Strong Beer in Australia...

lyle_from_minneapolis · Sat Jul 14, 2007 7:56 am

Hope this wasn't an Aussie forum member...

MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuters) -- A man appeared in court in Sydney on Saturday after taking an armored personnel carrier on a rampage through the city's western suburbs in which he destroyed six mobile phone towers, Australian media reported.

Suburban Mt Druitt police Chief Inspector Guy Haberley said the 45-year-old man had been arrested on his way to damaging a seventh tower, according to News Ltd.

"He continued to destroy mobile tower communications sheds by crashing through the perimeter fence and colliding with structures, causing significant damage," Haberley was quoted as saying.

The charges included malicious damage, break and enter, predatory driving and driving in a dangerous manner.

Australian radio reported the man did not apply for bail during the court appearance, and the case was adjourned until Monday.

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 11:14 am

I saw some footage of it last night on the news..... don't know whether booze was involved but the guy was either smashed, high or deranged in some way. He put up one hell of a fight when the cops nabbed him, too!

Maybe his cellphone bill was a little on the high side..............

fatcat · Post by **fatcat** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 11:47 am

I sorta expected that to happen here to ATT/Cingular/ATT after the screwing their TDMA customers got.

wints · Post by **wints** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:22 pm

I'm sure if more people had access to a tank you might see a little more of this...

elysrand · Post by **elysrand** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:54 pm

With the level of Road Rage around the DC Beltway hereabouts steadily increasing, I myself have been tempted at times to commute via tank instead of Hummer H1 anymore. Lets see those buggers try to cut into my lane and scrape off the top layer of my front bumper now, by golly....!

Alas, I can't seem to find a good used M1 tank on the car lots around town or on CarMax, even without ordinance, so I am considering ordering a do-it-yourself kit at this point...

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 3:07 am

You can probably nab an old T-80 somewhere for cheap!

lyle_from_minneapolis · Sun Jul 15, 2007 6:13 am

I just wanted to make sure it wasn't Aitch. Now I can sleep.

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 11:53 am

Nope........ mind you, I have driven a tank (a '50 or '51 Churchill A22 I think) but it was on private property. I'd driven Cat D9 dozers before so it wasn't too hard to get the hang of it. Heaps of fun!!

Not long after I drove it they pulled the engine out and used it for an irrigation pump..... obviously my driving didn't impress!!

winston · Post by **winston** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 2:45 pm

Remind me to tell you my military hardware story in November Aitch. You will enjoy the story given the context of what I do for a living.

Tanks are not all they are cracked up to be if you don't control the fly zone above you. Especially not since the advent of over the horizon, radar and laser guided munitions, that are mounted on multiple strike weapons platforms. Ask the Iraqi army. They would know.

They are also a blasted hot and noisy to operate even in the fall or winter. It's certainly not the type of military hardware to use against telephone company installations IMO.

Not very creative at all, I would say.

mfb · Post by **mfb** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 9:46 pm

Yes, I think that guy's been watching too much reality TV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYL00x9oMH8&mode=related&search=

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 11:12 am

Perhaps some of you will remember this being done a couple of years ago in the town of Granby, Colorado...a guy did a similar tank rampage through the town, demolishing several buildings - mostly government ones. Something about the city routing traffic and/or parking around a giant new business that proved disadvantageous for the terrorist/brave freedom fighter's auto body shop, so he sat and stewed in his garage for a year and welded a huge bulldozer into a tank. Then he went on a spree...he stalled it out halfway through a department store and wound up punching his own ticket before they could get him out of the thing alive.

Yee, haw! Colorado, baby! We were there first. We've got our share of wackos here like anywhere else, but remember: our wackos are doin' it on less oxygen...and if they can't steal it, they'll build it in their garage.

(The hilarious part is, the guy's neighbors knew he was working on something big in there FOR A SOLID YEAR, and nobody was curious enough even to inquire...)

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:36 pm

Maybe they wanted his parking space!