{"id":13931,"date":"2015-11-15T04:43:47","date_gmt":"2015-11-15T09:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/streamingradioguide.com\/startingover\/?p=13931"},"modified":"2015-11-15T04:52:51","modified_gmt":"2015-11-15T09:52:51","slug":"defending-the-undefensible-border","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamingradioguide.com\/startingover\/?p=13931","title":{"rendered":"Defending the undefensible border"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may have heard that a French test train crashed Saturday causing fatalities. If your sense is it is related to events in Paris, you are likely correct, but probably for a different reason than you think.<\/p>\n

This is brand new track for high speed rail only. It will connect Strasbourg heading to the west. If you remember history, Alsace Lorraine was very important to both the first and second world wars as France and Germany both asserted it was part of their country. France tried to expel the ethnic Germans from the area and take control of what was intended to be neutral turf. Now the map<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The red pin is the location of the crash. Germany is to the East (right) and North'(up) – the border with Switzerland is also in the picture. You’ll notice road closures on the map. With no actual physical border any more, how does one “close” a border?<\/p>\n

Here is the actual crash location<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For immigrants who evade the “closed” non-border, the canal is the real border. The bridges are an obvious path for migrants to head West into France. My working theory is someone “closed” the bridges without contacting the railroad – after all, these tracks are not open yet. Putting a train into emergency stop always risks causing a derailment.<\/p>\n

We’ll always have Paris, right?<\/p>\n