I am traveling right now and feel a bit disconnected from the major news — particularly the latest from Fallujah and also Istook-gate (Congressman Istook’s attempts to make any American citizen’s tax returns easy prey for peeping Toms on Congressional Appropriations Committees).
But on the trivial but interesting, I wanted to report that while U.S. airlines no longer provide stainless steel knives but instead give travelers plastic, Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa use good old sturdy knives with a good sharp edge. Maybe they aren’t box-cutters, but it seems odd for folks to keep having their small Swiss army knives taken when something so much bigger is available on the airplane.
IMPRESSIVE THEFT: DAIMLERCHRYSLER CEO HAS CAR STOLEN
Some of you may not know the name Juergen Schrempp, but he is the feisty CEO of DaimlerChrysler. His million dollar armored limousine was just stolen in Stuttgart, the home base for the auto manufacturer.
This car has homing devices on it, and they still haven’t been able to locate it. Perhaps they just have put an old-fashioned ‘club’ on the steering wheel.
I don’t know if this says much about Schrempp or the questionable theft-protection systems of a fancy Mercedes-Benz, but it does tell us that Stuttgart thieves know what they are doing.
More to come after I get situated in Hamburg.
— Steve Clemons
