Brian Gongol
Forest fires change the atmosphere
Graphic of the day: African Command
US military now has an African Command
Meanwhile, Australia isn't accepting any more refugees from anywhere in Africa until at least June 2008. Related: South Korea's president has visited North Korea
Competition, lies, and garbage
The city of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, allows four different companies to pick up solid waste for residential customers. Now there's talk that they might cut out the competition and give out a single contract. The excuse? They claim that the trucks are doing damage to city streets. Now, it's completely possible that garbage trucks are putting extra wear and tear on the streets. But how, exactly, would it be better to kill competition and put three companies out of business than to, say, charge a "road wear" fee to any hauler that wants to continue serving the community? There's about a 90% chance that this has nothing to do with road damage at all, but is instead about someone in city politics having friends who want exclusive contracts. That's exactly why city-county mergers are rarely efficient. Instead of looking to solve the issue of road wear by a market-friendly method like charging a user fee, they're looking instead at putting people out of business altogether.
What could possibly cause a person to make 337 crank calls to 911?
Some lunatic from Brooklyn practically made a career out of the calls in order to protest a speeding ticket. Meanwhile, some Argentine jerk has gone and married a woman 58 years older than him. It was creepy when Anna Nicole did it, and so it is here.
Advertising reaches a new low...from the sky
First Airbus mega-jumbo jets go into service this month
The A380 will enter service with Singapore Airlines this month, with a cabin layout that includes 399 economy-class seats, 60 seats in business class, and 12 first-class "suites." It's hard to believe that anyone in the economy-class section will find it possible to heed the cabin crew's admonitions to "have a nice flight".
Avian flu found in Canada -- but it's not H5N1
New Jersey needs to spend $8 billion fixing old bridges
In Minneapolis, the replacement for the I-35W bridge will cost at least $400 million
