I was surfing on the web about the recent CSX oil tank train derailment in West Virginia. I saw the normal news media, Fox, ABC, etc., but what I saw next shocked me. Al Jazeera America, the Arabic language news media which is partly funded by the ruling family of Qatar was covering the story. The news story basically had the same coverage as the U.S. news with pictures of the derailment and all the associated fireballs. Now I’m wondering who in the Arabic world is looking at the conflagration and thinking outside the box and how rail could be used to further their cause through media coverage. Just thinking who’s looking at this.

Update 2.18.15 So, I was thinking how often has Al Jazeera America covered rail related incidents and to my surprise, quite a bit. Actually, almost as much as the other U.S. newspapers. This leads me to a comment that I heard that the U.S. rail system is “out of sight and out of mind” which was given as one of many reasons the rail infrastructure was not considered a true significant target. Well based on this, I think that our rail infrastructure is in the news and read by readers who enjoy the Al Jazeera America spin.

Update 2.25.15 Well this was appropriate. France just arrested some Al Jazeera journalists for flying an unmanned aerial vehicle around places they shouldn’t. Like I said at the start who’s looking and why.