tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post6583239894223164690..comments2024-03-27T18:24:19.683-07:00Comments on Steve Sailer: iSteve: Dozens killed as trains crash head-on in LAUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-54275921112710311432008-09-22T12:01:00.000-07:002008-09-22T12:01:00.000-07:00Lucius Vorenus said...neil craig: There is absolu...Lucius Vorenus said...<BR/><I>neil craig: </I> There is absolutley no reason why trains should now be driven by drivers rather than the same centralised system that produced that red light.<BR/><BR/><I>Allow me to introduce you to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, a Division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.</I><BR/><BR/>Allow me to introduce you to a society that hates and fears automation, partly due to religious arcanophobia, party due to the "it will take our jobs away" attitude. Even much of our science fiction plays to these reactionary fears with its lurid depictions of evil computers and robots. (<I>Star Wars</I> is a welcome exception.)<BR/><BR/>For some reason, "heathen" Japan doesn't have the same phobias as Christian America, which leads to more rationality, which leads to Japan being a world leader in automation.<BR/><BR/>As for "it will take our jobs away", someone like Robert Sanchez deserved, in the first place, not to be employed in a job that required responsibility. It doesn't matter where he came from. His level of competency is what matters.<BR/><BR/>Maybe those whining luddites, of both the Left and Right, so concerned about other people's employment and other people's souls should be <B>drafted</B> into the sorts of jobs with a huge labour shortage!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-24463162550731867492008-09-18T13:43:00.000-07:002008-09-18T13:43:00.000-07:00Apparently Southern California has been having thi...Apparently Southern California has been having this kind of problem <A HREF="http://www.somethingawful.com/d/news/metrolink-chatsworth-crash.php" REL="nofollow">for a while</A>.TGGPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11017651009634767649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-55016721926022111002008-09-18T12:17:00.000-07:002008-09-18T12:17:00.000-07:00One operator's inattention shouldn't be able to ki...<I>One operator's inattention shouldn't be able to kill 25 people on a train. A head on train crash is a simple one-dimensional problem. That two trains are going to slam into each other if they keep going is logically predictable by computers several minutes before it happens.</I><BR/><BR/>Steve, have you read about the <A HREF="http://cbs2.com/local/Robert.Sanchez.Train.2.819546.html" REL="nofollow">operator's background</A>?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-85918428443553212472008-09-15T12:52:00.000-07:002008-09-15T12:52:00.000-07:00Steve Sailer: That two trains are going to slam in...<B>Steve Sailer:</B> <I>That two trains are going to slam into each other if they keep going is logically predictable by computers several minutes before it happens.</I><BR/><BR/>Yeah, but the computer wouldn't be a dues-paying member of the Teamsters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-64684895916418172392008-09-15T12:30:00.000-07:002008-09-15T12:30:00.000-07:00One operator's inattention shouldn't be able to ki...One operator's inattention shouldn't be able to kill 25 people on a train. A head on train crash is a simple one-dimensional problem. That two trains are going to slam into each other if they keep going is logically predictable by computers several minutes before it happens.Steve Sailerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920109042402850214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-65343255065426215992008-09-15T10:34:00.000-07:002008-09-15T10:34:00.000-07:00In every recent case when it's been driver error, ...<I>In every recent case when it's been driver error, and in fact in every such case I've ever heard of, the driver has been a White British man.</I><BR/><BR/>Yep, white guys still screw things up (mortgage meltdown, anyone?); but, all else being equal, the odds are it will be someone from one of the vibrant communities. The Metrolink story is interesting because it happened during Hurricane Ike, which should remind us of another major deathtoll <A HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-10-17-drivercharged_x.htm" REL="nofollow">caused by VibrantPeople.</A><BR/><BR/>(That link includes an ad for a National Geographic show on next Sunday called "Neanderthal Code," which wonders whether we inherited any Neanderthal DNA. Anyone heard any advance reports?)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-32378964051608016832008-09-15T08:37:00.000-07:002008-09-15T08:37:00.000-07:00You would think there would be GPS transponders on...You would think there would be GPS transponders on each train so that railroad officials could tell exactly where each train was at all times. This could be a redundant system to prevent accidents like this. Our military uses a GPS system such that commanders have access to a graphic with the locations of almost every vehicle.<BR/><BR/>Would it be expensive? Probably, but how about the cost of all the lawsuits of one really bad collision?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-49874601977630282412008-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:002008-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:00"Since privatisation it hasn't actually got worse ..."Since privatisation it hasn't actually got worse but the improvement has completely stopped." Which is quite an achievement, given how much busier the railways are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-35699745607431506162008-09-15T07:27:00.000-07:002008-09-15T07:27:00.000-07:00Lucius--I've ridden Metrolink once (I don't live i...Lucius--I've ridden Metrolink once (I don't live in LA) and about half the passengers looked pretty middle class. There were some business suits.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-19647097779159286942008-09-15T04:42:00.000-07:002008-09-15T04:42:00.000-07:00Fair point Lucius I should have said "no tech...Fair point Lucius I should have said "no technological problem" with automating railways. Indeed there are a nmber of relatively small systems around the world. It is because of the top down organisation of rail, even before government got inolved that the rail unions & other special interests dominate while commercial reality has left the union of horse carriage drivers powerless.neil craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09157898238945726349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-65160289812245069382008-09-15T03:04:00.000-07:002008-09-15T03:04:00.000-07:00John - It wasnt Thatcher who flogged of British Ra...John - It wasnt Thatcher who flogged of British Rail, it was John Major.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-69403223325571360122008-09-15T01:49:00.000-07:002008-09-15T01:49:00.000-07:00Here in Britain, with about 180 years of railroad ...Here in Britain, with about 180 years of railroad experience, we still have quite serious crashes sometimes (but nothing like on the roads for deaths per passenger mile). In every recent case when it's been driver error, and in fact in every such case I've ever heard of, the driver has been a White British man. I think it's just grotesque the way the isteve crowd are blaming Blacks and Mexicans with no evidence.<BR/>I Britain the railways were publicly owned from just after WWII til Mrs Thatcher gave them away to British oligarchs (only they're not called that). Throughout that period the accident rate fell monotonically. Since privatisation it hasn't actually got worse but the improvement has completely stopped.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-13534621821990267132008-09-15T01:10:00.000-07:002008-09-15T01:10:00.000-07:00Wren,You must be talking about Zimbabwe. Rhodesia ...Wren,<BR/>You must be talking about Zimbabwe. Rhodesia even had its own train manufacturing industries. From what I read (http://thebeardedman.blogspot.com/) I doubt there are many trains left in the new Zimbabwe; all probably not on time.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Head-on collisions also happen in Germany where all the railroads are fully automated. But they are very rare. I agree that standards in all western countries are slipping, in spite of automation. One thing I notice is that most trains are consistently late, over a 10 year period already; and this with all the modern technologies available. For instance all rail lines have induction lines. So you can always tell where a train is. And there is an atomic clock which sends radio signals all over the country, so with a receiver you have the exact time. Surely it’s possible to automatically set the velocity of the train in order to ensure the train is always on schedule. But I guess some security-related bureaucratic regulations get into the way of that again. And then some lazy train-drivers have another cup of coffee instead of starting off.<BR/><BR/>My mother told me that in the Kaiser period, pre WWI, trains were always punctual - and they were steam operated! So automation clearly does not solve the human factor. It seems that culture is still the determining factor. Too bad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-65575425095044891782008-09-14T20:21:00.000-07:002008-09-14T20:21:00.000-07:00Anonymous said...To the baby boomer-ivy-elite, man...Anonymous said...<BR/><BR/>To the baby boomer-ivy-elite, management is a way to oppress women, homosexuals and racial/religious minorities. It is expressly not about making money, making an organization effective or safety."<BR/><BR/>All too often, management is set on empowering women, homosexuals, and minorities (usually at the expense of white men), rather than any of the tangible ends you mentioned.<BR/><BR/>"Anonymous said...<BR/><BR/>with the lehman disaster, much as I despise the author it does seem that'we're having and "Atlas Shrugged" week-end."<BR/><BR/>Of course, in the case of Lehman Brothers, Atlas didn't shrug - Atlas ran the firm - all those arrogant MOTUs in their double-breasted suits and power-suspenders.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-68886296749537877052008-09-14T20:01:00.000-07:002008-09-14T20:01:00.000-07:00"Robert Sanchez" is the driver's name according to..."Robert Sanchez" is the driver's name according to press reports.<BR/><BR/> SHOCKING!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-56192475462395233592008-09-14T19:28:00.000-07:002008-09-14T19:28:00.000-07:00I took a reading exam to get a job on the UP. befo...I took a reading exam to get a job on the UP. before. I was kind of shocked at how easy the test was. They want to be able to hire from a large group so they don't want some damn test thinning the herd down(who needs nerds anyway). Technically, you would think that a system would be in place(like a bell) to notify the engineer that he or she is passing a rail light and they better check what color it is. Head on collisions may be rare but trains running into the back of each other happen some times when a switch hasn't been thrown back to where it was supposed to be. Since I didn't get hired I can't offer much more expertise then that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-22782470153082652882008-09-14T18:44:00.000-07:002008-09-14T18:44:00.000-07:00with the lehman disaster, much as I despise the au...with the lehman disaster, much as I despise the author it does seem that'we're having and "Atlas Shrugged" week-end.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-48343316634476657702008-09-14T16:41:00.000-07:002008-09-14T16:41:00.000-07:00Trains are still far safer than cars even when you...Trains are still far safer than cars even when you throw in the odd disaster here and there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-37755956565086912852008-09-14T16:27:00.000-07:002008-09-14T16:27:00.000-07:00Look for laws against using your cell phone in you...Look for laws against using your cell phone in your private automobile, now.<BR/><BR/>Also expect survivor lawsuits against only the most innocent people or entities in the LA crash.<BR/><BR/>What a world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-72470672024959336682008-09-14T15:01:00.000-07:002008-09-14T15:01:00.000-07:00SF: That this happens on supposedly safer public t...<B>SF:</B> <I>That this happens on supposedly safer public transit is a blow to the stuff white people like crowd.</I><BR/><BR/>As if any of them would ever, in a million years, be caught dead [no pun intended] on a train in California.<BR/><BR/>Even if it stopped at Ikea.<BR/><BR/>Even if it were dressed up to look like a SAAB convertible.<BR/><BR/>Even if it offered complimentary bottles of sparkling water.<BR/><BR/>With a lime twist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-10634440169793728842008-09-14T14:57:00.000-07:002008-09-14T14:57:00.000-07:00dollmaker: ...last night Fox News said Ike caused ...<B>dollmaker:</B> <I>...last night Fox News said Ike caused $18 billion in damage whereas at the time time our local Fox affiliate's 10pm news said $6 billion, but what's $10 billion?</I><BR/><BR/>Or 12?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-72539799975202044402008-09-14T14:54:00.000-07:002008-09-14T14:54:00.000-07:00neil craig: There is absolutley no reason why trai...<B>neil craig:</B> <I>There is absolutley no reason why trains should now be driven by drivers rather than the same centralised system that produced that red light.</I><BR/><BR/>Allow me to introduce you to the <A HREF="http://www.ble.org" REL="nofollow">Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, a Division of the Rail Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters</A>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-63749787216584586372008-09-14T14:38:00.000-07:002008-09-14T14:38:00.000-07:00It happened in France as recently as 2006 Luxembou...It happened in France as recently as 2006 <A HREF="http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200610/16/eng20061016_312079.html" REL="nofollow">Luxembourg rail company admits fault in French train crash</A><BR/><BR/><EM>A passenger train from Luxembourg carrying around 20 people and a cargo train smashed head-on just 1.5 km (one mile) south of the Luxembourg border.<BR/><BR/>The two trains hit each other on a bend as they moved in opposite directions along the same track while a parallel line was undergoing maintenance work.<BR/><BR/>[6 were killed, 16 injured.]<BR/><BR/>"It's tough to say, but it's the fault of the CFL (the company, Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois)," Luxembourg Transport Minister Lucien Lux told press on Sunday.</EM>Kai Carverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15104699147862191024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-61545032175530615432008-09-14T14:07:00.000-07:002008-09-14T14:07:00.000-07:00Evidence now suggests that the Metrolink engineer ...Evidence now suggests that the Metrolink engineer may have been sending a text message to a teenage railfan at the time of the crash. It's not known for sure, and the engineer can't be questioned because he's dead.<BR/><BR/>What almost certainly contributed to the death toll was the extremely poor crashworthiness of the bilevel passenger coach. The Metrolink locomotive essentially telescoped into the coach; pictures on the LA Daily News' site show that the rear of the locomotive, the part which telescoped into the coach, was barely damaged.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-13675668145848702222008-09-14T13:58:00.000-07:002008-09-14T13:58:00.000-07:00They are blaming operator error, in going through ...They are blaming operator error, in going through a clearly marked red signal. I guess the two questions to ask are was he/she an affirmative action hire, and does the company have an adequate drug testing program. That this happens on supposedly safer public transit is a blow to the stuff white people like crowdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com