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This is how we defeat Putin and other petrostate autocrats | Bill McKibben theguardian.com

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Bill McKibben
The pictures this morning of Russian tanks rolling across the Ukrainian countryside seemed both surreal – a flashback to a Europe that we’ve seen only in newsreels – and inevitable. It’s been clear for years that Vladimir Putin was both evil and driven and that eventually we might come to a moment like this.
One of the worst parts of facing today’s reality is our impotence in its face. Yes, America is imposing sanctions, and yes, that may eventually hamper Putin. But the Russian leader made his move knowing we could not actually fight him in Ukraine – and indeed knowing that his hinted willingness to use nuclear weapons will make it hard to fight him anywhere, though one supposes we will have no choice if he attacks a Nato member.

The patriotic act of riding a bicycle during wartime – A view from the cycle path

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Russian forces under control of Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine last night. Sadly, such an act of aggression  was expected as it’s been clear for a very long time now that Putin is dangerous. He’s already occupied part of Ukraine for many years without provoking much of a reaction, and even his fairly obvious Russian support for Brexit and Trump and other actions to undermine the EU and the USA, and the more recent Covid / vaccine misinformation spread by Russian bots have largely been ignored. Unfortunately we even have political parties within our countries which are acting against our interests and instead supporting the interests of Russia (examples from Netherlands, UK, USA).

Question: “I’m a progressive councillor who wants to support the shift from private cars to a healthy city, what parking policy should I be pushing for?” Lambeth Living Streets (Twitter

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@LambethLivingSt · Feb 20 This THREAD tries to answer in three parts:

WHY the need to change – WHAT to change to – HOW to help achieve it as a cllr
In Lambeth parking revenue is £35m per year, but without parking subsidies this could be as high as £80m. Over 10 years, that’s a transfer of around £600m from poorer to richer residents. It’s clear injustice as a transfer, but doubly so if you consider who suffers from dirty air

So WHAT does progressive parking policy look like?
1. CPZs everywhere. This puts at least a low price on parking & begins to tame the worst aspects of wild west parking like abandoned cars & pavement parking (see CPZ & abandoned cars map) This might be filling the gaps or creating a single borough-wide CPZ.
2. Reduce & rebalance the parking subsidy. The reductions could be staggered over several years, but by 2026-27, there should be no council subsidies for parking the dirtiest cars, which means no difference in cost between parking the dirtiest car in a private or council space.
3. Rebalance the parking subsidy means looking at vehicle storage holistically. Cars or bikes are a choice & the revenue from reducing the parking subsidy for cars should go hand-in-hand with increasing the subsidy for bike storage so there are more & cheaper spaces for residents

when Seoul, Korea removed the Cheonggyecheon expressway in 2003…the traffic got BETTER – Brent Toderian – Twitter

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Never forget that when Seoul, Korea removed the Cheonggyecheon expressway in 2003 & replaced it with a restored stream & 1000 acre park in the city’s centre, not only did it transform the city’s public life & economic success, but the traffic got better. The traffic got BETTER. Brent Toderian @BrentToderian

Going the distance: the ‘Boris bikes’ being spotted around the world | TfL | The Guardian

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Stolen London hire-scheme bicycles sighted in unlikely destinations as annual thefts rise

Peter Walker
They have been a feature of London’s streets for nearly 12 years: the docked public bikes for sharing that are billed as one of the easiest and quickest ways for people to make shorter journeys. Or in some cases, it seems, considerably longer ones.

Glasgow aims to reduce car vehicle kilometres by 30% – transportxtra.com

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Juliana O’Rourke 18 February 2022
External interventions from national governments will be required to achieve these ambitious targets – road charging schemes and measures to increase the cost of car use for short or unnecessary journeys
Glasgow`s draft transport strategy also aims to tackle poverty, support economic growth and create more liveable neighbourhoods by boosting public and active modes of transport

London drivers face new hi-tech speed cameras and 20mph zones – standard.co.uk

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Ross Lydall
A million tickets a year are set to be issued to speeding motorists in London following a massive expansion of 20mph limits and the roll-out of new speed cameras.
Transport for London is planning to almost treble the number of main roads limited to 20mph and wants a “significant increase” in the capacity of the Met police to catch and fine drivers who exceed the limit.
The Met recorded 362,731 road traffic offences in six months between last April and November, up 34 per cent, or 92,519 offences, on the same period in 2020.
Of these, 76 per cent of offences were for breaking the speed limit – almost 40,000 a month.

COP26 Pledges will have Catastrophic Consequences, says Ex-NASA Climate Chief – Byline Times

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Professor James Hansen believes the inadequate policies agreed at November’s UN climate change summit will lead to the planet breaching its 1.5°C danger zone this decade
In just a few decades, the Government’s inadequate pledges at the COP26 climate conference will lead to a rise in global average temperatures of 2°C, leading to the destruction of hundreds of coastal cities while shutting down the Atlantic ocean circulation system which regulates climate stability. 
This shocking analysis comes from Professor James Hansen, the first scientist to sound the alarm on global warming. Within this decade, he claims, the planet will breach the 1.5°C danger zone, putting paid to the triumphant claims of British officials in the wake of the UN summit in November.

How Leasing a Car Affects Qualifying for a Home Mortgage – budgeting.thenest.com

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By John Csiszar
Although you may need to finance both a vehicle and a home, these two basic needs can sometimes be at odds when it comes to qualifying for a mortgage. Leasing a car, albeit for a short period of time, affects your ability to afford a mortgage. Leasing a car takes a chunk out of your monthly income, lowering the amount you can put toward a home mortgage each month. A car lease, along with a new mortgage and other recurring debt cannot exceed mortgage lenders’ maximum limits.

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