White supremacy have been getting rich off of our black bodies for quite sometimes folks. This is nothing new, and we all know it. What is wrong with this picture, is we will frame it just like any other family picture on our wall for everyone to see, until the next one and the next one and on and on, as if they are medals and trophies awarded for our forgetfulness of who we truly are. Remember Zimmerman?
Sunday, November 30, 2014
...huge risk to our environment, our communities, and our health...
Are we going to ignore it?
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report confirmed what we have known for many years now—climate change poses a huge risk to our environment, our communities, and our health. Senator Bernie Sanders knows it is time to take action against it. Join the millions of others who have sent in public comments on the EPA’s Clean Power Plan and help us fight climate change TODAY. http://bit.ly/1tMXCg3
Read more about the entire Vermont delegation’s response to the IPCC report here: http://bit.ly/11WjKcz
Read more about the entire Vermont delegation’s response to the IPCC report here: http://bit.ly/11WjKcz
Lousiana: Prison Capital of the World!
Louisiana imprisons three times as many people per capita than Russia does and about five times more than Iran. The state also has a booming private prison industry. You do the math. -Beyond Bars
"Byrdie" says Hi!!!
"Byrdie" says Hi!!!
Just released from the vet today. Surgery went very well.
They had to remove half of her pelvis & leg to save her.
Her pelvis was beyond repair & the broken fragments were lodged & life threatening for she could not defecate.
She's on heavy drugs but will recover & will have a very Happy & Great Life ahead!...
Thank you to everyone who helped Save her Life!!!
See More
Just released from the vet today. Surgery went very well.
They had to remove half of her pelvis & leg to save her.
Her pelvis was beyond repair & the broken fragments were lodged & life threatening for she could not defecate.
She's on heavy drugs but will recover & will have a very Happy & Great Life ahead!...
Thank you to everyone who helped Save her Life!!!
See More
Thank you New Hampshire!
Thank you New Hampshire for sending a CHAMPION back to the SENATE instead of What's-His-Name Carpet Bagger!
Senator Jeanne Shaheen has always defended the Future of ALL Americans!
The dirty Keystone XL pipeline is a bad deal for Americans, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen knows it.
That’s why she and 40 other Senators voted to reject the pipeline this month. Say thank you to all who voted against it here: http://bit.ly/1uWMwWe
Read more about why Senator Shaheen voted no in her column in the Concord Monitor: http://bit.ly/1viTNi0
That’s why she and 40 other Senators voted to reject the pipeline this month. Say thank you to all who voted against it here: http://bit.ly/1uWMwWe
Read more about why Senator Shaheen voted no in her column in the Concord Monitor: http://bit.ly/1viTNi0
This & that.....TRICKLE DOWN FAILED! Duh?
Being Liberal shared a link.
Occupy Democrats is spot on - we must change this!
Download the new BNR App:
iPhone: http://bit.ly/bluenationapp
Droid: http://bit.ly/bnrandroid
Download the new BNR App:
iPhone: http://bit.ly/bluenationapp
Droid: http://bit.ly/bnrandroid
This must be from the Right-Wing translation of the Bible. Thanks to The Knowledge Movement for this one.
Shared by The Blue Street Journal
"The District Attorney’s office allowed the grand jurors to travel back in time to the good old days of American law enforcement when the cops could shoot people for running away. Before Darren Wilson was born, that’s how far back in time they went. The assistant district attorneys did that by using the old, unconstitutional law as the window through which the grand jurors would evaluate Wilson’s conduct.”
Darren Wilson’s Grand Jurors Were Told To Base Decision On Law Ruled Unconstitutional In 1985 (VIDEO)
Shared by The Blue Street Journal
"The District Attorney’s office allowed the grand jurors to travel back in time to the good old days of American law enforcement when the cops could shoot people for running away. Before Darren Wilson was born, that’s how far back in time they went. The assistant district attorneys did that by using the old, unconstitutional law as the window through which the grand jurors would evaluate Wilson’s conduct.”
Darren Wilson’s Grand Jurors Were Told To Base Decision On Law Ruled Unconstitutional In 1985 (VIDEO)
Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out one glaring problem with the grand jury proceedings: Jurors were told to base their assessment on a law that was ruled...
www.addictinginfo.org
CounterCurrents: Pipeline Geopolitics: From Syria To Russia Via Ukraine, Ferguson: Through The Corporate Media Lens
Dear Friend,
If you think the content of this news letter is critical for the dignified living and survival of humanity and other species on earth, please forward it to your friends and spread the word. It's time for humanity to come together as one family! You can subscribe to our news letter here http://www.countercurrents.org/subscribe.htm. You can also follow us on twitter, http://twitter.com/countercurrents and on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/countercurrents
In Solidarity
Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org
Pipeline Geopolitics: From Syria To Russia Via Ukraine
By Titto Eapen
http://www.countercurrents.org/eapen301114.htm
The current Ukrainian crisis followed by the sanction against Russia is a sequel to the pivot to Europe campaign of the US led west to smash the Russian monopoly in the European hydrocarbon market for which the prelude was set in Syria
“Judeo-Nazism” And The Prospects For A Comprehensive Agreement With Iran
By Alan Hart
http://www.countercurrents.org/hart301114.htm
If a non-Jew had coined the phrase “Judeo-Nazism” he or she would have been verbally crucified by Zionism’s attack dogs and the mainstream Western media. The actual inventor of it was Yeshavahu Leibowitz, one of the most outspoken and controversial Jewish intellectuals of modern times. He was once described as “the conscience of Israel.” Before he died in 1994 he said “Judeo-Nazis” were on the rise in Israel. If he was alive today I imagine he would say, “They are now in control.”
Israel's "Democracy" Becomes Just Jewish
By Ludwig Watzal
http://www.countercurrents.org/watzal301114.htm
At the end of the day, Israel has to choose between a Jewish state with some democratic embedded particles or a democratic state with a Jewish preponderance. It cannot have the cake and eat it, too. The critics of the term "Jewish democratic state" asked for a "Jewish state". For some a "Jewish state" might be the solution of the Israeli dilemma, but for others this might be the nail in the coffin for the Zionist enterprise. As a state for all its citizens, the land is light years
Ferguson: Through The Corporate Media Lens
By Mickey Z.
http://www.countercurrents.org/mickeyz301114.htm
Take-home message from this lesson in corporate propaganda: Until we free our minds from the divisive conditioning of privilege and hierarchy, we don’t have any souls to search
Book Review: “Australian History In 7 Questions” By John Hirst
Ignores Australian Involvement In 30 Genocides
By Dr Gideon Polya
http://www.countercurrents.org/polya301114.htm
Melbourne, historian John Hirst's book “Australian History in 7 questions” attempts to summarize Australian history by answering 7 key questions but ultimately fails through Eurocentrism, Anglocentrism and denial - Australian history becomes an aren't-we-nice, White, Anglo Australian history that ignores Anglo Australian involvement in 30 genocidal atrocities of which some, like the over 2-century, post-1788 Aboriginal Genocide, and the 1-century, post-1914 Iraqi Genocide, are continuing today
Churchill And The “Unthinkable”
By A D Hemming
http://www.countercurrents.org/hemming301114.htm
Who did the most to cause the Second World War after Adolph Hitler the consensus choice among historians for the “champ” in that department even if indirectly and in the time just before and or following Kaiserite Germany in the First World War? Was this “a riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma” which David Carlton, a British historian referred to in his monograph, “Churchill and the Soviet Union”? Two words— Winston Churchill!
Misinterpretation of High Voter Turnout And Elections in Jammu And Kashmir
By Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Bhat
http://www.countercurrents.org/bhat301114.htm
The history of all hitherto underway Assembly elections in the State of Jammu and Kashmir is history of push pooling, fraud, manipulation, rigging, controversy, coercion and misinterpretation
Modi Rule Has Pushed India Into Another “Dark Age”: D. N. Jha
By Abhay Kumar Interviews D.N Jha
http://www.countercurrents.org/jha301114.htm
Professor D. N. Jha is not only an eminent historian of ancient India but also a committed activist against communalism. When the saffronisation of school textbooks was undertaken under Vajpayee's government, he was at the forefront of opposing it. The author of Myth of the Holy Cow , Jha rues that Modi, unlike Vajpayee, will go for the whole hog and will saffronise history and education as the BJP now has a full majority
RSN: The US/UK Campaign to Demonize Social Media Companies as Terrorist Allies
FOCUS: Glenn
Greenwald | The US/UK Campaign to Demonize Social Media Companies as Terrorist
Allies
Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
Greenwald writes: "The irony of Her Majesty's Government blaming others for its own intelligence failures is stark indeed. This is a government that indiscriminately collects so much of the world's private communications that they literally don't know what to do with it."
READ MORE
Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
Greenwald writes: "The irony of Her Majesty's Government blaming others for its own intelligence failures is stark indeed. This is a government that indiscriminately collects so much of the world's private communications that they literally don't know what to do with it."
READ MORE
RSN: We Are on the Brink of Mass Extinction
FOCUS | We Are
on the Brink of Mass Extinction
Sean B. Carroll, The Daily Beast
Carroll writes: "Fifty years ago, we were just beginning to learn some important lessons from natural disasters, epidemics, and manmade tragedies. As we gather this holiday season to take stock of all that we have to be grateful for, at the top of our list should be those who have had the foresight and resolve to make our world safer."
READ MORE
Sean B. Carroll, The Daily Beast
Carroll writes: "Fifty years ago, we were just beginning to learn some important lessons from natural disasters, epidemics, and manmade tragedies. As we gather this holiday season to take stock of all that we have to be grateful for, at the top of our list should be those who have had the foresight and resolve to make our world safer."
READ MORE
RSN: Long-Weekend Pastime: Look for Oil-by-Rail Disasters Near You,
Benjamin
Watson | I'm Angry
Benjamin Watson, Facebook
Watson writes: "At some point while I was playing or preparing to play Monday Night Football, the news broke about the Ferguson Decision. After trying to figure out how I felt, I decided to write it down. Here are my thoughts."
READ MORE
Benjamin Watson, Facebook
Watson writes: "At some point while I was playing or preparing to play Monday Night Football, the news broke about the Ferguson Decision. After trying to figure out how I felt, I decided to write it down. Here are my thoughts."
READ MORE
7 Day March
From Ferguson to the Capitol Has Begun
Jennie Matthew, Agence France-Presse
Matthew writes: "US civil rights activists embarked Saturday on a seven-day march to demand sweeping police reforms and denounce a grand jury's decision not to indict a white officer who shot dead an unarmed black teenager."
READ MORE
Jennie Matthew, Agence France-Presse
Matthew writes: "US civil rights activists embarked Saturday on a seven-day march to demand sweeping police reforms and denounce a grand jury's decision not to indict a white officer who shot dead an unarmed black teenager."
READ MORE
US CEOs
Threaten to Pull Tacit Obamacare Support Over 'Wellness'
Lawsuits
Sharon Begley, Reuters
Begley writes: "Leading U.S. CEOs, angered by the Obama administration's challenge to certain 'workplace wellness' programs, are threatening to side with anti-Obamacare forces unless the government backs off, according to people familiar with the matter."
READ MORE
Sharon Begley, Reuters
Begley writes: "Leading U.S. CEOs, angered by the Obama administration's challenge to certain 'workplace wellness' programs, are threatening to side with anti-Obamacare forces unless the government backs off, according to people familiar with the matter."
READ MORE
Mexico
President Announces Anti-Crime Crackdown
Mark Stevenson and Jose Antonio Rivera, Associated Press
Excerpt: "Mexico's president announced a nationwide anti-crime plan Thursday that would allow Congress to dissolve local governments infiltrated by drug gangs and give state authorities control over often-corrupt municipal police."
READ MORE
Mark Stevenson and Jose Antonio Rivera, Associated Press
Excerpt: "Mexico's president announced a nationwide anti-crime plan Thursday that would allow Congress to dissolve local governments infiltrated by drug gangs and give state authorities control over often-corrupt municipal police."
READ MORE
13,000 Modern
Slaves Working in UK, Authorities Say
Scott Neuman, National Public Radio
Neuman writes: "As many as 13,000 people in the U.K. are victims of modern slavery, including sex trafficking, those 'imprisoned' as domestic helpers, factory workers and on fishing boats, according to a new analysis release by Britain's Home Office."
READ MORE
Scott Neuman, National Public Radio
Neuman writes: "As many as 13,000 people in the U.K. are victims of modern slavery, including sex trafficking, those 'imprisoned' as domestic helpers, factory workers and on fishing boats, according to a new analysis release by Britain's Home Office."
READ MORE
Ohio
Republicans Push Law to Keep All Details of Executions Secret
Ed Pilkington, Guardian UK
Pilkington writes: "Republican lawmakers in Ohio are rushing through the most extreme secrecy bill yet attempted by a death penalty state, which would withhold information on every aspect of the execution process from the public, media and even the courts."
READ MORE
Ed Pilkington, Guardian UK
Pilkington writes: "Republican lawmakers in Ohio are rushing through the most extreme secrecy bill yet attempted by a death penalty state, which would withhold information on every aspect of the execution process from the public, media and even the courts."
READ MORE
Long-Weekend
Pastime: Look for Oil-by-Rail Disasters Near You
Heather Smith, Grist
Smith writes: "What the map actually describes are crude-by-rail accidents across the country. Still, let us be grateful, because it's a Thanksgiving miracle we have this data at all."
READ MORE
Heather Smith, Grist
Smith writes: "What the map actually describes are crude-by-rail accidents across the country. Still, let us be grateful, because it's a Thanksgiving miracle we have this data at all."
READ MORE
RSN: For Every Dollar Michigan Spends on Energy-Saving Programs, Customers Save 3.75, Judge to Elections Officials: Reveal Sources of Campaign Spending
Paige Winfield
Cunningham | The Coming Wave of Anti-Abortion Laws
Paige Winfield Cunningham, Politico
Cunningham writes: "The big Republican gains in the November elections strengthened and enlarged the anti-abortion forces in the House and the Senate. But it's the GOP victories in the statehouses and governor's mansions that are priming the ground for another round of legal restrictions on abortion."
READ MORE
Paige Winfield Cunningham, Politico
Cunningham writes: "The big Republican gains in the November elections strengthened and enlarged the anti-abortion forces in the House and the Senate. But it's the GOP victories in the statehouses and governor's mansions that are priming the ground for another round of legal restrictions on abortion."
READ MORE
Jedediah Purdy
| The Hunger Games Economy
Jedediah Purdy, The Daily Beast
Purdy writes: "Katniss Everdeen has broken the Hunger Games and entered open war against the Capitol. But from Ferguson to Washington to Wall Street, we are still playing our own Hunger Games. We are still playing by rules that divide us."
READ MORE
Jedediah Purdy, The Daily Beast
Purdy writes: "Katniss Everdeen has broken the Hunger Games and entered open war against the Capitol. But from Ferguson to Washington to Wall Street, we are still playing our own Hunger Games. We are still playing by rules that divide us."
READ MORE
UN
Investigators Urge Obama to Release CIA Torture Report
Robert Evans, Reuters
Evans writes: "United Nations human rights investigators called on President Barack Obama to live up to principles preached by the United States around the world and release a long completed report on CIA interrogation methods."
READ MORE
Robert Evans, Reuters
Evans writes: "United Nations human rights investigators called on President Barack Obama to live up to principles preached by the United States around the world and release a long completed report on CIA interrogation methods."
READ MORE
Ferguson
Protesters Surprise Black Friday Shoppers at Macy's in NYC
Sebastien Malo, Franchise Herald
Malo writes: "More than 200 people angered by a grand jury's decision not to indict a white police officer for killing an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, sought to disrupt Black Friday shopping in New York with a protest in front of Macy's flagship store."
READ MORE
Sebastien Malo, Franchise Herald
Malo writes: "More than 200 people angered by a grand jury's decision not to indict a white police officer for killing an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, sought to disrupt Black Friday shopping in New York with a protest in front of Macy's flagship store."
READ MORE
Fast Food
Workers Announce Largest-Ever Strike in 150 Cities on December 4
Ned Resnikoff, Al Jazeera America
Resnikoff writes: "Fast food workers in at least 150 cities nationwide will walk off the job on Dec. 4, demanding an industry-wide base wage of $15 per hour and the right to form a union. Workers unanimously voted on the date for the new strike during a Nov. 25 conference call, held shortly before the second anniversary of the movement's first strike."
READ MORE
Ned Resnikoff, Al Jazeera America
Resnikoff writes: "Fast food workers in at least 150 cities nationwide will walk off the job on Dec. 4, demanding an industry-wide base wage of $15 per hour and the right to form a union. Workers unanimously voted on the date for the new strike during a Nov. 25 conference call, held shortly before the second anniversary of the movement's first strike."
READ MORE
Judge to
Elections Officials: Reveal Sources of Campaign Spending
Joseph Tanfani, Los Angeles Times
Tanfani writes: "In a decision that could force disclosure of some of the secret money flooding into elections, a federal judge ruled Tuesday that groups that run election-related ads must reveal their donors."
READ MORE
Joseph Tanfani, Los Angeles Times
Tanfani writes: "In a decision that could force disclosure of some of the secret money flooding into elections, a federal judge ruled Tuesday that groups that run election-related ads must reveal their donors."
READ MORE
For Every
Dollar Michigan Spends on Energy-Saving Programs, Customers Save
3.75
Associated Press
Excerpt: "Michigan regulators say residential and business customers are benefiting from a state law that requires utilities to implement energy-efficiency programs."
READ MORE
Associated Press
Excerpt: "Michigan regulators say residential and business customers are benefiting from a state law that requires utilities to implement energy-efficiency programs."
READ MORE
What will the Auto Industry tolerate?
At the bottom of the article below is a list of reasonable proposals that would strengthen NHTSA and work to protect consumers from the egregious conduct witnessed recently, whether it's TOYOTA'S FAILURE TO CORRECT SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION, GM's ignition switch failures, TAKATA EXPLODING AIRBAGS.
Will the Do-Nothing Congress pass anything sensible?
Will the Auto Industry tolerate reasonable oversight?
Is NHTSA nominee up to the task?
Rosekind first must prove himself to Congress
Mark Rosekind faces a confirmation hearing with lawmakers who have demanded reforms.
|
By Ryan Beene
Automotive NewsNovember 30, 2014 - 12:01 am ET
WASHINGTON -- As an expert on human fatigue, Mark Rosekind is well-suited to steer the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration toward the era of autonomous driving and connected-car technologies.
But in the near term, Rosekind will have to prove to members of Congress that he is up to the task of revitalizing an agency beset by lapses exposed in the General Motors ignition switch and Takata airbag scandals.
Rosekind will need to address "how to restore the public's trust in America's auto safety watchdog ... the need to implement the cultural change that's needed at the agency" and how it can keep up with the fast-changing auto industry, said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who heads the Senate Commerce Committee's consumer-protection panel.
Rosekind, who was appointed last month to head NHTSA, faces a Senate confirmation process that begins Wednesday and will put him face to face with several lawmakers who have been harshly critical of the agency and demanded reform. NHTSA has been without a Senate-confirmed administrator since January, when David Strickland stepped down and left his deputy, David Friedman, to serve as NHTSA's public face.
McCaskill: How to restore trust
|
The senators who will pass judgment on Rosekind have proposed several bills that would boost NHTSA's funding and enforcement powers, and they are likely to demand a commensurate level of responsiveness and accountability on the part of the regulator.
A lack of agency resources has been a recurring theme of congressional hearings into the GM and Takata recalls. NHTSA allocates just $10 million a year to its roughly 50 staffers who investigate defects in automobiles, buses, commercial vehicles, heavy-duty trucks and child car seats. By comparison, GM alone hired 35 safety investigators this year to beef up its defect investigation department, on top of the staff it already had, CEO Mary Barra told a U.S. House committee in June.
"NHTSA and Dr. Rosekind will face serious challenges and must do a better job discerning danger in cases like those involving GM ignition switches and Takata airbags, which imperiled drivers long after NHTSA had reason to act," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a statement. "At NHTSA, regulatory capture has created a failure to ask tough questions and has needlessly put lives at risk," he added, referring to the close relationship between the agency and the industry it regulates.
Since 2010, Rosekind has been a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates major transportation accidents. He was a NASA official in the 1990s, where he led a program to evaluate and prevent the effects of pilot fatigue, and he founded a fatigue-management firm after leaving the agency.
At NHTSA, Rosekind must overcome his limited experience with the auto industry and with running a large organization.
"Given the GM ignition switch and now Takata, I would have expected someone with more of a hands-on experience in vehicle safety," Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, told Reuters.
But some of NHTSA's outspoken critics were pleased with Rose-kind's nomination. Joan Claybrook, NHTSA's administrator under President Jimmy Carter, called Rosekind "an excellent choice."
"He understands regulation and law enforcement, both of which are critical as the leader of NHTSA," she said. "And he recognizes that regulators are not necessarily popular no matter what they do."
On the docket
Lawmakers have introduced several bills this year to improve compliance with and enforcement of federal auto safety laws.
• Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2014*
Sponsor: Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.
Requires more automaker disclosures about fatal accidents and greater public access to safety reports, increases NHTSA funding for vehicle safety programs, boosts maximum agency fine to $200 million
• Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass.
Requires more automaker disclosures about fatal accidents and greater public access to safety reports, requires NHTSA to upgrade its online databases and provide public notice of all defect investigations
• Motor Vehicle and Highway Safety Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
Doubles funding for NHTSA's vehicle safety operations over 6 years, raises or eliminates caps on NHTSA fines for violations, gives federal prosecutors more freedom to pursue criminal charges against safety-law violators
• Whistleblower bill
Sponsor: Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.
Provides cash incentives to encourage industry employees to alert officials about faulty products
• Hide No Harm Act
Sponsor: Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Makes it a crime, punishable by fines and prison time, for an executive to knowingly conceal corporate actions that pose risk of death or serious injury
*Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., introduced a similar bill in the Senate.
• Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2014*
Sponsor: Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.
Requires more automaker disclosures about fatal accidents and greater public access to safety reports, increases NHTSA funding for vehicle safety programs, boosts maximum agency fine to $200 million
• Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass.
Requires more automaker disclosures about fatal accidents and greater public access to safety reports, requires NHTSA to upgrade its online databases and provide public notice of all defect investigations
• Motor Vehicle and Highway Safety Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
Doubles funding for NHTSA's vehicle safety operations over 6 years, raises or eliminates caps on NHTSA fines for violations, gives federal prosecutors more freedom to pursue criminal charges against safety-law violators
• Whistleblower bill
Sponsor: Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.
Provides cash incentives to encourage industry employees to alert officials about faulty products
• Hide No Harm Act
Sponsor: Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Makes it a crime, punishable by fines and prison time, for an executive to knowingly conceal corporate actions that pose risk of death or serious injury
*Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., introduced a similar bill in the Senate.
Inside Takata, tantrums, but little sense of crisis over air bags
SEE:
Akiko Takada, CEO's mother, reported to be dominant person in Takata
Stephanie Erdman was injured by an EXPLODING TAKADA AIRBAG:
Hien Thi Tran was killed by an EXPLODING TAKADA AIRBAG:
Inside Takata, tantrums, but little sense of crisis over air bags
ByReuters
Published: 30 November 2014
By Norihiko Shirouzu
TOKYO, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Shigehisa Takada, the third-generation head of Takata Corp, shows little sense of the crisis engulfing the Japanese air bag maker at the centre of one of the auto industry's biggest safety recalls, according to three people who have met him recently.
Just days before a Nov. 21 U.S. congressional hearing on defective Takata air bags that have been linked to at least five deaths, Takada told business associates he was personally dealing with the quality issues, and his company had identified and fixed the main cause of the defect - which he said was mainly a flawed manufacturing process, the people said.
He told them that Takata had significantly improved its air bag propellant chemistry for bags it is using to replace defective ones, and the company now just has to step up and replace all suspect air bags as quickly as possible.
"He acts like this recall is going to blow by in due time and harbours little sense of crisis," said one of the associates, none of whom wanted to be named given the sensitive nature of their comments.
More than 16 million vehicles have been recalled worldwide since 2008 over Takata's air bag inflators, which can explode with too much force and spray metal fragments into the car.
LOW PROFILE
Takata's handling of the massive safety recall has frustrated U.S. politicians and regulators and has confused drivers as to whether their cars need fixing or not.
Takada, the Tokyo-based company's 48-year-old chairman and CEO, apologised at the annual shareholders' meeting in late-June, which was closed to the media, but has otherwise not been seen in public.
"He's a nice man, very sincere and seemingly capable, but he doesn't view this as a crisis spiralling out of control," said another of the business associates.
The scale of the recalls looks certain to escalate after U.S. safety regulators ordered Takata last Wednesday to expand piecemeal regional recalls of driver-side air bags to cover the entire United States, not just hot and humid areas where the inflators are thought to become more volatile.
Takada did not explain to the business associates exactly what Takata had done to improve the propellant chemistry and manufacturing process, and they said he should be explaining these changes publicly.
They said his reluctance or inability to do so may in part be due to the influence his 74-year-old mother retains at Takata, which was founded by his grandfather more than 80 years ago as a textile mill.
Shigehisa joined the family firm straight from university, became president in 2007, aged 41, and moved to the top executive post after the death in 2011 of his father, Juichiro, who built Takata into Japan's leading auto safety manufacturer.
Juichiro, known in the U.S. as "Jim Takada", was a rolled-up sleeves executive who donned a hard hat on site visits and once was spotted down on his hands and knees checking a faulty machine in a noisy textile plant in South Carolina, recalled a former colleague of the current CEO.
His son, he added, is very different - "painfully shy, bookish and into computers ... very good with statistics."
"BIG WIFE"
His mother Akiko, a former Takata executive, now heads the non-profit Takata Foundation, but remains vocal as a special adviser to the company. Some managers call her "O-okusan", or "big wife", underscoring her influence, while Shigehisa is referred to as "the son", or "Shige-chan" - a familiar, short form of his name with a suffix normally reserved for children.
"In a business situation, she could be very forceful and tries to impose her way in just about every way possible," said one of Shigehisa's business associates who has worked with Akiko on a project. Two of the three associates recalled how she once engaged in a tit-for-tat negative campaign with a rival.
"Imagine being her son and trying to exercise leadership with her buzzing around you," the person said. "He's paralyzed to make decisions on his own."
Takada is also under pressure from big automaker clients such as Honda Motor and Toyota Motor which try to control and influence how Takata deals with the recalls, two of the business associates said. Also, external legal advisers hired in the United States have focused on minimizing potential court damage rather than on repairing a battered public image.
The business associates said the lawyers restrict what Takada and other executives say and do publicly.
"Takata management's ability is not hindered by any forces from within the company or from outside," spokesman Toyohiro Hishikawa said in response to Reuters queries for this article.
In response to criticism that Takata's leadership has not been more visible, Hishikawa said: "That doesn't rule out the possibility of our top management team explaining our stance on and response to the recalls more publicly in the future."
Takata, which has around 43,000 employees globally, has seen its market value slump almost 60 percent this year to just above $900 million.
In one recent incident, Shigehisa went "missing for a few hours" from Takata's Tokyo headquarters after a row with his mother, said one person familiar with the matter.
"He was yelled at by his mother and went missing. Nobody knows where he went.
He came back after a few hours," the person said. (Additional reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit and Antoni Slodkowski in Tokyo; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-2854791/Inside-Takata-tantrums-little-sense-crisis-air-bags.html#ixzz3KYbr0WeB
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Saturday, November 29, 2014
RSN: How Government Spying Undermines Climate Action, Ferguson: 'We're Going to Shake the Heavens'
Elizabeth
Warren | The Fed Needs Governors Who Aren't Wall Street Insiders
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Reader Supported News
Warren writes: "We're concerned that the Federal Reserve - our first line of defense against another financial crisis-seems more worried about protecting Wall Street than protecting Main Street."
READ MORE
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Reader Supported News
Warren writes: "We're concerned that the Federal Reserve - our first line of defense against another financial crisis-seems more worried about protecting Wall Street than protecting Main Street."
READ MORE
Amy Goodman |
Ferguson: 'We're Going to Shake the Heavens'
Amy Goodman, Common Dreams
Goodman writes: "Michael Brown's killing in August continues to send shockwaves through Ferguson, Missouri, and beyond."
READ MORE
Amy Goodman, Common Dreams
Goodman writes: "Michael Brown's killing in August continues to send shockwaves through Ferguson, Missouri, and beyond."
READ MORE
'Being
Homeless Is Better Than Working for Amazon'
Nichole Gracely, Guardian UK
Gracely writes: "I am homeless. My worst days now are better than my best days working at Amazon."
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Nichole Gracely, Guardian UK
Gracely writes: "I am homeless. My worst days now are better than my best days working at Amazon."
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Ruth Bader
Ginsburg Had Emergency Heart Surgery
Ben Mathis-Lilley, Slate Magazine
Excerpt: "Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had emergency heart surgery and is recuperating, the court says."
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Ben Mathis-Lilley, Slate Magazine
Excerpt: "Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had emergency heart surgery and is recuperating, the court says."
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AFL-CIO
Supports Black Friday Strikes Against Walmart
Doreen McCallister, National Public Radio
McCallister reports: "Bargain hunters heading to Walmart, in addition to looking for holiday deals, may find workers participating in Black Friday Strikes."
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Doreen McCallister, National Public Radio
McCallister reports: "Bargain hunters heading to Walmart, in addition to looking for holiday deals, may find workers participating in Black Friday Strikes."
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Officers Who
Shot 12-Year-Old Holding Toy Gun Refused to Give Him First Aid
Judd Legum, ThinkProgress
Legum reports: "The Cleveland officers who shot a 12-year-old boy holding a toy gun then failed to give him first aid for nearly four minutes. The boy was finally administered first aid when a detective and FBI agent arrived at the scene."
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Judd Legum, ThinkProgress
Legum reports: "The Cleveland officers who shot a 12-year-old boy holding a toy gun then failed to give him first aid for nearly four minutes. The boy was finally administered first aid when a detective and FBI agent arrived at the scene."
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How Government
Spying Undermines Climate Action
Andrew Kerr, Greenpeace International
Kerr reports: "The odds are already stacked against developing countries that face the brunt of climate change impacts. Their disadvantage in protecting themselves against the 'dark arts' of electronic eavesdropping makes them even more vulnerable."
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Andrew Kerr, Greenpeace International
Kerr reports: "The odds are already stacked against developing countries that face the brunt of climate change impacts. Their disadvantage in protecting themselves against the 'dark arts' of electronic eavesdropping makes them even more vulnerable."
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WHOI director bemoans lack of science funding
You and I may not clearly view the consequences of the Anti-Science Party's Slashing of Research Funding...the CONSEQUENCES will be felt when the U.S. can no longer compete with other nations.
WHOI director bemoans lack of science funding
By Sean F. Driscoll
sdriscoll@capecodonline.com Posted Nov. 29, 2014 @ 2:00 am
Updated at 7:41 AM
WOODS HOLE – When Susan Avery, director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, looks ahead to when her tenure ends in June, she is both optimistic and downbeat.
She's excited about what could lie ahead for WHOI, one of the world’s preeminent ocean research institutions, both in the frontiers of pure science and in the "blue economy" – the use of ocean resources. But the downward trend of funding for ocean exploration and science in general? That has her worried beyond her own institution's balance sheet.
“To see (funding) stagnate and decline like it has is very worrisome,” she said. “Yet it is what it is right now. I will continue to be strong advocate for it, but I really think the United States is missing out on what made it a great country by not making that investment.”
Avery is stepping down when her contract ends in June after 7½ years at WHOI's helm.
During her tenure, WHOI has had high-profile coups, including a $41 million renovation of the Alvin, its famed submersible, and the donation of another deep-water sub, the Deepsea Challenger, by movie director James Cameron. Its scientists led a successful search for Air France 447 in the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, examined the effects of the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and monitored the Pacific Ocean for traces of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
The institution has also had its share of struggles. Federal science funding has been on the decline and WHOI’s government grants dropped about $8 million between 2011 and 2012, from $141 million to $133 million. Avery has pushed WHOI to diversify its funding sources and streamline its operations, but the funding shifts have resulted in some staff cuts.
Avery recently discussed her tenure and what’s in store for the 84-year-old research institution with the Times.
On deciding to leave
Her decision was spurred by long-term strategic planning at WHOI, she said. While the work has been ongoing, the board of trustees is on the cusp of developing a final plan for growth. That process will take about five years, and Avery said she wanted the board to have a director who would be able to both develop and implement the plan.
“When you’re taking on one of these leadership positions and you’re just handed a plan that you don’t have any ownership of, it’s sometimes hard to implement it,” she said. “I just thought it was a good time.”
Avery hasn’t plotted her next move. She and her husband, Jim, still own a home in Boulder, Colorado, where she had been on the faculty at the University of Colorado. Their discussion has centered on what they want out of their next home base and not necessarily where it will be.
“The Northeast certainly checks a lot of those boxes,” she said. “I hope there will be other opportunities I can explore out there.”
On pursuing contracts with Big Oil
WHOI has three major sources of funding: the federal government, philanthropy and contracts with the for-profit sector. Right now, the private sector is an almost-invisible portion of WHOI’s income: around 1 percent of its annual $200 million revenue. But it’s where Avery sees the greatest potential for growth, and the Center for Marine Robotics was created specifically to marry WHOI’s famed work with undersea vehicles with private-sector opportunities.
That work also has the greatest potential for controversy. Avery maintains an almost reflexive defensive crouch when discussing WHOI’s work monitoring the undersea environment at oil company well sites. The work itself doesn’t set her off – she insists that any contract WHOI signs will maintain its scientific integrity and freedom, including intellectual property rights, the open exchange of data and the freedom to publish their results without censoring. WHOI turned down a $3 million contract from the private sector because it didn’t include those very stipulations, she said.
But the criticism from within the scientific community, advocacy groups and the tone of press coverage makes her bristle.
“We are not finding oil for them,” she said about the oil companies. “Most of them are looking for help in environmental monitoring work, which is really exciting for us. We’re looking at how you use robots in environmental awareness observation … in a way that is sustainable and conscientious.”
“There are so many countries that are talking about the ‘blue economy’ right now, and I think it’s important that research connect with that in order to make sure that it’s done well.”
On WHOI's future of ocean science
When her successor is chosen, WHOI’s 10th director and president will come to Woods Hole as technology is allowing scientists to peer into parts of the Earth that just a decade ago were inaccessible. WHOI’s unique mix of science, engineering, education and operations can make it an ideal partner for ocean research and exploration, but it can’t just sit back and wait for opportunity to knock, she said.
“The ocean is still a frontier, and the institution needs to push those frontiers of ocean science and technology."
http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20141129/NEWS/141129386/101017/BIZ
RSN: The Rules Really Are Different for Blacks Seeking Justice
FOCUS: Leonard
Pitts Jr. | The Rules Really Are Different for Blacks Seeking
Justice
Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald
Pitts writes: "In September, I received an email that should have left me feeling vindicated. It was in response to the nonfatal shooting of Levar Jones, an unarmed African-American man, by Sean Groubert, a white South Carolina state trooper."
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Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald
Pitts writes: "In September, I received an email that should have left me feeling vindicated. It was in response to the nonfatal shooting of Levar Jones, an unarmed African-American man, by Sean Groubert, a white South Carolina state trooper."
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Airbag maker faces its 'dangerous bridge'
Airbag maker faces its 'dangerous bridge'
Kwan Weng Kin | The Straits Times | Sunday, Nov 30, 2014
When Mr Juichiro Takada, the late president of car safety systems maker Takata Corp, heard that his company might be roped in to mass-produce airbags, his first reaction was that it was "too dangerous a bridge to cross".
Honda engineer Saburo Kobayashi, who was in charge of airbag development at the carmaker, recalled in his memoirs that in 1985 Mr Takada said he wanted to withdraw from the airbag development project.
As airbags must be made to a high degree of reliability, Mr Takada felt the business was too risky for his company, which had made its name as a seat belt maker.
"If something should happen due to any airbag component, Takata would collapse. I cannot cross such a dangerous bridge," he told the engineer.
As it turned out, Takata did not leave the project, and Mr Takada finally agreed to build an airbag plant in Japan. Thanks largely to Honda, more than half of whose cars are equipped with Takata airbags, Takata clinched 20 per cent of the global airbag market, becoming the world's second-largest maker, behind only Sweden's Autoliv. But the "dangerous bridge" that Mr Takada was afraid to cross in 1985 has finally caught up with the company, now run by his son, Mr Shigehisa Takada, who is chairman and chief executive.
Over the years, rapid expansion in demand led Takata to move airbag production overseas.
Unfortunately, lapses in quality control at two plants in the United States and Mexico resulted in deaths from exploding metal parts - prompting a massive recall that has so far hit 7.8 million cars in the US alone.
With the American safety authorities having already ordered a nationwide recall, and recalls in other countries also likely, the total figure could exceed 10 million.
At the end of September, Takata held cash assets of 83.3 billion yen (S$918 million) and boasted an equity ratio of 30.9 per cent. But it is expected to have to write off billions of yen in view of the recall, which could leave it about 25 billion yen in the red by March next year, at the end of its current fiscal year.
Mr Shigehisa Takada has vowed in a statement that his company is "committed to the highest standards of safety".
Last year, in an apparent bid to restore the company's reputation, Takata appointed Swiss national Stefan Stocker as president and chief operating officer - the first time that a non-member of the founding family took the helm.
Mr Stocker is no token foreigner. He is fluent in Japanese, having studied in Japan in the early 1980s, and he headed auto parts maker Bosch's operations there from 2002 to 2009.
However, Takata's top management has not appeared in public to address the media directly regarding the airbag problem.
"It is incomprehensible why Takata's top management has not held any press conferences or briefings to explain the situation in their own words," said business daily Nikkei in an editorial.
"When a company is facing a crisis, the company's fate is influenced by how top management behaves," the daily added. Takata's stock ended trading yesterday at 1,292 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, down 4.79 per cent from the previous day's close.
Fortunately for Takata, it is not possible for carmakers to suddenly switch suppliers of their airbags, which are designed to match the characteristics of each car model.
Honda remains Takata's biggest client, owns 1.2 per cent of its stock and is one of its largest shareholders. Takata has 56 plants in 20 countries, including Singapore, and employs 43,680 workers.
- See more at: http://transport.asiaone.com/news/general/story/airbag-maker-faces-its-dangerous-bridge#sthash.q583nkIm.dpuf
RSN: TransCanada Drops PR Firm [Edelman] That Suggested Attacking Environmental Activists in Leaked Plans, Our Government Officials Are Deluded About the Limits of Their Power
Catherine
Rampell | Our Government Officials Are Deluded About the Limits of Their
Power
Catherine Rampell, The Washington Post
Rampell writes: "If the revered Founding Fathers had clear-cut ideas about which branch of government does what, how the powers counterbalanced one another and how jurisprudence and justice are supposed to be carried out, it's all gotten a bit jumbled in recent months."
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Catherine Rampell, The Washington Post
Rampell writes: "If the revered Founding Fathers had clear-cut ideas about which branch of government does what, how the powers counterbalanced one another and how jurisprudence and justice are supposed to be carried out, it's all gotten a bit jumbled in recent months."
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On Black
Friday, Walmart Is Pressed for Wage Increases
Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times
Greenhouse writes: "While millions of shoppers flocked to Walmart stores nationwide on Black Friday, thousands of protesters descended on Walmarts to protest what they said were the retailer's low wages."
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Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times
Greenhouse writes: "While millions of shoppers flocked to Walmart stores nationwide on Black Friday, thousands of protesters descended on Walmarts to protest what they said were the retailer's low wages."
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MRAPs and
Bayonets: What We Know About the Pentagon's 1033 Program
Arezou Rezvani, Jessica Pupovac, David Eads and Tyler Fisher, National Public Radio
Excerpt: "Amid widespread criticism of the deployment of military-grade weapons and vehicles by police officers in Ferguson, Mo., President Obama recently ordered a review of federal efforts supplying equipment to local law enforcement agencies across the country. So, we decided to take a look at what the president might find."
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Arezou Rezvani, Jessica Pupovac, David Eads and Tyler Fisher, National Public Radio
Excerpt: "Amid widespread criticism of the deployment of military-grade weapons and vehicles by police officers in Ferguson, Mo., President Obama recently ordered a review of federal efforts supplying equipment to local law enforcement agencies across the country. So, we decided to take a look at what the president might find."
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Report:
Prosecutors May Have Misled the Ferguson Grand Jury About the Law for Two
Months
German Lopez, Vox
Lopez writes: "St. Louis County prosecutors may have misled the grand jury investigating the police shooting of Michael Brown into believing that Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson was justified in shooting Brown merely because the unarmed black 18-year-old fled from the officer, according to a review of the grand jury documents by MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell."
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German Lopez, Vox
Lopez writes: "St. Louis County prosecutors may have misled the grand jury investigating the police shooting of Michael Brown into believing that Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson was justified in shooting Brown merely because the unarmed black 18-year-old fled from the officer, according to a review of the grand jury documents by MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell."
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The Fed Under
Goldman's Thumb: Carmen Segarra's Picture Gets Senate Hearing
Ian Katz and Jeff Kearns, Bloomberg News
Excerpt: "William C. Dudley came under attack today by U.S. senators, who accused the Federal Reserve Bank of New York president of being too cozy with big Wall Street banks."
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Ian Katz and Jeff Kearns, Bloomberg News
Excerpt: "William C. Dudley came under attack today by U.S. senators, who accused the Federal Reserve Bank of New York president of being too cozy with big Wall Street banks."
READ MORE
Mexico's
President Announces Federal Takeover of Local Police Forces
Agence France-Presse
Excerpt: "Mexico's embattled president unveiled sweeping reforms Thursday to dissolve corruption-plagued municipal police forces nationwide amid an outcry over the role of gang-affiliated authorities in the presumed slaughter of 43 students."
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Agence France-Presse
Excerpt: "Mexico's embattled president unveiled sweeping reforms Thursday to dissolve corruption-plagued municipal police forces nationwide amid an outcry over the role of gang-affiliated authorities in the presumed slaughter of 43 students."
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TransCanada
Drops PR Firm That Suggested Attacking Environmental Activists in Leaked
Plans
Ryan Holeywell, Fuel Fix
Holeywell writes: "TransCanada Corp., the Calgary-based energy company behind the controversial Keystone Pipeline, announced plans to end its contract with public relations firm Edelman after a proposal to attack the company's opponents was leaked."
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Ryan Holeywell, Fuel Fix
Holeywell writes: "TransCanada Corp., the Calgary-based energy company behind the controversial Keystone Pipeline, announced plans to end its contract with public relations firm Edelman after a proposal to attack the company's opponents was leaked."
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Government in Bed With the Bed Bugs?
Federal regulators have intensified an investigation into the inadvertent deployment of side air bags on 2008 Honda Accords. The action comes as owners of Accords from the 2003-4 and 2008 model years face a deadline next month to file claims in a class-action suit over a similar problem.
The investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers about 335,000 Accords from the 2008 model year. Regulators are concerned that the side air bags along the outer edges of the ceiling and the seats may deploy when a door is slammed, according to a report posted on the safety agency’s website. The air bags are designed to protect an occupant’s head and chest in a side impact. Honda began installing those systems for the 2003 model year, and by 2008 was equipping every Honda except the S2000 convertible with the system, the automaker said.
The agency began its investigation in January, based on complaints from owners. Late last month, federal regulators said they were intensifying the investigation after receiving reports of 293 cases of the side air bags deploying when a door was slammed shut. Fourteen injuries were reported, the severity of which was not noted.
“My fiancé closed the door,” one owner wrote in October in a report to the agency. “Loud boom and my son starts screaming, crying. I realize once the powdery smoke clears that the air bags entire side curtain and passenger front seat have gone off thus hitting my 9-year-old in the head. Honda is denying it is their fault. Now I have an injured child and the car with about $7,000 damage.”
The inadvertent deployment of side air bags is also the issue in a class-action lawsuit filed in 2009 in a federal district court in California. The suit covers some 2008 Accords, as well as 2003-4 models, and claims that the side-impact air bags are defective because they deploy without an accident, including while the vehicle is moving. The suit also says that Honda told owners, incorrectly, that there is no defect and that the automaker refuses to reimburse customers for repairs that typically cost $3,000 to $6,000.
This November, Jack Zouhary, a judge with the United States District Court for the Central District of California, will consider giving final approval to settlement. He gave tentative approval in January, and owners were sent letters this year. They have until Sept. 2 to file a form seeking compensation for past air-bag deployments.
While Honda agreed to the settlement, it did not admit there was a defect.
According to the terms of the settlement, owners of Accords from the 2003-4 and 2008 model years will be reimbursed for the cost of repairs if they already have already experienced an inadvertent deployment and previously complained to Honda or an authorized dealer. There will also be a two-year warranty for future air-bag deployments for all 2008 owners, but not the owners of the 2003-4 models.
“I think it was just a compromise and a recognition of the age of the car,” Mike Arias, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, said in a telephone interview.
Owners of the 2008 Accords would get a better deal if the N.H.T.S.A. investigation led to a recall. Honda would be required to fix all of the air bags, not just reimburse car owners whose air bags had deployed. The government also has the authority to require an automaker to reimburse an owner for a previous repair.
The settlement does not cover 2005-7 Accords.
“Honda made changes to its collision detection systems, which appear to have addressed the inadvertent deployment issue,” Mr. Arias wrote in an email. The numbers of deployments for those years “were extremely low.”
According to the agency consumer complaint database, there were 24 complaints from owners of 2005-7 Accords about inadvertent deployments of the side air bags while the vehicles were moving.
“I was driving on the interstate with the flow of traffic, approximately 60 miles per hour, when there was a sudden explosion and smoke filled the inside of my Honda Accord,” the owner of a 2007 model wrote in a report to the agency late in 2012. “The air bags had deployed for no apparent reason.”
Clarence Ditlow, the executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, said in a telephone interview that there was no excuse for not covering the 2005-7 models.
“If there is less of a problem with the intermediate years, then there are fewer claims that are paid out,” he said. “So why not cover them?” He added that the owners of 2003-4 models should have the same two-year extended warranty as the owners of the 2008 models.
Chris Martin, a Honda spokesman, wrote in an email, “I can’t add anything further regarding the process that went into the settlement. We normally don’t provide detailed comment on pending litigation.”
Under the tentative settlement, the three law firms that filed the suit could receive up to $1.2 million in fees and expenses. Mr. Arias said the firms invested more than $1.5 million into the case and would be losing money.
In response to the federal investigation of the 2008 models, Honda has denied there is a safety problem, saying in a report that “more times than not the person who is slamming the door is the person who has vacated the seat in the vehicle. As a result, the seat is unoccupied and therefore the deployment poses no risk to that seating position.”
Honda has had other problems with air bags recently. One was an issue with front air bags made by the Takata Corporation that were built with an inflator that could explode and shower the passenger compartment with metal fragments. Since late in 2008, Honda has recalled about 8.9 million vehicles worldwide for that problem, Mr. Martin wrote in an email. Honda also said that there were two deaths linked to the defect in the United States.
The auto industry this year has recalled a record number of vehicles for various safety problems, including millions recalled for air bag-related issues.
Correction: August 21, 2014
An earlier version of this article misstated the government’s authority over payments for previously performed repairs. It is not the case that federal regulators cannot require an automaker to reimburse an owner; they can.
An earlier version of this article misstated the government’s authority over payments for previously performed repairs. It is not the case that federal regulators cannot require an automaker to reimburse an owner; they can.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/automobiles/nhtsa-deepens-investigation-of-honda-accord-air-bags.html?_r=1