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AIRLINES, NOT TERRORISTS, HOLDING PASSENGERS HOSTAGE
JOE SHARKEY, NY TIMES - For nearly four hours last Thursday night,
Flight 5637, a 50-seat regional jet, was stuck on the ground by bad
weather at Kennedy International Airport. The air-conditioning wasn't
working, and no one seemed to have a clue about when the plane would
take off. . .
What was unusual was that one passenger on the flight, David Ollila,
runs a company that makes video cameras the size of a roll of quarters
for mountain bikers, skiers and other amateur athletes to attach to
their helmets and capture their thrills. And Mr. Ollila had one of those
little cameras with him.
He marched up to the plane's front, stood a few feet from the open
cockpit door and interviewed the captain, demanding to know why
something wasn't being done to get the passengers off the plane.
He got a few replies on camera. Then the police arrived. The passengers
all filed off. The flight was canceled. Mr. Ollila said he was
questioned inside the airport by the Port Authority police and a
Transportation Security Administration officer. After a background
check, "they determined I was not a threat," he said.
He was released without charge. . .
Airline chaos is the travel story of this year. I've written in the past
about the efforts of a real estate agent from the San Francisco area,
Kate Hanni, who got so motivated after being stranded for eight hours on
a plane with overflowing toilets that she now works full-time lobbying
for federal legislation to address passengers' rights. Her group has a
Web site, www.strandedpassengers.blogspot.com. She has also set up a
toll-free hotline - (877) 359-3776 - for passengers to phone in their
complaints.
The complaints are pouring in. But she says she was most amused by a
message from a woman who described herself as a flight attendant and who
"seemed to take the airlines' attitude that everything is somehow the
fault of the passengers."
Here is the message:
"I'm a flight attendant, and I just wanted to suggest that passengers
not eat and drink while they're sitting on the tarmac because then this
lavatory issue comes up. Nobody's going to be hurt by not eating or
drinking for a few hours. They should take the sips of water the flight
attendants offer and do their part. It's the passengers' duty to be
practical. Why eat and drink and worry about having to go to the
bathroom?"
Happy flying!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/26/business/26road.html?ex=
1340510400&en=7090fe00e895c4d1&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
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PAY BACK TIME: MOTHER SUES RIAA FOR LIBEL, DECEPTION
ERIC BANGEMAN - Former RIAA target Tanya Andersen has sued several major
record labels, the parent company of RIAA investigative arm Media Sentry
and the RIAA's Settlement Support Center for malicious prosecution, a
development first reported by P2P litigation attorney Ray Beckerman of
Vandenberg & Feliu. Earlier this month, Andersen and the RIAA agreed to
dismiss the case against her with prejudice, making her the prevailing
party and eligible for attorneys fees. The lawsuit was filed in the US
District Court for the District of Oregon late last week and accuses the
RIAA of a number of misdeeds, including invasion of privacy, libel and
slander, and deceptive business practices.
Andersen is a disabled single mother residing in Oregon. In 2005, she
was sued by the RIAA for file-sharing, accused of sharing a library of
gangsta rap over Kazaa. She denied the allegations and filed a
counterclaim alleging fraud, racketeering, and deceptive business
practices by the record labels. Despite the lack of any evidence of
infringement apart from an IP address, the RIAA continued to press ahead
with the case until the abrupt dismissal earlier this month. . .
The RIAA is also accused of trying to contact Andersen's then
eight-year-old daughter without her knowledge. "Knowing of her distress,
the RIAA and its agents even attempted to directly contact Kylee," reads
the complaint. "They called Ms. Andersen's apartment building looking
for Kylee. Phone calls were also made to her former elementary school
under false pretenses... Ms. Andersen learned of these tactics and was
even more frightened and distressed."
Andersen says that the RIAA acted negligently throughout the proceedings
and engaged in fraud and negligent misrepresentation by demanding that
she enter into a four-figure settlement for copyright infringement that
she never engaged in. The RIAA is also accused of violating both federal
and state RICO statutes, the intentional infliction of emotional
distress, and invasion of privacy. Andersen seeks statutory and punitive
damages along with attorneys fees.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070625-exonerated-defendant
-sues-riaa-for-malicious-prosecution.html
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AIRLINES, NOT TERRORISTS, HOLDING PASSENGERS HOSTAGE
JOE SHARKEY, NY TIMES - For nearly four hours last Thursday night,
Flight 5637, a 50-seat regional jet, was stuck on the ground by bad
weather at Kennedy International Airport. The air-conditioning wasn't
working, and no one seemed to have a clue about when the plane would
take off. . .
What was unusual was that one passenger on the flight, David Ollila,
runs a company that makes video cameras the size of a roll of quarters
for mountain bikers, skiers and other amateur athletes to attach to
their helmets and capture their thrills. And Mr. Ollila had one of those
little cameras with him.
He marched up to the plane's front, stood a few feet from the open
cockpit door and interviewed the captain, demanding to know why
something wasn't being done to get the passengers off the plane.
He got a few replies on camera. Then the police arrived. The passengers
all filed off. The flight was canceled. Mr. Ollila said he was
questioned inside the airport by the Port Authority police and a
Transportation Security Administration officer. After a background
check, "they determined I was not a threat," he said.
He was released without charge. . .
Airline chaos is the travel story of this year. I've written in the past
about the efforts of a real estate agent from the San Francisco area,
Kate Hanni, who got so motivated after being stranded for eight hours on
a plane with overflowing toilets that she now works full-time lobbying
for federal legislation to address passengers' rights. Her group has a
Web site, www.strandedpassengers.blogspot.com. She has also set up a
toll-free hotline - (877) 359-3776 - for passengers to phone in their
complaints.
The complaints are pouring in. But she says she was most amused by a
message from a woman who described herself as a flight attendant and who
"seemed to take the airlines' attitude that everything is somehow the
fault of the passengers."
Here is the message:
"I'm a flight attendant, and I just wanted to suggest that passengers
not eat and drink while they're sitting on the tarmac because then this
lavatory issue comes up. Nobody's going to be hurt by not eating or
drinking for a few hours. They should take the sips of water the flight
attendants offer and do their part. It's the passengers' duty to be
practical. Why eat and drink and worry about having to go to the
bathroom?"
Happy flying!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/26/business/26road.html?ex=
1340510400&en=7090fe00e895c4d1&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PAY BACK TIME: MOTHER SUES RIAA FOR LIBEL, DECEPTION
ERIC BANGEMAN - Former RIAA target Tanya Andersen has sued several major
record labels, the parent company of RIAA investigative arm Media Sentry
and the RIAA's Settlement Support Center for malicious prosecution, a
development first reported by P2P litigation attorney Ray Beckerman of
Vandenberg & Feliu. Earlier this month, Andersen and the RIAA agreed to
dismiss the case against her with prejudice, making her the prevailing
party and eligible for attorneys fees. The lawsuit was filed in the US
District Court for the District of Oregon late last week and accuses the
RIAA of a number of misdeeds, including invasion of privacy, libel and
slander, and deceptive business practices.
Andersen is a disabled single mother residing in Oregon. In 2005, she
was sued by the RIAA for file-sharing, accused of sharing a library of
gangsta rap over Kazaa. She denied the allegations and filed a
counterclaim alleging fraud, racketeering, and deceptive business
practices by the record labels. Despite the lack of any evidence of
infringement apart from an IP address, the RIAA continued to press ahead
with the case until the abrupt dismissal earlier this month. . .
The RIAA is also accused of trying to contact Andersen's then
eight-year-old daughter without her knowledge. "Knowing of her distress,
the RIAA and its agents even attempted to directly contact Kylee," reads
the complaint. "They called Ms. Andersen's apartment building looking
for Kylee. Phone calls were also made to her former elementary school
under false pretenses... Ms. Andersen learned of these tactics and was
even more frightened and distressed."
Andersen says that the RIAA acted negligently throughout the proceedings
and engaged in fraud and negligent misrepresentation by demanding that
she enter into a four-figure settlement for copyright infringement that
she never engaged in. The RIAA is also accused of violating both federal
and state RICO statutes, the intentional infliction of emotional
distress, and invasion of privacy. Andersen seeks statutory and punitive
damages along with attorneys fees.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070625-exonerated-defendant
-sues-riaa-for-malicious-prosecution.html
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