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Chinise lantern boycott.


mark skelton

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I wouldn't advocate banning them that would be falling into the lap of the nanny state......maybe limit how long the candle would burn. After all we haven't banned matches and look how much damage they do in irresponsible hands.

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I think the difference is that neither cars nor matches are set alight and then left to drift wherever the wind takes them with little, or no thought of the consequences.

I'm all against the nanny state, but Chinese lanterns are just an accident waiting to happen.

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These were on sale at the Newark Americana festival this summer. I heard many announcements during the Saturday that

'after an incident last night, Chinese Lanterns are not to be launched.'

Aparently, one or more lanterns had burst into flames on the Friday night and showered campers with fire. Would like to have seen it.

Steve

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What i find dangerous about these lanterns is that once released, you have absolutely no control over them. Also, you haven't a clue if the flame is extinguished before it lands, or if parts of them will be eaten by farm animals.

Rather than banning them though, how about tethering them to your wrist like a kite? You wouldn't be able to "oooh and ahhh" as they fade away into the darkness, but at least you'd be in control. And if it lands on your roof before the flame goes out, think of how your neighbors will "oooh and ahhh" as they watch the pretty flames leap into the sky. :)

... Launch responsibly. :blob10:

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I agree that the concept of banning people from carrying out dangerous activities is problematic if the the only person who could be harmed is the person carrying out the activity. However, chinese lanterns pose a serious risk to others.

Four weeks ago we were camping and some idiot let off chinese lanterns that then drifted over people sleeping in their tents and into a National Nature Reserve. If one had come down on one of the tents, the occupants could easily have burned to death.

Was it a bunch of local yobs? - No. It was an idiot father trying to entertain his children.

I'm sorry, but the risk to others and to wildlife is high, ban them before someone dies.

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If you drop litter - You're fined.

If you commit arson - You go to prison.

If you release a Chinese Lantern - "Coo... isn't that lovely, can we all have one too?"

Spot on. It's a floating fire bomb

I'm totally amazed these haven't been banned yet considering our modern overreaction to health and safety

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Living where I do in southern France the hot dry climate makes people very aware of fire. There are no fireworks allowed here and in summer barbecues are also often banned, mainly because they provoke time wasting false alarms.

So I'm sorry but sending uncontrolled burning things up into the air is so moronically stupid that it needs to be made illegal. You have to balance the loss of life quality (rather slight) against the potential misery (very severe.)

As for the English habit of annually selling explosives to children, I thnk it terrible. The annual crop of burns and disfigurements fails my simple equation above.

But Astro Baby, enfeebled as I am by old age and idleness, I am still a strong enough cyclist to prefer the stiffness of carbon fibre to the - ah - suppleness of foam rubber in bicycle construction!!!

Olly

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Citizens will be free finally from the dangers of ball point pens, spoons, cutelry and foodstuffs and will I am sure be delighted in finally having a world free from any risk.
Heheh. I think I will watch the following program with interest. Might have something useful to say on the idea of a "life without risk" - Particularly for the male of our species. Who knows... Maybe even society as a whole? :)

Daily Post North Wales - Leisure - TV Wales - Programme News - BBC's favourite choir master turns his attentions to the classroom

I sense the very notion (title / description above) might drive some contemporary thinkers into moral panic! LOL :hello2:

Aside: I do see the Chinese Lantern phenomenon (even "out of season" fireworks) as strangely symptomatic of the need for SOME folks to "involve everyone" in their (our) mundane lives. The absence of Chinese Lanterns would not worry me overmuch! I still rather lament rigid controls on fireworks - (A responsible) "Bonfire Night" still invokes happy memories of a personal (maybe important) father-son relationship. And maybe even GIRLS (and/or risk-taking mothers!) can relate? :blob10:

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Back on banning cars becuse they are dangerous...

No, because for the moment we have become rather attached to them as a means of living. Not good but not easy to fix in ten minutes. But do we need to allow fast road cars or car-bulldozers to be sold? I used to think, Yes. Now I think No. The road is the road and it is dangerous enough. I would like to see all road vehicles speed controlled to the prevailing speed limit.

Before you damn me as an old woman, I am a former (very, very minor!) racing driver and competitive motorcyclist and I did not for one second say that motor sport should be banned. It should just be banned from the road. And please, let's not have any of that old crud about traffic bunching and the dangers of seat belts. This is a forum for adults. Going fast is dangerous which is why I and many others rather like doing it. We should only be allowed to do it with consenting adults on the privacy of a race track. This meets Michael Morris's eminently sensible standard. Trouble is, on a race track you find out what fast means and not all the Top Gear brigade find they like it...

Olly

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Unfortunately until someone/some people die not much if anything will be done. :blob10:

The interim solution should be to slap a great big tax on them, that way, in theory, the costs to the taxpayer for all those coast guard callouts etc will be contributed too and the deficit will be dented ever so slightly....

James

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Rather than banning them though, how about tethering them to your wrist like a kite? You wouldn't be able to "oooh and ahhh" as they fade away into the darkness, but at least you'd be in control. And if it lands on your roof before the flame goes out, think of how your neighbors will "oooh and ahhh" as they watch the pretty flames leap into the sky. :hello2:

... Launch responsibly. :blob10:

Brilliant idea especially if they use light weight wire, always fancied seeing the equivalent of Ben Franklins lightning experiment at work :)

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