There's no such thing as a free ride, for cars, the cost is the biosphere.

Rail magazine propagates the fallacious accounting about the cost of fare-free public transit. We have shown with numbers that only a minor reduction in automobile externalities would more than pay for loss of fare revenue.

There's no such thing as a free ride - Future Rail | Issue 61 | May 2018: "But how did the city make the scheme work financially?

....estimated loss of around KRW3.6bn ($3.2m) a day,

....the scheme wouldn’t be feasible on a permanent basis, as it struggles with limited capacity and could not afford to cover the cost of increased service.."

The autosprawl system is heavily subsidized. This subsidy is not accounted in city budgets, or is listed as something else. Do a thought experiment. What costs would go down, or go away, if there were many fewer, or no cars in your city.

This blog shows some of the subsidy.

Why war in Syria is about oil and Islam

There is one large reserve of conventional oil left in the ground. It's under Kirkuk in Iraq.
Whoever controls this oil has great power over the world economy.

The US desperately wants and needs that control. Bombing and puppet governments have not worked. Why? Because Islam.

Islam is incompatible with corporate capitalism because it prohibits charging interest on debt, and also prohibits oppression and poverty.

So who does that leave for US to use for boots on the ground. Here's what they tried.

• US troops
• Bribed Islamic tribal leaders
• KRG nationalists
• PKK terrorists
• Iran-backed militias
• VSO mercenaries
• you can probably add more

All these have failed.

Because of these failures, the US needs the Syria regime for stability. This has put them in a very weak position against Russia and Iran.

Communists say beware of liberals

PLP : "While the likes of Putin and Viktor Orban—or Racist-in-Chief Donald Trump—are obvious harbingers of fascism, the greatest danger to the working class has historically come from the liberal fascists who mislead our class to slaughter."

Free Public Transit: And Why We Don't Pay to Ride Elevators

Black Rose Books : "In an age of increasing inequalities and ecological crisis, movements for free public transit are proposing a profound rethinking of urban transport as a fundamental human right and public good. Research shows that, if the bus were free, people would ride it as much as 50% more in the first year, dramatically reducing car use, traffic, and pollution, while redistributing wealth and increasing social inclusion for poor and working people. But free public transport alone is not enough; it must also be combined with much better service and reserve bus lanes to be effective.

In its twelve chapters, this book explores the winning strategies and pitfalls of case studies ranging across the United States, Montreal, Toronto, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Brazil, Poland, China, and Mexico. As much a manifesto as a guide, this explosive book, the first ever on the topic in English, is written for those who want to truly revolutionise their city and move it forward."

Confused about #Syria?

Start with energy. If you don't think energy runs the world, turn off all electricity while reading this.

Energy runs economics. The most useful energy is oil. There is a large reserve of easy-to-drill oil under Kirkuk, Iraq.

The world powers have been fighting through proxies to get control of that oil.

The US has no friends left on the ground in the region, and has made defacto alliance with every thug imaginable.

There is a small fake left, who represent no workers, who are largely correct about US crimes, but simply promote alternative bullies.

What is Antifa

The capitalist system is in growth/collapse. The rich are growing, the poor collapsing.

A thought experiment.

Pretend you are at the top of elites. Is there a mechanism to find out who among the oppressed will violently oppose you?

Well, you know that if you want to chase bugs away, you provide a scent they don't like. But if you want to kill bugs, you provide something that attracts them, e.g. a bright blue light.

This is Antifa. A bright light to attract and kill.

Free public transport success in Europe

The fallacy of supply-side eco activism

Fake eco-activists: "No pipelines, keep it in the ground"

Saudis: "Here's $10 billion to make more petrol"

Saudi Aramco signs contracts worth $10 bln to expand U.S. refining: "Saudi Aramco signed agreements with Honeywell UOP and TechnipFM valued at $US8-10 billion for expanding chemical production and potentially building a complex along the U.S. Gulf coast."

There will be no "keep it in the ground" until there are no customers.

What's all the fighting about? #oilwars

Iraq aims for 6.5 mil b/d crude oil production capacity by 2022 - Oil | Platts News Article & Story: "Iraq has adjusted its crude oil production capacity target and is now aiming to achieve 6.5 million b/d by 2022, oil minister Jabbar al-Luaibi said Monday."

#Renewables literally throwing fuel on the fire

Energy demand grows 2.1 pct in 2017 – IEA report: "Fossil-fuels met over 70 per cent of the growth in energy demand around the world. Natural gas demand increased the most, reaching a record share of 22 per cent in total energy demand. Renewables also grew strongly, making up around a quarter of global energy demand growth, while nuclear use accounted for the remainder of the growth. The overall share of fossil fuels in global energy demand in 2017 remained at 81 per cent, a level that has remained stable for more than three decades despite strong growth in renewables, IEA said."