The Off Topic Topic

[Duque de Bragança]

The big thing that I notice a lot in those "then" and "now" photos, is how public transport was much more ubiquitous in the past.  Lots of what we'd call "light rail" was removed in favor of automobiles.

Well........people didn't really start owning cars, especially in Europe, in great numbers till post WW2; so the only way to really get around was using light rail.

Actually, trams are making a come-back in some places e.g Paris or they just get a fancy name such as light metro in other places because tramway as a noun is somewhat old-fashioned.
Thing is, transport in European big cities cannot rely mainly on cars.

[Josquius]

Edinburgh has been busy trying to reinstall trams for years, the project has massively overran in time and budget and is really shambolic.
I don't really approve of trams in most cities. They don't offer much that a bus doesn't and involve messing up the roads. They need a seperate right of way really...which means they're not really trams but light rail

[The Larch]

Cities should keep installing modern trams/light rails, it keeps my brother employed. 

[Duque de Bragança]

I don't really approve of trams in most cities. They don't offer much that a bus doesn't and involve messing up the roads. They need a seperate right of way really...which means they're not really trams but light rail

A tram-only section works even better. I have seen trams in narrow streets and this means traffic jams in rush hours.Trams pollute less than buses though, unless it's coal-powered electricity perhaps,  while buses mess the road in a different way with their heavy weight like lorries.

It's not as bad as idiots posing as green-friendly with their bikes IN public transport and clogging it even when it's forbidden, during peak hours.

[Maladict]

It's not as bad as idiots posing as green-friendly with their bikes IN public transport and clogging it even when it's forbidden, during peak hours.

Those are the worst

[Josquius]

I saw a woman with ae Disney bag today.
It had pictures of Micky and Minny mouse and said something along the lines of "Micky and Minnie are an example with their perfect faithful and loving relationship"
Now that got me thinking.
Really now?
It strikes me that Micky and Minnie are together because they are the only two anthromorphic mice in their universe. They're pretty much forced to be together.

[Grey Fox]

I saw a woman with ae Disney bag today.
It had pictures of Micky and Minny mouse and said something along the lines of "Micky and Minnie are an example with their perfect faithful and loving relationship"
Now that got me thinking.
Really now?
It strikes me that Micky and Minnie are together because they are the only two anthromorphic mice in their universe. They're pretty much forced to be together.

They are an analogy for white people.

[Valmy]

The mice are the white people?  What is Donald Duck then?

[Grey Fox]

Orientals

[11B4V]

Damn right more states ought to follow. Take some of the commercialization out of the Holidays.

'Black Thursday' Banned in 3 States

(Newser) – The spread of Thanksgiving Day shopping has created a lot of fuss this year, but it's not a big issue in Rhode Island, Maine, or Massachusetts—because it's illegal. The three New England states have "blue laws" dating back to colonial times that ban shopping on Thanksgiving and Christmas. And despite the efforts of retail groups that complain shoppers are crossing into other states, attempts to change the laws have gone nowhere, and residents say they're happy with the break from commercialism, the AP finds. Even some retailers who could open under exemptions prefer to keep their doors shut on the day.

"Thanksgiving is supposed to be about giving thanks for all you have," a Plymouth, Massachusetts, man whose ancestors took part in the first Thanksgiving tells the New York Times. "I cringe to think what society is doing to itself." Americans aren't big fans of Thanksgiving shopping—only 13% prefer stores to stay open, according to a Huffington Post/YouGov poll—though other states seem unlikely to bring in New England-style bans, especially not in a time of 24/7 Internet shopping. (Click to see which 5 stores refuse to open on "Black Thursday.")

[DGuller]

Good.  This is one of those examples where a little coercion from the government can do a lot of good.  I find Black Friday to be one of the most unseemly holidays imaginable, it's a celebration of vapid consumerism, and there is no reason to ruin Thanksgiving as well with it.

[11B4V]

Good.  This is one of those examples where a little coercion from the government can do a lot of good.  I find Black Friday to be one of the most unseemly holidays imaginable, it's a celebration of vapid consumerism, and there is no reason to ruin Thanksgiving as well with it.

Big +1

[derspiess]

Black Friday is not a holiday.

[Grey Fox]

Good.  This is one of those examples where a little coercion from the government can do a lot of good.  I find Black Friday to be one of the most unseemly holidays imaginable, it's a celebration of vapid consumerism, and there is no reason to ruin Thanksgiving as well with it.

It's your own damn fault for putting an holiday on a fucking Thursday.

[11B4V]

Black Friday is not a holiday.

An argument could be made that it is.