...and I finally figured out where I'd seen McCain's face before:

Obama is the cure for dry eyes...



...but it will be nothing compared to the wailing by Republicans as their fingernails scrape steadily down the steps of the capital building...

So somewhere in the chain of the Reuters graphics process some photos got doctored to make some smoke look more dramatic. RWers are in a tizzy saying this is another sign of the mainstream media's anti-Israel bias. LWers suspect a Dan Rather style setup intended to cast FUD on the Qana story.

Nothing can be further from the truth. Are you ready for it? Fair warning -- It'll hurt.

The photos were doctored not by some political agenda, but for one simple reason: sensationalism sells. The corporate media are vying to show us the biggest explosions, the most dramatic twists of plots, the fastest action in this...

...our latest sporting event.

Dutifully the American viewer has pulled up the armchair and broken out the bowl of cheezits, watching intently as half a world away people die on both sides. What do they draw from this? Are they, between beers, forming an educated opinion on the relative merits of the politics of Hezbollah or Isreal? Are they, during commercial-break trips to the can, perhaps, trying to discern the impact that this will have on the world going forward, and how the events here can be learned from to create lasting peace? Nope.

What we as a people are getting out of this is entertainment. And unlike a football game or the Tour de France, we don't have to make excuses for wasting our time glued to the TV and web over it. After all -- this is important stuff. People are dying over there. So if we are a bit distracted don't blame us for not doing the dishes, refinancing the mortgage, or re-registering to vote. Don't point a finger at us for failing to improve ourselves and our country -- we had weighty things on our mind. In such times of crisis, it's only natural that we be a little distracted.

Passive entertainment you don't have to make excuses for. What could be better?

By the way, if the death and violence and environmental and economic devestation just aren't doing it for you, here's a little trick to pimp your war lust: pick a side. Which one? We don't care! Base it on your preconceptions, prejudices, or heck just flip a coin. It doesn't matter. The corporate media will make sure that there is plenty of back-and-forth in this game. No, of course they aren't able to give you a real view of what's going on strategically -- neither side would let reporters near them were they to broadcast sensitive tactical information like that. But what they will provide is an ebb and flow. One side will be said to have brought the other to the ropes, and then in a surprise surge of strength, the underdog will regain the initiative. Over and over and over.

And if you just can't bring yourself to watch the gore, you can always watch the cheerleaders. Yes, fight about which of them are biased and which are not, and the relative merits of their pom-poms. Just whatever you do, remain transfixed. Don't take your eye off the misery over there. You might accidentally notice the misery in your own back yard and the next thing you know, you'll be on your lawn with a rake, sweating profusely, trying to comb the filth from America's own soil.

We wouldn't want that. You might get dehydrated.

So sit back. Enjoy the show. You have to. This is a real groundshaking cacaphony of human misery here that the corporate media have duly coopted to ensure their quarterly market share goes back up. To not pay attention would be being out of touch. Yes, there are plenty of other things going on in the world, but this one is important, because it's the one the corporate media has a monopoly on -- and so much better than Iraq, which is tapped out and too full of influential toes to step on.

My point is not, of course, that the ME is of no import. It is simply this: crisis are everywhere. You get to pick which ones you address, and some of them are closer to you than others. If you feel obliged to do something about the ME, then join a call for peace, do your part, and be done with it. Nobody will think worse of you if you only do a small bit -- you are half a world away. Just remember that nobody will think better of you this time around if you find yourself posting your photo on "sorryeveryone2006", because that crisis was in your own back yard, and you were the schmoe that was supposed to take care of that one.

In parting, some lyrics from an album as important to listen to today, as it was back in 1992:

Water pistol man full of ammunition
squirtin' at fires on a worldwide mission
but did you ever think to stop to squirt the flowers
in your own backyard

(Album info)

There are two ways concentrated solar power is used that highlight it's differences.

In the first case, like the panels being sold by MicroPV, to name one of about ten vendors, sunlight is concentrated onto a normal PV cell. This makes the unit cheaper because mirrors/lenses are cheaper than solar cells. It's making the solar cell do more. There are also PV cells specially made for this purpose, and with those, concentrating the sunlight not only allows a smaller cell to produce more power, but it also turns more light per square meter into electricity because these special cells get more efficient when there is a higher concentration of light.

The advantages of using PV are ease of maintenence and the fact that eventually solar cells may surpass the theoretical limit of alternative methods in terms of energy efficiency, making the solar plants more compact.

In the second case we pass entirely on using a PV cell. Instead the sunlight is turned to heat, and the heat is turned to electricity. These systems are called "solar thermoelectric" instead of "photovoltaic" because they don't convert the light directly, though one of the varieties of "solar thermoelectric" power is called "thermophotovoltaic" for reasons below. Usually these types of installations are big, and there are a variety of forms they can take from "solar chimeys" to trough farms, to dish arrays.

There are two main advantages to this approach. One is that you can merge the solar heat with heat from other sources before you run it through the generator -- that can help make the solar installation more reliable and capable of handling load peaks on cloudy days. The other is that the heat energy can be stored for later use, perhaps discharged during the night when the air is cooler (which means you'll get more electricity from it -- it's the difference in temperature between your cool side and hot side that matters, not the absolute temperature.)

How the heat gets converted to electricity is a matter of choice. (In fact in some cases you may convert it into something other than electricity, like air conditioning.)

You can go for a solid-state or near-solid state solution like thermopiles, which are microchips that generate electricity when you heat one side (and cool the other) or a thermacoustic heat engine which is a specially shaped bottle full of gas with a set of "channels" inside it that causes the gas to vibrate, driving a coil for a magnetic pickup, the only moving part (which doesn't actually move much.) Both of those options are still in the "promising, but not quite there yet" category, though there have been some very exciting discoveries in the field of thermopiles lately.

You can also go for a traditional gas heat engine like a stirling engine/free piston stirling, or a steam/rankin/ammonia setup, etc. The stirlings can be pretty small (some have even been mounted right on the concentrator dish) whereas the other technologies usually are used in big installations where many dishes or troughs feed a central generator. Power companies like doing it this way because they already have the engineers on-staff to handle the heat engines -- they are more used to this approach.

Solar chimneys are their own animal -- they capture the heat, turn it to wind, and turn the wind to electricity. That may seem a bit round-about, but they are actually a good idea because they get some more power out of the system by reaching up into the sky to take advantage of heat and pressure diferentials at the top of the chimney.

Finally there's the "thermophotovoltaics" I mentioned. These are special PV cells tuned to a specific high-infrared frequency. They are very efficient, but only at that frequency, so they wouldn't produce much power when exposed to sunlight which has a lot of frequencies in it. The solar heat is concentrated onto a peice of material that, when it gets hot "glows" at the same frequency that the PV cell is tuned to. So these systems are sort of an "input transformer" for sunlight, changing sunlight to a special form of light via a heat step, and then to electricity. These are the dark horse technology that not many people realize is out there -- they already have demonstrated efficiencies close to the most efficient stirling engine setups and the most efficient high-concentration PV cells.

And I think that about covers it.

People not online during the weekend may have missed this (IMO) important diary at dailykos. It starts with a good recap of how the lamestream media have been dealing with the latest Abramoff document dump -- and surprise, it's not all bad.

But what's at the end is the important part: A plea to get your critters to sign onto H.R.5550 (The Human Dignity Act). This new document dump should be a shot in the arm for the bill.

What this does -- the short story: it shuts down the Abramoff/DeLay/Ney Marianas Islands slavery ring.

The long story:

1) It brings the focus back to the Culture of Corruption.

2) It brings a massive case of forced immigration into the spotlight of the immigration debate.

3) It shows the Democrats as doing something both for the American worker and for human rights.

A trifecta. It's the most brilliant move Democrats could do right now. Frankly I'm surprised this doesn't get front page stumping on all the major progressive blogs once a week. I know it's hard to keep up with everything, but this one is important, and I'm a bit miffed that it took me two weeks to stumble across this bill. I've already written my Rep and gotten a number of my friends to do so.

We need to blow this one up. Anyway, off to the dkos diary, but please do give me a kick here so this thread doesn't die here at DU.



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/25/12...

In the heated debate about Al Gore's AIT, are we missing something?

I think we are.

Because as far as I can tell, well over half of the people have no idea that Global Warming is not the only major threat that burning fossil fuels poses.

So you all missed that lecture. Here's your makeup assignment: read this article.



http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/265052...

And if you don't, I'll be dropping my pet clam in a bottle of Coke. Maybe I should anyway, and post a video of its dying moments up along with the "altoids and coke explosion" videos.

At least then the issue would get some mindshare.

Tell me I'm not just yelling into the wind here.

That's the term I've finally decided to go with, as I did here. One microscopic step towards kicking the debate out of the perpetual orbit that I'm sure Karl Rove would prefer it remain in.

The PC folks hate "illegals" and some are even extreme enough to dislike "illegal immigrants."

And then the rest detest the "undocumented worker" euphemism.

I think the above is good common ground. It makes the point that these are, yes, people, while still retaining the point that the process by which they came to reside in this country was, no, not legal. It also makes it easier to express that many people share responsibility for immigrating them -- important both because we tend to forget that some small portion therein are pretty much captive slaves who did not jump the fence voluntarily, and the historical contributing factors that created the motivation for people to be illegally immigrated.

We owe it to ourselves as a country not to allow this debate to churn on and on making no progress, wrung dry of any real meaning by a media spin cycle, with politicians cherry-picking fleece out of the lint trap.

For those who wisely eschew TV, you may not be aware of these ads.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20060301/pl_u...

The ads feature a kid doing their homework who looks up and talks to the camera about how his generation won't have to worry about oil supplies because we just have so damn much coal.

The ads are from an organization called ABEC, who's website says:



http://www.balancedenergy.org/abec/index.c...

"essential role that electricity from coal plays in protecting the environment"

Allow me to translate for the naive:



So make sure to buy your kid a lump of coal for Christmas:

http://www.teachcoal.org/teacherstore/inde...

Oh, and lest there be doubt as to which local politicians will be bribed:

http://www.environment2004.org/story.php?i...

Please post photos of Republicans with Bush so I can do this to them:



Post found photos here. Please include name/state of politician:

List of completed photos.

MD Steele
MO Talent
PA Santorum

I had a problem.



I just couldn't stop going.



And going.



And going.



Having to go on the TV.



Having to go on the plane.



Having to go at the U.N. and then not being able to go once I got there.



I thought I had a going problem. My advisors say I have a "growing problem."

My credibility gap is enlarging.

Or maybe it is my budget deficit.

Or the trade deficit.

Or my nose.

Or maybe I was just scared shitless.

So I figure you all deserve to know what I look like since you've put up with me thus far:





...though I now realize I was supposed to put my right arm behind my head. Ah, well, close enough.

No birthmarks to show off, sorry ladies

Ran across this one doing some research. Might be a handy bookmark for our dirt diggers.

http://politicalgraveyard.com/index.html

"The Internet's Most Comprehensive Source of U.S. Political Biography,
or,
The Web Site That Tells Where the Dead Politicians are Buried"

If you have broadband, take a look at this.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/gis/atmapall....

For those that don't, it basically shows that death rates among elderly males and elderly females are biggest in the South, and in the Midwest, respectively.

Let's take a look at the exit polls, which we know are flawed, but which are can still speak qualitatively.

2004 Overall            Bush    Kerry 
18-64 (84%)	        51.00%	48.00%
65 and Older (16%)	52.00%	47.00%
				
2004 EAST				
18-64 (87%)	        42.00%	57.00%
65 and Older (13%)	51.00%	49.00%
				
2004 MIDWEST				
18-64 (86%)	        51.00%	48.00%
65 and Older (14%)	55.00%	45.00%
				
2004 South				
18-64 (84%)	        59.00%	40.00%
65 and Older (16%)	54.00%	45.00%
				
2004 WEST				
18-64 (79%)	        49.00%	49.00%
65 and Older (21%)	49.00%	50.00%	

So, while the Dems stand to lose as the grits and pork rinds take their toll on the old folks in the South, everywhere else it either barely matters, or, especially among older women in the Midwest, the Republicans lose their base. Between now and 2008, 15-20% of those in the 65 and older bracket will no longer be with us.

As far as the South goes -- well, it isn't exactly critical to the Dems except for FL.

The Midwest will go pretty solidly blue if the Republicans don't start working on the youth now. Despite the bombastic, self-congratulatory, egotistic streak they hold as a generation, boomers aren't going to sour to the conservative side at quite the rate their parents did. Some had a reactionary shit fit when they had kids, but they'll recover.

So don't go thinking the campuses are just the next thing on the right's agenda after the oval office, senate, and house. This is a timed move upon which rests their political fate. They won't let up, because if they get beat there (and we manage to repair the voting system) it is game over for them for a while. They'll have to wait for power to corrupt the Dems to the point where there is backlash in order to get any traction.

So that's why, in case you are wondering. They've been doing their `ritmitic.

(Not to mention big business needs its higher-educated droids to be obedient and free from "defects" like a sense of social conscience.)

No, the drill seargent is not going away. Sign up, you maggots!

BODY, MIND and BALLOT.

What is it? An excercise gathering for Election Reform people.

Where is it? Just a few forum posts away, if you want it.

So far we've got people looking for excercise companions here:



Why? Amaryllis's thread which so aptly describes many of us here got me thinking that we could all use a walk, hike, jog, or a game of something.

And some human contact.

And some face-time with our fellow election activists.

And some way to know who is who, and who is for real, online.

And some local planning.

And a bit of gossip.

And a couple new acquaintances that don't think we are crazy.

Too obsessed to work out alone? Sorry, you don't have that excuse anymore.

Find some people near you and meet for a quick cardio.

And if you do manage to put together a session near you, don't bother to shave/primp or shower. Just throw on some sweats. We all know what you really look like. We see it in the mirror every day.

Link to first thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu...
Link to Amaryllis' thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu...

Another one cropped up. Not sure how I'd rate it's accuracy.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...

But having been raised catholic, I have no qualms about tendering a rather graphical response (misspelling intentional)



(Please don't link to it. Copy it if you like.)