I find two things especially interesting ...

1. the crossover in '06-'07

2. the fact that, of the ten highest- and ten lowest-ranked, nineteen are Republican. Just one Democrat.

Huh?!? Stronger seal is the wrong answer.

The right answer is to leave enough room in the bag for expansion. That is, don't make the bag "tight" at the factory.

This is also the solution for things like plastic shampoo bottles (in your checked baggage these days). Open it, squeeze a bit and then close. Now the bottle can expand at altitude without forcing any shampoo out into your suitcase !

It is indeed unfortunate that the U.S. has squandered the global outpouring of support in so cavalier a fashion. "Cowboy fashion" was Bush's style and it did not do his country well.

Unfortunately (and amazingly), Obama has not distanced himself from it and so now becomes part of the same problem.

Sad. Really sad.

Nah - it's a regular bug, not a spider bug.

After all, its early nickname was "Beetle" !!

The giveaway is that it has only six legs. Spiders have eight.

Only in U.S. movies and TV. British movies/TV have always allowed more ambiguous endings. Perhaps other countries also - I don't know.

The U.S. does have a big "thing" for certitude at the ending.

The banner at the top of the sign says "CLEAR CHANNEL"

So how come the paint is not not clear?

He has both hands free - this is safer than talking on a cellphone.

Aussie police are such wimps.

True. But the U.S. had most of the world's helium at the time and would not supply it to Germany (no surprise) so they had to resort to hydrogen for lift.

For unmanned airships, hydrogen makes a lot of sense even today. But not for passenger use.

Nice shirt, lovely model.

But why did you have her model it in a kitchen?

Please do beter next time.

I couldn't make out the detail of the takeoff clearance, so I wonder if somehow they were on the short runway instead of the long one?

That would be surprising but it would not be the first time it has happened (I know of a similar instance in Melbourne, but with passengers on board)

Interesting that all the "PCs" seem to be Macs