Santa Monica - The Whole City - Is A Free Wifi Zone

We went to Wise and Healthy Aging, a Santa Monica non-profit that acts as a reference for older folks who want to stay in their own homes as independently as possible.  We wanted to see all the options available to my mom.  There are lots of options and we're still going through all the materials to see if we can make things work for her.

But afterward I asked if they had wi-fi - so we could see if there was a movie nearby we wanted to see - and she said, "Yes.  All of Santa Monica is free municipal wi-fi zone." 

I'd heard about that idea, but I've never experienced it before.  Anyone with a lap top or an i-pod touch or similar device that can connect to the internet with wifi is connected, without having to have a smart phone. 

As we walked over to the Santa Monica Promenade - 3rd Avenue is blocked off from cars for four or five blocks -  we passed this bike center which was part of a large parking garage.  They don't just have a few bike racks, they have a whole space for bikes.

The LA Times had a piece not too long ago about all that Santa Monica is doing to encourage people to get out of their cars and onto their bikes.  Given so much flat land and good weather, Santa Monica is a perfect place to bike.




We stopped in the REI and found these electric bikes.  (Is this the first step from car to bike?  Or is this to entice people with bikes to start moving toward a motor?)

The batteries are on the bike racks over the rear tires.  I'd like to think these are just batteries on the bikes that get charged by your biking and you can use for small appliances like your computer at home.  But I think that's probably just wishful thinking.

That morning I'd seen this guy who was using his bike as many Asians have in the past.  I remember people carrying everything - even beds - on their bikes in China.  

This is Venice, not as upscale as Santa Monica.  When I asked if I could take a picture he dug into the 'trunk' and got out his pet pigeon to be in the picture.  It's sitting on the red object.

Before we got to the movie, we passed the Apple store.  It used to be on the other side of the street.  Now it looks like an airplane hanger with dozens and dozens of small tables with iPads and iPad minis. 

I standing across the pedestrian only street so I could get the whole thing in the picture.  I like the idea of the street being car free, but on the downside, it's nothing more than an outdoor shopping mall.  Big name stores you could now find in any city around the world. 

We saw Zero Dark Thirty.  As a movie, it worked for me.  I know there's some controversy over the idea that it promotes the idea that torture gets people talking.  I know movies like this one can have a big impact on how people understand current events.  But I doubt this movie will change people's minds either way on this topic.  Even if one bought the premise that torture worked, it was clear that it is also inhumane.  It shows how it damages not only the person tortured but the person doing the torture.   I thought it was just a good movie. 

Old Harbor Native Corporation's Chief Executive Officer is Carl Marrs

I imagine that most people, when they heard there was a Native village called Old Harbor with a couple hundred people close to where the Kulluk grounded, didn't think much about it. Some sleepy little village where people fish. Not too sophisticated. A place Shell could easily take advantage of. Their website description begins with this paragraph:

Welcome To Old Harbor Old Harbor is an Alutiiq village on Kodiak Island, Alaska approximately 40 air miles from the City of Kodiak on the southeast side of the Island. Old Harbor is one of the Island’s six Alutiiq villages and is primarily inhabited by an Alutiiq population. Old Harbor residents enjoy sharing Kodiak Island's beautiful lands with visitors and their hospitality is legendary. Visitors find residents to be warm, generous, and sincere. Today, the community of Old Harbor has a modern airstrip, a harbor for its fishing fleet and the modern amenities of water, sewer, electricity, internet and satellite services.

But if you poke around on that website you get to their company page which begins:

"Old Harbor Native Corporation (OHNC) is one of 252 Native village corporations established by Congress in 1971 under the terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). ANCSA, which was a purposeful alternative to the Lower 48 reservation system, was the first settlement of its kind between Native Americans and the federal government.  Alaska Natives were provided a corporate structure for holding land and capital, with the freedom to control their own economic and social future.
OHNC was incorporated in 1973 and originally enrolled 329 shareholders under the Act.  Today, there are approximately 335 shareholders residing primarily in Anchorage, Kodiak and Old Harbor, but some as far away as Iceland and Switzerland.
The Corporation’s Board of Directors is tasked with the dual responsibility to grow and manage the assets of the Corporation for the benefit of the shareholders, and preserve and protect the culture and traditions of the community.  A challenging task, indeed."

The Board/Staff page leads you to a link to Chief Executive Officer Carl Marrs:

Cal Marrs with fellow UA Regent Mary Hughes in Juneau

"Carl H. Marrs

Mr. Marrs joined Old Harbor Native Corporation as Chief Executive Officer August 2010.  Carl has been working with Old Harbor Native Corporation since 2005 as an advocate in Juneau and Washington DC on various projects.

Carl was born and raised in Seldovia, Alaska and is an Alutiiq from the South Central Region of Alaska.  He grew up as a commercial fisherman and attended school in Kodiak. He later spent two years in the Marine Corps before returning to commercial fishing. Carl had an extensive career at Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI) working in various capacities from 1973 thru 2004.  In December 2004, Marrs stepped down as the company's president and CEO. He left behind an organization that in his tenure provided record dividend payouts to shareholders, and fulfilled its commitment to enhancing the social welfare of its people.  In addition, he previously worked successfully as owner and operator of Marrs & Company from 2005 thru 2010 which was an investment and consulting company.
Marrs was awarded an honorary degree of Public Service from Alaska Pacific University.  He volunteers his time to a number of community organizations, including Alaska Pacific University, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Boys and Girls Club. Marrs has also served on the boards of the Fiscal Policy Council of Alaska, the Alaska Railroad Corporation, Board of Directors for Key Bank of Alaska, President of the Association of ANCSA CEO’s, Board of Director of the Alaska State Council of Commerce as well as worked with the United Way of Anchorage, Alaska SeaLife Center and the Alaska Oil & Gas Association.  Marrs currently serves as a member on the Board of Regents for the University of Alaska and the Koahinic Broadcasting Corporation," 

Carl Marrs is a powerful figure in Alaskan political and business circles.  He rose through his Native Corporation ranks and has worked closely with all the most influential people in Alaska.

A 2003 Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI) newsletter celebrating Marrs' 30 years service said,

Carl has a reputation as being tough, fair and direct. He has worked hard to earn this reputation, and he is recognized for his negotiating stands and his deal-making skills. A number of our business partners have said they would work with Carl again in a heartbeat because they appreciate his forthright attitude.

A major success for CIRI came from investment benefits Native Corporations  gained thanks to legislation supported by Marrs' friend Ted Stevens.

CIRI's president and chief executive Carl Marrs, who engineered an extraordinarily successful investment in wireless telecommunications, stands to reap $3.8 million, based on Friday's stock prices. Vice presidents Barbara Donatelli, Mark Kroloff, Kirk McGee and Craig Floerchinger will collect $3.3 million each.

The board of directors of the Anchorage-based Native corporation voted 14-1 in favor of the compensation plan at a November meeting, according to Marrs. The board met again Dec. 15 and approved a $314 million cash payout to shareholders based on CIRI's windfall investment in VoiceStream Wireless Corp. and its bullish growth as a company over the past decade. Most of CIRI's 7,000 shareholders received $50,000 checks last week.  (from the Peninsula Clarion)

But not everyone agreed with his approach.  The Peninsula Clarion wrote:

[Former CIRI Chief Exec] Huhndorf ran a highly public campaign in which he openly accused CIRI chief executive Carl Marrs of recklessness and lack of vision. Huhndorf promised to shine a spotlight on what he considers the Anchorage-based company's shaky financial outlook and extravagant spending by management.

The Alaska Supreme Court in a decision which found John Ellsworth guilty of fraud and wilful misconduct costing CIRI millions of dollars, wrote:

Evidence was introduced at trial to show that Carl Marrs was responsible for supervising Ellsworth's management of AIC, but the superior court determined, “Marrs never actively supervised or scrutinized ․ Ellsworth, but rather allowed him carte blanche to manage AIC.”

In any case, Carl Marrs is a man to be reckoned with and if the Kulluk is in Old Harbor territory, it's probably safe to assume that the Old Harbor Native Corporation's interests are being well looked after.  

Bron and Elliott Coming To Brewskies SLC

I met these two guys - Bron Theron and Elliott Peele - making a short promo vid at Venice Beach during my run yesterday.  We talked a bit.  They make movies.  Haven't seen the movies so I don't know how good they are.  But they have some shorts that will show at Brewski's in Salt Lake City January 21.  (Brewski's looks like a Bear Tooth sorta theater with pub and food.)



And here's the link to their movie Primalrap site. Why this post? I think film is the most powerful medium of communication we have so far. Sure, you could argue that the internet is more powerful, but without video content, it would be less powerful. And I'm interested in the people who make movies whether the films are seen by millions or by no one. And I really like the background in the video.

The Kulluk Salvage Is Apparently Over

The latest Kulluk Unified Command Update says that the 

"resources contracted specifically for the salvage operation are in the process of demobilizing."

I'm learning a lot about things I knew nothing about before Shell began drilling for oil in the Arctic.  Does this mean that the salvage stage is over?  The update (#36) says they are now doing assessment. I guess that must be different from salvage.  Time to look up salvage.  From Wikipedia:

Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship, its cargo, or other property after a shipwreck. Salvage encompasses towing, refloating a sunken or grounded vessel, or patching or repairing a ship. Today the protection of the environment from cargoes such as oil or other contaminants is often considered a high priority.
"Salvors" are seamen and engineers who carry out salvage to vessels that are not owned by themselves, and who are not members of the vessel's original crew. When salvaging large ships, they may use cranes, floating dry docks and divers to lift and repair ships for short journeys to safety towed by a tugboat. The aim of the salvage may be to repair the vessel at a harbour or dry dock, or to clear a channel for navigation. Another reason for salvage may be to prevent pollution or damage to the marine environment. Alternatively the vessel or valuable parts of the vessel or its cargo may be recovered for its resale value, or for scrap.

The International Salvage Union identifies different salvage situations from:

• Fire/Explosion
• Collision
• Grounding
• Breakdowns 

Grounding seems to be the kind of salvage operation the Kulluk had:

Grounding:   many salvage operations involve a response to vessel groundings. Some groundings occur in areas of great environmental sensitivity. The salvage team arriving at the scene must make a rapid assessment of the casualty’s condition and the potential for refloating without further hull damage and loss of cargo. In some instances, it is necessary to discharge part or all of the cargo, in order to free the ship. Much depends on the nature of the grounding site (sand, mud, rock, coral, etc), the extent to which the hull is aground, the degree of damage and a wide range of other operational factors, especially the weather. A forecast deterioration in the weather can have a major influence on the salvage strategy adopted.

Image from Unified Command Update #36

Now the Kulluk is 'safely' tucked away at Kiliuda Bay.  Blogger Phil Munger has been writing a lot about this at Progressive Alaska.  Phil knows a little more about these things than most bloggers because in a past life he's been the harbormaster at Cordova [Whittier.] Phil wondered why the Kulluk wasn't taken all the way to Kodiak.  Let me make some guesses.

• If there is a problem with leakage, they don't want to take it too far so they don't damage too  much area.  (The Update says, though, that there are no signs of leakage.)
• They can do what they are doing without being observed by very many people in Kiliuda Bay, while any reporter can fly easily to Kodiak.

That's the limit of my imagination on that question.  Here's the whole update:

DATE: January 8, 2013 1:45:00 PM AKST

For more information contact:

Unified Command
voice: (907) 433-3417

Update #36: Kulluk Remains Anchored, ROVs Arriving for Assessment

January 8, 2013
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Unified Command confirmed the following information today:

• The Kulluk remains safely anchored in Kiliuda Bay at its assessment position. There continues to be no sign of leakage in the vicinity.
• Support vessels will remain with the Kulluk during its assessment, while other resources contracted specifically for the salvage operation are in the process of demobilizing.
• Remote-Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are arriving at the Kulluk later today to begin assessing the hull. Divers will be deployed if necessary.
• Unified Command, along with local representation from Old Harbor Native Corporation, are surveying the area to obtain GPS coordinates that will enable the recovery of lifeboats and other debris from the Kulluk. Time and weather permitting, the team today will begin collecting debris from the shoreline.

Unified Command also released the map of the Kulluk’s final tow route (shown below), which shows the revised path avoiding the cod pots in the Gulf of Alaska.

Puffin Ice

When I got out of the Kulluk news briefing last Thursday, there was an ice carver working on two huge ice puffins.  I didn't take notes, but I think his name was Mike.

I think he said his name was Mike

Ice carving tools

Restorative Justice : "she described the experience as a 'complete relinquishment of anger, hatred and the desire for retribution and revenge.'”

I first heard the idea of restorative justice discussed in depth at a conference in India.   I wrote at the time:

Jirgas - The Pakistani equivalent of the Panchayat, though I think these are made up of village elders who may not be elected. While some cases have brought international condemnation of jirga decisions, conference attendees argued that millions of decisions are made regularly that generally satisfy both parties. Some conference presenters talked about restorative justice as an alternative to retributive justice. Instead of punishment being the object, making the victims whole is the object. However, when the discussion got to Jirgas, making the victims whole included things such as: A male member of the family has murdered someone. To make the victim's family whole, a sister of the murderer is given to the victim's family. One presenter, a very articulate Pakistani attorney, argued that this does not come from Islamic law, but from tribal law. Such verdicts have caused Jirgas to be outlawed, but they still exist and fill an important need.
But the idea of letting the victims and the perpetrators be part of resolving the crime seems to make sense. 

My daughter emailed me a NYTimes article on restorative justice. A long ten page article about a nineteen year old who killed his girlfriend after they had argued for 38 hours.  The girl's dying words to her father were to forgive her boyfriend.  Both families knew each other well.  The young man's father went to the hospital when he got the word, before he went to see his son.

The article describes the long process of finding a restorative justice expert who could help the Florida prosecutor set up a process that the State could accept.  It's a story we should all think about when we ponder all the people in prisons in the United States.  There are a lot of push-button emotional issues in this stories.  And the comments are also well worth reviewing.  

This is a unique case where all the right pieces were in place.

I think the key, counter-intuitive result of forgiveness in this case, is what it does to those who forgive, more than what it does to the person forgiven.

The Grosmaires said they didn’t forgive Conor for his sake but for their own. “Everything I feel, I can feel because we forgave Conor,” Kate said. “Because we could forgive, people can say her name. People can think about my daughter, and they don’t have to think, Oh, the murdered girl. I think that when people can’t forgive, they’re stuck. All they can feel is the emotion surrounding that moment. I can be sad, but I don’t have to stay stuck in that moment where this awful thing happened. Because if I do, I may never come out of it. Forgiveness for me was self-preservation.”

The story ends with:

“Forgiving Conor doesn’t change the fact that Ann is not with us. My daughter was shot, and she died. I walk by her empty bedroom at least twice a day.” 

But then if Conor had been executed, her daughter would still have been dead and she would still walk by her empty bedroom each day.  

Oh, the quote in the title is about "Sujatha Baliga, a former public defender who is now the director of the restorative-justice project at the National Council on Crime and Delinquency in Oakland."  She, herself, was the victim of abuse from her father.  She talked to the Dalai Lama about her anger for an hour.

He gave her two pieces of advice. The first was to meditate. She said she could do that. The second, she says, was “to align myself with my enemy; to consider opening my heart to them. I laughed out loud. I’m like: ‘I’m going to law school to lock those guys up! I’m not aligning myself with anybody.’ He pats me on the knee and says, ‘O.K., just meditate.’ ” 

 But later, in a ten day meditation class.

On the final day, she had a spontaneous experience, not unlike Andy Grosmaire’s at his daughter’s deathbed, of total forgiveness of her father. Sitting cross-legged on an easy chair in her home in Berkeley, Calif., last winter, she described the experience as a “complete relinquishment of anger, hatred and the desire for retribution and revenge.” 

Restorative Justice is not a cure-all.  It may work in some circumstances and not others.  Most often probably, in combination with our current system.  And some people will game the system, because some people game whatever system they are in.  But would that be worse than what we have?  

The whole article, "Can Forgiveness Play a Role In Criminal Justice?" by Paul Tullis,  is here.

A Flurry of Kulluk Updates As It Moves To And Then Arrives At Kiliuda Bay

A series of communications from the Kulluk Unified Command tell us that at 10:10pm last night the Kulluk was refloated from its stranded position and then towed  about 12 hours,  45 nautical knots, to Kiliuda Bay.  They held a news briefing at 10am in Anchorage.

Here are the 9 email alerts (one, not numbered, was about the news briefing)  I got:

DATE: January 6, 2013 11:30:00 PM AKST

For more information contact:

Unified Command
voice: (907) 433-3417

Update #27: Kulluk Refloated: Assessment to Follow

January 6, 2013
ANCHORAGE, AK: At approximately 10:10 p.m., the Kulluk drilling vessel was refloated from its Sitkalidak Island position.
Currently, the Kulluk is attached to the Aiviq by tow line.  The Kulluk is currently floating offshore while personnel are assessing the condition of the vessel.  Three additional tugs are on standby along with the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley and two oil spill response vessels.  
“Following this initial step forward, we will continue to remain cautious while we assess the Kulluk’s condition,” said Martin Padilla, Incident Commander.  “We will not move forward to the next phase until we are confident that we can safely transport the vessel.”
There are currently more than 730 people involved in the response and recovery operation including local residents and a local on-site coordinator.  Following this stage of the operation there continue to be no injuries to response personnel.
Further information will follow.

DATE: January 7, 2013 1:50:00 AM AKST

Update #28: Unified Command Update

January 7, 2013, Anchorage, AK – Unified Command update for Monday, January 7, 2013

• As of 1:45 a.m. the Kulluk remains in tow by the Aiviq traveling at 4.2 knots (4.8 mph)
• The location of the Kulluk is approximately 16 miles from land 

DATE: January 7, 2013 3:35:00 AM AKST

Update #29: Unified Command Update

January 7, 2013,
Anchorage, AK – Unified Command update for Monday, January 7, 2013

• As of 3 a.m. the Kulluk remains in tow by the Aiviq traveling at 4.8 knots (5.5 mph)
• The location of the Kulluk is approximately 19 miles from land
• The Nanuq crew, utilizing infrared equipment on board, reports that there are no initial signs of a discharge of oil in the water as of 2:57 a.m. 

DATE: January 7, 2013 3:35:00 AM AKST [While this is the same time as the last one, the email itself says it arrived a 4:47am and the update is as of 4am]

Update #30: Unified Command Update

January 7, 2013,
Anchorage, AK – Unified Command update for Monday, January 7, 2013

• As of 4 a.m. the Kulluk remains in tow by the Aiviq traveling at 3.8 knots (4.3 mph) and is traveling in a northerly direction.
• The location of the Kulluk is approximately 16 miles from land.
• Results of soundings of fuel tanks taken since the Kulluk refloated are consistent with earlier soundings taken by the recovery crew.

DATE: January 7, 2013 5:35:00 AM AKST

Update #31: Unified Command Update

January 7, 2013
Anchorage, AK – Unified Command update for Monday, January 7, 2013

• As of 5:20 a.m. the Kulluk remains in tow by the Aiviq traveling at 4.1 knots (4.7 mph) and is traveling in a northerly direction.
• The location of the Kulluk is approximately eight miles from land.
• A Coast Guard overflight is scheduled at first light, weather permitting.

DATE: January 7, 2013 8:00:00 AM AKST

Update #32: Unified Command Update

Anchorage, AK – Unified Command update for Monday, January 7, 2013:

• As of 7:30 a.m. Alaska Time, the Kulluk remains in tow by the Aiviq traveling at approximately 3.5 knots (4 mph) in a northerly direction.
• The location of the Kulluk is approximately 9.6 nautical miles away from the planned anchored location in Kiliuda Bay.
• The Nanuq crew continues to utilize infrared equipment on board and reports that there are still no signs of a discharge.
• A Coast Guard overflight is scheduled at first light to look for any signs of sheen, weather permitting.

The next one shows what happens when you don't check your email before you go for a run.  I totally missed the News Briefing.

DATE: January 7, 2013 8:43:28 AM AKST

Jan. 7 - Unified Command news briefing

What: A news briefing will be held at 10 – 10:30 a.m., Alaska Time, Monday, Jan. 7. Members of Unified Command will provide an update regarding the Kulluk Tow incident response.
Who:

• Coast Guard Capt. Paul Mehler III, Federal On-scene Coordinator
• Steven Russell, State On-scene Coordinator
• Sean Churchfield, Incident Commander and Operations Manager for Shell Alaska
• Duane Dvorak, Kodiak Island Borough, Local On-scene Coordinator
• Tommy Travis, Noble Drilling, Vice President of Operations U.S.

Where: The news briefing will be held at Dena’ina Center, Kahtnu Meeting Room 1, 600 W. Seventh Ave., Anchorage, Alaska 99501.
When: 10-10:30 a.m., Monday, Jan. 7
Media representatives should meet at 9:30 a.m. in front of the Kahtnu Meeting Room 1 to be checked in with credentials before access is provided to the conference room. In addition, note that a mult box will be provided for broadcast media.

 I'm sure they were all pumped up because the Kulluk was on the move to safer water and there's been no sign of an oil leak.  

DATE: January 7, 2013 8:00:00 AM AKST

Update #33: Kulluk remains in tow

January 7, 2013, 9 a.m. Alaska Time
Anchorage, AK – Unified Command update for Monday, January 7, 2013:

• As of 9 a.m. Alaska Time, the Kulluk remains in tow by the Aiviq traveling at approximately 3.5 knots (4 mph) in a northerly direction.
• The location of the Kulluk is approximately 4 nautical miles away from the planned anchored location in Kiliuda Bay.
• The Nanuq crew continues to utilize infrared equipment on board and reports that there are still no signs of a discharge.
• A Coast Guard overflight is scheduled at first light to look for any signs of sheen, weather permitting.

DATE: January 7, 2013 11:02:00 AM AKST

Update #34: Kulluk arrives safely at Kiliuda Bay, will undergo assessment

Jan. 7, 2013
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Unified Command has confirmed that the Kulluk, towed by the anchor handling vessel Aiviq, approached its safe harbor location in Kiliuda Bay at approximately 10 a.m., Alaska Time. The final location for assessment within the Bay will be determined by environmental conditions, including weather.
The Kulluk traveled 45 nautical miles since the start of the tow, roughly 12 hours ago. Average speed has been 3.5 knots or 4 mph.
The Kulluk was refloated from its Ocean Bay position, off Sitkalidak Island, late Jan. 6. It will remain connected to its support vessels while it undergoes assessment in Kiliuda Bay, located about 30 miles north of Ocean Bay.
The Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley escorted the tow to Kiliuda Bay along with two oil spill response vessels and other support vessels. A 500-yard radius safety zone around the Kulluk followed the escort and remains in place in Kiliuda Bay.
Monitoring by the oil spill response vessels escorting the tow confirmed that there were no signs of a discharge of oil during the transit.
The combined fleet has 15,000 feet of boom should it be needed. Additional boom has been staged in various locations.
The Kulluk has been grounded since Dec. 31, after it broke tow during severe weather conditions.
Unified Command continues to coordinate with the Old Harbor Native Corporation to assist with any necessary cleanup activities. Additional spill response land resources have been staged in Old Harbor.
Yesterday afternoon, salvage teams successfully attached the main tow line to the Kulluk drilling unit.
The Salvage Master had the discretion to initiate the tow should favorable conditions occur throughout the night. At approximately 10:10 p.m., Jan. 6 the Kulluk was refloated.

The ADN story which says it was updated an hour ago - which should then include what happened at the news briefing - doesn't add much.  But another story by Rich Mauer has some interesting thoughts from others in the business about how things look.  The title sums the article up:  Kulluk's Ability To Take A Beating Impresses Experts.

[UPDATE 4:22pm AKTime]  One more update came through:

DATE: January 7, 2013 3:25:00 PM AKST

For more information contact:

Update #35: Unified Command confirms Kulluk is safely anchored

January 7, 2013
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Unified Command confirmed that the Kulluk has arrived in its final safe harbor location in Kiliuda Bay where it will undergo assessment. At approximately 12:15 p.m. Alaska Time the Kulluk’s anchor was lowered to the bottom of the Bay.
Unified Command also confirmed:

• Support vessels Alert, Lauren Foss and Corbin Foss remain connected to the Kulluk.
• The Aiviq has disconnected from the Kulluk but is standing by.
• A Coast Guard overflight today did not observe any sheen in the vicinity.
• The Warrior, Ocean Wave, Perseverance, Nanuq and Alex Haley are standing by.

Final safe harbor?  It's still a long ways from Seattle.  If Dutch Harbor couldn't service the Kulluk, surely Kiliuda Bay can't. 

Aleutian Weather - Shell Should Have Known

With Shell's regular mention of the terrible weather when they talk about the Kulluk's problems, it seems appropriate to dip once more into Brian Garfield's Thousand Mile War where he discusses the weather conditions during WW II when the Japanese and Americans fought in the Aleutians. The Americans (and the Japanese) lost far more planes and pilots and ships to the weather and terrain than they lost to enemy fire.

"It was dreary but seldom calm, Corporal Dashiell Hammett wrote:  "There was a guage to measure the wind, but it only measured up to 110 miles and hour, and that was not always enough."

At Cold Bay, soldiers for the 260th Transportation Battalion built a hut for their day room (with 6X6 studs and joists stolen on a moonlight requisitioning sortie from Navy ships).  Wind rolled the building away.  The soldiers set it right-side-up and anchored it down with steel cables imbedded in concrete.  After that the hut stayed put, but it was the only permanent above-ground structure in the area.  Throughout the Aleutians in the next two years, the rule was dugout architecture. . .

The weather, "Made in Japan,"  lent truth to standard jokes:  "It's too thick to fly if you can't see your co-pilot."
"Stick your hand out.  If it touches a ship's mast, you're flying too low."
One pilot claimed he followed a duck because he knew it wouldn't fly into a cliff.  Unmak used "a 500 pound bomb for a windsock."  A PBY pilot claimed a seagull landed on his wing;  convinced that weather too thick for Hannibal the Hitch-Hiking Gull was too thick for a PBY, the pilot landed his seaplane on the water, and watched the gull jump off and go away - swimming.  (p. 125)

The stories were not always apocryphal.  It wasn't unusual for flights of B-17s to fly at 25-foot altitudes, so that pilots could follow the sea wake of the airblast from the leading plane's propellers.  On a socked in July day, three bombers landed at Cold Bay at six-minute intervals:  the first found the runway fogged in, the second found a clear 5000 foot ceiling and landed easily, and the third couldn't find the field in the fog.  "The weather," wrote Wheeler, "goes up and down like a whore's drawers."  (pp. 125-126)

Headwinds sometimes made it six hours to target and two hours back.  The noisy wind often blew west at one end of the runway and east at the other.  In a signle cloud front, a bomber could pick up a ton of ice.

At Umnak, PFC Edward O. Stephens invented a wind-driven washing machine.  Others boiled their laundry in discarded metal drums.  When they hung clothes out, they took three days or more to dry. . .

From Cold Bay and Umnak the air warriors saddled the weather and rode it out to Kiska and, usually, back home.  It was a hell unlike any other. Constant turbulence tossed airplanes like kites.  Ground crew mechanics learned to hate the unstable Aleutian air.  It twisted airframes, wrecked fuselages, stretched and loosened rivets, bent wings.  It shook up cockpit instruments and threw them out of whack.  It clogged carburetors.  It loosened window seals, rusted landing-gear oleos, ruined fuel lines, shook engine mounts loose, gummed guns, froze bomb-bay rack releases, and fouled hydraulic systems.  It killed.

The groundling grease monkeys seemed to keep the planes flying with nothing but skyhooks, rolling their own spare parts with hand-bellows forges and hammers, maintaining aircraft outdoors in williwawas with only flashlights  and truck headlamps for illumination.  The chief stockpile of repair parts was wrecked planes.  There were no inspectors, but the ground crews never failed to make a repairable plane airworthy within twenty-four hours.  It sometimes took four back-breaking hours in gale winds to refuel a B-17 by hand, pouring gas through a chamois filter.  Colonel Everett S. Davis wrote to Hap Arnold, "Don't figure on getting any serviceable planes back from us.  We have been hard on them." (p. 126)

The kind of weather the Kulluk encountered is nothing out of the ordinary.    It's nothing that Shell's contingency plans shouldn't have planned for.

And the book's description of the war is in sharp contrast to the heroic and nationalistic tone of this Academy Award winning 1943 documentary about the airbase in Adak that bombed the Japanese base in Kiska daily.  The end of the film shows an actual bombing raid from Adak to Kiska.




This original comes from the internet archives which has this description:

Director John Huston, while a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1943, creates an Academy Award winning documentary, which he narrates with assistance from his actor father Walter, treating of the Armed Forces' successful effort to prevent the fall of the Aleutian Islands to advancing Japanese troops who had captured several islets. Although no claim can be reasonably made that this location was of major strategic importance during the War, it presented enormous tactical and logistic difficulty for those assigned there, and Huston's color film demonstrates the determined ensemble work upon the outpost of Adak by a wide range of military specialists who combat loneliness and boredom along with notably severe weather conditions. The work was made over a six month period, and is climaxed by the preparations for, followed by an actual filming of, a bombing run over Japanese-occupied Kiska, wherein Huston nearly lost his life, and which is significant for its combat footage and for the atmosphere of suspense present in the viewer who wonders if all will return safely.

It's very much a war propaganda movie making this sound much better than they were, as this comment reflects:

Reviewer: jimelena - 3.00 out of 5 stars - December 2, 2005 Subject: Progadanda. My dad was in the Aleutians during WWII so I watched this. This is a propaganda film. It does not begin to relate the huge mistakes made, the tragedy upon tragedy, or the reasons why it is known as "the forgotton war". Maybe someday the truth will come out but even 60 years after it is still too sad, too horrible, to be remembered for what it was.

  The Shell announcements about the Kulluk have the same flavor as the movie. They acknowledge problems (the movie even showed a burial of a pilot) but everyone is a hero, cooperating 100%, to achieve the goal. The book tells a very different story. 

Shell Has a Plan, But It's Not Available

At Saturday afternoon’s news briefing, Richard Mauer of the Anchorage Daily News asked Shell’s Alaska Operations Manager whether a copy of the Shell’s plan for the recovery of the Kulluk was available.  Sean Churchfield has been using phrases like "the plans are dynamic" and “subject to operational constraints” to explain why a plan wouldn’t be made available. 

I suspect others are thinking what I was thinking:  Do they really have a plan?  Then I remembered that somewhere on my computer I had a copy of their Ice Management Plan.  So I pulled it up.

Shell’s definition of a plan is probably a lot different from the everyday notion of a plan.  Most of us think of a plan as a series of steps that need to be taken to achieve a goal.

But, if the Ice Management Plan (IMP) is what Shell means by a plan, then their concept is not quite what most of us think of as a plan.  Here's one of the more concrete parts of that plan:


Shell Ice Management Plan Roles and Responsibilities Charts

This is only part of the IMP, but it was the part that actually said something somewhat concrete.  A lot of it is just description of their vessels and their 'philosophy' and such things that use up space but don't really give you anything you can get hold of or could hold them to. And there's also the COCP - (Critical Operations and Curtailment Plan).  I did a couple of posts on these plans last September.  So if you want to know what Shell means by a plan here are two posts that go into some detail about them:

As Shell Is About to Drill, What Do We Know About Arctic Sea Ice? 

Started with some UAF videos on Sea Ice Research that took me to Shell's Plans and went into some detail on the COCP and the IMP.

Become An Arctic Oil Expert in Just Ten Minutes a Day

More in depth on the IMP.  




What are some of the reasons they wouldn’t want to show their plan?

There isn’t anything written down that most people would recognize as a plan.
There is a plan but it’s pretty sketchy.
They don’t want to show anything that might expose them to any legal liability.

Any of those and all of those are good possibilities.  I’m guessing the last one plays a significant role in their decision not to share their plans.  Overall, the three news briefings I’ve heard (one on tape, one in person, and one by phone)  might be better described as damage control public relations.  Go out there and deal with the media, because you have to, but say as little as you can get away with.  And what you say should focus on how well the recovery is going.

All this leads me to start pondering what actually does the public need to know?  Let me think about that for a while and get back to you.


This is a crazy new world.  We landed in Seattle.  We ate some lunch and then I reluctantly plugged in the computer and checked the email only to find out there was a Kulluk news conference going on that very minute and I could call in.

So there at the airport I listened in.  Having been in the room Thursday made it a little easier to figure out who was talking. 

We're in LA now visiting my mom. 

Kulluk Unified Command PIO Explains How Stakeholders Can Connect

At Thursday's news briefing, there was discussion about wanting to be sure all stakeholders had access to the Unified Command structure working to safely recover the Kulluk from where it is grounded off Kodiak Island.

So afterward I asked Public Information Officer Amy Midgett how one would do this.  Below is the video in which she answers this.  She also clarified that although people from different agencies may use their agency title - such as PIO - she is THE PIO for the Unified Command. 
Sorry about the camera angle, I was holding it toward Amy, but not looking at the screen as we chatted. That's the State On-Scene Coordinator Steven Russell from the Department of Environmental Conservation to the right at the beginning.



If you are a stakeholder - someone who has an interested in this area - I'd encourage you to try to use their process to connect.  Amy sounds sincere enough in the video.  And if you can't connect, let me know.  But fisherfolk, people working on environmental issues in the area, birders, boaters, anyone with a stake in the area, should at least try their system.

That said, it doesn't look easy.  Despite what Amy said on the video, I can't find any telephone numbers on the website itself.  There was a list of tweets and in one of the tweets, I found this:

• Toll-free community number is 1-866-771-7910

Ask for a liaison and see if it works.

On the "Questions or Comments" page, there is a way to make contact, but you have to give them your first and last name, your email address, and perhaps other information.  (When I signed up for email alerts the other day, 'affiliation' didn't have an asterisk indicating it was required, but when I submitted it, it spit it back because I hadn't filled out affiliation.)

This is a very limited sharing of information to the public.  The public has to give up more information if they want to ask a question.  In comparison, the Alaska Redistricting Website was much more accessible. 

They tell us there are over 500 people working on this operation.  That's a lot more than the Redistricting Board had.  If they wanted better communication, or if they thought it was important, they could have it.