(no subject)

[gwydion]

* Why the Tories winning the UK Election is literally deadly: http://theonlyoneofherkind.tumblr.com/post/118761933448/what-does-is-mean-for-england-now-that-the-tories

* The surviving Boston Bomber has been sentenced to death.

* Hours after the Amtrak crash near Philly, Republicans moved boldly to further increase the number of train accidents, by cutting their budget yet again. After all, given the large number of train accidents the last thing we need is proper track maintenance or the funds to complete mandated safety upgrades. Remember, train crashers only kill mere human type people and often destroy homes and small businesses and republicans believe the purpose of government is to serve the interests of corporate type "people" and the .1% who are to rich to use trains. Who cares how many people who work for a living get killed as long as we can pay for corporate welfare and protect the .1% from paying their share?

* Some further words about the Amtrak crash for the evening:

1. I am hearing a lot of speculation about the causes of the crash, but right now we know nothing about what actually happened to the driver. We do know that the safety upgrades would have prevented this crash, but not what led to the train going that fast in the first place. I'd like to put in a plea that we reserve judgement until there are actual facts to base it on. there are all sorts of reasons this sort of thing can happen: some of which are true accidents and no one's fault, others caused by things like negligence or malice. Let's wait to find out which this is before attacking a man who may be purely a victim. there is time enough for finger pointing when we know what actually happened.

2. I'm seeing a lot of people saying things like the engineer's inability to remember is "suspiciously convenient." No, it's not suspicious at all with a serious concussion. People often lose time immediately before as well as after the head injury. My Uncle lost not only the play in which he had a serious concussion, but the one before it one time playing High School Football. The time I was attacked at work, I lost about a minute before I was pushed into the counter as well as the entire ambulance trip and the early part of the ER, and I was messed up seriously at least a month after. It's unreasonable to automatically assume a man with a serious concussion is faking a few minutes of lost time. He was in an accident that could have easily killed him.

3. Again, I don't know if he's innocent or guilty, but you know what? Neither does anyone else, possibly including the engineer himself. So rather than rushing to judgement, let's all take a deep breath and let the crash investigators do their work.

* "Killer Mike Just Tore Down the Media Coverage of Baltimore in a New Op-Ed:" http://mic.com/articles/117298/killer-mike-just-tore-down-the-media-coverage-of-baltimore-in-a-new-op-ed?utm_source=policymicTBLR&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=social

* "State Attorney clears officer in shooting of unarmed 17 year old with Down’s Syndrome because as the deputy stated, “I was in fear he was going to hit me”. Traffic cameras tell a different story.:" http://www.wptv.com/news/local-news/investigations/questions-about-role-of-state-attorney-in-deputy-involved-shooting

* "10 Tips to Help Neurotypicals Understand Sensory Processing Disorder:" http://thebodyisnotanapology.com/magazine/the-neurotypicals-guide-to-adults-with-sensory-processing-disorder/

* "TED Talk on Battling Bad Science Journalism - July 2011:" https://soundcloud.com/adreana-langston-1/ted-talk-on-battling-bad-science-journalism-july-2011?in=cleverestofthem/sets/ted-talks

* "Egypt's animal mummy 'scandal' revealed:" http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32656743

* I have shivers. "Rihanna’s New Music Video Is the Perfect Illustration of Two Different Americas:" http://mic.com/articles/115870/rihanna-s-new-music-video-is-the-perfect-illustration-of-two-different-americas?utm_source=policymicTBLR&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=social

* I'm headachey and feverish, so apologies if I'm making below average sense.

* "iZombie, Season 1, Episode 9: Patriot Brains:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2015/05/izombie-season-1-episode-9-patriot.html

* "#JusticeforKayleb: An autistic 6th grader unfairly convicted of a felony.:" https://www.change.org/p/justiceforkayleb-an-autistic-6th-grader-unfairly-convicted-of-a-felony

* Young athlete shot in the neck by security guard for talking to a white girl in his own car is being denied insurance coverage: http://thewynne.tumblr.com/post/119073636836/thissbrowngrl-etherealmermaidmarrell

* "The Nepal Earthquake: Disaster Relief Resources:" http://redpandanetwork.org/the-nepal-earthquake-disaster-relief-resources/

* Ways to help Nepal: https://twitter.com/zeldawilliams/status/592095661912363009

* Trying to stay afloat until August: http://www.gofundme.com/cuovws or Lethran@gmail.com

Comments

[captain-havoc.livejournal.com]

As a lover of train travel, and frequent train traveler, what really gets me is, about 90 people in the US are killed *every day* in car crashes. By comparison, dying in a train crash is incredibly, incredibly rare - literally, these ARE freak accidents. And while it is very sad and very tragic when anyone dies in an accident, especially a preventable one (which, most car crashes are also preventable), if law makers cared about human lives, this would look a lot different. They would be not only be voting for safety funding for trains, but working their secret deals that they have with the media so that instead of making people scared to ride on trains ever again, this accident would be portrayed in context, compared to things like car crashes, etc. If human lives were the real issue, government would actually be doing everything in its power to get all personal vehicles off the road, especially pouring funding into trains, busses, etc, which are all safer alternatives. But, of course, that would mean a financial hit to big car companies, the oil industry, and other major financial backers of political campaigns... :P

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

My real concern is the bomb trains. It's an easy fix. Do another level of refining on site before shipping so it's more stable. Put in the over ride system. These are completely reasonable safety precautions and claiming that the oil companies, despite being the most profitable businesses in the history of the world, can't afford them is bullshit.

We absolutely need bridge and road upgrades and maintenance for safety of people travelling in buses, cars, and trucks. We also desperately need infrastructure upgrades for utilities and a host of other things. We also could use the jobs doing all this infrastructure investment will create directly.