Car Chat

[cawimmer430]

I am not an expert on European politics (and I don't read/speak German), but as far as I know the EU Parliament is indeed elected.

Correct. However the EU Commission makes the final decision and they generally make decisions which hurts the citizens of the EU.

Also, some political representatives from local German parties are totally hypocritical. For example the politicians from the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) of Germany in the EU Parliament. In the EU they are fighting to ban the ICE, but on a national level they are lying in our faces telling us that they are fighting to keep it alive.

I hope that the EU's idiotic and insane "Green Deal" plans fail on such epic proportions.

[cawimmer430]

At least it's not a ban on personal cars Wimmer.  2035 is a long time away and when politicians make rules which apply down the road many years in the future, they have a strong tendency to get significantly watered down when it actually comes down to enforce them.  I highly highly doubt some of the less economically prosperous EU countries on the southern end of the EU will have the infrastructure necessary to support full EV in < 20 years.  Where's the money going to come from?  The German automobile companies have all seen the writing on the wall and have advertised they are all going full EV in the not too distant future.  That's what it is though. All advertising and placating the European politicians and China.  China needs to go EV because they are very dependent on fossil fuel imports and because they have significant pollution problems. 

I think the ban on personal cars will come when fully autonomous cars become the norm. Then the government can ban private car ownership.

This might sound extreme, but this is a future that I don't want to experience. I love driving and I love owning my own car. I am willing to accept the financial costs involved in maintaining and driving my own car. It's my freedom (of movement) and provides me with so much flexibility that no form of public transportation or autonomous car ever could.

The only way, come 2035, you will not be able to get an ICE vehicle in Germany is if they have EV charge stations everywhere and if that's the case, it shouldn't be that much a hassle to only have EV in Germany. 

For the last decade our government has been blabbing on about EVs. The result? Germany is at the bottom in Western Europe in regards to public charging stations. There aren't enough.

Last week I rode with Birgit in her BMW i3S through Munich. It was her birthday. We were looking for a parking space (none available) or an EV parking space so that she could charge her car. All EV parking spaces were taken with the EVs on them charging.

But what about home owners? 30% of Germans own some form of home - the other 70% live in apartments or rent and many don't even have parking garages or spaces. It's no uncommon in major cities to have apartment buildings that don't come with a parking garage. So no ability to charge.

[veeman]

I think the ban on personal cars will come when fully autonomous cars become the norm. Then the government can ban private car ownership.

This might sound extreme, but this is a future that I don't want to experience. I love driving and I love owning my own car. I am willing to accept the financial costs involved in maintaining and driving my own car. It's my freedom (of movement) and provides me with so much flexibility that no form of public transportation or autonomous car ever could.




For the last decade our government has been blabbing on about EVs. The result? Germany is at the bottom in Western Europe in regards to public charging stations. There aren't enough.

Last week I rode with Birgit in her BMW i3S through Munich. It was her birthday. We were looking for a parking space (none available) or an EV parking space so that she could charge her car. All EV parking spaces were taken with the EVs on them charging.

But what about home owners? 30% of Germans own some form of home - the other 70% live in apartments or rent and many don't even have parking garages or spaces. It's no uncommon in major cities to have apartment buildings that don't come with a parking garage. So no ability to charge.

a) I personally wouldn't be concerned about fully autonomous cars taking over the public roadways for the rest of my lifetime or my kids' lifetimes.  The tech and AI are still far far away.  Plus I think humanity will accept increased death at the hands of other humans rather than a safer but not failsafe environment with AI machines at the helm.  They haven't yet managed to implement wide scale conductor less train travel and that's on a freaking railroad track. 

b) It's virtually impossible I think in democratically elected countries to require 100% EV in an area where, as you say, 70% of people don't live in their own private house and there's a lack of public EV charge stations.  It's all piss in the wind until you have the infrastructure in place to handle 100% EV. 

[cawimmer430]

b) It's virtually impossible I think in democratically elected countries to require 100% EV in an area where, as you say, 70% of people don't live in their own private house and there's a lack of public EV charge stations.  It's all piss in the wind until you have the infrastructure in place to handle 100% EV. 

But this is exactly what's happening in the EU/Germany.

Plus, the retard Germans are so stupid and actually vote for political parties who make no secret of their disdain for cars. The SPD and Greens (as well as Die Linke [Communists]) want car-free cities and basically force everyone into public transportation. Even the people living in the countryside should give up their cars and rely on non-existent public transportation. Not a day goes by in this retarded shit hole woke country where some retard Green Party politician snaps a photo of themselves on a bicycle, posts it on their social media and then quietly gets back into the rear of an Audi A8 or MB S-Class to be driven to some place which they could easily reach using public transportation or that bicycle they were on 10 minutes ago.

In all honesty, I have a feeling that our politicians don't want any form of individual mobility in the future. They don't want to expand the EV infrastructure because they don't want people driving by themselves or with their families. Yes, I know this sound idiotic and like a conspiracy theory, but you have no idea just how fucking retarded the German Greens are. If you spoke German I could send you a ton of links on their insane ideas. This disgusting anti-freedom political party is the greatest danger to this country - and the Germans (the dumbest, most retarded moronic fucktards on the planet), are voting for this party.

[CaminoRacer]

I saw that Germany is allowing topless women at pools now so it can't be that bad.

[shp4man]

I saw that Germany is allowing topless women at pools now so it can't be that bad.

Like!

[Morris Minor]

I am not an expert on European politics (and I don't read/speak German), but as far as I know the EU Parliament is indeed elected.

EU Parliament. Meetings in Brussels & Strasbourg. Administered in Luxembourg, Committees mostly in Brussels. Headquartered in Strasbourg.
A model of efficiency to be envied by all.

[CaminoRacer]

https://youtu.be/XEFDfctC_6M

[cawimmer430]

I saw that Germany is allowing topless women at pools now so it can't be that bad.

Technically those "women" are so-called transgender people...

And Google "FKK Strand" with safeties off. Plenty of nude beaches in Germany. Even in my city there's a river where people of all ages bath nude.

[cawimmer430]

EU Parliament. Meetings in Brussels & Strasbourg. Administered in Luxembourg, Committees mostly in Brussels. Headquartered in Strasbourg.

A model of efficiency to be envied by all.

The hypocrisy is incredible, right? EU Politicians constantly fly between Strasbourg and Brussels and then point fingers at us "for killing the climate". Recently a major newspaper even discovered that a lot of these hysterical climate whacktard EU politicians fly to and from Brussels to Strasbourg on a plane - and had their chaffeur drive their limousine from Brussels to Strasbourg to pick them up at the airport and drive them around town.

I hope that the EU collapses way before 2035.

[shp4man]

Technically those "women" are so-called transgender people...

Goddamit Wimmer, ya Kraut fuck, harsh my buzz. 

[cawimmer430]

Goddamit Wimmer, ya Kraut fuck, harsh my buzz. 

We're so woke here our army tanks are literally being redesigned to allow highly pregnant female soldiers to fit.... 

Ok, it seems this was really done to allow women to show their tits in public! Not sure how our millions of religiously-brainwashed illegal migrants will react to this... oh wait, I do! 




Women Allowed Topless In Pools In Germany For Gender Equality

The city of Göttingen in Lower Saxony, central Germany, will be the first in the country to allow the practice of female topless swimming in its indoor and outdoor pools, thanks to a measure aimed at increasing gender equality.

The initiative permitting swimmers to bathe 'oben-ohne' (topless) took effect on May 1 as a test limited to weekends and set to expire at the end of August.

"With this decision, the city becomes a forerunner in the country concerning the debate on equal treatment between the sexes," write L'Essentiel, "by permitting women to show their bare torso in aquatic leisure establishments such as swimming pools."



The gender-identity-and-equality debate

A 'gender identity row' last year seems to be at the root of the temporary regulation by the city's sports committee recommending that "all swimmers at indoor and outdoor pools should be allowed to swim topless at weekends."

The 'gender row' happened when a transgender swimmer was asked to cover up at a local pool. "The swimmer protested, however, saying they identified as male. Despite the assertion, the pool authority expelled the individual, who was subsequently banned from the premises," DW reports.


According to the German news site Spiegel, this is what happened: "A swimming pool in Göttingen threw a person out because they bathed topless. But the person does not see herself as a woman. And now there is a new rule."



Limited Equality

With the measure, the city intends to advance the debate on equal treatment for women and men in leisure spaces. The principal questions: Why can men show their naked torso but not women? Why must female bodies always be sexualized?

Other debates have started in Göttingen that relate to the "limited equality" accorded by the new regulation. Women's right to swim topless is time-limited; only during the weekends and just for a few months, which doesn't compare with men who can swim, go to parks and sunbathe 'torso nude' at any and all times.

Some residents find such limitations deplorable, according to AFP. Officials have explained the new practice should not compromise school swimming lessons, which take place during the week.

Many of the articles published about the issue point to the fact that Germany has "a tolerance of and, in some cases, a fondness for being 'textile free,'" as explained by DW. "Whether it's one of the country's hundreds of spas and wellness resorts, parks or lakes, many citizens here are known for having no qualms about taking their clothes off."



An unexpected surprise

Since nudism and the practice of Freikörperkultur — "free body culture" — is accepted and extensive in Germany, what has surprised the local press in Göttingen is the global attention triggered by such a small development.

The Göttingen Tagerblad finds it "amazing" that "this small city in the middle of Germany is suddenly not only in the headlines nationwide, but even internationally. And all that because here, people with breasts could soon be spotted in the swimming pool - exposed!"


Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2022/05/02/women-allowed-topless-in-pools-in-germany-for-gender-equality/

[Eye of the Tiger]

Yay for gender fluid equality!

[FoMoJo]

Women Allowed Topless In Pools In Germany For Gender Equality

The city of Göttingen in Lower Saxony, central Germany, will be the first in the country to allow the practice of female topless swimming in its indoor and outdoor pools, thanks to a measure aimed at increasing gender equality.

The initiative permitting swimmers to bathe 'oben-ohne' (topless) took effect on May 1 as a test limited to weekends and set to expire at the end of August.

"With this decision, the city becomes a forerunner in the country concerning the debate on equal treatment between the sexes," write L'Essentiel, "by permitting women to show their bare torso in aquatic leisure establishments such as swimming pools."

Seems fair.

[r0tor]

Somehow I don't think the attractive looking ones will be the boobs being exposed

[Laconian]

Not the case in France. Toplessness is nbd on the Riviera.

[GoCougs]

Carless (US) cities would be a catastrophe for many if not most who currently live in cities. Most peoples' lives are too disordered, including personal health, to trundle about on bikes, esp. in poor weather, which is what much of the US has for much of the year.

[Soup DeVille]

Not the case in France. Toplessness is nbd on the Riviera.

And in the French islands in the Caribbean.

[Rich]

I can see why most driving sucks now. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/NASCAR/comments/vdunsn/short_timelapse_of_the_population_growth_near/

[Eye of the Tiger]

I can see why most driving sucks now. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/NASCAR/comments/vdunsn/short_timelapse_of_the_population_growth_near/

Same roads, 10X more traffic, zero additional driver training.

[Laconian]

My county's population has nearly doubled over my lifetime, but the infrastructure has barely been upgraded since then. A few extra lanes here and there. A mega expensive light rail system done 30 years too late. But mostly the same roads made for 1980's needs.

Our tax system is incapable of funding new infrastructure, too. If you enjoy living cheaply on borrowed time, come to WA!

[Eye of the Tiger]

My county's population has nearly doubled over my lifetime, but the infrastructure has barely been upgraded since then. A few extra lanes here and there. A mega expensive light rail system done 30 years too late. But mostly the same roads made for 1980's needs.

Our tax system is incapable of funding new infrastructure, too. If you enjoy living cheaply on borrowed time, come to WA!

All these real estate developers build these mega dense neighborhoods, and the local governments sign off on it without having the budget to upgrade any infrastructure. It's all greedy people stuffing their bank accounts with cash and wiping their hands of any responsibility for the negative consequences.

[Laconian]

You should see the epic lineups of cars snaking well out into I90. Huge golf course oriented developments out where there was nothing but trees, waterfalls, and carports.

[Eye of the Tiger]

You should see the epic lineups of cars snaking well out into I90. Huge golf course oriented developments out where there was nothing but trees, waterfalls, and carports.

I can't live like that. I like my small town and 1 mile commute.

[Laconian]

Anything you can do to make your town less palatable to gentrifiers?

[Eye of the Tiger]

Anything you can do to make your town less palatable to gentrifiers?

Drive around in my Jeep with the windows down blasting Don Omar.

[Eye of the Tiger]

https://youtu.be/4-QLKSzcnsc

[giant_mtb]

I can't live like that. I like my small town and 1 mile commute.

+1

[Eye of the Tiger]

Anything you can do to make your town less palatable to gentrifiers?

It's just too bad my yard is no longer big enough to collect junk cars.

[CaminoRacer]

I've always been a fan of living in a small town like 30-45 minutes outside of a medium sized city.