Don't think it's not coming here. The REAL root of all of this is, of course, buried in the middle of the story...
What is more, European Union countries probably cannot meet a commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions unless they curb driving. The United States never ratified that pact.
Gee, whoda thunk it?
I also particularly love this part near the end...
“We would never synchronize green lights for cars with our philosophy,” said Pio Marzolini, a city official. “When I’m in other cities, I feel like I’m always waiting to cross a street. I can’t get used to the idea that I am worth less than a car.”
The implication of this is that somehow a car is a thing, and that there isn't another person (or five) inside. Hilarious.
-- SmartMuffin - Because anything less would be uncivilized http://img.imgcake.com/lolkrugmanjpgry.jpg
wtf is wrong with mass transit and walking? if american cities were built in a way that made it possible, we would probably do the same here. suburbs don't really allow it.
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I'm "kind of a big deal". http://img.imgcake.com/cyclo/Cyclopngegpngre.png
wtf is wrong with mass transit and walking? if american cities were built in a way that made it possible, we would probably do the same here. suburbs don't really allow it.
this, I would actually rather live in a place where you can walk/bike or take a train for most transportation. might be helpful for america's obesity epidemic too!
People making use of their cars instead of walking/cycling/using trains/whatever stimulates the greenhouse effect, which will destroy Earth, but who cares? As long as people can have their individual liberty!
The push for mass transit is a subtle attack on individual liberty.
I'll just go ahead and accept this because kazoooow but keep in mind you can always walk or take a bike, both of which are good for your body. Why, I walk and bike for fun!
SmartMuffin posted... wtf is wrong with mass transit and walking?
The push for mass transit is a subtle attack on individual liberty.
When I have a car, I can go wherever I want, whenever I want, and the price is determined through voluntary exchange.
When you rely on mass transit, you can go where the government allows you to go, when the government allows you to go, at whatever price they decide.
In Boston, people often use public transportation and then just rent a zipcar whenever they want to drive somewhere. It's way cheaper and there is very little "attack on individual liberty". Though I would say the green line of the MBTA is an attack on individual liberty :)
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Donny: They posted the next round for the tournament. Walter: Donny, shut the f- when do we play?
Well, I'll readily acknowledge the various complications that prevent gas from truly being a "free market" but it's a HELL of a lot closer than arbitrary government transit fees. The government has no competition. Gas stations do. Even if there's not enough.
-- SmartMuffin - Because anything less would be uncivilized http://img.imgcake.com/lolkrugmanjpgry.jpg
From: Liquid Wind | #004 this, I would actually rather live in a place where you can walk/bike or take a train for most transportation. might be helpful for america's obesity epidemic too!
That's the thing I loved most when I lived in Portland. Their public transit system is really top notch. It was so convenient living next to a transit center for two of the MAX lines.
No invention has done more to unite people and increase individual freedom than the automobile, with the possible exception of the printing press, or maybe the Internet (although they're hard at work on gaining control of that too).
-- SmartMuffin - Because anything less would be uncivilized http://img.imgcake.com/lolkrugmanjpgry.jpg
Sounds awesome to me. We're really lacking some mass transit in the US. Too many fat people around here that are always angry and ruining the environment.
-- GameFAQs isn't going to be merged in with GameSpot or any other site. We're not going to strip out the soul of the site. -CJayC
Maybe I should clarify. I'm not saying that people who advocate for mass transit are intentionally communist schemers whose end goal is to diminish freedom.
But from a practical standpoint, how can you dispute the specifics of what I said? Car = go wherever you want, whenever you want, anywhere. Mass transit = go where they run, when they run, and hopefully you live in a city with a decent system.
Having your own car is freedom. Remember what it was like to get your driver's license? What did you feel?
-- SmartMuffin - Because anything less would be uncivilized http://img.imgcake.com/lolkrugmanjpgry.jpg
So Smuffin what do you say to the fact that Germany is weathering the crisis very well. And they're in the deepest depths of communism according to your beliefs
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Coincidence that a self-avowed Communist is so against democracy and traditional marriage? - SephG after misquoting me hilariously
SmartMuffin posted... as weak as the "attack on liberty" thing is
Maybe I should clarify. I'm not saying that people who advocate for mass transit are intentionally communist schemers whose end goal is to diminish freedom.
But from a practical standpoint, how can you dispute the specifics of what I said? Car = go wherever you want, whenever you want, anywhere. Mass transit = go where they run, when they run, and hopefully you live in a city with a decent system.
Having your own car is freedom. Remember what it was like to get your driver's license? What did you feel?
you can have both
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Donny: They posted the next round for the tournament. Walter: Donny, shut the f- when do we play?
Right, but the point is that European governments are actively making it MUCH more inconvenient to drive yourself, in an attempt to social-engineer us into not driving. That's pretty sinister behavior and it seems like most reasonable people should probably be opposed to it.
-- SmartMuffin - Because anything less would be uncivilized http://img.imgcake.com/lolkrugmanjpgry.jpg
I get that people don't want to give up driving (I DEFINITELY don't), but... it really would be best if we all cut back on how much we rely on it.
It's not an attack on individual liberty to discourage driving through city design unless you also think big highways that you can't get through by walking / biking are also an attack on individual liberty.
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The batman villians all seem to be one big joke that batman refuses to laugh at - SantaRPG
It's not an attack on individual liberty to discourage driving through city design unless you also think big highways that you can't get through by walking / biking are also an attack on individual liberty.
Except there's a difference between "despite our best efforts, some large cities are inconvenient to drive in" and "we're intentionally making our city difficult to drive in in order to discourage people from driving because we believe in the myth of global warming"
I don't know if you'll be able to find ANYONE in ANY city who claims that highways were constructed specifically in order to try and get people to walk or bike less. Seems every major European city government official is more than willing to admit it in the opposite case, though.
-- SmartMuffin - Because anything less would be uncivilized http://img.imgcake.com/lolkrugmanjpgry.jpg
I live in the suburbs so public transportation is pretty rare, but when I can I enjoy paying for the bus or the subway. Walking and riding my bike is always fun, though it takes a lot more time to get places. Also, mass transit would help cut down on automobile-related deaths and injuries. That's a good thing, right? While it does suck that driving is being purposely zoned out, I think that things such as making Times Square and other central city areas anti-car is a great idea.
Yes, public transit only takes you some places. So...for the places it doesn't take you, use a car. They're not going to close down roads in places that don't have good public transit already; that would just kill business in the area.
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Cats land on their feet. Toast lands peanut butter side down. A cat with toast strapped to its back will hover above the ground in a state of quantum indecision
Having lived in London for a time, I found the subway system there to be vastly superior to driving. I could get anywhere I wished in the city quickly, easily, and cheaply compared to owning a car. The subway is truly the gentleman's modus transportius.
metroid composite posted... Muffin, you are being quite ridiculous.
Yes, public transit only takes you some places. So...for the places it doesn't take you, use a car. They're not going to close down roads in places that don't have good public transit already; that would just kill business in the area.
seriously, it's not like the government is preventing you from using the highway (which, going back, is the thing that connected us all so well; inner-city streets never really helped unify us).
SmartMuffin posted... anyway, are you serious, 90% of the people just listen to music or read something anyway
As a commuter who takes the bus to get to work every single day, I can swear by this. It's exceedingly rare when someone actually strikes up a conversation on a public bus nowadays.
That said, it's also plainly not a conduit through which Big Brother can nefariously hold unlimited control over my life and it's kinda ridiculous that you could think this. I personally don't own a car and public transit works just fine for me.
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http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/7267/chillsloth.gif It's hard work living as a sloth, but he finds time to relax.
Right, but the point is that European governments are actively making it MUCH more inconvenient to drive yourself, in an attempt to social-engineer us into not driving. That's pretty sinister behavior and it seems like most reasonable people should probably be opposed to it.
If it's simply to support Kyoto, yeah. I don't think that's the case, though. There is at least an alternate issue (Set of issues, really) and if they didn't bother to fix it until some doofy environmental treaty, shame on them.
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Donny: They posted the next round for the tournament. Walter: Donny, shut the f- when do we play?
That said, it's also plainly not a conduit through which Big Brother can nefariously hold unlimited control over my life and it's kinda ridiculous that you could think this. I personally don't own a car and public transit works just fine for me.
Do you not concede that being dependent on mass transit at the very least puts MUCH GREATER control of your life in the hands of big brother than driving your own car would?
-- SmartMuffin - Because anything less would be uncivilized http://img.imgcake.com/lolkrugmanjpgry.jpg
OMG Smuffin is right and it has already started here in the states. Those bastards on Mackinac Island won't let me drive anything with a motor on it unless it is winter then maybe I can use a snowmobile. Just yesterday my car was refused access to the street directly in front of Comerica Park so I had to walk a whole extra block to watch the Tigers get blown out. I can't believe how fast my individual liberties are disappearing.