Trainspotting

Earlier this week, Chinese trainspotters in Beijing noted a delay in regularly scheduled arrivals from the northeast.  Here is a map of the Chinese-North Korean border that helps explain why this was so significant:
Thus did private citizens, indeed, likely private citizens derided for engaging in a seemingly insignificant, time-wasting hobby, discover something the Chinese government and Chinese media was too scared/cowed/backwards to reveal:  Fatty the Third (the popular nickname for Kim Jong-un) was heading their way.

Kim Jong-un and other high-level North Korean government officials travel by train.  Obviously, less important passenger trains were being moved off the trunk line to make way for his "supertrain".  Chinese citizens were forbidden to take photographs when the delegation arrived at the capital, but someone with a cell phone and a fair bit of courage managed to get this image to Reddit:
No, I'm kidding, that was a joke.  Here is what the North Korean bulletproof train actually looks like:
The important point for Estes Park readers is, when your government and your newspapers insist on not providing the full story, sometimes the craziest, seemingly unrelated observations on the part of working-class citizens can get to the heart of the truth.  When you see something (perhaps an email) posted online, screen grab it immediately, because it might shortly thereafter disappear.  This kind of nonsense should be relegated to oppressive regimes, not our local boards, but, once elected, they have this weird sense of entitlement and of somehow knowing more than their peers, as if an election somehow granted magic powers.  Why anyone would remove emails is beyond me, but you notice from last night's meeting, Dr. MacElwee brought it up yet again, and no board member responded with shock and horror, vowing to immediately restore them and castigating the CIO for allowing this to happen.  On a related note, 6 months ago, CEO Larry Lemming personally assured me that an email blast was being set up to alert public citizens to upcoming board elections.  Last night, a public citizen asked why they weren't being informed about meetings or decisions via email, and the CIO, finally cornered, said, well, they had the list of emails, they just hadn't utilized them yet.  Six months.
Six freaking months.  Whatever headhunting firm we overpaid to find CEO Larry Lemming, I want my money back. 

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