TROUBLEMAKER DEALT WITH

WASHINGTON — More than a year before Colgan Air crashed a twin-engine turboprop on approach to Buffalo, Christopher J. Monteleon told his superiors at the Federal Aviation Administration that the airline was going to have trouble flying that model. ...

Three times, he said, the pilots flew the airplane faster than the manufacturer’s specifications allowed, but they initially refused to report this and have the plane inspected for damage. They flew with a broken radio and did not want to write that up in the maintenance log, as the rules require, he said, because it might delay the next test flight. And they tried three approaches to the airport in Charleston, W. Va., and “botched” all of them, failing to get the plane at an appropriate altitude, on the right path and at the right speed for landing.

...

But when he reported problems to his F.A.A. superiors, he was suspended from important portions of his job overseeing Colgan’s acquisition of the Dash 8 and given a desk job, he said.

nyt

ART WORLD SHOCKER

A year ago, Sotheby’s sold a 1976 triptych by Francis Bacon for $86.3 million. On Tuesday night, Sotheby’s entire contemporary art auction brought in $47 million, just more than half of what the Bacon piece had fetched.

...

An untitled sculpture by Robert Gober of a man’s rear end with musical notes on it became one of the evening’s biggest casualties. It wasn’t the only work to go unsold; others included mediocre examples by Frank Stella, and Richard Serra.

nyt

I'M SO HUNGRY I COULD EAT A CANE RAT

Seizure of bushmeat from luggage is surprisingly common

The screen of a Newark Liberty International Airport X-ray machine displayed red glowing images, tell-tale signs of a curious but surprisingly common luggage item. Bushmeat.

Nineteen pounds of organic material, the meat of antelope and cane rat, were seized in late April along with various fruits and dairy products packed in three suitcases belonging to a U.S. citizen traveling from Uganda. He was bound for Philadelphia but found himself delayed.

It was the sixth seizure of bushmeat since October, said Liakakos, totaling over 41 pounds. Last year, similar seizures weighed in at 88 pounds, he said.

Previous interceptions of bushmeat in passenger luggage have included a small monkey head, but the most frequently seized items are small bats, said Elmer Camacho, spokesman for the Customs and Border Protection service.

here

HOLD THE PICKLE, HOLD THE LETTUCE

Mia Farrow forced to quit fast

Actress Mia Farrow, on orders from her doctor, abandoned her fast for Darfur after 12 days.

The 64-year-old, 110-pound actress said Friday the threat of seizures forced her to end the planned three-week, water-only diet to protest the ongoing genocide in the African nation.

nydn

ALL IS WELL

Craigslist founder Craig Newmark isn't closing site's 'erotic' section

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The founder of Craigslist does not plan to close the "erotic services" section of the Web site despite criticism that has intensified after a medical student was accused of killing a Boston masseuse who advertised there.

Craig Newmark contends his site already allows users to flag inappropriate material they believe should be removed.

nydn

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Recently, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced the arrival of the Ringling touring show ... as an ornament to his redevelopment plans for Coney Island. To revive the neighborhood’s historic amusement and entertainment area, the city is shepherding a plan through the public approval process that would establish a 27-acre entertainment district with 9.4 acres devoted exclusively to arcades, freak shows, roller coasters, Ferris wheels and other rides. There would also be hotels and 4,500 new apartments.

nyt

SWINE FLEW 2

This little piggy went to Mexico
(he ignored the travel advisory)
This little piggy stayed home
(but he got sick anyway as there's no hiding from a pandemic)
This little piggy got Tamiflu
This little piggy got none
(because of unequal access to health care and a lack of insurance)
And this little piggy went "Wee, wee, wee" all the way home
(he was suffering from a panic attack)

SWINE FLEW

This little piggy went to Mexico
This little piggy stayed home
This little piggy developed mild flu-like symptoms
This little piggy had none
And this little piggy went "Wee wee wee" all the way home

FUNNY, I MUST HAVE MISSED THAT STORY

At a time when New York Times managers are forcing all employees to take a five percent pay cut, and demanding even larger sacrifices from the NYT-owned Boston Globe, top executives of the beleaguered newspaper received substantial bonus and fringe benefit payments over and above their salaries, according to a proxy statement released on March 11.

huffanpuff

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT

From the Sunday Times

Tales of sexual encounters via Craigslist run the gamut from the erotic to the bizarre. Nola, a 42-year-old saleswoman who lives in Manhattan, posts elegantly written ads seeking a man who will meet her in a public place so she can go to the bathroom and remove her panties, which she will then hand to him in an envelope.

continuing.....

Nola, for instance, said in a telephone interview that she got an erotic thrill from giving men her used underwear, knowing they would serve as fetish objects. She started doing this last June after she thought, “I wear underpants every single day of my life, and somebody’s got to want these underpants.” The recipients, she said, pay her a small replacement fee.

Nola has acquired a stalker as a result of her actions, but still distributes her panties. She does not have sex with the men she meets online, meets them only in public places, and keeps a file of their names and photos, making sure a friend knows where to find it. She doesn’t limit herself to straight men. “I put ads up for lesbians looking for women’s undies, gay men looking for undies, rough-and-tumble guys,” she said. “This is just me sitting and being silly.”

all the news

1. Elegantly written ads? Roll over Jane Austen, tell Kate Chopin the news.

2. A telephone interview? Why didn't the reporter meet her in a public place?

3. A small replacement fee? Aargh! Why, she'a practically a philanthrophist.

4. And note the Nola is an equally opportunity advertiser. God forbid that lesbians and gay men she be deprived the opportunity to, um uh, do um....