Timeline Of Major Air Crashes

BBC

2009

· 30 June: A Yemeni passenger plane, Airbus 310, crashes in the Indian Ocean near the Comoros archipelago, with 153 people on board.

· 1 June: An Air France Airbus 330 travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashes into the Atlantic with 228 people on board.

· 20 May: An Indonesian Army C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes into a village on eastern Java, killing at 97 people.

· 6 April: An Indonesian Army Fokker-27 crashes on landing near Bandung, West Java, killing 24 people.

· 25 February: A flight from Istanbul to Amsterdam crashes short of the runway at Schiphol international airport. Of the 135 people on board, nine are killed and at least 50 injured.

· 12 February: A passenger plane crashes into a house in Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground.

· 8 February: A passenger plane crashes into a river in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, killing 24 people, most of who were from the same family.

2008

· 14 September: A Boeing-737 crashes on landing near the central Russian city of Perm, killing all 88 passengers and crew members on board.

· 24 August: A passenger plane crashes shortly after take-off from Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, killing 68 people.

· 20 August: A Spanair plane veers off the runway on take-off at Madrid's Barajas airport, killing 154 people and injuring 18.

· 2 May: South Sudan's defence minister is among 22 people killed after engine trouble causes a plane carrying a military delegation to crash about 400km (250 miles) west of Juba.

· 15 April: 40 people die when a DC-9 skids off the runway while attempting to take off in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma during heavy rain, smashing through a wall and into a busy residential area.

· 24 January: Nineteen people die when a Polish Casa C-295M military transport plane crashes in the country's north-west, carrying officials who had attended an air safety conference.

2007

· 30 November: All 56 people on board an Atlasjet flight are killed when it crashes near the town of Keciborlu in the mountainous Isparta province, about 12km from Isparta airport.

· 16 September: 87 people are killed after a One-Two-Go plane crashed on landing in bad weather at the Thai resort of Phuket.

· 17 July: A TAM Airlines jet crashes on landing at Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo, in Brazil's worst-ever air disaster. A total of 199 people are killed - all 186 on board and 13 on the ground.

· 5 May: A Kenya Airways' Boeing 737-800 crashes in swampland in southern Cameroon, killing all 114 on board. The official inquiry is yet to report on the cause of the disaster.

· 1 January: An Adam Air Boeing 737-400 carrying 102 passengers and crew comes down in mountains on Sulawesi Island on a domestic Indonesian flight.

2006

· 29 September: A Boeing 737 carrying 154 passengers and crew crashed into the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, killing all on board, after colliding with a private jet in mid-air.

· 27 August: A Comair CRJ-100 jet goes down shortly after taking off from Lexington in the US state of Kentucky, killing 49 people.

· 22 August: A Russian Tupolev-154 passenger plane with 170 people on board crashes north of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine.

· 9 July: A Russian S7 Airbus A-310 skids off the runway during landing at Irkutsk airport in Siberia. A total of 124 people on board die, but more than 50 survive the crash.

· 3 May: An Armavia Airbus A-320 crashes into the Black Sea near Sochi, killing all 113 people on board.

Add-On To The Restaurant Print Edition

Worse than blindness is sight without vision. — Helen Keller

Comments Made (For The Restaurant Print Edition)

re: The Government In Your Computer

I think we're stepping into police state territory and it is very scary indeed. Especially because the cops can lie about stuff and get away with it ... kind of like the politicians.

- Anonymous

re: Questions For Discussion And Revelation

Yes, I have fallen asleep at the wheel, and if it had not been the hand of God intervening, my daughter and I would both be dead. It is a terrible, terrible thing.

The worst time for me is after lunch ... and now, when I feel the veil about to shut over my mind/vision screen, I stop, recline my seat and rest.

- Anonymous

re: Suing For Blame

I can't believe that goofy frenchman is suing anybody. He should be sued for attributing to the death of his wife.

Don't forget we are in the age of not taking any responsibility or liability for our actions. We can blame somebody for our own stupidity.

- JH

Re: Things heard

I have read a bunch of your paper online. I must say the part that sticks out the most is the two people on the bench talking about the church.

- WG

What Does It Mean To You?

Today is Canada Day. Canada is one-hundred and forty-two years-old.

For most people it is a holiday. Some people get paid for it, even though they didn’t work.

To others it is a birthday with some fireworks at the end.

But what else?

What does Canada Day mean to you?

A Prayer For Corrupt Politicians

Poison, lethal rattlesnake poison

drips from their forked tongues.

Deaf to threats, deaf to charm,

decades of wax built up in their ears.

God, smash their teeth to bits,

leave them toothless tigers.

Let their lives be buckets of water spilled,

all that is left, a damp stain in the sand.

Let them be trampled grass

worn smooth by the traffic.

Let them dissolve into sail slime,

be a miscarried fetus that never sees sunlight.

Before what they cook up is half-done, God,

throw it out with the garbage!

Amen.

Oh Canada

Tim Hortons corporate listing is coming back to Canada.

It is currently incorporated in the United States but is returning to Canada to take advantage of lower taxes.

The US hamburger giant Wendy’s acquired Tim Hortons in 1995 but spun it off again in 2006.

The current tax rate in the US is 33 percent. There will be a saving of approximately two percent in the first years of its return, dropping to the expected rate of 25 percent by 2012.

One blogger online made this comment: “Tim Hortons has done well by Canadians, who make up ninety percent of its business. The company-cost of Tim's small-medium coffee and one donut is thirty cents.” He said he pays $2.49.

Trade-Offs And Disappointments

Observances made while listening to two older women in a housing unit for seniors:

Conversation 1: “Once I got in here and settled, all my energy went right down. I used to get on chairs and change my own light bulbs and things like that, but I don’t do that anymore.”

Conversation 2: “I would have liked to have stayed in my house, but my family would not let me. They said I couldn’t manage, but I could. I really could.”

Things Noticed

Los Angeles has 650 Medicinal Marijuana Dispensaries. Collectively, they offer more varieties to choose from than most ice cream parlours.

Currently, they are not under regulation.

Things Heard

Recently, a Greenwood woman was sitting and warming herself in the bright sun when she made this comment, "The churches now-a-days are so filled with the New Age movement and its teachings. I don't even go anymore. You know, I hate to say it but I think there is much evil here."

A man sitting next to her agreed. "I have suspected that too. It may explain why so many hearts seem so cold."

The Story That Won’t Quite Go Away

Perhaps in future history books, the story of President Obama will have a small footnote: Rumours persisted throughout his tenure that he was not American-born. There was public disclosure of a “certification of live birth”, but no birth certificate was ever forthcoming.

Maybe an actual birth certificate will eventually appear and the thus-far-faint rumblings will disappear, but in the meantime some people persist in drilling to absolute truth. They find their efforts somewhat suppressed.

World Net Daily Editor and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Farah is offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who can prove they were at the birth of Barack Obama.

"Barack Obama claims to have been born in Honolulu April 4, 1961," explains Farah. "His entire constitutional claim to the presidency rests on this premise. Yet, he refuses to release a copy of his long-form birth certificate – the only document that could possibly corroborate his claim. Therefore, in the interest of truth, justice and the Constitution, I am making the extraordinary offer to entice someone to come forward with the facts of his birth – whether it took place in Hawaii or elsewhere."

Mr. Obama, apparently, has refused to release evidence of that Hawaiian birth – a valid, long-form birth certificate that would show details of the birth, such as the hospital and the attending physician.

The short-form "certification of live birth", that he has released to select news organizations, sometimes finds use for foreign births on the basis of an affidavit by one parent.

World Net Daily says it proves nothing as far as constitutional eligibility – and, in fact, raises suspicions about a foreign birth.

World Net Daily also says:

· To date, no hospital in Hawaii has come forward to claim this historic birth.

· No doctor or nurse has come forward to say they were present for that historic birth.

· No witness of any kind has come forward to say they have first-hand knowledge or involvement in that historic birth – at least in Hawaii.

· Obama's paternal grandmother, Sarah Obama, claims to have been present for the birth in Mombassa, Kenya.

"It is clear now that Obama will never willingly release his birth certificate," said Farah. "It's time for Americans who still value the Constitution to step up and force the issue. It's time for us to learn the truth of where Obama was born. We may find he was born in Hawaii. We may find he was born elsewhere. I have no pre-conceived ideas. But this issue has haunted the American people long enough. It's time for some truth and transparency."

World Net also reports that Wikipedia postings challenging the president’s legitimacy on the matter find deletion within the hour and the user is under ban for future postings.

Billboards are also appearing in many places in the United States with the plain bold message “WHERE’S THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE?”, although some companies are now refusing to accept the ads.

Constitutionally, an American President must be born in the United States.

iPhone Costs

An iPhone costs Apple approximately $178 to manufacture.

Apple sells it to companies like AT&T for $600. AT&T, in turn, sells it to its subscribers for around $300, along with a two year contract.

At the end of the two years AT&T has taken in about $2,100 from its subscriber.

Highlights Of A Routine Police Road Check With A Question

Recently, Langley RCMP officers operated one of their infamous BC Road Checks and were checking seatbelts, driver’s licenses, registration and insurance, as well as looking for any contraband drugs or impaired drivers. In essence, they were not stopping people because they had done something wrong, but rather were stopping people to see if they could find something wrong with them.

One individual approached the roadblock with a cigarette in his mouth and a child in the vehicle. Officers issued Langley’s first “Smoking with a Child in the Vehicle” Violation Ticket. The offence carries a $109 fine. The same driver displayed signs of alcohol impairment and police issued a 24 hour driving suspension.

Another individual produced a driver’s license that he obtained in 1990 but had expired in 1995. The driver indicated that he was not aware his license had expired.

This gives rise to a question: Why do people have to renew their licences and passports every five years at such a high cost? Why are they not good for life, or at least for ten or twenty years?

Jenny Sanford Defies Adversity Head-On

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford entered into a now much publicized adulterous-relationship. Upon confession of his deed, many reporters confronted his wife Jenny Sanford outside her vacation home and inquired about her emotional condition.

Jenny Sanford responded, “Am I OK? You know what? I have great faith and I have great friends and great family. We have a good Lord in this world, and I know I’m going to be fine. Not only will I survive, I’ll thrive.”

Suing For Blame

Gilles Blackburn and his wife became lost after entering an out-of-bounds area near the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort on Feb. 15.

They apparently had told no one where they were going nor when they would return.

They did carve out SOS signs in the snow during the days ahead and although at least one sign found interested eyes, authorities had no report of lost persons anywhere.

Officials decided against starting a search-and-rescue operation because they could not confirm that anyone was actually missing.

Mr. Blackburn's wife died on the seventh day in the wilds; Mr. Blackburn found rescue on the ninth day.

Mr. Blackburn has now made the decision to sue the RCMP, the Province, the resort and the search and rescue team in Golden. He seems to feel that someone should have launched a rescue operation sooner.

One online commenter had this to say: "The only person he should be angry with is himself and his late wife. It is sad to think that this woman died because of their own errors. They had no itinerary, no maps, no survival gear, no GPS, no matches and wilfully went out of bounds.”

Mr. Blackburn's lawyer says she is surprised by the level of animosity expressed towards her client.

Questions For Discussion And Revelation

In the aftermath of the truck accident that killed three elderly persons on Highway 3 near Kettle Valley RV Park on Thursday, June 18^th, we might honestly face ourselves and engage in some real and open questions.

At 12:50 pm, an east-bound Burnaby man was responsible for the deaths of one Australian and two Southern BC pedestrians when he fell asleep at the wheel of his 2009 Ford Ranger pick-up.

To counteract the danger of becoming too judgemental, the unearthing questions are: have you ever fallen asleep while driving? Have you ever come close? Nodded a bit? Even a little? Do you know anyone who has?

Comments Left (For Restaurant Print Edition)

Re: Jim Pattison On Auto Bail-outs

I agree 100 percent.

Would Ottawa sink money into GM if it was out in BC? I doubt it.

You don't invest in failures.

-JH

Re: A Letter From The St. Petersburg Times

I am wondering if my math still works.

That would be 40 Trillion $$$. I can't even imagine that amount of money.

In any case the idea is pretty good.

-WS

Things Heard

Mr. Obama has been very tepid so far in his response to the Iranian people’s quest to escape the vice-like, tyrannical and corrupt religious-government grip they find themselves under.

Surely the Iranians are appealing to the West for support. Why else would so many of their protest signs be in English?

*****

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declared on state TV that if he and Cuba's Fidel Castro weren't "careful," they might "end up to Obama's right”.

The IBMs And Company ... Oh Such Loyal Employers

Outsourcing of current jobs always brings the possibility of pain to those who have had their jobs outsourced. These big, true-blue companies who built there beginnings in local lands aren't very true-blue at all it seems. They do, however, cause much blue to happen.

Two recently devastated people represent what is happening in many places. Mr. Oechslin graduated from Stanford University with a Master's Degree in mechanical engineering. His job just found outsourcing to another country. "I didn't think that I would be laid off with 900 other people in the semiconductor industry."

Civil engineer Rick Clark spent 11 years at IBM. He had experience in several departments, including real estate and manufacturing. Rick thought his job was secure.

Then, during a layoff period, "My manager called me into his office. Um, I expected him to say, 'You're safe.' But he surprised me and said, 'You're included in the layoff.'"

That wasn't the only surprise. Rick's manager handed him a brochure about an IBM program called Project Match. It offers laid-off employees new positions with the company, but there are in emerging markets like India and China. Engineers there typically earn less than half the salary of their US counterparts. IBM transplants like Rick earn the lower rate.

With many companies, when they offer an opportunity to start over in a new country, employees start over from scratch. All seniority and accrued benefits are gone.

One hears much about an employee’s loyalty, but the big, true-blue companies’ loyalty apparently doesn't exist any more.

Did it ever?

Random Testing

Oh! Oh! Roadblock zone!

Flashing lights, armed government men and paddy wagons fill the immediate landscape.

The uniforms have a command for you. "Give me your breath, sir."

Previously, if the police had a valid reason to believe you had been drinking they could give you a roadside breath test.

Now, if a Canadian Parliamentary Committee has its way, the "reasonable suspicion" requirement will no longer be necessary. Roadside random breath tests may fall upon anyone at anytime, anyplace.

In the past, and under current law, police suspicions could rest upon such observances as erratic driving, fumbling with license and registration, slurred speech, blood-shot eyes and so on.

The current Justice Committee recommends that law enforcement officers should be able to demand breath tests at any time, regardless of whether the driver smells of alcohol or shows signs of impairment.

This new law, if it comes to be, will likely face challenge under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects individuals against unreasonable search or seizure. Seizing your breath without cause may be such a violation.

The Government In Your Computer

The Canadian Government has introduced legislation that will give the police broad new authority to collect information about Canadian Internet users without a warrant.

If the government succeeds in implementing this “lawful access” legislation, Internet Service Providers will find themselves forced to install monitoring technology to keep track of their users' online activities. The police may soon be able to activate tracking devices in citizens’ cellphones and cars as well.

”The Investigative Powers for the 21st Century Act” and the “Technical Assistance for Law Enforcement in the 21st Century Act” will provide policing officials with the tools they need to keep communities safe, says Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan.

In 2007, former Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day had said the Canadian Government would not force ISPs to hand over personal information about their users to the police without a warrant. Today, however, the government proposes exactly that.

Critics are concerned about this sweeping use of power.

“Nobody wants to create roadblocks for law enforcement, but there has been no evidence put forward that the current system has created any barriers, and I think it raises real concern where there is potential for abuse,” said Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa. “That's why you have court oversight.”

That oversight is set to vanish.