Update no.485

Update from the Heartland

No.485

28.3.11 – 3.4.11

Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- As the situation in Libya continues to devolve [481], Minister of Foreign Affairs Moussa Muhammad Koussa, 62, defected to Great Britain. Previous to his ministerial position (2009), he worked his way through the ranks of Jamahiriya el-Mukhabarat, (Intelligence Agency of the People’s Republic [of Libya]). Soon after 9/11, Koussa led a Libyan delegation to London to engage MI6 and CIA, presumably to tell them that Libya was not involved. As a Mukhabarat operative and leader, he was reportedly involved in the planning of PanAm 103, UTA 772, and other terrorist bombing attacks. I imagine a bevy of agents from the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Central Intelligence Agency, and a host of other intelligence operatives are asking Koussa some very direct, difficult questions. The Press indicated Moussa has not been offered immunity from international prosecution for crimes against humanity, and yet he is cooperating with his interrogators.

The Patriot Post Poster

[left-v-right4-offset.jpg]

The right-wing blog The Patriot Post advertised this poster for sale, presumably as a graphic illustration of the ideological differences between Left & Right, between Democrat & Republican, between liberal & conservative. It is just such drivel – in this case, pabulum for the unthinking Right – that pokes my political sensitivities with a sharp stick. Lest we forget, the Left has produced similar material. One side or the other cloaks themselves in the Flag, the Constitution, the righteousness of patriotism, and the high ideals of their particular ideology. This particular example happens to come from the Right, so it is the Right that attracts my ire at the moment. They claim the Left supports tyranny, while the Right stands for Liberty. They throw in all sorts of symbols like peace, feminism, religious tolerance & coexistence, and of course the ever-present trio of Marx, Lenin & Stalin; but then, oddly they include the swastika of the Nazis and add in Hitler as well – the staunchly fascist bunch; however, they give us the ultimate symbology of chaos and anarchy versus resolute patriotic simplicity. The reality is, the Right no more stands for Liberty than Adolf Hitler did in his day. The fact is, the Right may espouse Liberty . . . as long as it is for their ideals, their views, their morals, their values, their beliefs, and their pet spending projects, but they are far more tyrannical than the Left ever will be when it comes to real freedom, real Liberty, or the real values for which this Grand Republic has stood since the Founders stood tall to the mark with their Lives, Fortunes, and sacred Honor. They get all frothy at even the suggestion of infringement upon a citizen’s right to keep and bear arms (and thankfully so I must add), and unfortunately, they get equally frothy over sharing the same Liberty and freedom of choice with anyone not exactly like them – that believes in the same principles they believe in, has the same moral values, or shares their views of society or the world. They have no problem whatsoever commanding the Federal government to take control of a woman’s body, to dictate who another citizen can choose as a life partner, or to make criminal those private activities they disapprove. The Right outlaws the ingestion of one set of substances, while the Left seeks to prohibit the ingestion of another set of substances. I am fed up. I am mad as hell, and I am not going to take this any more. To both sides, get the hell out of my private life and leave me alone – that is real Liberty. So, to the producers of such posters and the mindless lemmings who seem attracted to such bromidic balderdash, stop! Cease and desist! Let us use our intellects to find compromise, to seek solutions to real problems, and to achieve balance, so that ALL citizens can truly choose their path to “Life, Liberty and pursuit of Happiness.”

News from the economic front:
-- The Labor Department reported nonfarm payrolls rose by 216,000 in March, with the private sector adding 230,000 jobs. The February number was revised upward to 194,000 jobs. The unemployment rate decreased to 8.8% -- the lowest unemployment rate in two years. Yet, the threats to the economic recovery persist, including upward pressure on energy and food prices, with the potential for disruptions in oil production in the Middle East, and as state and local governments continue to shed jobs as they grapple with budget shortfalls.

A continuing thread from Update no.483:
“I do not have particularly low opinion of engineers. I do, however, believe that specialization limits perception. Any given person can only know so much information, and the specialty of engineering does not allow for the level and type of ‘human factor’ understanding that I discuss. I thoroughly agree that ‘Providing human operators essential information to control a machine safely and properly is a fundamental requirement.’ Ordinarily that requirement is met in the design, engineering and construction of industrial equipment. It was met on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, for example. The level of human understanding to which I refer is in understanding that the information provided may be ignored and the equipment may be deliberately disabled or thoughtlessly bypassed. I will add that this is not necessarily an engineering point; we have discussed BP's and its contractors' liability before, and I believe that is where the central irresponsibility occurred. Similar human failings apply to most human disasters.
“At least to a degree, I also agree with your statement that ‘The electric power generation industry is doing the best they can within the constraints imposed upon them by government regulatory agencies.’ However, a day must come when all parties recognize that no sane, functional solution for nuclear waste storage exists or is likely to be created in the near term. To me, the bottom line is not who to blame but simply that what we want is not yet possible with reasonable safety.
“We have no specific, clear information to date about Fukushima. I noted from today's news that finger-pointing has begun, but it will be some time before real information emerges. The current question is whether "temporary" facilities can be used given that disasters can happen without warning and often do exactly that, which clearly is the trigger in this event.”
My response:
Re: DH operators. I do not think the DH operators that day were as negligent or complacent as you portray them. Yes, they did disable several alerts because of multitudinous nuisance alarms; and yes, I will say they did overlook some of the indicators in the confusion of conflicting information. I was and still am disappointed in the lack of integrated situation awareness information available to the operators. Yes, that is one area the industry must do a much better job. Perhaps rig operators should be licensed like pilots and be required by law to demonstrate proficiency on a semi-annual or annual basis as pilots do. Clearly, despite the capability and sophistication of the Deepwater Horizon rig, there was too much “seat of the pants” operation in play that day / night. I do not know whether nuclear power plant operators have to be licensed or demonstrate recurring proficiency, but that is probably not a bad idea either. Unfortunately, what happened at Fukushima was far beyond any planned or designed condition.
Re: nuclear waste storage. I believe Yucca Mountain is a safe, secure, permanent storage facility for spent nuclear fuel rods and other related material. I also believe the USG has gone the extra mile to assuage public concerns. There comes a point where the greater good exceeds a few localized NIMBY concerns. Yucca Mountain may not serve as a model for other nuclear power countries, but it is certainly an adequate starting point.
I think nuclear containment structures in the United States are designed to endure the highest probable event in their service lifetime. The units in Kansas are designed to survive a direct hit from an EF5 tornado or a small plane impact. I doubt they are designed to survive a direct hit from a bunker-buster bomb, or a 10-meter tsunami. We must be realistic with our requirements.

No comments and contributions from Update no.484.

My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)