Social network jokes result in 13 Virgin Atlantic employees being fired

by Scott Carmichael on

13 Virgin Atlantic cabin crew members have found themselves in hot water (and without a job) after they posted inappropriate jokes about their employer on social networking site Facebook.

The jokes involved the crew members calling passengers “chavs” (the British equivalent of the US Redneck) and making jokes about faulty engines that had to be replaced 4 times a year. Other jokes claimed that Virgin Atlantic planes were full of cockroaches.

The Facebook group was setup by crew members based out of Gatwick airport. When Virgin Atlantic discovered the Facebook group, all 13 members were fired and the Facebook group was removed.

While the punishment may seem a little harsh, Virgin Atlantic is in a very competitive market, where jokes like this could cost a significant amount of money.

Virgin Atlantic has a more friendly (and official) Facebook page, with close to 7000 friends as well as links to their hottest deals and some video footage from a Virgin Atlantic cameo in the newest Bond movie.

Guess who else has been naughty in the air?


An academic discussion of Chinglish

by Jerry Guo on

It’s China China China 24/7 these days, and I’m shamelessly jumping on the bandwagon. One of my favorite blogs, James Fallows’ at The Atlantic, has started to take a a rather sharp-witted at the phenomenon of Chinglish, or poorly translated English by the Chinese.

He recently presented a counter-example, in which Westerners sport nonsensical tattoos of Chinese characters. This site should give you a flavor of the hilarity that ensues.

Anyways, for his analysis of the situation, along with a few funny photos of mistranslations he encounters, see here, here, and here.

And for the ultimate in laughs, you can’t afford to miss out on Engrish.com. No more description needed.

Stand By Me while traveling the world

by Abha Malpani on

Award winning producer and film director Mark Johnson, recorded a guy on his street singing “Stand By Me”; then he traveled around the world and recorded about 100 other local artists doing the same. He edited some of the snippets of their footage into a video, and this (video below) is the result. It’s just too awesome. There is also a documentary film co-directed by Johnson, expanding on the same idea — you can see the trailer here.

This initiative of course is part of a larger program called “Playing For Change” which aims to connect the world through music. The foundation provides musicians around the world facilities to play music and enhance their skills, therefore not only making their lives better but also demonstrating how music brings people together regardless of cultural and socio-economic differences. Current projects include building a music school in Gugulethu (South Africa) to provide the youth there an alternative to the daily violence and deprivation they face; rebuilding and enhancing Tibetan refugee centers in Dharamsala and Kathmandu; and building an arts center in Johannesburg.

Here’s a recently recorded interview with Johnson by PBS’s Bill Moyers, and a Q&A with him on ComingSoon.net.

Air Europa flight skids of runway in Canary Islands

by Jeffrey White on

Some British holidaymakers got a scare today when their plane landing in the Canary Islands skidded off the runway on the island of Lanzarote.

The incident happened to an Air Europa Boeing 737 that was flying 74 from Glasgow to the Canaries.

Spanish air authorities are still at a loss to explain exactly what happened. They say the plane landed, but then “left the runway” toward the end of the landing strip, according to the Associated Press.

The plane ended perpendicular to the runway. It was evacuated, and the Lanzarote airport was closed for one hour. There were no injuries reported among the passengers or members of the crew.

Authorities say they are still looking into the matter.

In August, a Spanair plane bound for the Canary Islands from Madrid caught fire after skidding off the runway, killing 147 people.

Execution of Bali Bombers Imminent

by Josh Lew on

The three men who planned and carrier out the 2002 bombings of Bali nightclubs will be executed within 72 hours, according to Indonesia’s attorney general.

The attacks killed 202 people in the crowded tourist area of Kuta. The bombers, Imam Samudra, Amrozi Nurhasyim and Ali Ghufron have exhausted their appeals. They were actually sentenced to death more than five years ago. In a final legal stand, the condemned men asked the courts to change the method of execution. The three wanted to be beheaded rather than executed by firing squad, but Indonesia’s Constitutional Court rejected the idea.

Bali’s tourism industry has recovered well from the bombing. The island took a major step when it hosted the high profile United Nations Climate Change Conference last year. But the executions might bring back some old ghosts. Officials are worried that there could be a backlash. The bombers are not popular in Indonesia, but fundamentalist religious groups could take to the streets to show their objection to the execution of the bombers.