S10.E20: Freight trains

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Main topic: Freight trains

Also: Kevin McCarthy leaves Congress before his term is up; Mike Johnson protects "insurrectionist anonymity'; revelations about Mike Johnson's views; covenant eyes app; everyone on CBS mornings wants to fuck meteorologist Jim Cantore

Original air date 2023.12.10

[PrincessPurrsALot]

I am now traumatized by Henry being bricked into a tunnel in Thomas the Tank Engine. He was so sad at the end.  

[Annber03]

1 minute ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

I am now traumatized by Henry being bricked into a tunnel in Thomas the Tank Engine. He was so sad at the end.  

Right? British children's programming does NOT fuck around! Holy shit. 

John's version of that story, though. That topped all. I wonder who did the narration for his version? 

"Trains are like Liam Payne - they really only work in one direction."

I laughed way, WAY too hard at that XD. 

But god, yeah, I was thinking the same thing about the hassles involved in expecting one person to handle EVERY aspect of running a train before John stated it aloud. And I can totally believe that about the sick days, too - I do FMLA paperwork at my job, and CPKC, one of the major railroad companies shown in the list on tonight's show, is one that shows up in my paperwork regularly. And the way their questions are worded, you have to be so damn specific about the amount of time an employee may need off for any illnesses/surgeries/etc. they're dealing with. Problem is, you're not always going to be able to give those kinds of specific answers, because recovery time varies from person to person and there's a lot of other unpredictable factors involved as well that make that hard to determine. 

But the forms really seem to want to push for details on when the employees will come back, and it's so frustrating to have to track down answers you may not definitively be able to give*. Because god forbid anyone ever be allowed to take time off to properly recover from an illness/injury or anything. I have never understood the attitude towards sick days in this country. I don't get how expecting and forcing people to work through sickness and injury, knowing full well they won't be able to do their job to its proper capacity, is somehow better for the company and your fellow employees and customers than having fully healthy, able-bodied, capable workers would be. I don't get how a company expects to stay in business that way, or expects to keep customers that way. I suppose they think they can just automate everything if the employees aren't up to snuff anymore, but even then, that's still not going to guarantee they'll keep customers, which, if you want to make profits, is kind of an important aspect. 

*Has John ever done a segment on FMLA-related issues in this country? 'Cause if not, there's a good one for a future episode. 

The story about the man who died because an ambulance was unable to get to him due to a stalled train was horrifying. And then of course all the derailments that have put towns and rivers and whatnot at high risk of contamination and whatnot as well. But yes, people, tell me again how deregulation is apparently SO much better for our country. 

As for Mike Johnson, how is he not immediately getting in some kind of legal trouble for actively trying to blur footage from January 6th. That's obstruction of justice, shouldn't that be grounds for some kind of serious legal punishment/removal from office or something? When the hell are people like him ever going to actually be held seriously accountable for pulling this kind of shit? 

And regarding the porn monitoring stuff...creepy on every level imaginable, is all I can say. Why is this a thing? And how much longer will it be until we find out that there's some kind of sex scandal involving Johnson, or any other high profile person, attached to it? You know it's only a matter of time. We've seen these kinds of stories before, we know how this plays out. 

[ahisma]

The Mike Johnson stuff was all so familiar I had to check this wasn’t a rerun. But it obviously bears repeating as he’s still (for now) Speaker.

9 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

And then of course all the derailments that have put towns and rivers and whatnot at high risk of contamination and whatnot as well. But yes, people, tell me again how deregulation is apparently SO much better for our country. 

I loved John’s formula: Industry + Deregulation – Government Oversight = Episode of Last Week Tonight. Yup, sounds about right!

[Annber03]

11 minutes ago, ahisma said:

I loved John’s formula: Industry + Deregulation – Government Oversight = Episode of Last Week Tonight. Yup, sounds about right!

The moment he mentioned "deregulation" and that said deregulation started in the 1980s, I was like, "...why am I not surprised?" That decade sure has a lot to answer for in regards to why things are the way they are now. 

[Lantern7]

This Week: Trains! More depressing stuff, topped off with Matt Berry (Lazlo from What We Do In The Shadows, among his memorable roles) narrating an adventure when Henry the Tank Engine crashes and causes catastrophic damage to the island of Soder. Only thing I have for comparison is a guy splicing TtTE adventures with George Carlin's stand-up because he played Mr. Conductor. I don't know if it's as traumatizing, but it's definitely funny.

Seriously, another par for the course for John. "Safety Fourth" is an expression that should never exist.

Mike Johnson . . . the GOP is chock full of weird people. Even with Santos gone, we have a guy whose browser history is monitored by his son and vice versa, AND he's two heartbeats away from the presidency. Oh, and he wants to blur the faces of 1/6 rioters because of course he does.

Next week is the finale. Something tells me that as rough as 2023 was, it will feel easier compared to 2024. I'm guessing LWT is scouting locations on where they can symbolically blow up a year even before the year actually happens.

Edited December 11, 2023 by Lantern7

[JustHereForFood]

9 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Next week is the finale. Something tells me that as rough as 2023 was, it will feel easier compared to 2024. I'm guessing LWT is scouting locations on where they can symbolically blow up a year even before the year actually happens.

Considering how much the climate has suffered this year not to mention all the serious explosions, the only reasonable solution is to skip something like that. If people need to see it for the few seconds of comfort it might give them, John can easily replay past footage and donate the money they would need for the explosion.

[DoctorAtomic]

12 hours ago, Annber03 said:

The moment he mentioned "deregulation" and that said deregulation started in the 1980s, I was like, "...why am I not surprised?" That decade sure has a lot to answer for in regards to why things are the way they are now. 

I actually assign the piece on OSHA and North Dakota fracking in class. 

One of the main reasons I'm not worried about retaliation from Jan 6 and need my face blurred was because I wasn't there. So maybe they could have tried that. 

Edited December 11, 2023 by DoctorAtomic

[Jodithgrace]

I don’t understand the whole blurred faces thing. Hasn’t the January 6th footage already been shown extensively during the hearings and in footage released to the public? Many of the arrests that have been made came from that footage that we have all seen. What is the point of blurring it now? Is this previously unseen footage? Is Johnson going to be on there, pointing the way to Nancy Pelosi’s office?

[peeayebee]

 

14 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

This Week: Trains! More depressing stuff, topped off with Matt Berry (Lazlo from What We Do In The Shadows, among his memorable roles) narrating an adventure when Henry the Tank Engine crashes and causes catastrophic damage to the island of Soder.

As the segment was going on, I kept trying to figure out whose voice that was. For a sec I thought Benedict Cumberbatch, but I realized it wasn't him. I watched the end credits to find out. Matt Berry! He has a wonderful voice, and he's hilarious in WWDiTS.  

The ending segment was awesome. So well done. 

Quote

"Safety Fourth" is an expression that should never exist.

Until reading this, I didn't connect it with axiom "Safety first." Makes "Safety fourth" even more abhorrent.

I tell you, seems like every problem addressed in just about every story on LWT stems from corporations' decision to squeeze margins to please investors.

Loved the bit about a kid listening to her grandpa rant about having to walk to school in the snow, and she counters with her having to crawl under a train.

I also loved the graphic of the MS Outlook calendar for the flu. There were entries for Diarrhea for Jim, Infect Jennifer, Infect Julia, and Kill Greg.

The opening with the BBC anchor getting caught giving the finger was fantastic.

I've read about Mike Johnson and Convenant Eyes. While I think it's ridiculous, I think some of the mocking from the left is a bit disingenious, in that Mike Johnson's son is not going to get any notification that his dad is viewing porn. I figure he got the software because his son had viewed porn, and the way it works is that both parties monitor each other. Either that, or MJ is trying to promote Convenant Eyes for the owner of the company or something.

I assume not all of someone's internet browsing goes to the monitor/partner. That would be overwhelming and simply impossible to handle. So I guess the sw detects what is porn and sends a notification to the partner.

As far as blurring the faces from the J6 videos, what a bunch of hooey. The DOJ isn't prosecuting people who were just walking around; they're prosecuting those involved in the violence or abetting it. So first off, MJ saying the blurring is to protect people from being prosecuted by the DOJ, that's either protecting violent people or simply trying to make this sound like something other than keeping viewers from identifying more insurrectionists and outing them.

Edited December 11, 2023 by peeayebee

[DoctorAtomic]

2 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

Is this previously unseen footage?

From my understanding it's *all* the footage. I would think there's some that hasn't been broadcast yet. As to blurring the footage, Johnson said it was because of possible retaliation. I would think a prosecutor could get a court order for the unblurred video, since the footage has been used for that. In my city, someone was found on the footage and was fired from his job before he even got back. Not for nothing, a lot of people were live streaming and posting from their phones, so it's not hard to identify anyone, I would think. 

I think the more important question is should it be released? Any reasonably savvy editor could further cut the footage to make it look quite different than what really happened. Also, wouldn't it be a security concern? 

If I was into conspiracies, I would suggest Johnson is doing it to protect friends and colleagues. 

[chediavolo]

On 12/10/2023 at 11:23 PM, PrincessPurrsALot said:

I am now traumatized by Henry being bricked into a tunnel in Thomas the Tank Engine. He was so sad at the end.  

I know! WTF?! Horrible 

On 12/11/2023 at 12:17 AM, Annber03 said:

The moment he mentioned "deregulation" and that said deregulation started in the 1980s, I was like, "...why am I not surprised?" That decade sure has a lot to answer for in regards to why things are the way they are now. 

One big reason : Reagan. 

[andromeda331]

Poor Thomas and Henry. Bricked up forever. John was right the British kids shows are messed up. 

I've been worried about the train tracks and how often there inspected if ever. I mean we know how bad bridges are across the country I assume train tracks are worse.

Apparently it's much much worse. Okay it's 2023 people shouldn't have a hard time getting sick days or safety work conditions. Then again kids shouldn't have to crawl under trains to get to school. Buildings shouldn't burn down and people shouldn't die because the firetrucks and ambulences had to wait for a train to pass by. 

And as soon is John said it was unregulated. Of course, that's how it got so bad. Amazing how every time those regulations are removed or never had them things get bad.  I love John's line about it ending up on his show. Yeah that was about right.

I know John was surprised by the woman who's car stalled on a train track not getting out of there with her kids. But seeing how many people seem to do just that. It might be more accurate then he thinks. I've lost count how many cars stopped or got stuck in a train tracks and people don't leave the car. 

I loved the video at the end. 

[Shrek]

19 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

Poor Thomas and Henry. Bricked up forever. John was right the British kids shows are messed up. 

 

You should try the Magic Roundabout which is what I grew up watching, it's a trip man.

[Ceindreadh]

For everybody feeling sorry for poor Henry being bricked up.

Spoiler

It's okay, he did get let out later on

And yes, I did go searching to find out what eventually happened to him.

https://ttte.fandom.com/wiki/Henry_(T%26F)

[Annber03]

Thank you for that update, @Ceindreadh!

6 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I know John was surprised by the woman who's car stalled on a train track not getting out of there with her kids. But seeing how many people seem to do just that. It might be more accurate then he thinks. I've lost count how many cars stopped or got stuck in a train tracks and people don't leave the car. 

I remember seeing a lot of PSAs as a kit warning about the dangers of ignoring the warnings at railroad crossings. Even with the tracks here in town that don't really get used anymore, I still wouldn't stop on them, just in case. 

[andromeda331]

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

Thank you for that update, @Ceindreadh!

I remember seeing a lot of PSAs as a kit warning about the dangers of ignoring the warnings at railroad crossings. Even with the tracks here in town that don't really get used anymore, I still wouldn't stop on them, just in case. 

Yeah you just never know. 

[peeayebee]

Whenever I come to this forum and see the title of this thread, the folk song 'Freight Train' pops into my head.

(I'm a poet and don't know it.)

[DoctorAtomic]

tbh, the woman stuck on the tracks looked like she was in a car on the level of a Camry. She could have just put it in neutral and pushed it back. It's not like she was in an F150. 

[marina to]

I remember when the Lac-Mégantic derailment happened but I had no idea that much was wiped out. After that I know there were calls for tighter regulations in Canada but I don't know how far that got. Anyone know?

 

Answered my own question. A mini series was done this year. There was more tragedy. At least one of the first responders later took their life.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/10-years-after-rail-disaster-lac-mégantic-residents-watch-new-series-but-some-say-still-too-soon-1.6739433

And they're still trying to build a bypass of the town.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ottawa-moves-to-acquire-lac-magantic-rail-bypass-1.6747432

And some regulations were tightened up but there's still a lot that the railroad companies are hiding from municipalities.

Edited December 19, 2023 by marina to