STAFF NEWS & ANALYSIS
Driving Under Attack: The 20mph Revolution
By Staff News & Analysis - January 02, 2013

Millions more motorists could soon face reduced speed limits as new research by The Independent suggests that more than a third of local authorities have introduced measures to stop drivers exceeding 20mph on at least some roads, or are planning to do so. In what is being hailed by campaigners as a "cultural shift", as well as a significant reversal in decades of policy which prioritised motor vehicles over the safety of pedestrians and cyclists, new figures show that dozens of cities and towns across England and Wales have either approved slowdown zones or are now considering introducing them. It is claimed a 10mph cut in the maximum speed limit could lead to a 40 per cent reduction in the number of road casualties, as well as reducing pollution, promoting cycling, walking and local shopping. – UK Independent

Dominant Social Theme: Cars are bad.

Free-Market Analysis: The Luddites are at it again. Claiming that lower speeds create fewer fatalities, the UK Independent reports that officials are plotting lower speed limits throughout Wales and England. "Twenty is plenty," is the new mantra, though where this campaign has emerged from is a bit unclear.

From our point of view, this move is part of a larger attack on mobility generally. From Homeland Security checkpoints in US airports to an emerging class of privileged fliers (deemed "non-terrorist") to electric cars and "driving-free" zones in the center of Western cities, people's ability to get from here to there is gradually being retarded.

Seen from its widest perspective, the restrictions on travel deal with the passport-and-visa system that people accept as part of modernity's necessity. In fact, passports and visas are relatively modern inventions, implemented mostly after World War II.

The movement to restrict travel by auto is a far newer movement but frankly, we're not surprised that the next phase is emerging in Britain where so much else that supports the Neo-Luddism has taken root. Here's some more from the article:

Public backing for a blanket 20mph limit in built-up areas has reached more than 60 per cent with support particularly strong among women, younger people and pensioners, a ComRes survey for The Independent found.

Eight million people are already living under authorities where 20mph limits are in operation such as Liverpool, Bristol, York, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and parts of London. Islington in north London is set to become an entirely 20mph zone by March, with the only roads excluded from the scheme those managed by Transport for London.

Of the 75 local authorities in England and Wales that responded to a survey by this newspaper, 27 said they had introduced or were in the process of considering default 20mph zones, while six were awaiting new guidelines from the Department for Transport.

Twelve councils said they were already operating the system while 39 said they had no plans to do so. Four authorities had undertaken some work in the area but their position was unclear.

Although the majority of 20mph zones already established are self-enforcing, with police claiming they have insufficient resources to implement the lower speed, some councils, including Oxford, are planning to make them legally binding. Thames Valley Police recently said it was prepared to prosecute motorists that seriously breached the limit, while a spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers called for zones to include measures – such as speed bumps – that "physically ensure driver compliance".

The pressure group 20's Plenty, which campaigns for the lower speed limit, claims there is growing grassroots momentum for a change. Supporters claim the 10mph reduction could breathe new life into areas where people felt intimidated by fast moving traffic. Rod King, founder 20's Plenty, said communities saw levels of support go up after the lower limit had been implemented. "I think people are no longer trying to justify it only in terms of road safety. "

Interestingly, we were not able to find out a lot about Rod King, nor the source of funding for the Twenty Is Plenty campaign. One of the larger groups involved with the campaign is the Environmental Transport Association – a British operation that coordinates its activities with the European Union itself. The ETA and ETA Trust are proudly "carbon neutral" and the ETA is also active in promoting concepts such as the "Green City."

We don't need to know the exact provenance of any of these groups to guess at the shadowy support behind them. Research long enough and Money Power usually emerges from the haze, taking direction from the power elite that apparently wants to run the world.

The idea is always the same: Restrict people's ability to make choices, both mentally and physically. This is what the green movement is about generally. Control energy, control travel, control consumption and one begins to control whole populations.

The methodology of control, of course, has to do with dominant social themes, the fear-based mechanisms that the elites use to extract wealth and control from frightened middle classes. The solutions offered are inevitably global, as the point is to gradually build world government using a variety of facilities.

One can also make the argument that the control being generated is a kind of neo-feudalism that partakes of the anti-industrial Luddite movement of the 1800s. But in fact, the larger green movement is increasingly an all-encompassing lifestyle choice that includes diet, employment and even religious elements.

Much of the green agenda – were it to be implemented voluntarily – is admirable. But the trouble is that "going green" is not a spontaneous social paradigm. It is assiduously plotted by the powers-that-be and implemented via government force whenever possible.

Neo-feudalism implies a social hierarchy of the sort that was popular centuries ago, complete with the perception that some are more worthy than others simply because of bloodline, etc. This inevitably leads to a society based on one of the elite's favorite preoccupations … eugenics.

In fact, the elites have been very clear – as they have been throughout modern history – that a physical remaking of humanity including culling is part of the coming New Age and that the Earth is currently supporting many more humans than is bearable.

The Twenty Is Plenty campaign seems perhaps a tad extreme, though admirable within the context that it is being presented. But strip away the mask of concern for community and kin and one finds the metaphorical mask of a death's head skull leering from the shadows beneath.

After Thoughts

No, none of these programs are what they seem to be. They are all part of a larger campaign by an inter-generational elite that wants global government and intends to rigorously control and remake human populations as its plans advance.

Posted in STAFF NEWS & ANALYSIS
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