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Fun with links folks.. Sorry, I got a little carried away with google. I've seen a lot of discussion, but not a lot of posting of links so I thought I'd help. My short opinion, the US has been very short-sighted in supporting some groups. As mentioned in a previous post, the whole 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' attitude falls apart when the main enemy is no longer present. Then we're stuck with an enemy that we have financially or logistically supported. Oops. On the subject of us flying the bin ladens out of the country, big deal. I think we realized that the family is not the enemy. Maybe Bush's prior oil dealings with the Bin Laden family had something to do with it too Have fun reading! NOTE: I don't believe everything I read on the internet. Just because it's posted on a page doesn't make it true. I'm not sure about these sites individually and I make no guarantee that they are a credible news source or some 'joe blow' conspiracy web site. Stingers, Stingers, Who's Got the Stingers? http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2001/011002-attack03.htm Politics of a Covert Action: The U.S., the Mujahideen, and the Stinger Missile http://www.ksgcase.harvard.edu/case.htm?PID=1546 Darunta complex: This group of al-Qaida training bases outside Jalalabad is one of the organization's largest. The compound includes a base built by the Central Intelligence Agency for rebels during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. http://multimedia.belointeractive.com/attack/military/1007militaryresponse.html According to the Central Intelligence Agency, which helped arm the anti-Soviet Mujahedeen, bin Laden had between 12,000 and 20,000 supporters trained in arms, explosives and the use of U.S. Stinger missiles http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/1/3/214858.shtml While the American government admits that it funded Afghanistan and assisted in training some Afghans, the official line - so far - is that it did not train bin Laden personally. http://www.cbc.ca/news/indepth/background/wtc_questionbinladen.html The Rumor Mill Continues to Grind Out 9-11 Tales, Some Nutty and Some With a Grain of Truth http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0719-08.htm Stinger missiles can surprise its creators http://www.dawn.com/2001/09/29/nat21.htm

Thanks everyone for all the good info. I'll probably do another tandem sometime this summer to make sure that I really do like the sport. However, since it is all I've thought about for the last 6 days, I might be obsessed. Anyways, I'm just going to kick back and read through the skydivers handbook and save up some money for next summer (since I'm cursed to live in a state with long winters.) Once again, thanks!

Hi All, Just wanted to stop in and say hello. Just did my first tandem on 7/19. Unlike another poster, I didn't have to do anything like pull the ripcord, so I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. I've read quite a few posts and my story sounds like theirs. It's nice to read these since the friends that I hang out with have never went and can't truly comprehend how it was, and how I feel afterwards. Luckily, I do have a couple of cooworkers that have jumped before and will understand :) I've noticed alot of people welcoming the newcomers and talking about the money burden. What I'd like to know is, what are some average costs? I think I could do the AFF training for around 1200 or so, but what does the average full rig/setup cost? Or a day at the dz making some jumps? I think I've decided that I'm going to do a second tandem before deciding on the training. (Or maybe I could just use the next tandem as the 1st AFF jump?) Anyways, I've heard that the second time you enjoy it alot more. Not that I didn't enjoy it, I did. However, I think I was so darn scared that when we jumped, my mind switched over to this dreamstate reality where I didn't truly comprehend things until the chute opened. One quick note for first timers: Never plan a weekend by yourself that starts out with skydiving. The camping afterwards seemed so non-important. All I wanted to do was get home and view my video and share the adventure with my friends. Cory Sorry for the long post.