Costa Concordia
Last month, Katy McCaffrey boarded the Disney Wonder cruiseliner. At some point during the trip, a sneaky thief snatched her iPhone.
Crime on a cruise ship? No way! Anyhow, a little while after she’d left the vessel an informant let McCaffrey know that her phone was in the possession of a cruiseline worker named Nelson.
The informant also revealed that Nelson liked to party, that Nelson had a girlfriend who wears Angry Birds pyjamas, that Nelson could appreciate a beautiful sunset. And as the photos below the fold attest, that Nelson and his mates are massive dorks. The informant was her iPhone.
Continue reading "Revenge. It doesn’t get a whole lot better than this" »
Commercial aviation is the safest form of travel because the industry has learnt from past accidents by abolishing the culture of blame.
The Costa Concordia disaster is the cruise ship industry’s chance to improve safety and ensure that avoidable tragedy never happens again, but that chance will be missed if only one man pays the price.
In Italian courtrooms there is a sign which suggests: La legge e’ uguale per tutti – the law is the same for everyone. There is no asterisk on the sign, though it should be noted the term “everyone: does in fact mean “everyone except some”, including former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who conveniently changed the law while in office to spare himself prosecution, and, more recently, the captain of the Costa Concordia Francesco Schettino, who shall be afforded no such privilege.
Continue reading "Law must navigate the treacherous social media seas" »
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Julian Deverell says:
The internet is quick to jump to conclusions because of the rapid speed on which information flows and opinions are formed. Social media speeds up this process because simple pictures and websites are easily shared, and before the full picture is known, people will come to their own conclusions based… Read more »
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Utopia Boy says:
...mmm…the Italian government is corrupt. If it were anymore corrupt they would have to start importing extra suitcases for officials (including the judiciary) to carry all the “black” money. Anyone with any kind of common sense can see the captain is “a goner.” He has no chance of a fair… Read more »
You can well imagine that in better times, Francesco Schettino is the kind of guy you’d like to have around. A little bit debonair, as he chats at the bar with the ladies. And a little bit dangerous; careening around the waters off the coast of Tuscany, “as if the boat was a Ferrari”.
But as we know, the good times reveal very little about a person’s true character. It’s what they do when a situation goes horribly wrong that says the most.
In times of danger, the best people protect themselves from immediate harm, so as not to further inflame the situation. But their first instinct is to help others, or help defuse the situation. The worst people think only of themselves. They take risks for their own safety and threaten the lives of others. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out which category, Francesco Schettino, the 52-year-old captain of doomed cruise ship Costa Concordia, who literally jumped ship in the time of crisis falls into.
Continue reading "I tripped and fell into the lifeboat! Costa Coward" »
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sam says:
Ben,You still can’t get over the world cup? I just hope we ( Australia) make it ti\o the next one! Don’t let the rest of your life be conditioned by one disapointment. Read more »
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Terence of OZ says:
Where does the blame really lie? The Costa Concordia Captain or the Costa Concordia Company? Do the shipping lines place more importance these days on the Ships Captain being more a floating Hotel Manager where he is suposed to mix and keep all the passengers happy or a Ships Captain… Read more »
When a boat goes down, should women and children be able to jump to the front of the lifeboat queue?
The death toll from the Costa Concordia tragedy has reached five, and more stories are emerging about the chaos inside the luxury cruise liner as it started to go down.
Melbourne mother Michelle Barraclough told the Herald Sun that she had to fight hysterical adults to hold on to her 12-year-old daughter, and that the men were the worst.
Continue reading "Women and children first, or every man for himself?" »
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Mark says:
I believe in equality, but I will cave to the contradicting feminists and say that women should go before men, lest I be called “bitter”. Read more »
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Mark Neil says:
” the author may have a double standard, but I’m not talking about her” Actually, when you asked the question… “So where exactly is this argument that feminists want it all coming from?” ...you were. The author, and all those who support her ARE the answer to your question. If… Read more »
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from an Italian port
Aboard this massive ship.
The crew was a bunch of useless hacks
The skipper craven and poor
3,206 passengers set sail that day
For a five day tour, a five day tour.
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elhombre says:
The only thing “not quite right with that” acotrel is your grasp of history. Russia has not been communist since 1991! Do try to keep up. Read more »
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Jeremy says:
The song doesn’t mention people dying? This is a song about ineptitude, not death. Though I did have to watch the clip to remember how the darn tune went. Read more »
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