Mahon Biography - "Breaking Ranks" - James McNeish

[ampan]

The address to write to is: Harper Collins Publishers (New Zealand), Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand, who advise that “The pages used by Harper Collins in the manufacture of this book are a natural, recyclable product … ”. In other words, you can wipe your arse with the stuff, which is handy to know. The ISBN reference number of the publication is 978-1-7755-4090-8. I’d never heardof this McNeish fellow but he appears to have written many books and Harper Collins reckon his Mahon biography will become a classic of New Zealand literature. I would have thought that its publication would meet the topicality threshold for this website.

I don’t need to worry about AerialPerspective any more but another chap said he found it difficult to accept criticism of Mahon from someone who despises the honourable judge. Let me make it easy: Focus on what is said, not who says it. Isn’t that the whole point of these anonymous forums? If I were to say that smoking was bad for one’s health whilst half-way through a Benson & Hedges Special Filter (from the 25s packet, not the 20s) does that mean I’m wrong about smoking and that everyone should take it up?

[jack red]

you've been smoking mate but I don't think they are B&H Special Filters

[ampan]

Not as strong as the as the stuff the writer of the following was on:

“The pictorial representations showed the observers that the flight path was down McMurdo Sound and those displays would, not unnaturally, take precedence over the spoken words indicating a direct track from Cape Hallett to McMurdo Station and indicating the NDB as the destination waypoint.” (Mahon Report p60)

Not even the most deranged of the believers could accept that Captains Collins and Simpson, and First Officers Cassin, Gabriel and Irvine, sat through this briefing, heard the audio stating that the nav track went to McMurdo Station, saw a couple of photos suggesting otherwise, and then took their pick without asking a question. Mahon was so whacked out by either the chemo drugs or the head tumour that he added the phrase “not unnaturally” to his ridiculous finding, which was one of the most crucial.

[Chris2303]

Originally Posted by ampan

[/INDENT]Not even the most deranged of the believers could accept that Captains Collins and Simpson, and First Officers Cassin, Gabriel and Irvine, sat through this briefing, heard the audio stating that the nav track went to McMurdo Station, saw a couple of photos suggesting otherwise, and then took their pick without asking a question. Mahon was so whacked out by either the chemo drugs or the head tumour that he added the phrase “not unnaturally” to his ridiculous finding, which was one of the most crucial.

Where was F/O Lucas then?

[ampan]

F/O Lucas did not attend the briefing. Neither did one of the co-pilots on the other flight, who was given an informal briefing by F/O Gabriel. Presumably, something similar happened with F/O Lucas.


On the flight south F/O Lucas was in the cabin. He heard the captain's PA announcement that they were going to descend using the radar at McMurdo Station so he would not have been concerned when the aircraft started going down, because he would have assumed, wrongly, that their position had been confirmed by the ground radar. (But he would have started to get curious about the way the aircraft was descending, via orbits instead of going straight down.)


0018:05 (GMT) - McMurdo - “… If you have copied our latest weatherwe have a low overcast in the area (at) about 2000 feet and right now we’re having some snow but our visibility is still about 40 miles and if you like I can give you an update on wheare the clear areas are around the local area

0018:11 - Captain - "Clouds come down a bit *** may not be able to** McMurdo. Very hard to tell the difference between the cloud and the ice **
" ** better conditions ** before"

0018:52 - McMurdo - "901 this is the forecaster again it looks like the clearareas around McMurdo are at approximately between 75 to 100 miles to the northwest of us (but) right over McMurdo we have a pretty extensive low overcast over"

0019:39 Captain - "Doesn’t look very promising does it?" Co-pilot - "No" Flight enginner - "No"

0019:56 - McMurdo - "... within a range of 40 miles of McMurdo we have a radar that will, if you desire, we can let you down to one thousand five hundred feet on radar vectors over"

0020:07 - Co-Pilot - "Roger New Zealand 901 that’s acceptable"

0020:17 - Captain -" * that’s what we want *** "

0020:30 Captain on PA - "Gents we’re going initially to eighteen thousand and the cloud cover in the McMurdo area has increased although the visibility is forty kilometres so ground visibility is good and we - - - will be taking advantage of the radar facilities at McMurdo for letdown which should take us below the cloud and give us a view of the McMurdo area, that is always likely to change of course depending on any variations in the weather but we’re hopeful we’ll be able to give you a look at McMurdo today. Thank you."




That couple of minutes from the transcript chops out most of the irrelevant garbage generated by the Mahon team. Sector whiteout? Known about well before Mahon and Vette were born. Known about by anyone who has been skiing and obviously known about by Captain Collins. Air New Zealand’s failure to warn him therefore had no relevance - as was the failure to warn him of the risks to passenger safety of flying the aircraft into the side of a mountain. 40 miles visibility? All that meant was that you could see a black object 40 miles away and Captain Collins clearly knew that, because after getting the ’40 miles’ information he was still going to go someone else. The visibility under the cloud was zero, which he knew full well.

[3 Holer]

Air New Zealand’s failure to warn him therefore had no relevance

What a shame he wasn't warned about the track change the night before. Air New Zealand appeared to believe that to be irrelevant too, that was until the Honourable Justice Peter Mahon entered the stage and proved otherwise.

[ampan]

He was told at the briefing that the track went to McMurdo Station.
The track went to McMurdo Station.

[3 Holer]

He said, she said, who said, what said........................and so it goes on.

Fact is, the track was changed the night before the flight, and NO ONE told the crew.

[ampan]

Why bother? The track was going to the same place that the crew were told it would go.

[wishiwasupthere]

[ampan]

Not while you lot keep this **** up:

Unit Plans




By the way, whose inside that igloo? A penguin? Maybe a Falcon?

[Bull at a Gate]

Please please please can we either have this thread closed or can we leave ampan to carry on all by himself. We all have our views about this and no-one is going to change his or her mind. If we don't reply to ampan he or she has no on-one to argue with.

It's just like any discussion about the pilots' strike. All that happens is that heat and nastiness is generated as old wounds are opened (sorry for the mixed metaphor).

[ampan]

"Please please please can we either have this thread closed orcan we leave ampan to carry on all by himself. "

The latter is a good idea: I won't have to waste time reading posts other than my own.

"We all have our views about thisand no-one is going to change his or her mind."

Why not? If your view is that the captain was blameless then you should seriously consider changing your mind. There are some good second-hand ones on EBay.

"If we don't reply to ampan he or she has no on-one to argue with."

Again, check out Ebay, or get someone else to: You've just done the very thing you recommend not to.

"It's just like any discussion about the pilots' strike. All that happens is that heat and nastiness is generated as old wounds are opened (sorry for the mixed metaphor)."

Don't apologise for something you haven't done: To mix metaphors you need at least two. Again, get onto EBay, or Trade Me if in New Zealand.

[slice]

Anyone hazard a guess as to who ampan might actually be? They are holding on far too tightly just to be a casual troll. AirNZ senior mgmt or flight ops mgmt individual from that time perhaps? Their visceral hatred of McMahon transcends any reasonable criticism you might have of his report or methods used to produce it. In addition, regardless of how much responsibility is sheeted home to Captain Collins and his crew, the behaviour of AirNZ Senior Management post accident was plaintively dishonest and criminal.

[ampan]

I don't hate McMahon. As Australian Prime Ministers go, he was alright, as was the one that drowned. But Rudd was a b*tch.

"plaintively" isn't the word you're looking for - "plainly" might be, but it would be a very bad choice: After Mahon's report was released, numerous senior Air New Zealand managers were suspended while the police investigated the perjury allegations. No-one was even charged, let alone convicted. It should be noted that in New Zealand, as in Australia, anyone can lay a criminal charge, not just the Police. Mahon could have done it, or he could have got one his Law School buddies to do it, such as Bernard Brown, Associate-Professor of Criminal Law. And given that there's no time limit, that fatuous old windbag could waddle down to the Auckland District Court tomorrow and charge, for example, Captain Ross Johnson with perjury. But he wouldn't dare.

Yesterday I asked another stupid tosser to identify an incident of perjury. Nothing. I ask again.

[Dark Knight]

[ampan]

Translation: Can't find any incident of perjury.


The believers have been badly let down by their hero. One might think (said in Whitlam fashion) that the honourable gentleman would have taken the trouble it itemise those parts of the musical score that comprised this orchestrated litany of lies, so called. They may well say God Save the Queen, because nothing will save

[C441]

It's just like any discussion about the pilots' strike.

Pilot's strike?

Which Pilots went on strike?

[Dark Knight]

The real test for a man is how he lives with himself, alone.....

.....The real test for a man is how he lives with himself, alone. Precious few men ever truly allow themselves to be alone and learn real independence and self-reliance.

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

Late in the early morning hours, in a Spanish cafe, an old man drinks brandy.

A young waiter is angry; he wishes that the old man would leave so that he and an older waiter could close the cafe and go home. He insults the deaf old man and is painfully indifferent to the older waiter's feelings when he states that "an old man is a nasty thing." The older waiter, however, realizes that the old man drinking brandy after brandy is not nasty; he is only lonely. No doubt, that's the reason why the old man tried to hang himself last week.

When the old man leaves, the waiters close the cafe. The young waiter leaves for home, and the older waiter walks to an all-night cafe where, thinking about the terrible emptiness of the old man's life which he keenly identifies with, he orders a cup of nada from the waiter. A cup of nothing. The man who takes the order thinks that the old waiter is just another crazy old man; he brings him coffee.

Finishing the coffee, the older waiter begins his trudge homeward. Sleep is hours away. Until then, he must try to cope bravely with the dark nothingness of the night.

What happens in this story? Nothing. What do the characters stand for?

Nothing. What is the plot? Nothing. In fact, because there is no plot, Hemingway enables us to focus absolutely on the story's meaning — that is, in a world characterized by nothingness, what possible action could take place? Likewise, that no character has a name and that there is no characterization emphasize the sterility of this world.

What then is the theme of this story? Nothing, or nothingness. This is exactly what the story is about: nothingness and the steps we take against it. When confronting a world that is meaningless, how is someone who has rejected all of the old values, someone who is now completely alone — how is that person supposed to face this barren world? How is that person able to avoid the darkness of nada, or nothingness?

The setting is a clean Spanish cafe, where two unnamed waiters — one old and one young — are discussing an old man (also unnamed) who comes every night, sits alone, and drinks brandy until past closing time. The young waiter mentions that the old man tried to commit suicide last week. When the old waiter asks why the old man tried to commit suicide, the young waiter tells him that the old man was consumed by despair. "Why?" asks the old waiter. "Nothing," answers the young waiter.

The young waiter reveals that there is absolutely no reason to commit suicide if one has money — which he's heard the old man has. For the young waiter, money solves all problems. For an old, rich man to try to commit suicide over the despair of confronting nothingness is beyond the young waiter's understanding. However, nothingness is the reason that the old man comes to the cafe every night and drinks until he is drunk.

In contrast, the old waiter knows all about despair, for he remains for some time after the lights have gone off at the clean, earlier well-lighted cafe. The old waiter also knows fear. "It was not fear or dread," Hemingway says of the old waiter, "it was a nothing that he knew too well. It was a nothing and a man was nothing too." After stopping for a drink at a cheap, all-night bar, the old waiter knows that he will not sleep until morning, when it is light.

The story emphasizes lateness — late not only in terms of the hour of the morning (it's almost 3 A.M.), but also in terms of the old man's and the old waiter's lives. Most important, however, is the emphasis on religious traditions — specifically, on the Spanish Catholic tradition, because faith in the promises of Catholicism can no longer support or console these old men.

Thus, suicide is inviting.

The old man who drinks brandy at the clean, well-lighted cafe is literally deaf, just as he is metaphorically deaf to the outmoded traditions of Christianity and Christian promises: He cannot hear them any more. He is alone, he is isolated, sitting in the shadow left by nature in the modern, artificial world. Additionally, all of the light remaining is artificial light — in this clean, "well-lighted" cafe.

What is important in the story is not only the condition of nothingness in the world but the way that the old man and the old waiter feel and respond to this nothingness. Thus, Hemingway's real subject matter is the feeling of man's condition of nothingness — and not the nothingness itself. Note, though, that neither of the old men is a passive victim. The old man has his dignity. And when the young waiter says that old men are nasty, the old waiter does not deny the general truth of this statement, but he does come to the defense of the old man by pointing out that this particular old man is clean and that he likes to drink brandy in a clean, well-lighted place. And the old man does leave with dignity. This is not much — this aged scrap of human dignity — in the face of the human condition of nothingness, but, Hemingway is saying, sometimes it is all that we have.

The young waiter wants the old man to go to one of the all-night cafes, but the old waiter objects because he believes in the importance of cleanliness and light. Here, in this well-lighted cafe, the light is a manmade symbol of man's attempt to hold off the darkness — not permanently, but as late as possible. The old man's essential loneliness is less intolerable in light, where there is dignity. The danger of being alone, in darkness, in nothingness, is suicide.

At this point, we can clearly see differences between the old waiter and the young waiter — especially in their antithetical attitudes toward the old man. Initially, however, the comments of both waiters concerning a passing soldier and a young girl seem very much alike; they both seem to be cynical. Yet when the young waiter says of the old man, "I wouldn't want to be that old. An old man is a nasty thing," then we see a clear difference between the two waiters because the old waiter defends the old man: "This old man is clean. He drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk."

The young waiter refuses to serve the old man another drink because he wants to get home to his wife, and, in contrast, the old waiter is resentful of the young waiter's behavior. The old waiter knows what it is like to have to go home in the dark; he himself will not go home to sleep until daybreak — when he will not have to fall asleep in the nothingness of darkness.

Thus, in a sense, the old waiter is partially Hemingway's spokesperson because he points out that the old man leaves the cafe walking with dignity; he affirms the cleanliness of the old man. Unlike the young waiter, who is impetuous and has a wife to go home to, the old waiter is unhurried because he has no one waiting for him; he has no place to go except to his empty room. The old waiter is wiser, more tolerant, and more sensitive than the young waiter.

What Hemingway is saying is this: In order to hold nothingness, darkness, nada at bay, we must have light, cleanliness, order (or discipline), and dignity. If everything else has failed, man must have something to resort to or else the only option is suicide — and that is the ultimate end of everything: "It is all nothing that he knew too well. It was all nothing and a man was nothing. It was only that and light . . . and a certain cleanness and order."

At the end of the story, the old waiter is alone in a cheap bar, a "bodega," which is well-lighted — but not clean. Because he has been contemplating the concept of nada, he says, when the barman asks for his order, "Nada," which prompts the barman to tell him (in Spanish) that he's crazy. Realizing the truth of what he has heard, the old waiter responds with the now-well-known parody of the Lord's Prayer: "Our nada who art in nada . . ."

Left alone, the old waiter is isolated with his knowledge that all is nothing. He is standing at a dirty, unpolished bar. He cannot achieve even the dignity that the old man at the cafe possessed; he also knows that he will not sleep. Perhaps he has insomnia, but we know better: The old waiter cannot sleep because he is afraid of the darkness, afraid of nothingness. Hemingway himself suffered severe bouts of insomnia, feeling alone and deserted in the universe.