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DECEMBER 2009 NEWS


Wednesday 23 to Thursday 31 December 2009

usa USA Roundup
  • Sundry stories - 31st - DC / Virginia - "Dulles Toll Road fees rise to help pay for Silver Line; increases are criticized"   "WSDOT inks deal with Texas company on 520 tolling"   "New York State Thruway caps holidays by raising its tolls"   "Thruway drivers will pay 5 percent more"   Washington State - "State Looking at Getting Rid of Toll Booths at Narrows Bridge"   Alabama - "Orange Beach bridge toll increased by private company, concerning city officials"   Maryland - "Toll authority makes amends"   California - "Tolls to drop a little on 91 Express lanes".

    30th - West Virginia - "Turnpike authority let down"   Land Line - "Pennsylvania toll increase the next chapter in diversion"   "Pa. Turnpike tolls go up this weekend"   "Prices Set to Rise Along the Pennsylvania Turnpike" video   Texas - "I-385 closing likely to take toll on Southern Connector".

    29th - New Jersey & Pennsylvania - "Toll-free I-95 bridge to be replaced using tolls"   Texas - "Hutchison Blasts Perry's Toll Road Plans"   Texas - "Hutchison says private toll roads will continue if she is governor".

    28th - Virginia / DC - "More toll roads could pave the way in the future"   Michigan - "Mackinac Bridge tolls rise on Friday"   Texas - "NTTA leaders fear Dallas area's toll road push moving too fast".

    27th - California - "Golden Gate tolls may go digital"   Texas - "Toll prices in Tarrant will vary based on traffic conditions"   Texas - "A decade in transportation: new tollways and a long wait for rail"   "Michigan raising tolls on Blue Water bridge" lot of comments   Pennsylvania - "Commission should hit road".

    26th - Pennsylvania - "'We need revenue,' toll advocates stress"   Washington State - "State Treasurer Suggests Higher Narrows Bridge Tolls - Just After Standing Pat Was Recommended".

    24th - Maryland - "Floreen shocked by tolls on project she supported"   Maryland - "State gives green light to contested ICC toll rates".

    23rd - Michigan - "Private funding can help pave way for improved transportation"   Maine - "York selectmen stay I-95 toll plaza should stay put"   Pennsylvania / New Jersey - "I-95 bridge will be replaced, tolled".

    canada Tolls up
  • Toronto Sun - "Hwy. 407 raises rates".

    britain" Tamar Inquiry
  • With little notice given to objectors, an Inquiry is to be held on Wednesday 13th January into proposed toll increases on Tamar crossing - Cornish Times - "Inquiry to be held into proposed toll rises"   BBC - "Date set for bridge toll public inquiry "   Plymouth Herald - "Inquiry into plans to raise Tamar Bridge tolls"   Plymouth Herald - "Inquiry must answer more questions"   This is Cornwall - "Inquiry into plans to raise Tamar Bridge tolls".

    costarica Protest
  • Inside Costa Rica - "Residents Protest Against Tolls At Piedades".

    britain" Severn toll increase
  • Bristol Evening Post - "Protest fails to halt New Year rise in Severn crossing tolls"   Free Press - "Severn tolls rise to £5.50"   South Wales Argus - "Freeze the Severn bridge tolls - businesses and AMs"   FTA - "Apathy over Severn tolls is stealing from Santa, says FTA".

    britain" Mega cost of Inquiry
  • Liverpool Daily Post - "£3.6m cost of Mersey Gateway Project inquiry".

    britain" Slower traffic AND tolls
  • Autocar - "Motorways to get 60mph limits".

    singapore ERP - "many motorists are usually unaware of the amount deducted from their cashcards"
  • Straits Times - "No driving away from ERP" link to video on Razor TV.

    britain" australia newzealand "Road Tolls - A Very Bad Idea"
  • Voxy.

    britain" Humber toll progress
  • Scunthorpe Telegraph - "Bridge toll campaign has come a long way".

    thailand Thai toll troubles
  • The Nation - "Inept handling by politicians takes a toll on public".

    japan Bit more will they, won't they abolish tolls
  • The answer is now 99% clear - the new Government will not keep their promise, another victory for corruption in Japan - Mainichi Daily News - "New expressway toll cap pilot to run from June".

    ireland Dublin toll reductions
  • Herald - "New Year toll cuts for Port Tunnel drivers".


    Tuesday 22 December 2009

    thailand Toll road reduces traffic but increases profits, while Minister calls for toll boycott
  • Bangkok Post - "Huge toll hikes scare off motorists"   Bangkok Post - "Sohpon calls for boycott of tollway".

    india Possible restrictions on tolling
  • DNA India - "Toll on 2-lane highways may be off soon".

    greece Protest
  • Kathimerini - "Toll posts...".


    Monday 21 December 2009

    wales Dodging the toll on the way in to Wales
  • Western Mail - "£50 badge offers to beat tolls".

    japan Another sign that Japanese Government will not honour tolls promise
  • Japan Times - "Budget to scrap road tolls slashed".

    costarica Emergency vehicles may no longer have to queue at tolls
  • Inside Costa Rica - "Emergency Services Win Right For Exclusive Lane Through Escazú Toll Station".

    earth From the "Snow? What snow?" show
  • Gordon Brown's comments following the deal between USA, China, India, Brazil and South Africa - BBC - "Copenhagen climate summit held to ransom - Gordon Brown". Britain's AGW cheer leader says - BBC - "Climate summit most chaotic show on earth - Miliband". From the Whiter than usual House - BBC - "Can Obama sell his "hard stuff" to the Senate".
    The most interesting bit, from the White House's official site, is the record of the last question and answer as the President was leaving Copenhagen on Friday night -
    "Q Does it require signing, is it that kind of agreement?
    THE PRESIDENT: You know, it raises an interesting question as to whether technically there's actually a signature -- since, as I said, it's not a legally binding agreement, I don't know what the protocols are...."
    .


    Friday 18 December 2009

    usa USA Roundup
  • The fight against the tolling of I-80 in Pennsylvania - DC Streetsblog - "Battle Heats Up Over Pennsylvania Tolling, With National Implications"   Pocono News - "Reps press case on I-80 tolls, in Washington"   Gant Daily - "Thompson Tells Federal Highway Administration to Keep Politics Out of I-80 Decision"   Pocono News - "Legislators tell feds concerns of Interstate 80 tolling in Pa."   Times Leader - "Lawmakers from Pa. voice opposition to tolls on I-80"   Post Gazette - "Lawmakers go to D.C. to fight I-80 tolling"   Sun Gazette - "Legislators tell highway officials tolls spell doom".

  • Bit more on Bloomberg's new tolls push - NY Observer - "Just Don't Call It the Bloomberg Plan".
    The Con also seems to be resurfacing in San Francisco - - SF Gate - "The return of congestion toll pricing".

  • Sundry stories - New York - "Stranded motorists receive good news"   Texas - "Tarrant toll road project gets a major boost"   Maryland - "Tolls approved for ICC are most expensive in Washington area".

    europe Europe steps back from making tolls compulsory
  • EuroPolitics - "Intelligent transport: member states will have the last word".

    london Ban cars Brigade badger Boris
  • Local Gov - "Mayor's transport strategy 'does not go far enough'".

    vietnam Hi Chi Minh City still considering congestion toll proposal
  • Vietnam Net - "Research of car fee collection in HCM City's centre goes ahead".

    newzealand Bit more on new New Zealand toll road
  • Bay of Plenty Times - "Motorway faces 35 years of tolls"   Scoop - "Tauranga tolls would see construction start early".

    wales More on Severn tolls
  • Another petition - South Wales Argus - "Petition launched to reduce Severn bridge tolls".

  • FTA press release which was mentioned in Wednesday's news "WAG's Severn Bridge ignorance 'beggars belief', says FTA".

    earth It's a Mad, Mad world
  • President Obama - "the science of climate change is not in doubt" - BBC - "Leaders must strike deal - Obama".
    The news media are so blinkered on the subject of AGW that almost none of them have noticed that World leaders have been arriving for the AGW conference in the snow. Here is one of the exceptions - Telegraph - "Climategate: we won the battle, but at Copenhagen we just lost the war" (includes link to Russian story).


    Thursday 17 December 2009

    earth Bluff
  • BBC - "New climate deal may have to wait". There is 100 billion dollars a year on the table to be shared out between those who control "poorer" countries and about the same amount available for carbon trading and other frauds. The chances of no agreement must be slim

    usa USA Roundup
  • Snow news is good news - WIVB - "Stranded motorists receive toll refunds".

  • Bit more on Bloomberg's new tolls push with help from the usual trolls - ABC - "Doomsday budget resurrects congesting pricing idea"   NY Daily News - "In Sheldon Silver's world, school kids pay full subway fares while motorists pay nothing on bridges"   Gothamist - "Will Congestion Pricing Return From The Dead?".

  • Sundry stories - Washington Post - "ICC tolls to be among most expensive in country"   NBC - "Drivers WIll Have To Dig Deep to Drive on ICC"   WJLA - "Panel OKs Maximum ICC Tolls".
    Pennsylvania - "PA lawmakers to lobby against I-80 tolls"   Pennsylvania - "Gabler, Lawmakers Plan Trip to Nation's Capital to Oppose I-80 Tolling"   Pennsylvania - "Carney says yes to thruway, no to I-80 tolls"   Massachusetts - "Facing loss of Tobin tolls, Massport plans to lay off 25"   Florida - "State getting its Avis fee money back -- from workers".

    ireland Ireland gets its own M6 Toll
  • Galway Advertiser - "Ahead of time, and on budget, the M6 opens tomorrow morning".

    britain" Mirror suggests that Copenhagen will mean road tolls and higher fuel taxes
  • "Riot traps PM inside summit as climate change talks get 'messy'".

    earth Cooking the books
  • Watts up with that - "The Smoking Gun At Darwin Zero". (Eschenbach is, like many sceptics, an amateur who five years ago was attacked by the scientific community for saying that the "sinking" of Tuvalu was not due to warming but was caused by over population and over development.)


    Wednesday 16 December 2009

    london Volvo want answer on electric car bias
  • Contract Hire and Leasing - "Volvo calls for London Congestion Charge review to be published".

    earth Tories and AGW
  • Telegraph - "Climategate: why David Cameron is going to be disastrous for Britain "   Guardian - "Cameron's £20bn plan for green homes".
    On today's Jeremy Vine Radio Two Show there was the usual AGW hysteria from the greens. A woman rang in to say that population increase was the real problem, particularly in poorer countries, the response from Jeremy was that he did not understand what she was talking about. Neither presumably does the Leader of the Conservative party.

    malaysia Who pays for refund?
  • Telegraph - "Parliament: RM1.85m paid for toll rebates".

    usa USA Roundup
  • Bit more on Bloomberg's new tolls push on the back of Copenhagen - DNA Info - "Congestion Pricing Back On Table As MTA Eyes Cuts"   Observer - "Silver, Congestion-Pricing Killer, Blames Bloomberg for Congestion"   NY Post - "Mike and Dave in gear for new tolls"   NY Daily News - "Mayor Bloomberg predicts that MTA funding crisis will lead to congestion pricing, bridge tolls". Given his billions, it is quite likely that this time he will get what he wants.

  • Sundry stories - DC / Virginia - "Toll roads: Would per-mile trips encourage more use?"   Pennsylvania - "Leaders won't join Rep. Thompson in fighting Pa. proposal COG split on I-80 tolls"   Pennsylvania - "Rep. Michele Brooks travels with delegation to DC to argue against I-80 tolling"   New Jersey - "Gastonia officials reject Garden Parkway".

    earth AGW conference in Copenhagen begins to wrap up
  • China.org - "Copenhagen freezes"   Examiner - "The 'Gore Effect' sets in on Copenhagen as heavy snow is forecast".

    wales Welsh Assembly shows how useless they are
  • Western Mail - "Wyn Jones criticised for failing to freeze tolls on Severn bridges"   HGVUK - "Severn tolls beggars belief". The reason that the Assembly does nothing is that it is dominated by greens and trolls who don't want this tax on entering Wales removed.

    newzealand Confirmation that New Zealand will get another toll road
  • NZ Herald - "Joyce: No more than $3 for Transmission Gully toll". The Government claim is that nearly 85% of the cost of the road will not be met by tolls; that means that the toll will just about cover the cost of building toll plazas and collecting the toll!
    And a sample of the tolls pushing - Stuff - "Editorial: The road ahead is paved with gold".

    britain" Congestion plans
  • Nominally in the interests of safety, the Government is proposing to gradually introduce a speed limit of 20 mph on all roads in residential areas and 50 mph on rural roads - BBC - "Petrol prices push up inflation"   DfT press release.

    earth More Climate tragi-comedy
  • The King of the Greens and next head of the English church jets into Copenhagen to address the AGW believers - BBC - "Prince warns planet at 'point of crisis'".

  • Ethiopa is urging more taxes in developed countries to pay for "carbon" aid to poorer countries - All Africa - "Sarkozy-Zenawi call for innovative finance could break Copenhagen deadlock? says ActionAid"   Independent - "Climate conference: 'Make bankers pay for deal'". As well as the new taxes, Ethiopia, apparently with the backing of Britain and France, is suggesting that the IMF prints lots of funny money.
    Ethiopia is a good example of what is really wrong with the world, its population in 1950 was 20 million, it is now 85 million and by 2050 it is predicted there will be 280 million people.


    Tuesday 15 December 2009

    usa USA Roundup
  • Bloomberg sees Copenhagen as an excuse to resurrect congestion pricing plan - WNYC - "Bloomberg Looking for Environmental Solutions in Copenhagen"   Observer - "Bloomberg Says Congestion Pricing Is Not Dead"   Daily News - "The Idea That Wouldn't Die".

  • The Oregonian - "For whom the bridge tolls? Rightfully, no one".

  • Squabble over who can share in Dulles Toll loot - Fairfax Times - "County left holding the bag with Dulles corridor buses"   Fairfax Times- "Dulles Rail's price tag in line with Boston's 'Big Dig'".

  • Sundry stories - Tennessee - "TDOT to move forward with Hamilton County toll bridge"   Florida - "Avis, Budget settle toll dispute"   Oklahoma - "How is the Turnpike Authority Using Money from the Toll Hike?"   Pennsylvania - "Is anyone watching the turnpike agency?".

    ghana Plea for higher tolls
  • Joy (Ghana) - "Comment: TEMA MOTORWAY - a reflection of failed policies".

    britain" Helicopter money beginning to show in price indices
  • BBC - "Petrol prices push up inflation"   ONS - "Consumer price indices November 2009".
    It is nonsense to blame inflation on the oil price. Over a year the price of a barrel of oil has gone up from about 60 dollars to 70 dollars, but we get about 150 litres of fuel from a barrel of oil, so the increase in the price of crude is only about 7 pence a litre.

    britain" Shape of things to come?
  • Road Transport.com - "Climate change to shape road transport".

    britain" Bit more on possible Brighton Con
  • The Argus - "70% against congestion charge for Brighton and Hove".

    newzealand New Zealand likely to get another toll road
  • Stuff - "Cheaper to build, but at $1b tolls are likely"   Stuff - "Tolls to fund Transmission Gully route"   Dominion Post - "Green light for $1b Gully route".

    britain" Empty aid
  • BBC - "Car help scheme yet to give funds".

    earth Sun has no connection with warmth
  • AGW (Anthropogenic Global Warming) believers have attacked the idea that sunspots (which are linked to levels of solar activity) have anything to do with changes in the Earth's temperature - Telegraph - "Copenhagen climate conference: sunspot theory for global warming attacked"   Independent - "Sun sets on sceptics' case against climate change".
    If the sunspot theory is correct it would explain why the Earth (which has gone though two years of unusually low sunspot activity) is currently going through a relatively cool period, but AGW believers can not be seen to accept this as they are currently peddling the fiction that 2009 is one of the warmest years ever.

  • Another AGW attack on sceptics and deniers - New Scientist - "Deniergate: Turning the tables on climate sceptics ".


    Monday 14 December 2009

    usa USA Roundup
  • Sundry stories - California - "Editorial: Proposed Bay Area bridge toll increases are simply wrong"   California - "Let's do away with bridge tolls"   California - "Taxpayers wonder: What happened to retrofit money?"   California - "Examiner Editorial: More doomed attempts to gouge SF drivers".
    NY - "Thruway toll hike will take effect Jan. 3"   Massachusetts - "Mihos talks taxes, tolls in MetroWest campaign stop"   New Jersey / Pennsylvania - "Toll hike delay a good move"   NY - "What are bridge tolls being used for?"   Pennsylvania - "Planners eye tolls on I-80"   Massachusetts - "Public transportation agencies still meet behind closed doors".
    Texas - "Editorial: NTTA should tap the brakes on aggressive fines"   Pennsylvania - "Thompson Urges Transportation Secretary to Reject I-80 Tolling Plan, Once and For All"   NY - "Drivers Stranded on New York State Thruway Still Had to Pay Tolls"   Texas - "Michael Morris says NTTA should charge higher tolls during peak hours".

    canada More tolls selling
  • Raise the Hammer - "Case Against Highway Tolls is Disingenuous".

    canada The Sorry saga of the 407 ETR
  • The Record - "Private ownership of Highway 407 is a public problem".

    vietnam Bit more on traffic free bridge
  • Vietnam Net - "Low tolls force bridge operator to sell".

    vietnam Too many tolls
  • Thanhnien News - "For whom the tolls ring".

    london Bit more on EU fog
  • Business Green - "EU rejects UK plea for air quality standard extension".

    ireland Trolls lament
  • Independent - "State buyout decimated us, says toll road boss". The WestLink was a licence to print money, which the Government bought back at a price that reflected the tolls income. The people who should be lamenting are the drivers who are still suffering.

    britain" Toll free bridge, but cars banned
  • BBC - "Views wanted on toll bridge work"   history of the bridge.

    earth More carbon comics
  • BBC - "'Acidifying oceans' threaten food supply, UK warns". Food supply is threatened by increasing human population and not by carbon dioxide, which is vital to plant life. If the Earth really is getting warmer (naturally or due to man), then the level of CO2 in the sea will fall, as higher temperatures mean that CO2 is released into the atmosphere.
    This is a piece a week ago from George Monbiot in the Guardian - "The climate denial industry is out to dupe the public. And it's working". Some climate sceptics may be paid to cast doubt, but that is minute compared with the vast amounts that are paid to global warming preachers. The giants of the oil industry will not be funding sceptics, instead they are probably planning how they can double their money with the Global Warming hysteria, they can make a profit in selling oil, and then make more money through carbon trading and carbon capture.

  • How business and governments will cash in on the hysteria, including introducing schemes like the London Con - FT - "Eco economy could unlock billions".


    Saturday 12 December 2009

    britain" Brighton may have fallen for Con
  • Argus - "Congestion charge for Brighton and Hove".

    britain" Update on Dartford Sale
  • This is Local London - "Government to sell Dartford Crossing in the summer".

    earth 141 heretics
  • "Copenhagen Climate Challenge Signatories ".
    The forecast is that it will be cold in Copenhagen on Wednesday. Perhaps the priests of Global Warming may be able to have a snowball fight?


    Friday 11 December 2009

    zimbabwe Update on Zimbabwe's new tolls system
  • All Africa - "Zinara, Zimra Clash Over Tollgates".

    vietnam New bridge may be traffic free
  • Thanhnien News - "Surrounded by tolls, Phu My Bridge may be avoided".

    london More fog
  • Mayor Watch - "European Commission refuse UK request for air quality extension"   Guardian - "Government faces legal proceedings over London air quality".
    As usual the euro trolls and greens blame cars for poor air quality. The reality is that very little of the pollutants comes from cars and that air quality within the Congestion zone did not improve when the charge was introduced - the official figures showed that the worst two pollutants increased.

    costarica Way to go
  • Inside Costa Rica - "Piedades Tool Booth May Be Eliminated, Transport Minister Suggests".

    australia More tolls pushing
  • Sydney Morning Herald - "Transport plan backs peak-hour driver fees".

    usa USA Roundup
  • Sundry stories - Massachusetts - "Mihos vows to lower sales tax, dump some tolls"   "Texas 121 project discussed"   Texas - "Solution proposed for project that would link Cleburne to FW" video   Texas - "NTTA may consider higher rush-hour toll rates for State Highway 161, Southwest Parkway projects"   New Jersey / Pennsylvania - "Elmer Smith: DRPA's toll 'break' raises eyebrows, but not salaries"   Utah - "State considers $1 peak-hour toll for I-15 express lanes"   Louisiana - "Task force studies I-49 funding"   California - "Ken Garcia: Toll hikes yield little for locals".
    Pennsylvania - "Decision on I-80 tolling may be soon"   Oregon - "Committee looking at congestion tolling in Portland area"   Virginia - "Local delegate says tolls on area tunnels are the only way to fix traffic funding problems"   Texas - "Michael Morris says NTTA should charge higher tolls during peak hours".

    canada usa Winter Offer
  • Niagara Falls Review - "No tolls on Christmas Day at the Peace Bridge".

    britain" Bit more on possible new toll bridge
  • One possibility is banning cars from alternative routes so they have to use the toll - Great Yarmouth Mercury - "Get set for new bridge".

    canada Bit more on the privately financed bridge that has no private finance
  • Vancouver Sun - "Auditor-general holds trump card".

    britain" Bureaucrats to boss the bus system
  • DfT - "New powers put bus passengers first".

    earth Met Office outdoes itself
  • BBC - "Global average temperature may hit record level in 2010".
    The Met Office inhabits another world. One in which there is a reliable global "instrumental record that dates back to 1860".
    If anything it is even less credible that the current data from other countries can be trusted.

  • The UN denies that the figures for other "greenhouse" gases are wrong - BBC - "Emissions 'higher than reported'".


    Thursday 10 December 2009

    britain" Inflation rules
  • Yesterday we had Alistair Darling doing almost nothing to limit Government borrowing, while at the same time saying that he would increase certain allowances, just before the next elections, even though according to the RPI formula there should be no increase - BBC - "Alistair Darling denies benefit rise pre-election 'con'".
    Today we have the Bank of Inflation keeping interest rates at virtually nil and saying that it will continue with its helicopter money policy - BBC - "UK interest rate remains at 0.5%"; and there is another report indicating that supply of mortgages is increasing and house prices are reinflating - BBC - "Mortgage lending hits a 22-month high".
    Britain, both individuals and the Government, is living beyound its means. The spending is being financed by selling assets to foreigners and by borrowing from them. It is difficult to see why anyone, at home or abroad, would want to hold onto pounds sterling.

    earth Met Office machine spins out more forecasts for the new religion
  • BBC - "UK Met Office warns carbon emissions must peak by 2020".
    The forecasts as usual might as well be from a gypsy's crystal ball. The most interesting bit is that despite many years of their propaganda they expect that CO2 due to man will continue to rise till at least 2020. Is this because someone whispered in their ears, that there will be another 800 million people by then?


    Wednesday 9 December 2009

    usa USA Roundup
  • newspaper.com - "Administration to Hike Driving Taxes for Non-Road Spending".

  • Sundry stories - New Jersey & Pennsylvania - "Toll hikes postponed on Delaware River bridges"   Texas - "NCTCOG tries to work out transportation clogs in the cog"   Pennsylvania - "Gabler Joins Call to Abolish Turnpike Commission"   Pennsylvania - "Rep. Vereb introduces legislation to eliminate turnpike commission"   W Virginia - "Turnpike's 40-cent toll barrier 'nickel and dimes' ill-prepared travelers"   Maryland - "County Council falls short on ICC debate"   California - "Toll-hike picture becoming clearer".
    Land Line - "Former FHWA official dishes on Pennsylvania, I-80"   Oregon - "For whom a toll? Committee begins task of deciding what road will have congestion pricing pilot project"   Texas - "Unpaid toll bills likely to remain costly for drivers"   Texas - "Tolls are still on the table".

    canada More tolls selling
  • The usual myth - that it is no use improving roads as drivers don't pay anything when they drive and the demand is infinite - Raise the Hammer - "All You Can Drive".

    london Bit more on possible car ban
  • London Informer - "Concerns over effect on drivers".

    indonesia singapore More on Indonesia doing a Singapore
  • Jakarta Globe - "Jakarta Still Backs Toll Plan".

    london More moaning
  • Mayor Watch - "AMs call on Mayor to write to c-charge dodging embassies".
    So far about £250 million (400 million dollars) of Con fees and penalties have been written off, so why do they always harp on about the embassies? The answer is that the Assembly members are mainly in the dark on Con charge finances.

    canada Update on the privately financed bridge that has no private finance
  • Kelowna - "Auditor-general rightly rejects claim Port Mann Bridge is self-supporting".

    canada More on tolls saving the planet
  • Star (Toronto) - "Liberals offer two stories on toll roads".

    ireland Toll reduction
  • Independent - "Port Tunnel slashes off-peak tolls to €3".

    britain" Bit more use of hard shoulder
  • BBC - "M42 hard shoulder use is expanded".
    This scheme is costing £3 million, which is what the Government takes from drivers in 30 minutes!


    Tuesday 8 December 2009

    australia Proof that Australians think upside down
  • The Australian motor industry body wants more road tolls - ABC - "Toll roads debate urged for SA".

    canada Using hot air to sell road tolls
  • Canada.com - "Drastic changes needed for Ontario to meet its greenhouse reduction targets".

    canada The hidden side of mass transit
  • Vancouver Sun - "Rethinking Green: Save the environment: Don't take transit".

    australia Suckers wanted
  • ABC - "Qld Motorways 'only for suckers'".

    earth More nonsense from the weather men
  • BBC - "This decade 'warmest on record'".
    This story and particularly the claim that "2009 will almost certainly be the fifth warmest in the 160-year record" demonstrates a readiness to believe the incredible. It is possible that for one reason or another there is an upward trend in the earth's temperature, but if 2009 is supposed to be one of the warmest years ever it proves that the data which is being peddled by the Met Office is not reliable.
    ABD view on Government hot air - "ABD response to Ed Miliband`s 10 climate change 'facts'".


    Monday 7 December 2009

    canada Suggestion that road tolls should subsidise power stations
  • Daily Gleaner (New Brunswick) - "Re-instate highway tolls to pay down NB Power debt".

    britain" chimaera Bit on Reading TIF
  • Get Wokingham - "Station link road could be part of funding bid".

    britain" Possible new toll bridge
  • Advertiser - "Plans for new Yarmouth river bridge set for approval".

    earth More Climate hype
  • BBC - "Copenhagen summit urged to take climate change action".
    What people around the world believe according to a survey done for the BBC - "Climate Concerns Continue to Increase: Global Poll" pdf.

    britain" Road pricing spending
  • Telegraph - "Taxpayers still face huge bill for aborted road pricing plans".

    canada More tolls touting
  • Metro News - "Road tolling may be a necessary evil for Vancouver"   Globe and Mail (Toronto) - "Don't like tolls on the 407? Well, boo-hoo".

    london Bailiff story
  • Daily Mail - "Linda Robson's fury after Congestion Charge bailiffs hound sick father".

    earth Climate jamboree
  • BBC - "Copenhagen climate change summit poised to open".
    The Anthropogenic Global Warming believers, in Britain and elsewhere, are doing their best to convince people that carbon dioxide = pollution and to pour cold water on the idea that there are too many people - Newsbusters - "ABC and NBC Acknowledge 'ClimateGate,' But Remain Undeterred: 'Science is Solid'"   Guardian - "Population offsetting? Fertile ground for ridicule".
    In an attempt to stop the increase in sceptimism following the hacking of cimate emails, the Met office is releasing some data - Guardian - "Met Office to publish climate change data amid fraud claims". In the real world, the authorities have over the last 5 years actually withdrawn some of the data that was in the public domain. The data was the oldest records from British weather stations. The reason seems to be that some of the figures for the 1800s contradicted the claim that the relatively high temperatures at the end of the 1900s were unprecedented, and therefore (in the eyes of believers) the figures were wrong.


    Friday 4 December 2009

    denmark Copenhagen falls for electric myths
  • Streetsblog (New York) - "The Climate Pitfalls of Denmark's Electric Car Parking Perk".

    usa USA Roundup
  • Sundry stories - Texas - "Hutchison points another finger at Perry on transport dollars"   Illinois / Indiana - "Indiana To Levy 3-Cent Surcharge On I-Pass Users"   Illinois / Indiana - "I-PASS users face extra charge"   Oregon / Washington State - "Rethinking the Columbia River Crossing"   Colorado - "Toll fees for rental cars can be highway robbery"   New York - "Job cuts, but no toll hikes in Port Authority budget".
    California - "Motorists dislike plan to raise tolls on seven Bay Area bridges"   W Viginia - "New toll system could cost $7 million"   Oregon / Washington State- "Scaled-back plan for I-5 bridge replacement gets airing Friday"   N Carolina - "Turnpike Authority addresses toll road concerns".

    britain" More on Feudal Britain lives - toll bridge sold yesterday
  • Oxford Mail - "Eynsham toll bridge: Villagers disappointed as it goes for £1.08m at auction"   Independent - "Laughing all the way to the riverbank"   Times - "Sold for £1m, bridge that drives coach and hearses past taxmen".

    ireland Feudal Ireland
  • Irish Times - "90m a year being paid by motorists to cross West-Link toll bridge on M50".
    The bridge cost 30 million punts Éireannach (just under 40 million euros) to build. It seems that the politicians handed the private operators a crock of gold when they gave them the rights to put a toll barrier on the M50.

    japan More signs that Japan will not honour tolls abolition promise
  • Japan Today - "Gov't unlikely to make highways free on Honshu in 2010".

    indonesia singapore Selling Singapore tolls to Indonesia
  • Viva news - "Jakarta Should Learn from Singapore".
    For the reality, see our Singapore section.

    london Possible car ban
  • Evening Standard - "Traffic-free days in Boris battle to cut pollution target".
    Pollution is caused by people. If banning cars means that there are more taxis and buses (with relatively dirty diesel engines) on the road, then pollution will stay about the same.

    britain" Car sales up
  • SMMT - "November market up 57.6% on weak 2008 performance".

    earth Despite "Climategate", the BBC continues to peddle fantasies
  • BBC - "An animated journey through the Earth's climate history".
    The main deception is of course that the last 800,000 years is not the climate history of the Earth. The last 800,000 years is all within the current Ice Age - the Quaternary - which started about 2.5 million years ago. The fact that we are in an Ice Age is the reason that CO2 levels have been, and still are,low.
    Within this Ice Age, we are currently benefitting from a relatively warm phase (an interglacial period or glacial minima) which began 11 to 12 thousand years ago, and is called the Holocene. If (or when) the Earth switches to a colder phase (known as a glacial period), then most of Britain will be covered by glaciers. There will probably be little life left in Britain, the good news though is that CO2 levels will be even lower than now!


    Thursday 3 December 2009

    britain" Feudal Britain lives - toll bridge sold today
  • Oxford Times - "Toll bridge sells for £1m"   BBC - "Toll bridge bought for over £1m".
    Scrap the Toll - "Over and out there somewhere".

    britain" Irish argue about price paid by Government to take over the West Link
  • RTE - "West Link buy-out price defended".

    earth More on "Climategate"
  • BBC - "Climate e-mail hack 'will impact on Copenhagen summit'"   BBC - "Chair for climate e-mail review"   Motley Fool - "To The Global Warming Fraud Deniers: Cap and Trade is Dead"   NY Post - "GOP turning up heat over e-mail scandal"   Daily Telegraph - "Climategate: Which part of 'over' don't these people understand? ".

    usa USA Roundup
  • WIVB - "Toll collector spared jail time" video.

  • Troll biters bitten - Sun-Sentinel - "Bogus bucks for tolls targeted on Florida Turnpike".

  • Sundry stories - Michigan - "Toll increases draw little attention"   Oklahoma - "Toll hike fills turnpike coffers"   California - "Bridge board's bold plan for reducing deficit"   New Jersey - "One-way tolling on the Parkway coming next year".
    "Oregon sets out to see if toll road is one it wants to take"   Oregon / Washington State - "Governor urges action on Columbia River Crossing"   Chicago - "City Hall approves Daley's budget plan to drain reserves".

    britain" Think tank wants more taxes and tolls
  • Telegraph - "Pre-Budget report: hit Middle Britain with higher taxes to beat recession, says IPPR"   IPPR press release - "Pre-Budget Report must be honest with the public in identifying bold spending cuts and tax rises to reduce the public deficit"   IPPR report - "Opportunities in an Age of Austerity - Smart ways of dealing with the UK's fiscal deficit" pdf which includes "Widespread introduction of road-user charging.".

    britain" Parking levy progress
  • Fleet News - "Workplace parking levy: the national picture".

    southkorea Lower tolls for South Korea
  • Chosun Ilbo - "Tolls to Decrease on Highways and Bridges".

    china More cars, same fuel use
  • Financial Express - "Exhaust fumes and mirrors".

    earth BBC and Guardian greens deny the obvious
  • BBC - "Website appeal to fund family planning 'to cut CO2'"   Guardian - "Rich nations to offset emissions with birth control".
    The report on which this story is based was actually released in September - OPT press release - "Family planning cheapest way to combat climate change"   OPT report - "Fewer Emitters, Lower Emissions, Less Cost" pdf.
    The UN Population Fund issued something similar in November- "Fewer Emitters, Lower Emissions, Less Cost" large pdf, though the BBC and most others put a different spin on it (they talked about the "climate burden" on the poor rather than the consequences of women having lots of children). In fact the first of five steps recommended by the report was - "1: Bring a better understanding of population dynamics, gender and reproductive health to climate change and environmental discussions at all levels".


    Wednesday 2 December 2009

    usa USA Roundup
  • Relatively few Texas non payers are scared - News-Journal - "Toll road amnesty ends, with 7% of scofflaws paying up".

  • More tolls pushing in Oregon - Willamette Week - "What One Expert Thinks About Congestion Pricing in Portland"   KGW - "Toll roads coming to Oregon" video.

  • Sundry stories - W Viginia - "U.S. Route 35 Tolls Appear to be all but Certain"   Washington State - "Bellevue City Council gets briefing about possible express toll lanes on I-405"   Texas - "PFI - Cintra opts for bonds on Texan road financing".
    NY - "Toll collector answers charges" video   Michigan - "Officials to talk about tolls"   Washington State - "Group's Bridge Toll Recommendation Favors Frequent Users"   NY - "MTA chief holds firm on $2.26B bailout".
    Maine - "York selectmen look to reaffirm desire to keep toll plaza where it is"   NY - "Syracuse-area Thruway employee accused of stealing tolls"   Oregon / Washington State - "Mayor-elect says Vancouver commuters should be exempt from I-5 tolling".

    india Fight over politicians being expected to pay tolls
  • Times of India - "DMK men attack Perungudi toll plaza, officials roughed up".

    australia earth Aussies Rebel but Government will try again
  • Sydney Morning Herald - "Dead ETS to rise again"   BBC - "Australian Senate rejects Kevin Rudd's climate plan "   Courier Mail - "Senate rejects ETS scheme".

    earth Climate emails boss steps back
  • Guardian - "Climate research chief Phil Jones stands down pending inquiry into leaked emails"   Telegraph - "Climategate: the AGW edifice begins to collapse".
    It is likely that Britain's head of state and the nationalised church will give all those involved with climate propaganda, either knighthoods or seats in the House of Lords. This is what she said at the Commonwealth conference last week - "On this, the eve of the UN Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change, the Commonwealth has an opportunity to lead once more. The threat to our environment is not a new concern. But it is now a global challenge which will continue to affect the security and stability of millions for years to come. Many of those affected are among the most vulnerable, and many of the people least well able to withstand the adverse effects of Climate Change live in the Commonwealth.".

    britain" Bank of easy money says that asset inflation is nothing to do with them
  • BofE news release - "Finding the Right Tool for Dealing with Asset Price Booms"   full speech (pdf).


    Tuesday 1 December 2009

    earth More warming hype - part two
  • BBC - "EU 'should cut emissions by 30%'". Despite descending from Mount Horeb with the tablets containing the Ten Global Warming Commandments, little is known about Lord Stern apart from his banking connections and being chairman of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment - which is financed by an American green foundation and based at the London School of Economics.
    On BBC tv today it appears that they are worried about the Populus poll last month - Times - "Global warming is not our fault, say most voters in Times poll" which confirmed that many of the public do not believe in anthropogenic global warming. So expect increased prosleytising, particularly after the hoax indicated by the hacked emails - BBC - "'Show Your Working': What 'ClimateGate' means".
    Another story on the BBC today referred to glaciers. It seems that where they are retreating it is due to warming, and that if they are advancing it is also due to warming - "melt water underneath the glacier lubricating its ground contact and causing it to move forward".

    newzealand Bit more on Commission of bankers recommending a Con charge to make people better off
  • NZ Herald - "Don't swallow Brash's medicine".

    canada Toll bank
  • Drivers can be chased for 15 years and be charged over 25% annual interest - Star (Toronto) - "Province 'stuck' with ironclad Hwy. 407 deal, minister says".

    slovakia It also tolls for thee
  • Radio Slovakia - "Buses not exempt on Toll Road".

    australia earth Heretic becomes Opposition leader
  • Telegraph - "Climate e-mails topple Australian opposition leader"   ABC - "Liberals 'liberated' as ETS heads for defeat"   Sydney Morning Herald - "Senators soon to vote on ETS".

    britain" Bit more on Lib Dem tax plans
  • Yesterday the Lib Dems relaunched their tax plans. Today the details are available, surprisingly there is no mention of more taxes on roads users - "Liberal Democrat Tax Plans" pdf.

    usa USA Roundup
  • Plans for a new toll road include reducing speed limits on alternative routes to 30 miles per hour to force drivers to use the tolled road - Denver Post - "A better highway, not a new toll road".

  • Talk about how to get more money for roads (and mass transit) - Star Telegram - "Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood talks of hike in federal gas tax".

  • Sundry stories - Pennsylvania - "Former toll collector gets probation for pocketing $15,000 in tolls"   Texas - "Lines form in last-minute dash for toll road amnesty"   Texas - "TxDOT toll amnesty now in 11th hour".

    japan More on opposition to toll removal in Japan
  • The Government is under pressure from tales spun by the trolls indicating that the sky will fall down if tolls are removed. The reality is that removal of tolls would be a big stimulus to the economy and that traffic delays would reduce as toll booths are removed. If the environment is a concern, then the existing fuel tax "surcharge" (which is supposed to be abolished) could be kept in whole or part (the surcharge is 25 yen a litre which is about one dollar ten cents per US gallon or 80 pence per imperial gallon). Unfortunately it seems that fairy tales will win over reality.

    india "Paradigm"
  • Traffic bypassing the tolls, and the proposed solution - force them to use the toll road - Times of India - "Sohna Chowk Paradigm".

  • The way things are going in India can be seen by this sales spiel for Singapore style tolls - Financial Chronicle - "Beating road congestion".

    london A little relief
  • East London Advertiser - "Blackwall Tunnel reopens at 7pm tonight after blaze". It was good that part of the Con charge was suspended, but the Dartford toll should also have been lifted.

    earth More warming hype
  • BBC - "Major sea level rise likely as Antarctic ice melts ".

    britain" Asset inflation continues
  • BBC - "House prices continue to rise, says Nationwide".


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