Do not pass go, do not collect $200

Ah crap, it's that time of year again. Naughty cyclists Up To No Good in jolly ol' Melbourne. Usual whinging/corporate/media crap. Badly researched, naive & reactionary garbage. I even brought The Hun today. Possibly to use later as toilet paper. Actually todays main news concerned the launch of Connect East onto the Share Market, and the Great Vic Bike Ride. 6,500 low-end Learsports + 600km....hmmmm

More Critical Mass Melbourne discussions here and here.

On your bikes
At last the police have done what they should have done in the first place - invoked the law to stop the radical cyclist action group Critical Mass from repeatedly disrupting Melbourne traffic. Police have warned if this wacky group attempts to carry out its threat to block Burnley tunnel on Friday night, its members will face stiff penalties ranging from a $50 fine to a potential six-year jail term.

Cyclists riding in tunnel protest face jail
Cyclists who ride through the Burnley tunnel with protest group Critical Mass will face arrest and up to five years' jail under a police crackdown. Victoria Police have joined CityLink operator Transurban in a new hardline stance against the civil disobedience group, promising that a planned ride through the tunnel on Friday night will not go ahead.

Police vow to stop cycle of protests
Radical cyclists planning to clog the Burnley tunnel on Friday face fines or even jail. In a tough new stance, police say they will stop cyclists from action group Critical Mass entering the tunnel for a planned pro-bike, anti-car demonstration. And police say they plan to prosecute those flouting the law.

Cyclists riding in tunnel protest face jail
Cyclists who ride through the Burnley tunnel with protest group Critical Mass will face arrest and up to five years' jail under a police crackdown. Victoria Police have joined CityLink operator Transurban in a new hardline stance against the civil disobedience group, promising that a planned ride through the tunnel on Friday night will not go ahead.

Remember Ken!

Motorist pleads guilty to manslaughter
Jimmy Don Rodgers, 30, of Scottsboro, has plead guilty to manslaughter in the death of cyclist Kenneth Kifer. Rodgers was charged with murder in the September 13, 2003 incident.

Kifer, 57, at the time of the accident, was riding his bike on County Road 21 in Scottsboro. He was struck by a 1986 Chevrolet pick-up driven by Rodgers. At the scene Rodgers was charged with first-degree assault and driving under the influence. Those charges were later upgraded to murder.

Ken Kifer was known throughout the country as a world class athlete, cyclist and author.
He chose to live his life as a naturalist. His website can be found at KenKifer.com

Critical Mass NZ & NY

Scoop: Green MP to lead 'Critical Mass' cyclists in Auck.

Green MP Mike Ward will lead a 'Critical Mass' cycle protest through Auckland's evening rush hour on Wednesday as part of his Kaitaia-to-Wellington trike mission. 'A Critical Mass is both a cycle ride and a grassroots reclamation of public space,' said Mr Ward, the Green Party Spokesperson on Sports, Fitness & Leisure, and Associate on Transport.

Cycling In the City
Cyclists riding across the Brooklyn Bridge. New York City has 480 miles of bike lanes and paths, including one over each East River bridge. Stu Cohen has not been involved in any of the police clashes or court cases or competing City Hall bills of the past few months. He does not see himself as a bike warrior. He simply wants to do what the majority of residents of Amsterdam, eight million Chinese in Beijing, and a half million or so other Americans (according to an estimate by the U.S. Census) do every weekday. He wants to use his bicycle as his principal means of transportation.

Excellent researched article with brilliant links etc

communication skills - zefrank

Work of pure genius. Might even make time at even more fun.

Silly Season kicks off

Cyclist shot in airgun attack thread on cyclingforums.com. American-style stupidity comes to jolly ol' Melbourne? We hope not.

Critical Mass on a roll in Chile

Critical Mass on a roll in Chile

'Raging Cyclists' inspired by S.F.'s biking movement

Santiago, Chile -- On the first Tuesday evening of every month, a cacophony of whistles, chants and bicycle bells competes with the noise of rush-hour traffic as the Furiosos Ciclistas snake through the downtown of Chile's capital city. The 400-odd 'Raging Cyclists' -- a hodgepodge of naturalists, environmental activists and cycling aficionados -- are patterned after Critical Mass, the Bay Area group that has sent bicyclists riding through downtown San Francisco on the last Friday of the month since 1992.

Cycling Stuff

Buffers for bike lanes
Beefed-up bike lanes with special barriers between cars and cyclists are planned for Melbourne streets. Melbourne City Council is considering a $400,000 trial of special 'safe lanes' along the stretch of Swanston St linking the CBD and Melbourne University. Under the scheme, bike lanes are moved closer to the footpath, with special median strips providing a buffer from parked cars and traffic.

Thanks to Tim Stredwick for forwarding on this news item:
From Velorution

They need their head examined
The British Medical Association has reversed their position on compulsion of wearing helmets by adults riding bicycle. In 1999, an BMA report, penned by Mayer Hillman (a 70-year old cyclist who looks 20 years younger), argued that the health benefits derived from cycling far outweigh the risks of injuries; helmet compulsion would have a negative effect on the number of
people cycling, and the net societal result is likely to be higher mortality.

One wonders how much cycling Vivienne Nathanson, the author of the new report, does; one suspects she is a motorist because she does not recommend helmet wearing by motorists, even though it could save more lives.

BikeBiz, in an excellent article, also points out the shoddiness of the new report:
"Recent evidence has indicated that the introduction of compulsory legislation does not have a significant negative effect on cycling levels," claimed a BMA position paper, neglecting to cite a source for the "recent evidence" even though the rest of the position paper is littered with
footnote sourcing.

BikeBiz has started an online petition:
"I would like to add my name to the list of folks opposed to the recent helmet compulsion decision handed down by the Board of the Directorate of Professional Activities of the British Medical Association.

Moving around something

Transport tops wish list
Fixing the public transport system is the single most important issue confronting our city.City chiefs fear Melbourne has lost so much ground to traditional rival Sydney, we won't catch up. Water shortages and other looming resource depletion were also highlighted.

Toll tangle
Drivers are snarling at each other in traffic tangles on CityLink, and tollway operator Transurban and the Victorian Government need to find a solution.Transurban says traffic congestion at the interchange of the Calder and Tullamarine freeways, on the Monash freeway, and on the Westgate Bridge can be fixed. It just takes money. Instead of asking the taxpayer to pick up the tab, why doesn't Transurban offer to pay half? They're the ones making the profits from increased traffic on the tollway.

Most popular cars fail whiplash test
ONLY one in 10 popular cars had headrests that performed well in protecting against whiplash, an RACV test found. Australian favourites such as Toyota Corolla, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Mitsubishi Magna offered least protection.

Editorial - Think beyond the bottleneck
The Government and Transurban should work together to clear traffic congestion.
Anyone trying to drive to Melbourne Airport using CityLink will know the familiar problem at the intersection of the Tullamarine and Calder freeways; the evening peak-hour queueing and frantic bout of obligatory lane-changing to ensure you take the road to QF437 instead of the one to Diggers Rest; or the long, slow-moving line of vehicles going the other way during morning peak-hour; or the similar congestion where CityLink joins the West Gate Freeway at Bolte Bridge; or the phalanx of chrome and exhaust fumes at Warrigal Road and the Monash Freeway. These and other trouble spots fly in the face of the lofty assurances on Transurban's website: 'On CityLink there are no traffic lights, no toll plazas or boom gates and no traffic bottlenecks ... The result is fast, safe and stress-free travel.' Up to a point - and that point was reached long ago. More often than not drivers, not only on the tollroads but surrounding ones affected by the build-ups, find their travel slow and stressful.

Moving Around NSW

Carr's green credentials under fire.
New South Wales Premier Bob Carr has refused to rule out building new coal-fired power stations despite releasing a report predicting a more extreme climate in the state because of global warming. The Government is hosting an international conference on climate change in Sydney today and a special report on climate change in New South Wales says rising temperatures will become apparent within the next two decades. The CSIRO study says weather patterns will also become more extreme without any action to curb greenhouse emissions. Mr Carr says it is a call for global action.

Global warming could make Aust 'uninhabitable'
New South Wales Premier Bob Carr says new scientific data shows global warming will have serious consequences for Australia. He says a new report from Australia's peak scientific body, the CSIRO, shows global warming will affect rainfall, make weather patterns more erratic and will increase the number of days with a temperature exceeding 35 degrees. Mr Carr has told Lateline that temperature increases could make Australia less inhabitable and could also have dire global consequences."

Opposition backs fare-free day
The NSW Government should give commuters a fare-free day on Sydney's trains next Monday to avoid forcing them to break the law, the State Opposition said today. Legal secretary Rebecca Turner has been handing out leaflets at stations in central Sydney urging fellow commuters not to buy train tickets on November 22. She is angry at NSW's embattled rail system, which has been roundly criticised in recent months over the constant late running of trains.

Fines for protest commuters

NSW commuters were warned today they would be hit with $200 fines if they failed to buy train tickets as part of a 'no pay day' to protest against poor service levels. The NSW government and RailCorp today said commuters would be fined if they took part in the action, planned for next Monday. Legal secretary Rebecca Turner has been handing out leaflets at stations in central Sydney urging fellow commuters not to buy train tickets that day.

Geoffrey Hearman, 1927 2004

Geoffrey Hearman was a Socialist Alliance member and a supporter of the refugees' rights campaign. A man with a deep sense of humanity, he was also my stepfather and a man who got me interested in politics. Born in Melbourne into a wealthy family, Geoff was sent to prestigious Melbourne Grammar. His father was one of the city's most prominent dentists. But the pretensions of private school life, with its authoritarian and hierarchical nature were not for him. He left school early and ran his own small business for a while before living in Greece and Britain for 10 years. Upon his return to Australia and surviving on the disability pension,

Geoff became active in a variety of campaigns and committees ranging from urban planning, anti-privatisation, anti-GST, for improvement to public transport and for a humane refugee policy.

Big, Bad S.U.V.'s Are Spreading to Europe

American Icon: Big, Bad S.U.V.'s Are Spreading to Europe
Rome - The Land Rover barreled around the narrow corner like a whale splashing into a swimming pool, parking, for lack of a better alternative, in the middle of the road. Needless to say, it was not making many friends.

'I'm totally against those cars,' said Giorgio Carpanese, a 48-year-old office worker, gesturing toward the offending vehicle, whose owner could be seen blithely disappearing into a fancy wicker-furniture store. 'They're too big; they pollute; they're too expensive. And I think that it's only arrogant people who drive them.'

My Muddy Muddy Yarra

Blast from the Past - Yarra floods Richmond in 1934

My Brown Yarra, she be up at least 4m today. Earlier this afternoon, as a passenger in the smogbox, a hailstorm hit our happy suburb. I felt the sudden urge to zip up the rain jacket, and the hood too. Remember being hit & badly bruised by huge hail during a freak storm in Hobart back in 1984. Never know when one of those rogue golfball sized ones are going to impact....a little street in Abbotsford was temporarily transformed into a scene from a Canadan winter. There is a Abbotsford in Canada, isn't there? Mind you, Mother Natures tanty didn't stop other car drivers being even frantic about parking. Why can't people simply allow the elements take presidence for a few minutes over their neurotic car urges? No no no, me must find carpark spot now now now. Funny types car drivers.

Oh, yes, the Gipps Street Stairs/Steps - they didn't get washed away, but huge old peppercorn tree did a valiant attempt to knock them into Port Phillip Bay. It's brave sacrifice will be remembered. If we ever get the bikepath along to Flockhart Street I'll plant dozens of baby peppercorns in its honour.

At the Car Wash - Elizabeth Street 1974 (ever wondered about that ped underpass through Flinders St Station? It doubles as a flood overflow)

More stuff, thread on aus.bicycle/cyclingforums: Yarra River - probably ride elsewhere this weekend?

Storm warning for Melbourne
Melbourne residents have been urged to take precautions as a series of severe thunderstorms sweeps across the city. The weather bureau has issued flood warnings for the Yarra, Maribyrnong and Goulburn Rivers, the Dandenong Creek and catchments around Westernport as Melbourne's two-week run of wet weather continues. Thunder, lightning and hail struck in Melbourne's CBD shortly after 1pm today, with hail stones up to five millimetres in diameter turning city streets white for several minutes.The bureau has urged residents to secure loose objects near homes, turns off electrical appliances, listen to the radio for storm updates and avoid driving through floodwaters.

growing fins yet?

If this keeps up I'll be able to touch the Yarra while standing on Collins Bridge, maybe as a unplanned side effect - the deluge will be enough to wash away those bloody idiotic concrete steps.....then the Powers That Be will HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.

You Lucky Bastard!!!!

devotees pray to the bicycle gods

Exploiting a Lifelong Love Affair With Bicycles All Work/All Play

Mark Rhomberg has got 'the right stuff.'

Like the air force test pilots in the writer Tom Wolfe's account, who flew new and experimental jet fighters to the limits of the earth's atmosphere and of their own endurance, Rhomberg pushes his speed chariots to the limit. But he rarely gets much higher in the air than his hometown of Boulder, Colorado, which sits at around a mile, or 1,600 meters, above sea level. A lifelong bicycling enthusiast, Rhomberg today is one of a small breed of bicycle test pilots, putting new bicycles and bike components through rigorous tests on the road and in laboratories to gauge their endurance, reliability and safety. His clients are the legion of specialty bicycle parts makers catering to the high-end bike market. There are no engines on Rhomberg's bikes, but boy, does he have fun.

Manitou bicycle forks recalled
Answer Products, Inc., of Valencia, Calif., has recalled 8,032 Manitou Bicycle Suspension Forks because when compressed they may create a hazard.

Maybe Mark should of had the job of thrashing the crap out of the above mentioned forks?

Moving around Victoria

remember THIS image from St Kilda Road recently?

Bid to limit speed gauge
Australian-made cars would have speedos capped at 130km/h under a State Government plan to tackle the road toll. Premier Steve Bracks said it made no sense to have cars that could display illegal speeds. 'If you can't go at 240km/h, why have you got 240 on the speedo?' he said yesterday. 'That's the issue, really. Why have that incentive? Why have that inducement?' The idea was labelled naive by carmakers and faces opposition from the Federal Government.

Naive? Why the fcuk would anyone want a car that does in excess of 130km+?

Concept - lets commence R&D into a Car Accident Tour, especially pitched at speed freaks.

"......And now, Ladies & Gentlemen on tonights tour, we've just logged a call from the ambo's. Get ready for a big surprise it's a three car collision on the Western Ring Road - estimated speeds in excess of 130km, now bear witness want the human body looks like after being destroyed in a high speed accident..."

see article below - and image above.

Fresh bid to save young drivers
Road crashes involving young drivers cost the Victorian community $1 billion a year. VicRoads revealed the shocking figure as it prepared to recommend new directions to the State Government to halt the carnage. A recent string of road smashes involving young drivers and the subsequent court sequels have provoked public demands for action. The $1 billion figure takes into account all associated costs, including car repairs, lost work time, medical care and funerals.

Tolls bid revived
Transurban will again ask for $36 million in compensation from the State Government for lost CityLink tolls.The claim, first lodged almost four years ago, was put on hold while Transurban made its bid to build the Mitcham-Frankston freeway.

Stupidity

Road Rage with a purpose
Ever have the overwhelming urge to smash into the car that just cut you off? Or maybe sideswipe that guy trying to muscle in front of you? How about hurling yourself through the windshield? Well, now you can! And it won't involve dealing with the police, lengthy hospital visits, or death.

?????

RageRageRage
38-year sentence imposed in road-rage case. A man who killed an innocent motorist during a road-rage incident in Shreveport was sentenced today to 38 years in prison.

?????

Things are getting reactionary

cue: image of BAD cyclist - or so they inform us

Wheeling and Stealing: Criminals use bikes to prowl with speed, stealth, police say
It's the middle of the night. The crunch of gravel is barely audible as the bicyclist cruises down the dark alley without a headlight. He arrives at an address he chose during the day -- perhaps it's where you left aluminum windows leaning against a garage wall, or where you parked your car with the expensive stereo, or where he saw you throw a working VCR in the trash. Acting quickly, he grabs what he wants and glides on. Local police say some criminals use the cover of darkness and the silence of a bicycle to raid trash bins or commit burglaries, vehicle prowls and drug deals. And with the ability to travel where patrol cars can't, bicyclists can be a challenge for officers to catch. But not everyone on a bike at night is a bad guy, police officers say. The suspicious behavior, not the bike, is how police distinguish the potential thief from the honest citizen.

Search for vandals continues
Raleigh police continue to look for the protesters who shattered windows, painted graffiti and attempted to burn down the North Carolina Republican Party headquarters on Hillsborough Street late Friday night. Police arrested three people detained by neighbors who caught them changing out of black clothes between two garages in a neighborhood behind Republican offices.

Freaks of nature (bikes on campus)
Just yesterday I found myself guilty of nearly taking the arms off of some poor pedestrian while riding to class on my bike. I just want to take this opportunity to apologize to that person and to apologize on behalf of all bikers everywhere who have ever been discourteous to both cars and walking people alike.

Ticket to ride

For some time now, a group called Critical Mass has been staging herd-like bicycle rides through the streets of Manhattan; the riders contend they want to 'make people take notice of cyclists as road users' and to raise questions about air and noise pollution. That's their right, of course - as self-righteous as it may be. That's what the First Amendment is about - as long as it's done peacefully and lawfully. At first, they did precisely that: Car traffic was not disrupted and regulations -like stopping at red lights, which is required of bicycles - were obeyed. All that has changed in recent months. Ever since just before the Republican Convention, the once-orderly Critical Mass ride has deteriorated into mass disruptions of traffic. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has charged that the rides have been 'hijacked by groups of cyclists intent on disruption and on violating the law.'

Police find new target: bicyclists

New York City police have again used mass arrests to break up a ride of bicyclists. On Oct. 29, they arrested 33 people taking part in the monthly Critical Mass bike ride, which promotes environmentally friendly forms of transportation. More than 1,000 bicyclists were on the ride, many dressed in Halloween costumes. They had started out at Union Square and headed north on Park Avenue. Police turned out in force. The city had gone to court trying to stop the ride, but just the day before the mass arrests, a federal judge ruled that the Critical Mass event did not need a permit and that the city could not seize bicycles unless riders were charged with a crime or violated the law. This didn't stop the police.

scary stuff

Trafficking in alarming ways
Our traffic problems are getting worse, according to a recent study by the Institute of Discovering Things That Make You Go 'Duh.' How bad is our traffic mess? Consider these alarming facts:

FACT: Commuting by automobile now takes so long that many workers have no time to do any actual work. When they reach their place of employment, they grab a cup of coffee, spend a few minutes discussing the previous night's episode of 'The Apprentice' with their co-workers, and immediately start the long commute home, unaware that their jobs were outsourced to Asia months ago.

FACT: In the past year alone, commuters whose car radios were tuned to 'classic rock' spent an average of 347 hours - more than two weeks - just listening to the song 'Takin' Care of Business,' by Bachman Turner Overdrive. The statistics are even more chilling for 'Black Magic Woman.'"

Sustainable Energy - Peak Oil - On the Buses - Not so cold North

Aus - Low investment in renewable energy
So are renewable sources of energy a viable part of the solution to Australia's power problems? Australia is heavily dependent on coal-fired power - it's cheap and available, but also extremely polluting. But we also have searing sun, blowing gales and pounding waves in abundance, and some of the energy from these sources is now making its way into the power grid. However Australian investment capital to develop alternative energy sources is scarce, and the Federal Government has been accused of not doing enough to encourage the renewable energy sector.

Not So Vast As Our Failure
'Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we know.' Marion King Hubbert
In 1956 a geologist by the name of Marion King Hubbert created a data model that projected that the U.S. would hit peak oil production in 1970. Outside of the field of geology no one of course had any idea of his name or what peak oil meant. Inside the field of geology he was considered at first a harebrained crackpot by many and within the oil industry, he worked for Shell Oil at the time, his scientific reputation and career were almost destroyed. But lo and behold fourteen years later the U.S. did in fact hit its peak in terms of oil production - 9.5 million barrels a day - though the peak, naturally enough, was not recognized as the peak until a few years later when terminal decline set in.

Bus use soars by 45%, new figures claim
Bus use in Cambridge has shot up by nearly 50 per cent in three years, new figures from Stagecoach reveal. The city's chief bus operator says Cambridge has seen one of the biggest rises in public transport use in the UK, and around double the growth achieved in London. On average, more than 117,000 passengers are now carried on Stagecoach's Citi network each week.

Global warming hits Arctic hardest, study shows
Global warming is happening twice as fast in the Arctic as anywhere else and could cause everything from the extinction of polar bears to the flooding of large parts of Florida, says a report released yesterday. The report, the most extensive ever done on climate change in the North, calls for immediate action on greenhouse gases. Some hope the eight-country council that commissioned the report will act on its warnings. But others doubt much will happen until southern industry starts to suffer.

Inquest told of hermit's tragic end

As a hermit, Daniel Morgan shunned the world, but yesterday the world was given a glimpse into his humble life at the inquest into his death. For 10 years Mr Morgan lived in the Macquarie Pass National Park - scavenging his food, surviving in harmony with nature and secretly waging war with schizophrenia. Born into an Albion Park family, Mr Morgan grew up like any other boy. But after a road trip around Australia in the 1970s, his family noticed he was showing the signs of metal illness. Gradually he began to cut ties with his mother and shrank away from society.

wwweeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!

Yet another 'roo meat addict hears the fridge door open....

Freegan.info

Freegan.info
What is Freeganism? 'Freegan' is a play on the word vegan. Freegans go farther than vegans by choosing to monetarily consume nothing so as to give no economic power to the capitalist-consumer machine. Freegans see harm in all consumer goods while vegans only see harm in the products from animal sources or products tested on animals. Therefore, freegans choose to buy as little as possible of ANY good and instead live off the massive waste of modern capitalist society. In so doing, they avoid giving any labor or resources to a system based on destruction, suffering, and oppression, while at the same time playing a small role in reducing waste.

Reclaim Northcote Tip!

flashing again

Join up and join the fun this friday evening right here

NZ: Get on your bike

'Get on your bike' was the message today from Sport and Recreation Minister Trevor Mallard who launched New Zealand's first comprehensive and colourful history of cycling in New Zealand. ''Ride - the story of cycling in New Zealand', published by the Kennett Brothers, is a fascinating read. The beauty of this book is that, in chronicling the evolution of cycling as a pastime and sport in New Zealand, it chronicles the evolution of the country itself,' Trevor Mallard said.

Green buildings - Speeding - Tolls

Public offices turn green
WA's commercial property sector is looking at how to go green to meet new State Government greenhouse regulations for public sector offices due to be implemented next year. Developers, leasing agents and building managers are seeing stars as new environmentally-friendly rating tools become hard currency.

Heads roll over speed fine fiasco
Two senior managers have been removed from VicRoads in the wake of the Western Ring Rd speed camera fiasco that hit 90,000 drivers. VicRoads officials Brian Negus and Ian Mullett will leave the organisation for another department.

Hmm, wasn't Brian the nice chatty bloke who used to have a afternoon segment on ABC's 774?

MP warns over freeway tolls removal

The independent Member for Gippsland East, Craig Ingram, has warned country taxpayers would end up footing the bill if tolls were removed from the Scoresby Freeway in Melbourne. Victorian Premier Steve Bracks broke an election promise when he announced the road would be tolled

stick this

Critical Mass sticker designs. Are you getting ready for the glorious 26th?

Bicycle Land

Renewal of Australia Cycling - The National Strategy 1999-2004
Overview - Australia Cycling - The National Strategy 1999-2004 was adopted in 1999 with the vision of "increased cycling for transport and recreation to enhance the well-being of all Australians". Australia Cycling has six strategic objectives covering improvements to cycling in the areas of coordination, integration of policy and planning, facilities, safety, information and education. For details, see the Strategy available at www.abc.dotars.gov.au/auscycling.pdf.


Sustainable Transport Coalition News: Australian Bicycle Council on "Bike for the Dole"
You are invited to attend a special presentation. This is an opportunity to hear about the innovative ways Work for the Dole is being used to promote cycling in Australia.

Ride a bike and paint rocks too. Wow

closeup kitty p0rn

whhhooaarrrrr!

Trouble at mill

Angry bikies protest
Angry motorcyclists will protest in Melbourne tomorrow to campaign for tougher laws against drunk and careless motorists. They will rally outside the Magistrates' Court in the first in a series of noisy demonstrations. The protest was spurred by a magistrate's decision last week to allow a female driver accused of killing a motorcyclist while drunk to remain on the road.

From NY: Critical Mess
You don't have to be a biker to realize that over the last several years, the monthly Critical Mass ride, which attracts thousands of bicyclists, never caused the slightest bit of trouble while making a clear point about energy alternatives, pollution and traffic congestion.
That is, until the GOP showed up.

Cyclists Spokes-Man Rips Cops
Members of an environmental group charged yesterday that they were unfairly targeted by cops who on Friday arrested 33 participants in the organization's monthly bike ride. Riders said an overwhelming number of cops created a hostile environment for the 1,000- strong night ride.

Hot Town, Summer in the City
Infoshop News - RNC REDUX: Anarchist Analysis of the 2004 RNC Protests
The Republican National Convention was the ultimate slight to New York: those who made careers and a quick buck off the September 11th events returned to feast like vultures on the corpses of the dead, attempting to rally support for a failing war and a disastrous regime by parading around near the site of Ground Zero. As one might suspect, there were going to be protests, courtesy of an amalgamation of New Yorkers and out-of-town protesters, direct action anarchists and anti-war pacifists, community groups and Marxist sects. The question of the hour was: Were the protests going to bring the house of cards down?

Controversial Dutch filmmaker shot dead

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A controversial Dutch filmmaker accused by Muslims of ridiculing their religion has been stabbed and shot dead on his bicycle, shocking the Netherlands where the murder was denounced as an attack on free speech.

S. KOREA. 11.02/Last week 's struggle report... : Argentina Indymedia (( i ))

On Tuesday, October 23, KCTU organized in the afternoon a bicycle demonstration to support the struggle of irregular workers. As already reported, since long time irregular workers here - a large number of S. Korean workers have no contracts, no health insurance, no labor rights and just small wages - are fighting for transforming their jobs into regular work places. The bicycle demonstration was leading from downtown Seoul to Yeongdeungpo, actually a really long route and when you know about the traffic chaos in the city, alone the motorcycle express deliver service drivers - with goodwill you can call them traffic rowdies - are highly dangerous, you can imagine that this was a kind of hardcore tour.

Yes most porn is boring

Sick of stupid, yet tiresome unwanted images popping up on your screen? Galumpia makes the mundane rather quite interesting. But please still be careful if viewing at work.

Peak Oil reported by CNN

Peak oil fringe group gains mainstream attention
Oil: is the end at hand? A once-fringe group saying we'll run out of oil is gaining attention, even within the oil industry. The end of cheap oil may mean more than just higher gas prices for Americans. It may mean the end of the oil age as we know it. That is according to the so-called peak oil movement, which says that by 2008 humans will have extracted half of the earth's oil. In other words, we're using oil faster than we can ever hope to find it.

Croc Shock!

Croc stops traffic near airport
A cheeky crocodile continued to pull the crowds in Cairns today, this time stopping traffic as it sunbaked near the city's airport access road. A crocodile believed to be the same one that delighted tourists and locals along the Cairns Esplanade yesterday as it spent much of the day cruising offshore from the popular tourist strip.

Stay tuned, the Bracks Government is currently looking into the logistics of either employing or importing this erstwhile croc south, as a toll collector.