mpohl

My reaction exactly when I first saw it!!! Unfort, w/ the link being removed by the do-gooders, we'll never be able to discuss the state of the human condition!

I am just putting this straight into SC. WHAT DOES THIS TELL US ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION? graphic video removed

Just get your boobs over to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and provide some relieve to the 50 workers that are holding out and sacrificing their lives to save a nation. You don't have to relegate yourself to serving boobie jello shots! Under false pretense!!!!!!

Sounds like my 8-yr old running his lemonade stand. "Look, I made $12 today!" "No son, you didn't! Cost-of-goods-sold was $12. Now, you just own your remaining inventory which hopefully will make you some money.

Egypt has been liberated. So when can we liberate the USA? When will people take to the streets because they are unwilling to take it any longer? Another 30 years...? He's probably feeling a bit uncomfortable. Probably uncertain about his future.

www.guardian.co.uk George Bush calls off trip to Switzerland [...] George W Bush has had to call off a trip to Switzerland next weekend amid planned protests by human rights groups over the treatment of detainees at Guantánamo Bay and the threat of a warrant for his arrest. [...] David Sherzer, a spokesman for the former US president, confirmed the move in an email to the Associated Press. "We regret that the speech has been cancelled," he said. "President Bush was looking forward to speaking about freedom and offering reflections from his time in office." [...] The visit would have been Bush's first to Europe since he admitted in his autobiography, Decision Points, in November that he had authorised the use of waterboarding – simulated drowning – on detainees at Guantánamo accused of links with al-Qaida. Whether out of concern over the protests or the arrest warrant, it is an extraordinary development for a former US president to have his travel plans curtailed in this way, and amounts to a victory for human rights campaigners. [...] Since the arrest of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London in 1998, international leaders can no longer be confident of immunity. Israeli politicians have cancelled trips to London and elsewhere for fear of arrest warrants. [...] Bush had been due to deliver a speech at a dinner in Geneva organised by the United Israel Appeal, a US-based organisation that helps Jews move to Israel.

Simply, it gets boring! As an AFF-I, TAN-I, Rigger no less. Plus there is so much more to life than commuting to the DZ 1h+ each way, two days a weekend. Been there, done it. Plus, starting about 5 yrs ago, the next generation of jumpers really turned me off. For them it is more about partying than accomplishing. Not worth my time.

I venture that these CIA criminals will have severely curtailed travel plans. International Arrest Warrant, anyone? Seems the US will be their prison! P.S.: Thanks to biometric passports, a new identity just won't suffice...

Nothing that 400 bullets can't fix. Let's start out with the Koch brothers.

Make sure to invite Mike G. from ChuitingStar. He would know.

Just invite 10-20 Cypres survivors to testify as expert witnesses!! That should do the job nicely. " ................................................................... Not me! I have inspected parachutes - involved in accidents - twice in the past and both times I found "no major flaws with the equipment." Rob Warner FAA Master Rigger

De nada. You are welcome. The age of "American Exceptionalism" ended many moons ago. Get in line w/ all the other third world countries, and behind the EU, Russia, India, Brasil, etc. Suffice it to say that a frivolous lawsuit against Airtec would never fly in any of those countries! Only in the US can you be sued for not putting a sticker on your main/reserve that skydiving is dangerous. RIDICULOUS!!!!

This is a question, not an argument: So why do you know this? There are international trade agreements between Germany and the USA. I doubt that any of us know what those agreements say. We do extradite from many countries. JerryBaumchen March 2009 Will Your U.S. Judgment Be Enforced Abroad? by Nadja Vietz My law firm is frequently contacted by U.S. lawyers with judgments they are seeking to enforce overseas. The lawyer is seeking our assistance to enforce its U.S. court judgment against a foreign company that did business with the lawyer's U.S.-based client. The procedural history is nearly always the same. The litigator served the defendant and, several months and many dollars later, he or she now has a U.S. judgment. When the foreign company refuses to pay even pennies on the dollar on the judgment, the litigator realizes the judgment will need to be taken overseas for enforcement. Only then (and usually not until we relay this information) does the litigator realize very few countries will enforce U.S. judgments. To have a chance at collection, the case often must be tried anew, only this time in a far less sympathetic forum. These nightmares are far too common, and their genesis is usually a contract that either calls for U.S. litigation or is completely silent on jurisdiction. The wise business lawyer has an arbitration provision, but unfortunately many contracts fail to contain this key element. I set forth below some suggestions for avoiding this nightmare, emphasizing European and, particularly, German legislation.[1] Recognition of U.S. Judgments Under Foreign Local Law The United States is not a party to any bilateral treaties or multilateral international conventions governing reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. The reasons for the absence of such agreements seem to be that foreign countries perceive U.S. courts (particularly U.S. juries) as granting excessive awards (particularly in tort cases and particularly with respect to punitive damage awards) and as too often asserting extraterritorial jurisdiction and disregarding international law. Absent a treaty, the question of whether the courts of a foreign country will enforce a U.S. judgment is governed by the local rules of the foreign country and by international comity.[2] Generally, U.S. judgments cannot be enforced in a foreign country without first being recognized by a court in that foreign country. The recognition and enforcement of U.S. judgments depend not only on the domestic law of the foreign country, but also on the principles of comity, reciprocity, and res judicata.3 Foreign courts generally do not recognize U.S. money judgments unless: (1) the U.S. court had jurisdiction; (2) the defendant was properly served; (3) the proceedings were not vitiated by fraud; and (4) the judgment is not contrary to the public policy of the foreign country.[4] Most European countries have similar code provisions, setting forth something along the lines of these four rules, but enforceability of U.S. judgments still varies widely from country to country, even within Europe. Some countries tend to enforce U.S. judgments, and some countries virtually never do. It can generally be said that non-default judgments not involving tort claims or punitive damages are more likely to be enforced. Enforcement problems in Europe usually arise when the U.S. court lacked jurisdiction, when the defendant was not properly served, or when there are public-policy concerns. U.S. Court Jurisdiction European courts will not recognize U.S. judgments if the U.S. court lacked jurisdiction. Special attention needs to be paid to the fact that for purposes of recognizing foreign judgments, jurisdiction must be determined by the law of the European country, not by U.S. law. For instance, under the so-called "mirror-image principle," German law projects its own jurisdictional rules on the foreign court, which is then treated as having international jurisdiction if a German court would have had jurisdiction had the situation been reversed.[5] Under the Hague Choice of Court Convention, concluded in June 2005, signatories would recognize and enforce the judgments of other signatory countries when those judgments follow valid "choice of court agreements."[6] This convention would enforce choice of court provisions and resulting judgments, much as the New York Convention does with arbitration clauses and subsequent arbitral awards.[7] The Convention, however, will not go into effect until at least two countries have ratified it. Thus far, only Mexico has done so.[8] Proper Service European courts also frequently deny enforcement of U.S. judgments because of improper service of process. The defendant cannot assert this defense in the European court if it in any way engaged in the U.S. lawsuit. Consequently, this issue usually arises when trying to enforce a default judgment. Proper service usually requires service to have been in accordance with the laws of the European country, and, in most instances, pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters of November 15, 1965, as well.[9] Article 2 of the Hague Convention calls on each country to designate a central authority to receive service requests from other countries. Article 5 provides that the central authority shall itself render service or have the document served by an appropriate agency pursuant to the country's own service of process laws or by a particular method requested by the applicant.[10] It is essential to serve the right person with authority to accept such service, but it is equally important to provide the defendant with a translation of the complaint and summons.[11] Failing to translate the court documents would, in most Hague Convention signatory countries, preclude a finding of proper service, even where a defendant had ample notice of the lawsuit.[12] We see this requirement neglected at least as often as it is followed. Public Policy European countries will not recognize foreign judgments where doing so cannot be reconciled with their own laws. Enforceability will be denied if major principles, such as the violation of fundamental rights or fundamental principles of local civil procedure or the like, were disregarded by the foreign court that granted the judgment. Since punitive and treble damage awards are generally regarded as excessive and contrary to the public policy of most European countries, these almost always should be removed from the U.S. judgment before taking it to Europe for recognition and enforcement. Our experience is that the U.S. federal courts are quite willing to give a new judgment with these damages removed, so as to make their judgment more likely to be enforced overseas. Conclusion Getting U.S. judgments recognized and enforced in European courts is possible, but only if the U.S. litigation is handled from its inception with an eye towards European enforceability. Before filing suit here in the United States, it is critical to know the requirements for judgment recognition in the particular European country in which the judgment will eventually need to be recognized and enforced. Nadja Vietz is a licensed attorney in Germany, Spain, and Washington, and a partner at Harris & Moure, pllc, where she focuses on international commercial litigation and arbitration and on assisting European and Latin-American companies here in the United States. For more information, see www.harrismoure.com or www.chinalawblog.com. Ms. Vietz can be contacted at 206-224-5657 or nadja@harrismoure.com. NOTES 1. The author is also licensed in Germany and in Spain, and has practiced in both countries for several years. 2. In Germany, the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments is governed by special provisions of the German Code of Civil Procedure (Zivilprozessordnung or ZPO). ZPO Section 328 deals with recognition in general, while sections 722 and 723 regulate the procedure for enforcing foreign judgments. 3. Some countries, such as China and Russia, generally do not enforce U.S. judgments under any circumstances. 4. German codes also require (1) that the judgment be res judicata; (2) that no conflicting judgment exists; (3) that no prior proceeding have been instituted; and (4) that reciprocity exists. (ZPO Section 318). 5. Similar rules exist in the laws of Switzerland and other European countries. 6. The full text of this Convention is available on the Hague Conference's website at www.hcch.nl. 7. 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. 8. Mexico ratified on September 26, 2007. The European Union is starting to look at ratification process. Ratification in the U.S. might take years until implementation issues — including how to make state laws compatible with the convention — are resolved. 9. A list of all signatory countries with objections and reservations can be found at www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=17. 10. Some signatories signed the Hague Convention with reservations or objections. For instance, Germany expressly reserved its right to preclude service of process by mail, and only accepts service made through its central authority or by personal service, if agreed to by the defendant. However, there has been recent German case law holding that a defendant's actual notice in sufficient time to defend can remedy improper service, as long as service was proper under U.S. law. 11. See Article 5, paragraph 3 of the Hague Convention. 12. Germany expressly reserved the right to require all papers served on its citizens be translated into German, and the German Supreme Court recently confirmed that proper service must include such a translation.

Don't worry. Judgments by US courts are not enforceable in Germany (or Europe, for that matter). At most, it will put SSK out-of-business and make the Cypres unavailable to US customers. Which would once again make a point for the power of Darwinian selection...this time on a nation-scale. Correct. And if Cypres is taken off the market because of lawsuits, then many more skydivers will die, by not having them. Another question: What skydivers are going to step forward and testify against Cypres?

Ridiculous post! When was the last time you felt as compelled towards a human being?

Welcome. But as you can probably tell from the responses, Internet skydivers are very close-minded and oppiniated people.

Well, that's just because Americans can't drive shit to begin with. And that includes our Peace Officers forever glued to their cell phones while discharging their authority. Suffice it to say that a Red Light Camera gets all of the pertinent data right...all the time, every time. Can't say that about a Tx trooper.

I had also posted this on another forum unrelated to skydiving. I am very much surprised, almost shocked, to get a more coherent, first response from SC. Other than the usual: "I am tired as a white guy to support their lazy asses 7 generations out," and, "America is best. Ship 'em back to Africa." Kudos. It's amazing how various agencies (government or not) insist on doing things the old and incredibly stupid ways. There is not a reason on this planet that people should wait two days to get an application, or that those who are willing to do so should be prioritized over those who had to work those two days. And I suppose as soon as they got out of that line, they got into the line for tomorrow to submit. How do you do this better? Make a two week submission period and then randomly assign priority. Make the forms available and (and potentially submittable) by web and instruct the local libraries. The IRS manages to make 1040s widely available every year at the post office. And accept by mail all with postmark before deadline. It also reminds me of the chaos behind getting season tickets for Cal basketball for the years when Jason Kidd played. The first year it was a giant overnight line that of course swelled with line cutters. The second year, they figured they'd fix that by not announcing the location until 9am over the radio. So people on bikes, skates, mopeds roamed the campus with a guess and when the announcement came, it was a full speed stampede. At the time the school was fund raising for a revamping of the arena, which would double the capacity from a rather small 6000. They could have sold $10 raffle tickets that would be chosen randomly for the 1000 student slots. It would have raised a bit of money, removed the insanity, and let the students focus on more important things like classes. If fairness is a concern, limit to 1 (or 5) per student.

30,000 line up for housing vouchers, some get rowdy *| ajc.com By Mike Morris and Rhonda Cook The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 4:09 p.m. Wednesday, August 11, 2010 Thirty thousand people showed up to receive Section 8 housing applications in East Point Wednesday, suffering through hours in the hot sun, angry flare-ups in the crowd and lots of frustration and confusion for a chance to receive a government-subsidized apartment. The massive event sometimes descended into a chaotic mob scene filled with anger and impatience. Some 62 people needed medical attention and 20 of them were transported to a hospital, authorities said. A baby went into a seizure in the heat and was stabilized at a hospital. People were removed on stretchers and when a throng of people who had been waiting hours in a line were told to move to another line, people started pushing, shoving and cursing, witnesses said. Still, officials of East Point declared the day a success. Nobody was arrested and nobody was seriously injured, they said. It was an assessment roundly challenged by many of the people who had to go through it. Kim Lemish, executive director of the East Point Housing Authority, said the event marked the first time the city has offered Section 8 housing applications since 2002. The waiting list that lasted eight years had depleted, she said, and the agency was beginning a new one. So people braved all the physical difficulties just to get on a waiting list that could keep them waiting for years. Lemish said the agency had expected about 10,000 people but three times as many showed up. Many were just accompanying those looking for an application. Some 13,000 applications were handed out. Concern is rising that a similar scene could occur Thursday when the housing authority of this small city begins accepting the completed applications. Wednesday's event was only to hand out the paperwork. The housing authority will begin accepting applications at 9 a.m. Some of the crowd waited for two days at the Tri-Cities Plaza shopping center. As the temperature rose Wednesday, people fell ill. Sgt. Cliff Chandler, spokesman for the East Point Police Department, said a toddler was treated earlier in the morning for "some type of seizure," Chandler said. "A lot of it was heat and some was health-related issues" such people not taking their medications, Chandler said. By the time everyone had left around 2 p.m., the temperature had climbed into the low 90s. East Point police, some wearing riot helmets, were patrolling the area. Firefighters and EMTs were attending to people who were overheating in the sun. Police from College Park, Hapeville, Fulton County and MARTA assisted in crowd control. Chandler said there were no arrests. Felecia McGhee told the AJC she arrived around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. She said the major problem began when people started breaking into the line and then officials handing out applications started moving those areas and those line breakers. She said she saw at least two small children trampled when the crowd rushed the building where the applications were to be handed out. "It's a real mess out here," she said. Channel 2 Action News reporter Mike Petchenik said fights were breaking out and police had to stop people who were storming the door. Channel 2 reporter Tom Jones said, “There are thousands, I mean, thousands of people here. I’ve seen people fall out from the heat.” By late morning the crowd had thinned considerably and people were walking up and getting their applications without delay. But just before the 1 p.m. deadline, a line of about 200 people had formed. Shortly after 1 p.m., several people ran across the parking lot to get in line but were told by police that the line was closed. Emergency personnel brought in a pickup truck full of bottled water and were handing it out to the crowd. A sign on the door of the office explained that only applications were being handed out. "The housing authority will be issuing applications Wednesday, August 11, starting at 9 a.m. Everyone in line by 1 p.m. on the 11th will receive an application. ... No Section 8 vouchers are available at this time. There are no public housing units available at this time. You're applying for the waiting list only." The Housing Choice Voucher Program, called Section 8, subsidized the rents of low-income families living in apartments and houses that are privately owned. The federal program makes up the difference in rent that the poor can afford and the fair market value for each area. The federal government has specific standards for its subsidized properties but at the same time landlords are assured an income. Only families with incomes no more than half the median income for the area qualify. The median income for the East Point area is less than $32,000, according to Census data. It is up to the renter to find a place that meets HUD standards, which includes being 90 percent to 110 percent of the “local fair market rent.”

OR do they? 'It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the air force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.'- 1979 Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

There is a long way from brain "owner" to "user". Source: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/29/florida.burn.quran.day/index.html Seriously? What the fuck is wrong with some people?

Smokers may be getting a lot more than they bargain for when lighting up — like inhaling traces of pig’s blood. Pig hemoglobin is sometimes used in cigarette filters, according to recent Dutch research reported by The Daily Telegraph — a disclosure that is bound to upset many devout Muslims and Jews. [...] Source: Mother Jones Just because you don't have a clue does not mean that it is not true! Same applies to others that responded thus far in this thread ridiculing Iranians and Muslims.

Low self-esteem. I mean, look at the fellas: grey haired, overweight, beer belly, yellow teeth. They certainly ain't going to score a 19-yr old hottie. What's left to do?....

Request to see a fleet utilization log. They can't claim loss of use unless all vehicles have been rented at that time. Suffice it to say that the rental car company will not make a fleet utilization log available; if they do, just sell it to all the competitors in town. So those charges should go away... Also, check out flyertalk.com for further information on how to best deal w/ your situation.

+1. Just look at the brand of equipment that professional landscapers use. There is only one.