Traffic Terrorism Strikes Again: Because governments care more about fast traffic than human lives

It wasn’t my intent to post another item so soon about cars (and the environment, by extension) but two news items made it necessary.

In the city of Leeds, England, a heroic woman named Deborah Chapman (age 52) works as a street crossing guard (“lollipop woman”) near a school.  Nicknamed “Jolly Lolly”, she stops traffic so that children and families can cross streets safely.  Chapman has had to physically prevent people from being run over by reckless drivers.

Unfortunately, traffic terrorists in their cars view human beings as impediments to “their right to drive fast”.  She has been repeately subjected to verbal abuse and death threats, drivers yelling out that they will come back and run her over.

Chapman obtained a recording device (paid for by parents in the community) and took video and audio of drivers as she worked.  Their behaviours and words changed when they knew they were being recorded.  However, due to incompetent politicians and corrupt laws, Chapman was ordered to stop wearing the device to “protect the drivers’ privacy” (read: protect their ability to threaten violence against innocent people).

Angry Leeds drivers abuse this lollipop lady every day but she has been banned from wearing bodycam

Deborah Chapman, 52, doesn’t feel safe in the job she has done in Beeston for almost ten years

By Jasmine Norden

17:55, 15 NOV 2021

A Leeds lollipop lady has said she feels so unsafe doing her job at the moment parents decided to buy her a bodycam.

Deborah Chapman, 52, said she deals with ‘horrendous’ abuse everyday from drivers as she helps kids cross the road outside Beeston Primary School.

The problem has become such that parents took it upon themselves to raise money to buy Deborah a bodycam to keep her safe.

She told LeedsLive: “The drivers are horrible. They are always angry and think we are a nuisance.

“It happens on a daily basis – I get people swearing at me or revving up behind me. I get called horrible names like s**g or s**t or even the c-word. I see lots of dangerous driving.

[. . .]

“The kids call me the Jolly Lolly. I’m confident doing my job and protecting them and I will stand my ground – but it’s getting harder and harder to take all of the abuse home with me.”

In one recent incident, Deborah said a driver threatened to come back at the end of her next shift and ‘mow her down’.

Note the date on the above news item: November 15, 2021, which makes the item below the fold all the more appalling.

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The Pandemic Continues: 2021 is the worst year yet for the mass murder of Transgender and Non-Binary people

According to the Human Rights Campaign, in the US there were forty five confirmed murders of Transgender and Non-Binary people between November 20, 2020 and now.  The actual total is likely much higher, given that cops and governments intentionally misgender and deadname people; cops are lazy, bigoted and incompetent at catching these murderers; and some have gone missing and died without being counted because of hate and ostracism the victims faced from society.

2021 Becomes Deadliest Year on Record for Transgender and Non-Binary People

Today [November 9], with news of the killing of Marquiisha Lawrence in Greenville, South Carolina, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization, has now officially recorded more violent deaths of transgender and gender non-conforming people than any year prior.

At least 45 transgender or gender non-conforming people have been killed this year; HRC Foundation uses “at least” because too often these stories go unreported or misreported. Previously, the highest number of fatal deaths of transgender or gender non-conforming people that HRC Foundation has tracked over a 12 month period was just last year in 2020, when at least 44 transgender or gender non-conforming people were killed.

Pink News reports that worldwide there are three hundred and seventy five confirmed murders of Transgender and Non-Binary people in that same time period.  That’s a seven percent increase in the number of people who died.  The uncounted murders could sent that rate much higher.

Tragic figures confirm most dangerous place to be trans as 2021 becomes deadliest year on record

Between 1 October 2020 and 30 September 2021, at least 375 trans, non-binary or gender non-conforming people were slain across the world.

One in four trans people murdered globally were killed in their own home, according to data compiled by the Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide (TvTW), a Transgender Europe project.

The report stands as the official word on a truly grisly year, detailing a daunting, years-long rise in murders against trans people by seven per cent, compared to the same time period last year.

Released ahead of Transgender Day of Remembrance, held 20 November, the report found that 70 per cent of the documented murders happened in Central and South America.

Brazil remains the most dangerous place to be trans in the world, with the majority of the murders – 125 – taking place there.

Cases in Greece, Malawi and Kazakhstan were also reported for the first time.

Yes, it is a pandemic, one of violence.

I’m sure there’s at least one ignorant apologist for violence that will say, “It’s only 375 people!”

It’s not “only 375”.  Transgender and Non-Binary people account for approximately one in every three hundred people.  If the general population were murdered at the same rate, that would be 13,200 in the US alone, and 112,500 worldwide.  Imagine the uproar if 100,000 people of any specific group were mass murdered in those numbers, there would be outrage and people labelling it genocide.  (Unless they’re Iraqis or Afghanis, then the 100,000 aren’t counted as people.)

It doesn’t matter how few the victims are or how small the minority.  When the least powerful minorities are deliberately and intentionally targeted with hate and violence, it borders on eugenics and genocide.  The smaller the population, the greater the atrocity.

A Week To Go: Then the Remembrance Day that matters

Chris Mosier is a basketball player and Transgender man.  He put together the ten images below for Transgender Awareness Week which runs from November 13 to 19, culminating in Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20.  I’ll be posting more throughout the week.

Below the fold are the other nine images, good advice for cisgender people to read and learn.

Respect isn’t difficult.  Those who won’t respect one group usually won’t respect others.

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My Clock Runneth Over

The 1911 Revolution (October 10 1911 to February 12, 1912) signalled the end of the Qing Dynasty in China, the fall of the last emporer and both Taiwan and China’s beginnings as republics.  Taiwan has treated this as its Independence Day, which it celebrates on October 10 (“Ten Ten Day”).  The communists in China celebrate October 1 (the day the CCP took over in 1949) and avoid the 10th.

I was here ten years ago for Taiwan’s hundredth anniversary (also a Sunday), and can say I wish I had been on vacation in the Philippines instead.  The amount of noise from fireworks that weekend was beyond deafening.  My headaches lasted for days.

As you might have noticed, 2021 is 110 years in Taiwan’s domestic calendar.  This means that on Friday in 2022, about an hour before noon, the calendar and clocks will read:

111, 11/11, 11:11:11

My students had a laugh with that.

 

 

Numberphile also did a video recently on calendar calculation, vis-a-vis telling the day of the week by the date alone.  James Grime gives a system developed by the late mathematician John Conway, though others could be developed.

Conway used what he called “doomsday numbers” to determine the day of the week without having to calculate or remember many weeks or months.  I checked, and it’s true.

In every calendar year, the following dates are ALWAYS the same day of the week, regardless of the year.  For all my obsession with calendars and calendar reform, I had never noticed this before.

All even double digit dates after February (4/4, 6/6, 8/8, 10/10, 12/12)

“Working 9 to 5 at 7/11” (5/9, 9/5, 7/11, 11/7)

January 4th in a leap year, or 3rd in most years

So no matter what date of the year it is, you’re only a few weeks away from a date that a person gives you.  The video also mentions Pi Day (March 14) as being one of the above dates.  Not mentioned in the video below is the last day of February (28 or 29), regardless of regular or leap year.

There are only 28 possible calendars, and calendars run on 28 year cycles.  If you can remember the first day when these cycles begin (1900 which is not a leap year; 1600, 1628, 1656, 1684, 1814, 1842, 1870, 1898, 1916, 1944, 1972, 2000, 2028, etc. all start on a Saturday), it’s not hard to calculate the first day of the year. [Correction: 1898 starts on a Saturday, not 1900, 18 years until 1916.  The 17th and 18th centuries start to get tricky, every 28 years from 1695 to 1791.]

So let’s say (for example) you want to know the day of the week for Hallowe’en in 1980.  1972 started on a Saturday, so eight years plus two leap years makes 10 days (10 mod 7 = 3), thus 1980 started on a Tuesday.  January 1 to March 31 is 91 days in a leap year (91 mod 7 = 0), so April 1 is also a Tuesday, and by extension April 4 (4/4) is a Friday and so is 10/10.  Hallowe’en (10/31) is exactly three weeks after 10/10, thus also a Friday.

Lo and behold, it works.

But bleeping hell, I hate their ableist video editing.

 

More Than I Expected: What the hell is going on in Virginia?

I read PZ Myers’s recent item The Real Cancel Culture about the attempt to ban and burn books in Spotsylvania, Virginia.  Especially about a book with a positive message for children who have been survived emotional and sexual abuse.

My immediate response was to ask, “I’ll bet a few baptist pastors in that town have abused children”.

Nope. It was far worse.

I searched for news articles and expected to find one or two recent articles about sexual abuse in that county.  Instead it was a wall of stories, serial sexual abuse of children and other crimes.  What the hell is wrong with people there that they are more concerned about a book in a school library?  For a county of only 136,000 Spotsylvania has a serious problem that they seem unwilling to deal with, and would rather keep kids ignorant and vulnerable than protect and empower them with knowledge.

All these cases happened in Spotsylvania, and all involve different perpetrators.

2020: Former Spotsylvania church music director pleads guilty to molesting child

2019: Virginia man gets multiple life sentences for recording repeated child rape and Virginia man raped child in RV ‘sex dungeon’  (same perpetrator)

2019: SPOTSYLVANIA MAN CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A MINOR AFTER BEING IDENTIFIED THROUGH AG HERRING’S PERK KIT BACKLOG PROJECT

2018: Man convicted of rape in Spotsylvania

2017: Former softball coach faces 12 additional sex assault charges in Spotsylvania

2015: Sexual Assault Arrest In Spotsylvania

2015: Spotsylvania youth volunteer charged with sexual assault of minors

2012: Four Charged in Spotsy Rape Investigation

2012: Kyle Spencer Thom arrested for allegedly raping 12-year-old girl

2010: Teen Volunteer Alleges Firehouse Sexual Harassment

2009: 3 teens charged with sexual assault of Spotsylvania girl, 15

2009: Spotsylvania man arrested for rape and petit larceny

2007: Virginia Teen Charged With Raping, Killing Sister, Beating Toddler Niece With Sledgehammer

2003: Court document (PDF) involving a cop raping a teenage girl

1999: Richard Evonitz was a serial rapist and serial killer who lived in that county

1999: Man Charged in Slaying Of Va. Woman in 1990 (the crime included sexual assault)

Hero(in) Dealers Try Again: Another year of poppy fascism

Apparently, twenty years of failed and pointless war in Iraq and Afghanistan has done little to silence the hero(in) dealers, a/k/a poppy fascists. They’re spewing the usual “support the troops” propaganda yet doing nothing to prevent the next planned war for oil.  In the UK’s case in 2021, their “war for oil” is soldiers driving petrol tanker trucks around the country.  For once, paid terrorists are actually doing something useful.

Poppy fascists don’t do anything to “support the troops” that have permanent disabilities and mental health issues from twenty years of war. (In 2021, the republiclowns oppose spending money on VA hospitals now that the war is over, as if the after effects don’t exist or suddenly stopped.)  All that the keyboard warriors want is to cheerlead for the next war.  Abandoning the disposable heroes is standard practice, as is silencing any ex-military who criticize the government or speak out against war.  As L7 eloquently and elegantly said in the song, “Wargasm”:

Wargasm, wargasm, one, two, three

Tie a yellow ribbon round the amputee

Masturbate, watch it on TV

Crocodile tears for the refugees

[. . . ]

Wave those flags high in the air

As long as it takes place over there

 

The poppy fascist lie continues to be repeated: “they’re trying to ban poppies in [town name]!” which is about as believable as facebook enacting user fees.  Those who refuse to wear poppies continue to be the victims of harassment and threats of violence.  So much for the fiction that “poppies stand for freedumb!”  James McClean contiues to be a target of abuse and threats, so much so that even the “uk royal legion” had to speak out against it.

In more than one pile of tripe, sophists philosophers Alfred Archer and Benjamin Matheson claim to “support James McClean’s decision not to wear one”.  But they don’t support anyone else’s right not to wear one unless the person gives what the two consider to be a “valid” excuse.  Ergo, they don’t actually support individual personal freedom.

Commemoration and Emotional Imperialism

2 The Poppy’s Message

McClean refuses to wear the poppy because he finds the message that it has for him objectionable.

[. . .]

On McClean’s view, the poppy has a different meaning for the people of Derry (or at least the Catholic community of Derry) compared to people in other parts of the United Kingdom. Importantly, he takes the message that it has for him to be objectionable such that it is permissible for him not to wear the poppy. In this section, we support McClean’s stance.

The unspoken message is there: If your reason for refusing a poppy isn’t because you or your people are victims of militarist violence, then it’s “not valid” and you have to participate in poppy fascism.  If that weren’t their stance, why aren’t they stating it explicitly?  Why aren’t they calling for personalizing it and keeping it out of public discussion, to stop making it a “litmus test for patriotism”?

No one should be compelled to wear a poppy.

No one should be violated for not wearing one.

No one has the right to question anyone’s decision.

By violated, it could mean social shunning, firing people from jobs, or any other unlawful use of force that could coerce people.

Apparently the second clown Ford brother can’t grasp those concepts, currently trying to enact a fascist law in Ontario that will have government dictating policy to private businesses.  So much for being “pro-capitalism”.  I’d label those cheap plastic poppies a safety hazard and force the government to prove otherwise.

Ontario would compel employers to let workers wear poppies around Remembrance Day

Ontario is introducing legislation that would give workers the right to wear a poppy during the week of Remembrance Day.

The Progressive Conservative government says it wants to enshrine the right in law to remind employers that Ontario “owes a debt of gratitude” to those who serve the country.

It says that position should be reflected in employment policies and practices.

There will be an exception to the proposed law if a poppy poses a safety hazard.

Premier Doug Ford vowed to introduce the legislation last November amid controversy over a since-revoked policy at grocery chain Whole Foods Market that forbade employees from wearing anything other than their basic uniforms, including poppies.

The UK should know better or be more circumspect this year on the 50th and 100th anniversaries of two Bloody Sundays, but shameless as usual, they’re not.  On July 10, 1921 protestant loyalists ignited a campaign of violence and arson leading to at least seventeen deaths and a thousand people left homeless.  And it was on January 30, 1972 that uniformed UK terrorists murdered fourteen peaceful protesters without provocation, shooting them in the streets for carrying signs.  (Another Bloody Sunday anniversary, November 13, 1887, happens next year, the 135th.)  This is what James McClean objects to, the celebration of those who murdered innocents.

 

 

If I’m going to celebrate anything on 11/11, it’s “pocky day” (“pepero day” in South Korea, their local knockoff brand).  Having kids be kind and share chocolate covered sticks with each other serves more purpose than glorifying war.

 

Time To Stand Up: But was I funny?

There’s a comedy club in Taipei which has Open Mic Night on Wednesdays.  Amateurs can come in, sign up and perform up to five minutes, with the gratuity of cheap drinks all night.  For the first time ever, I signed up and did a four minute set.

It went over fairly well for a first timer, though the two best people were the ones immediately before me.  One was a doctoral student finishing his degree here, an american.  His comedy was smart, sharp, and insightful.  The other was a Taiwanese woman, very petite, doing a lot of self-deprecating jokes about her failures.  Funny, but never mean spirited.

They stood out in contrast to the first four that started the night.  They were unfunny at best and disgusting at worst.  “Edgy” is not comedy, it’s hiding behind a microphone to spew bigotry and hate you’d be afraid to say on the street.  I didn’t go there to hear some toxic male justify his fan worship and defence of Norm MacDonald’s sexual harassment of women, nor to hear some troll “joke” about racism, or people with disabilities and use insulting words (e.g. “r*****”).

Below the fold is not what I said verbatim, but it’s close enough.  For most of a week, I wrote stuff about women and men (clothing, sex, jobs, etc.), observational comedy that tells the truth.

But when I saw that the audience was almost entirely male, and after the unfunny and bigoted men, I decided to change directions and throw in a minute of TERF jokes.  I’ll include all of them except one which my sister Katisen said was too dark.  (I’ll email it in the FtB back channel if anyone wants to read it.)  Without further ado, read on and be appalled.

Also of note: While I never use profanity on the blog unless I’m directly quoting other people’s words (e.g. news articles, song lyrics, etc.), for the first time I’m using my own.  Just so you know what to expect.

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Adorable As Can Be: The best costumes of 2021 in Taiwan

I and almost everyone else in Taiwan has been giggling at these for the last two days.   This is the most adorable thing I’ve seen all month, two Hallowe’en costumes that beat all else.  I’m sure the two subjects were flattered.

First, a little girl with a blazer and a bob haircut, dressed as Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

 

 

Second, a young lad with greyish streaks added to his hair and a yellow vest similar to those worn by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) went as Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the CECC.  The foam syringe says “Medigen”, the name of the Taiwanese produced vaccine currently undergoing Phase III trials.

 

 

If that doesn’t make you smile, you’re dead inside.

‘Mini-Tsai,’ ‘Little Chen’ spotted on Halloween in Taiwan

Photos of children dressed as Taiwan’s president and epidemic prevention czar went viral on social media as Taiwanese celebrated Halloween over the weekend.

Although Halloween fell on Sunday (Oct. 31), many of the biggest costume events for kids were held Saturday (Oct. 30), such as the 13th annual Tianmu Halloween Festival in Taipei’s Shilin District and the annual costume party in the Fuzhong Commercial Area of New Taipei’s Banqiao District. On Saturday evening, photos of children dressed as President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Health Minister and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) quickly went viral.

On their Facebook pages, authors Lisa Liu (劉宗瑀) and Mr.柯學先生 posted photos of a girl dressed as Tsai and a boy wearing a Chen costume. The “Mini-Tsai” was dressed in a white T-shirt, gray suit jacket, black pants, and black sneakers and sported wireframe glasses, a blue mask, and Tsai’s bob haircut.

To make it extra clear who she was dressed as, the child also carried a sign showing photos of Tsai wearing the same outfit. Meanwhile, the miniature Chen could be seen with wisps of gray hair, a furrowed forehead, and the obligatory gray-and-yellow vest worn by all CECC officials at press events.

The boy also held a giant Styrofoam syringe labeled “Medigen,” a reference to Taiwan’s domestically developed COVID vaccine, in his left hand. In his right hand was a sign that read “Today’s local (COVID cases)” and the number zero, representing the long stretches without local cases the country has seen over the past month.

 

 

And a side note: here’s my little sister’s costume from last Saturday night when we attended an outdoor party, dressed as Marceline from “Adventure Time”.  (It was organized outdoors because more people were allowed to attend.)  Now I regret not wearing something that matches.  Two other friends were dressed as Finn and Princess Bubblegum.  But there ain’t no way I’m dressing as Jake.

Instead, last Saturday I dressed as Lux Interior of The Cramps, in honour of his 75th birthday.

 

There Are Bigger TERFish To Fry: The BBC should be ashamed, but they’re not

I haven’t waded in on the JAQoff/TERF “kathleenzielinski” because I planned to read everything before commenting.  But after seeing recent news, that TERF takes a back seat.  Blocked, and won’t be appearing here.

 

 

For decades, the BBC put Jimmy Savile on the air, defending and protecting him, and planning a “tribute documentary” even as the facts about his serial rape and pedophilia became public knowledge.  They knew, they enabled his crimes, they participated with their complicity.

The same is happening again.  Lily Cade was a lesbian porn performer in the UK until kicked out of the industry for just cause.   Cade is also a TERF, and (reportedly by self admission and accusations of several cis women) guilty of multiple sexual assaults.  So naturally, the BBC brought the TERF on for “balance” and let Cade call for the lynching and murdering of Transgender people, and advocating Trans people kill ourselves.  (This is the original link but twitter removed it for “violating rules”, i.e. reporting Cade’s words with screenshots.)

Once again, the BBC defends promoting a sexual predator and denigrating that individuals’ victims.  And it’s not the only recent instance of the BBC openly inciting hate towards Trans people, promoting the fiction that Trans women want to rape cis TERFs.

WHO IS LILY CADE? ADULT STAR CAUSES UPROAR OVER BBC INTERVIEW

Adult content star Lily Cade was recently cited in a BBC article surrounding an experience that she claimed to have with a trans woman in the industry.

However, the adult actress has caused uproar online following social media claims of abuse and sexual assault within the adult industry and a personal online website named lilycade.com that explicitly called for the ‘cancellation’ of trans woman alongside severe hate speech and transphobia.

[. . . ]

According to a unverified Wikileaks article in November 2017, Lily also admitted to sexual assault with an apology that included “I feel ashamed now, I thought that that girls went along with me because they enjoyed it, but they did it because they felt like they couldn’t say no”.

Amazingly, the Guardian (edited by a TERF and employs several) managed to publish this item:

BBC changes online article at centre of transphobia row

The BBC has been forced to edit an article condemned as transphobic after a woman quoted in the piece described trans women as “vile, weak and disgusting” and it emerged she had previously been accused of sexual misconduct.

Standing behind its decision to publish the piece online last week – headlined “We’re being pressured into sex by some trans women” – the BBC took the decision on Thursday to remove a contribution from a former porn actor, Lily Cade, “in light of comments” she made after its publication, after a week of sustained pressure and criticism.

[. . .]

The BBC also said Cade’s admission of past “inappropriate behaviour … should have been included in the original article”.

This week more than 20,000 people signed an open letter calling for the corporation to apologise for the article, but the BBC rejected the complaints and said it was committed to covering different viewpoints in the name of impartiality.

Since the article’s publication Cade, who was quoted in the original story, published violently transphobic remarks on her website – which has been down since Wednesday – appearing to call for the “lynching” of high-profile trans women. In a statement to the Guardian, Cade said she had only attacked “personas”, not people, and said Lily Cade was also a persona.

An update added to the BBC article on Thursday reads: “We have updated this article, published last week, to remove a contribution from one individual in light of comments she has published on blog posts in recent days, which we have been able to verify.

“We acknowledge that an admission of inappropriate behaviour by the same contributor should have been included in the original article.”

[. . .]

On Wednesday Chelsea Poe, a trans porn performer, said she had told the BBC journalist behind the article that Cade had been accused of sexual misconduct and was no longer working in the porn industry, but said she had not been quoted in the piece. A source at the BBC said the journalist behind the story had spoken to Poe but an editorial judgment was made not to quote her because the general conversation was deemed not relevant to the piece.

The fact that Cade was forced out of porn for perpetrating multiple sexual assaults was deemed “not relevant to the story”.  Quelle surprise, BBC, just like Savile’s predating, raping and grooming of children for his client was deemed “not relevant” until ITV aired their story on him.

TERFs have repeatedly cited singular and dubious claims of Transgender women accused of certain actions, and falsely attributing the actions of one person to all Trans women.  (Or more likely none, since their “reports” are usually fiction and the claimed events never happened.)

Here, however, we have a proven instance of a TERF who perpetrates sexual assault and promotes violence.  From now on when I encounter TERF rhetoric, I’ll point out that Cade represents all TERFs, their mentalities and their actions.

 

 

Also note that not once did I refer to Cade as “she” yet did not insult that individual.  That was intentional.

The Masks We Wear And Remove

Happy Hallowe’en to you all.  Or as we sing it,

“It’s the most won-der-ful time of the year. . .”

For children, Hallowe’en is innocent fun, a chance to dress up, wear a mask and pretend to be something we’re not.  But we don’t stay children forever.  When we become teenagers, we experience social pressures from family, from school, from society, from the media, etc.  As children we wore a mask one day a year, but as teens and into adulthood, we start wearing the mask every day.  Many people fear dressing, looking or speaking differently out of fear (rejection, violence, embarrassment, shame, being cast out, etc.).

Hallowe’en is and may be the one day of the year where we can take off our imposed societal masks, be their true selves without fear or repercussions.   But it’s not just Hallowe’en.  Many countries and cultures have festivals where “normal rules don’t apply” for a day or a week, whether it’s Mexico’s Día De Muertos, Carnival, Mardi Gras, or one of many others.  As mentioned the other day, it even applies to music, fandoms, RPGs, cosplay or other forms of entertainment.

Everywhere around the world, cultures societies have at least one a day to blow off steam, whether we admit that’s why or not.  It’s good and necessary for mental health.  Because every day that you can’t, you die a little inside.  I think this explains incels, TERFs, and fanatical religious types who rape children.  They’re so repressed and unhealthy mentally that they end up lashing out instead of finding a healthy outlet.

I’m never putting that mask back on again.  Let your Freak Flag fly.

 

 

There’s more below the fold.

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My Eyes Light Up: The Electric Company turns 50

The first episode of The Electric Company was broadcast on October 25, 1971, and ran for six years until 1977.  Billed as “for graduates of Sesame Street”, EC employed sketch comedy and more advanced language and humour than Sesame.

Wow, I feel old again.  I’ll bet certain other bloggers do too, with a smile on their faces.  So much more below the fold.

 

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Cagers Should Yield Or Stop: Do your research first

In response to yesterday’s post about traffic terrorism, this word salad diatribe appeared in the comments:

Would be nice if you show videos of bikers running red lights and stop signs. Or maybe the ones who ignore bike lanes made just for them and ride in the traffic lanes instead. It gets very tiresome to hear about all the poor bikers who get treated so shabbily by drivers. While the evidence is in and I do not disagree with the conclusions here, give the whole story maybe. There are just as many rude and shitty bike riders who put themselves at risk as there are car drivers putting them at risk. In portland oregon (my city) they are spending millions for bike paths and trying to make the roads safer for pedestrians. In fact they are doing so to the detriment of drivers. And yet bike riders still are causing problems just like the car drivers yet that part is ignored.

Tell you what, charlie: When cyclists kill more pedestrians than HGV trucks alone, never mind all other deaths caused by motorized traffic, you might have an argument.

But that’s not what you’re arguing, is it?  You’re saying bicycles are a danger by making cagers wait two seconds longer, all because cyclists and pedestrians want to commute and cross the road safely.  Oh, the injustice and inconvenience of it for the metal box road ragers.

Any claim of “scofflaw cyclists” being worse than scofflaw cagers is farcical.  I and my bike weigh barely over 100kg and go 30kmh when up to speed.  Meanwhile a tiny hatchback weighs at least 900kg and goes 50-100kmh, while the majority of vehicles are heavier and faster.  Pretending these pose the same danger to others is so wilfully blind that I recommend you see an optometrist and not drive until your vision is corrected.

I can point to dozens of videos where cagers run stop signs, like this one where a white cop causes a crash and falsely arrests the Black driver.

I can point to videos of cagers will illegally try to pass school buses and nearly killing children.

I can point to videos of cagers running through pedestrian crosswalks.  I’ll bet he doesn’t know all unmarked intersections are legal crosswalks, and ALL cagers have to stop for pedestrians waiting to cross.

I doubt he can point to a single video or news report of a cyclist caused the death of a cager where the car was going 50kmh.  (If a cager was speeding, swerved, and then crashed causing the driver’s death, that’s not the cyclist’s fault.) According to the US’s Governors Highway Safety Association (“Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2019 Preliminary Data“), the US has averaged over 5000 pedestrian deaths from motorized vehicles EVERY YEAR since 1989. I doubt that cyclists have killed 1000 pedestrians in those same 30 years.

PACTS is the UK’s Parliamentary Advisory Committee for Transportation Safety. In their December 2020 report which many call “Who killed whom”:

Figure 6: What kills pedestrians
In every 100 crashes where a pedestrian is killed, 
the other vehicle involved was a:
Cars: 65
HGV: 11
Van: 7
Bus: 6
Motorcycle or scooter: 4
Cyclist: 1

Figure 7: What kills cyclists
In every 100 crashes where a cyclist is killed, 
the other vehicle involved was a
Car: 48
HGV: 12
Van: 7
Other cyclist: 1

Given that nearly all motorized vehicles have only the driver, there’s a near 1:1 correspondence between cagers and cyclists to their modes of transportation.  According to the UK government, there are 3.7 million car trips per day in London, and Cyclist UK says there are 740,000 bicycle trips per day in London.  That means there are only 4.5 times as many cagers as cyclists, and yet the number of pedestrian deaths each cause is a 90:1 ratio.  And we’re supposed to believe “cyclists are the danger”?

He should be glad that Stop A Douche Bag is a Russian-only protest group, and that fed up pedestrians aren’t resorting to other measures when cagers break the law.

I’m sure he views Cycling Mikey as the “problem” in this video, calls CM the “scofflaw” for standing in front of the car and not the jerk in a merc driving on the wrong side of the road:

 

 

Contrary to the lies, myths, and propaganda cagers repeat from ignorance, the overwhelming majority of cyclists obey the law.  Also contrary to the lies, myths, and propaganda, “Idaho stops” are more efficient for traffic, and are NOT an impediment.  This claim that “cyclists don’t stop at stop signs!” isn’t about lawbreaking, it’s about jealousy that cagers can’t do the same.

What is an “Idaho stop” and where did it come from?  An Idaho stop is when cyclists treat stop signs as a yield sign.  The cyclist slows while approaching the intersection, and if the road is clear, can proceed without stopping.  If a vehicle is coming from another direction, then the cyclist must come to a full stop.  It came about because a judge in Idaho was overwhelmed and fed up with nuisance charges filed against cyclists not stopping on empty roads where there were no cars.  And even when there were cars, the lack of anything to obstruct people’s view rendered stop signs moot.

Here’s the actual Idaho law, from the state legislature:

TITLE 49

MOTOR VEHICLES

CHAPTER 7

PEDESTRIANS AND BICYCLES

49-720. Stopping — Turn and stop signals. (1) A person operating a bicycle, human-powered vehicle, or an electric-assisted bicycle approaching a stop sign shall slow down and, if required for safety, stop before entering the intersection. After slowing to a reasonable speed or stopping, the person shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching on another highway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time the person is moving across or within the intersection or junction of highways, except that a person, after slowing to a reasonable speed and yielding the right-of-way, if required, may cautiously make a turn or proceed through the intersection without stopping.

(2) A person operating a bicycle or human-powered vehicle approaching a steady red traffic control light shall stop before entering the intersection and shall yield to all other traffic. Once the person has yielded, he may proceed through the steady red light with caution. Provided however, that a person, after slowing to a reasonable speed and yielding the right-of-way, if required, may cautiously make a right-hand turn. A left-hand turn onto a one-way highway may be made on a red light after stopping and yielding to other traffic.

(3) A person riding a bicycle shall comply with the provisions of section 49-644, Idaho Code.

(4) A signal of intention to turn right or left shall be given during not less than the last one hundred (100) feet traveled by the bicycle before turning, provided that a signal by hand and arm need not be given if the hand is needed in the control or operation of the bicycle.

Why is it beneficial to legalize Idaho stops?  If cyclists stop, they lose all momentum and it takes them longer to start again. That means they take longer to go through and thus spend more time within the intersection.  This both endangers the cyclist and impedes the flow of traffic. But if the road is clear and a cyclist enters the intersection at 5km, it takes less time to speed up and clear the intersection.  And at 5kmh, it will take cyclists less than a metre to come to a full stop if other traffic approaches.  Motorized vehicles can move themselves, so there’s no argument for legalizing this for cagers.

In an increasing number of jurisdictions, it is now legal for cyclists to do an “Idaho stop”: Oregon, where he claims to be a victim of injustice.  California.  Washington state.   Alberta.  Ontario.

 

 

 

Addendum:

Driver attitudes towards cyclists are almost exactly the same as toxic male drivers towards women drivers. They see only the exceptions and not the majority while blithely ignoring their own ilk’s behaviours. For every ten minute “women drivers” video you find on youtube, you’ll find ten hours of male drivers, and yet men ignore the disparity in the amount. Or the fact that most of women’s crashes are under 60kmh and/or due to inattentiveness, while male drivers are speeding and road raging.

Here’s an item from that communist, vegan, and anti-big business media Forbes, reporting that drivers are the danger, not cyclists.  And in The Guardian video below, the UK cops are admitting that the difference is the danger posed comparing cyclists and cars, who can and does cause more harm if they break the law.  Emphasis in the text is mine.

Cyclists Break Far Fewer Road Rules Than Motorists, Finds New Video Study

May 10, 2019

A new study from the Danish Road Directorate shows that less than 5% of cyclists break traffic laws while riding yet 66% of motorists do so when driving. The Danish Cycling Embassy, a privately-funded NGO, puts this down to visibility: law breaking by cyclists is “easy to notice for everyone” but transgressions by motorists, such as speeding, are harder to spot.

The study was carried out for the Danish government by consulting firm Rambøll using video cameras sited at major junctions in Danish cities, including Copenhagen. It was found that just 4.9% of cyclists broke road rules when they were riding on cycleways. This rose to 14% of cyclists when there was no cycling infrastructure present.

The video cameras counted 28,579 cyclists crossing at intersections. The most frequently recorded transgression was bicycling on the sidewalk. Rule breaking by cyclists was twice as numerous in smaller cities which, in Denmark, have fewer cycleways. The new study had almost identical results to an earlier one carried out by the consulting firm Copenhagenize. This was also a video study and analyzed the behaviour of 80,000 cyclists: it found that 5% broke traffic laws.

Separate studies by the Danish Road Directorate found that two-thirds of motorists routinely flout the law, with breaking local speed limits being the most common offense.

Drivers don’t want cyclists on the road.  They don’t want cyclists on the sidewalk.  And they don’t want cycling infrastructure to be built because that means less space for cars.  And yet they still pretend they’re not trying to ban bicycles.

As the saying goes:

You’re not “stuck in traffic”.  You ARE the traffic.

Drivers don’t and can’t grasp that their car is part of the problem, why they can’t get anywhere fast.

I Guess Petitions Work: John Oliver did a piece on Taiwan

This, I was not expecting.

One of my friends organized a petition asking John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight to do a piece on Taiwan. A lot of people (friends and foes alike, Taiwanese and foreigners) signed on.  I didn’t because I didn’t expect it to work. Now I regret not signing it.  6_6

 

 

The item mentions Chthonic’s singer Freddy Lim.  He’s not just a member of the New Power Party (NPP), he was previously the head of Amnesty International in Taiwan from 2010 to 2014.  Here are two of the band’s songs, “Millennia’s Faith Undone” and “Supreme Pain for the Tyrant”.  They play Power Metal and Black Metal.  Bass player Doris Yeh and Lim are married.  She started the Taiwan Rock Alliance, a business to organize festivals, also with a political message.

One of the things China desperately wants to get its hands on (not mentioned in the video) is the National Palace Museum.  Here’s the official government website.  When the “cultural revolution” happened (1966 to 1976) the communists “purged” and destroyed the country’s history and identity, burning documents and artefacts.  They also destroyed their own language, mutilating Mandarin with “simplified” characters, while Taiwan still writes with Traditional Mandarin.  (The difference in language makes it easy to identify propaganda trolls operating out of the PRC.)

Cultural demolition was more like it.  Items in the museum range from hundreds to thousands of years old, and the CCP wants them to lend themselves legitimacy.  But unlike Egyptian history sitting in European museums, these items weren’t stolen, they were protected.