❖ “Israel will eventually go beyond threats and will attack Iran, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards” said Saturday, warning that Israel “would be destroyed if it took such a step.” He added that “it’s not clear when the war will occur.”

The IRGC Commander further elaborated… Iran could launch pre-emptive Israel strike-commander…

…Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made the comments to Iran’s state-run Arabic language Al-Alam television.

“Iran will not start any war but it could launch a pre-emptive attack if it was sure that the enemies are putting the final touches to attack it,” Al-Alam said, paraphrasing the military commander.

Hajizadeh said any attack on Iranian soil could trigger “World War Three”.

“We cannot imagine the Zionist regime starting a war without America’s support. Therefore, in case of a war, we will get into a war with both of them and we will certainly get into a conflict with American bases,” he said.

“In that case, unpredictable and unmanageable things would happen and it could turn into a World War Three.”

Aloha, fatster…! It truly is dire times… Frustration and turmoil as world leaders meet…! Ya think…? 8-(

A typo alert…withdrew from Beghazi, Libya on Friday… Benghazi…

Houston police shoot, kill pen-waving amputee in wheelchair

Thnx. Got it.

Oh, these are interesting times all right, CTuttle. Seems like somebody warned us about them.

Just unbelievable, allan. Hurts to read it. Thnx for the link, though, ’cause we need to read it.

Regarding the EU Carbon-Emissions Tax. . . Apparently the tax is figured on the entire leg of flight into or out of EU and not just within EU airspace.

WSJ had an interesting story somewhat related to this in May 2011, followed up in July ’12. I don’t have links at the moment, but the angle had to do with severe inefficiencies in the EU’s air traffic system. The EU has made virtually no progress on its Single Sky plan to simplify its own air traffic system.

EU has about 10 % more airspace than US; however, EU has 30 aviation authorities as opposed to just one (our FAA) in the US. Sovereign boundaries on the ground drive airspace solutions and air traffic aloft, cause distorted routing, and result in delays far exceeding those in the US. Authorities in Brussels have not been able to wrest control away from the individual govt’s in favor of Single Sky, which would consolidate the EU’s air traffic system.

Lufthansa has claimed the failure of Single Sky to make progress was costing the airline 800,000 gallons of fuel per day within Europe alone. And that’s just one airline.

Now. . . what was the purpose of that EU Carbon Emissions Tax?

I’ll see if I can scrounge up those links, won’t be tonight though.

Wow, maa8722, you are certainly well informed about EU air space, related carbon tax, etc. Color me surprised that 30 separate aviation authorities couldn’t agree on a Single Sky Plan. Looking forward to what you find. Thnx so much.

❖ Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi “Spells Out Terms for U.S.-Arab Ties”.

interesting interview. So far, I think he’s doing very well.

Democracy now has been following a story of a man in Buffalo, killed by Police inside his own apartment. They were there, because his medical alert alarm was triggered accidentally.

These police are very casual about killing, and inflicting violence. Remember the kneeling people in California, one an senior citizen, being maced by a policeman?

I don’t understand this.

And here’s the first of many in-your-face trial balloons from the Kurds to Iraq, about secession:

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/09/23/barzani-iraqi-kurdistan-will-only-remain-in-iraq-if-govt-abides-by-constitution/

In all the news everywhere, “Ann Romney’s plane makes emergency landing after smoke fills cabin”

However, an interdenominational committee of clergy was able to rectify the problem and send the group on its way with dispatch.

Well, you asked for it!

The first link focuses too much on Spain’s air traffic controllers as the heavy, which would be expected at WSJ. Still one should be patient and note the numbers, inefficiency, which are worse than in my post yesterday, which was just my recollection. I understand this link is old enough to be completely open:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704530204576234323376812908.html

Then, little progress still by 8/3/12, EU Presses Plan on Airline Traffic, (extract follows) :

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443545504577564822792669212.html

“. . . The European Union is increasing pressure on member countries to boost the efficiency of their air-traffic management as part of a plan to unify EU skies, but the effort is hitting stiff resistance. . .The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, is sending letters to transportation ministers of the bloc’s 27 countries, pressing them to cut costs and boost traffic flows, say people familiar with the documents.
“. . . But it is unclear how much extra power Brussels will be able to wrest from national authorities, who have pushed back against attempts to weaken their power.
“. . . EU for more than a decade has been trying to replace a patchwork of national airspace systems with an integrated one that optimizes air traffic, called the Single European Sky. . . Fights over the plan in many ways mirror the bigger euro crisis. In both cases, the EU created international frameworks to unify the bloc but Brussels never won sufficient power to force compliance. . . .
“. . .If successful, the Single Sky could eventually save roughly $4.5 billion in fuel, cut 12% of EU airline carbon-dioxide emissions and eliminate hundreds of hours of air-traffic delays, says the Association of European Airlines. . . ‘.Even with unambitious targets, there seems to be a lack of will in the member states to produce the needed results,’ . .”

Then, much the same as of 9/7/12, Airbus Fights Ground Battle With Blue-Sky Thinking, (extract follows):

http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2012/09/07/airbus-fights-ground-battle-with-blue-sky-thinking

“. . . “The barriers are not technical — they are political and social barriers,” said Patrick Ky, executive director of Sesar, the European Air Traffic Management Body, at an Airbus media bash to announce its 2050 vision. “Integration between airlines, airports and all the infrastructure is vital — and it’s a global issue — and politics are key,” Mr. Ky said.
“. . .Indeed, the near-term goal at Airbus may be in convincing Europe’s national governments and air-traffic control agencies to soften their resistance to Brussels’s plans to unify Europe’s skies. Europe’s so-called Single Sky project could save the industry $4.5 billion in fuel and lower pollution by eliminating delays and organizing more efficient flight paths. More efficient air-transport management would then set the stage for introducing measures like limited formation-flying for passenger jets and incorporating gliding technology into future aircraft design.. . .”

So it’s another symptom of European dysfunction, from an angle most people won’t pursue. . . too many moving parts. I spent four years in the FAA in the late ’80s as a military liason there, and am a retired USAF pilot, which is why I became kinda obsessed with all this.

So to distill it into context.

Imagine in the US we had 51 air traffic authorities instead of just the one FAA. Each state plus DC would have its own.

Each state would control its own airspace with its own controllers. The airspace sector boundaries would substantially follow sovereign boundaries on the ground rather than efficiency in the air.

A pilot flying from Boston to Chicago might have to talk to well over a dozen controllers enroute rather than four or five (just my guess there).

The flight might take an extra 30 minutes longer and be routed around Robin Hood’s barn.

He is interesting, isn’t he, mafr? So tired and weary of the same old cynics, apologists, etc. Maybe he’ll be different; time will tell.

Why, that’s just a mare’s nest, maa8722. How many languages do all these people–pilots, air controllers, etc.–have to know? What adjustments have to be made when leaving one country’s airspace and entering another? Many questions–particularly since I understand so little about all this. Thank you ever so much for bringing this issue into better focus.

They all speak at least English plus their own nat’l language, most know more. English Is the standard, though.

Adjustments in the cockpit would be changing radio frequency and reporting to a new controller in that controller’s airspace following a “handoff.” That part’s not a big deal, usually. However a proliferation of this raises the possibility of human error.

Another issue is that over many years air traffic control has evolved into more of a monitoring function than proactively separating individual airplanes in real time. That is, computers have come to be relied upon for more of the talent load than before. That’s necessary due to the heavier load of traffic and how many planes an individual controller can handle on his/her own. Yet counterintuitively, making airspace sectors smaller to reduce the targets would not be as helpful as one might think — the work load can actually go up that way.

What we have now works after a fashion as long as all the systems are up to snuff and there is no equipment error, e.g., radar outage, radio failure, aircraft emergency. It gets dicey after that.

In the cockpit there’s also been a “monitoring rather than flying” evolution, and an over reliance on computer technology. The manufacturers have given pilots too many prepackaged software solutions and the airlines don’t train enough for unexpected situations. I think the most spectacular (but not the only) failure that way was the Air France crash into the Atlantic Ocean in June 2009. The aircrew had no idea what was happening to them, and should have.

I haven’t been in the flying regime since 1990. A lot has changed since then, but not all of it has been done thoughtfully or in the right places. I still retain enough of it to read the stuff like those links and my hair stands on end. The controllers are still at the bottom of the food chain, I’m afraid, in the US and probably in Europe as well. There’s not enough management by walking around (MBWA) by the higher ups, who should take more interest that way.

My gripe about Europe’s Carbon Tax is just that they may think they’re done with the problem as soon as everyone’s paying.

I’ve long had a dream of going to Barcelona (the Gaudi architecture) and to Madrid (a few paintings by ancient ancestors are in the Prado, plus of course El Greco, et al.), but you’ve almost convinced me to just stay here and travel via the internet, art books and so forth.

My word, maa8722, but you’ve certainly provided an education, at least in European Air Traffic 101. Well, at least they use a common language for air traffic control.

Many, many thanks for this maa8722. Just fascinating–and hair-raising.