In The News Today...

Quote: beachbumbabs

Maiden run on that new route. Track belongs to a freight rail out there, didn't catch the company name. There is positive control on the track.
.

Positive Control ????
30 mph zone. Actual speed 80 mph.

Positive Control??? Signals were fine, track was clear. How does an engineer do 80 in a 30 zone?

EDIT: it appears the track is equipped with positive control but the device was not activated in the locomotive./EDIT.

Train left Seattle bound for Portland with twelve cars and two engines, one in front and one in the rear. Passengers report cars were noticeably swaying. Front engine and all cars derailed but rear engine remained on the track. All speed data was obtained from recorder on the rear engine. Engineer in front engine used radio fairly promptly to report incident.

I sure hope this doesn't come down to a pair of eyeglasses or something where a 30 looked like an 80.

And I wonder how that guy at the back engine or the conductor could have been so inattentive. I mean there is quite a difference between 30 and 80 and it takes time to get there and time to slow down to it. Asleep at the switch or just asleep at the throttle?

EDIT: It appears the track was part of a 180 million project whose sole purpose was to save six minutes travel time by allowing passenger trains to use a trackbed that would not subject them to being side tracked by oil or coal carrying freight trains on the regular tracks. Spending 180MM to save six minutes?? /EDIT

Mural in Australian town that was covered up after the conviction of Rolf Harris on spurious trumped up charges in the UK filed by compensation seeking women, is now the subject of demands that the mural be destroyed.

Interesting reading but I just happened to notice that Google News had pointed me to the item in InfoSurHoy a fake news outlet run by the US Military Special Operations Command.

Why does Google link to such a site particularly since it is aimed at South America and has nothing whatsoever to do with either Australia or the UK? The entire story is "padding" for a site supposedly located in Chicago and supposedly run by civilians.

Amtrak.

It seems Positive Control requires sensors to be installed along the right of way and those were not scheduled to be installed for several months.

Local communities expected the accident to take place at any of the several grade crossings in the area.

No idea why 200MM would be spent when maximum savings was six minutes per train.

Quote: Fleastiff

No idea why 200MM would be spent when maximum savings was six minutes per train.

Because Amtrak is a money-laundering system. How much has it lost since it was formed?

Bullet proof glass has been determined to be racist in Philly;

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/12/the_racist_subtext_of_phillys_ban_on_convenience_store_protective_glass_barriers.html#ixzz51dzU0BkE

Quote: petroglyph

Bullet proof glass has been determined to be racist in Philly;

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/12/the_racist_subtext_of_phillys_ban_on_convenience_store_protective_glass_barriers.html#ixzz51dzU0BkE

"Despite strong opposition from Asian American beer deli owners and their supporters, Philadelphia City Council voted, 14-3,"

How many blacks are on the council, I
wonder. You think there is B/W prejudice?
The Asians I knew in Calif and Hawaii
HATED blacks with a passion. If they
take these barriers down, it will put the
stores out of business. Oh well.

Quote: Evenbob

How many blacks are on the council, I
wonder. You think there is B/W prejudice?
The Asians I knew in Calif and Hawaii
HATED blacks with a passion. If they
take these barriers down, it will put the
stores out of business. Oh well.

http://phlcouncil.com/council-members/ Cindy Bass is the one who proposed it.

Quote: petroglyph

http://phlcouncil.com/council-members/ Cindy Bass is the one who proposed it.

So 9 of the 14 are black, big surprise.
What they're saying is, if I'm Black, I
want the option of being able to rob
this store if I want to. They act like
it's only Blacks who the glass effects,
when it's actually everybody. The
glass doesn't discriminate.

The Asians are hated because they are arrogant behind their bullet proof glass and only hire family members.
The Blacks are hated because they steal.

The stores are officially viewed as engaging in some bad activity of selling beer but it seems they do not force Blacks to come in and buy the beer.

So Asians will take down their barriers but openly don gun holsters. this will improve community safety.

Quote: Fleastiff

The Blacks are hated because they steal.

The Asians I knew hated Blacks because
they considered them subhuman, like
the US did after the Civil War. Of course,
Whites are not highly thought of either
in most Asian countries.