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I passed through Shannon Airport in Ireland the other day. They've got a "holiday" display in the terminal, but guess what? It says "Merry Christmas." The Emerald Isle has a few Jews, and these days rather a lot of Muslims, and presumably even a militant atheist or two, but they don't seem inclined to sue the bejasus out of every event in the Yuletide season. By contrast, the Associated Press reports the following from Riverside, Calif.: "A high school choir was asked to stop singing Christmas carols during an ice skating show featuring Olympic medalist Sasha Cohen out of concern...

A "silent night" as carolers told to stop singing at skating show RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) -- A high school choir was asked to stop singing Christmas carols during an ice skating show featuring Olympic medalist Sasha Cohen out of concern the skater would be offended because she's Jewish. A city staff member, accompanied by a police officer, approached the Rubidoux High School Madrigals at the Riverside Outdoor Ice Skating Rink just as they launched into "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" and requested that the troupe stop singing, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported Thursday. Cohen, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist and 2006...

White House gates shut to 'Kazakh reporter' comic Fri Sep 29, 2006 8:46am ET Borat goes to Washington:PLAY VIDEOBy Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Borat, the fictional TV reporter from Kazakhstan, may have gotten under the skin of Kazakh officials but on Thursday he couldn't get past the gates of the White House. Secret Service agents turned away British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, in character as the boorish, anti-Semitic journalist, when he tried to invite "Premier George Walter Bush" to a screening of his upcoming movie, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Also invited...

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ST. LOUIS — America's best women's skaters will be on full display here tonight, but the real news will be made behind closed doors. Early results at this week's U.S. Figure Skating Championships already have created one likely outcome: Sasha Cohen, the favorite coming in, virtually assured herself a spot on the U.S. Olympic team with her clean short program Thursday night. The first-place finisher here gets an automatic bid, and Cohen is the points leader entering tonight's free skate. But even if she should falter and slip to second or third, Cohen still likely would be named to the...