[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xnk9aqih8o[/youtube]

US Air pilot’s gun accidentally goes off on plane

The pilot was a Federal Flight Deck Officer, permissioned by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to carry a firearm.

In an article today you write “permissioned by”. I hope that you will permission me to ask, but since when has “permission” become a verb?

Wondering

This articlesays that an airline pilot was “permissioned” to carry a firearm. Seriously? “Permissioned”? Would “permitted” really not have sufficed?

K.C.

I’m happy to report that a number of readers noticed this one, and yes, permitted was what we were looking for: GBU Editor

Israeli Troops Given the Go-Ahead to Kill Peaceful Palestinian Protesters

Your name is supposed to have credibility. After letting this blog posting appear I believer you have severly damaged your reputation. It is hateful and inaccurate, which begs me to ask why it is being posted on your site?

G.F.

I find it totally deplorable that you would lend your credibility to such a ridiculous, shameful and heinous piece of propaganda. Is there no process of review or editing before you publish posts to the blogs hosted on your site?

Gabriel

We use an automated “widget” that pulls in text from related blogs not published by Reuters, as a service to readers seeking a variety of views on the news. There is a disclaimer at the top of the page saying, “The following blog post is from an independent writer and is not connected with Reuters News. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by Reuters.com.”

No such program is perfect, and there is precedent for our removing some blogs that we don’t believe are constructive in tone. We removed this post yesterday. This is analogous to the way in which we handle some reader comments, as well. GBU Editor

Detroit’s Democratic mayor indicted in sex scandal  

The controversy surrounding the black politician once seen as a rising star in his party has deadlocked city government and become a distraction to the Democratic Party as it struggles with the issue of how to handle Michigan delegates still being contested by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. 

Please help me understand the relevance of stating that he is a “black politician.” Why did the writer feel the mayor’s race needed to be used to describe him and what does his race have to do with the charges that he is facing? I have yet to hear of Eliot Spitzer being described as the white politician when anything is written or said about the sex scandal he was involved in.I count on Reuters for unbiased, factual reporting of the news. Can I no longer expect this without racial undertones such as this being thrown in as well?

Kate

His race has absolutely nothing to do with what is being said about him. If he had been a white politician in the same exact situation would this reporter have said, “the white politician…”? Sometimes race is relevant to a story. It seems discriminatory to note it when there is no relevance. It contributes to the perception that black people are black people while white people are people. It also suggests that his race had something to do with his alleged transgressions. 

Craig

A number of readers raised this point. The story should have made clear from the start why his race was mentioned.  Subsequent updates included this elaboration: “I’m deeply disappointed in the prosecutor’s decision,” said Kilpatrick, who earlier compared his critics to a “lynch mob” and said he had been subjected to racial epithets since the scandal broke. GBU Editor

REUTERS photo by Rebecca Cook

Schering, Merck Cholesterol Prescriptions Slide

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prescriptions of Schering-Plow Corp’s cholesterol drugs fell 13 percent in February from a month earlier, following results of a controversial study, the drug maker said on Tuesday.

The drugs, Zetia and Vytorin, fell to 2.77 million total prescriptions in February from 3.19 million in January, Schering-Plow said in a filing. Schering-Plow sells the drugs with Merck & Co in a joint venture.

“Although the prescription data have shown some early signs of stabilization, there are limitations to this prescription data and it is too early to discern any trends,” Schering-Plow said.

It’s amazing that your news agency releases this story with the name Schering-Plough MISSPELLED throughout the article as Schering-Plow. THREE journalists let this error go undetected!  

John Y.

This was not human error - not even sloppy use of a spell-check. The spelling was correct for most of our services, but a renegade program changing British spellings to American spellings kicked in on one news feed. And yes, it was a bit ironic that it happened the week Arthur C. Clarke died: GBU Editor

Alain Bernard of France is seen from underwater as he enters the water to set a new world record of 47.60 seconds during the 100m freestyle in the men’s semi-finals at the European Swimming Championships in Eindhoven March 21, 2008.  REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay  

Please forward my compliments to Wolfgang Rattay for a beautiful picture of Alain Bernard published in Libération on 22-23 March 2008.As a film technician, I am wondering where he has taken the picture from.

Jacqueline G. Thanks for noticing. This photo of Wolfgang and his camera may give you a hint about how he took it. Meanwhile, you should also check our Photo Blog, where Reuters photograpers talk about their job and their noteworthy photographs: GBU Editor

Indonesia left deep imprint on Obama family

“She could enjoy a G&T and a good argument,” said McGlynn.

In this article about Barak Obama and his mother during their time in Indonesia, the writer quotes John McGlynn as saying “She could enjoy a G&T and a good argument.” I think it would have been appropriate to explain what is meant by G&T. Is it “give and take” as in a discussion or,  perhaps, “gin and tonic”?

A good general rule is “Always DYA (define your acronyms)”.

J.F.W.

Yes, we meant gin and tonic, and we should have made that clear: GBU Editor

REUTERS/Obama For America/Handout

Engagement ring ends up gone with the wind

Hajji, of Hackney, east London, had concealed a 6,000-pound engagement ring inside a helium balloon. The idea was that she would pop the balloon as he popped the question.

A 6,000-pound ring?

Dale M. 

Accountant loses 300,000 pound grape lawsuit

Those of us who are not on your monetary system read this headline to be refer to litigation rergarding the largest grape ever grown. £ would have been clearer and would have saved space.

Steve S.
 
These versions of the two stories above  appeared on our UK site, where most readers would tend to understand that pound referred to price, and not weight. On reuters.com, the figures were converted to dollars. Having said that, to American eyes those references do look kind of funny: GBU Editor

Ferraro leaves Clinton campaign in flap over race

That prompted the Obama campaign, which fired an adviser who called Clinton a “monster,” to urge the former first lady to break with Ferraro to send a message about the negative tone of the campaign

This article stated that the Obama campaign fired the advisor who called Hillary Clinton a “monster”. That is completely incorrect and I believe an attempt to shine a brighter light on the Obama campaign than on the Clinton one. Samantha Powers resigned.

Jackie

You are correct. Our description of those events should have been worded differently: GBU Editor

REUTERS photo by Frank Polich

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer (R) stands next to his wife Silda Wall Spitzer as he announces his resignation at his office in New York March 12, 2008. Spitzer faced pressure to quit since it was reported earlier in the week that he was caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a prostitute at a Washington hotel last month.

The caption is incorrect and being sent to the world. I think you should issue a correction ASAP. Eliot Spitzer is a DEMOCRAT and NOT a REPUBLICAN; therefore, the (R) should be a (D).

Joseph B.

The (R) in this instance refers to his position in the photo (right) and not his party. This has confused readers in the past, as well. Of course, one might ask whether we really need to distinguish between Spitzer and his wife in a photograph of two people: GBU Editor

REUTERS photo by Brendan McDermid