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Saturday, April 22, 2017

Earth Day 2017

Image may contain: sky, cloud, outdoor and naturehttp://www.earthday.org/earthday/

Earth Day 2017’s Campaign is Environmental & Climate Literacy
Education is the foundation for progress. We need to build a global citizenry fluent in the concepts of climate change and aware of its unprecedented threat to our planet. We need to empower everyone with the knowledge to inspire action in defense of environmental protection.
Environmental and climate literacy is the engine not only for creating green voters and advancing environmental and climate laws and policies but also for accelerating green technologies and jobs.


Awareness of climate means not chopping down trees when they are still very small.

Monday, April 17, 2017

Thursday Challeng, Shadow


http://www.spunwithtears.com/thursday.html

The current theme is "Shadow (week 2 of 2)" (Any photo with shadows or a silhouette,...

Thursday, April 13, 2017

a pilot's wife

April 11, 2017 AngeliaJGriffin (Thoughts from a Pilot Wife About Flight 3411)

“I’m not saying it’s pretty, but the only one who actually broke a law was the passenger.

The pilot's wife wrote because she knew about the laws, of aviation. She can stuff her knowledge and stop being condescending. Instead of pouring oil on troubled waters, she writes it is all the passenger's fault. If it is, why are millions of people wrong, and why did the CEO eventually apologizing.

The Chinese have a saying, if you don't open your mouth, no body will know you are stupid.

Finally, it doesn't matter that Dr Dao is a Vietnamese or a Chinese. For all I can conjecture, he could be an ethnic Chinese, just like me, an ethnic Chinese born outside China.

I Know You’re Mad at United but… (Thoughts from a Pilot Wife About Flight 3411)


I Know You’re Mad at United but… (Thoughts from a Pilot Wife About Flight 3411)

If there’s one thing I have learned over the years, it’s that there are always two sides to every story.
On April 9th, a very unfortunate incident played out on United Flight 3411, the video of which has since gone viral causing a mass social media uprising with an ‘off-with-their-heads’ mentality. I mean, across the board. Fire ’em all and let the gods sort it out later.
Look, I get it. When I first saw the video I was appalled too. To say that it was inflammatory would be putting it mildly. But it was also a situation that was escalated far beyond the boundaries of necessity.
If a federal law enforcement officer asks me to exit a plane, no matter how royally pissed off I am, I’m going to do it and then seek other means of legal reimbursement. True story.
Knowing what I know about airport security, I’m certainly not going to run back into a secured, federally restricted area at an airport flailing my arms and screaming like a banshee…because, you know, that just happens to be breaking a major federal Homeland Security law.
But that’s just me. Obviously.
The moment I made that particular ill-advised choice, I would become an immediate and imminent threat to the aircraft’s security. That’s kind of a big deal. I mean, come on, I once actually had to remove my infant son’s socks because they mimicked little baby sneakers. These guys mean business.
I didn’t like it. I thought it was just plain stupid, honestly. But instead of pitching a massive fit, refusing to comply, and bolting through the TSA checkpoint like an out-of-control toddler, I did the big girl thing–sucked it up, removed the offensive socks, and went on with my happy life, sans being tackled and dragged through the airport in handcuffs by a bunch of big men with guns.
Because if you choose to take advantage of the services the airport provides, you play by their rules.
I know you’re all out there screaming that the ‘rules’ are unfair, but I am a pilot wife. I remember 9/11. Do you? I want my husband, the father of my children, to come home. I want you to get homeThat law exists to protect my husband. And your wife. And your grandmother. And your child. And you. I, for one, am glad for the law.
I’m not here to dispute the facts of 3411 with you. I am not interested in getting into an argument of opinion with anyone. We’re all entitled to our own. I’m not arguing that what happened wasn’t completely terrible–it was, on multiple levels. But I am suggesting that the general public take another look at the situation, ask a few more questions, gather a few more facts, and then create a less hostile and more intellectually wrought opinion about what happened.
Because the media is giving you just enough information to keep you enraged–enough to keep their ratings up.
Things to consider:
1) “You can’t just kick a paying customer off the plane!” Psssst! It’s in the fine print. They can, indeed, do just that. And it’s not an airline specific rule, it’s a commercial aviation rule. Every ticket you purchase comes with a plethora of fine print–you know, the stuff we just click ‘next’ on without actually reading what we are agreeing to. Yeah, that. Well, it’s in there, and you checked the ‘I agree’ box when you purchased your ticket. You can read about it and oh-so-much-more here. Kind of makes you want to read all those tiny words on your next phone update before you click ‘I agree’, huh? You should. United did not break any law, and he agreed to the policy and possibility of involuntary bump when he bought his ticket. And so do you.
2) “Kicking a paying customer off an airplane!? I’m taking my business to Southwest!” Ummmm, okay. But just be sure you understand that every major airline, Southwest included, has a similar policy for involuntary bumping in a ‘must ride’ scenario. Don’t believe me? It’s called the contract of carriage. If you’re really bored, you can read Southwest’s here. Or Delta’s here. Believe me, it’s in there.  This could have been any airline. In fact, it happens all the time. Most people just don’t wrestle the feds in the aisle.
3: “So what’s this ‘must ride’ nonsense anyway? They shouldn’t bump a paying customer for a free employee ride!” I’m afraid you’re going to have to take this up with the federal government, not United. And it’s actually pretty important to you as an airline traveler anyway. They were not ‘freeloading home’. That’s called non-rev and they have to wait in line behind your checkbook and often don’t make it home to their families if flights are booked (believe me, I know). No, this was a must fly, a positive space situation. In layman terms, it means that a crew must be flown to an airport to man a flight in order to avoid cancellation of said flight due to crew unavailability. This is a federal DOT regulation, not an airline one. The airlines are required to do so to avoid disruption of air traffic. In other words, if there are no willing volunteers and they need seats to get a crew somewhere to avoid disruption of aviation flow, they can, will, must by federal regulation bump people for the better good of the 1000’s. Why? Because one cancelled flight has a serious domino affect in the delicate, complicated world of connections and aviation law.
4: “It’s the airline’s fault for not planning better!” You obviously have no clue about the complexities of aviation travel and should do some research. There are about a million and one things that can cause a crew shortage including but not limited to weather, maintenance, weather, connecting fight delays, weather, FAA timeout regs, and did I mention weather? I wish I could control Mother Nature because I would be one filthy rich person. But I can’t. And neither can United. So they inconvenience one, or four, to keep hundreds on track. Do the math. And of course, if we were on the other end of this thing, we’d be tirading and blowing up the internet because United didn’t bump a passenger to make sure our flight didn’t get cancelled and left hundreds stranded. Damned if you do; damned if you don’t. We’re a fickle crowd, we social media folks.
5: They shouldn’t have picked the minority Chinese doctor! It’s racist.” That’s just silly. Though federal regulation demands they involuntarily bump to prevent interruption of flights when necessary, each airline does have the leniency to determine how they choose the bumped passengers. They did not play spin the bottle or walk down the aisle looking for the Asian guy. Use your heads, people! There is a computerized algorithm that takes into account price of ticket, how long ago it was purchased, whether or not they can get the passenger to their destination in a timely manner, etc. It wasn’t an ‘Asian thing.’ Stop, people. Just stop.
6: “United should go under for assaulting that passenger! Fire the entire crew!” Read the facts. United neeeever touched the passenger. In fact, by all witness accounts, the United flight crew remained calm and pleasant throughout the entire event, never laying hands on the passenger. They followed protocol as required by law. Once law enforcement became involved (also as required by federal protocol), United stepped out of the decision-making process. They had nothing to do with the rest. The passenger was forcibly removed by federal aviation security (the disturbing clip that everyone is talking about) after running back into the secured area after being escorted out once. Once he did that, like it or not, they (law enforcement) were under full discretion of the law to apply necessary force to remove the threat. I’m not saying it’s pretty, but the only one who actually broke a law was the passenger. There’s a reason for these laws–it’s called 9/11. We can’t have it both ways. But by all means, let’s berate and punish an entire flight crew–in fact thousands of pilots, FA’s, gate attendents, ground crew, etc.–because it makes us all feel a little better.
7: “You piece of **it!” I get that the passengers were upset, angry, maybe even confused. I get that you are too. After all, media is tossing you out chunks of bloody meat like you’re a pack of starving wolves. But I’m seriously disgusted that the poor must ride crew that had to take those seats after the unfortunate mess that unraveled were verbally abused and threatened. Can you imagine the very uncomfortable position they were in? Then they were demeaned, belittled, threatened. Along with many others all over the internet and airports today. They were and are men and women doing their jobs to feed their families. Just. Like. You.  They didn’t have a choice. They didn’t ask for this. They didn’t assault anyone. They are not a corporation; they are individuals who need a job. They are my friends and maybe even my husband. There’s a very fine line between what you despise and becoming what you despise. Many of the comments and actions I have seen perpetrated against United employees cross it. Don’t become what you hate.
Like I said, I know you’re mad at United, but there’s much more to the story than hits the media fan.
I truly hope that this gives you something to chew on and gives you a smidgen more insight into the complexities of aviation. I’m not making excuses. I think there were bad decisions made on both sides. However, I am saying there are always two sides to every story. Make sure you consider them both.
Tailwinds.
***A correction to the previous article. Mr. Dao was indeed Vietmanese and not Chinese.  That quote was verbatim from a comment off the internet. I apology profusely for the confusion.
Angelia (A Pilot Wife)
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Monday, April 10, 2017

An Asian man was forcibly taken off an overbooked United Airlines flight

http://occupydemocrats.com/2017/04/10/congress-just-got-involved-united-airlines-incident/

An Asian man was forcibly taken off an overbooked United Airlines flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky, after refusing to give up his seat to airline employees who needed to be in Louisville on Monday



Washington D.C. Democratic Delegate Eleanor Nortor, a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has officially called for a congressional hearing into United Airlines’ removal of a passenger from a flight.
In a statement, Norton said:
“I deplore the violent removal of a passenger from a United Airlines flight this weekend. Airline passengers must have protections against such abusive treatment. I am asking our committee for a hearing, which will allow us to question airport police, United Airlines personnel, and airport officials, among others, about whether appropriate procedures were in place in Chicago and are in place across the United States when passengers are asked to leave a flight.”
Norton will also be sending a letter to House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) to inquire about the practice of overbooking, over which this incident occurred.
United Airlines was recently in hot water for denying entry onto a flight to two teenage girls because they wore leggings.
United CEO Oscar Munoz released a tone-deaf statement apologizing that the airline had to “re-accommodate” the passenger whom they violently dragged off the flight. If that was “re-accommodating,” I can’t imagine what a “forceful removal” must look like.
Once the congressional hearing date is set, United is going to wish their only PR issue was for leggings.

Brian Tyler Cohen
Brian Tyler Cohen is a political writer, actor, and comedy sketch director. He graduated from Lehigh University with a dual degree in English and Business. He currently lives in Los Angeles.


Sunday, April 9, 2017

Thursday Challenge : Shadow

The current theme is "Shadow (week 1 of 2)" (Any photo with shadows or a silhouette

http://www.spunwithtears.com/thursday.html



Saturday, April 8, 2017

Sarawak Butter Buns

Photo courtesy, Kenneth Goh.

It was after my high school/ upper six before I went to Canada when I went to teach as a temporary teacher. My memory of the school were the students were very polite. I rented a room, and went to a cafe/restaurant for my meals. Sometimes I didn't go to town for my lunch. Instead I bought two butter buns and that was my lunch.

I remember the taste, it was so delicious. Fast forward to 2012, these same cohorts of students found me on Facebook. They invited me to join them for their reunion. In passing, I told them I longed for these butter buns. To my delight, they told me that the butter buns were made by one of the organisers, Francis Chen's Dad. Sadly, Mr Chen Senior had retired.

I met Kenneth Goh from a few groups on Facebook. He is not just a FB friend. He is a marvelous chef/cook and he shares  his knowledge in his blogs, and is a mentor to his followers. He has a wide knowledge of traditional food.

One day, Kenneth posted this Sarawak Butter Buns and it brought me way back to 1974. Here is his link.

SARAWAK BUTTER BUNS (砂拉越 牛油面包)

Recipe Link: http://wp.me/p6ZBR0-8h6
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GuaishushusPage
Instagram: http://instagram.com/kenwugls
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kengls

http://mondaymellowyellows.blogspot.co.nz/