I just discovered that when I first 'safely remove' it remounts as noted in post #20 above, but once external HD activity ceases (after the remount), I can use "safely remove" a second time and it spins down and stays off.
I just discovered that when I first 'safely remove' it remounts as noted in post #20 above, but once external HD activity ceases (after the remount), I can use "safely remove" a second time and it spins down and stays off.