Brian Gongol
US and Japan want South Korea to shut down cooperative projects with North Korea
The idea is to shut down the supply of cash leading into North Korea, and while that superficially sounds like a good idea, it may not be the best strategic decision. Isolation feeds the paranoia that keeps the Communist regime alive, and there's no way around the fact that a country of North Korea's size has substantial economic needs that have to be fulfilled through trade. If legitimate avenues of trade are shut down, then they're likely to switch to illegitimte ones -- like selling their weapons on the black market. Satirists already know this.
Google will convert the Googleplex to solar power
Computers are huge energy consumers at the company's headquarters, and they think the conversion to solar power will pay for itself in 5 to 10 years. Competitor Yahoo is struggling with slower ad-revenue growth. One suggestion for Yahoo: Improve the spam filters. Several times more spam escapes Yahoo's filters than escapes Gmail's.
British commander says we've been "marking time" in Afghanistan since 2002
France also on the please-have-more-babies bandwagon
Heavy rain causes days of lingering flooding
Rocketboy