It’s Been A Year Since The Train Derailment In Ohio… Has Anything Changed?

Since Ohio Train Derailment, Accidents Have Gone Up, Not Down – Yahoo/NY Times, 2024/01/31

After a freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed a year ago in East Palestine, Ohio, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents and upending life in the town for months, the rail industry pledged to work to become safer, and members of Congress vowed to pass legislation to prevent similar disasters.

No bill was passed. And accidents went up.

This implies that better safety comes through government force. But that’s not always the case. It seems as though the rail companies have been taking their time to, hopefully, make sure they address the problem adequately. And if that can happen without any government interaction, that would be even better.

Rail companies say that they have taken steps since the disaster to reduce accidents, including using new technology and improving safety training, and that those changes have begun to show results.

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Jefferies said the railroads had taken several steps after the East Palestine accident to improve safety. Previously, the industry required that railroads stop and remove a rail car if a wheel bearing’s temperature hit 200 degrees Fahrenheit. In July, the association required that action at 170 degrees.

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CSX, the third-largest railroad, reported a 31% increase in accidents in the 10-month period. Bryan Tucker, a spokesperson, said the company’s safety performance had been “challenged” by its hiring of many new employees after the pandemic, but last year it bolstered its training, and that contributed to a steep drop in accidents in the fourth quarter.

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On its approach to East Palestine, the train that derailed did not pass an overheated-bearing detector for nearly 20 miles, suggesting that if there had been more detectors, with shorter distances between them, the problem might have been picked up earlier, perhaps averting the derailment.

Norfolk Southern added two detectors near East Palestine, resulting in an average of 11 miles between the detectors, said Connor Spielmaker, a spokesperson. Across the busiest parts of its network, Norfolk Southern has added 115 detectors since March, and with more additions it expects the average distance between detectors to fall to around 11 miles from 13.9 miles by the end of this year, he said.

Canadian Wildfire Affecting U.S. Air Quality, Airports Shut Down

Worst air quality in 20 years grips New York City, creates apocalyptic-looking skyline – Accuweather, 2023/06/06

Hazy skies, the fiery, red sun, and the smell of smoke caught the attention of residents from Maryland to New England on Tuesday. The air quality spiked to very unhealthy levels across the Northeast on Wednesday morning as wildfire smoke from Canada poured into the region.

On Wednesday morning, the famous New York City skyline once again disappeared behind a hazy veil.

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But it wasn’t just New York City that was enclosed in a blanket of smoke. Cities and towns from Maryland to New Hampshire reported low visibility and hazy skies.

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A ground stop was issued at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and LaGuardia Airport in New York City on Wednesday afternoon due to low visibility from the smoke and haze, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The airport in Philadelphia also been shutdown.

According to the Toronto Star, there are 150 fires burning in northern Quebec right now.

California: Shipping Industry Getting Nervous In Move To Electric Trucks

California’s latest environmental regulation may have unintended consequences for truckers – Freight Waves, 2023/05/25

The California Air Resources Board, also called CARB, has required drayage fleets — the types of trucking companies that operate in ports — to only buy zero-emissions trucks starting Jan. 1, 2024. By 2035, drayage fleets must be entirely zero emission.

The public and private sectors involved in enacting this regulation say they’re preparing for this first step to transitioning to electric trucks. The state has furnished beaucoup bucks for fleets to buy their own trucks and build their own charging depots. And utility providers say they’re scaling up too. An estimated 1,000 zero-emissions trucks will come online in 2024, eventually scaling up to 35,000 electric trucks to operate in United States’ largest container ports by 2035.

Still, months before this regulation comes into effect, folks on the ground say key infrastructure and concerns haven’t been furnished. California must prove to the nation (and the world) that an electrified trucking fleet can underpin a major port — without hurting a group of workers that already has the cards stacked against them.

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There’s just one, huge issue. Shimoda has no idea where they’re supposed to be charged.

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Public and private players say they are working on this. Paul Griffo, senior adviser for corporate communications at SCE, said the utility provider will furnish charging portals for 8,500 medium- and heavy-duty trucks “over the next few years.”

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Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said increased electric capacity is crucial too. To meet the state of California’s goal of having no additional sales of traditional gas vehicles, the state will need to add some 80 gigawatts of power, SCE said. By 2026, the state will need an additional 11.5 gigawatts, much of which will power medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

I am expecting this to be a mess. They have no concrete plan at this point. Their regulatory environment doesn’t allow anything to built quickly. And they will need more power – this from a state that uses brownouts to conserve power.

Circle K Offering A Gas Holiday On May 25th

Circle K Fuel Day Returns Ahead of Holiday Weekend – Convenience Store News, 2023/05/24

Circle K is offering drivers savings at the pump on May 25, the convenience store operator’s second Circle K Fuel Day.

From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time, more than 5,000 Circle K and Holiday Stationstores fuel locations across the United States will offer 40 cents off per gallon, helping drivers to fuel up ahead of the long Memorial Day weekend and celebrate the unofficial start of summer.

The deal is available at participating company-operated and select franchise-operated fueling locations within the U.S.

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The discount is up to 40 cents per gallon in certain states in accordance with applicable laws. Holiday Stationstores customers must pay inside the store to receive the discount.

Now I felt like I have done my good deed for the day. Here are the list of participating stores. Not entirely fun that’s it’s during rush hour – but it’s better than nothing.

Southwest Airlines Delays 1700 Flights Due To Tech Issues

Southwest Airlines Temporarily Halts US Departures On Tech Issue – International Business Times, 2023/04/18

Southwest Airlines temporarily grounded all US flights Tuesday due to a technology problem, delaying more than 1,700 departures and hitting its share price.

The domestic-focused US carrier “requested that the Federal Aviation Administration pause the airline’s departures due to an internal technical issue at Southwest,” US regulator FAA said on its Twitter feed near 1430 GMT.

But near 1510 GMT, the FAA said “the pause has been lifted their service has resumed.”

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In a statement after the outage ended, Southwest said the problem stemmed from “data connection issues resulting from a firewall failure,” according to an email to AFP.

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The problem has delayed 1,728 flights, according to tracking service FlightAware.

Stay patient if you are traveling…

CDC Investigators Become Ill While Probing The East Palestine Train Wreck

CDC team falls sick probing Ohio train derailment – BBC, 2023/04/03

Authorities say seven US health investigators fell ill while probing the impact of the 3 February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the investigator’s symptoms included nausea and headaches.

Locals in East Palestine have reported similar illnesses.

The train was carrying vinyl chloride and other potentially hazardous substances.

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In the wake of the derailment, state and federal officials repeatedly sought to reassure East Palestine residents that local air and water supplies were safe. Residents, however, reported headaches, nausea, burning eyes and sore throats, sparking fears that their long-term health could be impacted.

Environmental officials have said that nearly 45,000 animals died as a result of the toxic train crash, although all were aquatic species.

That’s unfortunate… maybe poetic justice, but unfortunate.

NTSB Head Says Ohio Train Derailment Is Not The Fault Of Trump Deregulation

NTSB Chair Fact-Checks Buttigieg, Biden Admin After They Use Trump as Scapegoat for Train Derailment – The Western Journal Commentary, 2023/02/24

The latest Democrat talking point blames former President Donald Trump for the East Palestine, Ohio, train wreck.

Trump, they claimed, wanted to help his corporate buddies so he suspended a rule requiring a more sophisticated braking system on trains carrying hazardous chemicals.

That caused the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern Railway derailment that threw tank cars on the ground, released toxic gases and forced East Palestine-area residents to flee from their homes.

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Not so fast, said Jennifer Homenday, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Trump’s suspension of requirements for electronically-controlled pneumatic brakes had nothing to do with the wreck, which NTSB has hinted as having been caused by a faulty train car bearing, she said.

Click the Tweet below to see the video. She actually has sounded reasonable to this point – which is unlike Biden Cabinet members.

WATCH: NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy says the brake rule Buttigieg and Joy Behar blamed President Trump for repealing 'would not have prevented' the East Palestine derailment.

"The wheel bearing failed on car number 23. So even with ECP brakes, the derailment would have occurred." pic.twitter.com/AECPta0T5F

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) February 24, 2023

Ohio: Chemical Expert Says The Train Fire Was Not a Controlled Burn

‘There’s the Lie’: Chemical Expert Identifies What Officials Are Wrong About in East Palestine – Townhall, 2023/02/24

Following the derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals earlier this month, residents were temporarily evacuated so a controlled burn could take place. But according to one chemical expert who traveled to the beleaguered town to conduct an independent analysis of the soil, air, and water, that’s a “lie.”

“It wasn’t a controlled burn. It was an uncontrolled burn,” independent environmental scientist and chemical spill expert Stephen Petty said. “In hazardous waste situations, they very carefully control the temperature and the amount of oxygen so they get complete combustion…so it’s not a controlled burn because a controlled burn would have to be like in a furnace or in your car or in some system where you control the fuel… the vinyl chloride and the amount of oxygen. So they didn’t do that.”

He said one of the ways to determine whether there’s been exposure is whether there’s an odor. Many residents reported noxious smells, which they said caused headaches and other problems like nausea, rashes, burning eyes, and more.

The article states that Petty has been an expert witness in nummerous top environmental court cases.

Thousands Of Flights Canceled Due To Winter Storm

More than 1,000 flights canceled as massive winter storm targets northern US – Fresno Bee, 2023/02/22

More than 1,000 scheduled flights have been canceled in the U.S. on Wednesday as the northern part of the country braces for the arrival of a massive winter storm.

According to flight tracking website FlightAware, 1,306 U.S. flights were canceled on Wednesday and 1,914 others were delayed.

The airport that saw the highest number of cancelations was the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where 193 outgoing and 218 incoming flights were canceled, accounting for 44 percent and 52 percent of those scheduled, respectively. The Denver International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport also each saw over 200 outgoing or incoming flights canceled on Wednesday.

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The Minneapolis-St. Paul area could see snowfall up to two feet for the first time in three decades, according to The Associated Press. Forecasters also said that parts of South Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan are expected to see more than a foot of snow.

Be patient if you are traveling… everyone is under pressure out there.

Those In The Airline Industry Say Issues Will Persist In 2023

The days of ‘fun flying’ are long gone: How U.S. air travel became a nightmare – NBC News, 2023/01/21

The year 2022 was one of the most stress-inducing for consumer air travelers in recent memory. A surge in travel demand after airlines slashed resources during the pandemic caught carriers flat footed. Unable to adequately staff flights, they nevertheless continued to sell record-breaking numbers of tickets, resulting in more than one in five flights being delayed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics — the highest rate of delays since 2014.

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“The days of flying being fun are long over,” said William McGee, a senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, anti-monopoly group. “People will settle for noneventful.”

Not everyone agrees on the nature of the problem. According to Scott Mayerowitz, executive editor of The Points Guy travel website, on any given day, the current system is mostly fine.

“It’s only these few instances when things go wrong, that they go horribly wrong, and it causes severe problems for such large numbers of people,” he said. “And it’s horrible if you’re one of those passengers — but the next week, everyone moves along and the system works.”

The problems include labor shortages (including pilots), outdated technology, and infrastructure issues.

Study: COVID Vaccine Hesitancy and Risk of a Traffic Crash

COVID Vaccine Hesitancy and Risk of a Traffic Crash – The American Journal of Medicine, 2022/12/02

I referenced this study in the prior post. Here’s the Background statement.

Coronavirus disease (COVID) vaccine hesitancy is a reflection of psychology that might also contribute to traffic safety. We tested whether COVID vaccination was associated with the risks of a traffic crash.

I want to make sure this is understood… they tested nothing. They read data from other sources and manufactured a conclusion. In other words, anybody could have done what they did. Here is there method.

We conducted a population-based longitudinal cohort analysis of adults and determined COVID vaccination status through linkages to individual electronic medical records. Traffic crashes requiring emergency medical care were subsequently identified by multicenter outcome ascertainment of all hospitals in the region over a 1-month follow-up interval (178 separate centers).

So they reviewed the records of 11,270,763 individuals in Canada. This is a Canadian study. 84% were vaccinated… 16% were not vaccinated. In their accident tally, 25% of the accidents involved the unvaccinated. Because the 16% was responsible for 25% of the accidents, they conclude…

These data suggest that COVID vaccine hesitancy is associated with significant increased risks of a traffic crash. An awareness of these risks might help to encourage more COVID vaccination.

That’s in the top section. A couple of other notes from the “study”.

Note that there is an official for this in the World Health Organization (WHO) lexicon.

Coronavirus disease (COVID) vaccine hesitancy is defined by the World Health Organization as a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccination against an important contagious disease despite supply (distribution), access (availability), and awareness (albeit with possible misinformation).

Now to the statements that contradict the conclusion. This is buried in the middle of the paper.

Whether COVID vaccination is associated with increased traffic risks, however, has not been tested and might seem surprising.18 Simple immune activation against a coronavirus, for example, has no direct effect on traffic behavior or the risk of a motor vehicle crash. Instead, we theorized that individual adults who tend to resist public health recommendations might also neglect basic road safety guidelines.

Like I said at the beginning – nothing has been tested.  Here’s another…

A limitation of our study is that correlation does not mean causality because our data do not explore potential causes of vaccine hesitancy or risky driving.

Last quote – which may be where they want to head with this.

The observed risks might also justify changes to driver insurance policies in the future.

We may be heading towards a trend where phony science like this may be used to financially punish those who are unvaccinated from COVID.

Article Suggests Higher Risk Of Car Accidents From Those Skipping The COVID Shots

I think I just ran across the most stupidest (bad english on purpose) article and study ever. First – here’s the article.

People who skipped their COVID vaccine are at higher risk of traffic accidents, according to a new study – Fortune, 2022/12/13

If you passed on getting the COVID vaccine, you might be a lot more likely to get into a car crash.

Or at least those are the findings of a new study published this month in The American Journal of Medicine. During the summer of 2021, Canadian researchers examined the encrypted government-held records of more than 11 million adults, 16% of whom hadn’t received the COVID vaccine.

They found that the unvaccinated people were 72% more likely to be involved in a severe traffic crash—in which at least one person was transported to the hospital—than those who were vaccinated.

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The excess risk of car crash posed by unvaccinated drivers “exceeds the safety gains from modern automobile engineering advances and also imposes risks on other road users,” the authors wrote.

Of course, skipping a COVID vaccine does not mean that someone will get into a car crash. Instead, the authors theorize that people who resist public health recommendations might also “neglect basic road safety guidelines.”

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Why would they ignore the rules of the road? Distrust of the government, a belief in freedom, misconceptions of daily risks, “faith in natural protection,” “antipathy toward regulation,” poverty, misinformation, a lack of resources, and personal beliefs are potential reasons proposed by the authors.

The findings are significant enough that primary care doctors should consider counseling unvaccinated patients on traffic safety—and insurance companies might base changes to insurance policies on vaccination data, the authors suggest.

Wait… is this a backhanded way to punish those unvaxxed – thru higher insurance rates because of fake science research? The theory is the behavior behind rejecting the COVID shots is the same behavior that contributes to reckless driving. What kind of nonsensical study came up with these results? That will be the next post.

Final Report On The Helicopter Crash That Killed Five Including Kobe Bryant

I ran across this and will post it for anyone interested even though it was released awhile ago. It is based on the final NTSB report on the crash along with a simulation video.

Accident Report – Sikorsky S-76B, N72EX – NTSB, 2021/02/25

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the pilot’s decision to continue flight under visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot’s spatial disorientation and loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s likely self-induced pressure and the pilot’s plan continuation bias, which adversely affected his decision-making, and Island Express Helicopters Inc.’s inadequate review and oversight of its safety management processes.

U.S. Air Marshalls Sound Warning About Being At The Border Instead Of On Planes

Air marshals sound alarm about being sent to border: ‘Demolishing our chances to stop another 9/11’ – Fox News, 2022/11/28

The executive director of the Air Marshal National Council delivered a clear message to the Biden administration Monday, warning that air travel is becoming less safe as marshals are diverted to the border.

Sonia Labosco is the executive director of the Air Marshal National Council.

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“We have been decimated. We have been depleted. We’re on less than 1% of flights. These ground-based duties that they’re pulling us out of the sky to go to the border are just demolishing our chances at stopping another 9/11.”

Labosco said Americans will suffer because many believe they’re safe in the presence of a trained air marshal, but “they’re just simply not.”

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Labosco said she has not heard back from the Biden administration after voicing concerns over recent safety risks on flights.

“We actually wrote him another letter over the weekend because we had a level four and a level three incident. Level four means that they tried to breach the cockpit. Level three, we had two of those, which means there were life-threatening behaviors on one of those aircraft. An individual had a straight razor to a passenger’s throat. So these are very serious incidents.”

The incidents are ramping up. The Biden Administration is not answering inquiries. It sounds like we all need to be air marshals… or at least have the mentality of an air marshal.

Flight Complaints up 270% From Pre Pandemic Levels

Air travel complaints up nearly 270% above pre-pandemic levels – Fox Business, 2022/08/27

Air travel service complaints jumped nearly 270% from pre-pandemic levels in June 2019, according to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) air travel consumer report released Friday.

The DOT received over 5,800 service complaints in June, a nearly 270% increase from the over 1,500 received in the same month in 2019. According to the report, there were over 28,500 complaints to the DOT in the first six months of 2022, a jump of 27.8% from the same period in 2021 and more than in all of 2019.

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Over 1,600 service complaints in June – nearly 29% – were related to flight cancelations, delays, or other deviations from the carriers’ schedules, the DOT said. About 24% of the June complaints concerned refunds.

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Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Frontier had the lowest marketing carrier rates of canceled flights in June, while American, Delta, and United had the highest, according to the DOT.

I have noticed flights sitting at the gate for long periods of time after passengers have boarded. my last flight, we sat for over 40 minutes. Sometimes they are waiting on passengers from other flights. Sometimes they are working on numbers and calculations.  Whatever the reason, it’s annoying and it didn’t use to happen.

If You Ever Need To Break Out Of a Car

I good tip I believe should be shared.

Bank Australia Sets Date To End Loans For Gas Powered Cars

Bank Australia sets date to cease petrol and diesel car loans – The Driven (Australia), 2022/08/19

Bank Australia will stop loaning money to drivers to buy new cars fuelled by petrol or diesel from 2025, it said on Friday.

The decision to stop funding the sale of fossil-fuelled cars is part of the bank’s strategy to achieve net zero by 2035, and comes as the federal government readies to release its National Electric Vehicle Strategy which is expected to put the discussion about legislating fuel emissions squarely on the table.

Interesting route they are taking… I assume gas powered cars will still be available to those not needing a loan. Perfect for people who implement rules that they don’t want to follow themselves.

Over 1400 Flights Canceled On Friday

More than 1,400 US flights canceled Friday – The Hill, 2022/08/05

More than 1,400 flights scheduled to take place Friday within, coming into or leaving the U.S. have been canceled, according to flight tracking website FlightAware, as airlines continue to struggle with timely departures this summer.

Along with 1,482 cancellations, airlines had more than 7,000 delays on Friday within, into or out of the U.S.

Among U.S. airlines, American Airlines had the most cancellations at 263, while Southwest was second with 193 cancellations.

Airlines have been struggling this summer with persistent cancellations and delays that have left customers and lawmakers frustrated.

Something is going on with the flights. This year I have sat on planes for 40 minutes at the gate. Did something change with how the balance the flights? The gate crew and pilots seem to have trouble getting something right.

Connecticut: Lithium Ion Battery Fire Consumes Electric Transit Bus

Electric Bus Catches on Fire at CT Transit Bus Depot in Hamden – NBC Connecticut/MSN, 2022/07/23

An electric bus caught on fire at a bus depot in Hamden on Saturday morning and three people were transported to the hospital to be evaluated.

Firefighters were called to the CT Transit Bus Depot on State Street after getting a report of an electric bus fire in the parking lot.

According to fire officials, lithium ion battery fires are difficult to extinguish due to the thermal chemical process that produces great heat and continually reignites.

With this type of fire, officials said they have to let it burn because it can’t be extinguished.

These vehicles with these lithium ion batteries just seem to randomly burst into flames – I suppose when they overheat.

California: Truckers Protest AB5 Law After Supreme Courts Refuses Case

Independent California truckers scramble after Supreme Court refuses to hear AB5 case – CBS News San Francisco, 2022/07/05

A law designed to force gig-economy companies like Uber, Lyft and DoorDash to accept workers as employees is also having a profound impact on the trucking industry. AB5 was intended to give transport workers more workplace protections, but for truckers who own and operate their own rigs, they said it may be the end of the road.

On Thursday, June 28th, the U.S. Supreme Court made news again, this time by refusing to hear a challenge by California truckers to the new law that requires truck drivers to be employees of the trucking companies they do business with.

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The problem is, nearly all of the state’s goods are transported by truck, many of which are owned and operated by individual drivers.

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“There’s 9,000 trucks that serve the port on a daily basis, and 90% of them are independent contractors. So, this is a big, big impact,” said Bill Aboudi, owner of AB Trucking in Oakland.

Aboudi employs his own drivers, but also uses independent contractors to handle overflow business, which he just said became illegal. Aboudi says he won’t be able to use trucks owned by the drivers anymore.

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Ironically, companies like Uber and Lyft were exempted from AB5 with the subsequent passage of Proposition 22. But Brashier said he believes AB5 was always intended to force independent truckers into trucking companies, making them easier to unionize.

I think that last statement is accurate. Uber and Lyft were the original focus of the AB5 law, but they received exemptions.

The atory above was from 2-3 weeks ago. The latest is below.

Trucker protest over gig worker law shuts down operations at California port – NBC News, 2022/07/21

Truckers protesting a state labor law effectively shut down cargo operations at the Port of Oakland, it was announced Wednesday.

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The protest that began Monday involves hundreds of independent big-rig truckers that have blocked the movement of cargo in and out of terminals at the port, which is one of the 10 busiest container ports in the country, according to its website.

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The truckers are protesting Assembly Bill 5, a gig economy law passed in 2019 that made it harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees, who are entitled to minimum wage and benefits such as workers compensation, overtime and sick pay.

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The International Brotherhood of Teamsters called it a “massive victory” for exploited truckers. But the California Trucking Association, which sued over the law, had argued the law could make it harder for independent drivers who own their own trucks and operate on their own hours to make a living by forcing them to be classified as employees.

A Good Explanation Of Why Blaming Gas Companies For High Prices Is Fake News

Roth: DEBUNKED and EXPLAINED: No, greedy oil companies are not to blame for gas prices – The Blaze, 2022/06/13

The cost of crude oil is set by factors of supply and demand. Supply/demand imbalances can lead to major swings in the price of oil, as we have seen recently. Of course, there is also a major oil cartel that decides how much to produce at given times, which factors heavily into supply.

On the demand side, the world has seen massive shifts because of decisions made around the world related to the pandemic and the changes in behaviors that brought about. As people were locked down, demand plummeted, and as people emerged from lockdowns, demand increased. When China fully emerges from another series of lockdowns, as the number-one importer of oil in the world, it will add demand to the worldwide market.

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On the supply side, in addition to the whims of OPEC+ regarding production, a variety of domestic and international factors impact oil production. The push for green energy has thwarted the progress that the U.S. was making in energy independence and increasing supply. The Biden administration canceling oil and gas leases, shutting down pipeline progress, and having substantial red tape for drilling and production all factor into the market calculations on what supply will be like today and going forward.

Additionally, the demonization of this critical industry, including the push of ESG initiatives to direct capital away from traditional energy projects, has led to substantial under-investment in the sector, which also materially impacts the supply side of the equation.

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There is also a monetary policy component to this. If the Federal Reserve had been managing interest rates appropriately and not printing trillions of dollars, we wouldn’t be seeing inflation in everything, including oil and gas, at the same levels as they are at today.

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Refining is the process that turns the crude oil into not only gasoline but a variety of other products and components for products. These costs depend on the time of year and geography, based on laws that require different blends for different times of year and the associated climates.

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Once the oil is processed into gasoline, it doesn’t magically appear at the gas stations, either. All of the distribution related to eventually getting gas to you is intricate and expensive. Given that energy is required to transport the oil and gas, increasing energy costs end up being a double whammy for you at the pump.

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API estimates that on average, 57 cents per gallon of gasoline goes to taxes. The federal tax is constant at 18.4 cents per gallon. State and local taxes vary widely. The high is California at 68 cents, and the low is Alaska at 15 cents, with the state average around 39 cents.

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During the sharp reduction in demand during the pandemic, major oil companies took huge losses. The five biggest companies (aka “Big Oil”) lost a combined $76 billion. But if you needed gas, they were still there for you. Furthermore, nobody offered to pay more to help them out.

Now that demand has increased far ahead of supply, the market has driven crude prices up, which has given them more revenue and, as that works, more profit.

In a June 10 tweet, Fox Business host Charles Payne said, “In 2020 Exxon lost $22.4 billion; federal government made $25.8 billion on gas taxes,” and pointed out the federal government is likely making much more today.

There’s much more there. It’s a good thorough write up. Many factors play a role.

Pilots Are Suing The Airlines, The FAA, And The DOT Because Of COVID Vaccine Mandates

This is the first lawsuit to be official.

USFF v. Atlas Air Complaint Final – Document Cloud, 2022/05/26

I’m going to include some lines from the document.

1. Fundamentally, this case is about whether Americans should be required to choose between their livelihoods and being coerced into taking an experimental, dangerous medical treatment.

2. It is also about the safety of America’s airline industry. Should pilots – under federal regulation required to be among the healthiest workers in the United States – who have taken an experimental “vaccine” that is now shown to have potentially deadly, long-term side effects, be allowed to fly massive aircraft in our skies? While those who have (smartly) refrained from such a course be forced out of their jobs?

5. The Plaintiffs in this lawsuit include pilots, flight attendants and other staff of Defendant Atlas Air, Inc. (“Atlas Air” or “Atlas”)—the largest air cargo shipper in the world and the world’s largest operator of Boeing 747 aircrafts, as well as certain of its affiliated entities. Throughout the global COVID-19 pandemic beginning in March 2020 and continuing to the present, Atlas Air has imposed relentless, ever-shifting pandemic mitigation restrictions on these Plaintiffs, including deceptive messaging which changed from month to month and kept plaintiffs in constant fear for their jobs.

10. Perhaps most significantly, it is in contravention of long-standing FAA guidance for pilots to take medications that have not been approved by the FDA and then in use for twelve months. The use of, or administration of a drug that does not meet these standards – such as the COVID-19 “vaccines” at issue in this case – is a blatant violation of long-standing FAA procedure. Yet Atlas has encouraged, coerced and even paid pilots to violate this FAA guidance and procedure. Further, Federal Aviation Regulation 61.53(a)(2) prohibits pilots who have taken a medication with side effects that would render them unable to meet the requirements of the FAA medical certificate from acting in any capacity as a member of a flight crew.

11. Based upon recent revelations from documents released from the very pharmaceutical companies that produced the vaccines, as well as VAERS and D-MED data, it is clear the vaccines have numerous dangerous and detrimental side effects such as myocarditis, pericarditis, blood clots, strokes, and cardiac arrest, all of which can lead to sudden death. The vaccines can also lead to severe neurological conditions. This has created the classic example where a catastrophe is waiting to happen. It is simply not safe – and in fact is illegal under federal regulatory law – for vaccinated pilots to be flying right now. No better example of this is the near-disastrous situation that recently occurred on April 9, 2022, when the pilot of American Airlines Flight 1067 into Dallas Forth Worth – Rob Snow – had a cardiac event and flat-lined minutes after landing. A possible mass casualty event was barely avoided. There have now been multiple other similar incidents that have occurred around the country.

It’s worth the time to read through the meat of the document. I haven’t finished yet.

30,000 Eggs Lost In 18 Wheeler Crash… Give Truckers A Break

Highway scramble: 18-wheeler hauling 30,000 pounds of eggs crashes on Dallas freeway – Houston Chronicle, 2022/05/16

A crash in Dallas left a highway scattered with raw eggs after the driver of an 18-wheeler struck a bridge Monday morning.

The big rig was hauling nearly 30,000 pounds of eggs on Interstate 30 near downtown Dallas, according to Metro Video, when the driver struck the overpass. The force of the crash split the trailer’s roof open and jostled the eggs out of their containers, sending hundreds spilling to the concrete below as the truck careened to a stop. The driver was uninjured in the collision.

…
WFAA reporter Susanne Brunner, tweeting from the scene, said the eggs appeared to be Eggland’s Best brand, which the company estimates was valued at $90,000 worth of eggs. The driver was taking the haul to a nearby distribution center when they struck the bridge, according to Brunner.

I want to give a quick public service announcement (PSA). The need for truckers has caused companies to greatly increase the salaries for truckers… which is likely bringing in a bunch of new drivers wanting to cash in. Walmart is looking to pay new drivers $95,000 a year.

Please operate with caution around these 18-wheelers, because there is probably a good chance that it’s a relatively new driver operating the rig. Don’t put them in a situation that they can’t handle. Also – we need as many goods as possible getting to their destination.

Crisis Alert: Diesel Supply Low In The Eastern US

Why the Northeast is quietly running out of diesel – Freight Waves, 2022/05/12

The East Coast of the U.S. is reporting its lowest seasonal diesel inventory on record. And some trucking companies appear spooked.

The East Coast typically stores around 62 million barrels of diesel during the month of May, according to Department of Energy data. But as of last Friday, that region of the U.S. is reporting under 52 million barrels.

The sharp increase of diesel prices has been a major stressor in America’s $800 billion trucking industry since the beginning of 2022. According to DOE figures, the price per gallon of diesel has reached record highs — a whopping $5.62 per gallon. It’s even higher on the East Coast at $5.90, up 63% from the beginning of this year.

Quoted from Bloomberg…

…
In the past 15 years, the number of refineries on the U.S. East Coast has halved to just seven. The closures have reduced the region’s oil processing capacity to just 818,000 barrels per day, down from 1.64 million barrels per day in 2009. Regional oil demand, however, is stronger.

Another pending crisis in the “on deck circle”…?

India: Parents Sue Their Son And His Wife Demanding A Grandchild

Parents sue their son and daughter-in-law, demanding a grandchild or $675,000 – NPR, 2022/05/14

A retired Indian couple is suing their son and daughter-in-law, demanding that they produce a grandchild within a year or pay them 50 million rupees ($675,000).

Sanjeev Ranjan Prasad, a 61-year-old retired government officer, said it was an emotional and sensitive issue for him and his wife, Sadhana Prasad, and they cannot wait any longer. His son, a pilot, was married six years ago.

“We want a grandson or a granddaughter within a year or compensation, because I have spent my life’s earnings on my son’s education,” Prasad told reporters on Thursday.

Prasad said he spent 3.5 million rupees ($47,300) for his son’s pilot training in the United States.

Maybe it’s a good thing that they don’t have kids yet since he is flying constantly…