or Hindu world refers to the “holy city of Qom” in Iran, or the “holy city of Najaf” in Iraq, etc., while I don’t recall the last time I heard a report refer to a “holy city” associated with the Christian world, and certainly there was nothing in the report to suggest that Bethlehem would be considered a “holy city”.
In the same way, those streaming to Bethlehem this week were repeatedly referred to in the CBC report as “tourists”, a term almost never used for the travellers to Mecca, the Ganges, or that long list of “holy cities” on the CBC list.
Happy Christmas to Kate and all those who start their day with SDA.
Merry Christmas Kate and all SDA readers/posters.
Merry Christmas to all! Thanks Kate for being the spiritual center of the thinking .ca revolution with the added irony of being in the physical center as well!
Ian
From another thread earlier today:
…We see him come, and know him ours,
Who, with his sunshine and his showers,
Turns all the patient ground to flowers.
The darling of the world is come,
And fit it is, we find a room
To welcome him.
The nobler part
Of all the house here, is the heart.
Which we will give him; and bequeath
This holly, and this ivy wreath,
To do him honour, who’s our King,
And Lord of all this revelling.
Just so.
(From “What Sweeter Music” [Words by Robert Herrick, 1591-1674; music–try to get it–by John Rutter])
Every Blessing to Kate and all the readers/commenters at SDA during this Holy Season of Christmas (all twelve days of it!)
BATB
On a lighter note –
This afternoon I was waiting in a long line of at least four checkouts in the local liquor store in Woodstock Ontario and noted to the young woman at the till how many Woodstonians were getting ready to clebrate Jesus’s birth tonight.
So at least I know I am not alone in Woodstock hoisting one to Jesus.
Merry Christmas to all!!
I walked into a convenience store on the south side of Calgary. After purchasing some products, the family of middle eastern descent, proudly bellowed Merry Christmas to me.
I echo the sentiment. Merry Christmas Kate and all SDA’ers, and a happy New Year!
A blessed Christmas to one and all…
…and, because this IS sda, I’m going to take issue with this “peace on earth, and goodwill toward men” meme.
First, this is a partial (out of context) quote from Luke’s gospel, chapter 2 verse 14. In all translations of the Greeks text, the verse begins as “Glory to God in the highest”, then continues on with some variant of “and on earth peace…”. What’s really interesting is who is saying this, namely “a multitude of the heavenly host”.
Hunh. Prissy, churchy, language. “The massed army of heaven” is a MUCH better translation. I don’t know about you, but if I were faced with heaven’s marine corps, the question of armistice or invasion would be uppermost in my mind.*
(But I wish to digress. The semester’s over, the students have fled, and the marking looms…)
Goodwill toward men? All men? Or just some? This is a case where ones textual bias can actually fixate on the rare disharmony between various Greek manuscripts. Most texts have the word for “goodwill” in the nominative singular, with the resulting translation as above. The trouble is, most texts are not the early ones, which have the genitive singular form for goodwill (an extra letter on the end of the word). The “current” Greek text is based on the latter, whereas the King James version (as quoted above) used the former (the earlier manuscripts were not then known). So, most modern translations of this verse use the current Greek version, whose literal translation reads “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good will.”
Now, here is where the fun starts. The objection to this rendering is that the Greek is singularly rude and highly uncommon, and modern translations go through some contortions to force the grammar, obscuring plain meaning.**
I dunno about y’all, but I’m more anxious to lay hold of this peace and good will, not just debate Greek grammar.
🙂
*It was an invasion. The “army” was the Baby.
**For those still interested, after several hours of thought and study, I’ve come to the tentative conclusion that Vitruvius got the quote correct. Darn. And here I thought I had caught him out.
May I wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to each and every one who frequents this site, and many thanks to our hostess for the excellent forum she provides – if Kate did not exist, we would be forced to invent her. It’s much easier on us this way.
Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year to Kate and all her visitors. Thanks so much to Kate for running such a great site.
From Camille Saint-Saens’ Christmas Oratorio, some of my favourite Christmas music.
Tollite hostias, et adorate Dominum in atrio sancto eius.
Laetentur coeli, et exultet terra a facie Domini, quoniam venit.
English translation:
Praise the Lord of hosts, and adore God in His holy place.
Rejoice, heaven, and exult, all the earth before the Lord, who comes.
http://www.music-theater-art.caltech.edu/womens/Music/06_07/Holiday/03 Tollite Hostias.mp3
Merry Christmas to all.
donate generously
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071224/tories_fundraising_071224/20071224?hub=Politics
Merry Christmas and Happy New year Kate and all you SDA people. May u all have a joyous and Happy New Year
Merry Christmas Kate and thank you for SDA…the best site on the internet!
Al
Nanoose Bay BC
“if Kate did not exist, we would be forced to invent her”
What a great, understated testament to an extraordinary individual!
Merry Christmas, and a very Happy New Year, hon – may the peace and blessings of the season smile broadly upon your home this, and every, Christmas!
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” II Corinthians 8:9
Merry Christmas!
Ubique
One odd but heartwarming story, before Christmas Eve turns into Christmas Day:
“$1,300-coin too big for Salvation Army kettle.”
The donor had to hand the coin (a 1-oz. platinum coin) to the Salvation Army collector, who simply handed it in to the Salvation Army. As it turns out, a few people throw in gold coins, too. Anything to stick out, I suppose, but it is a way to make a big donation that seems small.
Merry Christmas to Kate and everybody here at SDA.
Good luck with briging down the Hillary Gov. in 08!
Glenn
Merry Christmas Kate. Thank you for the effort you make all year for this blog, and a Merry Christmas to all the commenters that visit here.
Season’s Greetings one and all. Stay the course in ’08 and don’t let up on those global warming hypocrites. Chad keep those planes at Winnipeg on time. Us freight train engineers are on the job too!
Merry Christmas SDA! Thanks to Kate we have one heck of a reliable news source. To all the regulars; Be safe and happy! All the Best in 2008!
Merry Christmas, Kate. Thank-you for all your work in 2007. Very best wishes for 2008.
Happy Conception day. The day Christ truly began to dwell in the flesh. The Course of Abias sets the date. Elisabeth conceived John the Baptist on June 24 and Christ was conceived 6 months later. Luke 1.
Even though Dec 25 is held by some to be a pagan holiday, that day was overshadowed by the conception of the King.
God sometimes uses a little covert activity ie., Jonah and the great fish. The people of Nineveh worshipped a fish god.
http://levendwater.org/companion/append179.html#abia
“O children of the forest free, O sons of Manitou.
The holy Child of earth and heaven is born today for you.
Come kneel before the radiant boy,
Who brings you beauty, peace and joy.
Jesus, your King, is born, Jesus is born.
In excelsis gloria!”
“The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.”
A blessed Christmas to Kate, her family, and everyone here at SDA. “God bless us, everyone.”
Merry Christmas to most of SDA readers,to the trolls,I’ll never be that festive.
I have said it elsewhere,but this seems to be a great place and time to repeat it. Merry christmas to ALL.
Iranian weapons target Canadian soldiers
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/12/25/mackay-afghanistan.html
Crow for Christmas
“If it works — and after all, stranger things have happened — then I’ll eat some crow.” — Kevin Drum, 23 December 2006.
Anyone have a good recipe for crow?
A year ago, Michael Gordon and David Sanger wrote for the New York Times of President Bush getting reluctant support from the Pentagon:…]
And so it began. Gen. David Petraeus was not mentioned in that first story. But the details were there: […]
Republicans had lost the election. President Bush changed course. The lefty blogs were not satisfied.
The plan was dismissed out of hand by Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo: […]
Instead, of course, the opposite happened. The Surge helped Iraq get on its two feet.
Kevin Drum at the Washington Monthly had an interesting take a year ago:
Still, honesty compels me to say that I’m glad this is going to happen. I know this makes me a bad person with no concern for human life etc. etc. (feel free to expand on this sentiment in comments), but at some point we have to come to a conclusion on this stuff. Conservatives long ago convinced themselves against all evidence that we could have won in Vietnam if we’d only added more troops or used more napalm or nuked Hanoi or whatever, and they’re going to do the same thing in Iraq unless we allow them to play this out the way they want. If they don’t get to play the game their way, they’ll spend the next couple of decades trying to persuade the American public that there was nothing wrong with the idea of invading Iraq at all. We just never put the necessary resources into it.
…- http://tinyurl.com/23wm6s (don surber)
# Gene Says:
December 24th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
I was in Nam during the Tet Offensive in 68. We were celebrating that we had kicked ass. Walter Cronkite and the leftist press was telling the American people that we had suffered a great defeat. The left won and it cost another 2-3 million deaths in Cambodia and the reeducation camps in Viet Nam. When will we ever rid ourselves of these leftist anti American crowd? Sad, but probably never. …-