I am thankful - Updated

I am really thankful I'm not trying to get out of Manhattan tonight. This is the crowd outside of Penn Station.

[photo via The Matthew Keys]

This is what it looks like inside the station.

[photo via Hudsonette]

And this is what's happening.

WPIX: Nightmare before Thanksgiving: Penn Station shut down as signal problems cripple LIRR, NJ Transit, Amtrak (Story).

My sympathy to the thousands who are living through it.

Meanwhile: Grand Central Station is relative empty.

[photo via A Great Big City]

Always loved that train station. And as a child, loved the automat that was across the street from it.

Update: Gothamist tells me some service now restored but it's still going to be a long wait. Great photo of the scene on the street at the link.

Google's new travel toy

I have mixed feelings about google maps. They're useful for general information on routes but I've found they tend to overestimate traveling time. Also their written directions often seem to be a little convoluted and hard to follow. Not a huge deal and I do still use it a lot but it's never going to replace the utility of the GPS. However, this is very cool and is something the GPS can't do.

Today, we’re adding a weather layer on Google Maps that displays current temps and conditions around the globe, and will hopefully make travel and activity planning easier.

To add the weather layer, hover over the widget in the upper right corner of Google Maps and select the weather layer from the list of options. When zoomed out, you’ll see a map with current weather conditions from weather.com for various locations, with icons to denote sun, clouds, rain and so on. You can also see cloud coverage, thanks to our partners at the U.S. Naval Research Lab.

Going to fall in love with Google maps all over again for doing this. Click the link to see all the other fun features.

Sunday Travel Section

Taking a break from politics this morning and dreaming about travel. It's been a long time since I've had a vacation. LAT has 63 suggestions. I'm especially fond of these Turkish fairy chimneys. I've always wanted to see Istanbul as well.

This place looks interesting. Pagasa Island. Heaven or hell? I don't think I'd want to live there forever but a couple of months sounds like a peaceful retreat. For those who think it's hell, you would think they might organize a canasta league or something to pass the time.

And out of this world, Opp. Eep. Orp. Ah-Ah.


[More posts daily at The Detroit News]

US Air pilot lands in Hudson River - Updated

This is the kind of pilot you want on your next flight. The media is calling it a crash but really the pilot landed that plane safely. A US Airways twin engine plane carrying 150 passengers apparently hit a flock of geese as they were gaining altitude and lost both engines over Manhattan. The pilot managed to land the plane in the only safe place possible -- the Hudson River. All passengers reported injuries but none appear to be major. Incredible. As one airline consultant put it, "Ditching an aircraft is a significant accomplishment on the part of the pilot, as opposed to crashing one. There’s no place for an airplane of that size to land in Manhattan.”

Really. If he had hit a building they would all have been dead. The pilot deserves a commendation. [photo WNBC]

Update: I'm glad to see the pilot, "Sully" Sullenberger, is being hailed as a hero. He already has a fan club on Facebook. He deserves it. I'd also note in passing that no one seems to mention that the Hudson River is a very busy port and it just adds to the awesomeness that he managed to land that plane safely without hitting any boats either.

[More posts daily at The Detroit News.]

Will Citizens Be Denied Reentry Into The US?

By Kvatch

With little fanfare, and as little review, new travel rules went into effect on the 19th of February that may have a profound effect on the ability and willingness of Americans to travel abroad.

The Department of Homeland Security has placed an odious new requirement on international air travel to, from, and over the United States. Where previously passenger lists had to be supplied to DHS within 15 minutes of a US bound flight taking off, now those lists must be made available in advance and every passenger must be given "permission" by DHS to board the flight in question. Think about that for a second. A passport is no longer sufficient to allow you to travel abroad, and DHS have given themselves the ability to deny you reentry to the United States...indefinitely.

Though most people don't know this the right to travel and, more specifically, the right to return to one's country of origin is guaranteed by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which the United States is a signatory. So these new rules are, in effect, a violation of treaties and by extension, the United States Constitution that requires that treaties be treated as the 'law of the land'.

Though...the small matter of treaty violations doesn't seem to bother DHS who've taken this nonsense one step further. They've added new procedural rules that require Customs and Border Protection officers to reject oral declarations of citizenship from people attempting to cross into the US by land. Now...two forms of identification that can establish citizenship will be required, presumably your passport and one other, such as a birth certificate. I don't know about you, but I'm not in the habit of carrying my birth certificate with me when I travel abroad.

So in the end the question is: When the Feds start using these rules to deny reentry to "troublemakers" (and they will), what recourse does the newly "stateless" person have?