"USA ATC has abandoned the nautical mile (good)"
No, that's not good; the reason for using the nautical mile in navigation is that it is one minute of longitude and so can be read directly off a chart using calipers from the North-South axis. So there are 180 x 60 = 10,800 nm on a great circle connecting the poles. No matter where in the world you are this is a standard; it is a basic navigational unit and is not superseded by GPS. A GPS does not care what units you use, whether km, statute or nautical miles - pushing a button does the conversion and it changes nothing else!
The only reason it is called "nautical" is historical, as it was defined before air travel was conceived.
Basic pilot training (PPL etc) includes learning the realtionship between, and how to convert between, nautical and statute - and if a fully trained and highly paid commercial pilot can't do that we are all doomed!
Nigel
