Carl we flew on United from the west coast to Chicago and then a German crew came on so we could go to Frankfurt. Lufthansa was on strike for a week which did not help at all and things even got a bit testy as the air did not work well in the jet, the economy plus was a disaster with people leaning back in their chairs in folk's laps. Once in Frankfurt and the tightest security checks yet and that was another reason for delays at every airport not at all like it used to be from what I remember we took a private link from Lufthansa over to Basel. on the return from Amsterdam it was United to Washington D.C. and customs probs and delays then to Cali and more customs headaches and Lufthansa had just came back on to work, would of rather have flown from beginning to end as before years ago........

we still are not over the jet lag.

ok nuff of that sillyness, next time I am renting a car and taking 2 weeks with my wife to chill out

take care of yourself man

Hi E, it sounds like you had almost the same experiances as I did though mine were back in Sept and OCt 2000-right after the USS Cole had been attacked by some idiots in a speedboat-in or near Yemen. I was in Heidelberg at the time I heard about it. I'd just checked into my hotel room and flipped on the TV for noise and saw smoke coming from the side of that ship.

Whatever you do-don't fly Southwest-anywhere-they flat out SUCK--prune pits. My out-going flight s from CC INtl to DFW-went as smooth as silk, same as from DFW to Frankfurt-a great experiance. However, the trip back was veri schlecht. We left Frankfurt-two hrs later than we were supposed to-I don't remember why? What was supposed to then be an 11 hr flight from Frankfurt back to DFW-was 10 hrs thankfully.

Customs at DFW was a joke. I saw several Germans just zip on past and nobody did a damned thing about it. One blond German that I sat across the aisle from-was an asshole. This guy took up three seats-not because of body build but, the seats were made available to Germans coming here who originally were going to be on Lufthansa but for some reason they were placed in our plane-I think it was because too many tickets were sold-for the same seats.

Anyway, the rest of us were packed in like Sardines-while the jerk I saw sitting across from-placed head at one end, feet at the other.

TELLLLLL me about that where people were leaning back in their chairs and into laps. My first problem occurred when the seat I had-and which was printed on my ticket stub-AND purchased before this other person had purchased theirs-and I was told to get up and move to the 3rd seat in-away from the isle seat I had paid for.

The guy who also had a ticket claiming MY seat, was a prick and complained to the Stewardess. I showed that I had paid for the seat and did offer to move but by then the guy found another seat in back near the toilets. Actually, i'd rather have had where he was placed since he got an extra seat free.

It seemed as if about 30 or so of these people were all from India or somewhere? and every other seat around me for several rows, all had them sitting together. Well, the guy sitting in front of me decided to lean the seat all the way back, and it was meal-time and meals were being served. Well, this guy said he was not wanting one and only wanted a nwp. Well, if he had stayed in the reclined pose, I could not place the tray wherre it should be.

I asked this guy nicely to please move up long enough for me to have dinner, then i'd have no problem with him leaning all the way back-at least till i needed to let nature do the calling. Well, he was an asshole about it, started cussing in his language-and refused to move up -- so I moved him up for me-gave him a mean look and told him if he disturbed me before I finished my mean, that I was going to have mroe than just words with him when we landed. I guess he "got-the-picture" because I was able to have dinner-such as it was.

I got a bit of revenge though, when he tried to lean back, I stiff-armed his chair and held it into place for about 8 hours. All his efforts failed in trying to lean back. I might sound like a jerk for doing this but, I was not the only one on board who was sitting near these folks that did it. One guy even bopped a guy on top of his head-so that guy also "got-the-message," so to speak ;-)) Also, this was back in the day when a person could carry a knife on board, and not get tossed into Fed prison for life for doing so. I had with me, two spring-loaded knives I had bought from a German knife shop in Frankfort, as well as a brand new Gravity Knife.

The tightest security I saw, was only when I was on the way out and was at Frankfurt Airport. There were Polizei, and German Soldiers in sight-whereever you looked. I think that was probably partly due to the USS Cole bombing the day before.

Believe it or not but, I also had a similar experiance as you did in that the last flight I finally got on (no less than almost 12 hours later than I should have been) that the AC was broke and all of us sweated like we were standing outside in a rain storm. Also, the @uckers that loaded my leather bag, somehow managed to rip it open and also broke three of my German Beer Steins. Man I was so pissed.

__________________
Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Looks like a big fight....

Tour de France head: Armstrong has embarrassed the race; Armstrong: Comments pretentious

__________________

Kai no kidding ............

I have watched on yahoo news since Lance first made a show that he was determined to come back, and too me a real big snot attitude on his part. Astana's Contador who is the strongest rider on the team said if Lance gets on Astana that he is gone. Lance for the time appears that he did not register up soon enough so may not be able to compete on the pro circuit in the races he values most and possibly taking a back seat even in the TdF. with Lances denial of using the OLD 99 test samples again the riding critics have gone wild with accusations of him doping and that this proves it ................ NOT. Still I find Lances verbal thoughts a bit on the strange side, think only time will tell as he again will be the spotlight for pro cycling, why though ?

Contador will leave if Armstrong is the 'Captain' of the team. I don't know, Armstrong, Contador and Levi all on the same team? Thats 3 good chances (at least 2, if Lance is out of shape) of winning. It really comes down to who is more in form and reads the race the best. CSC will be looking to repeat, and that would be an Epic battle...Team CSC vs Team Astana (with or without Lance).

__________________

I'd look forward to that game plan ~M~ the two fighting it off or better yet a complete unknown team pulling away from everyone. with the 3 gents you mention not sure how their egos will play out, the competitive spirit is going to be tough in Astana and maybe bring them down............

Same here. Also, lately he does seem to be showing off at how arrogant he really is. I'm also thinking that his main reason to compete in the race now-is so that he can bring out in the spotlight-anything to do with his Organization-which I heard that he gets to keep at least 25% of whatever it intakes. Whether or not that is true? I dunno?

Anyway, IMO, since he "retired" I think he ought to stay retired and let someone else have a better chance at winning the race.

__________________
Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

interesting that Lance may take a back seat if not even leave Astana. think he will not put up with a # 2 position if indeed he wants the gold under the assumption he is going to strive for his cancer researche module only .......... here is another gripe during this pro-longed house of cleansing

http://velonews.com/article/84351/ge...r-doping-furor

what a bunch of Pathetic Wienies ~

E ♫ Rippin it up !

All in all....sponsors are going away....

Tour of Germany canceled in 2009

http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug...v=ap&type=lgns

__________________

No surprise here they do not want to support the cheaters any more. It's debatable though as it would be fair to honest sportsmen to get support and cancelling the Germany Tour would punish hem too

__________________

what sucks is the poor honest riders who have been clean since day one, the whole idea is based on mass paranoia although it appears there are few riders of any high standing that have not had access or have used and still are using substances. no doubt in my mind the Giros could be heavily affected and even the TdF substantially

Not to mention that they have been training for months for nothing. I'm afraid there will however be more doping affairs in the future

__________________

Apparently people caught doping in this years TDF will face a 4 year ban instead of 2? Some one really just needs to go in and overhaul the entire sport, from the ground up, and really lay into the drug testing. Like, every rider - both pre-race and post-race. (pre-stage, post-stage in multi-day events).

__________________

and interestingly enough there has been some behind the scenes favoirtism for Mr. Lance. this remains to be seen in the near future. Muss yes you are correct a 4 year ban has been spoken of but not implemented into the system quite yet. Frankly I'd like to see all the hierarchy fired and replaced with men of good standing and common sense instead of bewildering stooges whom have never ridden a century ever in their lives

LANCE Armstrong has revealed he fears being attacked by spectators when he makes his return to the Tour de France next year.

The American, a seven-times winner of the Tour, believes he could be targeted by French fans angry that doping allegations surrounding him have helped to destroy the credibility and the magic of cycling's most famous race.

"I don't want to enter an unsafe situation but you see this stuff coming out of France," Armstrong told The Guardian.

"There're some aggressive, angry emotions. If you believe what you read my personal safety could be in jeopardy.

"Cycling is a sport of the open road and spectators are lining that road. I try to believe that people, even if they don't like me, will let the race unfold."

Asked if that meant he feared an attack on next year's tour, Armstrong responded: "Yeah. There're directors of French teams that have encouraged people to take to the streets ... elbow to elbow.

Lance Armstrong fears Tour de France attack over doping allegations | World Breaking News | News.com.au

__________________

keep an eye out for ivan basso in 09.team csc i think.cheers.

__________________
fair,balanced and unafraid.thanks,4th wilts..

Considering the French-bashing statements Armstrong has made in the past, perhaps he should have thought twice about being an arrogant and condesceding prick? He's an embarassement to himself, and I'm now more convinced than ever that Armstrong did cheat.

Speaking of ball-less wonders, that latest is that Hitler did indeed have only one nut himself. Think of it what you will.

You've got to give the man credit. He has never tested positive and has been the most tested athlete in the world. I think that speaks for itself, especially with the amount of riders who test positive each year and get tested less then him. I'm still convinced that he hasn't doped.

The French have been attacking him for years, in the media etc. Any comments made about the Fre