4/4     Pope Poll (.=anon, c=christian, m=muslim, b=bhuddist, a=atheist, +=agnostic):
        His death:
          makes me sad: .aa+
          make me happy: a.b
          don't care: baca+.a
          \_ None of the above.  I think the world isn't as good without
             him in it.  I think he's also finished his work and will be
             well-received in the hereafter.  Hopefully his successor will be
             more aggressive dealing with pedophile priests, can get rid of the
             birth-control ban and allow priests to marry.
        \_ i would get slightly sad in the sense that death in general
           is sad, if i sat there and got myself into that mood, but it would
           be tough given his old age. nope, don't care. if i was religious
           i wouldn't care either, since he's either in heaven or hell or
           what-have-you, as the gods see fit, and all is well regardless.
        \_ You misspelled Buddhist.
           \_ Not if he's from Bhutan.
              \- Indians think it is funny how Americans say Buddha ... when
                 they say "Boo Duh". It is hard to write this correctly in
                 english because english doesnt have a consonant for the
                 "bh" or "dh" sound. In fact in sanskrit, Buddha is probably
                 just written with two letters: B + "oo operator" + the D+DH
                 consonants combined into one. If the two consonants were not
                 combined but written sequentially, the word would have been
                 pronounced "Bu Daw Dhaw" [3 syl]. ok dhanyabad.
                 \_ Do you laugh at the Japanese version (="bu-tsu"), too?
                 \_ We think it's funny how Indians say pretty much
                    anything else.  -John
                    \- Well, when you have to learn a state language, hindi,
                       english and sanskrit in school at a minimum, i suppose
                       it comes at a cost.
        \- i'm not a big fan of JPII for his "easy for me to say" policies
           on things like birth control -> mortal sin [in the technical
           sense], but he was as pretty smart guy [in terms of number of
           languages and such], and he seems to have borne his suffering
           during the "end of days" pretty well, and i was sadden to see
           him suffer, although i dont like the decadence of te catholic
           church. he's in a different category from people like prince
           [sic] charles or his ex-wife princess landmine, who i am
           pleased to see suffer and would like to see fed to a wood
           chipper. --psb
           \_ It's not their fault the English are to retarded to get rid
              of the idiotic anachronism of royalty.  I lay the blame at the
              feet of every citizen of the commonwealth, including Canada,
              who fails to speak out against their existence.
              \_ Ah, and the Americans are not retarded to get rid of the
                 ruling Dynasty class of the United States? Where the super
                 rich are in fact getting proportionally richer than everyone
                 else and that they actually have a lot more influence on the
                 government than say, in the 40s or 50s?
           \_ Charles and Diana are/were not Catholic.  Any why do you hate
              Diana?  Hating Charles I can understand, but Diana seemed to be
              liked by everyone.
              \- yes, i know they are not cathloic. charles i was beheaded
                 in 1649, so some people share your hatred. re: diana liked
                 by everyone, well most people dont reflect much on who they
                 respect and such. think qe ii is actually held in greater
                 regard. --psb
        \_ He deserves some credit in standing up to communism and bringing
           it down.             - christian democrat
           \_ Liberal liar.  Reagan brought down communism.
              \_ The labor union in Poland did.
                 \_ Please keep your hands and minds inside the vehicle at
                    all times while riding in the faith-based community.
                    \_ yea, it's almost as ridiculous as "Reagan brought
                        down communism".
        \_ Even though JPII's beliefs were almost opposite of mine (especially
           on issues of abortion, women's rights, stem cell research, right to
           die, contraception, gays, etc.) -- I have respect for the man
           because he truly had conviction -- and even though I think many of
           his policies and beliefs harmed the world in some ways -- at least
           he was consistent -- against abortion AND the death penalty --
           against euthanasia AND the war in Iraq.  Unlike the hypocritical
           bastard weasels we currently have in charge like DeLay, Cheney and
           Bush.  And he deserves a lot of credit for helping to bring down
           Communism non-violently in Poland and reconciling and connecting
           to other faiths.  His attention to the disparity between the rich
           and poor was something to be admired, although of course that is
           muted because of his archaic position on birth control. I cannot
           deny that he was an extraordinary person. -eric
           Communism non-violently in Poland and reconciling with and
           connecting to other faiths.  His attention to the disparity between
           the rich and poor was something to be admired, although of course
           that is muted because of his archaic position on birth control. I
           cannot deny that he was an extraordinary person. -eric