Howie Carr: Only cowards rip posters

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Now that she’s been fired from her job as a dentist, the middle-aged Newton woman who was videotaped ripping down posters of Israeli victims in Chestnut Hill can begin an even more lucrative career for herself.

She is about to become… a victim.

Actually she already is.  A local Hamas cheerleading cell has already issued a statement on her behalf to a TV station:

“Zena is being targeted simply because she is an Arab.”

You don’t say. So it has nothing to do with her callously tearing down posters of Israeli children kidnapped by Nazi fiends after the rape and slaughter of 1300 Israelis.

Her former employer, Dr. Marc Nevins of Nevins Dental Center, announced her firing for “actions that are contrary to our community standards and to the basic values of my clinical practice.”

But Doc, don’t you understand that she’s the victim here. I predict a front-page story in state-run media, most likely the Boston Globe, in three… two… one.

This is the traditional m.o. now. Terrorists do something unspeakably horrible to innocent individuals, and the entire story suddenly becomes the supposed overreaction of the victims.

The late comedian Norm Macdonald summed it up perfectly in a sarcastic 2016 tweet:

“What terrifies me is if ISIS were to detonate a nuclear device and kill 50 million Americans. Imagine the backlash against peaceful Muslims.”

Biden and his minions seem more worried about “Islamophobia” than about the Nazi pogroms the Muslims have been conducting in southern Israel.

This woman Zena is apparently a graduate of Boston University, historically Methodist but with a heavy Jewish influence forever. I wonder if she had a scholarship to BU, and who paid for that scholarship.

It seems to be a BU thing, tearing down the KIDNAPPED posters. A younger student was just recorded doing the same thing as the Arab dentist.

The homely coed had a great defense.

“I’m Jewish,” she said.

From what I can see, the fired dentist lives in, of all places, Newton. Odd place to choose as your home if you’re simmering with the kind of hatred she seems consumed by.

I mean, does Zena vote in the local elections in Newton? What does she think she sees all those… Zionist names on the ballot?

You would think that at least a few of these new Americans who are waving the pom-poms for the savage Muslim killers in the Mideast might have picked up stakes and left the Great Satan, put their dinars where their mouths are, so to speak.

Until Donald Trump came along, these bloodthirsty savages had their own unofficial state, under control of a terror cell called ISIS. They referred to their Muslim thugocracy as a “caliphate.” It was run by a genocidal butcher whom the Washington Post respectfully described as “an austere religious scholar.”

I’m sure ISIS could have used a few dentists back when they were trying to murder every non-Sunni in Iraq and Syria. Their capital was in Raqqa, Syria.

Gays were dragged to the tops of Raqqa’s tallest buildings (two, sometimes even three stories) and hurled to their deaths. Local young women from religious minorities (including Shia Muslims) were gang-raped every evening by hundreds of austere religious scholars.

Like Hamas, ISIS enjoyed beheading infidels. Once they burned a Jordanian Air Force pilot alive.

It all seems a very long way from Newton, from The Street in Chestnut Hill, from civilization.

But until you get busted tearing down those posters, you can cheer on the ongoing genocide (and not just of Jews either). And there is never, ever any pushback from the virtue-signaling, spineless heretics.

If anyone ever looks at one of these Nazis cross-eyed while they’re screaming “Gas the Jews!” or “Allahu Akhbar” as they shoot up a gay bar, they just start yelling that it’s all Islamophobia, or something.

Look at the pampered pukes from Harvard, complaining about the “apartheid” regime of Israel. As I’ve said, isn’t “apartheid” just another word for “racism?” And Harvard’s racist admissions policy, recently ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court, is probably the reason most of these protected-class box-checkers were even admitted in the first place.

They certainly don’t seem to be very bright, even by Harvard standards.

Now, though, an alumni group has been trying to raise money for the Nazis of Harvard Square because their racist screeds have exposed the Ivy League Nazis to “severe risks to their immigration status and future career prospects.”

Oh no! You mean they might have to go home to these Third World failed states that they fled to come here and live on the arm in this terrible racist land?

The pitch for the Nazis of Harvard Square continued:

“They may require legal counsel, health care, mental health support, financial aid or mentorship to navigate these turbulent and uncertain times.”

Could I offer them some mentorship? Go home. The job opportunities in Raqqa aren’t what they used to be, but thanks to Biden the Taliban is back in charge in Afghanistan. Have the halftime stonings of gays resumed at the soccer stadium in Kabul?

I hear the Taliban is looking for a few good endodontists.

But you know, endodontist in Kabul not nearly as good a job as being a “victim” in the Great Satan. For one thing, as a victim, you can still live in civilization, with running water, central heating, electricity and, dare I say it, the right not to wear a hajib.

Something tells me that Rena, like all the Nazis of Harvard Square – Fatima, Mohini, Reem et al. – would much prefer to live in this racist, xenophobic, nativist, Islamophobic society than go home and fight Zionist imperialism.

(Order Howie’s new book, “Paper Boy: Read All About It!” at howiecarrshow.com or amazon.com.)

St. Lawrence Seaway strike in Canada shuts down oceangoing traffic on Great Lakes

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DULUTH, Minn. — A strike by unionized workers of Canada’s St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. that started Sunday morning has virtually shut down oceangoing shipping traffic on the entire seaway system.

Because the seaway is a linear system of canals and locks through Ontario, New York and Quebec, closure of any portion effectively results in closure of the entire waterway, officials of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority said Monday.

As a result of the strike, multiple ships loaded with exports are presently unable to exit the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, and a growing line of inbound ships are unable to enter or pass through specific segments.

One vessel presently loading wheat in Duluth is scheduled to deliver its cargo to Algeria upon departure through the now-shuttered seaway, according to officials at the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. Several additional ships are scheduled to arrive in Duluth-Superior via the seaway for grain in the coming weeks. Various other vessels are scheduled to arrive with imports to support regional manufacturing.

Negotiators from the Canadian portion of the seaway management and the union attempted to reach an agreement on a new employment contract for several months. The union gave 72-hour strike notification Wednesday as required under Canadian law.

Negotiations are continuing between the corporation and union with officials urging a speedy settlement.

“This situation affects oceangoing activity for the entire Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, which makes it everyone’s concern,” Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, said in a statement released Monday. “This interruption of Seaway operation has immediate and longer-term consequences for Great Lakes ports, the entire Seaway System, and countries around the world hungry for our exports, especially now, during peak grain harvest season.”

DeLuca said the strike harms the reputation of the entire Great Lakes shipping system.

“Countries that rely on our grain exports are left waiting and hungry. The toll will continue mounting until the system reopens,’’ DeLuca said.

It is reportedly the first strike-related closure of the St. Lawrence Seaway during a shipping season since June 1968. The strike doesn’t impact inter-lake movement of cargo such as taconite iron ore between Minnesota and Great Lakes steel mills.

A recent economic impact analysis of commerce through the seaway showed that, in 2022, the waterway handled more than 36 million tons of cargo and supported more than 24,000 jobs in the United States and 42,000 in Canada. Seaway officials estimate that every day of a mid-season seaway shutdown costs the shared U.S./Canadian economy $50 million to $80 million.

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Procter & Gamble moving Gillette manufacturing to Andover, 750 jobs to be kept in Boston

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Gillette has produced shaving blades and razors in South Boston for more than a century, but over the next few years, its owner Procter & Gamble will be moving the manufacturing plant to Andover.

About 750 jobs, described as headquarters, engineering and research and development, will be kept in the city.

P&G brought the development to light Tuesday, the result of a site assessment that started in 2019 and looked at what steps the company needs to take to revitalize the Gillette grooming business, officials said in a release.

Manufacturing operations will relocate some 23 miles from the 31-acre campus along Fort Point Channel, near Interstates 90 and 93, to P&G’s sprawling 150-acre site in Andover, a location that officials say touts “some of the best equipment and capabilities in the world.”

About 450 workers who work in manufacturing at Gillette’s global headquarters in Southie will be offered jobs in Andover, a campus that has an existing staff of roughly 200. The transition will occur in phases, officials say, with the first employees moving to their new locations in 2025 and 2026.

“This is a critical moment for our business to ensure that we have the right infrastructure and capabilities to win for the next century, said Gary Coombe, CEO, P&G Grooming. “I’m confident that we’ve reached the right conclusion and I’m glad that we will continue to have a meaningful presence in both communities – including Boston, which has been our home for over a century and offers so much in terms of innovation, talent, education, and culture.”

Boston City Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy called the manufacturing plant moving to Andover a “loss” to the city’s workforce.

“We need to do better at supporting organizations that offer opportunities in fields like climate solutions, coastal resilience and engineer design,” Murphy told the Herald, adding she met with officials last week to “brainstorm” the future. “We should be a leader at producing fresh talent so we have a pipeline of talented workforce ready for the 21st century jobs.

Gillette started its manufacturing operations in Southie in the early 1900s. Its presence will now transform into an “industry-leading global headquarters and technical innovation center” that will house 750 employees in its headquarters, research and development, and engineering sectors.

The new site will be located either in a location on or near the current waterfront campus, “unlocking new possibilities for the future,” the release states.

In Andover, officials expect the new manufacturing center to serve as a critical hub for P&G’s grooming business that supports manufacturing lines in blades and razors as well as aerosol and chemistry. The site will also feature packaging and direct-to-consumer operations.

P&G Beauty, officials say, looks to take advantage of the new facility in Andover, as well. The business has confirmed plans to double production of its bar soap in the next two years, and it could bring other categories to the site in the future, the release states.

Company leaders plan to include the broader South Boston community “to explore how changes to the South Boston site could yield advantages for the city, state and local community.”

“With a thoughtful planning process, site redevelopment could help address some of the most critical needs of the moment such as bringing new jobs and economic opportunity, building more housing, creating new publicly accessible open space,” the release states.

A community meeting will be held with company representatives in the coming weeks, and those interested in attending are told to email gillettecommunity.im@pg.com for further notifications.

City Council President Ed Flynn, in a message to the Herald, highlighted Gillette’s “long history” in Southie as a “strong and steady partner of our neighborhood.”

“While it is certainly sad to see the relocation of Gillette’s manufacturing operations to Andover, I am glad to see that they will retain their Headquarters here in South Boston,” he said. “I look forward to working with Gillette to continue our long, historic partnership as we work towards discussing the potential of what the City can do to repurpose the land there.”

P&G Gillette announced Tuesday it’s moving manufacturing jobs from the “world shaving headquarters” in South Boston to a plant in Andover. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)

 

Senate confirms FAA chief. Here’s the mess awaiting him.

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Mike Whitaker, confirmed by the Senate Tuesday to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, is inheriting the agency at a troubled moment as it grapples with a rash of aviation near-misses and challenges in replenishing its depleted air traffic controller workforce.

The agency saw 18 months fly by without a permanent leader at the helm. The prolonged vacancy at the top of the agency has sparked unease as passenger travel roared back following the pandemic slump — and suffered a series of incidents and disruptions. Now it’s up to Whitaker, a former FAA deputy administrator and former United Airlines executive, to guide the agency through this turbulence while ensuring the U.S. can maintain a leading edge in aviation.

Whitaker faced little opposition to his confirmation to the five-year term. Lawmakers in the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously advanced his nomination just weeks after his Oct. 4 confirmation hearing. Republicans chastised the Biden administration, and Democrats were unhappy that the agency was without a permanent leader for so long. Lawmakers from both parties questioned whether the agency can adequately tackle safety incidents that continue to pile up.

Just days before his confirmation, two new incidents made headlines. An off-duty pilot was charged with attempted murder after authorities say he tried to shut down the engines of a Horizon Airlines flight bound for San Francisco on Sunday, causing the plane full of 83 passengers to divert to Portland. And last week, the FAA launched an investigation into whether two planes operated by Alaska Airlines and SkyWest Airlines came too close to each other at Portland International Airport on Oct. 16 — potentially marking another close call after a string of near-misses earlier this year.

A series of high-profile close calls raised enough concerns early this year that then-acting Administrator Billy Nolen convened a nationwide safety summit to review suggestions for improvement. Following the summit, the FAA recommended that pilots and crew “reduce distractions” during take-off, landing and taxiing, among other suggestions.

Jeff Guzzetti, an aviation safety consultant who’s worked at the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board, said those types of incidents are not uncommon, but that the public isn’t necessarily at increased risk.

“There are risks that exist, but they’ve always existed and the risks change from time to time for different reasons,” Guzzetti said in an interview Friday.

“I don’t think the problems are as serious as the public [is] perceiving,” he said, referencing the uptick in near-misses. “I think the perception that things are worse than they are is because [the FAA] didn’t have stable leadership.”

Maintaining the gold standard

Guzzetti said that while the close calls over the last few months merited investigations, redundancies in the aviation system — runway and cockpit technology, persistent communication between air traffic control and pilots — caught them before they turned catastrophic.

But, he added, there are issues that the FAA cannot ignore.

“We have an air traffic control workforce that is diminished in numbers,” he said of the chronic staffing problems at ATC facilities.

Guzzetti said pilots may also be relying too heavily on automated cockpit equipment instead of their training, making them more prone to making errors — factors that the FAA and NTSB are looking into as part of their near-miss inquiries.

Still, Whitaker will need to rebuild public confidence in air travel that’s been undermined by spurious flight delays and cancellations, as well as and pay extra attention to an aviation workforce that’s been stretched too thin, added Alan Diehl, an aviation consultant and research psychologist who also previously worked at the FAA and NTSB.

“These are labor-intensive jobs, and working extra shifts is not conducive” to long-term safety, Diehl said in an interview Monday. Like Guzzetti, Diehl cited the resilient and redundant system that boosts safety.

Diehl said Whitaker will also have to navigate the ongoing fight in Congress over the FAA reauthorization bill, which has been held up by disputes over pilot training rules in the Senate.

“The political paralysis is probably the biggest obstacle he’s got to overcome,” Diehl said of getting the FAA bill to advance past the Commerce Committee. Meanwhile the House cannot take up conference legislation without a speaker.

The agency has seen worse days: Whitaker’s predecessor, Steve Dickson, saw a tenure mired with challenges and increased pressure from lawmakers, pilots, and other aviation groups for the FAA to rebuild its oversight of manufacturers, most notably Boeing after two 737 MAX crashes that killed more than 300 people overseas in 2018 and 2019.

While the FAA’s failure to detect the Boeing aircraft’s flaws and criticisms that it fostered an industry-friendly approval process eroded trust in the agency, Guzzetti said he believed “the dust is settling” over those issues.

Commitment to the flying public

Scott Maurer, an aviation safety advocate whose daughter Lorin was killed in a 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 near Buffalo, N.Y., said he and other family members of that disaster met with Whitaker last week, and he called Whitaker’s confirmation “good news.” (The Colgan crash was the last fatal domestic airline crash in the U.S.)

“The near miss rate is alarming. This is screaming, ‘my goodness, we’ve got to do something before something really really bad happens,’” Maurer said. “We were screaming that we need a full-time person and they need to be multi-disciplined and that’s what his experience is.”

Maurer said Whitaker will be a critical voice for aviation safety efforts, hiring more air traffic controllers and ensuring that drones and air taxis are able to safely integrate into the larger airspace as they ramp up commercial operations.

Maurer also said he’s hopeful that Whitaker’s confirmation can spur the Senate to pass a five-year FAA authorization bill that could coincide with the new administrator’s five-year term. The current FAA bill expires at the end of this year after Congress passed a short-term extension last month, and the Senate is stuck in a stalemate over the pilot training rules.

And having an administrator serving a full term may make the FAA more likely to weigh in on big issues that a temporary leader might shy away from.

“Having all these acting people, they never know when they’re going to be done, whether it’s next month or six months from now, you don’t know,” Maurer said. “They can’t really sink their teeth into the job like a full-time person can.”

But Maurer said Whitaker’s main responsibility will be to represent the flying public rather than airlines or unions. The top priority, he said, should always be safety.

“Time will tell how he handles these difficult situations,” Maurer said. “We all know if I’m working at Delta or United, they’re trying to run a business and they’re going to want regulations that favor business. Pilot unions will want things that favor the unions. He has to understand that he represents you and I. We told him, ‘We’re the representatives of what happens when that breaks down.’”