Afternoon Reads

That’s it for me, folks, Ed will be back on Monday. Here are some choice cuts from around the web:

1. Richard Feynman explains the difference between the mechanisms of metal springs and rubber bands.

2. Guardian report on General Petraeus and Iraqi torture centers and death squads.

3. Zack Beauchamp on why progressives need a sane opposition party.

4. Against all odds, Jerry Brown seems to have turned things around in California, with some help of course.

5. Lovely story on Hank Williams’ final days. (ht @elongreen)

6. Now here’s a historically contextualized criticism of Hugo Chávez.

Finally, a Japandroids joint:

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.