The Pope, AIG and Cold Fusion

The Pope in Africa

Again the Pope has demonstrated the relevance of the Catholic Church in the 21^st Century. On his way to Africa he said: AIDS "is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems." Condoms aggravate AIDS! Reality is irrelevant, which of course is a theme not only for Catholicism but ALL religions. Later the Pope urged Angolans to give up belief in sorcery and witchcraft and convert to Catholicism. Great idea, switch from believing in wizards and witches and choose the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost – again, obviously a better choice.

The AIG Debacle

The American government has given AIG a $180 billion US bailout. The reaction from the media and public to this: justified, necessary, hope it works, AIG is too big to fail.
AIG has given out about $200 million in questionable bonuses to employees. The reaction from the media and public: outrage, give it back, legislate it back! I heard a commentator recently state that this is concern about the hole while forgetting the donut. There was a solution to the AIG debacle, its called bankruptcy. The insurance company and employees that took too much risk would have to reorganize and reset their contractual obligations. People would lose jobs, bonuses would disappear, salaries would drop but the company would probably exist in a much different form. Who is at fault here? AIG certainly, but the US government has compounded the error 180 billion times! Watch for “problems” like this, for example today JPMorgan Chase had the money to buy two new corporate jets and hangers even though they received $25 billion US in TARP funds.

Happy 20th Birthday today to Cold Fusion

This is one of the best examples of how Science is self-correcting. There is a truth and the truth will out (and it ain't cold fusion).