From: JNugent73@mail.com 
  
 On 05/08/2025 09:53 AM, Jethro_uk wrote: 
 > On Mon, 04 Aug 2025 21:14:53 +0100, JNugent wrote: 
 > 
 >> On 04/08/2025 10:12 AM, Jeff Gaines wrote: 
 >>> On 03/08/2025 in message <5996360858.0795274f@uninhabited.net> Roger 
 >>> Hayter wrote: 
 >>> 
 >>>>> Yes, why should any one religion have precedence? It would refer to 
 >>>>> "religion" (to be defined) rather than each specific religion. 
 >>>> 
 >>>> I'm rather confused; what law are you referring to that protects one 
 >>>> religion more than another? Are you sure they just haven't been any 
 >>>> attempts to persecute or whip up hatred agains members of most 
 >>>> religions? Are you sure that a serious threat to persecute or kill 
 >>>> methodists would not be severely punished in the unlikely event that 
 >>>> it happened? 
 >>> 
 >>> I have pruned this, it's getting a bit long. 
 >>> 
 >>> The various laws relating to antisemitism protect the Jewish faith, I 
 >>> am not aware of anything similar for other faiths. 
 >> 
 >> Those laws don't protect the Jewish faith and that isn't the intention. 
 >> 
 >> They protect Jewish people. 
 > 
 > And it seems we are back at the beginning of a large circle. 
 > 
 > Is "Jewish" a designation of the religion a person practices ? Or of some 
 > sort of geographical origin ? 
  
 As far as Parliament is concerned, it can only mean someone of the 
 Jewish faith (whether observant or not). 
  
 > Can I become Jewish tomorrow (or later today if the barber is open) ? 
  
 Probably not. 
  
 The usual way to be Jewish is to be born Jewish (I understand that 
 Jewishness descends down the female line). However, one does 
 occasionally hear of conversions to Jewishness (Sammy Davis Jnr being a 
 famous example, though admittedly some decades ago). But conversion and 
 acceptance into the community is not a short, simple or easy matter. 
  
 > Would that make me a semite ? Like all the other people from historical 
 > Judea - including Muslims ? 
  
 If it happened (conversion), it would make you Jewish. You won't be able 
 to complete the process in a day. 
  
 "Semite" to these ears, carries implications of racial and historical 
 descent. 
  
 > Can I have my cake and eat it ? 
  
 Probably not*. And that applies to all of us. 
 > 
 > These - and no other questions - are still to be decided. Luckily we now 
 > have the concept of quantum physics to guide us. We may yet get there. 
  
 [*I've long thought that the formation "have my cake and eat it" does 
 not properly convey the concept to which it relates. The question is 
 strictly about whether one can eat one's cake and still have it afterwards. 
  
 Of course, one can only eat one's cake if one has it in the first place, 
 so strictly the answer to the question asked would be "Yes", though it 
 is obvious that anyone using that expression doesn't really mean what 
 they are actually saying.] 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)