On the quiet end to the war in Iraq

Gloria Bilchik sums up the non-event of the end of the Iraq War at Occasional Planet:

Of course, there was no dancing in the streets, no victory parades, no flashy photos of sailors kissing nurses in Times Square. Why would there be? No one is proud of what the U.S. did in—or should we say “to”—Iraq. No valid mission has been accomplished. There’s no victory and nothing to celebrate. It’s just, sort of, over. Poof.

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Excellent photos from space

At a Discovery Magazine column called "Bad Astronomy," you can view some eye-popping photos from space. The first series features 16 photos of the Earth. You'll have the chance to see a space shuttle re-enter the atmosphere and you can look right down the throat of an erupting volcano. The second series offer incredible views of the solar system, including this interactive exquisitely detailed map of the moon and a "family portrait" of the solar system. Check out this view of the Earth - almost entirely water. One of the links took me to another Bad Astronomy column we learn the following regarding the relative sizes and distances of the Earth and its moon:

I’m so used to seeing pictures of just the Earth from space that it’s easy to forget that the Moon travels along with us. An important reminder in this picture is just how far the Moon is from us; 400,000 km is over 100 times the Moon’s size, so it appears to be a dot located well away from its home planet. If you wanted to make a scale model of it, a good way would be to use a golf ball to be Earth, and a marble located a meter away to be the Moon. That really brings home — ironically! — how small and distant our Moon is.
The third series features 24 photos of deep space.   Here you'll see the cradles and graves of stars, a "twin" galaxy of the Milky Way, a giant "soap bubble" and many other awe-inspiring photos from deep space. What makes this series especially enjoyable, above and beyond these stunning images, is the excellent commentary provided with regard to each image.

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Martin Luther King: Three methods of dealing with oppression

Martin Luther King eloquently asserts that non-violent resistance is the best approach to oppression. He asserts, though, that he is not advocating "anarchy," and there is such a thing as an "intelligent" use of police force. The backdrop to this discussion was the ongoing struggle to desegregate Little Rock Central High School. In the following conversation with Dr. Kenneth Clark, King disagrees with the criticisms of Malcolm X, emphasizing that non-violent resistance is "powerful" and it is not at all the same thing as "non-resistance," which is to be avoided, because it "leaves you in a state of stagnant passivity and dead-end complacency." Here is a transcript of this conversation. The above video is mislabeled. It is not a discussion involving Malcolm X, but it is about the differences between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. It includes excerpts from a speech by Malcolm X, as well as numerous historical and entertainment clips.

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Rooftop solar water heaters taking off

Lester Brown reports on the proliferation of solar rooftop water heaters at Sustainablog:

The pace of solar energy development is accelerating as the installation of rooftop solar water heaters takes off. Unlike solar photovoltaic (PV) panels that convert solar radiation into electricity, these “solar thermal collectors” use the sun’s energy to heat water, space, or both. Source: sustainablog (http://s.tt/14T9R)

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