High-speed Chinese train kicks French, Japanese butt

[Zippy]

Can't see it catching on in India - At 230 MPH it would be pretty breezy for all the passengers on the roof.

I'm sure that's not very PC but it did make me chuckle

[Board Game Geek]

I'm sure that's not very PC but it did make me chuckle

Sorry, but I must protest, Zippy (though not in the usual CUK abusive way, I'll hasten to add).

There's nothing PC or non-PC about the previous comment.

It's common for people in many eastern or less-developed nations to travel roof top. That's not a racial issue, it's a wealth issue. Commenting on it as the original poster does, isn't a race issue. It's an observation that such people might get a bit windy miller in their underpants.

This obsession with looking for any opportunity to show shock and horror and villify someone for making at joke that could be suberted in to a race issue, is quite frankly, more abhorrent than the original act itself.

Condemning outright racism, sure, that's a worthy thing. But when people stir things up when someone else says innocently, "I hope we have a white Christmas", is akin to spoiling for a fight when none should have existed in the first place.

Not suggesting you were, my dear Zippy, but I get frustrated when I seen the tendrils of overt-PC stifling people's thoughts.

[Diver]

Condemning outright racism, sure, that's a worthy thing. But when people stir things up when someone else says innocently, "I hope we have a white Christmas", is akin to spoiling for a fight when none should have existed in the first place.

Not suggesting you were, my dear Zippy, but I get frustrated when I seen the tendrils of overt-PC stifling people's thoughts.

Caucasian

[Paddy]

I hope they don’t give the franchise to South West Trains

Due to flooding of paddy fields 8:02 to Wuhan cancelled.
We sorry for delay, rice on line.
We sorry for delay, bamboo fall on line.
Unprecedented Typhoon for time of year all trains cancelled.

[Tarquin Farquhar]

Sorry, but I must protest, Zippy (though not in the usual CUK abusive way, I'll hasten to add).

There's nothing PC or non-PC about the previous comment.

It's common for people in many eastern or less-developed nations to travel roof top. That's not a racial issue, it's a wealth issue. Commenting on it as the original poster does, isn't a race issue. It's an observation that such people might get a bit windy miller in their underpants.

This obsession with looking for any opportunity to show shock and horror and villify someone for making at joke that could be suberted in to a race issue, is quite frankly, more abhorrent than the original act itself.

Bravo! A serious outbreak of rational good sense.

And IMHO you are quite right with that last (quoted) sentence: over-active PC is bad in itself because not only does it vilify someone who doesn't deserve it (and does that in a way that slyly cannot be answered), but it obscures the opposition to real racism, by crying Wolf too often.

[Diver]

Bravo! A serious outbreak of rational good sense.

And IMHO you are quite right with that last (quoted) sentence: over-active PC is bad in itself because not only does it vilify someone who doesn't deserve it (and does that in a way that slyly cannot be answered), but it obscures the opposition to real racism, by crying Wolf too often.

Brian: I'm not a Roman mum, I'm a kike, a yid, a heebie, a hook-nose, I'm kosher mum, I'm a Red Sea pedestrian, and proud of it!

Classic

[AtW]

I hope they don’t give the franchise to South West Trains

Due to flooding of paddy fields 8:02 to Wuhan cancelled.
We sorry for delay, rice on line.
We sorry for delay, bamboo fall on line.
Unprecedented Typhoon for time of year all trains cancelled.

No they would not do it there because for each such case whoever is in charge of the road will get punished very heavily.

[norrahe]

I found in amusing in Japan, that they are still apologising for a 4 second train delay after several months.

4 seconds!!!!

[lje]

Have they also got Maglev trains there?

Having travelled on the trains in China (yes - including the Maglev) and in Japan I have to say that they beat trains in the UK every time. Having said that I have only travelled first class on Chinese trains and I'm sure it's a very different experience on other parts of the train...

[norrahe]

Having travelled on the trains in China (yes - including the Maglev) and in Japan I have to say that they beat trains in the UK every time. Having said that I have only travelled first class on Chinese trains and I'm sure it's a very different experience on other parts of the train...

I did some travelling in China last year and the company I travelled with for one part of the trip got us "hard sleepers" i.e. second class. It was awful to say the least.

Needless to say the next time we had to overnight by train, we insisted that we went first class.

Heck, even the food in the train canteens was way better and cheaper than trains in the UK.

Unfortunately, the British government made the mistake of privitising the railyways, and we are left with an inefficient infrastructre, which is breaking down rapidly with a govermment who can ill afford to sort it out.

And they wonder why people use cars so much.