Update no.642

Update from the Heartland

No.642

31.3.14 – 6.4.14

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

To all,

Life is good!  Sunday, Jeanne and I enjoyed a matinee performance by the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and Choir, followed by a delightful supper.  No matter how many times I listen to Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, I am awestruck by the magnificence of what I believe is the greatest piece of music ever written.  First performed in 1824 Vienna, Austria, the music evokes the glory of life itself.  Regardless of whether anyone enjoys classical music, Beethoven’s epic 9^th Symphony should be a wonder of the world like the Grand Canyon, or the Great Wall of China, to be experienced by everyone, as part of our short stay on God’s little green earth.

The follow-up news items:

-- The Flight MH370 [638-41] investigation gets curious’er and curious’er.  Late last week, a PRC coastal patrol ship reported detecting the 31.5 KHz “ping,” presumably from the aircraft Flight Data Recorder (FDR) at an Indian Ocean location north of the recent search areas west of Perth, Australia.  Various precision search ships have been dispatched to the Chinese location of the detected signal.  The conditions reported by the Chinese are suspect . . . sorta like wishful thinking to me.  Until the pinger signal is confirmed by independent sources, I doubt the Chinese report.  Yet, as we aviators say, better lucky than good.  Then, I heard CNN Aviation Analyst Jeff Wise say that if we want to get to zero accidents, we must go beyond a “highly evolved monkey” in the cockpit.  It is quite understandable why professional pilots take offense at such a narrow, shallow view of what the guys who wiggle the sticks do on every flight they fly.  Yes, pilots have been known to make mistakes.  I can cite more than a few examples, not least of which I would note Continental 3407 [374], Air France 447 [391], and Asiana 214 [604].  I can also point to many lives saved by the extraordinary skill and ingenuity of pilots –United 232 [19.7.1989] and USAirways 1549 [370]; I do not know of any machine that could have handled those events and saved all those lives.  A highly evolved monkey . . . really?

Here is a rich one!

“CIA misled on interrogation program, Senate report says”

by Greg Miller, Adam Goldman and Ellen Nakashima

Washington Post

Published: March 31 [2014]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-misled-on-interrogation-program-senate-report-says/2014/03/31/eb75a82a-b8dd-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted 11-3 to declassify and make public the Committee’s five-year study of the CIA Detention and Interrogation Program, or perhaps the 400-page executive summary of the 6,000-page report.  The Committee’s recommendation has gone to the President, who ultimately must order declassification the source data utilized by the committee.  Press reports like this one drive me simple bat sh*t crazy.  I assume from their words that one or more of these “reporters” have actually seen the report or portions of it.  Anything else is rumor and hearsay no matter the source.  Regardless, just discussing classified material with the Press is a federal felony.  In the contemporary vernacular, WTF!  I am outraged that “current and former U.S. officials” would betray their country.  Just like that fugitive in Russia, these “officials” chose to go public by going to the Press with sensitive classified material.  I expect the President to withhold his approval or to order serious redaction of the documents to be made public.  If any portion of the report is eventually made public, I will do my best to digest the contents, as enhanced interrogation techniques have been a major topic of debate in this humble forum.  Lastly, perhaps “they” were the Greatest Generation because those who were even remotely aware of Unit P.O. Box 1138 did not disclose the existence of the specialized interrogation unit or its products until they were declassified and made public 50 years hence.  There is a lesson in that history.

Another trigger for me . . . this one . . . an opinion column.

 “Government has crossed the church-state line”

by Cal Thomas

Tribune Content Agency

Wichita Eagle

Published Wednesday, April 2, 2014, at 12 a.m.

http://www.kansas.com/2014/04/02/3380172/cal-thomas-government-has-crossed.html

Cal opens his opinion by quoting Mark 12:17 – my words: “Render unto Caesar that which belongs to Caesar, and render unto God that which belongs to God.”  In quoting scripture, dear ol’ Cal is arguing the Hobby Lobby case that before the Supreme Court, specifically regarding Freedom of Religion; in this instance, whether the chief executive of Hobby Lobby can deny employee medical insurance coverage for processes he objects to on religious grounds.  Cal concluded, “Caesar needs to get back on his side of the church-state line.”  Therein lies the rub; where is that line?  As I started Cal’s opinion, I imagined he was going to argue that everything belongs to God, meaning there is no line as the state is subservient to God.  This is usually the argument offered by devoutly, fundamentalist, religious people.  Then, he got to his real point.  “That’s going to take a Republican Congress and a Republican president with courage and a new health insurance plan to repeal Obamacare [PPACA] and start over with real reforms that protect religious believers and enhance health care.”  To say the least, I fundamentally disagree with Cal Thomas.  Concomitantly, I will repeat my acknowledgment of the difficulty in establishing the church-state line.  To me, the operation of a business is a public process, as it affects other citizens in one form or another.  Yet, as has been argued in this humble forum, the Freedom of Religion can be and has been argued on an expansive as opposed to a narrow perspective.  I will continue to argue the “wall of separation” exists at the individual consciousness level.  The domain of religion is the individual soul – the choices made to live their lives.  The domain of the state is the public environment.  Further, the owner of a business is operating as an officer of the business, not as an individual; there is a distinct difference.  Thus, the decision to use any medical process rests at the private individual level, not the corporate level.  I expect the Supremes to reject the appeal of Hobby Lobby, and, we may have to wait until June to hear their judgment in this case.

The Supremes did it, again.  They issued their ruling in the case of McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission [570 U.S. ___ (2014); no. 12-536].  Press reports suggest the Supreme Court decision further removes restraints on donations for political purposes – corruption from my perspective.  Apparently, the Court sustained its premise established in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission [558 U.S. 310 (2010); 21.1.2010] [424].  I have several book projects that I must get done, so my reading of McCutcheon will have to wait.  I think the Press observations on the ruling are probably correct, and this does not bode well for the common citizen.  More to follow . . .

News from the economic front:

-- General Motors felt the heat for a decade delayed automotive recall for a defective ignition switch that would turn everything off while driving, with fatal results.  There are many lessons to be learned in this very costly debacle.  Not least of which is this may be the perfect example of why configuration management is so bloody critical, especially to manufacturers of human transportation vehicles like automobiles and aircraft.  The ignition switches involved have the same part number although the position plunger in the defective switch was 0.12mm shorter.  With the same part number, General Motors cannot isolate the suspect lot, which in turn means the cost of the recall will be substantially higher.  Further, I cannot imagine why General Motors’ executives justified such an extraordinary delay . . . other than perhaps they believed their advisors, who may have claimed no change in the ignition switch.  As a footnote, new General Motors CEO Mary Teresa Barra née Makela handled herself well in public testimony before a congressional inquiry.

-- The Labor Department reported the U.S. economy added a preliminary 192,000 jobs in March.  They also revised upward the January and February payrolls by a combined 37,000.  The revised February employment growth was 197,000.  The unemployment rate held steady at 6.7 per centum.

Comments and contributions from Update no.641:

“The Russian Foreign Minister and Secretary Kerry have agreed that the Crimean situation requires diplomacy to resolve. President Putin agrees, he has 30,000 ‘diplomats’ assembled on the Ukrainian border.”

My reply:

            Diplomats . . . indeed!!

Comment to the Blog:

“I think your other commenter gave a sound history and analysis of Crimea and its surroundings. While I have not checked his or her facts, the outline works with what I know. My only real opinions are that the rest of the world should probably meddle only with extreme caution and that the United Nations is probably the best forum for debate. When I read in that comment about Crimea providing a warm-water port for the Russian Navy, the whole thing began to make sense. The Russian merchant marine might also benefit from that.

“As that comment pointed out, ethnicity plays as strong a part in the former USSR as it does in other troubled regions. His analysis of the ethnic Russian versus Tatar situation follows as night follows day, and his example of Chechnya works too. Does Putin really want two local wars to go with his international situation or has his foresight failed?

“As I recall it, the Baseline Scenario blog stated that only one bank had failed the stress test. You refer to plans rather than current holdings, so maybe that's the source of the difference. Citigroup and its too large to jail kind have little to no way to begin improving their images without real and deep changes in their business models.”

My response to the Blog:

            To my knowledge, those observations are accurate and apropos.  The warm water port is a big deal to the Russians, but that was not a reason for armed intervention and a façade referendum vote.

            Ethnicity of residents is not appropriate either.  I wonder how things would work out if the Mexican army removed their patches and identifying markings from their uniforms, entered South Texas, held a referendum, and then claimed that South Texas was finally reunited with Mother Mexico?

            I think Putin would love a good war to stir up the nationalistic juices and of course rely on him to defend Rodina, and he could demonstrate what a powerful leader he is.  Bullies think like that.

            Yes, Zion Bancorp failed the stress test as reported in Update no.640.  The capital plans are different from but related to the stress test.  Zion also had their capital plan rejected.  As I understand things, Citigroup passed the stress test (perhaps not by much), but the Fed rejected their capital plan, which probably dealt with other specific elements.  The Press reports did not offer details, so it is impossible for us to judge.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“I do not understand how you support attributing primarily personal motivation to Putin. Putin's publicity stunts satisfy a taste for macho leaders in much the same way as Reagan's or LBJ's carefully staged ranch events. If Putin's performances tend toward the crude and clumsy, that still works in Russia. Such marketing leaves him no more prone to pointless wars than those US Presidents. In fact, I would think him less so based on his record compared to theirs.

“Putin is already firmly in control in Russia, other than Chechnya. This will do nothing for that situation. However, if Ukraine were to focus its economy toward the West, that would endanger Russia's hold on the year-round port and oil pipelines terminating on the Black Sea. Losing the use of that port or facing increased costs poses serious dangers for both Russia's Navy and her economy. Ukraine was in fact close to an alliance with the EU when this crisis began. The question of working more closely with the EU versus with Russia precipitated the unrest and leadership change that kicked off this whole adventure. The initial Ukrainean leader chose to work with Russia and most of Ukraine revolted. Crimea did not follow suit and here we are.

“Your comparison of Crimea to South Texas does not hold up. Russia's loss of Crimea is far more recent than Texan statehood. The fall of the USSR, which removed Crimea from Russian control, is living memory, whereas Texas achieved independence and then Statehood in the 1840s. Perhaps more important, Russia is more prosperous than Ukraine and that will support any ethnic unrest among the Russians in Crimea. All of those facts support the statement that Crimeans of Russian descent might prefer to reunite with Russia. It's a good bet the referendum was rigged, but nevertheless a majority of Crimeans may very well support Russia. Nobody has made that contention about those of Mexican descent living in South Texas. Mexico, while it is gaining on the US, remains a much poorer nation. Also, many of those Mexican-descended families preceded the Anglo settlers by a century or more. They may feel their home was invaded a couple of centuries ago, but they do not feel they belong in Mexico. Any Mexican descent is a distant memory or less than that for many who are ethnically Latino. Also, "Mexican" does not include all Latinos by any means. The comparison does not hold up.

“Thank you for the clarity on the banking situation. That gives us the different levels of actual regulation that different banks are finally facing.”

 . . . my follow-up comments:

            Re: Putin.  Perhaps so.  I am not so generous.

            Re: Russian Black Sea access.  I respectfully disagree.  The Russian naval base and pipeline terminals were never threatened, to my knowledge . . . other than in “Soviet” perception.  Bases in foreign countries are nothing new.  Even if the Ukraine was firmly and functionally in the EU and NATO, the Russians could still have long-term leases or other legal documents to protect their local interests; if those agreements were violated, then the Russians might have a cause de guerre. 

            Re: Crimea.  You are slightly off in your history.  Premier Khrushchev “gifted” Crimea to the Ukraine in 1954.  Back then, Ukraine was still an SSR state, so perhaps back then the property transfer could be considered internal or irrelevant.  My use of South Texas was an analogous imagining, illustrating potentially how we might feel in comparison to the Ukraine.  The Russians violated Ukrainian sovereignty with intention; it was not a mistake or error by some local commander.  Using force of arms is not how these issues should be resolved.  The United States would not take kindly to an armed secession of South Texas with Mexican troops in unmarked uniforms and military equipment, stirring up long dormant affiliation with Mexico or the Spanish Empire.  Let us not sugar coat what the Russians have done in Crimea.

            Re: banking.  Yes, and I hope there are many more culprits who will eventually lose their freedom for a long time.

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

Cheers,

Cap                        :-)