Monday Open Thread: December 17 is International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

December 17 is the 351st day of the year It is also Sweetmorn, The Aftermath 59, 3184 YOLD   (discordian) And let us not forget 13.0.6.1.7 by the Mayan Long Count It's 12-17 and though I've dealt with 12 several times, and 17 also, I've never yet looked at 1217 as a number or year. 1217, the year, brought the death of Eustace the Monk. As a youth he went to Toledo, Spain, to study the black arts and became such an accomplished student and practitioner of Black Magic, that he was quite famous locally. Naturally, he then became a Benedictine Monk and eventually the seneschal and bailiff for the count of Boulogne who outlawed him over some malfeasance. He retaliated by burning some of the count's mills and beating feet. It was then that he became a pirate in the English Channel, also working at times as a mercenary or privateer for the French or the English, depending upon the circumstances. He warred upon France for King John of England off and on, and took control of the Channel Islands, but he also raided the English coast for which he was outlawed by King John> John eventually pardoned him because he needed his services, however. Eustace eventually changed sides (surprise!) and warred upon England on behalf of France. When the English civil war of 1215 broke out, he supported th rebels and also conveyed Prince Louis of France to England to assist them. He was captured in battle in 1217 and immediately executed by his captors. 1217 is a prime and that's about it. Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift, look out kid, ... On this day in history: 497 BC – The first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome. This is one of the holidays that Christianity tried to coopt and supplant/replace with xmas 1538 – Pope Paul III excommunicated Henry VIII, thereby creating the Church of England, the Episcopalians and sundry other types of Anglicans. 1819 – Simón Bolívar declared the independence of Gran Colombia 1862 – Ulysses S. Grant expelled the Jews from parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. 1903 – The Wright brothers make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight 1938 – Otto Hahn discovered the nuclear fission of Uranium. 1969 – The US Air Force closed its study of UFOs. Or did it??? 1989 – Fernando Collor de Mello became Brazil's first democratically elected President in almost 30 years. 2010 – Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire, triggering the Tunisian Revolution. Born this day in: 1706 – Émilie du Châtelet, philosopher, mathematician, author, and physicist 1778 – Humphry Davy, chemist and physicist 1797 – Joseph Henry, physicist and engineer with a magnetic personality 1807 – John Greenleaf Whittier, poet and activist. 1853 – Pierre Paul Émile Roux, physician, bacteriologist, immunologist and co-founder of the Pasteur Institute. 1873 – Ford Madox Ford, novelist, poet, critic and editor. 1884 – Alison Uttley, author of children's books 1894 – Arthur Fiedler, railway condustor 1900 – Mary Cartwright, mathematician early analyst of chaotic systems 1903 – Erskine Caldwell, author 1903 – Ray Noble, bandleader, composer and actor 1904 – Paul Cadmus, controversial painter and illustrator 1908 – Willard Libby, chemist, helped develop radiocarbon dating 1910 – Sy Oliver, singer, songwriter, arranger, composer, trumpeter, and bandleader 1916 – Penelope Fitzgerald, novelist, poet and essayist 1920 – Kenneth E. Iverson, computer scientist, developed APL 1929 – William Safire, journalist 1936 – Tommy Steele, singer, guitarist, and actor 1937 – Art Neville, singer and keyboard player 1939 – James Booker, "the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced." 1939 – Eddie Kendricks, singer and songwriter 1941 – Dave Dee, of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. 1942 – Paul Butterfield, singer and harmonica player 1949 – Paul Rodgers, singer, songwriter and producer 1958 – Mike Mills, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer Died this day in: 1273 – Rumi, jurist, theologian, and poet 1830 – Simón Bolívar, general, revolutionary, and politician 1940 – Alicia Boole Stott, mathematician 1957 – Dorothy L. Sayers, author playwright and poet 1964 – Victor Francis Hess, physicist, discoverer of cosmic rays 1978 – Don Ellis, trumpet player, composer, and bandleader 1999 – Grover Washington Jr., singer, songwriter, and saxophonist 2005 – Jack Anderson, journalist 2010 – Captain Beefheart, singer and songwriter 2016 – Henry Heimlich, doctor  

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Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such: International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers Pan American Aviation Day (United States) Wright Brothers Day, a United States federal observance by Presidential proclamation  

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Music goes here, iirc, well,

Otto Hahn

Ray Noble

Sy Oliver

Tommy Steele

Art Neville

James Booker

Eddie Kendricks

Paul Butterfield

Paul Rodgers

Mike Mills

Don Ellis

Grover Washington Jr

Captain Beefheart

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Whatever you may think of them, keep in mind that sex workers are human beings, entitled to the same rights, privileges and protections as everybody else.

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Image is A Benedictine Monk It's an open thread, so do your thing Crossposted from http://caucus99percent.com