On this day in 2005 I posted my first blog entry and defined the direction of this website: Zeitgeist Defined
I still hold true to my mission: publication of the intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of this era. I also think it is important to develop and defend your personal brand. With the tag line “a team of Siems making observations,” I believe I both define and defend the teamsiems brand. I will continue to do so as long as I am able.
I wrote the following on the PopVOX website.
I oppose H.R. 3261: Stop Online Piracy Act because…it will punish every Internet consumer. First, everyone should know that the Internet removed barriers to both legitimate and illegitimate business around the globe. Second, America is a large part of the global economy and the Internet. If Hollywood or US pharmacies want to fight piracy and fraud they need to do that on their own terms and not punish the global economy. I can sympathize that they loose billions, but every industry looses to global competition – that is a consequence of globalization. America can no longer put up barriers to global commerce.
There is a link at the bottom of the Huffington Post article, “SOPA, PIPA Headed For Major Makeover“, that goes to PopVOX.
Looking back over 2011, my blogs were certainly more active than previous years. Here is the top 9 on teamsiems.com:
It’s worth noting that only 1 of these posts was written in 2011 and in December none the less.
My adventures in flying blog saw a lot of traffic looking for reference information about FSX airplanes. Here is the top 9 of aif.teamsiems.com
This year we also added the Noms For The Win blog at http://nomsftw.teamsiems.com/ It’s still new and doesn’t get a lot of traffic yet.
My other blog at http://tweets.teamsiems.com/ isn’t really a blog but more of a tweet catcher. It gets some traffic, mainly from Google.
Like SOPA, people are going nuts over what they think this bill means to their freedoms – or loss of freedoms. I had to react. They think S.1867 (PDF) will give the government the power to lock you away forever, without trial. I beg to differ. Read it for yourself then you can complain to your congressman. I’ve re-printed the most controversial section below, Sec. 1031, for your perusal:
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (S.1867)
Title X, Subtitle D, SEC 1031
Subtitle D – Detainee Matters
SEC. 1031. AFFIRMATION OF AUTHORITY OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES TO DETAIN COVERED PERSONS PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE.
(a) IN GENERAL. – Congress affirms that the authority of the President to use all necessary and appropriate force pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40) includes the authority for the Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered persons (as defined in subsection (b)) pending disposition under the law of war.
(b) COVERED PERSONS. – A covered person under this section is any person as follows:
(1) A person who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored those responsible for those attacks.
(2) A person who was a part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners, including any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities in aid of such enemy forces.(c) DISPOSITION UNDER LAW OF WAR. – The disposition of a person under the law of war as described in subsection (a) may include the following:
(1) Detention under the law of war without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force. (2) Trial under chapter 47A of title 10, United States Code (as amended by the Military Commissions Act of 2009 (title XVIII of Public Law 111–84)).
(3) Transfer for trial by an alternative court or competent tribunal having lawful jurisdiction.
(4) Transfer to the custody or control of the person's country of origin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity.(d) CONSTRUCTION. – Nothing in this section is intended to limit or expand the authority of the President or the scope of the Authorization for Use of Military Force.
(e) AUTHORITIES. – Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect existing law or authorities, relating to the detention of United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States or any other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States.
(f) REQUIREMENT FOR BRIEFINGS OF CONGRESS. – The Secretary of Defense shall regularly brief Congress regarding the application of the authority described in this section, including the organizations, entities, and individuals considered to be ''covered persons'' for purposes of subsection (b)(2).
One section in particular, 1031(e), has people running for the hills. To me that paragraph means this bill does not preclude other laws.
Two great movies every one should see. Although Easy Rider (1969) received more acclaim, Vanishing Point (1971) is the film people can’t seem to forget. They are driving films going in opposite directions: Easy Rider is Los Angeles going to New Orleans (hippies meet voodoo), and Vanishing Point is Denver going to San Francisco (mile-high meet hippies). Easy Rider is chock-full of stars. Vanishing Point has relatively unknown actors.
Another one I just thought of is Network (1976). In 2000, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
The Art of Shaving and Movember.com have teamed up to sponsor Movember:
During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo’s, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.
I joined as teamsiems, and I’ll take a picture of my mustache once a week to show my progress. You should join my team, donate to men’s health, and follow this Mo Bro as I help by growing some facial hair.
Here we are in 2011, ten years after the attacks of 9/11 – September 11, 2011 – and what have we done? We (aka the United States government) destroyed what was left of Iraq and Afghanistan, captured Saddam Hussein (hanged December 30, 2006), assasinated Osama bin Laden (shot May 2, 2011), and almost rebuilt One World Trade Center (1,776 feet high scheduled for completion in 2013) near the site of the former Twin Towers in New York City. Our national debt has nearly trippled in the past 10 years. And we’ve been in a recession since 2008.
I remember where I was September 11, 2001, at 7:46 AM (CDT). I was watching CNN in my living room, drinking coffee, about to get in the shower and go to work. It took the news networks about 10 minutes before they trained their cameras on the burning 1 WTC building. I was at work when the second plane hit 2 WTC. In total 2,977 victims died between the four planes that crashed that day.
One thing is for sure America will never be the same.
OK enough is enough! An acquaintance from high school wrote this on his Facebook. (Obviously he’s in the military.)
31 lost, 31 unwanted visits, 31 doors receive that dreaded knock, 31 families with shattered hearts, 31 pairs of boots lined up with rifles and dog tags and helmets, 31 comrades remembered and grieved for, 31 funeral services, 31 names on newly made grave markers, 31 empty places at the table, 31 souls who gave all, whose lives leave a void, so let’s take 31 seconds to re-post this and pause to reflect on such a sacrifice as 31 gone forever!
My reply was this:
I say the rest have 31 days to get out of country. Oh BTW budget cuts mean no hazard pay, no benefits, no severance pay. Welcome back boys! Get in the back of the employment line. Thanks G.B. and the rest of Congress that went along with this charade. Sorry Chris that you are in the military and support this action. I think the government has done a good job duping us from 9/12/2001 onward.
STS-135 Last Shuttle Launch via Robert Scoble
Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour were their names and together they flew 135 missions, took 335 people into low earth orbit, flew 537,114,016 miles in orbit, launched and fixed Hubble Space Telescope, and helped construct the International Space Station. Fourteen people have died riding in shuttles.
Atlantis touched down just before 6 a.m. EDT on July 21, 2011, signaling the end of the space shuttle era, a program with 135 launches over 30 years and conceptual roots dating back to the Nixon administration. via NASA – Goddard Watches Atlantis’s Return.
I remember watching Columbia’s maiden voyage on live television in my 3rd grade classroom on April 12, 1981. I think President Reagan said a few words before hand to christen Columbia and the shuttle program.
There were two tragic accidents in the program’s 30 year history. Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff on January 28, 1986. Columbia broke up over Texas and Louisiana during re-entry on February 1, 2003.
President Reagan changed his State of the Union speech on January 28, 1986, and remarked, “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’” via NASA – President Reagan’s remarks following the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger and her crew..
After Columbia’s accident, President Bush remarked, “This day has brought terrible news and great sadness to our country… The Columbia is lost; there are no survivors.”
