First off: politics.

For those of you who don’t pay attention, one Canadian scandal is currently erupting - the sponsorship scandal. Those Liberals paid one large sum of money for work that may or may not have been done to keep our fine country unified, and large sums of money from those who may or may not have been doing this work flowed back to the Liberals in the form of campaign and party contributions. That’s the general idea. There’s currently an inquiry, the Gomery inquiry, whose purpose is get to the bottom of it all. Since several witnesses face criminal trials for what may (or may not) have happened, a publication ban was/is in effect on what they were to say.

The ban was “blown” by an American (who does not fall under the ban, so it’s not really blown is it?), who published details - interesting, horribly unnerving details on what the government we elected may or may not have done, details that we mortal Canadians should not be able to read because of the ban. Now, I’d love to link his blog to my website, but according to his blog, some in Canada who HAVE linked his blog have received summons from the government. I don’t want that. But Google “Captain’s Quarters” and/or “Captain Ed” and you should hit upon it. On a side note, it has some intersting commentary on world politics in general. Goodness, the people we elect… do they check their brains at the door of the Parliament building?

Onto religion:

Unless you yourself are under a total media ban, you are aware of the passing of Pope John Paul II. He was a great man who inspired many Catholics and non-Catholics to work together and be better people. I don’t necessarily agree with all the policies and beliefs he held up or implemented while the head of the Church, especially those policies dealing with women’s involvement in the Church and issues of birth control and disease control in developing and suffering nations. But he did more than other Pope to acknowledge other religions and faiths, and to take a step towards admitting faults of the Church in WWII. He will leave a big legacy to follow, and many anticipate what could come.

Minor update Today (Friday) was the Pope’s funeral, a celebration of life and (dare I say it?) Christian spirit attended by millions and likely watched by many millions more. I only caught part near the end (the Litenany of the Saints, which nearly any half-practising Catholic could recognize in any language) and it made me a little sad (I didn’t cry, but I was sad) , and hopeful - like it’s been said on the news, this has provided a momentum for the RC church. Let’s hope it keeps going somewhere. End of update

A few weeks back, (on my way to New Orleans) I read Dan Brown’s ”Angels and Demons”, having already read ”The Da Vinci Code”. It’s interesting timing compared to current events. Without giving too much away, the (ficticious) Pope in the novel has just passed away, so the process on how the next Pope is chosen is documented in detail. The book itself is a good read, but I thought it intersting how little I knew about some Catholic Policy, especially pertaining to the Vatican.