tondebrigade

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires has been elected to be the 266th pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Francis.

He is the first Latin American pope to lead the church, as well as the first Jesuit priest.

Francis, 76, appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday more than an hour after white smoke was released from the Sistine Chapel chimney at 2:05 EDT (7:05 p.m. CET) to signal that a new pope had been selected. Speaking from the balcony, he gave his first address as pope, the traditional Urbi et Orbi (to the "City and the World"), as crowds waved, cried and cheered for the new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

Full article here

Looks like we finally have a new pope. I was hoping there was a chance a pro-gay pope would be elected, but alas, Pope Francis has a rather harsh anti-gay stance. I'm hoping that he may change over time, though. From the sounds of things, he is a community activist, something I hope he will continue while leading as Pope. Hopefully spending enough time with common people will help give him a more open-minded outlook. We can always hope. Regardless of ideological differences, I wish the new Pope best of luck in his new position, and that anytime he is willing to open up and support the LGBT community, we'll be more than happy to welcome him as an ally.

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he would resign on Feb. 28 because he was simply too infirm to carry on ? the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The decision sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March.

The 85-year-old pope announced his decision in Latin during a meeting of Vatican cardinals on Monday morning.

Full article here

This is big news, and it affects more than just Catholics. For the record, regardless of ideological differences, I have a great respect for the office of the pope and the person holding it. I'm sure most of the world was aware that Pope Benedict was not going to hold the position for a particularly long time, as he was already fairly advanced in age when he took the office back on 2005. I am a bit surprised he didn't hit the decade marker, though. If he feels his health is a concern, and that a different leader should take the reigns, than everyone should accept his judgement (I believe he made a wise decision). As for who the next pope will be, I'm hoping for a pope far more liberal, and willing to at least respect the rights to equality of all people (Pope Benedict was openly against gay marriage). Seeing a religious leader of such influence as the pope declare support for gay marriage would be wonderful news, though I know such a declaration to not be likely in the near future, we can always hope. The possibility of such, however small, was my inspiration for covering this article.

Kim Dotcom, founder of outlawed file-sharing website Megaupload, said his new "cyberlocker" was not revenge on U.S. authorities who planned a raid on his home, closed Megaupload and charged him with online piracy for which he faces jail if found guilty.

Dotcom said his new offering, Mega.co.nz, which will launch on Sunday even as he and three colleagues await extradition from New Zealand to the United States, complied with the law and warned that attempts to take it down would be futile.

Full Article Here

I'm actually excited about this. Considering how the charges brought against Megaupload seemed like a backlash paid for by the MPAA and the RIAA in the first place, I'm glad to see a new site come up that is made to be able to not be hit by either organization. The file encryption idea works for me; I kept several backups on my MU account that I wouldn't want people to able to poke around with, and being able to make them accessible to anyone but myself is a welcome change. Hopefully the new site will be up and running without any issues, and with no more interference from the millionaires upset about people blocking laws aimed at restricting Internet freedom.

http://otaku.collectiondx.com/news-item/two-new-studio-ghibli-films-announced

Two new films, and one directed by Miyazaki? If this isn't a Christmas gift to the Otaku of the world, I don't know what is.

The first film is based on the manga by Miyazaki about Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of Japan's famous Zero fighter plane, used during WWII.


The second film, directed by Isao Takahata, is based on the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (for the Touhou fans reading this, this is the same story that inspired Kaguya Houraisan's backstory).



Both are going to be released the same day, but shown separately. They haven't said the date yet, but I'm excited!

GAZA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Israel launched a major offensive against Palestinian militants in Gaza on Wednesday, killing the military commander of Hamas in an air strike and threatening an invasion of the enclave that the Islamist group vowed would "open the gates of hell".

The onslaught shattered hopes that a truce mediated on Tuesday by Egypt could pull the two sides back from the brink of war after five days of escalating Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli strikes at militant targets.

Full article here

This is most unsettling. It hasn't been a week since the mortar launch against Syria, and Israel is escalating an offensive against Palestinians in Gaza. I'm not exactly a fan of Hamas or their regime in Gaza, but with the threats for the Syrian civil war threatening to pull in Israel, the timing couldn't be worse. Even is they outgun and out-man Hamas forces, it won't be a quick fight with the remaining Hamas leaders raising the white flag after a little show of muscle. If Israel military forces do go through with a full invasion force, it would wise of them not to leave themselves vulnerable to Syrian forces looking to further destabilize the region as their power slips away.

Saudi Arabia is the world's top producer of oil, extracting approximately 11.6 million barrels every day. The oil takes care of approximately two-thirds of the kingdom's own energy needs and is the lynchpin of the country's lucrative exports.

So how is the oil-rich country planning for its energy needs in the future? By focusing on renewable energy.

Full article here

This is pretty big news. To hear a country in the Middle East talk about switching to renewable sources is huge. If they put the money they made from oil into it, then we could see rapid development of renewable sources, as well. I agree, that this certainly will help to make the world a better place. Hopefully they will put a lot of money into it; enough to get the attention of clean energy scientists and developers from around the world. This is an opportunity, and I hope the world does not let it go to waste. I'm hopeful this move will lead to something spectacular in the years to come.

As a side note, I'm not so sure the US should be so proud of soon becoming the world's number one oil producer. Last I checked, American Oil Barons aren't looking to sink money into renewable resources anytime soon (they're actually spending millions fighting renewable energy).

Article here

This is a cool thing to see. It's amazing just how long that package has been sitting sealed. Really does make one wonder what the intent was. Still, it's really amazing to see things come out that have been sealed away for a century. I did share the laugh when they found the package was double wrapped, but it was worth it, it would seem!