Update from the Heartland
No.768
29.8.16 – 4.9.16
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
We
endured a rather unusual earthquake out here on the Great Plains of Kansas,
circa 07:00 [S] CDT, Saturday, 3.September.2016. I have felt my fair share of earthquakes growing up in
California, and living in Japan and Italy. This one was the longest duration earthquake I have ever
experienced – several minutes by my estimate. I did not have a seismograph, so I was only relying upon the
physical evidence in my study, e.g., computer screen shaking, pictures rattling
and such. About a ¼ of the way
through this event, we had a 5.6 spike.
The epicenter was near Pawnee, Oklahoma. This one appears to have done a lot more serious and
expensive damage in Oklahoma than previous earthquakes. According to the local news, the State
of Oklahoma has ordered a cessation of deep wastewater injection, which is
believed to be causing these earthquakes where no faults exist.
With
genuine and profound sadness, I report the passing of Lieutenant General Frank
Emmanuel Petersen, Jr., USMC (Ret.), 83, on Tuesday, 23.August.2016. I knew of him and his accomplishments
as a Marine long before I knew him as a friend. I was introduced to Frank in 1991, when I joined the Board
of Directors of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), along with Admiral
Elmo Russell ‘Bud’ Zumwalt, Jr., USN (Ret.). Frank had retired from active duty, and at the time, he was Vice
President of Corporate Aviation for DuPont DeNemours Inc. – one of many common
points of intersection. He was an
extraordinary man – friendly, gregarious, generous and compassionate, and a
great man to be around. If you
have not read his autobiography – “Into the Tiger’s Jaw”, I strongly
and enthusiastically encourage you to read carefully. We have lost a great American. May God rest his immortal soul.
We
appear to have experienced a major malfunction . . . in space biz parlance. Space
X and the Cape Canaveral launch team were preparing a Falcon 9 vehicle to send
a communications satellite into orbit.
The payload was sponsored by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and intended
to significantly enhance Internet access for the continent of Africa. During a preparatory test, the second
stage exploded in dramatic fashion – an unusual occurrence in contemporary
space launch events. The video can
be seen at:
“SpaceX Rocket And Its Cargo Explode On Launch Pad In Florida
[VIDEO]”
by Bill Chappell
National Public Radio
Published: September 1, 2016; 2:08 PM ET
Conspiracy theorists wasted no time in suggesting the rocket
assembly was destroyed by a UFO – Unidentified Flying Object. When the launch pad video is slowed
down, a round object can be seen transiting the field of view in a straight
line, right to left, at the time of the explosion. Each video frame represents 0.01 second. We could calculate the angular velocity
of the object, if we knew the lens characteristics and focal length
setting. Yet, without knowing the
range to the object, the angular velocity cannot be transformed into a linear
velocity. Further, nothing
untoward is observed emanating from the object. The noted object is a curiosity item. However, I shall wait for the official
accident report before solidifying my opinion. Regardless, it was a dramatic failure after so many
impressive successes. The
engineers will learn what happened and why, and once that is done, they will
sort out a solution.
A friend and frequent contributor offered the following
thread.
“My big problem with TWA#800, was whether the fuel tank fuel/air
mixture was prime or not, I never really could buy into believing the ignition
source was what the NTSB purported.
In other words, I never could believe in an ignition source for the CFT
(Center Fuel Tank).
“Lots of stuff was going on over those waters on that night long
ago. And when you get military
pilots reporting they witnessed a streak appearing to be a ground (water) to
air launched rocket, then hitting TWA #800, that is noteworthy (as did other
wits report that from land).
“The fact Westinghouse (or another contractor[s]) was doing some
testing of high energy directed weapons in that vicinity, thus why all the
military assets in area, and the MOA, and the TFR's (I believe), makes one
ponder.
“Was it Cashill (the author below) that collected rocket motor
fuel evidence from some of the seats in the wreckage reconstruction of TWA
#800?
“The only other parallel I recall of TWA #800 was that Iranian Air
B-747 that had an in-flight explosion over water (if I recall correctly).”
The article reference to above was:
“TWA 800: My Improbable Lunch with the Chairman of the NTSB”
by Jack Cashill
American Thinker
Published: August 29, 2016
My reply contribution:
Yes,
it was Cashill who came into possession of recovered seat material with a
residue consistent with solid fuel, rocket propellant. There were inconsistencies in that line
of inquiry, not least of which was such material burns to exhaustion once
ignited. There were other attempted
explanations such as glue, some having similar composition. BTW, Cashill got cross-wise with the
law when he disclosed that particular seat material sample.
I
have little doubt regarding the fuel-air ratio in the CWT was highly
combustible at the time of the incident.
The CWT atmosphere was experimentally recreated in similar conditions. There is also no doubt that ignition of
the CWT residual fuel vapor (FAV) and subsequent explosion caused the forward
main spar to rupture, resulting in the separation of the nose section. The issue has always been the CWT FAV ignition
source. The NTSB’s “guess” has
been and remains highly questionable for a host of reasons. Other potential ignition sources could
not be eliminated, e.g., the missing scavenge pump and a high-energy projectile
penetration, and thus remain on the table.
I
think you are referring to an Imperial Iranian Air Force B747-131 in-flight
separation of the left wing as a result of a lightning strike & subsequent
fuel tank explosion near Madrid, Spain [9.May.1976].
We
have passed the 20-year mark since the TWA-800 incident [17.July.1996]. Some of the classified material should be
declassified and made available to the public. We might have to wait for the 50-year mark, after which ALL
classified material should be declassified and released. There is still hope we might one day
have a clearer picture of what happened that night.
Given
all of the publicly available information, the most likely scenario remains an
extraordinarily lucky SAM impact.
Just one warhead fragment would qualify as a high-energy projectile, as
noted above.
Erratum: Above, I
erroneously attributed Cashill as the author of an early theory regarding the
TWA 800 incident. Actually, the
author involved with the illegally obtained seat material from TWA 800 was James
D. Sanders, who did collaborate with Cashill on a subsequent book with respect
to the TWA 800 incident. I offer
my most humble apology for my error with imprecise attribution.
Follow-up comment:
“Thanks for bringing back some facts to my memory. Yes, CWT not CFT.
“The classified material you mention on TWA #800, I am curious why
anything was classified in an investigation that we thought was transparent?
“Do you buy the lightening strike and subsequent
explosion/wing-failure on the Imperial Iranian Air Force B747-131 near Madrid? Just was curious on that one. Could that have been a similar event to
TWA#800, if TWA#800 was not downed by an external method (SAM)?
“So you mention the classification of materials related to
TWA#800. You might note in many of
my mentions of the event, I will talk about the high energy directed weapons
R&D that was being conducted nearby. I mention the MOA and many military assets in the area. I often have wondered if there was
weapons (high energy directed) testing that went amiss that affected TWA #800. Then the CWT explosion and even a SAM by
terrorist actors on a boat, are the cover for a huge error. Just throwing that out there.”
The contributor added a third-party contribution:
“Good questions, no doubt!
“Most things surrounding the Clintons seem to smell like rotten
fish.”
The third-party comment:
“This [is] a favorite conspiracy subject of mine.
“There are many fishy things about the investigation:
Why did the NTSB play such a minor role in the investigation?
Why was the FBI the lead-investigating agency? Same with the Coast Guard?
Why did Clinton sign an Executive Order exempting crewmembers of
the USS Grapple and USS Grasp from federal whistleblower
protection?
Who believes that there are bare electrical wires running through
B747 fuel tanks that could cause a spark?
“Author James Sanders wrote a good investigative book about TWA
800.
“This was nothing more than a huge government cover-up designed to
protect Clinton in the 1996 election.”
. . . to which
I replied:
Good
Q’s indeed.
Re:
“Why did the NTSB play such a minor role in the investigation?” The FBI jumped very quickly on this
incident largely due to the initial eyewitness statements of a streak of light
ascending into the sky in the vicinity of and followed by the explosive flashes
of the in-flight break-up of the aircraft. I have faulted the FBI for jumping too quickly without
sufficient evidence to justify superseding the NTSB, which has a legal mandate
to primacy for public transportation safety investigations.
Re:
“Why was the FBI the lead investigating agency?” If there is probable cause of a
criminal act, then the FBI does become the lead agency. The law says that until there is
probable cause of criminal act, the NTSB is the lead agency. Given the early evidence, I think the
probable cause threshold was met.
Re:
“Why did Clinton sign an Executive Order exempting crewmembers of
the USS Grapple and USS Grasp from federal whistleblower
protection?” Short answer:
the USG wanted all evidence collected during the recovery phase to be under the
protection of the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) [PL
96-456; 94 Stat. 2025; 15.10.1980][548],
i.e., the USG wanted strict control of information being disseminated to the
public, which is exactly why we have seen essentially none of the notes and
evidence collected by the FBI or other federal agencies beyond the NTSB. That action must be considered highly
suspect in a commercial aircraft accident / incident investigation . . .
perhaps even unprecedented. This
is also why I noted the classification duration expiration threshold in my
earlier missive.
Re:
“Who believes that there are bare electrical wires running through
B747 fuel tanks that could cause a spark?” My answer: only people who know nothing of aircraft design and
manufacturing practices, or believe the USG without question. The NTSB’s ‘errant spark’ hypothesis
defies engineering and physics, and the NTSB knows that.
Re:
“James Sanders wrote a good investigative book.” Yes, he did. Unfortunately, I do not believe the evidence supports his
likely hypothesis. He did offer a
compelling case, nonetheless.
Re:
“a huge government cover-up designed to protect Clinton in the 1996
election.” Plausible,
yes. Again, unfortunately, I have
insufficient evidence to justify this hypothesis. This is why the classified material thresholds are so
important. Eventually, the
information will become public. If
this hypothesis is correct, it will probably come to light after ‘Bill-ary’
have passed. To be frank, I was
disappointed Bush (43) did not declassify all information associated with the
TWA 800 investigation. He did not,
so we wait.
Another contributor raised a query regarding a different
commercial aircraft incident.
“I have not seen any new info on MS804. Have you?
Shouldn’t we have seen something from the CVR/FDR examinations well
before now? The longer this goes
on the more suspicious this becomes.”
My response:
Re:
MS804 [753]. There is no obligation or rule about
releasing CVR/FDR data before the final report. Many investigating agencies do release CVR/FDR data because
of so much public interest, but there is no requirement. I suspect the Egyptians feel they were
burned by the KGL9268 fiasco [724]. If they have not released the data by
now, I doubt they will release it until the final report, which might take a
year or more. I think they are
being overly cautious rather than conspiratorial.
Follow-up comment:
“Yes, I suspected the same with the Egyptians.”
My follow-up reply:
We’ll
eventually see the final report for MS804 . . . as well as KGL9268 . . .
someday.
For those who are too distant from American football, the
49ers first string quarterback Colin Rand Kaepernick chose to remain seated on
the bench during the playing of the national anthem – a disrespectful
passive-aggressive action. He
claims that his ‘protest’ was just a simple exercise of the First Amendment
rights to freedom of speech. Kaepernick explained his conduct in a public
statement. “I am not going to
stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and
people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on
my part to look the other way. There
are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with
murder.” Oh my, if the world was
only that simple . . .
The
problem I have with Kaepernick’s “statement” boils down to the reality that he
was “speaking” in the uniform of a professional football team. He was not expressing his opinion as a
private citizen. He is seen in the
image of the entire San Francisco 49ers football organization. His action is no different from a
police or military officer, or the President of the United States in a similar
personal protest . . . as an agent of the larger organization he represents. He is wrong and comes across as a
pampered, over-paid, arrogant hypocrite with some sense of entitlement and
special status.
News from the economic
front:
-- The Labor Department reported non-farm payrolls rose by a
seasonally adjusted 151,000 in August.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged from July at 4.9%. While the hiring growth was lower than
expected, the August numbers indicate the economy is still growing.
Comments and contributions from Update no.767:
“I still don’t envy
the responsibility of the Grand Republic - your choice is reedy with squeaky
CVs from the combatants. What can
be done? I assume it’s too late to
encourage fresh alternative and prospective candidates. Why has this Stein suddenly materialized?
“Anyway my friend
keep working - I’m looking forward to reading your books.”
My reply:
Indeed! The best we can do is suck it up and
pray sufficient numbers of citizens do the correct thing on Election Day in
November. Yes, it is too late for
any new candidates, I do believe.
The filing deadlines for various states occur in late spring and summer,
e.g., the Kansas filing deadline was 1.August. So, for this year’s presidential election, the candidates
are set. We have what we have.
Re:
Jill Stein. Well, actually, she
has been prominent in the Green Party for quite some time. She was the Green Party presumptive
nominee for several months, although the Green Party did not have primaries
like the Democratic and Republican Parties. In Trump-parlance, the system is rigged to favor the
Democratic and Republican Parties, and even the Commission on Presidential
Debates is stocked with political operatives from the two major parties. This is the time for the Libertarian
and Green Parties to break through the barriers of the two-party system,
reinforced by those same parties in Congress and by the law.
Comment to the Blog:
“What we face now with the limitations on Presidential debates is
a unique potential fiasco. One or
both of the mainstream candidates may be eliminated by law enforcement,
overwhelming scandal, or health issues. (Trump is lying about his health;
Clinton is silent.) In that event, many voters will vote for either the Green
or the Libertarian candidate without ever knowing how they perform under
pressure or even much about their positions.
“In regard to how we choose who to include, I like your criterion
but I would settle for 40 states with continuing effort until a month prior to
the election. In most cases, that would include enough voters to carry an
election, particularly if we eventually go to a multi-party system. My only
cautionary note is that we need to consider ballot access in the various
states.”
My response to the
Blog:
Well,
for the sake of this Grand Republic, I hope you are wrong. Regardless, we need all four parties
represented in the debates, although we are not likely to reach a reasonable
placement.
Re:
criteria. The requirements common
to all states is Article 2, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution:
1. Natural born
citizen
2. At least 35
years of age
3. Minimum of
14 years of residency
States usually have additional requirements beyond the
Constitution to qualify to be placed on the ballot in a particular state. In Kansas, an independent candidate
must file a petition of qualification with the signatures of 5,000 qualified
voters by the filing deadline of 1.August. Even a write-in candidate must file an affidavit of
qualification for any of the votes for him to be counted. Well, 40 or 50, I’m not hard over for
either one. Ballot access remains
the domain of the states. Gaining
ballot access in 40 or 50 states would still take money and organization well
in advance to meet the requirements before the deadline in each state. I think we have what we have for this
quadrennial presidential election.
My
very best wishes to all. Take care
of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
2 comments:
The SpaceX rocket failure seems pretty much par for the course of vastly expanding a field of endeavor quickly. Given the nature of the investigators, we shall never know whether the object you described has any significance. My personal opinion is that an operation of this magnitude ought not to be in private hands. The oligarchy sees only potential return on investment and does not concern itself with cost to others.
I see Colin Kaepernick as wise to do his protesting in a a very public place and situation. Otherwise, he could become one more unarmed black man shot by the police, as so many have been. Alternatively, he could be attacked with dogs as the peaceful pipeline protesters in North Dakota have been or with pepper spray as were protesters at a peaceful rally on a college campus in California a year or two back. Nobody believes Mr. Kaepernick speaks for his football team, but no police officer is unwise enough to take revenge on him in a full stadium with cameras recording every square foot of it. He is merely following the example of Muhammad Ali and others who have used their prominence to further their cause. The shame of it is that the cause has not advanced more since Ali made his stand.
Calvin,
Re: SpaceX. Interesting perspective . . . certainly not devoid of truth, it seems to me. The NTSB should be doing the investigation . . . as they do with railroads, ships, highways and aircraft; but, as we know, even the NTSB is not removed from political influence, although by law, it is supposed to be beyond politics.
Re: Kaepernick. While I agree in part, I cannot agree with the premise anyone can say whatever they want whenever they want and in any circumstance they wish. Muhammed Ali spoke for himself; he represented no one else except himself. But hey, apparently, that is just my opinion . . . and that don’t matter a hoot for nothin’.
Cheers,
Cap
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