three wise monkeys

MARCIN ZOLTOWSKI
The Associated Press
October 10, 2007 at 12:59 PM EDT

KAZIMIERZ DOLNY, Poland — Police pushed their way into a Polish convent Wednesday and evicted about 65 rebellious nuns – arresting the mother superior and a monk who had occupied the complex with them illegally for two years.
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Rice vows to probe detention at airport

The case of a respected London Muslim leader, detained for hours at the Detroit airport last month, has been brought to the attention of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.

Dr. Munir El-Kassem, who was detained, interrogated and fingerprinted for hours in Detroit, met yesterday in Ottawa with Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.
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Buffalo’s odd rite of spring

Once a year, pussy willows and water get their very own festival, writes Francine Kopun
April 08, 2007

In Buffalo, N.Y., the mad, last-minute rush to prepare for Easter includes two items that don’t make many shopping lists: pussy willows and squirt guns.

That’s because the city is home to the largest celebration of an ancient Polish rite of spring – Dyngus Day, traditionally held on Easter Monday. That’s when thousands of residents and visitors will gather in community halls and neighbourhood pubs around Buffalo and its suburbs to eat and drink and polka, and – oh yes – sprinkle each other with water and tap each other with pussy willows.
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Don’t stone women to death, burn them or circumcise them, immigrants wishing to live in the town of Herouxville in Quebec, Canada, have been told.

The rules come in a new town council declaration on culture that Muslims have branded shocking and insulting.
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January 08, 2007
Ryan Lucas
Associated Press

WARSAW–Worshippers filled the pews inside the red-brick walls of St. John’s Cathedral. Outside, faithful sheltered from the rain under umbrellas while huddling around portable radios, waiting expectantly for the formal installation of Warsaw’s new archbishop.

Then, in a blink yesterday, the festive mood transformed into disbelief. Cries of “No, no!” and “Stay with us!” rose from the crowds both inside and out.
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Virgin birth awaited in England
MARIA CHENG
from the G&M
Associated Press

CHESTER, England — As Christmas approaches, a virgin mother is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her offspring. She’s Flora, the Komodo dragon.

In an evolutionary twist, Flora has managed to become pregnant all on her own without any male help. It would seem the timing is auspicious: The seven hatchlings are due this festive season.
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Globe and Mail Update

Can Muslims be true to their faith and loyal citizens in a Western country such as Canada?

Tariq Ramadan says yes. This public intellectual’s struggle to integrate Muslim thought with modern life has made him one of the most controversial and influential Islamic scholars in Europe.
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