Tonto

What's "cluture" ? t It's the year of the Pig.

Hannah Bradman did the right thing by dumping him. At 23, no one should be stuck with someone like that. t It's the year of the Pig.

Is President Bush about to die? t It's the year of the Pig.

That is the correct answer. t It's the year of the Pig.

Where did that come from? t It's the year of the Pig.

I love my Classic! I have maybe 50 wingsuit dives now, and have a GTi on call and have ordered an S3. I thought about selling the Classic for maybe 30 seconds, and then figured I'll keep it! I still love flying it. t It's the year of the Pig.

"While the email appears to provide some truthful information, it is replete with misinformation. I don't have time to check each representation in the email, but here's an overview: Over 400,000 kids have up-to-date immunizations This is interesting. A lot of kids have been immunized in Iraq. In fact, last year the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) "25 million doses of vaccines to Iraq to help prevent the spread of polio, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, measles, and tuberculosis -- considered the main killers of children in developing countries."[*] At the time, UNICEF spokesman Gordon Weiss explained that the children of Iraq would need several stages of repeated immunizations for the immunizations to be effective: "Iraq is in a particularly delicate stage at the moment -- postwar, with a lot of the health system having broken down and a lot of the water systems having broken down, as well. So children are more than ever this year vulnerable to water-borne diseases. Usually you don't vaccinate just once, you vaccinate a number of times in order to have the vaccinations work."[*] Here's what the Fact Sheet says: "USAID has partnered with UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Abt Associates to support health program in Iraq. Since the end of the war, USAID has vaccinated three million Iraqi children under the age of five, administered tetanus vaccine to more than 700,000 pregnant women, and by April 30, 2004 the USAID mission will have provided updated vaccinations to 90 percent of pregnant women and children under five years of age." Hmmm. UNICEF said that 3 1/2 million Iraqi children were vaccinated last year. Does this mean that the vaccination program is not being pursued as much as last year? I don't know. I also don't know where the 400,000 number came from. Last year, Iraq had approximately 4.2 million children in Iraq under the age of five. If fewer than 10% of young Iraqi children have up-to-date immunizations out of the millions who have been on an immunization schedule and are exposed, that would seem to be a serious failure. That being said, hundred of thousands of immunized children has got to be a good thing. The country had its first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August. Nonsense. First, there's nothing in the Fact Sheet about oil. Iraq is presently exporting approximately 1.9 million barrels of oil a day, or under 60 million barrels per month. And that's going to be difficult to maintain. You probably already know that insurgent attacks have been limiting the exports.[*] In August -- the supposed 2 billion barrel month -- Iraq was expecting to export fewer than 1.2 million barrels a day, about 37 million barrels for the month.[*] Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever in Iraq. Here's what the Fact Sheet says: "Iraq has 13 major wastewater facilities. Baghdad's three facilities are currently inoperable and comprise three quarters of the nation's sewage treatment capacity. Raw waste flows directly into the Tigris River. In the rest of the country, most wastewater treatment facilities were only partly operational before the conflict, and a shortage of electricity, parts, and chemicals has exacerbated the situation and only a few wastewater treatment plants are operational. Iraq's 140 major water treatment facilities operate at about 65 percent of the pre-war level of three billion liters a day." Water does appear to be getting to a lot more people. But, apparently, at a price. A witness from Basra last month claimed: "The [water] plant seems to be working well . . . This plant is up and going and provides water for a huge number of people. Someone is constructing a new plant to expand so that there is drinking water. I have not met anyone here yet despite the poverty who is not buying drinking water."[*] The country now receives 2 times the electrical power it did before the war. Not true. According to the Fact Sheet, on March 11, 2004, power peaked at approximately 92% of "the pre-conflict generating level". ABC reports that power generation is off since last October and is averaging somewhere around pre-conflict generation.[*] 100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed, compared to 35% before the war. Not true. The Fact Sheet provides no information about this. But, the Washington Post on March 5, 2004 reported[*]: "Health Minister Khudair Fadhil Abbas said about 90 percent of the hospitals and clinics have been brought back to the same poor conditions as before the war but that the others will take more time to reach even that low level." Here are the first few paragraphs from the article: "The stout woman, covered from head to toe in a black abaya, shuffled into the crowded hospital. She went straight to the emergency room and opened her robe to reveal a tiny baby wrapped in fuzzy blankets. The boy had been born prematurely, and the family was afraid he was going to die. Uday Abdul Ridha took a quick look and shook his head. The physician put his hands on the woman's shoulders in sympathy, but his words were blunt. "I'm sorry," he said. "We cannot help you. We don't have an incubator, and even if we did, we are short on oxygen. Please try another hospital." Scenes like this one at the Pediatric Teaching Hospital in Baghdad's Iskan neighborhood have become common in Iraq in recent months, as the health care system has been hit by a critical shortage of basic medications and equipment. Babies die of simple infections because they can't get the proper antibiotics. Surgeries are delayed because there is no oxygen. And patients in critical condition are turned away because there isn't enough equipment." Elections are taking place in every major city, and city councils are in place. False. In June, 2003, US authorities put a halt to local elections. We installed mayors and administrators of our choosing.[*] Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets. I don't know how many Iraqi police are on duty, given widespread desertions.[*] But, we know how many police are in the New York Police Department -- 39,110.[*] According to the 2000 Census, NY City had a population of more than 8 million and covered an area of 320 square miles.[*] According to 1993 estimates, the population of Iraq is about 19,435,000.[*] Iraq is about the size of California, approximately 171,000 square miles.[*] Though New York, like any other big city, can be dangerous at times, armed insurgents aren't blowing people up daily. New York has about 1 police officer for every 205 residents. Iraq -- which does have armed insurgents blowing people up daily -- has about 1 police officer for every 324 citizens. Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever. Not true. The Fact Sheet says that before we invaded 1.2 million Iraqis had "subscribed to landline telephone service." As of March 9, 2004, "104,680 subscribers to the Iraqi landline phone network were reconnected." Repairs have reconnected some form of telephone service between Baghdad and 20 other cities. Girls are allowed to attend school. True, but not because of the invasion. Girls were allowed to attend school during Saddam's rule. Between 1997-2000 82% as many girls attended primary school as did boys. 62% as many girls attended high school as did boys, during the same period.[*] The email is not informative, but disinformation. It's propaganda. While he did not cite any particular rule, Lt. Col. Hapgood said that members of the force are not to take a politically partisan stance in any communications they use in which they identify themselves as members of the force. Lt. Col. Hapgood, in essence, also said that it was improper for Sgt. Reynolds to attack Senator Kerry in his email. Thanks to Andrew Lazarus for his comment at dailyKos[*] for some fact checking leads.[*] UPDATE: Apparently, Lt. Col. Hapgood misinformed me about Sgt. Reynolds' civilian job. He's not a cop. He's a firefighter. This is how Sgt. Reynolds responds to inquiries about his message: "I did write it and I am in Kuwait now on my way home. I wrote it while at home because I felt that too many people were exploiting the violence in Iraq to sell papers and gain votes. Sometimes the silent majority need to be awakened to respond to the bad things in our world. I am passionate about our President's decision and support this rebuilding whole heartedly...Yes legit..I am a fire fighter in Denison, Iowa and to verify, call Mike McKinnon of the Denison Iowa fire department." Too bad that the Sergeant's passion got ahead of his control of the facts. Thanks to Snopes.com for the additional information.[*]" Other side of the coin... t It's the year of the Pig.

Yeah, and dislocate/break limbs, and get major abrasions to the face, and head strikes to the knees. Most people just delay WAY too long. Sub terminal. SUB terminal deployment is a must, with as slow a run in speed as possible. t It's the year of the Pig.

Hi Eric, I did my first jump on a square with a borrowed Viking Superlite. I had about 60 jumps on C-9 and T-10 rounds at the time. I remember thinking it was fast, noisy, and that the toggle pressure was high, much like others with round experience have said. It landed me just fine after a "flare on the 3rd "Oh Shit!"" I did several dives on it before progressing to the then "radical and unforgiving" Cruiselite. Those days are a long way from my Stiletto 107 and FX 93 jumps... but well worth it! Blue Skies, t It's the year of the Pig.

I've never recieved cash as a tip. I've got a Cypres, a Bonehead mindwarp, a Pro Dytter, an Alti 2 and several free dives done with the people who've gifted me, usually by the time they have several 100 dives. I've accepted the gifts, and the friendships. t It's the year of the Pig.

That's what I felt when I was shooting at people. I'd always trained to double tap, but when confronted by 3 shooting assailants at maybe 6 feet, and with no cover, I elected to fire only one shot and move to the next target. (Better to hit 3 once, than fire 3 accurate shots and get nailed by assailant No 3 logic) As the range was SO close I was PDS I'd hit when I moved on to target 2, but saw no sign of bullet impact. same as I moved to target 3, but he was already turned through 90 degrees and I didn't want to shoot a running man. (legal issues here) As I realigned on targets 1 and 2 I saw they were going down. Both my shots were fired in maybe half a second. (It's only a .22 after all - not much recoil) The 3 assailants had fired 18 shots, one of which had hit a guy in the upper arm, penetrated his torso, trashed a lung and turned south to nail half his liver. He was in intensive care for 2 weeks, but survived. I think movies condition us to see major damage when we shoot someone. Truth is, they just seem to go down, like a puppet without strings at least with a minor calibre like .22. If I'd been in the same situation as this dude, one assailant only, I'd have kept shooting till he was done, or I was done - or out of ammo, whichever came first. t It's the year of the Pig.

Is this the Vision by Aerodyne? t It's the year of the Pig.

Built in the same factory and by the same people hardly seems like it's orphaned... t It's the year of the Pig.

Ahh. Regrets. I have a few, but then again, I'll mention this one... I was at the World meet in 1994 when Jethro Tull toured SA... The sacrifices we make for our sport... t It's the year of the Pig.

locomotive breath... it's a travesty Jethro Tull was excluded. On their "20 years" album (some 15 years ago) there was a "family tree" and it seems that anyone who became anyone was somehow involved with JT. But I'm preaching to the converted, I suspect... t It's the year of the Pig.

1. The Dropzones 2. The Gear Industry 3. The people really are friendly 4. The servings are HUGE. I normally eat only half, and I'm stuffed! 5. You can buy what you need - or what you want. 6. I'm always a community celebrity 7. Ask someone where they're from, and you'll get L.A, California, or El Dorado, Kansas etc 8. There are tunnels 9. Internal flights are CHEAP! 10. Dispite what Americans may think, Petrol (or Gas) is CHEAP! t It's the year of the Pig.

Krispy Creme Donuts are the work of Satan. Dubaya makes Krispy Creme Donuts? t It's the year of the Pig.

Try and keep up...

Of course, the speech wouldn't have to be given if you'd just listened to the whole world saying "Sit back. You're going to fuck this one up." instead of hearing them say "Told you so..." t It's the year of the Pig.

Hey PJ, I know you're leaving the nest and don't want to hear from your old AFF I, () but you've got good advice so far. Skip Florida. Go to Perris, tunnel, canopy control course, freefly coaching. Then off to LP, then Rantoul. After the WFFC people are going EVERYWHERE, and you'll find a DZ to hang out at for the last 2 weeks. If not, there's always SC and Hinckley just around the corner, and an internal connecting flight out will be easy to organise. t It's the year of the Pig.

And allowing others to liberate their assets.. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/28/international/middleeast/28SCRA.html?th t It's the year of the Pig.

Right now a lot of men my age pay good money to be treated like a helpless child. I'm no longer a Tandem Master. I still don't wear a helmet. I don't smoke though, or drink to excess, and I may just go a lifetime without braining myself too. Maybe. If I'm lucky. I tell you what. After I'm 80, I'll wear a helmet - even on solos. Deal? t It's the year of the Pig.

I know what you mean. My comment was inspired by a moment of introspection after refering to myself as "an African" in another thread. Of course, our situation is slightly simpler in that it's a single continent, but perhaps more complex in that I'm the wrong colour for some people's views of what Africans should look like. I know that as an 8th generation South African (to use my nationality) if I were to "return" to England, to my roots, and ask for a work permit or citizenship on the grounds of my heritage - they'd laugh all through my trip back to the departure lounge in Heathrow! There's no doubt in their mind I'm African. But when I'm here, it seems sometimes that I'm simply not African enough, dispite the fact that I've spent more time in South Africa than our current President. t It's the year of the Pig.

I've got a question. Could you be a little more specific on the "American?" Is that North American, or South American? Does it mean you're a citizen of the United States of America, and so exclude Canada, Greenland, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Trinidad, Peurto Rico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, The Bahama's, Haiti, the protectorates of the Turks and Caicos and Bermuda, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela and the dependancies of the Falkland Inlands and French Guiana, or does it mean you're a citizen of the United States of America, Canada, Greenland, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Trinidad, Peurto Rico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, The Bahama's, Haiti, the protectorates of the Turks and Caicos and Bermuda, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela and the dependancies of the Falkland Inlands and French Guiana? Any answers?

Buckingham's dead, dude. Let it go. So... do you know who the Queen of Wales is? t It's the year of the Pig.