Brian Gongol
Graphic of the day: Sail Away
Is Chuck Hagel missing the boat?
It may be possible that by waiting to announce what he wants to do in the next 18 months, he's losing the opportunity to choose his own destiny. Hagel would make an excellent pro-market Presidential candidate, but he doesn't have a lot of fans among the activist portions of the GOP. But that may be part of the strategy: By waiting until the caucuses and primaries get closer, he may be allowing the other candidates to burn themselves out.
American high-school seniors have a mostly "basic" understanding of economics
Since only one-third knew where most government money came from, it seems the report's designation that 42% of students are "proficient" is a bit of an overstatement. Economic education ought to be improved, since a sophisticated economy includes complex issues for all participants.
A replacement internet in 15 years
The "Geni" project supposes that traffic and crime on the existing Internet will overwhelm the network's capacity over time, and that a replacement system could be the answer. Assuming a 15-year time horizon for the project to come to completion, the project should come to fruition just about the time when India's population overtakes China's. Meanwhile, Japanese scientists think they'll have a ten-petaflop computer by 2011. That's 10 quadrillion calculations per second.
Is it time to get really, really worried about Pakistan?
Nuclear weapons and an unstable government don't make for a pleasant recipe
Florida drought puts cities, farmers, and recreational users at odds
China threatens to use $1.33 trillion in foreign reserves as a weapon of economic warfare
They're threatening to declare war on the dollar if the US starts putting up tariffs. Given current anxiety about the economy, the news is especially unwelcome.
Flight delays are at a 13-year high
Weather accounts for 75% of the trouble, but the air traffic control system is shaky and the airlines are running on staffs that are too thin
Rumors and nonsense about cancer are confusing huge numbers of Americans
Study finds that people are getting caught up on the little things and believing stories with little or no foundation, but apparently aren't getting the message about the big risk factors -- like smoking, sun exposure, and practical behavioral defenses that people can start taking early in life
China ends "free heat" programs for urban residents
They expect energy consumption to fall by 30% once people have to start paying for heat themselves
