Brian Gongol
Unconventional weapons of cold war: Currency rumors
Estonia looks like it may have been the victim of rumors started by external enemies who wanted to send the Baltic country's currency into a tailspin. By simple currency manipulation, one country can cause tremendous damage to another without firing a shot. That's why it's a little unnerving that China holds so much American cash. Much of it gets reinvested in American investments, but that's never guaranteed to remain the case.
Iowa universities raise tuition by smallest amount in 27 years
After a streak of huge increases, it's a welcome change. The state of Iowa spends too much money on targeted economic incentive packages, and that money could instead be used to expand access to college-level education for taxpayers and their kids.
Is 2008 going to be a crushingly bad year for debt?
Almost two million sub-prime mortgages will have their rates changed in the coming year, and when those rates go up, people will start to choose between paying the mortgage and paying for lots of other things. If consumer spending takes a hit as a result, that could be a big problem -- especially since we're saving next to zip as a country anyway, and we're on the verge of having to pay the piper for some huge governmental debt obligations. That, and if mortgages go bad en masse, it'll hurt the construction industry, which is about 5% of US GDP. Related: The English could be paying soaring prices for beer in the new year, and the Australians are worried about inflation.
UK privacy watchdog worries they've already moved into a permanent surveillance nightmare
World Bank says pandemic could cost $2 trillion
That's on a scale similar to total US Federal spending in a year -- and, of course, it ignores the potential human cost
Omaha study measures drugs in the sewer
