Wafiq held that there were three categories of constitutions, "concessionary", "contractual" and "popular". The first type, he said, was a gift from the king, but "as it is promulgated by law it can only be amended by law in accordance with the procedures stipulated under the constitution". A contractual constitution was that formulated by the king or parliament and recognised by both the legislative and executive authorities by virtue of an oath to honour and abide by it. He adds, "Since this type of constitution is contractual, it follows that there must exist a balance or parity between the powers of the executive and legislative authorities, for an imbalance would be inconsistent with its contractual nature." The last, a popular constitution, was that created by a constitutional assembly consisting of delegates elected by the people for this purpose.

The Torah speaks about four sons: one who is wise and one who is contrary; one who is simple and one who does not even know how to ask a question.

The wise son asks: "What is the meaning of the rules, laws and customs which the Eternal our God has commanded us?" You shall explain to him all the laws of Passover, to the very last detail about the Afikoman.

The contrary son asks: "What is the meaning of this service to you?" Saying you, he excludes himself, and because he excludes himself from the group, he denies a basic principle. You may therefore tell him plainly: "Because of what the Eternal did for me when I came forth from Egypt" I do this. For me and not for him; had he been there he would not have been redeemed.

The simple son asks: "What is this?" To him you shall say: "With a strong hand the Eternal brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage."

As for the son who does not even know how to ask a question, you must begin for him, as it is written in the Bible, "You shall tell your children on that day; This is done because of that which the Eternal did for me when I came forth out of Egypt."

In 1953, when a rumor that Hitler might still be alive circulated around the world, an Arab newspaper asked some public figures what they would say to Hitler if they could contact him. As quoted in Bernard Lewis' book "Semites and Anti-Semites," this Arab officer responded: "I congratulate you with all my heart, because, though you appear to have been defeated, you were the real victor." [...] 24 years later, in 1977, the Nazi collaborator and author of that passage--Anwar Sadat--became the first Arab leader to visit Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

KULMIYE was supposed to hold a demonstration and march to the National Electoral Commission today. It didn't happen. The government and community elders advised KULMIYE supporters to put aside the planned rally for it will destabilize the country. President Rayale was interviewed on the radio today and he spoke of an upcoming meeting with the two parties. By the sound of it, he may be taking his promise to the South African observers to seriously explore a Government of National Unity.

Muslims also commemorate the Exodus of the Hebrews out of Egypt by fasting the ninth and tenth day of the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar. The event is called Ashura, stemming from the Arabic word for "ten."

While this may be surprising to many, it is important to understand that Moses figures very prominently in Muslim belief. The Exodus story is a happy one for Muslims; it is a tale of bitter bondage and hardship and the glory of God's deliverance from that hardship. The Qur'an speaks a great deal about Moses and his dealing with Pharaoh. In fact, around 73 passages—many encompassing several verses at a time—deal with Moses.

It is said that 'Ashur is a Hebrew word which has become 'Ashura in Arabic. It stands for the tenth day of the Jewish month of Tisri. The fast observed on this day is called Yom Kippur. It came to be incorporated in the Arab Calendar and the name was given to the tenth day of the first month of their year in the same way in which it denoted the tenth day of the first month of the Jewish Calendar. It was instituted as a day of fasting among the Muslims in the first year of Migration. Later, when fasting was enjoined in the month of Ramadan it was dropped.

...it explicitly occurs in the traditions that the day of 'Ashura (on which the Muslims are enjoined to fast) was a day of rejoicing among the Jews. As Imam Bukhari has related it on the authority of Abu Musa Ashari, the Jews regarded it to be a day of Eid and it was on seeing it that the holy Prophet advised his Companions also to keep fast on it.

In Saheeh Muslim, also, it is related from Qais bin Muslim that men of good-doing observed the fast of Ashura and celebrated it as the day of Eid, with their women wearing the best of clothes and ornaments [...] In the light of the facts given above, it will be incorrect to say that 'Ashura is the Day of Atonement. Were it so, it would have been a day of lamentation and mortification while 'Ashura, as mentioned in the tradition, is a day of merriment and decoration.

[I]n a way that non-Jews often have difficulty appreciating, the Jewish mood on Yom Kippur has always been one of joy and good spirits, precisely because of the confidence that God has indeed forgiven our sins and we may joyfully begin life anew with a clean slate. The Mishnah (end of Ta'anit) describes this atmosphere vividly: "Israel knew no days as joyous as...the Day of Atonement, in which the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in...white garments and dance in the vineyards..."

As to the question of the supposed victory over Moses' enemy on Yom Kippur, it seems clear that the original reference was not to Pharaoh or any mortal foe of the Jews, but rather to Satan (the Hebrew term literally translates as "the Antagonist"). This accords with the traditional Jewish identification of Yom Kippur as the day on which Moses finally concluded the 40 days of prayer and pleading with God to forgive the Israelites for the sin of worshipping the golden calf.

According to the Midrash, it was on Yom Kippur that God finally announced (against the counter-arguments proposed by Satan) that Moses was allowed to present the people with the second tablets of the Law. This story was well known to Muhammad, and alluded to elsewhere in the Koran.

...surprised that there's nothing for Gullah [...] There aren't many monolingual Gullah speakers left anymore, but at least 100,000 people still speak it and 50 years ago monolinguals were still pretty common in the Carolinas. But then, in the old days a lot of well educated people in the Carolinas were effectively bilingual so I suppose it just possible that no monolingual Gullah speaker has ever been tried in a court where no one could understand them.

I am from North Carolina and never heard of translators for dialects, instead of languages. (Gullah is South Carolinian, BTW.) I doubt appointing translators would have occurred in legal systems that were racist to the point of excluding nonwhites from participation except as convicts.

Then, too, in my rides about the beautiful environments of Savannah, I meet a number of simple and no doubt kindly people, dwelling in homes which to my mind resemble Henry Grady's Patchwork Palace [...] They talk in a dialect which is not understandable by those who know only the English language. And not infrequently in the performance of my extended duties in this community I have been obliged to call an interpreter to interpret their 'English' as it is spoken. It is really a Gullah dialect, which has come down to them from their tribal forebears on the Dark Continent, and which cannot be understood by the court. I believe some of them are irreverently and carelessly alluded to by Vox Populi here as 'Ogeechee coons.'

The turning point came in 1857 in Austria, where the first mechanical Matzah device was put to work. The machine was designed to knead the dough, squeeze it through a set of metal rollers, perforate it and deliver the pieces promptly to be baked in the oven.

At that stage the notion of a square matzah had not yet occurred to anyone, and this gave rise to some serious halakhic problems. For the roundness of the matzahs was achieved with a sort of cookie-cutter. In the quest for efficiency, the left-over corners were then regathered and combined with the new dough. This raised fears lest, by allowing the dough to circulate too long between kneading and baking, it might actually start to leaven. In order to avoid such a dreadful eventuality, our beloved square matzah came into being. Continual improvements in the speed of the matzah-machines increased its acceptability among many Jews.

In it, he argued that the rapid speed of the automated process actually made it preferable to the older methods. He was satisfied that the machinery was capable of being adequately cleaned and inspected.

There ensued a lengthy exchange of diatribes in the newspapers, in which the authors did not refrain from indulging in the most vitriolic of personal attacks.

...most of all, the battle over matzah-machines must be viewed in the context of the deep rifts that were splitting European Judaism at the time. Experience had taught the traditionalists to be wary of any departure from accepted practice, even where it did not involve any overt violation of Jewish law. The dreaded Reform movement had begun by questioning minor customs, and had ended up (so they felt) denying fundamental Jewish values!

The production has ruffled a few feathers with some Kenyan radio stations and newspapers refusing to run adverts for it or reducing the name to the "V Monologues".

And by charging 2,000 shillings ($26.09) a ticket when well over half the Kenyan population lives on less than a $1 a day, it is clear it was not going to appeal to everyone.

Mention of it drew bemusement and raised eyebrows from most men. "The question is, is the play capturing the concerns of Kenyan women or presenting foreign ideas?" asked George Odipo, a 29-year-old architectural assistant.