Uncle Sam vs. Wikileaks

The US government is going all out in its efforts to crush WikiLeaks. The website that spreads "leaked" information on the web.

The soldier accused of leaking the stuff PFC Bradley Manning is being held in the guardhouse in solitary confinement and is only able to communicate with the outside through a military lawyer.

The FBI has been called into investigate and to hunt down Manning's coconspirators who presumably include the genius behind Wikileaks Ausi hacker Julian Assange. Mr. Assange is on the run and could face criminal prosecution in the US. No word yet on whether the Predator Drone will be called in to make an airstrike on Mr. Assange's location.

The media establishment in the US is parroting the government party line on Wikileaks as treason and threat to national security. Wikileaks is not a threat to National Security it is a threat to traditional government and media power.

As I've pointed out elsewhere government can use none of its power to shut down Wikileaks. Nor can the media censor it for its own purposes. This effectively destroys the power of journalism and greatly reduces the power of government.

Expect governments all over the world to cooperate on a major effort to kill Wikileaks and possibly Mr. Assange. Also expect a major war between Wikileaks and government and Wikileaks and the media establishment. Some sleazy tactics will be used to smear Mr. Assange and anybody who helps him.

This will continue until governments realize that they can use outlets like Wikileaks for their own purposes. When that happens they will accept them. Until then Mr. Assange had better learn to watch his back and sleep with a gun under his pillow.

High Speed Rail Will Improve Freight Railroads

The latest and silliest argument being advanced by high speed rail opponents is that the building of high speed rail lines will somehow ruin America’s very successful freight railroad system. Nothing could be further from the truth: a properly built high speed rail system would make the freight rail system faster and more efficient.

The building of dedicated high speed lines for passenger trains would get hundreds of passenger and commuter trains off the rails used by freight trains. This would make more room for the freight trains and eliminate the delays that commuter and passenger trains cause for freight trains.

In our present system, freight trains often have to stop and wait for passenger and commuter trains. If the passenger and commuter trains were using separate high speed tracks these delays could be eliminated.

There is also no reason why freight trains couldn’t use new high speed rail lines. If the rails were the same width, most of the freight trains operating in the United States today could run on high speed rail lines. Even if high speed trains and freight trains couldn’t share the same track there’s no reason why freight track and high speed train tracks couldn’t be built on the same roadbed.

Using the high speed track would make the freight trains faster because of the nature of the high speed lines. High speed trains run special roadbed that’s like an interstate highway for trains. That is it is grade separated so cars don’t cross the tracks, which can cause accidents and delays. Such track is usually straighter so it allows for higher speeds.

Another way high speed rail would make freight rail better is that it would allow many freight trains to be pulled by electric locomotives. Most American trains are pulled by diesel locomotives because most American rail lines are not equipped for electric locomotives. Electric locomotives are cheaper than diesel locomotives to operate and they don’t run on imported oil like diesel locomotives do.

It also goes without saying that high speed rail lines could also be used by high speed freight trains. These could be used to move a lot of freight that is now moved by air or truck and reduce our oil imports even farther.

Most of the packages that UPS, Fedex, and similar services now ship by air could be moved by high speed freight trains. This would reduce both shipping costs and oil usage and make our economy more efficient. Other items that could be shipped via high speed freight trains include fruit, vegetables, food, electronics, electronic parts and luggage.

An interesting use of high speed trains would be to ship air passengers’ luggage. Airlines are constantly restricting luggage and charging more for luggage. A business that ships air passengers’ luggage or excess luggage on a high speed train could be profitable.

There of course will be thousands of other items that could be shipped by high speed rail. Once high speed rail is built it will not take for American entrepreneurs to think up hundreds of new ways of taking advantage of it. Many of these ways will involve the shipment of freight over high speed rail.

The critics are wrong, properly constructed high speed rail lines would improve America’s freight railroad system and make America more competitive economically.

High Speed Rail as a Real Estate Investment Opportunity

America’s renewed interest in high speed real could be a tremendous opportunity for real estate investors.

High speed rail refers to supped passenger rail service in which trains run at speed of over 150 MPH. The Obama administration has already pledged $8 billion in federal funds to build high speed rail lines. Construction of the first high speed rail lines could begin in California and Florida as early as next year. In 2008 voters in California approved several billion dollars in bonds for high speed rail construction.

High speed rail will be a tremendous real estate investment opportunity for several reasons. Those who take advantage of those opportunities by buying up property along or near high speed rail lines could make a lot of money.

Why High Speed Rail is an Investment Opportunity

Land around major transportation infrastructure projects like freeways, Interstate Highways, airports and mass transit lines often goes up in value. The land goes up in value because the travelers using the new transportation system require services which provide an opportunity for service businesses.

Just look at all the gas stations, truck stops, restaurants, hotels, motels, car washes, restaurants, convenience stores, fast food joints and other businesses on interstate off ramps. Or all the hotels, parking companies, restaurants, car rental agencies and other businesses that pop up around airports.

Don’t you wish you could have bought land around a major airport or interstate off ramp years ago before it was built? Well you now have an opportunity to buy land along and even on high speed rail lines before they are built.

High speed rail lines in Europe, Asia and the Northeastern US attract hundreds of thousands of passengers everyday. The new high speed rail lines in the US are likely to attract similar numbers of passengers who will spend their cash at all kinds of service businesses. Those service businesses are going to need property to locate on they will pay for prime locations near high speed rail lines.

High Speed Rail Stations as Real Estate Investment Opportunities

Some of the best real estate investment opportunities will be around high speed rail stations. Land around airports often increases in value as does land around commuter rail and rail transit stations.

The land within easy walking distance of high speed rail stations will be the most valuable because businesses there will have direct access to rail passengers. Car rental agencies will definitely want this land because many of not most rail passengers will want to rent a car when they get off the train. Fast food joints, restaurants and convenience stores will also want to locate there to sell food and other items directly to passengers.

Perhaps the biggest opportunity around high speed rail stations will be parking lots. Most of the passengers will drive their cars to the high speed rail station and they’ll need somewhere to park. The biggest problem at many rail transit stations is parking, many of these facilities don’t have enough parking.

Just like at the airport, parking lot operators will move in to take advantage of the situation, and they’ll need a lot of land. The closer the parking lot is to the train station the more money its operator can charge for spaces.

Parking lots near high speed rail stations because they could be a real estate investment that pays for itself. An investor could buy land put in a parking lot and use the parking charges to cover his costs until a developer comes along and buys the land. Existing parking facilities near high speed rail stations will be a tremendous investment. Properties such as vacant lots, older housing, older building, abandoned houses and undeveloped land within walking distance or a short drive of high speed rail stations will be a good investment because they can be converted to parking lots.

Another good investment is rental property within walking distance of a high speed rail station site. This is another investment that could pay for itself in the form of rents while the owner waits for a developer to buy it. Even if a developer doesn’t buy the property, the owner will probably be able to increase the rents the high speed rail line opens for business.

The best way to locate land near high speed rail stations is to find the maps of proposed high speed rail lines located on the internet. Most of these maps will show where the stations will go. An investor can locate at these and then go to the site of the proposed station.

Many of these stations will be in depressed older areas where property is still fairly cheap. A good way to determine which properties will increase in value is to walk around and locate properties within walking distance of the proposed station. One tip start looking and buying before construction begins on the rail line or the station because that will raise prices.

High Speed Rail Housing Boom

The other investment opportunity in real estate created by high speed rail will be in new housing developments. High speed rail will lower travel times and the cost of travel in a lot of areas of the country and open large areas of land to housing development.

In California the proposed high speed rail system will make a trip between Los Angeles and Bakersfield in less than an hour possible. Since real estate costs and living in Bakersfield are much lower than in LA many people will move to Bakersfield and commute to Los Angeles on the high speed rail. Naturally, real estate developers will take advantage of this with new subdivisions for all those new commuters.

The California high speed rail will also go through of California’s fastest growing bedroom communities including Lake Ellsinore, Temecula, Palmdale and Lancaster. Those areas will probably see a growth in population and property values when the rail arrives.

In Florida the proposed high speed rail between Tampa and Orlando will go right through rural Polk County where there’s lots of empty land. Since Polk County is halfway between the two cities and the high speed rail trip will take about an hour that means Polk County will be a half hour’s commute from two of the nation’s most popular and fastest growing metropolitan areas. It won’t be long before developers take advantage of this new commute machine for Floridians with large numbers of new subdivisions.

Bedroom communities and other real estate developments along high speed rail lines could be the next great American real estate boom. Those who buy up property, especially empty land that’s already zoned for development; in those areas could reap a large fortune. Naturally, all those new homeowners will need someplace to shop so commercial land in those areas will be very desirable when the major retailers move in.

The way to locate investment opportunities in potential high speed rail bedroom communities is to look at the maps of the proposed high speed rail lines. Look for land near the proposed high speed rail stations, land that’s just a few minute’s drive from the rail stations will be the most desirable.

Look for farms, and land that’s already zoned for residential or commercial use. In particular look for properties on good roads or highways that lead straight to the train station site. Those will be the places the developers will buy up first.

Another type of investment will be lots, houses and undeveloped land in pleasant small towns with high speed rail stations. Many Americans will move to small towns or the country and use high speed rail to commute to jobs in the cities once it becomes available. Some of the most valuable properties will be houses and lots within walking distance of the train station.

The way to locate these investment opportunities now is to locate the maps of the proposed high speed rail lines and find where the stations will be. Then go to the proposed station locations and start looking for bargains.

High Speed Rail is the Future

Twenty or thirty years from now a lot of people will be sitting around grumbling that they didn’t buy up land on the high speed rail line back in the day. Instead of being of one those grumblers, you could be the smart cookie that cashed in on the high speed rail opportunity by buying land along the high speed rail line.

Those who take advantage of the opportunity of real estate investment along high speed rail lines now could get in at the beginning of the next great American real estate boom.

High Speed Rail Finally Has A Voice In Washington

One of the major factors working against passenger rail in Washington has been the lack of a lobbying group capable of competing with the highway lobby. Now there appears to be such a group working for high speed rail that could help all passenger rail efforts.

The US High Speed Rail Association is a slick high tech industry lobbying group backed by big money from manufacturers of high speed rail equipment. It has already started lobbying Congress, and has held some fancy conferences to attract attention.

The organization also has a very impressive website that includes lots of pictures of cool looking trains. The best feature is a neat looking map of a national high speed rail system the US HSRA wants to build by 2030. Unlike the plans “unveiled” by President Obama last year this high speed rail system would connect every region in the Lower 48 states and most of our cities. It would be backed up by a system of 110 MPH trains which would provide regional service.

Perhaps this is just what high speed rail and passenger rail need in Washington, a professional lobbying firm with some real bucks. Maybe this will finally get Congress paying some attention to high speed rail and more importantly throwing some real money at it.

Let’s face it folks $8 billion for high speed rail is a joke especially when we can come up with $1 trillion for the bank bailout and the war in Afghanistan. Maybe this lobbying group can tip the balance.