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Geopolitics

Pope's First Tweet - Twitter Reacts To His Social Holiness With Snark And Glee

Worldcrunch

VATICAN CITY - It's been a long time coming, but Pope Benedict XVI has finally graced the world with his first few tweets. Two weeks after establishing his Twitter handle, @Pontifex (Latin for "Pope") in eight different languages, he finally sent out some 140-character blessings Wednesday morning :

Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart.

— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) December 12, 2012

How can we celebrate the Year of Faith better in our daily lives?

— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) December 12, 2012

By speaking with Jesus in prayer, listening to what he tells you in the Gospel and looking for him in those in need

— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) December 12, 2012

At the time of writing, 700,187 people were following his English-language account. The second most-followed language is Spanish with at least 215,991 followers. The smallest following is in Arabic with 8,281 followers.

@thomasherve14 via Twitter

Disappointed:

Well, after all that build up @pontifex has tweeted.Some dull religious nonsense. Not even a photo of his dinner. Doing Twitter wrong.

— Al Terry (@fudgecrumpet) December 12, 2012

Disappointed @pontifex"s 1st tweet not in Latin! Surely - "Carissimi: impetro in tactu in vobis per Twitter" :) #pope#schooldays

— Jon Williams(@WilliamsJon) December 12, 2012

A bit disappointed with the Pope's first tweet. After all that hype,I was expecting him to tell us who killed Biggie and Tupac.

— Jay.Jazzi (@JayJazzi) December 12, 2012

Ecstatic:

HEY @pontifex I JUST TWEET YOU AND THIS IS CRAZY, BUT HERE'S MY TUMBLR SO CALL ME MAYBE.

— Pete McVries (@PeteMcVries) December 12, 2012

@pontifex please follow me! You'll love to RT me... and BTW Merry Christmas!

— Alex Murashko (@AlexMurashko) December 12, 2012

OMG the Pope is tech-savvy! He is interacting with his followers! He just asked his first Twitter question!

— Miguel Lago (@jm_lago) December 12, 2012

@pontifex @mediaduemila Nella storia! Nel presente! Nel futuro! Con il primo tweet il #Papa è una persona digitale! Benvenuto, Santità!

— Antonio Irlando (@AntonioIrlando) December 12, 2012

In history! In the present! In the future! With his first tweet, the Pope is a digital person. Welcome, Holiness!

Whatever:

Dear CNN, the Pope making a twitter account is not news.

— Julia Lasagna (@fapnapkin) December 12, 2012

Snarky:

Thsi @pontifex is tweeting from an iPad. How materialistic of him.

— Ganju Patel (@shubHASHISH) December 12, 2012

“@pontifex: How can we celebrate the Year of Faith better in our daily lives?” - is the answer "bacon"?

— An.d.re (@AndreTheViking) December 12, 2012

@pontifex Or…you know…have a less confused and corrupted mythic belief system.

— Damien Walter (@damiengwalter) December 12, 2012

Pope only follows his own twitter accounts... and I thought some of you have problems

— Jimmy(@kariuki_njoroge) December 12, 2012

Pape @pontifex_fr sur Twitter: L"Église s'ouvre enfin à la technologie. Et le condom latex? On dit que ça peut sauver des vies en Afrique...

— Camille Grenier (@CamGrenier) December 12, 2012

the Pope @pontifex_fr on Twitter: The Church finally opens up to technology. And latex condoms? You know it could save lives in Africa...

Bro'ing it up with the Holy Father:

@pontifex Big up yuhself, Popie...JAH Guide and Protect.

— DJ Wayne (@DJWizzzle) December 12, 2012

@pontifex right on bro

— rsidney (@rdotsidney) December 12, 2012

@pontifex Wag1 g. U kool yeh?

— John McDonnell (@thewebsiteyep) December 12, 2012


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Geopolitics

Senegal's Democratic Unrest And The Ghosts Of French Colonialism

The violence that erupted following the sentencing of opposition politician Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison left 16 people dead and 500 arrested. This reveals deep fractures in Senegalese democracy that has traces to France's colonial past.

Image of Senegalese ​Protesters celebrating Sonko being set free by the court, March 2021

Protesters celebrate Sonko being set free by the court, March 2021

Pierre Haski

-Analysis-

PARIS — For a long time, Senegal had the glowing image of one of Africa's rare democracies. The reality was more complicated than that, even in the days of the poet-president Léopold Sedar Senghor, who also had his dark side.

But for years, the country has been moving down what Senegalese intellectual Felwine Sarr describes as the "gentle slope of... the weakening and corrosion of the gains of Senegalese democracy."

This has been demonstrated once again over the last few days, with a wave of violence that has left 16 people dead, 500 arrested, the internet censored, and a tense situation with troubling consequences. The trigger? The sentencing last Thursday of opposition politician Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison, which could exclude him from the 2024 presidential elections.

Young people took to the streets when the verdict was announced, accusing the justice system of having become a political tool. Ousmane Sonko had been accused of rape but was convicted of "corruption of youth," a change that rendered the decision incomprehensible.

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