http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33436497/ns/us_news-life/
Last week, a Northwest airlines jet missed its destination airport in Minneapolis by 150 miles. The pilots of the plane, Cole and Cheney, say that they were not asleep, but were in a "heated discussion". Many find this hard to believe, however, because air traffic controllers had tried for more than an hour to make contact with the pilots, but received no response. The plane was being monitored closely by white house officials and the National Guard was alerted to prepare jets to chase the airliner, although none of them left the runway. NTSB spokesman said that fatigue and cockpit distraction will be factors looked into during the investigation. On Friday, a report was released that stated both pilots had apologized and had passed breathalyzer tests, indicating they were not intoxicated. It also stated that the crew had indicated they had been engaged in a discussion about airline policy.
If you really think about it, missing the airport by just 150 miles over a roughly 2,000 mile trip is not SUCH a big deal. It could be compared to missing your exit on a highway trip, leading you just a few miles off course. It only takes one mistake for an airline tragedy to ensue but while they made a minor mistake, thousands of other flights carried on as normal throughout that day. This indicates that airline travel is still a very safe mode of transportation and I think that some people are freaking out over practically nothing.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Handicap the Virginia Governers Race
In the Virginia governor's race, i think that Bob McDonnell will win, although if I could vote, I would vote for Creigh Deeds. McDonnell has run a good campaign and has promised to fix every one's problems, including transportation, without them having to sacrifice anything or pay more taxes. Creigh Deeds got tripped up by initially trying to be honest, indicating that taxes might have to be raised to meet transportation needs. After that, he ran a negative campaign based on a stupid idea that tried to link McDonnell to a crazy college thesis paper that was written about 30 years ago. Voters didn't buy into the negative ads and will go for someone who promises something for nothing.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Current Event #4 - House passes aviation safety bill
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33317822
Congress passed a bill that increases the requirements to obtain a Air Transport pilot certificate, mandates rest after a certain number of hours of flight time, and puts into place fatigue management programs based on scientific studies. This bill was initiated after a regional airliner crashed in Buffalo last winter. Among other findings, it was noted that the co-pilot lacked training in icing and stall conditions and made so little money (about $16,000 the prior year) that she had to live at home with her parents and was fatigued by her long commute across the country to get to work. It is hoped that requiring pilots to have more experience might also result in more qualified and better payed pilots.
I think that this is a good bill because I fly pretty frequently, especially on small commuter flights, and I hope that this will make the trip safer. Also, I aspire to become an airline pilot someday and I think that this bill will result in better working conditions, as well as a better paycheck. As a student pilot, I can say from experience that flying an aircraft is not an easy task and is very tiring. I think that fatigue management programs will be very beneficial in the safety of commuter flights, because the pilots will be more rested and focused on their jobs.
Congress passed a bill that increases the requirements to obtain a Air Transport pilot certificate, mandates rest after a certain number of hours of flight time, and puts into place fatigue management programs based on scientific studies. This bill was initiated after a regional airliner crashed in Buffalo last winter. Among other findings, it was noted that the co-pilot lacked training in icing and stall conditions and made so little money (about $16,000 the prior year) that she had to live at home with her parents and was fatigued by her long commute across the country to get to work. It is hoped that requiring pilots to have more experience might also result in more qualified and better payed pilots.
I think that this is a good bill because I fly pretty frequently, especially on small commuter flights, and I hope that this will make the trip safer. Also, I aspire to become an airline pilot someday and I think that this bill will result in better working conditions, as well as a better paycheck. As a student pilot, I can say from experience that flying an aircraft is not an easy task and is very tiring. I think that fatigue management programs will be very beneficial in the safety of commuter flights, because the pilots will be more rested and focused on their jobs.
Biggest Political Issue facing Virginia
I think that the biggest political issue facing the state of Virginia is lack of adequate funding for transportation projects. Northern Virginia is the economic engine that brings prosperity to all of Virginia, but it is choking in traffic. The gas tax which pays for funding was never indexed for inflation and has not been raised since the 1980's. Costs for building roads and rail projects has risen and Virginia does not have the money to pay for improvements we need to keep commerce flowing. Politicians promise to improve roads without increasing taxes but you can't get something for nothing. Virginia has one of the lowest gas taxes in the country and northern Virginia has some of the worst traffic congestion in the nation - put two and two together.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Current Event #3
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/11/world/main5377271.shtml?tag=cbsnewsLeadStoriesAreaMain;cbsnewsLeadStoriesPrimary
This article was about how Al-Qaeda attacked Pakistani Army headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi. In the ensuing 22 hour gun battle, 20 people were killed, including three captives and nine militants. This was a significant attack because the headquarters is considered the equivalent of the U.S.'s pentagon. Some believe the Al-Qaeda were trying to send a message to the Pakistani military to stop attacking Al-Qaeda/Taliban headquarters in the Pakistani tribal areas. The situation is confusing because the Taliban also attacked the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, which some suspect was at the instigation of the Pakistani intelligence service.
This news concerns me because Pakistan has a number of nuclear weapons and if Pakistan becomes too unstable, there is a danger the nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists. Experts say, however, that Pakistan does have good security controls on their nuclear weapons. It also doesn't seem like most Pakistanis belong to the same tribes that the Taliban supports belong to. I just wish the Pakistanis would get there act together and move into suppress the Taliban and finally capture Osama Bin Laden.
This article was about how Al-Qaeda attacked Pakistani Army headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi. In the ensuing 22 hour gun battle, 20 people were killed, including three captives and nine militants. This was a significant attack because the headquarters is considered the equivalent of the U.S.'s pentagon. Some believe the Al-Qaeda were trying to send a message to the Pakistani military to stop attacking Al-Qaeda/Taliban headquarters in the Pakistani tribal areas. The situation is confusing because the Taliban also attacked the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, which some suspect was at the instigation of the Pakistani intelligence service.
This news concerns me because Pakistan has a number of nuclear weapons and if Pakistan becomes too unstable, there is a danger the nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists. Experts say, however, that Pakistan does have good security controls on their nuclear weapons. It also doesn't seem like most Pakistanis belong to the same tribes that the Taliban supports belong to. I just wish the Pakistanis would get there act together and move into suppress the Taliban and finally capture Osama Bin Laden.
Grade President Obama on the Major Issues of his presidency so far
When considering Obama's actions on the war on terrorism, I would give him a B. Although there are still some issues needing to be dealt with such as the question of whether to pull troops out or send more in, I think he has done many good things as well. For example, he has restored respect for America, thereby gaining the cooperation and assistance from other countries in fighting terrorism. He has also kept up the drone strikes against Al-Qaeda which has killed many Al-Qaeda leaders, and yet has not alienated Pakistan.
I would also give Obama a B for his actions on dealing with the economic downturn. He has stopped the deterioration of the economy through his stimulus plans and bank bailouts, however the stimulus was not focused enough on projects that create jobs and has led to a large defecit which may cause economic weakness in the future.
As for his actions on healthcare, I would give Obama a C. He let the debate get away from him so that right-wing politicians were effective in their use of lies and scare tactics, such as the death panels. He has returned to the fight for effective healthcare reform, however, yet he has already ceded too much ground on important issues, like the public option.
I would also give Obama a B for his actions on dealing with the economic downturn. He has stopped the deterioration of the economy through his stimulus plans and bank bailouts, however the stimulus was not focused enough on projects that create jobs and has led to a large defecit which may cause economic weakness in the future.
As for his actions on healthcare, I would give Obama a C. He let the debate get away from him so that right-wing politicians were effective in their use of lies and scare tactics, such as the death panels. He has returned to the fight for effective healthcare reform, however, yet he has already ceded too much ground on important issues, like the public option.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Current Event #2
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33109285/ns/technology_and_science-space/
This article is about how the discovery of small amounts of water across much of the lunar surface has the U.S. space agency pursuing technologies that will allow us to mine water on the moon. This water could be used on future space explorations and would provide oxygen and fuel for lunar missions. Some methods they have discovered to mine this water include a hydrogen reduction plant, lunar rover prospectors, and microwave technologies. A study conducted by NASA Ames research center in California suggests that these technologies could pay for themeselves within a year, because we would be saving money by using the water to refuel space payloads in orbit around the moon. Despite this exciting revelation however, Gerald Sanders, manager of NASA's In-Situ Resource Utilization Project, states that big unknowns must be conquered before NASA engineers can move forward with the plan to prospect for lunar water. They will need to find out how much water the moon holds, where it is, and how deep down it is under the surface.
I chose this article because space exploration has always interested me and it's amazing to see how far we've come, techonology-wise, since we first started sending things into space. I think that the ability to collect water from the moon would be very benificial to future space explorations and would cut costs for space voyages significantly, by being able to resupply fuel and oxygen in orbit. Although water discovery and extraction from the moon has been talked about for along time, I believe that the creation of new technologies to facilitate the extraction are bringing NASA's visions of human colonies and future space exploration to the forefront.
This article is about how the discovery of small amounts of water across much of the lunar surface has the U.S. space agency pursuing technologies that will allow us to mine water on the moon. This water could be used on future space explorations and would provide oxygen and fuel for lunar missions. Some methods they have discovered to mine this water include a hydrogen reduction plant, lunar rover prospectors, and microwave technologies. A study conducted by NASA Ames research center in California suggests that these technologies could pay for themeselves within a year, because we would be saving money by using the water to refuel space payloads in orbit around the moon. Despite this exciting revelation however, Gerald Sanders, manager of NASA's In-Situ Resource Utilization Project, states that big unknowns must be conquered before NASA engineers can move forward with the plan to prospect for lunar water. They will need to find out how much water the moon holds, where it is, and how deep down it is under the surface.
I chose this article because space exploration has always interested me and it's amazing to see how far we've come, techonology-wise, since we first started sending things into space. I think that the ability to collect water from the moon would be very benificial to future space explorations and would cut costs for space voyages significantly, by being able to resupply fuel and oxygen in orbit. Although water discovery and extraction from the moon has been talked about for along time, I believe that the creation of new technologies to facilitate the extraction are bringing NASA's visions of human colonies and future space exploration to the forefront.
Political Issue that I am personally interested in
The issue that I am interested in is the potential for an Iranian nuclear bomb. Iran is a member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. They insist that under the treaty they have a right to enrich uranium. Enriched uranium is used to fuel nuclear reactors, but highly enriched uranium can be used to make an atomic bomb! Many nations believe that Iran is secretly working towards building a nuclear bomb, because they have lied about their plans in the past and a secret nuclear facility has recently been exposed. Iran has returned to talks with the U.S. and other countries to negotiate a solution. Some fear that Iran is just using the talks to buy more time for the program and to split off Russia and China from any future sanctions.
I am interested in this issue because if Iran cannot be stopped by talks or sanctions, some countries may attack Iran, who will retaliate by stirring up trouble against our troops in Iraq, where my brother is serving in the army. Also, Iran might unleash its terrorist allies to wreak havoc on other countries. If Iran makes a nuclear weapon, then other countries in this unstable region will want to make their own bombs. I believe that the only solution is containment(threaten massive retaliation if they use the bomb and make things unpleasant through sanctions if they keep the bomb).
I am interested in this issue because if Iran cannot be stopped by talks or sanctions, some countries may attack Iran, who will retaliate by stirring up trouble against our troops in Iraq, where my brother is serving in the army. Also, Iran might unleash its terrorist allies to wreak havoc on other countries. If Iran makes a nuclear weapon, then other countries in this unstable region will want to make their own bombs. I believe that the only solution is containment(threaten massive retaliation if they use the bomb and make things unpleasant through sanctions if they keep the bomb).
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