Update no.682

Update from the Heartland

No.682

5.1.15 – 11.1.15

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

To all,

–                          –

– Je Suis Charlie –

–                          –

Je Suis Charlie

I am Charlie [Hebdo]

Vive la France!

The follow-up news items:

-- The infamous “people close to the case” and “people familiar with the discussions” leaked Justice Department information to the Wall Street Journal that indicates former Director of Central Intelligence General David Howell Petraeus, USA (Ret.) [USMA 1974] will be charged with inappropriately disclosing classified material to his former mistress Paula Dean Broadwell née Kranz {LtCol USAR [USMA 1995]}[569, 570].  This just stinks of political vendetta.

-- Late Sunday evening {07:11 [G], Monday, 12.January.2015}, the Indonesia search-and-rescue agency retrieved the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) from the wreckage of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 [680] five days after locating the vertical stabilizer and two days after recovering the stabilizer from the sea.  They also indicated they have located but not yet recovered the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).  Presumably, the Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile (BEA) [the French equivalent of the U.S. NTSB] will assist the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) with the downloading and interrogation of the FDR and CVR (once recovered).  The search for the fuselage and hopefully the remaining victims continues.  I believe we shall know shortly what happened to QZ8501.

Two tragic, related, terrorist attacks – satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket – played out in Paris this week and 17 innocent people lost their lives.  Congratulations to the professionals of Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale (GIGN) {National Gendarmerie Intervention Group} who ended both episodes without further loss of life.  Surprisingly, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah publicly stated that extremists [like the Hebdo killers] were more damaging to Islam than any cartoon.  Perhaps this tragedy is the pivotal moment in history when moderate Muslims join the struggle to reject, condemn and eliminate the Islamo-fascists who have contaminated and tarnished a noble religion.

Der Spiegel asked:

Will the [Paris] attacks bring people together in this time of crisis or will fear of Islam prevail?

I sure as hell hope and expect the answer was publicly demonstrated on Sunday, in Paris, as President François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande gathered world leaders and the public for a unity display – 3.7 million people with 40 world leaders and the largest public assembly in French history.  We shall not be cowed, frightened or reserved.  Freedom of speech is far too important, and critical to and the basis of all of the freedoms we enjoy. 

The book:

Lichtblau, Eric.  “The Nazis Next Door – How America Became a Safe Haven for Hitler’s Men.”  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.

First and foremost, I must thank Aslan Soobzokov for illuminating the latest book by Eric Lichtblau [673].  It was not a book I would have read otherwise and certainly not spent money for the book.  So, thank you very much, Aslan; I would not have done this otherwise.

            To be frank and candid, as I read Lichtblau’s book, I was in a near constant state of anger, but not for the obvious reasons.  I understand the hyper-emotions associated with our revulsion when we are reminded of the human destruction wrought by Hitler and his henchmen from 1923 to 1945, initially in Germany, then in Europe, and eventually the world.  It is quite easy to focus our anger on the Nazi atrocities.  Just the word ‘Nazi’ generates intense emotional reactions; it is one of the worst curses with which a person can be branded.  It does not take a book to generate outrage for what the Nazis did to millions of innocent people solely because of their religion, ethnicity, political affiliation, sexual preference, disability, and even just appearance.  Unfortunately, Lichtblau’s book brought a different dimension to my anger; Eric really tweaked my sense of fairness.

            Lichtblau is not a novice.  Houghton Mifflin is a major top tier publisher.  This is Lichtblau’s second book.  He has been a journalist with The New York Times [2002] and previously with The Los Angeles Times [1987].  Lichtblau also won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting.  In short, Eric Lichtblau is an accomplished reporter and author.  Update readers may recall, the Lichtblau New York Times article: “Nazis Were Given ‘Safe Haven’ in U.S., Report Says”; published: 13.November.2010 [473].  The book appears to have grown from Lichtblau’s original research.

            With this background, the following are my impressions of the Lichtblau book:

1.  Use of Nazi label.

            As a journeyman student of history, I am deeply disappointed and verging on deeply irritated at what I can only characterize as rather sloppy craftsmanship in the telling of this story.  The basic premise is certainly worthy.  There were indeed very bad men admitted to this country in the aftermath of World War II.

            Some generalizations are easily made and offered.  Lichtblau uses the term ‘Nazi’ is such a predominate and pervasive manner that leaves the reader with the impression that all Germans were Nazis and the war in Europe was entirely fought against the Nazis, and further that all Nazis were cold-blooded, sociopathic killers of innocent people; and all Nazis and thus all Germans must be condemned outright.  I cannot and will not claim expert status, but conversely I am not an ignorant or an unknowledgeable bystander on this topic.  Since Lichtblau was perhaps intentionally off-handed and loose with his choice of words and terminology, the word ‘Nazi’ is a specific, precise descriptor for members of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) [National Socialist German Workers Party] – one of many political parties in Germany at the time.  Adolf Hitler, as the political leader of the NSDAP, became Reichskanzler in 1933, after NSDAP political candidates were “elected” to roughly a third of the seats in the Reichstag [Parliament].  Members of NSDAP remained a minority throughout the war.  The enforcement arm of the NSDAP was vested in the Schutzstaffel (SS) [Protection Squads].  As the SS grew and their influence on German society expanded, the head of the SS, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Luitpold Himmler subdivided the SS into various specialized units.  One of those units was the Waffen-SS [Armed SS, or the fighting branch of the SS].  In the early years, members of the SS including the Waffen-SS were drawn from members of the NSDAP, and they had to meet strict racial and hereditary constraints.  In June 1941, the Germans executed Operation BARBAROSSA – the invasion of the Soviet Union.  Out of necessity, the Waffen-SS was expanded rapidly to include local recruits, some involuntarily pressed into service.  Thus, being in the Waffen-SS did not by itself equate to membership in the NSDAP.  Without an NSDAP membership number, an individual could not and should not be labeled as a Nazi.  Lichtblau erroneously labeled Tscherim Soobzokov as a Nazi with all its emotional baggage, simply because he wore the uniform and held the rank of a Waffen-SS-Obersturmführer (first lieutenant).  Without an NSDAP membership number, he was not and could not be a Nazi.  Lichtblau also labeled Generalmajor Doktor Walter Robert Dornberger and Generalmajor Reinhard Gehlen as Nazis; both generals were professional Army officers and neither held membership in the NSDAP or the SS.  Yes, they held important positions within the Wehrmacht and the German war effort, but that did not make them Nazis, and it did not mean they committed consequent war crimes.  Further, membership in the NSDAP or any subdivision of the SS did not by itself make an individual a mass murderer or war criminal; many served in the SS without committing war crimes.  Using Lichtblau’s selected list from his book:

Tscherim Soobzokov     Circassian      Waffen-SS-Obersturmführer; no NSDAP #

Jakob Reimer                Ukrainian        no NSDAP #

Otto von Bolschwing     German           SS-Hauptsturmführer; NSDAP # 984,212

Dmytro Sawchuk           Ukrainian        no NSDAP #

Wernher von Braun       German          SS-Sturmbannführer; NSDAP # 5,738,692

Andrija Artukovic           Croatian          no NSDAP #

Guido Zimmer                German          probably SS; NSDAP # ??

Walter Dornberger         German          Generalmajor; no NSDAP #

Herbert Axster               German          no NSDAP #

Walter Schreiber           German          no NSDAP #

Gustav Hilger                German          no NSDAP #

Reinhard Gehlen           German          Generalmajor; no NSDAP #

Theodor Saevecke        German          SD, Gestapo; NSDAP # 112,407

Wilhelm Höttl                 German          SD, Gestapo; NSDAP # 6,309,616

Laszlo Agh                    Hungarian       no NSDAP #

Viorel Trifa                     Romanian       no NSDAP #

Vincentas Brizgys          Lithuanian       no NSDAP #

Hermine Braunsteiner    Austrian          women’s SS auxiliary

Hubertus Strughold        German          no NSDAP #

Ferenc Koreh                 Hungarian       no NSDAP #

Vladas Zajanckauskas   Lithuanian       no NSDAP #

Arthur Rudolph               German           no NSDAP #

Karl Linnas                     Estonian          no NSDAP #

Ivan Demjanjuk              Ukrainian         no NSDAP #

Aleksandras Lileikis       Lithuanian        no NSDAP #

Kazys Gimzauskas        Lithuanian        no NSDAP #

Johann Breyer               Czechoslovak  Waffen-SS; NSDAP # ??

Of the 27 men identified by Lichtblau, only 4, or 7 at the outside, could be confirmed as Nazis – members of the NSDAP; thus, my objection to Lichtblaus’s use of the emotionally charged term.  If we are going to accuse an individual of war crimes or crimes against humanity, it is absolutely critical that we are precise with our nomenclature and descriptions.  Generalizations are simply not acceptable or reasonable.  Lichtblau was a long way from precise, which in turned raised credibility questions with respect to his argument.

2. History of Eastern Europe

            Beyond the Germans on Lichtblau’s list, most of the illuminated individuals were from Eastern Europe.  To understand the conduct of those individuals, we must under the environment in which they acted.  Lichtblau treats the situation in the German-occupied countries with almost circumspect indifference that leaves the unknowledgeable reader with precisely the wrong impression.  Most of the Eastern European countries had long suffered under Russian hegemony and brutality.  The Soviets in their violent effort to consolidate their grip on Russia were equally brutal and inhuman as the Nazi SS.  Unprovoked, the Soviet invaded the Baltic states and Eastern Poland in September 1939, as they chose to swallow up more neighbors after signing the “non-aggression” pact with Hitler’s Germany.  Thus, when the Germans came during the summer of 1941, many in Eastern Europe saw the Germans as liberators, saving them from the terrible oppression of the Soviets.  Again, it is quite easy for us to condemn those who collaborated with the Germans, but to do so essentially ignores the reality the people of Eastern Europe endured.  Further, historic animosity between the people of the peripheral states and the Russian oppressors cannot be discounted.  Yes, they helped the Germans.  Yes, they collaborated to rid themselves of the Russian / Soviet boot on their necks.  Let us not be quite so sanctimonious in our righteousness regarding the very hard choices people made in wartime.  We cannot possibly know the forces at play in those days.  There is a very real, palpable reason so many Eastern Europeans sought refuge in the United States after the war.  As implied in Lichtblau’s presentation, collaborators (all collaborators) were to be condemned as Nazis, since they helped the Germans.  Taking that reasoning to the end point, anyone who gave a German soldier a drink of water, or served a German in a restaurant, or operated a telephone exchange, or informed on an NKVD agent, et al, must be condemned as Nazi war criminals.  The questions were (are): where is that threshold of tolerance?  How do we separate centuries old grudges from the mindless support of the Nazis’ Final Solution?  The answers are not as easy as the questions?

3.  Operation PAPERCLIP

            In August 1945, President Truman authorized the execution of Operation PAPERCLIP.  The classified program was intended as much to deny German scientific and engineering knowledge to the Soviets as it was for the exploitation of that experience for U.S. / Allied objectives.  Overshadowing those immediate post-war years was the very dark silhouette of Premier Josef Stalin, who had been comparably ruthless, oppressive and xenophobic as Adolf Hitler, but by his opposition to the Germans was an “ally” of the United Kingdom and the United States.  Prime Minister Churchill recognized Stalin’s hegemonic intentions; just days after victory in Europe was in hand, Churchill ordered the British chiefs of staff to begin planning a preemptive strike east to liberate the Soviet sector of East Germany, Poland, and the Baltic states – to push the Soviets back to the pre-war borders.  Lichtblau presents PAPERCLIP as an ill-conceived, ill-advised, CIA clandestine effort to give safe haven to Nazis and other war criminals.  To the casual reader, there were no positives to PAPERCLIP.  That impression, if that was his intention, is wrong, not balanced, and otherwise quite unfair to those who had to make those difficult decisions in the aftermath of World War II.

4.  Accusation by the Press

            Lichtblau’s book repeatedly and consistently left me with the impression of an effective agitator standing on the corner whipping up mob fervor for unilateral vigilante action.  He does not need to advocate for violence, as that decision is always made in the minds of more emotional and radical elements in the mob.  This is the mechanism that makes the aspects noted above seem so bloody unfair . . . and just wrong.  It is also this non-judicial fervor that leads to illegal violent action.

5.  Disappointed in the U.S. justice system

            Beyond the elements noted above and looking past Lichtblau’s book, I must confess my disappointment in the U.S. justice system.  In no small way, I choose to feel the prosecution of war criminals fell to the International Military Tribunal (IMT) [20.11.1945 to 1.10.1946] and the U.S. Sector Nürnberg Military Tribunals [9.12.1946 to 13.4.1949]; that task was done at extraordinary effort; it was completed, time to move on.  Then, in the late 1970’s came Representative Elizabeth Holtzman of New York who sponsored and pushed what became the Holtzman Amendment [PL 95-549; 92 Stat. 2065] and the creation of the Office of Special Investigations within the Justice Department (AKA OSI or the Nazi Office).  To my knowledge, Lichtblau accurately represented several major failures of OSI legal efforts.  However, I see the OSI efforts in a far different light.  If those men committed the crimes they were accused of, then file charges and try them with rules of evidence and due process of law.  To strip them of citizenship and deport them into the very conditions they so desperately sought to escape (Soviet oppression) because they did not publicly disclose their “collaboration” with the Germans against the Soviets, just strikes me as extraordinarily naïve and woefully ignorant of history and the reality of life in Eastern Europe.  If we felt one of these men committed war crimes, then prosecute him for those crimes rather than spit on them and shuffle them off to someone else’s problem.  I understand the emotional reaction to the abuses alleged against many of the Eastern European “collaborators,” yet this retrospective dredging left me with a strong sense of injustice.  I expected more of the U.S. justice system.

6.  The publication treatment of Notes

            At a more idiosyncratic level, I found the formatting and structure of the book enormously frustrating.  Instead of traditional footnotes or endnotes, Houghton Mifflin (or whomever handled their eBook publication) used a very indirect method to note their sources, making the necessary crosschecking research very disjointed and arduous.  Given my observation above, this element became a major contributor to my impressions of the Lichtblau book.

            At the end of the day and after distilling out the emotions associated with those atrocities, it is remarkable that this Grand Republic is so absorbent and tolerant to be able to assimilate refugees from Eastern Europe as we did.  To my knowledge, not one of those accused men committed criminal acts in this country.  They were ordinary, law-abiding citizens in good standing.  They contributed.  They paid their taxes.  They did not ask for special treatment.  They just wanted to live.  If we believed these men committed war crimes, they deserved a trial by a jury of their peers in a court of law, not a backhanded slap in the face that they had not been completely forthright with respect to very complicated events.

            Bottom line: to Aslan Soobzokov: Lichtblau used emotionally charged terms and labels inappropriately to paint your father in rather negative terms.  While he rejected the vigilante assassination of your father, he has used precisely the same methods to whip up mob fury that resulted in your father’s death.  Lichtblau’s “The Nazis Next Door” was just another unworthy offering for dollars that has nothing to do with justice, education, fairness or due process of law.  I will not recommend it to anyone else.  In short, this is a very disappointing book for such an accomplished journalist and an otherwise respected publisher.

Here I will note that President Obama signed into law the No Social Security for Nazis Act [PL 113-270; H.R.5739; Senate: unanimous consent; House: 420-0-0-14(1); 128 Stat. xxxx; 18.12.2014], as if there are any Nazis still alive.  While the text of the law does not indicate whether the prohibition applies to survivor benefits, I suspect some zealous prosecutor(s) will make a valiant effort to retroactively apply this law via the deceased.  And so it goes!

News from the economic front:

-- Eurostat (the Statistical Office of the European Communities) reported consumer prices in December 2014 were 0.2% below their December 2013 levels, in the first year-over-year fall since October 2009.  The results should increase pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) to step up its stimulus program as early as this month.  If deflation persists, the eurozone's economic situation may be deteriorating further, which is already characterized by very weak output growth, near record levels of unemployment and falling business investment.

-- The Labor Department reported nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 252,000 in December, with broad-based gains across a wide array of sectors, closing the strongest year of job growth in 15 years.  The unemployment rate dropped further to 5.6% in December, down from 5.8% the prior month and now at its lowest level since June 2008.

Continuation of comments from Update no.680:

 . . . Round five:

“The only correct word I know for my view is that I see some of your comments as ‘disingenuous,’ but I would like to avoid using high-flown language. If your readers are ordinary Americans, it's unfair to expect them to have unusually large vocabularies.

“All the same, from where I sit, it seems you mostly bring up that ‘humility’ when your arguments are challenged, and you do that rather than present facts and supporting arguments to bolster your original statements. I see the discussion of national and world issues in front of an audience as more important than the personalities. We may indulge in personalities in private conversation, but here we should conduct rational debate.

“In this week's posting, you cited markets as the determinant of wages, which I see as a serious over-simplification. Were that simple statement true, CEO salaries would be determined by results and competition. Nations with higher general (not only minimum) wages, such as Germany and Sweden, would fare poorly due to their higher costs. Neither of those is true. We must seek other explanations for the actual results.

“My explanations tend to the other main school of economic thought, the Keynesian. For me, the central factor is demand rather than production costs. Thus, if workers can barely pay housing costs and buy food (or cannot do so), the economy will not serve most people regardless of owner profits. That explains the difference between the United States and Northern Europe. In most of Europe, ordinary people buy more things than the minimum needed to survive. Increasing numbers of Americans can no longer do that.”

 . . . my response to round five:

            OK.  Basta!  . . . as the Italians say.  I will not get into a tête-à-tête regarding my knowledge or sincerity.  You are entitled to your opinion.  Further, I have always appreciated your willingness to debate many issues.  I do agree: it is far more important to debate issues.

            Re: markets & wages.  “Other explanations” . . . indeed.

            Re: Europe.  Having lived & worked in Europe for more than a few years, I can only say you appear to have a rather idealized view of Europe, and it is not so easily characterized.

Comments and contributions from Update no.681:

Comment to the Blog:

“I agree with Mr. Ready's concern with Americans' disconnection from the rest of the world. People here seem severely isolated to me. I would suggest other issues such as poverty, diseases that can be treated but are not, and the effects of climate change that are either current or easily predictable.

“I hope your book does well. I understand that many readers still insist on printed books, although I and some others have mostly gone to e-books. Either way, enjoy your sales.”

My response to the Blog:

            Re: Ready comment.  I could add my observations of observing the conduct of Americans in numerous other countries.  Let it suffice to say, too many embarrassed me as an American citizen – arrogant beyond description.

            Thank you very much for your kind words regarding my books.

Another contribution:

“I hope to respond a bit more to your Update.  I would like to say that your first paragraph about Kevin Earl Ready's New Year's message, I don't think I can agree on Putin and Hitler's comparison.  I realize history is still in progress, but it seems there is ample evidence CIA and other black asset ops were meddling in the Ukraine, prior to Russia taking Crimea.  I do very much agree with Mr. Ready on how many Americans are really disconnected from the reality of our world, and the suffering of many others.  I add an image, if accurate, that is interesting about NATO/USA and expansion.

“In my life I don't believe I've sensed the level of psyops in the alphabet new agencies from network to cable, as I do today.  You know this is one of the things I mention very often.  When AirAsia went down, CNN (and to a lesser degree MSNBC and Fox News) went to their typical obsession with just one news story, 24/7, with the breaking news and childish if not mindless regurgitation of non-facts, just pure speculation for the most part, as if it was another marathon to beat the same similar coverage of MH370.  This indicates to me a severe distraction of other more relevant news to Americans, or at least something that truly is "fair & balanced" though even Fox News never lives up to that mantra they created. 

“Right now many Americans are still on shopping $prees even though Christmas ended.  Now it's all the after New Year sales.  And as gasoline prices are low compared to the last couple years, SUV and truck sales are again skyrocketing in America, where consumers seem to think these gas prices will remain low, if not get lower.  It seems we are reset once again to pre-2007 with consumer debt rising fast again, our savings rate at all time lows. I drive a Toyota executive and his problem is whether they raise production/capacity for their brand trucks and SUV's as it appears dealerships are running out of those vehicles in America.  When I said ‘gas prices are not going to remain this low, don't people have memories?’ he replied: ‘People want what they want, today.’

“I would quote Charles Dickens:

‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…’”

Darren,

            Thx for taking the time to resend to your list and especially for your comments . . . always appreciated, I can assure you.

My reply:

            First, to be technically correct, Kevin’s New Year’s message was ‘by’ him rather than ‘about’ him, but this is not to quibble over a choice or use of an article.

            Re: Putin v. Hitler.  Comparison of two national leaders a large generation apart is hardly a duplicate copy.  Yet, from my observation point, the similarities exceed the differences, and the similarities are far more chilling than the differences are thawing. 

            Re: CIA in Ukraine.  I sure as hell hope so, and I truly expect they are still there and should be.  ‘Meddling’ sounds like our good buddy Voldya justifying his invasion of a neighboring sovereign nation.  Yet, such accusations are even mistier than the Putin as Hitler hypothesis.

            Re: disconnected Americans.  I agree.  I’ve seen far too many graphic examples in my travels.

            Re: U.S. PsyOps.  One of many lessons I have gleaned from history is the repeated bungling or outright failure of U.S. HumInt operations.  We have typically been a generation or more behind other intelligence services, and in my opinion, we remain so.  We handily exceed everyone in technical means but dreadfully lag in HumInt.  Thus, from my perspective, any action is better than no action.

            Q: are you suggesting any of the U.S. intell or spec ops agencies were even remotely involved in the loss of QZ8501?

            Re: fair & balance.  All in the eyes of the beholder.  I have found I must filter and collate news bits from multiple sources, including your network, to gain a perspective.  It is just a reality of the information age . . . and so it goes.

            Re: shopping.  Well said.  I have long held a similar view . . . far too materialistic in this country . . . to my liking.  Unfortunately, people want what they want, e.g., Walmart.  Further, the symptom seriously distorts the quality of life perception and thus policy.

            Re: attached graphic.  Interesting inference.

            Dickens’ classic “Tale of Two Cities” should remain required reading in any proper education system.  To complement your choice of relevant classics, I would suggest Thomas Paine’s “The Crisis,” “These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

  . . . Round two:

“Yes, did realize Kevin's New Year's message was a quote you provided of his opinion.

“Re: Putin v. Hitler--I am just a bit skeptical about the comparison since The West can easily demonize a leader they are challenging.  I recall how so many of our own friends (at one time) were demonized with labels that seemed appropriate for that time and objectives.  Doesn't Iran call us The Great Satan?  This is not to say I don't think the situation with Russia/Putin is not dangerous, or that Putin may not be a mad man.  There is so much information, misinformation and disinformation in our Internet age, understanding much propaganda is used to achieve objectives.  I hope some of your observations /opinion are wrong on Putin, because if that archetype is similar to Hitler, yes, we are in trouble.

“RE: CIA in Ukraine--CIA and KGB have interests that are overt and covert, and I certainly don't condemn CIA if their objectives are in the best interests of America and a more peaceful world.  The record is shady.

“RE: US PsyOps--How would you propose HumInt be modified or enhanced, as to better protect America and our interests.  Do you believe there is too much bureaucracy?  Do you believe too many safeguards are built into that as to not breach Constitutional freedom?   In other words, how do we balance all of this?

“Sorry if I mis-articulated myself, I do not think any U.S. intel or Spec Ops were involved in QZ8501.   On MH370 I have no clue what is behind that mystery.  On MH17, it seems it might have been a tragic case of friendly fire, but determining who was exactly at fault, is the big question so far.  Some speculators are saying a black ops group downed it to then blame it on Russia, but I have not bought into that.

“On QZ8501, I read the captain was a devout Muslim (which is not uncommon from that region), but I must say thoughts of Egypt Air #990 sure came to my mind.   {One of my readers} texted me that it looks like divers might have found the tail section of QZ8501.  I am hopeful they secure the FDR/CVR very soon.  Some of the radar data suggests a very rapid climb around the time they went NORDO.  Since there were severe thunderstorms in the region, some people suggest updraft, which I am not as supportive of that thread, as I am perhaps ice crystals and again blockage of the pitot tubes/airspeed indications, or perhaps some kind of jammed stabilizer or elevator/trim issue. Even perhaps a response to any of those events with an overstress?   At first, due to some of the bodies looking fairly intact, and nude, I was speculating in-flight breakup, but now it seems most of the bigger pieces of the airplane may be in a rather localized spot.  Don't know though, have not seen enough good detail and I am not relying on CNN for that information.  Any thoughts on your part? 

“RE: Fair & Balanced-- I agree, it seems everyone and group has its slant.  I realize that some of those news outlets/shows cater to a demographic that has proved successful for 'share' or market success, even if it means telling the people what they wanna hear.  At one time I looked at all this as pure economics, but over the years have skepticism that something possibly sinister is at work as to what we view and believe.  That would lead us back to PsyOps. 

“RE: Shopping--Heck, it is a way to keep people amused I suppose, and at the same time lubricates the wheels of our economy.  Individuals who focus on an accumulation of material goods, assets, cash, without regard for the qualitative value of the 'basics' in our life, often are some of the most unhappy people.  Nothing ever seems to satisfy their quest or void.  All of us have our vices, demons and glitches.

“Never did read Thomas Paine’s “The Crisis” but will now, based on your recommendation/description.

“On the new bubble in America in progress, and all the new SUV and truck $ales, you wanna fire-up the former Hummer line, and start selling those again?  :o)”

 . . . my reply to round two:

            Re: Putin v. Hitler.  I simply look at the facts: timeline, annexation of Crimea, aerial incursions, public statements, et cetera ad infinitum ad nauseum.  I cannot speak to motive(s) . . . only to what the facts suggest his motives may be.  We look for and collate the signs (clues) and connect the dots to develop an image.  I am only sharing my take of the evolving image.  If ol’Voldya kept it to just words (rhetoric), it would be one thing, but he has gone far beyond just words.  The reality of his actions is eerily similar to both Hitler and Stalin.  I hope I am wrong as well, but I refuse to wait & see . . . until he invades Poland.  How far will we let him go?

            Re: CIA.  Their performance has not been perfect.  I do know they are good people, who love the country they serve and do their best in horrific conditions to perform the missions they are given.  They deserve far more credit, praise and gratitude than they receive.

            Re: HumInt.  Bureaucracy is only part of the problem, and a small part at that, IMHO.  History reminds me of what then Secretary of State (later Secretary of War) Henry Stimson said in 1929: “Gentlemen don't read each other's mail.”  He zero’d funding for and shut down the State Department’s cryptanalysis bureau after they had just successfully broken the Japanese diplomatic code of the day.  He changed his tune 10 years later when faced with defending the nation and fighting a truly global war.  This Grand Republic must grow up and recognize HumInt is nasty business; there are very few rules.  So, first step, get the legislative branch and ALL other non-essential personnel OUT of clandestine affairs, both passive and active.  The rules spies should operate to are not for our moral comfort but for the protection and effectivity of those willing to risk their lives in the national defense.  We have never been top tier in the HumInt business.  The USG was clearly and definitively informed of the dangers Usama bin Laden posed in the late 1980’s, long before he gained operational means.  The USG chose to ignore the warning signs because we did not want to get dirty; we bore witness to the sequential results (1993-2001).  To my thinking, when we are surprised, our HumInt has failed.  Expecting our field agents to play nice simply ensures future failures.

            Re: NSA.  I take the protection of our constitutional freedoms very seriously, perhaps more so than most citizens.  This is another area of the intelligence business that makes us very nervous and rightly so.  The farther we allow the USG into our private affairs, the closer we approach Oceania.  We must reform the law to separate intelligence from prosecution, such that a supervisory firewall (filter) can minimize the inherent temptation for abuse private information creates, e.g., intelligence must be focused and limited to national security, NOT moral enforcement or political leverage, e.g., Elliot Spitzer.  There must be very stiff penalties for crossing that line.  Conversely, we cannot allow the bad guys, whether jihadis, criminals, terrorists, et al, to use our freedom(s) to harm our citizens or even other freedom-loving people.

            Re: MH370.  The facts we know are just too close to what would have happened if the Bojinka operation (1994) had been successful.

            Re: MH17.  Friendly fire remains a possible cause, e.g., Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 (4.10.2001).  However, placed in the context of other surrounding information, the most plausible (and likely in my mind) is a poorly trained rogue operator, who was given a powerful weapon with virtually no training or constraints on how to use it.

            Re: QZ8501.  Yes, CNN reported as such this morning and showed pix that appear authentic.  So, we may be closer to answers.  I suspect this accident may be a repeat of AF447 (1.6.2009). i.e., ice crystal impaction, pilot induced stall, loss of control, and impact break-up.  If they recover the FDR / CVR, we should know soon enough.  I do not see the signs of Egypt Air Flight 990 (31.10.1999), but certainly possible.

            Re: fair & balanced.  PsyOps for what purpose?  To what end?

            Re: shopping.  Indeed, we all have our vices, demons & glitches.  We are all sinners.  The greatest sin to me is projecting our beliefs, our moral values, our choices on other people.  Our arrogant assumption is we are the best, the shining city on the hill, the ultimate in standard of living, and thus everyone should aspire to be what we are, e.g., our penchant for income & cost of living, as if some goat herder in Mongolia or an Indian tribesman in the Amazon are poverty stricken since they have no income.  This thinking leads to religious zealotry, racial oppression, and the kind of societal arrogance that has inspired the Islamo-fascists to attack us.  Projecting our values on others has been a major contributor to our current world problems.  And, you know how I feel about moral-projectionists who are quite willing to use the law to enforce their values and deny freedom to others who do not think like them.

            Please let me know what you think of Paine’s essay, especially in the context of surrounding events.

            I had no interest in a Hummer even when they were producing them.  But hey, if you can afford it . . . see comment above re: moral-projectionists.

 . . . Round three:

“RE: Putin v. Hitler--No doubt what is happening in that region is dangerous, and concerns most of us.

“RE: CIA--I have no doubt there are many in the organization that have our best interests in mind / actions / programs.  It is the programs / projects we don't know about, that could be contrary to our best interests, and those are the ones the likely spook most of us by the spooks.

“RE: HumInt--I wonder if France or Germany would have prevented, let's say a similar 9/11 to ours, because I do believe their intel agencies have more latitude.

“RE: NSA--Well said Cap, I agree!

“RE: MH370--This may go as one of those unsolved mysteries, fueling an entire cottage industry of speculative books (heck, anyone can now be an author and Kindle-publish).  Had MH370 been downed through a terrorist operation, I just wonder why no such entities have made any credible claim, and if so, why we may not know about it?

“RE: MH17--I am also open that MH17 may have been downed by a terrorist cell.

“RE: QZ8501--The sudden climb by QZ8501 does seem to discount any Egypt Air #990 scenario (as the PC by NTSB was stated, though for some, they still debate those findings).  The sudden climb hints to me as you mention, the AF441 plot, or some kind of other pitch/trim problem.  The severe thunderstorms in the area, also suggest either updraft or severe turbulence with some kind of LOC.

“RE: Fair & Balanced--PsyOps for control of the masses. 

“RE: shopping--Well said again Cap!  Beware of those projecting 360 degree / 365 day a year...perfection then judging everyone else.  Beware of the many televangelists too.  And you can also detect things in people that will tell you why they emphasize something too much.  Example, a limo company I was with hired a guy who was our "detailer" and limo prepper prior to trips.  He kept emphasizing how honest he was, and how straight-as-an-arrow he was in honesty.  One day I noted something suspicious on how he was in limo driver's area after I put my attaché case up front.  I mentioned to the owners.  Couple weeks later our bookkeeper had $40 missing from her purse.  I noted the guy sweat too much, suggesting to me a drug habit.  The owners installed a hidden camera then literally set him up to steal from the bookkeeper's purse.  He fell for the trap and was fired.  They regretted they never background checked him because his past felony would have popped-up.  So when someone is claiming their sainthood, we must be weary.

“H2 Hummers had no real turning radius, then when you stretch this by 20 feet more, the turning capacity goes to hell.  I was on some old Hollywood streets with it, and passengers could not understand why I kept passing streets I really wanted to turn on.  For a standard SUV, in case you ever do want one for the utility factor, I don't think the Chevy Suburban can be beat for value-to-price, and reliability/handling.”

 . . . my reply to round three:

            Re: CIA.  Therein lies the dilemma.  We want the Intelligence Community (IC) to have powerful tools to identify, track and eliminate the bad guys before they can harm Americans or other freedom-loving people.  Yet, we cannot tolerate the USG using those tools for political or law enforcement purposes, and especially for invasions of our privacy.  This is precisely why I continue to point to the Elliot Spitzer episode – a very chilling reality.

            Re: HumInt.  The British, French, Germans and even Russians have their HumInt failures as well, e.g., London (7.7.2005), Moscow (24.8.2004, 29.3.2010, 24.1.2011, etc.), Paris (7.1.2015).  What is different, they seem to have less aversion to getting dirty.  Yes, they do have more latitude.

            Re: MH370.  I have no answers.  It is just my opinion that known facts simply do not support an accidental occurrence. I had doubts they would recover AF447, but they did.  As long as they are continuing search operations, there is hope.

            Re: MH17.  What information leads you to see MH17 as a terrorist event?  An SA17 unit is not an AK47 or SA7.

            Re: QZ8501.  All the more reason we need the FDR / CVR data.  The climb may have been commanded.  They sought higher altitude in an effort to get over the TS in the area.  We still have a lot to learn about high altitude effects near TS cells.

            Re: PsyOps.  The Press and other media have been tools for shaping public opinion for longer than this Grand Republic has existed.  The filtration task has and will always remain with us as citizens.

            Re: claiming sainthood.  Well said.  Precisely!  Many such examples.  Just an FYI: one of MI5’s strengths rests on their ability to collect, catalogue, store, retrieve and collate information on individuals and groups.

            Good point on the Hummer.  I’ll not be buying anything that large, and would preferably not have to replace our vehicles.

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

Cheers,

Cap                        :-)