Posted on 09/27/2013 7:31:48 PM PDT by marshmallow
A French official has sparked controversy by suggesting that two Christian public holidays should be removed and replaced by ones marking the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur and the Muslim festival of Eid.
A proposal by a French official to replace Christian national holidays with those based on Jewish and Muslim festivals has sparked controversy in the country.
Dounia Bouzar, an anthropologist specialising in religion who was recently appointed to France’s National Observatory on Secularism, put forward the proposal in an interview with France’s Challenges magazine on Monday.
“At the moment, every French person celebrates Christmas, and I think it should be the case that we include one Muslim festival and one Jewish festival among our national holidays,” she said.
Rather than adding new holidays to the calendar, Bouzar suggested replacing two unspecified Christian public holidays with ones marking the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur and the Muslim festival of Eid.
France often prides its strong secular ideals and has strict laws enforcing the separation of religion and the state. Nevertheless, the majority of its national holidays are based on Christian festivals.
“Today, French Jews and Muslims are very uncomfortable asking for days off to celebrate these two very important holidays [of Yom Kippur and Eid],” said Bouzar.
“A Jewish holiday and a Muslim holiday becoming a celebration for all the French would fight sectarianism and advance the cause of secularism,” she added.
(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
Replacement paragraph:
On your third point --- drugs--- I wouldn't want to boast much as an American, since, listed next to the Spanish-speaking countries, the U.S. is comparable in addiction to illegal drugs, and in fact exceeds them in addiction to pharmaceuticals --- the main source of addiction in the world being the pharmaceutical industry.
You’re probably right, (and had a great laugh at my expense)! Which I join in as well..(or did when reading ya’lls posts) LOL
Very nice response. Let’s address them point by point.
Point one: Literacy.
It’s one thing to read, it’s another thing entirely to do something with the material you read. When is the last time you saw a company like Apple, MSFT, Ford, Dow Corning, 3M, or any other technology company originate from one of these countries? Why not? These are sources of cheap unskilled labor - and that’a about it. With the literacy rate you are quoting, shouldn’t they be keeping up with India, Russia or China?
Average fertility rate - ok, they are inline. Why are they fleeing their countries, instead of repairing them. Mexico has huge reserves of oil, natural resources, and if they could get their act together - they could actually be a prosperous country instead of a parasite.
The drugs, their creation, import and the cartels that ruthlessly control them - are typically from our Spanish speaking friends. When is the last time Merc, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer or GlaxoSmithKline sponsoring a gang? Carrying out a drive-by, kidnapping, torturing or getting in a gunfight where innocent bystanders are killed? So, let’s keep this discussion intellectually honest, and not lump LEGITIMATE drug manufacturers that generate real jobs, contribute to society - with drug cartels that are a parasite that kills, tortures, kidnaps and suppresses entire regions. There is a remarkable difference.
If you look at European, Asian and the typical culture, gangs and thugs WERE considered to be a degenerate culture, that gathered degenerates. This is not the way we are seeing things today, is it?
“A Jewish holiday and a Muslim holiday becoming a celebration for all the French would fight sectarianism and advance the cause of secularism,” she added.
“A Jewish holiday and a Muslim holiday becoming a celebration for all the French would fight sectarianism and advance the cause of secularism,” she added.
“A Jewish holiday and a Muslim holiday becoming a celebration for all the French would fight sectarianism and advance the cause of secularism,” she added.
Given that it has been French policy to mandate shorter and shorter work hours, and longer and longer vacations, why don’t they simply add two more holidays?
Instead of Yom Kippur I recommend Simchat Torah.
I recommend you move to Israel and finish out being a servant.
You wondered why Mexico is not "keeping up with" India, Russia or China. A few points of comparison:
Mexico has about a 1.78 trillion-dollar free market economy, with a labor force of about 50 million.
India has a 2 1/2 times larger, 4.7 trillion dollar economy, but with a labor force 10x larger at 486 million. Mexico's per capita GDP is $15,600 , and India's per capita GDP is $3,900 -- only one-fourth that of Mexico.
Mexico's unemployment rate 5%, India's is 8.5% (both are 2012 est.)
So, what does that prove? Maybe not much, except that Mexico is doing far better than "keeping up" with India!
My listing of the statistics in my previous reply, was not intended to be a total cultural-economic analysis (of which I am not capable). I did intend to sketch out how unfounded are some of the common false assumptions about those retrograde ignorant overbreeding banana republics with their useless feckless Spanish-speaking people.
Mexico has a TON of positives, and could be hugely prosperous if they could kick o the crooks and the socialists (but I repeat myself) and open up a free enterprise economy a every level. And they're moving in that direction: a majority of their agriculture and industry is now in private hands.
And I doubt Mexico will ever get rid of their narcotraficantes--- real scum ---- as long as so many American drug dealers --- also scum --- are willing to hand over the cash to buy the drugs. And I won't even mention the U.S. Arm-a-Thug program, Fast and Furious.
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