BBC News | — “Although widely thought to hail from the North Pole, Santa Claus is in fact originally from Turkey. The BBC’s Mark Lowen visited the southern Turkish town of Demre to trace the roots of old Santa.” “Santa Claus is from Turkey? BBC News”
Archives for December 2014
Illusions of Whiteness: Millions of Southern ‘Whites’ have African Ancestry
TheLipTV | — “Six million White Americans have some African ancestry, according to a new study, which looked at the genetic records of 145,000 people, using the genetic testing service 23andMe.com, who identified as European, African and Latino. The study found that 3.5 percent of White Americans have 1 percent, or more African ancestry. We […]
Israeli Occupation military demolishes dairy factory in Hebron, Palestinian West Bank
HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Thursday destroyed a dairy factory in the Hebron village of al-Burj, the owner told Ma’an. Yasser Muhammad Salim Masharqa said that Israeli forces and civil administration officers escorted two bulldozers to the village and demolised the steel structure, which measures 2000 square meters. Cements rooms measuring 400 square meters […]
Iraq: Extremists of Daesh/ ISIL on the Move in Mosul in Response to Kurdish Advance
Khales Joumah | Mosul | (Niqash.org) Last week’s victory over the extremist Islamic State group in the Sinjar area has had a significant effect on the extremist-controlled city of Mosul. Foreign fighters have left, the city is flooded with refugees and supply routes are cut off. Locals are afraid of what comes next. Extremist fighters […]
Why Kim Jong-Un was Really afraid of “The Interview:” A Humiliation Romp, not an Assassination Flick
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) — N.B.: Contains spoilers; if interested in the film, go see or stream it first and then read. There has been a lot of blaming the victim in the commentary on Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg’s controversial film, “The Interview” (2014). The premise, of an assassination plot against the […]
The Bureaucracy of Terror in Mosul: Todenhöfer’s Unprecedented Footage from Within
BBC News | — “A German author given unprecedented access to territory controlled by the so-called Islamic State, has told the BBC that IS is stronger, more brutal and harder to confront than he’d expected. Jürgen Todenhöfer spent 10 days in Mosul and Raqqa. Caroline Hawley spoke to him about what he found.” BBC News: […]
Christmas in Gaza
Middle East Eye | — “Christians in Gaza prepare to celebrate yet another Christmas under the Israeli imposed siege. Bishop Alexios of Gaza speaks to MEE about his hopes that the siege will one day be lifted so that both Christians and Muslims from Gaza can visit their respective Holy sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. […]
How Jesus’ Message of Peace & Non-Violence Got Lost
By Mairead Maguire | (Nobel Peace Laureate) BELFAST (IPS) – I recently visited Assisi, the home of St. Francis and St. Clare, two great spirits whose lives have inspired us and millions of people around the world. St. Francis, a man of peace, and St. Clare, a woman of prayer, whose message of love, compassion, […]
Threadbare Christmas for Iraqi Christian Refugees from Daesh/ISIL Mosul
Euronews | — “Internally displaced Iraqi Christians who fled violence in Mosul celebrated Christmas in Baghdad on Wednesday.” Euronews: “Some displaced Iraqi Christians are not in the Christmas spirit”