Euronews reports on Christmas in Bethlehem and the Palestinians: Some 15,000 pilgrims are in the city and, despite fears raised by the Gaza fighting, hotels are fully booked.
200 Dead, Many Children, in Syrian aerial bombing of Halfaya
Opposition forces said that Syrian fighter jets bombed the town of Halfaya near Hama on Sunday. The bombs struck a crowd standing in line to buy bread, and some 200 victims are said to have been killed, and dozens more injured. The attack on Halfaya likely was the regime’s response to its fighters confronting the […]
Muslims of Liberated Saraqeb, Syria, put up Christmas Tree for Local Christians
Muslims of Syrian town of Saraqeb put up Christmas tree for local Christians. The young man who is being interviewed stresses the unity of all Syrians, whether Muslim, Christian, Druze, etc. The Syrian revolutionaries took it at the beginning of November. It was subsequently the site of the execution of captured Syrian army troops. Last […]
Egypt’s Controversial Fundamentalist Constitution Meets Low Turnout
Egyptians went to the polls again Saturday in the second round of the constitutional referendum. The provinces or governorates that voted in this round were disproportionately rural, and early returns suggested a big “yes” vote, perhaps as high as 70% or so. Rural areas are strongholds of the Muslim Brotherhood and other fundamentalist forces, though […]
Abraham Lincoln on the Purpose of Government (Or He Wouldn’t be in GOP Today)
From Abraham Lincoln: Complete Works, Comprising His Speeches, Letters …, Volume 1, p. 92: “If we except the light and the air of heaven, no good thing has been or can be enjoyed by us without having first cost labor. And inasmuch as most good things are produced by labor, it follows that all such […]
Top Ten Ways NRA Stole Christmas this Year
The tone deaf and horrifyingly self-serving speech given by Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association on Friday cast a pall over our holiday season. At a time of national mourning and determination finally to rein in the plague of semi-automatic weaponry infesting our society, the speech was an exercise in blaming everyone but the […]
The Real War on Christmas: GOP Rejection of Tax Rise on Rich could End Tax-Break for Charitable Giving
Many worthy institutions in the United States, from universities and cancer research centers to soup kitchens, art galleries and public radio, are supported by donations from private citizens. One of the motivations for this charitable giving is that it typically reduces one’s tax bill. In essence, the government allows us to steer a certain amount […]
Fundamentalist Constitution Provokes Street Clashes in Alexandria, 77 Wounded
As Egyptians in 17 governorates head to the polls on Saturday in the second round of the controversial referendum on the new constitution, tension still simmers in the country’s second-largest city, Alexandria, where street clashes left 77 wounded on Friday. The clashes again show the unwisdom of the way President Muhammad Morsi, who hails from […]
Dear GOP: Please don’t Cut Children’s Food Stamps: Our Rich aren’t Overtaxed
The irrational GOP insistence on bankrupting our government by insisting on exempting the rich from taxes has reached the point where they just kicked 300,000 poor children off food stamps to give millionaires another tax break. Their constant refrain is that Americans are over-taxed in world terms and that there is a danger of our […]
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