Although they did also put it mainly on flat land. Some of our most promising city pairs with high traffic and strong local support for such a project are unfortunately in or separated by mountainous areas: LA-SF, Seattle-Portland, Atlanta-DC, etc.

From the FT article posted elsewhere in this discussion:

According to state media reports, the government spent $17bn (€12bn, £11bn) on the Harmony express line’s construction over 4½ years. Wuhan invested $2.4bn in a new French-designed train station, which boasts 20 tracks and 11 platforms. Officials this weekend declined to confirm project costs.

One reason for the enormous construction outlay for the Harmony express was difficult terrain, especially in the poor mountainous areas of Guangdong and Hunan provinces. The train travels along 713km of elevated tracks and tunnels, accounting for about 70 per cent of its length.

So you're argument may not really hold water. I think the big reason for this not happening in the US, is capital costs, the lobbying efforts of airline and other affected industries and NIMBY mentality.

In my best drunk Russian accent:

"American components...Russian components...All made in Taiwan!"

our amateur UAV building spy overlords!

Anytime that question is asked (like when I call the bank), I always say 1st January, 1900 rather than the January 1st, 1900.

So you are incorrect in your assumption. I think it does depend on how you typically write out your dates (what you have mentioned goes for the US).

But it says a lot about the American people at that one brief moment in time to have chosen someone so at odds with the general zeitgeist.

I know you are BadAnalogyGuy, but I'll give this a try.

What you are trying to say is that America was used to Paris Hilton, and then at one brief moment in time chose to elect Angelina Jolie.

Your whole post just seems like a random rant not terribly relevant to the article.

If anything what the article does say that a fifth of the Chinese and nearly half the Indians that left actually entered on temporary visas (such as H1-Bs).

It's these people that help add value to the economy by developing technology, starting companies and driving innovation thus creating jobs. So they are a necessary part of the solution to increasing American competitiveness in the 21st century.

Bad form to reply to self, but anyway:

To complete my comment, don't give me the bit about assumption being the brother of all fucks.

If you RTFA (which of course you didn't), then you would have seen the bit where they confirmed these mossies had no malaria. I am assuming, they also don't have other diseases such as Dengue Fever either.

(And don't g

I've said it before (see my last comment on the H1-B article a few days back) and I'll say it again. The lower pay for H1-Bs seems to be a problem that is especially prevalent in the IT industry. I am on an H1-B in a non-IT company and I get the same pay and benefits as any other employee.

Also, most of my friends that are on H1-Bs in my company and others get paid market rates or above. I know this is only anecdotal evidence, but it really annoys me when people think that all H1-Bs are poor desperate souls that are clawing with everything they've got to keep a job.

Being an H1-B that works for a Fortune 500 non-IT company, I have to second your comment. I get paid on par with my colleagues and even right now with our business being severely affected, I have not faced a single incident of intimidation tactics to make me work harder.

From all the comments I have read on /. when H1-B related articles come up, it seems like the IT industry in particular has problems with H1Bs being hired at lower wages and being underqualified. If I recall correctly, companies like Tata Consultancy, Wipro and Infosys are some of the largest users of H1B quotas and they primarily bring in people from India.

Maybe I am biased since I did my university education in the US, but I believe the H1B program needs to be restructured to give preference to US educated applicants over others. This will keep the country from losing talent that wants to stay and also help towards removing wage depression.

I believe his name would be Ted Koppel. However, he is not at a major network and I can't think of any others in the networks.