Moslems can postpone holidays if their timing is inconvenient

[Binyamin Dissen]

http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html

I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.

At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
government protection for their holidays?

--
Binyamin Dissen <bdi...@dissensoftware.com>
http://www.dissensoftware.com

Should you use the mailblocks package and expect a response from me,
you should preauthorize the dissensoftware.com domain.

I very rarely bother responding to challenge/response systems,
especially those from irresponsible companies.

[bobg]

On Wednesday, May 23, 2012 4:49:49 AM UTC-4, Binyamin Dissen wrote:
> http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html
>
> I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.
>
> At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
> government protection for their holidays?

Have any Jewish athletes ever played a Friday night game? And if so, do they deserve government protection for their holidays?

[Paul Ciszek]

In article <9q8pr7h89uv5l106j...@4ax.com>,

Binyamin Dissen <post...@dissensoftware.com> wrote:
>http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html
>
>I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.

I am told that their version of the "weekend" doesn't work quite like
the Christian Sunday or the Jewish Saturday anyway.

>At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
>government protection for their holidays?

No. Nor do you, or anyone else.

Oh, wait, you live in a theocracy. So I guess you get to make the
rules for everyone else.


--
Please reply to: | "We establish no religion in this country, we
pciszek at panix dot com | command no worship, we mandate no belief, nor
Autoreply is disabled | will we ever. Church and state are, and must
| remain, separate." --Ronald Reagan, 10/26/1984

[danny burstein]

In <jpir82$nm2$5...@reader1.panix.com> nos...@nospam.com (Paul Ciszek) writes:


>In article <9q8pr7h89uv5l106j...@4ax.com>,
>Binyamin Dissen <post...@dissensoftware.com> wrote:
>>http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html
>>
>>I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.

>I am told that their version of the "weekend" doesn't work quite like
>the Christian Sunday or the Jewish Saturday anyway.

>>At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
>>government protection for their holidays?

>No. Nor do you, or anyone else.

>Oh, wait, you live in a theocracy. So I guess you get to make the
>rules for everyone else.

Hey, NYS just moved the Sept. primary date
from Tuesday to Thursday!

backstory: it would have been 9/11.....




--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dan...@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

[N Jill Marsh]

On Wed, 23 May 2012 11:49:49 +0300, Binyamin Dissen
<post...@dissensoftware.com> wrote:

>http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html
>
>I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.

That statement makes no sense if one is at all informed about Islam.
For that matter, nothing in your post makes sense if one is at all
informed about Islam.

>At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
>government protection for their holidays?

No. Just like every other religion. Not one. There should be no
government holidays based on religious belief. Zero.

nj"simple enough"m






--
"You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end"

[Mark Steese]

N Jill Marsh <njm...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:68nqr71kgopnvpr6i...@4ax.com:

Oh, great. Now we have to think of a new name for Christmas so the dang
ACLU won't make us work through the end of December!
--
The boughs rustled, and the air was stirred by the muffled beat of their
wings: I could see them, like unearthly, boding shapes, as they swooped
between me and the stars. -Bayard Taylor

[Richard R. Hershberger]

On May 23, 7:33 am, bobg <byo...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wednesday, May 23, 2012 4:49:49 AM UTC-4, Binyamin Dissen wrote:

> >http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-...

>
> > I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.
>
> > At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
> > government protection for their holidays?
>
> Have any Jewish athletes ever played a Friday night game?  And if so, do they deserve government protection for their holidays?

Hank Greenberg refused to play on Saturdays. That was before night
games in the majors, so the question of Friday night games never
arose. Christy Mathewson refused to play on Sundays, because he had
promised his mother he wouldn't in order to get her blessing for him
becoming a professional baseball player, which was really beneath his
station. Back in the day, not playing on Sundays was a hallmark of
Protestant propriety. Nowadays pro football is a central tenet of
Evangelical Protestantism. I have heard of Evangelical churches where
it is understood that they can't even get their paid staff to attend
if there is a home game that Sunday.

Richard R. Hershberger

[D.F. Manno]

Binyamin Dissen <post...@dissensoftware.com> wrote:
> http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html
>
> I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.

You only think this is unusual because you're a bigoted fool. The RCC has
issued dispensations from Friday fasting in a diocese because of a visit
from a church dignitary or some secular celebration.

--
D.F. Manno

[Xho Jingleheimerschmidt]

On 05/23/2012 01:49 AM, Binyamin Dissen wrote:
> http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html
>
> I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.

Can their icosahedron refuse to hear of a sighting of the full moon?

Xho

[Xho Jingleheimerschmidt]

On 05/23/2012 02:59 PM, N Jill Marsh wrote:
> No. Just like every other religion. Not one. There should be no
> government holidays based on religious belief. Zero.

Is Santa a religious belief?

[Paul Ciszek]

In article <4fbd8a58$0$26161$ed36...@nr5-q3a.newsreader.com>,

Only for the dyslexic.

[Paul Ciszek]

In article <4fbd8a07$0$26161$ed36...@nr5-q3a.newsreader.com>,

If there really were any religion in which an icosahedron played an
important role, that would be a hoot. The closest I have been able
to find is this dodecahedron:

http://www.thelemming.com/lemming/dissertation-web/home/dali-last-supper.jpg

[Kevin]

On Thu, 24 May 2012 02:31:31 +0000 (UTC), nos...@nospam.com (Paul
Ciszek) wrote:

>
>In article <4fbd8a58$0$26161$ed36...@nr5-q3a.newsreader.com>,
>Xho Jingleheimerschmidt <xho...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>On 05/23/2012 02:59 PM, N Jill Marsh wrote:
>>> No. Just like every other religion. Not one. There should be no
>>> government holidays based on religious belief. Zero.
>>
>>Is Santa a religious belief?
>
>Only for the dyslexic.

Dear Atnas, I've been ever so good...

[Kevin]

On Wed, 23 May 2012 11:49:49 +0300, Binyamin Dissen
<post...@dissensoftware.com> wrote:

>http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html
>
>I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.

Lots of apparently devout Christian athletes play football on Sundays.

>At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
>government protection for their holidays?

Or maybe Tim Tebow should get a five yard penalty every time he tries
to incur outside assistance?

What about Jewish athetes on the sabbath, that never comes up?

[Binyamin Dissen]

On Wed, 23 May 2012 23:34:07 -0500 Kevin <K_S_O...@yh.com> wrote:

:>On Wed, 23 May 2012 11:49:49 +0300, Binyamin Dissen

They do not claim to be religious. There was some amusement in Israel where an
Israeli soccer player "postponed" the Yom Kippur fast in order to play a game.
The only time one is not constrained by the laws are life and death situations
- and even in that case the holiday is not postponed.

[bobg]

On Thursday, May 24, 2012 3:15:23 AM UTC-4, Binyamin Dissen wrote:
> On Wed, 23 May 2012 23:34:07 -0500 Kevin <K_S_O...@yh.com> wrote:
>
> :>On Wed, 23 May 2012 11:49:49 +0300, Binyamin Dissen
> :>

> wrote:
>
> :>>http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html
>
> :>>I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.
>
> :>Lots of apparently devout Christian athletes play football on Sundays.
>
> :>>At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
> :>>government protection for their holidays?
>
> :>Or maybe Tim Tebow should get a five yard penalty every time he tries
> :>to incur outside assistance?
>
> :>What about Jewish athetes on the sabbath, that never comes up?
>
> They do not claim to be religious. There was some amusement in Israel where an
> Israeli soccer player "postponed" the Yom Kippur fast in order to play a game.

If he's "postponing" Yom Kippur rather than simply not observing it, then he's claiming to be religious, no?

> The only time one is not constrained by the laws are life and death situations
> - and even in that case the holiday is not postponed.

Is rain during Sukkot a life and death situation, or an inconvenience?

[Binyamin Dissen]

On Thu, 24 May 2012 03:38:20 -0700 (PDT) bobg <byo...@gmail.com> wrote:

:>On Thursday, May 24, 2012 3:15:23 AM UTC-4, Binyamin Dissen wrote:
:>> On Wed, 23 May 2012 23:34:07 -0500 Kevin <K_S_O...@yh.com> wrote:

:>> :>On Wed, 23 May 2012 11:49:49 +0300, Binyamin Dissen
:>> wrote:

:>> :>>http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html

:>> :>>I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.

:>> :>Lots of apparently devout Christian athletes play football on Sundays.

:>> :>>At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
:>> :>>government protection for their holidays?

:>> :>Or maybe Tim Tebow should get a five yard penalty every time he tries
:>> :>to incur outside assistance?

:>> :>What about Jewish athetes on the sabbath, that never comes up?

:>> They do not claim to be religious. There was some amusement in Israel where an
:>> Israeli soccer player "postponed" the Yom Kippur fast in order to play a game.

:>If he's "postponing" Yom Kippur rather than simply not observing it, then he's claiming to be religious, no?

Even the not religious tend to do the three days a year.

:>> The only time one is not constrained by the laws are life and death situations

:>> - and even in that case the holiday is not postponed.

:>Is rain during Sukkot a life and death situation, or an inconvenience?

A good question. One lives in a Succah like one would live in a house. Just as
one would not stay in a house with a leaking ceiling, one does not stay in a
leaking Succah. There is no obligation of a Succah in such a case.

[Binyamin Dissen]

On Wed, 23 May 2012 17:59:12 -0400 N Jill Marsh <njm...@gmail.com> wrote:

:>On Wed, 23 May 2012 11:49:49 +0300, Binyamin Dissen

:><post...@dissensoftware.com> wrote:

:>>http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html

:>>I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.

:>That statement makes no sense if one is at all informed about Islam.

Are you asserting that the article is wrong and that Moslems cannot choose to
defer Ramadan?

Or are you insisting that extrapolating from Ramadan to Friday is a stretch?

[bobg]

On Thursday, May 24, 2012 6:59:48 AM UTC-4, Binyamin Dissen wrote:
> On Wed, 23 May 2012 17:59:12 -0400 N Jill Marsh <njm...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> :>On Wed, 23 May 2012 11:49:49 +0300, Binyamin Dissen
> :>

> wrote:
>
> :>>http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html
>
> :>>I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.
>
> :>That statement makes no sense if one is at all informed about Islam.
>
> Are you asserting that the article is wrong and that Moslems cannot choose to
> defer Ramadan?

The article is correct - Moslems can indeed choose to defer Ramadan. Likewise, Catholics can choose to use birth control, Jews can choose to eat bacon, and Mormons can choose to go against whatever eternal truth their church is espousing this decade.

I guess that makes them all fairly silly and arbitrary "religions," doesn't it?

[bobg]

On Thursday, May 24, 2012 6:54:33 AM UTC-4, Binyamin Dissen wrote:
> On Thu, 24 May 2012 03:38:20 -0700 (PDT) bobg <byo...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> :>On Thursday, May 24, 2012 3:15:23 AM UTC-4, Binyamin Dissen wrote:
> :>> On Wed, 23 May 2012 23:34:07 -0500 Kevin <K_S_O...@yh.com> wrote:
>
> :>> :>On Wed, 23 May 2012 11:49:49 +0300, Binyamin Dissen
> :>> wrote:
>
> :>> :>>http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html
>
> :>> :>>I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.
>
> :>> :>Lots of apparently devout Christian athletes play football on Sundays.
>
> :>> :>>At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
> :>> :>>government protection for their holidays?
>
> :>> :>Or maybe Tim Tebow should get a five yard penalty every time he tries
> :>> :>to incur outside assistance?
>
> :>> :>What about Jewish athetes on the sabbath, that never comes up?
>
> :>> They do not claim to be religious. There was some amusement in Israel where an
> :>> Israeli soccer player "postponed" the Yom Kippur fast in order to play a game.
>
> :>If he's "postponing" Yom Kippur rather than simply not observing it, then he's claiming to be religious, no?
>
> Even the not religious tend to do the three days a year.
>
> :>> The only time one is not constrained by the laws are life and death situations
> :>> - and even in that case the holiday is not postponed.
>
> :>Is rain during Sukkot a life and death situation, or an inconvenience?
>
> A good question. One lives in a Succah like one would live in a house. Just as
> one would not stay in a house with a leaking ceiling, one does not stay in a
> leaking Succah. There is no obligation of a Succah in such a case.

Huh. I either misinterpreted the purpose of the Succah, or underestimated how easy the Israelites had it in the post-Egypt wilderness.

[Lesmond]

There are Jewish athletes?

--
If there's a nuclear winter, at least it'll snow.

[Binyamin Dissen]

On Thu, 24 May 2012 05:57:57 -0700 (PDT) bobg <byo...@gmail.com> wrote:

Why would you think that a holiday is a punishment?

[Lee Ayrton]

I, as a Pastafarian, am not allowed to defer Holy Fridays nor to defer
the ritual drinking of beer, wine, rum or other holy spirit. Unless, of
course, it is a matter of dogma in which case I had better defer it.

May you all be touched by His Noodlely Appendage, as have I.

[Mikko Peltoniemi]

On 5/23/2012 8:11 PM, Richard R. Hershberger wrote:

> Hank Greenberg refused to play on Saturdays. That was before night

Walter Sobchak did not roll on shabbos either.

--
My Flickr Page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25892068@N07/

[Paul Ciszek]

In article <jplgba$po4$2...@reader1.panix.com>,

Lee Ayrton <lay...@panix.com> wrote:
>
>May you all be touched by His Noodlely Appendage, as have I.

I am surprised that the Flying Spaghetti Monster has not yet been
hit with a sexual harrasment suit or charges of molestation.

Not his followers, mind you, but his supreme marinarance himself.

[N Jill Marsh]

On Wed, 23 May 2012 23:45:41 +0000 (UTC), Mark Steese
<mark_...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>N Jill Marsh <njm...@gmail.com> wrote in
>news:68nqr71kgopnvpr6i...@4ax.com:
>
>> On Wed, 23 May 2012 11:49:49 +0300, Binyamin Dissen
>> <post...@dissensoftware.com> wrote:
>>
>>>http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-18
>>>1856487--sow.html
>>>
>>>I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as
>>>well.
>>
>> That statement makes no sense if one is at all informed about Islam.
>> For that matter, nothing in your post makes sense if one is at all
>> informed about Islam.
>>
>>>At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
>>>government protection for their holidays?
>>
>> No. Just like every other religion. Not one. There should be no
>> government holidays based on religious belief. Zero.
>>
>> nj"simple enough"m
>
>Oh, great. Now we have to think of a new name for Christmas so the dang
>ACLU won't make us work through the end of December!

Personally, I think Christmas should be removed from the stat holiday
calendar. If we all need a winter break then it should be a little
later in January. And everyone frothing about "putting the Christ
back in Christmas" can do it properly, by taking their own holiday
time to celebrate their important religious holiday, and all the
secular people could be very respectful of it by ignoring it.

nj"same with Easter"m

[N Jill Marsh]

I don't know, but I'm all for canceling Christmas. I'd like my
secular mid-winter holiday later in January.

[N Jill Marsh]

On Thu, 24 May 2012 13:59:48 +0300, Binyamin Dissen

<post...@dissensoftware.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 23 May 2012 17:59:12 -0400 N Jill Marsh <njm...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>:>On Wed, 23 May 2012 11:49:49 +0300, Binyamin Dissen
>:><post...@dissensoftware.com> wrote:
>
>:>>http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html
>
>:>>I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.
>
>:>That statement makes no sense if one is at all informed about Islam.
>
>Are you asserting that the article is wrong and that Moslems cannot choose to
>defer Ramadan?
>
>Or are you insisting that extrapolating from Ramadan to Friday is a stretch?

I'm stating that you really know very little about a hell of a lot of
things due to your hateful narrowmindedness, and this latest post is
just another example of that. Have luck playing with your strawmen.

nj"shocked, shocked!"m

[Kevin]

Before American Jews decided they would rather be the nerds than the
jocks Jews dominated boxing and basketball. Nine title fights before
1950 were between Jews, and Jews dominated the ABL, the first
professional basketball league, from 1925 to the 1950s. The
dominating pro basketball team of the first half of the 20th century
was the SPHAS, which stood for the South Philadelphia Hebrew
Association. The first pro basketball superstar was a Jew, Nat
Holman. Jews dominated college basketball as well. Newspapers wrote
editorials explaining that Jews had more natural rhythm and physical
dexterity than non Jews; that was why they were thought to be such
great dancers, too.

I am not making any of this up.

--
Kevin

[Kevin]

On Thu, 24 May 2012 10:15:23 +0300, Binyamin Dissen

<post...@dissensoftware.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 23 May 2012 23:34:07 -0500 Kevin <K_S_O...@yh.com> wrote:
>
>:>On Wed, 23 May 2012 11:49:49 +0300, Binyamin Dissen
>:><post...@dissensoftware.com> wrote:
>
>:>>http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html
>
>:>>I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.
>
>:>Lots of apparently devout Christian athletes play football on Sundays.
>
>:>>At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
>:>>government protection for their holidays?
>
>:>Or maybe Tim Tebow should get a five yard penalty every time he tries
>:>to incur outside assistance?
>
>:>What about Jewish athetes on the sabbath, that never comes up?
>
>They do not claim to be religious.

That smells a good bit like "No True Scotsman" to me, but who cares.
Certainly people who claim to be very religious Christians play
football on Sunday, every Sunday, all the time, all over the US. If
you're not upset about that it seems a little selective to be in a
snit over some Islamic athletes who have recieved permission from the
high poobah to eat and drink in daylight contrary to their taboo that
month, it's almost like you're just looking for something to be
offended about.

>There was some amusement in Israel where an
>Israeli soccer player "postponed" the Yom Kippur fast in order to play a game.

There was "amusement"?

>The only time one is not constrained by the laws are life and death situations
>- and even in that case the holiday is not postponed.

Right, so two groups of people following nonsensical but similar rules
for no good reason don't have exactly the same exemptions, that's
interesting I guess.

[BillT...@invalid.com]

On Thu, 24 May 2012 14:53:37 +0000 (UTC), nos...@nospam.com (Paul
Ciszek) wrote:

>
>Not his followers, mind you, but his supreme marinarance himself.

I would kill for His Supreme Marinarance.

[BillT...@invalid.com]

(with meatballs!)

[bobg]

On Thursday, May 24, 2012 12:36:15 PM UTC-4, Kevin wrote:
> On Thu, 24 May 2012 10:15:23 +0300, Binyamin Dissen
>

> wrote:
>
> >On Wed, 23 May 2012 23:34:07 -0500 Kevin <K_S_O...@yh.com> wrote:
> >
> >:>On Wed, 23 May 2012 11:49:49 +0300, Binyamin Dissen
> >:>

> wrote:
> >
> >:>>http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-181856487--sow.html
> >
> >:>>I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.
> >
> >:>Lots of apparently devout Christian athletes play football on Sundays.
> >
> >:>>At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
> >:>>government protection for their holidays?
> >
> >:>Or maybe Tim Tebow should get a five yard penalty every time he tries
> >:>to incur outside assistance?
> >
> >:>What about Jewish athetes on the sabbath, that never comes up?
> >
> >They do not claim to be religious.
>
> That smells a good bit like "No True Scotsman" to me, but who cares.
> Certainly people who claim to be very religious Christians play
> football on Sunday, every Sunday, all the time, all over the US. If
> you're not upset about that it seems a little selective to be in a
> snit over some Islamic athletes who have recieved permission from the
> high poobah to eat and drink in daylight contrary to their taboo that
> month, it's almost like you're just looking for something to be
> offended about.

Besides which, there was nothing in that article about getting permission from any grand poobah. There's apparently about as much religious justification for postponing Ramadan for a track meet as there is for postponing Yom Kippur for a soccer game - thus both "religions" are equally suspect.

[Lee Ayrton]

On Thu, 24 May 2012 11:46:07 -0400, N Jill Marsh wrote:


> Personally, I think Christmas should be removed from the stat holiday
> calendar. If we all need a winter break then it should be a little
> later in January. And everyone frothing about "putting the Christ back
> in Christmas" can do it properly, by taking their own holiday time to
> celebrate their important religious holiday, and all the secular people
> could be very respectful of it by ignoring it.
>
> nj"same with Easter"m

I got dinged on FB by a FOAF for wishing my friend a "happy zombie Jesus
day".

Admittedly, I was being gleeful in my offensiveness and didn't argue.

[Lee Ayrton]

To the Mammonites it is. Halloween is another of their high holidays.

[Mikko Peltoniemi]

On 5/24/2012 11:49 AM, N Jill Marsh wrote:

> I'm stating that you really know very little about a hell of a lot of
> things due to your hateful narrowmindedness, and this latest post is
> just another example of that. Have luck playing with your strawmen.

It's weird, he's just like a certain Fark poster, who seems to know
a lot, but still has the same kind of attitude.

[bill van]

In article <cqlsr7504s3bvr0qs...@4ax.com>,

N Jill Marsh <njm...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Personally, I think Christmas should be removed from the stat holiday
> calendar. If we all need a winter break then it should be a little
> later in January. And everyone frothing about "putting the Christ
> back in Christmas" can do it properly, by taking their own holiday
> time to celebrate their important religious holiday, and all the
> secular people could be very respectful of it by ignoring it.

The transition to January would be difficult. Our part of the world is
full of people who have always had a holiday season towards the end of
December. But the winter solstice provides a perfectly good excuse for a
festival to celebrate the day when the darkness stops growing and the
light starts to return, at least for folks who live far enough north in
the northern hemisphere.

Yeah, I think we could do without stats that mark a particular
religion's holy days. Replacing them with a couple of generic stats that
can be scheduled according to an individual employee's beliefs or
convenience would suit me.

bill

[Lee Ayrton]

http://www.tigersweat.com/movies/airplane/air03.wav

[Lesmond]

It was a joke, son.

[Kevin]

On Thu, 24 May 2012 13:33:00 -0400 (EDT), "Lesmond"

I know. The whole thing is just astonishing to me, the invention of
race and how one wants one's race to be seen and how races go from
being seen one way to another all in one person's lifetime. The
Irish went from simian subhumans to "nordic" in a generation. The
Italians went from bordering-on-black jazz-playing reprobates to
Sinatra in a generation. Just amazing.

And Jews were great athletes. There were editorials about why Jews
were such great athletes, you could replace "Jew" with "black" and get
a Jimmy the Greek monologue almost word for word.

[Greg Goss]

N Jill Marsh <njm...@gmail.com> wrote:

>Personally, I think Christmas should be removed from the stat holiday
>calendar. If we all need a winter break then it should be a little
>later in January. And everyone frothing about "putting the Christ
>back in Christmas" can do it properly, by taking their own holiday
>time to celebrate their important religious holiday, and all the
>secular people could be very respectful of it by ignoring it.
>
>nj"same with Easter"m

Our union contract where I worked in the eighties decoupled three
holidays from the calendar. One of them was Easter Monday, but I
forget what the other two were.

For these three "floater stats" ("statutory holiday"), your supervisor
couldn't say anything so long as you gave him suitable notice. Your
FSM congregation celebrates boiling point day? Great. Yom Kippur?
Your birthday should be a statutory holiday?

If your super needed you to work on any stat (including a floater
one), you got paid time and a half for the work, plus the holiday pay.
I was never happy calling this "two and a half times" but everyone
else did.
--
I used to own a mind like a steel trap.
Perhaps if I'd specified a brass one, it
wouldn't have rusted like this.

[Greg Goss]

N Jill Marsh <njm...@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 23 May 2012 18:10:05 -0700, Xho Jingleheimerschmidt
><xho...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>On 05/23/2012 02:59 PM, N Jill Marsh wrote:
>>> No. Just like every other religion. Not one. There should be no
>>> government holidays based on religious belief. Zero.
>>
>>Is Santa a religious belief?
>
>I don't know, but I'm all for canceling Christmas. I'd like my
>secular mid-winter holiday later in January.

My province added a semi-stat "family day" in February.

[Paul Ciszek]

In article <825sr7dabnhmk8489...@4ax.com>,

Binyamin Dissen <post...@dissensoftware.com> wrote:
>
>Or are you insisting that extrapolating from Ramadan to Friday is a stretch?

When I have asked about the Islamic version of the weekend, I have been
told that stuff tends to be closed on Fridays, but cautioned that it is
not really like the Jewish Sabbath or the Christian Sunday. So, yeah,
you are extrapolating from Ramadan to something that you are assuming
works like *your* sabbath.

[Mark Steese]

N Jill Marsh <njm...@gmail.com> wrote in

news:cqlsr7504s3bvr0qs...@4ax.com:

> On Wed, 23 May 2012 23:45:41 +0000 (UTC), Mark Steese
> <mark_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>N Jill Marsh <njm...@gmail.com> wrote in
>>news:68nqr71kgopnvpr6i...@4ax.com:

[snip]

>>> No. Just like every other religion. Not one. There should be no
>>> government holidays based on religious belief. Zero.
>>>
>>> nj"simple enough"m
>>
>>Oh, great. Now we have to think of a new name for Christmas so the
>>dang ACLU won't make us work through the end of December!
>
> Personally, I think Christmas should be removed from the stat holiday
> calendar.

Well, that'd be a bummer. I've only just gotten to the point where I've
started enjoying it again.

> If we all need a winter break then it should be a little later in
> January. And everyone frothing about "putting the Christ back in
> Christmas" can do it properly, by taking their own holiday time to
> celebrate their important religious holiday, and all the secular
> people could be very respectful of it by ignoring it.

Feh. Next you'll be demanding a ban on the Krampus Run.

> nj"same with Easter"m

What about Sundays in general? Every *week* the federal government gives
everybody a holiday based on religious belief. Bring back the six-day
work week!

Me, I have no problem with having a secularized religious holiday like
Christmas receive the federal seal of approval. Christmas beats
Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July by a long chalk. But then, I'm also
100% in favor of the institution of civil marriage.
--
The boughs rustled, and the air was stirred by the muffled beat of their
wings: I could see them, like unearthly, boding shapes, as they swooped
between me and the stars. -Bayard Taylor

[Paul Ciszek]

In article <ajosr7tdlvcsgsk1p...@4ax.com>,

Kevin <K_S_O...@yh.com> wrote:
>
>That smells a good bit like "No True Scotsman" to me, but who cares.

Binny is the very embodiment of the No True Scotsman fallacy. I remember
him gloating over some argument about Christian denominations, saying that
Judaism doesn't have any such issues. Turns out that is because he doesn't
consider Conservative or Reform Judaism to be Judaism.

[Mark Steese]

Lee Ayrton <lay...@panix.com> wrote in news:jplpjm$h5s$2
@reader1.panix.com:

Eh? I thought they worshipped Our Lady of Dollywood. Oh, wait, you said
mammONites. Carry on.
--
The proud flag went up, hoisted on a staff in the center of the old Sonoma
Plaza. The crowds of Mexicans greeted it with laughter and derision, taking
the rather corpulent bear for a pig. -Lambert Florin

[()]

On May 24, 1:11 am, "Richard R. Hershberger" <rrhe...@acme.com> wrote:
> On May 23, 7:33 am, bobg <byo...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Wednesday, May 23, 2012 4:49:49 AM UTC-4, Binyamin Dissen wrote:
> > >http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-...

>
> > > I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.
>

> > > At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
> > > government protection for their holidays?
>

> > Have any Jewish athletes ever played a Friday night game?  And if so, do they deserve government protection for their holidays?

>
> Hank Greenberg refused to play on Saturdays.  That was before night

> games in the majors, so the question of Friday night games never
> arose.  Christy Mathewson refused to play on Sundays, because he had
> promised his mother he wouldn't in order to get her blessing for him
> becoming a professional baseball player, which was really beneath his
> station.  Back in the day, not playing on Sundays was a hallmark of
> Protestant propriety.  Nowadays pro football is a central tenet of
> Evangelical Protestantism.  I have heard of Evangelical churches where
> it is understood that they can't even get their paid staff to attend
> if there is a home game that Sunday.
>

The late Larry Miller, owner of the Utah Jazz basket ball team was a
devout Mormon. He would not watch the basketball games if they
happened to be on Sunday, but he had no problem making the players and
the employees of his car dealerships work on Sunday.

[Greg Goss]

"()" <karo...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>The late Larry Miller, owner of the Utah Jazz basket ball team was a
>devout Mormon. He would not watch the basketball games if they
>happened to be on Sunday, but he had no problem making the players and
>the employees of his car dealerships work on Sunday.

The waterslide park about a mile west of where I grew up was closed
from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday in honour of the owner's SDA
beliefs. I'm sure that these two time slots would normally have been
his busiest times of the week.

From streetview, I see that it's all a strip mall, now. I guess their
business picked up a lot from the Flintstones next door, and when
Hanna Barberra stopped the licencing, both of them fell over.

[N Jill Marsh]

On Thu, 24 May 2012 19:32:45 +0000 (UTC), Mark Steese

<mark_...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>N Jill Marsh <njm...@gmail.com> wrote in
>news:cqlsr7504s3bvr0qs...@4ax.com:
>
>> On Wed, 23 May 2012 23:45:41 +0000 (UTC), Mark Steese
>> <mark_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>>N Jill Marsh <njm...@gmail.com> wrote in
>>>news:68nqr71kgopnvpr6i...@4ax.com:
>[snip]
>>>> No. Just like every other religion. Not one. There should be no
>>>> government holidays based on religious belief. Zero.
>>>>
>>>> nj"simple enough"m
>>>
>>>Oh, great. Now we have to think of a new name for Christmas so the
>>>dang ACLU won't make us work through the end of December!
>>
>> Personally, I think Christmas should be removed from the stat holiday
>> calendar.
>
>Well, that'd be a bummer. I've only just gotten to the point where I've
>started enjoying it again.
>
>> If we all need a winter break then it should be a little later in
>> January. And everyone frothing about "putting the Christ back in
>> Christmas" can do it properly, by taking their own holiday time to
>> celebrate their important religious holiday, and all the secular
>> people could be very respectful of it by ignoring it.
>
>Feh. Next you'll be demanding a ban on the Krampus Run.

I'm fair, not Scrooge.

>> nj"same with Easter"m
>
>What about Sundays in general? Every *week* the federal government gives
>everybody a holiday based on religious belief. Bring back the six-day
>work week!

I don't think Sundays need to be differentiated from Saturdays. A
weekend is a nice thing to have, I must admit, although I have seldom
had a job where they were treated significantly differently than other
days.

>Me, I have no problem with having a secularized religious holiday like
>Christmas receive the federal seal of approval. Christmas beats
>Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July by a long chalk. But then, I'm also
>100% in favor of the institution of civil marriage.

Canadian Thanksgiving is just a nice harvest festival without any
genocide and Christianity, so you can just have that. A country's
birthday is also pretty nice to celebrate, although I must admit, I
don't do birthdays.

nj"and totally with you on marriage"m

[N Jill Marsh]

On Thu, 24 May 2012 12:34:23 -0600, Greg Goss <go...@gossg.org> wrote:

>N Jill Marsh <njm...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 23 May 2012 18:10:05 -0700, Xho Jingleheimerschmidt
>><xho...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>On 05/23/2012 02:59 PM, N Jill Marsh wrote:
>>>> No. Just like every other religion. Not one. There should be no
>>>> government holidays based on religious belief. Zero.
>>>
>>>Is Santa a religious belief?
>>
>>I don't know, but I'm all for canceling Christmas. I'd like my
>>secular mid-winter holiday later in January.
>
>My province added a semi-stat "family day" in February.

I hate that stat. It should be a Snow Day. Stupid family values
bullshit.

[Barbara]

On Thu, 24 May 2012 10:37:26 -0400, Mikko Peltoniemi
<mikk...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>On 5/23/2012 8:11 PM, Richard R. Hershberger wrote:
>
>> Hank Greenberg refused to play on Saturdays. That was before night
>

>Walter Sobchak did not roll on shabbos either.

Shomer shabbos!

--
Barbara

[D.F. Manno]

Sounds like the time In rehab when I got called out by another patient for
identifying myself as a recovering Catholic in group.
--
D.F. Manno

[Xho Jingleheimerschmidt]

How does one get 'dinged' on Facebook?

Can the Body of Christ shop remove it?

Xho

[Mikko Peltoniemi]

On 5/24/2012 10:42 PM, Xho Jingleheimerschmidt wrote:

> Can the Body of Christ shop remove it?

Not to be confused with Body BY Christ, a gym owned by a guy called
Jesus.

[Igor]

On May 23, 4:49 am, Binyamin Dissen <postin...@dissensoftware.com>

wrote:
> http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-...
>
> I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.
>
> At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
> government protection for their holidays?
>

And, at any rate, are you using nightcrawlers or minnows?

[Boron Elgar]

On Fri, 25 May 2012 06:58:16 -0700 (PDT), Igor <thoo...@excite.com>
wrote:

He usually uses tsitsis..

Boron

[art...@yahoo.com]

On May 24, 10:42 pm, Xho Jingleheimerschmidt <xhos...@gmail.com>
wrote:

It's what happens when you poke someone too hard.

[Kevin]

On Thu, 24 May 2012 09:56:01 -0700 (PDT), bobg <byo...@gmail.com>
wrote:

Various web sources talk about athletes consulting religious
authorities before deciding to postpone the fast or not.

One of the US saber girls is a very religious Muslim, she's apparently
going to observe the fast during the Olympics. So, good luck to her.
I wouldn't want to fast and not drink all day during a big fencing
competition.

--
Kevin

[Peter Ward]

Boron Elgar says...

Isn't that a Zappa song? Tsitsis and Beer.

--

Peter, from outside the asylum

I'm an alien
email: usenet at peterward dot adsl24 dot co dot uk
http://blowinsmoke.wordpress.com/
You know you're getting old when the barber says "Trim your eyebrows,
sir?"
- Ben Newsam

[Boron Elgar]

On Fri, 25 May 2012 17:22:52 +0100, Peter Ward <ad...@127.0.0.1>
wrote:

>Boron Elgar says...
>>
>> On Fri, 25 May 2012 06:58:16 -0700 (PDT), Igor <thoo...@excite.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >On May 23, 4:49�am, Binyamin Dissen <postin...@dissensoftware.com>
>> >wrote:
>> >> http://news.yahoo.com/ramadan-sets-muslim-athletes-extra-test-london-...
>> >>
>> >> I wonder if they can also postpone their day of rest to Sunday as well.
>> >>
>> >> At any rate, if their holidays can be postponed, do they deserve any
>> >> government protection for their holidays?
>> >>
>> >
>> >And, at any rate, are you using nightcrawlers or minnows?
>>
>> He usually uses tsitsis..
>
>Isn't that a Zappa song? Tsitsis and Beer.

All we need is Suzy Creamcheese.

Boron

[Barbara]

On Fri, 25 May 2012 10:58:51 -0500, Kevin <K_S_O...@yh.com> wrote:

>Various web sources talk about athletes consulting religious
>authorities before deciding to postpone the fast or not.
>
>One of the US saber girls is a very religious Muslim, she's apparently
>going to observe the fast during the Olympics. So, good luck to her.
>I wouldn't want to fast and not drink all day during a big fencing
>competition.

Hakeem Olajuwon, the former Houston Rockets pro-basketball player,
used to fast for Ramadan. I can't imagine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakeem_Olajuwon#Muslim_faith


--
Barbara

[Howard Hola Hale]

NBA games tend to be at night, so I'm guessing that with plenty of rest
and a well designed diet, he'd be fine. He also played center, which
usually involves a bit less running than other positions, although he
was also a pretty active center, so maybe he covered more ground than
some of the tanks out there, but he was also probably fitter than most,
so maybe he needed a bit less. I think there tends to be an
overemphasis on hydration in the US, at any rate.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-302--8785-0,00.html

http://tinyurl.com/waterrunning

It's not like people evolved in situations with predictable and regular
water supplies (although I'm completely unconvinced by the claim that
people originally evolved to run their prey to exhaustion, I'm sure
early humans needed to run for long times without being able to drink).

[Snidely]

Mark Steese submitted this idea :

> Me, I have no problem with having a secularized religious holiday like
> Christmas receive the federal seal of approval. Christmas beats
> Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July by a long chalk.

Because you get BOTH fireworks AND turkey? Or because pine trees are
too dry indoors in summer?

/dps

--
Who, me? And what lacuna?

[Snidely]

On Thursday, N Jill Marsh posted:

> On Thu, 24 May 2012 19:32:45 +0000 (UTC), Mark Steese
> <mark_...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>> What about Sundays in general? Every *week* the federal government gives
>> everybody a holiday based on religious belief. Bring back the six-day
>> work week!
>
> I don't think Sundays need to be differentiated from Saturdays. A
> weekend is a nice thing to have, I must admit, although I have seldom
> had a job where they were treated significantly differently than other
> days.

ISTR that both employment and average income went up when factories and
commercial businesses adopted a 48-hour work week and again when they
went to a 40-hour work week. When I'm feeling more generous, I might
look for some sites with cites for your sight.

[Mark Steese]

Snidely <snide...@gmail.com> wrote in news:mn.d43b7dc5f9a03db8.127094
@snitoo:

> Mark Steese submitted this idea :
>
>> Me, I have no problem with having a secularized religious holiday like
>> Christmas receive the federal seal of approval. Christmas beats
>> Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July by a long chalk.
>
> Because you get BOTH fireworks AND turkey?

Fireworks are boring, and I don't eat turkey. I do like egg nog, but the
reason Christmas beats both Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July ought to be
obvious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sKrwsHweGc

> Or because pine trees are too dry indoors in summer?

I prefer artificial Christmas trees to real ones.
--
It can be hard, sometimes, to come home to Van Nuys. -Sandra Tsing Loh

[Charles Wm. Dimmick]

On 5/23/2012 9:10 PM, Xho Jingleheimerschmidt wrote:
> On 05/23/2012 02:59 PM, N Jill Marsh wrote:
>> No. Just like every other religion. Not one. There should be no
>> government holidays based on religious belief. Zero.
>
> Is Santa a religious belief?

If we could get rid of secular observance of Christmas, then I'm all for
it. Me and the Puritans.

charles

[Mark Steese]

"Charles Wm. Dimmick" <cdim...@snet.net> wrote in news:jq0klo$kss$1@dont-
email.me:

Begone, Anti-Krampusite.
--
The least objectionable of the inland scavengers is the raven, frequenter
of the desert ranges, the same called locally "carrion crow." He is
handsomer and has such an air. -Mary Austin

[Mark Brader]

Greg Goss:

>> My province added a semi-stat "family day" in February.

N Jill Marsh:

> I hate that stat. It should be a Snow Day. Stupid family values
> bullshit.

Better yet, call it what it is: Presidents Day.

Better *yet*, get rid of it and give us another day off in the summer.
--
Mark Brader What is it about
Toronto Haiku that people find so
m...@vex.net Infatuating? --Pete Mitchell

[N Jill Marsh]

On Tue, 05 Jun 2012 04:18:48 -0500, m...@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote:

>Greg Goss:
>>> My province added a semi-stat "family day" in February.
>
>N Jill Marsh:
>> I hate that stat. It should be a Snow Day. Stupid family values
>> bullshit.
>
>Better yet, call it what it is: Presidents Day.

Bleh.

>Better *yet*, get rid of it and give us another day off in the summer.

Bleh.

I like the concept of a snow day. This is Canada, most people have
fond memories of the excitement and wonder of waking up to a white
world that meant you had an impromptu holiday, usually less supervised
than normal.

We live in a country of winter, and I think it could be used as a way
to promote winter season tourism and activity - get outside, make a
snowman, drink hot chocolate, etc.


--
nj"internym here"m

Send reggae, guns & numbers.

[Mary]

On Jun 5, 7:33 am, N Jill Marsh <njma...@gmail.com> wrote:

> We live in a country of winter, and I think it could be used as a way
> to promote winter season tourism and activity - get outside, make a
> snowman, drink hot chocolate, etc.

I'll join you.

Mary

[Veronique]

On Jun 5, 2:18 am, m...@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote:
> Greg Goss:
>
> >> My province added a semi-stat "family day" in February.
>
> N Jill Marsh:
>
> > I hate that stat.  It should be a Snow Day.  Stupid family values
> > bullshit.
>
> Better yet, call it what it is: Presidents Day.

Better yet, return to celebrating the actual-ish Washington and
Lincoln birthdays.


V. "A holiday on a Wednesday! Imagine!"
--
Veronique Chez Sheep

[Mac]

WYH DO U HATE CANANADA!!!!!

[David Harmon]

On Tue, 05 Jun 2012 04:18:48 -0500 in alt.fan.cecil-adams, m...@vex.net
(Mark Brader) wrote,

>Greg Goss:
>>> My province added a semi-stat "family day" in February.
>
>N Jill Marsh:
>> I hate that stat. It should be a Snow Day. Stupid family values
>> bullshit.
>
>Better yet, call it what it is: Presidents Day.

It is not Presidents Day. There is no such thing as President's Day.
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/presidents/presidents.asp

[Veronique]

Oh Canada. It's called a Snow Day up there.


V.
--
Veronique Chez Sheep