The observation and asides thread

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The observation and asides thread

Post by LarsMac »

spot;1532583 wrote: As a hint of how America has been Disneyfied, Americans are celebrating May the Fourth Be With You Day.

Fifty years ago the Kent State University killing happened. America still hasn't even admitted that an order to fire was given, even though there's an audio tape of it. Most Americans don't know of the killings at all, much less that the day was the turning point in their post-war history.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... larization is a British newspaper. Perhaps people have seen a commemoration in an American paper for comparison, but I haven't.


I never heard anything about denial of an order to fire. That has, to my knowledge, been a presumed forever. The very first conference I attended on the event, on the 1971 anniversary, that was part of the presumed actions.

The major question was always why the Guardsmen were armed in the first place.
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The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

LarsMac;1532584 wrote: I never heard anything about denial of an order to fire. That has, to my knowledge, been a presumed forever. The very first conference I attended on the event, on the 1971 anniversary, that was part of the presumed actions.

The major question was always why the Guardsmen were armed in the first place.


This is from 2007 and it's always been the received story in the UK when the events have been discussed.

The command, as Alan Canfora heard it on a 37-year-old audio recording recently discovered in a government archive, appeared to leave no room for doubt. "Right here. Get set. Point. Fire." Then came 13 seconds of gunfire. When it ended, four students were dead and nine injured, and the shootings at Kent State University became engraved in America's collective memory as one of the most painful days of the Vietnam era.

Yesterday, Mr Canfora, who was among the nine students wounded on that day, demanded a new investigation into the shootings at Kent State in Ohio, saying it was time to settle conclusively what led the contingent of National Guard troops to open fire on unarmed student protesters.

"There has been a 37-year cover-up at Kent State. The commanding officers have long denied there was a verbal command to fire. They put the blame on the triggermen," Mr Canfora told the Guardian.

He said he wants the FBI to use new technology to analyse the recording. He also said he planned to post an audio clip of the recording on two websites.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/ ... onnews.usa

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The observation and asides thread

Post by LarsMac »

Kent State always seemed to capture the media attention.

There was another such event that same month:

https://www.thenation.com/article/polit ... ngs-fifty/
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Post by spot »

That is a very strange tale but it comes late in a very long history of such behavior.

http://www.jsums.edu/universitycommunic ... y-15-1970/ is the university account. Being written by the university rather than a newspaper they do say there was a riot, and that the National Guard had been there since at leaast the previous day. It also says the National Guard had been sent with arms but no ammunition which doesn't seem entirely plausible.

I'm pleased they've left the bullet marks on the building's facade unrepaired though.
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The observation and asides thread

Post by magentaflame »

I'm never sure about leaving those kind of things in place . Does it serve as a warning or is it a memorial?
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The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

magentaflame;1532612 wrote: I'm never sure about leaving those kind of things in place . Does it serve as a warning or is it a memorial?


Entirely a memorial. The plaza is named after the two dead teenagers.
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The observation and asides thread

Post by LarsMac »

spot;1532600 wrote: That is a very strange tale but it comes late in a very long history of such behavior.

http://www.jsums.edu/universitycommunic ... y-15-1970/ is the university account. Being written by the university rather than a newspaper they do say there was a riot, and that the National Guard had been there since at leaast the previous day. It also says the National Guard had been sent with arms but no ammunition which doesn't seem entirely plausible.

I'm pleased they've left the bullet marks on the building's facade unrepaired though.


When I was there in '71, I remember seeing a metal sculpture on the campus. It had a bullet hole through one of the metal plates. I also met a fellow who was one of the guardsmen sent to KSU, He said that they were sent with ammo. That was SOP for the National Guard deployments.

There was a lot of talk in camp the first night about "shooting some Hippies". Most of the Guardsmen were young men with little firearms training, or crowd control training.

They were "on a lark" with no idea what might happen.
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The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

LarsMac;1532651 wrote: When I was there in '71, I remember seeing a metal sculpture on the campus. It had a bullet hole through one of the metal plates. I also met a fellow who was one of the guardsmen sent to KSU, He said that they were sent with ammo. That was SOP for the National Guard deployments.

There was a lot of talk in camp the first night about "shooting some Hippies". Most of the Guardsmen were young men with little firearms training, or crowd control training.

They were "on a lark" with no idea what might happen.


The idea of a National Guard is an odd one, I'm not sure I know its history at all.

In England there have been two armies since around 1650. There's the national Army, it's a standing professional army and traditionally paid for by national government funds.

Alongside that, dating back to 800 or so, is the county fyrd, the gathering of the Hundreds, the local militia which has a central assembly point and responds to the county representative of the monarch. It's a rapid-response territorial army and conventionally it can't be mustered indefinitely, people have to be sent home after the emergency is over.

In among the centuries, any private individual with enough clout can raise his own private army. Sometimes he then gets flattened by the King's army for rebellion. People were still raising private armies like that in World War 1.

How does any of that compare?
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The observation and asides thread

Post by LarsMac »

spot;1532652 wrote: The idea of a National Guard is an odd one, I'm not sure I know its history at all.

In England there have been two armies since around 1650. There's the national Army, it's a standing professional army and traditionally paid for by national government funds.

Alongside that, dating back to 800 or so, is the county fyrd, the gathering of the Hundreds, the local militia which has a central assembly point and responds to the county representative of the monarch. It's a rapid-response territorial army and conventionally it can't be mustered indefinitely, people have to be sent home after the emergency is over.

In among the centuries, any private individual with enough clout can raise his own private army. Sometimes he then gets flattened by the King's army for rebellion. People were still raising private armies like that in World War 1.

How does any of that compare?


National Guard is the distant kin of the early state militia. Originally, each state was responsible for its own defense. The US resisted the idea of a standing army until after the Civil War.

The first standing Armies were posted to the western states and territories to deal with the aboriginal tribes (American Indians)

And WW1 was the first foreign engagement where we utilized Standing Military on a grand scale.

So, now each state has a contingent of National Guard, "Weekend Warriors" who stand as reserve for local issues, and when called up by the Federal gummint.
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The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

So the State Governor has absolute disposition of the National Guard, and the President has absolute disposition of the US forces, both presumably with a constitutional review imposed by their respective layer of judges and legislature?
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

I'm in Weston-super-Mare.

What on earth am I doing in Weston-super-Mare?
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by Betty Boop »

Why? How? Ever heard of sat nav?
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

From the high tide mark it's a two mile walk to get to the sea at low tide, across the slimiest mud banks known to man.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

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spot wrote: Sun Jun 28, 2020 1:48 pm From the high tide mark it's a two mile walk to get to the sea at low tide, across the slimiest mud banks known to man.
Why would anyone want to do that?
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

It's a holiday resort. People go there from Birmingham. I have no idea why.

It's one of those things that just happens. People from Leicester go to Skegness for their holiday, from Bury they go to Blackpool. All for the same week.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by LarsMac »

spot wrote: Sun Jun 28, 2020 3:27 pm It's a holiday resort. People go there from Birmingham. I have no idea why.

It's one of those things that just happens. People from Leicester go to Skegness for their holiday, from Bury they go to Blackpool. All for the same week.
I'm curious about the trudging two miles through mudflats, and probably having to turn around a trudge back before the tide returns.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by Betty Boop »

Think I'd rather stay home than go there, ugly beach when you are used to Cornwall's standards.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by magentaflame »

I got a shock the other day. I was on a foreshore covered in tiny shells . I'm used to fine sand I didn't expect to see a beach foreshore without sand.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

spot wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 4:07 pm spot;1523967 wrote: As for the police - despite the organizers saying they have done this pre-announced car cruise before, the police just issued a statement saying they had no knowledge it was taking place. Incompetent intelligence doesn't even scratch the surface.

Monkswood Way, should anyone be in doubt, is a public thoroughfare. 21:45 BST is dusk, sunset was a half hour earlier.

[...] It's scandalous and beyond comprehension that nobody has yet been arrested for anything related to this blatantly criminal venture. Was nobody speeding? Was nobody driving dangerously?

https://www.thecomet.net/news/stevenage ... -1-6260840 is the latest news report and what it says is that the police have taken no steps whatever. The council is belatedly attempting to move all future events from Stevenage into, presumably, Slough or some other equally benighted sink town.

Perhaps if the Chief Constable were suspended it would encourage his underlings to wake up and at least grill a few obvious suspects. Like the talentless boy-racers, at least.



Twelve months it's taken them to get round to bringing these two prats into court. Perhaps someone retired and a replacement officer knew how to use the computer.
Dominic Brown and Julian Castano-Perez, both 21, face eight counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

The are also charged with 11 counts of wanton or furious driving, Stevenage Magistrates' Court heard.

Mr Brown, of Park Street Lane, St Albans, and Mr Castano-Perez, 21, of Fitzwalter Place, Dunmow, Essex, will next appear at St Albans Crown Court on 3 August.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-b ... s-53254987
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by magentaflame »

LarsMac wrote: Mon May 04, 2020 4:07 pm spot;1532583 wrote: As a hint of how America has been Disneyfied, Americans are celebrating May the Fourth Be With You Day.

Fifty years ago the Kent State University killing happened. America still hasn't even admitted that an order to fire was given, even though there's an audio tape of it. Most Americans don't know of the killings at all, much less that the day was the turning point in their post-war history.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... larization is a British newspaper. Perhaps people have seen a commemoration in an American paper for comparison, but I haven't.


I never heard anything about denial of an order to fire. That has, to my knowledge, been a presumed forever. The very first conference I attended on the event, on the 1971 anniversary, that was part of the presumed actions.

The major question was always why the Guardsmen were armed in the first place.
We were taught at school about that Uni thing.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

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spot wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:20 am
spot wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 4:07 pm spot;1523967 wrote: As for the police - despite the organizers saying they have done this pre-announced car cruise before, the police just issued a statement saying they had no knowledge it was taking place. Incompetent intelligence doesn't even scratch the surface.

Monkswood Way, should anyone be in doubt, is a public thoroughfare. 21:45 BST is dusk, sunset was a half hour earlier.

[...] It's scandalous and beyond comprehension that nobody has yet been arrested for anything related to this blatantly criminal venture. Was nobody speeding? Was nobody driving dangerously?

https://www.thecomet.net/news/stevenage ... -1-6260840 is the latest news report and what it says is that the police have taken no steps whatever. The council is belatedly attempting to move all future events from Stevenage into, presumably, Slough or some other equally benighted sink town.

Perhaps if the Chief Constable were suspended it would encourage his underlings to wake up and at least grill a few obvious suspects. Like the talentless boy-racers, at least.
So? I reported to police (which they strongly encourage you to do ) a breach of IVO back in February heard nothing of it. Reported again in May. They interviewed him For both last week. The breach of following me into the bank and standing behind me 15 minutes after the court granted an interim IVO .....was thrown out of court for "not being serious enough" and the prosecutor saying she hadn't seen the footage from the bank. ...... I have a friend in hospital who should be dead after a motorbike accident (already spent around 6 months in hospital with another 3 to 4 months to go because he's only just started to walk again in the last month. the truck driver who caused it? a fine for failing to stop ....that's it.


Twelve months it's taken them to get round to bringing these two prats into court. Perhaps someone retired and a replacement officer knew how to use the computer.
Dominic Brown and Julian Castano-Perez, both 21, face eight counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

The are also charged with 11 counts of wanton or furious driving, Stevenage Magistrates' Court heard.

Mr Brown, of Park Street Lane, St Albans, and Mr Castano-Perez, 21, of Fitzwalter Place, Dunmow, Essex, will next appear at St Albans Crown Court on 3 August.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-b ... s-53254987
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

Jarvis Cocker is the man, no doubt about it.
"You couldn't do a socially-distanced crowd surf, that'd be really dangerous."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52905245
Never fails to impress. What a guy.

I had a great-uncle called Jarvis from up north. Definitely pronounced Jar, not Gervaise.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by magentaflame »

So according to Trump "people have died who have never died before" .......well that clears that up
and apparently Rushmore won't be defaced. I've searched and searched and I can't find any reference to anyone wanting to deface Mount kRushmore.......why is he still in office?
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Re: The observation and asides thread

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magentaflame wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 2:01 pm So according to Trump "people have died who have never died before" .......well that clears that up
and apparently Rushmore won't be defaced. I've searched and searched and I can't find any reference to anyone wanting to deface Mount kRushmore.......why is he still in office?
AIM (The American Indian Movement) once voiced a desire to see Rushmore blown up.
I don't think that much ever came out of it. But then with recent calls to tear down a lot of monuments to "American Heroes" have been rather load. Trump was just playing to his fan base.
He is still in office because the ludicrous attempt to impeach his sorry ass was launched way to early with way too little actual evidence of his ineptitude.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

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So? ...like?... nobody noticed his ineptitude before he went into office? :?
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by LarsMac »

magentaflame wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 2:17 pm So? ...like?... nobody noticed his ineptitude before he went into office? :?
Plenty of us did. but not enough, apparently.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

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spot wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:20 amTwelve months it's taken them to get round to bringing these two prats into court. Perhaps someone retired and a replacement officer knew how to use the computer.

And the selfish antisocial gits are out in force this weekend again. Same place, same people, same disruption. All the council says is oh soz, we couldn't get an injunction because of the virus. Nonsense, mister councillor, that's as idle inept an excuse as anyone ever came up with.
Steph Ansell, co-organiser of the event, disagrees with Cllr Taylor, arguing the car enthusiast community shouldn’t be “tarnished with the same brush”.

In a joint statement with Herts Car Society’s co-owner, Ty Dell, they said: “What happened last year at the Cruise-Herts meet was completely devastating.

“I witnessed it myself and would never want anything like that happening again. That being said, it was a freak, terrible accident caused by two people out of thousands.”

https://www.thecomet.net/news/stevenage ... -1-6740261

No Steph, it wasn't a freak, terrible accident caused by two people out of thousands. Go and look at the photos of the skid marks in the car park. Every meet you ever had ends up covered in skid marks like those, local residents have to suffer through it time after time, and that's the direct collective fault of the organizers. Do you know why I'm harping on? I have tinnitus and I'm constantly having to cover my ears with my hands when your blasted "car enthusiasts" drive up the main street, foot down, minimal muffling and filthy thousand-watt rap echoing off the shop-fronts. I have no idea why noise emissions aren't a standard part of the MOT, none of you should be on the road in the first place.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

If, back at the beginning of March, the British Government had put the same measures in place that New Zealand did to deal with Covid-19 while at the same time flying one Airbus 320 full of randomly selected British citizens nose-first into the Bristol Channel every six hours, then (1) fewer people would have died, (2) it would have cost the country less than half the current expense, (3) the selection process would have been a great deal fairer and (4) Airbus would not be facing financial ruin today. That's how badly we've managed matters.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

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spot wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 1:03 pm If, back at the beginning of March, the British Government had put the same measures in place that New Zealand did to deal with Covid-19 while at the same time flying one Airbus 320 full of randomly selected British citizens nose-first into the Bristol Channel every six hours, then (1) fewer people would have died, (2) it would have cost the country less than half the current expense, (3) the selection process would have been a great deal fairer and (4) Airbus would not be facing financial ruin today. That's how badly we've managed matters.

'but but but we're doing a good job, poor Boris didn't expect this, he's done great considering.... its the peoples fault now when we get the second wave cos they are behaving like the virus is gone not the governments'



someone actually said that to me, I don't understand what outcomes they are viewing that makes them think our Government has done a good job, it just leaves me speechless.

PM Questions are akin to panto, not one question answered and just constant goading coming from the Conservative side.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

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Betty Boop wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 1:54 pm
spot wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2020 1:03 pm If, back at the beginning of March, the British Government had put the same measures in place that New Zealand did to deal with Covid-19 while at the same time flying one Airbus 320 full of randomly selected British citizens nose-first into the Bristol Channel every six hours, then (1) fewer people would have died, (2) it would have cost the country less than half the current expense, (3) the selection process would have been a great deal fairer and (4) Airbus would not be facing financial ruin today. That's how badly we've managed matters.

'but but but we're doing a good job, poor Boris didn't expect this, he's done great considering.... its the peoples fault now when we get the second wave cos they are behaving like the virus is gone not the governments'



someone actually said that to me, I don't understand what outcomes they are viewing that makes them think our Government has done a good job, it just leaves me speechless.

PM Questions are akin to panto, not one question answered and just constant goading coming from the Conservative side.
There's very few countries that could of done what New Zealand did. They are a very different demographic and geographic situation . Australia couldn't have done what they did . Different countries have had to do different things, depending on their ports, airline, population counts......it's all a mess because successive governments all around the world had their heads in the sand for so long.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

spot wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:20 am Twelve months it's taken them to get round to bringing these two prats into court. Perhaps someone retired and a replacement officer knew how to use the computer.
A case management hearing has now been set for December 11.

https://www.hertsad.co.uk/news/stevenag ... -1-6778488
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by FourPart »

I think New Zealand had a bit of the advantage of Hindsight. The delay factor gave them the chance to see what was happening elsewhere in the world & to learn from everyone else's mistakes. They are also incredibly fortunate to have a Prime Minister who was bold enough to take the right action at the right time & thus prevent a disaster. No doubt she probably had her critics at the time, maybe she still does, but in doing what she did she potentially saved thousands of lives.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by LarsMac »

It's estimated that a quarter million people are gathering at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota this week.
And few seem to care about taking precautions against COVID-19.
A couple weeks from now, the the "Third Wave" will be on our doorsteps, I think.
A shame, since we haven't even finished with the second one, yet.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

My theory, which is mine, is that the bikes take up a lot of space so the bikers will all be socially distanced by their equipment.

How does one have a bike rally if bikers drink? I never understood that bit.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by LarsMac »

spot wrote: Sun Aug 09, 2020 3:25 am My theory, which is mine, is that the bikes take up a lot of space so the bikers will all be socially distanced by their equipment.

How does one have a bike rally if bikers drink? I never understood that bit.
While they are riding, they are fairly distanced, but at Sturgis, a town the size of the fort at Dover, the bars get pretty crowded.
https://www.sturgismotorcyclerally.com/
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

LarsMac wrote: Sun Aug 09, 2020 1:30 pm While they are riding, they are fairly distanced, but at Sturgis, a town the size of the fort at Dover, the bars get pretty crowded.
https://www.sturgismotorcyclerally.com/
A wonderful page, I like the livecams.

A shop is advertising all-you-can-eat breakfast pizzas, and another announces that the official meat of the rally is beef. There was me thinking it might be lamb but no.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by LarsMac »

spot wrote: Sun Aug 09, 2020 3:49 pm
LarsMac wrote: Sun Aug 09, 2020 1:30 pm While they are riding, they are fairly distanced, but at Sturgis, a town the size of the fort at Dover, the bars get pretty crowded.
https://www.sturgismotorcyclerally.com/
A wonderful page, I like the livecams.

A shop is advertising all-you-can-eat breakfast pizzas, and another announces that the official meat of the rally is beef. There was me thinking it might be lamb but no.
You really should make the trip to Sturgis for Bike week, before you depart the planet.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

I have a couple of observations, from watching the livecams.

A large proportion of the bikers have no helmet on.

I haven't yet seen one african-american biker. I'm sure they exist but they're not visible at this rally.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

That senseless Prime Minister of ours has finally caught onto a truth:
Boris Johnson has branded attempts by people to cross the Channel in small boats as a “very bad and stupid and dangerous and criminal thing to do”.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... ss-channel
Yes! Well done Boris, keep it up.

I have a solution for you. Let the refugees travel on the ferries. Give them a ticket each and buy them a coffee and a cake as they make the crossing safely.

They are refugees because of British government policy, such as the regime-change destabilizing of Libya and Afghanistan and Iraq and Syria and Iran. Britain owes them. Britain should never have made them refugees in the first place.

Lisa Doyle, director of advocacy at the Refugee Council, said: “It’s incredibly disappointing to hear the Prime Minister using such inaccurate and inflammatory language to describe men, women and children who are desperate enough to make perilous journeys across the busiest shipping channel in the world.
“Seeking asylum is not a crime, and it is legitimate that people have to cross borders to do so.
“Instead of scapegoating people in desperate circumstances, the Prime Minister and his Government could address this by ensuring that people do not have to take these risks.

“If there were more safe and regular routes in place for people seeking asylum - such as a strong resettlement programme, humanitarian visas and reformed family reunion rules - the number of Channel crossings would decline sharply.”

Stephen Hale, chief executive of Refugee Action, said: “The Government needs to move on from soundbites and focus constructively on serious and long-term solutions.

“Britain is better than this. We have a proud history of welcoming people fleeing some of the most violent and oppressive regimes in the world and we can’t stop now.

“We want the Government to urgently restart and then commit long-term to its resettlement programme, which has supported thousands of refugees to make a new life in the UK.

“Equally, it must quickly reform the restrictive rules on family reunion so that families are not kept apart.”
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

spot wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2020 4:13 am
spot wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:20 amTwelve months it's taken them to get round to bringing these two prats into court. Perhaps someone retired and a replacement officer knew how to use the computer.

And the selfish antisocial gits are out in force this weekend again. Same place, same people, same disruption. All the council says is oh soz, we couldn't get an injunction because of the virus. Nonsense, mister councillor, that's as idle inept an excuse as anyone ever came up with.
Steph Ansell, co-organiser of the event, disagrees with Cllr Taylor, arguing the car enthusiast community shouldn’t be “tarnished with the same brush”.

In a joint statement with Herts Car Society’s co-owner, Ty Dell, they said: “What happened last year at the Cruise-Herts meet was completely devastating.

“I witnessed it myself and would never want anything like that happening again. That being said, it was a freak, terrible accident caused by two people out of thousands.”

https://www.thecomet.net/news/stevenage ... -1-6740261

No Steph, it wasn't a freak, terrible accident caused by two people out of thousands. Go and look at the photos of the skid marks in the car park. Every meet you ever had ends up covered in skid marks like those, local residents have to suffer through it time after time, and that's the direct collective fault of the organizers. Do you know why I'm harping on? I have tinnitus and I'm constantly having to cover my ears with my hands when your blasted "car enthusiasts" drive up the main street, foot down, minimal muffling and filthy thousand-watt rap echoing off the shop-fronts. I have no idea why noise emissions aren't a standard part of the MOT, none of you should be on the road in the first place.
And the council has, finally, reacted.
The future of car cruises in Stevenage will be decided at High Court later this month, as the council has applied for an injunction that would ban car cruising in the town.

Although certain hotspots have been used for car meets in the past, including Roaring Meg car park, Fairlands Valley and Monkswood Way, the injunction will seek to ban car meets in the entire district of Stevenage.

Steph Ansell, co-founder of Herts Car Society, believes this is another example of the car enthusiast community being “tarnished with the same brush”.
And not before time either.

When was the last time the Herts Car Society had an event and didn't leave skid marks at the venue? Try to be honest, Steph. Your idealized picture of an event is not reality and you know it.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

" 'Archbishop' of Florida church selling bleach 'miracle cure' arrested with son", according to the BBC.

I can only presume an all-points arrest warrant has also been issued for the Holy Ghost.

There's another headline today, "QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene wins Georgia Republican primary". I'm rather surprised there's anyone in America who disapproves of QAnon, a new power centre which relies on deliberate lies to gather proselyte believers worldwide in much the same way early Christianity did.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by AnneBoleyn »

spot wrote: Wed Aug 12, 2020 3:38 pm There's another headline today, "QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene wins Georgia Republican primary". I'm rather surprised there's anyone in America who disapproves of QAnon, a new power centre which relies on deliberate lies to gather proselyte believers worldwide in much the same way early Christianity did.
I guess it's too much to expect that our levels of sophistication have risen since then. So be it.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by LarsMac »

The daughter and I stopped at a Subway shop while in the County Seat getting some permits approved.
As she was ordering her sandwich, the guy asked, "White or Wheat?"
She replied "White"
The lady behind us piped up, "This IS Wheat Country. You should support our Wheat farmers."
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

You'll have to find out what they make the white from, clearly. But be cautious who you ask.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by LarsMac »

spot wrote: Thu Aug 13, 2020 10:57 am You'll have to find out what they make the white from, clearly. But be cautious who you ask.
I was about to ask, but the daughter cut me off with an elbow to the rib.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

I had visions of a gluten reactor saying "I'm intolerant" and a shop-wide gunfight breaking out. Perhaps that's only a British usage though.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

The UK imposed a deadline on 160,000 holidaymakers in France, saying get back to British soil by 4am tomorrow or quarantine for two weeks on return.

The capacity of the infrastructure is not sufficient.

The Channel has dozens of laid-up super-cruisers at anchor.

There's the makings of a film there, it anyone would like to make it.

I bet at least the Sun and Mail will have headlines using the word Dunkirk in the morning.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by FourPart »

spot wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2020 2:54 pm The UK imposed a deadline on 160,000 holidaymakers in France, saying get back to British soil by 4am tomorrow or quarantine for two weeks on return.

The capacity of the infrastructure is not sufficient.

The Channel has dozens of laid-up super-cruisers at anchor.

There's the makings of a film there, it anyone would like to make it.

I bet at least the Sun and Mail will have headlines using the word Dunkirk in the morning.
If they can't get a ferry the dinghies are still running.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by Betty Boop »

Social Housing for millionaires ?

There's a house on the social housing website that I am entitled to bid for, 4 beds over three floors, a bathroom on every floor. Just £840 a month !

That's more than I pay for a private rent! It's not even in a desirable area.
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Re: The observation and asides thread

Post by spot »

If that was in Bristol you'd get eight students in there.
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