Chrisky

Hmm, racers seem to be around quite often... I found an amateur car racer and an aspiring music student, as well as this link from skydiving into cologne... The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Incoming! Thanks to JP and his awesome EOS Digital.. The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

I hope that was at deployment, or what is that towing from your container...? The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Yea, i must admit... Sometimes it just takes me away... But i got an answer that showed me better, so it was worth it! The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Well, i'm dismissive of GWB being president, because of the way he became it and his statements in front of the UN that if you are not with the US, you are against them. This is outright stupidity, as it does show no willingness to understand complex issues faced by many countries (Pakistan i.e.; large islamistic factions, big internal problems since they took a stand on US side). It seems, though, that US troops in iraq have applied that same principle, making many of those who were not really proUS, but not really contra, their dedicated enemies now. But that is just my opinion, and i'm not even a US citizen. Even though your logic on why to make more WMD is straightfoward, you ignore two important facts. First, Saddam used chemical weapons against kurds and in the first gulf war (Iraq-Iran), not ever since. During the embargo, while UN inspectors were doing their job (and yes, before he threw em out), large quantities if not all, were destroyed. I don't think it would have been all that easy to create more WMDs under the sanctions and investigations that applied since '91. These two points do not rule out the possibility of your arguments, they just lower the likelyhood, imho, a lot. Even though biochem agents can exist in small quantities, the question must be answered why US intelligence had precise info on them until the US gained control of the counrty. Contradictory i say.. They also cannot be stored as easily as you say in a desert country like iraq, as they need certain environmental conditions to remain stable/useable. Recollecting all the intelligence provided, the fact that nothing was found yet and statements made by former members of the Bush administration, that getting rid of SH was among the top priorities of GWB after becoming president (before 9/11) makes me believe that it's just a big "blinder". Instilling fear is the best way to get people to do what you want... Simplyfied, but i'll step in... Sure i do. But if i knew he only had five shots and used two (from what i see on his evidence having used it), and someone already took two from him, telling me he couldn't find the third, what should make me sure that he has one left? The possibility is there, but not the certainty (he could have missed once...). Did the UN inspectors not state sometime in the late 90s that most if not all weapons programs were demolished? (Not sure on this one, so it is a serious question) Good to hear that it's become a media topic, i don't have too much time to watch TV and no cable. It just wasn't a topic at all when i still had that time. And, btw i didn't write get an open mind... i wrote, keep it The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

I've been there two years ago, it doesn't seem to have changed that much from what i see on the website, except prices went up (still quite cheap, though). It was a nice place, food was cheap and ok at the DZ, one night we went to a fine restaurant in the nearby city, not spending much and it was D-Alitious Saw my fist cypres fire there, first day first load... Scary to look at. They have a Let 140, AN-2, baloon and sailplane there. If i had only done that sailplane... The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Well, i was referring to reports that university students wrote and that came up as "CIA evidence", as well as statments by GWB like:"We know that he has them" (WMD). Now, he's making fun of that... Knowing involves a 100% certainty. 99% certainty is not knowing. Not finding any proclaimed WMDs after more than 6 month of occupying a country would make me very curious as to what my countrymen are dying for. I'd call saying that one has definitive knowledge of WND, then going in to show the world one is right and not finding any a liar. How many more soldiers life are you willing to sacrifice and how much more time will you grant until some are found? But asking that question in public in the US seems to be unpatriotic, thus politically incorrect and not worth of media attention. It tastes like self-afflicted cencorship to me. How open must a mind be to question anything a politician says, instead of calling it an open mind not to? Questioning it and finding it to be true based on evidence allows for believing that person. Unforged evidence, that is... The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Well, even though i don't like the german chancellor too much, he'd have said: Well, maybe, but the evidence is really bad and partially even made up... He DID say, like France, that there wasn't enough proper evidence to start a war. Thanks to that, our soldiers aren't dying for lies... Wasn't that about the time when you started calling french fries "Freedom fries"? Smart move, like the french prime minister said... "So then i'm the freedom prime minister now..." Keep an open mind, please... The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Because nobody would buy the evil dictator with WMD crap your not-so-democratically-elected president lied to the world about... The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Well, FIRST i check that none is above, crucial doing freefly, then go flat, turn&track... I corked on one of my early FF jumps, and seeing the video by the guy who missed me in standup by maybe 3 feet burned that into to my mind. The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Happened to experience a very similar thing end last year... (Excerpt from my post to "How fast did you downsize"-thread) I have been playing around (flat turns, riser inputs etc.) with it (my 120) a lot, and recently found me at pretty low altitude (on final) being cut off by another jumper. I initiated a flat turn and thought, ok, well, crosswind landing (been there, done that). Turned out that the turn was so flat i came in upwind all fine and i had a fine, no-special landing. I was pretty amazed at how flat my canopy could turn if need be (noticing it for the first time with the ground so close as very precise reference). I could even have kept up the turn and landed like 30 degrees crosswind to the other side, but i preferred a nice upwind flare... Added here: That all happened between ~200 and 60 ft... A toggle turn would have smashed me. The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

To prevent color fading in the sun? Just cover it!!! Throw an old pullover over it, or some carpet or whatnot... Just cover the damn thing from the nasty UVs... Why would you want to spray stuff on your canopy?? Do you stain it in mud regularly? If you look at all canopy cleaning instructions around here, it says rinse with clear water extensively, no soap, rubbing or the like. Then hang to dry in a space not exposed to sun. It won't just crumble away because it's in the sun for a minute... Just don't have your stuff lying around in the plain sun long and you'll be fine... (the critical thing is "prolonged exposure", i think) The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Well, think about that as well: The Wehrmacht was originally greeted as liberators from soviet oppression in the east after the attack on the Soviet Union. That is a fact. That was after an estimated 24 million people died of starvation in the thirties following the forced restructuring of farming by the soviets. And before the SS and "special Police" went in, what turned the liberated people into partisans. Don't get me wrong, i'm not comparing US troops to SS. But killing innocents, intentional or unintentional, will always make people your enemies. Even if you liberated them just before. Killing innocents is not relative. Simple as that. The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

You are completely disregarding the fact that the majority of the spanish population was against joining the coalition. A main reason for the downfall of the previous government was their inept, blind stupid blame they put on ETA to be responsible for the bombings before any evidence was evaluated. This showed the spanish population that their goverment wasn't making intelligent decisions once and for all. The former spanish prime minister has a long list of political SLAMs under his belt. He finally got to pay the bill. To accuse the new spanish goverment to react in fear is way too simple, they, for a change do what their people want them to, which is the job of any government in the first place. The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Yes it is, because you can lay a effin smoke screen, retreat, lock down access to the damn city to make sure they won't get away and then wait, negotiate and in the end, disarm them and arrest the leaders. It's called strategy. All the US troops are using is poor combined arms tactics. Attacking buildings gives the defender a 1:5 defensive advantage, blow the buildings to rubble it turns to 1:10 for the defenders. No lessons learned from WWII... The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

IIRC, insurgents that do not belong to an organized group and do not make themselves recognizable as such are not granted combatant status. (Example: Guerilla Groups usually wear some kind of uniform and insignia, like certain headwear, colored bandages etc.) IIRC as well, noncombatant fighters are not covered by the geneva convention (which regards rules of behaviour in armed conflict) and can be treated as terrorists. So, an unorganized peoples upheaval usually does not "create" combatants. The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Well, i haven't heard of this one, but assuming that the Thai airforce was doing the dropping, it was military radar, not civilian. Military radar is operating with much more power (i remember a report of a soldier being severely burned by radar (microwaves) by walking right in front of a (supposedly shut off) dish). Obviously they couldn't have been that close, but that might be an explanation for the shielding being insufficient... Usually you are not allowed to jump that close to military installations using radar anyway... Any word on that from Airtec yet? They're usually quite fast.. The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

The messy security in post-Saddam Iraq is the fault of the coalition not having ANY IDEA OR PLAN how to preserve law and order after disabling all iraqi security forces, including police. I call that "unfinished business"... The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

I'm not a student (by "status", still like learning new stuff though), but i have learned TONs of things just lurking in gear and rigging and S&T. I didn't vote as this is another polarized vote without the "what i learned here i do discuss with my instructor/rigger" inbetween, that i guess most people use. Especially for students it is not always easy to just hop by a different DZ to get a second opinion. For me, going to a different DZ on my own for the first time was a factor exciting enough. Once you have done it a couple of times, a lot of it becomes routine. I still do my first jump at a new DZ a solo, belly to earth after 6000 ft. It's completely new surroundings, after all. The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Their Website (http://www.vigil.aero) doesn't show anything. Shouldn't it as well? Hmmm... No doubt about the Bulletin, though! The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

So, i get this right, they are replacing all units of the original design with new ones? This is just why i got a different AAD middle of last year. Maybe i'll switch in a couple of years, though, when the starter problems are gotten rid of... The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Yeah right, i completely didn't notice that... It really is that simple.. The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Good to read this, i agree so much with your view of the situation. The tactics used by the iraqi resistance are their _only_ means of fighting the superior numbers and technology available to US troops. Same thing with palestinians. They don't have attack helicopters and F-16s. Many of their families are forced to live in refugee camps for _decades_ now. They don't necessarily hate Israelis for them being jewish, but the state of Israel for driving them off their home turf (on the argument of a religious text btw...). The UN has dtermined that zionism is a form f racism, just like anti-semitism (Resolution 3379). By this definition, Israel is a state with a massive racist background. If you look at these circumstances and the palestinian means to strike back, it is the simple way to just sum them all up as islamic terrorists. Live in a refugee camp for your whole life, driven off by religious fundamentals, and then have another offer you paradise, money (to help your family) and/or put you under pressure to become a suicide bomber... Two years ago, Israel denied a red cross inspection team to investigate an alleged killing of 500 civilians during an israeli raid into one of the refugee camps... They still destroy the whole base to live of a suicide bombers family. This is repression against the Geneva convention. But, they are bad palestinian terrorists, right? One mans terrorist is another ones hero... Try to see with the eyes of your enemy. It is a very complex situation in the middle East, and it would only be possible to resolve anything there if everyone agrees to play along. Right now, that is invisible, everyone is just seeking to destroy the other. Justice must be done, to Israelis, Palestinians etc. I wonder if we will ever see peace in the middle east... Like in justice: The other side must be heard as well. Audiatur et altera pars. Stop simplifying... The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

Which has been passed on, written and translated by fallable humans. How do you know all you read is not just a bad translation of someones misinterpretation of a story he was told? Why does he need them to do his will as he is almighty? The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

I have lurked on this thread a while, thinking whether to post or not. Finaly someone is raising an interesting question in this thread. Why did the US not act when the Hutus slaid the Tutsis back in '94? In three month 800,000 people were killed, that was a higher kill rate than the Holocaust. Clinton knew it all and didn't care. Nobody cared. How many dictatorships and cruelties are going on on the african continent right now? Do the US care? No. What makes Iraq special? WMD? Found: zero and counting...GWB makes fun of it... Largest oil reserves in the world and a staggerign US economy? Found: One and starting to exploit... Think about propaganda: Iraqis dont have the same means of information as everyone here, and ones picture of a situation is always determined by his possibilities of perception AND the way information is presented to him. In a free society one has many different means of gaining information, and the way the information is being presented is usually very diversified. This allows for a quite good perception of a situation. Imagine most of your infos coming from US TV. European broadcast companies, such as the very reputable BBC, that are not bound by the strong "patriotic" ties that bind US media, tell stories (i.e. about GWBs electoral tricks) WAY differently, which plays a major role in how europeans perceive the US president and his politics. Now imagine you are an iraqi who only has two newspapers to choose from, and each one is leaning to one polarized side. Then add personal experience etc. and whoops, even a well educated iraqi may become an enemy of US occupation. On war crimes: Bombing cities was extensively "researched" by the Allies in WWII. The idea of breaking the support of a regime by the civilian population by destroying they cities didn't work. Instead, the huge loss of civilian life bound people stronger to the regime... In the bombing raid in 1945 on Dresden, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, more than 100,000 civilians, mostly refugees from the eastern parts of Germany, were killed. The attack was completely reckless, as the city (known to allied bomber command) had no industries nor air defences, as it was not considered a military target by the germans. As a result, american fighter pilots, which were supposed to give air cover for the bombers and didn't encounter any resistance, went in and strafed the aeras of the city that were not burning. Every side commits war crimes. Bad enough. Fact: US soldiers had been granted immunity for war crimes in front of the international criminal court. Everyone else goes to trial for crimes. Is "Right or wrong, it's my country!" really a good attitude? Btw: In WWII German high command always noted the killing of terrorists in its reports. These terrorists were non-combattant fighters without uniforms or IDable outfits. They too killed soldiers from ambushes etc. The Allies celebrated them as the heroic french Resistance. Hope this sparks some thought. I learned to like the US for the open mindedness of the people i met there. This hasn't changed. I'm only asking myself, why patriotism sometimes blinds reason so clearly.. Please don't take any of this as disrespect of fallen soldiers. It is criticism of the politics that put them where they are. The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open. From the edge you just see more. ... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...