William Sutherland's most read articles

Based on an increasing pool of scientific evidence, it is likely Mars was once “covered by oceans and lakes and was layered by a thick atmosphere, very much similar to Earth.” [1] In addition, per scientific studies, Mars had all the ingredients necessary for life: an abundance of water, an energy source, sufficient presence of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorous, all with the proper “atomic charge” and a stable environment capable of supporting life for at least a billion years…

Many times the decision to exhibit or permit a public exhibit of photographs featuring the nude (aesthetic or erotic) art is not an easy decision since the delineation between legitimate art and pornography may appear to be blurred. Examples of this paradox exist when one considers the sculptures at the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple in Khajurâho, India, 19th century Japanese Shunga art, and the jury finding that a collection of photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) featured in The Perfec…

In 1890 the garbage looked different (as illustrated in Garbage 1890 ), but it was still litter. In fact, in the late 19th century the litter problem was as bad as it could since today’s municipal sanitation services had not yet been established. Streets were at times filled knee-deep in garbage and the air reeked of putrid odors from a menagerie of rotting food and decaying animal corpses. For instance, when a horse died, its corpse remained untouched for months. As a result, children often sw…

Reckless calls for the death of those who engage in free expression must STOP! If one doesn't like a cartoon or some other statement, they can avoid it. For instance, I do not like pornography. Therefore I avoid it. However, at the same time, I do NOT call for the death of those who support this industry or participate in it nor reject their God-given right to do so. As for the cover of Charlie Hebdo No. 1178 -- it is anything but blasphemous or insulting. It humanizes Mohammed (after all in…

When my brother, Don called me to let me know the temperature in NYC had dropped to –1º F, I had just left church with plans to take a few local photographs. Prior to mass, I had documented a pair of blooming dandelions and several crocuses in the –3º F cold in my neighborhood. Knowing that the temperature had fallen below zero F only a handful of times in NYC during my life (this was only the 7th time to be exact) and it hadn’t done so for a record drought of 22+ years, I decided to race to…

The French High Court’s March 5, 2015 ruling re: Facebook’s shutting down of Frédéric Durand-Baissas’ account after he posted a photograph of L’Origine du Monde , an 1866 master painting by Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) that is displayed in Musée d’Orsay , Paris, France marks a significant victory in the battle against censorship. Facebook’s arguments that Mr. Durand-Baissas was not protected by French consumer rights since their service is free and his account was opened “on his own initia…

I created the header image because the United States is facing its greatest threat ever – a coup that will forever destroy the Constitution, extinguish freedom and have significant, profound and lasting consequences for not only America but the entire world as human dignity and fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, thought, religion and life are eliminated and governments determine and control the dissemination of information, shape our individual destiny and even decide who may have off…

Doll (2013) Prior to the early 20th century, garbage was not considered photographic art. In fact it was not considered to be art at all. Consequently, if it appeared in photographs, it was accidental or unavoidable such in pictures documenting poverty and social issues (e.g. sanitation strikes, health hazards). A prominent 19th century photographer that included garbage in his photos while advocating for the poor was Jacob Riis (1849-1914) when he documented the lives of New York City’s…

Never has good weather felt so bad. Never have flowers inspired so much fear. Never has the warm caress of a sunbeam seemed so ominous. The weather is sublime, it’s glorious, it’s the end of the world. Run for your lives! [1] With temperatures consistently breaking 50º F and 60º F and a peak high of 70º F on the 24th, February 2017 with a mean temperature of 41.6º F set a new record for the warmest February in history in the New York metro area. The previous mark of 40.9º F had bee…

Back in the late 5th century BCE, Chinese philosopher Confucius (551-479 BCE) said, “When wealth is distributed, the people are brought together.” His words could not be more appropriate in 2015 with the widespread use of social media and smart phones – all of which have bound people together regardless of distance, borders, and time. Today we communicate with each other all across the world and operate on a 24-hour cycle, checking messages and updates thousands of times a day. The “unconnec…

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem [Psalm 122:6] Many have voiced their opinions about the recent 14 May 2018 violence along the Gaza border with Israel and the formal opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Consequently I write this article to express my opinion too especially since based on the well recited quote, “ All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good [people] to do nothing. ” Although I am a strong supporter for the creation of a viab…

Garbage Hanukkah was created from discarded hand-crafted items I found in a large plastic bag on 18 June 2017 and saved, a tiny plastic menorah found among other personal effects in the drawer of a discarded piece of furniture and broken tiles and plaster, all found on 12 November 2017. It is intended to celebrate Hanukkah, honor the resilient Jewish spirit and take a strong stand against rising anti-Semitism in the world. Accordingly the selected colors and imagery are meant to provide po…

…[F]or unto us this day a Savior is born [Luke 2:11] With that momentous event, the yoke of oppression that had suffocated human aspirations was lifted. The “Law,” which had been distorted to suppress human spirit and individuality in lieu of honoring God’s commandments, was restored. ©2013 – William Sutherland God is love. [1 John 4:8 and 4:16] Consequently He intended that we have an “easy yoke and light burden” [Matthew 11:30] , which is encapsulated in the “Ten Comma…

Note: Article lead photo taken at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Mt. Pleasant, NY on March 29, 2020. Background created from desert photo purchased from Shutterstock.® As the world remains gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic that has completely transformed our way of life and altered our priorities and filled so many with immense suffering, one can only look back to the to the life of Jesus, especially the time when he spent 40 days and nights in the desert at Mount Quarantania (Jabal al-Qarant…

Notes: Header Illustration created from stock images purchased from Shutterstock®. Story is a narrative of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The United States has been invaded. The Coronavirus has taken over the White House. To deceive the American people, officials claim it “snuck” in. Maybe the secret service is to blame for sleeping on the job! If it was only so! The President threw open every door and window and invited it in. Now the Coronavirus controls the country’…

Banner created using Coronavirus clipart for the zeros in 2020 purchased from Shutterstock and photograph of a solitary person who exited the New Jersey Path at World Trade Center Station Updated: 20 April 2020: With New York the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic and the daily death toll now exceeding 200, grim reality has sunk in. Consequently with the exception of military personnel providing services at the Jacob Javits Center that had been converted into an operational hospi…

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. [Isaiah 7:14] Although it appears highly improbable that a human virgin could bear a child, it is not scientifically impossible. Per Rich Deem, Is the Virgin Birth Scientifically Impossible? (15 December 2005), “it could be possible in humans for a [virgin] woman to give birth to a male… if the woman had both an X and Y chromosome, which occurs in 1 in 5 million women.” Such a male would likel…

While New York City, a metropolis of 8.6 million is known for its urban bustle and towering skyscrapers currently with four over 100 stories tall, Central Park with its diverse ecosystems and abundance of flora and fauna provides a hidden view of New York City and a welcome escape from the urban din. “Under the forest canopy of the Ravine , Manhattan’s skyline is hidden and the rushing sound of a waterfall drowns the city noise. When Park designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux create…

Sparked by significant warming in mid September highlighted by a record 91° F reading on September 24th that smashed the previous mark of 89° F set in 1959, the New York City metro region experienced a two-month mini-Spring that lasted until the morning of November 10th when the mercury plunged from a balmy 50° F at the start of the day to a record low of 24° F on the morning of November 11th (breaking the 1933 mark of 29° F). During this two-month period, “fueled by surges of warm air from t…

Created from Shutterstock Stock Photograph purchased for Article “You have given up on us. You are leaving us to be slaughtered.” [1] [Gen. Mazloum Kobani Abdi, Commander, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces] While I oppose any coups, I believe President Trump’s misguided and reckless decision to abandon the Kurds is reason enough for voters to deny him a second term. Personally I cannot in good conscience vote for a President whose actions unleash genocide, nor one w…