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Taking (and holding) Russian territory would put them in the position of actually being able to negotiate a settlement; They could offer to pull out of Kursk if Putin gets the hell out of Ukraine. Up until now, they had nothing to offer.

'A place you would like' I think. I'll look it up... How does Cooper knows what Tina (a hostage) would like ? Tina probably wants to wind the clock back to last month ! Cooper is just filling space nobody likes .... We know the pilots were talking to the company by 8:20. If there is any redaction in the 'transcript' I think its there. I think by 8:20 they were fairly sure he was gone and Tina or somebody went to look around the curtain, and that got reported. If that's true then everything in the Transcript to Reno is nonsense. Finally at Reno they announce they are going back to look ... ? Their primary concern is the bomb. 8:20 is the first opportunity to look for it. I cant see the crew not looking for it at the first opportunity. It's human nature under the strongest motivation. edit: directly from crew interviews: would go to a “pleasant place”. "we're going to a place you would like' ‘they weren’t going to Cuba, but she would like where they were going’. (interviewer's words) He paused and said ‘that the flight suited his time, place, and plans.’

I'm with you that he wanted off of the plane as quickly as possible, and that Mexico City was more than likely a rouse to: 1) get the plane flying south 2) make it hard for the authorities to predict where he would jump and pre mobilize resources for a search (Fly was a very strong contrarian on this, arguing that plan A was indeed Mexico.) Another interesting comment Cooper made, when he was discussing where they were going to go I believe with Tina, he said something to the effect, "you are going to like it", or "you will like where we are going". I can't determine whether it's just a throw away line or to read more into that ? Why would they like going to Mexico ? Or maybe he just meant this would be over sooner than they realize and they will like that.

He'll never concede. He'll die proclaiming it was stolen.

Georger, your last two lines have problems. Sluggo was undoubtedly referring to the refueling time at the gate. It would be much shorter and convenient even if a fuel truck was required to pump the fuel from the ground fuel line into the aircraft. Who knows, since the fuel trucks were not normally used at larger airports in 1971 to refuel scheduled airliners, perhaps some of the trucks had to go to the airport fuel facility to load up before going to the NWA airliner out in the brush.

I like your last line. If you are correct then your last line makes total sense. However, Im sticking with my theory. I think I can defend it even with your objections. I did not say Cooper had perfect knowledge of all aspects of the situation. I say he had a tactical plan and his approach was tactical. He adapted and adjusted tactically. Is there any problem you can cite that he didn't solve? I am relying heavily on the crew interviews and instructions and timing of instructions he gave, the order of his laying out his requests/commands, his putting on a chute early, 'and it wasn't more than five minutes later after takeoff that he sent me to the cockpit' (Tina), I think his plan was to bail as close to Portland as he could safely get, and to send the plane to Mexico (or Mars!) to give himself time to escape before law enforcement could launch a serious informed search. Much depends on how much he knew about the area of Portland-Vancouver. He solved every problem, Chris. BTW, Sluggo said normal turn around time for NWO cleaning and refueling the 727 was 30 minutes! Small wonder Cooper got pissed if he knew that.

I think college education allows you to understand the concept of rates and correlation.

Thanks for the belly laugh.

Update - Trump is now threatening to sue the New York Times for not believing his helicopter story. "We have the flight records of the helicopter," he said. He claimed that it landed in "a field," and that he is "probably going to sue" the news outlet for saying he didn't. This is the hill he wants to die on? If so, rage on! This will be fun.

They are doing an incredible job and have a good message. Fox News has her rally on their website live, but not Donald that I could see. She’s started talking crowd sizes, but in a totally different tone to Donald - and that has to be designed to drive Donald nuts. She called out and thanked some republicans. They are separating Donald and Vance, and directly calling them out, but not bringing in MAGA or deplorables into the target. Donald and MAGA are beyond saving and will band together, but they are opening space for true republicans to find some backbone and splinter off. Not only is Harris campaign being respectful, but it’s also strategic as it splinters the opposition and creates division. Even the likes of Joe Rogan are starting distance themselves - admittedly leaning towards Kennedy.

Nobody who still uses the term 'woke' should expect to be taken seriously.

And once again I must ask: How would we detect a difference?

MAGA’s outlook is ‘There are very fine people on both sides’ provided their words can be twisted to fit our agenda. I’ve been slow to really understand that MAGA is a genuine cult and not simply cult like. You can’t reason with cult members, it just drives them deeper in. The only thing to do is to ignore them and push forward with the future. Cult leaders die and the cult usually falls apart, we just have to let it run its course. You can feel pity for them and show them compassion, but there is no positive from engaging only negative.

I think Mike Johnson is a despicable human being, to the point of being evil. He is determined to undermine the legal system and is questioning the FBI’s statements about shrapnel “Johnson said he didn’t find Wray’s testimony credible. “We’ve all seen the video, we’ve seen the analysis, we’ve heard it from multiple sources in different angles that a bullet went through his ear. I’m not sure it matters that much,” Johnson said.” His whole demeanour is slimy and snakelike.

I posted this on FB a few weeks ago. I had a very special day on Saturday July 6th. I spent the day at Skydive Perris with friends. We were there to JUMP THE JET!! Perris has had a McDonnel Douglas DC9 since about 2006. I last made a jump from it in 2007. It was a very good experience and I cried that it sat at Perris mostly unused and un-jumped since then. FYI, info in the 3 paragraphs below have not been fact-checked, they are just my understanding of the situation. Over the past several years the owners of the DZ, Ben, Diane, Melanie and Pat Conatser spent nearly a million dollars (or more) to; extend the runway, update the avionics and sort other details. The biggest sticking point in flying the plane and jumpers was finding pilots that are both rated in type and current (there are not many DC9s still flying). Perris was able to find a qualified crew based in Miami who fly for a South American airline. Bottom line, the Conatsers spent vast amounts of money and sweat equity to bring the DC9 back on-line for jumping, very likely with no chance of ever getting full payback for their efforts. This may not technically meet the definition of altruism, but it’s close enough for me and I am very grateful for their efforts. Blah Blah Blah, on to the jump. A typical ride to altitude in a skydiving plane is a cramped, sweaty affair. About 20 of us are either packed in a$$hole to belly button or side to side on unpadded benches. Climbing to 13000 feet AGL takes 18 – 20 minutes as we spiral up while listening to the turbine powered propellers claw us to altitude. Its quite nice when the door finally opens and we exit the plane into the 100 MPH propblast from the side of the fuselage. The jet? So much different. Seventy of us sit in nicely padded airline seats that are far superior to current airline seating with the evil minimum pitch that packs people into “economy plus”. Even with a backpack on there is plenty of leg room as we sit belted in place. The energy / fear / excitement in the jet is palpable. Nearly everyone is making their first jet jump and even those with thousands of jumps are back to the excitement of student status jumps. Takeoff and climb to altitude are quiet. Just like you experience when you fly on Southwest. The air conditioning works and the ride up is comfy. But, it is a VERY SHORT ride to altitude. From takeoff roll to jump run takes 6 -7 minutes! The greenlight goes on and we start down the aisle to the “door”. Remember, this is a DC9, very similar to a Boeing 727 (the airplane that DB Cooper chose to hijack since it has a ramp under the tail and facilitated his jump with hundreds of thousand of $$). We get to the ramp (no steps) and launch into the sky ocean. I back looped out and had a great view of the jet flying away and other jumpers flying out. At that point it was just another skydive, though one where due to the exit speed and dawdling jumpers ahead of me in line, I opened a long way from the DZ, but that’s another story. What else stands out? The “flight attendants” giving the safety briefing (FDA mandated). The flight crew who gave up their holiday with family and friends to come to Perris. All the work that the Perris staff did to make the jumps and Boogie a success. Talking to Ben and Diane Conatser and just seeing / feeling their joy at making this happen. Yes, I’m looking forward to doing this again without waiting another 17 years. BSBD

Really have to hand it to her, she beat off the competition rather handily.