Update no.604

Update from the Heartland

No.604

8.7.13 – 14.7.13

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

To all,

The follow-up news items:

-- The mounting information regarding the crash of Asiana Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport [603] is not looking good for the crew.  The Boeing 777-200 has an exceptional record of performance.  I am not a “big iron” pilot, so I am not that familiar with the usual use of automation in that aircraft, but I am close enough to understand it.  According to NTSB Chairman Hersman, the crew disengaged the AutoPilot on approach, presumably since they were cleared for a visual approach, and left the AutoThrottles engaged.  I have learned from other pilots who have flown AutoThrottles that the configuration is quite common on approach, to allow the AutoThrottles to maintain speed during descent to the runway.  The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) should have recorded precisely their automation configuration and selected commands.  All of this is interesting engineering information, but the bottom line – full stop – the crew is required to ensure they maintain control of the aircraft by whatever means they choose.  They clearly failed in their primary responsibility in that they allowed the airspeed to decay during descent to a value 30 knots below approach speed and dangerously close to aerodynamic stall.  A reality of the response time for a large aircraft with high-bypass, turbofan engines like the B777 is quite slow, which means the crew must attentively maintain the proper approach state and recognize deviations from the optimal approach path earlier than would otherwise be the case with a more responsive aircraft.

-- Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev [592] pleaded not guilty to multiple federal charges [602].  The action is certainly his right under the Constitution; he is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  Nonetheless, it has always struck me as quite odd that men like Tsarnaev, who attacked the very system by which he now seeks protection, can find the logic and rationale to plead not guilty.  Quite a puzzlement, it seems to me.  Regardless, he shall have justice that he and his brother denied several dozen truly innocent citizens.

-- The fugitive Snowden [599 & sub] held a press conference with human rights advocates, while he is still marooned in Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow.  Now, The Guardian [of London] Journalist Glenn Greenwald appears to have assumed the role of Snowden’s spokesman and public defender, threatening the United States that we will regret what happens if anything happens to Snowden.  I am getting really irritated with Greenwald for a host of reasons, not least of which this whole Snowden affair is becoming way too personal for him.  For all those who defend Snowden, would their opinion be different if he had delivered his information to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), or the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) instead of to a journalist?  When does the disclosure of sensitive, classified material become a crime against the State, thus treason?

If we want to find congressional pork and largesse for their wealthy friends and contributors, we have but to examine HR 2642, the so-called Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013.  The House of Representatives passed HR 2642 by a vote of 216-208-0-11(0), on a near strict, party line vote.  The bill goes to the Senate, so it still has a way to go before it becomes law.  It is hardly worth spending more time on, in my humble opinion.  Reform . . . indeed!  If this is what qualifies as reform in Congress these days, the road ahead has become even more pocked and bumpy.

When we should be discussing and debating the situation in Egypt or Syria, or warrantless surveillance in the War on Islamic Fascism, or the war itself, American media is consumed with the Zimmerman trial.  The jury unanimously found him not guilty against charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter. 

            I have resisted spending more than minimal time on this event, but now seems an appropriate time to offer a few comments.  All those signs professionally printed and on display within hours of the verdict are a clear indication that a group of Americans wanted this moment to carry on a public demonstration.  Some of the demonstrators are not outraged citizens with dark skin pigmentation, but rather anarchists simply looking for another opportunity to riot.  George Zimmerman had no way to know whether Trayvon Martin was armed or not; he should have assumed so in that situation.  Zimmerman had just as much right to that ground that night as Martin.  We saw the photographs of Zimmerman’s injuries.  Why did we not see Martin’s injuries (other than the fatal gunshot)?  What if Martin had just kept walking?  What if, even if he had been challenged or turned, and took a less confrontational stance?  What if, after Zimmerman challenged Martin and was told he was suspicious, Martin said OK, I’m just going home?  We have had burglaries in our neighborhood.  We have a Neighborhood Watch system.  We have challenged a number of people who were acting suspicious or did not belong.  We have reported solicitors who did not behave as salesmen or service providers.  Have we committed a crime?

            Sadly, as we so often do in this Grand Republic, Zimmerman will suffer permanent impact as if as a society, we feel Trayvon Martin suffered a permanent consequence, so George Zimmerman should suffer an equally permanent result.

            For those who see the Zimmerman verdict as a “disgrace,” I wonder how they feel about the Simpson murder verdict (1995)?

            I must draw specific attention to the words of Martin family attorney Benjamin Lloyd Crump, who publicly proclaimed, “Trayvon Martin will forever remain in the annals of history next to Medgar Evers and Emmett Till as symbols for the fight for equal justice for all.”  For Crump to claim that Trayvon Martin will be historically remembered in the same light as Emmett Till and Medgar Evers is just as racist as those damnable Texas rednecks that dragged James Byrd, Jr. to his death behind their pick-up truck (1998).  He and all the other reverse race-baiters are one step short of incitement to riot.  The image that is emerging from a rather asymmetric response to the verdict suggests this whole fracas was far more about the political debate surrounding gun control than it was about the unfortunate death of a teenager with dark skin pigmentation and a hoody.

The first of the marriage cases through my reading window was Hollingsworth v. Perry [569 U.S. ___ (2013); no. 12-144] – the California Proposition 8 case.  As the Press accurately reported, the Hollingsworth ruling has nothing to do with the essential topic at hand.  Nonetheless, the decision has some very interesting elements.  The Court was narrowly split at 5-4 and an interesting split at that, I must add.  Chief Justice Roberts wrote for the majority.  He said, “[The citizens group petitioners] therefore have no ‘personal stake’ in defending its enforcement that is distinguishable from the general interest of every citizen of California.”  Roberts concluded, “We have never before upheld the standing of a private party to defend the constitutionality of a state statute when state officials have chosen not to. We decline to do so for the first time here.”  Associate Justice Kennedy wrote the dissenting opinion.  He noted, “In California, the popular initiative is necessary to implement ‘the theory that all power of government ultimately resides in the people.’”  Kennedy went on to observe, “The doctrine is meant to ensure that courts are responsible and constrained in their power, but the Court's opinion today means that a single district court can make a decision with far-reaching effects that cannot be reviewed.”  The complication in this case sprang from the decision by the State of California to not defend the simple majority, referendum-approved, state constitutional amendment – Proposition 8.  The socially conservative citizen group that initiated the referendum chose to defend the law.  While the Supremes’ very narrow standing decision avoided the root question, the Chief Justice chose that slim vulnerability to de facto reject Proposition 8, since by the Court’s decision, they virtually said, only the state could appeal and the state chose not to participate.  I understand Kennedy’s logic, but even his reasoning fails to address the elephant in the room – can a simple majority deny equal rights and equal protection under the law to a minority of which it does not approve?  The Supremes chose to punt on Hollingsworth, perhaps in deference to Windsor, the next case on my reading list.

News from the economic front:

-- Imports and exports for the PRC fell in June – exports by 3.1% and imports by 0.7% – a worrying sign the PRC’s trade engine is slowing and may impact the global economic recovery.

-- Japan’s central bank issued an improving assessment of the country’s economy, suggesting for the first time in more than two years that economic conditions were “recovering”.

-- The Financial Times [of London] reported that U.S. and EU regulators have reached a landmark deal on policing derivatives trading, as they have apparently agreed to supervisory responsibilities and avoided a paralyzing impasse that might have disrupted global markets.

-- A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers have taken the initial steps to rebuild the wall between commercial and investment banking activities.  The proposed new law would implement an updated version of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 [PL 73-066; 48 Stat. 162] that Congress repealed in 1999 [PL 106-102; 113 Stat. 1338].  I am one of those citizens who believe the removal of those decades old restrictions contributed to the initiation and depth of the 2008 financial crisis and recession, so I see this congressional action as a long-overdue legislative initiative.

London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) Debacle [552]:

-- Supervision of LIBOR has passed from the British Bankers’ Association, a London-based trade group who “managed” the index since the 1980s, to NYSE Euronext, the trans-Atlantic exchanges operator.

Comments and contributions from Update no.603:

Comment to the Blog:

“The Snowden saga continues. I will note that the EU nations sat quietly until they suddenly realized that they too were victims of the US ‘intelligence’ community’s runaway powers. Any physical sweep of facilities is a minor step by now; examination of Internet and communication resources will reveal more.

“I have unreserved respect for the work of firefighters and I am deeply saddened by the loss of 19 of them at once. I hope the authorities involved will find ways to provide for their families. Incidentally, I have a friend who camped in Prescott National Forest earlier in the year, when the weather was nice. That’s some very nice territory, or it was.

“Egypt is an interesting puzzle, but it shows a pattern. The US is always going on about democratic elections, and when the Arab Spring came along, Egypt held a democratic election. However, they gave a victory to the Islamic Brotherhood, and the US detests those people. Now, somehow, the Islamic Brotherhood has become very unpopular and has been overthrown by force. Today I see an announcement that Egypt has been awarded $3 billion in aid from the US. It makes me wonder if there’s something we’re not being told.

“If the IRS is questioning the credentials of potential non-profit organizations that might be political, I have no problem with that so long as that is done in a politically neutral way. Our election system is broken enough without giving those people a tax break.

“I will continue criticizing privatization of government functions. In a high-security environment, even janitorial work and food service ought to be performed by people with the added obligations of government service.”

My response to the Blog:

Calvin,

            Re: NSA.  I might offer a slightly different perspective.  The EU remained quiet until the Snowden disclosures enveloped them as well as the U.S.  Truth be told, I believe the bigger nations of the EU were a party to the PRISM and Upstream programs.  IMHO, the physical sweep of the EU Brussels facilities is for public consumption and political distance.  PRISM was an Internet program.  Further, the Internet, by its very design, intention and operation is an open communication system like air or radio waves.  Lastly, NSA collected metadata, which is basic routing instructions, like an address on an envelope – open source.  Such data are clues that when combined with other information becomes actionable intelligence.  Let us not inflate the NSA work too far.

            Re: firefighters.  Amen brother!  The land will recover.

            Re: Egypt.  Yes, quite the conundrum.  The U.S. is walking a very fine line.  Morsi chose to be the agent of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) vice the president of the country as he was elected.  The MB used their mouthpiece to impose fundamentalist Islam on a nation that has experienced a modicum of secular freedom for decades; I suspect that portion of Egyptian society did not take kindly to having fundamentalist beliefs imposed on them; freedom is funny like that.  There is probably a lesson in there for all of us.

            Re: tax exemption.  With the reality of Citizens United, there is no such thing as non-profit political organizations, and no political organization should be allowed tax-exempt status.  Further, any religious organization that wants to engage in political activities should be rejected for tax-exempt status as well.  From my perspective, both groups become essentially money-laundering organizations.

            Re: government functions.  I understand your opinion, but I think certain functions do not have access or need-to-know.  When we had paper documents, the security procedures were direct, simple and adequate, which is not to say there were not breaches, offenses and disclosures, e.g., the Ellsberg betrayal (1971).  I’m not sure how the rules have changed in the electronic era, as the last time I had SCI access was 1989.

Another contribution:

“Within 12 hours of the verdict being read -

“A Florida Asst. DA was fired for giving too much information to the Zimmerman defense taken from Travon's cell phone.

“The NAACP wants a wrongful death suit brought against Zimmerman and a Civil Rights suit against him even though the FBI has released the results of an investigation into the case from several weeks ago that states that the case has no racial overtones, it was based on clothing not color of skin.

“PSA's in the days before the verdict pleaded with people to not cause riots or disruptions in the Sanford area when the verdict was read, (sound like they knew there was no case).

“The Justice Department brought extreme pressure on the Chamber of Commerce and the mayor of Sanford to bring charges against Zimmerman even if those charges are dismissed later or ‘We will have to step in’ according to the fired police chief, the mayor, and the Chamber.

“Commentators on a couple of the local TV stations were so obviously biased against Zimmerman that it was embarrassing to watch and listen to their reactions on the "Not Guilty" charge but they still cannot understand how he was acquitted on the charges. At least one juror has said that it was obvious to all six jurors that the charges were not related to the facts and that the state did a very poor job of trying to prove the charges when even their witnesses said the aggressor was Travon.

“The Rev. Sharpton will be down here soon to see "that justice is done", and is comparing it to the Rodney King case in California, where by the way, the only violence so far has occurred.

“It goes on and on - it has been a very wearing case.”

Leon

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                        :-)