Gongol.com Archives: March 2004
Brian Gongol



We All Need a Little Humor The Trunk Monkey (3.31.2004)
Truly one of the funniest things I've ever seen. On failure, try this alternate link.

Socialism Rears Its Ugly Head Canadian Government Bought Flags that Wouldn't Fly (3.31.2004)
Ordered one million flags, none of which could be mounted to flagpoles. Surprise: Someone's pockets got lined in the process.

Socialism Rears Its Ugly Head Socialized Medicine Hurts Kids (3.31.2004)
Australia can't afford the safest methods to diagnose Australian children

Aviation United Owes Denver $261 Million (3.31.2004)
They get out of paying another $240 million to New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles; could be out of bankruptcy by the summer

Science and Technology Airport Doubles as Solar Power Plant (3.31.2004)
Turns unused space into productive land

Threats to the American Way Terrorist Violence Erupts in Uzbekistan (3.30.2004)
Two suicide bombers in marketplaces, plus attacks on police

Threats to the American Way Eight Men Held in UK on Terrorism Charges (3.30.2004)
Half a ton of fertilizer found in a storage unit; same stuff was used in Oklahoma City

Threats to the American Way Bomb Attack in Philippines Stopped (3.30.2004)
President there says it would've been like Madrid train bombing

Threats to the American Way Bomb Found on French Rail Line (3.29.2004)
Note to France: Rolling over and playing dead doesn't placate terrorists

Threats to the American Way September 11th Attacks Could Have Included Los Angeles, Chicago (3.29.2004)
Bin Laden also has a serious grudge against London

Aviation NASA Aircraft Hits Almost 5,000 MPH (3.29.2004)
That's the new world record

Aviation Boeing Thinks 2,000 Airliners Are Sitting Unused (3.29.2004)
That many available used airplanes sitting around is bad news if your business is building new planes

Threats to the American Way Pakistan Kills Al Qaeda's Intelligence Chief (3.29.2004)
Now let's leave a smoldering hole where Bin Laden used to be

Threats to the American Way Security in Some Cases Actually Worse than Before September 11th (3.29.2004)
Did the Department of Homeland Security streamline domestic protection, or just create another layer of bureaucracy?

Science and Technology Fetal Child Screened for Genetic Defects (3.29.2004)
The baby was picked so he can give his older brother a bone marrow transplant

Threats to the American Way Hamas Leader Killed (3.29.2004)
Suicide bombings will continue

Threats to the American Way Former Archbishop of Canterbury: Islamic Societies Too Authoritarian (3.26.2004)
Much hand-wringing follows, but can you really defend the House of Saud?

News Blair Tells Gadhafi Military Cooperation Could Happen (3.25.2004)
A pat on the back for 'fessing up to having a nuclear program. A really big one.

News 600-lb. Man Dies After Being Rescued from Apartment (3.24.2004)
It took 10 firefighters and a cherry picker to get him out

Threats to the American Way Jobs Going Overseas Because We're Getting Dumber (3.24.2004)
50% of engineering, math, and science degrees in the US are going to foreign nationals

Computers and the Internet EU Demands a New Windows OS in 90 Days (3.24.2004)
Calls Microsoft a "brake on innovation"

Aviation "Trusted Travelers" Could Get Express Lanes at Airports (3.24.2004)
But is it a good idea to create a less-scrutinized class?

Science and Technology The Planets Are Aligned (3.24.2004)
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter all aligned for a couple of weeks

The American Way John Stossel Deserves a Plug (3.23.2004)
A rare breed: An economical thinker with a really big audience

News Russian Nuclear-Powered Battle Cruiser "Could Explode at Any Moment" (3.23.2004)
Northern Fleet flagship ordered back to port immediately

We All Need a Little Humor Jesse Ventura's Been Hanging Out at Harvard (3.22.2004)
Read how the local pizza guy was disappointed in one of his study sessions

Science and Technology The Iowa Rain Forest (3.22.2004)
The project is still underway

Socialism Rears Its Ugly Head Socialized Medicine Imperils Canadian Budget (3.22.2004)
No surprise: Budget crunch means that even some heart surgeries are on hold

Threats to the American Way Canadian Military Dangerously Small (3.22.2004)
It's not good to have a weak friendly neighbor. Better than a strong hostile one, but not good.

Business and Finance UK to Continue Avoiding the Euro (3.22.2004)
Blair says they're not ready yet

Business and Finance Brits Give Dasani the Boot (3.21.2004)
Coca-Cola's bottled water lasted just one month in the UK

News Taiwanese Demonstrators Say President Faked Assassination Attempt (3.21.2004)
Break out the tin foil hats

The American Way Australians Realize Al Qaeda Targets Them, Too (3.19.2004)
Speech: It doesn't matter whether we help in Iraq or not, they're out to get us. Backing down won't make things any better.

Threats to the American Way US Ambassador to Canada: Beef Up Your Military (3.19.2004)
Says security service gets it, but average Canadian doesn't; they're not taking threats seriously enough

Aviation Honda and GE Working on a Business Jet Engine (3.19.2004)
Could make cheaper jets possible

Science and Technology Oil Spill Damage May Be Less When Oil is Pushed to Shore (3.19.2004)
It may be easier to clean up spilled oil when it's on sand than when it's at sea

News Off With Bill Moyers' Head (3.19.2004)
He'll be leaving PBS soon, but not soon enough

Threats to the American Way Israel Says Frankfurt Airport Not Completely Safe (3.19.2004)
Not terribly reassuring, since some of the September 11th hijackers congregated there

News Red Cross Visits Saddam Hussein (3.19.2004)
Maybe they took him a cookie

Business and Finance How to Kill a Perfectly Good Community (3.17.2004)
Waterloo is like a lot of places: High taxes and a stagnant business climate. There's a connection.

The United States of America Cheney: We're a Cowboy Nation (3.17.2004)
If Spain, others back out, we're still going to take on Al Qaeda

Computers and the Internet World's Longest Email Disclaimer (3.15.2004)
When lawyers attack

Aviation Another Low-Fare Carrier on the Way (3.14.2004)
Virgin Group is looking for a hub and investors

Aviation Ad Exec Says Sell Sponsorships to Fund NASA (3.14.2004)
The joke possibilities are endless

Socialism Rears Its Ugly Head Sometimes the Best Intentions Go Awry (3.14.2004)
Regulations in the West could be killing people in poor countries

News Canada's Top Drug Offense: Pot Possession (3.14.2004)
And they're about to decriminalize it

News UK, France, Germany: "We're Not Up To Anything" (3.14.2004)
Rest of Europe: "We've heard that before"

Aviation Europe Wants US to Speed Up "Open Skies" Agreement (3.14.2004)
So you can fly Air France between Chicago and Houston

Threats to the American Way Hard-Liners Fix Iran Election, but Change is on the Way (3.14.2004)
60% of population is under 35

Threats to the American Way Zimbabwe Could Execute Suspected Mercenaries (3.14.2004)
They were on a US-registered plane

Computers and the Internet New Round of Computer Viruses (3.14.2004)
Because it's apparently just too draining for hackers to go out and get a real hobby

Computers and the Internet Microsoft Security Chief: Hackers Are Getting Lazy (3.14.2004)
There was a time when hackers would exploit security holes and reveal them non-criminally; now, they just wait for security patches to come out and then mess with the programs

Threats to the American Way DC Sniper Gets the Chair (3.10.2004)
Still says he didn't do it, but the specially-modified car they used speaks otherwise

Threats to the American Way Achille Lauro Hijacker Dies (3.10.2004)
Was captured by US forces; they say he died of natural causes

Threats to the American Way Terrorists Hit Masonic Lodge in Turkey (3.10.2004)
One went in shooting, the other set off a bomb

We All Need a Little Humor "Urban Planner Stuck in Traffic of Own Design" (3.10.2004)
One of the better Onion spoofs of late

Socialism Rears Its Ugly Head How Socialism Kills (3.10.2004)
Anecdotal evidence doesn't make a complete case, but it reveals real problems

We All Need a Little Humor 100 Most-Mispronounced Words (3.10.2004)
It's pronounced Feb-ROO-ary, people!

The United States of America Coolidge's Most Famous Quote Wasn't His (3.10.2004)
He didn't exactly say "The business of America is business," but it was pretty close

Threats to the American Way Al Qaeda Now Working in North Africa (3.10.2004)
May be looking to diamond smuggling as a source of funds