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'High-Speed Rail' - California & Japan Are Different: If it works somewhere else it doesn't necessarily work here
"The Point" Substack ^ | 02/02/2023 | Thmoas Buckley

Posted on 02/02/2023 9:41:58 PM PST by SeekAndFind

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To: cymbeline
How do the Japanese keep their cities so nice?

They enforce laws, and hold strongly to attitudes that are deemed "racist, sexist, and homophobic" in America today.

Rudy Giuliani showed the way in New York - but just try to find a Democrat city government willing to embrace his "fascist" solutions when there is big money to be made using the threat of of crime and blight to shake down local businesses. Short-term political power trumps civilization - as our last two elections have clearly shown us.

Most of the rest of the world has nice city downtowns and sketchy suburbs. I feel sorry for foreign tourists who come to the USA and can't wait to see famous places like Hollywood or Times Square - but instead find their guidebooks leading them straight into a permanent crime scene.

21 posted on 02/03/2023 5:47:16 AM PST by Mr. Jeeves ([CTRL]-[GALT]-[DELETE])
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To: Bonemaker

corruption info:

https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2020

There actually is corruption in Japan and examples are given:
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-there-no-corruption-in-Japan


22 posted on 02/03/2023 5:49:11 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: Brian Griffin

High speed rail? How about low speed rail? Just look at how BART turned out, especially in the beginning.


23 posted on 02/03/2023 6:09:46 AM PST by DIRTYSECRET
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To: SeekAndFind

Trains work in limited environments. Outside those limits, they become boondoggles. No government money should go to the boondoggles.


24 posted on 02/03/2023 6:21:28 AM PST by lurk (u)
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To: pepsionice; All

I was in Germany, Switz and Austria back in 1990.

I was very impressed with the Eurorail system. First, all the trains were on time. They and the stations in Zurich, Munich, Innsbruck, Saltzburg, and in between were clean and I always felt safe. If the train was scheduled to pull out of the station at 10:48. It left exactly at 10:48.

This was before the high speed trains they have today that travel over 150 mph or 250 KPH. Reducing the trip times from 5 hours to 3 hours in a lot of routes or less. The great thing about the system is that they terminate in the downtown area of all the major cities. So, when you book your hotels, I always reserved a hotel within walking distance of the station. There are always several to choose from too.
So, unlike flying into an airport. There is no need to get a cab/taxi/uber ride to your hotel.

My wife and I would like to go to Italy. She wants to go with a bus tour group. I would rather take the trains between Rome, Florence, Venice, etc. I also want to drive through the countryside. So maybe rent a car too.

Any advise from fellow Freepers that have been to Italy would be appreciated. Ciao Bella


25 posted on 02/03/2023 6:27:01 AM PST by woodbutcher1963
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To: cymbeline

“How do the Japanese keep their cities so nice?”

They have an homogeneous culture with few hood rats.


26 posted on 02/03/2023 6:37:54 AM PST by bk1000 (Banned from Breitbart)
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To: PGR88

So long as the regulations that drive up the costs for the public sector are repealed, yes.


27 posted on 02/03/2023 7:43:44 AM PST by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is going to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
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To: BobL

The best thing Japan has going for it is the Japanese people.

Civilized people get to live in civilized great cities.

Third world people get to live in third world dumpster fire cities.


28 posted on 02/03/2023 7:46:16 AM PST by cgbg (Claiming that laws and regs that limit “hate speech” stop freedom of speech is “hate speech”.)
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To: pepsionice

Do you have the Eschede crash in mind?

Amtrak runs their trains from New York to Washington DC at 200 km/h (125 mph), and that always felt slow to me. Perhaps the ICE 3 trains (first deployed 1999) aren’t aging well?


29 posted on 02/03/2023 7:50:57 AM PST by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is going to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
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To: Brian Griffin

It’s human nature. But when caught adios.


30 posted on 02/03/2023 7:51:48 AM PST by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: SeekAndFind

Ccost about $30,000 a year to commute !!!

No way anyone would want to or be able to pay that amount!
Then there is the speed issue. No way will the trains run fast due to the terrain.
Not enough people would want to take a train. Just to get to one you have to take walk to or take a bus or be dropped off at the station.


31 posted on 02/03/2023 12:46:02 PM PST by minnesota_bound (Need more money to buy everything now)
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To: cgbg

Can’t wait for maid cafés to spring up everywhere . . .


32 posted on 02/03/2023 3:20:37 PM PST by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is going to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
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To: minnesota_bound
Amtrak used to run (and stop) on 5th Street in Lafayette, Indiana until 1994. Not convenient enough of a location to catch a train?


33 posted on 02/03/2023 3:28:03 PM PST by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is going to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
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