The last surviving crewman of the USS Arizona during the December 7th, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor passed away Monday morning at the age of 102. He was one of only 335 survivors of the attack; 1177 members of the Arizona’s crew were killed.
Lou Conter served as a quartermaster aboard that ship and had just come on duty when the attack started. He may have saved up to 20 other sailors in the aftermath, then participated in rescue attempts for several more days before they were halted.
He then entered flight school and flew PBY Catalina aircraft, surviving being shot down twice. He served in Korea, helped to develop the Navy’s first SERE — Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape school, then as an advisor to ongoing administrations before retiring with 28 years of service.
There were 22 known American military survivors of the attack before Conter’s passing. Another, Richard Higgins, also passed at the age of 102 on March 19th; he was a radioman stationed at a Hawaii naval base.
I realize this is not really what this thread is for… but I had two grade/high school classmates die this week. We’re not old. I just turned 40 last year.
One died of a stroke and the other of kidney failure.
RIP Jeremy and Nick.
@Cerridwyn not intending to mock the dead… But strange I just found out Mojo Nixon died within the week and now OJ…
/youtube Orenthal James is a very bad man - Mojo Nixon
I recall that after the trial, a couple of the jurors commented that the prosecution just hammered them so hard that they stopped caring about justice and just wanted it to be over. It should also not be ignored that in the subsequent civil trial, he was held to have been fully liable for the deaths; essentially found guilty.
Also DNA evidence was a pretty new thing. Many people were barely aware of it and didn’t understand what it meant.
And the defense really leaned into trying to confuse the jury.
According to the NYT the trial brought domestic violence out if the shadows and made people aware that the public or social image of a supposed abuser had nothing to do with the potential for domestic violence.
And the laws changed.
I remember video of Denise Brown testifying in Washington
@f00l Much of the post-trial commentary observed that this was a case where they proved just how idiotic it was for a police department to have cops who were overtly racist, or would create fake evidence or lie about what was found, anywhere, anytime. The mere fact that the defense could call into question the reliability and impartiality of the LAPD itself (and particularly Detective Fuhrman) made the prosecution’s entire case materially weaker - and the defense kept that front and center. But had modern DNA analysis been available, and had the jurors’ understanding of it been better, there’s probably no way he could have walked. That evidence was retested later, and yes, it shows that the verdict of “not guilty” was baseless.
And here we are, almost 30 years later, and a friend in the LA area tells me that while LAPD is slightly more careful not to assign overtly racist assholes to areas where that’s no longer fashionable, there are plenty of places where it’s still very much the same as it ever was.
Robert MacNeil, who created the no-frills PBS newscast “The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour” in the 1970s and co-anchored the show with his late partner, Jim Lehrer, for two decades, died on Friday. He was 93.
@chienfou@Kyeh He was a great guy, kind, gentle, and there for you if you needed him. Spent weekends at there house while we built the Enterprise bridge model for a fan based California Star Trek convention in the 1970s. Found my daughter’s birth announcement when I moved, it was drawn by BJo back in 1979,
The last surviving crewman of the USS Arizona during the December 7th, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor passed away Monday morning at the age of 102. He was one of only 335 survivors of the attack; 1177 members of the Arizona’s crew were killed.
Lou Conter served as a quartermaster aboard that ship and had just come on duty when the attack started. He may have saved up to 20 other sailors in the aftermath, then participated in rescue attempts for several more days before they were halted.
He then entered flight school and flew PBY Catalina aircraft, surviving being shot down twice. He served in Korea, helped to develop the Navy’s first SERE — Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape school, then as an advisor to ongoing administrations before retiring with 28 years of service.
There were 22 known American military survivors of the attack before Conter’s passing. Another, Richard Higgins, also passed at the age of 102 on March 19th; he was a radioman stationed at a Hawaii naval base.
Remember.
And we are diminished.
@duodec
The.Greatest.Generation
/youtube taps
Joe Flaherty from SCTV has passed away. He was 82. I remember him as being very funny.
https://apnews.com/article/joe-flaherty-dies-obit-sctv-3d61b65a0ff3c484aff9032ac2a7fc2d
@ironcheftoni “Jackass!!” -Joe Flaherty’s character in Happy Gilmore.
I realize this is not really what this thread is for… but I had two grade/high school classmates die this week. We’re not old. I just turned 40 last year.
One died of a stroke and the other of kidney failure.
RIP Jeremy and Nick.
@mbersiam May their memories be a blessing to you and their families.
OJ
https://abcnews.go.com/US/oj-simpson-former-football-star-acquitted-murder-dies/story?id=16354000
@Cerridwyn Well, did he or didn’t he?
@phendrick only his hairdresser knows for sure
@Cerridwyn @phendrick
He did.
Imho
@f00l @phendrick I don’t disagree. And I really think his work of quote fiction unquote was a really a confession
@Cerridwyn not intending to mock the dead… But strange I just found out Mojo Nixon died within the week and now OJ…
/youtube Orenthal James is a very bad man - Mojo Nixon
@Cerridwyn @OnionSoup @phendrick
The white Bronco
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/12/arts/television/oj-simpson-white-bronco-museum.html
@Cerridwyn @OnionSoup @phendrick
Thoughts on OJ
I recall that after the trial, a couple of the jurors commented that the prosecution just hammered them so hard that they stopped caring about justice and just wanted it to be over. It should also not be ignored that in the subsequent civil trial, he was held to have been fully liable for the deaths; essentially found guilty.
@werehatrack
Also DNA evidence was a pretty new thing. Many people were barely aware of it and didn’t understand what it meant.
And the defense really leaned into trying to confuse the jury.
@werehatrack
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/13/us/oj-simpson-domestic-violence.html
According to the NYT the trial brought domestic violence out if the shadows and made people aware that the public or social image of a supposed abuser had nothing to do with the potential for domestic violence.
And the laws changed.
I remember video of Denise Brown testifying in Washington
@f00l Much of the post-trial commentary observed that this was a case where they proved just how idiotic it was for a police department to have cops who were overtly racist, or would create fake evidence or lie about what was found, anywhere, anytime. The mere fact that the defense could call into question the reliability and impartiality of the LAPD itself (and particularly Detective Fuhrman) made the prosecution’s entire case materially weaker - and the defense kept that front and center. But had modern DNA analysis been available, and had the jurors’ understanding of it been better, there’s probably no way he could have walked. That evidence was retested later, and yes, it shows that the verdict of “not guilty” was baseless.
And here we are, almost 30 years later, and a friend in the LA area tells me that while LAPD is slightly more careful not to assign overtly racist assholes to areas where that’s no longer fashionable, there are plenty of places where it’s still very much the same as it ever was.
@werehatrack
I believe your friend
I remember at the time hearing some people say that they thought the OJ verdict was payback for what happened to Rodney King
Don’t have a sense of whether or not that’s true since I have a little connection on a personal level with LA
Peter Higgs, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics, died on the 8th of April, 2024. The Higgs Boson is named for him.
https://www.livescience.com/physics-mathematics/particle-physics/peter-higgs-nobel-prize-winning-physicist-who-predicted-the-higgs-boson-dies-at-94
Robert MacNeil, who created the no-frills PBS newscast “The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour” in the 1970s and co-anchored the show with his late partner, Jim Lehrer, for two decades, died on Friday. He was 93.
@macromeh
I always liked him.
Faith Ringgold, quilt maker, passed April 13th at age 93.
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/13/685930840/faith-ringgold-quilt-and-visual-artist-dies-at-93
Eleanor Coppola, artist and matriarch of filmmaking dynasty, dead at 87
Dickey Betts, influential Allman Brothers Band singer and guitarist, dies at Sarasota home
https://ssnews.page.link/gMTW341UPmo3TtgX9
@chienfou
/youtube The Allman Brothers Band - High Falls
One of my favorite instrumental pieces of all time.
Christian singer Mandisa gone at 47.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2024/04/19/mandisa-dead-american-idol-alum-christian-singer-47/73381912007/
/image Mandisa
RIP John Trimble
I was proud to call you friend
https://www.startrek.com/news/remembering-john-trimble
https://www.facebook.com/100063629317548/posts/pfbid035gwqB8Br6fuHAQzD8ZXBQV8AxJfEZhfzLqKGUK3Rt9CNZzYEP4yS81ziW7Ve8C1fl/?mibextid=cr9u03
@Cerridwyn Wow!
@Cerridwyn @Kyeh
on the startek.com site his pic looks like David Letterman!
@chienfou @Kyeh He was a great guy, kind, gentle, and there for you if you needed him. Spent weekends at there house while we built the Enterprise bridge model for a fan based California Star Trek convention in the 1970s. Found my daughter’s birth announcement when I moved, it was drawn by BJo back in 1979,
@Cerridwyn @Kyeh
very cool…
@Cerridwyn @chienfou Yes, that sounds so special!
Sorry @Cerridwyn
Theo Katechis, co-owner of iconic Montgomery restaurant Chris’ Hot Dogs, has died.
https://montgomeryadvertiser-al.newsmemory.com/?publink=1e3bc265e_134d24f
Moody Blues founding member Mike Pinder dies at 82
www.wbab.com/news/moody-blues-founding/3KLWHXQ5SEKEY5A7FMCYHIN634/
@heartny Aww. One of my all-time favorite
bandsorchestras.Pinder wrote some memorable songs for them: