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9/11 is a day to remember a horrible event, but it’s also a day that he called in all airplanes. “Mineta shouted into the phone to Monte Belger at the FAA: “Monte, bring all the planes down.” It was an unprecedented order-there were 4,546 airplanes in the air at the time.” GR friend Konrad Ng interviews him and it’s on ustream. It’s a little jittery at least on our computers, but the audio is clear. Listen to it like a podcast. (apanews.si.edu – Norman Mineta) Inouye also lends some words to remember 9/11 (Inouye.Senate.gov –  Inouye 9/11)   Video streaming by Ustream That’s Konrad Ng on right conducting the interview.
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Norman Mineta to receive Distinguished Medal of Honor for Lifetime Achievement and Public Service – the highest honor by the Japanese American National Museum. Frankly, I didn’t know there was such an honor or that there’s higher honors and lower honors, but this is great. For a lot of you, you have no idea who this man is. He’s not in a sex video. He didn’t make a movie or sculpt a vinyl figure. He’s retired but was once the Secretary of Transportation. The single most known incident, he ordered planes to land during 9.11. Aside from that, he worked his ass off for incarcerated Japanese Americans and the San Jose airport? It’s in his name. Check it out. That’s him at the Giant Robot Biennale 2 with myself, David Choe and Albert Reyes. Norman Mineta likes art. We’ll be doing Biennale 3 coming up in September. Norman, you better be there. (Rafu – Norman Mineta)
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