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The V-Dem report is a readable aggregation of viewpoints. I wouldn't carry it to the cross but I do think it is useful and generally accurate. Given that Democracy isn't an economic system I'm happy to look at the rise of autocracy worldwide on a numbers of people equation without economic issues. In that sense alone I'm not sure I see a paradox. But your main point is the big, giant point that to my way of thinking is the only important point: what are each of us willing to give on in the face of such a risk? I simply don't see Trumpism as a one off, a passed thing or an aberration. I see it as part of a worldwide trend towards electoral autocracies. It isn't even certain that, given the current conditions in America, it is possible to reverse the trend even locally. Believing that we are out of margin makes me willing to toss a few additional closely held views into the pot just to get the deal done. Right here, right now, what we all need to do is stop tearing down, and nit-picking at, what has become a very fragile democracy in this country and work to strengthen it whether we are getting what we most want or not.

It's not a medical decision. Babies are alive. So are fetuses and embryos. So are egg cells. So is sperm. So are your kidneys. All alive. When medical judgment enters into it is viability. Is a 25 month old fetus viable outside the womb? Usually. Is a 22 month fetus viable outside the womb? Usually not. That has some relevance in that abortion is different than delivery only after viability. That number will get slightly lower as we advance in medical technology. The SOCIAL question is who decides when to abort a pregnancy - the woman or the government?

A month without mowing? You don’t need no stinking garbage disposal!

You can do anything you want, dear. After you mow the lawn and fix the garbage disposal. It's only been a month since I asked you to do them...

A classic picture.

Whew. It's a good thing you showed up. I been waiting 14 years for someone to call him out. .

Thank you CazmoDee. . . Good point. Here's a hard truth. The sport of skydiving is full of assholes. Full of people who are vain and full of themselves. With that said, I am not surprised to hear these condescending answers. I'm an A License holder and have 39 jumps myself, which is not a lot by any stretch of the imagination. I come across assholes like this all day long at the dropzone. . . . Stay encouraged.

Video about appropriate timing of engaging in various disciplines

I'm thinking it isn't called Brent Crude for no reason.

LOL, I didn’t realize how old it was until I got to your reply

<hangs head> You were a child of abuse; weren't you?

Now you've just confused the hell out of our UK friends.

Wow.

When Can I Do That Thing I Want To Do? When she says you can.......

Cheers mate. Around 1300 jumps total. 130 so far this year and about 60 so far on the Katana. Planning on putting a good 300 more on the Katana before doing this but was thinking of buying a new one and obviously there’s quite a waiting list so if I go that way I’d probably look to buy one towards the end of the year with a view to getting it around the middle of the year.

Do your research, many of the people who used to run the British Skydiving courses at DZs in Europe arent there anymore, for example FFU who advertise BPA no longer do it but wont volunteer that without some real interrogation. Scotty Milne runs courses at Seville and Emprubravia are well respected options. Dont discount UK training though, SkyHigh Skydiving have a very "european approach". Mate and I set aside some travel time for two weeks in April this year, he qualified in 8 days and I did in 6, we left after 2 weeks with 28 and 30 jumps respectively.

But cherries are delicious. And think of the children who like cherries! Wendy P.

I don't think he mentioned anything about being interested in going out and BASE jumping. Like me, he probably just wants to learn as much as he can about anything involving the use of a parachute. Things like sliders with the hole in them, mesh sliders, stuff like that. General knowledge about a wide variety of things is cool. Don't belittle him. I'm behind the bar at Sloppy Joe's....See ya in the Keys! Muff 4313

I got the opportunity to jump the Blade at the CSS Easter boogie. Beezy had several demos and I made jumps on a 98 and 108. My exit weight was approx 225lbs. The openings- long long snivel, great if you've got a camera. It does not wander or search for a heading. The toggles give quick turns. The risers have very light pressure and long diving turns are quite easy. The rears easily leveled the canopy, however I didn't feel I could stay on them as long as a x-braced canopy, but transition to the toggles keeps the swoop going. The material was very easy to pack, but it would be slightly bigger than comparable sizes due to "winglets" I only got to make about 10 jumps on the two sizes, but from those jumps, I would recommend that if you're in the market for a Crossfire2, Katana, etc... you should give this canopy a try.