Earlier quoted context omitted.
> China in recent years has reduced inequality After many years of increasing inequality > the US has done absolutely nothing to curb discontent, the same discontent that has led to the election of a fascist leader. I cannot imagine possible definition of "fascist" that would include the US and exclude China. China has far more fascist features than any other major country - personality cult, courts compliant with th…
I didn’t say China wasn’t fascist, I only said that the US is moving in that direction rapidly. I am talking about trends not necessarily the state of things at this moment.
Chongqing, the Largest City – In Pictures
191–200 of 224 posts
Re: Chongqing, the Largest City – In Pictures
#192Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s missing in most European places because there’s little need for it. When there is a need, Europe does pretty well. At least relative to the U.S. For example, Europe built the completely novel floodgates for Venice. It’s been very successful as far as I’m aware when it was heavily doubted before and throughout its development. On the other hand, the U.S. won’t even contemplate building something similar to protec…
Keep in mind China has construction more than just from population capacity; it's also a shell game for local districts to get taxes and for "investment" by locals who are told it'll always go up, just like the American market. And then at the top level, China views it as a "make work" project to keep industry going.
Re: Chongqing, the Largest City – In Pictures
#193Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s missing in most European places because there’s little need for it. When there is a need, Europe does pretty well. At least relative to the U.S. For example, Europe built the completely novel floodgates for Venice. It’s been very successful as far as I’m aware when it was heavily doubted before and throughout its development. On the other hand, the U.S. won’t even contemplate building something similar to protec…
US infrastructure is increasingly terrible, true. But high-speed rail isn't probably what I'd point to as the most glaring problem. No doubt the TGV and Shinkansen are impressive, but the longest route in Japan (Tokyo-Aomori) is 675km compared to 4000km from Los Angeles to NYC (assuming you could it make a straight line, which you couldn't). Not to say I wouldn't be delighted to even have service from San Diego to Se…
Maybe in parallel you could also: improve the trackways between San Francisco and San Jose, maybe build Sacramento to San Francisco, Sacramento to Stockton (and maybe extend that to San Jose and Fresno, with a San Jose to Santa Cruz stretch goal). Other stretch goals: Sacramento to Redding, Fresno to Bakersfield.
Instead we’re building the Central Valley segment first, in part due to the insistence of the Obama administration when Los Angeles to San Diego would have made way more sense and been up and running and in revenue service sooner.
Re: Chongqing, the Largest City – In Pictures
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
Western societies are blinded by the narrative their governments have fed them in the last 50 years: China Bad. But us in 3rd world countries have the ability to see both Western and Eastern societies' development and compare it ij a more unbiased way. Frankly the China bet looks more successful.
This is nonsense, ~zero rich people in third world send their kids to study in Shanghai instead of Boston or immigrate to Beijing instead of NYC to park their capital. In fact it’s the rich Chinese who continue to move to Vancouver and London and Irvine to escape China and have a better future.
Re: Chongqing, the Largest City – In Pictures
#195Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because the western world (and rest of the world following western world) has one rule (the only rule): make the super rich richer, everything else is just marketing to accomplish that. Home prices are completely out of reach for most people in UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia (coming soon to a country near you!). You're overpaying to live like a 1920's postman: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tGPHcteG9dY Create art…
Housing shortages aren't a result of some nefarious plot to make the super rich richer. It's more complex than that. We need to build more housing, and there are various reasons why that isn't happening. Many of them are well-intentioned and even good (high safety standards dramatically increase the cost of new buildings).
On the 'high' standards: It is all wooden sticks and drywall, completed by 2 minimum wage unskilled labor with a nailgun. None of the homes in US withstand anything, insurance keeps going up. If standards are high, why is insurance going up significantly?
Re: Chongqing, the Largest City – In Pictures
#196Earlier quoted context omitted.
US infrastructure is increasingly terrible, true. But high-speed rail isn't probably what I'd point to as the most glaring problem. No doubt the TGV and Shinkansen are impressive, but the longest route in Japan (Tokyo-Aomori) is 675km compared to 4000km from Los Angeles to NYC (assuming you could it make a straight line, which you couldn't). Not to say I wouldn't be delighted to even have service from San Diego to Se…
If you’re going to do HSR you have to think smaller than coast-to-coast. Think of that as the final stretch goal from a well laid out network spanning the places that it makes sense because past a certain distance you’re never going to outcompete airplanes and we have an extensive array of airports all across the country. Even Los Angeles to San Francisco should have been the stretch goal rather than the original goa…
They did, sort of, but not to HSR, just by electrification.
https://www.caltrain.com/testing
https://www.caltrain.com/?active_tab=route_map_tab¢er=-1...
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/caltrains-switch-to-elec...
https://airqualitynews.com/cars-freight-transport/electrific...
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.4c01096
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/04/07/caltrain-ridership-in...
Re: Chongqing, the Largest City – In Pictures
#197Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you’re going to do HSR you have to think smaller than coast-to-coast. Think of that as the final stretch goal from a well laid out network spanning the places that it makes sense because past a certain distance you’re never going to outcompete airplanes and we have an extensive array of airports all across the country. Even Los Angeles to San Francisco should have been the stretch goal rather than the original goa…
> Maybe in parallel you could also: improve the trackways between San Francisco and San Jose They did, sort of, but not to HSR, just by electrification. https://www.caltrain.com/testing https://www.caltrain.com/?active_tab=route_map_tab¢er=-1... https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/caltrains-switch-to-elec... https://airqualitynews.com/cars-freight-transport/electrific... https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estle…
Re: Chongqing, the Largest City – In Pictures
#198German television made a very interesting documentary about the city a few months back: https://youtu.be/p49QRxO_n2c
Interesting - not available for me (in Germany!)…
Re: Chongqing, the Largest City – In Pictures
#199Earlier quoted context omitted.
> And good luck if you want to grab a taxi and you have long hair Please explain
Pretty much when I tried to grab a taxi, and it was pretty much every day two times, I could see Taxi were free(no people inside, and now I can't remember if I was the light on or off, but meaning they're just free to take you) no one would stop for about 10 minutes. Sometimes 1 passed and I was able to get it, but usually it was 5-7 cars passing me by.... Someone mentioned people were not accustomed to males with lo…
Re: Chongqing, the Largest City – In Pictures
#200Earlier quoted context omitted.
Western societies are blinded by the narrative their governments have fed them in the last 50 years: China Bad. But us in 3rd world countries have the ability to see both Western and Eastern societies' development and compare it ij a more unbiased way. Frankly the China bet looks more successful.
This is nonsense, ~zero rich people in third world send their kids to study in Shanghai instead of Boston or immigrate to Beijing instead of NYC to park their capital. In fact it’s the rich Chinese who continue to move to Vancouver and London and Irvine to escape China and have a better future.
There's the fact that Chinese companies are basically hoovering up all the talent. In Latin America, Huawei alone eats up entire graduating classes of engineers. Pretty much every 'industry' event in any sector is nearly 100% Chinese. University staff are increasingly forming themselves via Chinese companies, and are thus transmitting that to their students. Chinese scholarships are popping up like mushrooms. Again, Huawei alone has provided more of them in the past year than the US Embassy has done in the past three decades.
People still dream about going to the US, sure. But MAGA is doing their damned best to whittle that lead away.