Rio de Janeiro police strike threatens Carnival festivities, then fizzles

by Jessica Marati on

A police strike in Rio de Janeiro just a week before Carnival threatened to wreak mass chaos upon Brazil‘s largest festival celebration. But just one day in, Rio’s state government announced that the strike had “failed”, with just a small percentage of officers taking part.

“It is very difficult to talk of a protest movement without participants,” said Chao Francisco, union president for the civilian police in Rio, reported the AFP.

The strike, which involved military police, civilian police, and firefighters, was intended to bring attention to low wages and came on the heels of a deadly 11-day police strike in Bahia. Residents feared that a Rio police strike would lead to similar violence, during a time when millions flood the streets in celebration.

After the strike was announced on Friday, the Rio city government quickly clamped down on organizers, arresting 17 police officers and threatening disciplinary action against hundreds of others associated with the walk-off. In Brazil, it is against the law for police officers and firefighters to unionize and strike.

With Rio hosting the upcoming 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games, all eyes are on the city to ensure that city officials can handle major events like Carnival, which officially kicks off on February 17th. The city has 14,000 soldiers on stand-by.

[via AFP and CBS News, Flickr image via JorgeBrazil]

JetBlue flight attendant hiring: police and firefighters preferred

by Tom Johansmeyer on

“Turn off your electronic devices” may soon be followed by “Up against the wall!” on JetBlue flights. The airline is looking for flight attendants who have real backgrounds in safety: it’s targeting former police officers and firefighters for flight attendant jobs. JetBlue has reportedly hired “several hundred” of New York‘s finest over the past decade, and up to 10 percent of the cabin crew has had experience in emergency response work.

The first JetBlue flight attendant class included a former New York City firefighter, which caused the airline to think more about this talent pool. After all, police and firefighters are trained in dealing with emergencies, making them inherently more qualified than the flight attendant candidates airlines pull off the street.

So, I need to know: what’s next? Will American scrap its existing hiring model and look for green berets?

[photo by See ming-Lee via Flickr]

Photo of the Day (5-21-08)

by Jamie Rhein on

Although this shot by lecercle was taken in Bangalore, India, I see it as a tribute to all the people who rescue people worldwide–some quietly when no one is looking, and others who just happen to be there when the shutter opens, even though they probably don’t even know it.

If you’ve captured a remarkable moment in the world, send it to Gadling’s Flickr photo pool and it might be chosen as a Photo of the Day.