He should have turned 80 last week.
On the other hand, he came within a sneeze of dying after being stabbed in 1961, and he achieved a thing or two in those seven years.
“Difficult Times Ahead”
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Category Archives: Minorities and integration
Popes and rant snippets
It is good to know that in these times of economic crisis our spiritual leaders care for our well-being. From the International Herald Tribune:
Pope Benedict said Monday that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.
Too bad the article does not elaborate on just how pope Benedict wishes to save humanity from homosexual or transsexual “behaviour”. Nor does it answer the question of why Benedict believes that particular kind of “behaviour” is a threat to humanity. I am sure it is not a matter of demography. Too bad, because it is hard to rip an argument apart with so many unknowns. All we know from the quoted snippet is that the pope went on a rant, for the umpteenth time, against homosexual (and transsexual) “behaviour”. Too bad, because my typing fingers are itching…
Instant update: Mail Online has a better article and maybe an explanation of why the pope is so worried:
In a clear reference to homosexuality, he said the failure to respect the union between a man and a woman amounted to the ‘auto destruction of mankind’.
Like I said, it cannot be a demography thing. And there is maybe an explanation of how Benedict would like to see the gay problem solved:
This month the Vatican opposed a proposed UN declaration, backed by all 27 European Union states, calling for an end to the practice of criminalising and punishing people for their sexual orientation. The declaration was seen as an important condemnation of countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality can be punished by death. A Papal spokesman was later forced to clarify that the Vatican continues to condemn the use of the death penalty for any crime, including any related to homosexuality. Instead, the Vatican said its opposition to the UN proposal was driven by concern that countries that prohibit gay marriage would somehow be targeted. The Italian gay rights association Arcigay branded this an ‘excuse’ to distract people from the real intent of criminalising gays.
Guess the people at the Vatican have itchy fingers too. But they do not seem to be for typing. I know I am being populist here, but hey, Benedict is exaggerating too (I hope).
Afterthought: I think gay people are a real pain in the pope’s ass – no pun intended – because their acceptance by modern society (at least legally) subverts his Church’s authority so much. Should secular Western governments at one point reconsider criminalising gays then the Vatican’s stance on gays (or by proxy even women’s rights) would be confirmed. This would then surely reconfirm the Church’s authority and the authority of religion at large. Methinks there is a lot more at stake here than mere reproduction. BTW, wasn’t homophobia criminalized in the EU?
Premature Evaluation: Sundown Towns
An important story, very badly told.
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Rotten Potato
As if the time in power for Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party had not provided enough comedy, a backbencher has been quoted saying something so far out of the potato patch that even the party’s leadership has condemned it. Not only did Artur Gorski claim that Al Qaeda was rubbing its hands with glee at Obama’s election, he added that “The black messiah of the new left has crushed the Republican candidate John McCain, and America will soon pay a high price for this quirk of democracy.” Not content with those sage remarks, he said “Obama is an approaching catastrophe. This marks the end of white man’s civilisation.”
According to Reuters, “Foreign Ministry spokesman Jacek Paszkowski said normally he would not comment on remarks of MPs, but added: ‘In this case we feel obliged to express our disapproval of MP Gorski’s address.’”
Barack O’Bama
Apparently a great-great-great grandfather of his came from Ireland, and at least one visitor reports that this is all the rage right now.
From the chorus: “O’Leary, O’Reilly, O’Hare and O’Hara/There’s no one as Irish as Barack O’Bama.” The verses are pretty funny, too.
Oh My.
As the BBC puts it
The new leader of the party previously headed by Austrian far-right politician Joerg Haider has admitted the two men had a “special relationship”.
Stefan Petzner told Austrian radio that Mr Haider, whom he met five years ago, was “the man of my life”. …
Mr Petzner has described feeling a magnetic attraction to Mr Haider.
“We had a special relationship that went far beyond friendship,” Mr Petzner said in an emotional interview on Austrian national radio.
“Joerg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life,” he added.
More in German, from the Swiss side of the border.
Petzner is 27 and had been named head of the party and its parliamentary group after the death of Haider, who was 53. After the broadcast, he remains head of the party, but Josef Bucher, 43, now leads the parliamentary faction.
369
And somewhere between 52 and 53 in the popular vote. Florida and West Virginia because I’m feeling optimistic.
What do you all think?
What I think.
Meanwhile, in Cyprus
It’s generated amazingly little discussion in the international press, but the Greek and Turkish Cypriots are sitting down and trying to resolve their 35-year-old-and-counting conflict.
The talks started about three weeks ago. They are moving slowly — the negotiators just took a break for two weeks, and they don’t expect to complete the discussions until early next year — but they’re serious.
Cyprus-watchers will recall the Annan Plan, negotiated five years ago in 2003-4. It was supposed to provide a fair and reasonable framework for reunification under a loose federal system. In March 2004, both sides subjected it to a referendum. The Turkish Cypriots approved it by about 4 to 3, but the Greeks rejected it by almost 3 to 1.
That killed reunification for the next four years, but in the last six months it’s jumped up and come to life again. The prime mover here is Greek Cyprus’ new President, Dimitris Christofias. I wrote about his election back in February:
Christofias has said that he hopes to restart talks with Turkish Northern Cyprus, which have been stalled since Greek Cyprus rejected the Annan Plan in 2004. I wish him luck — he’ll need it. Even with goodwill on both sides, reaching a settlement will be difficult; the Turks are still resentful that the 2004 deal was rejected, a lot of Greeks are either apathetic or actively hostile to any negotiation with the north, and both sides will be vulnerable to nationalist attacks on their flanks. I’d say Christofias’ victory raises the chances of a successful settlement from “zero” to “very slim”.
Still, it’s an interesting development. Let’s see what happens.
I still think it’s unlikely this will succeed. Even with good will on both sides, reunification is horribly complicated. Refugee return, property compensation, voting rights for Turkish immigrants, apportionment of power… it’s a real mess.
On the other hand, it’s moved farther and faster than I would have thought possible. And the lack of media attention may be a feature, not a bug: both sides seem to be taking the negotiations seriously, so neither is interested in making a spectacle.
And a successful reunification… well, damn. That would be awesome in about six different ways.
Watching with interest.
South Ossetia Kosovo Counterfactual Poll!
We haven’t used the poll function for a while.
So okay: the Russians say that they’re only recognizing South Ossetia’s and Abkhazia’s independence because the wicked, lawless West set a precedent with Kosovo. And at first glance, this seems plausible! After all, the Georgia crisis came just six months after Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence. South Ossetia and Abkhazia had previously made declarations of independence, but nobody — not even the Russians — had recognized them.
Kosovo, said Moscow, made the difference. And not just Moscow. Many commentators, including some who were sympathetic to the Kosovars, quickly agreed.
But… Continue reading
Blonde on blonde: State elections in Bavaria
So we have state elections here in Bavaria this week.
Yeah, I know. Bear with me, I’m going somewhere with this.
There are political signs here and there around our small town, but not as many as you’d expect. A surprisingly high number are for the nationalist, anti-immigration Republican Party. I say “surprisingly” because the Republicans only got between 2% and 3% of the vote in the last election. On the other hand, that’s compared to less than 1% nationwide, so I guess they’re focussing their efforts in a state where they have some small chance.
I suppose I should talk about how the Landtag is dominated by the CSU, and has been forever, and about the internal power struggles there, and what it’s like living in a de facto one party state. But, eh, don’t feel like it. So instead I’m going to talk about blonde children in campaign ads. Continue reading