In the past years, China has found itself left with the option of: Boeing or Airbus. Boeing has been dominating Asia, and Airbus has found itself in the Asia market, but with a smaller presence than Boeing. Instead of relying on the west for commercial aircraft, China has decided to enter the industry with China Commercial Aircraft Co. Ltd. This company, abbreviated CCAC, plans to take on the American and European giants of the business. The formal inauguration of the company took place on May 11, 2008. Their first aircraft has beentitled the ARJ-21, a light commercial aircraft that will compete with regional jet manufacturers Embraer and Bombardier, has 181 unconfirmed / unannounced orders 1. 19 American and European companies are supporting this aircraft, such as General Electric. 

A major problem for Chinese aircraft manufacturing firms in the past has been sales. The Shanghai Y10, China's first commercial jet from 1980, did not sell - even to Chinese airlines, who had favored Boeing and Airbus over the competition. The aircraft was retired in 1985. Since CCAC is a state owned company, I'll be anxious to see what happens in the future with this aircraft. 

I see nothing wrong with competition. I'm happy to see a third potential player developing. Yet, I'm a bit skeptical since I'm a Boeing fan.

"Is it loud?"

"No."

"Does it go upside down?"

"No."

"Does it go too fast?"

"No."

So she reluctantly climbed in with a death grip on my mom's hand!! Funny girl. She ended up having a great day. I'm just glad she got on the airplane with me to fly to North Carolina. We had major turbulence on the way, which was quite scary for her (and me). I hope I can get her on one again for the flight back to Utah!

Continental claimed that these charges were "outrageous and completely unjustified," (forbes.com). However, the French investigators say that the metal strip was faulty and not built / secured properly. A French judge has asked that the airline and its employees come to court in France. 

I feel as though the French are seeking someone to blame for this incident. In all my years observing the industry, Continental has been a leading carrier in service and on-time efficiency. If it was the strip that caused it, the mechanics should lose their jobs - and that's all. The faulty construction in this story was not the strip, but the Concorde's fuel tanks.

Cirrus \

The Sukhoi Superjet is the first regional jet to be unveiled in the 21st century, and is claimed to be the most efficient and most environmentally friendly jet in its category on the market (78-98 passengers).

As Reuters reported, while targeting the world market, the Superjet will replace Russia’s fast ageing Soviet-made fleet of Tupolev Tu-134 and Yakovlev Yak-42 planes on domestic routes with a longer range of 4,550 km (2800 miles).

Ultimately it aims to sell 1,000 planes with 700 of them going to global export markets and it hopes to get European and U.S. certification during 2008. That would put Sukhoi in direct competition with Brazil’s Embraer and Bombardier of Canada, which dominate the 70-100 seat aircraft market today. The maiden flight is expected before the end of the year, Sukhoi said and so far they have been on schedule, unlike Airbus’ A380 and Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. It says the Superjet will have 10-15 percent lower operating costs than either Bombardier or Embraer models.
- Superjet 100 Revealed (2007)

Superjet 100 First Flight in Airline World June 2008

and all of the week's top aerospace headlines ...

 MD-80 Era Winding Down as Fuel Costs Rise

The MD-80, according to Alaska, consumes around 1,050 gallons per hour. But the newer and bigger 737-800 burns about 850 gallons per hour.

On a flight from Seattle to Los Angeles, which takes about 2 1/2 hours, the 737-800 would burn about 500 fewer gallons of fuel than the MD-80. With the price of jet fuel around $4 a gallon, the fuel bill for the 737-800 flight to Los Angeles would be about $2,000 less than for the MD-80. But the economics of the 737-800 are even better based on fuel burn per seat because it is configured by Alaska with 157 seats vs. 140 seats for its MD-80s.

Other U.S. airlines that operate the MD-80 are also slowly phasing out the plane, but it will take years to eventually replace the nearly 1,000 that are still flying today.

American Airlines has the world's largest fleet of MD-80s -- 300 were in service as of Tuesday. American recently announced it will park 20 of its MD-80s in a cost-cutting move. It is also taking delivery of 70 more 737-800s over the next two years to replace the McDonnell Douglas jets and is considering whether to speed up the pace of those replacements.

Boeing Bonuses Cut as Shares Plummet
80,000 current and past regional employees lose out

"Today, everybody was pretty mad about it," said Richard McCabe, who works at Boeing's Renton plant and is a union steward. "Our stock price was hovering in the mid-$80s, but we haven't gotten anything but good news and suddenly our stock price is in the $60s."
...
"At a time when Boeing is posting record profits, backlogs and orders, why does the stock drop dramatically just as tens of thousands of employees are scheduled to get a Share Value payout based on the stock? Coincidence? One has to wonder," the International Association of Machinists' negotiating committee wrote Monday in its weekly message to members. "The simple fact that the stock is tanking is reason enough in this round of bargaining to negotiate a different type of 'Share Value' system that gives our members more money and control of the triggers for the payout."

30 Percent of Airbus and Boeing Orders Cancelled or Postponed

The combined value of the orders for Airbus and Boeing planes exceeds $500 billion at list prices, so large-scale cancellations and deferrals could easily amount to tens of billions of dollars and affect suppliers of engines and other parts in addition to the jet makers.

... while British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Japan Airlines, and Qantas start catering even more to the luxury crowd (call it "class creep") ...

But carriers in the United States do not seem to be embracing the concept. While United Airlines has Economy Plus seating, it offers a few more inches of legroom than economy, but not the upgraded seat.

While acknowledging the financial challenges that American carriers face, Mr. Harteveldt attributed their absence in this arena to lack of interest in passengers outside the expensive cabins.

“People will pay an above-average price for something that’s tangibly better, so kudos to the airlines that recognize this,” he said. “The ones that don’t are going to wonder, ‘Where did my profitable customers go?’ ”

Georgia,
No peace, no peace I find
Just this old, sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

Missed a YouTube Tuesday? We’ve got you covered. Type “YouTube Tuesday” in our search box and then choose any YTT post you like to see.

Hope quickly turned into irritation as my 12:45 flight was delayed until 2pm. Like everyone else, I whipped out my mobile phone determined to call everyone I knew to let them know that I was delayed at the airport in Boston...as if they cared. In the interim, one desperate passenger after another flooded the ticket desk to see how they could make it to their destination if our plane was to leave 2 hours late. The time passed quickly since I had my trusty mobile...but the bars were definitely diminishing.

Irritation turned to joy as we boarded the aircraft. Yay!!! I would still be able to make it to Chicago in time to go wander in the park and view the city from the top of the Sears tower. Then...we waited. Ten minutes turned into 30 minutes and 30 into 45. Every half hour the pilot would make new promises that we would be leaving in 30 minutes. After each announcement...frantic passengers dug deep into their bags, pulled out their mobile phones and begin to chatter away telling friends and family alike that they just received a new update from the pilot.... I too felt compelled...obligated almost to pull out my phone and begin my rants. But... I called my brother instead. We talked about his new daughter, my new niece. The bars on my phone were definitely past the halfway mark now.

Joy turned to desperation. After our conversation...I begin to realize just how hot it was inside the plane and just how long we'd been on the runway in the tin can posing as an aircraft. The pilot made yet another announcement. After two long hours in 100 degree heat inside a non-airconditioned aircraft, we were going back into the gate. O.k. time for those cell phones to come out of their hiding place again.

Desperation turned to relief. We get back to the gate, we deplane, we wait an hour, we reboard. Finally, we are on our way to Chicago after 5 long hours...or are we? Our pilot calls to our attention on the loudspeaker again to tell us it will be another half hour before we can take off. Really??? Are you kidding me?? Guess what everyone started doing again? Yup, you guessed it. They pulled out their cell phones, called their respective loved ones to tell them where they were at in the 'day from hell' process and then promptly hung up without any resolution.

Finally, we took off. Guess what. I made it to Chicago. Fabulous city by the way! Wish I had more time to wander around.

I love people watching at the airport. It is hilarious to watch the flurry of phones pop out of purses and pockets when travel is delayed. The conversation is always the same, and there is never a good way to end the call. Usually people get off the phone more frustrated and desperate. I wonder what used to happen in the good ol' days before cell phones when there was no way to complain to anyone except the person beside you that your flight was going to be 'delayed'.

The airline made international headlines last year when flaming pieces of a re-entering satellite came within five nautical miles (9.2km) of an Airbus A340 travelling from Santiago to Auckland and Sydney.

And last week, lightning punched a hole in the nose of a Lan Chile Airbus carrying almost 300 people as it approached Auckland from Sydney. A New Zealand report quoted a witness as saying the strike caused a hole "the size of a dinner plate", although the plane landed safely.

The plane was among four aircraft struck by lightning last Wednesday as New Zealand was hammered by almost 15,000 strikes in 24 hours. An Aerolineas Argentinas plane was also damaged and two Air New Zealand aircraft were struck but emerged unscathed.

Experts estimate each commercial airliner is struck by lightning once or twice a year. While it can sometimes leave a burn mark, it is unusual for lightning to punch through the skin of a modern jet.

Well, on a recent flight in China from Beijing to Yantai, 52 passengers refused to get off the plane after hearing news that the flight was cancelled because of bad weather.  Apparently, some of the 52 passengers had an urgent meeting to attend in Yantai and simply could not afford to be delayed.

In an amazing show of logic, they stayed on the plane in protest.  It's a nice way for David to stand up to Goliath, but in this case Goliath was mother nature.  And we've all seen that mother nature usually prevails (case in point: the Princess of the Stars disaster).  No matter how important the meeting was I would have happily stayed over in Beijing rather than risking my life!

In any case, the 52 passengers ended up spending the night on the plane, until it left the next morning at 7:30 for Yantai.  The biggest shock here is this:

...in the 12 hours or so they spent on the aircraft, the crew provided continuous service, and all along offered food and drink.

To put it simply, I'm shocked--in a good way.  Those flight attendants definitely went above and beyond today's dismal standards for customer service.  Who knows, maybe they actually sympathized with the protestors?

Its actually the front seat for the pilots.

Here's a case of two of them overshooting their destination for napping on high altitude.

11:53 a.m.

It was Jeremy and Matt's room yesterday, because six persons arrived to stay at the house. It's not our house, it is a house that is rented in Atqasuk for the use of researchers. No one stayed with me, probably because I smell so bad.

So these loon people show up and I had to try to remember the names of Debbie, Ken, Matt, Sarah, Jeff, and Joel all at once. It didn't help that I had been about five minutes away from a two hour nap and Jeremy was nowhere to be seen, since he'd gone fishing with some old turkey lunchmeat and an As Seen On TV! travel fishing pole.

Then the kids materialized and brought a puppy named Princess and stayed until midnight, lurking around the house with ladders since we wouldn't let them inside. We have been pretty nice to them this week. They loved the popcorn and popsicles. Lest you think we are trying to fatten them up, we also offered them carrots and they accepted quite happily. They also kicked my butt at war (leaving me with only a king, an ace, a two and a six after one round), but were astoundingly less successful at Trivial Pursuit. I even tried to pick easy questions, but apparently they've never heard of Gordie Howe.

All I had time for on the internet was posting six sentences yesterday so I could post the link to the pictures. It was a tough fight. I will try to put up more pictures of more consequential things soon.

Today we got done in the field early and raced to the airport dirt-road landing strip with our bags to see if they would let us on a flight we didn't have tickets for. They did so without question. No IDs, no bag searches, no metal detectors (ha), no credit card numbers, just a once-over and a "sure, hop on." And me with my pocket knife and a full bottle of water in my carry-on!

We were not in a rush to get to Barrow, only in a rush to get out of Atqasuk, having been in the way of the loon people long enough. They were very nice but one of them was sick and they were preparing for two weeks of camping in the tundra and catching loons. This involved, for whatever reason, many many boxes of Jell-o.

Speaking of processed foods, it was appropriate that we were not in a rush to get to Barrow, since our flight to Barrow was by way of Wainwright. There we dropped off one passenger and two dozen boxes of beef jerky, otter pops and Wonder Bread ("2,000 Miles Fresher! Baked in Alaska!"). It appeared to be a normal coastal village, sort of an Atqasuk and Barrow hybrid.

We also were in a rush to get back and surprise Jean, and we were not disappointed by her excitement at our return (which was not supposed to be until tomorrow morning). We immediately went out to eat at Osaka with some other researchers and racked up a $361 bill for sushi and Japanese food for fourteen people. Dessert was on the house, since we sang happy birthday to a member of our party who had no real reason to commemorate his age. The dessert was a red-bean ice cream pop. This is exactly what it sounds like. It looked like a Fudgesicle with berries in it. It was sick. Jean loved it. What a day she had!

From Wired.com

Air travel is a total hassle, man, and marijuana advocates in Denver say everyone would find the normally excruciating process a lot more pleasant if they could enjoy a few bong hits before boarding. It might even help solve a few of the problems that airlines have been experiencing lately. The way they see it, if people can knock a few back before a flight, they should be able to spark one up. They're calling on airports nationwide to install marijuana lounges.

"All we're saying is, in light of the fact drunk and disorderly incidents on airplanes are becoming more common, it really makes sense to allow adults the choice to use marijuana," says Mason Tvert, executive director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, the organization calling for the lounges. "There's no rational reason our government would allow people to use alcohol and not use marijuana."

Well, except for the fact the feds classify marijuana a Schedule 1 drug, putting it alongside heroin, mescaline meth and acid on its list of Drugs That Definitely Are Evil.

Tvert says many travelers consider flying stressful, so they'll have a drink - or two, or three, or... - before boarding. That can lead to problems, such as the case last week where a JetBlue passenger allegedly lit up a cigarette and socked a flight attendant. She blamed the crew for serving her three vodkas. U.S Attorney Troy Eid told the Rocky Mountain News the feds are seeing a record number of passengers - often drunk - misbehaving on airplanes. "I think sometimes people think this is a joke," he says. "They think it's funny. And they're going to find out otherwise as we do more and more of these cases."

SAFER says giving people the option of smoking a joint before their flights would relax them without making them unruly. But don't expect the feds or the airports to go along with the idea. Chuck Cannon, a spokesman for Denver International Airport, told the Denver Post he doesn't foresee marijuana smoking in the airport. "Marijuana is illegal isn't it?," he says. "All the bars and restaurants are concessions and they sell what they sell. I do not know that we are going to tell them what they can sell. Alcohol is legal and tobacco is legal and marijuana is not."

Tvert said he doesn't have a problem with alcohol being sold in airports -- although some people do, and say it should be banned -- but says people should have another option. "It is irrational and potentially dangerous policy to continue allowing passengers to get drunk before and during flights while prohibiting them from simply making the safer choice to use marijuana prior to boarding," Tvert says.

I must admit to missing the latest ripoff from the Environmental Communist Republic of Great Britain:

Ministers are planning to sharply increase the amount of money raised from airline taxes in a move that will net an extra £520 million annually.

Airlines - already struggling to deal with record fuel prices - calculate that the tax per person on a flight to America or other long-haul destinations will rise from £40 to about £100 from next year. The levy will be passed on to passengers.

So 200 bucks per ticket surcharge and for what?  Well the US says:

"The Treasury's proposal, although cast as an environmental measure, appears in reality to constitute nothing more than a device for generating additional revenue from the airline community."

"There is no linkage between the funds collected from airlines and the mitigation of any environmental impact of airline emissions or any other environmental problem…Moreover, the Treasury's proposal does not demonstrate that the new duty would influence airlines to adjust their fleets or their booking practices to achieve higher load factors…Nor are any data provided to justify the levy based on an assessment of damage from aircraft emissions."

So yet another ripoff - although the peasants do seem to be getting a little restless, the UK government doesn't seem too concerned.  What are they going to do - leave the country?  Well, yes - they are in ever-increasing numbers.

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), a body controlling airline operations in India, said dozens of pilots are found to have consumed alcohol during routine pre-medical tests every year.

India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world with dozens of new airlines competing with each other everyday, often resulting in pilots forced to fly at short notices.

The country has about 4,500-5,000 commercial pilots, and another 2,500 are undergoing training.

Civil aviation rules specify that pilots and cabin crew cannot consume alcohol 12 hours before taking a flight.

Frankly sex in first class is not new. Singapore AIr felt compelled to ban sexual relations on its new Airbus A380 flights when service began last year. If you plan on getting lucky in flight, watch this. It could be exciting. Reminds me of the time I used to work at Nortel and this happened while I was there (real shame, both were married but not to each other, and the offending parties were actually charged with a crime). Once something's been on the Net, it stays.

I would talk about a lesbian Mile High Club, but that would NSFW.

Unfortunately I am not a standing member of the club.  I guess most people join the club while standing.

If you read the first paragraph in a bad sort of way it implies that the CEO himself is giving the blowjobs instead of paying someone else to do them. I regret any misunderstandings.

I honestly don't know what to think. On one hand you have the horrible experience of flying, but on the other, free blowjobs. Hummmmmm.

From Consumerist:

While American discount airlines like Spirit Air and Southwest alternate between running sophomoric promotions and enforcing their prudish dress codes on passengers, European counterpartRyanair has trumped them all with its CEO's announcement that transcontinental business class passengers will receive free "beds and blowjobs." Video inside (safe for work if your job lets the word "blowjob" be said aloud).

In a press conference, CEO Michael O'Leary discussed Ryanair's new transcontinental service, which will offer extremely cheap economy fares, as well as luxurious business class seats that include amenities like "white seats," beds, and oral sex.

I'm on vacation again, this time visiting relatives who aren't very relative at all. This is why I love staying home; because I know what the rules are--spoken and unspoken--and that reassures me.

There are a few things that I know, though. Being here, is the ultimate loneliness. I realized it when I was given a pullout bed--incidentally, the bed is in a car far from the house--and when I tried texting my friends, they came back even though I had 5 bars and network service. Sigh. My materialistic life style suffers on vacation, I admit. Perhaps someday I won't need to say, "im crshed nite lol" to others in order to get a restful night sleep. I'm exhausted because it bothered me that I couldn't reply to a text sent to me, asking a question.

It was, possibly, the most lonely thing I've ever imagined. I'm here with just my dad, and it's not like I talk to him anyway so it's like being all alone. When I went out for the night, I discovered that the lighting in the car was very dim indeed. I wanted that flashlight that was offered to me, despite it being the weaker thing to do.

The screens wouldn't close. They were roped open because the mechanism that pulls them up was broken.

The bed was cold but it was stiflingly hot and humid. Smoke from the 800-plus wildfires blocked my view of the house, the garden, and just about everything else outside the car. I couldn't roll up the windows because I didn't have the keys to start the engine.

It grew darker and I just sat there for a while, thinking and wondering and missing home. What I want the most right now is to hold my puppies. I keep thinking that every noise is one of them, rolling around or tugging at the hem of my shorts. When it turns out to be nothing but imagination and the willingness to believe, I read.

And keep reading. I mean, it's not like I'll be able to sleep.

It's true, then: grow up one way and every other feels wrong. I grew up with people, and despite enjoying solitude more than most company, being so alone felt so off.

When I went back into the house to retrieve some toothpaste--arrg I have complaints about that in a moment--the house was so quiet. My dad's bedroom door was shut and the couple we're staying with was sleeping in the loft upstairs. So I dug around and found some toothpaste and retreated, because loneliness isn't one of those things you mention to just anybody.

Yesterday we flew ExpressJet, and they fed us until I was sick to my stomach. I spent the entire time with my nose glued to the window, and if Superman flew by just then, I wouldn't have cared enough to notice. My eyes were all for the landscape, the Sierra Nevadas, the Sacramento River.

That's not my problem. My problem wasn't the security personnel either. It bugs me that I had to buy a small bottle of contact solution because my other was just one ounce too big. It bothers me that I had to leave my toothpaste behind because it was too big, that I was afraid to pack nail clippers--I mean really, nail clippers?--and a shaving razor for fear we'd be stopped. "I think the ITA guys just like pawing through people's underwear," my dad told me. I thought he was being ridiculously high-handed for saying it. They're just people doing their jobs, for heaven's sake.

No; security let us through and one of them even smiled at me and I smiled back.

What bothered me was the people. I went and sat down, and my dad dumped his luggage on me so he could go buy a soda that he ended up just throwing out because our flight arrived.

The looks! There was an elderly couple and when they passed be me, they moved far around. There was a businessman explaining something to his friend, and every once in a while they would look around suspiciously. And be comforted by the fact that there were two security officers standing nearby, looking around and laughing and drinking coffee as if the terrorists hadn't already won.

That's what my dad said, too. Sometimes he says the stupidest things, things that I already know because I'm not oblivious, but sometimes he says things that make a bit of sense. That's what he said when we were packing.

"The terrorists have already won," he said.

And I thought about the meaning of the word, to inspire terror. Then I wondered, how could it be, that our goal has shifted from being strong in the face of terror to working so hard to prevent it that we become afraid nonetheless?

There was a woman talking on a cell phone. She had a black bag at her feet, and she kept looking around as if nervous. Immediately, I thought, what if she's a...?

What idiocy is this? Who am I, to look around and label a person a terrorist because she nervously talks on a sleek black phone and there's a bomb-sized bag at her feet?

Yet I do, and everyone else does. And the faces are grim and the terrors real, and I know then that not one of these people cares a bit about innocence or truth. It becomes that we are afraid because of something that did not happen to us, did not happen near us or because of us and yet we are afraid.

Perhaps it's the uncaring factor. Perhaps it's because, in the event of a terrorist attack, we would die without knowing WHY. Why us? Why me? Why anyone? It's random; not the place, but the people in that place at that time. We'd never know, and so struggle to understand and avoid and eventually it's becomes true, that there is terror in every decision thus made.

And the terrorists have won.

Possibly, that's the most logical thing my father has ever said to me. He's so arrogant sometimes that it kills me. But it's not from a lack of information.

I thought about writing last night. I have a paper notebook, but my dad has the laptop. This laptop. I can only use it when it's out, and he's not using it. Which is rarely. So when I went back into the house last night to scope out the toothpaste, I was also looking for somewhere to write. I pondered starting up my relatives' computer but decided it would be an unwelcome intrusion. I went back to the car with my 10-year-old Aquafresh dug up from the pits of the bathroom drawer.

I can't help but wonder, now, if the term Superpower is not flexible. After all, isn't it true that whomever has control of the mind has control of the body?

And, when you start thinking about the technology that we use everyday-- like the television, electricity, airplanes-- it's staggering to imagine life without these modern conveniences.

There are plenty of lists out there of what people consider the "greatest inventions of all time," like this list and this list. Do you agree with the inclusions on the lists?

Here's my own personal Top Five Greatest Inventions of All Time:

(1) Beer. 'Nuff said.

(2) Nail Clippers. There's nothing more disgusting that untrimmed nails. Well, I guess there's fecal matter, which brings me to...

(3) Toilet Paper. Consider the alternatives. Leaves? Sticks? Your hands? No way! Toilet paper makes messy work less messy.

(4) Febreeze. Need I say more? I mean, do you really want odoriferous things accosting your nostrils?

(5) The Internet. Well...

What about you? What would you consider to be among your top five greatest inventions of all time?

A photo snapped on my mobile becomes instantaneously and pervasively visible. No wonder she’s nervous: in my simple, honest and entirely human act of sharing, it becomes immediately apparent that any pretensions to control, or limitation, or the exercise of power have already collapsed into shell-shocked impotence [...]

Comments: "Sharing is the threat."

The "she" in "no wonder she's nervous" is a treasury agent with whom Pesce had flirted, and whose image Pesce had captured on his camera phone, as he waited to board a plane.

Enthymeme:

The treasury agent is nervous

because

in my simple, honest and entirely human act of sharing [her image], it becomes immediately apparent that any pretensions to control, or limitation, or the exercise of power have already collapsed into shell-shocked impotence.

We are not certain what the clause that follows "because" is supposed to mean. Here would be an attempt at a paraphrase based on the context and the principle of charity:

When I innocently shared the treasury agent's image, it became clear to me that we no longer enjoy control over our images or identities.

Question: What is the antecedent of "it"?

Further question: Who wouldn't be nervous if a stranger were photographing or filming him or her?

Back to Pesce:

[...] We are asked to believe that hyperconnectivity can be embraced by political campaigns, and by politicians in power. We are asked to believe that everything we already know to be true about the accelerating disintegration of hierarchies of all kinds – economic, academic, cultural – will somehow magically suspend itself for the political process. That, somehow, politics will be different [...]

Only here is what Pesce asks us to believe: hierarchies of all kinds---economic, academic, cultural---are disintegrating and at an accelerating pace.

Really? We hadn't noticed. Police still carry guns. Courts and other agencies of the state can still deprive you of property or freedom. People still stop at red lights for the most part. People still need to eat, and to purchase food remains the only way to do that for most of us. So we still need jobs etc.

So where is the evidence of rapid disintegration?

Back to Pesce:

[...] Bullshit. Ladies and gentlemen, don’t believe a word of it. It’s whistling past the graveyard. It’s clapping for Tinkerbelle. Obama may be the best thing since sliced bread, but this isn’t a crisis of leadership. This is not an emergency. And my amateur photography did not bring down the curtain on the Republic [...]

Don't believe a word of what, precisely? That hyperconnectivity can be embraced by political campaigns?

[...] For the first time, we have a political campaign embracing hyperconnectivity. As is always the case with political campaigns, it is a means to an end. The Obama campaign has built a nationwide social network (using lovely, old-fashioned, human techniques), then activated it to compete in the primaries, dominate in the caucuses, and secure the Democratic nomination. That network is being activated again to win the general election [...]

For the first time we have a political campaign embracing hyperconnectivity? Um, only Pesce a few lines above asks us not to believe that this could be the case: [...] We are asked to believe that hyperconnectivity can be embraced by political campaigns [...] Bullshit. Ladies and gentlemen, don’t believe a word of it [...]

[...] Then what? Three months ago, I put this question directly to an Obama field organizer. He paused, as if he’d never given the question any thought, before answering, “I don’t know. I don’t believe anyone’s thought that far ahead.” There are now some statements from candidate Obama about what he’d like to see this network become. They are, of course, noble sentiments. They matter not at all. The mob, now mobilized, will do as it pleases. Obama can lead by example, can encourage or scold as occasion warrants, but he can not control. Not with all the King’s horses and all the King’s men.

And yes, that’s scary [...]

Why is that scary? Do Sen. Obama's followers carry guns? Now that would be scary. Answer: no, they don't. The issue is Sen. Obama's relationship to political movement. Micah L. Sifry poses the same question here and here:

• Sifry: “it looks like the battle [with Sen. Obama's own movement] to hold [Sen. Obama] accountable to his promises has already begun, [e.g.] over his support for the FISA bill, and especially over a provision giving the telecom companies retroactive immunity for breaking the law when they gave the Bush Administration access to Americans phone records without judicial authorization”
• Sifri: “What happens with this organization if Obama wins? What will he do with it? And what will it do with him?”

Back to Pesce who begins to wax apocalyptic:

[...] Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for a rapid descent into the Bellum omnia contra omnes, Thomas Hobbes’ “war of all against all.” A hyperconnected polity – whether composed of a hundred individuals or a hundred thousand – has resources at its disposal which exponentially amplify its capabilities. Hyperconnectivity begets hypermimesis begets hyperempowerment. After the arms race comes the war.

Conserved across nearly four thousand generations, the social fabric will warp and convulse as various polities actualize their hyperempowerment in the cultural equivalent of nuclear exchanges. Eventually (one hopes, with hypermimesis, rather quickly) we will learn to contain these most explosive forces. We will learn that even though we can push the button, we’re far better off refraining. At that point, as in the era of superpower Realpolitik, the action will shift to a few tens of thousands of ‘little’ conflicts, the hyperconnected equivalents of the endless civil wars which plagued Asia, Africa and Latin America during the Cold War.

Naturally, governments will seek to control and mediate these emerging conflicts. This will only result in the guns being trained upon them. The power redistributions of the 21st century have dealt representative democracies out. Representative democracies are a poor fit to the challenges ahead, and ‘rebooting’ them is not enough. The future looks nothing like democracy, because democracy, which sought to empower the individual, is being obsolesced by a social order which hyperempowers him [...]

Representative democracy is finished? Too bad for Sen. Obama. How quaint of him to seek representative office. Pesce's enthymeme provided that we read him correctly:

Representative democracies are a poor fit for the challenges head

BECAUSE

Representative democracy seeks to empower the individual in a social order which hyperempowers individuals

The claim that representative democracy is finished is of course perfectly meaningless until Pesce clarifies the distinction between connectivity and hyperconnectivity.

N.

This problem has been known for decades - it was first discovered in the 1960s when the air crews assigned to the first long-distance, high-altitude flights experienced unusually high fatigue.  To try and keep it simple, a flight from New York to Los Angeles is the equivalent of one chest X-ray. The number of chest X-ray exposures a person is allowed to have over any given time is usually limited and measured in three year increments. These usually number in the range of three chest X-rays per year. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration permits aircrew exposures of 1000 times the dosage that a restricted citizen is allowed, although they are usually restricted to 80 hours on duty each month. Studies of these crews have shown that they suffer from changes in blood values and sensitive bodily tissue, e.g., gonads and eyes. Unfortunately there is no one keeping track of frequent traveling citizens who seem to live on planes, especially those who often fly internationally.

In its simplest form, the free radical damage caused by air travel shows itself in the form of oxidative stress in the body and the simplest way to deal with it is the introduction of antioxidants via fruits, vegetables and berries on a daily basis. Oxidation occurs when an oxygen molecule within a cell loses one of its two electrons, becomes unstable and randomly hits everything in its path in an attempt to restore its stability and it will steal an electron from anywhere. If it hits another oxygen molecule, it will steal the first electron it comes to. If it hits fat or protein structures, then oxidative damage will occur. If fat, toxic lipid peroxide (rancid fat) occurs. If protein, then changes in the structure often occurs, joints get arthritis, muscle gets weakened and DNA gets altered while its Genes are bent by this interaction. Bent Genes often result in a cancer and if the body is able, it will clean up the mess before it gets bad. Unfortunately the body is overwhelmed easily; the traveler is subjected to sleep depravation and highly processed and unhelpful foods becoming more susceptible when the consistency of the attack plays against a weakened immune system.
 
Fortunately, a good outcome is possible.  The antioxidants found in fruits, vegetables and berries are able to donate electrons to these free radicals without themselves suffering instability. Fruit, Vegetables, Grapes and Berries are miraculous in their ability to calm the oxidation process. However, it is necessary to renew this cascade on a daily basis. In other words, when whatever supply is ingested runs out, it must be replaced with a new supply of antioxidants.

If the average person (who isn't flying) requires 7 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily (Recommendations of the US Dept. of Agriculture and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) then one who is further compromised as is a diabetic, cancer survivor, extreme athlete or frequent long distance flyer will certainly require more. Just how much more is anyone's guess.
 
When you fly, especially the day of your trip, try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables.  Make it as simple as possible, so that your body's energy can be used in fighting free radical damage rather than digesting something heavy. Also, you might try taking a whole food (not the store!)- vegetable, fruit, and berry supplement, which will serves as major fortification of antioxidants during strenuous travel.  It of course can also be used when you feel that you are not eating well or have been lacking greens or fruit in the diet.

A whole food supplement has been derived from whole fruits and vegetables, whereas typical synthetic supplements use extracts constructed in a lab (which your body only absorbs a percentage of).  I like the brand Juice Plus+, a convenient and highly researched supplement. They have separate vegetable, fruit, and berry capsules that literally pack pounds of fruits, and veggies.

Travel safely, stay energized and healthy, and keep your cells beautiful on the inside and out!

Of course, it's tack sharp (no autofocus needed, I've still got mad focusing skills). Yes, it's properly exposed and shot at almost peak action. Note the propellers. They were turning (and quite rapidly, too) a lot more than the propellers frozen in time shown above.

Ouch! In the heat of the moment, I forgot to crank down my shutter speed from the 1/6000th of a second needed to shoot an F-15 Strike Eagle demonstration and, while that shutter speed was more than enough to freeze a streaking jet fighter, it was overkill for these slower propeller planes. The eye (thanks to persistence of vision) sees the props as spinning disks, not the frozen blades I captured. To fix this, when shooting spinning propellers or helicopter blades, knock your shutter speed down to 1/250th of a second or so (experiment!) and pan with the aircraft to get a nicely blurred, spinning propeller. I certainly won't forget, next time.