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OT: The News Thread

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VATICAN CITY — Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic cleric announced his resignation on Monday, a day after being accused of “inappropriate acts” with priests, saying he would not attend the conclave to elect a new pope.

The cleric, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, said that he had submitted his resignation months ago, and that the Vatican said Pope Benedict XVI had accepted it on Feb. 18. However, the timing of the announcement — a day after news reports of alleged abuse appeared in Britain — suggested that the Vatican had encouraged the cardinal to stay away from the conclave.
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Naw... can't be... a senior member of the Pedo Church accused of "inappropriate acts"?? Naw...
I love the phony attempt to deflect the timing of the announcement away.
 
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Since the idea of an electoral reform pact was first broached — not by me, but by Elizabeth May of the Green Party, by Nathan Cullen of the NDP, and latterly by Joyce Murray in the Liberal leadership race — reaction has split into two camps. Among each party’s members, the notion of a one-time alliance formed around the need to fix our broken electoral system plainly excites some interest: it propelled Cullen’s long-shot campaign for party leader into contention, as it may be doing for Murray’s. Yet it is dismissed by much of the respective party establishments, as it would seem by most of the punditocracy.

The critics’ objections, in the main, are four. 1. It would be difficult to do. 2. It is unnecessary: the opposition parties will one day defeat the Conservatives, without such a pact. 3. The public would never go for it: not a coalition, or not one with such a narrow focus. 4. If they did win, it is unclear how such a coalition would govern.

The first is undoubtedly true. There are, indeed, any number of reasons why this probably won’t happen. What’s being discussed is whether it should. Suffice it to say that if the party leaders think it should, it will. None of the many questions the critics raise — how would the parties agree on a single candidate? who sets the rules? in which ridings? etc. — are insurmountable, in themselves. All that is required is the will.

Of course, whether that will exists, or is likely to, is heavily dependent on the second point. So long as each side thinks it can win without co-operating, they won’t. And yes, at some point, the Conservatives will be defeated. The question is by whom, or what — and when.

If defeating the Conservatives were all, the parties could arguably afford to wait each other out — though the longer they wait, the more time the Conservatives will have to adjust the rules to their advantage. But if electoral reform is the objective, the wait-and-see option looks less tenable.


This is the paradox at the heart of the issue. Whatever the parties may say they believe in, unless it is also in their self-interest it won’t happen. My argument is that we are currently witnessing just such an exceptional alignment of the planets: not only do all three opposition parties now favour reform of some kind, but, in an inversion of the norm, they are unlikely to win power without it.
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Many good points in the op ed piece, but my question is this: if we currently average only 40% or less of eligible voters in elections now, how will these changes make any difference?
And isn't that poor average part of the problem with the current system as well?
 
heh. There's a new video going around that shows Lindsay Lohan's lawyer admitting that she's out of control.
Thanks for stating the obvious, counselor... like we hadn't noticed this long before now...
 
Mother Kills 9-Year-Old Son For Having Small Penis In Indonesia

An Indonesian woman drowned her nine-year-old son in the bath, claiming she was worried that his "small penis" would affect his prospects for the future, a police spokesman said Thursday.

The 38-year-old woman from the capital Jakarta told police her son had had a small penis prior to being circumcised, but that it appeared to shrink further after the operation, police spokesman Rikwanto, who goes by one name, told AFP.

"She told police investigators that she killed him as he would have a bleak future with his small penis," Rikwanto said.

"She drowned her son in a bathtub filled with water. She then dressed him and laid him on a bed. After that, she went to a nearby police office to report her crime."

Rikwanto said the woman was fully conscious of what she had done, but police ordered a psychological test to assess her mental condition.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/28/mother-kills-son-small-penis-indonesia_n_2779668.html
 
It is not a coincidence that Asians are such good students. Their parents see stuff like that and decide education is the only way. lol
 
blacksheep said:
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Naw... can't be... a senior member of the Pedo Church accused of "inappropriate acts"?? Naw...
I love the phony attempt to deflect the timing of the announcement away.
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^ that Cardinal retired, so he can't possibly become the pope now.
Maybe they should take this one:
Retired priest William Hodgson Marshall stood on legs weakened with age Monday and admitted to sexually abusing two boys in Saskatchewan more than 50 years ago.

“I admit the hideousness,” said Marshall, 90, his voice trailing off. But he said he didn’t know he was hurting anyone.

“I don’t think I was a monster.”

The two victims – former students at St. Paul’s, an all-male school in Saskatoon – came forward in 2011, about a month after Marshall was sentenced to two years in a federal penitentiary for sexually abusing 16 boys and one young woman in Ontario. Those crimes were committed in Windsor, Sudbury and Toronto where he taught at Catholic high schools.
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The pedo JUST finished serving that two year sentence, and today, pleads guilty to this.
We have our new pope!
 
blacksheep said:
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Many good points in the op ed piece, but my question is this: if we currently average only 40% or less of eligible voters in elections now, how will these changes make any difference?
And isn't that poor average part of the problem with the current system as well?
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I'm guessing the electoral reform this article keeps referring to is changing from first past the post to proportional representation?

For me, Italy is a perfect demonstration of why I never want that electoral system adopted in Canada.
 
Hugo Chavez, fiery Venezuelan leader, dies at 58

2013-02-15T152408Z_2046587183_GM1E92F1SSE01_RTRMADP_3_VENEZUELA-CHAVEZ-IMAGES.JPG


CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez, the fiery populist who declared a socialist revolution in Venezuela, crusaded against U.S. influence and championed a leftist revival across Latin America, died Tuesday at age 58 after a nearly two-year bout with cancer.

During more than 14 years in office, Chavez routinely challenged the status quo at home and internationally. He polarized Venezuelans with his confrontational and domineering style, yet was also a masterful communicator and strategist who tapped into Venezuelan nationalism to win broad support, particularly among the poor.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro, surrounded by other government officials, announced the death in a national television broadcast. He said Chavez died at 4:25 p.m. local time.
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http://news.yahoo.com/hugo-chavez-fiery-venezuelan-leader-dies-58-220210262.html
 
Well, that's a damn shame.

Dude started with a good idea....using oil wealth for the benefit of social services, and then went all nutty.

The sound you hear is hiring managers in the Oil Sands cursing....Chavez being a **** with the oil industry (artificially suppressing wages), pushed a lot of Venezuelan oil professionals into northern Alberta. Their oil industry is very similar to ours in that Venezuela oil is also a very heavy crude and requires significant upgrading. With Chavez gone, shit probably starts to return to normal, and the Venezuelans return home within the next 2-3 years.

This will probably increase my income by 15-20% in a few years.

Thanks Hugo.
 
LeafGm said:
I'm guessing the electoral reform this article keeps referring to is changing from first past the post to proportional representation?

For me, Italy is a perfect demonstration of why I never want that electoral system adopted in Canada.
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You should do a bit more research into why Italy is that way.

Personally I want the German MMP (PR) system.
 
There are plenty of "elected" dictators. Let's just say I have minimal respect for someone suspected of routinely rigging elections.
 
When did Chavez rig an election? I'm no fan of Hugo's....but a rigged election is one of the things missing from his resume.
 
With a lot of Chavez direct control over the domestic media and economy, it was definitely a slanted election race....but there wasn't any outright fraud.
 
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