“Citing advanced years and infirmity, Pope Benedict XVI, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, stunned the Roman Catholic world on Monday by saying that he would resign on Feb. 28, less than eight years after he took office, the first pope to do so in six centuries,” the New York Times reports.

“While there had been questions about Benedict’s health and infirmity, the timing of his announcement — even by the Vatican’s official account — sent shock waves across the globe, even though Benedict had in the past endorsed the notion that an incapacitated pope could resign.”

Marc Ambinder: “Generally, when American political officials resign, a scandal is in the offing. But the former John Cardinal Ratzinger genuinely seems to be stepping down as Pontifex because he no longer believes he can do the job that he believes God has called him to do. There is something profound and endearing about someone elected (anointed?) to an incredibly powerful lifetime job deciding, with years still left, to walk away. That in and of itself is a powerful example to set for everyone.”

Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who stepped down last month, is joining the Council on Foreign Relations as a distinguished fellow, the New York Times reports.

“As the saying goes, I have big heels to fill.”

— Secretary of State John Kerry, quoted by CBS News, thanking predecessor Hillary Clinton.

So Ahmadinejad wants to be first Iranian in space – wasn’t he just there last week? “Iran launches monkey into space” news.yahoo.com/iran-launches-…

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) February 4, 2013

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) told the Boston Globe that President Obama offered him the job of secretary of state a week before United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration.

Said Kerry: “He called me, actually a week before Susan got out of the thing. He called me and said, ‘You’re my choice. I want you to do this.’ He asked me to keep it quiet. I did. I sat on it.”

The Senate overwhelmingly approved Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) as the next secretary of state, 94 to 3, the Washington Post reports.

He will formally take over from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday.

Tim Mathieson, the long-term partner of Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, “has landed himself in hot water over comments that men wanting to get their prostates checked should seek out small, female Asian doctors to perform the examination,” the Guardian reports.

Said Mathieson: “We can get a blood test for it, but the digital examination is the only
true way to get a correct reading on your prostate so make sure you go
and do that, and perhaps look for a small Asian female doctor is
probably the best way.”

One commentator observed that Gillard’s face “performed a remarkable transition – jolly, carefree smile to impenetrable stone on the turn of a phrase.”

The eyeglasses worn by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in recent days appear to be for treating double-vision, the New York Daily News reports.

“As she testified about the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya, the secretary of state appeared to have tiny vertical lines etched onto the left lens of her new brown specs… Experts told the Daily News that Clinton likely has a Fresnel prism placed on her glasses. The adhesive panel is used to treat double vision.”

A Clinton spokesman confirmed to Daily Intelligencer that Clinton will “be wearing these glasses instead of her contacts for a period of time because of lingering issues stemming from her concussion.”

NBC News:
“The political stakes will be high Wednesday morning when Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee about her role in the events leading up to the September
attack on a U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted
in the killing of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
The stakes will also be high for a Republican member of the committee,
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, whom some pundits see as a possible
presidential candidate in 2016. It will be a rare instance when one
potential White House hopeful gets an opportunity to interrogate a
potential rival from the opposing party. Clinton herself is thought to
be a strong contender for the Democratic nomination, should she chose to
throw her hat into the ring.”

Rick Klein: “It’s not the way she wanted to go out. After a two-decade career in the national political limelight — as first lady, as a senator, and now as secretary of state — Hillary Rodham Clinton’s final official act with a title in front of her name is likely to come today, as she testifies about a tragic embarrassment of an episode that left four Americans dead in Libya.”

Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations at 9:00 am ET and
the House Foreign Affairs Committee at 2:00 pm ET.

Thomas Friedman: “First, my congratulations and condolences to John Kerry for being
nominated to be our next secretary of state. There is no one better for
the job today and no worse job to have today. It is no accident that
we’ve started measuring our secretaries of state more by miles traveled
than milestones achieved. It is bloody hard to do big diplomacy anymore.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron said it is “time for the British people to have their say” amid growing public discontent about the power of the European Union., the Daily Telegraph reports.

Cameron pledged an in-out referendum in the first half of the next parliament: “It is time to settle this European question in British politics. I say to the British people: this will be your decision.”

New York Times: “The speech was a defining moment in Mr. Cameron’s political career, reflecting a belief that by wresting some powers back from the E.U., he can win the support of a grudging British public which has long been ambivalent — or actively hostile — toward the idea of European integration.”

A terrifying video shows a Bulgarian politician surviving an assassination attempt early today when a man stormed the stage and held a gun to his head as he was giving a speech. The gun misfires and the suspect was tackled the ground by bystanders before he could get off another shot.

The Daily Mail has pictures from the scene.

[Read more…]

“As India awaits sentencing of the men who gang-raped a young woman in Delhi, a politician was arrested on rape charges in the northeastern state of Assam, then stripped and beaten by a crowd,” the New York Times reports.

Amanda Marcotte notes that the news of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s blood clot still isn’t ending talk of Concussiongate among some conservatives.

“Of course, wingnuttery nowadays is entirely dependent on the asinine belief that widespread conspiracies are a daily occurrence. These folks believe that thousands of scientists worldwide have been in cahoots for decades to perpetuate the false claim that global warming is real for no other reason than a vague hatred of capitalism, and that not one has ever thought to blow the whistle on this evil scheme. But riddle me this, wingnuts: If Secretary Clinton is such an evil mastermind that she can repeatedly bend so many people to her will with full confidence that not a one will ever blow the whistle, why couldn’t she just get up and say whatever the hell she wants under oath if she did testify? … So many questions. But in the meantime, the reality-based community wishes Hillary Clinton a speedy recovery.”

Scott LeMieux: “It’s like 1990s-vintage Clinton derangement.”

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez is conscious but in a “delicate and complex situation” after a cancer operation in Cuba, the BBC reports.

Chavez was elected for a fourth term in October and “is due to be sworn in for a new term on 10 January, but it is unclear if he will be able to attend ceremony.”

Doctors treating Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that she “suffered a blood clot in a vein between her brain and skull behind her right ear but predicted that she would make a full recovery,” the New York Times reports.

“Her doctors said in a statement on Monday that the clot did not result in a stroke or neurological damage and that she was being treated with blood thinners.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will return to the State Department next week after three weeks of recovery from a stomach virus and a related concussion, The Cable reports.

“Clinton’s ongoing recovery will still prevent her from flying abroad, but will allow plans to move forward for her to testify in open hearing on the Sept. 11 attack on Benghazi, testimony that she was unable to give — as per her doctor’s orders — on Dec. 20. Her return to a public schedule could also end the weeks of conspiracy theorizing and wild speculation about whether or not she was faking or misrepresenting her illness to avoid testifying.”

Fox News: Will Clinton testimony hold up John Kerry’s nomination?

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he “would sign into law a ban on adoptions of Russian children by American citizens, retaliating against an American law that punishes Russians accused of violating human rights and dealing a potentially grave setback to bilateral relations,” the New York Times reports.