A Law Library of Congress (LLOC) [official website] spokesperson said on October 29 that the LLOC will not retract its report [text, PDF] on the military-backed coup in Honduras [JURIST report], according to a McClatchy Newspapers report [text]. The statement came in response to demands [McClatchy Newspapers report] from senior congressional Democrats to retract the report, which the lawmakers charge is based on flawed legal analysis and has exacerbated the country's political unrest. The congressional research agency reportedly stands by its legal analysis of the ouster of Manuel Zelaya [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], which concludes: Available sources indicate that the judicial and legislative branches applied constitutional and statutory law in the case against President Zelaya in a manner that was judged by the Honduran authorities from both branches of the government to be in accordance with the Honduran legal system. Heads of the House and Senate foreign relations committees, John Kerry (D-MA) and Howard Berman (D-CA), have spoken out against the report stating that it is based on a provision of the Honduran Constitution that was struck down in 2003. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/10/library-of-congress-refusing-to-retract.php

Yes, reader, the plural of muse is muses. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/muse
I think of myself as the muser and the readers as musees.

Facebook has won yet another massive judgment against a spammer who already owes $234 million to MySpace. A California federal judge on October 29 granted Facebook's request for a default judgment against Sanford Wallace, who is known to have been involved with spamming since the mid-1990s and with junk faxing before that. http://www.informationweek.com/news/global-cio/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=221400140\

Moon Phases, November 2009 (times are in Universal Time)
Full Moon – November 2, 19:14
Last Quarter – November 9, 15:56
New Moon – November 16, 19:14
First Quarter – November 24, 21:39
http://www.universetoday.com/guide-to-space/the-moon/moon-phases-2009/

The times of various events, particularly astronomical and weather phenomena, are often given in "Universal Time" (abbreviated UT) which is sometimes referred to, now colloquially, as "Greenwich Mean Time" (abbreviated GMT). The two terms are often used loosely to refer to time kept on the Greenwich meridian (longitude zero), five hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. Times given in UT are almost always given in terms of a 24-hour clock. Thus, 14:42 (often written simply 1442) is 2:42 p.m., and 21:17 (2117) is 9:17 p.m. Sometimes a Z is appended to a time to indicate UT, as in 0935Z.
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/UT

Rice primavera
Cook rice; then stir in butter pats and diced, cooked vegetables before serving.
Optional: Add slivered nuts.

Foods named after people
http://www.economicexpert.com/a/List:of:foods:named:after:people.htm

A number is an abstract concept while a numeral is a symbol used to express that number. Numbers smaller than ten, should be spelled out. Experts don’t always agree on other rules, but you’ll find many good ideas here:
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/10-rules-for-writing-numbers-and-numerals/

Nevada Barr, a National Park Service ranger who once worked along the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, is most known for her series of mystery novels—each of which is set in a national park. Her most recent novels include Deep South (2000), set on the Natchez Trace Parkway; Blood Lure (2001), set in Montana’s Glacier National Park; Hunting Season (2002), the 10th book in the series and the first to be set in a national park previously featured (in this case, the Natchez Trace Parkway); Flashback, set in the Dry Tortugas National Park off the coast of Key West, Florida; High Country, set in Yosemite National Park; and in 2005, the 13th book in the Anna Pigeon series, Hard Truth, set in Rocky Mountain National Park. http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/barr_nevada/index.html

This Top 10 list (the first-ever) from Publisher’s Weekly consists of both fiction and non-fiction titles. The books were selected from the 50,000 titles submitted to PW for review in 2009.

What book got you hooked? Top five are:
1. Dr. Seuss Children’s Books
2. Nancy Drew Mystery Stories
3. Little House on the Prairie
4. Where the Wild Things Are
5. Charlotte's Web
See final state rankings and learn how the books will be distributed at:
http://booksforkids.firstbook.org/whatbook/voting_2009_campaign_end.php?tr=y&auid=5513150

A new rechargeable battery that is cheaper, longer-lasting and safer than lithium-ion batteries has been developed by a Norwegian firm and a Swiss company is starting to market it. Called zinc-air battery, it has bigger energy storage capacity or two-thirds more than what a lithium-ion battery stores. http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7016858772?Norwegian%20Firm%20Develops%20Cheaper,%20Longer-Lasting%20Rechargeable%20Battery

Best books chosen by Tracy Kidder
The Thing Itself by Richard Todd
The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
I Sailed With Magellan by Stuart Dybek
Get descriptions, prices and publisher information at:
http://www.theweek.com/article/index/101893/Best_books__chosen_by_Tracy_Kidder

On October 31, 1864, Congress admitted Nevada as the 36th state in the Union. With President Lincoln coming up for re-election and looking for support for his proposed 13th Amendment to the Constitution, Nevadans had moved quickly to meet the legal requirements for statehood, ultimately sending the entire text of the proposed state constitution to Washington by telegraph, creating in the longest—and most expensive— telegram on record to that date.
On November 1, 1943, the federal Office of Price Administration first established rent control in wartime New York City.
On November 1, 1993, the Treaty on the European Union (Maastricht Treaty) officially came into force, formally creating the European Union. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/thisday/
On November 1, 1512, Pope Julius II displayed Michelangelo's paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for the first time. It was not a job that Michelangelo wanted. He was primarily a sculptor at the time. But Pope Julius II wouldn't take no for an answer. The work required Michelangelo to apply wet plaster to the ceiling and then paint over it before it dried, and he had to do this on more than 10,000 square feet, more than 60 feet above the ground. The Writer’s Almanac
On November 2, 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour issued the United Kingdom's formal statement regarding Jewish people in Palestine. The Balfour Declaration was later endorsed by the World War I Allied Powers. It stated the British intention to support a national homeland for Jewish people and became a cornerstone of the Zionist movement. Read the full Balfour Declaration as well as other documents regarding Israeli-Palestinian relations from the BBC. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/thisday/