Major Catastrophes

Over at the blog of The Instapundit is a link to a Popular Mechanics article on the loss of the RMS TITANIC and other major catastrophes.  There is a recommendation, by The Instapundit, of an article that talks to these sorts of problems and the human factor involvement.  The article talks about how we relax safety standards and then later reap the consequences of such actions, actions designed to increase profits or reduce costs (from a Government point of view, given that Governments don't make profits).  The article compares the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in 1911 and the World Trade Center attack and subsequent fires and collapse in 2001.  Relaxation of standards applied after the 1911 problem caused problems in 2001.

This is why Department of Defense nuclear surety is so important.  The pressure must always be on, so that there is no relaxation of attention.  Anyone remember when six nuclear warheads went missing for a short period?  My impression is that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates went to "Battle Stations" and heads rolled.  When risks are low but consequences are high, extra measures must be taken.  Just ask Mediator Kate Reed, about her recent experience, highlighted in the most recent episode of "Fairly Legal".

Regards  —  Cliff