The Hokey Cokey is an old novelty song that has been sung in music halls, at children's parties and at sherry-fuelled family gatherings for many years. But according to the Catholic Church and some Scottish politicians, singing the popular tune that begins with the words "You put your right hand in, your right hand out," may constitute an act of religious hatred. Ohfergawdsake.
A spokesman for the leader of the church in Scotland said the song had disturbing origins. Critics claim that Puritans composed the song in the 18th century in an attempt to mock the actions and language of priests leading the Latin mass. The tune doesn't sound Puritany or 18th century-y. I'da guessed it was written sometime around 1910.
Now politicians have urged police to arrest anyone using the song to "taunt" Catholics under legislation designed to prevent incitement to religious hatred. What kind of society arrests people for inadvertently "taunting" an abstract group of people? This is a joke, right? Is this from Scrappleface? Iowahawk, is that you?
Supporters of Rangers FC have been banned from singing anti-Catholic songs at Ibrox stadium to taunt their rivals Celtic, a club with Catholic roots. But fans of the club are said to be discussing on internet forums the possibility of getting round the ban by singing the Hokey Cokey at next week's Old Firm derby between the clubs. Oh, horrors!
Peter Kearney, a spokesman for Cardinal Keith O'Brien, said: "This song does have quite disturbing origins. Although apparently innocuous, it was devised as an attack on and a parody of the Catholic mass. "Therefore they must be killed! I have mobilized the Knights of Columbus and they are slaughtering partisans of the Rangers FC even as we speak!"
"If there are moves to restore its more malevolent meaning then consideration should perhaps be given to its wider use." "The Pope has dispatched a Grand Inquisitor, who will be establishing an Inquisition within the next seven days, with autos-da-fe to follow as required!"
According to the church, the song's title derives from the words "hocus pocus". Unlike the words "okey dokey," which are etymologically identical to "goddamned doofuses." You could look it up someplace if you don't believe me.
The phrase is said to be a Puritan parody of the Latin "hoc est enim corpus meum" or "this is my body" used by Catholic priests to accompany the transubstantiation during mass. I remember now. The 95 Theses settled that mess. By the time Martin Luther died it was all over but the shootin'.
Several years ago, a canon from Wakefield Cathedral said the dance came from the days when priests celebrated mass with their backs to the congregation and whispered the Latin words of consecration with many hand movements. Well, by Gad, sir! If you can't trust an unnamed canon from Wakefield Cathedral, who can you trust? Of course, if it was the Vicar of Wakefield that'd be different.
Michael Matheson, the SNP MSP, said it was important that the police and football clubs were aware of the sinister background of the song and took action against groups who used it in matches. "Aye. 'Tis a darrrk and sinister song. She's been known to turn 4-year-aulds to ash in the twinklin' o' an eye!"
But opposition politicians and football fans ridiculed the critics of the ditty. "Wotta buncha maroons!"
Murdo Fraser, deputy leader of the Scottish Tories, said: "I can't believe Scottish children performing the Hokey Cokey are doing so in pursuit of any sort of anti-Catholic agenda." And if they do, so what? Are there no murders, no rapes, no robberies or burglaries for the descendants of Robert Burns to concern themselves with? Are there no motorists driving faster than the duly authorized speed limits? Are there no scofflaws parking their imported Citroens and Audis for longer than the meter doth allow? Perhaps the canny Scots should fire at least half their police force, since they obviously have not enough actual law enforcement work to go around.
Barry McFarland, 26, a Rangers fan from Stirling, pointed out that Scotland fans sang a version of the song praising Diego Maradona's so-called "hand of God" goal against England. He said: "The Tartan Army sing 'Diego put the English out, out out'. Does that make them sectarian? It is an absurd claim and a lot of utter nonsense that anyone would sing this in a bigoted way." Next thing you know they'll be singing about the arrival of the Campbells.
Criticism of the Hokey Cokey follows a long-running row over the singing by some Rangers fans of the Famine Song, which refers to the famine that left one million dead in Ireland and led to mass migration in the mid-19th century. Oh. Well. That explains so much. Here it is only the first quarter of the 21st century, so I guess memories are still fresh, the wounds raw.
#3
Known as the Hokey Pokey, it became popular in the USA in the 1950s. Larry LaPrise, Charles Macak and Tafit Baker were granted the copyright for the song in 1950. According to popular legend they created this novelty dance in 1949 as entertainment for the ski crowd at Idaho's Sun Valley resort.
There is another contrary belief that states that Robert P. Degan and Joseph P. Brier, both natives of Scranton, Pennsylvania, wrote the original song as confirmed by the U.S. Copyright Office in 1996, thus giving two groups of musicians the rights. Ray Anthony's big band recording of the song turned it into a nationwide sensation by the mid-1950s (The "Hokey Pokey" appeared on the B side of Anthony's "Bunny Hop" single). Its rights were purchased in the mid-1960s by country-western music star Roy Acuff's publishing company, Acuff-Rose.
From Wikipedia
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/22/2008 14:55 Comments ||
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#4
But yet so far, no penalties are being instituted for the playing of anything by Barry Manilow, Cher or The Captain and Tenille.....
#7
Sorry Barb, but i would rather listen to three hours of my Spousal Unit telling me how to mow the lawn than 1 minute of big haired Barry.
Might get the chicks all wound up, but i think he don't do a lot for most guys.
(besides, with the mighty Briggs all fired up, i can't hear her anyways....)
#8
USN Ret, did you know Barry Manilow is the original singer of the McDonald's song, "You Deserve a Break Today"?
Other than that, he did have a wonderful voice. I'd rather listen to him than ANY Rapper.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/22/2008 18:29 Comments ||
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#9
He wrote that commercial ditty, DB - and a bunch of others.
I heard a concert of his (years ago) where he did a medley of them - it was really surprising.
I do like his voice. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/22/2008 18:43 Comments ||
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#11
Deacon, thanks for that little bit of trivia, i will never look at a big mac the sameway.
Barry's hit song, slightly modified for the golden arches: " I write the song that makes the young gilrs cry,"
becomes: "I wait too long I'm gonna burn your fries,"
Feel free to add on. I'm gonna go listen to Merle.
Egypt's leading Islamic cleric Sheikh Mohammed Tantawi has been hospitalized with thrombosis of the leg, state-owned media reported on Sunday.
Pray for embolism ...
Tantawi, 80, who heads Cairo's renowned Al-Azhar University, "felt tired during meetings on Thursday" and has been admitted to hospital, the official Al-Ahram daily said. His health is "reassuring and constantly improving," the official MENA news agency quoted Doctor Ezzeddin Essawy as saying. An associate told AFP on condition of anonymity that Tantawi could be released from hospital "today or tomorrow."
Tantawi, whose post is government-appointed, is a leading figure in the Sunni-Muslim world. The sheikh has often caused controversy with his fatwas and was surrounded in controversy last month after Israeli newspapers published pictures of him shaking hands with Israeli President Shimon Perez, who Tantawi claimed he did not recognize. Also, earlier this month Tantawi urged Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza, only days after saying he was unaware the Palestinian territory was under siege.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2008 00:00 ||
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The husband in the case of a Bangladeshi doctor held captive by her parents and forced to marry against her will has said he only realised too late that his bride was against the arranged match. When she said "No, no, a thousand times no!" he thought she was being coy...
Khandaker Abu Jalal, 33, told AFP that he was the victim of a "double game" by his wife, Humayra Abedin, a doctor who lives in London, and her family, in a legal wrangle that has attracted extensive international media attention. "The bitch set me up!"
A Bangladeshi court last week ruled that Abedin, 32, had been wrongfully held by her parents for more than four months during a visit to Dhaka and ordered her to be freed to return to Britain, where she has lived since 2002. "Does that mean we have to give back the wedding presents?"
Abedin said she married Jalal on November 14 under duress. But Jalal, who is also a doctor, said he had no idea his new wife was unhappy about the marriage until two days after they wed. "Do you, Abedin, take Jalal...?"
"Urk! Mrrrrmmmph!"
"We met twice alone before the wedding, once at her home and a second time at a restaurant," he said by telephone. "Hi, there! I'm yer new fiance!"
[Gag!]
"I asked her whether she had a boyfriend. She is highly educated and normally girls like her have boyfriends. I got the impression she liked me." "I mean, she didn't pull a knife on me or anything..."
He said he was told after the wedding by one of his wife's family members that Abedin had a Hindu boyfriend of Bangladeshi origin in London -- which had angered her Muslim family. Jalal said this had tarnished him and his family. "I never would have married a woman who did not like me," he said. "Both she and her parents lied to me all the way. We have been socially disgraced. It has destroyed my life. "I've been thinking of doing away with myself! I may become a New Biplobi commie and just end it all."
"I'm depressed and my mother has become very ill as a result of this." "Mother? Are you alright?"
"Oh, boo hoo hoo! [Sob!]"
Abedin returned to Britain last week and has appealed for privacy as her lawyers in Britain move to annul the marriage. "And what are the grounds for annulment?"
"She hates his guts, yer honor!"
Jalal said Abedin's parents had told him she was mentally unwell. "Oh, yasss. The girl's an absolute loon!"
"Unstable."
"Totally unhinged, in fact."
"That's the girl fer me! I'll have no other!"
"On our wedding day she looked fine. It was a simple ceremony and only a few people were invited. We were told that there would be a bigger ceremony before she and I started a new life together," he said. "Did she say when that was gonna be?"
"Something about a severe temperature drop in Hell. She was locked in the bedroom at the time, so I couldn't quite make it out."
It was up to Abedin to decide whether to continue with the marriage, he added. "We should never have been dragged into this disgraceful saga. I just want to live a peaceful life."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
No British visa for you Abu. Better luck next time.
Posted by: ed ||
12/22/2008 9:02 Comments ||
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Japan posted a trade deficit of $2.5bn (£1.7bn) in November as exports fell at their fastest-ever rate. Japanese exports fell sharply to all areas but those to the US were worst-hit, plunging 33.8% - also a record drop.
Shipments to the European Union were down 30.8% while those to China fell 24.5%, the biggest fall since 1995, said Reuters news agency. Exports to the rest of Asia declined 26.7%.
Imports were also down - 14.4% overall - due in part to lower oil prices.
AN international student offered police $50,000 to "forget what happened" when he was caught on a Brisbane train without a ticket, which would have cost just $3.80.
Jehoiachin Onyins Ogbe, 25, ended up on bribery charges for offering police $50,000 after they caught him evading a $3.80 train fare, The Courier-Mail reports. As he was also found to have overstayed a student visa will also be deported from the country, the Brisbane District Court heard today.
So the 50K wasn't for the train fare ...
Prosecutor Kris Ashen said police escorted the Nigerian man from a city-bound train in June this year after he could not produce a valid ticket. While the man was handcuffed and placed inside a police van he began to resist violently and repeatedly yelled, "I am a police officer, I am not going with you," the court was told.
While en-route to the Caboolture Watchhouse Ogbe began kicking the van walls so violently the vehicle momentarily lost traction, with the police officer driving forced to correct the steering wheel.
After being placed inside a holding cell the Nigerian man insisted he was an American FBI agent, and began hitting his head against the cell door, prompting police to transfer him to a padded cell. During the transfer the man bit a police officer on the wrist, breaking the skin and drawing blood, Mr Ashen said.
Once in the padded cell the defendant offered police $50,000 to release him and drop the charges, the court was told.
Ogbe yesterday pleaded guilty to a raft of charges including seriously assaulting police, wilful damage, travelling without paying a fare and bribery. The court heard the bitten police officer endured months of ongoing "emotional problems" as he waited for a blood test to clear him of serious infection.
Judge Terrence Martin, SC, told Ogbe he had learned a "very expensive lesson" and jailed him for six months.
#1
After being placed inside a holding cell the Nigerian man insisted he was an American FBI agent, and began hitting his head against the cell door to prove it! Spam content is 0 percent
#3
Psssst Officers whats it gonna take to make this uhem little matter go away? Heres the gig my father is General Ogbe he was a head honcho in the Nigerian airforce and has millions in his bank account. But the pricks at the bank have had it tied up for the last six months. Now if he was to transfer say...fifty large into your bank account all you would have to do is umm pay a small fee to cover the transfer costs and attorney's fees. All we need is a blank letterhead with your bank account numbers and personal identification information. And badda-bing we can get this rolling.
A man died from bullet injuries in aerial firing at a wedding in the Shahdara police precincts on Sunday.
Aqeel, 24, a resident of Gowalmandi went to attend the wedding of his friend Nasir. When the marriage procession reached Farooqabad area of Shahdara, friends of the groom started firing in the air to celebrate the marriage. A bullet fired in the air hit Aqeel in the face and pierced his skull, killing him instantly. He was rushed to Mayo Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police officials reached the Mayo Hospital subsequently and requested the deceased's family to allow them to take the body to the city morgue for an autopsy but the family refused. Police have lodged a case.
Electrocuted: A 16-year-old matriculation student died after receiving an electric shock in the Kot Lakhpat police precincts on Sunday. Haider Ali, a resident of Nishtar Colony, was crossing the railway track in Kot Lakhpat along with his a friend when he accidentally touched an electric pole and received a severe shock. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to burn injuries.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
fired into the ai but hit in the face? how short was the man shooting?
Massachusetts residents are more willing to embrace higher gas taxes to repair the state's crumbling transportation system than any other proposed solution, including higher tolls or more booths at the state's borders, a Boston Globe poll shows.
In fact, higher tolls - as recently proposed by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority with Governor Deval Patrick's support - are by far the least popular among an array of suggestions that have been floated to fix the state's transportation woes.
Patrick has called it a bad time, with the economy sagging, to raise the gas tax. House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi has said he would prefer a tax hike, which affects motorists generally, to toll hikes that burden only some.
When those polled were asked to choose between raising tolls on the turnpike or raising the gas tax, the tax won out 48 percent to 42 percent. The feelings about taxes or tolls varied considerably depending on where respondents live - toll hikes were the clear preference of those from the state's west and southeast sections, who are least likely to pay them.
But even some who do not regularly drive on toll roads object to the hikes.
"It's outrageous," said Steve Edelheit, a 62-year-old college teacher from Brookline who seldom pays tolls and responded to the poll. "Why should it fall on the backs of those folks to pay for the Big Dig?" The lingering costs of the $15 billion tunnel project and the resulting financial crisis for state roads and public transit have vaulted transportation funding to the top of the state's political agenda.
But residents - by a more than 2 to 1 ratio - say the final product was not worth the time and money invested in it. Sixty-five percent said the Big Dig has had no impact on their travel time, and some said it has even made trips longer. Fifty-four percent said they were at least somewhat nervous driving through the tunnels, which claimed a life in 2006 when a ceiling panel collapsed.
"You've got two-thirds of the people who say it wasn't worth it, but they're going to have to pay for it," said Andrew E. Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, which conducted the Globe's poll. "That makes a political problem."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"Why should it fall on the backs of those folks to pay for the Big Dig?"
Because you kept voting back in office the clowns politicians that feed off that criminal enterprise. And you still do. Just consider it like being male and white having to make up for slavery or some other aspect of history that happened over a hundred years ago. You're guilty by group. Enjoy the 'ride'.
Never seems to occur to these clowns to SPEND LESS, does it? >:-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/22/2008 14:19 Comments ||
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#4
Never seems to occur to these clowns to SPEND LESS, does it?
Sure it does! They'll just float a trial balloon of a high-profile painful cut to some necessary service. Then when the inevitable protest occurs, they'll 'give-in' and 'cancel' the cut.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The Hokey Cokey is an old novelty song that has been sung in music halls, at children's parties and at sherry-fuelled family gatherings for many years. But according to the Catholic Church and some Scottish politicians, singing the popular tune that begins with the words "You put your right hand in, your right hand out," may constitute an act of religious hatred.
Egypt's leading Islamic cleric Sheikh Mohammed Tantawi has been hospitalized with thrombosis of the leg, state-owned media reported on Sunday. 
The husband in the case of a Bangladeshi doctor held captive by her parents and forced to marry against her will has said he only realised too late that his bride was against the arranged match.
Massachusetts residents are more willing to embrace higher gas taxes to repair the state's crumbling transportation system than any other proposed solution, including higher tolls or more booths at the state's borders, a Boston Globe poll shows.
