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Olympic Skater Sasha Cohen 'Stunned' by X-Mas Flap
Reuters ^
| 12/14/06
| Dan Whitcomb
Posted on 12/15/2006 12:07:41 PM PST by meg88
By Dan Whitcomb | December 14, 2006
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Olympic figure skater Sasha Cohen was "stunned" to learn that a U.S. high school choir had been ordered to stop singing Christmas carols at a holiday show because she is half-Jewish, her mother said on Thursday.
Article Tools Printer friendly E-mail to a friend Other sports RSS feed Available RSS feeds Most e-mailed Share on Facebook Save this article powered by Del.icio.us More: Sports section | Latest sports news | Globe front page | Boston.com Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts A city official accompanied by a police officer caused a stir by silencing the carols on Tuesday night as Cohen signed autographs after a performance in Riverside, California.
Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge has since apologized to the student choir, the Rubidoux High School Madrigals.
To some, the incident appeared an example of excessive political correctness in the United States over the celebration of Christmas -- which some conservative commentators have characterized as a "war on Christmas.'
Cohen, who is half-Christian and "celebrates everything" during the holidays, learned only through news reports that the choir had been cut off on her account, the 22-year-old skater's mother and manager said.
"Sasha was stunned. We both thought the voices were just lovely, they were doing such a wonderful job," Galina Cohen told Reuters. "Christmas carols are part of celebrating the holiday season."
The Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper reported that the Madrigals had just launched into "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" when a city special-events employee told them to stop singing.
Cohen's mother said the 2006 Olympic silver medalist and U.S. National Champion had taken part in Christmas tree lighting ceremonies at New York's Rockefeller Center and in California.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: christmas; cohen; stuned
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To: MikefromOhio
Why must my precise study of the curvatures of Sasha's derriere be interrupted by this annual tomfoolery over X=messiah that is posted on this and that FR thread every Christmas season. The Reuters reporter used Xmas to stick it to readers who took offense that CHRISTMAS carols were ordered halted at a CHRISTMAS pageant. If this same writer starts calling CHIcago Messiah-town or referring to martians from Planet-CHI, I'll concede your point. Otherwise, it is delusional to believe Christians should get a warm and blessed feeling in seeing merchants and secular types use this term to corrode a day to celebrate the birth of a Savior not popularly referred to as CHI.
--Now, back to Miss Cohen. More pictures, please.
141
posted on
12/15/2006 1:10:03 PM PST
by
Shqipo
(2007 is Bush Country!)
To: meg88
I don't know if anyone has already said this. I saw Ms. Cohen at a "Heros on Ice" performance and she is beautiful. Very lovely, and of course a wonderful skater.
142
posted on
12/15/2006 1:10:55 PM PST
by
JusPasenThru
(Just another angry military veteran.)
To: meg88
Half Jew.....half Christian??? What??? Is she a messianic Jew?
To: wtc911
Now that is funny!!!!!!! LOL
144
posted on
12/15/2006 1:12:26 PM PST
by
Kimmers
To: Yossarian
145
posted on
12/15/2006 1:12:46 PM PST
by
wastedyears
("By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin)
To: Sloth
Half-Jewish makes sense in the context of ethnicity, Actually, I don't even see that. Judaism is a religion, not a race.
146
posted on
12/15/2006 1:16:57 PM PST
by
CaptRon
(Pedecaris alive or Raisuli dead)
To: dfwgator; meg88; TommyDale
How about a tennis player of my choice?
****
147
posted on
12/15/2006 1:18:10 PM PST
by
beyond the sea
( All lies and jest, still the man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.)
To: TommyDale
One more tennis player. Pardon me, Andre.
****
148
posted on
12/15/2006 1:20:17 PM PST
by
beyond the sea
( All lies and jest, still the man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.)
To: beyond the sea
149
posted on
12/15/2006 1:20:17 PM PST
by
wastedyears
("By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin)
To: beyond the sea
Sasha only, please. ;) You must now post TWO Sasha pix as penance. We await your contrition...
150
posted on
12/15/2006 1:21:48 PM PST
by
MaestroLC
("Let him who wants peace prepare for war."--Vegetius, A.D. Fourth Century)
To: wastedyears; MikefromOhio; meg88
How tall is she? She's rather short.
Birth name Alexandra Pauline Cohen
Height 5' 1½" (1.56 m)
Mini biography
Sasha Cohen was born Alexandra Cohen on 26 October 1984, in Los Angeles, California, to Roger and Galina Cohen. She was named after her mother's favorite ballerina and goes by Sasha, the Ukrainian nickname for Alexandra (she also has a younger sister named Natasha). Sasha began skating at the age of seven, and by 15 had won the silver at the U.S. National Championships. She competed in the 2002 Olympics, where she placed 4th, and has since placed 4th and the 2002 and 2003 World Championships, and won the silver at the 2004 World Championships. Sasha has also won three silver medals and a bronze at the U.S. National Championships.
To: wastedyears
Here ... have one more of my favorite tennis players, ..... Ms. Hingis.
****
152
posted on
12/15/2006 1:23:46 PM PST
by
beyond the sea
( All lies and jest, still the man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.)
To: MikefromOhio
153
posted on
12/15/2006 1:24:48 PM PST
by
beyond the sea
( All lies and jest, still the man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.)
To: ErnBatavia
href="http://www.pe.com/columns/danbernstein/stories/PE_News_Local_H_dan15.38d8041.htmlthat is a pretty funny column, and it explains the situation a whole lot clearer than the original article (Mr. Bernstein is evidently not a J school grad).
So Sasha glides into Riverside. She dazzles in the downtown rink and starts signing autographs just as the Rubidoux High School Madrigals break into "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." Right in front of the Jewish skater!
Well, of course, the city had to snuff this out. This was worse than O'Bloss gangs. This was an organized, public-school assault on a nice Jewish girl. So the cops moved in. That is, a cop and a city events person:
"Arrest ye merry madrigals, you're in a danger zone.
We cannot let you sing that song in front of Sasha Cohen."
154
posted on
12/15/2006 1:25:57 PM PST
by
fnord
(are you an RVer? I have questions; please see my profile page if you have advice)
To: beyond the sea
The Smiling Assassin.
155
posted on
12/15/2006 1:26:34 PM PST
by
MaestroLC
("Let him who wants peace prepare for war."--Vegetius, A.D. Fourth Century)
To: MaestroLC
Along those lines:
****
:-)
156
posted on
12/15/2006 1:26:51 PM PST
by
beyond the sea
( All lies and jest, still the man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.)
To: NRA2BFree
If I got any where near that position, I'd never get up off the ground.
157
posted on
12/15/2006 1:27:48 PM PST
by
beyond the sea
( All lies and jest, still the man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.)
To: wastedyears
158
posted on
12/15/2006 1:28:52 PM PST
by
ichabod1
(After the attacks of 9/11, profiling Muslims is more like profiling the Klan.)
To: beyond the sea
I didn't come up with that about Hingis. That was her nickname on the Tennis circuit.
BTW, http://www.ultimatenzsoccer.com/b0373f40.jpg
159
posted on
12/15/2006 1:30:25 PM PST
by
MaestroLC
("Let him who wants peace prepare for war."--Vegetius, A.D. Fourth Century)
To: MaestroLC
160
posted on
12/15/2006 1:30:54 PM PST
by
beyond the sea
( All lies and jest, still the man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.)
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