These men are vile, jailing children for profit. They ought to be left to the mercy of the kids, toward whom they showed none. From the NYTimes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/us/13judge.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all
Jail These Judges
February 13th, 2009Making Money Off the Mahatma
February 12th, 2009For shame! Auctioning off Gandhiji’s meager posessions is an infamy. “Because Gandhi had so few possessions, the sale is expected to attract huge attention from across the world.” From the BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7886389.stm
More from the BBC: A number of Members of the Indian Parliament (one of the Houses of the bicameral legislature in India) are calling for intervention by the Republic of India.
“One minister suggested the government should enter the auction and buy the items, which he described as part of India’s heritage.”
“The sandals were given to a British army officer in 1931 before talks in London about Indian self-rule.”
Shine On Me
February 12th, 2009Southern California Edison comes toward the light.
SoCalEd commits to 1300MW power purchase agreement with Brightsource for solar power from the Mojave Desert. This kind of agreement is exactly what is needed to make solar power viable. Kudos to all involved. That’s another 1300 MW not coming from coal.
http://www.edison.com/files/021109_news1.pdf
Making Rain for a Thirsty Land
February 12th, 2009The Chinese have been doing this for a while. Apparently it works to some extent, but you do have to start with rain clouds. A danger with this technology is that it might be used to deny rain to a downwind country, by making all the rain fall out over your own territory.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90785/6590656.html
Hide Your Face
February 12th, 2009Ten tips for privacy settings on Facebook. Or, save yourself the time and just dont use Facebook.
http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/
Obama Orders Efficient Appliances
February 12th, 2009About time. Fourteen states had filed lawsuits complaining that the previous administration had, as usual, failed to comply with legislation, in this case, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Let’s see if we do get stiffer standards. Deadline is middle of this year. From the Federal Register, via Cryptome:
http://cryptome.info/0001/pm020509.htm
Demolition Derby in Space
February 12th, 2009Coming to an orbital slot right above your head. This will become a bigger problem as more and more satellites die and their orbits decay. Don’t look up, the sky is falling. From
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090211/ap_on_sc/satellite_collision
Parents get Panic Button
February 12th, 2009Parents who can’t find the on-off switch may get a large red panic button to turn off their kids’ games. What will they legislate next. From
http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/02/11/euro-parliament-online-games-should-have-quotred-buttonquot-parents
Shock Your Battery
February 12th, 2009Potholes decrease efficiency. This technique recovers some of the energy dissipated in shock absorbers as heat to recharge the car battery. Every little bit helps. From MIT:
http://techfragments.com/news/415/Tech/MIT_Team_Creates_Shock_That_Recharges_Your_Car.html
Another Great Depression?
February 11th, 2009by widgette.com
Could the current economic crisis lead to another great depression? The Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank has released a study that suggests the government needs to be careful in order to avoid such a problem. Massive public intervention to maintain employment and investment, if they distort incentives enough, can lead to a great depression.
Business cycles can lead to an ordinary downturn in the economy. However, overreaction by the government can prolong and deepen the downturn leading to depression.