Three tracks from the band I’ll be seeing shortly – Gogol Bordello. The first is a live performance of Wanderlust King:
Undestructable is a fantastic anthem
And we finish with Mishto!, perhaps my favorite. Impossible to listen without moving:
Month: January 2009
I’ve held a deep dislike for AirTran since it was named ValuJet and dumping people into the Everglades. Every contact I’ve ever had with the airline reinforces my notion that it is run by the cheapest and most incompetent labor force it can scrounge up. Which leads to incredibly stupid things like this scene that unfolded at National yesterday:
A Muslim family removed from an airliner Thursday after passengers became concerned about their conversation say AirTran officials refused to rebook them, even after FBI investigators cleared them of wrongdoing.
Atif Irfan said federal authorities removed eight members of his extended family and a friend after passengers heard them discussing the safest place to sit and misconstrued the nature of the conversation.
Irfan, a U.S. citizen and tax attorney, said he was “impressed with the professionalism” of the FBI agents who questioned him, but said he felt mistreated when the airline refused to book the family for a later flight.
Because an organization can’t be run entirely on stupidity, I presume that the issue eventually made its way up to someone with a little sense (if still completely lacking in tact), resulting in the airline issuing a statement that concluded with:
The nine passengers involved were all offered full refunds and may fly with AirTran Airways again after having been released from questioning and cleared by the law enforcement officials.
Yeah, probably not.
Update: Per the comments, they found someone at AirTran who managed to grind out an apology on behalf of the airline.  Of course, they try to avoid responsibility and hide behind the usual security excuse:
“We regret that the issue escalated to the heightened security level it did on New Year’s Day, but we trust everyone understands that the security and the safety of our passengers is paramount and cannot be compromised[.]”
The part that is entirely AirTran’s fault had nothing to do with security, and everything to do with AirTran’s utterly ridiculous refusal to let the family rebook for the next flight.
Washcycle has a nice little summary of the projects DC area cyclists can expect to see completed or get underway in 2009. It will be nice to (finally) have the Wilson Bridge open to cyclists, and the Shirlington Underpass will be of great practical use.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bAN7Ts0xBo[/youtube]
Maybe this is a repeat. Don’t care. It’s just that good.
Today marks the official start of the Czech Republic’s six month turn in the EU Presidency. For those unfamiliar with the EU structure, it’s probably easiest to think of the EU Presidency as something of a chairmanship on a committee of equals. Having the Presidency will allow you some ability to set the agenda, host major meetings, and be treated as an important voice on matters of concern to the EU. At the same time, the short term of office and generally consensus-focused tradition limit any raw exercises of power. (In true EU fashion, it’s much more complicated than that – if you’re interested in the details, start here.)
The transition of the EU Presidency from France (the incumbent, until yesterday) to the Czech Republic has been the subject of much apprehension. First, it’s only been five years since the Czech Republic officially joined the European Union, and the Czech Republic’s own government isn’t exactly an example of the sort of solid and steady hand many would prefer at the helm. Second, the current Czech President – Vaclav Klaus – is a solid “Eurosceptic” (something of a catch-all term for those who oppose further accrual of power to the EU, away from the member states). That pictured car with the No EU sticker? That’s his. That sort of naked rejection of the EU leads to scenes like this recent meeting of ambassadors from EU countries in Prague:
[A] recent such lunch proved very awkward, thanks to its guest of honour: the country’s Eurosceptic president, Vaclav Klaus. He was politely asked about EU policies and how they might be handled when the Czechs take over the rotating EU presidency on January 1st. Each time the president growled that he was against the EU, so had no reason to answer such questions. The Czech presidency was an insignificant event, he added, because the EU is dominated by its big founding nations. Mr Klaus turned to the envoy from Slovenia, a former Yugoslav republic that was the first ex-communist newcomer to hold the rotating presidency, earlier this year. Everybody knows the Slovene presidency was a charade, he ventured. It was scripted by big countries like France or Germany.
Awkward, indeed. Klaus’ distrust of the big EU members is somewhat mutual:
A mood of impatience with the enlarged Europe helps to explain a mysterious plan, briefly floated by senior French officials, for France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy, to continue hosting European summits after his country’s shot at the EU presidency finishes on December 31st. Such summits, it was briefed in Paris, would be reserved for heads of government from the inner core of countries that are in the single currency, the euro (possibly with Britain added). The Czechs, of course, are not: a detail that would allow Mr Sarkozy to continue running things in 2009, in case Czech leaders “sabotage†the EU during their presidency, as an official from the Elysée Palace tactfully put it to French reporters.
While I’ve long thought that the EU’s rapid expansion was a bad idea, ignoring the system after it’s been put in place is an even worse one. Undermining the Czech Presidency will only serve to reinforce the suspicion that EU governance is largely a Franco-German affair, with the occasional assist from Britain.  With that perception out there, there will be little chance that the EU can move beyond being mired in struggles over organizational matters. It would be far preferable to be able to focus on the merits of the Czechs’ stated goals for their term – financial deregulation, energy diversification/security, and reapproachment with Russia – than internal squabbles over who’s backyard will host the next EU summit on carbon emissions.
Will this be the year that DC residents get the same rights enjoyed by citizens in every state?
President-elect Barack Obama is an original cosponsor of the DC Voting Rights bill, which would turn the city’s congressional delegate, who has limited power, into a full-fledged member of the US House.
Some are hoping Obama will also back measures eventually leading to statehood. The issue could be one of the first legislative initiatives of his presidency, and a test of his commitment to make life better for the district’s 581,000 residents, who on average pay some of the nation’s highest federal income tax bills.
That the title must be a question, rather than a statement, is a result of learned caution on the issue.  As usual, the Republicans can be counted on to lobby against the effort – they’ll give a dozen different reasons, but it always boils down to their simple opposition to additional Democratic representation.  But this Republican commitment to disenfranchisement shouldn’t let Democrats off the hook.  Democrats, as a party, haven’t put nearly enough effort into solving this issue as they should. With control of Congress and the White House, however, there are no more excuses. Make it happen.
More about the issues and legislative efforts at DCVote.org.