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I’m definitely in the “I’ve hated AIPAC since before most of you were born and also this is getting really out of hand” camp.

Built Ford Tough

¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ Who even knows if they'll be back next year?

Nilo doesn't want Pacers for the Train de Charlevoix.

Let's just say Canada learns how to build these things (ignoring that it already has Alstom) and that shipping weren't an obstacle. Canada is building an industry to sell to... whom, exactly? Not the Americans! Probably not the Europeans. Will VIA/GO/Exo/WCE/Northland just cycle purchases forever?

Assembly is not a benefit.

We are getting less locomotives (45 not 57) for roughly four times the price (the Kiwis paid about 300m CAD). The fact that this isn't a major news item is crazy.

Looking at Pemex and saying "That's what we want."

Currently being informed that the Federation itself had its own caisse (Caisse centrale Desjardins), but they merged that with the federation, so it's technically a federation of credit unions that is also a credit union.

*I* think that "Desjardins is a credit union." is a correct description of what Desjardins is in practice, but I also choose to avoid household strife.

("How do you describe Desjardins in English?" is an improbably frequent topic of conversation at dinner chez nous.)

Rather than let people figure it out themselves like in most countries or ask people to move, they just order people to sit together. It also helps them open fewer doors at intermediate stations.

From my observation, they seem to think it makes it easier for them to keep track of whose tickets they checked and to reduce conflicts they need to intervene in when parties greater than 1 board at later stations. Also "it's just the way it is."

The system is for the benefit of the employees doing the least work possible, and if you challenge Amtrak on this, they get defensive and insist they know better than you and that every other railway in the world (except VIA, lol) is wrong.

(This is not the explanation.)

I think it's better to translate them as being a federation or network of local credit unions.

The mortgage headaches with US coops is part of the reason they sell at a discount.

It's pretty common! Just think of someone who owns a three flat and rent out the other two units. Not unusual!

In the Penn Station context, they've given answers that don't hold up when you consider they follow the same boarding practices at a lot of other stations.

"Why do you think you know better than us?" is the answer.