Notes from the Surf
The Scale of the Universe
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/525347
...though some physicists may dispute some of the stuff at the two ends...
Normal Chess Isn't Nerdy Enough?
http://www.foxtrot.com/2010/02/02072010/
"My queen has line of sight on your knight."
Born Poor?
http://sfreporter.com/stories/born_poor/5339/all/
"in a very unequal society, the people at the top have to spend a lot of time and energy keeping the lower classes obedient and productive... The greater the inequalities in a society, the more guard labor it requires... All of the people in guard labor jobs could be doing something more productive with their time... Guard labor supports what one might call the beat-down economy."
Al Franken Makes Comcast's CEO Look Like A Tool
http://consumerist.com/2010/02/al-franken-makes-comcasts-ceo-look-like-a-tool.html
"looking to get approval for this merger, you sat there in my office and told me to my face that these rules would protect consumers but your lawyers had just finished arguing in front of the Commission that it would be unconstitutional to apply these rules"
The Justices' New Robes
http://inbrief.nwprogressive.org/post/380143257/the-u-s-supreme-courts-conservative-justices
We will continue with this democracy after a few words from our sponsors.
The OTHER Reason that the U.S. is Not Regulating Wall Street
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/02/other-reason-that-us-is-not-regulating.html
"the White House and Congress - while talking about cracking down on Wall Street with strict regulation - have actually watered down some of the most important protections that were in place... the problem isn't just that Congress and the White House have sold out to the Wall Street giants... The problem is also that the U.S. has signed WTO agreements that have given the keys to the too big to fails, and have neutered their regulators."
Chevron hires twelve public relations firms to discredit indigenous Indians in Ecuador
http://www.naturalnews.com/028108_Chevron_Ecuador.html
"Originally filed in U.S. federal district court back in 1993, the lawsuit was eventually moved to courts in Ecuador at Chevron's behest. Having initially lauded Ecuador's legal system in an effort to have the case moved there, Chevron later changed its mind and began attacking the system when that system found the company liable for damages."
Rule of Law for You. Above the Fifth Amendment for Me.
http://ipsnorthamerica.net/news.php?idnews=2835
"The U.S. government has now established a 'death list' for U.S. citizens abroad akin to those established by Latin American dictatorships during their so-called dirty wars... completely subverting due process and constitutional rights"
Honduras: State Terrorism against the resistance movement
http://quixote.org/state-terrorism-against-resistance-movement-contradicts-discource-reconciliation
"Every effort is being made to white wash the coup d’état... Vanessa Zepeda, a 29 year old nurse, active member of the resistance and union organizer, left her home at 2pm. Her body was later dumped out of a vehicle... Blas Lopez, a teacher and leader of the Pech ethnic group, was murdered in the village of Carbonal. He was an active member of the resistance."
Nepal: Interview with Child Soldier who Joined at 13
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88008
"I witnessed a lot of repression of the poor... this provoked me to do something when I was still a young girl... After seven years of my life with the PLA, I feel very bad for being expelled like this. I have been deprived of helping to liberate my people from this ongoing repression... The UN rehabilitation package is not going to make things better for me. They want to train us to weave baskets and make candles."