WolfeNotes.com

Neoliberal Globalization Disaster

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – MARCH 26: In an aerial view, the cargo ship Dali sits in the water after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Playwright Arthur Miller’s 1955 play “A View From The Bridge” is metaphor:

In his own brilliant way, Miller touched upon almost every basic emotion  – love, desire, obsession, jealousy, and betrayal with the Italian characters reaching for the elusive American Dream.

Miller’s play was the origin of one of my favorite movies, the classic On The Waterfront:

The stories of the making of On the Waterfront are legion. That the film was originally a scenario written by Arthur Miller, who fell out with director Elia Kazan over Kazan’s political choices, and whose own research on waterfront crime would later see light as the distinguished play A View From the Bridge.

[Clarification – a friendly reader rightly takes me to task for obscuring and burying the real story of the conflict between Miller and Kazan (“fell out”) – a mistake I should never have made (with a lazy Google clipped quote, not my own words), especially given that I’m now reading the classic on the McCarthy period Ellen Schrecker’s “Many Are The Crimes”. My friend wrote:

On The Water Front was Elia Kazan answer to Arthur Millers The Crucible – It was a justification for the McCarthy period and for Kazans betrayal of friends and rationalization for his naming name. He put numerous friends on the black list and unemployed .The real irony it was the Communists that battled the mob on the water front in the 1940’s and kicked them off – More Ironic blacklisting of Communist Union members let mob back in control of the docks

The immigrant working class experience in search of the American Dream is something we’ll know nothing about for the six working class immigrants killed while working on the Francis Scott Key bridge that was knocked down by a massive container cargo ship in the Baltimore Harbor.

That accident creates a comprehensive view from the bridge of the disaster of Neoliberal global finance capitalism.

The 6 workers killed on that bridge were immigrants from central America, working the night shift on a dangerous low paying nowhere job – filling pot holes.

The gigantic cargo ship that killed them – and the international manufacturing and logistics supply chain it serves – is the perfect symbol of an out of control global trade regime that has devastated the US working class and the American Dream: from deindustrialization, to low wage Walmart jobs, to Wall Street profits, to a consumption and growth driven climate catastrophe.

The failure to mandate basic port safety requirements – like tug boat escorts and redundant power (propulsion) and navigation systems – on these behemoth “economy of scale” cargo ships – is another egregious example of Neoliberal hostility to government and regulation, in favor of free trade and open markets. Some academics call this “regulatory capture”, but the reality is far worse.

The existence of caps on liability for the maritime shipping industry – just like massive corporate subsidies under the Price Anderson Act for the nuclear industry – shows how corporate interests own government.

President Biden’s pledge to provide full federal funding for bridge replacement – with no mention of the US Justice Department seeking full cost recovery for all damages – is just more evidence of another multi-billion corporate bailout.

Had this been an oil tanker spill, the focus would have been on the cost of pollution damage and government lawsuits to recover the damages. The fact that there is literally no mention of that in news coverage speaks volumes about the corporate lapdog role of the mainstream media. Global trade is immune from scrutiny.

In the wake of the Boeing plane crashes, there really could not be a greater sequence of events that more perfectly illustrates all the corrupt elements of Neoliberal global finance capitalism – what Biden perversely praises as “the rules based order”.

[End Note: I wonder who the local Baltimore Port political broker is, like this one from NY Port:

• The Power Broker: How Christie’s Port Point Man Plays All Sides of Transit Deals

Bill Wolfe, the head of NJ-PEER, an environmental group that has monitored NJ Transit, is critical of the deals for lacking “competitive bidding, transparency, and robust ethical restrictions, which are particularly important given the many real estate and development interests among Wolff & Samson clients.

Update: 3/28/24 – just read The NY Times coverage. The Times very briefly mentions the tug boat escort:

At 1:25 a.m., after the two tugboats detached and turned back, the Dali had accelerated to about 10 miles per hour as it approached the Key Bridge.

But the Times fails to ask the obvious questions, which I submitted as read comments:

Why did the tug boat escort detach when and where they did?

Why don’t Coast Guard and/or Harbor Safety Plan MANDATE tug escorts past all critical infrastructure????

The NY Times story also misleads readers with the Biden Sect. or Transportation Buttigieg quote that those responsible will be held accountable.

I listened to the press conference and he said that those “responsible AND LIABLE” will be held accountable. He knows liability is limited.

Update #2 – as expected, The NY Times did not print the above reader comments that were critical of their reporting.

I just posted another, which, of course, they also will not post:

NY Times reporters should read the LA – Long Beach Port Safety Plan and findings regarding risks and tug escorts. Apparently, Baltimore Harbor Safety Plan (which I was unable to find online) and the US Coast regulations do not mandate tug escorts outbound. Then ask the Coast Guard and NTSB to respond and explain.

Why Are There No Coast Guard Rules That Mandate Massive Cargo Ships Operate Under Tug Control in Ports?

The Bridge Did Not “Collapse” –  It Was Knocked Down

I know nothing about shipping or Coast Guard vessel safety.

But my first reaction to learning of the Baltimore Harbor crash that took out the Francis Scott Key bridge serving I-695 was related to safety regulation, despite attempts by the Biden White House to seed diversionary “terrorism” stories (with the typical denials of any evidence of terrorism “at this time” – kind of like “When did you stop beating your wife” tactics).

I did some initial research and came across a commercial shipping expert, who posted video and analysis of the accident that NY Times and mainstream media have not. watch it here.

In the analysis, he noted that the ship had lost power – twice – just prior to the crash and may have lost propulsion and rudder control.

The vessel is in the outbound channel, but it is not operating under tug boat control.

She would not have tugs on her – as she would have had tugs on to take her off the docks … but not when she was underway and had propulsion.

So, my question is: why don’t Coast Guard regulations mandate that cargo ships operate under tug control until fully and safely out of port?

These are massively large and difficult vessels to navigate, especially in tight situations like under bridges and in ports. With such catastrophic accidents possible, it seems like common sense to mandate that safety requirement.

That question must be examined – and not buried in the investigation or obfuscated with all sorts of diversions like terror threats – but by media right now.

[Update: I also read that there is a Liability limitation law that limits liability to the value of the cargo ship. This accident will costs many billions of dollars in damages, so we have another huge corporate bailout on our hands.

Chris Hedges And Norm Finkelstein At Princeton Was “The Thrilla In Vanilla”

(Source: The Daily Princetonian)

[Update: 3/25/24 – Chris Hedges just posted the link to the discussion – LINK HERE – with this observation:

This is the full video of the event I did on March 21 at Princeton University with Professor Finkelstein on the genocide in Gaza. The live stream feed was cut, apparently by Zionists in the hall. ~~~ end update]

Two of my intellectual and moral heroes appeared together the other night in Princeton to get some truth out on the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Given the gravity of the event, I initially hoped to travel to Princeton but am constrained by having to care for my young puppy, who can’t be left home alone and the “progressive” doggy daycares in Philly don’t accept male dogs over 6 months old that have their balls intact. I’ll be damned if I castrate my puppy!

Getting back on topic.

Norm Finkelstein was on fire. I listened to most of it, because it got interrupted by technical issues, and now am looking for a link. The video feed was cut off just seconds after Finkelstein began to speak. Perhaps Mossad in the room?

The Q&A at the end was cut short by what appeared to be an absurd time limit enforced by campus security.

The University paper The Daily Princetonian did a surprisingly good job in covering the event, see:

• ‘On a Gaza genocide’ event featuring Finkelstein GS ’87 draws hundreds

(note: when I refer to the “Thrilla in Vanilla”, I am referring to Princeton. The attendees were a very diverse group. Of course, that phrase recalls a similarly world shaking event that folks of my generation will grasp immediately.)

Finkelstein again used the analogy of William Lloyd Garrison’s essay response to the Nat Turner rebellion titled “The Insurrection” (Sept. 3, 1831)

Check out how he called out the hypocrites of his day:

“Ye patriotic hypocrites! ye panegyrists of Frenchmen, Greeks, and Poles! ye fustian declaimers for liberty! ye valiant sticklers for equal rights among yourselves! ye haters of aristocracy! ye assailants of monarchies! ye republican nullifiers! ye treasonable disunionists! be dumb! Cast no reproach upon the conduct of the slaves, but let your lips and cheeks wear the blisters of condemnation! “

 Glorious, and unfortunately still apt.

[End note: I found it odd that Finkelstein didn’t look at Hedges when responding to his questions. Instead, like a falcon, his eyes kept sweeping the audience as if he were expecting an assassination attempt!)

FAA Will Revoke A Privatization Regulatory Policy That Led Directly To Deadly Crashes

Plane Crashes Are Just The Most Visible Disasters Of Deregulation & Privatization

SRRA is not the only law that regulates significant risks to public health and the environment, e.g. the Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act (TCPA) regulates chemical safety practices that could kill orders of magnitude more people than a plane crash.

Given what we know of the corporate incentive structure and financial implications of regulation of health and safety risks – as exposed so brutally by the Boeing example – I strongly urge you to follow the lead of the FAA and “re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks” of the SRRA and other environmental laws, regulations, and DEP programs that effectively or formally rely on similar delegations and privatization. ~~~ Letter to NJ Senators (below)

I’m embarrassed to admit that I missed a recent major policy announcement by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the Boeing disaster.

Back in January, the FAA finally admitted that the source of the problem was an FAA policy that delegated regulatory authority for plane safety to Boeing.

I’ve been a harsh critic of such “delegations” for decades, as a form of deregulation and privatization that put corporate profits ahead of public healthy, safety and the environment. Most recently, see:

• Planes, Banks, And Trains Crash For The Same Reasons

The FAA statement was issued on January 12, 2024:

• FAA Increasing Oversight of Boeing Production and Manufacturing

Here is the key text:

• Assessment of safety risks around delegated authority and quality oversight, and examination of options to move these functions under independent, third-party entities.

“It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said. “The grounding of the 737-9 and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk.

The FAA is not the only regulatory agency that has delegated regulatory authority to corporations.

Here in NJ, the Legislature has effectively delegated exactly that kind of health and safety authority to private contractors who cleanup up toxic waste sites.

The DEP also has effectively delegated, privatized and/or deregulated the protection of public health and the environment in air and water pollution and chemical safety programs.

More subtly, the corporations have “captured” DEP regulators and have far too much influence on DEP regulatory policy and permit decisions.

While the FAA has finally recognized and acknowledged the source of the problem and pledged to “re-examine” safety regulations and implement reforms, there has been no such independent investigation or realization here in NJ regarding very similar flaws in the environmental regulatory framework and DEP.

So I reached out and sent a warning to our Senate environmental leaders, Smith, Greenstein, and McKeon, see:

Dear Senators:

I am just now listening to a BBC report on Boeing.

Although I suspected it to be the case, I was unaware of a prior policy decision by the FAA to delegate regulatory oversight authority to Boeing. The FAA announced reconsideration of that delegation policy in a January 12, 2024 statement:

https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-increasing-oversight-boeing-production-and-manufacturing

“It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said. “The grounding of the 737-9 and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk. The FAA is exploring the use of an independent third party to oversee Boeing’s inspections and its quality system.”

As you know, the Legislature similarly delegated regulatory authority to Licensed Site Remediation Professionals in the 2007 Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA).

The health and safety risks regulated by the FAA involve immediate deadly accidents.

But the health, safety and environmental risks regulated under the SRRA are far more subtle and may take decades to occur.

As far as I know, there has been no independent 3rd party audit of the performance of the SRRA and LSRP’s and DEP.

SRRA is not the only law that regulates significant risks to public health and the environment, e.g. the Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act (TCPA) regulates chemical safety practices that could kill orders of magnitude more people than a plane crash.

Given what we know of the corporate incentive structure and financial implications of regulation of health and safety risks – as exposed so brutally by the Boeing example – I strongly urge you to follow the lead of the FAA and “re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks” of the SRRA and other environmental laws, regulations, and DEP programs that effectively or formally rely on similar delegations and privatization.

Bill Wolfe

See also:

Planes, Banks, And Trains Crash For The Same Reasons

http://www.wolfenotes.com/2023/04/banks-and-trains-crash-for-the-same-reasons/

University Silent On Jared Kushner’s “Gaza Real Estate” Comments At Kennedy School

On soft grey mornings widows cry
The wise men share a joke
I run to grasp divining signs
To satisfy the hoax
The yellow jester does not play
But gently pulls the strings
And smiles as the puppets dance
In the court of the crimson king ~~~ The Court Of The Crimson King (King Crimson, 1969)

Jared Kushner’s reprehensible remarks on the valuable “real estate” on Gaza, made at a Harvard Kennedy School event in February, have gone viral and generated a tidal wave of revulsion.

The Harvard Crimson actually covered and reported on Mr. Kushner’s appearance in a February 16, 2024 story, see:

• Former Presidential Advisor Jared Kushner Discusses Israel-Hamas War at Harvard Kennedy School

That story made no mention of Mr. Kushner’s remarks about Gaza real estate and finishing the job.

I reached out to the Crimson reporters and asked them to explain why.

I also reached out to Harvard University, the Kennedy School, and The Divinity School  for comment and whether they issued a statement in response to the public outcry.

Crickets all around.

Fucking cowards.