…rumbling with the flight crew is a bad, BAD idea…
London Flight Diverted Over Disturbance
A flight from London to Washington, D.C. was diverted to Boston Wednesday morning after the pilot declared an emergency because of a passenger disturbance, the airline said.
United Flight 923 with 182 passengers and 12 crew members landed safely at Boston’s Logan International Airport, United spokesman Brandon Borrman said.
A Logan spokesman said three passengers had a confrontation with the flight crew. State Police took control of the plane after it landed. All the passengers were being taken off the plane and their carry-on luggage was being checked, said spokesman Phil Orlandella.
…right, Bingley?
UPDATE and bump: More coming out about this.
Fighter jets escorted a diverted London-to-Washington, D.C., flight to Boston’s Logan airport Wednesday after a distraught passenger pulled out a screw driver, matches, Vaseline and a note referencing al-Qaida, an airport spokesman said.
United Flight 923 landed safely, Logan airport spokesman.
Hello, heightened security? I’ll bet there were a couple other passengers who were “distraught” after that! Hopefully, they got a couple shots at him in, too, ala the thumping Richard Reid got.
…and all the David Hasselhoff photos I post.
Picture courtesy of the always socially astute, politically correct, sensitively inclusive and firm admirer of the male form secure enough in his masculinity to know a manly man when he sees one and isn’t afraid to post the picture for us slavering wimmens ~ That1Guy.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
~ I am going to be forced to post on this, thanks to Bingley yesterday and now, FIRST thing this morning, the lovely Susanna.
Australian farmers called to report ugly sheep
Yes, yes, they’re on the prowl for ugly sheep in order to make pretty sheep prettier. And that’s completely f*cked up and superficial. So I am issuing a fatwa against those who would take advantage of vunerable sheep ~ those not possessing the requisite physical attributes necessary to be deemed ‘attractive in a sheepy sort of way’. Those who might be more susceptible to blandishment because of their insecurity and damaged self-image. Not every sheep can be born beautiful, but every sheep should be treated as if they were.
It’s the only thing that separates us from the French and Belgians.
…could spell ‘ethics’. I mean, why should they? It’s her SECOND shot at a big time spot, so who’s to say there’s not a third somewhere after the dust settles?
N.J. Attorney General Quits Amid Scandal
For the second time in three years, Zulima Farber’s error in judgment concerning minor traffic issues has cost her a high-profile judicial job in New Jersey.
First it was a nomination to the state Supreme Court. Now, it’s her job as state attorney general.
…”I admit to being human and making that error. I am truly sorry and apologize to all New Jerseyans for that mistake,” said Farber, who will leave office at the end of the month.
Yeah, yeah, yeah…Y A W N N N N.
“Thin lipped, right wing bitch” isn’t gonna sell a lot of product ~ but you get who you hire, so they must not care. No bigs. I wasn’t much of a M•A•C fan anyway. I’m still using 20 year old Dior eyeshadow.
UPDATE: Looks like we’re not the only ones who noticed.
MAC Cosmetics has injected the ick factor into its new online ad featuring Sandra Bernhard , in which the caustic comic inexplicably starts riffing about the bodily fluids of an overexcited barnyard bird. Shilling for MAC’s Plushglass lip gloss, Bernhard crows: “If I had thin lips, I could never express myself the way I’m able to express myself with a kind of passion – sexy powerpout, loudmouth, a little hyaluronic acid from a rooster’s [bleep]. Cock-a-doodle-doo!” Can you spell g-r-o-s-s?
“Ick” doesn’t begin to cover it, but it’s a start.
Cindy Adams is channeling me.
SO many celebs lining up to help Africa – Angelina, Bon Jovi, Madonna, Jay-Z, Clooney – there’ll soon be no room for animals. Next up, Lindsay Lohan, who just said: “Africa seems so exotic. I have always wanted to go there.” Great. Admirable. But how about helping Americans? Like in Appalachia or New Orleans?
The Guardian’s Polly Toynbee is en fuego.
The grand assemblage of Muslim MPs, peers and leaders of 38 key groups who signed an open letter to the prime minister last weekend are almost certainly right. British foreign policy has helped foment murderous extremism among British Muslims.
The London bombings a year ago might not have happened had Labour taken the French stand. If Tony Blair and his cabinet had never hitched Britain to George Bush’s war chariot, it is unlikely that al-Qaida-inspired terror cells would plan mass murder from British airports. Before, Islamist terror was focused on faraway countries – Indonesia, the Philippines, Algeria, Somalia, Russia – and the twin towers. If we had only kept our heads down, terror’s hot breath might have passed over us.
Every minister hotly denying this obvious truth sounds absurd – but makes the wrong point altogether. The point is that a democratically elected government’s foreign policy can’t be moulded by threats from murdering religious maniacs. There are 1,001 good reasons why we should never have supported, let alone joined, the war in Iraq. But the one truly bad reason would have been fear of terrorism.
Those signing the letter steer perilously close to suggesting the government had it coming. The Muslim leaders wrote: “The debacle of Iraq and now the failure to do more to secure an immediate end to the attacks on civilians in the Middle East not only increases the risk to ordinary people in that region, it is also ammunition to extremists who threaten us all.” They urge the prime minister to “change our foreign policy to show the world that we value the lives of civilians wherever they live and whatever their religion. Such a move would make us safer.” Maybe it would, but there can’t be many, pro- or anti-war, who think sparing us from threats by God-blinded killers should be the number-one priority in foreign policy.
…It goes with the selective amnesia that forgets about the Kosovo Muslims Blair and Clinton saved from genocide. It goes with a distorted memory of the Taliban as anything other than ruthless despots to their people (especially their women) and unprovoked originators of terror against the rest of the world. As for Iraq, invasion was dangerously misguided, but selective Islamic memory forgets that Saddam murdered Muslims.
In the great disaster of Blair’s foreign policy, the irony is that most Britons would agree with the Muslim leaders’ critique, both on Iraq and Lebanon. But that does not lead to any “understanding”, let alone appeasement, of terrorists. What is their cause? It’s not a viable Palestinian state (though that would help). It’s not better rights in Britain to jobs and respect (that would help). It’s not to bring democracy to corrupt Middle Eastern governments propped up by the west (democracy is a western abomination). Their cause is to impose a fantasy caliphate across some mystically united Muslim world – even as conflict between rival Islamic sects in Iraq kills thousands more Muslims than infidel invaders.
…in public product protection pugilistics.
Apple has laid legal claim to the word “Pod,” arguing that other companies that use the word as part of their product names risk infringing the trademark of its popular iPod music player.
…This month, Google drew attention to its own long-running battle to defend the trademark in its name when it wrote to the Washington Post to protest the use of the verb “to google,” though examples of similar warning letters date back at least four years.
…Dave Ellison, whose company, Mach5Products, makes the Profit Pod, said he had been sent a “cease and desist” request by Apple’s lawyers last week, just after receiving trademark recognition for his product name in the US.
…Mr Ellison contested Apple’s claim, arguing that his company’s product was not sold to consumers and that he and his wife, Carolee, had thought up the name around five years ago, before they had heard of the iPod, which was introduced in 2001. “I’m not going to change the name – it’s not like they offered us anything for it,” he said.
…THIS might be true?
Charities fail to attract cash as ‘human crisis overlooked’
CHARITIES are facing difficulties paying for humanitarian relief work in Lebanon because the public has shunned their appeals.
… Mark Astarita, the director of fundraising at the British Red Cross, told The Times that the complex political issues surrounding the Middle East conflict were deterring even the most generous. “It has proved very tough indeed to raise money from the general public and, although we are usually successful with corporate donors, this has proved a very difficult appeal for them to respond to,” he said.
I would submit it’s difficult to raise the money for two reasons. One is the less-than-a-week-old foiled KoolAid bombing plot and the British Muslim community’s very public but less than condemnatory reaction to it…
ON FRIDAY last week I agreed to add my name to a letter to the Government from Oxfam, other non-governmental organisations and individuals to express, in the wake of the Middle East crisis, our commitment to the fundamental humanitarian principle that all innocent lives should be valued equally.
As has been made apparent to me over the past few days, the letter was open to several interpretations. It has never been my contention that the Government ought to change foreign policy because of terrorist threats within our borders. We must never be held to ransom by those who would deliberately shed innocent blood in the name of their cause. I firmly believe that justice, righteousness and national interest should be our policy compass. So when ministers such as Kim Howells and Douglas Alexander argue that “no government worth its salt would allow any policy to be dictated by threats of terror”, we are at one.
The second would be the fact that people, despite their earnest wishes and generous giving, are sick of their hard earned, well intentioned dollars going to the bad guys.
Money sent to Pakistan for earthquake relief may have ended up in the hands of the alleged airplane bomb plot ringleader, Rashid Rauf, thanks to a charity set up by his father and uncle.
Documents examined by ABC News show that Rauf’s father, Abdul Rauf, and his uncle, Mohammed Mumtaz, established the London-based Crescent Relief in 2000. The charity, currently run by Mumtaz, has since sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to Pakistan for humanitarian purposes.
Officials say they believe Rauf, who has lived in Pakistan for the last few years, helped distribute the charity money and may have diverted some of the funds for his alleged terror plot.
It’s like buying the stick used to poke your eye out and you can only do that so many times before you smarten up. Or run out of eyes.
This news certainly makes me think that there is:
Muslims face extra checks in new travel crackdown
By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent
THE Government is discussing with airport operators plans to introduce a screening system that allows security staff to focus on those passengers who pose the greatest risk.
The passenger-profiling technique involves selecting people who are behaving suspiciously, have an unusual travel pattern or, most controversially, have a certain ethnic or religious background.
The system would be much more sophisticated than simply picking out young men of Asian appearance. But it would cause outrage in the Muslim community because its members would be far more likely to be selected for extra checks.
I don’t care if it causes “outrage”, as basically every terrorist attack in the past 5 years has been the work of young muslim men between the ages of 18 and 25.
Three days before last week’s arrests, the highest-ranking Muslim police officer in Britain gave warning that profiling techniques based on physical appearance were already causing anger and mistrust among young Muslims. Tarique Ghaffur, an assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said: “We must think long and hard about the causal factors of anger and resentment.
“There is a very real danger that the counter-terrorism label is also being used by other law-enforcement agencies to the effect that there is a real risk of criminalising minority communities.”
I’d prefer that the police think long and hard about who is blowing up planes and busses and trains.
Actually, they don’t have to think too long and hard to come up with the answer, now do they?
…WOW!!!
Barbaro Walks Outside His Stall
Injured Kentucky Derby Winner Barbaro Walks Outside His Stall and Grazes on Grass
Now that’s a heart thhhiiiiissssssssssss BIG.
Scenes reenacted from famous movies. You guess which.
You’re nuts if you don’t play.
I wound up a pistachio of some sort in the scoring.
“…or are you just hard of herring?”
I glanced at this picture flashing in an ABCNews slideshow and immediately…
…thought something had happened to Greek anchovy fisherman.
I have my moments. In my defense, I’ve been sniffing paint all day.
”’…first you have to drain the swamp.”
On the Times U.K. editorial page
…just…
Serbs suggest partition of Kosovo
The head of Serbia’s delegation on the future status of Kosovo has suggested partition of the disputed territory if no way can be found for ethnic Albanians and Serbs to live together
…all…
Nigeria hands Bakassi to Cameroon
Officials from Nigeria and Cameroon have held a joint ceremony in the disputed oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to mark its transfer to Cameroon.
… But the court ruling has not gone down well with Nigerians living in the peninsula, the BBC’s Alex Last reports from nearby Calabar.
Most Archibong residents have said they would rather leave their ancestral land than be ruled by Cameroon, such is their level of mistrust.
Read more »
I just got an email from my Louisiana Lab Rescue friend, with pictures of schweet wabbies who need homes desperately.
I’ll share it, if anyone’s looking for a wonderful wab.
(The parent rescue site is Labs 4 Rescue.)
How do I know about them? Well, as of a couple weeks ago, we’re the proud parents of Beauregard ~ a rootin’ tootin’ 85 pound, 14 or so month old Gumby boy. (I’d post a pic, but he hasn’t held still long enough.) I stumbled across his picture on the website and he looked so much like my schweet Schmacks, I sent the link to major dad sayin’ “I found our boy”. He’s a treasure.
…with Bingley’s boy.
JIM (“I am a gay American”) McGreevey might have a new job soon – as one of the homosexual hosts on the talk show Joan Rivers is launching this fall on Bravo that’s described as a queer version of “The View.”
Ah, the Garden State can remain ever proud of it’s elected officials in or OUT.
(Of office, duh…)
UPDATE: Lisa’s right, of course. So
CAPTION THIS PICTURE
Let the games begin. Cyber jelly donut to the winner.
Via Tim Blair, go read this:
THE apparently successful pre-emptive strike by British and Pakistani police against a home-grown terror cell in Britain should raise the concern of every decent patriotic citizen in Britain, Europe and Australia about their long-term security.
For the danger comes from what one would have hoped were the socially integrated children of Muslim immigrants, millions of whom have settled in western Europe and hundreds of thousands in Australia. Instead, a small but potent minority of this second generation has embraced a totalitarian temptation that George W. Bush, following numerous liberal Western analysts, has correctly identified as Islamic fascism.
All of it.
Not only have we started to see women suicide bombers; now it seems that islamic women were going to use there own children as covers for the bombs:
HATE-filled mums willing to sacrifice themselves and their BABIES are being hunted in the war on terror.
Security sources confirmed last night that alleged “baby bombers” were among those arrested over the plot to massacre thousands by downing transatlantic flights.
Those being quizzed included a husband and wife with a six-month-old infant.
The discovery prompted fears that there were fanatical mothers in secret al-Qaeda cells in Britain ready to become suicide bombers — and to die with their tots in their arms.
And it emerged as the reason why women at airports were ordered to drink from their babies’ bottles before being allowed to board flights during last week’s massive alert.
Nice, huh? Jihad brings the family closer together.
Now, I’m a little fuzzy on the ‘rewards’ part here, though: the nice young jihadi couple go boom; he reckons he’s due his 72 virgins. Where does that leave her, let alone junior?
The absolutely outrageous thing about all of this is that because of the insane ‘profiling’ PC fears we have an 85 year-old white grandmother has a much greater chance of being searched than an 22 year old arab male…and we know all the terror attacks that those grannies have carried out in the last five years.
The theory at the moment is the guys in Michigan with 1000 cell phones were targeting the Mackinac Bridge:
Federal authorities helped with the investigation into a possible terror threat to the Mackinac Bridge. The FBI office in Detroit worked with local law enforcement authorities before the police arrested three men in Caro on Friday. Officers found about 1,000 pre-paid cell phones in their van. Police in Caro arrested the three Palestinian-American men after they allegedly bought 80 of the phones at a Wal-Mart store in Caro.
A pre-paid cell phone can be economical and convenient. But, 22 year old Adham Othman, 23 year old Louai Othman, and 19 year old Maruwan Muhareb aroused suspicion when they allegedly bought 80 phones at the same time. Caro Police Chief Ben Page said they thought “something was wrong here.”
When police pulled the men over, they found about 1,000 phones in the van. Many were separated from their battery packs and the chargers were discarded. Michigan State Police Trooper Patrick Sharkey says, “We didn’t know exactly what was going on. You hear on the news about these phones being used to detonate IED’s.”
Their wives claim they are ‘good guys’ who were only planning to resell the phones.
Uh-huh.
In pieces.
Gee, that’s how I always buy my phones.
As usual, Michelle Malkin has more.
…says he’s just a singer in a rock and roll band
simple civil defense worker.
The AP does some spin control. (click through photo) They ALL could use some.
UPDATE: WOW! Lucky thing AP got it’s puff piece done!! He’s not feeling so great now.
Thirteen killed as Israel keeps up strikes on Lebanon
…Two rescue workers, including the chief of the Lebanese Red Cross in Tyre, Salam Daher, were wounded by shrapnel during raids near the hospital where they had been rushing to help extinguish the fire, police said.
Better keep those coolers running and the bodies on ice, folks. It’ll be a bit before he can get back to corpse compositions.
A warm Swill Salute to Little Green Footballs
…HezBALKah
CNN’s “Late Edition” is reporting that Hezbollah forces south of the Litani River in Lebanon are refusing to lay down their arms when the cease fire goes into effect later today (our time). They are also reporting the Syria continues to ship arms into Lebanon even now.
I’m shocked, SHOCKED I tell you.
News has it that the Lebanese Army refuses to go into the area per the cease fire agreement if Hezbollah has anything left that could hurt them.
…The resolution, approved unanimously by the U.N. Security Council on Friday, calls for boosting the number of U.N troops in the area from 2,000 to 15,000.
They would be joined by 15,000 Lebanese troops and charged with ensuring Hezbollah could not operate anywhere between the Israeli-Lebanese border and the Litani River.
The Lebansese government has postponed discussions on the plan until they can ‘consult’ with hezbollah’s negotiator.
The Lebanese cabinet postponed its meeting Sunday to discuss implementing the U.N. resolution aimed at ending fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.
A Lebanese government minister said the meeting was postponed one to two days at the request of parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, a key negotiator with Hezbollah.
The postponement will give government officials more time to meet with Hezbollah leadership to discuss details of implementing the U.N. resolution, the Lebanese minister said. (Posted 11 a.m.)
And already 200 Hezbollah rockets have hit Israel today.
UPDATE: Captain Ed notes an additional angle to the postponement:
The cease-fire agreement appears to have created a crisis in Lebanon’s government, as a Cabinet meeting of Siniora’s government has been abruptly cancelled. The Cabinet was supposed to vote on a plan to deploy their army into southern Lebanon and to displace Hezbollah. That has now been indefinitely delayed — which means that Israel is not bound by the agreement to stop fighting:
Oy.
Transcript/link to report as it becomes available.
Reader Dan Collins alerted me to this story about a photographer in Lebanon admitting hat they pose bodies for shots, and sometimes they even bring in the needed bodies from the morgue.
Like friggin’ landscapers.
Or maybe Moral Artistes.
But remember, we’re the evil ones, kids.
Lots more at Hot Air and LGF and Confederate Yankee.
Well, not really.
But a feller can dream, can’t he?
Actually, the weather’s been fantastic this weekend in Jersey. Very low humidity, barely into the 80s during the day and cool at night.
Life | tree hugging sister | 
August 16, 2006 11:32 am | 
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