November 29, 2010
November 28, 2010
November 27, 2010
November 26, 2010
November 25, 2010
U.S. sends carrier to Yellow Sea for exercises near Korea
An aerial view shows destroyed houses on Yeonpyeong island, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010, one day after North Korea's artillery attack on the island. Rescuers found the burned bodies Wednesday of two islanders killed in the attack _ the first civilian deaths from a skirmish that marked a dramatic escalation of tensions between the rival Koreas. (AP Photo/Yonhap, Kim Hyun-tae)
November 23, 2010
Which airports have body-scanning technology?
Airports that currently have imaging technology, according to the website:
• Albuquerque International Sunport Airport
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
• Boston Logan International Airport
• Houston's George Bush Interncontinental Airport
• Boise Airport
• Bradley International Airport
• Brownsville-South Padre Island Airport
• Buffalo Niagara International Airport
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport
• Chicago's O'Hare International Airport
• Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
• Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
• Corpus Christi International Airport
• Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
• Denver International Airport
• Detroit Metro Airport
• Dulles International Airport
• El Paso International Airport
• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
• Fort Wayne International Airport
• Fresno Yosemite International Airport
• Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport
• Grand Rapids, Michigan's Gerald R. Ford International Airport
• Harrisburg International Airport
• Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas
• Honolulu International Airport
• Indianapolis International Airport
• Jacksonville International Airport
• John F. Kennedy International Airport
• Kansas City International Airport
• LaGuardia Airport
• Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
• Laredo International Airport
• Lihue Airport
• Los Angeles International Airport
• San Juan Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport
• McAllen-Miller International Airport
• Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport
• Memphis International Airport
• Miami International Airport
• Milwaukee's General Mitchell Airport
• Mineta San José International Airport
• Minneapolis/St.Paul International Airport
• Nashville International Airport
• Newark Liberty International Airport
• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
• Oakland International Airport
• Omaha Eppley Field Airport
• Orlando International Airport
• Palm Beach International Airport
• Philadelphia International Airport
• Phoenix International Airport
• Pittsburgh International Airport
• Port Columbus International Airport
• Raleigh-Durham International Airport
• Richmond International Airport
• Greater Rochester International Airport
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
• Salt Lake City International Airport
• San Antonio International Airport
• San Diego International Airport
• San Francisco International Airport
• Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
• Spokane International Airport
• T.F. Green Airport
• Tampa International Airport
• Tulsa International Airport
November 21, 2010
November 20, 2010
November 18, 2010
Phuket Tourist's Fight With Intruder at Five-Star Resort Brings Killing Charge
Phuket Tourist's Fight With Intruder at Five-Star Resort Brings Killing Charge - Phuket Wan
Phuket Tourist's Fight With Intruder at Five-Star Resort Brings Killing Charge
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
A RUSSIAN tourist who returned to find a stranger in his room at a five-star Phuket resort fought with the intruder, who later died in hospital, an honorary consul said today.The tourist, named by Phuket police as Akcehob Aksenov, now awaits the outcome of a charge of manslaughter over the death. The tourist and his wife were due to fly home today but are staying on to await the end of the case.
Russia's deputy honorary consul Santi Udomkiratak, who has been closely involved in the aftermath, told Phuketwan today that the incident took place about 2am on November 8 in a room at the Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket Resort, an award-winning five-star and one of the most highly-regarded resorts on Phuket.
''The man and his wife returned from a night out to find the intruder in their room,'' Khun Santi said. ''The man was a security guard. He had a knife.
''The two men wrestled, and the Russian man was slashed on the forearm. The Russian, who was a bigger man, toppled the attacker and subdued him. After the fight, the security guard was taken to Thalang Hospital, where he died.''
Khun Santi said police were awaiting a report from the hospital to determine the precise cause of death, but officers believed the incident was clearly a case of self-defence. Investigations are continuing.
Khun Santi said he could not offer any clues as to why the security guard was in the couple's room at 2am. He said the couple's room had direct access out to Bang Tao beach.
It was the couple's first Phuket holiday. They had arrived two days before the room invasion.
The Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket has consistently won top tourism and travel awards, including several this year.
Just weeks ago, the resort was sold for 2.6 billion baht to Dusit Thani Ltd, the Thai company whose name the resort has carried since it became the first brand to open at the Laguna Phuket complex in 1987.
US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, stayed at the Dusit Thani last year, during an Asean summit of foreign ministers at the nearby Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket.
The security guard's death was recorded in an updated list of alleged crimes involving expats on Phuket, released to Phuketwan today by senior Phuket police.
Phuket Police Commander Major General Pekad Tantipong has pledged to make the safety and security of expats on Phuket a priority by making transparent all alleged crimes involving expats, both as perpetrators and victims.
The list will be delivered to honorary consuls and embassy representatives from about 22 countries when they meet with Phuket Governor Tri Augkharadacha on Monday in Phuket's fourth quarterly expat ''parliament.''
Six Phuket Expat Drownings, Deaths, Unrecorded
Six Phuket Expat Drownings, Deaths, Unrecorded
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
THREE drownings of tourists on Karon beach and one on neighboring Kata beach have gone unrecorded in police statistics that are intended to list every expat death on Phuket.The deaths of two Australians have also gone unrecorded, making a total of at least six expat deaths unaccounted for on what is intended to be a complete list of all expat deaths so far on Phuket in 2010.
The list, incomplete though it is, is due to be presented to as many as 22 national representatives and representatives of Thailand's Foreign Ministry at a meeting set for Monday. Two ambassadors from embassies in Bangkok may also be present.
Three of the deaths, all drownings at Karon and Kata, were also absent from a list presented to an earlier meeting in August. With these three drownings now increased to four - and all missing from the list - the wrong impression is being conveyed about the safety of Karon beach in the monsoon season.
Latest drowning victim to be left off the list of dead is Dimitry Kuznephov, 40, who drowned at Karon beach on November 8. A Thai man, Kittisak Klongpiled, 25, drowned at Karon beach on the same day.
The head of Phuket's lifeguard service has called for Karon beach to be closed to swimmers on dangerous days unless more intense measures are taken to protect the lives of swimmers.
But if deaths by drowning continue to go officially unrecorded, the call for improved safety measures loses its meaning and purpose.
The three drownings, previously reported by Phuketwan to be missing from an earlier expat death list, have yet to be added despite the three months that have passed since the omissions were first noted.
They are Rumanian Gheorghe Paulivc, who drowned at Karon on July 20; Bahraini Ali Abdulaziz Al Saeed, who drowned at Karon on August 8, and Chinese Zhao Dakun who drowned at neighboring Kata beach on the same Sunday afternoon.
Two other missing expat deaths take the total of unrecorded deaths to six. Not included on the list are Australians Stephen Lawton, 55, who collapsed and died in a Karon street on October 22, and Graham Nicholas Jackson, 54, who was found dead in a guesthouse room on October 2 after suffering a prolonged fever.
The new Australian Ambassador to Thailand, James Wise, is making his first official visit to Phuket later this week.
The omission of at least one drowning has also occurred on official figures. According to Phuket Public Health statistics, there were no drownings on or around Phuket in July - the only drowning-free month recorded recently.
However, Rumanian Gheorge Paulivc died in Bangkok Phuket Hospital after having been first taken from the sea off Karon beach to Patong Hospital in July.
Phuket's 67 expat deaths for the year so far - excluding the four drownings and the deaths of the two Australians plus possibly other deaths about which Phuketwan has no knowledge - are as follows:
Phuket Expat Deaths, August 15 to November 12
Adiano Mazza Italy heart attack on August 18 in Soi Nanai Patong
Keith Barrington Jones England of cancer on August 18 at Patong Hospital
Ms Vera Lovtsova Russia car mishap on August 26 at Tesco Lotus intersection
Josef Stefan Distler Germany chronic illness on August 15 at Patong Hospital
James William Bourke Australia drowning on September 1 in pool at Banthai Resort, Patong
Peter Vincenz Ullrich Switzerland in fall on September 7 at Patong guesthouse
Mai Wei Qiang China road mishap on August 30 in Phuket City
Brian Bibby England on October 13 overdose of drugs at Gallery Hotel, Patong
Lee Jae Yup South Korea on September 14 by hanging at Tina Hotel, Patong
Alexandr Chupin Russia drowning on October 17 at Surin beach
Herbert Sebastian Germany of chronic illness on October 14 at Phuket City
Agalonov Alexy Russia drowned on October 18 at Nai Thon beach
Joseph Edward Australia of heart attack on October 20 at West Guesthouse Patong
Markku Juhani Smatt Finland of heart attack October 27 in Patong Hopsital
Peter Williams US suicide on October 27 at apartment house in Phuket City
Leif Erik Sune Hedlund Sweden heart complaint on October 27 at Duangjit Resort Patong
Said Mutafa Kamal Indonesia on October 31 of stomach complaint at Thalang Hospital
Jon Kristian Seljeseth Norway jumped from apartment block on November 12 in Patong
Phuket Expat Deaths, January 1 to August 14
Barry Cutler Britain Fell down steps January 5 at home in Phuket City
No name male, nationality unknown found hanged January 6 in forest near Laem Ka Noi
Michael Malonzo Australia died January 15 in Siam Safari crash, Nakkerd Hill
Jean Hubert Doonay Belgium died January 24 Phuket Graceland of old age
Wolf Dieter Eugen Kbelheim Germany January 27 attacked with knife outside 7-Eleven
Richard Johnson US hanged February 5 at home in Rawai
Rudolf Ducke Germany February 7 road crash in Rawai
Lattner Ralf Germany February 8 heart attack at Patong
Gian Pietro Perone Italy February 10 heart attack in Patong
Gerhard Kurt Rodschinka Germany February 10 unknown cause at bungalow Rawai
Nathan Edward Australia February 14 Fall at Hilton Phuket Hilton Arcadia Resort, Karon
Apostolos Pentefountas Greece February 16 heart attack in Patong
Thetaz Dominique Sylvie Switzerland February 25 cancer at home in Patong
Tarmuji Indonesia February 26 road crash in Phuket City
Hoger Heiz Schunka Germany March 2 cause unknown at Happy House, Karon
Donald Michael Craig Canada March 7 of chronic illness at Ao Sane bungalow
Joselito Macabio Vilegas Philippines March 11 road crash at Cherng Talay
Sorensen Henrik Love Denmark March 13 heart attack at resort in Patong
Dino Costa Italy March 19 cause unknown at Kamala beach in a dinghy
William Mann Britain March 22 of chronic illness at home in Kathu
Lindehoseberg Sonia Sweden March 28 drowning at Kata beach
Ludex Novax Netherlands March 27 heart attack in hotel at Patong
Jean-Luc Boutot France March 27 of chronic illness at Rawai
Lars Evert Lennart Thor Sweden April 1 heart attack at Patong
Loh Ying Jie Singapore April 2 jet-ski collision at Patong
Rampanaux Jean Pascal Sweden April 13 heart attack at resort in Kamala
Simone Tenerello Italy April 17 struck with bottle by katoey in Patong
Mikka Olavialltonen Finland April 24 overdose of Viagra at guesthouse in Patong
John Grant Kerr New Zealand May 3 motorcycle crash in Patong
Sergei Poliakov Russia May 9 motorcycle crash in Patak Road Karon
Alexander Drobot Russia May 10 found in car, cause unknown at home in Rawai
Lee Kam Yum China May 10 in car crash, Cherng Talay
Frank Visakay American died May 11 after a fatal fall at home
Pierre Antoine Giovanelli Switzerland died May 12 of old age in Kamala
Kevin William Dean British died May 23 at Club Coconut Hotel of chronic illness
Giglberger Karl Wilfried Germany died May 25 at Patong Hospital, chronic illness
Marek Klein German May 26 drowned at Surin beach
Kennert Rode Svahan Swedish died May 26 at Nordic Guesthouse Karon, heart attack
(Ms) Gabriella Rosemarie Strand Swedish died May 29 at Loma Park restaurant, electric shock
Morris Shawn Anthony Australia died June 10, leapt from Baan Kanjana Guesthouse, Patong
(Ms) Rebecca Louise Callaghan British, drowned June 12 at Karon beach, died later at Patong Hospital
Migliorini Carlo Italian, died June 15, Patong Hospital, of chronic illness
Lionel Le Cossec French, died June 17, suicide by hanging at Kathu
David Kenneth Gowenlock Australia, died June 21, at Patong Hospital of chronic illness
Per Ola Eriksson Swedish, died June 19 at Kata Residence, Karon, of chronic illness
Jamie Thomas Thow Australia, died June 22 at BYD Lofts, Patong, of illness
Mark Edward Stevens British, died July 18 at Bowman Resort, Patong, leapt from building
Adam John Sutcliffe Australia, died August 1 in motorcycle crash, Patong Hill
Dashawn Longfellow American, died August 14 at Ya Nui Resort II, Rawai, murdered
November 17, 2010
"Once you cross that line, I can do whatever I want." : Penn & Teller | ROAD PENN
Penn & Teller | ROAD PENN
Federal V.I.P Penn - 11/13/02
Last Thursday I was flying to LA on the Midnight flight. I went through security my usual sour stuff. I beeped, of course, and was shuttled to the "toss-em" line. A security guy came over. I assumed the position. I had a button up shirt on that was untucked. He reached around while he was behind me and grabbed around my front pocket. I guess he was going for my flashlight, but the area could have loosely been called "crotch." I said, "You have to ask me before you touch me or it's assault."
He said, "Once you cross that line, I can do whatever I want."
I said that wasn't true. I say that I have the option of saying no and not flying. He said, "Are you going to let me search you, or do I just throw you out?"
I said, "Finish up, and then call the police please."
When he was finished with my shoes, he said, "Okay, you can go."
I said, "I'd like to see your supervisor and I'd like LVPD to come here as well. I was assaulted by you."
He said, "You're free to go, there's no problem."
I said, "I have a problem, please send someone over."
They sent a guy over and I said that I'd like to register a complaint. I insisted on his name and badge number. I filled it out with my name. The supervisor, I think trying to intimidate me, asked for my license, and I gave it to him happily as he wrote down information. I kept saying, "Please get the police," and they kept saying, "You're free to go, we don't need the police." I insisted and they got a higher up, female, supervisor. I was polite, cold, and a little funny. "Anyone is welcome to grab my crotch, I don't require dinner and a movie, just ask me. Is that asking too much? You wanna grab my crotch, please ask. Does that seem like a crazy person to you?" I had about 4 of them standing around. Finally Metro PD shows up. It's really interesting. First of all, the cop is a BIG P&T fan and that ain't hurting. Second, I get the vibe that he is WAY sick of these federal leather-sniffers. He has that vibe that real cops have toward renta-cops. This is working WAY to my advantage, so I play it.
The supervisor says to the cop, 'He's free to go. We have no problem, you don't have to be here." Which shows me that the Feds are afraid of local. This is really cool. She says, "We have no trouble and he doesn't want to miss his flight."
I say, "I can take an early morning flight or a private jet. " The cop says, "If I have a citizen who is saying he was assaulted, you can't just send me away."
I tell the cop the story, in a very funny way. The cop, the voice of sanity says, "What's wrong with you people? You can't just grab a guy's crank without his permission." I tell him that my genitals weren't grabbed and the cop says, "I don't care, you can't do that to people. That's assault and battery in my book."
The supervisor says that they'll take care of the security guy. The cop says, "I'm not leaving until Penn tells me to. Now do you want to fill out all the paper work and show up in court, because I'll be right there beside you."
The supervisor says it's an internal matter, and they'll take care of it. "If you want to pursue this, we're going to have to go through the electronic evidence."
I say, "You mean videotape? Yeah, go get it."
She says, "Well, it'll take a long time, and you don't want to miss your flight. We have no problem with you, you're free to go."
The cop says, "Your guy grabbed his crank. That ain't right."
So, I fill out all the paper work and insist on a number to call to register a complaint. She says that I filled out a complaint, and I say, "I want more, give me another number. " She gives me a number that I find out later has been disconnected. I leave. I have a card with the name and number on it and the bad 800 number for the FAA.
My flight is way delayed, so I go to Burger King with Glenn - and all the feds are now off duty and at BK and sneering at us.
The next day the woman in charge of public relations calls me to "do anything to make my McCarran experience more enjoyable." I was a little under the weather with allergies and busy, so I didn't call back until yesterday.
It took some phone tag, but I finally got the woman on the phone. I was very cool and sweet. I explained the problem. "Do you allow your crotch to be grabbed without being asked?" I didn't exaggerate, I said that there was nothing sexual, I wasn't hurt, and it wasn't my genitals. I just said it was wrong. She said "Well, your feedback is really important because most people are afraid of us." She said, "I'd love to meet you so we could clear this up, and everyone wants to meet a celebrity." She said she had watched the videotape and there was no sound, but she saw him reach around. She said she couldn't tell me what was being done to him but . . . and I stopped her and said, she shouldn't do anything wrong.
I said that I had talked to two lawyers and they said it was really a weird case because no one knows if he can be charged with assault and battery while working in that job. But I told her, that some of my lawyer friends really wanted to find out. She said, "Well, we're very new to this job . . ." and I said, "Yeah, so we need these test cases to find out where you stand."
She said, "Well, you know a LOT about this." I said, "Well, it's not really the right word, but freedom is kind of a hobby with me, and I have disposable income that I'll spend to find out how to get people more of it."
She said, "Well, the airport is very important to all of our incomes and we don't want bad press. It'll hurt everyone, but you have to do what you think is right. But, if you give me your itinerary every time you fly, I'll be at the airport with you and we can make sure it's very pleasant for you."
I have no idea what this means, does it mean that they have a special area where all the friskers are topless showgirls, "We have nothing to hide, do you?" I have no idea. She pushes me for the next time I'm flying. I tell her I'm flying to Chicago around 2 on Sunday, if she wants to get that security guy there to sneer at me. She says, she'll be there, and it'll be very easy for me. I have no idea what this means.
I tell her that I'm still thinking about pressing charges, and I don't just care about me, it's freedom in general. I say the only thing that was good about it, was that while they were dealing with me, maybe they weren't beating up people in wheelchairs. It was amazing. All she was trying to do was make me happy. She said she'd burned a CD ROM of my video and it was being sent all around and they were going to change their training. She said, "We're federal employees, we're working for you, you pay us and we want customer satisfaction. It doesn't matter what the law is, we have to make you very happy so your flying experience is a pleasurable one, and most people don't give us this kind of intelligent feedback."
So, that was it. I'm flying on Sunday, I have no idea what will happen. How crazy is this? Do I really have some sort of mysterious VIP status to shut me up? Should I press charges? She said she was going to talk to the cop. I said he didn't see anything. She said, "Well, he may be able to see the forest for the trees, because he was right there." I quoted his "crank" comment and she laughed and then knew that was a very bad sign. I said, "He'll tell you I was polite, cold, angry, and funny" - that's more than should be expected of me. I still don't know what I'm going to do, but my advice to everyone is complain all you can and call the cops. I think it might make a little difference. Maybe you can become a VIP too.
Penn
http://www.pennandteller.com/03/coolstuff/penniphile/roadpennfederalvip.html
November 14, 2010
November 05, 2010
November 04, 2010
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