The new girl at my job was coming in late her first week (among other problems). She no longer works there.

smonster, I think you would make a kickass YA or high school librarian.

ita is me. I think you'd rock out youth services at the public library.

And, after all, we do have the #1 school in the nation for 10 years running here in town.

And it has some very distinguished current attendees. Well, at least two, I mean. (Husband W also goes there!) (I just realized that makes it sound like I have no fewer than 23 husbands, and identify each by a letter.)

What are people thinking?

That he works for the HHGttG?

Good lord, I forgot what having a real phone is like -- I just got my first telemarketing call!

Is there anyone on the board who might be able to translate a paragraph of somewhat legalese German for me?

Interesting. A court ruled that a Jewish school in London is allowed to give preference in admission to Jewish kids, but is not allowed to use the traditional Orthodox rule that the child of a Jewish woman is Jewish in order to determine which kids are Jewish enough to get that preference. [link]

M, a practising Jew who regularly attends a progressive synagogue, was told he could not be admitted to the school because his mother had converted to Judaism in a procedure not recognised by the Chief Rabbi.

Overturning a previous judgment in favour of the school, the Court of Appeal ruled that a policy determining eligibility based on a person's descent, rather than religious practice, amounted to racial discrimination.

"It appears clear to us… that Jews constitute a racial group defined principally by ethnic origin and additionally by conversion," Lord Justice Sedley said. "To discriminate against a person on the ground that he or someone else either is or is not Jewish is therefore to discriminate against him on racial grounds."

I'm really curious about how other religious school in the UK define which kids are part of their religion. The only ones I could find mentioned in any article are Catholic schools, which are trying to figure out if they can still use the rule that any kid who was baptized Catholic is Catholic.

This is an actual quote from an actual hospital report:

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION: The patient is a well-dressed, well-nourished female looking slightly fatigued and pale

Well-dressed, doctor? Is that really clinically relevant?

I've always liked the term "well-fed", which is a nice euphemism for "fat". They used the term for Hubby, who is not svelte, though not as heavy as he looks due to the extra-broad ribcage and the extra bones.

"well-dressed" could be a similar euphemism for "not homeless or looking like he/she might have fleas/lice."

When I was working in my dad's office, I once had to file a medical report that said, "Patient suffered cardiac arrest and sudden death. This was particularly serious given patient's history of sudden death."

nteresting. A court ruled that a Jewish school in London is allowed to give preference in admission to Jewish kids, but is not allowed to use the traditional Orthodox rule that the child of a Jewish woman is Jewish in order to determine which kids are Jewish enough to get that preference. [link]

I think given UK law this makes sense. A school can target a religion, but not an ethnicity. That is a school can admit only Hindu's or only Muslims, but it can't admit only South Asians, or only East Asian. To the extent the extent a school admits people based on birth, that is treating Judiasm as an ethnicity. To the extent it admits people based on belief it is a religious school and thus legal. And since "Progressive" Jews (equal Reform in the U.S.) are admitted if their mother was recognized as Jewish, to not recognize Progressive Jews as Jews if their Mom was converted by a Progressive Synagogue does meet the criteria of ethnicity rather than religion. The school would be within its rights to admit ONLY Orthodox Jews. But to admit all Jews, but exclude those converted outside of Orthodoxy, or with ancestors who converted outside of Orthodoxy is unlawful discrimination.