Phil1111

Reports like these just make the public more skeptical of the BS in Washington and the impossibility of separating fact from political spin. Why not a report from a retired CIA director. Oh, of course, that would miss the chance for political spin on the real facts.

Sent to me by a Welsh friend. I wonder if Britain, or whats left of it after Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, leave. Will want donations from their former colonies. Perhaps the English football team merely wanted to make a statement that they didn't want to associate with any more foreigners. In order to respect the intent of the vote?

I was an R for 42 yrs. I did not leave the party, the party left me. I think George feels the same way, Jerry Baumchen By the time the election comes around the Republican house representatives will all be going George Will. In order to save themselves they will all be trying to separate themselves from Trump and his mouth. Trump has won the nomination and every time he talks without a teleprompter he alienates a sector of conservative voters that he will need in November.

Hugo Chávez: "Chávez focused on enacting social reforms as part of the Bolivarian Revolution, which is a type of socialist revolution. Using record-high oil revenues of the 2000s, his government nationalized key industries, created participatory democratic Communal Councils, and implemented social programs known as the Bolivarian Missions to expand access to food, housing, healthcare, and education.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][citation clutter] With Venezuela receiving high oil profits in the mid-2000s,[15] improvements in areas such as poverty, literacy, income equality, and quality of life occurred primarily between 2003 and 2007.[7][15][16] At the end of Chávez's presidency in the early 2010s, economic actions performed by his government during the preceding decade such as overspending[17][18][19][20][21] and price controls[22][23][24][25][26] proved to be unsustainable, with Venezuela's economy faltering while poverty,[7][15][27] inflation[28] and shortages in Venezuela increased. Chávez's presidency also saw significant increases in the country's murder rate[29][30][31][32] and corruption within the police force and government.[33][34] His use of enabling acts[35][36] and his government's use of Bolivarian propaganda was also controversial.[37][38][39][40]" http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/20/world/americas/venezuelans-ransack-stores-as-hunger-stalks-crumbling-nation.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0 And now for his legacy. Probably the best reason why socialism in its pure form is unsustainable. "A staggering 87 percent of Venezuelans say they do not have money to buy enough food, the most recent assessment of living standards by Simón Bolívar University found. About 72 percent of monthly wages are being spent just to buy food, according to the Center for Documentation and Social Analysis, a research group associated with the Venezuelan Teachers Federation. In April, it found that a family would need the equivalent of 16 minimum-wage salaries to properly feed itself. Ask people in this city when they last ate a meal, and many will respond that it was not today." http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/20/world/americas/venezuelans-ransack-stores-as-hunger-stalks-crumbling-nation.html

I agree but at the same time have learnt that the presence or absence of a tattoo. Like the style of a persons haircut. Means nothing with regards to the substance or integrity of an individual.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Thats what I thought too!

I have no clue what that refers to I didn't either but: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelena_(Once_Upon_a_Time) You could always travel to the US do some jumping, buy two rigs, sell one when you return. The profit will pay for some of your trip. Assuming OZ customs doesn't give it to you up the backside for duties/taxes.

It was a long winter and someone had the brainstorm to make a jump in January.Would have been 1977. The only plane we could come up with was a Cherokee six. We all discussed the concept that if it was colder than minus 30 we would call it off. We lined up snowmobiles in case of a off field landing and a couple of 4x4 trucks. After alot of BS Saturday comes around and its minus 35. But after all the headaches of organizing everything we decided to go. Whats an extra five degrees? The dz is about forty miles from the takeoff airport because the regular runway is snowed in for the winter. Somebody's friend is up in the co-pilots seat for his first airplane ride ever. About a half way there he gets airsick so pukes out the door. Subsequent to getting back to the airport we had to put the airplane in a heated hanger to thaw and clean off little bits of carrots and peas which had frozen down the side of the plane. So at those temperatures there is no playing around about clothes. I had on about everything I owned and every square inch of flesh was covered. I'm trying to spot the load out of a partially open aft port door, about 7500'. But my goggles keep fogging up. Finally we decide that our goggles would all clear up in freefall and after a quick four way we would try to all land in a group together. So out I go and after a bit I can sort of see out of a corner of my goggles. Never saw another jumper the whole jump and after opening realized It would take everything I had to get to a vehicle as the whole intended landing area was snowed in. All the vehicles were next to the highway a 1/2 mile further downwind. So downwind I go urging the paracommander to go as fast as it could. Gradually loosing all feeling in my hands and feet. My goggles are alternating becoming clearer and fogging up again. I did a quick turn into the wind, land and my canopy starts pulling me under the power lines right next to the highway. I run like hell through the knee deep snow to collapse the canopy. Then zoom ,zoom two cars go by on the highway about forty feet away. While I try to wrap the canopy up. Everybody came out of the affair OK but it took almost fifty minutes to retrieve the last guy. We all decided never to waste our time doing anything like that again and no one would admit to coming up with the idea in the first place.

He is just a lawyer speaking off the cuff on how he really thinks. Thats how lawyers really think. Just ask riggerrob , he'll tell you all about lawyers. Kind of reminds me of a movie about a lawyer who all of a sudden could not tell a lie. He was finished as a lawyer, naturally. All the other lawyers were laughing at him as if they were in a good ambulance chase. Some kind of a comedy starring Cary??

Why is it that Walmart and Mcdonalds always seem to have stories like this?

FALSE. That hasn't been true since 2014. And since 2014 the homicide rate in Chicago has gone UP. Please explain. As an aside: "Labour MP Jo Cox in critical condition after being shot and stabbed " https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/16/labour-mp-jo-cox-shot-in-west-yorkshire

I have not made an extensive study, but Canada seems to achieve a reasonable balance, and both its homicide and gun-suicide rates are far lower than the USA's. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Canada Canada vr. USA Overall Crime: http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Canada/United-States/Crime Income inequality: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/details/society/income-inequality.aspx "The Swiss Difference: A Gun Culture That Works The country had one mass shooting in 2001, but a resulting anti-gun referendum failed to pass. The Swiss will not give up the gun. Can their system work in the U.S.?" http://world.time.com/2012/12/20/the-swiss-difference-a-gun-culture-that-works/ The homicide rate and numbers in Chicago are a good example of whats wrong with gun laws. It has the toughest anti-gun laws. But that can't overcome drugs, gangs and a violent subculture. "Forty-four people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, seven of them fatally, bringing the total number of gun violence victims in the city this year to more than 1,650. At least 282 of them died of their wounds, nearly 100 more than the year before, according to data kept by the Chicago Tribune. The deadliest stretch of the weekend was between 6 p.m. Saturday and 5:25 a.m. Sunday, when three people were killed and at least 17 others were wounded, according to police." http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-weekend-shootings-20160613-story.html Year to date would make 282 homicides 5.64 times as deadly as the Orlando shooting. Or in other terms a Orlando death toll every month. So? Its the values of the society not the gun, number of guns, or laws allowing or restricting their use. That leads to gun violence. Spanish youth as an example have twice the unemployment rate as US black youths. Yet the culture of violence are polar opposites.

I have not made an extensive study, but Canada seems to achieve a reasonable balance, and both its homicide and gun-suicide rates are far lower than the USA's. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Canada Canada vr. USA Overall Crime: http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Canada/United-States/Crime Income inequality: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/details/society/income-inequality.aspx "The Swiss Difference: A Gun Culture That Works The country had one mass shooting in 2001, but a resulting anti-gun referendum failed to pass. The Swiss will not give up the gun. Can their system work in the U.S.?" http://world.time.com/2012/12/20/the-swiss-difference-a-gun-culture-that-works/ The homicide rate and numbers in Chicago are a good example of whats wrong with gun laws. It has the toughest anti-gun laws. But that can't overcome drugs, gangs and a violent subculture. "Forty-four people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, seven of them fatally, bringing the total number of gun violence victims in the city this year to more than 1,650. At least 282 of them died of their wounds, nearly 100 more than the year before, according to data kept by the Chicago Tribune. The deadliest stretch of the weekend was between 6 p.m. Saturday and 5:25 a.m. Sunday, when three people were killed and at least 17 others were wounded, according to police." http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-weekend-shootings-20160613-story.html Year to date would make 282 homicides 5.64 times as deadly as the Orlando shooting. Or in other terms a Orlando death toll every month.

All part of the polarization of political thinking in some countries.

I don't recall any mass shootings at any NRA conventions

I'm not sure why you would bring Trudeau into this. He has been PM for a few months. Rob's point seemed to be about the choices and opportunities Canadian society affords to young men that give them better options. A few will and have chosen bad options anyway. Options in Canada are largely limited only by men's willingness to work to their goals. Agree. Federal and local governments can only do so much in leading social thinking and actions. I have seen some news editorials comparing France's poor opportunities for Muslim immigrants. IMO the IS in Iraq has maybe two more years. Perhaps three in Syria. That will not be the end of IS thinking and actions. The hate of Sunni vr. Shia and the ideas taught in Saudi schools and Pakistani madrasas. Where non-believers are "filth" and should be killed. "What you're saying is that, if we wanted to look for the causes of what's happened -- Al Qaeda and the movement worldwide -- we would have to look to the schools, to the educational system which Saudi Arabia has fostered in the Islamic world? ... In order to have terrorists, in order to have supporters for terrorists, in order to have people who are willing to interpret religion in violent ways, in order to have people who are willing to legitimate crashing yourself into a building and killing 5,000 innocent people, you need particular interpretations of Islam. Those interpretations of Islam are being propagated out of schools that receive organizational and financial funding from Saudi Arabia. In fact, I would push it further: that these schools would not have existed without Saudi funding. They would not have proliferated across Pakistan and India and Afghanistan without Saudi funding. They would not have had the kind of prowess that they have without Saudi funding, and they would not have trained as many people without Saudi funding." http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/madrassas.html "A disarming approach Can the beliefs that feed terrorism be changed? Apr 2nd 2016 ACCORDING to Peter Neumann, a terrorism-watcher at King’s College London, experience points to three common features in successful efforts to wean someone off extremism. He must already have inner doubts; trusted people, whether imams, friends or relatives, must be involved; and he must be offered an alternative peer group. He may also be more concerned with personal problems or geopolitical grievances than matters of theology. Still, given that IS’s appeal lies in a perverse but seductive form of religion, some of the counter-argument has to be religious. How to persuade a jihadist, or somebody tempted by jihadism, that there might be better, and truer, ways to understand Islam than the murderous fanaticism of IS and similar groups? One approach is to challenge their vision of the world, according to which a place belongs either to Dar al-Islam, the realm where Islam prevails, or to Dar al-Harb, where the faith’s enemies are to be found. In the land it controls, IS claims to have re-established Dar al-Islam with a purity comparable to the first Muslim community. The more idealised his vision of Dar al-Islam, the easier it is for an impressionable young Muslim to convince himself that everywhere else is Dar al-Harb, a zone of adversaries deserving no mercy. But a mentor can show that this division has never been binary. There are intermediate situations such as Dar al-Dawa, the abode of invitation, where Islam does not predominate but can be practised and preached freely. Another important term is Dar al-Ahd, abode of the contract: places which live in established peace with Muslims. Some Muslim scholars say the West is a more comfortable place to practise the faith than many Muslim-majority countries. And Islam has a lot to say about loyalty and obedience to states that allow Muslims to live safely and devoutly. To the jihadist and the Islamo-sceptical Westerner alike, sharia law may conjure up images of cruel religious punishment. To a young Muslim frustrated by the ambivalence of life in the West, there may be something seductive about the idea of swift, ruthless justice, ordained by God and therefore not open to question. But a mentor can suggest returning to the original meaning of sharia: a way of promoting the well-being of the individual and the community. The term refers not only to retribution but to Islam’s positive guidance for living generously and humbly. A hardened jihadist may have been swayed by “The Management of Savagery”, a kind of manifesto for al-Qaeda and its imitators that was published online in 2004. It calls for merciless violence, especially in Muslim countries where Western countries have some influence. The intention is to foment grievance, force the West to over-react and bring about chaos and collapse from which a true caliphate can emerge. It may be possible to convince the subject that all this is alien to the philosophy of war set out in the Koran and by its interpreters. These emphasise that war should only be waged in response to aggression, treachery or a broken treaty, and that civilians should be spared. Today’s jihadists can also be cast in an unflattering light by drawing parallels with an extremist sect from Islam’s earliest days. Known as the Khawarij, they turned against the caliph of the day and assassinated him, because he was emollient enough to submit to arbitration in a conflict with a rival. The Sunni preachers of IS strongly reject the comparison between themselves and the Khawarij. But the defining feature of the Khawarij, shared with today’s terrorists, was a fondness for denouncing as infidel any Muslim less fanatical than themselves. Among Muslims who set out to woo people away from terrorism, none of these points is much disputed. Each is intended to challenge the jihadists’ claim to be returning to Islam’s purest sources. But that does not mean that the work is free of controversy. In Britain, especially, there has been bitter argument, not over how to go about mentoring, but over who should do it. Is the job best given to religious teachers who themselves hold quite hard-line theological and political views and can therefore partly empathise with their subjects, or should it be restricted to those who espouse secular notions of liberty and equality, including, for example, gay rights? Words and wounds In recent years, the more restrictive view has prevailed. In comparison with interventions focused on social work elsewhere, Britain’s deradicalisation programme, known as Channel, is perceived to be police-led. It is part of an anti-terror strategy known as Prevent, which was denounced this week by a teachers’ union for requiring teachers to report on their pupils. Channel is also theology-heavy—but it only uses mentors who espouse liberal democracy, secular law and Western notions of freedom, tolerance and equality. They must unconditionally oppose attacks on British forces. Rashad Ali, one of those mentors and a fellow of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think-tank in London, argues that deradicalisation can be worse than useless if practitioners, while condemning IS, condone other violence. The difficulty, insists Alyas Karmani, a British imam who has mentored jailed extremists but has now fallen out of official favour, is that restricting the pool to such impeccably liberal-minded folk disqualifies the great majority of those well-placed to communicate and empathise with their subjects. In particular, imams who share their subjects’ anger at Western foreign policy, for example the use of drones over Pakistan and Afghanistan, are excluded. In Islamic terminology, there is a degree of ijma, or consensus, on what to say to a would-be jihadist. But on who should say it there is fitna, a state of dangerous strife." http://www.economist.com/news/international/21695876-can-beliefs-feed-terrorism-be-changed-disarming-approach

"King Coal is dying. Even so, he may perk up on his deathbed from time to time, providing stock-trading opportunities. The U.S. presidential election's outcome may be one such opportunity. Republican front-runner Donald Trump has promised to come to King Coal's aid, pledging to ease federal regulations on emissions from coal-fired power plants. It's a message that could be key in swing state Pennsylvania vs. presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.... Peabody Energy, the biggest coal producer, in April filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, following Arch Coal, Alpha Natural Resources, Patriot Coal and others. In most cases, the bankruptcies have not affected production -- about 45% of coal production now comes from bankrupt companies, says IHS... Coal production in the U.S. peaked in 2008 at 1.17 billion tons, falling to 895 million tons in 2015, says the EIA. The energy agency forecasts that coal production will fall to 746 million tons in 2016 and edge up to 778 million in 2017. IHS' 2016 estimate is lower, at 650 million tons. "We are seeing the industry work through stockpiles rapidly even though demand is weak," said Stevenson. "We should have a market back to balance in 12 months or potentially earlier." It's no wonder that coal producers aim to alter their asset portfolios. There's growing pressure on institutional investors to ditch fossil fuel stocks because of global climate change. California will require two state pension funds to divest by mid-2017 from companies that receive at least half of revenues from coal mining. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Trump, meanwhile, says he'll undo Obama administration environmental regulations. Obama has put a moratorium on selling new public land leases to the coal industry. Trump has also pledged to reopen coal mines in Appalachia. Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/how-to-make-money-from-king-coals-long-slow-demise-cm633725#ixzz4BN591JgK

"They receive approximately $24 billion a year in remittances from Mexican nationals working in the United States. The majority of that amount comes from illegal aliens. It serves as de facto welfare for poor families in Mexico. There is no significant social safety net provided by the state in Mexico." The majority of that from poor people working at near minimum wages doing jobs that nobody else will do. Wanting to help poor families in Mexico. Twenty four billion represents six days spending by the US defense department. Trump could have said that the money should come from the big business that employ illegal aliens.... But those are republican voters.

What? No. Really... WHAT? I've seen some asinine arguments made here in the cause of 'my side vs your side', but this one is a doozie. Please - explain how you're drawing parallels between either a temporary security fence for a venue for a particular event or an increased height of the steel fence around the White House to a permanent 2,000 mile, 35ft concrete wall. I really want to hear how this is a political argument. Go for it. Make it Dems vs Republicans... Seriously - I work in construction and I tell you this. If Trump gets in and builds his famous wall, I'll be the first bidding for the project. And here's why... it'll be such a fucking boondoggle that I'm going to be able to retire from it. I'll make an absolute fortune. And you'll pay for it. https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/pay-for-the-wall I'm sure that Mexicans will be happy to fund your retirement!

Should IS members who are terrorists, who belonged to a gang involved with mass executions, genocide, slave trading, etc. Be given help to return from the "battlefield". Or should Shia militias from Iraq-Iran and Assadists deal with them on the battlefield? After all wouldn't that be Allah's will? "Disenchanted Islamic State members recruited from the West have increasingly been contacting their governments and asking for help in getting home, according to diplomats and a Syrian network that aids defectors. Some have turned up at diplomatic missions in Turkey, and others have sent furtive messages to their governments seeking assistance in escaping from territory the extremist group controls in neighboring Syria, according to the diplomats, who represent six Western missions in Turkey. The calls for help from Westerners come as Islamic State loses ground and faces fresh assaults on its Raqqa stronghold and on Fallujah, Iraq, where it has ruled for more than two years." Full story: http://www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-members-from-the-west-seek-help-getting-home-1465244878

Amen, brother. I stress learning to properly PLF because we don't know who will have a shitty landing until they have one. Or having a reserve ride into a tight spot, getting cut off on short final and having to do a sharp turn, etc. etc. A PLF is a get out of hospital trick that can come in handy in lots of last second oh sh** situations.

Ryan is bright enough to see Trump for what he is, but too gutless to do what is best for the country, instead of what is best for the party. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ NAILED IT.

http://www.whitehouse-clinic.co.uk/article/recovery-speed-up Do some personal research because the limits of rehab can be amended to suit the patient.

"Renewable energy surges to record levels around the world By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent 1 June 2016 Investments in renewables during the year were more than double the amount spent on new coal and gas-fired power plants, the Renewables Global Status Report found. For the first time, emerging economies spent more than the rich on renewable power and fuels. Over 8 million people are now working in renewable energy worldwide. For a number of years, the global spend on renewables has been increasing and 2015 saw that arrive at a new peak according to the report. Falling costs key About 147 gigawatts (GW) of capacity was added in 2015, roughly equivalent to Africa's generating capacity from all sources. " http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36420750

Now that's what I mean when I talk about deadenders. A complete lack of vision and inability to acknowledge obvious change coming down the track. Like a coal powered locomotive, it's coming straight at you. The switch to diesel electric power was resisted by some. Especially fire tenders. You can rail on and on about the change being forced on you. But here it comes, get out of the way. The times they are a changing. I think you mean a Luddite.