I'm sure we all send our sympathies and condolences to the Jacobs' family on their loss of Rachel in the Amtrak train disaster that occurred on Tuesday. I didn't know Rachel personally, but I certainly may have seen her walking in the complex and enjoying times with her family. Such a tragedy.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/rachel-jacobs-7-dead-amtrak-train-derailment-article-1.2221247
Sad for all the victims. Such people of promise with much good will to others. This is tragic. Condolences to all grieving.
ReplyDeleteThis is terribly tragic. My condolences to the families of the deceased and I pray that the injured will recover from their injuries, which I'm sure are very severe in some cases.
ReplyDeleteThis crash reminds me very much of the devastating German airliner that was deliberately taken down by a suicidal pilot. The engineer on this train sped up to double the speed at the very point where he was supposed to slow down. They say that this occurred on the most dangerous bend on the NE corridor. Why would he do that? Was it deliberate or did he have some sort of brain storm? All those lives shattered by a totally avoidable crash. Remember the train in Spain that went around curve at top speed just as it was coming into the station and the train completely derailed and the result was numerous fatalities and injuries? God help us. This type of tragedy caused by deliberate actions is just unfathomable to me.
Hopefully we will find out what really happened.
ReplyDeleteAnd hopefully we will wake up and realize we do not need trains that speed or high speed trains. Given the choice of getting to NY safely or quickly I am sure most on that train would chose safely.
ReplyDeleteHigh speed trains are a futile endeavor stemming from an over developed sense of self-importance.
The great benefit of trains is fewer automobiles on the roads and Fewer planes in the air for short trips (except for the dirty politicians who make deals with airlines to get their own plane routes)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-25/did-united-put-a-whole-route-in-the-sky-for-one-very-important-passenger-
Yes United Airlines put a flight in the air "the chairman's flight" in exchange for favors in a pay to play scheme with New Jersey.
Bloomberg reports that “United agreed to add the Newark-to-Columbia flight after Samson twice threatened to block Port Authority consideration of one or more of the airline’s favored projects.”
The piece makes this look like a clear shakedown of United, more extortion than bribery.
http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/04/29/united-wanted-favors-from-new-jersey-apparently-they-really-did-give-a-politician-his-own-flight-in-exchange/
High speed trains are just another insecure competition with China as China builds its latest high speed train line to Moscow. We need to update safety not speed.
We don't need faster trains and taller buildings. We need safety and prosperity of all people in order to be a strong country.
Not prosperity of the few by compromising safety of all. No human being is so important they must get from point A to point B in record speed but a lot sure think of themselves that way. We seem to be in an era of gluttony topping off the era of greed.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/modi-china-visit-global-roundtable-super-fast-train-railways/1/437824.html
If the government ever gets it's act together, stops the short term greedy thinking and builds an infrastructure that offers ALL to be safe and prosper then great. But the current government and their goals are faster, higher in a quest for money by treating citizens as human capital with no regard as human beings. It is the Goldman Sachs Wall Street way of thinking.
When I first came to the USA from the UK I was amazed at how the trains here trundled along so sedately as I had been used to trains that routinely went at 100 mph. I was told that the reason was that the US rail tracks were not suitable for high speeds. I think that they are still not suitable for high speeds, but that doesn't stop some of these cowboy train drivers.
ReplyDeleteThe US is not into maintenance or taking good care of things. They build things. Let those things run down. Then either abandon them polluting the landscape or more expensively after they run down they build a whole new thing. The US has a history as a very disposable culture with wide eyes for the next shiny new thing. They are an immature country in years and culturally.
ReplyDelete1;01 here. I am not 3:31 pm! He/she may well be correct, but I don't diss the country I now call home, even if I don't like it's nasty politicians. There are worse in other countries, but you kind of expect that in dictatorships. We really need to do better here in the wonderful USA.
ReplyDeleteI am neither 3:31 or 11:37
ReplyDeleteI think you both have valid points.
A third perspective.
The greatest thing about America is our Freedom. Freedom of speech allows us to be complimentary and critical when we are right and when we are wrong. It allows us to be more honest with ourselves and about ourselves. We have strayed VERY far from our intentions as a country. 3:31 is a wake up call we need to answer. Here is a link to the UN take on how America is doing and its not good. It is probably a grade D. The great thing about America is we both criticize and compliment ourselves. That combination and balance is what will make us strong. On this we deserve the diss.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamil-dakwar/un-issues-scathing-assess_b_7294792.html
America has the capacity to be "wonderful" but we lost our way polluted by politicians talking about values but not living them and or valuing the wrong things. We can do better. We must do better. We are not wonderful ... yet.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cesr.org/section.php?id=26
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/for-a-political-revolutio_b_7000140.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/break-up-big-banks_b_7233284.html
America is falling short in many places. Including our infrastructure. Whatever the outcome of the Amtrak investigation, a really good sign we are moving in the right direction is Amtrak put out a statement saying they are taking responsibility. Usually corporations deflect and are dodgy on responsibility. Amtrak did the right thing whether they are fully or partially responsible. They said we own responsibility. A very necessary comfort to grieving families in small way that makes big difference.
There is some information coming to light that indicates that there may have been an attack on the train driver.
ReplyDeleteI was on a train in the UK one time when some idiot shot a bb pellet through the window. The train was not going at a particularly high speed at the time. The pellet broke the window and whizzed past my head. if it had shot at the driver and hit him, who know what might have happened.
Even Schumer is beginning to get angry at the failures of government and Boehner saying he is "massively ignorant" -- although I suspect Boehner knows all to well and is doing this on purpose (but would that would make him negligent or criminal?) For certain Boehner is playing an instrumental role in events as this.
ReplyDeleteSchumer sold us out. Is his brother;s firm Paul Weiss still the Marsh/Steinberg law firm? It disgusts me what they did to a lot of really nice people here.
ReplyDeleteAmtrak's record revenue, increasing growth, could have invested in the necessary safety measures and not blame the government on not giving them handouts of taxpayer dollars. At the very LEAST they could have fronted the money then taken the handout that they do not need.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/160/780/Amtrak-FY14-Financial-Results-ATK-14-107.pdf