Update from the
Heartland
No.639
10.3.14 – 16.3.14
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
Well, now, the only constant in life is
change, and life goes on. On
Friday, 14.March.2014, the sale of the venerable Beechcraft Corporation was
completed and closed with Textron, Inc.
A new entity – Textron Aviation – was created to combine the three
airplane brands – Beechcraft, Cessna & Hawker. Back in the day, Walter Beech, Clyde Cessna, Lloyd Stearman
and Glenn Curtis were all together in the Travel Air Company. Over time, the pioneers split and each
formed his namesake company. With
this sale, we are together again.
Most
of the Beechcraft executives were released, including CEO Bill Boisture, who
led the company through the tortured waters of the Great Recession, major downsizing,
bankruptcy and the eventual sale of the company. There have been no further announcements regarding the
integration of Textron Aviation other than to say they expect the process to
take 6-12 months. And so it goes!
The follow-up news items:
-- Based on the publicly available information and
attempting to distill out the early conflicting information, the fate of
Malaysian Airline Flight MH370 [638]
cannot be good. Without the Flight
Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder, even if they are eventually
recovered, external, independent reconstruction of the flight will be more
difficult as the recorded data has been overwritten. Further, if the latest information is accurate, a
specifically trained, knowledgeable, and experienced pilot must have been in
control of the aircraft – a rogue pilot crewmember or a hijacker. The aircraft does not have in-flight
refueling equipment, and the aircraft has long passed its fuel capacity; thus,
it must have landed somewhere (and potentially refueled) or it has crashed
somewhere. If it was a terrorist
event, they accomplished their mission – induce public apprehension regarding
airline travel. If it was a pilot
suicide event, it would not be the first.
To my knowledge, we have not seen an aviation event quite like this one
in contemporary times.
-- The sad drama continues to play out in the Ukraine [637-8]. Uncle Joe Stalin said, “It is enough that the people know
there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people
who count the votes decide everything.”
Vladimir Putin has consistently demonstrated his favoring of Stalinist realpolitik. The Crimea “vote” is done. As of Sunday evening, “officials”
reported 89.5% of Crimea provincial voters cast their votes in favor of cession
from Ukraine and joining Russia.
So, Putin has what he wanted, “justification” for his armed seizure of
Crimea . . . and probably, eventually, the eastern provinces of Ukraine. Perhaps comparisons to Hitler are not
appropriate, despite Putin’s use of precisely the same arguments for his
offensive actions; then perhaps, the comparison to Stalin is more
appropriate. This tragedy is a
long way from conclusion.
Since 9/11 and the subsequent combat operations,
and especially since that fugitive in Russia stole a trove of classified
material and publicly disclosed portions of his booty, I have striven mightily
to defend the Intelligence Community (IC) to ensure they had the broadest kit
bag of tools to assist the efforts of this Grand Republic to wage war
successfully in the War on Islamic Fascism. Then, on Tuesday, 11.March.2014, this little news tidbit came
across my computer screen.
“Feinstein: CIA searched Intelligence Committee computers”
by Ed O’Keefe and Adam Goldman
Washington Post
Published: Tuesday, March 11, 9:14 AM
Other opinions of the same event:
“The Senate-CIA Blowup Threatens a Constitutional Crisis – The
allegations of CIA snooping on congressional investigators isn't just a
scandal—the whole premise of secret government is in question.”
by David Corn
Mother Jones
Published: Tue Mar. 11, 2014 10:01 AM GMT
and
White House told of CIA move against Senate aides
by David Espo and Julie Pace
Associated Press
Published: Mar 12, [2014]; 5:56 PM EDT
For those who may not readily know, Senator Dianne Emiel Feinstein
of California is the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence –
the principal legislative oversight committee for the IC.
To
my understanding of this whole fracas, the Senate Intelligence Committee has
been investigating the CIA’s use of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EIT)
with captured battlefield combatants.
Apparently, as accusations have been made, the assigned congressional
staffers exceeded their mandate and copied files they were not authorized to
see, let alone take possession of in their investigation. Then, the CIA presumably hacked into staffers’
computers to retrieve those documents.
Regardless, legal means exist for the CIA to seek return of the
out-of-scope documents and prosecute the staffers for violation of their access
authority. Surreptitiously
accessing the congressional computers is wrong in about every way
imaginable. According to the
O’Keefe/Goldman article, Senator Feinstein intends to refer this case and her
facts to the Justice Department for prosecution. While Senator Feinstein’s accusations have not been proven
beyond a reasonable doubt, I believe there is veracity to her words. I hope all those involved in this
information dispute are charged, tried, convicted and imprisoned. This is the classic fear all of us
should have in allowing the government the means intended for the prosecution
of war to be turned on us, whether congressional staffer or private citizen.
In
an interesting and timely representation, CBS’s “The Good Wife” lawyer drama
series has an interwoven sub-plot involving two young men portrayed as nerdy, carefree,
computer-geeks working for the NSA and using powerful, clandestine,
warrantless, electronic surveillance programs to hack into a wide variety of
electronic communications at will.
The program they present appears to be similar to a Google Analytics
application that enables them to watch and listen to complex communications,
despite efforts to thwart their anonymous, clandestine activities. The episode that aired Sunday night,
9.March.2014, had this NSA “group” turning over raw “terrorism” tapped
transcripts to the DEA, AUSA, and the DoJ’s Office of Public Integrity, the
“protected” legal communications that have absolutely nothing to do with or
even remotely associated with any aspect of the War on Islamic Fascism. The parallels to the current CIA-Feinstein
conflict are striking and thought-provoking. Further, the portrayed warrantless surveillance is precisely
what I believe happened to Governor Elliott Spitzer of New York, which actually
worse in that it was motivated by political vendetta. We could also throw in the illegal IRS auditing kerfuffle.
The
CIA-Feinstein tussle brings the fictional portrayal to real life and
actualization. The USG has proven
to be unworthy of the powerful tools they have been provided for the security
of this Grand Republic. I am now
of the opinion our expectation of national security cannot be maintained in the
light of USG abuses of power. We
must begin the process of reigning in the IC, even if that means we must endure
more injury at the hands of Islamo-fascists. I am truly saddened and disappointed we have come to this
state.
For those who have followed the TWA 800
incident and especially our hypothesis regarding the root cause, this new
information should be intriguing.
“Lockerbie bombing 'was work of Iran, not Libya' says former
spy – Iranian defector Abolghassem Mesbahi says Pan Am 103 attack was revenge
for US Navy strike on Iranian passenger jet”
by Gordon Rayner,
Chief Reporter
The Telegraph [UK]
Published: 10 Mar 2014; 11:00PM GMT
The in-flight break-up of Pan American Airlines Flight PA103
occurred on Wednesday, 21.December.1988, and was caused by an on-board
explosive that ruptured the pressure vessel and compromised the structural
integrity of the aircraft over Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. The connection to TWA 800 [17.July.1996]
is the Islamic Republic of Iran and the professed revenge for the destruction
of Iran Air Flight 655, mistakenly shot down by the USS Vincennes (CG-49) on 3.July.1988, during the tensions in the
Persian Gulf as a consequence of the Iran-Iraq War [began: 22.September.1980; ended: 20.August.1988]. What I find most interesting is the
validation of the fundamental premise – state-sanctioned retribution. We just moved another step closer to
confirmation of our hypothesis.
Stay tuned!
Comments
and contributions from Update no.638:
Comment to the Blog:
“The situation in Crimea and the balance of Ukraine
continues to change. Few indeed are the takeovers where the conquered territory
holds a referendum. The background of this event is interesting and appears to
be derived from long-term conflicts within Ukraine as much as anything else.
One of the more fascinating underlying questions that probably will only emerge
when historians study this is whether Ukraine underwent a true revolution to
rid itself of its former Chief Executive or whether it experienced the latest
in a long line of US ‘regime changes’ (the US term for a takeover).
“I wish Mr. Soobzokov well. He takes on large and merciless
forces.
“Any comment I could make about the Malaysia Airlines flight
could easily be outdated by the time I sent it, so I will refrain.
“That the EU wants to make large loans to Ukraine with
strings attached ought to surprise nobody. Their position in this event is
primarily as consumers, and their energy supply is in question.”
My response to the
Blog:
Re:
Ukraine/Crimea. Indeed, time shall
tell the tale. If the U.S. had a
hand in the “revolution,” I have not seen the signs. Based on what I see so far, Russia (Putin) wants to protect
their assets in Crimea. Of course,
the Stalin narrative of a buffer with Europe is not unreasonable either from a
historic perspective.
Re:
Soobzokov. Aslan has impressed me
with his tenacity and fearlessness in trying to clear his father’s
reputation. It sure looks like the
Press-induced frenzy stimulated a political vengeful attack. Very sad; like mob justice.
Re:
Malaysia Airlines. It is all
speculation. The public has
insufficient facts to see through the haze.
Re:
Europe. I think the EU motivation
relative to Ukraine is more than economic. Back in the day, there were a lot of folks who were
convinced Stalin intended to march to the Atlantic, in a reverse conquest of Hitler’s
march to the Urals and Caucasus.
Putin saber-rattling has not help soothe the apprehension or assuage the
fears. Putin has always struck me
as a man who seeks and thrives upon inducing fear in others.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
2 comments:
In all the changes at Textron, I hope you fare well one way or another.
The saga of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH 370 continues. I agree with friends who say that the media and everyone else is just guessing now. The possibilities, based on the evidence and conjecture in TV and the Internet, are essentially endless.
The Ukraine/Crimea event continues. I predict that the European nations will put their best efforts into preventing disruption of the Russian oil pipelines. Anything beyond that is anybody's guess.
So now you and Diane Feinstein have decided the spy business has gone too far. What made either of you blind to the self-serving nature of spy organizations until now baffles me. It was ever thus.
Calvin,
Re: Textron. Thank you. Time shall tell the tale.
Re: MH370. There certainly is a plethora of hypothesizing going on, regarding the fate of the flight. Yet, there are unchallenged facts.
1. The flight took off from Kuala Lumpur at 00:41 [G].
2. The flight did not arrive at its scheduled and planned destination of Beijing, PRC.
3. Someone (qualified or very well trained) in the cockpit was in control of the aircraft.
4. The a/c was not equipped with an in-flight refueling system.
Less assured:
5. The a/c transponder stopped transmitting at 01:19 [G].
6. Geostationary Inmarsat satellite over Indian Ocean recorded a handshake ping from the a/c at 08:11 [G].
7. Estimated duration of loaded fuel supply – 08:40 [G].
There are a host of other public domain details that cannot be considered as facts since evidence has not been presented or corroborated. Given just the facts above, mechanical failure and “act of God” can be eliminated. I think it safe to say, whatever happened to MH370, it is not good.
Re: Ukraine/Crimea. The EU / U.S. response so far has been rather tepid and meaningless.
Re: spy business. I could not prove the Spitzer transgression, while I think the likelihood is strong. The Senate transgression was not passive listening and abusive use; it was a covert, intrusive, intentional, offensive act. So, whatever reason, yes, I am at that point – the USG is not worthy of such tools. Further, some supervisor or group of someones at CIA made the decision to break into the Senate Intell Cmte computers. Anyway, I am where I am.
Thank you for your contributions.
Cheers,
Cap
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