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Gadling's Highlights Of The Week: July 28 - August 3
Photo Of The Day: Pre-Flight Libations
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This Week At The Airport Bar In 41 Tweets
Also, you just never know who you might meet.
Here then, in 41 tweets, is how the past week looked from the stools of the world's airport bars.
Are Hassle Free Airlines Truly Possible?
Southern Airways Express has been operational for four months and the carrier's CEO believes it's the answer to many passengers' woes.
"You're going to be able to walk from your car less than 50 yards in most cases to the aircraft without having to go through any TSA security hassles. You only have to get here 20 minutes before the plane departs," CEO Stan Little told a local TV station.
Right now, the airline serves 10 regional domestic routes, but it's planning to expand and may even add an international flight later this year.
Yes, These Are Real Travel Jobs
NBC News rounded up a number of unusual things that people do for a living. Topping the list is a dog surfing instructor, a person -- who as the title implies -- teaches pooches how to perch on a board and ride the waves. Meanwhile a hotel in Memphis has employed a duckmaster, whose role it is to feed and train a flock of ducks that reside on the premises. Twice a day, the ducks strut their stuff during a duck march across the hotel grounds.
People Do Weird Things With Their Passports
According to the British Government, claims for emergency travel documents jumped 300 percent last year. As you might expect, some of those involved cases of IDs that had been lost or pick pocketed while traveling. But not everyone was a victim of crime -- many travelers destroyed their passports as a result of reckless behavior. Storing their document in the freezer or using their passport as a coaster for their beer were two of the stranger reasons cited.
Getting a replacement passport can cost both time and money, especially if you have to cancel your flights while you wait. But some travelers are unfazed by the situation and have managed to find creative ways around the problem.
State Department Issues Travel Alert Over Potential Al-Qaeda Attack
The press release, which has not yet appeared on the State Department website [Update: Here's the alert] but is reprinted by Business Insider in full, warns,
"The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to the continued potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula. Current information suggests that al-Qa'ida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August. This Travel Alert expires on August 31, 2013."
D.C. Metro Staff And Passengers Assist Birth Of 'Metrobaby'
Shavonnte Taylor, 23, was on her way to an appointment with her obstetrician when she started having contractions two weeks before her baby was due. She tried to continue her journey but the baby had different ideas.
Luckily Autumn Manka, a licensed emergency medical technician, was passing by. She lay Taylor down on the floor as more passengers, DC Metro staff, and two Metro Transit Police officers came to help. Within minutes the baby was born next to a broken escalator near the Seventh Street and Maryland Avenue exit.
Inevitably, the kid got his own hashtag, #metrobaby. Several Twitter users posted a snarky headline from today's Express, while others suggested naming the baby L'Enfant. "L'Enfant" of course, is French for "the infant."
His real name is Amir Mason. He weighs 8 pounds, 5 ounces and is doing fine.
Gay Rights Groups Boycott Russian Vodka Over Harsh New Discrimination Laws
Gay rights groups are boycotting Russian vodka after the country cracked down on gay activists and pride parades, the BBC reports. In addition, new legislation makes it illegal to teach "non-traditional values" (ie. gay-friendly values) to children.
On June 29, a gay pride parade in St. Petersburg was attacked by thugs and several marchers were badly beaten. Police then rounded up the marchers (not the thugs) and arrested them. You can see photos from this and related events in this shocking photo essay from Buzzfeed.
The boycott started in the U.S. a few days ago and has since spread to other countries. Gay bars have pulled Russian vodka from their shelves and an online petition is calling for Manchester to "untwin" from its sister city St. Petersburg. Protesters have dumped vodka on the street in front of the Russian consulate in New York City and taken to Twitter with hashtags such as #dumpstoli and #dumprussianvodka.
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia almost two decades ago but there's been a severe backlash against the LGBT community in recent years.
One major vodka brand, Stolichnaya, has come out with a public statement in support of gay rights and says it shouldn't be targeted by the boycott. They say that while they use Russian ingredients, they are in fact a Latvian company.
There's an ongoing discussion in the LGBT about expanding the boycott to include other Russian products and also the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.