Not so friendly reminder that musk specifically came up with, and pushed, for hyperloop knowing that it would never be made, as an effort to stop the development of highspeed rail in America and shift all political discussions of it because “something better is around the corner”:
As I’ve written in my book, Musk admitted to his biographer Ashlee Vance that Hyperloop was all about trying to get legislators to cancel plans for high-speed rail in California—even though he had no plans to build it. Several years ago, Musk said that public transit was “a pain in the ass” where you were surrounded by strangers, including possible serial killers, to justify his opposition.
Also: 2024 update, the total length of China’s high-speed rail tracks has now reached well over 45,000 km, or 28,000 miles, by the end of 2023.
They are additionally five years ahead of schedule and expect to double the total number within ten years. And, before someone inevitably complains about “how expensive it is”, they are turning over a net-profit of over $600M USD a year.
Yeah it’s amazing how fast and cheaply you can build infrastructure when there’s no labour rights and no property rights.
(And if you never actually build it then it’s really cheap!)
This is FUD to support the trade war between USA and China.
Do not fall prey.
I am sorry?
There literally is no property right in China. You’re only allowed to “lease” property from the government.
Also, does “996” ring a Bell?
The US Government refers to you as a tenant in your own home that you ‘own’. This is so they can take over it with imminent domain whenever they feel like it. Stop pretending we actually have property rights in the US, they can take anything from you at any time, it is US Law.
addition: You are less free than you think you are. We are far from the freest country on earth. Funny how Norway, a fairly socialist leaning country is the Freest on the Freedom Index. They also have one of highest rates of billionaires… USA is somewhere around 30th
We are being misled. Capitalism leads to corporatism. It is a time bomb of an economic system which requires 3% compound growth infinitely. that is a pipe-dream, not socialism
“It’s really legalised robbery by law enforcement”
From a Last Week Tonight piece about civil forfeiture
https://youtu.be/3kEpZWGgJks?si=st2CafF71zFh9YCg
Yes! That episode reinforced my notion that we do not have true property rights in the USA
John Oliver has so much passion for justice, and so much energy. I love how he talks about stuff no one is talking about too, ‘fringe’ subjects that matter
Skip out on your property taxes and you’ll find that you too are just leasing the land. The reality of the world is that, unless you own your own island, no one other than governments actually own land.
And quality control
I would never set foot into a chinese Train
I have seen 3 Videos of derailed chinese Trains in the last 2 years and I have no idea how many more the CCP successfully covered up.
I’ve been on a few. They’re quite… nice? At least the high speed rail ones between cities. Better than anything I’ve seen in europe or UK.
In terms of train derailments, you have to consider the size of the country
I will unironically take you out for a Beer here in Switzerland. You can choose: Geneva, Bern, Lucern or Zürich. Because no, the trains in China are definitely worse than those here in Switzerland. Trust me.
They’re really really fast, I’ll give them that (If you’re on one of the ones that the CCP prioritized as a prestige-project), but other than that: No, Swiss trains are just better.
Also:
I am going to have to strongly disagree.
The Video I saw was a earthslide that destroyed the rails and no early warning system picked it up causing the Train to run into it full speed and derailing
If your railways don’t have early warning systems, that’s just completely unacceptable. Train safety has absolutely nothing to do with the size of a country.
Which I was especially disappointed in since I once saw a documentary about how the chinese had apparently implemented the swiss train-security system into their railway system. But I guess only the “important” routes get the upgrade. Everywhere else either doesn’t get it or the money goes into the carpark of the local Officials.
Swiss trains are so good that they cross the border to break the strikes of other countries. I will say the exception is Switzerland.
But compare it to the DB ICE, or to National Rail / Southern / Great Western, or TGV going cross country. China trains win, imo.
In terms of early warning systems I can’t comment
woah, woah, context, context!
We only drove international routes that would have impacted Swiss people if they just suddenly stopped at the Swiss border. We didn’t “break” a Strike, we just “contained” it to the country it actually belongs to.
other than that we wish the best to the protesting workers :P
But yeah, I am absolutely spoiled living here in Switzerland.
The most powerful thing about our public transport isn’t even what most people tend to think about. It’s how regional and local public transport are integrated. A Bus will be at the train station exactly at the same time as a train, so you can effortlessly change between the two. While in other countries the transport is separated so you routinely wait 20+ minutes for your next transport, in Switzerland, it is seldom more than 5-10 minutes.
Yeah, I am absolutely spoiled. But at least I know it and don’t take it for granted but instead enjoy it :)
That sounds a bit like undermining the strike, but tbh, I’ve no idea of what you guys are talking about.
It totally is.
A lot of French/German people go work in Switzerland, a noticeable amount such that when the DB (german trains) is broken down / delayed / on strike (as it often is), Swiss companies suffer.
It has become such a problem that in order to get these workers to work, Swiss trains will cross the border to collect these commuters as a replacement service.
Since these Swiss trains are following the same tracks as the DB would take, French/German people who just want to get to work in France/Germany also take these Swiss trains to work.
The end result is a DB strike that failed, pissed off commuters realising just howsmooth, quiet, and fancy Swiss trains are in comparison, and a general populace who are irritated at the state of german trains and train scheduling.
That’s interesting
Thanks for the context.
You’re probably right. It’s not that US railways suck because of the size of the country, that’s probably true, yeah. They suck for totally unrelated reasons.
https://youtu.be/AJ2keSJzYyY?si=7uRq8YJO97bxVcui
We have plenty of domestic derailments to go around, so I feel like this is just casting stones from our glass house. Although in our case it’s not that the build quality is bad, it’s that maintenance has been skipped for so long that everything is falling apart.
“muddy water is also poisonous” is a bad thing to say when I say “you shouldn’t drink arsenic”
No, we don’t. Switzerland is one of the safest countries for trains, we invented and implemented multiple security systems for trains, riding a train here is completely safe.
I know you probably assumed I’m from the same country as you (“we”) and that your country isn’t that save, but this assumption is wrong.
“We” don’t have plenty of domestic derailments to go around.
Well, I’m not psychic, so for lack of appropriate context I’m going to naturally assume that you’re talking from the perspective of an American in the thread about how China is destroying the United States (California specifically) in high speed rail production.
Now that I know better, feel free to disregard my comment.
Yeah, but I never gave you a reason to assume that.
I simply talked about how insecure Chinese rail is. Nothing about the US or California. Frankly, you chose to just jump to conclusions, nothing natural about it.
If literally half the people online were Swiss, and had been since your childhood, it would be very natural of you to assume that most of the time when you’re talking to someone, you’re talking to a Swiss person.
You can try to paint him rude or assumptuous or anything, but I very much fail to see that. Yea there are those Americans who assume too much, too often, but this wasn’t one of those times, and your reply with the “I’m not American how dare you” while not even saying you’re Swiss is tonally really dickish and arrogant, but that’s just my personal opinion on the matter.
I guess you haven’t seen the videos of people balancing coins on the windowsill while going 300+km/h.
I have seen these, I have seen the Videos where the whole train was shaking (presumably on a less “prestigious” route that wasn’t getting the sole attention of the CCP) and I have seen the Videos where a landslide destroyed tracks, no warning-system picked it up and a train derailed.
Oh interesting, so you know they’re extremely good at building infrastructure, but they still have some that’s not great, so choose to act like that’s all that exists, and it’s definitely going to kill you. Totally not a fed. Nope, just a regular guy here.
Also, communism is when natural disasters? Really, that’s a stretch.
Yoi’re Strawmanning.
Is Bejing paying you to do this?
No, they’re awful at building infrastructure. They’re able to build it really really fast, but they’re always prioritizing speed over longevity, leading to bad infrastructure that eventually collapses.
Just think about it: in Switzerland we often take longer to survey the ground than it takes the Chinese to build the whole thing. This can’t work
I never made this about natural disasters, I was always very clear I was talking about early warning systems
You know, the kind that stops a Train if the rails literally snapped apart
But seriously, how much does the CCP pay for this? Just keeping my options open.
You’ve seen the tracks so smooth a coin doesn’t fall over at 300km/h and you call that “awful at building infrastructure”? Curious.
But they’re fast, so it must be poor quality, right? The appeal to “just think about it” without seeking actual information is a classic.
You are maliciously ignoring / misinterpreting what I’m saying, so I’ll say it once more and then be off:
I can build you a Car that can go 200 km/h within 3 weeks
Does that make it better than a VW that takes years to develop?
No, because that car was actually tested. It has undergone a lot of testing to make sure it is safe to use in various conditions. My car didn’t do that.
Replace “my car” with “Chinese railway” and you should get the Idea
That’s exactly what my interpretation was.
You’ve leaped to the notion that Chinese trains are somehow an untested technology. They’re using technologies that have been developed and tested around the world for well over a century. No one is perfect, but they do seem to be implementing them quite well.
The funny thing about your car analogy is, guess what? China makes cars too! And they’re getting solid safety ratings: https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/byd/seal/50012
East Palestine was just last year.
Jesus, stop the whataboutism
And besides, I’m from switzerland, so you need to get a new accident to whatabout
My point is, train accidents happen everywhere.
And my point is that most countries have systems that try to prevent those accidents, while China doesn’t apparently
Nevermind, I just saw your bio, and the way you’re accusing people in this thread of being paid by the CCP.
I won’t waste my time.
Because I’m swiss or because I’m a pan-european nationalist?
I’m sorry I’m not a chinese ethno-nationalist, my dude.
I’m sorry I don’t think that I’m better than other people because of my birth and instead openly embrace my brothers. I’m sorry my country is not currently committing a genocide against a minority.
Edit: Lmao, I just looked at your Profile and I’m 70% sure you’re paid by Bejing. The other 30% you’re a “useful idiot”. (don’t get mad at me, the KGB themselves called you that)
Defending North Korea? get out of here, you clown!
I’m just gonna block you. Bye!
have you not been paying attention the past decade? shit is crumbling here. Overpasses falling apart, trains derailing and starting enormous chemical fires…
Drinking water that is flammable.
The lie that we are doing well is propped up by massive amounts of personal and public debt.
with how deperately you’re trying to defend china / deflect from china with whataboutism, I am starting to think you may get paid by bejing 🤔
No, nothing is crumbling “here”. I want actual Proof that shit is crumbling “here”.
No, “we” (you) are definitely doing well. pretty well even. Only second to the EU.
Public “debt” isn’t really a problem as long as its in measures. A country isn’t a zero-sum game, spending money isn’t “wasted” or “lost” money, it’s “invested” money. “Debt” is a Term used to make “investment into the future of the country” sound like a bad thing. which is a very conservative thing to do. which is funny, considering how you’re looking up to china.
I mean: just look at your beloved china. They’re also accumulating massive debt in order to invest into the country and pump up the economy. In the most simple example: You need money to build a port, you need a port to sell stuff, and you need to sell stuff in order to make money.
Anyways, I always said I would rather be poor in ww2-Britain than be rich in Nazi-Germany. I would still rather be poor in the US than in China.
You should really really be grateful for what you have. I don’t mean you shouldn’t strive to make your country better, but also realize that you live in a amazing country.
Consider that maybe I am the unbiased one, and you are the one lying to yourself because of propaganda. Imminent Domain means the US Government owns EVERYTHING in your possession and can take it at any time they want. You own NOTHING
I want this country to be great again, and that means MAKING PRODUCTS HERE. AND HIRING AMERICAN SUPPORT STAFF… call any of the 3 biggest companies in the US and you are talking to a foreigner. Stop complaining about competition and START GOING AFTER THOSE SELLING OUT OUR COUNTRY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Palestine,_Ohio,_train_derailment
These lights turned out to be defective and they all turned PURPLE LOL I was visiting family there and asked the uber driver “why purple?” All because someone wanted to give the contract to their buddy, capitalism!
Im not going to do all your research for you. there are countless examples of the US crumbling. go to WV, its a third-world state where over 50% of 20 year olds are on Fentanyl and government welfare 100%