Brian Gongol
Graphic of the day: GPS
Some of America's largest cities are threatened by water shortages
Chinese citizens crash anti-corruption website with flood of complaints
So many people tried to register their complaints that the servers crashed. And yet, halfway around the world, Morgan Stanley was begging for $5 billion from China's government-run "sovereign fund" to keep the bank from collapsing over $9.4 billion in losses on subprime loans. This ought to make us queasy: Our biggest banks have turned into gambling houses that lose too much and end up having to turn to Communist governments for the money they need to stay afloat. Too many people who have thought of themselves as financiers have been nothing more than idle (but lucky) speculators, and the damage they're doing to real capitalism is getting ugly. That doesn't mean it's time for more government regulation, but it's probably well past time for more shame.
Brownsville Zoo gets a new baby gorilla
Gorillas, despite being our genetic cousins, are under severe threat in their native lands. Fortunately, two really well-regarded charities, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and the African Wildlife Foundation, are trying to do something about it.
European Commission barks at MasterCard for its absurd fees
Pro-American candidate wins landslide in South Korean presidential race
Mozilla releases second beta version of Firefox 3
That typically means that the final production-scale release is less than a year away -- and quite likely, even sooner. Among other things, they say it'll be faster than ever. Related: A new security flaw has been revealed that could allow crooks to break into Gmail accounts using Internet Explorer.
The Republican divide in Iowa
