jumpjunkie2004

Great advice about the mask. I'm multi-tasking right now and it didn't even occur to me! Thanks! Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

That sounds like fun!

Above my cabinets, there is about a foot of wall - drywall mounted to plywood. It's a hollow space that was framed out. I think they did that so that they could install cheap cabinets. I'm remodeling my kitchen and I've order cabinets that go up to the ceiling - so I have extra space. The sofits contain a bunch of wiring which I plan to move to into the ceiling. I'm sure I didn't explain that well - sorry. I could draw you a picture

Is there away to remove drywall without making a huge mess? I'm removing the sofits (sp?) in my kitchen and I'm making the biggest mess on the planet. Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

I agree that there is quite a range. Taking the low end of the range is a conservative estimate. I agree with this too. Some things I've learned from this thread: There may be no way to tell who's innocent and who's guilty in a hostile environment. Civilian casualties (although tragic) are unavoidable. War just completely sucks. Oh, and from now on...when someone says, "You don't want to watch this." I'm going to believe him. Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

This comes from the BBC - Dated: October 29,2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3962969.stm It seems like 10,000 is a conservative estimate. Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

I've agreed that I don't have all the facts. Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

Not that it matters, but I did two years of ROTC in college and considered the military an option. However, that was two decades ago and is practically no military training. Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

It seems like having allies that follow different rules of engagement is a strategic way of making sure that all the bases are covered. Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

If I had no other options and I witnessed them killing, bombing, etc., then I would kill them. Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

We just bought the Prius (Toyota). It's getting 53 MPG. The bulk of the driving is done on the highway*. *We live in Washington, DC...so this is 270 / 495 rush hour driving. Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

So here were my original questions: Answer - There are rules, but they can be broken if it helps us. Answer - Without additional information, said unarmed person may be dangerous and therefore a legitimate target. Answer: ? Answer: Yes, but looks are deceiving and possibly these guys were bad and their deaths were completely justified. Answer: Not really. Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

This appears to be a way around the "rules". Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

Is apprehending them an option? Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

I think that stuck in my head because the guy said something about it on the tape. You're right ~ it doesn't matter what they were wearing. Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

I thought the goal of war was to attain something (be it real property, freedom, peace, etc.) or to cause/create change. Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

How can that be? They can just do "whatever" they decide is necessary to do their jobs? Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

This is a great point. I REALLY didn't need to see it. Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

You're right - I wasn't there. I have absolutely no idea what was going on. It's possible that they could have been a group of highly trained special weapons guys for the other side, and maybe a group of our guys flushed them out of the building. I really have no idea. Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

On Friday, it was too windy to jump. So, we watched videos. One of the guys had a military training video. Very cool. Guys jumping with huge barrels and a ton of gear. When the training footage ran out, he had "battle" footage from Iraq. At first, he said, "You guys don't want to see this." Of course, the guys did want to see it. So, we watched. The footage was taken on top of a building. A man was shooting people running away from a building off in the distance. The people being shot did not have weapons and some of them were wearing white shirts. The off camera guy commented on how many people the shooter had taken down - giving kudos. I stopped watching. Afterward, I discussed this with a fellow jumper. He said that the guy was an ex-military guy and part of a group of men that were hired as independent contractors to go to Iraq. My question is this: Are there no rules when we are at war? Shooting an unarmed person as he/she runs away just seems wrong. Maybe they were a group of really bad men, but they didn't have weapons. Why not take them alive? Is this what has to be done to "WIN" the war? Does anyone police the subcontractors? Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

Congrats! Hopefully when I have my license, you'll be one of the experienced people that offers to jump with me

It's interesting...the origin of the "Noah story" revealed. It doesn't even mention rain... Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

Oh Smiles... The neighbor thing closely parallels my experience. After about an hour of hearing that I have to accept her beliefs if I want to go to heaven, I said, "If there are people like me in hell, that's where I belong." I just couldn't listen any more. We weren't going to see eye to eye. I refuse to believe that it's black and white. I refuse to believe that God (if he is real) won't have a place for people like me. I am not going to choose a religion because it will get me into heaven. If there is a God, I'm guessing he's smart enough to know when someone is pretending. Many of the stories in the bible are scientific improbabilities. For example, the ark story. I don't buy it. Maybe it rained. Maybe there was a flood. Maybe it took weeks for the water to subside. However, this happened back when they thought the world was flat. They didn't even know it was round. So tell me, how would they know if the entire thing was covered with water? The bible is an interpretation of what happened. Maybe they misinterepreted some things. Maybe someone just made it all up to control a group of people. I don't know. I'm sure this is what they call lack of faith. It's nice to know I'm not alone.

I followed the link. Interesting... Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

No one has pictures from that night...strange... Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...