Sunday, November 7, 2004

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry

This isn't the first time:

"In 1987, peace activists began a vigil to block the munitions trains. Brian Wilson was among those who sat on the tracks one morning in September, fully expecting to stop the train, then be arrested.

"So as the train started coming, I just assumed the train was gonna stop, as did everybody else. But instead, it seemed to be accelerating," explains Wilson.

The train did not stop. It ran over Wilson, severing both his legs. "I have to say that I don't have any regrets," he says. "I'm sorry I lost my legs. I'm sorry that people go through this all over the world, all the time when they're standing up to repression. But there's something about the deep joy of expressing one's conscience in an honest way.""

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/kron/archive/1999/10/13/ba2k1.DTL&type=ba2k

Jabba the Tutt (ip:216.111.205.177) 7 November 2004 - 17:08 uur

Do these guys get freebies for the rest of their lifes in the USA too? It's not that I am particularly fond of France right now, but in all likelihood, he will be on disability welfare for the rest of his life. Whereas France could use that money much beter by spending it on... ehm... Never mind ;-)

Arjan (ip:82.161.93.35) 7 November 2004 - 17:11 uur

Ahh..French nuance. I suppose they didnt completely sever him in half to show that they somewhat respected his mode of protest :)

In other news, its being alleged that in the ivory coast french soldiers have shot and killed 30 unarmed civilians to avenge the death of 9 of it's peace keeping troops. I wonder how much traction this story will pick up across the continent and how much anger it will generate in the vaunted halls of brussels against the french?

Dan (ip:141.149.235.220) 7 November 2004 - 17:20 uur

Might I also add a "thank you" to the creatof of this blog for posting in english? I get so little news from your part of the world due to my inability to speak the language (other than what the BBC cares to write) and it's refreshing to read your opinion on matters of interest to you and your country. Not all americans are "insular" or know nothing of the world,it's just that it can be somewhat hard to gain a real persons perspective in the blog world when we do not speak your language.

Once again, thank you from America.

Dan (ip:141.149.235.220) 7 November 2004 - 17:26 uur

Thank you. I started writing in English a short while ago to improve my written fluency. When Mr. Van Gogh was murdered, there was a sudden huge influx of new visitors. I'm glad to hear you like it.

Arjan (ip:82.161.93.35) 7 November 2004 - 17:31 uur

If I am recalling the incident involving Mr Wilson correctly, he sued the railroad corp. and the federal government and won a sizable award.

krkrjak (ip:24.7.187.117) 7 November 2004 - 19:15 uur

I don't envy you at all with what you are having to face in your country.
It looks as though you will have to through again the same kinds of oppression and violence you were subjected to during the Nazi occupation.
And with such a growing population of unassimulated muslims you have a challenge of great portent!
Keep us informed!

mshyde (ip:66.118.27.230) 7 November 2004 - 19:33 uur

The protestor simply didn't know enough about trains.  The coefficient of friction of steel wheel on steel rail is about the same as rubber on ice[1], and that is for an unloaded train.  A train moving at 30 MPH (~50 kph) requires about 3500 feet (~1.1 km) to stop[2].

To prevent such accidents in the future, all students should be required to pass a course in physics for graduation. ;-)

[1] http://www.train-dynamics.com/
[2] http://esf.uvm.edu/sirippt/posters/train/train.html

(VERY unfriendly comment software you have!  It deletes properly-formatted HTML links without any warning or chance to recover.  It is also deleting all line AND paragraph breaks in the preview!  This is going to be very hard to read if it posts the same as the preview, but there seems to be nothing I can do about it.)

Engineer-Poet (ip:148.59.80.102) 7 November 2004 - 22:06 uur

Engineer-Poet: there was something wrong with one of the templates. Web mistress Marza was kind enough to fix it, so you should be alright from now on. Thanks for your comments.

Arjan (ip:82.161.93.35) 7 November 2004 - 0:12 uur

In other news, its being alleged that in the ivory coast french soldiers have shot and killed 30 unarmed civilians to avenge the death of 9 of it's peace keeping troops.

Hmmm, where are all the European protestors? Where are all the articles worrying about civil rights? Where is the concern about unilateral interventions? Where is the uproar about imperialism? How does this compare to Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo?

As a shtoopidd American, I just can't keep up with European sophistication or is that sophistry? It's one of those long words.

Jabba the Tutt (ip:216.111.205.151) 7 November 2004 - 4:04 uur

Comment