The unimportant news thread

[T. D.]

It keeps getting better and better!   

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/20/trump-aide-says-rudy-giuliani-groped-her-on-january-6.html

Is assault by flatus covered by any statutes? https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/rudy-giuliani-fart

BUT OF COURSE IT'S ALL A FAKE NEWS CONSPIRACY!!! PAGING SOROS AND THE CLINTONS!!!

[Todd]

First private US passenger rail line in 100 years is about to link Miami and Orlando at high speed

A Fortress joint.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

First private US passenger rail line in 100 years is about to link Miami and Orlando at high speed

A Fortress joint.

It's nice to see that someone's willing to take the risk to put in some high-speed trains in the US.  I just wish that the Feds and maybe state governments would too; as far as I know, there's only the one run by the Feds (between Boston and Washington).  Cool that it's also running on bio fuel.

PD

[greg]

This is so amusing. Probably how most of these takedowns happen.

After the Russell Brand accusations, why would a government official be so determined to take away his source of income and exposure, basically deplatforming/silencing him, over accusations that haven't even gone through any trial yet? Enough to write letters to these social media platforms to do so?

Considering all he does is bash the government, seems he painted a big target on himself. People should realize that we only live in "free" and "fair" countries in the best scenario, successful manipulation of power will always win in the end- that's how the world works.

[DavidW]

First private US passenger rail line in 100 years is about to link Miami and Orlando at high speed

A Fortress joint.

I look forward to the inevitable article containing "passenger rail" and "Florida man arrested after"...

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Artist ordered to pay museum back $77,000 after submitting 2 blank canvases under the title 'Take the Money and Run'.



https://fortune.com/2023/09/19/artist-jens-haaning-ordered-pay-museum-77000-submitting-2-blank-canvases-title-take-money-run/

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Artist ordered to pay museum back $77,000 after submitting 2 blank canvases under the title 'Take the Money and Run'.



https://fortune.com/2023/09/19/artist-jens-haaning-ordered-pay-museum-77000-submitting-2-blank-canvases-title-take-money-run/

I can't see much of the article, but I remember another poster bringing up this subject with a link to an article.  From what I remember, the money was to be used to recreate a couple of earlier works for a Danish museum...a fairly small one (museum).

If you can't access the Fortune article, here's one that you might be able to:  https://edition.cnn.com/style/jens-haaning-kunsten-take-money-run/index.html

PD

[drogulus]

I look forward to the inevitable article containing "passenger rail" and "Florida man arrested after"...

    It's like "area man" only even more.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I can't see much of the article, but I remember another poster bringing up this subject with a link to an article.  From what I remember, the money was to be used to recreate a couple of earlier works for a Danish museum...a fairly small one (museum).

If you can't access the Fortune article, here's one that you might be able to:  https://edition.cnn.com/style/jens-haaning-kunsten-take-money-run/index.html

PD

The news reminded me of John Cage.

[JBS]

It's nice to see that someone's willing to take the risk to put in some high-speed trains in the US.  I just wish that the Feds and maybe state governments would too; as far as I know, there's only the one run by the Feds (between Boston and Washington).  Cool that it's also running on bio fuel.

PD

This high speed rail route has been a project envisioning state funds for a couple of decades, and in fact got written into the state constitution before being allowed to fade.

I don't know where the Orlando terminus is exactly, but I'll just note the theme parks are naturally on the outside edge of the metropolitan area.
ETA distance from downtown Orlando to Universal Studios is about 10 miles; distance to Walt Disney World is 13-19 miles, depending on the route taken.

Finally, as a local, I want to point out Brightline's record of fatalities, and that it uses the same set of tracks as Amtrak's passenger service, yet Amtrak's service never had anything approaching the rate of deaths Brightline has.

[Todd]

Surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada led to allegations around Sikh killing, official says

The official did not say which ally provided intelligence or give details of what was contained in the communications or how they were obtained.

Gee whiz, I wonder which ally provided the intelligence.

[LKB]

... Finally, as a local, I want to point out Brightline's record of fatalities, and that it uses the same set of tracks as Amtrak's passenger service, yet Amtrak's service never had anything approaching the rate of deaths Brightline has.

That problem reportedly isn't really attributable to the company:

" None of the deaths involving Brightline have been found to be the railroad's fault. Most have been suicides, pedestrians who tried to run across the tracks ahead of a train, or drivers who maneuvered around crossing gates rather than wait. "

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/two-killed-brightline-train-collision-delray-beach/

[JBS]

That problem reportedly isn't really attributable to the company:

" None of the deaths involving Brightline have been found to be the railroad's fault. Most have been suicides, pedestrians who tried to run across the tracks ahead of a train, or drivers who maneuvered around crossing gates rather than wait. "

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/two-killed-brightline-train-collision-delray-beach/

Then why doesn't Amtrak service over the exact same set of tracks have an equally high number of deaths?

After all, if you're going to throw yourself under a train, does it matter what train you're going to throw yourself under?

In fact, the incentive to "beat the train to the crossing" can be much greater with the incredibly long freight trains that come through 2 or 3 times a day on those tracks, and can take five minutes or more to clear through a crossing.

[LKB]

Then why doesn't Amtrak service over the exact same set of tracks have an equally high number of deaths?

After all, if you're going to throw yourself under a train, does it matter what train you're going to throw yourself under?

In fact, the incentive to "beat the train to the crossing" can be much greater with the incredibly long freight trains that come through 2 or 3 times a day on those tracks, and can take five minutes or more to clear through a crossing.

Are the Brightline trains somehow less conspicuous than the normal Amtrak hardware? If the usual acoustic and/or visual cues are diminished or absent, people may be less aware of an approaching train.

[JBS]

Are the Brightline trains somehow less conspicuous than the normal Amtrak hardware? If the usual acoustic and/or visual cues are diminished or absent, people may be less aware of an approaching train.

Not that I know of.
In certain stretches of track the train can't toot its horn, but that applies to all trains and is mostly late at night, when Brightline isn't running.

[T. D.]

Today's chuckle from the windy dye-dripper:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-22/giuliani-owes-236k-and-counting-over-defamation-case-failures

[Spotted Horses]

Are the Brightline trains somehow less conspicuous than the normal Amtrak hardware? If the usual acoustic and/or visual cues are diminished or absent, people may be less aware of an approaching train.

From what little I've read, it certainly seems like Brightline trains run faster than typical Amtrak rail service, which could easily explain a higher rate of people or vehicles failing to get off the tracks as it approaches.

It is a real shame that the U.S. has lost it's passenger rail network. I used to live in Ithaca, NY, and it was common to hear old-timers bemoan the loss of passenger rail service to New York City, leaving the choice between driving or busses, which are perhaps cheaper to sustain but provide an inferior rider experience.

You will hear free-market advocates say that passenger rail service disappeared because it couldn't compete, as though the alternatives prevailed in a free market. Various government entities made large investments in air travel, including construction of airports, transport to and from airports, the air traffic control system, etc. Passenger rail needs a certain level of government support to function efficiently.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

There's some interesting information here:  https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/12/17/brightline-launches-new-technology-to-keep-railways-safe-for-drivers-and-pedestrians/

Note:  this is from late 2021

One of the things from the article:  'Brightline executives are studying traffic data and have already installed two red light cameras at two railroad crossings as part of a pilot program.

In three weeks, 500 violations were caught on camera. On Friday, Local 10 News cameras were rolling at a crossing in North Miami Beach and caught some drivers stopped on the tracks.

"That means that more than 500 have driven around the gates. They stopped on the tracks before they were moving forward," said Robert Gatchell, Brightline Chief of Safety.'



PD

[Todd]

You will hear free-market advocates say that passenger rail service disappeared because it couldn't compete, as though the alternatives prevailed in a free market. Various government entities made large investments in air travel, including construction of airports, transport to and from airports, the air traffic control system, etc. Passenger rail needs a certain level of government support to function efficiently.

Trains suck.  The state should subsidize passenger transportation systems that don't suck.  Of course, I live and work in the West, where passenger train service can never do anything other than suck and suck real bad.  Maybe in the Northeast it makes more sense to have more robust passenger train service.  Voters can demand better passenger train service and they will get it.  Voters do not demand better passenger train service.  I am satisfied with the kick-ass freight train service in the US, which truly is the best in the world.  I want my goodies, and I want them on time.  The US made the correct set of choices regarding railroads. 

[Todd]

From ICN: The Era of Climate Migration Is Here, Leaders of Vulnerable Nations Say

Heads of climate-vulnerable nations gathered on the sidelines of a United Nations climate summit to call for new policies and agreements to manage the millions of people who are being forced from their homes by extreme weather.

Effectively addressing anthropogenic climate change driven migration patterns will require trillions of dollars in transfer payments from high income countries to low- and some middle-income countries, with the policies stretched out over decades.  Therefore, policy solutions will never work, if they are ever even implemented.  High(er) income countries - the US, Europe, Japan, and now China (a unique case in this regard) - are rapacious when it comes to resource extraction and exploitation from low- and some middle-income countries, but parsimonious in the extreme when it comes to providing ameliorative aid to the same countries.  Expect more such articles, with increasing frequency, for decades to come.  Perhaps prepare for limited wars as well, though that seems more likely to occur in the back half of the century, at least when it comes to great power involvement.

The mention of Tuvalu in the article intrigues and represents an extreme case.  Tuvalu will literally be wiped off the map sometime near the end of this century, or early next century, as the ocean swallows it.  Long before that, though, smaller increases in sea level will cause catastrophic damage and force the population to flee before the landmass is fully submerged.  And there's nothing that can be done to prevent this outcome.  It's too late.