Breaking News Thread Version 2.0

[Krandall]

damn womenz.


Blonde Nazi ballerina 'caused war setback'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11095570


A glamorous Nazi spy may have been behind one of the biggest setbacks suffered by Allied forces during World War II, newly released files suggest.

The secret government papers suggest that Marina Lee, a blonde ballerina, stole battle plans which led to the fall of Norway to Germany in 1940.

According to the files, Germany was close to pulling out of Norway before Lee passed on details of the plan.

The documents were part of an archive released by British spy agency MI5.

Lee is said to have infiltrated the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Forces in Norway and obtained information about the plan drawn up by British commander Gen Auchinleck.

German commander, Gen Eduard Dietl, who was holding the Norwegian port of Narvik, was reportedly considering a withdrawal, but the disclosure of these details meant his forces could block the Auchinleck plan.

British, French and Norwegian troops were later forced to withdraw from German-controlled Norway.
'Experienced agent'
Continue reading the main story
"Start Quote

    With these details in hand Dietl was able to rearrange his defence and to defeat Auchinleck"

End Quote Gerth Van Wijk Archived document

The information about Lee was disclosed after Gerth Van Wijk, a German agent who had changed sides to work for the British, recounted the story he had heard from von Finckenstein, a German intelligence officer.

It was an account backed by another agent, KC Hansen.

Van Wijk said that "with these details in hand Dietl was able to rearrange his defence and to defeat Auchinleck".

Born in St Petersburg, Russia, Lee was married to a Norwegian communist and had trained as a ballerina before becoming "a highly valued and experienced German agent", according to the files.

She is described as "blonde, tall, with a beautiful figure, refined and languid in manner" and reportedly spoke five languages.

One account says she personally knew Stalin - leading to conjectures she was working for both Berlin and Moscow who, at that time, were on the same side, our reporter says.

The BBC's Rick Fountain says the British force went to Norway to stop strategic material falling into German hands, hoping to bolster anti-Nazi resistance, and even maybe build an Allied force to threaten Germany from the North.

But the plan turned into a fiasco which brought down Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and brought Winston Churchill back to power, our reporter says.

[disco]

 

[Krandall]

holy crap...


Scary gaffe adds to week of airline mishaps
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100827/bs_yblog_upshot/scary-gaffe-adds-to-week-of-airline-mishaps


In the middle of an otherwise-peaceful British Airways flight from London to Hong Kong on Tuesday, a terrifying announcement blasted over the speakers.

The automated message warned the 275 passengers to brace themselves, because the plane was about to crash into the sea.

"We all thought we were going to die," one passenger said.

Flight attendants quickly reassured the traumatized passengers that the message was a mistake, and British Airways say they are investigating how the incident could have happened.

This is just the latest mishap to come to light in a wild week for airlines.

[True emergency: Tires of plane catch fire during landing]

On Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration proposed a record $24.2 million penalty for American Airlines, saying the company put passengers in danger by flying 14,000 flights with planes that didn't meet safety standards. In 2008, the airline canceled more than 3,000 flights to try to fix the electrical wiring on its jets. American plans to appeal the fine.

Meanwhile, in one of the more ill-considered marketing moves in recent memory, Henan Airlines plastered a photo of a crashed, charred plane on its homepage this week, after 42 of its passengers died in the crash in China. The company has fired its president over the crash.

[Decoded: One very important letter on your airline ticket]

At least one of the week's airline gaffes added a measure of adorability to the cavalcade of fear, safety fines and crash photos. A Thai woman was arrested at Beijing's airport after she hid a drugged baby tiger in her suitcase, next to a stuffed toy tiger. Thai officials subsequently placed the 3-month-old cub at a wildlife refuge.

[Peelz]

speaking of airline problems...this is a little old...but hilarious this guy is my hero!

Airline steward flips out on rude passenger.

WE'RE all guilty of losing our cool at one time or another, whether it's arguing with a boss, walking out and slamming the door or doing as fed-up flight attendant Steven Slater did and decide enough was enough.

After getting into a foul-mouthed row with a passenger after landing at JFK airport, the 39-year-old immediately announced his resignation over the tannoy, grabbed a cold beer from the galley, activated the aircrafts emergency slide, slid down and headed straight for his car.

Stunned onlookers said Slater 'snapped' on the JetBlue flight from Pittsburgh after he was struck by a piece of luggage a passenger was taking down from an overhead locker.

The outraged air-steward then marched straight to the front of the plane and used the plane's public address system to announce his immediate retirement.

After pausing for a moment to remove his tie, he grabbed himself a nice cold beer, deployed the emergency slide and headed for the tarmac.

Back at his beachfront Belle Harbor home, the ex-flight attendant was arrested several hours later and has since been charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing.

Slater happily confessed to police that he had deployed the escape chute and used it to make his dramatic exit, along with his luggage.


http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/lifestyle/holiday-hypermarket/2010/08/17/air-steward-makes-dramatic-exit-from-flight-72703-27081070/

Slater and his melodramatic behaviour have already become something of a hit online, with tweeters, bloggers and Facebook groups celebrating the theatrical resignation of a put-upon 'trolley dolly' who had taken enough abuse, and wasn't going to take any more.

So if you're travelling on package holidays this summer, be kind to your crew members and treat them with the same respect that they treat you with and everyone should be fine.

[Gunz]

Funyun?

[Spartan]

Nothing new about Funyun

[Colorado700R]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/28/nebraska.funeral.protest/index.html?iref=obnetwork


WTF!!!    I would of used an uzi on anyone protesting a Marine's funeral

[Peelz]

ridiculous.

[Krandall]

those people are unbelievable

I may not agree w/ the wars we have our hands in. But I'll support the hell out of our troops!

[russ-russ]

Yea, these asshats from Westboro Baptist Church need some serious quality time with my size 11 steel toes.

One paragraph from the CNN report:
Westboro members, led by pastor Fred Phelps, believe GERD is punishing the United States for "the sin of homosexuality" through events including soldiers' deaths. Members have traveled the country, shouting at grieving family members at funerals and displaying such signs as "Thank GERD for Dead Soldiers," "GERD Blew Up the Troops" and "AIDS Cures Fags."

Just makes me want to beat some sense into them, and then beat them senseless again.  Repeat as necessary.

[rappyfreak]

Now I don't feel so bad about my hook... 


Golfer's swing sparks 25-acre California blaze
By Jay Busbee


Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.
You can use a golf club for all kinds of non-golfy purposes -- walking stick, fishing rod, club, to name three. And now we can add to that list -- firestarter.
Over the weekend, a golfer's routine swing in the rough at the Shady Canyon Golf Course in Irvine, Calif., struck a rock. Not so different from the way you play, right? Only this time, the impact caused a spark, and the spark set off a blaze that eventually covered 25 acres, according to the Steven Buck, General Manager of Shady Canyon Golf Course, and required the efforts of 150 Orange County firefighters, writes the Associated Press.
Wow. And I felt bad the time I shanked a ball through the window of a house too close to the fairway. That was nothing compared to this!
The golfer's name is being withheld, which is probably for the best, and no charges are going to be filed. Fortunately, it all could have been much worse. As it was, the blaze required both helicopters and on-the-ground crews.
The conditions were ripe for a blaze, with dry brush from a recent heat wave just waiting for the right spark. Like, say, one caused by metal on rock.
And now, your turn. This is going to inspire a raft of bad Sportscenter-esque "When we say he set the course on fire, he really set the course on fire!" jokes. So let's get ahead of the curve. Best bad golf-and-fire-related pun in the comments wins a round of applause. Go!

[Colorado700R]

Discovery channel HQ bomber with hostages!!

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/01/police-reports-of-armed-man-at-discovery-channel-headquarters/?hpt=T1&iref=BN1

Must of not enjoyed "Shark week"



ok, off to hell ..........Kthxbye

[disco]

You go, gurl!

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7183286.html

Woman puts bullet hole in attacker's SUV

LA MARQUE — A 56-year-old woman fended off an armed attacker in a Walmart parking lot in La Marque, pulled a pistol and put at least one hole in the assailant's fleeing vehicle, La Marque police said on Thursday.

The woman, whom police declined to name, struggled with a man trying to take her car shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday, Detective Danielle Herman said in a written statement.

The woman, a concealed handgun permit holder, managed to grab a pistol from the car console and pointed it at the man, who fled to a silver or gray SUV driven by an accomplice, Herman said.

The woman fired several shots at the SUV as it sped away, at least one bullet striking the rear of the vehicle, she said.

Herman said the attacker was armed with a pistol.

Police are looking for an SUV with a bullet hole and Texas license plate number NMG 714.

Anyone with information about the vehicle should call La Marque Crime Stoppers at 409-938-8477.

[Colorado700R]

Since it's near Boulder, I consider this a cleansing fire

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/07/wildfires/index.html?hpt=T2

[Colorado700R]

Awesome

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/10/medal.of.honor.recipient/index.html?hpt=T2