XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World: 04/16/11

Saturday, 16 April 2011

Another Air Controller Naps on Job - in Miami - the fifth known incident to be disclosed by the government since March -

The Federal Aviation Administration is changing air traffic controllers' work schedules most likely to cause fatigue following another incident in which a controller fell asleep while on duty, this time at a radar center in Miami.
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a statement Saturday that the agency will be making changes to controllers' work schedules most likely to induce fatigue. He didn't describe those changes, but said they will take place within 72 hours.
"We are taking important steps today that will make a real difference in fighting air traffic controller fatigue. But we know we will need to do more. This is just the beginning," Babbitt said.
The latest sleeping incident -- the fifth to be disclosed by FAA since late March -- occurred early Saturday morning at a busy regional facility that handles high-altitude air traffic.
According to a preliminary review of air traffic tapes, the controller did not miss any calls from aircraft and there was no impact to flight operations, the agency said. The controller, who was working an overnight shift, has been suspended.

Prior to the start of the shift, all controllers were given a briefing on professionalism and the importance of reporting to work fit for duty, FAA said. The incident was reported to a manager by another controller, the agency said. There were 12 controllers on duty and two managers, it said.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Babbitt were briefed on the incident early this morning by David Grizzle, acting chief operating officer of the Air Traffic Organization.
Last week, FAA announced it was ending its practice of single-staffing some airport towers where traffic is light between midnight and 6 a.m. But aviation safety experts said more needs to be done to address the broader problem of fatigue-inducing schedules that don't allow controllers realistic opportunities for sleep between shifts.
Earlier this week, the head of the FAA's air traffic operations resigned.
On Monday, Babbitt and Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, will begin visiting air traffic control facilities to hear what controllers have to say and to remind them that sleeping on the job won't be tolerated. Their first stop is Atlanta, home of the world's busiest airport.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/16/faa-issues-new-schedules-air-controller-falls-asleep/#ixzz1JiPgUtVn

Texans Brave Mexican Drug Wars for Cheap Gas... -

Such a deal! How would you like to be able to fill up at $2.80 a gallon?

Gasoline prices like that are available but there’s one catch...they’re in Mexico.

But 1200 WOAI’s Michael Board says plenty of south Texans are ducking to avoid the bullets from the gang wars, to gas up at prices which are as much as a dollar lower than prices in the United States.

“When Piedras prices are under ours, a segment of Eagle Pass residents go to Piedras Negras to fill up,” says Chad Foster, the former Mayor of Eagle Pass and currently a real estate agent who sells property on both sides of the Rio Grande.

Why is gasoline so much cheaper across the Rio Grande? Two main reasons. First of all, Petroleos Mexicanos, the state-owned oil company, controls prices with the assistance of the Mexican government, which is not keen to see the price of gasoline go up too high for fear of public unrest. Also, Mexican environmental laws are not as strict as laws in the U.S., and gasoline sold in Mexico is not required to have many of the special blends designed to hold down air pollution, which jack up U.S. prices.

Foster says he will organize his day so he can buy gasoline in Mexico.

“The other day, I was going to Zaragoza to show a ranch, and I needed gas, and I have no issue buying Mexican gas,” he said.

Traveling into Mexico to buy gasoline is not considered smuggling and is not against the law. The gasoline in the tank does not have be ‘reported’ to U.S. Customs officers at the border, and customs duties do not have to be paid on it.

“A lot of our community goes to Piedras Negras to buy drugs, and for doctor visits, and will incorporate a visit to the gas pump,” Foster says.

Obama (resorts to scare tactics): Raise debt ceiling or risk global recession -

Failure by Congress to raise the U.S. debt limit "could plunge the world economy back into recession," President Barack Obama declared Friday, and he acknowledged that he must compromise on spending with Republicans who control the House to avoid such a crisis.
"I think he's absolutely right that it's not going to happen without some spending cuts," the president told The Associated Press in an interview in his hometown, agreeing with House Speaker John Boehner's assessment.
Obama urged swift action, saying he doesn't want the United States to get close to a deadline that would destabilize financial markets. He said he was confident Congress ultimately would raise the limit.
"We always have. We will do it again," said Obama, who voted against raising the debt limit as a freshman senator from Illinois.
The interview came a day after the Democratic president held the first major fundraising events of his re-election campaign, which was launched a week ago in a nation still reeling from high unemployment as it struggles to recover from economic recession.

"I'm the person who is best prepared for us to finish the job so that we're on track to succeed in the 21st century," Obama said. That's the heart of his argument for voters to give him a second term over more than a half dozen Republicans seeking the White House.
As the 2012 campaign gets under way, it's being shaped by a deep disagreement over federal spending in Washington between Republicans who control the House and Democrats in power in the Senate and White House. Obama and Republicans compromised a week ago on a spending bill to avert a government shutdown, a preview of the debate that's certain to dominate the coming months on deficits and the ceiling on money the nation can borrow.
The president said that he doesn't expect either side to get everything it wants in negotiations and that he's pushing for "a smart compromise that's serious."
He warned of dire consequences if the debt ceiling is not raised before it hits its limit of $14.3 trillion; the administration says the latest Congress could possibly act is by early July. But Obama said some longer-term questions about where the government trims its operations will have to be left until after the 2012 presidential election.
Obama's remarks about the relationship between lifting the debt ceiling and the need for spending cuts was the clearest acknowledgement yet by the president or the White House that the two issues are intertwined. Republicans, particularly tea party-backed lawmakers in the House, have repeatedly said they would not vote to increase the debt cap without a significant step toward long-term deficit reduction — a point reiterated by Boehner on Thursday.
To win a second term, Obama must convince the recession-weary nation that he deserves more time to help the economy recover from a recession that began under George W. Bush.