Update from the
Heartland
No.644
14.4.14 – 20.4.14
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- I will not be among those congratulating the Washington
Post and The Guardian for their joint Pulitzer Prize (Public
Service) for their respective reporting on the betrayal by that fugitive in
Russia [599 & sub].
-- It seem Uncle Vlad has continued his retrogression with
his use of the term Novorossiya, which means New
Russia. The term has its origins
centuries ago, and appears to reflect his intension to occupy and annex the
eastern and southern provinces of Ukraine, removing all of Ukraine’s Black Sea
access. Further complicating the
situation, Ukrainian military forces sent in to reclaim government facilities
and regain control of the provincial governments suffered embarrassing
defections of troops to the rebel cause [640
& sub]. We also learned that a
week ago Saturday, the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) on patrol in the Black
Sea was buzzed at least 12 times by a Russian Su-24 Fencer attack aircraft. The Russian aircraft appeared to be
unarmed. Another jet loitered far
enough away to prevent identification.
The Cook is an Arliegh Burke class, guided missile destroyer
equipped with the AN/SPY-1D 3D RADAR system, and is configured as part of the
national ballistic missile defense system. I hope the ship’s Rules of Engagement (RoE) allowed the crew
to light-up the intruder with the RADAR, so that he knew he was being
targeted. Further, I hope the RoE
allowed the captain to spin-up several, SM-3 Standard Missiles and go “weapons
free” to respond immediately, if the intruder had made even the slightest
offensive move beyond his already provocative low-altitude, high-speed approach
to the American warship on patrol in international waters. Like so many dictators before him,
Putin seems to be hell-bent upon creating enemies to focus and amplify
nationalistic juices among the believers and suppress the voices of dissent. In the Putin instance, I suspect he
trying to resurrect the heyday glory of the Stalinist Soviet Union. Former occupied dominions of the Soviet
Union are rightly apprehensive and attentive to Russian actions in Ukraine.
Leonard Pitts gives us another insightful
opinion:
“Money in politics undermining nation”
by Leonard Pitts Jr. – Miami Herald
Wichita Eagle
Published: Monday, April 14, 2014, at 12 a.m.
I am into my reading of the Supremes’ McCutcheon decision [642], but not yet finished. Pitts certainly expresses my views of
the controversial ruling, based on Press reports so far. I suppose the Supremes are telling us
that money is the new royalty, and we should accept it like happy, little,
ignorant campers.
The ferry disaster playing out in the
southwest seas of the Republic of Korea reminds us that physics is
physics. Based on Press reports so
far, this appears to be a load shift, center of gravity accident similar to the
National Air Cargo Flight NCR-102 accident at Bagram air base, Kabul,
Afghanistan [594, 29.4.2013]. Buoyancy and trim for a ship are quite
similar to lift and trim for an aircraft.
The publicly available information indicates the ferry was in the
designated channel and made a sharp turn, which most likely shifted the
automobiles and/or cargo to a point beyond the trim capacity of the ship. The real tragedy in this accident is
not the loss of the ship, rather the terrible loss of life as the crew
misjudged the seriousness of their situation, when they advised passengers to
stay put, instead of moving to their evacuation stations.
News from the economic front:
-- The National Bureau of Statistics for the People’s
Republic of China reported the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 7.4%
in 1Q2014, down from 7.7% in 4Q2013 – still, better than the western economies
including the United States.
Comments
and contributions from Update no.643:
Comment to the Blog:
“The Asiana crash is much more your bailiwick than mine, but
I agree that humans bear final responsibility for any given flight. That said,
responsibility is not an either/or issue very often. If the automation was in
fact flawed in ways the pilots could not have noted and corrected, there may
well be some share of responsibility for the manufacturer.
“The saga of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 continues. As an
outsider with no aviation background I will await further evidence and expert
opinion before coming to any conclusion. The obvious question at present is the
lack of surface debris assuming the search location is indeed appropriate, but
any real evidence will come if and when some wreckage is recovered. Eventually
we may know more.
“The Ukraine versus Russia situation is indeed showing a
pattern, as you stated. We shall see where this leads.
“Senator Feinstein shows considerable courage in taking on
the CIA. I think we may expect a scandal, real or manufactured, to erupt around
her soon. It may not be handled well on the CIA end; they have a track record
back through the Cold War of fumbling. Her response to that scandal and that of
the voters will determine the outcome of this conflict. In the meantime, the
incident supports my contention that secrecy has become essentially impossible,
whether or not ethics and other considerations make one wish for it. That will
drive some sort of changes in society that I cannot predict.”
My response to the
Blog:
Re:
Asiana OZ-214. All pilots are
taught to disconnect the autopilot and fly by hand, if the autopilot is doing
something unexpected. In the
OZ-214 case, they disconnected the autopilot, but allowed the autothrottle
system to remain engaged, expecting it to maintain speed. Airspeed and altitude are two of the
most basic, primary instruments in every pilots scan. Plus, on a B777, there are numerous other physical, visual
and audible cues regarding especially airspeed and altitude. Those pilots got way behind the
airplane, which is a position no pilot can afford to be. As I recalled the initial
investigation, no anomalies, abnormalities or malfunctions of any part of the
supporting systems could be identified.
Re:
Malaysian MH-370. There are
several scenarios that could eliminate surface debris; I offered one last
week. Until there is more
evidence, it is all speculation.
Re:
Ukraine v. Russia. Indeed!
Re:
Feinstein v. CIA. Yes, I would
agree in part. However, both sides
appear to have some culpability in this dust-up. Citizens have betrayed this Grand Republic since the
Revolution from Benedict Arnold to that fugitive in Russia. In 1940, a young cipher clerk in the
U.S. Embassy in London named Tyler Kent, stole deciphered messages between
Churchill & Roosevelt (among other important documents) and gave them to
the Germans in a misguided & naïve effort to prevent what he perceived as
the U.S. entry into the war.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
2 comments:
Even as the Russian government looks more and more as if it follows the usual strongman strategy of growing by taking over the neighbors, you throw a monkey wrench into that picture by mentioning “embarrassing defections of troops to the rebel cause.” Once again, this seems a bit more complex than the usual domination by the strong. The refusal of the pro-Russian rebels to abide by Russia's truce agreement adds to the weirdness.
Incidentally, the concept “hell bent upon creating enemies to focus and amplify nationalist juices among believers and suppress voices of dissent” also fits the US government for most of this century.
I agree with Mr. Pitts' analysis. The flow of huge amounts of money into political parties and campaigns has come very close to eliminating the representative republic designed in the Constitution. Let's hope it's not too late.
The immediate cause of the Korean ferry disaster is known. The real question is how that came about.
Calvin,
Re: Ukraine. I do not see the incongruity. I imagine the defectors are ethnic Russians and most likely recognize Russia as the stronger nation as well as most likely to succeed . . . not particularly different from the loyalist colonists during the American Revolution . . . except the stronger nation lost.
Re: “hell bent.” My apologies, I do not and cannot think of any instances the U.S. responded or acted in such a manner. An example or two would be quite helpful.
Re: Pitts’ opinion. Indeed! I share your hope.
Re: Korean ferry disaster. OK. What is the root cause? My observation was supposition based on public information that has not been validated or verified. I am not confident we have sufficient information to determine root cause.
“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”
Cheers,
Cap
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