In todays news...

[ChrisW]

Only in the USA. This is scary..


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61192975

I saw the same headline earlier today and assumed it was a joke / spoof story...

[demographic]

Only in the USA. This is scary..


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61192975

As far as I know thats interesting because the NRA (National Rifle Association) has via intense lobbying, blocked those statistics from being compiled for quite some time.
Recently the NRA has being going through a bit of a cash crisis (well, more of a embezzlement/scandal involving Wayne Lapierre and Oliver North) and from what I heard didn't have so much money for lobbying.

I'm sure there's more of it than that but it might be interesting to see if more gun death stats come out.

[Horse]

Only in the USA? Whatever, the lengths some go to for for views, likes and shares.

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all ... ertificate

The FAA revoked the pilot certificate of Trevor Jacob, a former Olympic snowboard competitor turned YouTuber, who posted a viral video of himself parachuting out of a 1940 Taylorcraft that he claimed had malfunctioned.

The video Jacob posted online showing his bailout and the subsequent crash of the 1940 Taylorcraft has been viewed more than 500,000 times, and sparked criticism from pilots and others in the aviation community. The footage taken from multiple cameras, including a selfie stick, shows Jacob (who claims to have just experienced an “engine-out”) leaping out of the aircraft with his selfie stick in hand and parachuting to safety. The Taylorcraft crashed into the Los Padres National Forest in Southern California, and Jacob retrieved footage from cameras he had mounted on the aircraft.

According to The New York Times, the FAA sent Jacob a letter on April 11 advising that the agency had determined that Jacob violated FAR 91.13 by operating his single-engine aircraft in a “careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.”

The newspaper obtained a copy of that April 11 letter, apparently before Jacob received his own copy, and elaborated on the FAA’s findings, including that, “Mr. Jacob made no attempt to contact air traffic control on the emergency frequency, did not try to restart the engine by increasing airflow over the propeller and failed to look for a place to safely land, ‘even though there were multiple areas within gliding range in which you could have made a safe landing.’ After the crash, the agency noted that Mr. Jacob also ‘recovered and then disposed of the wreckage…You demonstrated a lack of care, judgment and responsibility by choosing to jump out of an aircraft solely so you could record the footage of the crash…Your egregious and intentional actions on these dates indicate that you presently lack the degree of care, judgment and responsibility required of a certificate holder.’”

The FAA ordered Jacob to surrender his private pilot certificate, adding that failure to do so could result in “further legal enforcement action,” including a civil penalty of up to $1,644 for every day he does not comply.

[Tricky]

Only in the USA? Whatever, the lengths some go to for for views, likes and shares.

......

Indeed- He's a grade A bell-end IMO and deserves everything he gets, but I found a few really informative vids from other pilots that that popped up following his posting of his "crash" really interesting

The man himself has just put another up about his licence being revoked , I watched it but don't think I'll bother with any more of his.

[Yorick]

Happy Penis Day

https://gazettelife.com/news/what-a-lovely-pair/

[Yorick]

I bet this surprises a few, including me.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-glo ... e-61243033

[JamJar]

I bet this surprises a few, including me.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-glo ... e-61243033

I think what surprises me the most is this bit:

District Judge Nicholas Wattam said Burnley's penalty would be less severe as she had admitted her offence straight away.

Less severe is an 18 month ban!?! ... what the actul fuck would more severe have been? Crucifixion?

[slowsider]

I bet this surprises a few, including me.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-glo ... e-61243033

I think what surprises me the most is this bit:

District Judge Nicholas Wattam said Burnley's penalty would be less severe as she had admitted her offence straight away.

Less severe is an 18 month ban!?! ... what the actul fuck would more severe have been? Crucifixion?

"The judge also ordered that Burnley pay court costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £50."

Victim??

[Count Steer]

I bet this surprises a few, including me.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-glo ... e-61243033

I think what surprises me the most is this bit:

District Judge Nicholas Wattam said Burnley's penalty would be less severe as she had admitted her offence straight away.

Less severe is an 18 month ban!?! ... what the actul fuck would more severe have been? Crucifixion?

She was done for 'driving' on a public road while 2× the alcohol limit. Could have been jail, unlimited fine and a ban.

[Count Steer]

It seems strange that drunk riding a scooter can cost you a ban but drunk cycling is just a fine (according to a quick Google) it's almost like they just made it up to set an example

Wonder if they'll treat e-bikes the same? E-scooters/e-bikes are pretty much the same thing logically.

Edit: I suspect she could appeal.

[Yorick]

It seems strange that drunk riding a scooter can cost you a ban but drunk cycling is just a fine (according to a quick Google) it's almost like they just made it up to set an example

Coz it has a motor?

[Mr. Dazzle]

You need a driving licence to hire them IME....well, you need to show one when you first set the app up. Stands to reason they're legally closer to motorbikes than bicycles.

That said, its always been my understanding that you can get points on your car licence for speeding or being pissed on a push iron?

[Dodgy69]

As I understand it...an ebike with a top speed of 15 mph doesn't require anymore legal compliance than a push bike that might do more than 15 mph. An ebike with a faster top speed than 15 mph is classed as a moped. Must of been a fast scoot.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Might be something to do with the fact scooters don't require you to pedal? E bikes need you to pedal as well do they not, I thought they couldn't just drive with no human power?

AFAIK the only e scoots you can legally use are the ones for hire...something to do with insurance. And you need a driving licence to unlock the app for them (really hard to get around that restriction of course )

[demographic]

In the news today eh?

Well, Labour are trying to initiate a review about the 12 billion thats estimated that Covid furlough fraud has cost and that the treasury can't be fucked to investigate.
Thats by pure chance about the same amount the hike in National Insurance is supposed to be raising...
Seems a bit salty to pay more NI to cover furlough fraud.

In other news.
Tim Westwood... whodathunkit? Ahem...

[Dodgy69]

It said on the bottom of my payslip the NI increase was to go on the NHS and health care.
I felt so much better about it after reading that.

[Mussels]

Might be something to do with the fact scooters don't require you to pedal? E bikes need you to pedal as well do they not, I thought they couldn't just drive with no human power?

AFAIK the only e scoots you can legally use are the ones for hire...something to do with insurance. And you need a driving licence to unlock the app for them (really hard to get around that restriction of course )

Not all legal e-bikes require you to pedal, the old UK rules used to allow a throttle and they only got binned about 10 years ago.

The difference between e-bikes and electic scooters are that e-bikes have a legal definition, electric scooters are unregistered motor vehicles just like motorised toy cars for toddlers that have got adults drink driving bans.

[Lutin]

There's stupid and then there's really stupid - Ben Gurion airport: US family spark panic by bringing unexploded shell

A US family caused a bomb scare at Ben Gurion airport in Israel on Thursday after presenting an unexploded shell at a security check.

The family picked up the artillery shell while in the Golan Heights and decided to pack it in their luggage, according to authorities.

Video footage on social media showed people running from the scene in panic.

The family was allowed to board their flight after being interrogated by security, who declared the all-clear.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria at the end of the Six-Day War in 1967 and remnants of the conflict can still be found in the area.

Hoping to bring the shell back to the US, the family packed it in their return luggage.

Video posted on social media by Israel's public broadcasting corporation, Kan, showed people crouching and running from the scene.

W.T.F?

[slowsider]

"A 77-year-old white South African farm owner has appeared in court after shooting and wounding a black woman he claimed he mistook for a hippopotamus"

Did he not look at the shoes?

[Pirahna]

There's stupid and then there's really stupid - Ben Gurion airport: US family spark panic by bringing unexploded shell

A US family caused a bomb scare at Ben Gurion airport in Israel on Thursday after presenting an unexploded shell at a security check.

The family picked up the artillery shell while in the Golan Heights and decided to pack it in their luggage, according to authorities.

Video footage on social media showed people running from the scene in panic.

The family was allowed to board their flight after being interrogated by security, who declared the all-clear.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria at the end of the Six-Day War in 1967 and remnants of the conflict can still be found in the area.

Hoping to bring the shell back to the US, the family packed it in their return luggage.

Video posted on social media by Israel's public broadcasting corporation, Kan, showed people crouching and running from the scene.

W.T.F?

A few years ago I was staying on a campsite in northern France. There was an Aussie family, mum, dad and two children, the parents on a career break were both teachers and schooling the children as they traveled. Mum was a language teacher and spoke French.

They'd been out and had got chatting to an old lady with piles of WW1 detritus in her garden. He husband, now dead, had worked for the war graves commission, his hobby was field walking and he'd collected lots of things. She gave them a tour explaining the different shells and grenades and have them samples of shrapnel along with 30 rounds of live ammunition.

The ammo had been in the ground for decades and wasn't in the best shape. I popped the top of a bullet, tipped the powder into a saucepan lid, and holding it at arms length put a match to it. Nice big flame. I explained that the stuff was dangerous, I even offered to take it to the police station for him. Instead he threw the carrier bag into the back of the car and said they'd take it tomorrow. I did warn the kids not to kick it or stand on it as the loss of limb, other serious injury or death was a distinct possibility. I left next morning, no idea what happened to them.