Monthly Archives: December 2013

Happy Christmas!

This may well be my last post here for a day or so, so how to mark the imminent arrival of Christmas, grandest and jolliest and most syncretic of festivals, this year? With this extract, I think, from Dylan Thomas’s … Continue reading

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Sparks at Marks

Adapted from a post at Ricochet: Theotory blogger (and martyred Archbishop!) Cranmer’s response to the decision (discussed here earlier) by retailer M&S to accomodate members of staff who, for religious reasons, do not want to handle pork, alcohol is too … Continue reading

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Sausages, Gender Segregation and ‘Religious Freedom’

Deciding quite where and how a nation should draw the line between its citizens’ right to practice their religions and its own right to protect itself from spiraling down into balkanization has never been an easy thing to determine and … Continue reading

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Science Update

The Daily Telegraph reports: Angels exist but do not have wings and are more like shards of light, at least according to a top Catholic Church “angelologist” who says the heavenly beings are now back in vogue thanks to New … Continue reading

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Should Atheist Politicians ‘Come Out’?

Writing in Politico, Jennifer Hecht laments the absence of any ‘out’ atheists in senior elective office. On Real Time with Bill Maher last August, Maher asked his guest, newly retired Rep. Barney Frank, if he felt liberated now that he … Continue reading

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Annals of the Arab Spring (Ctd.)

Cross-posted on the Corner: Writing in the Spectator last month (behind the paywall) Aidan Hartley took a look at what is happening to Egypt’s archeological heritage: [W]ithin a kilometre of the Sphinx, I found the desert honeycombed with deep, freshly … Continue reading

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The Return of the Clown Posse?

God must be a Democrat. First Rick Santorum says that he might be open to a 2016 run, now Mike Huckabee appears to be mulling a shot. The New York Times has the details: LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Former Gov. … Continue reading

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Religious Freedom!

I’ll admit it. This made me laugh. The Guardian reports: In their zeal to tout their faith in the public square, conservatives in Oklahoma may have unwittingly opened the door to a wide range of religious groups, including Satanists who … Continue reading

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21 Years

Witch trials. Still with us. The Guardian reports: Dan Keller has left an Austin jail, a week after his wife was released – and 21 years after the pair were given a 48-year sentence for sexual assault during America’s “Satanic … Continue reading

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Something Rotten…

Nick Cohen, writing in The Spectator: Firoozeh Bazrafkan is frightened of nothing. Five foot tall, 31 years old, and so thin you think a puff of wind could blow her away, she still has the courage to be a truly … Continue reading

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