Notices by Jean-Francois Mezei (jfmezei@mstdn.ca)

On February 4th, a referendum in paris is being held on the issue of extra parking fees for SUVs.

Paris web site on referendum (français): https://www.paris.fr/pages/plus-ou-moins-de-suv-les-parisiens-et-parisiennes-sont-invites-a-voter-le-4-fevrier-25381

Question: « Pour ou contre la création d’un tarif spécifique pour le stationnement des voitures individuelles lourdes, encombrantes, polluantes ? »
( “For or against the creation of a specific rate for the parking of heavy, bulky, polluting individual cars? »)

@notjustbikes

The other aspect Le Monde raises is that small car manufacurers had to raise prices proportionally more to integrate new EU pollution controls but with no room for added luxury vs larger cars so the sales of smaller cars dwindled because less attractive. @notjustbikes

Le Monde has good video on the problem with ever bigger cars in Europe
TLDR: EU rules base allowed emissions on mass, so manufacturer increase mass to be allowed more emissions. le Monde initially blames forced addition of catalytic converter and ABS brakes that add uch weight but then go on to the other reasons.

français 9.40 https://youtu.be/5wdWcQPEGTY

(you can get Mr Google to turn on subtitles and then get him to translate to English if nevessary). @notjustbikes

@notjustbikes saw a thumbnail that I knew you would just fall in love with! Better than Fake London™ ? (though it lacks vast expanses of car socializing space (parking lots).
😉

@notjustbikes Your much beloved Dodge RAM has got competition in the small sub-compact car category ! The Ford F650

Forget the little girl not tall enough to be seen from Dodge RAM, we're now talking about fully grown adults being invisible and this being pitched as the next fad everyone must get !

Will be a perfect fit in Amsterdam streets !

Only USD $225,000

Video from Toronto: https://youtu.be/3D0nxi-Tkzo

@QasimRashid amazed that USA never speaks of the UN 1951 Refugee Convention spearheaded by USA )and ratified by USA in 1967. It’s the law in USA. https://www.unhcr.org/about-unhcr/who-we-are/1951-refugee-convention

This convention applies only to true asylum seekers and not economic migrants and a receiving country must quickly process arrivals to determine e if true asylum seeker or nut and se d back those who are not. Illegal entry is integral as only way fir many to escape closed countries like Soviet Union, North Korea etc

Interesting side effect of making streets for pedestrians: (as noted by Urban Caffeine in NYC).
Shop keepers on nearby car-focused streets compllain of reduced business because the human-friendly streets syphon off human shoppers.
https://youtu.be/4jglkyLAgPo?t=409

cc @notjustbikes

@notjustbikes In last 30 years, vehicles used as cars are:

62% heavier
14% wider
21% higher.

SUVs now represent 50% of "car" sales worldwide.

@notjustbikes Your sales pitch for the Dodge Ram on Youtube has reached people around the world, including the guy from Parigo who normally focuses on public transit in Paris and obviously watches your videos check out how the standard american car drwarfes even an adult. 🙂
He asks whether people will not need hevy vehicle driving licences instead of car driving ones.

parigo, 13 minutes (français). Titled L'obésité des voitures.
https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/paris-ile-de-france/programmes/france-3_paris-ile-de-france_parigo?id=4961836

@rogermcnamee The reason FDIC became willing to cover all deposits is that SVB had sufficient assets to back those deposits. The problem is that SVB could not convert those assets into cash overnight. When you can buy treasury bills at 2% today, you're not going to buy SVBs treasury bills yielding 1%, but those bill are sill solid. No bank can survive a bank run, especially when started by someone like Thiel.