Gongol.com Archives: August 2006
Brian Gongol


August 1, 2006

Threats and Hazards UN Security Council tells Iran it has one month to behave
Iran's propaganda agency says it's just a conspiracy against them

News Left vs. right is dead; openness vs. reactionism here to stay
Modern politics reflect Virginia Postrel's thesis. Perhaps that says something about why Russia is so complicated right now.

Science and Technology Same technology that could create beneficial viruses can also lead to bioterrorism
Virus creation in the lab can be a good thing for research -- and potentially as a vector to deliver cures -- but it could be used for evil, too

Socialism Doesn't Work House of Representatives more worried about MySpace than Medicare crisis
HR 5319, the "Deleting Online Predators Act", will tell schools to restrict access to social-networking sites like MySpace if they want to get Federal funding. 39 Representatives have signed on as cosponsors, indicating that they all think it's more important for the Federal government to interfere with local schools than it is to deal with the extremely urgent and practically imminent collapse of Medicare. It's gross negligence. Related: In the UK, the debate is about whether schools should teach right and wrong.

Socialism Doesn't Work Fidel Castro bedridden for weeks after surgery, brother temporarily in charge
Communist nations seem to require a cult of personality, even if turning power over to your brother seems, well, un-revolutionary

News Blair says "arc of extremism" crosses Mideast
British prime minister says he wants to reappraise current strategy and start working with moderate Islamic nations like UAE and Bahrain in order to combat the extremists. Meanwhile, things are getting worse between Lebanon and Israel.

News Left-wing protesters shut down Mexico City
Another lesson for disaster planners: It's not just terrorist attacks that can shut down an entire city; in this case, it's a bunch of people mad about their electoral loss. Mexico needs to get this problem resolved quickly before the rule of law gives way.

Science and Technology Rat neurons plus robot bodies equals strange new beings
Georgia Tech scientists are trying to figure out how the brain works, learns, and remembers by hooking up neurons to things they can watch in action. The hope is to learn how to create "neural prosthetics."

CommerceBucket Do HSA's really save money on health care?

Water News Big wildfire in northwest Nebraska

Graphics Block Town