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Poland Proposal Would Name Jesus King
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 11:47 AM EST
The Associated Press
WARSAW, Poland (AP) Lawmakers have drawn up a resolution naming Jesus Christ as the honorary king of Poland, but have failed to win support from the country's powerful Roman Catholic church.
Lawmakers for the ruling Law and Justice party and League of Polish Families as well as the opposition Peasants Party back the resolution, said Szymon Ruman, spokesman for parliamentary speaker Marek Jurek.
However, the proposal currently has the support of only 46 members in the 460-seat parliament, well short of the necessary 231 votes to pass. Ruman said the resolution would likely be voted on sometime after Jan. 1.
Backing from the church in this strongly Catholic country would be crucial for building support for the proposal, but on Wednesday several bishops criticized it, and said parliament should stay out of religious affairs.
"Let parliament deal with passing better laws that we need," Gdansk Archbishop Tadeusz Goclowski said.
"This kind of action, although it may stem from good will, sounds a bit like propaganda," said bishop Tadeusz Pieronk.
Swedish Christmas Goat Survives Attack
Friday, December 15, 2006 8:14 PM EST
The Associated Press
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) Vandals tried to set fire to a giant straw goat in central Sweden but failed to burn down the traditional Christmas monument, which has been soaked with flame-resistant chemicals, officials said Friday.
The overnight raid was the season's first attack on the 43-foot-high Christmas goat in the city of Gavle, 90 miles north of Stockholm. The goat has been burned down more than 20 times in the last 40 years in what has become a yule tradition.
"Somebody tried to set fire to the right front leg, but the flame-resistant chemical worked 100 percent," said Kurt Lagerholm, chairman of the goat committee.
"There's smell of gasoline and the ribbon is a bit smutty, but otherwise it's unhurt," he said.
Since it was first erected on Dec. 3 in 1966, the goat has been hit by flaming arrows, run over by a car and even had its legs cut off surviving only 10 times beyond Christmas Day.
This year, officials doused the straw goat with flame-resistant chemicals and set up two 24-hour Web cams to try to protect it, but Lagerholm said the overnight attackers managed to sneak past the cameras by coming in at the only angle the cameras did not reach. The suspects were still at large Friday.
Last year's goat was burned down by vandals dressed up as Santa Claus and the Gingerbread Man. They were never caught.
Man Calls 911 to Report Stolen Drugs
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 4:21 PM EST
The Associated Press
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ A Wichita man called 911 to report he was the victim of an armed robbery. The theft? A pound of marijuana worth about $1,100 that he had been trying to sell at his home.
The victim told police Thursday that a buyer had pulled out a sawed-off shotgun and stole the drugs.
Police brought in a drug-sniffing dog to the house and located more marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
The victim was booked into Sedgwick County jail on several charges, including possession with the intent to sell drug.
The thief has not been found.
Poland Proposal Would Name Jesus King
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 11:47 AM EST
The Associated Press
WARSAW, Poland (AP) Lawmakers have drawn up a resolution naming Jesus Christ as the honorary king of Poland, but have failed to win support from the country's powerful Roman Catholic church.
Lawmakers for the ruling Law and Justice party and League of Polish Families as well as the opposition Peasants Party back the resolution, said Szymon Ruman, spokesman for parliamentary speaker Marek Jurek.
However, the proposal currently has the support of only 46 members in the 460-seat parliament, well short of the necessary 231 votes to pass. Ruman said the resolution would likely be voted on sometime after Jan. 1.
Backing from the church in this strongly Catholic country would be crucial for building support for the proposal, but on Wednesday several bishops criticized it, and said parliament should stay out of religious affairs.
"Let parliament deal with passing better laws that we need," Gdansk Archbishop Tadeusz Goclowski said.
"This kind of action, although it may stem from good will, sounds a bit like propaganda," said bishop Tadeusz Pieronk.
Swedish Christmas Goat Survives Attack
Friday, December 15, 2006 8:14 PM EST
The Associated Press
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) Vandals tried to set fire to a giant straw goat in central Sweden but failed to burn down the traditional Christmas monument, which has been soaked with flame-resistant chemicals, officials said Friday.
The overnight raid was the season's first attack on the 43-foot-high Christmas goat in the city of Gavle, 90 miles north of Stockholm. The goat has been burned down more than 20 times in the last 40 years in what has become a yule tradition.
"Somebody tried to set fire to the right front leg, but the flame-resistant chemical worked 100 percent," said Kurt Lagerholm, chairman of the goat committee.
"There's smell of gasoline and the ribbon is a bit smutty, but otherwise it's unhurt," he said.
Since it was first erected on Dec. 3 in 1966, the goat has been hit by flaming arrows, run over by a car and even had its legs cut off surviving only 10 times beyond Christmas Day.
This year, officials doused the straw goat with flame-resistant chemicals and set up two 24-hour Web cams to try to protect it, but Lagerholm said the overnight attackers managed to sneak past the cameras by coming in at the only angle the cameras did not reach. The suspects were still at large Friday.
Last year's goat was burned down by vandals dressed up as Santa Claus and the Gingerbread Man. They were never caught.
Man Calls 911 to Report Stolen Drugs
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 4:21 PM EST
The Associated Press
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ A Wichita man called 911 to report he was the victim of an armed robbery. The theft? A pound of marijuana worth about $1,100 that he had been trying to sell at his home.
The victim told police Thursday that a buyer had pulled out a sawed-off shotgun and stole the drugs.
Police brought in a drug-sniffing dog to the house and located more marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
The victim was booked into Sedgwick County jail on several charges, including possession with the intent to sell drug.
The thief has not been found.
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