“There’s no business like snow business...”

... but this is all getting bloody boring and I rarely leave my flat anyway. So, other than that it's ramping up the heating bill, I don’t really have an opinion. Yes, alright, it’s pretty.

Let’s talk about the Catholic Church instead, shall we?

Pope’s conciliatory moves to Holocaust denier

Pope Benedict XVI, aka Joseph Ratzinger, aka God’s rottweiller, has come under fire yet again for his crazy right-wing antics. This time it’s allowing four excommunicated Catholic bishops back into the church. One of whom, British-born Richard Williamson (not to be confused with Rowan Williams) denies there were any gas chambers in the Nazi concentration camps.

The four men are apparently disciples of the right wing Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre who consecrated them without Rome’s permission. Lefebvre’s followers reject the conclusions of the Second Vatican Council; silly ideas like the Jews not bearing collective guilt for the death of Christ. After excommunication they formed the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX).

Not only does this sound like something from a Dan Brown thriller but it does beg the question, if they weren’t appointed with Rome’s permission, surely they’re not actually bishops? And why exactly do they need to be able to rejoin the Church if they don’t agree with it?

Reinstating a Holocaust denier seems a strange move for the Pope. Despite being staunchly right-wing Ratzinger has tried to distance himself from the Nazi Party since becoming a member of the Hitler Youth in 1941. To be fair to him, it was compulsory in those days so he had little choice.

Perhaps the Fuhrer still exerts some influence on his taste though. He recently caused controversy by appointing another right wing cleric as a bishop (one who claims Hurricane Katrina was punishment for New Orleans’ sins and Harry Potter books spread Satanism). His name? Bishop Wagner.

Smith: “DON’T PANIC!”

The BBC website reports that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is holding a “burglary summit”. No, it’s not the launch of some modern apprenticeship scheme for would-be house robbers but a move to tackle the growing number of burglaries caused by the economic crisis. Not that Smith wants us to worry about it.

The BBC reports that “Ms Smith said while historically burglaries rose during recession, there was nothing "inevitable" about it.”

It also reports that “figures show burglaries increased by 4% between July and September, compared with the similar period in 2007. [...] the first rise in seven years.”

That sounds a bit more than inevitable, Jacqui; that sounds like its already happening.

Smith is also reported as saying "I think it's important that we act before there's a problem”.

Isn’t that what the Government did with the Iraq war? Look how that turned out...