CAR BUSTERS BULLETIN=20
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Edition no. 48 - July 2003 - English version
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Contents:
BOXERS AND BRIEFS
WORLD NEWS
- CAMPAIGN HEATS UP AGAINST BP'S BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE
- BLOCKED ROADS AND PROTEST ACTIONS IN FRANCE
- CLEVELAND RADIO STATION PROMOTES ASSAULT ON CYCLISTS
- SITTING IN TRAFFIC CAUSES SKIN TO AGE PREMATURELY
- THE CARS EPIDEMIC
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- ANTI-ROAD CAMP SET UP IN WEST SUSSEX, ENGLAND
- BIKESUMMER 2003 CONVERGES ON NEW YORK CITY
- CRITICAL MASS U.S. BOOK AND VIDEO TOUR
CAR BUSTERS ANNOUNCEMENTS
- CAR BUSTERS ISSUE 17 RELEASED!
- ATLANTA'S PEDESTRIAN AVENGER JOINS CAR BUSTERS TEAM
- CARFREE DAY PLANS IN PRAGUE
- TOWARDS CARFREE CITIES IV, BERLIN 2004
DISCLAIMER
BOXERS & BRIEFS
- Report: Fords now guzzle more petrol than the Model T. The Ford
Model T got 25 miles per gallon (10.6 kml) nearly a century ago.
Michigan-based Ford's average vehicle now gets 22.6 mpg (9.6 kml),
with its popular Explorer sports utility vehicle getting 16 mpg (6.8
kml), according to an advertisement placed by the Sierra Club, a US
environmental group.
- Nigeria's traffic authorities confirmed Thursday they had ordered
psychiatric tests of traffic offenders blamed for "insane" gridlock
in Lagos, sub-Saharan Africa's largest city.
- The UK Royal Mail is to stop transporting post by rail - in a move
which will cut costs but end 170 years of history:
<
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/2967564.stm>.
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WORLD NEWS >>
__________________
CAMPAIGN HEATS UP AGAINST BP'S BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE
[from London Rising Tide, CEE Bankwatch and Green Alternative]
London Rising Tide took the struggle to bury BP's planned Baku-Ceyhan
pipeline to the heart of the British cultural establishment on July 5
at the British Museum in central London, which is currently hosting
the BP-sponsored "Museum of the Mind - Art and Memory in World
Cultures" exhibition.
The action was intended to raise awareness among those visiting
the BP-sponsored exhibition of the corporation's global activities.
Activists converged on the exhibition to unmask the global politics
of the oil giant. This is part of a campaign to alert people to the
serious issues surrounding oil consumption, transport and extraction.
In the ever more bloody "aftermath" of the latest Gulf war, and in
the 120-day consultation period for the pipeline, it is essential
that "No Blood For Oil" does not fade away with all the other slogans
chanted on the marches.
On June 5, over seventy environmental and human rights groups from
29 countries called for an immediate moratorium on a controversial BP
oil pipeline, planned to run from the Caspian Sea to the
Mediterranean. They wrote to the major public funders of the pipeline
project, arguing that the pipeline would worsen human rights problems
along the pipeline route, and that a background of lack of freedom of
speech in the region made proper consultation and land compensation
impossible.
And on June 27, the Georgian District Court granted Green
Alternative, a Georgian nonprofit group, the right to commence a
legal action in connection with the pipeline. Green Alternative
remains deeply concerned about the controversial environmental
clearance granted by the Georgian government for the construction of
the pipeline's Georgian section. Activists have long maintained that
BP, the lead member of the international pipeline consortium, leaned
on the Georgian government for a quick and favourable decision.
It will be asserted that the statutory rights of Georgian
citizens, which provide for proper access to information and
meaningful participation in the decision-making process, have been
violated.
BLOCKED ROADS AND PROTEST ACTIONS IN FRANCE
Mountain valleys in France celebrated the anniversary of the
reopening of Mont-Blanc tunnel to trucks, with blocked roads and
protest actions: four valleys were involved in the action, which took
place on June 25.
In the Pyrenees, the road leading to the unpopular Somport Tunnel
in Bedous was blocked by 150 people. In the Jura, 100 protesters
gathered in a human chain around a roundabout, along the road which
goes through the villages of the Valliere Valley. This was the first-
ever demonstration against road transport in this valley. In the Alps
(Mont-Blanc and Maurienne), over 200 activists blocked the road to
Mont-Blanc tunnel in Chamonix for three hours.
CLEVELAND RADIO STATION PROMOTES ASSAULT ON CYCLISTS
[as reported by Lois, a bike shop owner in Cleveland, Ohio, USA]
On July 2 in Cleveland, Ohio, the morning radio show WMJI-Majic 105
read an e-mail from a listener saying that bicycles should not be on
the roads. At least one of the DJs told listeners who were in cars to
do things like:
- speed past the bike, pull back into the lane and slam on your
brakes.
- speed past the bike, have your passenger open their door and put
on the brakes.
- yell and/or honk at all cyclists as you pass in your car.
- throw things like cans or rolls of pennies out your window at
cyclists.
On July 3, the DJs continued taking calls from listeners and
further encouraged drivers to do whatever it takes to get cyclists
off the roads. Callers who agreed with the DJs' viewpoints were
awarded a gift certificate to a local restaurant.
There are a few exceptions in Freedom of Speech rules including
"Personal Attacks" and "Clear and Present Danger" meaning
intention
to incite dangerous activity and are likely to succeed in producing
dangerous activity. It appears there have been violations of the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. Several
organisations are contacting the FCC, WMJI-Majic 105, and Clear
Channel Networks (owner of WMJI-Majic 105) to stand up against this
behaviour and to educate the public on rules of the road.
"DO MUCH DRIVING? IT'S WRITTEN ALL OVER YOUR FACE"
[from Andy Singer, as reported in the Sacramento Bee, USA]
When patients come into Dr. Suzanne Kilmer's dermatology office in
Sacramento, California, she usually can tell right away whether
they've spent their lives primarily as drivers or as passengers. How?
If the left side of the face has more wrinkles, crags and
blotches, the patients are drivers. If it's the right side, they're
passengers. That's right. Sitting in traffic day in and day out
doesn't just put stress on our hearts and fill our lungs with
dangerous fumes. Now experts are saying it also causes our skin to
age prematurely, and it may even lead to skin cancer.
THE CARS EPIDEMIC:
WE FIND MILLIONS FOR SARS AND WARS BUT OFFER HOT AIR FOR SMOG PLAGUE
[by Tooker Gomberg in NOW Magazine, Toronto, June 19]
Isn't it amazing what resources and attention can be brought to bear
on certain problems? SARS sparred with WAR for a while. Then, with
Iraq vanquished, SARS commanded and still holds the front pages. Out
of nowhere, governments find millions of dollars for SARS and
billions for WAR. The media-fed crisis trumpets the toll: 34 dead and
rising in Toronto from SARS. Thirty-four people dead before their
time is tragic. But on the eve of this year's Smog Summit, taking
place this weekend, we have to ask, what if that many people were
dying every 12 days in Toronto of a known, treatable urban disease?
Why do we rarely hear about Toronto's out-of-control CARS
epidemic? Did you know that a thousand Torontonians die annually from
toxic air, largely from tailpipes? It's a global crisis when 500
million tailpipes spew poisons into our common atmosphere that later
nestle in the deepest recesses of our lungs, where oxygen is absorbed
into our bodies via our respiratory systems. That's respiratory, the
"R" in SARS.
_____________________
ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
_____________________________
ANTI-ROAD CAMP SET UP IN WEST SUSSEX, ENGLAND
Support is needed now for a new anti-road protest camp that has been
set up on Tortington Common, on the route of the proposed new A27
Arundel Bypass. Part of the planned South Coast motorway, being built
by stealth and in segments. Bypassing the existing bypass, it would
cross the River Arun wetlands south of Arundel and traverse a mile of
precious Sussex woodland. Thousands of trees would be lost, including
100-foot oak trees, yews, and beech trees. If this goes ahead, it
will not be long before other areas are threatened by the next stage.
It can be stopped now, before the final go-ahead is given. You can
join the camp this summer, or help out in other ways, either by
contributing a few hours of labour or bringing supplies.
The camp is to the west of Arundel, about 15 minutes walk north of
Ford railway station on the main South Coast railway line, with
direct trains from Worthing, Brighton and Portsmouth. For further
directions, contact 07736 964653 or 07792 248192 - text messages are
more likely to get through. Or failing that, e-mail <worthing@eco-
action.org>.
BIKESUMMER 2003 CONVERGES ON NEW YORK CITY
The fifth annual BikeSummer, a month-long celebration of bicycling
and bike culture, began June 27, with a Critical Mass ride from Union
Square North. There will be a dozen different events throughout the
weekend, and festivities continue daily until Saturday, July 26.
Altogether, BikeSummer includes more than 130 bike-related happenings
featuring arts, performance, literary interest, food, adventure,
advocacy, competition, tours, films, education, and more. Complete
listings are at
<
http://www.bikesummer.org/2003/calendar/calendar.php>.
=09
CRITICAL MASS U.S. BOOK AND VIDEO TOUR
[with editor Chris Carlsson and other contributors, in New York,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, College Park, Washington and Richmond]
>From July 24-30, AK Press is organising a book tour on the East Coast
of the US, with Chris Carlsson, editor of "Critical Mass: Bicycling's
Defiant Celebration" (Chris Carlsson, ed. 2002, AK Press, 256 p.). In
the book, four dozen contributors document, define and drive home the
beauty of a quiet ride with a thousand friends, the anarchy of
grassroots inspiration, the melodrama of media coverage and the fight
for the survival of our cities. Website: <
http://www.akpress.org>.
Along with the book tour, the film "We Are Traffic!" (Ted White,
1999) will be shown. The documentary interviews some of the
contributors to the newly released book. "We Are Traffic!" chronicles
Critical Mass, a movement of thousands (and twice as many wheels) as
they reclaim public space and keep bicycling and public transport in
the spotlight of contemporary politics. The film explores the fun,
complexity and struggle involved in social change. Website:
<
http://www.tedwhitegreenlight.com>.
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CAR BUSTERS ANNOUNCEMENTS >>
__________________________________
CAR BUSTERS ISSUE 17 RELEASED!
The brand new edition of Car Busters magazine was released on June 30
and will hit mailboxes and newstands shortly. Features include "How
to Not Get Hit by Cars" (Ten Ways to Avoid Common Collisions), "Out
of Town, Without a Car!" (The Carfree Ecovillage in Your Future),
"The Biodiesel Revolution?" (Fuelling Up on Vegetable Oil),
"Efficient Cars =3D Sick Cities" (An Open Letter to Environmental
Leaders), "London's Congestion" (Mayor Livingstone Leads the Charge),
and "Bogota After Penalosa" (An Interview with Oscar Edmundo Diaz).
Regular sections include Letters, Car Cult Review, Industry Watch,
World News, Action!, Studies & Reports, Book Reviews, and
Announcements.
To subscribe to our magazine, commencing with the current issue,
go to <
http://www.carbusters.org/join_us/>. To buy a copy of the
current issue only, go to
<
http://www.carbusters.org/resources/magazine.php>.
ATLANTA'S PEDESTRIAN AVENGER JOINS CAR BUSTERS TEAM
Katie Sobush is one of the Czech Republic's latest immigrants in the
stream of political refugees escaping the terror of the American
Empire. Back in February she wrote to Car Busters requesting "socio-
political asylum" from the Bush regime, and she landed safely in
Prague on July 2. In Atlanta she is variously known as "The
Pedestrian Avenger" (named by the Atlanta Journal Constitution
newspaper) and "Yellow Bike Girl." She was a transport planner by day
and a Critical Mass activist and Earth on Empty SUV ticketer by night
- although her mother and two sisters are proud members of the Ford
family. Not only is Atlanta arguably the worst city for cycling in
the US, but its residents drive an average of 34 miles per day, more
per capita than residents of any other US city. In total that's 115
million miles a day, a distance greater than from the sun to the
Earth.
Welcome, Katie!
CARFREE DAY PLANS IN PRAGUE
Plans are already gearing up for World Carfree Day in Prague. Car
Busters has joined together with artists and colleagues from
nonprofit groups to organise a big celebratory event on Wenceslas
Square, the symbolic heart of the city. Theatre, music, exhibitions,
workshops for children and other activities will transform at least a
part of Prague into a creative and dignified space for life - without
exhaust, noise and deadly traffic.
It is still unsure whether the city will lend its support to the
event, but the group has decided to go ahead with its ambitious
carfree day plans regardless. The group will fill Wenceslas Square
with festive activities and ask motorists - via publicity, signage
and nonconfrontational check-points - not to drive on the massive
square for the day. We will offer positive solutions and continue to
promote alternatives beyond the single-day event. Any Praguians
interested in joining this civic initiative, called Automat, can
contact <tilly@???> or see the website <
http://www.auto-
mat.cz> (coming soon).
TOWARDS CARFREE CITIES IV, BERLIN 2004
At the very successful and productive Towards Carfree Cities III
conference in Prague (March 17-22), it was decided that, in order to
develop and maintain the Car Busters network, it is necessary to have
an annual meeting. The next conference, Towards Carfree Cities IV,
will be held in summer 2004 in Berlin, where two organisers are
already researching funding sources and facilities, and finding
sponsors and partners. As for Towards Carfree Cities V in 2005, there
is already a proposal from the good people of Budapest. See future
bulletins for more information.
_____________________
DISCLAIMER >>
_____________________________
"We've embarked on the beginning of the last days of the age of oil.
Embrace the future and recognise the growing demand for a wide range
of fuels or ignore reality and slowly =97 but surely =97 be left behind.
- Mike Bowlin, former chairman and CEO of ARCO (now BP).
Embrace the future and liberate yourself today.
[end]
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"La bicicletta =E8 il veicolo pi=F9 rapido nella via della delinquenza;=
perch=E8
la passione del pedale trascina al furto, alla truffa, alla grassazione!"
-Cesare Lombroso-
