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Cyclists to drivers: 1 want to ride my bicycle, 1 want to ride my bike
BIKES ARE BECOMING
POPULAR TRANSIT,
THOUGH DANGEROUS
BY MCCAFFREY BLAUNER
Staff Writer
The dual white lines marking the areas
reserved for cyclists have become an
increasingly common sight on roadways.
However, while painted with good
intentions, these lines do little to protect
bikes from the dangers of the road.
During the last few decades, in keeping
with the rise of sustainability awareness
and initiatives, bikes have been increasingly
recognized as a legitimate form of
transportation.
Cities around America have experimented
with an approach referred to as
"Copenhagenization," the process of urban
planning around bike accessibility.
Despite America's long love
affair with the automobile,
bikes are proving both
useful and popular.
Bike Shop owner and
bike sustainability
advocate Philip
Koopman attributes
the boom in usage to
increasing awareness of
environmental issues.
"I think it's definitely
tied in with the focus
on sustainability," said
Koopman. "I also think
people are seeing the health
benefits of biking everywhere
instead of driving."
"Like it or not, climate
change is going to force
our hand eventually,"
said Koopman. "In
the 1950s, they (car
companies) created a
whole industry around
convincing people,
through advertising,
to all buy their own
cars. ITs just not
sustainable, and it's
not realistic to think
that we can all keep
driving cars."
Although biking
in Greensboro can be
more nerve-wracking
than on the streets
of bike-
is this hippie pretending he's a car? Get off
the road hippie.' I can feel the aggression
emanating from the front bumper, man."
As it turns out, even Greensboro's
political elect are not safe. In 2011, Rep.
Pricey Harrison was struck by a car,
fracturing her foot, after a driver ran a
red light.
But Greensboro residents might feel
safer in comparison to those
commuting in the United
Kingdom. In the past year
alone, 110 cyclists have been
killed in traffic accidents
Bike lanes are sparse, and
ten miles can easily take two
hours to traverse.
0
* ^ ImW" instituted in
1974, became the basis
^ • for the model now used worldwide.
Guilford County is ranked third in the
state for reducing bike accidents, with only
friendly 714 occurring in a ten-year period,
towns like Fort "I can't tell you how many times I
. Collins, Colo., due to almost died," laughed Nick Perl, bike shop
bike lanes being a rarity. North employee and former Guilford student who
Carolina was the first state to institute now attends Colorado State University,
state bicycle program. The program, "People in North Carolina are like, 'Who
Bike enthusiasts are
directed to often muddy paths and back
roads and can be asked to dismount in urban
areas. A recent study by the British Transport
Research Laboratory found that more than
a quarter of bicycle deaths in England are
attributed to a bike being rammed with the
front bumper of a car.
For those still interested in braving the
streets of Greensboro, Guilford students
can find bikes for rent from the bike shop
behind Shore Hall for five dollars a day, or
400 dollars for the full year.
Pope’s papers burpled, first Vatican criminai triai
GABRIELE GAVE CONFIDENTIAL
DOCUMENTS FROM INSIDE THE
VATICAN TO ITALIAN JOURNALIST
BY ELIAS BLONDEAU
Julian Assange, founder of the controversial website
WikiLeaks, has made a name for himself by exposing
corruption in the government and corporations alike.
Paolo Gabriele, personal butler to Pope Benedict XVI for
six years, seemed to have the same intentions when he
burgled confidential documents from the Pope s desk in
Vatican City earlier this year.
But unlike Assange, Gabriele could not escape the grasp
of the law.
After Gabriele gave letters detailing struggles for
power and pleas for corruption to be suppressed to
Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, the Italian press began
speculating about what was going on inside the Vatican.
A rigorous internal investigation led to the butler being
apprehended and put under house arrest to wait for his
trial.
That trial began on Oct. 2, leading to Gabrielle being
sentenced to 18 months in an Italian prison. However, he is
currently serving his sentence inside the Vatican.
"I developed the conviction that it's very easy to
manipulate a person who has decision making powers
in his hands," said Gabrielle according to Bloomberg,
claiming that he had "no accomplices" in this particular
act.
However, he went on to indicate that he was not the only
person to have leaked information to the press, according
to CNN. He also seems to have no regrets exposing the
truth to the public, despite ruing the fact that he betrayed
the Pope's trust.
In spite of this, he maintained a "not guilty" plea,
despite the lack of concrete evidence in his defense. But
his main priority seemed to be protecting whoever might
have helped him.
The effects of this case can be felt across the globe, and
extends to Guilford. According to Director of Friends
Center and Campus Ministry Coordinator Max Carter,
an event like this could potentially serve the purpose of
furthering the rift between opposing parties.
"I believe those who are prone to criticize the Vatican will
find justification in these events," said Carter in an email
interview. "Those who have deep respect and reverence for
the Church will, at least publicly, jump to its defense."
As more details surface about the specifics of corruption
"I believe those who are prone to criticize the Vatican will find justification in these
events. Those who have deep respect and reverence for the Church will, at least publicly,
jump to its defense."
Max Carter, director of Friends Center and campus ministry coordinator
"Suggestions aren't proof of the presence of
accomplices," said Nicola Picardi, Gabrielle's lawyer, in
his closing statements during the trial.
Further investigations have been launched into potential
aides in this leak, but thus far Gabriele has been the only
person sentenced. Most recently, a Vatican computer
technician was suspected, but eventually acquitted.
occurring inside of the Vatican, time will tell if Carter's
statement proves to be accurate. For now, the papacy exerts
its power in Vatican court and across the globe.
Historically, the Vatican has kept controversy under
wraps, most recently the sexual abuse of children.
Gabriele's attempt to unveil new secrets through illegal
means has drawn attention to the Vatican once again.