Map of the Boston Marathon Bombings below, via NY Times:

(Sat. April 7th)

A pipeline that was carrying crude oil from tar sands in Canada ruptured last Friday morning April 4, 2013 in the town of Mayflower, Arkansas, which has forced the evacuation of 22 residents from their homes. The “Pegasus pipeline”, which is owned and operated by Exxon Mobil, spilled almost 10,000 barrels of oil into a development, with the oil now sitting outside of homes and in wooded areas as emergency workers try to clean it up. This is the second spill of Canadian oil this week after a train carrying crude oil derailed on Wednesday, spilling over 15,000 gallons of oil. What has Exxon been trying to do? Unfortunately they’ve been literally trying to block reporters from entering the latest oil spill that the company it’s now likely to be found liable for in Arkansas. Gawker has done a couple of great pieces on the mess that Exxon Mobil has created, and is now trying to hide from public view:

Exxon’s original mess can be read about here…

and Exxon Mobile’s attempts to stop the press are here…

You can see footage of the oil leak here, which the EPA (an organization once founded by Richard Nixon) has labeled “major”:

(Mon. March 18th)

It’s not everyday we stumble across amazing FREE online magazines, but Shutter Magazine is a must-see for any photographer, regardless of level. This brand-new online photography magazine was recently launched by Sal Cincotta, who’s an award winning pro-photographer. You can subscribe to Shutter Magazine for free at BehindTheShutter.com.

The magazine is online-only, and has advice from photographers on how to better your craft. Last month’s issue was the “Top 10 Most Influential Photographers Readers Poll”, which featured Joe McNally, Jasmine Star, Sue Bryce, Scott Kelby, as well as several other photographers. Register for this Free Photography Magazine today!!!

(Wed Dec 19th)

The NRA has long acted as a “shield” for a group of manufacturers who literally play hide and seek behind actual gun statistics on a yearly basis in the United States. Whether you enjoy hunting, casually target shoot for practice, or act as a buyer for the US military, gun manufacturing is BIG business in the United States, so big that it has a shield organization (the NRA) lobbying on it’s behalf, maintaining an enormous public membership, and this organization successfully helps the industry itself deflect any criticism or questions, that would ultimately put any ordinary company (or industry) out of business in the face of turmoil. One recent episode the industry must contend with is the shooting death of 27 adults & children in an elementary school in Sandy Hook, CT. This tragedy follows a mass-shooting in Aurora, CO last Summer as well, and it has lead to the following end-question that a fair-share of Americans want answered:

Who is behind the manufacturing of guns that ultimately help contribute to the deaths of 30,000 Americans on a yearly basis?

Well, the answer is simple. One only needs to look at the list of gun manufacturing companies and their top roster of employees. To date, not one of of these executives (or their parent companies) have come forward and expressed remorse, sympathy, offered any solutions on any public forum, or reached out to the victims in any way, shape or form. Pro-gun or anti-gun or whatever your political affiliation might be, there’s specific companies behind the production of weapons that were used in a recent heinous crime, and 2nd Amendment posturing or beliefs can’t shield that fact.

Usually if a company manufactures a product that ends up as a tool in the killing of innocent people, one might expect at the very least a court supoena or an explanation of how their safety-features work, and what steps they are taking to help prevent tragedies in the future. Instead, we’re just seeing a lot of record profits by the industry in the wake of the tragedy, and zero solutions offered. When Mike Bloomberg (Mayor of New York City) is asking for “action” from the President, he’s really asking for something to be done about this cottage industry that ultimately has blood on it’s hands, as National statistics don’t lie and cannot be ignored. The American people want answers, are now demanding accountability, and one can say this is the beginning of the end of the “NRA-shield-of-secrecy” the gun manufacturing sector has enjoyed for so long.

For an industry that drapes itself in the American flag, one must question the real “patriotism” of companies that put private-company-profitabilty above the public safety of American citizens. When a company hides behind a public “shield” organization rather then answering questions in favor of maintaining profits, they’re violating the very laws (and one might say patriotism) the original fore-fathers founded the United States upon.

Want gun control in the United States? Then it’s time for US citizens to end the consumer demand for guns, and help put the following companies out of business. Capitalism is only successful when it’s profitable, and fewer guns manufactured means fewer guns finding their way onto American streets, schools. Since these companies want to remain secret and have the NRA speak on their behalf, we thought we’d post some information about who some of these people are behind the curtain.

Freedom-Group.com

Kevin Miniard is Chief Manufacturing Officer and Senior Vice President of Operations of Freedom Group, the parent company behind the “Bushmaster” assault rifle (that was used in the recent Sandy Hook shooting). Freedom Group also produces the following gun brands: Remington, Marlin, Barnes Bullets, Dakota Arms as well.

Following the Sandy Hook shooting, Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management has since sold Freedom Group in the wake of the tragedy. Cerberus called the Sandy Hook shooting “a tragic and devastating event,” a “watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level.”

Sig Sauer
One of the pistols used by Adam Lanza in the Sandy Hook tragedy was a Sig Sauer pistol. Sig Sauer is a for-profit company that generates millions upon millions of dollars in revenue by producing guns, so profitable that the Governor of New Hampshire John Lynch stopped by their factory in 2009 (see picture below), to give his seal of approval on how they conduct business. John Lynch, and Sig Sauer have remained silent in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting.

For more information on the company behind one of the weapons used in this tragedy, go here:

Ron Cohen CEO of Sig Sauer

When Ron Cohen joined Sig Sauer back in 2004, they only “had 130 employees with sales of around $40 million”, but being a businessman at heart, Cohen sure turned things around, so well that Sig Sauer has brought more products to the marketplace in the past 8 years than their founding some 25 years ago. He was recently quoted in Management Today magazine with the following quote: “Our ability to bring new products to the table is one of the major success stories of this company.” One might say their success lies in producing weapons that are ultimately used for murder, and put profitabilty above the safetly and welfare of the American public.

Below is a photo-collage of the 27 victims of the recent Sandy Hook tragedy, who weren’t as fortunate as the above executives or gun-manufacturers who are currently enjoying record profits thanks to increased gun-sales in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy.

Want Gun Control in the United States? Then it’s time to start at the top. If the United Kingdom is able to enact sensible laws, then surely the United States is more then capable as well.

For additional reference, below is a list of US based and foreign gun manufacturers.

Accuracy International – Precision rifles.
Accu-Tek Firearms – Stainless steel compact pistols.
American Derringer Corp.
American Hunting Rifles – High end hunting rifles.
American Western Arms – Recreating authentic American western firearms.
Anschütz – High quality rifle and air rifles.
AR-7 Industries
ArmaLite, Inc.
Armament Technology – Tactical and smallbore rifles.
Arnold Arms Co, Inc.
Autauga Arms – Mk II .32 caliber pocket pistol.
Auto-Ordnance Corp
Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc. – .50 BMG
Benelli Arms
Beretta Italy – Beretta USA
Bond Arms
Briley Manufacturing, Inc.
Browning
Bul Transmark – Israeli
Bushmaster Firearms
Casull Arms Corporation
Ceska Zbrojovka
Charles Daly – Shotguns, Rifles, & Pistols.
Charter 2000, Inc.
Cimarron Firearms Company – Firearms used taming the frontier in Texas and the American west.
Colt Blackpowder Arms Company
Colt Manufacturing Co.
Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Co. – A. H. Fox Double Barrel Shotguns.
Connecticut Valley Arms Company
C. Sharp Arms Company
CZ-USA
Daisy Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Dakota Arms, Inc.
Dan Wesson Firearms Co.
DPMS – Defense Procurement Manufacturing Services.
DS Arms, Inc.
EAA – European American Armory Corp.
Fabarm – Shotguns from Italy
Feather, USA – LIghtweight pistols, rifles in 22, 9mm and 40 S&W.
FN Manufacturing, Inc.
Franchi Spa
Fratelli Tanfoglio – Pistols
Freedom Arms Inc.
Fulton Armory
Gatling Gun Company – Hand-made, full sized model 1862 Gatling Guns.
Gibbs Rifle Company – M98 Sporter, military conversions, Parker0Hale Enfield replicas, etc.
Glock
Hämmerli – The Competitor’s Advantage!
Harrington and Richardson
Heckler & Koch
Heritage Manufacturing Inc. – American manufacturer of quality revolvers and semi auto pistols.
Hi-Point Firearms
High Standard Manufacturing Co. Inc.
IAR, Inc. – Collectible quality replica firearms and blank firing guns.
Israel Arms International, Inc.
Kahr Arms
Kel-Tec – P11 is a semi-automatic, locked breech pistol chambered for the 9mm Luger.
Kimber of America – Manufacturer of rifles and pistols.
Knight Rifle – #1 in Muzzleloading.
Lazzeroni Arms Company
L.W. Seecamp Co. – L.W. Seecamp Co. and the LWS32 and LWS380 pistols.
Magnum Research Inc. – Maker of the Desert Eagle.
Marlin
Mauser – Original Mauser M98 Magnum.
McMillan Bros Rifle Co, Inc.
O.F. Mossberg and Sons, Inc. – Pump action shotguns.
Navy Arms Company
North American Arms, Inc.
Olympic Arms – AR-15 rifles, accessories, and Safari Arms Line of 1911 pistols and parts.
Para Ordnance Mfg. Inc.
Pedersoli Guns – Muzzle Loading Firearms Manufacturer.
Professional Ordinance Inc. – The worlds lightest .223 auto rifles and pistols.
Remington Arms Company, Inc.
Republic Arms, Inc. – Patriot .45 ACP.
Rossi
Ruger – Sturm, Ruger & Company.
Sako Ltd. – Finland-based manufacturer of world class hunting rifles.
J.P. Sauer – Sporting Rifles
Savage Arms, Inc.
Searcy Enterprises – Manufacturer of Fine Double Rifles and Mag. Mauser actions.
Sigarms, Inc. – Be sure to also visit their International Site.
Smith & Wesson
Special Interest Arms – Originators of the “Enfield K” in 7.62×39
Springfield Armory
SSK Industries
Steyr Mannlicher
STI International – Firearms for competiton, duty, and self-defense.
Tanfoglio
Taurus International
Thompson Center Arms
Traditions, Inc. – Manufacturer of muzzleloading rifles, pistols, classics, and accessories.
Uberti USA, Inc. – Producer of historical firearms.
U.S. Fire Arms Mfg. Co. – Speciality historic guns including single action army.
U.S. Repeating Arms, Inc. – Winchester Rifles and Shotguns.
Valkyrie Arms, Ltd. – BATF approved, semi-auto versions of classic military automatic arms.
Vector Arms, Inc. – UZI Service Center for the USA.
Wildey Guns – Home of the .475 Wildey Mag.
Walther
Weatherby
ZDF Import/Export, Inc. – M96 Expeditonary Rifle (based on Stoner 63), Importer of VEPR rifles.

(List via http://www.shootguns.info/maker.htm)

(top photo via this link)

(via Journalism.org)

From “Crushing New Taxes” to “a step in the right direction,” social media leapt into action following the Supreme Court ruling last Thursday which let the Affordable Care Act stand – including the controversial element requiring all individuals to obtain health insurance by 2014.

The response was passionate, and at first heavily tilted toward those in favor of the ruling, according to a special report by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. But by the end of the weekend, the tenor of the conversation had changed as those in opposition became more vocal. This sentiment matches closely the divided public opinion over the health care ruling. More here….

Tired of writing great content online, only to have a mainstream site or blog pick it up, and bury the link back to your own website so that you’re essentially getting ripped off in terms of traffic? Well, other people are tired of this trend as well. Whether you’re a newspaper with a small distribution & website, or a personal blog, you should take interest in this proposed committee. (via NYTimes’ David Carr)

“As words and articles became digitized over the last 15 years, they began to float, there for the plucking and replication elsewhere. Words like “curation” and “aggregation” became the language of the realm, sometimes used as substitutes for describing the actual creation of content. What had once been a craft was rapidly becoming a task. Traditional media organizations watched as others kidnapped their work, not only taking away content but, more and more, taking the audiences with them.

Practitioners of the new order heard the complaints and suggested that mainstream media needed to quit whining and start competing in a changed world, where what’s yours may not be yours anymore if others find a better way to package it. (read more here)“

When an organization creates a video that goes viral by calling for justice against a despicable war criminal (Joseph Kony), a man who’s directly responsible for recruiting child soldiers and over-seeing the murders of countless civilians in Uganda, one can only celebrate their cause.
See the video below:

Sadly, the response to the video has been mixed with ignorant, lazy critics starting to come out of the woodwork against the filmmakers of this video. Instead of thanking the Invisible Children organization for educating them on who exactly Joseph Kony is, they’ve instead questioned the groups fundraising and basically missed the point of the video completely.

What the Invisible Children organization have succeeded in doing is making a war criminal (Joseph Kony) a national priority. That’s not an easy thing to accomplish, and we salute them.

Breaking: An Ethiopian court has declared Swedish photojournalist Johan Persson and reporter Martin Schibbye guilty of supporting terrorism and entering the country illegally, according to an AFP report.

“Guilty as charged, period, unanimous vote,” the judge declared, according to the AFP story. The judge added that just because Persson and Schibbye are journalists doesn’t mean they didn’t engage in “criminal acts.”

“They have not been able to prove that they did not support terrorism,” the judge reportedly said.

Prosecutors are calling for 18-year jail terms, and sentencing is scheduled for December 27. (Editor’s note: See update, below.)

Persson and Schibye were arrested last July in the Ogaden region of the country. Ethiopian troops are currently fighting rebels in the oil-rich region and the government has barred journalists from the area. Schibbye and Persson, who is represented by the Swedish photo agency Kontinent, gained access to Ogaden with the help of a group of rebels that the Ethiopian government classifies as terrorists. Persson and Schibbye admitted at trial they had entered the country illegally, but vehemently denied they were aiding the rebels.

More on this disturbing developing story here…

Most cemeteries replace the illusion of life’s permanence with another illusion: the permanence of a name carved in stone.
Not so May Pen Cemetery, in Kingston, Jamaica, where bodies are buried on top of bodies, weeds grow over the old markers, and time humbles even a rich man’s grave.

The most forsaken burial places lie at the end of a dirt path that follows a fetid gully across two bridges and through an open meadow, far enough south to hear the white noise coming off the harbor and the highway. Fifty-two concrete posts are set into the earth in haphazard groups of two and three.

Each bears a small disk of black metal and a stencilled number. The majority of these mark the unclaimed dead from the last days of May, 2010, when the police and the Army assaulted the neighborhood of Tivoli Gardens, in West Kingston. The rest mark the graves of paupers. The trouble that led to the Tivoli Gardens deaths began in August, 2009, when the United States government requested the extradition of Christopher (Dudus) Coke

Read more of this disturbing piece here…

According to Gawker it is. Here’s an interested snippet on the “rise” of “Celebukid Reporters and News-ertainment”

“Even after the rise of cable news and online news, network “news” broadcasts are still the biggest single unified source of news. Far more Americans get their “news” from a TV network “news” operation than from any other particular outlet. Network “news” is, therefore, still quite important.

There are a very limited number of jobs for network “news” journalists. Logic, then, would dictate that those jobs should go to the very best TV journalists in America. Instead, those jobs go to political celebrity children like Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush, media celebrity children like Luke Russert, and—perhaps most egregiously—to open political operatives like George Stephanopolous.

Nothing whatsoever can disqualify someone from being hired as a network “news” journalist, except perhaps ugliness.”
More here…