Crazy fun at St. Maartins

Uh oh...
(click on image for hi-res)

No, this is not a picture of a terrible airline disaster, or even a miraculous crash landing where everyone survives (as we recently were privileged enough to see.) This, is merely feet from the edge of the runway at Princess Juliana International Airport in St. Maarten Island in the Bahamas. Every day at this airport, pilots play a game of chicken with bystanders on the local beach as they try to touch down on one of the shortest landing strips of any international airport. The Island itself is a popular vacation destination, and many flock to this beach to watch planes of all sizes- from small cargo properllor planes to full size 747-400s- come in to land just feet above the beach. Check out the pics, then the video, its awesome.

images
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/st-maarten.jpg
http://www.jonco48.com/blog/airport1.jpg
http://www.aviationpics.de/prev/sxm4(1).jpg

video

"If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvellous fight in the world, in all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?"

--Mark Twain


Amazing, isn't it? Its rare these days to find brilliant thinkers who can comment on whatever they choose, however they choose to do it. Had someone famous said these words today, they surely would have been somehow labeled as a bad person, as someone being prejudice. Mark Twain, in his life, could say whatever he wanted without fear. He was an honest man, and while not a Jew himself, he was able to see past the stereotypes and into an interesting reality that few people ever see. The following link is to a list of quotes by Twain on Jews, and they are some of the most interesting things I have ever read.

http://www.twainquotes.com/Jews.html