Oh, The Irony

[Mythopoeika]

Aiyeeeeeee!! :shock:

No, German, therefore "AAARGH!" The Japanese went "AIYEEEEE!"

They also said 'Teufel', 'Donner und Blitzen' and 'Mein Gott' among other things.

 

[Spudrick68]

"Gott im Himmel!" "Achtung!"

 

[sherbetbizarre]

U.S. SEEMINGLY UNAWARE OF IRONY IN ACCUSING SNOWDEN OF SPYING

The United States government charged former intelligence analyst Edward Snowden with spying on Friday, apparently unaware that in doing so it had created a situation dripping with irony.

At a press conference to discuss the accusations, an N.S.A. spokesman surprised observers by announcing the spying charges against Mr. Snowden with a totally straight face.

“These charges send a clear message,” the spokesman said. “In the United States, you can’t spy on people.”

Seemingly not kidding, the spokesman went on to discuss another charge against Mr. Snowden—the theft of government documents: “The American people have the right to assume that their private documents will remain private and won’t be collected by someone in the government for his own purposes.”

“Only by bringing Mr. Snowden to justice can we safeguard the most precious of American rights: privacy,” added the spokesman, apparently serious.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/b ... pying.html

 

[Cochise]

Just illustrates to me how arrogant governments and government bodies have become, that they simply can no longer understand when they are making themselves a laughing-stock.

It would be a truly Anglo-Saxon trait for the next revolution -in the US or the UK - to come about by ridicule rather than violence. Lets hope that is the way it is.

 

[rynner2]

It would be a truly Anglo-Saxon trait for the next revolution -in the US or the UK - to come about by ridicule rather than violence.

Is revolution brewing in Australia?

Photoshoot row: Julia Gillard ridiculed for knitting royal baby kangaroo
Australian prime minister under fire for incongruous photos showing her knitting a present for William and Kate's baby

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/ju ... l-kangaroo

 

[rynner2]

Sheffield artist uses comics worth £20,000 for artwork

An artist who made a papier-mache sculpture from comics he found in a skip has found they could have been sold for about £20,000. :shock:
Comic fan Steve Eyre told artist Andrew Vickers the pages pasted to a leg were from a first edition of The Avengers.
Mr Eyre said the 1963 release, along with other rare comics used to create the artwork were worth thousands.

The sculpture, called Paperboy, was created for an exhibition at Sheffield gallery the S1 Artspace.
Mr Eyre owns the World Of Superheroes shop in Sheffield.
On discovering the valuable comics glued to the chicken wire frame, he said: "First of all I thought 'Fantastic' as, visually, it is a beautiful thing, but then as I walked round it, certainly on the inside right leg, there was a cover of Avengers number one.
"I've got a copy of that, which was published in 1963, that is worth well over £10,000.
"Then I started looking and there are six comics on this that together would be worth, even in the condition you can see, £20,000.
"It would have been cheaper for Andrew to make this out of Italian marble because the raw materials that have gone in to it I could have sold for a lot more than he is going to sell this statue for." 8)

Laughing off the revelation, Mr Vickers said: "If somebody chucks things out in the skip they don't generally throw things out that are worth anything.
"To be honest I'm shocked but money has not got such a value to me. I think it is funny.
"I really love the idea of me creating something out of such expensive things that's worth less. I think it's brilliant."

The S1 Artspace show entitled Heroes organised by World Of Superheroes is running from 6 to 11 July.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-so ... e-23203033

 

[Pietro_Mercurios]

But, is it art?

 

[rynner2]

Cricketer from Australia out first ball after 10,000-mile trip

A cricketer who flew 10,000 miles to play in a special match marking a friend's 50th birthday was bowled out on the very first ball.

Australian Nathan Anthes, 25, played for Hadleigh and Thundersley Cricket Club in Essex in 2007 and 2008.
He is currently in the UK with his father Les to see old friends and to watch the Ashes series between England and Australia.
And he agreed to play in the match marking Jonathan Wagstaff's birthday.

Mr Anthes, a part time cricketer in Lithgow, New South Wales, said he was a bit "rusty".
"I went out there and got a tossed up ball and I tried to hit it out of the park and I missed it," he said.
"It was a long way for nothing. I was hoping to show what I could do."

Mr Wagstaff said: "I lent him my bat. I think he would have been even more disappointed if he had brought his own bat and pads all the way from Australia.
"Despite being bowled out, he still had a great day."
He said being bowled for a golden duck had made Mr Anthes' journey a memorable one.

Mr Anthes' father Les, who was also asked to play in the match but declined, said: "Luckily he came over for fun and he totally enjoyed it."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23196520

 

[Pietro_Mercurios]

That's not irony, that's Schadenfreude.

 

[Mythopoeika]

But, is it art?

It's made from art.

 

[rynner2]

That's not irony, that's Schadenfreude.

For the bowler, yes!

 

[Human_84]

U.S. SEEMINGLY UNAWARE OF IRONY IN ACCUSING SNOWDEN OF SPYING

This is hilarious.

 

[rynner2]

US concealed gun safety teacher shoots student

A gun instructor in the US state of Ohio has accidentally shot a student in the arm in a class for people seeking permits to carry a concealed firearm.
Terry Dunlap, 73, was demonstrating a .38-calibre pistol when it went off and struck Michael Piemonte, 26.
He and his wife were taking the day-long class in order to carry guns for their own safety, he told local media.

All 50 states allow residents to obtain a concealed firearm permit, though training and other requirements differ.
Last month, the state of Illinois became the last to do so, in response to a court order.

The Fairfield County, Ohio, sheriff's office listed the Saturday shooting in the town of Lancaster as accidental, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
"It took me a couple of seconds to realise that I had been shot," Mr Piemonte told CNN.
Mr Piemonte was treated in hospital and released that night.

Mr Dunlap has not spoken publicly about the incident.

Ohio residents seeking a concealed weapon permit must take an approved safety course or show "evidence of imminent danger", pass a criminal background check, and meet other requirements.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23691146

 

[escargot]

Have we had this one?

Climbing hero dies in fall down stairs

Patrick Edlinger, who has died aged 52 after falling down stairs at his home, was often described as “the God of free-climbing”. Overcoming sheer vertical rock faces and horizontal overhangs, often without safety ropes or even shoes, he was widely known in France simply as “le Blond,” and among his English-speaking fans as “the blond Adonis”.

His exploits helped lead to the craze for artificial rock-climbing, now popular everywhere from sports clubs to luxury ocean liners, although he himself rarely used pre-placed bolts. If he ever needed bolts, he carried one or two with him. Calling himself a “minimalist climber,” he relied on strong fingers and toes, his core muscles, super-flexible legs and fine balance to overcome rock faces most of us see only in our nightmares. Hanging by the fingertips from a horizontal overhang, most of us would see but one option – to pray and let go. Edlinger, however, could swing his feet above his torso and find a grip with his toes or even heels. “It’s a form of yoga,” he liked to say.
etc

 

[JamesWhitehead]

It does sound as if the last third of his life was blighted by conditions brought on by the daring parts of his youth.

 

[rynner2]

37st man forced to pay for two seats on jet finds they are rows apart
A 37 stone man was forced to pay for two seats on a jet, only to discover that they were two rows apart.
By Hayley Dixon
6:59AM BST 14 Oct 2013

Les Price, 43, had to pay for the extra space when flying to Ireland and back as airline policy dictates anyone over 20 stone has to book the extra space.
But when he got to the airport the staff didn’t seem to have any idea about the rules and on the journey home his seats were two rows apart.

He had already faced embarrassment on his flight out when he was allocated an aisle seat and a window seat, with another passenger in the middle.
"When I got to the airport I had to explain to all the staff why I had two tickets, they didn't have a clue," he said.
"When I finally got on the plane one was an aisle seat and the other was by the window – in a three-seat row.

Mr Price says it is just one of the many everyday frustrations he has faced because of his weight which ballooned after an industrial accident that left him briefly housebound.

etc...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... apart.html

 

[drbastard]

It amazes me that in these days of diversity diversity diversity and political correctness, it's acceptable to treat overweight people like absolute shit.

 

[Pietro_Mercurios]

It amazes me that in these days of diversity diversity diversity and political correctness, it's acceptable to treat overweight people like absolute shit.

These days, there are plenty of minorities being treated, 'like absolute shit'. There are the disabled, the mentally ill, young unemployed, old unemployed, people in low paid jobs who the authorities think aren't working hard enough, women at home with the kids who can't afford nannies, people in local authority housing with too many bedrooms, People on the streets with no bedrooms, the list just goes on and on.

 

[ramonmercado]

It amazes me that in these days of diversity diversity diversity and political correctness, it's acceptable to treat overweight people like absolute shit.

Never taking into consideration that many people are overweight due to medical reasons, be they physical or mental.

 

[ramonmercado]

Irony indeed.

The hypocritical Irish American right-wing anti-immigration reform “Lynch” mob
Posted on Sunday, November 17, 2013 at 07:50 AM

You gotta love it when folks named Hannity and Kelly can sit around with a dude named Dennis Michael Lynch and moan about how the damn foreigners are just ruining America.

But this is what the debate over immigration has come to -- a bunch of conservative Irish Americans on Fox News implying that immigrants are to blame for everything from trans fats to terrorism.
And you know what? This tactic is working.

Movers and shakers in both the Republican and Democratic parties believe the time is now for substantial immigration reform. Last week, President Obama met with CEOs -- corporate titans, for heaven’s sake -- who were open to immigration reform.

As the Associated Press reported, “Obama said some ‘unlikely bedfellows’ are supporting immigration reform from the liberal and conservative side. The U.S. Chamber is sending 50 small business owners to meet with lawmakers...while the (labor union) AFL-CIO planned...to announce new political actions to push for passage.”

So, it sounds like people on both sides of the aisle are acknowledging that something should be done to secure the borders and bring the undocumented out of the shadows.

Obama -- still bruised by the horrendous roll out of Obamacare -- was hoping the labor unions and CEOs would build momentum for the passage of an immigration bill before Congress left Washington for the year.

Well, that didn’t happen. Congressional leaders now say there’s not enough time to take up the issue this year.

Why is the debate stalled? Irish Americans like Dennis Michael Lynch, for starters.

Lynch is a prosperous businessman who was born in Hicksville, Long Island. In recent years he has reinvented himself as a documentary filmmaker whose two movies, They Come to America One and Two, earned raves from those who believe immigrants are bent on destroying America.

“It’s a must-see,” gushes fellow Irish American and Fox news commentator Sean Hannity. Lynch has also appeared regularly on Fox with yet another Irish American, Megyn Kelly.

Lynch, and those who agree with him, generally argue they don’t hate immigrants themselves. However, they feel America’s borders are wide open, which leaves the country vulnerable to criminals and terrorists. They also believe immigrants are using up American services and taking jobs.

I guess at this point I should note that I don’t want America to face a hellfire apocalypse. And yes, I do love my children, even if folks like Lynch might make you feel otherwise, since they generally equate sympathy for immigration with sympathy for rapists and drug lords.

So, yes, of course American law enforcement should do everything they can to keep criminals out. The trouble for Irish Americans like Lynch is that much of his rhetoric sounds as if it comes right from the anti-Irish Know Nothing playbook.

The idea that only savage criminals and freeloaders are pouring into the U.S. was pushed for decades by anti-Irish bigots who wanted to “save” America. Yet somehow we survived the 19th century.
Irish Americans have a particular duty to at least be sensible when discussing immigration, mainly because their own grandparents and great-grandparents faced Lynch’s style of manipulative, paranoid nativism.

The fact is, from New York and Boston to tiny little towns across the mid-west, immigrants have generally revitalized local economies. Do you think the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would support immigration reform if it was bad for business?

As for crime, yes, immigrants have their fair share of bad people. Oh, as opposed to the well-behaved American-born population?

And let’s end this naive idea that all immigrants back in the good old days were legal. There were no federal immigration laws until the later 19th century, and so many families with immigrant roots have a secret about a grandfather who crossed the Canadian border or uncle who came to the U.S. for a “vacation” and forgot to go home.

Lynch is currently crossing the country, whipping up support for his ideas. If you’re Irish American, feel free to go hear him speak.

Just don’t mention that your grandfather once probably took a “real” American’s job. Because Lynch’s grandfather probably did the same.


Read more: http://www.irishcentral.com/story/news/ ... z2l67Y13aH
Follow us: @IrishCentral on Twitter | IrishCentral on Facebook

 

[Novena]

Whilst it is ironic that the likes of Hannity, Lynch and others of Irish descent are moaning about immigration, the unspoken fact is that when they say the word 'immigrants' they actually mean 'non-white immigrants'.

 

[tastyintestines]

So if you don't want to pay for people that are breaking the law and not paying their fare share then you are a racist? Amazing Maybe they think that if their families also broke they law then they were also in the wrong.

 

[rynner2]

Ironic but sad...

Stoner wins Waterstones Book of the Year 2013
A book by a dead author that flopped when first published has been named Waterstones Book of the Year 2013 in a triumph for word of mouth
By Hannah Furness
7:00AM GMT 03 Dec 2013

...
Stoner, by John Williams, was first published in 1965 and went unnoticed, falling quietly out of print the following year. Now, after being picked up through recommendations and praised by a number of established authors and celebrities, it has won the major accolade.

James Daunt, the managing director of Waterstones, said the decision was a victory for the power of personal recommendations.
The novel, an unassuming tale of a literary scholar whose career stalls as he struggles with his marriage, was one of four written by Williams, an academic who died in 1994. After falling out of print in 1966, just a few were sold each year until word began spreading through the book industry last year.

Stoner was brought into Waterstones by a member of staff on the recommendation of a friend, and is now selling thousands of copies each week. A spokesman for Waterstones said it was “being widely hailed as a classic of modern literature”, with “a legion of high-profile fans including Ian McEwan, Bret Easton Ellis, Nick Hornby, and Julian Barnes”.
Tom Hanks, the actor, has described the work as “one of the most fascinating things that you’ve ever come across”.

...
Mr Daunt said: “It has done it the old-fashioned way, with recommendations through word of mouth. It shows how we can still discover books in this day and age. Now we know that a quiet, gentle book which changes you when you read it can suddenly be rediscovered and get this impetus behind it.

“To say it had been forgotten suggests that Stoner was known about in the first place, but it was never really known. It was a complete flop when it was published and it disappeared. And now suddenly this magic has happened.”

He added: “The year of publication is of no import – this is the book everyone has been talking about in 2013, the very least we can do is name it our Book of the Year.”

...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/book ... -2013.html

I was a hopeful undergraduate when this book first came out, but I don't think I ever heard of it. Now the author is nearly 20 years dead, and never learned of his success. And I have turned into a miserable old man...

 

[rynner2]

Kenneth Pritchard ex-policeman tobacco smuggler sentenced

A retired policeman who attempted to smuggle a wicker basket filled with tobacco into the UK has been sentenced.
Kenneth Pritchard, 64, was arrested by Border Force officers at Portsmouth Ferry Port in June.
He has been sentenced to eight weeks in jail, suspended for 12 months, for evading £17,500 in excise duty.
A HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) spokesman said: "Pritchard, a former crime-fighter, now has a criminal record of his own."

The ex-policeman, who is retired in Malaga, Spain, attempted to smuggle the 85kg of hand-rolling tobacco pouches on 11 June 2013 from Cherbourg, France.
It is believed the Amber Leaf and Golden Virginia tobacco, hidden in the basket, suitcases, and boxes on a Land Rover Discovery, was headed for the Macclesfield area.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25340246

 

[ramonmercado]

I just love this.

Grammar Nazi outrage: Bill on protecting Russian language riddled with errors
Published time: December 13, 2013 12:48
http://rt.com/politics/language-bill-gr ... rrors-199/

?Two Russian MPs made laughing stocks of themselves when they submitted a bill on the protection of the Russian language littered with dozens of grammatical errors. The gaffe prompted their party leader to blast the parliamentarians.

The bill submitted by Liberal Democrats Elena Afanasyeva and Yan Zellinsky suggests a ban on the use in the workplace of any language other than Russian, or those officially recognized as minority languages in Russia.

The set of documents they authored, including the bill itself, a written argument in its favor and some auxiliary papers, is only seven pages long, with most of them leaving large blank areas. Yet the MPs (or an assistant of theirs) managed to miss more than a dozen of grammar errors in the text.

The mistakes included non-agreement of genders, incorrect verb conjugations and other forms of grammatical inflection, punctuation errors, apparent typos and other flaws of form, which children are usually taught to avoid in school. Pages from the bill marked in red pen, but mercifully lacking a deserved ‘F’ at the bottom, were quick to spread all over Russian blogs.

Critics were also ruthless in describing the substance of the bill as well. They said the proposition is discriminatory and would be near impossible to enforce. The authors were accused of cheap populism and exploitation of the hot issue of migrant workers in Russia, who are widely seen as often lacking proper knowledge of the Russian language and are thus difficult to communicate with for Russians.

Amid the online ridicule, head of the Liberal Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky tried to distance himself and his parliamentary party from the unfortunate bill.

“It’s their personal, individual initiative. But if there are errors in it, we will point them out to them. Let them show their lack of literacy at home,” the flamboyant politician said. He also criticized the idea of banning the use of particular languages in Russia.

Vladimir Kremlev for RTVladimir Kremlev for RT

A red-faced Zelinsky explained the gaffe, saying he mistakenly submitted a draft of the bill rather than the proof-read later version.

“I wrote it when my head was full of ideas. When the thoughts flow, I write very fast so as not to let them escape. Then I correct all errors. It so happened that I printed the first version of the document and put it on the table,” he said.

His co-author put the blame on an assistant, who apparently printed the document after receiving it in electronic form.

“The assistant printed it and read to us aloud. We were busy with the pension reform at the time, so we signed it without re-checking first. It’s our man’s mistake - we admit it,” she explained, adding that some disciplinary action may be taken against the assistant.

The party produced some other eyebrow-raising bills recently, including one banning the circulation of the US dollar in Russia to protect the national economy from an eventual downfall of the American currency.

Another one aimed to regulate consumption of garlic due to the bad smell it causes.

And in February Lib-Dems tabled another proposition on how the Russian language should be protected. They suggested banning the use of Russian words of foreign origin introduced after the late 1980s, on penalty of fines. The initiative received insufficient support in the legislature.

http://rt.com/politics/language-bill-gr ... rrors-199/

 

[rynner2]

Winner of crime novel prize turns out to be killer
Writer behind prize-winning private detective novel serving life sentence for 1988 killing of graduate student
By Jon Swaine, New York
5:10PM GMT 10 Jan 2014

When the judges of a contest for first-time crime novelists awarded their prize to Cuts Through Bone, they hailed the book for its authenticity.
No one from the Private Eye Writers of America panel, however, deduced that there might be a good reason for its author’s believable voice - he was himself a convicted killer serving a sentence for murder.

“He’s not available. He’s in an institution,” Jade Reed, his cousin, told an interested publisher that called to follow up on his win.
“Will he be out soon?” came the reply. After a pause, Ms Reed said: “Well, he’s there indefinitely.” Alaric Hunt, 44, has lived more than half his life in prison after being convicted of killing Joyce Austin, a 23-year-old graduate student, in Clemson, South Carolina, 1988. He is now in a maximum-security facility 180 miles from the crime scene in Bishopville.

etc...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... iller.html

 

[rynner2]

Analysis
David Shukman, Science editor, BBC News

Dawlish was a disaster waiting to happen

A key railway running right beside a violent sea was always vulnerable, and experts knew the risks. Time after time reports warned that storms, combined with a rising sea, could threaten this vital link.

In fact, three years ago the government staged a photo opportunity at Dawlish to launch its new strategy on preparing critical infrastructure for climate change.
The minister at the time, Lord Henley, declared: "Business as usual is not an option." A senior engineer from Network Rail boasted of being "ahead of the game, with a clear climate resilience strategy".

Studies have modelled the shape of the seabed at Dawlish and assessed the potential impacts. Now engineers face the challenge of coming up with an immediate fix to get the trains running again while working out how to keep the line safe in the future.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26061795

EDIT: This video makes the point:

Dawlish train battered by waves

One of the last trains to use the railway track at Dawlish before the line was closed has been captured on video.
The footage filmed on Monday shows how intense the waves were before the line collapsed.

Network Rail say the storm destruction of the railway line, which connects Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the UK, will take a minimum of six weeks to repair.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26076630

 

[rynner2]

There has been a lot of debate recently about building the HS2 rail line to the north, so it's ironic that Mother Nature (aka the Cosmic Joker) has now decided to cut off the rail service to the whole of the Westcountry! :shock:

This is not just down to the destruction of the line at Dawlish, but to floods and landslips in other places, a multiple whammy.

UK floods: Council calls for money to keep rail lines open

A Devon council is calling for more government funding to improve rail lines after all routes into the West country were cut off.
Rachel Sutton, acting leader of Exeter City Council, said "significant" new money was needed to keep routes open.

Flooding and a landslip blocked three lines in Somerset on Saturday, cutting off Devon and Cornwall from the UK network. The lines remain closed.
Weather and flood warnings are still in place for much of the south-west UK.

Ms Sutton said rail lines were blocked near Exeter 12 months ago because of flooding and government funding was needed to protect lines which were "vulnerable in a number of places".
"The local authorities can't do this on their own, particularly when we're having to cut back because of cuts to our grant from central government," she said.

Network Rail said a landslip at Crewkerne and flooding near Bridgwater and Athelney meant there were "no routes to the West Country open to trains".
It said the Yeovil-Exeter line at Crewkerne would be closed for "at least a week", and it was "too early to say" when the Bridgwater section would reopen.
"The floods are currently being blown into waves by the high winds in the area, which are washing away the stones the track rests on," a spokesman said on Saturday.
"The route via Athelney is under water but will be assessed as soon as the flood level drops."

In Dawlish, where the main line between Devon and Cornwall was destroyed by waves on Tuesday, concrete has been sprayed on to the cliff behind the track to make the area safer in the face of continuing high winds and large waves.

Network Rail said work at the site was "progressing well" in six-hour shifts in between high tides.
However, Dan Panes from First Great Western said the weather was hampering efforts to repair the track.
He added that it was going to take four to six weeks to sort out, however that timescale was changing each day due to the weather conditions.

"As soon as we get the green light from them [Network Rail] we'll be running our services again but it's a tough time for Network Rail at the moment," he said.

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26106290

HS2? You don't want to be building that! Sort out the SW first!

 

[rynner2]

TPTB dither for years about alternative rail routes, but now the gun is held to their their head, a decision is made!

Network Rail chooses Dawlish alternative route

Network Rail has chosen an alternative railway route to the storm-stricken Dawlish line, BBC News can reveal.
The route would head from Okehampton to Plymouth via Tavistock and go through parts of the Dartmoor National Park.

Network Rail has been considering an inland route as a back-up to the Dawlish line, which was badly damaged by storms last week.
Three alternatives have been discussed locally over the years, but Network Rail is only considering one option.

Last year, Network Rail conducted an outline study and concluded it would cost hundreds of millions of pounds to open the secondary route.
Of the three alternatives, two of them are in south Devon including the Teign Valley route, via Christow and Heathfield, and the so-called Dawlish Avoiding Line, which was promoted in the 1930s but was never built.
The route would have passed inland behind Teignmouth and Dawlish rather than along the coast like the current line.

However, Network Rail is only considering the Okehampton-Tavistock-Plymouth route as a likely candidate.
Trains can already run to Meldon, west of Okehampton, on a freight line and there are currently plans to reopen a stretch of line connecting Tavistock southwards to Bere Alston.
The route Network Rail is now openly discussing is the stretch between Meldon and Tavistock.

Patrick Hallgate of Network Rail said at Dawlish: "It's hundreds of millions of pounds to do so and it's on land that has already been built on in terms of the old railway alignment.
"It's also on land that we don't currently own. So there are all sorts of long-term strategies that would be required to make that happen.
"For me at the moment it is about getting this line open as quickly as possible."

Bill Hitchins, chairman of Dartmoor National Park Authority, said: "We have not seen any kind of proposal to discuss, much less vote on.
"I'm sure we would be only too pleased to be involved in any discussions.
"Personally, I have always felt that it (the line) should not have been closed, and it should not have been developed in the way it has been developed."

Network Rail is advising passengers that no trains are running between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot because of the damage to the track at Dawlish.

The line between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot is not expected to reopen until mid April at the earliest and in the meantime buses are replacing trains.

Flooding in the Bridgwater and Taunton areas means that a limited number of trains are able to run between Bridgwater and Taunton.

CrossCountry have buses replacing trains non-stop between Bristol Parkway and Plymouth. Passengers requiring interim stops can travel on the First Great Western buses.

Analysis
Neil Gallacher, BBC South West Business Correspondent

This looks like a candid and deliberate disclosure from a senior Network Rail figure.
Just a month ago, it would have been news that Network Rail felt any sort of secondary inland rail route was desirable.
Now, they are not only saying that it is, they are saying which one is their frontrunner.

What they are finally discussing openly is a railway equivalent of the A303 - a slow, back-up route to use when the motorway has problems.
The A303 goes through the Blackdown Hills - a designated area of outstanding natural beauty.
This railway line would go through part of Dartmoor National Park. It is going to be an interesting debate.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26110559

 

[Cochise]

Which shows the utter stupidity of closing this route (the via Okehampton one) in the first place. The GWR knew the Dawlish route was unsustainable as long ago as the 1930's, and would have built a 'bypass' then had the war not intervened.

The Okehampton route does not completely solve the problem, however as a) it needs a reversal at Exeter and b) it doesn't serve Torbay. There is another line that could be reinstated to Torbay a direct link from Exeter, though.