Archive for History
WE DO Campaign: Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Posted by: | CommentsThe Campaign for Southern Equality has begun Stage 4 of the WE DO campaign in the pursuit of full federal equality for LGBT Americans. They will be leading actions in seven states between now and January 17th – Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia – and Washington, D.C. Read more about WE DO here after you watch this video.
It’s time we all stood up and demanded equality for one another. Thank you CSE, and thanks to all the brave couples who are putting themselves on the line in the hopes they will be recognized as fully equal human beings.
Random Thursday Variousness
Posted by: | CommentsLadies and Gentlemen, we’ve arrived in the vast cornfields of Canada…*
Another day, another death. Today’s featured death is Muhammad Ziad Awad Salaymah a 17 year old Palestinian teenager shot dead in West Bank. He pulled a toy pistol from his belt at a Israeli checkpoint, and was gunned down by IDF soldiers. Protests ensued. The use of leathal force against non-violent protesters is left to the discretion of Soldiers in the field. The US give an average of $3 billion a year in military aid to Israel (that’s billion with a “B”).
Israeli soldiers use rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas bombs and stun grenades against non-violent protesters in the the West Bank – in addition to spraying them with water mixed with chemicals. These tactics have led to the injuries of hundreds and even several deaths among protesters.
Here’s some random stuff to read/discuss/ignore (after the break):
Random Wednesday Variousness
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s 12.12.12. Do with that what you will. In the past 24 hours there have been approximately 153,400 deaths world-wide ( with approximately 356,201 births, do with that what you will), one of those deaths belonged to Ravi Shankar, again, do with that what you will. Also, several people were shot and killed at a mall in Portland, by a man wearing a white mask and brandishing a semi-automatic rifle. He killed himself. Also, North Korea shot something off, and had a parade. They are fond of parades.
Here’s some random stuff to read/discuss/ignore (after the break):
35 Years Ago Today…
Posted by: | CommentsElvis left the building.
(Thanks to J. Bugg for bringing the above video to my attention.)
more after the jump:
Sixty-Seven Years Ago
Posted by: | CommentsToday marks the 67th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. Over 70,000 people were killed instantly, and whithin two months the death toll rose to 166,000.
Curiosity Open Thread
Posted by: | CommentsAt 1:30am Monday morning, Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity is scheduled to land on the red planet. It was launched in November of last year. Wiki:
The MSL mission has four scientific goals:
- Determine whether Mars could ever have supported life
- Study the climate of Mars
- Study the geology of Mars
- Plan for a human mission to MarsTo contribute to these goals, MSL has six main scientific objectives:
- Determine the mineralogical composition of the Martian surface and near-surface geological materials.
- Attempt to detect chemical building blocks of life (biosignatures).
- Interpret the processes that have formed and modified rocks and soils.
- Assess long-timescale (i.e., 4-billion-year) Martian atmospheric evolution processes.
- Determine present state, distribution, and cycling of water and carbon dioxide.
- Characterize the broad spectrum of surface radiation, including galactic radiation, cosmic radiation, solar proton events and secondary neutrons.As part of its exploration, it is measuring the radiation exposure in the interior of the spacecraft as it travels to Mars, important data for a future manned mission.
It’s one of the most exciting moments in exploration in my lifetime, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that they make the difficult landing.
