The irony is that given the outcome of the protests – the voter roll change was scrapped and instead a framework for greater autonomy agreed upon – the 'firebombing' was arguably indeed way more effective than participating in the referendum would have been

There were three referendums on independence in 2018, 2020 and 2021, all of which were lost by pro-independence campaigners despite highly restrictive voter rolls (excluding anyone not born or continuously living here for 20 years), and the last referendum was boycotted by pro-independence groups.

For some context, pro-independence protests broke out here in 2024 following proposed changes to voter rolls, causing ~15 deaths and 3 billion euros in damages. Most of Nouméa feels perfectly fine now, except for the absence of transit, but various buildings in the suburbs seem to have been hit hard

Oh that's an interesting background story!

sorry we dont have ttc streetcars

mac europe knower <3

Depends on the place in europe! Have you seen my rants about street tree planning policies in Vienna? bsky.app/profile/fdms...

The fjords may not be as extensive here as they are in the Sydney area, but Canberra might still just be my favorite place in Australia? I'm heading to Sydney now, but before I'll rejoin @jonasgaiswinkler.eu there I'll make a stopover elsewhere ✨

And now, my first time on a NSW Xplorer <3

Despite the obvious suburban car orientation Canberra struck me as really liveable – with *extremely* pleasant strolls through its garden city suburbs, lots of pedestrian shortcuts and linear parks, plus lots of attractive pedestrianization in the CBD, and attractive transit and cycling options

its a twisted world so they will probably also love the accent

full-blown socialism and hes not even sworn in yet

Also they seem to be taking great care of the ducks here

Same with (rural) bus lines here, but those typically run just once per year rather than once per week

Special shout-out to Rosary Demonstration School for winning the 1988 Montone Action Bus Shelter Painting Competition!

… from during my two-hour transfer from the XPT to a coach to the ACT