Gongol.com Archives: October 2005
Brian Gongol



The United States of America (10.28.2005)
House Armed Services Committee Unsure What Future of Warfare Looks Like
Confrontations with Pakistan, China, Iran, North Korea? One retired Army major says they're putting too little into armor and other resources for ground troops. Another analyst says cuts to high-tech fighters are a bad sign for the future.

Business and Finance (10.28.2005)
"Most Rich People Are Entrepreneurs"

Business and Finance (10.28.2005)
Austrian-School Economists Displeased with Bernanke Pick
They call him a Keynesian; whether that's true is another issue

Science and Technology (10.28.2005)
Europe's Plan for Energy Security

Computers and the Internet (10.28.2005)
Epson Develops Flexible Plastic SRAM Chip
Computers for clothing, other portable devices take a step forward (from Window Manager)

The American Way (10.28.2005)
Canada Begging Mexican Immigrants to Move North
Liberal temporary-worker system (like what the US should consider implementing) takes advantage of relatively cheap labor and gives the Mexican workers wealth they can send home to their families.

We All Need a Little Humor (10.28.2005)
Stewie Griffin Does Shatner
The "Rocketman" rendition from the "Family Guy" is a spoof of William Shatner's original interpretation of Elton John's "Rocketman", which must be seen in full to be appreciated.

We All Need a Little Humor (10.28.2005)
The World's Leading Kitchen Appliance Rock Group

Aviation News (10.28.2005)
Early Aircraft Design Patents

Health (10.28.2005)
USDA Puts Dietary Search Tool Online
Look up everything you could possibly want to know about any of the 13,000 most common foods eaten in the USA

News (10.28.2005)
Poland Having Trouble Putting Coalition Government Together

Business and Finance (10.28.2005)
Japan Engaged in Debate Over What a Company is Worth
Stock price? Book value? What about the unquantified value to stakeholders like employees?

Weather and Disasters (10.28.2005)
Red Cross Going $340 Million in Hole to Cover Disaster Relief
Projects like the $250 million motel program for Katrina evacuees, which it's managing for FEMA, are redlining the organization's finances.

The United States of America (10.28.2005)
White Sox Victory: Right City, Wrong Team...But At Least It's Getting Closer to Wrigley

The American Way (10.28.2005)
Courts in TX, NY Rule FBI Can't Track Individuals Using Mobile Phones Without First Showing Probable Cause
Disconcerting that this became an issue; it should be self-evident that government tracking of individuals requires that the same standards be met as are required for search warrants. Groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation suspect other shadowy things are being done that we don't know about.

Threats to Western Civilization (10.28.2005)
Iranian President Going for Youth Vote
Trying to turn the under-25 demographic (half of Iran's population) into hard-liners. A smart domestic move, since young people are usually the first ones to start revolutions -- and a reminder that the US and other open societies need to urgently get behind the reform movement and accelerate the cultural invasion. Radio Sawa may be a start, but if it came at the expense of conventional VOA service to the Middle East, then the decision-makers must be mad. If there's one public broadcaster that the taxpaying American public should be delighted to support, it's the Voice of America and affiliated projects like Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, which were instrumental in providing a surrogate free press to people suffering under Communist rule during the Cold War. Culture is a tool of victory.