Our first bit of news today could be positive or negative, depending on your view. So before you get riled up that this isn’t positive, we will consider it an advantage to the airline company, not necessarily passengers.

The Good: Disclaimer aside, our positive news for the day is that flights within the European Union will now allow cell phones to be used during flights. Cell phone users will be allowed to make and receive calls, texts and e-mails during their flight. The cell phones will face the same scrutiny as other electrical devices, and will be able to be used once the plane reaches 10,000 feet above the ground.

The Bad: The Olympic torch relay has been racked with issues this year. Due to Chinese actions against Tibet, protestors against China have followed every step of the event. In some cases, the protests are peaceful and only affect the moral of the torch bearer. In other cities, the protests have become violet, with police tackling protestors who try to interfere with the proceedings. In a questionable move, Olympic authorities decided to tamper with the proceedings of the only US stop on the torch’s journey, San Fransico.

The San Fransico torch relay was meant to begin at AT&T Park and end at Justin Herman Park without incident. Instead, the torch bearer began the run as normal, but then diverted into a warehouse. Vehicles then left the warehouse about 45 minutes later, transporting the torch. The torchbearer and security personal were then dropped on a new street to finish the relay. The torch was not brought to the scheduled closing ceremony at Justin Herman Park. This just adds to the complex issues surrounding the 2008 Olympics, stay tuned to see which politicians actually attend and what protests occur.