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Timing is everything
Feb. 25th, 2013 08:46 pmYou win battles by knowing the enemy's timing, and using a timing which the enemy does not expect. Miyamoto Musashi
The news these last few weeks has been dominated by examples of timing.
The Pope resigns—If Monty Python was right, and "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition", then we have the same feeling about the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Aside from the fact that he is old and getting feeble, he resigned in such a way that the Conclave to choose his successor either has to be held very quickly, or dragged out until after Easter. He'll helicopter off to Castel Gandolfo on Thursday evening, and a few moments after he touches down, he'll no longer be Pope. We don't know what he'll be called yet. We do know that he'll be sticking close to his successor, living in a converted convent in the Vatican. There have been intimations that the result of an investigation into Vatican scandals, delivered earlier this month, provoked his resignation a day later. I think this is unlikely—the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt Rev'd Lord Williams of Oystermouth, knew about the Pope's plan for resignation last December. But it's all a matter of timing.
Cardinal O'Brien resigns—The Cardinal Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, resigned after three priests and a former priest accused him of inappropriate behaviour toward them in the 1980's. He was scheduled to retire at the end of next month, but today the Pope accepted his resignation, effective today. He won't be attending the Conclave (even though he is still entitled to do so), and he is contesting the accusation vigourously, "taking legal advice", they say.
It's quite interesting that these accusations have lain hidden for 30 years, but come out just before O'Brien was ready to depart for Rome. Timing is everything.
O'Brien has been quite strident about abortion, gay marriage, and in vitro fertilisation.
He went on to argue that same-sex marriage is a "grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human rights(sic)," a stance that prompted angry rebukes from gay rights groups.
And from the link above, we have:
Church teaching holds that gays should be treated with dignity and respect but that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered." The church has opposed same-sex marriage unions because it believes marriage is a sacred union between man and woman.
I apologise for citing Fox News.
I am presuming that if "inappropriate behaviour" includes man-on-man sex, then Cardinal O'Brien is "intrinsically disordered".
Former LibDem official is accused of sexual harassment—I must here declare an interest; I am a member of the Liberal Democrats.
Lord Rennard was a very powerful Liberal Democrat official a few years ago, and was credited with ensuring that Nick Clegg won the leadership of the party and that many of the current MPs from the party were selected to stand for office.
However, he is now accused of sexual harassment of women who were either putting themselves forward for selection as prospective MPs or who worked at the central office of the party. He denies it. The current leadership claims that they never heard of specific accusations against him. The unspecific rumours they heard were left to a staffer to investigate, and nothing came of it.
So why are the accusations coming out now? Another LibDem Parliamentary miscreant, Chris Huhne, pled guilty to perverting the course of justice through getting his then-wife to take speeding points on her driving license. Her trial ended in a mistrial last week when the jury couldn't agree on a verdict and asked the judge some questions that were clearly legal nonsense. He resigned from Parliament, and this Thursday is the by-election to fill the seat. The timing of these accusations is interesting. The current leadership is quite embarrassed about all this, and the question of whether there was some sort of cover-up is still in the air.
So timing is behind three of the major stories this week.
The news these last few weeks has been dominated by examples of timing.
The Pope resigns—If Monty Python was right, and "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition", then we have the same feeling about the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Aside from the fact that he is old and getting feeble, he resigned in such a way that the Conclave to choose his successor either has to be held very quickly, or dragged out until after Easter. He'll helicopter off to Castel Gandolfo on Thursday evening, and a few moments after he touches down, he'll no longer be Pope. We don't know what he'll be called yet. We do know that he'll be sticking close to his successor, living in a converted convent in the Vatican. There have been intimations that the result of an investigation into Vatican scandals, delivered earlier this month, provoked his resignation a day later. I think this is unlikely—the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt Rev'd Lord Williams of Oystermouth, knew about the Pope's plan for resignation last December. But it's all a matter of timing.
Cardinal O'Brien resigns—The Cardinal Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, resigned after three priests and a former priest accused him of inappropriate behaviour toward them in the 1980's. He was scheduled to retire at the end of next month, but today the Pope accepted his resignation, effective today. He won't be attending the Conclave (even though he is still entitled to do so), and he is contesting the accusation vigourously, "taking legal advice", they say.
It's quite interesting that these accusations have lain hidden for 30 years, but come out just before O'Brien was ready to depart for Rome. Timing is everything.
O'Brien has been quite strident about abortion, gay marriage, and in vitro fertilisation.
He went on to argue that same-sex marriage is a "grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human rights(sic)," a stance that prompted angry rebukes from gay rights groups.
And from the link above, we have:
Church teaching holds that gays should be treated with dignity and respect but that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered." The church has opposed same-sex marriage unions because it believes marriage is a sacred union between man and woman.
I apologise for citing Fox News.
I am presuming that if "inappropriate behaviour" includes man-on-man sex, then Cardinal O'Brien is "intrinsically disordered".
Former LibDem official is accused of sexual harassment—I must here declare an interest; I am a member of the Liberal Democrats.
Lord Rennard was a very powerful Liberal Democrat official a few years ago, and was credited with ensuring that Nick Clegg won the leadership of the party and that many of the current MPs from the party were selected to stand for office.
However, he is now accused of sexual harassment of women who were either putting themselves forward for selection as prospective MPs or who worked at the central office of the party. He denies it. The current leadership claims that they never heard of specific accusations against him. The unspecific rumours they heard were left to a staffer to investigate, and nothing came of it.
So why are the accusations coming out now? Another LibDem Parliamentary miscreant, Chris Huhne, pled guilty to perverting the course of justice through getting his then-wife to take speeding points on her driving license. Her trial ended in a mistrial last week when the jury couldn't agree on a verdict and asked the judge some questions that were clearly legal nonsense. He resigned from Parliament, and this Thursday is the by-election to fill the seat. The timing of these accusations is interesting. The current leadership is quite embarrassed about all this, and the question of whether there was some sort of cover-up is still in the air.
So timing is behind three of the major stories this week.
