What Caught My Eye Today - Sainthood, Russia, Air Travel

Sainthood - The Vatican congregation in charge of examining candidates for sainthood has recognized a second miracle by John Paul II, leaving just a papal signature necessary to authorize the former pope's canonization. One assumes this will be a mere formality. After all, we're only talking about one guy here, which is nothing for a pontiff who just canonized 800 saints in May (click here).  Vatican theologians in June had attributed a second miracle to John Paul II, which Vatican sources had said would "amaze the world". The road to sainthood requires two "confirmed" miracles, the first of which is necessary for beatification, a hurdle the Polish pope cleared just six months after his death in 2005 which was the healing of a French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, whose recovery from Parkinson's disease after praying for the late John Paul II's "intercession" had no medical explanation. The second miracle reportedly took place on the very day that John Paul II was beatified in a lavish ceremony in St Peter's Square on May 1, 2011, and was the healing of a woman from Costa Rica. You sort of get the feeling that there won't be much pomp and circumstance for this momentous occasion; not really Pope Francis' style. But maybe just this one time, the pontiff chill out, do a little day, make a little love and, you know, get down tonight.

Russia - A Russian rocket carrying three navigation satellites worth around $200 million crashed shortly after lift-off from the  launch facility in Kazakhstan after its engines suddenly switched off. Bear in mind that, at present, the Russians are the only option for getting folks to and from the International Space Station and that, at present, the United States is paying $424 million for 6 seats to and from the space station over the next 2 years. The accident led to a large spill of heptyl, a highly toxic rocket propellant, but there were no reports of casualties or of any immediate threat to nearby settlements. No reports, huh? One cannot help but wonder if that is because it is too dangerous to check on the well being of said nearby settlements. Russia has lost 10 satellites in seven failed launches in just over a year. The latest crash, which echoes the costly loss of three navigation satellites in 2010, will further damage the reputation of Russia's once-pioneering space program, cause delays in launches and threaten its hold on some 40% of the market for space launches. If you ask me, space travel is the perfect niche market for Russia.  What other market could you have a 70% failure rate in and still have a 40% market share? Russia is increasing spending on space and plans to send a probe to the moon in 2015, but the pioneering program that put the first man in space in 1961 has been plagued in recent years by setbacks, including botched satellite launches and a failed attempt to send a probe to a moon of Mars.

Air Travel - Let's have some fun shall we?  See if you can tell which of the following schemes are the real deal and which are fake.

1. If you fly on India's budget GoAir, don't expect to see any men pushing that drink cart down the aisle; from this point on the airline will hire only members of the lighter, fairer sex for its cabin crew.
2. Turkish Airlines changed flight attendant uniforms into Ottoman-style outfits with ankle-length skirts and banned the wearing of bright lipstick and nail polish in favor of "pastel tones," for fear of damaging "visual integrity."
3. Low-cost Irish airline Ryanair asked its flight attendants to lose weight so that the airline could save on fuel costs.
4. Thai Airways gave flight attendants six months to comply with new weight restrictions—which, for women, meant a waistline of 32 inches and a BMI of 25 points, and for men, a waistline of 35 inches and a BMI of 27.5.
5. Shanghai-based Spring Airlines is aiming to make flying fun again with a dash of old-school, in-flight sexism, as it’s unveiled plans to dress its female flight attendants up like maids, and their male counterparts as butlers.

1. True. The new policy is meant to lessen weight on board, thereby saving an estimated $500,000 a year on fuel. Anyone want to bet that a gender discrimination suit is just around the corner? Yeah, neither do I.
2. False (barely). The airline tried to do both but in the end scrapped the outfit design and decided against the lipstick and nail polish ban after public outcry. They did manage to suspend 28 flight attendants without pay in 2010 demanding that they lose weight. 15 of the flight attendants were men. Ottoman-style outfits (click here)? I don't know, dude. Might be just a tad to retro.
3. True. The carrot on a stick for women was a chance to appear in the airline's annual "Girls of Ryanair" calendar, packed with images of bikini-clad cabin-crew members. Starve yourself and maybe, if you are lucky, you can have your tuckas and ba-donk-a-donks plastered all over a calendar. Some carrot.
4. True. The move was "aimed at improving the personality of flight attendants." About 40 out of 6,000 flight attendants failed. Employees filed a complaint, but were told the company's regulations were not illegal. Maybe something is getting lost in the translation, but I fail to see how, "lose some weight, you fat slob, or you're fired" is supposed to improve one's personality.
5. True. Supporters thought a flight with themed costumes could be fun, and that it was reminiscent of the many “cosplay”—costume-play—eateries that are big in Japan. According to Spring Airlines’ Facebook page, the new costumes, may just be the first in an upcoming series of themed flights. The article went on to say that the promotion generated a whooping 13 responses on the airlines Facebook page.  Really, that many?