Union Boss Shows Himself as Statesman and Wins JetBlue Pilots

Twice in the past, the pilots of JetBlue have turned down proposals to unionize.  That changed today when seventy-one percent of those voting, cast ballots to join the Air Line Pilots Association. With this decision they get the benefit of ALPA’s sophisticated negotiators and its 70 years of experience with issues unique to this profession.  They also get Lee Moak, the union boss who has learned to be a statesman while remaining, as he put it, “champion of the common pilot.”

The She Said/She Said that Got a Fox Exec Fired in Missing Airliner Episode

My previous post on this story here. 

When Fox Cable executive Darlene Tipton contacted Sarah Bajc about raising money to compensate her for the loss of her life partner on Malaysian Flight 370, Sarah was less than enthusiastic. The American teacher living in Beijing thought the plan was a scam and wanted nothing to do with it. That hasn't stopped Tipton and her husband Ken from setting up a gofundme.com account with a goal of raising $22 million using Sarah's companion Philip Wood as the lure.

The campaign is an "'All or Nothing' plan," Tipton writes on the site. "If $22 million dollars is raised in 30 days, the funds will be offered to the legal rep of Philip Wood's family in exchange for them waiving all legal claims. Each family member will be compensated about $2.5 million dollars."

Fox Cable Executive Fired for Emails Sent to Malaysia 370 Family Member

Darlene Tipton, fired from FOX

See my previous post on this subject here   

 A Fox Cable Network executive has been fired from her job in Los Angeles after contacting the girlfriend of missing Malaysia Airlines passenger Philip Wood, with an offer to raise money through an online website. Darlene Tipton, vice president of standards and practices at Fox, told Sarah Bajc that she and her husband Ken Tipton could potentially raise $15 million for Wood's immediate family and asked if Bajc thought other family members would be interested in such a plan. She added that all the families would have to waive their rights to sue anyone associated with the accident.

Bajc and Wood

Bajc, who has made regular appearances on a number of television networks since the flight went missing on March 8th, suspected a scam and sent the email to Fox, leading to Tipton's dismissal on April 10.

Flim Flam and Shenanigans Characterize Chicago Lawyers Work in MH 370 Tragedy

von Ribbeck from firm website

What is it with Chicago's Ribbeck Law firm? In news story after news story, this little band of ambulance chasers is revealed to play loose with the facts at best and be deliberate liars at worst and yet the latest from here in Southeast Asia is that they are not humbled by the attention paid to their deficits. If there's one thing that can be said about the brother/sister act that is Ribbeck Law Chartered, it is this; There is no such thing as bad press.

A Flying Club With Storied Past and an Uncertain Future

Everywhere you go there are Malaysian airliners, on the makeshift sympathy signs dotting the town, on a magnificent mosaic hidden in a highway underpass, on the back of (some) 20 ringgit notes. I've already written how the tragic mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has engaged the people who live here. Now that I've finished reading the history of the Royal Selangor Flying Club, I understand that a little better. The airline and the club grew up together and can even be considered products of the same parents. But as aviation soars, especially in this part of the world, the once formidable 85 year old club struggles to maintain a presence in a vastly different world.

More Than An Airline, Malaysia Event Touches a Nation's Heart

With the latest news, that an Australian ship may have detected the sound of pinging from the black boxes on the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner, the massive effort in the South Indian Ocean begins to seem a little less overwhelming. But let's set aside the search and the constant speculation over whether this is an accident or a crime. I want to write about the effect the event is having on the people who live in Malaysia.