The All Things Political Topic - Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you

[Lexx]

15 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

Wut? Because he blocked their strike? Is this derailment caused by their sabotage?

Not caused by the strike, but it's the result of neglect with the train/rail network. Instead of maintaining the system, cost are cuts, people are overworked, everything needs to happen fast, etc. etc. the usual thing. The reason for the strike are those issues, which are still being ignored.

Meanwhile the company heads pay each other a nice salary, and use the rest of the money for stock buybacks. Such is life, I guess.

/Edit: Heh, apparently some track it back to Trump. https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-blame-ohio-train-derailment-1781163?amp=1

Edited February 15, 2023 by Lexx

[Gromnir]

'ccording to axios, the smoke plume lasted for "several hours" on february 6 and were the result o' an intentional burn 'cause o' concerns about possible explosions. so maybe not the tolkienesque hellscape being suggested? 

also, while is way too early for people to be confidently judgey as to causes and blame, the same axios article observes that federal investigators in an admitted abbreviated and quick initial assessment determined a single axle on a single train car were to blame for the derailment, so the lexx parade o' horribles resulting from biden efforts might be a smidge misguided. as usual, is probable best to wait to see if the accident were indeed the result o' a single wonky axle and if negligence were involved in missing the danger. 

however, also, am gonna suggest for anybody actual interested should read the referenced (edit: added link) lever article instead o' being satisfied with newsweek. the ECP issue alone appears multi-layered with a whole lotta blame to go around. 

AP Exclusive: Transport safety rules rolled back under Trump

'ccording to the lever article, the trump admin used bad math to justify their termination o' the ecp requirement. 

 

"But a 2018 investigation from the Associated Press revealed that the Trump Transportation Department had flubbed its calculations. By excluding the most common type of train derailments, the government’s analysis omitted at least $117 million in estimated future damages when it revised the rule’s potential benefits to justify its repeal.

"The agency acknowledged the error and issued a technical correction to its analysis, but said that the expense was still too great to reinstate the ECP brake rule."

the thing is, the biden administration made no move to fix the errors attributed to the trump admin. has been a couple years o' biden and the ecp issue coulda' been reexamined by biden. hasn't happened.

"According to federal investigators, the derailment was caused by a mechanical issue with a rail car axle. Ditmeyer and two other experts told The Lever that ECP braking probably would have reduced the damage caused by the derailment by bringing the train to a halt more quickly and stopping all of the cars simultaneously."

"probably" is a notorious weasel-word but in the absence o' actual facts is no doubt warranted. that said, ecp sounds like a no-brainer particular for trains carrying hazardous materials. unfortunate, the hazardous designation has been almost utter emasculated and the last two administrations both dropped the ball on ecp regardless. 

the article from lever is not short but it does a better than fair job o' presenting issues. norfolk southern and other carriers spent many millions of dollars lobbying in an effort to fight common sense safety measures, which is unfortunate but hardly a surprise from corporate entities in the business o' making money. is the reason why every american school kid learns 'bout the triangle shirtwaist fire, though upton sinclair's the jungle remains on too few high school required reading lists.  worse, at least a couple Presidential administrations failed to address what looks in hindsight to be multiple potential safety issues at least tangential related to the ohio derailment. same old same old.

edit: the ohio train derailment story we have been following

Charges dismissed against NewsNation reporter who was arrested at East Palestine press conference

"DeWine said Wednesday on “CNN This Morning” he has “never had a problem” during any of the news conferences he’s held during his tenure as governor.

"“This reporter who was reporting live from the back of the room never should have been asked to stop, never should have been told to be quiet,” the Republican governor told CNN’s Don Lemon and Kaitlan Collins. “That was a big, big mistake. And you know, the person who did that, I’ve explained to them and I’m sure that he’ll never, never do that again.”"

dewine is purposeful misrepresenting. major general john harris o' the ohio national guard instigated the incident, but were not mere asking the reporter to be quiet. also, there were multiple law enforcement fails after the general were no longer involved. 'course the law were on the side o' the reporter, so...

https://apnews.com/article/john-harris-ohio-entertainment-7fc5a99bef73ffccce2597760d63e6cb

https://vimeo.com/user155050674/review/797528737/06a0b2702b

another video o' john harris

...

am knowing is petty, but we cannot help but observe fran dewine's not so flattering dress is absolute screaming for a john waters critique.

HA! Good Fun!

Edited February 15, 2023 by Gromnir

[BruceVC]

I watched an interesting interview about how there is now an overreaction in the US, created by political pressure, on the Biden administration to down any object over US airspace. With the reality being thousands of “unidentified aerial phenomena,” or UAPs fly over all countries and they dont need to be shot down because they  harmless

Here is link that discusses this, to quote

"The seeming proliferation of suspicious airborne objects could simply stem at least partly from focused attention on what the US government now refers to as “unidentified aerial phenomena,” or UAPs — which have long been observed by pilots, military personnel and civilians, according to reports. In recent days, the US also has sought to enhance its radars and atmospheric trackers to more closely monitor the nation’s airspace after the incident with the Chinese balloon.Experts warn the move could result in a rash of false alarms about the objects. "

https://nypost.com/2023/02/14/why-the-sudden-surge-in-ufo-sightings-after-chinese-balloon-saga/

 

 

 

[InsaneCommander]

On 2/14/2023 at 9:40 PM, Fire Walk with KP said:

I wasn't joking. Skynet is going to be an actual net in the sky. How do you hold the net up? Balloons.

It could be a good idea. Perhaps AI would be safer far away from us?

ChatGPT in Microsoft Bing threatens user as AI seems to be losing it

 

[ComradeYellow]

https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/02/17/china-spy-balloon-history-explainer/

Looks like the balloons were in fact civilian balloons from the private sector and not tied to any government spy agency.  Too bad, I mean, I kinda had a feeling this was the case, just as the Chinese government clarified right away, but I dunno, I do like juicy story and wanted to believe.

[BruceVC]

10 hours ago, ComradeYellow said:

https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/02/17/china-spy-balloon-history-explainer/

Looks like the balloons were in fact civilian balloons from the private sector and not tied to any government spy agency.  Too bad, I mean, I kinda had a feeling this was the case, just as the Chinese government clarified right away, but I dunno, I do like juicy story and wanted to believe.

Nah, its stinking Commie subversive technology 

But I do believe strong winds blew the balloon over the US but then you can see a deliberate control of its flight path over places like Montana. So the Chinese took advantage of where the balloon ended up over the US

 

 

[Gorth]

A review of the new Australian governments climate policy...

 

[BruceVC]

21 hours ago, Gorth said:

A review of the new Australian governments climate policy...

 

Hilarious as usual, great S&M impersonation...she is a natural 

[Gorth]

In Soviet England, food rationing is about to be reintroduced (no kidding)

 

[Zoraptor]

Ah yes, the British supermarket with its huge section dedicated to tomatoes, in winter. I know the shortages are a bit more... dramatic than just tomatoesbut last time I was in the UK the dichotomy between climate change rhetoric and people wanting year round luxury foodstuffs like strawberries and tomatoes- which are ludicrously energy inefficient out of season, especially strawberries that don't even last more than a few days- was pretty jarring.

[BruceVC]

5 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

Ah yes, the British supermarket with its huge section dedicated to tomatoes, in winter. I know the shortages are a bit more... dramatic than just tomatoesbut last time I was in the UK the dichotomy between climate change rhetoric and people wanting year round luxury foodstuffs like strawberries and tomatoes- which are ludicrously energy inefficient out of season, especially strawberries that don't even last more than a few days- was pretty jarring.

Yes I agree, the way my UK family complain about " food shortages " is classic first world privilege  outrage. My one cousin literally said on WhatsApp " we couldnt get imported  German sausages for 3 days at the local deli, the country is collapsing  " 

@Gorth

I appreciate the concern but no need to worry, UK citizens wont freeze and starve to death. The British become very resolute in time of hardship. Remember the Blitz 

Edited February 28, 2023 by BruceVC

[BruceVC]

https://news.yahoo.com/israelis-protest-judicial-reform-ninth-191345712.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall 

Ninth week of anti-government  protests around the imprudent judicial reforms

A couple of observations

• Israel is the only real Democracy in the region and this legislation undermines this and makes Israel more like its neighbours who dont respect or care about the independence of the judiciary
• the conspiracy theory that sometimes gets peddled that Jews all think the same and have the same agenda is something I have never believed or experienced  and these protests are just another example of ths
• this proposed legislation is egregious and divisive and will continue to create huge social and political issues in Israel if its implemented

[Lexx]

Quote

Judicial reform is a cornerstone of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's latest administration, an alliance with ultra-Orthodox and extreme-right parties which took office in late December.

Right-wingers right-winging, I'm shocked (not really). This is why you can never make any concessions to nazis.

Edited March 5, 2023 by Lexx

[BruceVC]

2 hours ago, Lexx said:

Right-wingers right-winging, I'm shocked (not really). This is why you can never make any concessions to nazis.

I think the  broader issue is any government, left or right, that undermines its Constitutional values and weakens its Democratic systems. Look at Cuba and Venezuela, left-wing governments and countries are a Democratic mess  

[Lexx]

Sure, but we have a right-wing problem, not a left-wing problem. Everyone who thinks our governments are going to fall into left-wing extremism in the next 10 years is a moron.

Edited March 5, 2023 by Lexx

[Gorth]

Speaking of right wing governments… Netanyahu is on trial for corruption, nothing new there. Like his brother in spirit Trump, he wants to bend the rules and take direct control of the judiciary. No surprise there either. What is surprising is the Israeli airforce not agreeing. Reservists are going on “strike” to protest the changes. I guess losing the support of the IDF is not good for wannabe totalitarians?

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/6/israel-air-force-reservists-to-skip-training-in-netanyahu-protest

[Malcador]

I guess the last card he'll play is to bomb Iran.

[BruceVC]

3 hours ago, Malcador said:

I guess the last card he'll play is to bomb Iran.

Well the hardliners in Iran are a huge problem and they continuing to enrich uranium. Israel will act unilaterally to stop them getting nukes...the reality is Iran cant be allowed to get nukes, it will destabilize the ME horribly

The interesting part of this potential conflict will be if Biden is in control I cant see the US getting directly involved. And Iran is no pushover, I would argue they  the second strongest military power in the ME after Israel. So the Israelis will suffer losses if they attack Iran. Interesting times 

 

 

 

[BruceVC]

5 minutes ago, xzar_monty said:

There are a few questions here.

1) It is indeed true that it is not possible to talk constructively with some people, conspiracy theorists being an excellent example. Whatever you say to a paranoid person can and will be interpreted in such a way as to reinforce the paranoia. I don't know of any good solution to this.

2) From the fact that it's not possible to talk the other side, it does not follow that "into the sun they go". This kind of thinking is itself problematic and quite naive, too, in my opinion. Interestingly, this kind of either-or approach seems to be very common, but it's quite often just bad thinking.

3) When you think that you are perfectly in the right about a certain group of people, it is good to keep in mind that that group of people almost certainly thinks they are perfectly in the right about you or the world-view you represent. That's a bit of a problem, isn't it? Not much chance of things changing with that kind of thinking.

4) Martin Luther King's approach in the American South provides a good example of what can be done even in the direst of circumstances. And yes, I know how it ended with him. I am no orator nor much of a peace-maker, but there's an inspiring example of how to meet someone you regard as your enemy. Nelson Mandela might be another, simply in the sense that there have actually been people who have not resorted to vitriol and have consequently managed to accomplish some rather good things.

I like you Monty, you genuinely believe what you post and I respect that . But  you definitely not my alt-account ..sorry to disappoint you @Sarex

[BruceVC]

We must also condemn comments from @PK htiw klaw eriF who thinks its a good idea for whole of states like Florida to vanish. Condemning millions of people to death because we dont agree with their political views seems unnecessarily belligerent. Im sure its not what they teach people at liberal and Democratic political schools in the US...but I might be wrong?

[Lexx]

1 hour ago, xzar_monty said:

1) It is indeed true that it is not possible to talk constructively with some people, conspiracy theorists being an excellent example. Whatever you say to a paranoid person can and will be interpreted in such a way as to reinforce the paranoia. I don't know of any good solution to this.

It's not even about the generic people out on the street. Our dear leaders do not care what you think or say, they will do whatever makes the money in their pockets grow. This is the core issue here, imo. They are the ones who keep firing up those conflicts to keep on grifting. The way I see it, shoot them into the sun, and the issue should resolve itself over time.

And if we can not shoot them into the sun, who else can we? Elon Musk?!

Edited March 7, 2023 by Lexx

[xzar_monty]

47 minutes ago, Lexx said:

It's not even about the generic people out on the street. Our dear leaders do not care what you think or say, they will do whatever makes the money in their pockets grow. This is the core issue here, imo. They are the ones who keep firing up those conflicts to keep on grifting. The way I see it, shoot them into the sun, and the issue should resolve itself over time.

It's a complex issue indeed because it involves some central characteristics of humanity as such, and "the leaders" are only a symptom. To put it in practical terms: if those leaders were shot into the sun, what do you think would happen? My bet would be on other leaders coming in to take their place but the core problems not changing much, if at all.

Erich Fromm has a book called The Fear of Freedom. One thing that clearly appears to exist is the fact that many people prefer other people to either make their choices for them, or provide them with a simple way of seeing the world, and sometimes both, because personal responsibility is such a frightening burden. So one reason you have your Rupert Murdochs and such is that there is tremendous demand for them -- it's not the only reason, but it is one reason.

[Gorth]

2 hours ago, BruceVC said:

We must also condemn comments from @PK htiw klaw eriF who thinks its a good idea for whole of states like Florida to vanish. Condemning millions of people to death because we dont agree with their political views seems unnecessarily belligerent. Im sure its not what they teach people at liberal and Democratic political schools in the US...but I might be wrong?

Most of them are ageing German tourists anyway, aren't they (minus the odd Florida Man)?

A slow news day when the only occurrence of the word Ukraine on the BBC front page is in an article on rehabilitation of wounded soldiers and Al Jazeeras main story is the growing love affair between Russia and China.

[Malcador]

3 hours ago, Sarex said:

Strange considering so much is happening right now.

Would have thought the POW getting executed would have been all over the news.

[kanisatha]

16 hours ago, Lexx said:

But as I said earlier, we currently do not have a left-wing extremism problem here in the west.

LOL. Not so.