Why are there foreign judges serving in Hong Kong?

It is a holdover from Hong Kong’s past as a British colony. After the UK handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997, the agreement between the countries stipulated that the special territory would continue to operate with its freedoms and systems for 50 years- including its common law legal system which operates in several other jurisdictions worldwide. Currently there seven foreign judges remaining on the court– three British and four from Australia.

So, foreign judges who are meddling in HK affairs are upset that China (the inheritor of HK) is meddling in HK affairs?

If the West actually cared about HK independence, why do they wish to maintain colonial judges in HK courts? If they cared, shouldn't HK judges be in HK courts?

While China has been heavy handed in its effort to speed up the timeline of the power transfer, in the end, the West has concluded that HK is to be Chinese territory. By the West's own policy, these are foreign judges getting kicked out by the "rightful" new rulers, just a bit early.

Do you think people who speak English, would have read the text in German? No.

The words are slightly different, but they have the same meaning. What do you think he means by it? Or when he calls immigrants criminals, murderers, rapists, animals, and "not human"?

These are fascist statements. Nazis called Jews these things as well, rounded them up, put them in camps, often separating parents from their children. The US is already rounding up migrants, putting them in detention camps, and separating parents from their children. Trump wishes to expand these programs, and Biden refuses to end them.

They are literally doing eugenics at migrant detention camps. "A for-profit ICE detention center forced sterilization procedures on immigrant women"

What about when Trump had dinner with a well-known antisemitic fascist?

Why do you think white supremacist, neo-nazi hate groups choose to support Trump?

Project 2025 lines out a set of actions very similar to those the German Nazi party did to install an authoritarian regime after gaining power.

To say Trump is Hitler would of course be ridiculous. However, their ideologies are similar, and modern day fascists are rallying behind Trump.

It's gross.

Trump is quoting and agreeing with part of Hitler's autobiography Mein Kampf, a book entirely dedicated to fascism.

If you read the NBC article I linked above, you can compare the original from the text with Trump's quote and see how similar they are.

Systematically discriminating against and causing harm to people based on their identity or race is fascism. You would be correct in saying that around the globe, many of the laws and actions around immigration today can be called fascistic.

Criminalizing the rescue of drowning migrants so they die before reaching land is one such policy.

Sure, but "effectiveness" is usually not a binary and is often difficult to measure. Small, but persistent changes should still add up. Eventually.

So long as people recognize that these things are in fact quite toothless, I'm not sure they are entirely detrimental. There's no reason this couldn't be used as a starting point for more effective action, now that signatories are in greater contact with the campaign.

I don't know.

I still think there's at least some value, even if the only thing it accomplishes is getting people to talk about it. Many people have never even heard of The Internet Archive.

Either way, there isn't really a reason not to.

Sure, but it is still better than doing nothing.

the California government didn’t give him money for that

Right, but Las Vegas did and still is. It's more about how so many people in power were duped into believing it was ever a reasonable method of transportation. It would be dishonest to call it anything other than a publicity stunt / tourist attraction for SV tech bros.

I mean it’s the first system of its kind in the country and it’s being built in a state full of NIMBYs

Acquisitions through eminent domain have been used for far more nefarious purposes in the past.

the ticket cost will be 100 dollars from San Francisco to LA

I would be pleasantly surprised if that comes to be reality, though the cost of the project keeps rising and business school drop outs are going to demand costs be recouped through higher ticket prices.

What?

I am criticizing that the project is 10 years behind schedule and that there are very few comparable initiatives to expand passenger rail.

Instead of prioritizing work on proven solutions, funding is going to fringe science fair projects. Elon Musk literally got government permission and funds to dig a subway tunnel for electric cars.

Even if the CAHSR project is completed, it will likely be expected to run as a for-profit enterprise like Amtrak, making ticket prices unaffordable for many commuters.

Pedantism does not change the fact that the passenger rail system in US is severely underdeveloped when compared to other nations.

So, they're throwing money at Silicon Valley tech companies that want to sell speculative and unproven tech because they can't figure out how to build even a single train?

Relevant username?

Yeah. Currently, there's also no consensus that carbon capture or geo-engineering are even reasonably feasible solutions. They are still very much in the experimental stage.

Assuming we will invent a technological solution sometime in the future, instead of reducing emissions now is irresponsible and an excuse for inaction.