What Caught My Eye Today

Pope - Pope Benedict XVI said condoms are not the answer to the AIDS epidemic in Africa and can make the problem worse, as he began a weeklong trip to the continent where some 22 million people are living with HIV. So what does the pontiff recommend? The pope said a responsible and moral attitude toward sex would help fight the disease. And by this, he means abstinence, which we all know is so going to happen. This next bit rather amuses me. Benedict also said the Roman Catholic Church was at the forefront of the battle against AIDS. The Catholic Church rejects the use of condoms as part of its overall teaching against artificial contraception. Senior Vatican officials have advocated fidelity in marriage and abstinence from premarital sex as key weapons in the fight against AIDS. That's right everybody. Stop having sex and the AIDS epidemic will go away. As for those of you worried that the human race might die out if we stop procreating, not to worry. See, if you are responsible and moral, you can have sex without fear of catching AIDS. As for another angle on this story...Three-quarters of all AIDS deaths worldwide in 2007 were in sub-Saharan Africa, where some 22 million people are infected with HIV — accounting for two-thirds of the world's infections. Africa is the fastest-growing region for the Catholic Church, though it competes with Islam and evangelical churches. This is rather fortuitous for the Church. With all those converts dying of AIDS, the Church will need to relying on volume to fill those Sunday services.

Former President Bush - More than 100 protesters chanted "war criminal" and flung shoes in Calgary, angry that former U.S. President George W. Bush was in the Canadian city to give his first speech since leaving the White House. Not exactly the reception you'd hope for a former head of state, especially the most recent one from the United States. And this shoe thing. What up with that, Canada? Surely you could have come up with something a bit more original than that. Iraq has been there and done that months ago. The reaction was in stark contrast to President Barack Obama's first official visit to Canada last month, when he was fawned on by citizens and politicians alike. Got to be tough transitioning from the most powerful dude on the planet, to private citizen. Still, what sort of reaction was Bush expecting? Media were barred from covering the invitation-only event, during which Bush had been expected to reflect on his eight years as president. According to sources who attended, he conceded that his administration spent its final days "bailing water" to keep the U.S. economy afloat. Here's an unexpected revelation... Although he was not Bush's first choice as president, Barack Obama has his full support. What's this? Bush didn't vote for Obama last November. Excuse me while I attempt to pick my jaw up off the floor.

Corporate Bonuses - You would think that corporations receiving taxpayer bailouts would think twice about giving bonuses to the morons responsible for the corporations needing to be bailed out. You would think that, wouldn't you? Livid Democrats confronted beleaguered insurance giant AIG with an ultimatum: Give back $165 million in post-bailout bonuses or watch Congress tax it away with emergency legislation. 73 company employees received bonus checks of $1 million or more last week. This at a company that was failing so spectacularly that the government felt the need to prop it up with a $170 billion bailout. Staggers the imagination, don't it? Two bills in the House aimed to impose a 100 percent tax on the bonuses. I think the lesson here is if you do something beyond the realm of absurdity, be prepared to incur the wrath of the U.S. government. Makes sense if you think about it. I mean who is more well-versed in the absurd than the federal government?

Russia - President Dmitry Medvedev cited NATO expansion, international terrorism and regional conflicts as reasons why upgrading Russia's nuclear forces was the top priority in an ambitious military modernization plan that he pledged to pursue despite the worst economic crisis in a decade. Not the best timing in the world, to be certain; however, when is it ever a good time to boost one's nuclear arsenal? And I've said this before, but it warrants repeating; you cannot exactly fault Russia for taking these actions Moscow has fiercely opposed plans to put Ukraine and Georgia on track to NATO membership. Russia is also deeply wary of any U.S. presence in oil- and gas-rich Central Asia, which Moscow considers its historic sphere of influence. What would we do, if Russia set up house in Mexico?

1.5 Trillion - I wasn't planning on doing another numbers thing so soon, but this coincidence was too much for me to pass up. We'll start with a postscript to the story above. Russian military officials say about 25% of the 1.5 trillion rubles ($43 billion) budgeted for weapons purchases this year will be spent on upgrading the aging, Soviet-era nuclear force. For this next part, bear this in mind--one U.S. dollar will get you 34.46 Russian rubles. U.S. health experts predict that guaranteeing health insurance for all Americans may cost about $1.5 trillion over the next decade. That's 51.7 trillion rubles for those of you keeping track. But getting back to this healthcare thing, this next bit doesn't make much sense to me. The U.S. spends $2.4 trillion a year on health care, more than any other advanced country. Yeah, that's 82.7 trillion rubles, but that's not the point. $1.5 trillion over 10 years seems like a bargain compared to $2.4 trillion for a single year. I'm not sure what I'm missing here.