Those people would all get so bored after a week of running around in the woods with no TV and no internet to fall back on. Maybe the flying thing could hold their attention for a little longer, but even that would lose its novelty pretty fast. I bet none of these people ever go camping.
You really think they'd last a week? I'd give it 3 days before the natives became tired of their whining and allowed them to go try the flying thing only to allow them to slip and fall to their death on the way.
Jakey and I were talking earlier about whether something should go in the somewhat amusing or effed up news, and we decided this: If somebody dies, it goes in the effed up news. If they don't, it's somewhat amusing.
So, you're going to hell, but don't worry, most of us will probably already be there waiting for you. It'll be fun.
The plane, a 50-seat regional aircraft that was less than a third full when it took off from La Guardia Airport, had been climbing through the early-morning sky for about 25 minutes. A 17-year-old passenger in a whitish sweater took out something he had carried onboard, and strapped it onto his wrist and his head.
To some people in New York, that is a relatively common sight: an observant Jew beginning the ritual of morning prayer. But to at least one person on US Airways Express Flight 3079 on Thursday — the flight attendant — it looked ominous, as if the young man were wrapping himself in cables or wires.
And in a time when in-flight thinking is colored by the brutal knowledge that passengers have hidden bombs in underwear or shoes, she told the officers in the cockpit.
The pilot decided to divert the Kentucky-bound plane to Philadelphia. In less than 30 minutes it was on the ground, police officers were swarming through the passenger cabin, and the Transportation Security Administration was using terms like “disruptive passenger” and “suspicious passenger” to describe the boy.
An hour or so after that, Lt. Frank Vanore, a spokesman for the Philadelphia police, had another explanation.
“It was unfamiliarity that caused this,” he said.
He said the flight crew had never seen tefillin, small leather boxes attached to leather straps that observant Jews wear during morning prayers. The flight crew “didn’t understand what it was,” he said, and the pilot “erred on the side of caution and decided to radio that in and to divert the flight.”
The boy’s grandmother, Frances Winchell, said it was just one of those things. “It’s true that we in America are very, very skittish,” she said at the airport in Louisville, where she had been waiting to meet the boy and his 13-year-old sister, who was also on Flight 3079. Mrs. Winchell said she hoped people would learn about the rituals and not be fearful.
The young man and his sister, whose names were not released, are from White Plains, the authorities said. Rabbi Shmuel Greenberg of Young Israel of White Plains said that they were members of his congregation and that the young man was “a good boy, bright, intelligent, as docile as you can imagine.”
“He didn’t think of the ramifications, I guess,” Rabbi Greenberg said. “You can’t expect the whole world to know what this ritual is all about.”
He said men in his congregation recited morning prayers “if at all possible within four hours after sunrise.”
“Nobody would have assumed it would create panic,” he said, “but in today’s environment, I guess everything creates panic.”
In fact, Lieutenant Vanore said the other passengers did not know exactly why the plane went to Philadelphia until it was on the ground and police officers and federal agents began checking for explosives. They found none. The young man was “was completely cooperative” and explained the prayer ritual, Lieutenant Vanore said.
He explained that the scare began when the young man was “in the process of praying.” The flight attendant noticed the tefillin and asked what he was doing.
The young man’s response was straightforward, Lieutenant Vanore said: “He gave the explanation he was in prayer.”
But the flight attendant was concerned about the tefillin. She called the cockpit and “described it as best as she’d seen it,” Lieutenant Vanore said, “and there was an item wrapped around his head, straps or wires.” “The straps did appear to be cables or wires to her,” he said. “To the naked eye looking at it, it looked like that. She said it had wires running from it and going up to his fingers. When they notified the pilot of that, he had to follow his protocol. It’s hard to Monday-morning-quarterback it.”
The young man and his sister went on to Louisville from Philadelphia. He said nothing as he walked through the terminal in Louisville in mid-afternoon.
Reached at her home on Thursday night, Ms. Winchell would not put her grandson or granddaughter on the telephone, but she allowed a reporter to ask questions on a speakerphone while they were present. Ms. Winchell said that police officers who boarded the plane pointed their guns “at the passengers as a whole” and at her grandson “a little bit.” She said her grandson and granddaughter were then handcuffed for a few minutes.
“The handcuffs were only for a short period of time,” she said.
A spokesman for the Philadelphia police could not be reached for comment after the interview with Ms. Winchell.
Some observant Jews said they were not surprised that the ritual had attracted attention — or that people on the plane would have been unfamiliar with it. “When they see a passenger strapping yourself,” said Isaac Abraham, a Satmar who lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and campaigned for the Democratic nomination for a City Council seat last year, “you might as well strap yourself with hand grenades. They have no idea.”
“He probably just figured, ‘I have nothing else to do on the plane, I might as well use this time to pray,’ ” he added. “Other people read. They watch a movie. He figured, ‘Let me grab the time.’ But the obvious reality of it is that when we see people carrying explosive material in their shoes and their pants and I am the passenger next to him and see someone strapping, I would panic too.”
Rabbi Greenberg, the boy’s rabbi, had some advice for future flights.
“I would suggest, pray on the plane and put the tefillin on later on,” he said. “Pray, and fulfill the ritual later.”
Yeah, I kept expecting to read a quote from someone yelling about discrimination. But seriously, why would you think someone strapping stuff on to themselves after they've already gotten it onto the plane is a bomb? People strap stuff to themselves to smuggle it. He was already on the plane. If he was pulling stuff out from under his clothes, then I'd be concerned.
Besides, this isn't the Jewish MO. As we all know, all Muslims are terrorists who blow up planes. All Jews orchestrate elaborate financial schemes that destroy the world's economies in order to usher in a new Zionist regime.
Blu-ray Maker Re-Boxes $500 Player, Charges $3,500
Above you see two Blu-ray players. On the bottom is the Oppo BDP-83, a $500 machine. On top is the Lexicon BD-30, which will set you back $3,500. Can you spot the difference, apart from the price?
It’s a trick question. There is no difference, at least not on the inside. In a daring matryoshka-like move, it appears that Lexicon simply bought a batch of Oppos and put them in new cases. Lest you think we are being picky here, or that Lexicon somehow took the guts of the Oppo and redesigned the surrounding circuitry, let us clarify. If you open up the $3,500 Lexicon, you will find an entire Oppo Blu-ray player inside, intact, with its original chassis.
These were the findings of Audioholics, the “Online A/V Magazine”. Suspicions were raised after spotting the Lexicon at the 2009 CEDIA Expo in Atlanta: “Looking at the player, its button layout and, most importantly, it’s [sic] rear panel, showed us that this product had the exact same layout as the Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player” writes Audioholics’ Clint DeBoer. Clint called one in for review, and here’s what he found:
"When we received the player the first thing we did was open it up to get a look at the inside. Imagine my surprise when I found that not only did the Lexicon share the same boards and transport as the Oppo - it was in fact AN OPPO BDP-83 PLAYER, CHASSIS AND ALL, SHOVED INSIDE AN ALUMINUM LEXICON WRAPPER."
Oops. Audioholics didn’t bother to actually review the machine, as the Oppo had already been tested. The reviewers did, however, run some audio analyses to check out the one real difference between the two players: the more expensive Lexicon has THX certification.
The test shed more light on the THX certification process than on the players themselves. The units tested almost identically, no different than had they been two examples of the same model (which, really, they are). So that’s what an extra $3,000 buys you: a THX label and a new, aluminum faceplate. Audioholics has the whole scandal detailed, along with comparison pictures of the two Blu-ray players.
Update: THX’s Graham McKenna wrote to point out that there was actually some modification of the Oppo hardware:
"THX worked directly with Oppo to improve video performance during the testing of the Lexicon player and the benefits made their way to the Oppo platform as well. It’s also important to note that THX is solely focused on quality and performance. Product pricing is never a driving factor for receiving THX certification."
Yeah, I remember reading about how Bic, the pen company, decided to go into the perfume business, but even though customers admitted it smelled good, nobody would buy it because it only cost about a dollar a bottle.
Edit: There were nice suggestions from the comments section too, but there were very few. I'm not trying to bash it, these suggestions just made me laugh.
(CNN) -- In a messy drug bust this week, investigators uncovered more than 700 pounds of marijuana stuffed in a septic tank truck full of human waste, Arizona police said Friday.
And the search of the truck was as awful as it sounds.
"Yeah, that really does suck," Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves told CNN. "It's a long way to go to make a bust."
Hidden in the holding tank of the truck were 743 pounds of pot, worth about $409,000 on the street, police said in a news release.
An officer pulled over the septic tank truck Wednesday after a check of the license showed it was invalid, police said. The truck was headed northbound on I-19 and stopped about 35 miles south of Tucson, Arizona. Police patrolling the area tend to be more vigilant, Graves said, because the interstate -- which leads directly to Mexico -- is a major thoroughfare for drug and human trafficking.
After the stop, the officer discovered that the commercial vehicle markings on the truck were also invalid. A subsequent search revealed the bales of marijuana in red and orange packages amid the waste.
"It just shows how desperate these drug cartels are," Graves said. "They'll go to any lengths to conceal their product. We've seen it concealed in watermelons, bell peppers. This is the first time we've seen it concealed in human waste."
Police arrested the driver, Leonard Salcido, 24, of Tucson, and charged him with possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale and transportation of marijuana, police said.
The bust was not the largest for Arizona police. In 2008, police found more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana in a fake UPS truck, Graves said.
Wednesday's smelly pot was just one major bust this week. On Thursday, police confiscated $681,000 worth of methamphetamine concealed in the false floor of a vehicle.
The driver was stopped for speeding on I-17 near Camp Verde, Arizona, police said. The officer asked to search the vehicle and found 15 pounds of meth, police said.
America may be the home of the corporate tie-in and super-sized fast food. But Japan may have just outdone the US in both fields.
In honor of Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system, Burger King has served up a seven-patty burger. This mighty monolith of meat, more than five inches tall, will only be available for seven days – and only in Japan.
The Windows 7 burger favors the early birds. Each day, the first 30 customers get the Whopper for 777 Yen (about $8.50). Stragglers must pay closer to $17. But if you feast upon one for breakfast, you'd best avoid food for the rest of the day. The Whopper packs in about 2,100 calories – more than you should eat in an entire day, according to the FDA.
Burger King and Microsoft have had cross-promotions in the past. In 2006, Burger King offered $4 Xbox 360 games featuring the restaurant chain's King mascot.
Both campaigns are fun, yet not quite as clever as Apple's attacks against Windows 7.
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A San Francisco man claims he was high on a double dose of medical marijuana cookies when he screamed, dropped his pants and attacked crew members on a cross-country flight, forcing its diversion to Pittsburgh, the FBI said Wednesday.
Kinman Chan, 30, was charged in a criminal complaint with interfering with the duties of a flight attendant on allegations that he fought with crew members of US Airways Flight 1447 from Philadelphia to Los Angeles on Sunday. His federal public defender, Jay Finkelstein, declined to comment.
Crew members said Chan made odd gestures before he entered the plane's rear restroom shortly after takeoff and began to scream, according to the complaint.
Chan told the FBI that he "came back to reality" and exited the restroom, at which point the crew noticed his "pants were down, his shirt was untucked and all the compartments in the restroom were opened."
When crew members tried to get Chan to sit, he fought them and had to be subdued in a choke hold, the complaint said.
Chan told agents who interviewed him in Pittsburgh that he ate marijuana cookies while waiting for his flight to depart in Philadelphia.
"Chan advised he has a medical marijuana card and he took double his normal dose," the complaint said.
Margaret Philbin, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Pittsburgh, said Chan has a legally issued medical marijuana card for a "legitimate" health issue, which she declined to identify.
The flight was diverted to Pittsburgh International Airport, where Chan was arrested, then jailed until a federal magistrate freed him on bond Tuesday, Philbin said.
Chan arrived at Philadelphia International Airport after attending a conference in the Dominican Republic. The flight to Los Angeles was part of his trip home to San Francisco, authorities said.
Chan was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon in Pittsburgh. The charge carries up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Margaret Philbin, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Pittsburgh, said Chan has a legally issued medical marijuana card for a "legitimate" health issue, which she declined to identify.
I'm thinking the health issue is to blame here... I can understand behaving that way with alcohol, but weed? Nooope. You've got to be fucking nuts to behave like that, weed or no weed.
Former Alaska half-term governor Sarah Palin delivered a highly-anticipated and ridiculously lucrative speech to around 1,100 supporters at the Tea Party Convention last night, but she couldn't get through it without a few notes scrawled on her hand.
The speech itself was predictable. There were things to excite her supporters ("America is ready for another revolution!") and things to annoy her detractors ("To win that war, we need a commander in chief, not a professor of law."; "How's that hopey-changey thing workin' out for you?"). There was nothing weird about it, which was the weird thing.
But then at the Q&A session after her speech, the weird arrived. Palin glanced down at her hand during an answer and it became clear that she had notes written on it (the words "energy", "budget cuts", "tax" and "lift American spirits"). Oh brother.
Ok, so writing notes on your hand isn't the most ridiculous thing a national political figure and probable presidential candidate could do. In fact, in Palin's case it shows that she is able to learn from the past. (What's worse than being caught with talking points written on your hand? Having another Katie Couric moment.) Still, this is pretty embarrassing.
Ok, so, you tout that nothing has changed as a negative point against Obama. Then you cite that you need a revolution to deal with all the changes that Obama has made.
A White House aide has appeared at a briefing with the words "hope" and "change" written on his hand in a jibe at Republican Sarah Palin.
Mrs Palin, the former vice-presidential candidate, had been shown reading crib notes from her hand at a question and answers session on Saturday.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs also appeared to have his shopping list written on his palm.
"Hope" and "Change" were the key themes of President Obama's election campaign.
Eggs, milk, bread
Mr Gibbs was speaking at the White House shortly after the president had been stressing the need for a bipartisan approach to politics.
Showing his left palm, Mr Gibbs said: "I wrote a few things down."
The list read in vertical order - eggs, milk, bread [which had been crossed out].
"And then I wrote down 'hope and change', just in case I forgot," he said.
The jibe reportedly drew groans from reporters present.
At the weekend, Mrs Palin was delivering a speech and taking part in a question and answer session for the Tea Party movement, which draws together opponents of Mr Obama's healthcare reform, his economic stimulus package and other aspects of his agenda.
A photo taken during the Q&A session after the speech showed her left hand with the words "energy", "budget cuts", "tax" and "lift Americans' spirits". The word "budget" had been crossed out.
Video footage showed her seemingly reading from her hand when asked what top three things a conservative-led Congress should do.
In her speech, Mrs Palin received a standing ovation as she called for a "return to conservative principles".
She also spoke of a "charismatic guy with a teleprompter" - an apparent reference to President Obama.
Comments
You really think they'd last a week? I'd give it 3 days before the natives became tired of their whining and allowed them to go try the flying thing only to allow them to slip and fall to their death on the way.
Cool people don't mess with the defaults.
So, you're going to hell, but don't worry, most of us will probably already be there waiting for you. It'll be fun.
Or so 4chan tells me.
Blu-ray Maker Re-Boxes $500 Player, Charges $3,500
Some selections from the Economist comments section:
iDon'tCare
iDiot
iCantAffordToKeepBuyingTheLatestAppleGadgetEveryYearUnlessIPutAllMyInvestmentsIntoAPPL
Edit: There were nice suggestions from the comments section too, but there were very few. I'm not trying to bash it, these suggestions just made me laugh.
EDIT: They gotta up the ante after the Nintendo Briik you know.
Only in Japan: The Burger King Windows 7 Whopper
FBI: Unruly passenger blames medical pot cookies
I'm thinking the health issue is to blame here... I can understand behaving that way with alcohol, but weed? Nooope. You've got to be fucking nuts to behave like that, weed or no weed.
Why can't hypocrisy be as subtle as it used to?
Sarah Palin crib notes mocked by White House aide