So it turns out the story about the French blocking Morales' plane was total bullshit - LMAO!!!

[Savannahmann]

47. To defend the authoritarian governments of the world.

Some here would insist that the pilot just suddenly decided to make a U turn in mid air, land at Vienna because he wanted some of the famed Vienna Sausages of lore and legend.

The really distressing thing here is not the plethora of excuses, but how thin the excuses appear to even the most basic of critical thought. Presidential Planes do not make unscheduled stops on a whim. Presidents are always on a schedule, a schedule set up weeks in advance in many cases. They don't make unscheduled diverts without some good reasons.

So what happened? Someone decided that Snowden was possibly on the plane. Portugal knowing they were between a rock and hard place bowed out. They said the plane could not land, because if it did they would be creating an international incident of epic proportions to search the plane, and if Snowden was on the plane, would be able to do nothing about it, since that would in effect be Bolivian Territory on a Diplomatic mission. Darn those international treaties on such things interfering with the power of authority.

Spain said no, France said no. Italy said no. Austria said yes, but still wrangled an agreement to search the plane for the lying little punk (according to the same apologists who swear none of this happened). In the mean time the information is filtering up the chain of Government, and France's President said holy crap, you can't do that, let him through. By that time, the plane was already on the ground in Austria.

Last night, it was purported that the plane refueled in Spain, but since the flight path of the plane doesn't go over France, much less Spain which for the Geographically challenged is beyond France from Austria, then that seems unlikely to say the least.

Besides, why would a plane that is now just over five thousand miles from home, turn around, and go nearly a thousand miles in the wrong direction? I know, critical thought is apparently not one of the skills of the apologists. They're good at the rolling on the ground smileys, and the insulting comments, but not so much with the whole critical thought thing.

As nations became aware of what was going on in the middle of the night, their responsible leaders changed their underwear, and demanded that this all go away, and for the love of God do not say anything about denying a Presidential flight.

Somebody twisted a bunch of arms in the middle of the night, and that somebody was probably us. It is the one common denominator that makes any sense, not that anything is this debacle makes much sense.

It took a couple hours for the decision to flow upwards far enough before someone would say yes, let the plane through. Two hours is a long time while your plane is burning fuel, which is in a limited supply on a plane by the way. It violates I don't know how many international treaties and agreements. But according to the apologists, none of that happened. Everyone is overreacting. Yeah. Who do you think South America is going to believe? My money is on the locals there believing their own elected representatives over a bunch of nothing to see here apologists for the colonial mentality.

There will be some pain for the Europeans over this, I'm betting that some of the assets of the Europeans are nationalized within sixty days, any takers?