Sometimes, I just need a name. I need the name of the person employed by United Airlines who thought that this movie
Category: travel
A Disturbing Inflight Movie
We’re Still Going
The reported death toll from this morning's explosions in London is listed as "at least two," but that seems likely to rise. Prime Minister Blair asserted that it was "reasonably clear" that these attacks were designed to coincide with the opening of the G-8 summit in Scotland. He also captured the essence of what terrorists are about with this statement:
He added that it was "particularly barbaric" that the attacks had occurred during a summit intended to aid people in developing nations.
I'm glad to see that the plan is to continue with the summit, even if the Prime Minister cannot attend all of it. An AP story also reported the following:
Recent intelligence indicated that London was considered a prime target for Islamic extremists, in part because al-Qaida was having difficulty getting people into the United States, the official said.
If true, it's good to see that homeland security is also stepping up to its challenge, at least in part.
My prayers and condolences are with the people of London this morning.
London Calling
Congratulations to London for its winning bid to host the 2012 Olympics. The Samwick family plans to attend, and we'll be live-blogging it on our cell phone, PDA, wristwatch, or whatever the latest gadgetry turns out to be.
I think Londoners are some of the best sports fans anywhere. Judging the English based on the conduct of soccer hooligans would be a bit like judging Americans based on the end zone of an Oakland Raiders game. I recall being in London during the 1994 World Cup, when England failed to qualify but the U.S. and Ireland were in and doing well. I drank for free that week in every pub.
Baby, If You’ve Ever Wondered
I spent last Friday in Cincinnati. It had all the trappings of a city--but without the crowds. A couple of examples:
1) I arrived early for my meeting. I went to a Starbucks downtown around one o'clock. Plenty of open tables.
2) I went to park my rental car in a downtown garage. Plenty of spots in the early afternoon. Plenty of spots in the late afternoon, even as the first pitch of a Reds game was drawing closer.
3) Most amazingly, I've got an early evening flight out of CVG. I am expecting the usual Friday zoo, like LaGuardia or Baltimore. Not even close. Not much traffic on the outside, and no chaos on the inside. Minimal lines going through security. Easy to get a table to catch a quick dinner. Yes, the ticket on Delta was about twice what it would have been on a Southwest flight of the same distance. But imagine spending more and actually getting more. That's a rarity.
I tip my hat to the Queen City.