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11:39 am
Thu March 14, 2013

New Pope, New Ground

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Originally published on Thu March 14, 2013 12:03 pm

Following celebrations for the historic election of Argentine Pope Francis, it's time to look at the business of leading the world's 1.2 billion Catholics — bureaucracy and all. Host Michel Martin discusses the Pope's future agenda with Reverend Jose Hoyos, of the Diocese of Arlington, and religion professor Anthea Butler.

The Papal Succession
11:24 am
Thu March 14, 2013

In Argentina, The New Pope Has Many Supporters, And A Few Critics

Credit Juan Mabromata / AFP/Getty Images
Pope Francis — then Argentine Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio — on Ash Wednesday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Feb. 13.
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Originally published on Thu March 14, 2013 2:18 pm

The 266th pope, and the first ever from Latin America, has one lung, rides the subway, reads Dostoevsky and has been described as both a moral compass and a silent accomplice to Argentina's former Dirty War leaders.

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The Two-Way
11:09 am
Thu March 14, 2013

In Partisan Vote, Senate Committee OKs Ban On Assault-Style Weapons

Credit Erik S. Lesser / EPA /Landov
Assault-style rifles on display at Chuck's Firearms gun store in Atlanta.
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Originally published on Thu March 14, 2013 11:18 am

By a 10-8, party-line vote with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday moved legislation that would revive the ban on assault-style weapons that expired in 2004.

The vote, while expected, remains noteworthy because it is among a handful of legislative responses so far to the mass shootings in recent years — most notably the Dec. 14 attack on an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., that left 20 children and six educators dead.

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On Aging
11:08 am
Thu March 14, 2013

An Age Old Problem: Who Is 'Elderly'?

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Originally published on Thu March 14, 2013 1:51 pm

When exactly does someone become elderly?

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The Salt
11:01 am
Thu March 14, 2013

It's Russian Mardi Gras: Time For Pancakes, Butter And Fistfights

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Credit Dmitry Lovetsky / AP
A man dressed as a skomorokh, a medieval East Slavic harlequin, distributes bliny in St. Petersburg, Russia, during the last day of Maslenitsa, March 1, 2009.
Credit Dmitry Lovetsky / AP
A man dressed as a medieval East Slavic harlequin distributes blini in St. Petersburg, Russia, during the last day of Maslenitsa in 2009. The festival originated in pagan times as a way to mark the end of winter and beginning of spring. Pancakes known as blinis abound: Their round shape and warmth were meant to symbolize the sun.
Credit Mikhail Metzel / AP
Street vendors in the ancient Russian city of Suzdal, some 124 miles east of Moscow, prepare the traditional foods that mark the Maslenitsa holiday in 2010.
Credit Misha Japaridze / AP
People stick coins to an ice sculpture of Lady Maslenitsa in front of St. Basil's Cathedral just outside the Kremlin on Feb. 14, 2010, during the last day of Maslenitsa celebrations.
Credit Marat Gubaidullin / AP
Residents of the Russian town of Yalutorovsk attempted to make a record-breaking pancake during 2011 celebrations of Maslenitsa. For several years, Yalutorovsk's residents have made a huge pancake for Maslenitsa to apply for entry into the Guinness Book of World Records, but they've failed to turn it over.
Credit Dmitry Lovetsky / AP
A man tries to burn a small effigy of Lady Maslenitsa during the final evening of festivities in 2011 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The torching marks the end of the holiday — a fiery goodbye to "lady winter." A larger straw effigy burns in the distance.
Credit Sergei Grits / AP
Belarusian woman drink vodka and sample more traditionally sized blinis.
Credit Misha Japaridze / AP
A vendor sells blini at a booth camp just outside the Kremlin in Moscow during Maslenitsa, February 2009. Each day of the week calls for prescribed activities. For example, on Sunday, the final day of the event, people are supposed to seek forgiveness from friends and strangers.
Credit Ivan Sekretarev / AP
Smiling Russians at the Aksyonovo village celebrations of Maslenitsa in 2012.
Credit Misha Japaridze / AP
People view straw effigies for sale at a booth just outside the Kremlin in 2009. Often referred to as "Lady Maslenitsa," the straw figures are meant to symbolize winter (the word for winter in Russian is feminine).
Credit Viktor Drachev / AFP/Getty Images
Belarusian women in festive costumes welcome the coming of spring with stacks of blinis during the 2010 Maslenitsa celebrations. The holiday is celebrated in Slavic Orthodox European countries.
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Originally published on Sun March 17, 2013 1:36 pm

Nothing says party like pancakes and butter. At least, not if you happen to be in Russia this week.

The country is in the midst of celebrating Maslenitsa, an Eastern Slavic folk holiday that takes place the week before the start of Russian Orthodox Lent (this year, it starts March 18). Though now tied to the Christian calendar, Maslenitsa has roots in ancient Slavic sun worshippers — it originally marked the end of winter and advent of spring. And, like Mardi Gras, it involves a whole lot of feasting before the Lenten fast — with blinis, a Russian pancake, as the food of choice.

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