Then again, I'm already a Discordian Pope, so I welcome another into our august ranks.
EDIT: As an Italian, this is my favorite line:
He will have to help make the Vatican bureaucracy — often seen as a hornet’s nest of infighting Italians — work more efficiently for the good of the church.
From what I've read, he's a pretty humble Argentinian cardinal -- pope -- who would not use the lavish amenities provided of his "rank" and instead condemned the people who would sit inside the church and say, "We're better than all you people outside." If anyone reads A Song of Ice and Fire, he reminds me of the leader of the Sparrows -- the new kick-your-ass High Septim. I hope that doesn't mean we're facing ten years of winter, because it's my least favorite season. I'm all for a pope who doesn't look like the Emperor.
I'm interested by the fact he's a Jesuit. They do tend to be a little more progressive and intelligent, as well as paying more attention to science and the world around them. I mean, not hard to be better than the rest of the catholic church with that sorta shit, but Jesuits are generally good eggs.
I'm interested by the fact he's a Jesuit. They do tend to be a little more progressive and intelligent, as well as paying more attention to science and the world around them. I mean, not hard to be better than the rest of the catholic church with that sorta shit, but Jesuits are generally good eggs.
Indeed. I have never met a Jesuit that wasn't exceptionally knowledgeable and also willing to realize that people are not perfect and shouldn't be slammed for not being perfect.
He's got one lung and a masters in Chemistry. He does have his downsides - he's against abortion and euthanasia, but there's rumor he's okay with condoms to prevent the spread of disease. He's certainly red hot on the whole solving poverty and hunger issue. Has had some troublesome interactions with the Argentinian government, though.
But in more important news, Google is shutting down Google Reader.
The Republicans are starting to give ground on marriage equality:
WASHINGTON – In response to Senator Rob Portman’s (R-OH) announcement he supports marriage equality, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin released the following statement: “Like countless dads across the country, Senator Portman has made the basic and courageous choice to put parenting before politics. When it comes to marriage equality, all Americans are on the same journey toward recognizing our common humanity. But while 8 in 10 Americans know a gay or lesbian person, it still takes unique courage to speak out publicly for equality. We are very grateful to Senator Portman for his virtuous stand in support of this civil rights cause.”
Best tweet I've seen on this topic: “@anildash: Eventually one of these Republican congressmen is going to find out his daughter is a woman, and then we're all set.”
“In discussions with the delegation of tribal Maliks from North Waziristan the Special Rapporteur was informed that drone strikes routinely inflicted civilian casualties, and that groups of adult males carrying out ordinary daily tasks were frequently the victims of such strikes,” Emmerson continued. “They emphasized that to an outsider unfamiliar with Pashtun tribal customs there was a very real risk of misidentification of targets since all Pashtun tribesmen tended to have similar appearance to members of the Pakistan Taliban, including similar (and often indistinguishable) tribal clothing, and since it had long been a tradition among the Pashtun tribes that all adult males would carry a gun at all times. They considered that civilian casualties were a commonplace occurrence and that the threat of such strikes instilled fear in the entire community.”
Part of an ongoing investigation by Ben Emmerson. I'll be interested to see some solid information on drone use. Shit, I'll be interested to see some solid information on any non-economic political controversy.
Korea escalates the volume of their shouting in their "I'm not touching you! I'm not touching you!" game, and approves nuclear strikes against the US, which they don't actually have the capability to carry out, film at eleven. All a bit ho-hum, really.
North Korea is always blowing smoke. His dad did -- of course the son will too.
This is the furthest they've gone down that path - but they've still not gone very far. It would be foolhardy to assume they won't do anything because they haven't in the past - but that doesn't mean they will. It's a situation to keep an eye on, it's developing.
What worries me is that they actually shut down the kaesong complex (among their other objective measures), coupled with the fact that they have no face-saving way of backing these measures out.
I don't see how the leadership can normalize relations without an event (e.g., concessions, resumption of talks, additional food aid, etc...). It's clear that no new agreements or deals are going to be made with them this time, so how do they back down without internal repercussions?
The DPRK is a military based government. This fundamental fact means they have to justify their government through a constant rise in military power projection (or at least a facade to the every day man). I think a popular opinion is that Un is battling several high ranking generals for political power. The problem is that this time, any minor military action such as firing artillery on small islands or attacking ships off the coast is no longer going to go without response from the ROK. The US cannot hold them back this time.
Why did South Korean companies agree to put (hostages) factories in North Korea?
Because North Korean workers can be paid next to nothing and it's close enough that folks from the South Korean companies can drive over and inspect the factories whenever they want.
What worries me is that they actually shut down the kaesong complex (among their other objective measures), coupled with the fact that they have no face-saving way of backing these measures out.
These two things worry me too.
Though while war would be awful in the short term, I feel the long term would be overall better for the Korean peninsula. The northern gov't would be defeated quickly and then rolled into South Korea who is quite capable of handling things.
Crazy conspiracy theory: it's a "now or never" gambit.
The US and SK, with implicit support from China, are pointedly doing what they can to force NK to escalate the situation without taking an actively aggressive stance themselves.
They've been trained in the past that if they ever need to bring negotiators to the table, they simply make threats and then agree to back down in exchange for concessions. This serves both external and domestic purposes. Now, by simply not agreeing to come to the table and basically ignoring their threats, they have no way to back down, but also no way to request additional aid.
We're trying to get them to destabilize and/or provide an excuse for military intervention. The goal is to deal with them now, rather than let them acquire enough nuclear ability to actually be a serious threat years from now.
They have not yet shut down the Kaesong complex, according to Al Jazeera. They only barred the entrances, and South Koreans are still working there. 220 of the workers are being released today, leaving around 600 inside th complex. Supplies will start running out by the weekend.
Guys, this is serious. North Korea has the fourth largest standing army in the world, and the second largest special ops. Their factories manufacture over 200,000 rifles every year, and over 500 tanks. They are perfectly prepared to fight us in World War II!
Comments
Then again, I'm already a Discordian Pope, so I welcome another into our august ranks.
EDIT: As an Italian, this is my favorite line:
I'm all for a pope who doesn't look like the Emperor.
Still, not getting any hopes up.
But in more important news, Google is shutting down Google Reader.
WASHINGTON – In response to Senator Rob Portman’s (R-OH) announcement he supports marriage equality, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin released the following statement:
“Like countless dads across the country, Senator Portman has made the basic and courageous choice to put parenting before politics. When it comes to marriage equality, all Americans are on the same journey toward recognizing our common humanity. But while 8 in 10 Americans know a gay or lesbian person, it still takes unique courage to speak out publicly for equality. We are very grateful to Senator Portman for his virtuous stand in support of this civil rights cause.”
Most interesting bit: Part of an ongoing investigation by Ben Emmerson. I'll be interested to see some solid information on drone use. Shit, I'll be interested to see some solid information on any non-economic political controversy.
I don't see how the leadership can normalize relations without an event (e.g., concessions, resumption of talks, additional food aid, etc...). It's clear that no new agreements or deals are going to be made with them this time, so how do they back down without internal repercussions?
Or the people of NK may already know their leadership is a joke.
Though while war would be awful in the short term, I feel the long term would be overall better for the Korean peninsula. The northern gov't would be defeated quickly and then rolled into South Korea who is quite capable of handling things.
The US and SK, with implicit support from China, are pointedly doing what they can to force NK to escalate the situation without taking an actively aggressive stance themselves.
They've been trained in the past that if they ever need to bring negotiators to the table, they simply make threats and then agree to back down in exchange for concessions. This serves both external and domestic purposes. Now, by simply not agreeing to come to the table and basically ignoring their threats, they have no way to back down, but also no way to request additional aid.
We're trying to get them to destabilize and/or provide an excuse for military intervention. The goal is to deal with them now, rather than let them acquire enough nuclear ability to actually be a serious threat years from now.