Jimmy Fallon

NBC worried Jimmy Fallon’s boozing got ‘out of control’

Jimmy Fallon was warned to cut back on his boozing by NBC chiefs following a series of bizarre late-night accidents, according to multiple insiders.

An NBC insider said of the funnyman, “There were fears that Fallon was out of control and something could happen while he’s out drinking. Things got so serious at one stage that execs feared that Jimmy was splitting up with his wife over his drinking, but they patched things up.”

The beloved “Tonight Show” host’s recent allegedly alcohol-aided antics include tripping on a rug at home and nearly severing his ring finger on a table in June 2015.

Then he chipped his tooth “trying to open medicine for his injured finger” a few months later. In October 2015 he cut his hand on a bottle of Jägermeister. In September of this year a “very drunk” Fallon was seen alone at an NYC punk bar at 3 a.m, which sparked more NBC concerns.

N.S.A. Appears to Have Missed ‘Big Red Flags’ in Suspect’s Behavior

By Scott Shane and Jo Becker

WASHINGTON — Year after year, both in his messy personal life and his brazen theft of classified documents from the National Security Agency, Harold T. Martin III put to the test the government’s costly system for protecting secrets.

And year after year, the system failed.

Mr. Martin got and kept a top-secret security clearance despite a record that included drinking problems, a drunken-driving arrest, two divorces, unpaid tax bills, a charge of computer harassment and a bizarre episode in which he posed as a police officer in a traffic dispute. Under clearance rules, such events should have triggered closer scrutiny by the security agencies where he worked as a contractor.

From The New York Times.

Warren Hinckle

Peter Collier on the passing of Warren Hinckle:

When I joined Ramparts in 1966, Hinckle was already well on his way at age twenty-seven to becoming a living legend. While most of the staff came to work in street-fighter chic, he had his own homemade version of bella figura, showing up most days in a tie and three-piece suit, although sometimes changing pace with patent leather dancing pumps and a maroon velvet jacket. Jowly and plump and conveying an impression of fluid retention, he was an imperious alcoholic and only those who didn’t realize how Irish he was regarded it as paradoxical that he should become more fluent and inventive the more he drank, and that he never—even after several hours at Cookie Pacetti’s, the working-class watering hole where he went to escape intellectuals and politicos—appeared drunk.

EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker

 ... French journalist Jean Quatremer, who conducted the interview, said Mr Juncker glugged four glasses of champagne during the course of their light lunch.

He recalled how during a previous meeting when Mr Juncker was prime minister of Luxembourg, he had drunk three straight glasses of cognac at the end of a meal where he had enjoyed many glasses of white wine.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3789007/I-m-not-drunk-s-just-way-walk-EU-chief-Jean-Claude-Juncker-dismisses-rumours-s-alcoholic-blames-injury-appearing-drunk.html#ixzz4KFYErYE0

Some observations:

High tolerance for alcohol is often a sign of alcoholism. 

 

Denial can be a confirming symptom

Two United pilots arrested for being too DRUNK to fly

EXCLUSIVE: Two United pilots are 'arrested at Glasgow Airport for being too DRUNK to fly to New Jersey' - as it's revealed both are military veterans

• Brady Grebenc, 35, and Carlos Licona, 45, were arrested Saturday at 9am
• The pair had been scheduled to fly from Glasgow, Scotland, to Newark, NJ
• But they were taken in by police after 'concerns were raised' 
• They are currently in police custody on suspicion of trying to fly drunk 
• Both claim to be military vets and instructors with decades of experience
• Licona was awarded in 2013 by the FAA for being a 'positive example'
• New crew eventually took the 141 passengers to New Jersey ten hours later

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3762266/United-Airlines-pilots-Brady-Grebenc-Carlos-Licona-pictured-Glasgow-arrest.html#ixzz4IdfOtsNt
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Co-pilot was nearly 4 times over legal limit

Co-pilot was nearly 4 times over legal limit

A co-pilot on a charter plane in Michigan bound for Massachusetts was arrested Thursday after a colleague suspected that he was drunk.

Traverse City police Capt. Kevin Dunklow said the Talon Air co-pilot’s breath test showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.30, nearly four times the legal threshold for drunken driving.

Talon Air praised its employee for discovering the suspect was drunk.

“We are very proud of Captain Manny Ramirez’ immediate action in detecting the co-pilot’s condition and removing him from his position,” Talon Air said. “This is yet another example of Talon Air’s safety procedures working effectively on behalf of our clients and for airport safety.”

Talon Air said the co-pilot was “immediately terminated” following the incident. His name hasn’t been released.

Considering the difficulty of identifying alcoholics it is probable that the percentage of licensed commercial pilots who are active alcoholics is similar to the percentage for the general public.

 

Ivan the Not-So-Terrible

by Neil MacFarquahar

 The governor of the small Russian region of Oryol is trying to convince people that Ivan the Terrible was not so bad.

 ...  Ivan’s more dubious deeds include founding the first version of Russia’s secret police and beating his own son to death.

For my views on Ivan read pages 161-166 in Vessels of Rage ...

Also available on Google Play.