Weird News

[xoxoxoBruce]

Of course.

[Carruthers]

This is a self-propelled gun.



It isn't a tank. Definitely not a tank.
What's the difference? Well, in the case of an MoD contract about £2.5 million each.

[Pamela]

I always thought that a tank had a fully rotatable turret on it and a SPG only could traverse a few degrees?

[Gravdigr]

From Quora:

Tank - an armored fighting vehicle armed with a high-caliber cannon on a rotating turret designed for direct engagements against other armored fighting vehicles.

Self-propelled artillery - an artillery platform with its own propulsion system. They are equipped with guns of a usually higher caliber than tanks (most have around 155 mm. cannons compared to the standard 120-125 mm. guns used on tanks) but are positioned on a higher angle for bombardment of long[er]-range targets. Also, unlike tanks, the armor of an SPA is usually only effective against small-arms fire and shrapnel since they are not designed for frontal engagements.

Self-propelled guns - also known as assault guns or tank destroyers. They're used for direct infantry support destroying fortifications and defensive emplacements with high-explosive shells. Can also be used either to take down other armored vehicles or as "short to medium ranged" artillery in some cases. Self-propelled guns are built around a forward-facing casemate placed on top of a tank chassis forcing the entire vehicle to turn around or rotate if facing a target in another direction.

FWIW

[Carruthers]

Thanks for that, sir!

Now I know.

[Gravdigr]

I make no guarantees as to the truthiness of those definitions.

[sexobon]

Jeepers! The sheriff's department that stole Christmas.

Elderly couple says 60 pounds of pot was for presents

YORK, Neb. — An elderly couple who was arrested in Nebraska with 60 pounds of marijuana in their truck told officers that the drugs were meant to be Christmas presents.

The York News-Times reports the couple were arrested Tuesday by the York County Sheriff's Department after they were stopped for a traffic violation.

Officers found the bags of marijuana in the Toyota Tacoma driven by the 80-year-old man and 83-year-old woman. They said they were driving from California to Vermont.

The couple was being held in York County jail on suspicion of felony drug charges.

[sexobon]

This gets even better ...

Couple busted with marijuana 'Christmas gifts' ID'd as parents of Vermont prosecutor

An elderly couple who were busted in Nebraska last week with 60 pounds of marijuana “Christmas presents” for relatives on the East Coast have been identified as the parents of a Vermont prosecutor who has handled some of the state’s most high-profile cases.

Patrick Jiron, 83, and Barbara, 70, of Clearlake Oaks, Calif., were arrested on Dec. 19 in York after police found weed in the back of their pickup truck. The Burlington Free Press later identified them as the parents of Justin Jiron, who is the Chittenden County chief deputy state’s attorney.

"Justin is in no way connected to this allegation other than by relation," Chittenden County State Attorney Sarah George, his boss, told the newspaper. "Justin is and has been a dedicated public servant for over 15 years, and I assure you he is as surprised and upset about these allegations as anyone." ...

[DanaC]

Poor sods. Not doin anybody any harm.

[Griff]

Word

[Undertoad]

people say that, at this time, if you are heading eastbound on I-70 in Kansas or I-80 in Nebraska, and have out-of-state plates, the chances are outstanding that you will be pulled over for some minor unconfirmable infraction to see if you are hauling weed out of Colorado.

ordinary law-abidin' people say they were pulled over three times before they could get through Kansas

[classicman]

My parents, both in their 80's can confirm UT's post. They drive out every year to ski and have been pulled over multiple times
while driving back.

[Pamela]

I-40 is a drug superhighway. I-10 is losing due to heavy enforcement. ANY E-W highway is a target nowadays.

[Clodfobble]

I used to think all these political things were just a little weird with a mild interesting streak thrown in--at least it's not a viagra ad, right? Except now I see all of them as Russian tools to destabilize other countries' governments, and they make me nauseous.

[Carruthers]

Museum offers gold toilet to Trump instead of Van Gogh's work

New York's Guggenheim museum has turned down a request from President Donald Trump to borrow Van Gogh's work for the White House - instead offering him a gold toilet, media reports say.

The museum apologised for not being able to furnish the White House with Van Gogh's Landscape With Snow, the Washington Post says.

But the Guggenheim suggested a "solid, 18-karat toilet" could be offered as an alternative.

The White House has made no comment.

According to the Washington Post, museum curator Nancy Spector responded to the White House request last September.

"I am sorry... to inform you that we are unable to participate in this loan since the painting is part of the museum's Thannhauser Collection, which is prohibited from travel except for the rarest of occasions," she wrote in an email.

The 1888 Van Gogh painting, the email added, would be exhibited at the museum's sister institution with the permission of the owners.

However, the curator added that the gold toilet created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was available to the White House "for a long-term loan".

"It is, of course, extremely valuable and somewhat fragile, but we would provide all the instructions for its installation and care," Ms Spector added.

The fully functional exhibit - titled America - is seen as a pointed satire on excessive wealth in the US

They should have offered something by Salvador Dali. Now that really is crap.
Sorry about the above indelicacy, but sometimes these things just have to be said.

Link