Today's Links
Well, I'm back from vacation - well-rested, etc... On with the links!
Unless you were buried upside down on the dark side of the moon last week, you might have heard that Roman Catholics are currently Pope-less, after the death of Karol Wojtyla. The media frenzy that greeted this event, fresh off the carnival surrounding Terry Schiavo, was just slightly beyond the outer limits of completely, freakishly pathetic. CNN covered the event for days on end, and based its operations in Rome, breaking away only occasionally to report on current events. It seemed as though the media decided THIS one death was more important than anything that has occurred in recent memory. And it was joyous. At times, it seemed as though we were watching the Santa Claus Parade instead of a funeral, the way the commentators were feting the proceedings. Anyway, Kuro5hin is concise as ever in his analysis of the effect that Wojtyla had on the world... i.e. not quite so worthly-of-sainthood as the media would have us believe.
Copyfight Update: Michael Geist, copyright pundit extraordinaire, has a really good article on the Canadian version of the P2P battle.
Comments
Interesting article, but anyone who says that the first Pope to go into a Mosque since, well since Islam started, is no big deal does not know their stuff.
If he was just the right man at the right time in history does that make his actions any lesser? Who cares. He was there, his mere existence *WAS* a huge emotional support for the Polish people during the latter days of communism, that's something to be thankful.
The article is full of stupid statements like: ``The next myth currently being promulgated by the media is that John Paul II was a champion of human dignity. Well, not really. In fact, John Paul II made no bones about crushing dissent or alternate views within the church.'' Well duh, the church is run as an absolute dicatorship. The Pope has a mandate from GOD, and he and everyone in it believes it, that's how the Catholic church is organized, has been for 2,000 years, you don't like it - go protestant!
This Pope was no better or worse on typical Church values (abortion, contraception, etc.) then the usual Catholic party line, and he *did* do a lot of ecumenical work that no Pope had done until now.
More then enough reason to throw a great wake.
Heck, I hope *half* as many people show up at my wake!
(Except I want them dancing in the streets!)
Posted by: Victor | April 11, 2005 11:30 PM