Dianne Feinstein’s husband owns part of
the railroad industry. How does that connection
affect rail road safety issues.
- Do politicians stop train safety projects for political reasons, 60
Minutes says they do on their most recent episode.
- Dianne Feinstein arranged funding for Solyndra and Tesla. Her
husband got the adjacent railroad property and construction contracts.
- She got funding for the new California train. His company got to
build it.
- Over 40 suspicious conflicts of interest. Now, other suppliers are
speaking out.
- A horrible series of train accidents gets people talking:
Richard Blum drags Dianne Feinstein to her
next kick-back scheme
A Message from President and CEO Joe Boardman Regarding
Restoration of Service on the Northeast Corridor
“At Amtrak, the safety of our passengers and crew remains our number
one priority. Since the tragic derailment, Amtrak staff and
crew have been working around the clock to repair the
infrastructure necessary to restore service for all the
passengers who travel along the Northeast Corridor. Our
repairs have been made with the utmost care and emphasis on safety,
including complete compliance with Federal Railroad Administration
directives. Effective with departures from Philadelphia at
5:53 a.m. (Train 110) and New York City at 5:30 a.m. (Train
111) on Monday, May 18, Amtrak will restore normal service
on the Northeast Corridor. Although service along the
Northeast Corridor will begin again tomorrow, the derailment
of Northeast Regional Train 188 is a tragedy that we at Amtrak
will continue to mourn and are dedicated to learning from. Thank
you for your support of America’s Railroad. Sincerely,
Joe Boardman, President and Chief Executive Officer
—————————————————
Insular U.S. Rail Industry Impedes
Innovative Outsiders By Robert J. Ahern – Small,
innovative companies in the U.S. are coming up with answers to some of the
most pressing and persistent problems on America’s railways. But they’re
being stonewalled at every turn by a hidebound, insular rail industry.
Rail travel, for both freight and passengers, is safer now than it has
ever been. Yet the industry has been unable — or unwilling — to fix some
issues. Failure of wheel bearings is one of them. Another is the
accidental uncoupling of cars. In both of these cases, smart, independent
companies have devised solutions only to be rebuffed by a railroad
industry that is protective of its own suppliers and hostile to ideas that
come from outside its closed culture. This behavior puts lives and freight
at unnecessary risk. After years of being frustrated by the rail industry
at every turn, companies with new ideas have little choice but to turn to
the federal government. Legislation is pending in Congress that would
require the Federal Railroad Administration — the government agency that
oversees the rail industry — to adopt and enforce mandatory safety
standards that would ensure bearing failures, decoupling and other
accidents do not happen. This would permit railroads to use any
technology, from inside or outside the industry, that meets the standards.
Why is this needed? Consider the case of Columbus Castings, of Columbus,
Ohio. In 2008, the railroad industry, acknowledging that trains still
accidentally uncouple, set a standard that any manufacturer must meet if
it designed a device that would fix the problem. Columbus Castings
invented the Z-Knuckle, which prevents uncoupling. It met the industry’s
new standard. But in a strange twist, the industry refused to back the
Z-Knuckle’s use because it was the only device that met the standard.
Instead, it simply chose not to enforce the standard. Never mind that
Columbus Castings is the country’s largest steel foundry and a maker of
steel for many uses. Several companies, including Amsted Rail, Standard
Truck Car, National Railway Equipment and A. Stucki Co., have created
advanced trucks — the framework that holds a rail car’s four wheels — that
are less likely to derail and use less energy, due to enhanced suspension.
But these have been rejected by the railroad industry as well. Likewise,
the industry has shunned electronically controlled pneumatic braking
systems that not only stop a train in a much shorter distance in an
emergency, but give the engineer constant, real-time feedback on the
train’s braking system. Stage 8 Locking Fasteners of San Rafael, Calif.,
also a railroad industry outsider, has come up with an inexpensive
solution that would virtually eliminate bearing-failure derailments. And,
as with Columbus Castings, the railroad industry has stood in the way of
safety and technology improvements. Failure of wheel bearings — the round,
metal rods inside a rail car’s wheel assembly that help the wheels roll
smoothly — are the nation’s third-largest cause of train derailments,
according to a 2012 University of Illinois study. Only broken rails and
track irregularities cause more accidents annually. Bearing failure
typically leads to derailments. In the worst cases, derailments can cause
injury, community disruption and death. These derailments happen because
the screws holding the bearing end caps (which maintain proper tension in
the bearing) vibrate loose after thousands of miles of service. The rail
industry has tried for half a century to devise a reliable screw-locking
technology of its own, but has not been able to do so. The best system the
rail industry has been able to come up with allows a failure rate of 23
percent. That isn’t good enough. A better system was devised in 2009.
Stage 8 invented the Cap Screw Locking System, which keeps rail or tank
car wheel bearing end-cap screws from vibrating loose. But as soon as the
invention was unveiled, the rail industry bureaucracy withheld approval of
the product. The rail industry then demanded a field test for the Stage 8
device. After 150,000 miles of testing on the industry’s own cars, the
locking device showed no failures at all. And yet, the FRA and the
Association of American Railroads continues to withhold approval. So,
who’s really running our railroads? It’s time for Congress to step in.
Robert J. Ahern is director and executive vice president of Stage 8
Locking Fasteners Inc. Read more:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/09/13/insular_us_rail_indus
try_impedes_innovative_outsiders_123912.html#ixzz3aSkfyA2I Follow us:
@RCP_Articles on Twitter
U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein's
husband Richard Blum, won the first phase construction contract for
California's high-speed rail. I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.
SENATOR DIANE FEINSTEIN
- OPEN CORRUPTION AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF
GOVERNMENT 05-31-2013 6:03 am ... Senator Feinstein
had been pushing for the high-speed rail plan unveiled by the Brown
administration since 2012 that relies heavily on federal dollars,
...
U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein's
husband Richard Blum won the first-phase construction contract for
California's high-speed rail. I'm shocked, shocked I tell you. If I
didn't witness the insanity and corruption in
politics every day, I wouldn't have believed this. "The
Perini-Zachary ...
That famous golden spike takes on a whole
new meaning with the nearly 1 billion dollar rail to nowhere
contract that clocks in at a truly golden 35 million dollars per
mile. And its recipient, Mr. Diane Feinstein owner
of Tutor Perini, just happens to sit in a warm position near the top
of the state
California High Speed Rail Nepotism. ...
Naturally: California awards billion-dollar high speed rail contract
to firm partly owned by Dianne Feinstein's husband
: ... A question for Dianne Feinstein. DiFi and
the culture of corruption
Naturally: California awards
billion-dollar high speed rail contract to firm partly owned by
Dianne Feinstein's husband
Sen. Diane Feinstein's
husband Richard Blum won a construction contract for California's
high-speed rail project, reports the California Political Review.
This article has been updated with
comment from Feinstein's office. See UPDATE below.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and her husband
are tied to questionable dealings between the world's largest
Dianne Feinstein and
her husband Richard Blum currently own a private jet, a Gulfstream
G650, worth $55 million in 2008. Blum and Feinstein
also own The Carlton hotel in San Francisco.
Dianne Feinstein, the
Most Corrupt Individual in Congress, Routes Even More Government
Money to Firm Owned by Her Husband Posted at 9:28 am on April 21,
2009
Mick Gregory Feinstein's
Corruption Hidden by the SF Chronicle, LA Times and
NY Times Appropriations Committees Chairs control billions of
dollars that pass through their hands. California U.S. Senator
Dianne Feinstein (D) chairs the Senate Rules
Committee, but she's also a Cardinal.
Building a railroad
across America was a remarkable engineering feat. However, the
alliance between corporations and government that built the railroad
set a precedent for the wasteful and corrupt mismanagement of
taxpayer money that flourishes today.
High speed rail is indeed a boondoggle
and the way the contract was awarded is dubious ... On Feinstein,
I think it's just as likely the High Speed Rail Authority did it to
curry Feinstein's favor, although Feinstein
certainly could have pushed them.
Dirty Business as Usual at California
High Speed Rail Out of the entire universe of those who could have
won the first phase construction contract for Cali
Feinstein Corruption
Scandal Last week California Senator Diane Feinstein
abruptly resigned her position as the chairman and ranking member of
the Senate Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee
(MILCON).
It noted further that at a Post Office
website ... Sen. Feinstein is not involved with
and does not discuss any of her husband's ... Snopes often fails to
dig deeply enough to discover the depth of corruption
and deceit and denial in its efforts to "vet" a story like that from
the ...
Senator Dianne Feinstein's
husband, Richard Blum, created the investment firm, Blum Capital.
Blum Capital is part owner of the construction firm, Perini-Za
Feinstein-Blum Corruption,
War Profiteering & The cover-Up, An Interview with Peter Byrne
... This systemic corruption by Feinstein
and her husband has been a story covered up by the San Francisco
Chronicle and the rest
Building a railroad
across America was a remarkable engineering feat. However, the
alliance between corporations and government that built the railroad
set a precedent for the wasteful and corrupt mismanagement of
taxpayer money that flourishes today.
Whatever happened to the notion of the
"favorite son"? You know: the idea that a candidate's home state
rallies around him. When it comes to former Massachusetts governor
Mitt Romney, the Boston Globe seems to be adopting a mirror-image
attitude. Call it the "disfavored son" approach to politics.
High-Speed Rail: If it smells like corruption,
looks like corruption, and feels like corruption,
what is it? ... Senator Dianne Feinstein of
California, husband Richard Blum involved in organizations owning
land through which the rail corridor passes.
Feinstein is consumed by
corruption. Feinstein is consumed
by corruption. #corruption
#dianefeinstein #milcon. Home; Politics; News; Sports;
Entertainment; Gear, Gadgets & Guns; Videos; Obama Secretly
Bailing Out Chicago.
Why are they almost all at least
millionaires and why is that fact ignored by the media? For example;
Dianne Feinstein and her ... As an example of corruption
in the highest levels involving ... 4 Responses to THE CALIFORNIA
DESERT PROTECTION ACT AND A STORY OF POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM. ...
Boards > The Vault > Outpost > Feinstein's
husband wins CA State rail project.. > ... I think the important
part was " Feinstein's husband wins $1b contract
for state ... It is only really news if there is evidence of corruption
or if people were not aware that they would potentially benefit ...
Feinstein Nepotism
Bilking Citizens For Billions. ... Whether it is the billion dollar
contract for California's High Speed Rail Project or the billion
dollar commission that is expected from selling United States Post
Offices no one ... The word is also synonymous with corruption
and ...
Sen. Dianne Feinstein's
husband wins CA rail contract. News; Sen. Dianne Feinstein's
husband wins CA rail contract. By Jason Stapleton - Mar 11, 2015.
... If I didn't witness the insanity and corruption
in politics every day, ...
Senator Dianne Feinstein
has long been accused of corruption and unethical
behavior in Congress. From going after the Second Amendment to
making tens of millions of dollars through her husband's […]
Diane Feinstein is Gun
Grabber in Chief in the US Senate. We need to go on the offensive
against her for her many acts of corruption. The
alternative is unthinkable: We could go unarmed off that Fiscal
Cliff into the Greatest Depression in 500 years with nationwide
riots and martial law.
Home > Corruption,
democRATs > Dianne Feinstein's husband gets
billion dollar government rail contract Dianne Feinstein's
husband gets billion dollar government rail contract. March 21, 2015
darthdilbert Leave a comment Go to comments.
Dianne Feinstein's
Husband Wins Near-Billion Dollar California 'High Speed Rail'
Contract
Feinstein's Corruption
Ignored. By Curt 1 Comment Wed, May, 2nd, 2007 63 views. Well, at
least SOMEONE is writing about the corruption
charges against Diane Feinstein.
Legislation authorizing the Alaska Railroad
Corp. to issue up to $37 million in bonds to help pay for a
federally mandated safety system has been signed into law by Gov.
Open Society Fellow and former ANC Member
of Parliament Andrew Feinstein spoke at the Open
Society Foundations about his work investigating a corrupt weapons
deal involving senior members of...
The depths of Feinstein's
corruption and misgovernance are difficult for the
average Californian voter to fathom. What distinguishes Feinstein
is she has a voting record in Congress.