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2009-05-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

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Mummy Thumbs and explania bullets

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Mary the immaculate heart and her 13 starred halo

Withholding identities-

Bealefeld BPD Thomas G Newman

Joseph alfonso forrest, the glock 22, and .40 S&W

Ecce Homo

Andres Raya, Sgt. Howard Stevenson dead, Officer Sam Ryno hospitalized

.762 and Durer hands

John Keel, Igloos

Mothman

The Silver Bridge

WWII Dynamite, a dead dog, a broken eyebar

George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, Anubis

Mummies, tut and Karloff

Herberts end

The Silver Bridge

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Moth Detail 1 of 4

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Moth Detail 2 of 4

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Moth Detail 3 of 4

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Moth Detail 4 of 4

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Moth Thumbs

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girls of bride.RU

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Bride Detail 1 of 6

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Bride Detail 2 of 6

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Bride Detail 3 of 6

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Bride Detail 4 of 6

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Bride Detail 6 of 6

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Bride Thumbs

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boys of bride.RU

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Groom Detail 1 of 6

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Groom Thumbs

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2009-05-01T21:16:00.001-07:00

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2009-05-01T21:15:00.001-07:00

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And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she being with child cried, travailing in birth .... And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron:and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne

Revelations 12:1

2009-05-01T21:14:00.002-07:00

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It is almost impossible to police an unwilling group. In order for law enforcement to work, there needs to be a fundamental trust between the police and the policed. There exists a rift between the people and police in Baltimore city, the origin of the "Stop Snitchin'" Movement. By refusing to name police officers involved in shootings if the shootings are deemed justified, this rift is widened. Taking the identity away from police who shoot or kill citizens dehumanizes them. It turns them from peace keepers to terminators. It turns them into monsters, regardless of whether or not their actions were just. The Baltimore Police Department policy of withholding the names of officers who use deadly force was a disturbing development with the potential to prove disastrous.

2009-05-01T21:14:00.001-07:00

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When defending the policy of not revealing the names of police officers involved in shootings, the name Thomas G. Newman arises. Detective Thomas G. Newman was a 12 year veteran of the BPD when he was murdered in November of 2002. It is true that Newman was involved in a shooting the previous year. More precisely, Newman had almost been murdered the previous year. He testified against his assailants and in retaliation their friends and relations murdered him the following year. While tragic, his murder has little to do with the Baltimore Police Department's new policy.

While I may disagree with Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld on some issues, such as the one discussed here, I think its important to state here that he, and the entire department for that matter, perform admirably in the face of an almost impossible task. I also echo Commissioner Bealefeld's repeatedly voiced belief that keeping Baltimore city alive and well is a task too big for any one agency, its a task for all of us.

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BPDTHUMBS

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Ceres Thumbs

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Behold the man

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2009-05-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

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2009-05-01T16:51:00.001-07:00

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Hogs are not native to the American south. In fact, they are a nuisance species. They trample and eat crops, and root through the earth damaging it further. There is no legislation against the hunting and killing of hogs in many states as they are such troublesome creatures. Since people have hunted hogs, boars or pigs, they have used dogs to help them. Hog Dog Rodeos sprang out of this tradition. As with calf roping or any sort of field trial, or test of animal husbandry, hog dogging began as a competition to test the skill of both man and beast.

Hog dogging is different from a sheep dog field trial in that the dogs involved don't just chase a pig into a pen, they chase a pig around a pen and eventually leap upon it dragging it down with tooth and claw. It also may have moved away from its origins as a field trial, and become more of a spectacle, with crowds forming weekly across the rural south to place bets and see a bloody spectacle.

2009-05-01T14:35:00.002-07:00

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In Rongshui county, Gungxi province, China there is a festival to celebrate a beautiful girl. The legend states that 500 years ago, a girl was so beautiful that men from near and far converged to court her, and could not help but fight over her. Upset by the bloodshed, the girl arranged that a horse fight be organized, and her heart would be the prize.

Actual horse fighting is strangely like this. Stallions are goaded into a frenzy by the presence of a ripe mare, and then set upon each other, fighting for dominance. In the wild horses will fight for dominance and the right to mate, but it raises moral questions when a natural occurrence is crafted by man for pleasure and enterprise.

2009-05-01T14:35:00.001-07:00

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In 2001 a coalition led by the United States entered Afghanistan, for various reasons. An argument for the success of the war in Afghanistan might be based on the newfound liberty that existed in Afghanistan following the removal of the Taliban. In a 2005 speech, President George W. Bush stated "The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity." This newfound liberty was expressed in an unexpected way. This was the return of dogfighting. The Taliban banned dogfighting, finding it un-Islamic. When they were removed from power, dog fighting returned to the Afghan mainstream

2009-05-01T14:34:00.001-07:00

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While it is no longer as prevalent around the world as it once was, bear baiting still exists to the anger of animal rights activists world wide. While it is illegal under both secular and religious laws, bear baiting persists in Pakistan. The bear generally fairs worse, but the dice are loaded from the start as the bear involved is usually bereft of both tooth and claw before the dogs are set upon it.

2009-05-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

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Insect fighting has existed for at least fourteen hundred years and been popular with all manner of people from the aristocracy to the working classes. All manner of beetle and cricket and stranger things have been pitted against one another. While most of the time victory is decided by an insect leaving the arena, log or ring they are fighting on or in, sometimes strange customs or random chance do leave insects dead, and even consumed, by their foes,

or owners.

2009-05-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

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When Michael Vick was accused of dog fighting, Redskin running back Clinton Portis had a surprising argument in favor of Vick. Portis said "I don't know if he was fighting dogs or not, but it's his property; it's his dogs. If that's what he wants to do, do it." Many years before Portis spoke, John Locke wrote his Treatises of Government. In these he describes how must be free with their property, and government should not be too intrusive. While I am not sure of Portis ever read it, his argument rang of the same libertarian themes.

Political theory aside, it seems dog fighting is an enduring part of American culture. Portis said "I know a lot of back roads that got a dog fight if you want to go see it. But they're not bothering those people because those people are not big names. I'm sure there's some police got some dogs that are fighting them, some judges got dogs and everything else." It seems that like all sins we prohibit, blood sports will persist on the dark back roads of our culture. We are once again left to ponder whether legalization and regulation would in some way be better, allowing perhaps some measure of control over these unpalatable activities.

THUMBS

2009-05-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

2009-04-23T04:27:00.000-07:00

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Almost all animals fight in nature. There's something basic about fighting. As sure as animals are to fight, you can be just as sure that people will put money on it. People will organize it. In some ways this is revolting. Yet no matter how hard we try to put a stop to bloodsports, no matter how much legislation we pass, there will be a dark country road or a vacant building where blood is shed, money is made and thrills are had. As everything seems to have a basic urge to fight, we seem to have an enduring urge to watch. As much as I know its wrong, there's something fantastically compelling to it all.

Ode to Neighbors

2009-04-23T04:15:00.001-07:00

Ode to Neighbors

each one with their own stories
from single adults to brothers and sisters
Emanuel and Kevin ripping down the racetrack
on big wheels too big for them
Mr. Jeff sitting on the porch as if time has stopped

the kids wait to see if Ms. Robin is coming out today
when she approaches the 4-square boxes
the kids are leaves in the wind
they can't help but quiver
when she steps into the ring
the birds stop singing

the neighbors are who make one feel at home
even when they are unreasonable
they manage to make you laugh
like when Mr. Jeff cut down a 50-year-old maple
because it was making leaves
or when Mr. Fletcher moaned over his loved one
the green Charger
it had a speck of dust on it

by Jimmy Sarbanes, Grade 8
Midtown Academy
Teacher: Whitney Ward

Deep thoughts

2009-04-02T03:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a new illustration for you inspired by the shooting of Joseph Alfonso Forest and the Baltimore Police Department's policy of not naming officers involved in shootings. For those of you who don't know the story, on February 17, 2009, 5 year police veteran Traci McKissick was on her way to a disorderly call in the 200 block of N. Lakewood Avenue. During her investigation she was allegedly overpowered by 61 year old Joseph Alfonso Forest. When a back up officer arrived he found Forest holding McKissick in a headlock and attempting to take away her service arm. The back up officer allegedly ordered Forest to stop and fired one shot into his upper body. Forest and McKissick then fell to the ground. Forest allegedly continued to try to take away her pistol. McKissick at this point regained control of her weapon and fired several shots into his legs.

It is impressively tragic that the only person in this situation who did what he should have was also most likely the one who killed another man. McKissick probably shouldn't have been a police officer given the way situations seemed to get away from her, and Forest definitely shouldn't have tried to grab a cop's gun. A man trying to introduce deadly force to a situation with a comrade is about as solid a justification for a shooting as there is. It is impressively tragic that the only person in this situation who did what he should have was also most likely the one who more than likely killed another man.