Last Friday 16 Nepalese Sherpas were killed in an avalanche on the “shores” of Mt. Everest, a stormy sea known for its exacting toll of victims. Sherpas are a cultural group native to Nepal;  the word also connotes specialists in mountain climbing.  In a team of Sherpas the person in charge is referred to as […]

Deadly Respiratory Virus Now in Asia Middle East Respiratory Virus (MERS) has now spread to both Malaysia and the Philippines according to news sources. MERS kills about 50% of those infected through acute pneumonia and renal failure. The World Health Organization has said that “MERS is a threat to the entire world” and the Centers […]

  The Death of Advocacy Is it time to ask ourselves why we even have a union? A primary reason to unionize is for  firefighters and paramedics to have safe working conditions. Safety advocacy is a crucial reason why the IAFF was formed.  It is the process of carefully watching over protective equipment developers, suppliers, […]

  Seven Minutes and 150 Feet Nearly one year ago, February 26, 2013, two young Navy divers died during a reckless and unnecessary certification dive in frigid 150 feet deep water at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.  Their deaths were attributable to inadequate leadership, poor procedures and lack of risk assessment. Just four weeks earlier a […]

  Groundbreaking Report From Saudis Now we know. Women should not be driving and a Saudi cleric, one Sheikh Saleh bin Saad al-Lohaidan tells us why:  it’s the pelvic tilt, stupid. The sheikh reports that the pelvis is forced upward when behind the wheel thus causing children to be born with all manner of medical problems. […]

  Count Me In. 95 years ago today, September 28th, 1918,  a World War I Liberty Bond parade in Philadelphia unleashed the tidal wave of a flu epidemic which would eventually kill 50 to 100 million people worldwide, including 675,000 in the US. Liberty bonds were sold by the US government and the proceeds were then […]

  Avalanche Effect Monday morning a deranged shooter entered Washington DC’s venerable Navy Yard, shot dead twelve people, and wounded a number of others. The City held its breath, tuned into a news source and the upward body count began. Flags are at half-staff here and the news is dominated by stories about those killed, […]

Answer: Nobody

I got to know them, if just a bit, and was honored to be tagging along. They are a class act.

  On Waiting  The DC press was all over a recent incident where a Metropolitan police motor officer was struck and injured by an auto while stopped in far southeast DC, close to the border with Prince George’s (PG) County, Maryland.  No DC ambulances were available and the officer was eventually transported by a PG […]