Raw sewage railway scandal at The Brexit Roadhouse. But what does Nigel Farage think?

In order to properly introduce today's link to The Guardian, kindly allow me to rewind 32 years.

30 years ago today: (May 1987) Sarajevo, Mostar and what came after.

... I was headed for the coast on Friday, and Mostar was the next stop, three hours by train from Sarajevo. It was during this ride that Yugoslavia's mountains became a tangible, visceral presence.

One of my memories of this trip was a long period when the train stopped and sat, apparently waiting for another train coming in our direction to pass over a stretch of single track. Here's the view from my window.

I was in the compartment nearest the toilet, which in the typical European fashion of the time usually involved a foot pedal and trap door which deposited one's leavings onto the track.

However, some Yugoslav trains didn't have a commode, just a hole in the floor. Mine was one of them. It remains difficult for me to imagine squatting on a moving train, and perhaps this is why, with yet another contingent of soldiers on the train, as we sat stock still atop the high mountain pass for an hour, they marched one by one to the WC, and ...

I was very glad when the train started moving again.

That's correct. You depressed the mechanical foot pedal, the hinged door swung down, and the tracks could be seen flying past. Theoretically there was a water line attached to ease gravity's task, but not always.

From defunct Yugoslavia we skip forward to debatably "United" Kingdom of today, where I'm genuinely surprised to learn that rolling stock this old remains in use. After all, it's been a while since I greeted the right-of-way void on the continent while using the loo on a moving train.

Train firms backtrack over pledge to ban raw sewage on railway lines, by Gwyn Topham (The Guardian/The Observer)

Operators admit target to end ‘disgusting practice’ by the end of the year will not be met

A pledge to end the dumping of human waste on railway tracks in England and Wales by the end of the year will no longer be met, Network Rail and train firms have admitted.

Although Network Rail’s former chief executive, Mark Carne, said in 2017 he had secured government agreement to end the “disgusting practice” by 2019, several companies will continue to use trains whose toilets flush directly onto the track.

In 2017 the Department for Transport had said all franchises would compel firms to ensure trains had modern toilets, but several operators have now applied for exemptions. Labour said it was “totally unacceptable that railway workers continue to endure such unsanitary conditions in the 21st century” ...

A reminder: "How to Discard Syringes and Other Sharps," because the opioid crisis is real, whether local "leaders" grasp it or not.

Whatever one's personal stance on the opioid crisis, it is a fact that needles will be left behind, and there are steps to take to dispose of them safely.

The city of Louisville has produced the information reprinted above. The city of New Albany seems to feel (a) there is no problem, or (b) if there is a problem, it's someone else's responsibility.

We don't know which, primarily because City Hall stays mum and shirks the topic.

Sound familiar?

Why opioid deaths are this generation’s Aids crisis, by Mary O'Hara (The Guardian)

 ... This crisis isn’t confined to the US. Canada is in the midst of its own opioid crisis. However, coinciding with last month’s Harm Reduction International conference in Montreal, the Canadian government took what was seen as a world-leading step to confront the problem. It passed legislation making it easier to open supervised injection sites so that users can inject safely and, should an overdose occur, trained medical professionals are on site to provide life-saving help such as administering anti-overdose medication. It’s the epitome of a sensible harm reduction approach that aims to reduce or eliminate harm rather than, as is often the case, punish or stigmatise users ...

 ... Drug users have long been one of the most demonised and marginalised groups in society – and a low priority for policymakers. This simply can’t continue. A public health crisis and loss of life on the scale currently being witnessed warrants an immediate, and unapologetically progressive response.

In #OurNa, ignorance is official policy, so here's how to safely get rid of syringes and other sharps.

Discarded needles have been seen in several downtown New Albany locations. I'm told that the response from city officials when informed of this has been one of confusion; our NA's current drug addiction epidemic doesn't fit comfortably with Jeff Gahan's carefully polished image of perfection, and it makes the suburbanites squirm, and so we must turn to the city of Louisville for practical advice on how to dispose of syringes and other sharps.

Sounds like a DNA project, doesn't it?