With some good planning, Morning Edition on NPR today had a story on the future of dissent within the Roman Catholic Church, discussing how what they termed “one possible successor” Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now chosen as Pope with the self-selected name Benedict XVI might address this issue. From the summary page to the audio link, the man newly named Pope “seems to have signaled he would take an even stronger stance against dissenting voices.” The gist of the audio report...

In the end, the frontrunner, and a man closely tied to the late Pope John Paul II, became the new Pope: Germany’s Cardinal Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 78, the Vatican’s guardian of doctrinal orthodox — a man who called himself a “simple humble worker.” Over the past few days speculation centered on whether the new Pope would be someone from Italy, Asia, Africa — someone who wanted change or cherished tradition. But Ratzinger’s name always came up as someone...

A new Pope has been elected: Germany’s Cardinal Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 78, the Vatican’s of doctrinal orthodox and a close associate of the late Pope John Paul II.

CNN reports that a decision has been made: VATICAN CITY (CNN) — White smoke rose from a Sistine Chapel chimney and bells rang Tuesday, signaling the selection of a new pope. Thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square clapped and waved flags as the smoke began to billow over Vatican City about 5:50 p.m. (11:50 a.m. ET). Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estévez was expected to make the official announcement of the 265th pontiff from the central balcony of the St. Peter’s Basilica....

Greg, 13, sits in front of a TV here in San Diego ….watching for the white smoke. “It’s white!” he said. “No, it’s dark…” And doesn’t want to change the channel.. From San Diego, to New York, to Madrid, to Rome — people all over the world in every continent and all religions are watching for the dawn of a new era that’ll be signalled by historical white smoke at the Sistine Chapel. It could mean the continuation of the style and content...

A full-court press is going on now by House Majority Tom DeLay to rally his supports to keep him in office — at the same time as the White House has now seemingly come out behind the embattled GOP leader. Delay sent out an email to supporters blaming the allegations against him and pressure to step down on liberals, Democrats and the elite media — all seemingly conspiring to bring down the Republican leadership. In other words, his tacit slogan is “GOP is me.” The Philadelphia...

Bread is DANGEROUS! Research on bread indicates that: 1. More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users. 2. Fully HALF of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests. 3. In the 18th century, when virtually all bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years; infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; many women died in childbirth; and diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever, and influenza ravaged whole...

Ann Coulter is reportedly unhappy with the photo of her on the cover of Time Magazine. Now, let’s start off by getting this out: if TMV was on the cover of Time Magazine he wouldn’t care it he didn’t look perfect — although last week he was on MSNBC and the cruel TV camera made his five foot two, 147 lb frame look 6 feet, 210 pounds so he has since made some adjustments (now he only inhales one hot fudge sundae at night). But for Coulter this cover either represents the crowning...

Once again liberal talk radio Air America is being pronounced on (excuse the expression these days after what our country has been through) life support — this time via an intriguing commentary in the Los Angeles Times. The commentary is by Brian C. Anderson senior editor of City Journal and author of “South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias,” newly released from Regnery. In other words, someone who would not be expected to be…ahem…how shall we...

Your Mommy was right: have a nice day and you’ll be HEALTHIER. A new study reports that there is indeed a connection — and that if you can have a day when you emulate the much-ridiculed smiley face you’re apt to have fewer doctor bills and even live a bit longer. Scientific American.Com reports: Whereas previous research had linked depression with an increased incidence of health problems, the new findings reveal that people who report more everyday happiness are healthier overall...

The mother of boy who accuses Michael Jackson of molesting him yesterday summarized in one sentence what is really the issue in a trial that has attracted attention throughout the world: The woman, the New York Times reports, says the self-styled King of Pop (whose recent CDs have tanked terribly in the United States) said Jackson “managed to fool the world..” More: After spending much of the day laboriously fending off the cross-examination of the lead defense lawyer, the woman briefly...

It’s a sign of how dire the situation in Asia is that UN Secretary General Kofi Anan is now personally reportedly pressing hard to get to officials of China and Japan together to talk this week — to defuse tensions that seemingly accentuate every day. Anan hopes to get the two countries’ officials together later this week in Indonesia, but the questions then become: a)is it too little, too late? b)will this crisis require more than an apology, but eventually need some kind of third...

(NOTE: This is going to be updated and reposted under Tuesday’s posts) The testimony is highly dramatic. The quotes from it are riveting. But the underlying question in self-styled King of Pop Michael Jackson’s child molestation case has now become: has the prosecution undermined its case by putting the victim’s quirky mother on the witness stand? An American cable network is reenacting each day’s testimony, but who needs actors when you can read dramatic reports such as...

Cross-posted to Random Fate. GRENOBLE, France - Although I am a part of a three-company alliance in the semiconductor industry, the primary aim of that alliance is more on the development and manufacturing side rather than on the research side where I work. Hence, primarily people from the French component of the alliance surround me. Today, I was able to spend some time discussing the referendum on the EU constitution that will be held here in France next month with a young man (he is 24) in the...

Just imagine if you had THIS street address: PICO RIVERA, California (AP) — It’s not easy living on Dork Street — just ask Mario Saucedo. “I had a resume kicked back because someone thought I was kidding,” said Saucedo, who has lived on the street in this suburb about a dozen miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles for eight years. Ester Avetisian, who moved there 18 years ago, said she might have thought twice if there had been a sign in those days marking the road...

A word to guys who snore: if you make with the “zzzzzzzs” you are less likely to get the “sexxxxx..” In other words, if a night you can’t be quiet, you may have to go on a love diet. This info comes from a new survey done in England. As the Telegraph elegantly puts it: More than a quarter “hardly ever” have sex and 60 per cent are regularly told to sleep in the spare room, says the report at the start of National Stop Snoring Week. The British Snoring &...

Our periodic festival of links from all over the Internet. It’s not restricted to any one ideology — and opinions do not necessarily represent ours. THE EU CONSTITUTION’S PROBLEMS IN FRANCE: We’ve done some posts on this. Now Centerfield’s Jon Kaye looks at this issue. Read it in full, but here’s a small part: “The pundits are all out looking for reasons for this. But none of them mentioned the possibility that people might simply have read it. I read about...

Today the College of Cardinals meets to formally begin the process of picking a new Pope — and it’s coming at a moment none too soon. In this this 21st Century age of media overkill with its accelerating, constant barrage of information, words and images, it only stands to reason that speculation over who would replace the media savvy Pope John Paul II would be intensely speculative, almost on an unprecedented scale. And, some reports suggest, it has been precisely that. Just pick your...

You can find out here.

China’s continued bottom line message to Japan’s request that it apologize for violent anti-Japanese demonstrations is: “Don’t hold your breath.” And after a third weekend of furious demonstration in China, efforts later today to try to put a lid on the bubbling-over anger could be challenging, indeed, if some reports from weblogs in China are any indication. A sign of how rotten relations are becoming can be seen in this summary by Reuters: Japan and China were headed...

Here’s yet another indication that car bombs are ideologically-blind and are equal opportunity destroyers: An American founder of a humanitarian group for Iraqi civilian war casualties has been killed in a car bomb blast, a Western official in Baghdad said Sunday. Marla Ruzicka, founder of Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC), was traveling near Baghdad International Airport on Saturday when a car bomb exploded, killing her and her driver, the official said. The U.S. Embassy...

Some think so. And we’ll find out soon…

…at The Debate Link. This is a weblog that is truly welcome in the blogosphere blogtopia — a new blog doesn’t seem to be frantically trying to score points for any party. That does NOT mean it’s afraid to take a stand or be critical. The Debate Link is the handiwork of David Schraub, a 19-year-old student at Carleton College in scenic Northfield, Minnesota who eventually wants to teach law and politics. You really can’t predict exactly where The Debate Link will come...

Conservative author, columnist and talking head Ann Coulter will be gracing the cover of Time magazine. Here’s a question for you: Does Ann Coulter make a positive contribution to American political culture? Hey…don’t tell ME…vote by clicking HERE to let Time know the answer to their online question.

GRENOBLE, France – Last Friday marked my one year anniversary living in France as an expatriate. I’ve had the opportunity to learn the language and experience the culture from the inside. I have even added a special category to my weblog, Random Fate, called “Observations on France” to note what I see and compare it with attitudes and views that are in the US. In a little over a month, the citizens of France will be voting on the new EU constitution. When I first moved...