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Year: 2005

Controversy Over Google Personal History Feature

Via Michael Liedtke, AP Business Writer

Google Inc. is experimenting with a new feature that enables the users of its online search engine to see all of their past search requests and results, creating a computer peephole that could prove as embarrassing as it is helpful.

Whenever a user is logged in, Google will provide a detailed look at all their past search activity. The service also includes a “pause” feature that prevents it from being displayed in the index.

Users will be able to pinpoint a search conducted on a particular day, using a calendar that’s displayed on the history page. The service sometimes will point out a past search result related to a new search request.

Google is hoping the service becomes so valuable that people will use its search engine even more frequently than they already do, giving the company more opportunities to display text-based ads that boost its profits.

“We think there is some value in providing people with visibility into their past activity on Google,” said Marissa Mayer, the company’s director of consumer Web products.

But privacy rights expert Pam Dixon is worried the service will make it easier for mischief makers, snoops and perhaps even the government to get their hands on a user’s entire search history.

“It’s really a bad idea,” said Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum. “If you need to keep track of your past searches, I recommend using a notebook. It would be a lot more private and a lot less risky.”

So, Google knows how many times you’ve been searching for chicken soup recipes. Whoop-de-doo. Where’s the risk in that?

If you are searching for ways to hack into computers, bust open the TIVO case to pirate movies from HBO, build an atomic bomb or cook crystal meth, then maybe you shouldn’t use Google.

Duh.

Next subject please.

BREAKING NEWS!

Paris Hilton Cuts Ties with Nicole Richie

Via AP:

Paris Hilton is hot … over something Nicole Richie did.

But the hotel heiress isn’t saying what’s behind the feud with her co-“Simple Life” star.

“It’s no big secret that Nicole and I are no longer friends,” Hilton said in a statement Wednesday. “Nicole knows what she did, and that’s all I’m ever going to say about it.”

Last week, Hilton, 24, told USA Today that Richie will be replaced on “The Simple Life” by her friend Kimberly Stewart, the daughter of singer Rod Stewart. Hilton and Richie have starred on the Fox reality show for its first three seasons.

Fox denied the casting change, saying in a statement: “We are currently discussing internally the creative direction of the next ‘The Simple Life.’ We are huge fans of both Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie and look forward to solidifying our plans for the next installment.”

A call to Richie’s publicist was not immediately returned.

In “The Simple Life 3: Interns,” Hilton and Richie took their fish-out-of-bottled-water show to the business world.

Richie, the 23-year-old daughter of R&B crooner Lionel Richie, announced her engagement to club DJ Adam Goldstein in February.

That’s it. If there was any reason to put a bullet to my head this is it. How can I go on living knowing that Paris and Nicole aren’t talking to each other anymore?

What a world.

Black Gold

Via AP: The House has voted to allow oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge. Don’t expect any immediate relief at the gas pump though.

Benedict XVI…How Original!

Switching gears to the incense decanter of pithy…Benedict the Sixteenth? Come now, that’s hardly original. In Pope-dom that’s like naming your newborn Jennifer or Michael. Only John has been used more (23 times) with Gregory a close third (15 times.)Little is known of the first Benedict, who served from 575-579. In fact, before John Paul I in 1978, the last original (never used) name in the papacy occurred back in 913, when Pope Lando (possibly of the Calrissian line) served for a little less than a year. One of my two favorite original pope names is Pope Eugene (now a saint) who I believe is the patron saint of Ducks. I also must give a nod and hand clasp to Pope Marinus. Marinus was both responsible for blessing meat overnight in a flavorful rue of herbs and spices as well as having a vision that a visitor from the Far East would break the single season hits record. Personally, I would have been elated to hear the Vatican announce that Cardinal Ratzinger chose the name, Pope Kevin I.(crossposted at unoriginalchristian.com)

Pope Benedict XVI

VATICAN CITY (AP) 78 year old Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany is the new pope. Inauguration Mass for Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday (4/24/05) at 10 a.m. (4 a.m. EDT).

NEW: Pope Benedict’s Homily (4/24/05)

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Bush Reacts – Praises Ratzinger

President Bush joins other world leaders in praising the choice of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new pope, calling him a “man of great wisdom and knowledge.”

“He’s a man who serves the Lord,” Bush tells reporters at the White House.

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Fact Sheet: Papal Names

Pope Benedict XVI — formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — chose one of a number of papal names of holy origin. Benedict comes from the Latin for “blessing.”

Some experts believe the name the pope chooses offers a clue into the spirit of the new papacy.

The last pope to choose the name — Benedict XV — served during World War I and was credited with settling animosity between traditionalists and modernists. He dreamed of reunion with Orthodox Christians.

And there’s another Pope Benedict who was seen as a peacemaker. Pope Benedict XI served in the 14th century as political issues were building tension in the church.

One other aspect of the name may be appealing to the new Pope Benedict. He is known as a scholar, just like Pope Benedict XIV and Pope Benedict XI before him.

The new pope is free to pick from any of his 264 predecessors, use his own first name or come up with something new.

Choosing A New Name

  • A newly-elected pope must immediately choose a name after accepting the papacy.
  • This happens while cardinals are still secretly meeting in conclave.
  • New popes usually pick the name of a saint or former pope they admire.
  • Many see great significance in the name, indicating a pope’s beliefs and direction.
  • The last completely new papal name was “Lando”. Pope Lando served 913-914.

John Paul II’s Name

  • Pope John Paul II chose his name to honor his predecessor, John Paul I.
  • John Paul I died just 33 days after being elected pope.
  • John Paul I was honoring two former popes: John XXIII (1958-63) and Paul VI (1963-78). Those popes opened and closed the Second Vatican Council.
  • The name “John Paul I” made history as the first time a pope took two names.
  • Also, no one had ever added “the first” or “I” to a new pope name. But “John Paul I” put the “I” on the end of the name as he took office.

How Did Tradition Start?

  • The tradition dates to 553 AD.
  • The new pope then changed his name from Mercurius to John, becoming Pope John II.
  • He did that as his given name, Mercurius, was derived from the name of the Roman god Mercury.
  • Mercurius felt the successor to St. Peter shouldn’t have a pagan name. So he chose John, to honor a former pope.

Most Popular Pope Names

  • John. There have been 23 Pope Johns. The latest (John XXIII) died in 1963.
  • Gregory. There have been 16. The last served 1831-1846.
  • Benedict. There have been 16, including the current pope.
  • Clement. There have been 14. The most recent served 1769-1774.
  • Innocent. The church has had 13 popes with that name. The last served 1721-24.
  • Leo. There have been 13.

Other Pope Names

  • Peter. The first pope. There has been only one.
  • Pius. Relatively popular lately. Three of eight popes in the 20th century were named Pius. Pius XII died in 1958. It’s an old name; Pius I served 140-155.
  • Urban. There have been eight, with the latest (Urban VIII) serving 1623-1644.
  • Honorius. There were two. Honorius II served 1124-1130.
  • Sisinnius. Just one. He served in 708.
  • St. Hilarius. He served as pope 461-468.

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News

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First greeting:

Dear brothers and sisters,

After the Great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble worker in the Lord’s vineyard.

I am comforted by the fact that the Lord knows how to work and act even with insufficient instruments. And above all, I entrust myself to your prayers.

With the joy of the risen Lord and confidence in his constant help, we will go forward. The Lord will help us and Mary his most holy mother will be alongside us.

Thank you.

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Fast Facts

  • Joseph Ratzinger was born April 16, 1927
  • He is 78 years old and the oldest of the major contenders to be pope
  • Ratzinger is German. He speaks heavily accented Italian
  • He’s spent more than 24 years as a theologian at the Vatican, serving as John Paul II’s chief theological adviser
  • He was most often mentioned as a “transitional” pope who could have a short reign
  • He became a cardinal in 1977 by Paul VI
  • Ratzinger was one of just three voting cardinals who wasn’t made a cardinal by John Paul II

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Blog Reaction

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Newpope

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Capt.sge.ija13.200405014234.photo01.photo.default_2D380x256

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, the Roman Catholic Church’s leading hard-liner, was elected the new pope Tuesday in the first conclave of the new millennium. He chose the name Benedict XVI and called himself “a simple, humble worker.”

Ratzinger, the first German pope in centuries, emerged onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, where he waved to a wildly cheering crowd of tens of thousands and gave his first blessing. Other cardinals clad in their crimson robes came out on other balconies to watch him after one of the fastest papal conclaves of the past century.

“Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me a simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord,” he said after being introduced by Chilean Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estivez.

“The fact that the Lord can work and act even with insufficient means consoles me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers,” the new pope said. “I entrust myself to your prayers.”

The crowd responded to the 265th pope by chanting “Benedict! Benedict!”

If the new pope was paying tribute to the last pontiff of that name, it could be interpreted as a bid to soften his image as the Vatican’s doctrinal hard-liner.

Benedict XV, who reigned from 1914 to 1922, was a moderate following Pius X, who had implemented a sharp crackdown against doctrinal “modernism.” He reigned during World War I and was credited with settling animosity between traditionalists and modernists, and dreamed of reunion with Orthodox Christians.

Benedict, which comes from the Latin for “blessing,” is one of a number of papal names of holy origin such as Clement (“mercy”), Innocent (“hopeful” as well as “innocent”) and Pius (“pious”).

Ratzinger turned 78 on Saturday. His age clearly was a factor among cardinals who favored a “transitional” pope who could skillfully lead the church as it absorbs John Paul II’s legacy, rather than a younger cardinal who could wind up with another long pontificate.