Merry Merry,
I don’t know where to start today. I don’t understand why folks are determined to make other folks feel bad. On the other hand, it’s Christmas and I see the spirit everywhere.
I’m reading American Indian History and history of the Badlands. We need to look at history and what people went through to survive just 150 years ago and how today I can warm up the house in Deadwood from my computer a thousand miles away. The Redhead’s new Subaru Outback was like buying a new cell phone, with multiple apps, maps, entertainment, weather predictions and the SUV has heated seats and keyless ignition.
Jeremiah's bobber is back and safe in the shop.
Imagine riding to the Badlands in South Dakota on horseback in 1848. The Camanche Indians, didn’t grow anything. They ate whatever they could kill including people. And if they couldn’t find water, they drank buffalo blood. So, you’re riding to your new home in Deadwood and you could be attacked by Indians who are trying to attack other tribes. You could starve to death, because there were no 7/11s yet. You could freeze to death in the winter because there were no bic lighters to start a fire. And fires need to be banned because of Global Warming.
My grandson and his bros leaving, after a 5-Ball leather run.
Hell, I have a smart TV in this little 100-year-old home. Unfortunately, last night after shoveling snow for 2.5 hours and walking to town, where Scott Jacobs and his lovely wife Sharon fixed us dinner at their Brewhouse, and then I walked back to my sensor controlled heated home and had dinner with the Redhead, we watched a dread, anti-holidays movie. We finally turned on the TV after two days of clarity and discovered the new George Clooney flick, “The Midnight Sky.” It’s all about un-explained doom and gloom or Climate mayhem. Fucking thing made no sense.
Oh, but it would surely bring any ignorant soul to supreme climate hysterics. I don’t get it, and maybe I do. So, while you are living in the best of times, under the finest conditions, surrounded by amazing technology and fantastic gifts for your kids, you stumble on George’s movie, freak out, light your SUV on fire and commit suicide over your gas stove and home heating sins.
Let’s hit the news:
Click for all the info...
The Bikernet Weekly News is sponsored in part by companies who also dig Freedom including:
Cycle Source Magazine, the MRF, Las Vegas Bikefest,
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Quick Throttle Magazine came on board.
Click for Action.- I wonder how many of YOU will know who ALL of these guys are...
With your records, you'll never amount to anything.
--El Waggs
Chief Crime Investigator
Bikernet Penal Institution
HOLIDAY GREETINGS FROM BIKERLID--
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click for action!-I seem to have piles of pictures everywhere, not sure what happened. MAC still out of order, I don’t suppose I could get an advance for the 22G MAC Pro?
Don’t recall the young ladies name, wife of one of Southern Metal Cycles customers, she was fun to work with, never been in front of the camera modeling. We were giving her ideas. This was her Dr Evil impersonation.
--RFR
Associate Editor
Bikernet.com™
U.S. Congress Passes Bill to Commemorate Route 66 Centennial--By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
The U.S. House of Representatives passed SEMA-supported legislation to create a commission that would recommend ways to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Route 66, which was commissioned in 1926 as the first all-paved U.S. highway.
The “Route 66 Centennial Commission Act,” S. 1014, creates a 15-person commission with representatives appointed by the President of the United States based on recommendations from the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. House and Senate Republican and Democratic leaders, and the Governors of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
The commission has two years to make recommendations to Congress for celebrating the 100th anniversary of Route 66. It may recommend the production of various written materials, films and documentaries, education programs, artistic works, commemorative memorabilia and celebrations to commemorate Route 66’s storied history. The legislation unanimously passed the U.S. Senate in August, which now heads to President Trump’s desk for his signature.
For more information, contact Eric Snyder at
erics@sema.org.
ROGUE ON XMAS—Merry Christmas to all and a wonderful free-spirit new year for everyone.
--Rogue
Senior Editor
Bikernet.com™
BRAND New Bikernet Reader Comment!--RESTRICTIVE BIKERNET WEEKLY NEWS for December 17, 2020
https://www.bikernet.com/pages/RESTRICTIVE_BIKERNET_WEEKLY_NEWS_for_December_17_2020.aspx
I imagine you heard the news about Excelsior-Henderson being bought by Bajaj, the bike mfr out of India!
https://www.cycleworld.com/story/motorcycle-news/excelsior-henderson-revival/
-- Paul Aiken
Charlotte, NC
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QUICK, OPEN THE BANDIT’S CANTINA BAD JOKE LIBRARY--A Pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won.
The Pastor was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the race again and it won again.
The local paper read: PASTOR'S ASS OUT FRONT.
The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the Pastor not to enter the donkey in another race.
The next day the local paper headline read: BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR'S ASS.
This was too much for the Bishop so he ordered the Pastor to get rid of the donkey.
The Pastor decided to give it to a Nun in a nearby convent.
The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day: NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN.
The Bishop fainted.
He informed the Nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey so she sold it to a farm for $10.
The next day the paper read: NUN SELLS ASS FOR $10
This was too much for the Bishop so he ordered the Nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild.
The next day the headlines read: NUN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE.
The Bishop was buried the next day.
The moral of the story is . . . being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery and even shorten your life.
So be yourself and enjoy life.
Stop worrying about everyone else's ass and just cover your own !!!
You'll be a lot happier and live longer!
--El Waggs
Official Librarian
Bandit’s Cantina Bad Joke Library™
Chance of a lifetime. Click and join.ATF Decision Could Lead to Biggest Gun Registration, Turn-in Effort in American History
Agency's vague AR-15 pistol standards could affect millions
New guidance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) could put millions of Americans in legal jeopardy.
The ATF published a notice Thursday that could require millions of AR-15 pistols and similar firearms—which are designed with braces that strap on to a shooter's forearm—to be either registered, turned in, destroyed, or dismantled. But the standards laid out for determining the devices' legality, such as caliber or weight, provide no objective measures, and the agency said it may also use undisclosed factors to judge the legality of the devices.
The agency conceded in the notice that some pistol braces are legal and should not be subject to the registration or destruction requirement. It said, however, that it could not provide a blanket determination for which pistols, or braces with which they're often equipped, are legal and said it would have to examine each gun "on a case-by-case basis." That means owners of the vast majority of the estimated three to four million AR-15 pistols and similar firearms may have to register with the ATF.
Second Amendment advocates were up in arms over the proposed rule, saying the uncertain legal status could destroy several businesses that make pistol braces and harm the gun industry. Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America (GOA), said the subjective nature of the guidance shows that the "ATF has gone off into the deep end."
"GOA will rally the grassroots to fight these regulations, and if they eventually go into effect, we will commence immediate legal action to protect gun owners," Pratt said in a statement.
The controversy stems from how federal law distinguishes between short-barrel rifles and shotguns, both of which must be registered and require a $200 tax stamp, and pistols that do not require either. The key component is whether a firearm is designed to be pressed against the shooter's shoulder. Since 2012, the ATF has classified several guns with braces designed to strap to a shooter's forearm as pistols. The agency's Boston field office called that interpretation into question in August after sending a cease and desist letter to one manufacturer. The agency ordered a review in October following intervention from the White House.
Neither the ATF nor the White House responded to a request for comment.
The notice said the agency plans to waive the $200 tax for those registering the affected firearms during a grace period to be announced later. The public has two weeks to offer comment on the ATF notice before it goes into effect.
--by Stephen Gutowski
freebeacon.com
TEACHING MOTORCYCLES TO COMMUNICATE
In an international effort to improve road safety for motorcyclists, a number of motorcycle manufacturers are co-operating to connect motorcycles with other vehicles and infrastructure.
In the Connected Motorcycle Consortium (CMC), motorcycle manufacturers BMW, Honda, KTM and Yamaha work together to develop new standards and techniques to connect motorcycles with other vehicles and infrastructure.
CMC started in 2016, because C-ITS (Cooperative Intelligent Transport System) specifications for passenger cars had not taken motorcycle specific safety factors and challenges into consideration sufficiently. The consortium aims at joining forces between motorcycle manufacturers, suppliers, research institutes and associations, to make motorcycles part of the future connected mobility.
The first goal was to define a first ‘basic specification’ for motorcycles to connect and ‘talk the same language’ to other vehicles or infrastructure by means of wireless communication. The next move will be CMC ‘NEXT’ with a wider scope, as motorcycle experts will be looking at further improvements of the specification while at the same time taking account of new functions supported by on-board sensors both in cars and in motorcycles.
“I am very glad that the motorcycle industry has joined forces to develop these specifications,” commented FEMA (Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associations) General Secretary Dolf Willigers, adding that “The new technologies that are involved here will assist the car drivers in their task and by doing so will make the road safer for motorcyclists.”
Current developments in the industry offer a glimpse of what a solution by CMC might look like:
~ Smartphones – especially when connected via the upcoming, powerful 5G network – could be a major part of the solution, transmitting information between nearby vehicles.
~ Inspired by military headgear, U.S. manufacturers are designing smart helmets for PTWs, with cameras for traffic in front of and behind the driver and LEDs projecting warnings on the visor.
~ Researchers point to the value of intelligent speed controllers.
A number of manufacturers have already presented various innovations towards a fully operational C-ITS:
~ BMW’s ConnectedRide, introduced in 2016, warns bikers when a car comes into the blind spot of their rearview mirror.
~ KTM is working on a Blind Spot Detection system, using short-range radar.
~ Ducati has collaborated with Audi on C-V2X technology warning drivers of a collision when near a crossing or behind a driver who suddenly brakes.
What’s missing for now is the required infrastructure, and the regulatory obligation for all vehicles to be equipped with such systems. The European Commission has launched an EU-wide strategy for C-ITS, facilitating investments and exploring the rules required.
--from Bill Bish and NCOM
See Bill’s entire legislative report on Bikernet right now.—Bandit
https://www.bikernet.com/pages/story_detail.aspx?id=14755&id=14755
NMA ALERT--ALPRs win the Day in the Virginia Supreme Court
Automatic License Plate Readers or ALPRs can detail a motorist's comings and goings without any thought of whether the person driving is suspected of nefarious activity. Some motorists around the country are challenging ALPR tracking in court. The latest dispatch comes from Virginia.
In 2015, motorist Harrison Neal started his legal battle over the Fairfax Police Department's use of automated license plate readers. Neal argued, with help from the Virginia Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, that Fairfax, a heavily populated DC suburb, used ALPRs to scan license plates of non-criminal suspects. The ongoing police surveillance amounted to a violation of state privacy laws.
After a lengthy civil trial, the judge ruled that the license plate data did not qualify as "personal information" because it was not attached to a name. The ACLU appealed, and the case ended up in the state's highest court, where it was quickly remanded back to Fairfax County Circuit Court.
In that trial, Circuit Judge Robert Smith agreed with Neal and found the system "provides a means through which a link to the identity of a vehicle's owner can be readily made." The judge also stated that a "passive use" of the system violated the state's data law and placed an injunction blocking the blanket capture of license plate information. The Fairfax police appealed, and the case again went to the State Supreme Court.
In October 2020, the state's highest court rolled back Circuit Court Judge Smith's decision. In a 15-page opinion, Justice Stephen McCullough wrote that to violate state law, the ALPR system would have to be a "record-keeping process," noting that photos of cars with time and location data may be kept because they alone cannot identify a person. He added:
"The strictures of the Data Act contemplate accountability and responsibility by an agency for the data it keeps—not data it can query from other sources."
McCullough acknowledged that this was indeed a loophole.
"These separate databases certainly facilitate the investigative process by confirming the accuracy of a hit generated by the ALPR-system, but they are not part of the ALPR system and do not form part of its record-keeping process."
Virginia ACLU Executive Director Claire Gastanga noted that these systems allow police departments to track motorists going anywhere at anytime. She also issued the following in a written statement:
"This personal information sits in a database for a year whether you're a suspect of a crime or not. Security and privacy can both be protected without giving police the unregulated power to collect private information 'just because' and 'just in case.'"
Virginia State Police purge its database of license data after 24 hours. Some local departments keep license plate data for up to two years. Local police officials claim they use the information to solve crimes and find missing people.
The Fairfax County Police retain license plate data for one year. After the most recent ruling, Chief Edwin Roessler Jr. told the The Washington Post that his department "will continue to provide the highest level of ethical service to our communities while safeguarding the privacy and constitutional rights of all that we serve."
The issue will likely be revisited in January by the Virginia General Assembly. In 2015, a bipartisan coalition of privacy advocates pushed a law through both state houses that was later vetoed by then-Governor Terry McAuliffe. The bill would have imposed a seven-day limit on keeping license plate data by police. State Senator Chap Peterson, who introduced the 2015 bill, said this about the Supreme Court's most recent ruling:
"If taken to its logical conclusion, state or local agencies can collect and hold personal data indefinitely, as long as they keep it in separate databases with separate passwords. That misses the point of the Data Act, which is to prevent 'the government' from holding your personal information. Whether or not it can be shared within the government is not relevant, at least in my view."
After Governor McAuliffe's veto in 2015, Harrison Neal filed a freedom of information request with the Fairfax PD. He wanted records of his vehicle, and received two photos of his car and license plate, with the time and place taken. The state's data act declares that within government agencies, "There shall be no personal information whose existence is secret" and "Information shall not be collected unless the need for it has been clearly established in advance."
So, why was the Fairfax PD collecting Harrison Neal's license plate data?
ACLUs Gastanga said in the Washington Post:
"The court is saying it's just fine for police departments to engage in mass surveillance and indefinite retention of data and share it across agencies with no limit. Since it's multiple agencies, somehow, it's not covered. As long as Fairfax shared it and it can all be assessed in one place, it's not a 'system' because it's outside the agency."
Gastanga also said that the Virginia General Assembly should take up the issue. She believes that civilian review boards of local police should become a part of the discussion, adding:
"These boards should consider reviewing policies and begin a conversation about how people should want to be policed, to tell their departments that this kind of unlimited passive collection of private information and data should stop. And, at a minimum, retention time should be limited."
The NMA recommends that local and state ALPR regulations:
Restrict the use of ALPRs to municipal, county or state law enforcement agencies
Prevent sharing of plate data for any reason
Require deletion of data after 10 days unless flagged
Limit the types of crimes and violations that data can be used to investigate
Restrict data matching to specific databases such the State Criminal Justice Information Network, National Crime Information Center and missing/kidnapped persons lists
Help us discover which communities are abusing the privacy rights of citizens by inquiring whether your locality permits ALPR use and, if so, what protections it has in place. Click here and then on “Write an Effective Public Records Request” for helpful tips on getting the information you seek from government agencies.
