He listed at least one reason, that because they are often single track systems, a single breakdown freezes the entire system.

Once it's assumed that it's not reliable or, worse, that there's a decent chance of being stuck in a suspended/elevated train until the whole system can be evacuated (requiring specialized rescue from every train that didn't stop in a station, then being 'down' until the breakdown is fixed or removed), people won't use it, and it will fail.

That doesn't explain why they don't just make all systems 2 track systems like the German one to solve that issue for a bit more money (but not double the money), but it does explain why some failed. It seems to me that they could still be a decent solution in some congested areas where light rail only adds to congestion, and they look neat.

They aren't. They had been evacuated. http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/26/us/pacifica-residences-on-cliffs-edge/index.html

Why the fuck are people still in those apartments?!

Evacuate that place. There is nothing that can be done unfortunately

Is the lack of an evacuation a sign of failing public institutions or just your good old-fashioned disregard for the safety and well-being of the plebs?

Apparently long enough for the FD to get there and evacuate the house.

Looks almost like lightning set it off though...

Help an ignorant European brother out, will you...

This shop operated without a business permit. Would the appropriate procedure not be:
- official delivers notification that shop will be closed down if operator doesn't acquire permit within a week
- official returns after week if owner failed to acquire and present permit, cites owner for operating without a permit and gives another 48h deadline
- official returns after 48h and, if the owner still cannot produce a permit, notification is given that shop will be closed down
- police calmly evacuate the building, take photographic evidence of current state, close shop until end of legal proceedings

Instead, what I saw on the video might pass as an instructional video for the ‛Ndrangheta but not for a police force in a civilized country. These people strike me as unfit for duty and the brazen nonchalance with which they consumed the drugs themselves in front of other officers might be a reasonable argument to put the entire department under investigation.

"They methodically fired explosives into every room in this house in order to extract one person. Granted, he had a handgun, but against 100 officers? You know, the proper thing to do would be to evacuate these homes around here, ensure the safety of the homeowners around here, fire some tear gas through the windows. If that didn’t work, you have 50 SWAT officers with body armor break down the door."

-----

You see, they methodically blew out walls with explosives to force him into one area. They used an APC with a breaching attachment to open multiple entries into the residence. One hundred cops against a guy with one handgun.

If this is our standard procedure, terrorists don't need to hit big targets, just split up and hide out in buildings. By the time our militar...oops, police force is done, the building will be wrecked to a shell. But we'll have that one terrorist, so as the Chief of Police said in this case, it's a WIN!

My favourite bit in the film? Spoilers...
[spoiler]When Michael Caine admits there never really was a plan B. That felt real to me. That's how it might/would/probably will play out. The earth is fucked, physics aren't going to allow the entire population to evacuate the planet, so some kind of generation ship with embryos is a viable solution. [/spoiler]

And best of all? It wouldn't be a standard Hollywood happy ending.

"Look, here's the reality! We're fucked, and this is the best we can do under the circumstances"

But instead we get a bullshit deus ex machina.

Its NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Almost all launch facilities weather they be in the US, Russia, China, India, French Guiana have service buildings close to the launch site. You are probably used to watching shuttle launches at the massive facility in Florida where the launch structure dwarfed any such service buildings.

For the launch all personnel are evacuated to a safe distance. If the range officer is on the ball a self destruct would be sent to the vehicle before it strayed out of its saftey zone.

Those tidal turbines are all well and good, right up to the point they start making sushi out of whales, then they'll be scrapped.

Always thought the Bay of Fundy would be a good place for ship building. Save a lot of energy flooding and evacuating the drydocks.

Smaller "warning bombing". Priceless.
And evacuate to where, indeed. I've often wondered that myself.

Quite unlike Israel, whose various lies include first claiming the school had been hit by Hamas rockets that had fallen short, then that they were returning fire on Hamas fighters in the area, then that they had told the UNRWA to evacuate the shelter but Hamas had prevented them from leaving (so I guess they just had to bomb it anyway).

Yeah, you think that shit's funny -- when Asiana crashed at SFO, the evacuation was slowed down by people grabbing their baggage from the overheads.

If it's GMO grain, I would evacuate. Monsanto would probably sue you if you drove by and saw the grain.

I confess to be a toilet terrorist. On numerous occassions I have tracked down superiors at work in the toilet to discuss work related matters with them. A great opportunity to talk about topics they'd like to avoid as they can't just leave in the middle of bodily waste evacuation processes.