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American Airlines Seats Come Loose Mid-Flight (Again)

For the second time in three days, a row of seats detached during an American Airlines flight, leading the Federal Aviation Administration to wonder what the hell is going on over there. A plane leaving JFK yesterday morning for Miami was forced to turn around when three seats came loose on a Boeing 757. Over the weekend, another American Airlines 757 had the exact same problem and was diverted to JFK as a precaution. “Got an unusual one for you,” the pilot told air traffic control on Saturday. “Passenger seats rows 12D, E, and F, uh, came loose out of the floor. Passengers are unable to, uh, sit in that seat.” Not that unusual, apparently.

And it could’ve been worse: “The airline’s initial inspection of each aircraft found other rows of seats that were not properly secured,” said the FAA in a statement. “Preliminary information indicates that both aircraft had recently undergone maintenance during which the seats had been removed and re-installed.”

An aviation consultant blamed the screwup on “fatigue or inappropriate or unnoticed maintenance,” CBS reports, but a retired pilot was dubious. “That’s exactly what I expect management to say,” he explained. “It would be detrimental to their flight scheduling if they admitted to passengers that there are possible job actions that could endanger their lives.”

American, which declared bankruptcy last year, is falling apart, now literally. Huge delays have become the norm after the company scrapped all of its labor agreements, upsetting overworked pilots, who seem to be getting some revenge by pointing out every little maintenance concern. (Although, maybe they have a point.) “Safety is our top priority,” the airline assured in a statement. “We never have — and never will — compromise the safety and reliability of our fleet.” Getting where you’re going just might take a little (or a lot) longer, with an airborne scare thrown in for some spice.

Read more posts by Joe Coscarelli

Filed Under:
american airlines
,air safety
,scary things
,jfk international airport

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/10/american-airlines-seats-come-loose-again.html

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‘Obama phone’ video puts spotlight on FCC…

‘Obama phone’ video puts spotlight on FCC…


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Alleged DSK Rape Case Dropped

Escort girl retracts story.

via Cheat Sheet http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2012/10/02/alleged-dsk-rape-case-dropped.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Fcheat-sheet+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Cheat+Sheet%29

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Tigers shift to nights – no word on weekends.

Tigers in Nepal’s Chitwan National Park have taken the ‘night shift,’ apparently to coexist with people.(Youtube)

via MetaFilter http://www.metafilter.com/120466/Tigers-shift-to-nights-no-word-on-weekends

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From the Magazine: The Mitt Romney Who Might Have Been

In this week’s New York Times Magazine, Robert Draper looks at what Mitt Romney’s choices tell us about the man who wants to be president.

via NYT > Most Recent Headlines http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/magazine/mitt-romney.html&OQ=_rQ3D1&OP=78392cbcQ2FqfQ25)qpiwoYiiQ7E2q2JD2qDJqJzqyR_R16eQ25qy6Q7EQ7EQ24YiyeQ25Q263Q5BQ7Eyl

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The Big Reveal

Remember back in the GOP primaries when, to hear the contenders tell it, Obama was a callow, unvetted pretender who wouldn’t last one punch to his glass jaw during a debate?

Yeah, back then it was all about proving to the GOP base that you were the guy to deliver that punch. Romney had to talk the talk, too, if for no other reason than to fend off Newt Gingrich, whose whole candidacy was premised on throwing the haymaker that would expose Obama for the whole world to see.

All of which makes Romney’s recent effort to lower expectations for the debates more than a little amusing. Check out the big-talking Romney of the winter and spring here.




via Talking Points Memo http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/10/the_big_reveal.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Talking-Points-Memo+%28Talking+Points+Memo%3A+by+Joshua+Micah+Marshall%29

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Naked William Pics ‘Being Hawked’

Are there more embarassing shots to come?

via The Daily Beast – Latest Articles http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/01/are-there-naked-william-pics-out-there-too.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29

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FairSearch.org Hammers Anti-Google Message

If you keep track of Hill publications and websites, you’ve probably noticed a flurry of ads from FairSearch.org this month casting Google as a big, bad player in the online marketplace.

The coalition of 17 Internet and tech companies, which includes Microsoft, Expedia and Hotwire, has been pushing an ad campaign that asks “Can you trust Google?” Specifically, FairSearch.org wants to take Google to task for what it calls its unfair practices of directing traffic toward its own products rather than competitors.

Google, for its part, maintains that it does allow competition, and if users don’t like it, they can easily switch search engines.

FairSearch.org spokesman Ben Hammer describes the coalition as “a collection of companies and businesses that have been concerned that Google is engaged with specific practices that hurt competition in the market, lower consumer choice and make it harder for entrepreneurs and innovators to put their products in front of consumers and let them pick the winners.”

FairSearch.org’s latest ads have appeared online and in print publications. Hammer declined to provide details on the campaign, including cost or duration.

But the Federal Trade Commission is wrapping up its investigation into Google for anti-competitive practices, with a decision expected by year’s end. And last week, FTC Chairman Jon Lebowitz spoke at two major anti-trust conferences.

FairSearch.org has paid $90,000 to Glover Park Group so far this year, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

And although companies will fight hard against each other on one issue, they’re fine to coalesce around another. For instance, FairSearch.org members TripAdvisor and Expedia are also a part of newly launched The Internet Association. And guess which behemoth is also a part of that trade group? Google. Frenemies much?

via Homepage http://influencealley.nationaljournal.com/2012/10/fairsearchorg-hammers-antigoog.php

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Pussy Riot Appeal Adjourned

To resume October 10.

via Cheat Sheet http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2012/10/01/pussy-riot-appeal-adjourned.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Fcheat-sheet+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Cheat+Sheet%29

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Nikki Finke’s Deadline calls a time out

variety-sign-300.jpgAmid talk that the ownership of Deadline.com is on the verge of buying Variety, Nikki Finke announced on Deadline.com that her staff will be too busy next week on some unstated business to post breaking news nuggets. “The Deadline Team won’t provide 24/7 news coverage for at least the next week. One of the reasons is DH business affecting the entire staff in LA, NY, and Europe,” Finke posted. “As a result, we’ll probably miss some breaking stories and delay monitoring some comments, emails, and phonecalls. Please cut us some slack for the duration.”

Could this be the worst nightmare for the Variety staffers who have stuck it out at the fading trade this long? If there’s a bright side for the Variety types, Deadline has some solid journalists including film editor Michael Fleming, who spent two decades at Variety, and TV editor Nellie Andreeva, who worked at The Hollywood Reporter for ten years.

The buyer, based on reports, would be Jay Penske’s PMC in partnership with private equity fund Shamrock Capital Advisors.

Some links on the subject:

LA Times: “Deadline owner Penske likely to buy Variety”

Anne Thompson, IndieWire: “The question is what Penske plans to do with Variety, a hidebound institution that until now has kept its distance from the kind of traffic-chasing economics that Penske lives by…The economies of scale that Finke lives by are one reason she is so successful. Variety has no clue how to function the way she does.”

David Poland, Movie City News: “Who runs Variety if Nikki doesn’t try to do so? Who is willing to be put in that position? I don’t know that anyone can turn down a paycheck these days… but many people have either left Deadline or refused to take lucrative offers from Deadline for one reason only. Nikki Finke.”

LA Observed photo

via LA Observed http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2012/09/nikki_finkes_deadline_cal.php