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Blazecock Pileon (2)

On Friday night in Porto Alegre, Brazil, a banker named Ricardo Neis was driving behind a group of about 150 Critical Mass cyclist/activists who were riding en masse to promote inner-city cycling. Neis claims he felt threatened: his response to this feeling was to literally plow through the cyclists at full speed (incident begins at about 50 seconds into video). Miraculously, none of the cyclists were killed. Witnesses to the incident were shocked. Neis eventually abandoned his VW Golf before his involvement was discovered. Local cyclists doubt he will be charged with a crime.
posted by mightygodking on Feb 28, 2011 - 202 comments

AT&T's recent complaints about its mobile phone customers using too much of its underpowered data service have now expanded this week to open opposition to net neutrality legislation. In response, the satirical blog The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs jokingly "reported" on a fake Apple memo calling for "Operation Chokehold", where customers agree to get together on Friday to overwhelm the company's networks. The joke has gained traction with disgruntled users, enough so that AT&T, in turn, chided the blog for "an irresponsible and pointless scheme", creating a Facebook page to promote "Operation Cuckoo".
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Dec 16, 2009 - 107 comments

Police Officer Seen on Tape Shoving a Bicyclist Is Indicted - Update to the widely viewed video of a NYC police officer shoving a critical mass rider off of his bicycle, reported on MeFi here.
posted by caddis on Dec 16, 2008 - 228 comments

A Review of Criticality Accidents (3.7 MB pdf) Do you like reading comp.risks, or CVR transcripts from famous plane crashes? Then you may enjoy this technical analysis of 60 accidents where improper handling of fissile materials led to unexpected critical mass. [more inside]
posted by ikkyu2 on Dec 10, 2008 - 36 comments

From New York City to Seattle, Critical Mass cyclists are not having a good week. In Seattle, some question the motivations of Critical Mass, some report conflicting stories, while others suggest foul play.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Jul 29, 2008 - 115 comments

Police overreact, and attack bikers with no provocation at Minneapolis Critical Mass. Responses from witnesses tell one picture of what happened, but local news says "nobody was hurt" despite squad cars knocking bicyclists from their bikes. What gives?
posted by taursir on Sep 1, 2007 - 206 comments

Nearly 700 cyclists are killed on U.S. roads every year, and more than 540,000 are sent to the emergency room. The annual Ride of Silence was started in 2003 to honor and raise awareness for those tragically killed and injured on the road, and has grown into a worldwide event, with more than 270 confirmed rides planned to start tonight, at 7 p.m. Ride along on YouTube or grab a black armband and join a group near you. [Previously on MeFi]
posted by dead_ on May 16, 2007 - 59 comments

NYC Critical Mass ride dampened by heavy police presence Critical Mass, A peaceful demonstration that takes place on the last friday of the month at hundreds of cities around the world. The gathering of hundreds to thousands of cyclists to stress the importance of nonpolluting transportation alternatives and promote the cycling community. Last night's critical mass was faced with a very heavy police presence (including 3 helicopters that followed the cyclists on the route). I was there and the police were peaceful, but perhaps necessary and the helicopters were just intimidating. The whole aura assumed there was going to be some type of crime. There type of people that take part in Critical Mass are generally the opposite of violent. It felt violating to be followed around, by not one, but three helicopters and hundreds of officers on scooters. The Critical Mass was being treated as if we just shot up a building or robbed a bank. The whole thing was stupid, and people got arrested for stupid reasons. Thanks NYPD the Judge said we could be there. 33, 47, whatever, it was too many.
posted by Glibaudio on Oct 30, 2004 - 108 comments

"The 9-28-01 Critical Mass bike ride in Austin generated some controversy when a jeep driver intentionally ran over a cyclist and crashed into another car."
posted by monkeymike on Oct 1, 2002 - 125 comments

Bike the Ike! About 700 riders from Chicago Critical Mass rode on the Eisenhower Expressway for a mile at the last ride. Dangerous and insane, yes, but the cyclist in me thinks it's the bee's knees. Ah, to ride on the 10 all the way to the beach...
posted by RakDaddy on Jul 9, 2002 - 25 comments