Brian Gongol
Dubai begs for some time to catch up with paying down its debts
Britain's anti-terrorism minister gets stopped and searched by cops
There's at least some reason to believe that it was a "random" search. And it goes to show how nonsensical those can be.
Newsreader gets creative with her iPhone when TV studio's computers fail
What good are ethics if your children are hungry?
Without a functioning means of free speech and a free press, it's nearly impossible to have a functioning civil society and useful government. It too often seems like a remote concern in the United States, but it's a reality in many places (if not most) around the world that political powers have considerable capacity to hold back the free press.
Better BBC headlines are coming
The BBC has successfully made the leap from British radio and TV monolith to Internet-era news source to the world. (Sure, the BBC World Service was and is one of the best international shortwave radio broadcasts around. But with American news outlets overdependent on the AP, which has inadequate international coverage and draconian policies about taking their content offline soon after it's produced, the BBC has achieved a level of reach in America via the Internet it never had before, especially among those interested in international news.) Fortunately, now the BBC is improving its headlines. Instead of all-too-brief, cryptic abbreviated headlines, they're going to start using longer, clearer statements. This is a good step forward -- headlines are most of what we know about most news stories.
A graphic designer responds to a request for free work
Hilarious, though the exchange gets a little heated and uses some coarse language
Futurist predicts revolution in the UK within three years
Ian Pearson isn't exactly prone to hyperbole, and he's made some very good predictions in the past. That's what makes his words unnerving. He thinks responsible, middle-class people are being squeezed to the breaking point and may respond enthusiastically if a charismatic political leader decides to take things a little farther than others.
People will still be watching "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" in 50 years
But they won't be on Twitter or Facebook anymore. All fads must pass and all trends must be eclipsed. But a great creative work can endure.
Better security through paint
The University of Tokyo has come up with a kind of paint that works like a Faraday cage to block wireless signals from escaping a home. Good for blocking the escape of WiFi computer network data. Bad for radio reception.
IRS plans to snoop on credit cards
From the agency: "The new law requires banks and other payment settlement entities to report payment card and third-party network transactions with their participating merchants." More paperwork -- much like the policy going into effect December 1st that requires lots of new disclosures about Internet content and sponsorships -- that will require lots more work and doesn't even seem likely to produce any substantial benefits.
A variety of visions of Chicago's future
We've practically arrived in 2010, which means that we're almost as close to 2020 (moving forward) as to 2000 (in the past). That's a reality check, to be sure.
Family tragedy compels radio host to promote H1N1 vaccinations
There are lots of idiots on the radio now promoting an anti-vaccination movement driven by pure ignorance. It's unfortunate that a family loss occurred, but it's good to hear that someone is using the airwaves to promote good. Vaccinations work.
Flood debris collection ends in Cedar Rapids
Social networks are "going a little mad"
An astute observation from a man who also realizes that radio needs transcripts in order to succeed in the Internet age. Of course, that need for transcripts is likely to be fulfilled soon by Google, which is using Google Voice to develop a better transcription engine.
Woman puts brick through the glass of WGN-AM's sidewalk studio
It's often altogether too easy to give radio and TV hosts a scare
USDOT imposes $175,000 in fines for that long-trapped flight at Rochester, Minnesota
Mesaba, Continental, and ExpressJet each got hit for leaving a plane full of passengers sitting on the ground at Rochester's airport overnight back in August
AOL retires the running man logo as its lead graphic
AOL is introducing a new branding campaign and it doesn't include the little running guy
Podcast: More looks at the future
Podcast: Bing meets Wolfram Alpha to build a real "decision engine"
Nebraska's oldest ethanol plant turns 25
China wants its money back
(Video) "Saturday Night Live" shows a rare moment of comic genius meeting economic comprehension, as an imposter President Hu Jintao shows what he really thinks about American borrowing. America is borrowing far too much, and the government is compounding the problem by putting heavier burdens on the backs of manufacturers and other companies. It's going to reduce American economic competitiveness in the future, at just the time when we'll need more productive capacity than ever in order to pay down our debts. Stupid programs like Cash for Clunkers have only increased our indebtedness while doing little good for the nation as a whole. The average car on the US roads became a little more efficient as the clunkers left the streets, but that's hardly worth the spending and the debt that was incurred.
Trouble at Wikipedia
The Wall Street Journal reports that Wikipedia is having trouble attracting new contributors and retaining editors. As with many volunteer organizations, people have traded pay compensation for prestige, and that's making it difficult for people to continue cooperating effectively. Wikipedia has achieved a remarkable degree of dominance online -- many searches for general topics will deliver a Wikipedia page as one of the first results -- but it also uses a complicated interface for updates and new pages, which discourages neophytes from trying to participate. And then there are the interminable arguments that discuss the pages themselves.
Lance Armstrong Foundation rejects new guidelines for reduced screening for breast cancer
Just because our methods of treatment are still imperfect doesn't mean we should reduce screening. More vigilance and more early detection are necessary, not less. Improving treatment is a separate issue which also needs work, but its shortcomings shouldn't be used to obstruct better detection.
Former major investor says Russia isn't a safe place for business anymore
Podcast: Remember paying taxes for the first time?
Podcast: Using Google News to keep an eye on your good name
EPA fines Iowa feedlot $25,000 for water pollution
The collateral damage never shown in video games
Record-label rep arrested for not using Twitter
The police wanted him to use an artist's Twitter account to help get a crowd to disperse.