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Boeing Coverup?

ETS!,

A few months ago in an article detailing Boeing's quality & safety problems ("Nose Dive," ETS!, 11/25/98), Maria swayed a bit off course. She wrongly accused preliminary media reports of showing racial bias when they reported the strong possibility that the December '97 crash in Indonesia of Silk Air flight 185 killing all 104 people on board, was actually a suicide/mass murder caused by a distraught Asian pilot, and not the result of a Boeing defect. In her zeal to skewer Boeing, her personal bias obliviated the fact of a major human rights violation and brought into question the validity of what otherwise appeared to be a good article and damaged ETS!'s reputation.

The following is an excerpt from an article in the on-line Sydney Morning Herald, Sunday Feb. 7: "Fourteen months after the crash, international observers close to the investigation have confirmed that suicide by Captain Tsu Ming Way is the sole cause for the tragedy, according to the industry magazine Aviation Week & Space Technology."

Dave Albergine, Seattle, WA

M.T. replies: the article you refer to contains little new information on this controversial crash. It does say that Boeing pilots and other pilots from Indonesia and Singapore (although it doesn't specify who those pilots worked for) ran flight simulator tests to determine that the jet was flown directly into the ground because data from the flight transponder showed it didn't "tumble and wallow, with the nose repeatedly pitching up and down"--as it would if the pilots were unconscious. But the flight transponder quit working at 19,000 feet. How do they know the plane didn't wobble all the way down? Did the fact that it was a windless, perfectly sunny day make a difference? Could the pilots have been conscious and trying to steady the plane as it went down in hopes that they could make an emergency landing? I'm still siding with the relatives of the people who died on the flight that day; they're angry because no one's been able to tell them what really happened, and the investigation is focusing on the pilots, not the plane. Also, you'll note that the last sentence of the article you quoted from is: "The Indonesians also refuse to confirm the results of the simulator trials." The jury's still out on this one.

Violence

Maria,

Thank you for that article. ["She Is Me," ETS!, 2/3/99.]

I worked with Victor [Lamson] for three years at the Puget Sound Blood Center. I knew he was capable of violence, and I quit partly due to my unresolved clashes with him. Strange, how we can continue to function as we descend to such a level. I know people at the Blood Center are shocked and saddened; he worked there for over five years. You know: he had friends, he got along, as long as you didn't confront or challenge any of his behavior.

I am a man. I know the violence we're all capable of. I have a daughter, who's nineteen now and just moved into her own place on Queen Anne. Ever since she "ran away" once when she was 13, I've been acutely aware of the fear that must be in the hearts of most women. As I was looking for her in our own neighborhood--walking darkened streets--every man who approached, face hidden in shadow, was a potential rapist. I am amazed at how difficult it is for so many men to understand that, even "progressive" men.

I am grateful for what my daughter has brought into my life and what she continues to bring into my life everyday. And I am grateful for the work that you do.

David Marcial, Seattle

Dear ETS,

John Moore is somewhat mistaken if he thinks that cats are an ideal and harmless pet. Cats may be better suited to some of the tighter spaces of the city, but outdoor cats can be a big problem for wildlife.

I say this as a cat-lover myself, with two cats of my own (one of whom is protesting this letter by walking across my keyboard rdft12akolp=\[]). My cats stay indoors, mostly because of busy roads and other urban dangers. However, I love the many friendly outdoor cats I encounter in walks around the neighborhood.

Much as I love them, outdoor cats can be a major threat to wildlife. Extreme examples are places like Hawaii, where feral cats have devastated the native bird population. In most areas cats compete with native predators and can do significant damage to native bird and animal species. Ground-nesting birds such as the native White-crowned Sparrow and Song Sparrow are particularly vulnerable. Outdoor domestic cats usually have humans feeding them, and thus are not controlled by the population pressures that keep wild predators in check.

Contrary to what many people think, bells don't work. Cats are smart animals and even a mediocre hunter can easily learn to stalk silently with a bell on. The bell will ring for their final charge, but by then it's too late.

Several organizations are supporting campaigns to keep cats indoors and control the feral cat population, including the Humane Society, American Bird Conservancy and Seattle Audubon Society. Seattle Audubon Society has an excellent publication entitled "Cats and Wildlife: A Conservation Dilemma."

However, I have to admit I'm troubled by keeping my cats inside, since I know they want to go outside. It seems wrong to keep an animal locked up like that. I would be saddened if all the friendly neighborhood cats were to disappear, but I am also saddened by the loss of native birds and animals.

If we could just train cats to hunt only abundant non-native species like House Sparrows and European Starlings.

John Chapman, Seattle

ETS!,

I generally agree with John Moore's Feb. 3 "BackTalk" letter that cats make "more sensible urban companions" than dogs. And I appreciate his reasoning as to why dogs aren't suited for city life. (One could make similar arguments for humans, but that's another story.) Still, I'd like to explain a couple of big problems with keeping cats outdoors in the city.

First, they usually don't live very long. An animal rights friend recently told me of a study that showed that outdoor cats have an average life span of less than two years, as opposed to ten or more years indoors. Outside, they get run over by vehicles, attacked by dogs, killed by ingesting various toxic substances, trapped by angry neighbors and sent to animal shelters, abused by troubled kids, and die from diseases spread by other cats and various animals. If you want your cat to live long, keep it indoors!

Second, and more important in my mind, cats kill incredible numbers of wild animals. Studies show that in most cities, house cats kill an average of more than 100 birds, reptiles, rodents, and other small animals every year (not to mention insects, arachnids, etc.). Remember, too, that even if you don't mind your cat killing wildlife in your own yard, most animals move around a lot--and most cats spend a lot of time in other people's yards. These people may not appreciate your cat killing wildlife there. John advocates a bell on the collar to protect birds, but I know from experience that this method saves very few birds, and doesn't work at all for other animals. De-clawing helps only a little and is cruel to cats. The only way to prevent your cat from killing hundreds of wild animals is to keep it indoors.

Please, if you care about what wildlife remains in your urban environment, and if you care about your cat--keep it indoors!

Lynn Jacobs, Tucson, Arizona

Hoaxes

Dear Maria:

Your comments to a response to Dr. Ruhland's article on "AIDS, Loans, and Africa," I find appalling. You say that you wouldn't have printed it if it had denied the existence of AIDS.

The question is, just exactly what is your purpose in publishing an anti-establishment weekly? I would have hoped that you would welcome all dissident views, since ETS! claims to be "a forum for anti-authoritarian political opinion, research and humor."

The view that AIDS is a hoax fabricated by greed and arrogance is held by many responsible and qualified experts.

I suggest that you read "Inventing the AIDS Virus" by Dr. Peter Dueberg. It is a view that can not and should not be ignored.

Douglas Bishop, Federal Way

M.T. replies: just because a person considers himself or herself anti-establishment doesn't mean she or he needs to fall for every crackpot conspiracy theory in circulation. Here's a few other things we'll never print in ETS!--mostly because they're both without proof (or can never be proved), and they're not even remotely humorous: JFK conspiracies, UFO and alien visitations, theories that the Holocaust never happened, crop circles (our farm columnist assures us: "I've never seen crop circles that were made by anything but practical jokers with lawn mowers or the fat bodies of cows sleeping in a warm, huddled mass in the field"), Y2K apocalyptic visions, or racist crap about Jewish bankers. Also, we don't print poetry (except for the occasional twisted Christmas carol).