A retired Florida schoolteacher who went to Iraq to serve as a “human shield” is facing hefty fines, which she is refusing to pay. The US Treasury said that Faith Fippinger, 62, broke the law by crossing the Iraqi border before the war. Her travel to Iraq violated U.S. sanctions that prohibited American citizens from engaging in “virtually all direct or indirect commercial, financial or trade transactions with Iraq.” The government also has asked Fippinger, 62, to detail her travels to Iraq and any financial transactions she made. In her response, Fippinger wrote that the only money she spent was on food and emergency supplies and that “if it comes to fines or imprisonment, “please be aware that I will not contribute money to the United States government to continue the build-up of its arsenal of weapons.” Since she won't pay, she said, “perhaps the alternative should be considered.”
Category Archives: Sidebar
Search Past Newsletters
To search this and past issues of our E-newsletter, just enter a word or phrase below, select the search options and click the search button.
Begin PicoSearch Query Box
Airline News
Re-launched in July 2002 from British European UK as carrier FlyBe is to launch a new West of England low fares base at Exeter International Airport in March next year. The UK’s third largest low fare airline will offer three daily flights to Alicante, Malaga and Murcia in Spain and three domestic flights to Belfast City, Edinburgh and Glasgow in the UK.
Domestic one-way fares will start at GBP£19 (USD$31) and on the Mediterranean routes at GBP£49.
Good news for air fatalities: Flight International's Airline Safety Review of the first six months of 2003 notes that the number of people who died in airline crashes in the first six months of this year nearly halved in comparison with the same period of 2002.
Between January and June 2003, 362 people around the world lost their lives in 12 fatal accidents. In 2002 there were 712 deaths and 18 fatal accidents.
The biggest cause of accidents is still “controlled flight into terrain” incidents (flying into mountains). The report states that airlines from poorer or more immature economies record most accidents, suggesting that safety standards and aviation safety cultures still need to be looked at.
Qantas have been having a hard time recently, and not just being affected by the recent Iraq war and SARS. Mid July, a Vietnamese passenger en route from Bangkok to Sydney was stabbed in the neck with a fork. In May, a man armed with sharpened wooden staves tried to force his way into the cockpit of a Qantas flight to Tasmania and hi-jack the plane. Despite this, Qantas remain one of the Beetle’s favourite airlines.
UK carrier Virgin Atlantic has announced the Upper Class Suite – reclining leather seats, more space for meals and the longest airline flat bed in the world for sleeping. Virgin says it will charge business class rates for a first class service. The service will be available on all of Virgin's Boeing 747-400 and Airbus A340-600 planes from this summer, and will be on all aircraft based at London Heathrow by spring 2004 and those at Gatwick by autumn 2004.
Being Careful: Bali
The UK government still has a warning out, advising travellers against non essemtial travel to Bali, after last October’s bombings.
However, reports from hoteliers and hostel owners in Bali say that the back packing hostels are almost full now, and the upper end hotels are one third full. Garuda, Indonesia’s state airline resumed flights from the UK to Bali at the end of July 2003.
Currency Conversion
The Globetrotters Club has just teamed up with Oanda.com to provide people with information about currency conversions and cheat sheets. To translate currency or make a cheat sheet, visit:
The Globetrotters Currency Converter — get the exchange rates for 164 currencies The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet — create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.
Free London Museums: Theatre Museum
The Theatre Museum has five galleries illustrating the history of the performing arts in the UK. The collection includes displays on theatre, ballet, dance, circus, puppetry, opera, musicals, rock and pop. There's usually a daily workshop on performing arts subjects, such as pantomime and making a play.
Where: Russell Street, Covent Garden.
Open: Tue-Sun, 10:00-18:00.
Tube: Covent Garden Enquiries: 020 7943 4700
Entrance: free admission for individuals.
Mutual Aid
Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid
Austravel Fair, London
Austravel, the Australia and New Zealand travel specialists are holding a fair in London Saturday 30th August 2003.
Lonely Planet will be at the Austravel Fair, where they’ll be offering advice on the top 10 most frequently asked questions they receive about Australia and New Zealand.
Where: London Commonwealth Institute, Kensington High Street, London When: Saturday 30 August 2003 More info: visit http://www.austravel.com
No Nessie!
UK’s BBC recently undertook a special search for the Loch Ness Monster. Using sonar equipment and satellite navigation technology, they combed the entire lake of Loch Ness but found no proof of “Nessie’s” existence. Aaaah!
SARS
There is huge relief among Asian airlines after the World Health Organization declared that the SARS virus has now been contained in all affected countries.
Taiwan was the last area to be removed from WHO’s warning list.
Taiwan's tourist authorities are also planning a USD$8.72 million publicity drive to tempt tourists back to the island.
In Singapore, a TV channel dedicated to SARS information will close. In all, SARS was responsible for more than 800 deaths worldwide and there were a total of 8,400 cases in 30 countries.
The SARS virus started in China’s Guangdong province, on February 21 this year, when an infected medical doctor from Guangdong checked into a Hong Kong hotel. Other guests were infected and spread the virus when they travelled to their next destinations.