Sunday, December 25, 2016



An alternative Christmas.  Don't you love it?



    The "Christkindlesmarkt" in Nürnberg is the oldest and most famous Christmas markets in Germany and taken place annually since as early as the 16th century. The anchor of the German State TV channel Südwestrundfunk (SWR), however, considers traditional Christmas to be sad, melancholic and weepy.

In the program, that aired on December 6th last year, he said that he would rather have it happy - or, multicultural - and gives the stage to "cabaret artist" Alexandra Gauger, who proceeds to mock lyrics of Children's carols by singing them in an oriental tone.

    The (most likely staged) audience happily claps out of rhythm and provides applause after this arguably cringeworthy freakshow of a television program.

    Close to the end the camera captures a disheartened German man standing behind the beaming smile of a woman - looking at the floor and shaking his head in disbelief. The cameraman quickly realizes the error and switches scenes.

    German State Television is funded by a mandatory broadcasting tax, that every household is forced to pay, regardless of whether they even own a television or radio. Last year, this compulsory charge, averaging at €215 per household, netted the government 8 billion Euros. Their official goal is to 'broadcast the truth and provide citizens with investigative journalism'. If you don't pay, you can end up in jail. This is what they're really using this funding for.

SOURCE






Celebrating Christmas offends the politically correct, not minorities – I should know, I'm Jewish

ANGELA EPSTEIN

Last year Colin, my local butcher, sold over 160 turkeys in the three weeks leading up to Christmas.

This year, business has been especially brisk . In fact on current, back-of-an-envelope projections, it looks like he'll be shifting even more birds by the time the big day swings around again. So much so that he is absolutely stiffing the competition.

All of which is great for Colin. Though not so great if you're a turkey.

But while "butcher sells loads of turkeys in time for Christmas" might not exactly make for show-stopping, headline news, there's something else to bear in mind too.

You see Colin only sells kosher meat. And his customers, to paraphrase an enthusiastic X Factor judge, are 1000 per cent Jewish.

Yet, as witnessed by the birds flying – not literally – out of my local kosher butcher's shop, what's clear is that many Jewish people are embracing Christmas.

SOURCE






Christmas BANNED from being mentioned on official menu over fears it would offend Muslims

CHRISTMAS treats have been taken off a menu and replaced with 'winter delicacies' over fears the phrase would offend Muslims.

A function held at the Austrian embassy in Germany still served traditional festive fare such as Lebkuchen but rebranded them as 'winter delicacies'.

The event was a presentation by the Chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, Aiman Mazyek, who has written the book What Do Muslims Do at Christmas?: Islamic Faith in Everyday Life in Germany.

The invitation to guests, from ambassador Nikolaus Marschik, was described as a “cosy get-together with winter delicacies.”

A reporter attending the event wanted to know exactly what the Austrians suddenly considered "winter delicacies" and asked the embassy for a clarification.

The ambassador then admitted that the traditional Christmas foods had been rebranded out of respect for Islam.

The Austrian embassy said the description was meant to include Lebkuchen, the local name for gingerbread usually served at Christmas, as well as Kipferln, a type of croissant, and beer and wine, and that the term had been chosen out of consideration for Islam.

Journalist Gunnar Schupelius said: "It is advent season, we are on the territory of the Austrian Republic, they invite Christians and Muslims for a talk about Christmas and offer Christmas delicacies that cannot be called Christmas delicacies."

Ambassador Marschik admitted it was "a foolish mistake."  He said: "I have talked to the people in question and made sure that it will not happen again. Of course we adhere to our Christmas traditions. This is why our events include Christmas biscuits and other delicacies."

SOURCE





Number of Brits set to attend Church this Christmas hits RECORD LOW after rocky 2016

THREE quarters of the British public have no plans to go to church over the festive period with just five per cent planning to attend a service on Christmas Day, a YouGov poll has revealed.

The turbulent events of the past year may also have been a factor in the plunging numbers of people who believe in a god, with just 28 per cent claiming to have religious beliefs today compared with 32 per cent in February.

The four per cent difference is a big fall in comparison with previous years, which have generally seen a downward annual trend of around one per cent.

Meanwhile those who claim they actively do not believe in a god or a higher spiritual power has increased from 33 to 38 per cent.

The survey also showed 20 per cent of Britons do not believe in a god but think there is a higher spiritual power, while 14 per cent are unsure.

The results of the YouGov poll have raised questions over whether the events of the past year - including Brexit, global terror attacks and the ongoing refugee crisis - are behind the drop in the British people’s faith in a god.

The nation’s religiousness has in decline for decades, and this recent survey shows 63 per cent of UK residents claim they never go to church.

The 2011 census showed 15 per cent of people claimed to have no religion, yet increasing scepticism over religion saw that percentage increase by 10 points by 2015.

A spokesperson for the Church of England said: “The increase in those identifying as ‘no faith’ reflects a growing plurality in society rather than any increase in secularism or humanism.

"We do not have an increasingly secular society as much as a more agnostic one."

Interestingly, the poll of 1,595 adults which was conducted on Monday and Tuesday this week, showed people who voted Leave in the EU referendum in June are more likely to believe in a god than their Remainer counterparts.

Around 45 per cent of Remainers do not believe in any god, compared with 35 per cent of Brexiteers.

The difference between male and female believers is also remarkable - half of men claim there is not higher power, against 28 per cent of women.

Over the past decade the number of people regularly attending church has dropped by 14 per cent, leading the Church of England to start a ‘renewal and reform’ programme to boost numbers.

SOURCE

*************************

Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the  incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of  other countries.  The only real difference, however, is how much power they have.  In America, their power is limited by democracy.  To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already  very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges.  They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did:  None.  So look to the colleges to see  what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way.  It would be a dictatorship.

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH,   EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and  DISSECTING LEFTISM.   My Home Pages are here or   here or   here.  Email me (John Ray) here

***************************




No comments: