The problem with political terms, even those which are in common use, is that we often have very different definitions for the same exact words.
Take “Human Rights.”
In America, we generally define them as political rights.
Category: News and Opinion
Parallel Faith
|I had written recently that you could create a new world religion by using a common framework that applied to all the world’s religions thereby synthesizing them all into one. It was pointed out that this could not be done because either you believed Jesus is God or he isn’t.
Waking Up from the Railroad Pipedream to the Nightmare of the Vampire State
|Well, that was fun. How realistic do I believe the railroad pipedream outlined in the previous posts is? I had outlined and researched this series of posts in early July, but I didn’t find the motivation to write it until November. Now those who read all the posts might be in agreement, or disagreement, with the particulars of what I have suggested, and the economic, demographic and commercial real estate trends I have described. (Bear in mind that I write reports on those subjects every day, reports people pay to read). You may have other thoughts on the issue. You may be thinking about the possible effect of different decisions on the well being of large number of New Yorkers in the future, and how priorities might be set. You might even be thinking about construction methods, rail operations, and government contract law, commercial real estate trends, global economic trends, and demographic trends.
But I assure you, based on 20 years of observation, that none of those things mean much at all in the state legislature in Albany, New York. There the credo isn’t what is best for us, but what is in it for me and mine. And none of the parties involved could be expected to approach the issue of rail freight from any other perspective. In Albany it is never about “what,” and always about “who.”
The Gateway (Liunatic Edition)
|I'm not going to talk about the legal issues touched upon in this article, but let's not be too dismissive of Liu's chances to become Mayor.
Railroad Pipedream: Economic Development Goals Upstate
|The primary purpose of the Upstate railroad investments imagined in this pipedream is to speed freight traffic between points west of the Mississippi River, and east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio River, to New York State, New Jersey and New England. The Upstate investments would take the place of additional highway lanes, such as those being built in on the Turnpike in New Jersey, and make transportation through New York more competitive with transportation through other states. The Upstate investments would also make the New York/New Jersey seaport, located in New Jersey, more competitive with other East Coast ports, and could feed a rail freight tunnel from New Jersey to the Bronx. Finally, the pipedream would remove freight traffic from the Empire Corridor, making high-speed passenger rail more possible.
These are the transportation goals. But the entire pipedream, with the freight tunnel and the investments Upstate, would also have economic development goals for Upstate New York.
Railroad Pipedream: Transportation and Economic Development Goals Downstate
|The primary goal of the pipedream imagined in this series is to solve the problem identified in the first post: the difficulty of moving freight across the Hudson River by tractor-trailer truck due to congestion on the GW Bridge, Verrazano Bridge, and connecting highways. The imagined rail freight tunnel would provide an alternative, freight carried across the Hudson by rail and placed on trucks in the Bronx or, in the case of trailers on flat cars, in Brooklyn and Queens as well. A second goal, related to the investments Upstate that would improve the connection to New Jersey, is to increase the competiveness of the Port of New York and New Jersey for goods heading to and from the Midwest. A third goal, again for the investments Upstate, is to remove freight traffic from the existing New York Central mainline, allowing a gradual increase in operating speeds for passenger service on that route, eventually reaching the point where the line could be described as “high-speed rail.”
These, however, are not the only goals I have in mind. With railroad improvements driving economic development in other parts of the country, I imagine the pipedream would have the potential to create jobs and spur development. And with a little more investment, direct commuter rail service from Rockland and Orange to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan would become theoretically possible – without inflating the cost of a new Tappan Zee Bridge by putting transit there. This post is about the goals Downstate, with the next post about the goals Upstate.
Zuccotti Park Protestor arrested for threatening to burn down city
|This DOES NOT HELP the Occupy Wall Street Cause.
A protester was arrested in Zuccotti Park Wednesday after he threatened to fire bomb the city — specifically Macy's. You can see the video at http://www.dominictv.com/
Nkrumah Tinsley, 29, was busted after cops saw a video of him claiming he would torch the city during Thursday’s mass protest posted online, police said.
The Gateway (Gatemouth Meets Pottymouth Edition)
|Roy Moskowitz: Thanks for speaking at SIDA. And surprisingly (Without any hint of irony) Michael was the more controversial speaker.
A New Global Religion
|I have written in the past how it is possible for someone to pick and choose things or practices from various religions to create their own customized individual religion. This can be taken beyond the individual to the entire world through the creation of a new global religion based on a common framework rather than specific common beliefs like that of heaven or the consciousness going on after death as expressed in commonality by Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Buddhist for example. <
Railroad Pipedream: Investments Upstate
|Across the country, investment in freight railroads has started to increase, reversing the reduction in trackage and disinvestment in equipment seen in the decades following the development of the Interstate Highway network. As noted by the Wall Street Journal, “once a dying industry, railroads have made a strong comeback and are poised to become busier places in the years ahead. Forecasts for freight growth are substantial, prompting railroads to plan capacity additions.” According to one analyst “rail activity could possibly even double by the midpoint of the century. North American rail-freight rates would continue to be the lowest or one of the lowest in the world, and the industry would finance most or all of its capital requirements without public support.” According to another, “the public-sector financial situation will actually be an advantage for freight rail: Highways are not being funded, and the prospects are dim in that arena unless taxes are increased [which in turn raises the cost of trucking, which also helps the rails].”
Somehow, however, all this activity has bypassed New York State. Take the National Gateway project, a public-private partnership. “The National Gateway project will improve the flow of rail traffic throughout the nation by increasing the use of double-stack trains, creating a more efficient rail route that links Mid-Atlantic ports with Midwestern markets.” The project is expected to create 50,000 jobs, is expected to cost $842 million in federal and state funds and $395 million in private funds, and “is supported by a broad and diverse group of 336 public and private sector organizations and individuals, including Big Lots!, UPS and The Limited.” And unlike subsidies for individual companies, the preferred form of “economic development” in New York, this infrastructure improvement will continue support job creation into the future. The project is described in this video. Projects are located in Ohio, West Virginia, and Virginia and North Carolina. Not in New York and New Jersey, whose port will thus NOT be linked by a more efficient rail network to Midwestern markets. Why not?