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What's a fiscal cliff? Let Monty explain...

Mr Burns takes a few minutes to explain the upcoming fiscal cliff.

PERHAPS UNSURPRISINGLY, Monty Burns is not best pleased with the result of this years US elections.

And he’s taken some time to explain the “upcoming fiscal cliff”…

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Our Explainer articles bring context and explanations in plain language to help make sense of complex issues. We're asking readers like you to support us so we can continue to provide helpful context to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.

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14 Comments
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    Mute Philip McLoughlin
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:04 AM

    He is entitled to take this coarse of action, if it was my son I’d want to find out the truth aswell, the airline industry has a vested interest here and it suits the multitude to blame this on a sole individual.

    I’m not sayin he didn’t do it either though, I’d say 95% he did.

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    Mute Reg
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:10 AM

    @Philip McLoughlin: I think the father is looking for alternative facts.

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    Mute Les Boyd
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:26 AM

    @Philip McLoughlin: agree 100% having seen the film sully and how the aviation industry tried to blame the pilot for compo reasons it wouldn’t suprise me

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    Mute Fank Pulman
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:34 AM

    @Les Boyd: Yes Les – that factual move Sully was an eye-opener. The initial findings were completely wrong – and the pilot (who luckily survived the incident) has to spend a long time arguing his case, even though there were no casualties. Because of his good judgement!

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    Mute Mick B
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    Mar 24th 2017, 12:45 PM

    @Les Boyd: In the film about Sully the investigation wasn’t accurately portrayed. In fact they found that landing at an airport wasn’t guaranteed in the real investigation. Because of this, Sully requested that the names of the investigators in the film were changed from the real names.

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    Mute SteoG
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    Mar 24th 2017, 5:16 PM

    @Fank Pulman: Hollywood is a great source of fantasy & drama nothing more. I saw a film once where……. doesn’t do much for credibility.

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    Mute Fank Pulman
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    Mar 24th 2017, 5:20 PM

    @SteoG: This was a virtual documentary – where the hearings, testimony and statements were a matter of public records. Most on US TV – not a place for porkies…

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    Mute Fank Pulman
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    Mar 24th 2017, 5:29 PM

    @SteoG: Did you see it?

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    Mute SteoG
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:18 PM

    @Fank Pulman: If you mean the film drama “Sully” starring Tom Hanks and directed by Clint Eastwood, yes I did see it. It is still a drama where artistic licence is used to stir the emotions of the audience. I knew the man was a hero without seeing it. Still you cannot use it as an example, it is secondhand information manipulated by the master artist Eastwood. Great movie. Drama based on fact is still fantasy.

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    Mute Mick Tobin
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:10 AM

    Of course a carbon monoxide leak is possible in theory, but the flight data apparently points to a deliberate downing, i.e. there were inputs to the controls which lead investigators to eliminate such a theory of incapacitation, which was surely on the table at some point.

    I feel sorry for the father, who must be as heartbroken as the other families, or even more so because of this painful burden which he now seems to painfully wish to discard of.

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    Mute Colonel Buckshot
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    Mar 24th 2017, 8:10 PM

    @Mick Tobin: One another thing to consider is that he did a test run of setting the autopilot to a controlled descent on the outbound flight while the captain went to the toilet.

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    Mute David Hearne
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:38 AM

    I can understand that the father does not want to accept the fact that his son killed some many ppl but he could make his countercase while trying to respect the families of the dead. I don’t see how is theory can stand up to any logic. We know the co pilot was in control. We know he activated the door override then the captain went to the toilet making it impossible for anyone else to get back into the cockpit. He had no reason to activate it as there is a number code on the door stopping anyone other then the crew getting into the cockpit. He then put the plane into a controlled descent into a mountain. If he had been overcome by fumes he would have passed out. He had passed out on the controls i can’t see the plane making a slow descent in such a controlled manner.

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    Mute Eye_c_u
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:48 AM

    Denial is a powerful thing. One has to feel sorry for them too to a point. But when they start this cracking they need a stern reality check because the shock was so big it didn’t sink in. Look at any court case for murder the family of the murderer talk about the injustice their son could never do such a thing blah blah blah. Simple denial.

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    Mute Fank Pulman
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    Mar 24th 2017, 10:00 AM

    @Eye_c_u: Tim van Beveren – an aviation expert/pilot – will present new information and views, with the farther. To ignore this would be wrong.

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    Mute Eye_c_u
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    Mar 24th 2017, 10:21 AM

    Expert is such a subjective term. Ever hear of a Dr Andrew Wakefield? He was supposedly an expert too.

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    Mute Geoff
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    Mar 24th 2017, 4:13 PM

    @Fank Pulman: He’s a journalist, not an aviation expert/pilot.

    The father can’t even accept the fact that his son was suicidal despite a documented medical history of treatment for suicidal tendencies and depression. His grief and denial is at least understandable, it sounds like he might be getting taken advantage of.

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    Mute Fank Pulman
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    Mar 24th 2017, 5:00 PM

    @Geoff: A pilot he is – Google is your friend!

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    Mute Jason Mcginn
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:30 AM

    If it was carbon monoxide poisoning then who locked the Cockpit door?? Clutching at straws methinks..

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    Mute Mick Tobin
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:58 AM

    Precisely, that too. Incidentally when I learnt of this crash and the locked door, I thought to myself, that’s indirectly another 149 victims of 9/11… :(

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    Mute B9xiRspG
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    Mar 24th 2017, 10:08 AM

    @Jason Mcginn: Are not cockpit doors locked by the pilot during flights to prevent anyone of entering and hijacking the plane?

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    Mute Geoff
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    Mar 24th 2017, 4:21 PM

    @B9xiRspG: There’s an override code to open it from the outside which had to be manually locked out from inside the cockpit (that’s the anti hijacking precaution).

    In addition, Lubitz researched suicide methods and cockpit door security prior to the flight. He practised the control inputs he used to crash the plane on a previous leg of the flight. Claims that it was essentially an accident caused by a person with carbon monoxide poisoning are simply not credible.

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    Mute Richard Moloney
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    Mar 24th 2017, 8:49 AM

    This monster killed himself and took 149 innocent souls with him.

    His parents should realise this and never defend his horrible actions.

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    Mute Tommy
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    Mar 24th 2017, 8:55 AM

    @Richard Moloney:
    You obviously know him better than his own father.

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    Mute Reg
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:08 AM

    @Tommy: His father needs a reality check. His crass remarks and actions are no comfort to the 150 other vistims.

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    Mute Fank Pulman
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:11 AM

    @Tommy: ‘presumably suicidal behaviour’ – said the prosecutor. as there is no tangible/forensic proof, doubts must exist – and the family has the right to bring up more information.

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    Mute Jon Mackey
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:13 AM

    @Richard Moloney: LMAO at you

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    Mute Richard Moloney
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:21 AM

    @Jon Mackey: The father is delusion at best thinking carbon monoxide is the reason why he passed out and 149 others didn’t. He may want to defend his son, but the reality is the investigation found no other possibilities than him killing 149 people.
    Have a look at the air crash investigation findings: The collision with the ground was due to the deliberate and planned action of the co-pilot who decided to commit suicide while alone in the cockpit. The process for medical certification of pilots, in particular self-reporting in case of decrease in medical fitness between two periodic medical evaluations, did not succeed in preventing the co-pilot, who was experiencing mental disorder with psychotic symptoms, from exercising the privilege of his licence.

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    Mute Fank Pulman
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:27 AM

    @Richard Moloney: Presumably suicidal behaviour – indicates supposition, and a number of similar investigations have made incorrect conclusion in the past. Has the father not got the right to make his points/raise his doubts?

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    Mute Richard Moloney
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:34 AM

    @Fank Pulman: Of course his father has his right to defend his son.
    But have a look through the crash report. He had a bad state of mental illness and his doctor declared him “unfit to work”. He hind it as most as he could from Lufthansa about his mental illnesses and as a result killed himself and another 149 people.

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    Mute Fank Pulman
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:42 AM

    @Richard Moloney: See my post about Sully – a movie about a plane being forced to land in a river. All factual – and, if you watch it, you’ll see the allegations about an experienced/capable pilot which precipitated a completely erroneous initial conclusion.

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    Mute Eye_c_u
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    Mar 24th 2017, 10:18 AM

    Well you guys do know sully the movie is not real and the director takes some liberties to make the story more interesting. After the flight it was known he done a great job. Had they died it still wouldn’t be blamed on him. But as he lived they have to question his account to be a million percent sure. Ever go to court? Even the person who was right gets a grilling.

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    Mute Fank Pulman
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    Mar 24th 2017, 10:20 AM

    @Eye_c_u: But, as you know (in real life and the movie), the initial conclusion was wrong.

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    Mute Tommy
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    Mar 24th 2017, 11:45 AM

    @Richard Moloney:
    Why are you labelling him a monster?

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    Mute Zx5vZulB
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:42 AM

    The man has every right to establish the facts. If you think Irish governments are all about protecting institutions over the rights of the individual, you ain’t seen nothing like the airline industry protecting its own interests at the expense of any individual.

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    Mute Greg Blake
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    Mar 24th 2017, 10:18 AM

    The conclusions can only point to the most likely scenario. It certainly looks like he did this deliberately, his medical history supports that. I don’t remember any mention of what type of carbon monoxide monitoring was involved, but surely investigators would have looked at and discounted that possibility.
    I do agree that vested interests will always try to influence the conclusions and keep pointing at the individual, but a complete coverup, no, that would be impossible to organise and maintain over time. His dad may be acting out of pain and is being fed on conspiracy theory , but he is still entitled to delve as deeply as possible into other proposals.

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    Mute Colm Quigley
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    Mar 24th 2017, 10:31 AM

    Carbon monoxide poisoning? What a load of bull. From where does this gas from ? Anyone who knows anything about turbine engines and air conditioning systems on the a320 knows this is impossible. This guy murdered 149 innocent people and German wings let this lunatic alone in the flight deck.

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    Mute cryptoskitzo
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    Mar 24th 2017, 9:39 AM

    Planes are being hacked too people, maybe the Russians did it.

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    Mute William Grogan
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    Mar 24th 2017, 3:58 PM

    @cryptoskitzo: CTN.

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    Mute Max Johnson Powers
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    Mar 24th 2017, 5:32 PM

    If he is correct and the suicide story is a cover up then that is disgusting.

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    Mute Gerard Henry
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    Mar 25th 2017, 1:11 PM

    The father just doesn’t want to accept that his son could do this evil act .its a bitter pill to swallow and his family must be tarnished in Germany . He defiantly killed everyone on board there’s no doubt about that bar all the investigators are liars

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