How The World Is Run

It happened again. They put the ballot papers on the fire and the smoke coming out the chimney was white. Everybody in the square was jumping up and down, weeping and clapping their hands- we have a new Pope! And then the smoke turned black. Sorry, folks, no Pope today.

Quaint.

But communicating by smoke signals isn't the half of it. We're choosing a man to fill one of the most powerful posts in the world and the electorate consists of a handful of (supposedly) celibate old gents in their seventies.

Why aren't we laughing?

This is the 21st centry, not the 14th.

But I guess you and I don't get to vote for the chairman of Microsoft either.

(no subject)

Everyone go check out cataptromancer's admonition to Pope Benedict, written (I kid you not) in medieval Latin!