Accusations traded between police and detainees in Antigua

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Six Carnival cruise ship passengers hit and choked the police. Or, the police punched the passengers in the face. A week after the half dozen New Yorkers were arrested, the only thing that’s clear is that both sides say they’re right.

While on a 10-hour port call in Antigua, the cruise passengers paid a taxi driver to give them a tour of the island. The tour ended at a beach – rather than back at the cruise ship – and the once happy wanderers balked at having to shell out $100 on top of the $50 they’d already paid for the ride. A brawl ensued, and the police were called. The mayhem ended with incarceration.

The passengers were let out on $5,000 bail on Monday but have to stay in the country until the trial is concluded. Dolores Lalanne, Mike Pierre Paul, Joshua Jackson, Shoshonna Henry, Nancy Lalanne and Rachael Henry all entered pleas of not guilty to charges including battery and malicious damage. Prosecutors dropped the assault charges.

The trial began Wednesday, with the police testifying that the New Yorkers behaved aggressively. One officer, Alcia Browne-Weston claimed to have been kicked in the stomach and then choked by one of the tourists. Meanwhile, the defendants say the cops – not wearing uniforms – did not announce themselves before starting the altercation. Shoshonna Henry claimed to The Associated Press: “We thought these people were going to kill us.”

The trial is set to continue today.

Carnival cruise passengers spend weekend in Antigua … in jail

by Tom Johansmeyer on

It looks like Carnival could use some new passengers. Not even a week after banning a family for life – and then reversing the ban – six passengers on one of its ships have been detained in Antigua. Now, if you’re going to get stuck someplace, Antigua isn’t bad, but I’d rather be in a resort than involved with the criminal justice system – it just seems more fun.

Dolores Lalanne, 25, Mike Pierre Paul, 24, Joshua Jackson, 25, Shoshonnah Henry, 24, Nancy Lalanne, 22, and Rachael Henry, 27 have been charged with assault, battery and malicious damage. A fight over cab fare got out of hand and turned into an altercation with the local police. They are being held in Antigua until trial.

The alleged fight broke out on Friday, when the Carnival Victory passengers got off the ship for a 10-hour port call. The passengers refused to pay a cab driver, claiming they were being overcharged. Original reports of the story say that the cab driver quoted a $50 price for a tour that would end at a beach. He later told them, supposedly, that it would cost more to get back to the ship. The driver drove the passengers to a police station, which is where the fight is said to have broken out.

After spending the weekend in jail, the passengers were released on $5,000 bail but had to give up their travel documents and check in with the court regularly. Apparently, jail is unpleasant in Antigua, particularly because of the mosquitoes.

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Flight attendant arrested for touchy situation

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The next time you complain about the service from flight attendants, consider the opposite extreme. Jaime Daria Samia, an attendant on United Airlines, was arrested in Chicago after (allegedly) he allegedly rubbed the hand and arm of a 16-year-old passenger … and kicked in a few inappropriate comments to make the situation worse.

The boy’s father reportedly told police that this behavior persisted through the entire four-hour flight, even after the minor told Samia to stop. For not recognizing boundaries – or simply listening to the alleged victim – the 57-year-old FA will have to appear in Cook County Criminal Court on August 11, 2009 on a misdemeanor battery charge. He was released on $100 bond and is being “held out of service” pending the results of the investigation.

Gadling gear review – Tekkeon myPower ALL MP3750 portable battery pack

by Scott Carmichael on

Regular readers will know that I’m a huge fan of any gadget that can keep my other gadgets powered. Last month, I wrote about my “power anything anywhere kit“, and in it, I described the equipment I recommend in order to keep your gadgets going, even when you are away from a power outlet.

One thing I mentioned in that article, is that my current universal notebook battery pack (from APC) was a discontinued item. Because of this, I started on a quest to find a replacement product, and boy did I find one!

My search for a better notebook battery pack took me to Tekkeon – manufacturer of portable power products. Their myPower ALL MP3750 is a universal notebook battery pack that is better than my previous notebook battery in every possible way.

The MP3750 weighs just under 16 ounces and houses a 50Wh Lithium-Polymer battery pack. The unit can charge a laptop or any device with USB charging capability. The MP3750 comes complete with a charging cord and a variety of input and output power tips.

To charge the unit, you find the correct input tip for your current laptop charger, then plug a tip onto its output cable. This sounds more complicated than it is, and unless you are swapping laptop computers on a daily basis, you’ll only have to find the correct power tips once.

If you only use the USB power outlet, you’ll be provided with enough juice to keep an iPhone or other low power device going for over a week.

The unit can auto-detect the input power being provided by your charger, so the entire setup is pretty much plug and play. Alternatively, you can switch the unit to “manual” and select the required output power using the power button on the top.

The biggest advantage of a universal battery pack over a second battery for your laptop is that the universal pack is future-proof. If you buy a new laptop, you’ll be able to use the same battery pack for the new machine. Another huge advantage is that you can keep the battery pack in your bag until you need it. Once you find the need for some more juice, you can plug the Tekkeon MP3750 into your laptop, without having to shut down or potentially lose work.

The extra usage time you get out of your laptop with the MP3750 depends on the kind of laptop you are using. A large 15″ laptop will gain about anywhere between one and two hours. My small 10″ netbook was able to run about 3 hours longer off a fully charged MP3750.

If the capacity of the MP3750 is insufficient, you can double its power by adding a second battery pack. The MP3450 second battery pack includes a bracket for connecting to the MP3750, providing twice the power ( an additional $99.95).

The Tekkeon myPower ALL MP3750 costs $189.95 and is available directly from Tekkeon, or one of their online retailers. If you already know that you’ll be needing more power, you can purchase a bundle of the MP3750 and its second battery pack for $259.95.

Included with the MP3750 is a laptop charging cord, assorted power input/output tips in a carrying bag and a carrying pouch for the battery pack.

Seriously, there is nothing negative I can find about the Tekkeon MP3750 – it is lightweight, supports virtually every popular laptop computer on the market, and has a bonus USB port. Anyone who needs to keep their machine going, should consider the investment. The price is on the high end, but the quality more than makes up for that.

Daily gear deals – $220 Netbook, cheap HD camera and iPhone accessories

by Scott Carmichael on

The star of today’s lineup is the Acer Aspire ONE AOA150 refurbished Netbook. Outfitted with a 1.6GHz processor, 1GB of memory and a 120GB hard drive. Normal retail price is $299, but it is currently on sale at Tiger Direct for just $220. The unit is refurbished, but usually this is not visible in any way. Available from Tiger Direct. Shipping is just $2.

The Kodak ZI6 pocket digital HD Camcorder goes on sale every other week, today’s price is just $99, but this does mean you’ll be getting a refurbished unit. At about $80 under retail, this is still an awesome deal. Available from Amazon and comes with free shipping.

Looking to listen to your iPod/iPhone in the car? Then check out this (horrible looking) charger dock/FM transmitter. The product will not work with the second generation iPhone/iPod Touch, but other versions of the popular player will work just fine. The unit even includes a USB charger port for charging other device. On sale for just $16.99 + free shipping!

Another sale which may interest iPod and iPhone owners is this huge lineup of Kensington accessories. Many of their most popular products are on sale for as much as 50% off. One of the highlights is this pocket battery pack, which we reviewed here last year, on sale for just $27.99