Douglas Carnall

@the_UrbanWolf No, the real argument against bike lanes, is that they are a poor design: x.com/aphorism_monke…

Albert Einstein and Hannah Arendt's 1948 letter to the New York Times: They saw the creation of a Jewish ethnostate in Palestine at the expense of its indigenous Muslim and Christian population as a profound injustice and moral catastrophe. Einstein and the other signatories explicitly compared Begin’s Herut (Freedom Party), born from the Irgun, to Nazis and Fascists, warning that their ideology of racial superiority and violent ethnic nationalism posed a grave danger to the moral and political future of the new state. - - - Full text of Einstein and Hannah Arendt's letter to the New York Times: TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES December 2, 1948 Among the most disturbing political phenomena of our time is the emergence in the newly created State of Israel of the “Freedom Party” (Tnuat Haherut), a political party closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy, and social appeal to the Nazi and Fascist parties. It was formed out of the membership and following of the former Irgun Zvai Leumi, a terrorist, right-wing, chauvinist organization in Palestine. The current visit of Menachem Begin, leader of this party, to the United States is obviously calculated to give the impression of American support for his party in the coming Israeli elections and to cement political ties with Zionist elements in the United States. Several Americans of national repute have lent their names to welcome his visit. It is inconceivable that those who oppose fascism throughout the world could condone, even by silence, the appearance of such a party in Israel. Within the Jewish community they have preached an admixture of ultra-nationalism, religious mysticism, and racial superiority. Like other fascist parties, they have been used to break strikes, and they have encouraged demoralization among labor. In their actions they have been marked by cruelty and contempt for human life. During the recent past, they have systematically terrorized the Arab population, attacked Jewish settlements, and sabotaged the rescue of displaced Jews from Europe. A shocking example was their behavior in the Arab village of Deir Yassin. This village, off the main roads and surrounded by Jewish lands, had taken no part in the war and had even fought off Arab bands that wanted to use it as their base. On April 9 (1948), terrorist bands attacked this peaceful village, which was not a military objective in the fighting, killed most of its inhabitants — 240 men, women, and children — and kept a few of them alive to parade through the streets of Jerusalem. Most of the Jewish community was horrified at the deed, and the Jewish Agency sent an apology to King Abdullah of Transjordan. But the terrorists, far from being ashamed of their act, were proud of it, widely publicized it, and invited foreign correspondents to view the corpses and the ravaged village. The Deir Yassin incident exemplifies the character and actions of the Freedom Party. Within the Jewish community they have attempted to institute a reign of terror, have beaten up Jews who opposed them, and have, by gangster methods, terrorized the population. It is inconceivable that those who oppose fascism throughout the world could condone, even by silence, the appearance of such a party in Israel. The undersigned therefore take this means of publicly presenting a warning to the American people concerning a danger to be found in the Freedom Party in Israel, a danger to which the leadership of Menachem Begin gives the greatest emphasis. (Signed): Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt, Sidney Hook, Rabbi Jessurun Cardozo, Irma Lindheim, and 22 other Jewish scholars, writers, and public figures. (Published December 4, 1948, in The New York Times.)

The economist who billionaires fear, Gabriel Zucman: this is how we get a wealth tax

This is certainly the case in the Netherlands, where the motorists enjoy smooth tarmac and the best line, while the cyclists are doomed to cobble, tile, and cinder. My impression was of a people trying to make a small country appear big #separatistcritique

So what happens when Reform take over your local council? This. #KentCountyCouncil

@smo841603557184 @PhilSustainable The benefits of regular physical activity are real, both on well-being in the here and now, and reduced risk of serious future health events. Also, it is fun

@PhilSustainable Why would anyone want to ride a bike and why do progresive neofascists want to make people ride bikes?

Would you rather spend the next 90 minutes in a sealed garage with: 🚗 1 idling gasoline car or 🚴 10 bicyclists pedaling full out One just makes it hot and sweaty. Cars are so normalized we forget they’re literally toxic machines

Yesterday I took my bicycle shopping for the first time this year. Why the fuck should a cyclist pulling a trailer loaded with 50 lbs of groceries be forced to thread their way through these ridiculous bends?

What is Israel's strategy? ◾️ Iran not defeated ◾️ Hamas not defeated ◾️ Hezbollah not defeated ◾️ Israel despised across the globe ◾️ U.S. views of Israel in freefall ◾️ Mass youth shift in favor of Palestinians ◾️ Israeli leaders wanted for genocide ◾️ Unimaginable suffering in West Asia ◾️ Vaunted 'Western values' in tatters ◾️ International norms obliterated ◾️ Human rights set back centuries ◾️ Judaism conflated with barbarism ◾️ Israelis seen as worse than Nazis ◾️ Term "antisemitism" mangled ◾️ AIPAC considered a toxic influence ◾️ "America First" seen as a farce Dropping more bombs on civilians, starving children, smashing Christian symbols, brutalizing detainees, erasing villages, and spending billions on propaganda cannot undo the colossal damage done. So again, what is Israel's strategy??

I heard yesterday that the number of medical doctors in the U.K who have either been arrested, charged, or have had their medical ‘licence to practice’ temporarily suspended for resharing one of MY tweets is at least 3. Now, obviously, the U.K has reached a level of fascism not seen elsewhere. And medical doctors are especially scrutinised because they belong to a licensing body. And one of them has already won their case and had their licence reinstated. And my tweets have had millions of views and shares with zero repercussions to people’s careers. But I was asked a question by one of them yesterday that really got me thinking. One of those U.K doctors asked me with great curiosity if I have ever been arrested for my own tweets. The answer is no. In fact, not only have I never been arrested, I have never even had one accusation of ‘antisemitism’ against me substantiated in the workplace. Yes, I was ousted from my role as Senior Advisor EDI Knowledge Mobilisation. What that means is that I resigned. I called the non-stop investigations that always led to me being vindicated still a form of psychological violence exacted upon me as an employee. Also, my resignation was an important act of protest against the DEI ‘industry’. After six months, my contract as a professor was also not renewed - and the reason given was that I did not file a form (that I never had to file before) at the start of the year, lol. We all knew why they REALLY didn’t renew my contract - they were as sick as I was of all the Zionist “hurt feelings” complaints they were having to deal with. I became a nuisance employee. The point of this post is that no claim or accusation of antisemitism against me has EVER been successfully validated. Why? Because… Wait for it… I’m not antisemitic. I am anti-Zionist. The reason I am sharing this story is to bring attention to the important role we have as academics in advocacy. Not only are we positioned well with our expert knowledge and ability to articulate social justice issues, we also have an advantage with an informal societal respect and trust for intellectual thought. This makes it even more critical and urgent for us to use the privileges, advantages, and safety (to some extent) afforded to us because of our academic positions and titles. A colleague once said to me, “Sabreena , your voice is especially powerful because your advocacy is bulletproof, and I can say this as an executive in the DEI space, you have never faulted in your language and everything you say is backed with academic rigour”. She’s not wrong. My advocacy IS bulletproof. Precisely why they hate me so much. 🤓

@peterrhague Of course you would never design a street where the left turn lane is to the right of the straight-ahead lane--unless, of course, the straight-ahead lane is a cycle lane. Simply put, that's a terrible design. Why do we continue to build such rubbish? x.com/aphorism_monke…

It's interesting to see the 20 roundels in Spain where 30 is the default for single carriage urban roads and 20 is the exception where appropriate. Note we are talking km/h. So that's 18.6 and 12.4 mph

BREAKING : The UN accuses Israel of committing EXTERMINATION in Gaza. EXTERMINATION. Repeat it. Spread it. Let the world know. “Israel is responsible for extermination, murder, using starvation as a method of war..” —The UN Human Rights Council

@professlou It is telling, I think, that cycle lane enthusiasts often only have personal insults to offer when confronted with #separatistcritique.

@JuliuzBeezer Imagine being this much of a sociopath

An excellent rule to impose motor dominance, while repressing pesky cyclists. Make the cycle path sinuous, cobbled, unswept, disjointed & generally shitty, while providing a smooth direct facility for the motorist. Folks soon catch on. Then profit🤑🤑🤑 #separatistcritique

The sun hits the Earth with 10,000 times more energy than we use. Every. Single. Day. We're not running out of power. We're just stuck using the wrong kind-because billionaires don't own sunlight.

ALERT! Yet another act of piracy by the Israeli army in international waters: intercepting the flotilla carrying basic necessities to a desperate population in Gaza. Shame on European govts who are not acting to stop Israel! When will Israel's impunity end?

🇫🇷🏛️ FLASH INFO — L’excellente journaliste @dalalmawad a mis le Quai d’Orsay dans l’embarras en posant trois questions particulièrement pertinentes : • Pourquoi le cinéaste palestinien invité au Festival de Cannes n’a-t-il pas obtenu de visa ? • Où en sont les sanctions françaises contre le commerce avec les colonies israéliennes illégales en Cisjordanie? • Pourquoi la France, ne condamne pas les viols et violences sexuelles sur des Palestiniens (hommes, femmes et enfants) décrits dans l’article du New York Times ?

The solution to this problem is widespread use of traffic diverters on residential side streets, which permit continuous passage of pedestrians and bikes while eliminating drivers using these quiet streets as cut-through routes to avoid traffic on arterials.

I don’t own a car - grateful if you could confirm the same so we can be sure of our perspectives. I have read HCoFP and hope you have too. #InducedDemand theory is heavily focused on discouraging traffic. See the link below for a summary of Shoup’s approach & experiments, with an emphasis on achieving target occupancy (TO) through elastic pricing. In other words he stresses the benefits of destination parking and that pricing should reduce to increase motorist custom to the TO. The implications of this are in fact that if the mechanism existed, it would be desirable to pay people to park if local economic goals required this. Shoup was an advocate of sensible use of resources through analysis, not an environmental dogmatist. researchgate.net/publication/37…

@mateosfo @visitcamberwell Yes come on Matthew, what do you drive, and where do you park it?

@visitcamberwell you are conflating multiple things induced demand is an observable physical phenomenon dynamic pricing is a response to an observable phenomenon i can't even gauge your honesty because you're frankly being incoherent

Not only do roads spontaneously generate cars, the phenomenon is accepted as axiomatic among economists. Master tome on this phenomenon is "The High Cost of Free Parking." It's 800 pages of equations & technical discourse, but I bet even an astrophysicist would understand it!

Basically you have two choices: either you believe Israel is a genocidal state that is morally comparable to Nazi Germany, or you believe there's a giant global conspiracy of mainstream western institutions and media outlets dedicated to making Israel look bad. Believing the second option is the only way to get around believing the first. That's the only way to believe mainstream outlets like The New York Times are committing antisemitic blood libel with their reporting on the systemic sexual torture of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. It's the only way to dismiss the fact that every relevant human rights group on earth says Israel is guilty of genocide, while zero comparable human rights groups say it isn't. You necessarily need to espouse a wild conspiracy theory. You need to believe the conspiracy goes all the way to the top, with its tentacles in mainstream institutions all across the globe. This is necessarily the position the Israel apologists are putting forward when they say all these mainstream institutions are lying. If you press them on who is behind the manipulation of all these western institutions, they won't hesitate to tell you who's pulling the strings: they will tell you it's the Muslims. They'll say it's Qatari influence operations and Hamas propaganda. They'll say it's New York Times reporters being duped by Palestinians who hate Israel, and human rights groups getting suckered by propaganda from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. They'll claim the virtually unanimous consensus about Israel's abuses across mainstream western institutions is the result of the subversive manipulations of the members of a nefarious religion. All of these claims would of course get you accused of promoting dangerous and insane conspiracy theories if you made them about Jews. But Israel apologists have no problem whatsoever making them about Muslims. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this is ridiculous. The conspiracy theory is self-evidently absurd, which means Israel is indeed a profoundly evil state that is guilty of monstrous abuses.