He won't have a vote, when he steps down he becomes a non-voting cardinal (age 85). He won't be admitted to Conclave. That is not to say that he won't be able to express a preference, but he cannot dictate how the Conclave goes. According to the press (Italian not American), he will be at the vacation retreat at Castelgandolfo during the Conclave.

You have close to 120 type "A" personalities in the Sistine Chapel, that is why every conclave is like herding cats. You need to get 66% to agree on the next Pope. He cannot count on the Italian contigent to go his way (or the Western European contingent, frankly).

The elephant in the room is that his resignation is roughly about half health reasons and the other half over the culmination of the scandals he presided over as both Pope and the leader of the SCDF/Inquisition. He is not a particularly popular Pope, so his ability to influence Conclave is severely limited. John Paul II might have been able to influence a Conclave, as he was beloved by even his doctrinal enemies. Benedict does not have that luxury. Benedict is perceived as both "freddo" (cold) and "rigido" (inflexible) and is more professor than pastor.

I would not fear him hand picking his successor and bear in mind Conclaves are rarely predictable.

~Jeff
aka Lorenius

Really weird I they do, isn't starkiller and his clones dead?

I think Stonewall is very much a haven for a lot of us from the crazy of the outside world. We come here to have fun and escape it all for a while. In this day and age where it's so easy to be bombarded with so much negativity, places like these are all the more important, imo. :)

FYI guys, this is really bad news.

My strong bet is that he chose to retire so that he can (unofficially) choose the next pope. Odds are we'll end up with a young Ratzinger+.

OMG DUDE I FREGGIN LOVE IT!

If you plan to attend, please RSVP on the events page!

Whenever I play, and especially when I can get on Vent (when my connection is decent) I love the fun and conversation with the fleeties. Now it has gotten needlessly heated for some strange reason time to time, but generally just a fun and informative exchange with intelligent and level-headed people from across the globe.

For those who might not know, here in Southern California recently a former LAPD officer killed two innocent people and took down another officer in my home town of Riverside. It's been flooding the news here for days, and naturally they are hyping this thing up like crazy to drive the ratings. This has the unfortunate effect in my area among my general tax bracket of stirring up some rather frightening opinions.
There are those of course who are your general conspiracy theorists who thinks this is all faked -somehow- by Obama to take their guns away. A few over-grown punks who are delighted about the idea of someone targeting cops because it sounds so like a bad 1980's action flick. And of course there are those surprisingly many people who have read his publicly posted manifesto and believe that the murder of 3 uninvolved and innocent people was somehow justified. THAT, is the most frightening of all.
You cannot reason or debate with these people on any intellectual level. These are basically the same that think 9/11 was committed by the Bush administration (some have even tied Obama into it using some of the most amazing cognitive gymnastics I have ever had the displeasure of experiencing), that our government is putting mind-control chemicals in our water supply, is planning mass genocide of most of the African and Eurasian continents, and that every scientist on the planet is somehow in the pocket of the CIA and federal government to hide "the truth" (aliens, killer asteroids, a structurally collapsing planet, etc.). When I go out for a drink at my local gay bar this is what bombards me from every angle... and is a primary reason why all my money goes into savings so I can move ASAP.
This is why I love you all. I can have nice, intelligent conversations wuth people that have a generally scientific perspective. There is an open exchange of information and opinion that is civilized, entertaining and riddled with gay sex innuendo. I guess it comes from enjoying media that wishes to explore the better aspects of our nature and a glorious future that can be attained with hard work and open minds. Still, it sucks I am limited from playing, but when I'm back on it will be with a vengeance.. and really makes me want to meet you all in Vegas :lol:

[article]285[/article]

Over the next 4 weekends, we’ll be hosting events to take us back to the Defera Invasion zone. Each weekend, we’ll take on a different area; starting with the City, then the Power Plant, and finally the Temple. The last weekend will be dedicated to taking on the Probe and eliminating all 7 Elite Tactical Assimilated Gorn.

If you joined the game after Season 5, took a break then or are just new to the game, all this content will be new to you! Both Starfleet and Klingon Defense Force players are welcome to attend. Whenever possible, we'll travel as a group, then split into teams when necessary.

All the events are being run at similar times so that the same group of people can come week after week. The times very slightly so we can run the missions during the Fleet Marks Event which increases the Fleet and Omega Marks that we’ll earn. This will be a great way to earn some Fleet and Omega Marks!

On top of the Marks, we’ll be collecting special crafting pieces unique to the Defera Invasion zone; [Fibo-Nerual Interface Cabling], [Cybernetic Armature], & [Nanopower Capacitor]. With these three crafting supplies, you can craft a [Fractal Remodulator] which remodulates your weapons in 3 seconds instead of the 4 the replicated Frequency Remodulator takes! As well, you can craft [Presequenced Frequency Randomizer – 3 Pack]. These consumables immediately remodulate your weapons. They’re great for STFs!

Secure the City
February, 16th 12:00 PM Eastern | 9:00 AM Pacific | 5:00 PM Greenwich
February, 17th 7:00 PM Eastern | 4:00 PM Pacific | [18th] 12:00 AM Greenwich

Missions we'll complete:

• [Easy] Automated Aggression
• [Easy] Modus Operandi
• [Medium] Locked In
• [Medium] Peer Pressure
• [Hard] Knowledge is Key

Be sure to pick them up from Kranek.

If available, pick up these [Zone Wide] missions:

• [Zone Wide] Borg Beatdown from Captain Kuzmina
• [Zone Wide] Culling the Collective from Captain Kuzmina
• [Zone Wide] Defeating Drones from Captain Kuzmina
• [Zone Wide] Plumbing Power from Railuk

Accolades we'll complete:

• Hero of the Deferi

Sabotage the Power Plant
February, 23rd 11:00 AM Eastern | 8:00 AM Pacific | 4:00 PM Greenwich
February 24th 6:00 PM Eastern | 3:00 PM Pacific | 11:00 PM Greenwich

Missions we'll complete:

• [Easy] Power Hogs
• [Easy] Cooler Heads
• [Medium] Closed Off
• [Medium] Power Play
• [Hard] Getting to the Bottom of Things

Be sure to pick them up from Railuk.

If available, pick up these [Zone Wide] missions:

• [Zone Wide] Borg Beatdown from Captain Kuzmina
• [Zone Wide] Culling the Collective from Captain Kuzmina
• [Zone Wide] Defeating Drones from Captain Kuzmina
• [Zone Wide] Plumbing Power from Railuk

Accolades we'll complete:

• Power Trip
• Reclaimer of Defera

Defend the Temple
March 2nd, 12:00 PM Eastern | 9:00 AM Pacific | 5:00 PM Greenwich
March 3rd 7:00 PM Eastern | 4:00 PM Pacific | [4th] 12:00 AM Greenwhich

Missions we'll complete:

• [Easy] Higher Ground
• [Easy] Preservation of Knowledge
• [Medium] What's Mine is Mine
• [Medium] Conflicted Order
• [Hard] Uninvited Guests

Be sure to pick them up from Jula.

If available, pick up these [Zone Wide] missions:

• [Zone Wide] Borg Beatdown from Captain Kuzmina
• [Zone Wide] Culling the Collective from Captain Kuzmina
• [Zone Wide] Defeating Drones from Captain Kuzmina
• [Zone Wide] Plumbing Power from Railuk

Accolades we'll complete:

• Preserver of the Preservers

Invade the Probe
March 9th, 11:00 AM Eastern | 8:00 AM Pacific | 4:00 PM Greenwich
March 10th, 6:00 PM Eastern | 3:00 PM Pacific | 11:00 PM Greenwich

Missions we'll complete:

• [Hard] Counter Offensive

Be sure to pick them up from Captain Kuzmina.

Accolades we'll complete:

• Subjugator of Champions
• Tyrant Lizard Slayer

Quote by Ereiid

In addition to the three basic variants for fleet members (Sci, Tac, Eng), may I suggest an Admiralty variant for members of the fleet leadership? Something with a gold accent or somesuch, in addition to division color?

We've discussed this in the past and usually settle on not doing so. We don't want to separate or elevate the leadership too high over the general membership.

I happen to like the current uniform, but certainly understand the drive for a redesign. On the balance, I'm pretty neutral, all things considered.

At the very least, may I make a suggestion:

In addition to the three basic variants for fleet members (Sci, Tac, Eng), may I suggest an Admiralty variant for members of the fleet leadership? Something with a gold accent or somesuch, in addition to division color?

Think of the c. 2379 Starfleet Dress Uniform, as seen at the Riker-Troi nuptials, where division colors are part of the uniform, but Picard's variant minimizes the division color.

Quote by Gravity

even if i did spent 5 precious minutes stressfully running around quarks when i misunderstood a clue :D

Skillful humblebrag there.

Another vote of accord. Cheers for Res!

The timing of this following the Grammys caused an odd bit of humor on Twitter for me this morning. A friend was said something about how he was going to ignore Twitter this morning because of the news about the Pope and the Grammys. I then responded in joking surprise about the Pope winning a Grammy for his album, "Benedict Does Britney".

This then led to a series of Benedict-ized Britney Spears parody suggestions, including:

"Touch of My Hand"
"It's Benedict, Bitch."
"Oops, I Molested Again"
"Boys (The Non Co-Ed Remix)"
"Me Against The Gays" feat. The Mormons
"Gimme More (Tithes)"

I now leave you with the mental image of Pope Benedict the Nth dancing out of the Vatican suggestively with the new hit single "Baptizer" playing in the background with a bunch of Caridinals backing him up.

Even though I was born and raised in the Catholic church, all that remains of my Catholocism is a curiousity about the "real" history of the religion. Hard to be a Medieval historian without being a religious historian.

All of that aside, the Church is at a crossroads. Benedict elevated many Cardinals, so it is unlikely the upcoming conclave will elect a liberal reformist. But there is a unique opportunity to elect a moderate. Take a look at all of the names tossed out today and realize that it is highly unlikely that any of them will emerge as the next Pope. There have been rumblings of electing a Latin American cardinal, I think there is a better than even chance of that happening. I also think there is a slightly less likely chance of an Italian returning to the Seat of Peter. You will hear the possibility of an African cardinal being elected. I view this as highly unlikely, despite Pope watchers making noises about it. They are more likely to elect an American cardinal over an African cardinal.

So, the best LGBT Catholics can expect is a moderate reformer. Latin America is the best place for a moderate reformer to come from, followed by an Italian/Western European, and then US American (Timothy Cardinal Dolan has been mentioned by some Pope watchers).

If the Church chooses to elect a traditionalist expect a cardinal from Africa or Eastern Europe. They will not elect another German. This Pope was (and still is) wildly unpopular in Italy. When he was elected the headlines read "Tedesco Pastorale" (German Shepherd). The Italians thought Benedetto was too "rigido." There will be no Opus Dei candidates and a Jesuit is highly unlikely too. Expect Dominican as the leading possibilty out of De Orderes Majeure. I also rate the chances of an older (70+ years old) candidate to be slim. The conclave will want stability so they most likely will try to elect a cardinal in his early 60's.

On a final note, expect the next Pope to really shake up the higher offices (SCDF, Vatican Secretary of State) by reassigning certain cardinals elsewhere (Gerhard Cardinal Mueller who is the head of the Inquisition/SCDF comes immediately to mind). All of my predictions go out the window if they elect a familiar of Ratzinger.

The last Pope to retire did so in 1415...so these are odd days in the Vatican where the Pope usually goes out feet first.

Now we see how terrible my predictions are...

~Jeff
aka Lorenius

Weren't Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 1&2 both set between episodes 3&4? I wonder if it will touch on the Starkiller storyline again.

The last couple saturdays i have been playing while you guys have been playing, i want to say that you guys are very entertaining while i am playing. :cheer:

Quote by kiddkasper

I think it's fair to say that Benedict has been decisive at times. Perhaps the next Pope will bring more unification and healing.

Well he cant bring less, in deference to any catholics here i wont say more.

I think it's fair to say that Benedict has been decisive at times. Perhaps the next Pope will bring more unification and healing.

That was unexpected i will be curious to see if we get such a traditionalist as the next pope.

For those of you interested in this story, Pope Benedict XVI has resigned his position as head of Catholic Church. His reasons given are his advanced age and that he feels he is no longer of strength in body and mind to carry out the necessary tasks his office requires of him.

For more, read here.

fashion is forever changing so i vote yes, PLEASE change the uniform :D