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Title: Sarah Silverman: ‘Sell the Vatican':U.S. comedian, in monologue making rounds on YouTube, says proceeds should be used to feed the poor
Source:
Globe and Mail/AP
URL Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news ... ll-the-vatican/article1324392/
Published: Oct 15, 2009
Author: Nicole Winfield
Post Date: 2009-10-15 19:22:15 by scrapper2
Keywords: Christophobia, Usual Suspects
Views: 166
Comments: 6
Comedian Sarah Silverman has a new proposal for ending world hunger: Sell the Vatican. In a new profanity-laced monologue making the rounds on YouTube in time for UN World Food Day on Friday, Ms. Silverman suggests it's time for the pope to “move out of your house that is a city” and use the proceeds to feed the world's poor. “On an ego level alone you will be the biggest hero in the history of ever!” she says. “Sell the Vatican. Feed the world.” The Vatican clearly has no plans to follow suit. A spokesman declined to comment. But the Catholic League, the U.S. Catholic civil rights organization, denounced Ms. Silverman and U.S. cable broadcaster HBO for her “obscene” and “filthy diatribe.” In a statement, it noted that such an attack would never have been levelled against, say, the chief rabbi of Jerusalem or the state of Israel and added that the “Catholic Church operates more hospitals and feeds more of the poor than any private institution in the world.” Yet the Rev. James Martin, culture editor of the Jesuit magazine America, says Ms. Silverman may be onto something. In an online article, Rev. Martin noted that Jesus himself told his followers to sell what they had and give it to the poor. “Of course Pope Benedict XVI could not ‘sell' any of the treasures of the Vatican, the same way that your local archbishop couldn't sell off the cathedral at a whim; they are not his, they are the church's,” Rev. Martin wrote. “And the church is not simply the hierarchy but the entire people of God.” But he added: “Still, perhaps Ms. Silverman, in her postmodern, potty-mouthed way is on to something. Like Jesus was. Sell the Vatican? Well, maybe not everything but perhaps a statue or two?” For the record, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, which just released its annual report on the state of world hunger, says global food output will have to increase by 70 per cent to feed a projected population of 9.1 billion in 2050. To achieve that, poor countries will need $44 billion (U.S.) in annual agricultural aid, compared with the current $7.9 billion, the Rome-based FAO said. Overall, an annual net investment in agriculture of $83 billion is needed to feed the world. Even if the pope were to sell the Vatican, it wouldn't be enough. In 2004, the Vatican disclosed that the Holy See's real estate was worth 700 million euros, or about $908 million at the time. That doesn't include St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel, which the Vatican termed priceless and valued at a symbolic 1 euro. While the Vatican's artistic holdings are obviously worth millions, the institution itself doesn't bring in a lot of cash. In 2008, it ran a $1.28-million deficit, the second year of losses. The Vatican began publishing its finances in 1981, when Pope John Paul II ordered financial disclosure to debunk the idea that the Vatican was rich. Ms. Silverman, who is no stranger to religiously and racially charged slurs, gained international attention with her 2008 The Great Schlep campaign in which she exhorted Jews to go to Florida to convince their grandparents to vote for Barack Obama for president.
Poster Comment: ...In a statement, it [the Catholic League] noted that such an attack would never have been levelled against, say, the chief rabbi of Jerusalem or the state of Israel and added that the “Catholic Church operates more hospitals and feeds more of the poor than any private institution in the world”...
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#1. To: scrapper2 (#0)
Well, of course she's not Catholic is she? If a comedian had the parts to say that sort of thing about her Religion they'd be labelled Anti-Semitic and possibly charged with hate crime. What's wrong with this picture?
This may seem unachievable. Far from unachievable. It's chump change. Take a fraction of the money spent to kill people and spend it on feeding people. Problem solved. Go ahead. Call me a Socialist. 9.1 billion people is nowhere near too much for this planet.
Why would anyone have reason to call you a Socialist (Communist) ???
Taking money from the Military Industrial Complex and feeding the poor and hungry. Just reeks of Socialism, doesn't it? I live in Canada. I like the healthcare here. I've stated so here several times. Hope that answers your question.
I like the healthcare here. I've stated so here several times. wudidiz, I don't mean to pry but I'm guessing you are in your 30's or very early 40's, so what experience do you have with socialized medicine to judge it as being good and something you like?...maybe it's good for free flu shots and vaccinations and tonsilitis and prenatal-baby delivery-pediatric care, but those conditions are not illnesses. Wait until you reach your 50's/60's and ye old body starts to disintegrate - that's the true test of socialized medicine and anything I've read on the subject is that socialized medicine and aging related medical conditions is big flop. Socialized medicine is good for young and healthy people, but it falls way short as people age and get seriously ill. Socializecd medicine is rationed medicine and therefore it makes no economic sense for gubment dispensed universal health care to treat expensive patients - ergo, everything is front loaded to fool the sheeple that it's oh so fair and good and worth the extra income tax. Socialized medicine is neither fair nor good and not worth the extra tax it's costing people over the years, because they get short changed at a time when they desperately need good and timely health care A day or two ago, there was an article in Financial Times about the EU countries worrying about how their "aging" populations are going to bankrupt them in a few short years because of all the socialized benefits the gubments have promised their voters over the years. A month or two ago I read a similar article in the Globe and Mail about Cdn. politicians worrying about how the aging baby boomers could adversely affect the Cdn medical system - why? because the boomers are better educated and more self-centered than groups before them and that they will demand health care for their illnesses. How shocking! Aged baby boomers won't be satisfied with waiting 5 months to see a GP about the blood in their urine and another three months to be referred to a urologist...as is the case now in Canada, fyi...and the Cdn. gubment is worrying about that happening because the dirty little secret is that socialized medicine won't be able to deliver what it promised Canadians approx. 50 years ago, when it went into effect. Fyi, 10% of Canadian's are waiting to get into a GP's practice at any given time, and that means those Canadians are without health care access because under Canada's system, the GP is the all important GateKeeper. In the US, since 1/3 of uninsured Americans are illegals [even the leftie Wash Post quotes that figure]that means 30 Million Americans are uninsured and that figure represents 10% of America's total population - the same as Canada's % of population without access to health care. But the MSM elites would never put those numbers together as a comparison because it would undermine their agenda. Medical insurance should be viewed like all other insurance you purchase - eg. auto and house -ie. something to protect one's assets against a catastrophic event or illness. The nickel and dime expenses like a blown over wooden fence or a dented fender or flu shots, vaccinations, pap smears etc should be covered by the individual - why? to keep premiums down with a high deductible and to have top flight the best intervention when it counts and you can't afford to cover it yourself - otherwise if you expect NannyCare from cradle to grave or auto insurance to cover every paint scratch or $900 wind-blown fence replacement, you're going to pay very high unaffordable premiums and the insurance companies are going to track every minor claim you put in and fold those claims into a increased premium the following year. In the USA, unlike Canada, we have something called the Health Savings Account Plan - which is an excellent plan - but so few people take advantage of this plan, it's shocking to me - it's probably because the gubment doesn't publicize it much [ it's done with pre-tax dollars and it's an income tax deduction - and even if the gubment did publicize it, many Americans have had their heads so screwed on backwards through our public school system, they'd turn their noses up at it because it involves thinking outside of the box.
I'll happily respond to this later.
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." ~ Josh Billings
#2. To: scrapper2 (#0)
For the record, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, which just released its annual report on the state of world hunger, says global food output will have to increase by 70 per cent to feed a projected population of 9.1 billion in 2050. To achieve that, poor countries will need $44 billion (U.S.) in annual agricultural aid, compared with the current $7.9 billion, the Rome-based FAO said. Overall, an annual net investment in agriculture of $83 billion is needed to feed the world.
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." ~ Josh Billings
#3. To: wudidiz (#2)
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”—Samuel Adams 
#4. To: Rotara (#3)
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." ~ Josh Billings
#5. To: wudidiz (#4)
I live in Canada.
#6. To: scrapper2 (#5)
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." ~ Josh Billings
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