Clap Off
Unless something radical happens, I’ll be back after Labor Day.
They Went the Wrong Way
A tragedy occurred today near Lexington, Kentucky. A jet carrying 50 people crashed after attempting to take off from a runway that was too short. The costly mistake killed 49 of the 50 onboard.
The plane, Comair Flight 5191, a CRJ-200 regional jet with 47 passengers and three crew members, crashed at 6:07 a.m. Sunday after taking off for Atlanta, said Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane was largely intact afterward, but there was a fire following the impact, police said.
A little after 6 a.m., flight controllers gave the pilots clearance to take off from runway 22 and the pilots acknowledged the controllers with a “roger,” Orr reports. However, it appears the pilots took off from runway 26, which is only half the size of the 7,000 foot runway 22.
Sources tell Orr the radar tape and debris from the crash site suggest the plane never got airborne, that instead it went off the end of the runway and through a retaining area before settling into the crash site where it seems a significant post-crash fire erupted.
Orr adds that two flights took off from the correct runway (22) just prior to the Comair flight’s departure.
MORE: Audio from CBS News | News conference Video
Released
Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig are free today.
Militants freed two Fox News journalists on Sunday, ending a nearly two week hostage drama. One of the former captives said they were sometimes held face down in a dark garage, tied up in painful positions and forced at gunpoint to make videos and say they had converted to Islam.
Correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, of Washington, D.C., and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand, were dropped off at Gaza City’s Beach Hotel by Palestinian security officials. A tearful Centanni briefly embraced a Palestinian journalist in the lobby, then rushed upstairs with Wiig behind him.
The pair, who appeared to be in good health, then met with Palestinian officials, including Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. The three men sat in a circle of chairs at the hotel, before the journalists held a news conference, then left for Israel.
The journalists said they hoped their ordeal would not prevent others from covering the Palestinians.
“I want to thank everybody. I am happy to be here. I hope that this never scares a single journalist away from coming to Gaza to cover the story because the Palestinian people are very beautiful and kind-hearted,” Centanni told reporters. “The world needs to know more about them. Don’t be discouraged.”
Wiig also said he was worried that the kidnapping would scare off reporters.
“My biggest concern really is that as a result of what happened to us foreign journalists will be discouraged from coming to tell the story and that would be a great tragedy for the people of Palestine,” Wiig said. “You guys need us on the streets, and you need people to be aware of the story.”
I’m happy that these guys are free today, but after everyone gets back to their own lives I hope we don’t lose sight of who the enemy is. Hamas is still a terrorist organization, even though they helped secure the release of Centanni and Wiig. The reporters statements today in front of the cameras can be used as propaganda against Israel, and could “soften” the image of Hamas in the U.S. All I’m saying is, in the joy of the moment, lets not forget who we’re dealing with here.
MORE: Fox News
9/11; Reloaded
I think this is a good thing.
CNN.com to Replay 9/11 Attacks Coverage
CNN will mark the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by replaying on the Internet the cable network’s coverage of that day’s events.
Viewers can watch how events unfolded starting at 8:30 a.m., minutes before the first reports of an airplane hitting the World Trade Center. The feed will run in real time, as the network showed it five years ago, until midnight.
For the day, CNN will make its online video service, CNN Pipeline, available for free. Normally, viewers pay $2.95 a month or $24.95 a year for four separate video feeds.
I can only pretend to understand how sensitive the events of 9/11 are to some people, especially those in New York and Washington DC. But I think a rebroadcast of the days events should be mandatory viewing for America. Too many people have forgotten who attack us that day. Too many politicians have virtually erased that day from their minds. Too many Americans believe the terrorist attack on that day in September was an isolated event. There are too many people who believe it won’t happen again.
We need a reminder. We need to understand that terrorism is a continuing threat that exists against this country.
Thanks, CNN, for providing this service.
A Great Drummer, Gone
I’ve played the drums since I was in 3rd grade, and over the years, a handful of drummers molded and shaped my style and technique. Guys like Buddy Rich, Neil Peart, Michael Derosier, John Bonham, and Bruce Gary helped me figure out that drummers don’t just bang loud. It’s all about the rhythm. These guys influenced my playing in so many ways.
Buddy and John died years ago, and on Tuesday, Bruce joined them in drummer heaven.
Bruce Gary was a great drummer, and extremely versatile. Lots of people know him as the beat behind “My Sharona”, that huge hit from The Knack. Yet, few people knew that Bruce played with a ton of people through the years. That’s the true sign of a good drum player. Heck, if you can play with Robby Krieger of the Doors, Jack Bruce of Cream, Bob Dylan, Albert Collins, and Dr. John, you’ve got to be talented.
Bruce was all that and more. A drummers drummer.
Rest in Peace.
More, at theknack.com.
Oh, and a pretty good trumpet player died today too.
Nagin Should Fix That Hole in his Face
What an idiot.
Confronted by accusations that he’s taking too long to clean up his city after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin defended himself by remarking on New York City’s failure to rebuild Ground Zero.
On a tour of the decimated Ninth Ward, Nagin tells Pitts the city has removed most of the debris from public property and it’s mainly private land that’s still affected – areas that can’t be cleaned without the owners’ permission. But when Pitts points to flood-damaged cars in the street and a house washed partially into the street, the mayor shoots back. “That’s alright. You guys in New York can’t get a hole in the ground fixed and it’s five years later. So let’s be fair.”
I repeat. What an idiot.
Then again, he’s treating Ground Zero with the same respect the rest of the Left does. It ain’t nothing but a hole in the ground to them.
Take ownership Ray, and stop your freakin’ complaining about how it’s you against the world. You’re so boring. Now go home.
McGavick and the DUI
Mike McGavick, the Republican Senate challenger in Washington State came clean today on a drunk driving incident from 1993.
In a wide-ranging interview, he also discussed his divorce, a political dirty trick and payroll slashing at his old insurance company.
The divorce, his regret over an earlier campaign tactic, and layoffs at Safeco Insurance Co. had all been noted in previous campaign coverage. Word of the DUI in 1993 was new.
McGavick said he had no indication that opponents were about to divulge the drunken driving incident or any other shortcomings he mentioned.
On his Web site, McGavick said his first biggest failure was his first marriage. The second was the DUi incident, about which he wrote:
“The second terrible mistake, which was difficult to discuss with my teenage son, was that I was cited for DUI when I cut a yellow light too close in 1993. I was driving Gaelynn home from several celebrations honoring our new relationship and should not have gotten behind the wheel. Thankfully, there was no accident, but it still haunts me that I put other people at risk by driving while impaired. All in all, it was and remains a humbling and powerful event in my life.”
McGavick retired from Safeco to run for the six-year Senate term. He is challenging Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell.
Welcome to the big leagues Mike. Lesson number one – if skeleton’s occupy one’s closet, clean them out the day you file for candidacy. Holding back on stuff like this is only going to make matters worse when the media grabs hold.
What’s Playin’ Right Now?
Reefer Head Woman – Aerosmith
Passenger Mutiny: Expect More of This
A couple of days ago several passengers aboard a Monarch Airlines flight refused to allow the plane to take off until two men they feared were terrorists were forcibly removed.
I’m all for that, by the way. And I’m for racial profiling too, which in this case, was meted out by passengers instead of the politically correct hypersensitive airline.
Today, the two suspicious individuals are expressing their ‘shock and despair’ over the way they were treated. I say, boo frickin hoo.
I mean, take a look at a picture of these two.
Be honest now…If you saw these guys at the gate in an airport, you’d think they were Saudi or Pakistani or something similar, right? In any case, you would most likely describe the two as ‘Middle Eastern’ right? Would you look at them and say to yourself, “those guys are Asian”? No, you wouldn’t.
Their names? Sohail Ashraf and Khurram Zeb. Those doesn’t sound Asian do they? No, they don’t.
Yet that’s how the Daily Mail identifies ‘em; Asian students. The paper does much to tug at the liberal heart strings of their readers by describing the injustice brought on these poor boys.
“We might be Asian, but we’re two ordinary lads who wanted a bit of fun,” Mr Ashraf told the Daily Mirror.
“Just because we’re Muslim does not mean we are suicide bombers.”
Yet it’s clear these two were doing something or saying things that aroused the suspicions of their fellow travellers.
Holidaymakers on board flight ZB 613 from Malaga to Manchester became alarmed at the men’s behaviour, and demanded that air staff remove them from the plane in the incident last week.
Cabin crew informed Spanish authorities of the passengers’ fears and the men were taken off the Monarch Airlines flight and quizzed by police. The plane had been due to take off at around 3am last Wednesday but was delayed by around three hours.
Some passengers reportedly stormed off the Airbus 320 aircraft and refused to fly unless the pair were removed.
Reasonable people don’t ‘storm off’ a plane just because they don’t like the color of the skin of two guys sitting next to them. No, these guys were up to something, and the airline was oblivious to it. The vigilant passengers did the right thing. I would have done the same. After all, is political correctness something you’re willing to die for? I don’t think so.
Update: A reader emails a clarification.
Just FYI: In Britain it is customary to refer to anyone from any Asian country as “Asian.” Whether you’re from China or Vietnam or India or Saudi Arabia, if your country of origin is on the continent of Asia, you’re Asian.
Hence the quote from the dudes thrown off the plane: “We might be Asian, but we’re two ordinary lads who wanted a bit of fun.” That is to say, “Even if we are Asian, we’re still just two ordinary lads…”
The Daily Mail wasn’t being politically correct, they were being geographically correct.
Lieberman Officially on the November Ballot
Joe Lieberman easily gathered the 7,500 signatures needed to continue his reelection campaign for Senate in Connecticut.
The certification means that Lieberman, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000 and a presidential candidate in 2004, will run for re-election as part of the Connecticut for Lieberman party against Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Alan Schlesinger.
Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said her office validated 8,215 signatures before employees stopped counting. The campaign collected more than 18,500 signatures, but Bysiewicz’s office did not validate them all because they were not needed.
“We are happy to have cleared this hurdle, so we can focus on bringing people together in Connecticut for a new politics of unity and purpose,” said Dan Gerstein, Lieberman’s campaign spokesman.
It appears as though Lieberman will be reelected. A recent poll had the incumbent ahead of Lamont by 12 percentage points.