The 193 members of the UN have this week unanimously adopted a resolution that officially states the bicycle is a vital tool to combat climate change, calling on member states to “integrate the bicycle into public transportation, in urban and rural settings in developing and developed countries.” While the news was welcomed by active travel campaigners, it was perhaps less comfortable to find out the resolution was proposed by Turkmenistan, whose cycling-obsessed outgoing president ran a totalitarian regime set to continue under his son.

As noted in a press release (link is external) detailing events from the most recent UN General Assembly meeting, Turkmenistan's representative noted that "...the bicycle has been a major mode of transportation for 140 years and offers health benefits, convenience and accessibility for millions of people, as well as supporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions."

The representative also noted that cycling is still seen as a sport rather than a viable mode of transport in many parts of the world, something that it said must change.

The non-binding resolution calls on member states to "give special attention to cycling in cross-cutting development strategies, including bicycle sharing services," with a particular emphasis on bike sharing as a way to cut greenhouse gas emissions in urban environments.

The European Cyclists' Federation said that although the resolution is non-binding, "it is an important step towards the recognition of cycling as an important mode of transport and a positive step forward from the COP26 Transport Declaration Glasgow in November 2021."

Turkmenistan's outgoing president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has long been known as a huge fan of cycling for transportation and as a sport, decreeing a whole month of cycling for his country back in 2013 and holding huge processions annually to coincide with World Bicycle Day.

64-year-old Berdimuhamedov, who has been president of the landlocked Central Asian nation since 2007, has technically relinquished power to his son Serdar today, following an election last month where, perhaps unsurprisingly, he won with a landslide 72.97% of the vote. It's thought Gurbanguly will still be heavily involved in the running of Turkmenistan.

Although Berdimuhamedov Sr aimed to be less totalitarian than his predecessor Saparmurat Niyazov when taking office - such as only making citizens say a sacred oath that states their tongue will shrivel if they speak ill of the president "on special occasions" rather than several times a day - Turkmenistan is still near the bottom of numerous human rights rankings. This meant the UCI's decision to award Berdimuhamedov its highest distinction in June 2020 faced some backlash; however the UCI defended this, saying that the president shown “a particular commitment to cycling.”

Awarding Turkmenistan the 2021 UCI Track World Championships did appear to be a step too far for the UCI though, as Berdimuhamedov was told on World Bicycle Day of all days that his country would no longer be hosting the championships (link is external), with the Covid-19 situation thought to be a deciding factor. This meant the dictator sometimes cut a forlorn figure on his annual World Bicycle Day procession through the Turkmen capital Ashgabat last June.

Is the UN's resolution for the greater good, or should we look upon anything proposed by this brutal regime with suspicion? We'll just hope that if the day ever comes where every person in the UK owns a bike, it won't be because they were forced to by an autocratic leader who is the subject of an ostentatious personality cult...

https://road.cc/content/news/turkmen-dictator-inspires-un-resolution-promoting-cycling-291203

On 19/03/2022 02:54 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> The 193 members of the UN have this week unanimously adopted a resolution that officially states the fairy-cycle is a vital tool to combat climate change, calling on member states to “integrate the fairy-bicycle into public transportation, in urban and rural settings in developing and developed countries.” While the news was welcomed by active travel campaigners, it was perhaps less comfortable to find out the resolution was proposed by Turkmenistan, whose fairy-cycling-obsessed outgoing president ran a totalitarian regime set to continue under his son.
>
> As noted in a press release (link is external) detailing events from the most recent UN General Assembly meeting, Turkmenistan's representative noted that "...the fairy-bicycle has been a major mode of transportation for 140 years and offers health benefits, convenience and accessibility for millions of people, as well as supporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions."
>
> The representative also noted that fairy-cycling is still seen as a sport rather than a viable mode of transport in many parts of the world, something that it said must change.
>
> The non-binding resolution calls on member states to "give special attention to fairy-cycling in cross-cutting development strategies, including fairy-bicycle sharing services," with a particular emphasis on fairy-bike sharing as a way to cut greenhouse gas emissions in urban environments.
>
> The European Fairy-Cyclists' Federation said that although the resolution is non-binding, "it is an important step towards the recognition of fairy-cycling as an important mode of transport and a positive step forward from the COP26 Transport Declaration Glasgow in November 2021."
>
> Turkmenistan's outgoing president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has long been known as a huge fan of fairy-cycling for transportation and as a sport, decreeing a whole month of fairy-cycling for his country back in 2013 and holding huge processions annually to coincide with World Fairy Bicycle Day.
>
> 64-year-old Berdimuhamedov, who has been president of the landlocked Central Asian nation since 2007, has technically relinquished power to his son Serdar today, following an election last month where, perhaps unsurprisingly, he won with a landslide 72.97% of the vote. It's thought Gurbanguly will still be heavily involved in the running of Turkmenistan.
>
> Although Berdimuhamedov Sr aimed to be less totalitarian than his predecessor Saparmurat Niyazov when taking office - such as only making citizens say a sacred oath that states their tongue will shrivel if they speak ill of the president "on special occasions" rather than several times a day - Turkmenistan is still near the bottom of numerous human rights rankings. This meant the UCI's decision to award Berdimuhamedov its highest distinction in June 2020 faced some backlash; however the UCI defended this, saying that the president shown “a particular commitment to fairy-cycling.”

He sounds just the sort to have and display such a commitment - doesn't he?
>
> Awarding Turkmenistan the 2021 UCI Track World Championships did appear to be a step too far for the UCI though, as Berdimuhamedov was told on World Fairy-Bicycle Day of all days that his country would no longer be hosting the championships (link is external), with the Covid-19 situation thought to be a deciding factor. This meant the dictator sometimes cut a forlorn figure on his annual World Fairy-Bicycle Day procession through the Turkmen capital Ashgabat last June.
>
> Is the UN's resolution for the greater good, or should we look upon anything proposed by this brutal regime with suspicion? We'll just hope that if the day ever comes where every person in the UK owns a fairy-bike, it won't be because they were forced to by an autocratic leader who is the subject of an ostentatious personality cult...

But there is no other scenario on offer or in the offing.

The vast majority of people in the UK are too intelligent to be taken in
by the fairy-cyclists' propaganda. That's something that the
fairy-cyclists are not intelligent enough to realise.

> https://road.cc/content/news/turkmen-dictator-inspires-un-resolution-promoting-cycling-291203

:-)

On 19/03/2022 14:54, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> the resolution was proposed by Turkmenistan, whose cycling-obsessed outgoing president ran a totalitarian regime set to continue under his son.

ROFL

Are there any depths that road.cc will not sink to in order to 'promote'
cycling?

They could have given this one a miss.

<https://road.cc/content/news/turkmen-dictator-inspires-un-resolution-promoting-cycling-291203>

--
Spike

On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 2:54:32 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> The 193 members of the UN have this week unanimously adopted a resolution that officially states the bicycle is a vital tool to combat climate change.

Don't all of the far right nutters insist that climate change is fake anyway?
They actually believe that the UN is in on the "scam". Idiots.

On 19/03/2022 17:08, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 2:54:32 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>> The 193 members of the UN have this week unanimously adopted a resolution that officially states the bicycle is a vital tool to combat climate change.

> Don't all of the far right nutters insist that climate change is fake anyway?

What politics do you think that the proposer of the non-binding UN
resolution - the President of Turkmenistan, who has just handed over
the reins of power to his landslide-elected son - espouses?

Don't you understand what you're reading?

--
Spike

On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 5:08:36 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 2:54:32 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> > The 193 members of the UN have this week unanimously adopted a resolution that officially states the bicycle is a vital tool to combat climate change.
>
> Don't all of the far right nutters insist that climate change is fake anyway?
> They actually believe that the UN is in on the "scam". Idiots.

99.9% of scientists are wrong, apparently. :-)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/19/case-closed-999-of-scientists-agree-climate-emergency-caused-by-humans

On 19/03/2022 17:25, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 5:08:36 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 2:54:32 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>>> The 193 members of the UN have this week unanimously adopted a resolution that officially states the bicycle is a vital tool to combat climate change.

>> Don't all of the far right nutters insist that climate change is fake anyway?
>> They actually believe that the UN is in on the "scam". Idiots.

> 99.9% of scientists are wrong, apparently. :-)

> <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/19/case-closed-999-of-scientists-agree-climate-emergency-caused-by-humans>

President Obama, when in office, spoke of the dangers of sea-level rise.

He was so concerned about it, that when he left office he bought an $18m
mansion right on the beach at Martha's Vineyard.

--
Spike

On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 5:25:14 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 5:08:36 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 2:54:32 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> > > The 193 members of the UN have this week unanimously adopted a resolution that officially states the bicycle is a vital tool to combat climate change.
> >
> > Don't all of the far right nutters insist that climate change is fake anyway?
> > They actually believe that the UN is in on the "scam". Idiots.
> 99.9% of scientists are wrong, apparently. :-)
>
> https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/19/case-closed-999-of-scientists-agree-climate-emergency-caused-by-humans

Follow the money as always:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOOsPjrXEAAV6Jy?format=jpg&name=medium

On 19/03/2022 17:34, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 5:25:14 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 5:08:36 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>>> On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 2:54:32 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>>>> The 193 members of the UN have this week unanimously adopted a resolution that officially states the bicycle is a vital tool to combat climate change.

>>> Don't all of the far right nutters insist that climate change is fake anyway?

>>> They actually believe that the UN is in on the "scam". Idiots.
>> *99.9%* of scientists are wrong, apparently. :-)

>> https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/19/case-closed-999-of-scientists-agree-climate-emergency-caused-by-humans

> Follow the money as always:

"...based on a survey of nearly 90,000 climate-related studies"

90,000 CLIMATE-RELATED STUDIES
DOES NOT EQUAL
99.9% OF SCIENTISTS

THE 99.9% REFERS TO CONSENSUS
THE COMPOSITION OF THE CONSENSUS ISN'T STATED

LEARN TO READ.

And worse...

"The paper cites a 2016 study by the Pew Research Center that found only
27% of US adults believed that “almost all” scientists agreed the
climate emergency was caused by human activity".

It's easy to see why you're taken by road.cc crap.

--
Spike

On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 5:34:02 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

More evidence.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOSjYYcWYAErsof?format=jpg&name=small

On 20/03/2022 11:34, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> More evidence.
>
> https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOSjYYcWYAErsof?format=jpg&name=small

There seems little doubt that the climate is changing. But there seems
to be a lot of debate about reasons behind the change.

With your "99% of scientists agree", are they merely nodding about the
change or have they hit upon a reason?

On 21/03/2022 12:40 pm, TMS320 wrote:

> On 20/03/2022 11:34, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> More evidence.
>
>> https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOSjYYcWYAErsof?format=jpg&name=small

> There seems little doubt that the climate is changing. But there seems
> to be a lot of debate about reasons behind the change.

> With your "99% of scientists agree", are they merely nodding about the
> change or have they hit upon a reason?

Good point.

The British Isles were once part of a tropical forest (and bits have
been at the bottom of the sea). Perhaps the shift away from that was
caused by all the gas-guzzlers that were then in use. And all those
pesky terrible lizards running the central heating full blast.

On Monday, March 21, 2022 at 12:40:23 PM UTC, TMS320 wrote:
> On 20/03/2022 11:34, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> >
> > More evidence.
> >
> > https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOSjYYcWYAErsof?format=jpg&name=small
> There seems little doubt that the climate is changing. But there seems
> to be a lot of debate about reasons behind the change.
>
> With your "99% of scientists agree", are they merely nodding about the
> change or have they hit upon a reason?

You only have to look at the planet Venus.
Arrhenius worked it out 100 years ago.
See: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOYPMZpXsAQDvqS?format=jpg&name=900x900