Turkey's president says church bomb was suicide attack

Well they finally figured it out--the person who blew himself up at St. Mark's Cathedral, a Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo, was an Islamic suicide bomber. The blast killed 24 Christians and wounded 49 more.

Coptic Christians comprise around 10 percent of Egypt's population and they strongly supported the military overthrow of Mohamed Morsi, the elected Islamist president in 2013, which was led by Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the current leader of the country.

Since the overthrow of the brutal autocrat, Morsi, Islamic militants have carried out scores of attacks, mainly targeting security forces as the government cracked down on the attackers.

El-Sissi spoke at a state funeral for the victims where he identified the bomber as 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafiq Mohammed Mustafa. Also, three men and a woman were arrested in connection with the attack while two other suspects are on the run, el-Sissi said.

Although el-Sissi didn't link Mustafa to any military groups, a top Interior Ministry official, police Major General Tarek Attia, told the AP that the the bomber had been arrested in Fayoum province in 2014 on charges of being a member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, an organization that US President Barack Hussein Obama has excellent relationships with and often has them at the White House for lunch.

While no group claimed responsibility for the attack, the smart money is on militant Islam.

"This strike really hurt us and caused us much pain, but it will not break us," el-Sissi said. "God willing, we will win this war."

Egypt's leader called on government and parliament to introduce legislation to allow for more "decisive" methods to deal with terrorists, but didn't elaborate. "As long as we are together as one, we will definitely win, because we are people of goodness, not evil, and people of building, not destruction."


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Breaking: 3 Shot in Alabama church. Sharpton/Jackson unavailable

The shooter, a black man, shot and wounded a black woman and her infant child and a white pastor inside an Alabama church.

Michael Jackson, the Dallas County DA said the alleged shooter, James Minter, was arrested after the shooting which took place at the Oasis Church in East Selma, Alabama.

Michael Jackson said the shooting stems from a domestic dispute between Minter and the woman, and because Minter is black, race could not possibly be an issue. [Okay, he simply said that race is not an issue--I added the other part.]

Minter is being held at the Dallas County jail without bond.

The Revs. Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson (no relation to the Dallas County DA) were not available to offer solace to the injured pastor, a colleague of the cloth. Perhaps if the pastor were not melanin-challenged they would have come to his bedside.

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Holiday?

l'eglese
Originally uploaded by Rob Hoey

Well, it's almost Holiday Time when all the children adorn the holiday tree with holiday balls and lights to make this holiday season something to almost remember, but I forget what. I went holiday shopping today and bought holiday gifts-the kids especially love this time of year because they're the ones who enjoy the holiday magic. I'm most grateful that this season has not offended others of different religious backgrounds who don't want to actually call this holiday anything more than that--a holiday. But it occurs to me that the word 'holiday' comes from the old English term, Holy Day. Well, I don't know who it's holy for anymore, but I can tell you that even Canada is following the new traditions of the USA and have renamed the old holiday (it starts with a "C" for certain people, and an "H" for others who were almost annihilated by a guy in World War 2) but I think it's just better to allow these holiday terms to remain unspoken lest we offend those who come from different parts in the world in the hope and spirit of turning Canada into Mecca.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all, and to all a good night.