As Pope Benedict XVI began his historic visit to Great Britain last week (things were never the same after Henry VIII’s divorce), the pontiff was without one of his aides, Cardinal Walter Kasper. Earlier in the week, the German magazine Focus ran an interview with the cardinal who spoke of “an aggressive new atheism in England” (a point he could plausibly defend) and described arriving at Heathrow airport as akin to landing in the Third World (slightly harder to defend). The comments sparked outrage prior to the pope’s trip—and no apology was issued by the cardinal, who according to his spokesman views the matter as closed. What he meant to describe, says Father Federico Lombardi (and as related by the London Daily Telegraph), was “a cosmopolitan reality, a melting pot of ordinary humanity and all of its diversity and its problems.”
The Telegraph then quotes from Cardinal Kasper’s secretary, Monsignor Oliver Lahl, who elaborated:
Sure. And the reason Cardinal Kasper is not on the trip, as noted above, is that he is ill—with gout. Yes, that swelling of the joints sometimes known as the “patrician malady,” which usually has something to do with a very rich diet, is supposedly what has hindered (and hobbled) the cardinal. (For a fuller appreciation of the affliction, see Victorino Matus’s Casual column on page 5.)
According to the Telegraph, “Msgr. Lahl confirmed that the cardinal was suffering from gout in his legs and feet and had difficulty walking and standing.” And though the cardinal did attend a dinner honoring him in Rome last week, responded Lahl, “He just went for a couple of hours. It’s the only appointment he has managed to fulfill all week. He will suffer for it over the next couple of days.”
The Scrapbook doesn’t doubt it: The disease brought on by consumption of steak and shellfish and wine and beer—aren’t these common staples in the Vatican? As a priest once told The Scrapbook, “If this is poverty, bring on chastity!”
Obama’s Soaring Poll Numbers
Does Europe still love Obama? When last year’s Transatlantic Trends poll came out, European respondents gave the new president a whopping 83 percent approval rating. This year, however, that number has dropped—to a shockingly low 78 percent. Contrast this with the latest Gallup poll showing Americans giving Obama a 45 percent approval rating, and it is clear the United States and Europe continue to see things rather differently.
The Portuguese and the Germans love Obama the most, giving him 88 percent and 87 percent approval respectively. Interestingly, Turkey’s view of the president has plummeted over the last year, from 50 percent to 28 percent. (Perhaps it is not a coincidence that 48 percent of Turkish respondents are not concerned about a nuclear Iran and that a greater number of Turks desire closer cooperation with the Middle East than with the United States.)
The poll, sponsored in part by the German Marshall Fund, also shows Europeans having a more pessimistic view of Afghanistan than their American counterparts and a majority throughout the continent wanting troop reductions or withdrawal from that theater. Less than 50 percent of those polled approve of Obama’s handling of Afghanistan and Iran, despite giving him overall high approval marks. Only 13 percent of EU respondents are in favor of aiding the opposition in Iran—most prefer economic incentives over economic sanctions when it comes to persuading Tehran to give up its nuclear ambitions. (Perhaps the Europeans could offer Ahmadinejad an enticing package in return for his pledge not to pursue nuclear power. The signing ceremony could even take place in Munich.)
Depressing, but maybe not at all surprising. (In addition, 60 percent of the French and 53 percent of Germans say “the euro has been a bad thing for their economy.”) On the other hand, “Around half of Americans (53 percent) agreed that the United States has enough common values with China to be able to cooperate on international problems,” whereas 63 percent of Europeans “said that China and Europe have such different values that cooperating on international problems is impossible.”
But at least for the president, such polling will no doubt comfort him—following the midterm elections, he may want to consider another morale-boosting trip to Europe and a major address to an adoring (and nonvoting) public.
Them’s Fightin’ Words!
The Palm Beach Post in Florida recently reported a war of words between Democratic House member Ron Klein and his Republican challenger Allen West. West, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army and an Iraq war veteran, called his Republican primary opponent David Brady a “knucklehead” and correctly predicted his campaign was “going to take [Brady] out behind the woodshed and we’re going to give him a Southern-fried butt-whoopin’ ” in the primary election last month. West continued, saying, “We’re going to take Ron Klein out behind the same woodshed and we’ll whoop him too.”
West doubled down in a recent interview. “That’s how men talk,” West said. “You know, college football season’s started and Chris Fowler on ESPN College GameDay is going to talk about taking people behind the woodshed. . . . You can call it trash talking, you can call it whatever you want. Patton was a tough guy. Mac-Arthur was a tough guy. William Tecumseh Sherman was a tough guy. America has a history of, when there are tough times, they look for tough leaders to take them out of those tough times and tough situations.”
The Post also reported that West called Klein a “pathetic liberal,” “cretin,” “Mama’s boy” for House speaker Nancy Pelosi, “little Lord Ron,” and “little Ronnie”—all in one blog post on his campaign website.
That’s a hefty arsenal in this war of words, but it’s evident from his response that Klein could stand to fortify his munitions. “This isn’t about college football. This isn’t about back-slapping and using, you know, sexist remarks or threatening statements as a way of being cute or funny,” Klein said. “I think a lot of people find it pretty offensive for him to be out there threatening and finding it amusing to be threatening your opponent or threatening people who don’t agree with him.”
The Scrapbook finds the jabs all in good fun and would offer some sage advice for the embattled Democrat on how to effectively counter the attack, but perhaps Lt. Col. Allen West captured it best: “Man up.”
[img caption=”Ramirez” float=”center” width=”480″ height=”640″ render=”<%photoRenderType%>”]2029[/img]
Steve Jobs, Ninja Warrior
Bloomberg News reports on a rather bizarre incident involving Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Japanese airport security officials, and what are popularly known as Chinese or ninja throwing stars. First reported by SPA!, a Japanese publication, Jobs was supposedly boarding his private jet at Kansai International Airport when security stopped him for possession of the deadly bladed stars. According to the story, Jobs disposed of his stars, known as shuriken in Japanese, before getting on the plane, and vowed never to return to the Land of the Rising Sun. As related by SPA! via Bloomberg, “Jobs said it wouldn’t make sense for a person to try to hijack his own plane.” (No word on whether Jobs then disposed of security officials using a samurai sword, nunchucks, or handclaws before vanishing in a smokescreen.)
An Apple spokesman admits Jobs was in Japan for a family vacation but otherwise calls the story “pure fiction” and says that “Steve had a great time and hopes to visit Japan again soon.” No doubt to avenge his honor!
Bill Gates, Toilet Innovator
Meanwhile, at last month’s Tech-onomy conference in Lake Tahoe, Calif., Bill Gates said something to host Brent Schlender that reminded us of the famous line from The Graduate: “I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. . . . Are you listening?. . . Plastics.” Except for Gates, the word is “toilets.” As the website techcrunch.com reports, the founder of Microsoft and current head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation admitted he is obsessed with toilets—how they work and how to make them better: “Latrines are fascinating. . . . No one wants to read about it—it’s one of the greatest under-investments.” He also promised, “We’re gonna have a breakthrough in the latrines.”
According to techcrunch.com, “[Gates] said that while the flushable toilet is the gold standard, it isn’t efficient at all. Someone is going to fix that.” The Scrapbook only hopes a Gates-designed toilet will be easy to install, user-friendly, and with little or no chance of crashing.
Recession? What Recession?
How much do you love your children? Enough to build them a tree house? Buy them a swing set? What about a pirate ship? A friend sends The Scrapbook a link to PoshTots.com: “The Most Extraordinary Children’s Furnishings in the World!” It was here that we came across “Red Beard’s Revenge Pirate Ship Playhouse,” large enough to fit four seated adults in its captain’s quarters and with such amenities as leatherette-cushioned benches, a handcrafted crow’s nest, and Douglas fir flooring and walls. All for the low price of $52,000. As for the entire neighborhood’s sense of outrage, scorn, and bitter resentment engendered towards you: priceless.
Sentences We Didn’t Finish
“During my recent travels to North Korea and China, I received clear, strong signals that Pyongyang wants to restart negotiations on a comprehensive peace treaty with the United States and South Korea and on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The components of such an agreement . . . ” (Jimmy Carter, New York Times, September 16, 2010).
Now in Paperback
The Scrapbook is pleased to announce the paperback edition of our colleague Matthew Continetti’s The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star. “Matthew Continetti rips the lid off the lamestream media in this must-read book,” says the former vice presidential nominee. We couldn’t agree more. And with the rise of the Tea Party movement and Palin’s political influence felt throughout this midterm election season, we can’t think of a better time to purchase this book.
