knz

Surely HSR linking Europe and Asia would preceed a trans Pacific route?

Five seconds to get up to highway speeds isn't outrageous in many parts of the country where there are short on ramps and fast moving traffic.

And that's in ideal conditions - real world could easily have multiple passengers and a full load of luggage/cargo that'll slow things down.

Likewise with going 120mph - highway speeds are anything from 60 to 85mph. Most vehicles aren't at 100% engine load when cruising on the highway.

Yes, many of my family and friends are in Auckland.

I don't mean it hasn't caused any disruption - only that the disruption prior to this outbreak was minimal compared to much of the world over the last 18 months.

> Covid zero is an ideological pipe dream unless NZ wants to permanently ban international travel

The goal of eliminating COVID there is to reduce the burden on the healthcare system during an active global pandemic. Until recently NZ had very low vaccination rates - zero COVID as a policy was closely tied to this and few (none?) of their mitigation measures will be permanent.

I'm a dual US/NZ citizen with family on both sides of the Pacific. It's almost comical how much negativity there is outside of NZ towards their COVID strategy, especially when you consider how minimal the disruption had been until this most recent outbreak.

My family history includes some "adventures" with blood clots/PE's.

Typically they investigate with multiple tools - a CT scan, a D-Dimer blood test, and often an ultrasound to check blood flow in limbs etc.

> Hopefully this account isn't fully truthful

Brian Krebs is a reputable source who has a lot to lose if he makes unsubstantiated claims.

Not to mention we are twenty years into the Global War on Terrorism.

The appetite of the US public for another conflict, especially one directly against a superpower, is exceptionally low.

There are comments further down explaining how the containers likely weigh substantially more than the lift capacity of heavy lift helicopters. They'd have to partially unload the contents of each individual container first.

And if you're unloading, the human labor cost to unload the whole container is probably cheaper than the cost of running a fleet of helicopters for weeks to months.

> comparing planes they've flown on

The airline matters too - some have larger seats with more amenities and more space between rows. Those extra inches really matter on long haul flights for those of us who are tall!

> In the end the world will be a stark 0.001% who own the automation and the flat 99.999% who subsist on leisure and boredom.

Leisure? Or poverty?

This strikes me as a return to the default state for much of human existence and the current reality for much of the world's population.