Quote

“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

[Meanwhile, his gay brothers and sisters tap their feet, waiting impatiently. Well, then, hurry it up already!]

Barack Obama

Incomplete

Barack Obama

“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

[Meanwhile, his gay brothers and sisters tap their feet, waiting impatiently. Well, then, hurry it up already!]

As Seen On

The political consequences of academic paywalls

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The political consequences of academic paywalls

Academic Paywall Monetization Kills

The political consequences of academic paywalls

The suicide of Aaron Swartz, the activist committed to making scholarly research accessible to everyone, has renewed debate about the ethics of academic publishing. Under the current system, academic research is housed in scholarly databases, which charge as much as $50 per article to those without a university affiliation. The only people who profit from this system are academic publishers. Scholars receive no money from the sale of their articles, and are marginalized by a public who cannot afford to read their work. Ordinary people are denied access to information and prohibited from engaging in scholarly debate.

Excellent reporting from Dr. Sarah Kendzior on Aljazeera.com.

As Seen On

Quote

If 6,000 white male children and young adults were being murdered every year in the U. S, as is the case among African-American males, do you think we would see any hesitation in taking serious actions to restrict the availability of guns?

Jim Horn

(My aside: It’s a salient point, but my reply is, sadly, no. You are dealing with people who truly believe that collateral damage (be it in Vietnam/Iraq/etc., or Newtown) is an acceptable price that must be paid for, in the case of the former, America being #1 (whatever that means), and in the case of the latter, the “Second Amendment” being the most important part of the Constitution. I.e., the Tree of Liberty must occasionally be watered with the blood of six-year-olds.

Opt Out!

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Opt Out!

(quote)

Jim Horn

(My aside: It’s a salient point, but my reply is, sadly, no. You are dealing with people who truly believe that collateral damage (be it in Vietnam/Iraq/etc., or Newtown) is an acceptable price that must be paid for, in the case of the former, America being #1 (whatever that means), and in the case of the latter, the “Second Amendment” being the most important part of the Constitution. I.e., the Tree of Liberty must occasionally be watered with the blood of six-year-olds.

If 6,000 white male children and young adults were being murdered every year in the U. S, as is the case among African-American males, do you think we would see any hesitation in taking serious actions to restrict the availability of guns?

As Seen On

Quote

I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. All … institutions of churches … appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. … The Christian theory is little else than the idolatry of the ancient Mythologists, accommodated to the purposes of power and revenue; and it yet remains to reason and philosophy to abolish the amphibious fraud.

Thomas Paine

Idolatry of the Ancient Mythologists

Thomas Paine

I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. All … institutions of churches … appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. … The Christian theory is little else than the idolatry of the ancient Mythologists, accommodated to the purposes of power and revenue; and it yet remains to reason and philosophy to abolish the amphibious fraud.

As Seen On

Sounds Like … Hmmm.

“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.” — Acts 4:32.

Sounds Like … Hmmm. (tumblr)

“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.” — Acts 4:32.

As Seen On

Jayne Cortez: 10-May-34 — 28-Dec-12

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Jayne Cortez: 10-May-34 — 28-Dec-12

Jayne Cortez, RiP

Jayne Cortez: 10-May-34 — 28-Dec-12

“The poet Jayne Cortez, who has died aged 78, was unambiguous about her craft: “Words are musical – there’s nothing more to say about it. That’s it! … There is the sound of the voice … and your attitude you put on top of it.”

“And if we don’t fight

if we don’t resist

if we don’t organise and unify and

get the power to control our own lives

then we will wear

the exaggerated look of captivity

the stylised look of submission

the bizarre look of suicide

the dehumanised look of fear

and the decomposed look of repression

forever and ever and ever

And there it is.”

Lengthier obit at the New York Times.

As Seen On

How Many Slaves Work For You?

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How Many Slaves Work For You?

How Many Slaves Work for You?

How Many Slaves Work For You?

My number was 43 … If anything, it shows that not much has changed in 150 years. Troubling that 150 years represents just … a slow beginning.

Background: The history/journalist geek in me notes that today is the Sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation – it’s Jubilee Day. Five days after the bloodiest single day in American history (Sept. 17, 1862) left 23,000 dead, injured or missing in the fields, lanes and bridges around Antietam, MD, Lincoln issued his preliminary proclamation, which went into effect 100 days later, Jan. 1, 1863. It helped keep Britain and France out of the war and led to the passage of the 13th Amendment in December of 1865. Lincoln referred to it again on the field of Gettysburg when he spoke of a “new birth of freedom.”

Slavery, even in the United States, still exists in various forms, however. AgainstOurWill.org reports that between 12 and 27 million people worldwide are estimated to be enslaved. The State Dept. estimates that 600,000-800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year to feed the market. More than 70% of those are female, half are children.

Demand for goods and services produced by trafficking victims is what makes human trafficking a multi-billion dollar industry. So, on this sesquicentennial, get an estimate on how your lifestyle feeds the trafficking industry from http://slaveryfootprint.org/. Take the survey and find out … how many slaves work for you?

My number? 43. An estimated 43 human beings held against their will, around the world and here in the US, work to make things like our furniture, my iPad, the fruits and vegetables in our refrigerator.

In other words, celebrate today as the moment when slavery yielded to freedom, a moment purchased by the blood of a million Americans in the Civil War. And remember today that we still have much work to do to ensure that that blood expenditure was not made in vain.

As Seen On

3-Jun-12: Dana Air 9J-992

Dana Air flight 9J-992 collided with a power line during an emergency landing after a bird strike near Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Nigeria, at 15:43L on Sunday 3-June. 147 passengers, six crew members and ten people on the ground died.

The flight originated at Abuja International Airport, Nigeria. The McDonnell Douglas MD-83, 5N-RAM, was built in 1990 and previously served with Alaska Airlines prior to entering service with Bhoja Air in January of 2009.

Weather was described as 30C with variable winds and 10KM+ visibility.

Bhoja Air began flying in 2008 and serves Abuja, Calabar, Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Uyo.

More details, photos and graphics at «The Aviation Herald» and «the Aviation Safety Network».

20-Apr-12: Bhoja Air B4-213

Bhoja Air flight B4-213 impacted a mountainside 5KM short of runway 30 at Islamabad-Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Pakistan, at 18:46L on Friday, 20-April. 121 passengers and six crew members died.

The flight originated at Karachi-Jinnah International Airport, Pakistan. The Boeing 737-200, AP-BKC was built in 1984 and previously served with British Airways and Comair prior to entering service with Bhoja Air in January of 2012.

Weather was described as poor, with limited visibility, thunderstorms and rain.

Bhoja Air began flying in 1993 and serves Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Multan.

More details, photos and graphics at «The Aviation Herald» and «the Aviation Safety Network».

25-Dec-12: Air Bagan W9-011

Air Bagan flight W9-011 impacted a road and rice paddy short of runway 36 at Heho Airport, Myanmar, at 08:50L on Tuesday, 25-Dec. A passenger on the aircraft and a motorist on the road were killed. 11 others were injured during evacuation.

The flight originated at Mandalay-Annisaton Airport, Myanmar. The Fokker 100 was built in 1991 and previously served with Air Littoral and British Midland prior to entering service with Air Bagan in 2005.

Weather at Vnukovo was reported as 12C, with dense fog and low winds.

Air Bagan began flying in 2004 and serves destinations in Myanmar and Thailand.

More details, photos and graphics at «The Aviation Herald» and «the Aviation Safety Network».

29-Dec-12: Red Wings WZ-9268

Red Wings flight WZ-9268 overran Moscow Vnukovo’s runway 19 and impacted the M3 highway at 16:35L on Saturday, 29-Dec. Five crew members were killed and three injured.

The aircraft was a ferry flight which originated in Pardubice, Czech Republic; no passengers were aboard. The Tupolev TU-204-100B has a seating capacity of 210 in a one-class configuration. The accident aircraft was approximately four years old. It was the first fatality accident for the Tupolev type, which first flew in 1989.

Weather at Vnukovo was reported as -2C, with snow and crosswind gusts between 16 and 29 knots.

Red Wings, owned by Alexander Lebedev and founded in 1999, has ten TU-204-100Bs in its fleet. It operates scheduled and charter services within Russia and to several destinations in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

More details, photos and graphics at «The Aviation Herald» and «the Aviation Safety Network».

Arriving, Late 2013: 'A Threatening Sky'

A Threatening Sky: Braniff 250 and Other Bitter Lessons of the Early Jet Age by Steve Pollock will be published by «McFarland Publishing» in the Christmas 2013/Spring 2014 time frame. McFarland is a quality publisher which produces around 400 books per year for public and academic libraries, as well as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and electronic vendors. They have been extremely supportive for this project and I am excited to work with them and get this story into print.

While Braniff 250 will be the touchstone of the book and get the most detail/attention, other incidents/accidents will be detailed along the way. Those include Pan American 115 (North Atlantic 1959); Northwest 705 (Miami, 1963); United 764 (O’Neill, NE, 1963); Eastern 304 (New Orleans, 1964); Braniff 250 (Falls City, 1966). In addition, the involvement of Dr. Ted Fujita, creator of the Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity, will be detailed; he provided key scientific research into the Braniff crash.

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It’s that time of year again … 24 hours of A Christmas Story. And visit the house here for more than you ever wanted to know about it all.

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Bayley and Frank, Frisinger Park, Ann Arbor, during that same glorious autumn day, October 2005.

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Before their eyes are even open, the three Beagle Boys posed for the cameras. Fred is on the left, Fergus in the middle, and Feargal on the right. March 2007.

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Our favorite pic of the three Beagle Boys, in one of the few instances where all three were still for ½ a second together. From left are Fred, Fergus, and Feargal. Taken in California in 2007.

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A favorite pic of Roux Royale, Bassett Hound of Extraordinary Destruction. He was rescued from the back roads of Roane County, west of Knoxville, by the excellent folks at Belly Rubs Bassett Rescue, and came to live with us in … Continue reading

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And one of my faves of Feargal (2007 – ). The Feargal Butt will also score tons of turkey tomorrow!

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A classic look in the expressive eyes of Fergus (2007 – ). That look is going to score him tons of turkey tomorrow!

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One of my favorite pics of Fredrik (2007-2012). It’s been four months and the pain of losing Fred-Fred to fast-moving cancer is still fresh.

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One of my favorite Bayley Beagle (1994-2007) pics of all time. The pookus would be 18 years old now and we still miss him terribly.

Tomorrow Today Yesterday

Dreams, trials, memories

Hopes, fears, memories
Desires, defeats, memories
Isn’t yesterday anything but memories?
No, tomorrow is always a memory
     a scent a taste a touch

Why then is tomorrow nothing but dreams?
Why then is today always realizations?

God only knows, only He knows among everyone

Futile dreams, frustrating realities, bitter memories.

Is that ALL?

—Undated by Steve; probably circa 1978