Seeing red? You bet. This week, the Supreme Court is hearing two cases on same-sex marriage: checking the constitutionality of both the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8.

Proposition 8 is California’s ban on same-sex marriage, and DOMA “ denies legally married same-sex couples the same benefits provided to heterosexual spouses.”

And thanks to social media mogul George Takei, millions have changed their profile picture to a red version of the well-known Human Rights Campaign icon.

On Tuesday, Takei posted on his Facebook page:

For those friends wondering, this special ‘red’ equality symbol signifies that marriage equality really is all about love. Thanks to the Human Rights Campaign for this effort. Please consider changing your profile today in support — esp if you are a straight ally.

Still, some argue that the profile picture is not actually doing anything for the cause. Twitter blew up as “accomplish profile picture” trended on feeds. Not that the icon was accomplishing something, but that it wasn’t accomplishing anything. 

Yet others acknowledge the true accomplishment of the trend. The idea was to rally behind a cause, not to send a message to the Supreme Court. As one journalist puts it,

Ultimately, we all know that Antonin Scalia gives zero craps what your avatar is. It’s a statement of love and support to the people who matter most—the ones you call your friends. And it’s a sweet, simple, powerful way of showing that when you take the faces off Facebook, you’re left with a lot of big, open hearts.

Is the red HRC symbol be a short-lived fad or a nation’s proclamation of love? What do you think?

Since 2004, the United States has killed an estimated 3,105 people in Pakistan.

A chief reason why:  the new employment of unmanned drones as aerial killers.

Arguably, the United States’ drones program began receiving heat after the ‘Obama’s Secret Kill List‘ New York Times Article. 

The confirmation of John Brennan as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency brought further controversy.

Senator Rand Paul’s filibuster (which lasted 12 hours and 54 minutes) of Brennan’s confirmation called for assurance that the White House would not use drone strikes against noncombatant American citizens suspected of terrorism on American soil.  A Gallup Poll showed huge support for this stance from the American people.  

Why are drones such a big deal?  As with most issues of foreign policy, it may feel far-removed oo many, breeding confusion and disinterest.  

To make United States drone attacks more concrete, Simon Rogers of the Guardian created a useful interactive, entitled “Drone war: every attack in Pakistan visualized.”  

The interactive displays child, civilian, other (alleged combatants), and high profile kills from US and coalition forces.

Does the means justify the end?  

Designed to help developers create social apps for all media types, TV, music, news, and more, Echo has released its Echo JS SDK.

The UMBC Center for Women in Technology will hold its 3rd Annual CWIT Spring into Leadership event on Thursday evening, April 11, 2013 in the University Center Ballroom at UMBC. Space is limited and registration is required. Register online by Monday, April 8.

Schedule
   6:15-6:30 Check-in and Refreshments, UC 3rd floor
   6:30-7:00 Networking Activity, Dessert will be served!
   7:10-7:30 Keynote Speaker's Story: Tina Kuhn, Northrop Grumman Corporation
   7:30-7:45 Discussion Activity and Q&A with Ms. Kuhn
   7:45-8:00 Wrap-Up & Evaluations

Keynote Speaker:

Ms. Tina Kuhn
Vice President, Security and Information Operations
Cyber Intelligence Division
Northrop Grumman Information Systems

Ms. Kuhn will share information about her career path and offer advice and wisdom based on her personal experiences as a successful technical leader.

Tina Kuhn is vice president of Security and Information Operations (S&IO) in the Cyber Solutions division of Northrop Grumman’s Information Systems sector. The S&IO business unit provides intelligence-related systems and services to U.S. government and international security customers. The organization’s focus is on full-spectrum cyber solutions that protect critical national systems and support the nation’s information dominance. S&IO also is a premier supplier and integrator of net-centric, next-generation signal processing solutions for specialized customers. Ms. Kuhn brings more than 25 years of management experience to her current position. She joined Northrop Grumman from General Dynamics, where she served as vice president of its Intelligence Systems line of business, leading three business units that addressed the cyber and intelligence communities. Prior to that, she was the vice president/director of programs for the Intelligence and Information Solutions business unit for SAIC in Columbia MD. Ms. Kuhn began her career at General Electric and also held positions at GTE Corp. Ms. Kuhn has a bachelor’s degree in information systems management from the University of Maryland and also is a certified Program Management Professional.

The event is co-hosted by the Center for Women in Technology, CWIT Student Council, IS Council of Majors, SWE, ASME, and the WISE graduate student organization. Contact Dr. Susan Martin, Associate CWIT Director as susan at umbc.edu if you have any questions about the event or registering online.

Several faculty members and alumni were awarded Individual Artist Awards by the Maryland State Arts Council this month.

The Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards are monetary prizes given to a select group of artists each year. This year the Maryland Art Council welcomed applications from artists working in fiction, painting, media/digital/electronic arts, solo theatrical performance and works on paper. Recipients in the media/digital/electronic arts category include:

• Kelley Bell ’06, MFA IMDA, Assistant Professor, Visual Arts
• Carrie Fucile, Adjunct faculty, Visual Arts
• Agnes Moon ’99, MFA IMDA
• Phil Davis ’07, MFA IMDA
• Christine Ferrera ’10, MFA IMDA

Recipients in the works on paper category include:

• Lisa Moren, Associate Professor, Visual Arts
• Leslie Shellow, Adjunct faculty, Visual Arts
• Gary Kachadourian ’12, MFA IMDA

The Maryland State Arts Council will host an event honoring the awardees in May.

Congratulations to all!

Manil Suri, professor of mathematics, was a guest on the Marc Steiner show on March 14 to discuss his new book “The City of Devi.”

Steiner asked Suri how he reconciles his background in mathematics with the spiritual themes that run through his books, which feature Hindu deities.

“There’s a lot of contrast. On the one hand, I’m very enamored by these ideas from spirituality and almost mysticism,” “But on the other hand, the logical part of me says, ‘hey, wait a minute, that’s not really what’s happening.’”

The full segment can be heard here.