Hell in a handcart....

[flatandy]

That said, having experienced the offerings of Lufthansa's entertainment systems yesterday I might have been better off doing nothing. f**k me, on the two transatlantic flights I watched 6 immensely average movies.

I do enjoy sitting looking out of the window with just the moving map for company for a lot of a flight, but there are always limitations:

1 - you need a window seat
2 - when you are literally the only person on the plane with the window open and everyone else is sleeping, you feel a bit guilty
3 - flying over ocean is boring (yesterday was a bit of an exception because our route got me rare good views of the Faroes only partially obscured by clouds, and some great Iceland, and a chunk of Greenland too (disturbing blue lakes in the ice that accelerate melting of the cap, btw))
4 - flying over cloud is very, very boring
5 - flying over some parts of the US midwest or northern Canada also gets very monotonous as it's just the same view for hours.
You really need desert, mountains, rivers or cities to make it a worthwhile experience.

A long flight without entertainment from a middle seat in economy is not going to be wonderfully rewarding.

[perrykneeham]

"Leaders of a school where two pupils died after a Land Rover crashed into an end-of-term tea party say they feel let down by the Metropolitan Police’s investigation.

Last week, prosecutors decided the driver of the car that killed eight-year-olds Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau would not be prosecuted as she had suffered an epileptic seizure.

The Met has now launched a review of its investigation into the crash at The Study Preparatory School in Wimbledon, south-west London.

In their first interviews since the pupils were killed, the current and former headteacher, who was in charge at the time of the crash, have told BBC News the Met has failed to answer some of their key questions about the incident.

They say they are “angry, sad and confused” by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decision not to prosecute."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c03lgdzpw8go

Ohjustfuckoff. Who do these people think they are? They need to wind their necks in. Who cares what they think? How is it even relevant?

[perrykneeham]

Schools are full of megalomaniac tossers. As is Parliament.

[Repat Van]

Jul 4, 2024 7:44:59 GMT perrykneeham said:

"Leaders of a school where two pupils died after a Land Rover crashed into an end-of-term tea party say they feel let down by the Metropolitan Police’s investigation.

Last week, prosecutors decided the driver of the car that killed eight-year-olds Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau would not be prosecuted as she had suffered an epileptic seizure.

The Met has now launched a review of its investigation into the crash at The Study Preparatory School in Wimbledon, south-west London.

In their first interviews since the pupils were killed, the current and former headteacher, who was in charge at the time of the crash, have told BBC News the Met has failed to answer some of their key questions about the incident.

They say they are “angry, sad and confused” by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decision not to prosecute."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c03lgdzpw8go

Ohjustfuckoff. Who do these people think they are? They need to wind their necks in. Who cares what they think? How is it even relevant?

Side note - I had no idea it was legal to drive if you suffered epilepsy.

No idea why but I thought it was considered too risky.

Those poor children and their families.



Edit: it’s not so clear.


www.gov.uk/guidance/neurological-disorders-assessing-fitness-to-drive#:~:text=The%2520person%2520with%2520epilepsy%2520must,before%2520licensing%2520may%2520be%2520considered.&text=seizure%252Fisolated%2520seizure-,%E2%9C%98%252D%2520Must%2520not%2520drive%2520and%2520must%2520notify%2520DVLA.,factor%2520that%2520may%2520increase%2520risk.

[marechal]

You would think it should be.

[mids]

I'd have thought the only reason to prosecute would be if the driver had been diagnosed with epilepsy and would likely be banned from driving. That wasn't the case though. The driver had a severe medical emergency while driving which led to an accident. Very sad that two children were killed but it seems like unavoidable bad luck.

[perrykneeham]

Jul 4, 2024 7:56:18 GMT marechal said:

You would think it should be.

Yeah,I think it's pretty cut and dried really. You'll probably get away without a ban if you have a single ischemic event, but that can depend on your doctor. I wigged out one day about fourteen years ago and didn't get banned - the doctor said it was up to me if I told the DVLA.

[Repat Van]

No idea how the investigation progressed (but given it was the police it was likely to be rubbish) but I wonder if they properly investigated whether the driver had medical clearance to drive or was driving illegally.

Edit:

I also don’t know how that link messed up so badly.

www.gov.uk/guidance/neurological-disorders-assessing-fitness-to-drive#:~:text=The%2520person%2520with%2520epilepsy%2520must,before%2520licensing%2520may%2520be%2520considered.&text=seizure%252Fisolated%2520seizure-,%E2%9C%98%252D%2520Must%2520not%2520drive%2520and%2520must%2520notify%2520DVLA.,factor%2520that%2520may%2520increase%2520risk.

[perrykneeham]

I'm sure that would have occured to them, yes. Maybe pop it in an email to them, just in case, eh?

[mids]

Yeah I think just maybe it might have occurred to the professionals to make a few enquiries.


"Her solicitor, Mark Jones, said her epilepsy had "never previously manifested itself" and Ms Freemantle "had always enjoyed good health".

Jaswant Narwal, chief crown prosecutor, said the CPS had "carefully considered this complex and sensitive case, taking into consideration all the material gathered as part of the lengthy and detailed police investigation".

“Because there is nothing to suggest the driver could have done anything to predict or prevent this tragedy, it is not in the public interest to pursue a criminal prosecution," she said.

Ms Narwal said the CPS had considered Ms Freemantle's medical records and received evidence from neurological specialists who agreed it was the first seizure she had experienced."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw4448xx4keo

[perrykneeham]

Ms Narwal probably has a point.

[Repat Van]

“The CPS said there was no evidence Ms Freemantle had ever suffered a similar seizure before and she had no previously diagnosed medical condition.”

Ok well it seems she wasn’t driving illegally then so there isn’t really much more the CPS can do now in this case (assuming this is true and assuming the investigation was thorough and consisted of more than merely asking if she had ever had a fit before.)

Just a sad accident. Hopefully the driver has hanged up her driving gloves though.

[mids]

"and received evidence from neurological specialists who agreed it was the first seizure she had experienced."

[perrykneeham]

That is quite a big point, that Ms Narwal has.

[flatandy]

So, we should ban anyone from driving who might in the future have an epileptic seizure? Sounds like a good plan.

[perrykneeham]

Yeah, but then there would be no point to Ms Narwal. Only her husband.

[flatandy]

A point to Mr Narwhal? Tsk!

[Repat Van]

Jul 4, 2024 10:05:32 GMT mids said:

"and received evidence from neurological specialists who agreed it was the first seizure she had experienced."

Not in my link. Just saw this post now.

[mids]

Jul 4, 2024 8:09:34 GMT Repat Van said:

www.gov.uk/guidance/neurological-disorders-assessing-fitness-to-drive#:~:text=The%2520person%2520with%2520epilepsy%2520must,before%2520licensing%2520may%2520be%2520considered.&text=seizure%252Fisolated%2520seizure-,%E2%9C%98%252D%2520Must%2520not%2520drive%2520and%2520must%2520notify%2520DVLA.,factor%2520that%2520may%2520increase%2520risk.

Not in this abomination? You don't say?

[perrykneeham]

"Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards have branded Uefa’s choice of referee for England’s European Championship semi-final against Netherlands “not a good look” after he was banned for his part in a match-fixing scandal.

The trio used their The Rest is Football podcast to speak out against the appointment of Felix Zwayer, who also has history with Jude Bellingham after the midfielder was fined €40,000 for publicly raising the German’s past while playing for Borussia Dortmund."

www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/07/08/england-vs-netherlands-semi-ref-match-fixing-bellingham/

I think you'd have to go a long way to find a neater demonstration of how degenerate and hypocritical football has become. A referee is caught match-fixing and is allowed back into the game at the highest level. Mentioning this attracts punishment.

Bloody hell. What a racket. I'll long suspected that sporting authorities fix tournaments for commercial entertainment reasons. I'm beginning to wonder if that's as far-fetched as I thought.