Postcard from Anne Frank discovered near Amsterdam

by Aaron Hotfelder on

When a Dutch schoolteacher named Paul van den Heuvel began gathering materials for a history lesson on Anne Frank, he probably had no idea that he’d make a bit of history himself. As he was looking through some of his father’s old books, he discovered an old postcard displaying a Christmas bell and signed with one very famous name: “Anne Frank“.

Curators at the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam have already confirmed that the card is genuine, stating that this card resembles another already in the museum’s collection. The card was apparently sent in 1937, eight years before Anne Frank’s death.

The Diary of Anne Frank is still the world’s top-selling book about the Holocaust, documenting the months Anne and her family spent hiding from the Nazis during World War II.

More here.

Big in Japan: 5 mistakes made by first-timers in Japan

by Matthew Firestone on

One of the main questions that ex-pats in Japan are often asked is simply this: “Why Japan?”

And, truth be told, most of us just shrug our shoulders and give some sort of trite answer like: “The food here sure is delicious!” Or, depending on the temperament of the audience: “The women here sure are beautiful!”

You get the picture….

As for me, I’ve always argued that the real appeal of Japan is simply that it’s an incredibly interesting country to explore. Even after living here for more than five years, and spending literally thousands of hours jumping over the linguistic hurdles of Japanese grammar, I still suffer from a fair bit of culture shock on a day-to-day basis.

You see, I guess that’s really the gist of why Japan is so appealing to foreigners like myself. No matter how hard you try to assimilate, there will always be more challenges to overcome, especially if you want to penetrate the heart of one the world’s most closed societies. Simply put, life in Japan is anything but boring.

Of course, there are dozens of cultural landmines that must be dodged on a daily basis here. And on that note, I present to you today five mistakes made by first-timers in Japan.

1) There is no word for no.

Japanese has something of a steep learning curve (to say the least!). Of course, one thing you’d better learn if you want to survive here is that there is no word for no. Yes can mean no, maybe most likely means no, but saying no directly pretty much informs those around you that you have about as much social grace as a bovine.

2) Be mindful of your footwear.

The Japanese don’t take kindly to foreigners who forget to take off their shoes when entering private spaces. Use the slippers – that’s why they’re there – though be mindful that no two pairs of slippers are created equal. After all, the Japanese especially don’t take kindly to foreigners who walk through the kitchen in toilet slippers.

3) Go easy on the ramen.

I love ramen. You probably love ramen. And yes, the ramen in Japan is damned near the food of the gods. But seriously, after eating the stuff three times a day for a week on end, your gastrointestinal system will start to hate you. Assuming you haven’t figured out what toilet slippers look like, this can quickly become a serious problem.

4) Learn how to use chopsticks.

At your local cheap Chinese restaurant in North America, there’s a good chance that a fork and knife are always on hand. However, this doesn’t mean that this convenient culinary option is readily available in Japan. Although you might not be the most dexterous diner in the restaurant, you’ll look like an overgrown child until you indulge in the fine art of Zen chopstick mastery.

5) Don’t date club girls.

If there is one bit of advice that I can impart to you now, it’s to never date club girls. Yes, women in Japan are beautiful, and yes, they do tend to be attracted to foreigners. However, keep in mind that just because they have a cute and smiling face, doesn’t mean that they’re all-together innocent. If a girl you meet in a club speaks fluent English, is decked out in designer labels, and keeps reaching for your wallet, steer clear! Chances are that she’s been around the block a few dozen times, which means you’re just moments from getting fleeced. Trust me – she’s not the one you want to bring home to meet mom!

As this list can go on and on and on, feel free to chime in with your own words of wisdom for new arrivals in Japan!

Rumor: United and US Airways could announce merger soon

by Grant Martin on

Word on the secret underground is that United Airlines and US Airways may be in talks to merge, and may even announce their plans as early as TODAY. Other reports say that they’re waiting on union approval and could postpone an announcement in early May.

I know we’ve all been speculating about whether any other legacy carriers were going to merge after the Northwest and Delta deal got rolling; many believed that Continental and United were next in line, especially with Continental’s suspicious postings on their new website, co-industryconsolidation.com.

Perhaps that’s not the only deal in motion though? United and US Airways, two airlines that have faced particular hardship over the last few years could well-benefit from the consolidation of their services. Both are in the same airline alliance and have numerous domestic hubs that could directly compete with the the new Northwelta.

Keep an eye on the news and UAUA today. Again, this is all still speculation but big news could be on the way.

Plane Answers: How close are airliners allowed to fly?

by Kent Wien on

Welcome to Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

This question was submitted by Jim,

Hi Kent,

My question concerns how much advance notice pilots get when there are other planes in their immediate air space. In some of my travels, while at cruising altitude, I’ve seen other planes cross paths just below us. Knowing how many planes fill the sky each day and knowing that your reaction time is minimal, I wonder how pilots and controllers work together to keep all those planes apart. Also, what’s the rule on how much distance must there be between planes when on the same route and at intersection points?Thanks Jim,

I know it can be a little disconcerting to see another airplane cross under or zip by overhead just as you look out the window of an airliner.

Air traffic controllers have rules on how far laterally they must keep airplanes apart as well as how much vertical space needs to be kept between them.

For lateral separation, airplanes that are en route–flying faster and further away from the ATC facility–must have at least 5 nautical miles between them. When the airplanes enter the approach controller’s airspace, that requirement goes down to 3 nautical miles. Finally, when the airplane is in the control of an airport’s tower controller, aircraft can be spaced much closer if that controller has visual contact with the airplanes or if at least one pilot reports they have the other aircraft in sight. A good example of this is the visual approaches to San Francisco where airplanes are lined up on final approach for the parallel runways. You would think the airplanes are flying in formation at times.

This visual separation doesn’t apply when airplanes are in the clouds, in which case the controllers keep airplanes spaced about 2 1/2 NM apart, more if the preceding aircraft is a heavy (over 250,000 pounds–757 or larger) and the following aircraft is not. This limitation is a function of the wake turbulence generated by larger airplanes.

But I suspect the airplanes that you’ve been seeing lately have been even closer laterally than that. Because of some technology improvements to corporate jets and airliners, most of the world has adopted the Reduced Vertical Separation Minima (RVSM) standards. This allows aircraft flying above 29,000 feet to be spaced at 1,000 foot intervals. In the past, that number was 2,000 feet apart.

This has actually had the effect of doubling our airspace above 29,000 feet, which allows for more direct routing and the ability for us to get out of annoying areas of turbulence.

Westbound aircraft are normally put at the even flight levels (altitudes) and eastbound aircraft fly at the odd levels. That doesn’t apply to the North Atlantic, where most of the traffic flies westbound in the morning and eastbound in the afternoon. In that case, airplanes are spaced 1000 feet apart which makes for some great views from our seat as you can see from the following video clip:


Have a question for Kent? Ask away and he’ll pick one to answer here on Friday.

National Transportation Safety Board: Runway collisions the biggest danger out there

by Jeffrey White on

Forget all this talk about airplane safety inspections. What we should really be worried about, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board tells the New York Times today, are runway collisions.

“Where we are most vulnerable at this moment is on the ground,” Mark Rosenker tells the Times. “To me this is the most dangerous aspect of flying.”

The article details efforts to drastically cut down, if not eliminate, runway collisions, known rather vaguely in airline-speak as “incursions.” Basically a runway incursion is when something that shouldn’t be on a runway is, like a vehicle or an unauthorized plane. Earlier this month, for example, a tug towing an American Airlines MD-80 at Dallas-Fort Worth failed to hold in front of a runway on which another AA plane had landed. Seeing the tug-and-plane fast approaching the runway from the left, the pilot directed his plane to the right edge of the runway, avoiding a collision by some 25 feet, according to reports.

There were 15 incursions nationwide during the past six months, compared to eight for the same period last year, the Times reports.

At issue is the utter lack of technology on the ground — like surface GPS, for instance, or other electronic warning systems — that can give planes an idea of what is around them when they are on land. The FAA has stepped up efforts to improve signage and runway lighting, but it hasn’t been enough. One pilot dryly points out that if you have a navigation system in your car, you know more about where your car is on the ground than a plane does on a runway.

The technology is out there, but it’s expensive. The FAA is weighing one system that allows planes to broadcast their position automatically via GPS to both the ground and other planes.

The NTSB chides the FAA for pretty much ignoring the problem of runway incursions. Still, there is evidence that the FAA knows this is serious: The Times reports that during the big AA fiasco a few weeks ago with its MD-80 fleet, a senior FAA official was testifying before the Senate. The problem he addressed the most was not faulty wiring and plane safety inspections, but runway safety.