Scuttlebutt Pipeline

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It started out as a test in Phoenix, Arizona, but after 90% of the travelers showed a preference for a whole body image scan versus a full body pat down, the whole body imaging machines are being rolled out at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and the Los Angeles International Airport in California soon after. The Transportation Security Administration will be purchasing, at least, another thirty machines to be placed at various U.S. airports this year.¹

The TSA claims that the images are non-invasive, the faces are blurred to protect one’s privacy, and the person (screener) viewing the travelers is situated in an enclosed booth and cannot see the passengers faces as they enter the machine or leave it. They also assure travelers that images are not stored at all.²

It truly seems like TSA is watching out for traveler’s privacy rights while, at th same time, using the best methods available to keep security tight. At least until you read this segment in the CNN article:

Travelers will continuously and randomly be selected to go through the machine. While signs will inform them of the pat-down option, screeners will not announce that choice. But passengers electing not to go through the millimeter wave machine will be given the option of the pat-down.

We know people are notorious for not reading or paying attention to signs. So if you don’t believe you have a choice in the matter and are told you have to go through the body scan machine or kiss your flight goodbye, what are you going to do? The machine of course! Now if that isn’t underhanded and sneaky I don’t know what is.

1. Taken from this CNN article. For more details, please read this article. [↩]
2. Read this article to get a better understanding on how it works. [↩]

We’ve all seen the clips and photos of the woman who came forward on the Today show to protest Southwest Airline’s treatment of her, but now we’ve got another one.

What, you haven’t heard? Just watch the MSN news clip.

Truth be told, I can’t find anything wrong with her dress that would require her to cover up. It has a v-neck? Yes, but nothing was being improperly displayed. In fact, that’s an outfit I would expect a lot of women to wear when they go out shopping, eating to a cafe even, in other words, it’s not attire one would expect to see only at a club, party, or college campus.

I’m thinking the flight attendant who told this woman to cover up might have been just a tad bit jealous.

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Officials at Nepal’s state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday.

Nepal Airlines, which has two Boeing aircraft, has had to suspend some services in recent weeks due the problem.

The goats were sacrificed in front of the troublesome aircraft Sunday at Nepal’s only international airport in Kathmandu in accordance with Hindu traditions, an official said.

“The snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights,” said Raju K.C., a senior airline official, without explaining what the problem had been.

Local media last week blamed the company’s woes on an electrical fault. The carrier runs international flights to five cities in Asia.

It is common in Nepal to sacrifice animals like goats and buffaloes to appease different Hindu deities.

(source)

It seems really odd to even consider an animal sacrifice of being of any use when it comes to repairing technical and mechanical glitches, let alone two. But it is their belief that if a god becomes angered a sacrifice is necessary to appease him or her so it’s not that odd.

Although in our [Western] culture it does seem horribly odd and funny at the same time.

I’m sure PETA members are having epileptic fits over this though. But come on, if you were a god wouldn’t you be a bit pissed off at how the human creatures that inhabit your planet are screwing it up? If I were a Goddess, and not just of my blogs, I’d probably smite the human race.

NEW YORK - A man smuggled a monkey onto an airplane Tuesday, stashing the furry fist-size primate under his hat until passengers spotted it perched on his ponytail, an airline official said.

The monkey escapade began in Lima, Peru, late Monday, when the man boarded a flight to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said Spirit Airlines spokeswoman Alison Russell. After landing Tuesday morning, the man waited several hours before catching a connecting flight to LaGuardia Airport.

(full article)

Sadly enough, I can’t really fault the guy for trying. I mean come on, those little monkeys are adorable! If I was in his shoes I’d probably would have tried to find a way to smuggle the little guy home with me.

It’s a known fact I’d try to do the same thing with a koala bear too.

Wouldn’t you like one of these guys or another exotic type animal as a pet? If so, which one?

It’s summer time and in general people usually prefer to do their traveling in the summer. Maybe it’s because the kids are out of school, though with year round schooling now that may not be the case any longer, or maybe it’s the heat that people love. What ever the case most people find them selves planning vacations for the warm months of the year.

If you are planning a trip this summer, or perhaps looking to book ahead for a special event, you really ought to check out HotelReservations.com. They offer a large selection of vacation packages, deals, and promotions that will help the weary traveler cut back on expenses. I’m fairly familiar with the area I live in and which hotels and motels would be the cheapest but nicest to stay at. Whenever I browse these sort of sites I like to ’search’ my area and see if any of them come up, usually they don’t. HotelReservations.com managed to surprise me in this aspect, as they all appeared. Impressive.

The booking procedure is fairly straight forward and easy to go through, another big plus here, and there is even a toll free number to call and book with if you prefer to avoid online transactions.

Cheap Hotels are not always roach motels and HotelReservations.com does an excellent job of pointing out all of the suitable accommodations in a given area in a range of prices. You’re bound to find the right place to book at with them. Not searching for a motel or hotel to stay at, but rather an affordable rental or resort? That’s okay! Despite the misleading name Hotel Reservations also books for these accommodations as well. I don’t have any experiance with pricing for resorts and rentals so I cannot really say if Hotel Reservations saves you a lot of money and offers a good selection on packages and deals in those aspects but the process does seem fairly simple. If they treat all accommodations similarly than you can without a doubt expect excellent service in that regard as well.