So glad we are not forgotten!
I just finished watching Jon Stewart's podcast regarding the rail disaster in E.Palestine, Ohio. He had 2 journalists and a member of a railroad union. I was never aware that the brake systems on these freight trains were from the Civil War Era - that the Obama administration had passed some regulatory cha…
I just finished watching Jon Stewart's podcast regarding the rail disaster in E.Palestine, Ohio. He had 2 journalists and a member of a railroad union. I was never aware that the brake systems on these freight trains were from the Civil War Era - that the Obama administration had passed some regulatory changes & then of course the next administration did away with them! There was much to learn on this podcast & it should be PUBLIC knowledge - you know - from our "media"? Not much said about this - and not much from Biden's administration either - hopefully they are only waiting for the NTSB's inspection to be concluded - hopefully. I must say the whole push to settle the railroad strike - without making any effort to give sick days to workers OR to increase the safety of those same workers never seemed quite kosher. Then there is the amount of profit & stock buybacks the rail industry somehow managed! Aint capitalism grand?
the cover story on the current issue of "In These Times" is "Is it Time to Nationalize the Railroads?" and this obviously came out BEFORE the accident. god knows the government would do a better job, and I don't say that lightly. we have the worst trains in the world, which is why most people don't take them seriously for long trips.
along the same lines, how has de-regulating the airlines worked out for us?
when I heard that the train had 150 cars, THAT struck me as being the craziest thing about this. I can't even CONCEIVE of a train that long.
I've seen them. And everyone in LA not in the 310 has cursed them when one stops as they come tracking through LA to keep their right of way active. Talk about traffic jams to end all!
David, be sure to watch Jon Stewarts podcast & listen to what the rail worker says about the safety issues alone, plus cutting the work force. I mean really, refusing the railworkers SICK time? That alone should have raised some flags before settling this strike. But this accident - with the explosion then venting that chemical into the air, plus the water runoff!!! Why havent there been any news articles about this? Or if there have been - where?
I've seen a number of reports on the derailment and effects of the toxic chemicals, mostly on CNN & MSNBC but also on ABC Nightly News. I also, somewhere, did read (as mentioned by a commenter above) that the railroads have not followed through on upgrading the train braking systems, upgrades legislated under Obama but which the TFG administration didn't enforce.
The owners are responsible. I don't want the name of the company. I want the names of the owners and the board of directors. They should be sent to Russia. They would fit right in. They are unAmerican.
He always does a bang-up job - must be doing lots of research plus having great guests. I learn as much if not more listening to him than I do to news "commentators".
I think I saw some pretty long trains when I rode my bicycle across the country. It seems to me there was one where the cars kept coming and coming. But these memories are very vague. I was alot more aware of all the garter snakes that sunned themselves on the road in North Dakota--and the one green snake I saw, and the never ending agricultural fields, and the pain in my ass from that GD seat that I bought just before the trip. (It was finally broken in with two days left to go in the trip. When I realized that I took off the two sponges that I'd jerry-rigged to the seat in North Dakota, and had kept watered because without the H2O they'd squash down like crepes, and I'd start hurting again.)
I, too, missed Jon Stewart's podcast. I didn't know we had freight trains running that had brakes from the Civil War. That was a long time ago, when my friend Paul's great great grandfather was a railroad magnate. Facts like this make you feel like you can touch the distant past--reminds me of hearing on NPR 6-7 years ago that there were still 30-odd Americans who had fathers who'd fought in the Civil War, including one who'd met Lincoln. Those Civil War era brakes may have been durable, but I think it's time to put new brakes on those trains. The old brakes can go to the Smithsonian, and I'll happily have a look at them next time I'm in DC.
We know exactly who that creep is, may he shortly be in prison, or barring that, dead--unless he is needed in the world at large to prevent the GOP from winning anything next year.
To be honest - I dont really watch much news - other than seeing the blurbs on MSN. So I'm to blame for not paying more attention, I guess. However, I find I get the gist of things from Colbert & Stewart!! And then theres LFAA!
I"ve watched nearly 20 minutes of Stewart on this. 1) it's appalling. And 2) this is a world that I'm not very familiar with, but these people in this town and the train workers are treated terribly.
So glad we are not forgotten!
I just finished watching Jon Stewart's podcast regarding the rail disaster in E.Palestine, Ohio. He had 2 journalists and a member of a railroad union. I was never aware that the brake systems on these freight trains were from the Civil War Era - that the Obama administration had passed some regulatory changes & then of course the next administration did away with them! There was much to learn on this podcast & it should be PUBLIC knowledge - you know - from our "media"? Not much said about this - and not much from Biden's administration either - hopefully they are only waiting for the NTSB's inspection to be concluded - hopefully. I must say the whole push to settle the railroad strike - without making any effort to give sick days to workers OR to increase the safety of those same workers never seemed quite kosher. Then there is the amount of profit & stock buybacks the rail industry somehow managed! Aint capitalism grand?
the cover story on the current issue of "In These Times" is "Is it Time to Nationalize the Railroads?" and this obviously came out BEFORE the accident. god knows the government would do a better job, and I don't say that lightly. we have the worst trains in the world, which is why most people don't take them seriously for long trips.
along the same lines, how has de-regulating the airlines worked out for us?
when I heard that the train had 150 cars, THAT struck me as being the craziest thing about this. I can't even CONCEIVE of a train that long.
I've seen them. And everyone in LA not in the 310 has cursed them when one stops as they come tracking through LA to keep their right of way active. Talk about traffic jams to end all!
David, be sure to watch Jon Stewarts podcast & listen to what the rail worker says about the safety issues alone, plus cutting the work force. I mean really, refusing the railworkers SICK time? That alone should have raised some flags before settling this strike. But this accident - with the explosion then venting that chemical into the air, plus the water runoff!!! Why havent there been any news articles about this? Or if there have been - where?
I've seen a number of reports on the derailment and effects of the toxic chemicals, mostly on CNN & MSNBC but also on ABC Nightly News. I also, somewhere, did read (as mentioned by a commenter above) that the railroads have not followed through on upgrading the train braking systems, upgrades legislated under Obama but which the TFG administration didn't enforce.
The owners are responsible. I don't want the name of the company. I want the names of the owners and the board of directors. They should be sent to Russia. They would fit right in. They are unAmerican.
John Stewart's terrific podcast on the train derailment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8Jrk6fvmQ8
John Stewart's podcast on the derailment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8Jrk6fvmQ8
Heres an article writing about the people who live in the area.
https://www.alternet.org/ohio-train-derailment/?utm_source=123456&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=13112
Thanks Maggie!
He always does a bang-up job - must be doing lots of research plus having great guests. I learn as much if not more listening to him than I do to news "commentators".
I think I saw some pretty long trains when I rode my bicycle across the country. It seems to me there was one where the cars kept coming and coming. But these memories are very vague. I was alot more aware of all the garter snakes that sunned themselves on the road in North Dakota--and the one green snake I saw, and the never ending agricultural fields, and the pain in my ass from that GD seat that I bought just before the trip. (It was finally broken in with two days left to go in the trip. When I realized that I took off the two sponges that I'd jerry-rigged to the seat in North Dakota, and had kept watered because without the H2O they'd squash down like crepes, and I'd start hurting again.)
I, too, missed Jon Stewart's podcast. I didn't know we had freight trains running that had brakes from the Civil War. That was a long time ago, when my friend Paul's great great grandfather was a railroad magnate. Facts like this make you feel like you can touch the distant past--reminds me of hearing on NPR 6-7 years ago that there were still 30-odd Americans who had fathers who'd fought in the Civil War, including one who'd met Lincoln. Those Civil War era brakes may have been durable, but I think it's time to put new brakes on those trains. The old brakes can go to the Smithsonian, and I'll happily have a look at them next time I'm in DC.
One of the things the Obama administration did was update the regulations to 1990!! But then you know who came along & un-did it.
We know exactly who that creep is, may he shortly be in prison, or barring that, dead--unless he is needed in the world at large to prevent the GOP from winning anything next year.
https://www.nytimes.com/article/ohio-train-derailment.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/02/12/east-palestine-ohio-derailment-residents/
There are plenty more articles.
To be honest - I dont really watch much news - other than seeing the blurbs on MSN. So I'm to blame for not paying more attention, I guess. However, I find I get the gist of things from Colbert & Stewart!! And then theres LFAA!
I"ve watched nearly 20 minutes of Stewart on this. 1) it's appalling. And 2) this is a world that I'm not very familiar with, but these people in this town and the train workers are treated terribly.
I think a lot of us arent familiar with whats going on in these small towns - many that have lost their way in the current world.