People can't get enough of the horrific, so let's start with the lost plane and an update on the Kansas murder.
Missing Air France jet "hit by electric fault"
An Air France passenger jet with 228 people on board headed for Paris is missing. The airline says it received a message from the plane signaling an electric problem while going through thunderstorms and turbulence. The plane left Rio De Janeiro last night and should’ve arrived in Paris early this morning. By now it would've ran out of gas. There is a search underway near the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha, but the search area is so huge, it could take weeks to find the plane...IF they find anything. The chance of fining survivors is next to none.
What a terrifying way to go down...
Distraught relatives and friends of passengers of Air France flight AF447 arrive at the crisis center at Charles deGaulle airport near Paris. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330-200, left Rio on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time (2200 GMT, 6 p.m. EDT) with 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board. About four hours into the 11-hour flight, the plane sent an automatic signal indicating electrical problems while going through strong turbulence, Air France said.
The loss of a relatively new model of one of the aviation sector's most reliable and state-of-the-art aircraft has stunned analysts who say it would take extremely violent weather to bring down such a large jet, CNN reported
Former Airbus pilot John Wiley told CNN that speculation lightning had brought down the plane was likely to prove unfounded since most modern passenger aircraft were capable of withstanding direct strikes.
"Lightning issues have been considered since the beginning of aviation. They were far more prevalent when aircraft operated at low altitudes. They are less common now since it's easier to avoid thunderstorms," said Bill Voss, president and CEO of Flight Safety Foundation, Alexandria, Va., AP reported.
He told AP that planes have specific measures built in to help dissipate electricity along the aircraft's skin. "I cannot recall in recent history any examples of aircraft being brought down by lightning."
Experts said the absence of a mayday call meant something happened very quickly, AP reported.
"The conclusion to be drawn is that something catastrophic happened on board that has caused this airplane to ditch in a controlled or an uncontrolled fashion," Jane's Aviation analyst Chris Yates said.
Brazil's Air Force said the last contact it had with the Air France jet was at 1:36 GMT but did not say where the plane was then, AP reported
Killer of Kansas abortion doctor held without bondScott Roeder, 51, was being held in a Kansas jail Monday after being charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Dr. George Tiller Sunday at a church.
Roeder, who's being held without bond and expected to appear in court this week, is also charged with two counts of aggravated assault, CNN reported.
The suspect was a member of an anti-government group in the 1990s and a staunch opponent of abortion, the Kansas City Star reported Monday.
In the rear window of the 1993 blue Ford Taurus that he was driving was a red rose, a symbol often used by abortion opponents. Those who know Roeder said he believed that killing abortion doctors was an act of justifiable homicide, according to the report.
“I know that he believed in justifiable homicide,” said Regina Dinwiddie, a Kansas City abortion opponent who made headlines in 1995 when she was ordered by a federal judge to stop using a bullhorn within 500 feet of any abortion clinic. “I know he very strongly believed that abortion was murder and that you ought to defend the little ones, both born and unborn.”
OK...so...he thinks abortion is wrong because it's murder, so he murders someone. Sensible, as usual. Don't get me wrong--I'm not defending late-term abortion. To be honest, I can't even imagine it.
Tiller's clinic is one of three in the U.S. performing late-term abortions and the site of many protests. Tiller was shot by a protester 16 years ago, and the clinic was bombed in 1985.
If it were not for the description the Wichita Police Department put out, "we wouldn't have paid any particular attention to him. He was following all traffic laws and everything," Lt. Mike Pfhannestiel of the Johnson County Sheriff's Office said according to CNN.
"We didn't find a weapon on him," he said. "We did not have a weapon on him."
Uh, oh.
Photo source unknown
GM files for bankruptcy protection
As part of the Chapter 11 reorganization, the US government will gain 60% stake in the new company, CNN and AP reported. Gain? The price tag for tax-payers: $30 billion. Who wants a stake in this company?
So what if GM is an icon? Who gives a fuck?
This is akin to keeping brain-dead people on life support to avoid emotional turmoil.
Bottom line: GM cars suck. If they didn't suck, they would've sold. They didn't sell because there are better and more economical cars on the market. It's survival of the fittest, my friends.Frankly, it pisses me off (can you tell?) to watch these superstar corporations--overflowing with resources but apparently lacking common sense--dig their own graves only to be rescued by the government while the rest of us get fucked when the going gets rough.
Sure, why not yet again reward mediocrity? Let's bail out a company that we could do without. Let's pay for its mistakes while the ones who made the mistakes soak in their Jacuzzis and get pedicures.
Oh, but the jobs! you say. You're oversimplifying things! you say. Well...maybe. But maybe if nature was allowed to take its course, these failing companies would disappear and make way for stronger, healthier ones capable of generating more and better jobs. Plus, GM will cut 20,000 jobs and shut a dozen plants by the end of next year.
Just sayin'...
GM Graphic by The Cleveland Leader
North Korea still shooting for a longer penis
North Korea defiantly launched a few short-range missiles about a week ago, but the pleasure of such missiles was short-lived, so macho N. Korea is preparing to launch a long-range missile this time.
Reports say the regime is likely to test launch its most advanced missile, believed to be capable of reaching Alaska, from its west coast near China. Wow...I'm so turned on.
With this launch, the "reclusive" (penis-less) communist country could thumb its nose at U.N. Security Council attempts to rein it in after last week's nuclear test and a series of short-range missile launches, AP reported (minus the penis part of course).
One South Korean report said the launch could be ready by the time South Korean President Lee Myung-bak meets with President Obama on June 16. So?
The North reportedly has transported a long-range missile (wanna-be penis) to a newly completed launch pad. The Yonhap news agency said South Korea is studying an intelligence report that the North has ordered troops along the west coast to double their stocks of ammunition, but South Korea's Defense Ministry declined to confirm the report.
North Korea faced strong international criticism (a spanking) after its last long-range missile launch, on April 5. The North said the launch was of a rocket intended to put a satellite in orbit (Yeah, right). The Taepodong-2 rocket flew about 2,000 miles, crossing over Japan before crashing into the Pacific Ocean, AP reported. Must be an orbit at the bottom of the sea...
In late April, the North threatened to conduct nuclear and long-range missile tests unless the Security Council apologized for criticizing the launch. What? Oh, but of course! How do highly insecure people with an inferiority complex act? Like touchy victims with a superiority complex.
Sorry my friends...I have no tolerance for such tactics.
On Friday, North Korea threatened to take a further "self-defense" measure if the Security Council provokes it, AP reported. What fucking self-defense? Who's on the offensive here?
This is what happens when men are born with tiny dicks.
The North Korea government has told its people it faces imminent attack and has threatened everything from the new rocket launch to all-out war if the U.N. blockades Pyongyang, according to news reports. It claims it's being provoked by South Korea and the U.S., noting that the number of spy planes operating in its airspace has risen dramatically. *yawn*
"The U.S. imperialists and the South Korean puppets perpetrated at least 200 cases of aerial espionage against the DPRK in May, or 30 cases more than those in the same month of last year," penis-yearning N. Korea said in a report in its official Korean Central News Agency.
Blow me.
Susan Boyle hospitalized for exhaustion
Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle was taken to a London clinic for treatment following her second-place finish in Britain's Got Talent, according to several news reports Monday.
The 48-year-old charity worker was admitted to the Priory Clinic, which reportedly specializes in addiction recovery and mental health care, on Sunday.
Boyle was the favorite to win the finals, watched by more than 19 million people, after becoming a YouTube star following her first appearance on the show in April. By Friday, the pressure appeared to be building up on the shy singer, who reportedly went into seclusion after an emotionally charged incident with journalists from Britain's notoriously aggressive tabloids.
TV company Talkback Thames said Boyle was "exhausted and emotionally drained" and taking a few days off.
"She has been seen by her private GP, who supports her decision to take a few days out for rest and recovery," the company said. "We offer her our ongoing support and wish her a speedy recovery."
Britain's Sun newspaper reported that, after tears and a tantrum from Boyle, her handlers had to help her into an ambulance to get her to the clinic. OMG, what a scandal!
This is so freaking typical...and why most celebrities are certifiably nuts.
The public puts them up on a golden throne in the clouds one day and shoves them down below the stinking sewers the next. The average person cannot withstand these drastic mood changes, not to mention the relentless persecution by the mean-spirited tabloids.
"It's kind of what everybody's saying, really. I think it's taken its toll on her," Amanda Holden, one of the show's judges, said on The Early Show Monday.
"She's gone from a woman nobody knew to worldwide fame, and I think, for anybody in the business to handle that kind of stress is an enormous amount of pressure, and I think she probably has just crumbled under it," Holden said. "She will just need some time to recuperate and rest. And actually, it's probably a blessing she didn't win, because now the spotlight is not so heavily on her. So, perhaps now she can just relax and enjoy what's happening to her, rather than feel the pressure."
"She needs to get away from everyone...get away from the show, from the media, from the public, and just have a bit of downtime to herself to sleep," said Piers Morgan, also a judge in the show."
Boyle's first voice coach, Fred O'Neil, said Monday that the show seemed like "a great, great thing for Susan to do" but that he started to worry about her when it became "like an absolute media circus" around her house. "You really couldn't even drive down her street."
I wish SuBo a speedy recovery from this craziness. Peace of mind is priceless and much better than fame, if you ask me.
Photo source: susanboyletalent.com
Tighter U.S. border security requires passports
Coming back to the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean could be a headache if you don't have your passport with you, CNN reported.
Beginning today a rule known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative takes effect requiring U.S. and Canadian citizens to present passports--or a very limited number of other travel documents--when entering the U.S. at land and sea borders.
Uh...I don't know about this. Surely the borders need to be better protected, but renewing a passport no longer costs $35, know what I mean?
Air travelers have been required to carry travel documents since January 2007, but the number of people crossing land borders is far greater, and the June 1 deadline is being viewed with some trepidation, especially in Canadian border communities where cross-border travel by citizens of both countries historically required minimal documentation, CNN reported.
The same rules will be in effect for U.S. residents attempting to re-enter the country at the southern border, and existing document requirements will remain in place for Mexican nationals wanting to enter the U. S., according to the report.
The rule was originally scheduled to take effect more than a year ago, but Congress delayed it amid complaints that people weren't prepared and that trade, tourism and commerce with Canada--our biggest trading partner--would be hurt.
The Department of Homeland Security says 80-90% of routine border crossers have the required documents, and new technology has been installed at all major border crossings to speed up passenger and pedestrian identification. In addition, the U.S. government is promising "soft" enforcement for the indefinite future, CNN reported.
But business and tourism groups aren't entirely at ease, saying this and other border restrictions are hurting regional commerce. Hardest hit, they say, are retail businesses and restaurants on both sides of the border as some shoppers opt to stay in their home countries rather than get travel documents. Tourist destinations also could be hit as families calculate the cost of getting passports.
"If you're a U.S. citizen, they're going to let you in," a Detroit Chamber source told CNN. "That's the little secret they really don't want you to know. Because if you're an American citizen, there may be a hassle at the border for the couple hours, but they're going to be letting you in."
Passport photo source: unknown
Sources: CNN, The Associated Press, CBS News, USA Today
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