Stephen Colbert chats with TSA critic Jeffrey Goldberg

by Aaron Hotfelder on

The Colbert ReportMon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Jeffrey Goldberg

In case you missed it this past week, Stephen Colbert sat down with The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg, author of a recent article called “The Things He Carried,” a scathing criticism of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In the interview, Goldberg echoes many of the points he made in his provocative article, including the fact that airport security is designed to give passengers the appearance of security, not actual security.

Goldberg says: “When you walk into the airport, you become a bit player in a federally-funded theatrical performance.” Then he goes on to show Stephen that, on his flight to New York, he managed to sneak two box cutters onto the plane, as well as a Hezbollah flag and an “World Hero: Osama bin Laden” t-shirt. (You probably shouldn’t try that at home.)

After Colbert mentions that he’ll probably find himself on the No-Fly List after the episode airs, Goldberg says that he’s been trying to get on it for two years, but with no luck.

Read Goldberg’s article in The Atlantic here, which Gadling first reported on here.

Argentine cruise ship runs aground on iceberg near Antarctica

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Imagine you are an entrepreneur who runs a cruise ship company offering tours of Antarctica. You ferry people down to one of the world’s last remote continents, running your vessel and its passengers through some of the roughest waters on earth.

Now imagine that your Antarctica-bound cruise ship encounters a freakishly out of place iceberg (icebergs near the South Pole? No way!) and suddenly runs aground, stranding the vessel and 89 of its passengers in the middle of the ocean.

This exact scenario came to pass on the Argentine cruise ship Ushuaia this past Thursday just off the Antarctic peninsula of Wilhelmina Bay, according to the BBC. Though no passengers were hurt by the collision, the ship was said to be leaking fuel into the surrounding ocean. Passengers were eventually rescued by a ship from the Chilean Navy.

According to the piece, tourism to Antarctica has risen five-fold in the last 15 years, as travelers look to get that increasingly exotic “notch in their belt” and visit one of the world’s last unspoiled destinations. However, the sort of iceberg collision that plagued the Ushuaia is a “chilling” reminder that a visit to Antarctica is not without its hazards, both for tourists and for the environment of Antarctica itself. Ships and passengers are confronted with rough seas, chilling temperatures and a shifting obstacle course of icebergs. Not to mention the fragile environment and wildlife that calls Antarctica home which is threatened by the increasing tourism to the continent.

As more and more visitors head south to check out Antarctica, these sorts of environmental concerns are increasingly aggravated. Make sure if you’re considering a visit you investigate your vessel/tour company thoroughly before booking, and that they are taking care to ensure a safe and environmentally responsible visit.

A windmill and the wonderful way it works

by Jamie Rhein on

While searching out Dutch facts for a post on Dutch facts, details about windmills caught my attention.

Did you know that there used to be 10,000 windmills in the Netherlands? That was 150 years ago. Today there are about 1,000. This lovely video is an ode of sorts to one of the windmills that is still working. This one is located in the southern part of the country.

I watched this video twice. The interaction between the windmill operator and the windmill’s movements reminds me of the experience of watching a butterfly come out of a cocoon. Mesmerizing. The music fits perfectly.

Tell us: Do you have bizarre air rage stories?

by Abha Malpani on

Unfortunately, these are true headlines, mostly resulting from incidences of air rage.

Apparently, altitudes and changes in air pressure can temporarily cause psychological changes in a person. If the passenger is drinking alcohol, the effects can be enhanced for the same reason. As a result, there have been other terrible and embarrassing air rage cases like:

You can read lots of such bizarre stories narrated here and on Air Rage.org.

A recent study by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport (UK) was published in the Daily Mail, and says that cases of air rage have increased four-fold over the past four years. Some startling facts from the report:

  • From 2007-2008, there were 2,702 cases of air rage.
  • 63% of incidents were caused by drunk passengers smoking.
  • 78% of the cases involved male passengers.
  • Incidents have increased by 20% in the past 12 months.
  • The number of reported incidents of violence towards cabin crew nearly doubled from 2006/07 to 2007/08.

But the best (and most surprising) news? During 2007-08, no case was reported in which disruptive behavior contributed to an aviation accident.

Any sort of aggression and violence on air crafts is unacceptable, but how can they be controlled? Limit the service of alcohol? Re-introduce a smoker area on board? Hand out nicotine patches to smokers?

Luckily, other than the odd grumpy complaining passenger, I have never experienced a case of air rage. Have you? What happened? How was it handled? Tell us in the comments section!


These women all went crazy on planes. Click the pictures to find out what they did.


The Dutch by numbers

by Jamie Rhein on

This month’s issue of Holland Herald, KLM’s in-flight magazine is devoted to a numbers theme. For example, California’s Highway 1 is touted as being one of the world’s most scenic drives in an article devoted to pointing out the highway’s finer points.

Another article was perfect for in-flight reading. By browsing two pages filled with random statistics, I found out several interesting facts about the Dutch that might be useful to toss out at parties if there is absolutely nothing left to talk about.

Here are five of them:

  • In 2008, Sophie has been the most popular name for a girl, and Daan the most popular for a boy.
  • On average, women don’t marry in the Netherlands until age 32.7, and men don’t marry until 35.8.
  • When the Dutch want to go on a vacation, France is their number one destination.
  • The average Dutch person eats 16.7 kilos of cheese per year.
  • On average, a person in the Netherlands drinks 77.4 liters of beer per year. This is a considerable drop from the 300 liters the same person would have downed during the Middle Ages.

Here’s one more fact about the Dutch I found out. Each year, they produce 3 million pairs of clogs.