Today's Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

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#3449004 2-Jan-2026 16:04

Hamburg initially concluded that the celebrations were ‘largely typical for New Year's Eve’, but there were also some dramatic incidents here. Around a thousand emergency personnel were on the streets. Passers-by, buildings and police forces were fired at with fireworks. Particularly explosive: in some parts of the city, firefighters were attacked with rockets while extinguishing fires; the fires could only be put out with police protection. Ten Hamburg police officers were injured. In addition, the Reeperbahn had to be temporarily closed due to overcrowding.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, two 18-year-olds were killed on New Year's Eve by homemade pyrotechnics. They had set off their fireworks on a playground in Bielefeld, police said during the night. They suffered fatal injuries to their faces. In Wiesbaden, there was a stabbing during the night. A 23-year-old man was killed and a 22-year-old man was seriously injured. The police arrested two 22-year-old suspects.

Qui nihil scit, omnia credere debet.
Firewalls do NOT stop dragons.
In effect we have everything to hide from someone, and no idea who someone is.

Behodar

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#3449058 2-Jan-2026 16:54

Tinkerisk:

They had set off their fireworks on a playground in Bielefeld, police said during the night.

Well at least make it somewhere believable!

Tinkerisk

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#3449064 2-Jan-2026 17:22

Behodar:

Tinkerisk:

They had set off their fireworks on a playground in Bielefeld, police said during the night.

Well at least make it somewhere believable!

What do you think is implausible? The report is a direct translation of an official, reputable source and this incident has fuelled the current debate on a total ban on private fireworks in Germany. In Berlin, 2,500 emergency personnel were deployed, and there were 25 serious injuries and amputations, including 8 children. Everything was confirmed by official sources.

https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/silvester-2026-102.html

(in German)

Qui nihil scit, omnia credere debet.
Firewalls do NOT stop dragons.
In effect we have everything to hide from someone, and no idea who someone is.

Behodar

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#3449066 2-Jan-2026 17:27

I was under the impression that everyone in Germany knew about the conspiracy. Evidently not. You may ignore the joke.

Tinkerisk

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#3449069 2-Jan-2026 17:36

Behodar:

I was under the impression that everyone in Germany knew about the conspiracy. Evidently not. You may ignore the joke.

The commonly known joke stops with death at the latest – even with the blackest humour, which I personally am not averse to. Bielefeld does not exist, but the two dead teenagers do.

Qui nihil scit, omnia credere debet.
Firewalls do NOT stop dragons.
In effect we have everything to hide from someone, and no idea who someone is.

Behodar

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#3449070 2-Jan-2026 17:45

Sorry. I was trying to bring a little levity to the situation but it looks like I overstepped. No offence intended.

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gzt

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#3449086 2-Jan-2026 18:29

Tinkerisk:
Hamburg initially concluded that the celebrations were ‘largely typical for New Year's Eve’, but there were also some dramatic incidents here. Around a thousand emergency personnel were on the streets. Passers-by, buildings and police forces were fired at with fireworks. Particularly explosive: in some parts of the city, firefighters were attacked with rockets while extinguishing fires; the fires could only be put out with police protection. Ten Hamburg police officers were injured. In addition, the Reeperbahn had to be temporarily closed due to overcrowding.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, two 18-year-olds were killed on New Year's Eve by homemade pyrotechnics. They had set off their fireworks on a playground in Bielefeld, police said during the night. They suffered fatal injuries to their faces. In Wiesbaden, there was a stabbing during the night. A 23-year-old man was killed and a 22-year-old man was seriously injured. The police arrested two 22-year-old suspects.

Imo NZ had more than it's average fireworks related disorder this new year. A minor political party previously spoke about banning individual purchase. That will probably happen.

Elsewhere I heuristicly expected higher than average random violence this year after hearing some random yelling from tense people during late xmas shopping. I'm not sure if there was any increase.

Tinkerisk

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#3449115 3-Jan-2026 03:21

As teenagers, we also built and tuned legal firecrackers – no question about it.

But what's going on these days requires an explosives licence – these are spherical bombs that are actually only intended for professional pyrotechnicians. I don't understand why anyone would want to do that to illegally themselves (and others).

I advocate banning private fireworks and instead having a fantastic, professional fireworks display organised by the city/community that everyone can enjoy safely.

Qui nihil scit, omnia credere debet.
Firewalls do NOT stop dragons.
In effect we have everything to hide from someone, and no idea who someone is.

kingdragonfly

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#3449338 3-Jan-2026 18:59

Tinkerisk:
As teenagers, we also built and tuned legal firecrackers – no question about it.

I was about to exchange experience about my crazy friends in my youth, but I became self-aware I'd be providing clues to the clueless. There's enough idiots out there without giving fresh ideas.

I think the most common fatal mistake is simply stockpiling massive amounts in a garage and leaving the door open when using bottle rockets and roman candles.

Don’t be a Dummy Firework Safety Public Service Announcement

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Safely using Bottle Rockets and Roman Candle Fireworks

Spring Fire Department

deepred

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#3449460 3-Jan-2026 23:44

And it looks like the tragic nightclub fire in Switzerland was caused by a sparkler in a bottle being held too close to the ceiling, and set the flammable soundproofing alight...

BBC: What images and videos tell us about why Swiss bar fire spread so quickly

"I regret to say that we of the F.B.I. are powerless to act in cases of oral-genital intimacy, unless it has in some way obstructed interstate commerce." — J. Edgar Hoover

"Create a society that values material things above all else. Strip it of industry. Raise taxes for the poor and reduce them for the rich and for corporations. Prop up failed financial institutions with public money. Ask for more tax, while vastly reducing public services. Put adverts everywhere, regardless of people's ability to afford the things they advertise. Allow the cost of food and housing to eclipse people's ability to pay for them. Light blue touch paper." — Andrew Maxwell

kingdragonfly

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#3450318 6-Jan-2026 11:16

F'd up and cowardly in so many ways.

Out of Montana, a lightly populated mid-west state, with strong right-wing ties.

Man pressured to confess he killed his dad. His dad was alive and well

ABC7

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kingdragonfly

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#3450880 8-Jan-2026 21:21

For decades, the most extreme air rifles in the US have always been dangerous, but this is ridiculous.

The AEA ZEUS .72 Cal is a large bore, high-energy, Pre-Charged Pneumatic "PCP" air rifle. Typical fill pressures are very high (e.g., up to around 4500 psi / ~310 bar).

A "Dirty Harry" 44 Magnum handgun has less energy than this airgun. It's equivalent rifle rounds, a 357 Magnum (rifle barrel) or .30-30 Winchester (lighter loads).

I believe NZ law treats as “specially dangerous” airguns. It would likely mean it’s treated like a firearm requiring a licence.

In the US it's merely an unregulated airgun.

The Air Rifle That Is More Powerful Than a FIREARM! (No Background Check)

1ShotTV

From the presenter saying the quiet part out loud: "for people that can't own firearms (convicted felons, etc), this is a great alternative."

Behodar

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#3452147 12-Jan-2026 08:04

Getting into work and finding that I received an email from Microsoft over the holidays. "Thank you for setting up [cloud service I've never touched in my life]. Now here's some documentation on how to get the most out of it."

I haven't even been here, so I can't have accidentally set this up. This strikes me as "let's just toss emails at random people and hope they start using more products".

deepred

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#3452335 12-Jan-2026 15:54

Behodar:

Getting into work and finding that I received an email from Microsoft over the holidays. "Thank you for setting up [cloud service I've never touched in my life]. Now here's some documentation on how to get the most out of it."

I haven't even been here, so I can't have accidentally set this up. This strikes me as "let's just toss emails at random people and hope they start using more products".

Actual Microsoft email, or just pretending to be from Microsoft?

Behodar

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#3452337 12-Jan-2026 15:59

Actual. It wouldn't surprise me if someone in IT thought "we should be using this, so let's enable it for a bunch of users". Not that they should be doing that since we've been in the Christmas change freeze.

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