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Martian Landings, Then and Now

August 2, 2012 | Curiosity is the latest in a string of Martian landers (and landing attempts) that stretches back more than 40 years. > read more

A History of Missions to Mars

August 2, 2012 | This comprehensive list, compiled by the editors of Sky & Telescope, provides a snapshot of every mission intended to reach the Red Planet since 1960. > read more

Star-Shredder’s Brief Pulse

August 3, 2012 | A supermassive black hole spotted last year as it ripped a star apart and spat out a jet had another surprise up its sleeve: a short-lived X-ray heartbeat seen only once before from a galaxy’s central beast. > read more

The Curious Avalanches of Iapetus

July 31, 2012 | Saturn’s two-faced moon hosts extraordinary avalanches that cascade much longer than they should. Figuring out what makes them flow might help scientists better understand landslides on Earth. > read more

Viewing the Flags of Apollo

July 30, 2012 | It’s a question that still gets asked: “Can you see the six flags left on the Moon by Apollo astronauts?” The surprising answer is “Yes”. > read more

Observing

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Mars in the Evening Spotlight

August 3, 2012 | This week countless space buffs will be riveted by Curiosity’s arrival at Mars — which can be found, along with Saturn and Spica, in the west after dusk. > read more

Tour August’s Sky by Eye and Ear!

June 22, 2012 | Mark your calendars for the night of Saturday, August 11th, when the Perseid meteor shower will peak. Stay up late to catch the risings of Jupiter and Venus, or just enjoy Mars and Saturn low in the evening twilight. > read more

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Miss a Sky Event? There’s an App for That

July 30, 2012 | Sky & Telescope has released its new SkyWeek Plus app, which combines all the good stuff of our regular SkyWeek app with new reminder and breaking-sky-news features. > read more

This Week’s Sky at a Glance

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This Week’s Sky at a Glance

August 3, 2012 | Mars moves closer each day to Saturn and Spica as twilight fades. After dark, bright Vega passes the zenith. > read more

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HATEWATCH: FLORIDA CRIME SUSPECT TO COPS: “I ONLY SHOT A NIGGER”

FLORIDA HATE CRIME SUSPECT TO COPS: “I ONLY SHOT A NIGGER”

By Brett Wilkins

Jul 31, 2012

Port Saint Joe–  A Florida man charged with attempted  murder and hate crime for allegedly shooting an African American man in the head  expressed disbelief over his arrest, telling officers that he “only shot a  nigger.”

The Port St. Joe Star reports  that Walton Henry Butler, 59, of Port St. Joe shot 32-year-old Everett Gant, who  is black, in the head with a .22 rifle on Monday night. Gant had confronted  Butler about an incident in which the latter used a racial slur to describe a  child living in their apartment complex.

According to investigators, Butler had  been calling other children in the complex racist names in recent days. When a  friend of Gant’s told him about what had happened, he went over to Butler’s  apartment to confront him about his racist actions.

Instead of conversation, Gant got a  bullet between his eyes. Butler shut his door and left his victim lying on the  ground bleeding. He then called 911, finished cooking dinner and sat down to  eat.

WJHG reports  that when Gulf County Sheriff Joe Nugent arrived at the scene of the shooting,  Butler acted as if he were being inconvenienced.

“He was brought to the investigative  unit where he was interviewed and basically admitted to shooting the victim and  said he shot a, just used a racial slur, and said that is what he shot and acted  like it was no big deal or anything to him,” Nugent told WJHG.

Gant is in guarded condition at Bay  Medical Center and expected to survive.

Butler is locked up in Gulf County  Jail.

SOURCE

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It is understandable how Mr. Gant must have felt upon learning of these racial slurs being tossed about towards his child.

But, the safest thing that Mr. Gant should have done was to contact the apartment complex management and have them handle the matter.

These types of altercations between tenants at apartments can and often escalate where someone is seriously injured, or worse, dead.

Having the apartment management address this issue, or any others, takes the danger off a tenant, since the management can fine, cite (tenant violations), or evict the offending tenant.

As for the following:

“He was brought to the investigative  unit where he was interviewed and basically admitted to shooting the victim and  said he shot a, just used a racial slur, and said that is what he shot and acted  like it was no big deal or anything to him,” Nugent told WJHG.”

“expressed disbelief over his arrest, telling officers that he “only shot a  nigger.”

“He then called 911, finished cooking dinner and sat down to  eat.”

Since this was not a tussle between two children, but an act that yielded deadly force against a human life, then Mr. Butler will have much time to ponder those prison meals he may look forward to, since he will not be able to cook dinner and sit down to eat whenever, nor whatever, he wants to eat. Last time I read about various prison regulations, you do not live inside a prison with the freedom that you have outside of a prison environment. In prison there are lots and lots of inconveniences:  body cavity searches; strip searches; cell block searches; lights out ( or face a penalty); solitary confinement…….oh, but I am sure Mr. Butler did not think of those things when he fired that .22 rifle.

Prison.

Sigh.

Such an inconvenient truth.

If he is convicted, I imagine he will have lots of time to reflect on the “disbelief” of facing years in prison for shooting a Black person.

Mr. Butler may not believe in the humanity of his fellow Black citizens.

But, there is one thing he can be rest assured of:

Attempted murder is never a joke.

And doing time in the Big House was never a vacation hotspot for anyone who broke the law.

On the other hand, he can plead innocent by reason of insanity, which in his case would be a flimsy defense since racism cannot be used as a defense in court.

Or he could just invoke the Florida “Stand Your Ground Law’.

What the hell.

It was only a Black human being that he shot in the head.

2012 LONDON OLYMPICS: GABRIELLE DOUGLAS -WINNER OF THE GOLD IN THE WOMEN’S ALL-AROUND GYMNASTICS FINALS

When it came down to the wire, it was between Gabrielle Douglas of the USA and Viktoria Komova of Russia on the individual floor exercises.

Gabrielle Douglas of the U.S. performs her floor exercise during the women’s individual all-around gymnastics final in the North Greenwich Arena at the London 2012 Olympic Games August 2, 2012.

Photo by MIKE BLAKE/Reuters

Viktoria Komova performing her floor routine.

Gabrielle gave a tour-de-force performance on the floor exercises, beating out Russia’s Komova by .259 of a point.

Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty ImagesU.S. gymnast Gabrielle Douglas won the gold medal in the women’s individual all-around final in London Thursday with her beautiful routine.

Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty ImagesAfter Thursday’s competition, American Gabby Douglas consoles silver medalist Victoria Komova of Russia.

Russia’s Aliya Mustafina took the bronze.

As the winner of gold medals in both the individual and team all-around competitions, Gabrielle Douglas is the first Black American and first woman of color in Olympic history to become the individual all-around champion, and the first American gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics.

Gabrielle became the fourth U.S. gymnast to capture the coveted all-around title, following Mary Lou Retton (1984), Carly Patterson (2004) and Nastia Liukin (2008). Gabrielles’ win came two days after the Americans won the team gold. An American woman has now won the all-around title at the last three Olympics, marking the first time a women’s program has achieved this feat since the Soviets (1952-60).

Way to go, Gabby!

SALUTARE.

CONGRATULATIONS, GABRIELLE DOUGLAS ON YOUR 2012 GYMNASTIC WINS!

Gabrielle Douglas is a sixteen year-old 4’-11″ dynamo from Virginia Beach, Virginia whose skills and expertise are in artistic gymnastics. Gabrielle is the daughter of Timothy Douglas and Natalie Hawkins. She began training in gymnastics at age six when her older sister, Arielle, convinced their mother to enroll her in gymnastics classes.When she was eight years old, Gabrielle won an all-around gymnastics award for her level at the 2004 Virginia State Championships. At age 14, Gabrielle moved from her home in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to live with a host family in West Des Moines, Iowa, so she could train with Liang Chow, who was the coach of former world and Olympic champion Shawn Johnson. Martha Karolyi of the National Team Coordinator for USA Gymnastics and wife of the famed Bela Karolyi, nicknamed Gabrielle the “Flying Squirrel” for her aerial performance on the uneven bars.

Her favourite parts of gymnastics are the floor exercises and the balance beam. She enjoys Mexican and Italian food, her favourite book is Twilight, and she became interested in gymnastics because of her sister, Arielle, who was a ballroom dancer.

Her career highlights includes the following:

• 2010 Pan American Championships, team gold medal and gold on uneven bars
• 2011 World Championships, team gold medal
• 2012 Pacific Rim Championships, team gold medal and gold on uneven bars

Today, in the 2012 London Olympic Games, Gabrielle soared to all-around gold in the artistic gymnastics competition, making her the first American woman to win both the team gold and the individual all around title.

London 2012 Olympic Gymnastic Photo Essay of Gabrielle Douglas

Official Website for USA Gymnast Gabrielle Douglas

U.S. gymnast Gabrielle Douglas leaps into the air during her balance beam routine before going on to win the gold medal in the women’s all-around competition at the London Olympic Games on Thursday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / August 2, 2012)

Congratulations , Gabby!

COLORLINES: CAN A BLACK GIRL START THE NEXT DIGITAL REVOLUTION?

Can A Black Girl Start the Next Digital Revolution?

A new non-profit thinks so. And it’s breaking down the “brogrammer” stereotype, one website at a time. Julianne Hing hangs out with the wiz kids.

‘Red Bone Girls,’ ‘Chocolate Legs,’ and Eric Benet’s Color-Complex Payday

Halle Berry’s ex-husband has figured out a novel way to sell his new album: Exploit divisions between dark and light skinned women. For $19.95, you too can buy some white supremacy, writes Akiba Solomon.

Los Fixie Riders: L.A. Latino Teens on Why They Prefer Fixed Gear Bikes [VIDEO]

Taking a cue from velodrome Olympians, Latino teens are tricking on bikes without gears, too. They show Jorge Rivas why.

There Are Olympians Without Countries—And Millions of Regular People, Too Those “independent” Olympic athletes at the opening ceremonies? They’re stateless, and they reveal just how capricious borders can be.

How Our ‘Growth’ Obsession Drives Inequity, and May Kill Us All The problem starts with the very thing we use to measure prosperity: GDP. It’s leading us into darkness.

I Have Photo ID, Therefore I Am Ten Pennsylvania residents have had to spend the past week explaining in court that they do, in fact, exist.

Are You Eligible for No Co-Pay Birth Control? A Handy Guide to Find OutInsurance companies had to begin providing co-pay free contraception this week, due to the Affordable Care Act.

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro to Keynote Democratic Convention The young politician’s spotlight role is another example of how aggressively the Obama team is courting Latinos.

Tea Party’s Ted Cruz Defeats GOP Favorite, Could Become Texas’ First Latino Senator Cruz, whose father fled Cuba with $100 sewn into his underwear, pulled off a stunning upset this week.

Lupe Ontiveros, Trailblazing Mexican-American Actor, Passes Away at 69 “At first my only lines were ‘Si, señor, no, señor,’ you know, that kind of shit,” she once recalled.