Brian Gongol
Water suppliers in UK hit with $25 million fine
Graphic of the day: No Smoking
Google Maps helps to explain the painfully obvious
In light of a GAO report suggesting that it's incredibly easy to cross the US-Canadian border undetected, it's sensible to take a look at some selected locations along the border to get a gauge on what the US-Canadian border really looks like. For the most part, it's a lot like the border between any two US states. Building some kind of huge fortification is hardly the right approach to national security. Our land borders are tremendously long, and fences (especially with Canada) seem unlikely to be of any real use. Better to invest in good relations with our northerly neighbor and effective human monitoring of suspicious behavior. That's what's been most effective at deterring terrorism, anyway.
Minnesota gets a smoking ban
Just about any indoor public place is off-limits for smoking. But as unpleasant as smoking may be to most people, making it illegal ignores the fact that tobacco is a legal drug and that the market already has very effectively created huge numbers of smoke-free choices for restaurant and bar patrons -- without any need for government intervention. For now, governments are banning tobacco smoke and trans-fats, but what's next for Big Brother to butt in about? Sugar? Meat? Junk food?
Iowa by latitude and longitude
