Interesting that they said it is important that we have people in government that we can trust to give us the truth (paraphrased). I don't think we have had that in the U.S. since at least WWII. I don't believe anything the government says unless I can get it confirmed by independent reliable sources.
Another train derailment, again with hazardous materials on board, and is a blazing inferno where it crashed. It is near Moosehead Lake in Maine, not all that far from where @Ken Anderson is at, although it should be far enough away not to affect him where he lives. All kinds of emergency vehicles are either on scene or will be before long, since the situation is so hazardous. These seem to be happening right at some kind of a water supply, either a lake or a river nearby.
That is one of the most beautiful areas in the state. That's where we vacationed a few weeks ago. It would be hard to miss a water supply in that area. Because of all of the lakes and rivers and such, I would imagine the railroad has a lot of bends in it.
Trains have traditionally run along waterways, especially rivers, as the grade to be dealt with is as mild as one can get in a given area. I am beginning to think most of this is due to lack of maintenance, and I have seen some warnings that the electrical grid is in similar condition just when there is a push for electric vehicles. Old coal and natural gas power plants are not being maintained, as the power companies believe the government will either ban them or put them under such harsh regulations that it will become impossible to operate them. A similar thing might be happening at the railroads as the government seems to be determined to make us downgrade our living standards and diet.
Now, we have a huge chemical plant fire in Georgia. I think that I missed posting the explosion at the chicken farm last week, and people are still wondering why a chicken plant would explode; but something like 18,000 chickens were killed in that explosion, if I remember right. Anyway, here is a picture of the fire in Georgia. There have also been unusual wildfires in Wisconsin this past week, which have been burning out of control. Of course, they blame those on climate change.
Could be the ongoing cyber attack. Russia nad China are saving their big guns in cyber for when they get into direct conflict with the U.S. I have seen projections that were made by the U.S. military that all our satellites and much of our grid will be down in a few days of the commencement of hostilities with China over Taiwan. What I have seen says we will just surrender rather than suffer the deaths resulting from the shutdown. All the bluster over Taiwan is just for show.
Another train disaster ! This one is a bridge collapse over the Yellowstone River, and the train is believed to be carrying hazardous chemicals. Just a little while ago, we had a huge bridge collapse because a tanker truck caught fire and exploded (conveniently) right underneath the bridge and caused the collapse on a main highway. I totally believe that at least part of these disasters were attacks on our infrastructure, and not just accidents.
I, too, believe that an attack on our transportation infrastructure is underway. It is impossible for us lay folks to know how much is due to cyber and terrorist activity and how much id due to incompetence and lack of maintenance, but I am certain that someone does know. Perhaps he on on another paternity/maternity leave.
We just need far better safety standards in these industries. And when there is an accident that shows lax safety standards, the law really has to get in there and not only punish the companies with fines, but the individuals within the companies. We are letting business be far far too cavalier in how they endanger the public. They can make plenty of money with decent safety standards in place. We have just let them get away with so much, for so long, that they feel entitled to ridiculous profit levels. And the way they treat truckers these days? Super low pay and that pressures them to work longer hours, drive incredibly long shifts without a break. And then you have extremely tired truckers on the roads, some with very dangerous loads. Trains without enough staff on them to keep them properly safe. Just absolutely not necessary for a company to be in a business and make a good healthy profit.