Monday morning link-fest

Plenty happened over the weekend, and here are the highlights:

• Diogenes destroyed the nonsensical attempts of the MSM to claim the Catholic Church is responsible for spreading AIDS in Latin America (as I did earlier last week here). The director of the Population Research Institute in Latin America doesn't buy it either. A Ugandan AIDS activist makes the case to LifeSiteNews that the opposite is actually true.
• Carl Olson posted about the Da Vinci Code sequel, and what we can not look forward to.
• Rod Dreher told us why he isn't letting his kids see the Golden Compass (I provide more reasons first here then here) and points to some possibly-negative things about Huckabee.
• Jeffrey Weiss of the Dallas Morning News asks J.K. Rowling to kindly shut it. Meanwhile, Rowling acts "surprised."
• Philip Blosser comments upon an article by Peter A. Kwasniewski on problems in the new lectionary. I post this mostly because I like keeping up on my old professors' doings.
• AMDG points out that 1] Miller Brewing has apologized for its endorsement of the deeply-offensive Folsom Street Fair (AmP covered the story here - I'll see about removing them from "the list"), 2] Catholics Against Rudy has a new petition, 3] Zenit has an interview claiming that the tide is turning against the culture of death among youth. Also, 4] some feisty papist kids protested that Holy Cross conference featuring NARAL & PP booths. AmP covered that story here and followed-up here.
• Next, CNA published stories about the Fishers of Men vocations DVD winning a hollywood award [more from AmP here], about Browback possible endorsing (?!) Guiliani, about a construction company that really want to build abortion clinics, about the new U.S. ambassador to the Vatican being a pro-life feminist lawyer, and about growing Catholic Radio.
• Oh yeah - almost forgot - Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone thinks that the pro-homosexual ad campaign started recently is "a bit strange". I thought so, too.
• LifeSiteNews alerts us to huge new abortion centers opening up to prepare for a Hillary presidency, to an attempt in Congress to ban further Planned-Parenthood government aid, to American Life League providing a U.S. map of all PP abortion centers, and finally, to Judie Brown saying that Cardinal McCarrick’s comments on Communion for Pro-Abort Catholics are a "poke in the eye to believers".
• The MichiganCatholic has a fine article about Detroit seminarian (and former-classmate of mine) Craig Giera, who is not only an excellent seminarian, but a phenomenal artist.

Meanwhile, in properly-papist news:

• Damian Thompson writes: "As I predicted in July, meltdown in the Anglican Communion has persuaded thousands of traditionalist Anglicans that it’s time to come over to Rome. And Pope Benedict is very keen to welcome them."
• Sandro Magister reveals: Cardinal Giacomo Biffi commits his memoirs to a book. And here's a preview: the speech he gave in the closed-door meeting with the cardinals. And also, his critical views on John XXIII, on the Council, and on the "mea culpas" of John Paul II "
• And Pope Benedict Beatifies ... with a vengeance! Nearly 500 Spanish martyrs!

... and people ask if blogging is like a second job. ;-)