Brian Gongol
"US government stages fake coup"
(Video) Brilliant satire from The Onion, speaking to the folly of having built up almost $12,000,000,000,000 in Federal debt with virtually no indication of intending to pay it off. The problem isn't just the size of the debt itself (which is so huge, it's difficult to grasp), but also its size when compared to the GDP (gross domestic product, or the overall size of the economy). The entire US economy was $14.4 trillion in 2008. That means our Federal debt (not including municipal, state, commercial, or individual household debt...just real outstanding Federal government debt) is rapidly approaching 100% of GDP, and it's rising quickly. That's dangerous.
How the Ukraine could become a major breadbasket again
As the future of world food supplies looks like it's going to challenge our creativity and scientific knowledge, outsiders are investing in improving agriculture in the Ukraine. Some people criticize the outside investments, calling it "asset stripping" by the West. But that's a faulty analysis of the worst type; unlike non-renewable resources like oil, good farmland can continue to produce value for its owners over the long term. And if the land was lying fallow before, then it's a good thing that outsiders are investing in turning it into something more productive. Over the long term, there will undoubtedly be a lot of schemes attempted to make the resource balance better. We're going to see at least a few vertical farms (if only as experiments), and we're going to see more genetic modification. But in the long run, we have to recognize that food is a resource, the result of three variables: (1) production, (2) consumption, and (3) the quality of storage in between.
Federal officials say Mesaba Airlines was at fault for the overnight stranding in Rochester
A plane operated by ExpressJet for Continental Airlines ended up diverting to Rochester, Minnesota, instead of Minneapolis. The officials say Mesaba was in charge of the airport at the time and didn't let the Continental passengers into the airport like it should have.
"60 Minutes" creator Don Hewitt believed in the value of radio news
What happens when the largest countries run short of water?
