I find this story extraordinarily interesting for a few reasons, for one, I find it appalling that airlines would discriminate against heavier people in this way, also there are many things in this story that don't really match up, or that make it difficult to decide which side is telling the whole truth/ which side to go with. Ok so to start with my first point... it is surprising to me that they have a policy concerning that if people are bigger that they have to buy two seats, yes I understand that it is in concern for their other costumers and making them comfortable and such, but still.. And if they are going to really take people off a flight because they claim the person is "too fat" then I think that they need to make a deal with that person, such as a discount on their, now required, second seat and they need to book them on a new flight. I've never heard of anything like this before, and frankly, to me it is shocking. My second point... there are many different things in the article that don't match up which can only lead to the fact that someone is lying somewhere down the line. The first thing is the plain fact that Kevin was taken off of the plane, he claims that he could buckle his seatbelt and put the armrests down with no issues at all, well obviously it must have been pretty close or there are just different opinions on this or something, because he was taken off the plane. The second part is that the article says that Southwest Airlines executives have personally called Kevin to apologize, but he says that he hasn't gotten a call. Someone is not telling the truth there... A third thing is just against Kevin, he says that he is "never going on Southwest again" but then the article says that in the past week he has bought ten tickets through Southwest, what's up with that? A final point is that Kevin said he's not too fat to get taken off of a flight, and that someone took him off because they don't like his comic films. If that's true, that's just horrible, no one should judge if he can ride a plane or not by what they think of his films. So there are many different questionable items in this article. I still feel bad for Kevin and others who have gone through this, and I don't necessarily agree with it, but I can also understand where the airline is coming from.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Kevin Smith: "I'm never going on Southwest again."
Film director Kevin Smith had bought a ticket for a flight on Southwest Airlines, but was taken off the plane. Smith is a heavier set man, and Southwest has a "customer of size policy," this policy states that if someone can't fit into a seat comfortably and safely, they have to buy a second seat. Kevin did not buy a second seat for this flight, he says it is not necessary. He states that he had no problems with buckling his seat belt and lowering his armrests, and according to the policy, if he could do this he should have been fine. Smith says that he is "not fat enough to [be] ejected off a Southwest flight," the reason he thinks that he was taken off of the flight was because one of the employees did not like his comic films. Southwest has called multiple times to apologize, however Kevin claims he has not received any calls. Also Smith claims that he will never go on a Southwest flight again, but has bought ten tickets in the past week with Southwest Airlines.
Monday, February 8, 2010
After boy's slaying, brother missing for 19 years.
On April 16th, 1990 two brothers wanted to play outside with other kids in their neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia. Their mother said yes and off they went. After a half hour, their mother (Tambar Ellis) went to call her sons in for dinner, she received no response. Panic arose and after searching for 45 minutes with no success, she called the police. All through that night and through the next two days, they searched. On the third day, the boys' father received the news, the oldest boy, Basil who was 8, was found in a landfill. He had been found by the truck driver who noticed his body sticking out from a plastic bag. He had been stabbed in the back twice, gagged, bound with duct tape and after his death his skull had been fractured. Now, investigators are doing DNA tests, which weren't available when Basil was found, hoping they will lead to some answers. 19 years later, the younger brother, Jamal who was 7, is still missing. However, no one has given up hope, the detective said, "I think there's a strong possibility that Jamal's alive, and I think we will find the person who's responsible."
This is a heartbreaking story, it almost brings you to tears. When I was younger, I never really paid much attention to the news and things that were going on, so I'm not super familiar with stories like this. Yes, I have heard of them happening before, but this is the first one that I'm really old enough to fully understand. I can't even being to imagine what their mother and father are going through. First the panic, then extreme sadness after finding Basil and now...? No matter what it is that they are going through I'm thrilled to hear that they have not given up hope. There have been other stories of people being found after multiple years, and a person can't just simply disappear off of the planet, so he has to be around somewhere, the only trouble is finding him... On another hand, it's horrible to think that there are people out there who would do this kind of horrible thing. I've heard bad stories before, but when they involve kids, they are even worse. Why would someone want to harm little kids, what did they ever do to deserve that kind of fate? I just don't understand. I'm glad that the family has done multiple things to get the word out there about their missing son, and once again I'm glad that they haven't given up hope! If we all pray and keep this family in our thoughts, we can help solve this case for good, and just maybe reunite this hopeful family.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Prius brake fix near, Toyota tells dealers
Toyota Motor told dealers that it is going to give a solution to fix the problems with the brake system of the Prius hybrid sedan- the car that was released as an example of the company's technological and engineering abilities. The problem is in the software that controls the anti-lock braking system, so the brakes take about a second to work when the roads are in poor condition. Snow, rain or even potholes can trigger the glitch. Along with releasing a plan to fix the brake glitch, Toyota is also going to release a campaign to try and regain some of their damaged reputation. They have found a solution for cars that are being made today, but have not for the cars that are already on the road. The Camry, Corolla and the Rav4 have also been hit by the gas pedal recall.
This news is very disturbing to me. It is hard to think of thousands of people driving out on the roads with cars that could have faulty parts which could lead to problematic situations. In the story it says that this glitch can cause the brakes to delay for a second, this alone doesn't really put things into perspective. It also says that "A car traveling just 30 m.p.h. can travel almost 50 feet in the one second that the brakes are not working." Now that information put things into a recognizable situation, and is extremely hard to believe. I can only imagine how far a car can go when they are going 60 m.p.h. or when they are on the free way. In drivers education we are taught about the 2 second rule, well I have noticed that not very many people follow this rule in the first place, and that makes me nervous. Now it can be even worse to think well what if a Toyota with a brake problem is following me that close. With this issue you not only have to think about other people's safety, but your own as well. I can't believe that the Toyota company did not test the cars enough to realize that they have this problem, and even without that, the fact that they didn't call drastic recalls and that it has taken so long to come up with a solution to this problem. It's not a good feeling to know that people aren't taking extra precautions when the safety of so many other people is in their hands. This is not just a distant problem for me, my family owns a Toyota Camry which is the car that I drive. Having recently discovered that the Camry was one of the cars found to have this issue, I am nervous when I drive and am doing extra research to find out if our car is one that may be affected. I can only hope that Toyota comes up with an effective solution, that this never happens again, and that people stay cautious and safe.
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