Eeyore's News and a View

This is a link to a web sight in which private citizens can go to, and monitor the border via cameras along the US/Mexican Border. I think that is a pretty neat thing to do, to involve citizens who want to be involved.
http://www.blueservo.net

They got the boot just like they should have, one of the interesting things is even after the "apology" they airline would not re-book the flight. I don't thing they should have apologized at all, if i have reason the fly anytime soon i will see if they are flying where i'm going.
9 Muslims removed from flight get AirTran apology
January 2, 2009 - 3:45pm
By BRIAN WESTLEY
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - AirTran Airways is apologizing to nine Muslim passengers kicked off a New Year's Day flight to Florida after other passengers reported hearing a suspicious remark about airplane security.
One of the passengers says the confusion started at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., when his brother was talking about the safest place to sit on an airplane.
In a statement Friday, Orlando-based AirTran says it refunded the air fare for the nine passengers and planned to reimburse them for replacement tickets they bought on another airline.
The airline said the incident on the flight to Orlando was a misunderstanding, but the steps taken were necessary.
AirTran also apologized to 95 other passengers whose flight was delayed by the incident.
http://wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1563095

Don't know if they are in your neighborhood, but worth finding out.
Giant offers free antibiotics
December 31, 2008 - 10:46am
WASHINGTON - Giant Food will offer free generic antibiotics to customers with prescriptions.
The aggressive promotion -- a first for the grocery chain -- starts Friday and ends March 21.
It will cover popular antibiotics, including amoxicillin, penicillin, ciprofloxacin and bacitracin ophthalmic ointment.
The declining economy and increased competition prompted Giant's move. Several experts say it's the first time they've heard of a retailer giving away prescription drugs.
Giant's free drug program will cover antibiotics commonly used to treat illnesses during the cold and flu season.
A typical antibiotic at Giant costs between $9.99 and $23.99.

Crew fights off Somali pirates with water jets
January 2, 2009 - 11:29am
By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS
Associated Press Writer
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Crewmen fired high pressure water jets Friday to fight off heavily armed Somali pirates trying to board a Greek oil tanker in the dangerous Gulf of Aden, officials said. It was the fourth pirate attack of the new year.
Armed with guns and rocket-propelled grenades, pirates in three speedboats twice tried to board the Greek-flagged Kriti Episkopi but were driven away when the crew turned fire hoses on them and EU aircraft scrambled from a nearby European Union naval flotilla to help, shipping company and Greek government officials said.
The attack came a day after Somali pirates seized an Egyptian cargo ship and its 28 crew in the waterway, one of the world's most important sea routes. Also Thursday, a Malaysian military helicopter saved an Indian tanker from being hijacked and a French warship thwarted an attack on a Panamanian cargo ship and captured several pirates.
The captain of the Kriti Episkopi spotted the pirates' speedboats just before 8 a.m. GMT. While he took evasive action to try to shake them off, Greek authorities alerted the EU naval flotilla.
"An aircraft and a helicopter reached the ship very quickly, which scared the pirates off," a Greek Merchant Marine Ministry spokesman said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity. "A frigate also sped to the scene. Everything now seems to be under control, but we remain vigilant."
The 29 crew members were unhurt and the tanker, carrying oil from the Persian Gulf to Greece, was not damaged in the attack off the Somali coast, according to the ship's operating company Avin International.
More than a dozen warships are now patrolling between the shores of Yemen and Somalia to try to protect commercial vessels in the key waterway, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Countries as diverse as Britain, India, Iran, the United States, China, France and Germany have naval forces in the waters.
A French warship on Thursday intercepted two speedboats with eight Somali pirates as they were preparing to board the Panamanian ship, according to French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office. The crew of the "PM L'Her" dispatch boat seized weapons and munitions and plan to hand the pirates over to Somali authorities.
Pirates attacked 111 ships around the Gulf of Aden in 2008, hijacking 42 of them and earning tens of millions in ransom. With the capture of the Egyptian tanker, 15 ships with more than 260 crew are still in the hands of pirates, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
The pirates have been able to operate so successfully because Somalia has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 and then turned on each other.
http://wtop.com/?nid=387&sid=1505124

Ukraine warns EU serious gas shortages possible
January 3, 2009 - 9:40am
A gas pressure gauge indicating zero seen at a snow-covered transit point on the main pipeline from Russia in the village of Boyarka near the capital Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan 3, 2009. The Russian gas monopoly Gazprom on Saturday accused Ukraine of boycotting negotiations on a natural gas contract dispute that has led to supply reductions in several European countries. Russia and Ukraine also traded accusations over who was responsible for the drop in natural gas supplies to other European nations. Europe gets one-quarter of its natural gas from Russia, and 80 percent of that travels across Ukraine's pipelines.(AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - A senior Ukrainian official says European consumers will see serious natural gas shortages in only two weeks if Moscow and Kiev don't solve their dispute over gas supplies.
Bohdan Sokolovsky's statement raises the stakes in an escalating row between the two neighbors.
Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on New Year's Day after the two countries failed to resolve payment issues or agree on a price contract for 2009.
Most Russian gas bound for Europe travels through Ukraine.
Sokolovsky said Saturday even though Ukraine will continue shipping Russian gas intended for Europe, disruptions in supplies will occur in the next 10 to 15 days if Ukraine's gas is not shipped along with it.
He said the pipelines require a minimum amount of gas to avoid an automatic shutdown.
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) _ A senior Ukrainian official says European consumers will see serious natural gas shortages in only two weeks if Moscow and Kiev don't solve their dispute over gas supplies.
Bohdan Sokolovsky's statement raises the stakes in an escalating row between the two neighbors.
Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on New Year's Day after the two countries failed to resolve payment issues or agree on a price contract for 2009.
Most Russian gas bound for Europe travels through Ukraine.
Sokolovsky said Saturday even though Ukraine will continue shipping Russian gas intended for Europe, disruptions in supplies will occur in the next 10 to 15 days if Ukraine's gas is not shipped along with it.
He said the pipelines require a minimum amount of gas to avoid an automatic shutdown.
http://wtop.com/?nid=111&sid=1537031