In the news

Anyway, that's me done for Morbid Friday. May everyone have safe journeys!

I'm not saying the punishments should not be more severe. But it's not on the top of my "things I'd like to be better with cycling" list.

It's not top of mine either, but it is on there, as I am pretty sure if the culture of motoring came with the real threat of punishment if you were careless, drivers would be more careful.
If drivers were more careful I am sure cycling would be more attractive.

I think it's also specifically the fact that he had illegally modified his car, massively reducing his visibility which suggests that he should be more responsible than an average "accident"

27 people dead in yet another school shooting in America, this time though it was a junior school.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20730717

Sick fucks

2 brothers, killed their Dad then went to the school where the Mum worked, shot her dead then went on rampage

One gunman shot himself, the other held by coppers

Mind boggling, really really sad

Right to own guns my arse you stupid American twats!

BBC interviewing someone talking about could it lead to arming teachers? Fuck sake.

Obama's speech fucking amazing, something might actually happen.

Right to own guns my arse you stupid American twats!

BBC interviewing someone talking about could it lead to arming teachers? Fuck sake.

Why not arm the kids too so they can also defend themselves?

BBC interviewing someone talking about could it lead to arming teachers? Fuck sake.

Obama's speech fucking amazing, something might actually happen.

Arming teachers with guns?!?!

#weeps

Ugh...

I'm fairly certain he did not mean to kill anyone. I'm also fairly certain he does not feel like a "winner" for having killed someone.

And it is terrible that someone died. More terrible than the person responsible feeling bad, of course. But the big issue is not punishment. The big issue is prevention. If you want to get your pitchforks out, join the Daily Mail comments section.

This is the whole reason I've virtually given up cycling... They are always let off because "they did not set out that morning intending to kill someone". But their actions make it inevitable. Even if they did intend to kill someone, they could deny it in court (unless they had committed it to their diary like in the final scene of 'Kind Hearts and Coronets') and then after their show of carefully coached 'remorse' they could read the copy in the papers next morning about how they were 'obviously devastated' and 'understandably distraught'. Utter bollocks...

Anyone who covers their windows in this film doesn't care about anyone outside the car. I would also prosecute the person who applied the film and the companies who manufacture it.

I normally press delete at this stage but in memory of Sam Harding and the former very wonderful Mary Bowers, I'm not going to.

Punishment f****** well is the answer!

Horrible school shooting but,

"With the death toll rising, it emerged that one entire classroom of students may remain unaccounted for, local sources reported."

I heard on the radio that the teacher saved her whole class by packing them into a bathroom. That's an epic win on her part for realising so quickly but it says a lot about life today that she could know a mad gunman was on a killing spree.

Ugh...

I'm fairly certain he did not mean to kill anyone. I'm also fairly certain he does not feel like a "winner" for having killed someone.

And it is terrible that someone died. More terrible than the person responsible feeling bad, of course. But the big issue is not punishment. The big issue is prevention. If you want to get your pitchforks out, join the Daily Mail comments section.

Hi Horatio,

Sorry that my words were crass. I should have said that there was one big loser and one guy that didn't lose much.

I am sure that the guy doesn't feel like a winner, but he has not lost anything - ie. he probably still has a job, is in contact with friends and family. The cyclist and his family / friends do not have this luxury.

Sorry, this whole 'drivers killing cyclists and getting away with it' thing is really getting to me.

Regarding the Sam Harding case, the bbc's story is very vague about which windows were tinted. The law regarding maximum tint only applies to the windscreen and front windows as far as I'm aware.

As for the defendant claiming he only opened the door a little to see if anyone was coming, that is quite clearly complete bullshit. No one in the UK is taught to do so, so no one does. Even as a cyclist, I'll confess that I've been guilty of taking less care than I should do.

The American school massacre is all over the morning papers.

Obama said some brilliantly insightful things.

Such a tragic waste of life.

The American school massacre is all over the morning papers.

Obama said some brilliantly insightful things.

Such a tragic waste of life.

Double tap to the headlines?
Too soon?

Obama wont do anything. After Gabrielle Giffords was shot, he said "We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in future." And promptly did nothing. If he didnt close Guantanamo Bay internment jail, which is a much easier thing to do, then he wont change American gun laws.

I've been to the US a good few times and enjoyed every time I've been there. I enjoy aspects of the culture (friendliness, open, welcoming, fun, varied), the people are great. But the prevalence of guns is the main reason I'd never live there. Horrible part of their society.

People in that town are now saying stuff like "this is unimaginable" or "I've never imagined a thing like that could happen here" - really? It's happened so many times in your country and it will happen again - why would your community be any different than those in which it's happened before?

I might be completely wrong with this figure, but I think about 25,000 people a year get killed by guns in the US.

2009 numbers are here - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm

Homicide only, approx 11,000.

Just done some reading on it. The majority of the remainder of the 30,000 gun deaths a year are suicides. Grim.
I know people will say there's not much you can do about that, but I disagree. People who try to overdose or injure themselves make recoveries, and are glad they didnt see it through. If you've got easy access to a gun... not much coming back from that.

Horrific... :(

Add to that over 30,000 road deaths a year:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year

Yet still they multiply.

Actually, they've been going down, but it is still a shockingly high number.

Oliver - if you want to discuss road use policy in the US I'm quite happy to share my experiences - it was job related for a while.

and in other news.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20738746

My teenage son managed to delete my admin account to get round the porn blocking program I had installed on the kids laptop. cleverness +10 Smartness -1000000.

Give the boy some porn.