Brian Gongol
(7.6.2005)
Groups Planning to Pressure Senate Over Supreme Court Nominee
President wants new justice on bench by October. Activists are talking spending on the scale of $50 to $100 million. Barry Goldwater would have a coronary -- he thought the only money that should be allowed in politics was individuals' money. The Founding Fathers would be pleading for morphine drips.
(7.6.2005)
President Bush Collides with Police Officer
President was on bike; no serious injuries. Wasn't going as fast as Lance Armstrong.
(7.6.2005)
US Court Sends Journalist to Prison for Refusing to Reveal Sources
Fuzzy line between First Amendment and national security, but is press freedom really something to toy with?
(7.6.2005)
London Gets 2012 Olympics
Paris gets a big piece of humble pie, though Moscow was the first elimination. The exorbitant (and often asinine) costs associated with hosting the Games mean that the real winners are the losers -- the places that won't host the Games. And it's well-established that stadiums and public arenas usually burn public cash more than they put it back in.
(7.6.2005)
Man Gets Irritated with Neighbors' Fireworks, Fires Off His AK-47, Finds Himself with a Free Taxi Ride to the Cop Shop
(7.6.2005)
Iowa's Democratic Field for Governor Gets Crowded in a Hurry
Half a dozen candidates in the running
(7.6.2005)
EU Parliament Rejects Patents on Software
But if no one owns it, then will they produce it? Open-source programs are a great tool, but they don't negate the value of proper intellectual property laws.
(7.6.2005)
Forecast: Podcasts to Grow From 840k in 2004 to 56 Million in 2010
(7.6.2005)
Software-Company Founder Sues Microsoft Over Antitrust
Claims actually about 20 years old; says the 2000 antitrust ruling against MS revealed information they didn't have at the time but needed in order to press the case
(7.6.2005)
Debt Relief Only Sensible When Corruption is Swept Out
Remains true that the UK should continue trying to integrate Africa into the Western sphere of influence, just as the US should continue aggressively courting Latin America
(7.6.2005)
Is Putin Trying to Butter Up France and Germany Since the EU is Falling Apart?
One thing is clear: Russia isn't growing as fast as the other former Soviet countries
(7.6.2005)
Senate Approves CAFTA
Big victory (54-45) should give it momentum in the House
(7.6.2005)
Audit Says Corruption Rampant in Cuban Government
(Spanish) Big surprise: Give government disproportionate power, and people will tend to abuse that power. Meanwhile, they're worried about gun trafficking in Mexico.
(7.6.2005)
Corruption, Insufficient Literacy Primary Hurdles to Economic Growth in Bangladesh
(7.6.2005)
Indian Prime Minister Doesn't Quite Blame Terrorist Attacks on Pakistan
"There was no doubt that the infrastructure for terrorism (in Pakistan) is by and large intact"
(7.6.2005)
Japanese Politicians Knuckle Down, Promise to Cut Spending and Reduce Debt
Perhaps someone in Washington will take a hint
(7.6.2005)
Airline Claims Strike Threat About Safety, Not Pilots' Golf Clubs
"[T]he company already reserves golf clubs for pilots at destination hotels" ... "The union merely wanted these practices codified."
(7.6.2005)
South Korea Pushing a Property Bubble
Housing prices rising 16% a year in some areas
(7.6.2005)
Lebanese Newspaper Soliciting Donations to Support a Free Press
(7.6.2005)
Extremely Insightful Analysis of Mideast's Future
How Iran took a hardliner, fashioned him a populist rebel, and outflanked the reform movement in order to perpetuate the theocratic totalitarian state. Sneaky, but brilliant.
(7.6.2005)
Cuba's Propaganda Agency Shills for Venezuela's Neo-Marxist President
Venezuela's Chavez wants to defeat the "market-driven capitalist" Free Trade Area of the Americas (which is in fact a very good idea) and substitute the "Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas", which undoubtedly reflects his socialist tendencies
(7.6.2005)
Dennis Becomes First Atlantic Hurricane of Season
Headed now for Jamaica, Cuba, Florida panhandle
(7.6.2005)
Too Much Warning Ourselves
Improved ability to identify threats (like bird flu) plus an aggressive news cycle could lead to our Chicken Littling ourselves to death
(7.6.2005)
Economic Freedom of North America
Report from the Fraser Institute
(7.6.2005)
Government Plus Money Equals Corruption
The less power government gets, the less corruption it's likely to foster
(7.6.2005)
Lil' Kim's Lesson: Don't Lie
Got one year and one day; judge apparently took the Martha Stewart sentence into consideration
(7.6.2005)
Admiral James Stockdale Dead at 81
The "Who am I? Why am I here?" was probably the least significant part of Stockdale's extraordinary public career. He spent over seven years in a Vietnamese prison camp.
(7.6.2005)
The Economist on China's International Acquisitions
(7.6.2005)
Even When Israel Turns Over Land to Palestinians, Trouble Remains
Palestinian authories accuse Israel of poisoning the ground before they left
(7.6.2005)
Terrorists Killed in Attack on Temple in India
Rest of the country put on alert
(7.6.2005)
Man Rescues Swimmer from River, Gets Busted for Interfering with Public Duties
(7.6.2005)
Japan Trying to Figure Out How to Handle Nuclear Waste
Japan gets about 14% of its energy from nuclear sources
(7.6.2005)
North Korea's Completely Self-Delusional Government Just Won't Give Up
"Massive rally" held to kick off 100-day campaign to "bring about a decisive turn in the economic construction and people's living in this significant year." Rallies always get the job done, especially when your Communist government keeps anyone from doing anything worthwhile.
(7.6.2005)
When Neurobiologists and Artists Hang Out, They Don't Always Get Along
(7.6.2005)
IOC Takes Final Pitches for 2012 Olympic Site Contenders
We'll soon know who brought the biggest bribes
(7.6.2005)
Abysmally Stupid Declaration on Privatizing Social Security
"Privatization turns Social Security into an investment account, rather than a savings account." First, all savings IS investment, by definition. Second, there's nothing about the current system that remotely resembles a "savings" account -- it's nothing more than a pay-as-you-go welfare system, subsidized by IOU's.
(7.6.2005)
President Bush: Relationship with Prime Minister Blair Not "Quid Pro Quo"
(7.6.2005)
Frightening Overview of Africa's Leadership
Article says the West is losing influence while the East is gaining, and not in any good way: Some African leaders are adopting a statist model straight out of Asian dictators' playbooks
(7.6.2005)
Public Broadcasting: It's Not in the Constitution, So the Feds Can't Do It
Whatever happened to the Ninth and Tenth Amendments?