Month: July 2013

Categories
News Travel

Making Sense of Airlines’ “Ancillary” Fees

Airline fees are ascending this summer and show no sign of leveling off.

First, United Airlines upped its change fee to $200 for domestic flights. It took just two weeks for US Airways, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines to fall in line.

Then, last week United was at it again, hiking change and cancellation fees for award tickets by as much as $75. The unannounced increases didn’t escape the watchful eye ofThe Points Guy, a travel-rewards guru who suspects that other legacy carriers may again follow suit.

Meanwhile, Frontier Airlines is venturing into fees few other airlines have levied (so far). The budget carrier made headlines in May by introducing charges of up to $100 for a carry-on bag. Starting July 1, passengers will have to pay $2 for a coffee or soft drink from the beverage cart.

h/t – cheapism

Categories
Nelson Mandela Politics

President Obama in Jail…

President Obama yesterday stood alone in the cramped Robben Island prison cell in South Africa that once held Nelson Mandela, gazing out at the blue sky through a barred window.

Obama, who says his political career was inspired by Mandela’s nonviolent fight against apartheid, again drew inspiration by touring the penal island with First Lady Michelle Obama and their daughters, Malia and Sasha.
Obama had visited before, but it was a new experience for the rest of his family.

“Nelson Mandela showed us that one man’s courage can move the world,” Obama said later in a speech at the University of Cape Town.

“There was something different about bringing my children. Malia’s now 15, Sasha is 12, and seeing them stand within the walls that once surrounded Nelson Mandela,” he said, “I knew this was an experience that they would never forget.”

The tour was led by Ahmed Kathrada, a former inmate and anti-apartheid activist imprisoned with Mandela.
Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years captive in the grim confines of cell 7B, where Obama entered alone and briefly reflected.

Mandela, 94, has been hospitalized in critical condition for three weeks with a lung infection.

Categories
Entertainment

“Enter The Dragon” Co-Star Jim Kelly Dies at 67

US actor and karate expert Jim Kelly, who starred with Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, has died at the age of 67.

Kelly became famed for his cool one-liners and fight scenes as the charismatic Williams in the 1973 martial arts classic.

His other films included Black Belt Jones, Three the Hard Way, Golden Needles and the Black Samurai.

Marilyn Dishman, Kelly’s ex-wife, said he died on Saturday of cancer at his home in California.

Enter the Dragon is considered to be one of the most popular kung fu films of all time, it was Lee’s first film in the English language and was released days after his death at the age of 32.

In the 1980s, Kelly re-trained as a professional tennis coach.

In an interview with the LA Times in 2010, Kelly said: “I broke down the colour barrier – I was the first black martial artist to become a movie star. It’s amazing to see how many people still remember that, because I haven’t really done much, in terms of movies, in a long time.”

He added: “I never left the movie business. It’s just that after a certain point, I didn’t get the type of projects that I wanted to do. I still get at least three scripts per year, but most of them don’t put forth a positive image.

“There’s nothing I really want to do, so I don’t do it. If it happens, it happens, but if not, I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished.”

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