High-Flying Hamsters on the Rampage

A flight was grounded in the Azores after 130 hamsters escaped their cages during the flight from Portugal.  They were found roaming around the cargo area of the Airbus 320 after baggage handlers unloading luggage discovered their damaged cages.

Workers were desperately rounding up the power cable-eating rodents-- 16 critters were still missing after five days on the ground. The hamsters were part of a delivery for a pet shop on the island which also included ferrets and some birds. The mass break-out forced the flight to be grounded instead of continuing its journey back to Lisbon.

Sources told a local newspaper that the animals had been accepted on the flight after being turned away from an earlier one because the previous cages “didn’t meet accepted standards".  TAP Air Portugal, the airline operating the flight, has yet to make any official comment.

Hamsters like to munch on cables and wires which could potentially damage aircraft.  In 2016, hundreds of hamsters broke loose inside a Boeing jet that was forced out of service. The pilot of the Amsterdam-bound flight said at the time: "We came to the aircraft, and the mayhem just happened."

In 2006, a hamster secretly being carried by a passenger escaped and caused chaos on a plane to Austria. That flight, which originated in Mallorca, Spain was forced to make a stop in Innsbruck so officials could search for the hamster and make sure it didn’t cause any damage.

Keeping Tabs on the New Efficiency Czar

A handy Reddit group has come together to keep the public informed of all Elon Musk's flights. And with more than 200,000 members keeping tabs on the quixotic Trump aficionado, it's safe to say not much of what Musk gets up to is missed. 

Although the group are solely tracking his jet's movements, with 10 flights over a recent three day period, there's plenty of shifting about to speculate on.  And that is exactly what Reddit users do every time Musk is on the move, as Trump's new "efficiency czar" commutes via the skies.

Late last week, Musk traveled mostly between West Palm Beach, Florida to Austin Texas, which has led to a lot of discussion about the who, what and why. In regards to the environmental impact of the constant travel, one user said: "But I’m supposed to use paper straws, got it."  Another user noted about Musk's frequent flying: "He cannot sit still for 5 minutes. Or taking the kids back to their mother."

While another pondered: "This is really what amazes me about these billionaires like Elon ever since I followed this sub. I genuinely wonder what he’d say if you asked him to describe home. Does he even really have a home at this point or is it just hotels and villas? Does he equate home with family or location or maybe where he grew up? Does he ever just stay somewhere for more than a day or two for a reason other than work? It’s really fascinating to me."

 

Gun Industry Group Caught Violating Privacy Rights of Gun Owners

 ProPublica has published an investigation of a  “covert program” in which firearms manufacturers for years shared sensitive customer information with political operatives. The secret program was conducted while the gun industry presented itself as a privacy protector and fought against government and corporate efforts to track firearms ownership.

At least 10 gun industry businesses, including Glock, Smith & Wesson and Remington, handed over hundreds of thousands of names, addresses and other private data — without customer knowledge or consent — to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which then entered the details into what would become a massive database. The database was used to rally gun owners’ electoral support for the industry’s candidates running for the White House and Congress.

The customer information initially came from decades of warranty cards filled out and returned to gun manufacturers for rebates and repair or replacement programs. A ProPublica review of dozens of warranty cards from the 1970s through today found that some promised customers their information would be kept strictly confidential. Others said some information could be shared with third parties for marketing and sales. None of the cards informed buyers their details would be used by lobbyists and consultants to win elections.

Violating a promise of strict confidentiality on warranty cards or failing to mention that consumer information could be given to the NSSF may qualify as a deceptive practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act, privacy and legal experts said.

It's Probably Going to Be Worse

Franz Ferdinand - Audacious

As If You Needed A Reason NOT to Go to Haiti

A Spirit Airlines plane flying from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was struck by gunfire as it attempted to land in the Haitian capital, forcing it to divert and land elsewhere. A spokesperson for the airline said that a flight attendant onboard sustained “minor injuries” in the ordeal and is being evaluated.

According to the airline spokesperson, Flight 951 was diverted to Santiago in the Dominican Republic, where “an inspection revealed evidence of damage to the aircraft consistent with gunfire.” The spokesperson didn’t respond when asked if the plane was deliberately targeted. Screenshots taken from a video obtained by TMZ appear to show multiple bullet holes in the cabin.

The plane has been taken out of service, and Spirit Airlines has suspended all service to Haiti. American Airlines and JetBlue, which also fly to Haiti, have also canceled flights to the country. According to the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, operations at the Toussaint Louverture airport are temporarily paused.

In recent years, violent gangs have besieged the country, which has struggled to sustain stable political leadership following the shock assassination of President Jovenel Moïse at his home in July 2021.  The U.S. Embassy warned Americans not to travel to Haiti, calling the security situation there “unpredictable and dangerous.”  Travelers should be prepared to encounter “gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince which may include armed violence, and disruptions to roads, ports, and airports,” the embassy said in a security alert.

Happy Veterans Day