Watch China’s 1,000 High-Speed Trains in Action

[marmar]

http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/watch_chinas_1000_high-speed_trains_in_action_20140115


China continues to invest billions in its transportation infrastructure, making it possible for people to travel around the country at unprecedented speeds.

The Associated Press takes a look:

[BlueStreak]

1. Do we have to live in a totalitarian regime to get any progress around here?

I guess maybe we should just let the NSA take over.

[CFLDem]

2. Actually yes

Too many cooks spoil the broth and not everyone's NIMBY complaint is more important than the national good.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. Japan's high-speed rail system got its start when the government

persuaded the business and finance communities that it would be a good investment.

The Japanese government first asked the World Bank, which told them that trains were passé and that they should build freeways instead. But fortunately, they were able to persuade their business and finance moguls to chip in.

[BlueStreak]

4. Interesting use of the word "persuade"

I haven't heard it used that way since The Sopranos went off the air.

But seriously, Singapore is an interesting example. It is not a democracy, but is not a totalitarian regime in the same sense that China is. People in Singapore seem pretty happy with their system. Everything is clean. Everybody is employed. Everything works. Everybody has health care. Everybody has retirement savings.

[awoke_in_2003]

5. Hear that sound?

It is the sound of us slipping further into irrelevance.