Blue van, blue line and blue administration. It is subtle*, but the video above symbolises what is wrong with this city: 1. An administration that does not protect vulnerable people; note how the continuous white line disappears at the junction, when it is most needed. That is so, of course, to “smooth traffic flow”. 2. A driving public who is very selfish and does not consider other people. It is inconceivable that the van driver was unaware of the bicycle on his left. 3. A [...]

Waging Peace “We would like to offer our own modest proposal. Why not set a deadline for Bush and Blair to demonstrate conclusively that Iraq does have weapons of mass destruction? Surely, the vast intelligence efforts devoted to Iraq over the course of the past decade, bolstered by defectors and by interviews with Iraqi scientists and engineers, would have established the existence of such weaponry if it exists. “The burden of proof should be on those who propose the use of force, not on those [...]

His great insight was that ‘naked streets’ are much safer than public spaces encumbered with traffic lights, humps, pedestrian barriers, and other idiocies loved by traffic engineer. Every cyclist should spend a few minutes in reflection to demonstrate her gratitude to Hans Mordemann, who sadly died last week. With professionalism, patience and perseverance he showed Europe that people drive slower when there is more uncertainty designed in the street-scape. His maxim was: “If you treat drivers like idiots, they act as idiots. Never treat anyone [...]