https://www.netflix.com/title/80989924
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACD The efforts against Fascist rule in the 1930's didn't become organized until September 1, 1939 - had anti-fascist efforts been more successful, maybe September 1, 1939 would not have happened.
The efforts against Fascist rule in the 1930's didn't become organized until September 1, 1939 - had anti-fascist efforts been more successful, maybe September 1, 1939 would not have happened.
Beg to differ, the original antifa organization got started in the early 1930's and were considered by people in the center to be as bad if not worse than the NSDAP brown shirts. Keep in mind that this is when the Holomodor was going on in the Ukraine and a bit over a decade after Poland repelled an attempted invasion by the Soviets.
Overmod, I see no evidence that people protesting fascism are redefining it or taking on attitudes (?!) of the people they oppose.
I really think you get yourself into trouble by reading reporting on 'antifa' as a movement that is written by people who have a political or financial interest in creating fear. They assign "tactics" to a loose bunch of people who are really doing nothing else but standing up pushing back against, frankly, evil behavior on our city streets.
I think the people fighting fascists and white supremacists in the United States have the same heart as those who fought fascism in World War II. I applaud them. I applaud people who are standing up to our own government's authoritarian tactics, orchestrated by guys (it turns out) who haven't taken their "acting" jobs in a valid way.
Put another way, stop trying to make "antifa" a thing...it's a crappy shortcut way of saying "those who oppose and push back against fascists and authoritarianism." Count me in.
Erik_Mag Beg to differ, the original antifa organization got started in the early 1930's and were considered by people in the center to be as bad if not worse than the NSDAP brown shirts. Keep in mind that this is when the Holomodor was going on in the Ukraine and a bit over a decade after Poland repelled an attempted invasion by the Soviets.
Any attempt to say that the anti fascism protestors of the second decade of the 21st century are in any way a perpetuation of "the original antifa organization" is absurd...in no small part because most younger people, including those out protesting, don't have that kind of time depth.
jcburns Erik_Mag Beg to differ, the original antifa organization got started in the early 1930's and were considered by people in the center to be as bad if not worse than the NSDAP brown shirts. Keep in mind that this is when the Holomodor was going on in the Ukraine and a bit over a decade after Poland repelled an attempted invasion by the Soviets. Any attempt to say that the anti fascism protestors of the second decade of the 21st century are in any way a perpetuation of "the original antifa organization" is absurd...in no small part because most younger people, including those out protesting, don't have that kind of time depth.
However, those undertaking Fascist actions in the 21st Century have many of the same aims as those taking those actions in the 20th Century.
Erik_Mag BaltACD The efforts against Fascist rule in the 1930's didn't become organized until September 1, 1939 - had anti-fascist efforts been more successful, maybe September 1, 1939 would not have happened. Beg to differ, the original antifa organization got started in the early 1930's and were considered by people in the center to be as bad if not worse than the NSDAP brown shirts. Keep in mind that this is when the Holomodor was going on in the Ukraine and a bit over a decade after Poland repelled an attempted invasion by the Soviets.
Beg to differ on the timeline. The antifascist street fighters of the SPD (Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold) and those affiliated with the KPD (Rot Front) were well-organized and violently engaged the SA (brown shirts) of the NSDAP and the rightist Stahlhelm in the 1920s as well as with each other.
The current Antifa are a very loose, diverse *group* in US, some leftist, some anarchist. They are slightly more organized in parts of Europe.
jcburnsPut another way, stop trying to make "antifa" a thing...it's a crappy shortcut way of saying "those who oppose and push back against fascists and authoritarianism." Count me in.
It is certainly true that various groups and movements have latched into it as a convenient bugbear to get excitement and money out of the susceptible, as they have done with Soros all these years, and with inchoate threats of 'communism' in my childhood. That carries little weight with me.
There is a related issue between 'black lives matter', which I think is something that should be supported until the underlying issues are rectified, and the official 'Black Lives Matter' organization.
I appreciate your response, Overmod, and I hear where you're coming from, but I think in some ways we (you, me, older people, people of a background more removed from these folks) aren't equipped to really differentiate between the organizations and the greater causes. Anyone can put a video up claiming to be part of something called 'antifa', providing very basic visual "proof" that they're part of it, and then commit acts that many of not all of the anti fascism protestors would call "wrong" or "going too far."
There are (I believe) propagandists out there who are counting on you to draw those very conclusions. I think the Black Lives Matter org is filled with good people who want to change a very basic problem with American society. Because they're young, because they grew up with music, cultural references, and experiences PERHAPS far different than ours, they pick some ways to express that that sound dangerous to (again being diplomatic here) ears attached to heads filled with different life experiences.
I think that's a very long way of saying cut them some slack, give them a chance to change the world for the better, and cheer them on when they do. And when they screw up, give them space to try again without charging them with treason.
And then again, the world is always full of grifters and conmen who latch onto good causes and appropriate them for camouflage while they exploit for personal gain.
Not to mention all the people who will gladly loot a Best Buy, and then excuse doing so as "social justice"
jcburnsI think that's a very long way of saying cut them some slack, give them a chance to change the world for the better, and cheer them on when they do. And when they screw up, give them space to try again without charging them with treason.
My principal objection to the current antifa is that it's too functionally similar to counterpart groups on the 'actually' fascist right in their willingness to use violence outside a context of even pseudo-process-of-justice ways... or as a Maoist tactic similar to that employed by Sendero Luminoso, one of the organizations I most despise.
Convicted One Not to mention all the people who will gladly loot a Best Buy, and then excuse doing so as "social justice"
Oh, we were doing so well, and then you toss this fiction into the pile. The protesters were not the looters. Many of the looters were propagandists—possibly from the far right—they came in and used tactics to provoke what you just wrote—the false conclusion that the protesters and the looters were one mass of people. The "looters" were making a false propaganda story more believable. And yep, you bit.
Is there a place for genuine discussion of class disparity, especially from the BLM viewpoint? I sure think so. I look at how many ways the "deck is stacked" against folks who have to work multiple jobs, have little or no health care, and have to say yes to working in environments that may be hazardous to their health in a pandemic.
You know, like teachers! (And harvesters, meat processors, cleaning crews, and some of the folks who work for the nation's railroads, airlines, and common carriers.)
jcburns Convicted One Not to mention all the people who will gladly loot a Best Buy, and then excuse doing so as "social justice" Oh, we were doing so well, and then you toss this fiction into the pile. The protesters were not the looters. Many of the looters were propagandists—possibly from the far right—they came in and used tactics to provoke what you just wrote—the false conclusion that the protesters and the looters were one mass of people. The "looters" were making a false propaganda story more believable. And yep, you bit.
I agree with you on most of this, but at least one incident does not fit your narrative. The looters last weekend on Michigan Avenue in Chicago were simply highly organized gangs of young black men and women. Some person claiming to be from BLM said it wasn't looting, but reparations. I don't think this was the work of rightist or leftist folks, just thieves. And that's what Mayor Lightfoot said also.
charlie hebdo Some person claiming to be from BLM said it wasn't looting, but reparations. I don't think this was the work of rightist or leftist folks, just thieves. And that's what Mayor Lightfoot said also.
Which is why I said what I did. As counterpoint to his "cut them all slack, and if they screw up, forgive them" insistence.
Just because they claim to be aligned with a just cause is no reason to cut them carte blanche.
People I've seen in videos walking out of looted stores with spoils in hand. really don't look like right wing operatives.
Convicted One charlie hebdo Some person claiming to be from BLM said it wasn't looting, but reparations. I don't think this was the work of rightist or leftist folks, just thieves. And that's what Mayor Lightfoot said also. Which is why I said what I did. As counterpoint to his "cut them all slack, and if they screw up, forgive them" insistence. Just because they claim to be aligned with a just cause is no reason to cut them carte blanche. People I've seen in videos walking out of looted stores with spoils in hand. really don't look like right wing operatives.
They are neither rightists nor leftists. They're simply apolitical criminals.
charlie hebdoThey are neither rightists nor leftists. They're simply apolitical criminals.
Frankly, I'm not closed minded to the possibility of "bad actors" from all over the spectrum.
Hopefully we can all agree that the bad actors are all opportunists.
Yikes! I,m gone for 23 hours and there is a page of posts about ANTIFA and nothing to do with the original post. Guys get a life and stay on topic please. I'm not a moderator and I'm not asking for one to do their job but I was hopingsomeone might say something about the cop and the manand/or the train or its crew. But NO, the cats have to argue. #%@&.
Simply well-organized criminals, probably gang involvement. They had the break-ins timed well. Nothing to do with opportunity, which seems like a sneaky wording for advancing some ulterior agenda.
"Claiming to be from BLM" —that's part of the problem right there.
Convicted OnePeople I've seen in videos walking out of looted stores with spoils in hand. really don't look like right wing operatives.
They wouldn't be good operatives if they did, would they now...?
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
zugmannThey wouldn't be good operatives if they did, would they now...?
ROFL! I guess that depends upon whether one chooses to believe the "false" propaganda, or the "true" propaganda.
The following is somewhat informative, Look to the section "Flange fillers and surfacing"
https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/fra_net/16553/Engineering_for_Ped_Safety_At_Crossings_final.pdf
"Currently there are no design strategies that completely eliminate the flange way gap for high speed passenger and freight rail systems"
Looking at some of the video stills it looks like one of his main wheels dropped in the flangeway when he got turned parallel to the tracks.
Either wider wheels or smaller flangeways ...
One other thought is maybe at the edge of the crossing the flangeways widen (or the center drops) to allow for an escape path.
How strange then that I see flangeways safeguards used at crossings on the UP/Metra line used by over 100 freight and heavy-rail commuter trains daily. I guess they didn't read the report about "completely eliminating the flangeways gap." Or is mitigating the gap problem to a large extent not good enough?
In Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, on the Thresher's grounds (Midwest Old Settler's and Thresher's Reunion) there are tracks for the narrow gauge RR there, that lead into a couple of "car barns" These buildings and the concrete/asphalt areas around them have what appears to be a hard rubber substance in the flangeways. My impression is that they are like a stiff rubber hollow hose. I have made the assumption that the material gives under the weight of the car wheel/flange, but is stiff enough that foot traffic and wheel chairs, etc. are not heavy enough to deform the material such that anything would get between the rail and the surrounding concrete/asphalt.
When I first saw it many years ago, I attempted to compress it with the heal of my shoe and noted only that it felt softer than the rail or concrete, but I was not able to affect it enough to really see any compression.
From my viewpoint, the material was an ideal solution to the foot traffic "tripping hazard" and small wheeled vehicle "stuck wheel" problems. I am sure that the railed vehicle traffic is just a few cars per year when things are brought out for special events and then put back in the barns for storage, so wear is not a problem.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Found a guideline.
https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/streets-sidewalks/public-rights-of-way/proposed-rights-of-way-guidelines/chapter-r3-technical-requirements
R302.7.4 Flangeway Gaps. Flangeway gaps at pedestrian at-grade rail crossings shall be 64 mm (2.5 in) maximum on non-freight rail track and 75 mm (3 in) maximum on freight rail track.
charlie hebdoHow strange then that I see flangeways safeguards used at crossings on the UP/Metra line used by over 100 freight and heavy-rail commuter trains daily. I guess they didn't read the report about "completely eliminating the flangeways gap." Or is mitigating the gap problem to a large extent not good enough?
But the issue with the Chicago crossings is more who's paying to provide the added safety, and how the agreement to use the fillers apportions maintenance cost and legal risk. My guess is it's either some appropriate department of Chicago or IDOT, perhaps with Federal money of some kind for 'grade crossing safety' or METRA, but not Union Pacific.
It might be interesting to research who would be responsible for flangeway fillers in Lodi; I'll bet a hat lawsuits to compel their installation there and perhaps more statewide are already in process.
As I will not argue there should be. Just that the railroads should not be the ones to have to pay...
Looks like Lodi is spending state ballot measure money on bike lanes. This may explain the new sidewaks on google street view.The target crossing is not on the current active project list.
https://www.lodi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/966/Bicycle-Master-Plan-PDF
Unless they ask for a variance from FRA, aint gonna happen. The FRA 213 rules won't allow it (flangeway must be open per 213.133c and 213.137a)....The best thing they could do is place some common sense signage (kinda hard in CA) in advance of the crossings and hope the clueless heed the signage.
Within sight of the Colorado Railroad Museum is a skew crossing owned now by RTD and operated by BNSF serving the Coors brewery that has signage and special side crossings for bikes to cross the track at right angles - Blown off by idots sitting on his/her brains with predictable results (Golden EMS knows the place by heart, calls to that location on a regular basis)
...Even with flangeway fillers, women (plus Charlie & Bucky ?) have this issue with heels and those heels quite often damage the field side filler of the rail crossing, usually sticking in the seam where the rail and rubber meet. Hardly a new issue. RTD-Denver has dealt with it since they began rail operations. (Ironically there are Denver Tramway complaints from the 1940's over the same issue)
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