jerry81

Anyone care to bet how long it will take for jokes about the UK to start popping up if by some strange turn of events it decides not to support this war?

I watched Jackass; The Movie last week. That, and this discussion made me realize there's really very little hope for the US. You have yet to reach maturity as a nation, but this adolescence of yours has already taken a wrong turn somewhere. I'm sorry your system functions the way it does. I'm sorry things are turning out this way. I feel sorry for all the Americans who still feel their country is the best possible one. I'm sorry for all the lives that will be lost. I'm sorry to say I hope only the USA will bear the consequences of its actions. The world seems so bad at the moment and I am so sad...

Sad. Just as it was starting to look like things could be achieved by intimidation alone. In the long run, this is probably the worse option for the US.

Way to go! Even if you're not really experienced, making a freefly suit shouldn't take more than a week. The fabrics aren't that big a deal- cotton is probably the best and most simple option, but if you find another fabric with similar weight/texture that you like better you can use it instead, but try to use just one type of fabric if you make the suit multicolored. I have to warn you about one thing, though; if your profile is correct I'm guessing you haven't done any freeflying yet- unless you have some tested patterns for the suit, it's possible that you'll make it too baggy or too tight- either might cause you problems when you start learning to freefly or when you're flying with other people (I had to take my suit apart from the waist up and correct it because I was simply too slow in it) Other than that, have a lot of fun- I know I did. (If you feel like wasting some more time here are a few design templates I made for my suit. I ended up using number 4 because it was the most complicated)

If you ask me, you should be leary of every damn religion in the world, but that's just my agnostic opinion. Most religions probably have a potential for going bad, it's just a matter of right (or wrong) circumstances.

Just got this in my inbox: If anyone feels like bombing this guy, the address used was joncoman@starmedia.com. I've already subscribed him to some interesting email lists.

LOL...I heard this argument before, but it still cracks me up.

Dave, you got it backwards- that's antiamericanism based on religion. Not that it's that different from what you were saying, but the fact remains that even radical islamists have worldly reasons for hating the US- and you're about to give them another one. And, yeah, what Wendy said. Terrorism is never right. However, I will be among the first to say "Well, what the hell did you expect?" if you start this war and another tower goes down somewhere in the US. Or the UK. Or my servile Vilnius-group country, for that matter. (getting the full-body flame-proof suit out of the closet...)

Is there a religion based on antiamericanism? 'Cause I'm not aware of any. Those who hate you hate you primarily because of your actions and a war is definitely one of those actions that can cause an increase in terrorist activity. True, even if you don't start a war more terrorist attacks might occur- but if you do start it, they will occur and will probably be a lot worse.

Oh shit , that's hillarious! And here I am, thinking I know how to use PS...

I'm glad I was wrong- that means I can continue thinking about getting a Legend sometime in the near future

Perhaps someone will correct me, but I don't think you can get Atoms anymore- Parachutes de France has merged with Aerodyne and the closest you can get to an Atom would probably be their new Icon container.

I think that if you're spinning that hard, the altimeter is one of your lesser worries. I do know that it starts skipping if it's fastened so loose that it's flapping against your hand (if you're using a wrist-mounted alti). The spinning shouldn't be hard to test safely on the ground- just be careful that you don't fall down when you get dizzy.

A lot of the General's thoughts don't exactly shine with intelligence, either...

You mean you can actually buy airblades from companies that make them? I'd get a sewing machine, some nylon fabric and some long enough fishing rods and make my own if I were you

I wouldn't say s/l is outdated, but it's definitely not for everyone. Don't feel too bad if you're not one of us naturals- just do some aff and you'll be flying stable in no time. It will hurt your wallet more, but it's probably worth it

I did 6 s/l jumps and was doing 40-50 second freefalls by jump 20 or so. Had the option been available, I might have done aff, but I think I learned fast and well enough even though I was doing s/l. The question of whether skydiving was the sport for me never arose- I knew it was long before I made my first jump.

Thanks for the food. My thoughts feel funny now. I think it might be poisoning. But you gotta love this one; in the name of liberty, all alternatives have been removed! Kinda like our former political system- you could vote, but the only choice was the Communist Party .

A big hit in Belgrade; Postcards, t-shirts etc. with the picture of the Stealth fighter and a caption reading; "Sorry, we didn't know it was invisible!"

What if you hate bugs? Still, I guess a pretty butterfly is better than a hairy caterpillar.

Hey, how about Point Break? Not many skydiving scenes, but you gotta love the finale- a Mr.Bill freefall, the guys (one of them without a rig) arguing about who's going to pull the cord as they go past 2500', at 1000' they're still undecided and have time for a few more angry words, then 3 seconds later Keanu Reeves finally pulls- the main opens and they hit hard, but both survive. Nevertheless, this movie was the first time that I saw a skydive on film (4th grade, I think) and I knew immediately I would someday be jumping out of airplanes myself.

If you have an unknown file that strange computers are trying to connect to, it might be a good idea to run some sort of a spyware/trojan desinfection program.

It really not a new idea, but still a rather insane one. Why would you pay 600$ for your pet's funeral when you can do it yourself in your backyard, a quiet spot in the woods or on an old indian burial ground?

Which, of course, makes it completely OK. I'm sorry, my message was obviously a bit unclear. I did not mean to say that killing minorities, even though they might be rebelling, is OK. I merely wanted to add another dimension to the argument that everyone has been using to present Saddam as an inhuman monster who would for no reason at all kill his own innocent subjects. And on the efficiency of the UN (kiltboy)- I wouldn't go as far as to say that Bosnia did not benefit from it- perhaps the UN could have done more to stop the fighting (but then again, the whole thing was a big bloody complicated mess- I should know, it's practically next door to me), but right now it's being quite efficient at keeping the region stable (and once again, I speak from personal experience)

well none of the others has currently used it on their own people. Just to set things straight, Saddam used those weapons on the Kurds, who, although they may be citizens of Iraq, are a nation all for themselves. Turkey has a history of doing nasty things to its Kurdish population, but few people seem to complain, or even know about it. Israel was formed half a century ago by invasion and occupation of the countries that now surround it. I personally consider the way Israel as a country came into existence as of the worst things that happened in the aftermath of WW2. 5. They provide material support to terrorists ... as has the USA, Saudi Arabia, N. Korea, Iran, and a long list of other nations. We, the 20 nations tire of waiting for the french and maybe the germans (I think they will come on board next week). One thing at a time. So in the end, can we expect the USA to declare war on USA for its past support of terrorist organizations? if it was about oil for us we could take over Kuwait with out firing a shot. Kuwait cooperates. Iraq doesn't.