Shiftless2
Well-known member
From the linked article
HEADLINES: 2024
- Thread starter sear
- Start date
Shiftless2
Well-known member
Remember that Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio?
Norfolk Southern alone will be responsible for paying for the cleanup after last year's fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio, a federal judge ruled.
Norfolk Southern alone will be responsible for paying for the cleanup after last year’s fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio, a federal judge ruled.
The decision issued Wednesday threw out the railroad’s claim that the companies that made chemicals that spilled and owned tank cars that ruptured should share the cost of the cleanup.
An assortment of chemicals spilled and caught fire after the train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023. Three days later, officials blew open five tank cars filled with vinyl chloride because they feared those cars might explode. Residents still worry about those chemicals.
The Atlanta-based railroad has said the ongoing cleanup from the derailment has already cost it more than $1.1 billion. That total continues to grow, though EPA officials have said
....
CONTINUED
Norfolk Southern alone will be responsible for paying for the cleanup after last year's fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio, a federal judge ruled.
Norfolk Southern alone will be responsible for paying for the cleanup after last year’s fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio, a federal judge ruled.
The decision issued Wednesday threw out the railroad’s claim that the companies that made chemicals that spilled and owned tank cars that ruptured should share the cost of the cleanup.
An assortment of chemicals spilled and caught fire after the train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023. Three days later, officials blew open five tank cars filled with vinyl chloride because they feared those cars might explode. Residents still worry about those chemicals.
The Atlanta-based railroad has said the ongoing cleanup from the derailment has already cost it more than $1.1 billion. That total continues to grow, though EPA officials have said
....
CONTINUED
Fine, but that's an anecdote, a personal opinion.
Opinion may be relevant, but not determinative.
I'm curious about the protocol, the explicit rule, just not curious enough to dig for it. I'm OK with the standard of: apply the most recent title, whether it's the highest rank, or not.
#42
Liability for damage / harm:
Was Norfolk Southern criminally negligent?
A severe pollution case close to home, GE dumped PCBs into the Hudson river for years, BUT
did so legally.
None the less GE was required to dredge the PCBs from the riverbed.
Not insensible to be mindful of unintended consequences.
We're not likely to send domestic bulk transportation overseas.
But sticking Norfolk So. with the cleanup bill is a precedent that may have unintended consequences.
Pollution of the Hudson River: Ongoing environmental disaster in the United States of America
Between 1947 and 1977, General Electric polluted the Hudson River by discharging polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) causing a range of harmful effects to wildlife and people who eat fish from the river. Other kinds of pollution, including mercury contamination and cities discharging untreated sewage, have also caused problems in the river.In response to this contamination, activists protested in various ways; for instance, musician Pete Seeger founded the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and the Clearwater Festival to draw attention to the problem. Environmental activism nationwide led to passage of the federal Clean Water Act in 1972 and the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. The federal government designated the contaminated portion of the river, 200 miles (320 km) long, as a Superfund site in 1984.
Extensive remediation actions on the river began in the 1970s with the implementation of wastewater discharge permits and consequent reduction of wastewater discharges, and sediment removal operations, which have continued into the 21st century. Fish consumption advisories remain in effect.
More from Wikipedia
International Women's Day: March 8, 2024
www.un.org
BUT !
Apart from Barbie, FOX mainly lists content from previous years: https://www.foxnews.com/search-results/search?q=international women's day
If you encounter any international women today, be sure to swat them on the butt, just to remind them of their proper place in our enlightened society. [/satire]
International Women's Day | United Nations
The purpose of the day is to uphold women’s achievements, recognize challenges, and focus greater attention on women’s rights and gender equality to mobilize all people to do their part.
BUT !
Apart from Barbie, FOX mainly lists content from previous years: https://www.foxnews.com/search-results/search?q=international women's day
If you encounter any international women today, be sure to swat them on the butt, just to remind them of their proper place in our enlightened society. [/satire]
US 'prepper' culture diversifies amid fear of disaster and political unrest
Knives are displayed for sale at the "Survival & Prepper Show" in Longmont, Colorado, U.S. March 2, 2024. REUTERS/Brad Brooks
More Americans, including minorities and people considered left of center, are getting ready to survive political upheaval and natural catastrophes, a pursuit largely associated with far-right movements such as white nationalists.
https://www.reuters.com/
I'm not dismissing the potential utility of cutlery in the catastrophic event of (for example) a Biden reelection, BUT !!
In my considerable personal experience:
- folding cutlery has limited utility
- folding knives may be more useful, safer if equipped with a secure blade lock
- "survivalist" & "hunting" knives tend to be more hype or style than utility. The serrated spine of some military knives is designed for military combat pilots to cut themselves free from the wreckage of their aircraft. The best cutlery I've found is that designed for kitchens.
- while a leather sheath may look quite fashionable, cardboard sheath should not be dismissed. There's no sensible way to clean a leather knife sheath if its knife has just been used to field dress a big game carcass, and the knife then returned to sheath. A cardboard sheath wrapped in adhesive tape can protect hunter, cutting edge, and be disposed of (replaced with new) upon return to civilization. I find non-corrugated cardboard folded to match the bends in a paperclip, cutting edge facing the double thickness works well.
Even expensive kitchen knives often arrive at retailers not ready for immediate use. Even those honed sharp may have jagged spines remnant from the manufacturing process.
Removing the burrs from the spine of a new knife may save you a bandaid.
Potable water may be the most immediate need in an emergency. Not a bad idea to have some chlorine bleach available for water decontamination. BUT !
Bleach may kill bio-pathogens, giardia for example, but does not mitigate some other toxins such as petroleum, neuro-toxic heavy metals, etc.
Peanut butter can be a useful emergency food, long shelf-life, refrigeration not required, etc.
Toss an empty plastic bottle in the fire, it's likely to burn, pollute.
But fill it with water to be decontaminated by boiling, and a familiar plastic beverage bottle can withstand the heat of open flame, and contain water at rolling boil.
The plastic can even touch the flame, or red embers without problem.
Note:
Storing months of food for even predictable emergencies like being snowed in in Winter may mean one of two things:
- the stored food will be kept on hand until it expires, & then discarded, or
- consumed as part of the routine diet.
The latter seems less wasteful.
There is long term storage food with quarter century shelf-life rating, but seldom also found high on nutritionist's lists.
The useful compromise is canned food you'll actually eat, emergency or not. Rotate your inventory.
Be careful storing gasoline, avoid it entirely if possible.
Propane / LP is a viable substitute. Many new emergency generators boast "dual fuel" either gasoline or propane.
Propane is safer to store in larger volumes. Propane doesn't match gasoline for energy density, but the safety benefit worth considering.
Knives are displayed for sale at the "Survival & Prepper Show" in Longmont, Colorado, U.S. March 2, 2024. REUTERS/Brad Brooks
More Americans, including minorities and people considered left of center, are getting ready to survive political upheaval and natural catastrophes, a pursuit largely associated with far-right movements such as white nationalists.
https://www.reuters.com/
I'm not dismissing the potential utility of cutlery in the catastrophic event of (for example) a Biden reelection, BUT !!
In my considerable personal experience:
- folding cutlery has limited utility
- folding knives may be more useful, safer if equipped with a secure blade lock
- "survivalist" & "hunting" knives tend to be more hype or style than utility. The serrated spine of some military knives is designed for military combat pilots to cut themselves free from the wreckage of their aircraft. The best cutlery I've found is that designed for kitchens.
- while a leather sheath may look quite fashionable, cardboard sheath should not be dismissed. There's no sensible way to clean a leather knife sheath if its knife has just been used to field dress a big game carcass, and the knife then returned to sheath. A cardboard sheath wrapped in adhesive tape can protect hunter, cutting edge, and be disposed of (replaced with new) upon return to civilization. I find non-corrugated cardboard folded to match the bends in a paperclip, cutting edge facing the double thickness works well.
Even expensive kitchen knives often arrive at retailers not ready for immediate use. Even those honed sharp may have jagged spines remnant from the manufacturing process.
Removing the burrs from the spine of a new knife may save you a bandaid.
Potable water may be the most immediate need in an emergency. Not a bad idea to have some chlorine bleach available for water decontamination. BUT !
Bleach may kill bio-pathogens, giardia for example, but does not mitigate some other toxins such as petroleum, neuro-toxic heavy metals, etc.
Peanut butter can be a useful emergency food, long shelf-life, refrigeration not required, etc.
Toss an empty plastic bottle in the fire, it's likely to burn, pollute.
But fill it with water to be decontaminated by boiling, and a familiar plastic beverage bottle can withstand the heat of open flame, and contain water at rolling boil.
The plastic can even touch the flame, or red embers without problem.
Note:
Storing months of food for even predictable emergencies like being snowed in in Winter may mean one of two things:
- the stored food will be kept on hand until it expires, & then discarded, or
- consumed as part of the routine diet.
The latter seems less wasteful.
There is long term storage food with quarter century shelf-life rating, but seldom also found high on nutritionist's lists.
The useful compromise is canned food you'll actually eat, emergency or not. Rotate your inventory.
Be careful storing gasoline, avoid it entirely if possible.
Propane / LP is a viable substitute. Many new emergency generators boast "dual fuel" either gasoline or propane.
Propane is safer to store in larger volumes. Propane doesn't match gasoline for energy density, but the safety benefit worth considering.
Shiftless2
Well-known member
Court’s Contraception Ruling Is a Scary Sign of What May Come
AFifth Circuit ruling upholding a Texas law that requires parental consent for under-age teens to access contraception gives validity to the argument that Republicans don’t know when to stop.
Emboldened by the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe, conservative activists will keep pushing to curtail contraception cloaking it in the guise of ....
" May "
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Republicans will be happy once women are yet once again: home, barefoot, & pregnant.
See? They're really not all that different from the Taliban.
Shiftless2
Well-known member
No huge news flash, but retired "liberal" Justice Breyer said "The court has taken a wrong turn".
Breyer's comment not so much targeting Trump directly, as Trump's SCOTUS appointees.
“Something important is going on,” he [Breyer] said. The court has taken a wrong turn, he said, and it is not too late to turn back.
The book, “Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism,” will be published March 26, the day the Supreme Court hears its next major abortion case, on access to pills used to terminate pregnancies.
The book devotes considerable attention to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the 2022 decision that eliminated the constitutional right to abortion. Breyer, who had dissented, wrote that the decision was stunningly naive in saying it was returning the question of abortion to the political process.
https://news.yahoo.com/justice-breyer-off-bench-sounds-114138411.html
Breyer's comment not so much targeting Trump directly, as Trump's SCOTUS appointees.
Justice Breyer, Off the Bench, Sounds an Alarm Over the Supreme Court’s Direction
Adam Liptak / Mon, March 18, 2024 at 7:41 AM EDT“Something important is going on,” he [Breyer] said. The court has taken a wrong turn, he said, and it is not too late to turn back.
The book, “Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism,” will be published March 26, the day the Supreme Court hears its next major abortion case, on access to pills used to terminate pregnancies.
The book devotes considerable attention to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the 2022 decision that eliminated the constitutional right to abortion. Breyer, who had dissented, wrote that the decision was stunningly naive in saying it was returning the question of abortion to the political process.
https://news.yahoo.com/justice-breyer-off-bench-sounds-114138411.html
Switzerland's traditional position is one of well-armed military neutrality
PETER KLAUNZER / Mar 21, 2024 Swiss move towards vote on reinforcing neutralitySwitzerland is set to vote on reinforcing its neutrality, campaigners said Wednesday, Russia's war in Ukraine having reopened questions over the country's long-standing position on non-engagement in foreign conflicts.
Switzerland's traditional position is one of well-armed military neutrality
Switzerland's traditional position is one of well-armed military neutrality
There's more to neutrality / non-aggression than mere cowardice.
The United Kingdom had an imposing presence in India. A lawyer in India didn't like it, and sought to expel India's imperialist occupiers.
Lawyer's name, Gandhi. His method, non-violence. Had Gandhi, MLK, or Nelson Mandella sought their objectives with violence, metaphorically to fight fire with fire,
these contests might still be ongoing, still shedding human blood by the gallons.
Switzerland:
Is Swiss neutrality the same, or similar enough to justify valid comparison?
If Putin, insinuating nuclear blackmail, conquers Crimea, Ukraine, and progresses Westward with strengthening alliances with North Korea & China, and eventually controls Europe,
would Swiss neutrality preserve Swiss peace & prosperity?
Swiss neutrality during WWII provided Hitler's Nazi forces a safe haven.
Might renewed Swiss commitment to Swiss neutrality in Europe result in Swiss short-term gain for long-term pain? The risk of having to live under Russian authoritarian rule potentially for generations?
Avoiding violence might seem noble. Is Swiss neutrality noble? Cowardice? Foreign policy dysfunction?
How does Swiss neutrality differ from U.S. isolationism / non-engagement?
Due to the unanimous (89:0) passage of Hong Kong's new security law called "Article #23", Hong Kong has suffered a major blow to its independence, autonomy from Bejing.
Hong Kong "... will become more prosperous, more safe, more secure" Regina Ip - Hong Kong Legislative Council Member, "hand picked" by mainland China
source: PBS/NH 24/03/20
Hong Kong "... will become more prosperous, more safe, more secure" Regina Ip - Hong Kong Legislative Council Member, "hand picked" by mainland China
source: PBS/NH 24/03/20
Shiftless2
Well-known member
The hidden, anti-LGBTQ+ reason that could punch a hole in the $120 billion chocolate industry
Story by Amanda GerutPending legislation in West Africa that would punish LGBTQ+ relationships with jail time has drawn an international spotlight for its extremism, but major players in the $119 billion global chocolate market that are reliant on the flow of cocoa beans from the region have been silent on the potential bill’s human-rights abuses.
Chocolate makers have signed various codes of conduct and codes of ethics for themselves and their suppliers in recent years in response to criticism over human rights concerns in the chocolate supply chain—including child labor and unpaid labor. The codes call for companies to use their leverage to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation—but since Ghana’s parliament last month passed a stringent anti-LGBTQ+ bill, these companies have stayed silent. ...
CONTINUED
Sub-optimal for certain. However, it's not quite clear to me the "$120 billion chocolate industry" is a net benefit to humanity.
- It employs agriculture workers (slave & wage-earning alike).
- It employs transport and warehouse workers.
- It employs factory, and retail workers.
But is the harm it does to the morbidly obese, the tooth decay promotion, etc justified by the above listed benefits?
That's not an endorsement of the LGBTQ agenda. But it may be a persuasive argument for MYOB.
Shiftless2
Well-known member
Of course if Texas doesn't have to follow Federal Law or can ignore a Supreme Court ruling that means that Colorado et al don't have to put Trump on the ballot
On March 19, the Supreme Court of the United States, Leonard Leo proprietor, issued a ruling regarding a Texas immigration law that arrogated to the state the power to enforce immigration law, which by statute and custom is a federal responsibility. A trial judge had blocked the law only to have the notorious Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issue an “administrative stay” that obviated the trial judge’s ruling pending further appeals. Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh wrote that they were sending the case back down the food chain to an appeals court for a prompt ruling on whether ...
CONTINUED
The Supreme Court Just Stepped Into Our Country’s Most Fundamental Minefield
Opinion by Charles P. PierceOn March 19, the Supreme Court of the United States, Leonard Leo proprietor, issued a ruling regarding a Texas immigration law that arrogated to the state the power to enforce immigration law, which by statute and custom is a federal responsibility. A trial judge had blocked the law only to have the notorious Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issue an “administrative stay” that obviated the trial judge’s ruling pending further appeals. Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh wrote that they were sending the case back down the food chain to an appeals court for a prompt ruling on whether ...
CONTINUED
clapping hands
N.Y. appeals court reduces Trump's bond in his civil fraud case to $175 million, a victory for the former president
The court also gave Trump an additional 10 days to post the bond, which the former president said Monday he would pay.
www.nbcnews.com
and
Early reports (often inaccurate) indicate the vessel that undermined the bridge lost propulsion (& thus directional control) before impact.
Meanwhile, alternate route is recommended.
Shiftless2
Well-known member
Unless you've been hiding in the deep woods you'd know about the bridge collapse
As a teen in 1969 I asked pappy why The New York Times, a newspaper of record, was publishing a huge banner headline about the moon landing, as while unprecedented history, was hardly a surprise to anyone.
He suggested the reason was to document history.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was "news" a few hours after it happened. It was "history" a few decades after. BUT !!
It's the same event.
So perhaps what distinguishes news from history is the medium. Inexpensive newsprint paper for events hours old, more formally bound volumes for events years or decades old.
note: then there are books like 90 Minutes At Entebbe released in paperback book format while Israel's raid was still considered "news", rather than history.
nope, not sure what happened to the vid in #58
He suggested the reason was to document history.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was "news" a few hours after it happened. It was "history" a few decades after. BUT !!
It's the same event.
So perhaps what distinguishes news from history is the medium. Inexpensive newsprint paper for events hours old, more formally bound volumes for events years or decades old.
note: then there are books like 90 Minutes At Entebbe released in paperback book format while Israel's raid was still considered "news", rather than history.
nope, not sure what happened to the vid in #58
Shiftless2
Well-known member
They walk among us ...
For those who don't know who she is
en.wikipedia.org
For those who don't know who she is