(Updated 1_20_2013 see below. And again 1_30_2013.)
The VERY unfortunate and unfunny conflation of "Dreamliner" with
nightmare/s or nightmarish events seen with the Dreamliner (Boeing's 787
airliner).
We'll go to the latest press release from the NTSB: "Second Investigative Update of
Boston Boeing 787 Battery Fire". Yes, you read that right, 'battery
fire'. Seems that the Lithium-ion batteries for the jets are catching
fire (for "unknown reasons") with leaks of the
lithium electrolyte fluid a possibility? An electrolyte leak could
make fire spread and fire conditions even worse - fortunately one of the
incidents required only "just about one half hour of extinguishing by the
emergency staff".
As you can see posted above, the NTSB
posted photos of burned 787 batteries with its PR.Well, shouldn't they have fire-tested
those batteries before? Well, yes and no, we found a PowerPoint
presentation from the FAA regarding the fire testing of smaller commercial
lithium ion batteries - but nothing yet on the full-scale commercial
airline format. At least nothing related to the full-scale battery was found in
our search.
If we read further down the spec sheet (under "Safety and
Handling") we see that the "cell design details and
specification are subject to change without notice." We sincerely
hope that that verbiage wasn't approved in the *original contract.
The "Safety and Handling" section goes on to read:
"Inappropriate handling or application...can result...even in the result
of smoke generation or fire".
Yes, that is a known safety/hazard factor in Lithium ion batteries! See the
link to the above PDF. Also, see the
reports from the Consumer Product
Safety Commissiondating back to 2006. Of course, the GSY
contract award for the specified batteries pre-dates those 2006 incidents.
Further safety and hazard precautions are found for Lithium
ion batteries in what appears to be a sample military grade battery Material
Safety Data Sheet. Please note: the manufacturer of
the battery for our sample MSDS is not involved or implicated
in the current Dreamliner battery fires!
And the Wikimedia Foundation has an Ebook
available on Google Books - and it also contains similar recommendations
and precautions.
The element Lithium,
itself, is rated as non-flammable but has some other safety
issues on its own. The problems appear to arise in the Lithium battery -
and its electrolyte (when leaked) - in certain applications like the Nightmareliner.
Er, sorry, we mean the "Dreamliner". To be fair in
the end, Boeing has also posted their own PR statement on the
incidents (FAA
787 Action).
Are Drone Strikes a
Form of Extrajudicial Killing? Updated 2_05_2013 (See below). And again 2_06_+_07_+_10_+_2013 (below).
Some quite possibly are.In this Examiner.com article by one of us (U.
S. Congress hearing on unmanned weaponized vehicles) we learn about a
hearing (11/16/2012) Congressman Dennis Kucinich had on Drone Strikes.Mr. Kucinich once again (?) offered some public
“disagreement” on drone strikes last week.And what exactly is an “extrajudicial” killing?Extrajudicial means (1) “done outside the law”,
roughly.So an extrajudicial killing is
one that is “done outside the law”.This
is why nationally-authorized (which nation?) drone strikes can be so troubling.
As Professor James
Cavallaro pointed out in the 11/16 Briefing “that some *475 to 885 innocent Pakistanis had
been killed by these drones from 2004 to 2012”.In
so-called ‘signature strikes’ targeting individuals claimed to have been in ‘suspicious
activity’.In essence, they may have
been denied due process – a concept as old
as the Magna Carta if not older.Individuals who may been collaterally killed by strategic and other
drone strikes might then have been killed/judged without due process of law –
as extrajudicial collateral killings.These strikes may thus infuriate/alienate the local peoples whom then
striking national authority may have been protecting.The argument has also been put out that this
creates further allegiance to terrorists and other enemies.
The U. S. Declaration
of Independence, like
most national law, states that we have a “right to life and liberty”
amongst other things.The absence of due
process in some drone strikes seems to be a danger to that/those concepts.That is enough reason to care about EKs and
DSs.EKs and DSs may have been obviously
illegal if (as the Examiner article reminds) first responders and civilian
rescuers had been targeted.There is a legal basis for some of this in the
United States and there is not.
The recently passed NDAA 2013 Act (H.
R. 4310) does make (funding) provisions for Counterrorism (Sub-title D)
with the following Sections:
“Sec. 1021. Extension
of authority to make rewards for combating terrorism.
Sec. 1022.
Prohibition on use of funds to construct or modify facilities in the United
States to house
detainees transferred from United States Naval Station,
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Sec. 1023. Report on
recidivism of individuals detained at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, who have been transferred to foreign
countries.
Sec. 1024. Notice and
report on use of naval vessels for detention of individuals
captured outside
Afghanistan pursuant to the Authorization for Use of
Military Force.
Sec. 1025. Notice
required prior to transfer of certain individuals detained at the Detention
Facility at Parwan, Afghanistan.
Sec. 1026. Report on
recidivism of individuals formerly detained at the Detention
The above Sections only cover punishments such as detention
and largely in Afghanistan borders.A review of these and later sections do not
cover the use of drone strikes and “pain of death”.Only in other nations is it “lawful” to use
lethal force against “enemy combatants”.Such
killings may be legal (for terrorists) or illegal according to U. S. Code 28 Sections
1350
and 1605A.In the US Codes 28 1350 (previous) a person
(survivors in our case) may
have remedy through a tort (statute of limitations being 10 years) and in
1605A only “a state” may not be granted immunity for terrorism or the
supporting of said terrorism (and more).
Using/interpreting the above laws it would seem that any
nation (by U.S. Code) would be engaged in extrajudicial killings if no act of
war were declared and performed against no enemy combatants.There
is a DOD
Process (same link provided earlier) for determining whether or not an individual
is an enemy combatant.These suggestions
make the “Manning/Wikileaks” case/s seem more transparent.No national laws could have been broken if “certain
records have been made classified”.That
said, for our own and your protection, we can’t support or deny the case.
For the case of due process, this must be judged by the
courts when there is a desire to extend “statutory requirements” in a “time of
war”.We wonder how the courts would
judge on the
recent killing of a Pakistani tribal leader and “good Taliban” (not
necessarily an enemy combatant?) Maulvi Nazir.Even though the Pakistani government may have
called him a ‘good Taliban’ he has been described as a ‘militant’ – but not an
enemy combatant.
For a comprehensive review on the topic of drone strikes,
see the Cornell Law report on “The
civilian impact of drone strikes”.One of the questions raised by the CL report (per the Wired Danger Room)
is that even
the White House does not know how many drone strike fatalities have taken place.Indeed, in a White House press briefing (June 5,
2012) the 2008
killing of Abdullah Said al-Libi is mentioned very briefly.True,
while keeping such drone strike fatality information classified may protect
names, lives and missions of our military and intelligence personnel it brings
us back to a point made by *Professor Cavallaro.It is difficult to judge whether drone
strikes (fatalities) are extrajudicial killings without some sort of body
count.
Even though it links to a US Government Document we cannot provide a copy of it here as it bears the imprimatur of NBC News.
The controversial phrase "imminent threat" appears on page 8 of the PDF's text. This sounds like a "battlefield term" and not easily understood by the non-military portion of public without further study. It seems like invoking the "law of war" upon an individual?
The document cites multiple references to US Laws and Codes but curiously omits the Codes 1350, 1605A and 4310 that we cited above in this posting.
The Obama administration plans to give
lawmakers sensitive and long-sought documents Thursday morning that provide the
legal rationale for drone strikes on Americans, in a bid to tamp down concerns
ahead of the confirmation hearing for President ...
What is a secret drone base that's not actually a secret? The Washington Postand the New York Timesrevealed today that they were among a number of news organizations that participated in a blackout regarding the location of a "secret" CIA drone base in Saudia Arabia at the behest of the Obama...
Update 2_11_2013 'McLaughlin Group' Panel Debates Drone Program (VIDEO): via HuffPost http://huff.to/12jwCmF Surprise,pat Buchanan on side against the
prez. Via sylvaners@Sylvaners
We hope you have followed our previous posts on the laws behind the new American Taxpayer Relief Act and the Unemployment Extensions under the Act (H. R. 8). We hope to cover the extensions to Medicare and other health provisions under Title VI of the Act. The scope and length of the Title VI extensions is sweeping but does not appear to be permanent. Only one of the Sections of Title VI is extended until "2015" (Section 607 - which is a very worthwhile provision). The rest are extended until "the end of the year/beginning of the new year" or until fiscal year 2013.
We searched for a video from Medicare.gov or the Administration on the new Medicare extension/s but could only find a Medicare YouTube video on their Physician Compare Website redesign.
Credit: Medicare, CMS, US Government work, Public Domain
We wanted to insert some images of selected parts of Title VI but that part of Blogger appears to be broken at this time.
Note to our readers: If you want to get some information on how the Act will maintain and keep Medicare/Medicaid and it's costs "under control" scroll down to just past Section 643*.
Subtitle A—Medicare Extensions
Sec. 601. Medicare physician payment update.
This section is obvious and includes the provisions of the Social Security Act for the physicians section.
[42 U.S.C. 1395y]
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no payment may be made
under part A or part B for any expenses incurred for items or ...
Part E—Miscellaneous Provisions.
DEFINITIONS OF SERVICES, INSTITUTIONS, ETC. Sec. 1861. [42 U.S.C. 1395x] For purposes of this title— ...
Sec. 602. Work geographic adjustment.
Sec. 603. Payment for outpatient therapy services.
Outpatient therapy payments appear to be extended at least until "December 31, 2013".
Sec. 604. Ambulance add-on payments. This section also covers air ambulances. It is extended until "January 1, 2014".
Sec. 605. Extension of Medicare inpatient hospital payment
adjustment for low-volume hospitals. This section is quite brief and only mentions extending it to "2013/2014".
Sec. 606. Extension of the Medicare-dependent hospital (MDH)
program. Defines how hospitals are paid and hospitals may still "decline reclassification (?)". Extended through FY 2013.
Sec. 607. Extension for specialized Medicare Advantage plans
for special needs individuals. For special needs patients who require special care - this is extended through "2015". No further clarification is provided by the Act.
Sec. 608. Extension of Medicare reasonable cost contracts.
Sec. 609. Performance improvement. This is one part of the Act that requires Medicare data review (parts A, B and D), strategy development and updates, study and reporting by the GAO and more for the performance improvement. This appears to be a mechanism to control costs. See also Section 643.
Sec. 610. Extension of funding outreach and assistance for
low-income programs. This should cover the elderly and disabled through "Fiscal Year 2013". It appears to be capped at $7.5m and $5m only.
Subtitle B—Other Health Extensions
Sec. 621. Extension of the qualifying individual (QI)
program.
Sec. 622. Extension of Transitional Medical Assistance
(TMA).
Sec. 623. Extension of Medicaid and CHIP Express Lane
option.
Sec. 624. Extension of family-to-family health information
centers.
Sec. 625. Extension of Special Diabetes Program for Type I
diabetes and for Indians.
Subtitle C—Other Health Provisions
Sec. 631. IPPS documentation and coding adjustment for
implementation of MS-
DRGs. Err, this section contains a piece on“Abstinence Education”? Was this a part of the deal with portions of the GOP?
Sec. 632. Revisions to the Medicare ESRD bundled payment
system to reflect findings in the GAO report.
Sec. 633. Treatment of multiple service payment policies for
therapy services.
Sec. 634. Payment for certain radiology services furnished
under the Medicare hospital outpatient department prospective payment system.
Sec. 635. Adjustment of equipment utilization rate for
advanced imaging services.
Sec. 636. Medicare payment of competitive prices for
diabetic supplies and elimination of overpayment for diabetic supplies.
Sec. 637. Medicare payment adjustment for non-emergency
ambulance transports
for ESRD beneficiaries.
Sec. 638. Removing obstacles to collection of overpayments.
Sec. 639. Medicare advantage coding intensity adjustment.
Sec. 640. Elimination of all funding for the Medicare
Improvement Fund.
Living
Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program are
necessary
to ensure the long-term solvency of that program.
(b)
SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Senate
that—
(1)
the additional surplus in the Social Security Trust
Fund
generated by this Act should be reserved for Social Security
and
not spent in this Act for other purposes; and
(2)
the net savings generated by the CLASS program should
be
reserved for the CLASS program and not spent in this
Act
for other purposes.”
Sec. 643. Commission on Long-Term Care. “(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a
commission to be
known as the Commission on Long-Term Care (referred to in
this
section as the ‘‘Commission’’).
*Note to our readers: This is a very interesting portion of the Act. It sets up a Commission, a Quorum, a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, Hearings and "other activities". This appears to be a mechanism (new) to maintain a working Medicare/Medicaid system and with cost and other controls for review. We hope that this process will be "transparent" - though we expect it to be rather boring. See also Section 609.
(b) DUTIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall develop a plan
for the establishment, implementation, and financing of a
comprehensive, coordinated, and high-quality system that ensures
the availability of long-term services and supports for
individuals in need of such services and supports, including elderly
individuals, individuals with substantial cognitive or
functional
limitations, other individuals who require assistance to
perform activities of daily living, and individuals desiring to plan for
future long-term care needs.
(2) EXISTING HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS.—For purposes of
developing the plan described in paragraph (1), the
Commission
shall provide recommendations for—
(A) addressing the interaction of a long-term services
and support system with existing programs for long-term
services and supports, including the Medicare program
under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395 et seq.) and the Medicaid program under title XIX
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), and
private long-term care insurance;
(B) improvements to such health care programs that
are necessary for ensuring the availability of long-term
services and supports; and
(C) issues related to workers who provide long-term
services and supports, including—
(i) whether the number of such workers is adequate to
provide long-term services and supports to
individuals with long-term care needs;
(ii) workforce development necessary to deliver
high-quality services to such individuals;
(iii) development of entities that have the capacity
to serve as employers and fiscal agents for workers
who provide long-term services and supports in the
homes of such individuals; and
(iv) addressing gaps in Federal and State infrastructure
that prevent delivery of high-quality long
term services and supports to such individuals.(3) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—For purposes
of developing the plan described in paragraph (1), the Commission
shall take into account projected demographic changes and
trends in the population of the United States, as well as
the
potential for development of new technologies, delivery
systems,
or other mechanisms to improve the availability and quality
of long-term services and supports.
(4) CONSULTATION.—For purposes of developing the plan
described in paragraph (1), the Commission shall consult
with
the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the Medicaid and
CHIP Payment and Access Commission, the National Council
on Disability, and relevant consumer groups.
(c) MEMBERSHIP.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be composed of
15 members, to be appointed not later than 30 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, as follows:
(A) The President of the United States shall appoint
3 members.
(B) The majority leader of the Senate shall appoint
3 members.
(C) The minority leader of the Senate shall appoint
3 members.
(D) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall
appoint 3 members.
(E) The minority leader of the House of Representatives
shall appoint 3 members.
(2) REPRESENTATION.—The membership of the Commission shall
include individuals who— (A) represent the interests of—
(i) consumers of long-term services and supports
and related insurance products, as well as their
representatives;
(ii) older adults;
(iii) individuals with cognitive or functional limitations;
(iv) family caregivers for individuals described in
clause (i), (ii), or (iii);
(v) the health care workforce who directly provide
long-term services and supports;
(vi) private long-term care insurance providers;
(vii) employers;
(viii) State insurance departments; and
(ix) State Medicaid agencies;
(B) have demonstrated experience in dealing with
issues related to long-term services and supports, health
care policy, and public and private insurance; and
(C) represent the health care interests and needs of
a variety of geographic areas and demographic groups.
(3) CHAIRMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN.—The Commission shall
elect a chairman and vice chairman from among its members.
(4) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the membership of the
Commission shall be filled in the manner in which the
original
appointment was made and shall not affect the power of the
remaining members to execute the duties of the Commission.
(5) QUORUM.—A quorum shall consist of 8 members of
the Commission, except that 4 members may conduct a hearing
under subsection (e)(1).
(6) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the call
of its chairman or a majority of its members.
(7) COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—To enable the Commission to exercise
its powers, functions, and duties, there are authorized to
be disbursed by the Senate the actual and necessary
expenses of the Commission approved by the chairman
and vice chairman, subject to subparagraph (B) and the
rules and regulations of the Senate.
(B) MEMBERS.—Members of the Commission are not
entitled to receive compensation for service on the
Commission. Members may be reimbursed for travel, subsistence,
and other necessary expenses incurred in carrying out the
duties of the Commission.
(d) STAFF AND ETHICAL STANDARDS.—
(1) STAFF.—The chairman and vice chairman of the
Commission may jointly appoint and fix the compensation of
staff as they deem necessary, within the guidelines for
employees of the Senate and following all applicable rules
and
employment requirements of the Senate.
(2) ETHICAL STANDARDS.—Members of the Commission who serve
in the House of Representatives shall be governed by
the ethics rules and requirements of the House. Members of
the Senate who serve on the Commission and staff of the
Commission shall comply with the ethics rules of the Senate.
(e) POWERS.—
(1) HEARINGS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES.—For the purpose of
carrying out its duties, the Commission may hold such
hearings…”
Sec. 644. Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan program
contingency fund.
That's about all the time we have to cover Medicare and other health care provisions and extensions of Act H. R. 8 at this time.
According to this story from The Consumerist, you could be arrested for rolling your eyes! This law may take action in Elmhurst, Illinois. We know that laws are taken to ridiculous extremes, particularly in places like Illinois! We know we might even run the risk of a law suit from them or Elmhurst for the mere commentary on the subject. Yes, you may roll your eyes while reading this.
The American Political Handbook Google Search Question Box
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Senator Carl Levin Contacts Us Regarding the Economic Incentive Package
Dear ************,
As you may know, Congress is currently working on a stimulus package to give our economy a much-needed boost. Michigan needs this boost right now, and I am urging Congress and the President to act quickly on a bipartisan basis to pass this legislation. Although specific details of the stimulus package are still being negotiated, it is expected to include some form of tax rebate designed to put money in the hands of consumers who will spend it and fuel growth and jobs. Last week, House leadership and the president came to a tentative agreement on a stimulus package. That proposal is a good starting point; however, I hope the final package does more to help those who are particularly struggling, including seniors and those who have lost their jobs.While I fully support a stimulus package to address our short-term economic concerns, I believe it is even more critical, particularly to Michigan, that Congress take additional action to address our long-term economic challenges. This includes support to bolster American manufacturing by targeting federal spending on infrastructure, advanced technology and redevelopment projects that will create jobs. If you would like to read more about my plan to stimulate Michigan's economy, please click on the following link: [http://www.levin.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=291251].Sincerely,Carl Levin
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