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Coalition of conservative groups rewards porn-free hotels
Anyone who’s ever worked behind the scenes at a hotel will tell you that the pay-per-view pornography is a profit center. Now a coalition of conservative groups in the U.S. is targeting hotel porn, charging that it violates a range of local obscenity laws, and trying to get the FBI involved. They’re also publishing a list of porn-free hotels. I’d rather see an investigation of obscenely-priced minibar items. Or how about fighting for quieter doors?

JetBlue rewards one flyer a free t-shirt (in exchange for his civil liberties)
It’s not just British passengers who are afraid that brown-skinned passengers are all terrorists. Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi architect and blogger living in the United States, was treated to absolutely moronic security treatment at JFK airport a few weeks ago. Wearing a shirt with Arabic and English lettering, his shirt apparently bothered people enough to warrant an intervention by JetBlue and unnamed security officers. They insisted he change his shirt. After much wrangling, and after JetBlue bought him a NYC souvenir t-shirt, he succumbed and got onboard. Ughh. See here for an interview and here for a photo of him in the shirt, as well as his firsthand account of the events at JFK.

TSA rewards passenger’s fear of his mother with a cavity search
Advice: It’s better to be embarrassed and admit you’ve got a penis pump in your suitcase, even in front of your mom, than to say it’s a bomb.

Delta rewards well-dressed flyers
Dress spiffy on Delta, and you might get a prize. Really.

Europe rewards all flyers…with a fingerprinting
Coming soon to all European airports: all travelers will be required to submit to iris-scans or fingerprinting.

Banks reward loyal clients by refusing them access to cash overseas
Calling your bank before leaving the country, notifying them you’ll be traveling abroad, is always a good idea, so they don’t place a lock on your accounts. But apparently, that may not be enough. Some banks are blocking all ATM transactions in certain countries. See here for the story, and check with your bank.

Sherman’s Travel rewards U.S. postal service by going offline
The travel-deals website is going old-media, with a new magazine targeting readers interested in “luxury value.” Sounds a bit like this blog’s motto, no?

Reward thieves by using public wi-fi
Not much of a surprise, but public wi-fi, including that offered by hotels, is not very secure. Use a VPN or other security service whenever possible.

Second-mover advantage? ASiQ possibly rewarded by Connexion’s demise
Inflight internet over the oceans may soon be shut down, but ASI Entertainment claims to be stepping in with their inflight internet product. If it works, it would only be a quarter of the speed of Boeing’s soon-defunct Connexion. But if papa needs an internet fix…

(image: theimacguy)
tags: travel | JetBlue | airport security | hotel porn | ATM | hotels | airlines