By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
Independent voices from the TWT Communities

It's 1 a.m., and the sprawling airport in this desert city is bustling. Enough languages fill the air to make a United Nations translator's head spin.

Despite a battery fire in one Boeing 787 Dreamliner and smoke in another, the batteries used to power the plane's electrical systems aren't necessarily unsafe — manufacturers just need to build in reliable safeguards, the nation's top aviation safety investigator said Wednesday.

It's likely that burning lithium ion batteries on two Boeing 787 Dreamliners were caused by overcharging, aviation safety and battery experts said Friday, pointing to developments in the investigation of the Boeing incidents as well as a battery fire in a business jet more than a year ago.
The first new Boeing Co. jetliner sold to Iraq in 30 years touched down in Baghdad on Saturday, signaling the country's determination to rebuild its economy after decades of war and sanctions.

The 35-hour work week? Untouchable. The social safety net? Untrimmable.

A plane intercepted by Turkish fighter jets on its way from Moscow to Damascus, Syria, was carrying equipment and ammunition destined for the Syrian Defense Ministry, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday.
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Wednesday the NATO coalition has turned an important corner in Afghanistan and has come too far and spilled too much blood to let insider attacks or anything else undermine the mission there.

British defense contractor BAE Systems PLC and European counterpart EADS NV on Wednesday abandoned a proposed merger that would have created a global defense and aerospace giant.

The European Union said Thursday it is seeking up to $12 billion per year in sanctions from the United States as part of a long-running dispute involving government subsidies to plane makers Airbus and Boeing, the World Trade Organization said Thursday.

The Netherlands scrambled two F16 fighter jets Wednesday to escort a Spanish passenger plane to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport after air traffic controllers could not make contact with the aircraft's crew.

As United Airlines Flight 731 climbed out of Newark Liberty International Airport with 107 people aboard, the pilot and first officer were startled to find screens that display crucial navigational information were blank or unreadable and radios were dead.

Boeing Co. and arch-rival Airbus were caught in a fierce dogfight for orders at the Farnborough Airshow on Tuesday, with both aircraft manufacturers announcing multibillion-dollar deals — crucial at a time of global economic unease.

A combination of faulty sensors and mistakes by inadequately trained pilots caused an Air France jet to plunge into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, killing all 228 people aboard in the airline's deadliest ever crash, French investigators said Thursday.

When a jumbo jetliner touches down almost anywhere in the world, the last thing on the pilot's mind is that the plane's brakes likely were made in the capital of one of the most crime-riddled states in Mexico.
Airlines around the world are updating their fleets with new, more fuel-efficient planes, and that's good news for aircraft maker Boeing Co.