Eric S. Smith

With the greatest humility, I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. I warmly welcome the sagacious gesture and extend deepest gratitude to the leadership of both the countries and invite their delegations to Islamabad on Friday, 10th April 2026, to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes. Both parties have displayed remarkable wisdom and understanding and have remained constructively engaged in furthering the cause of peace and stability. We earnestly hope, that the ‘Islamabad Talks’ succeed in achieving sustainable peace and wish to share more good news in coming days! @realDonaldTrump @JDVance @SecRubio @SteveWitkoff @SEPeaceMissions @drpezeshkian @mb_ghalibaf @araghchi

There was an earlier fatal collision at a level crossing on March 25, involving a TER regional train. laprovence.com/article/region…

(Other sources put the collision in Bully-les-Mines, which is a neighbouring municipality.)

Most reporting puts this morning’s French train accident between Béthune and Lens; Le Monde specifies that it was in Mazingarbe. TGV trains run on “lignes classiques,” which do have level crossings, on their way to high speed lines, which don’t. lemonde.fr/economie/artic…

📍2 cartes pour comprendre le rôle d aménagement du territoire des TGV #SNCF 📍En bleu les lignes a grande vitesse 📍En violet les lignes desservies par un TGV SNCF

📍Photos du TGV qui a percuté ce matin a un PN( HDF) un convoi exceptionnel de l armée. 📍Le conducteur de TGV est décédé, RIP. 📍Il y a également des voyageurs blessés mais visiblement sans gravité. 📍C est en 1 semaine le deuxième convoi exceptionnel qui reste bloqué a un PN

PAS-DE-CALAIS : Le ministre des transports est attendu sur les lieux de l'accident de TGV. Le conducteur du train, incarcéré dans sa cabine, est mort, après avoir percuté un camion militaire du régiment de génie d'Angers au passage à niveau (La Voix du Nord).

(That link died, so here’s another: youtu.be/kzmUgMICuOk?si… )

“The Medusa Touch” (1978) is a character study about the danger of staring too long into the abyss of disasters both personal and public. It’s also basically Scanners, but for public safety. youtube.com/watch?v=8-6DEC…

Where the streetcars go to sleep, New Orleans

@bfgcracka @mchkzn Honoré de Balzac famously drank a lot of coffee. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%…

@mchkzn Billy Bishop. Had to look to see if that coffee shop name was real. Unfortunate name lol.

This should be an easy one. Name the Canadian airport.

i love science and space so i taped the artemis ii launch on vhs

@Prominent_Bryan By the timetable, never less than 5 hours.

@cselley How long does it take today?

When I lived in Montreal, the fastest train to Toronto was scheduled to take 4 hours flat — and sometimes actually did it. That's an average point-to-point speed of 135 kph.

@BillSmith17404 On the other hand, the 401 loses money in perpetuity.

"Japan can build high-speed rail, why can't we?" is a question that answers itself. Have you SEEN Japan??

This is such an incredible line. “Indeed, among roughly two dozen workers and regulars interviewed this week at Rome’s three Waffle House locations, none said they were aware of anyone traveling to the 24-hour restaurants by paranormal means, despite their reputation as powerful magnets for the sort of idiosyncratic characters who tend to surf the psychic fringes of the American South.”

The Poilievre podcast charm offensive continues! youtu.be/9JxaESJIGO0?si…

@BobSee123 They’re careful only to show the top and starboard side of the ship, so it could be that there are no lights on the other side. The red glow at the waterline would certainly have to be on one side only.

@TitanicNewYork If it’s just drones, you should be able to see the other drones right through it, but suspiciously you can’t. It’s most likely an augmented reality superimposed onto drone footage, and other footage. Unlikely that it’s actual drones

114 years on, Belfast witnesses a full-scale drone Titanic depart into the night...a powerful tribute. #titanic #rmstitanic

#Overheard: “Borrow fifty cents? Why? You wanna call someone. You probably don't even know how to use the telephone! No, you never have!”

I remain comfortable with this diagnosis.

@yfblanchet “…une bande large de 10km dont 60m seront utilisés, incluant la moitié (!) de Terrebonne.” N’importe quoi, comme vous le savez.

Le Canada veut ce TGV, donc Terrebonne doit se soumette contre ses intérêts, et sans conditions. Or Alto: - ignore le coût du TGV qui doit être évalué de façon indépendante; - est libéré des nécessaires évaluations d'impact et environnementales; - expropriera sans consentement des milliers de propriétaires après avoir suspendu pendant des années les droits des propriétaires sur une bande large de 10km dont 60m seront utilisés, incluant la moitié (!) de Terrebonne. Le Bloc et Terrebonne n'appuieront pas sans conditions, non, même si le Canada voulait nous l'imposer. @jbellava lapresse.ca/affaires/2026-…