jclalor

I went my first 100 jumps without seeing as much as a scratch on anyone and then I sat next to two fatalities within fifty jumps. That changed my outlook just a bit.

Five fatalities in one week including a tandem.

What is diiferent from the Bush policy on the middle east and the current policy? Are you suggesting Obama is being light on the Taliban or Bin Laden to win a popularity contest?

Nothing more than a hit piece.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and I have not seen any. I am curious however if you believe the holocaust or the Apollo landings were real events or for that matter if there are any "conspiracies" that you do not subscribe to. If I was truly convinced my government was capable of murdering adults and children by the thousands, in cold blood, I would not be able to carry on with a normal life, I can think of few things that would distress me more. If I was as certain of these facts as you claim to be, I would absolutely and without hesitation take my family and leave the country. . In all honest truth, I feel very sorry for you. To have the beliefs that you have, your daily life must be a living hell thinking your government is capable and very willing of killing you and your family at any given moment for any given reason.

If the Bush goverment was slick enough to pull off something as complicated as 911, then why could they not even manage to do something as trivial as to plant some WMD's in Iraq?

If by sending 25,000 troops for 8 years and SPENDING 250 billion dollars and LOSING 800 American lives is largely ignoring something I guess your right. W. only made the comment: I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority... I am truly not that concerned about him." GWB 3/13/02 After he became exasperated looking for him and that was the only thing he could say. Having W say he did not care where the perpetrators of 911 was is just plain silly, if you believed that one.........

We don't even know where the people are who attacked us on 911 , they could be anywhere in Afghanistan or Pakistan. We are in reality fighting the people who hosted the people who committed 911. After 8 years of searching high and low for the Taliban leadership things don't seem to be working out well. How long was WW2? We are in a defensive posture and watching 19 year old US kids being blown to bits just trying to walk down a street is getting old. With winter coming soon the "fighting" will probably wind down until next spring. This will give the Taliban all winter to sit in their caves and come up with better ways to plant IED'S and create havoc for US troops next spring and summer. We fight this war on their terms. I have no problem Flying drones and f-18's over the country and punishing the Taliban that way, but what we are doing now is not working.

I think most american's don't have the stomach for a long, exspenive, and protracted war with out there being a clearly defined objective. I know the old Vietnam comparison gets a bit old but it is true, we hold a villiage for a few days and pull out and the Taliban is right back in. If Russia could not win, even by fightging in ways that we would never even dare to fight, how are we to win? What is winning? I would love to hear someone tell me what a victory in Afghanistan would look like. The most disturbing issue in that area is Packistan and it's future stability considering it's nuclear weapons.

Why is it the left hammered Bush on an exit date for Iraq, and yet no one is doing the same of Obama for Afghanistan? With the death toll mounting for US troops and the prospects for ever achieving any meaningful type of outcome seems less and less likely it's time to to get out.

I think it shows something that Obama is letting him go, the guy was a nut claiming Bush was behind 911. When people blindly support thier party it only gives validation to the opposing party.

I would say the vast majority of people on the right support capital punishment, I am not trying to stereotype anybody. Gallup poll from 10/07: 81% in favor of capital punishment who identiied themselves as republicans as oppose to 60% who identified as democrats.

Look at the case of a Florida youth who was positivley identified as the shooter of a white tourist by the women's husband who was standing 5 feet away when she was shot. He also signed a confession admitting total guilt. The academy award winning documentry that chonicled this case was amazing, filmed starting with his arrest and all thru his trial, it is one of the most compelling pieces on abuse of powers by police. "Murder on a Sunday Morning" is a must see film for people on both sides of the death penalty. http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/022301/met_5474236.html

It's kind of funny that all theses conservatives live by the mantra that the goverment can not get ANYTHING right until it comes to executing a person.

And then there is this Christian preacher that prays for Obama to die of brain cancer. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/31/phoenix-pastor-draws-protests-telling-church-prays-obamas-death/

How do I view Christians? I would prefer to view them from the lower seats of a Roman coliseum.

Last year in Hollister at 12k in a 206 just as we opened the door to spot we had another AC pass from our left 100 ft directly below us.

I have a nephew who is a bit of a bullshitter who was just discharged from active duty 3 months early from a 5 year enistment. I was wondering : Would the navy now pay $2ooo a nonth for him to attend a junior college? Would he get a $20,000 bonus for joining the reserves working in intelligence? ( He was an electician) Would the navy allow him to use the $20,000 bonus to pay off his past due debts in order to pass a background investigation? Thanks for any help with these questions.

This is an outright lie, No kittens will be killed with out first going before a kitten death panel.

The athiest movement will only get stronger with time, and at some point idetifying as an athiest will be the norm and the believers will get the raised eyebrow. Mankind has worshipped some type of god (gods) for thousands of years, and yet science has only really been around for a few hundred to offer a viable alternative.

I voted for Obama and I dont like it. I also wonder how any professed followers of Jesus would side with not providing insurance coverage to the poor. Seems like a MAJOR conflict with fundie Christians who try and spout about how they try and emulate the teachings of Christ and yet would deny healthcare to the poor.

It seems with all this talk of "Death panels" going on lately that some people forget that it is private insurance companys that often make the decisions on who lives and who dies. Even if there WAS a goverment panel that decided very complicated cases I would much rather take my chances with the goverment than a corporation that has a profit motive for denying my care.

Skydiving Incident Reporting: For Skydivers Posted Sun Dec 21 2003 By Christy West None of us want to think about a member of our skydiving family getting hurt or killed, much less getting hurt or killed while skydiving. Even further down the list is having to talk to a journalist about a skydiving incident. As distasteful as it is to try to explain to a whuffo reporter why a fellow skydiver was injured or killed while jumping, though, it's actually an opportunity to improve the image of the sport. As we well know, most journalists aren't skydivers and at best have a tough time explaining the circumstances of a skydiving incident. They often get it wrong with a common theme of "The parachute didn't open." But while it is certainly their responsibility to get the story right, they can't do it without help from the experts-which in this case is you, the skydivers who were present during an incident and are designated media contacts. Avoidance and condemning of the media for their often poor explanation of skydiving incidents is common among skydivers, but we can do the sport far more justice by working with journalists towards a proper article than by blowing them off. It requires more effort, to be sure, but more accurate coverage of these incidents can help dispel the image of skydiving as a ruthless sport in which some participants die despite doing everything right. Take the common statement of "The parachute failed to open," for example. This implies that the gear is at fault, when we all know that it's a very rare situation when the skydiver can do everything right and still die. Almost 100% of the time, a skydiver dies because of a primary (e.g., no pull, low pull, low turn) or secondary (incorrect response to a malfunction) mistake. The public doesn't understand this. While it might not seem important that they do, think of the number of times you are asked by non-skydiving friends and coworkers why you skydive, or hear a comment of how they can't believe you skydive, all with the overtone of why would someone want to do a sport that everyone knows will kill you. Do you get tired of that? I do. The simple fact is that a large percentage of the non-skydiving population thinks that people who die skydiving die through no fault of their own, thus they think skydivers are a bunch of adrenaline junkies who don't care if they die skydiving. We know that's far from the truth, but when news articles don't give the whole story for long periods of time, this is the result. Additionally, it's frustrating to all of us skydivers when the story isn't right. Following are some suggestions for dealing with the media in the event of a skydiving incident. Thankfully, most of you will never have to do this, but if you do perhaps this will help. Send them to the source. If you are not the S&TA or other appointed drop zone media liaison, do not discuss the incident with a journalist. We all know that rumors bloom fast and furiously on drop zones, particularly in situations such as this. What began as a simple low turn by an inexperienced jumper on a smaller canopy than he was used to can quickly become an evasion of traffic, a dropped toggle, avoidance of an obstacle, etc., via the rumor mill. Whether you saw the incident or not, don't talk about it to the media and don't offer any opinions unless you're the media liaison. Refer any reporters to the S&TA or DZO, or whomever the drop zone has designated as the media contact. This person's job is no fun, but it's their responsibility to investigate the incident based on witness accounts and gear information, to prepare a complete report, and to deal with the media (and the coroner if the accident was fatal). Again, no one but the designated media contact should be talking to the media. Don't dodge the press. We'll give chapter and verse to anyone who asks about most things related to skydiving, but when it comes to chatting with a reporter about a skydiving incident we often clam up. Why? Because we're afraid they'll get it wrong again. But if we don't give them information, we're guaranteed a minimal or misleading report of the incident. If we want these incidents to be reported accurately, the information has to come from us-the S&TA or designated media contact. Be professional and courteous. Don't say, "You shouldn't be writing about this," because they will anyway, and this will just annoy the reporter and make it more likely that he/she will write something negative about the situation, the drop zone, and/or the sport. Also, it will burn a bridge that can be used for publicizing positive events at the drop zone such as charity events or milestones. Anytime you speak as a skydiver or skydive in front of non-skydivers, you are an ambassador for the sport whether you like it or not. Use this interaction with the media as a chance to portray skydiving accurately, and in the best light possible in a bad situation, by being honest and helpful. Avoid the "us vs. them" kind of interaction; this doesn't have to be a challenge where either you or the reporter gets their objective at the other's expense. Think about your description beforehand. In all likelihood, reporters won't be there right away following an incident, unless it occurs during a demo. In either case, coverage of the incident will turn out better with better information, and you will be able to give better information after thinking about the incident a bit and getting it clear in your mind. Be specific, but simple. It's pretty clear by now that I'm asking for more accurate reporting of skydiving incidents, and this isn't a problem for skydivers. What is more of a problem, especially if we're distracted by the substantial emotional impact of the incident, is that we'll talk to a reporter in the same way we'll talk to fellow skydivers-discussing things in skydiving terms rather than lay terms--if we talk to them at all. This doesn't improve the coverage, it just makes their eyes glaze over. For example, don't say "The right toggle came unstowed from the toggle tip keeper, allowing the cat's eye to come off of the loosely stowed brake and sending the canopy into a left-hand spiral to the ground," Instead, think about your audience (the general public as well as the reporter) and say, "It appears that a minor malfunction during deployment caused the parachute to spiral down, and so and so did not correct it in time to avoid the hard landing from the spiral." Refer questions about a jump plane crash to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). It is extremely counterproductive to speculate about the cause of a jump plane crash without an investigation report. If you are asked about a jump plane crash, refer reporters to the designated NTSB public affairs officer once he/she has arrived on the scene. We don't like it when uninformed reporters speculate about the causes of skydiving accidents, and the pilot (if he survived) and his family won't appreciate uninformed speculation about the plane crash either. Offer to review the article before publication. It's not often that you will get the opportunity to do this, but you might if you offer it. What better chance will you get to ensure that the coverage is accurate? Of course, the reporter will reserve the right to accept or reject your changes as they choose, but the chance to review the article before publication is something not to be turned down. The relationship between skydivers and the media has not always been a good one in general, as is often the case when laymen try to describe technical pursuits. That can't be changed overnight. But things won't get better without a responsible effort from both sides, hence the two-part coverage of this topic directed to both groups. A better working relationship between skydivers and the media, both for good and not-so-good events, will benefit both of us. If you found Part 1 of this series useful-"Skydiving Incident Reporting for Mass Media Reporters"-please feel free to copy it and give it to any media representatives (print, web, or television) whom you think would benefit from it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sidebar: Recommendations for Working With Police Working with the police in the aftermath of a skydiving incident is about as much fun as dealing with the press, but there are a couple of things they should know about the investigation that will make things easier for everyone. First of all, the gear is only to be removed from the area by the coroner, not the police or the local rigger. When the coroner gets there, the drop zone representative and hopefully a rigger should be there to help answer any gear questions.

Reportedly, “The maximum amount of marijuana for 'personal use' under the new law is 5 grams — the equivalent of about four joints. The limit is a half gram for cocaine, the equivalent of about 4 "lines." For other drugs, the limits are 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams for methamphetamine and 0.015 milligrams for LSD.”If my memory from the 80's serves me correctly those are some fat joints and fat lines.

Is it possable I am not one of God's selected? What is that suppose to mean? What god? Therre are over 2,500 gods that have been known to exsist and the vast majority are now relicated to a forgotten grave and will never again to be worshipped. If your god is all powerfull and mercifull, How do you explain the suffering in the world? I work with medically devasted children and I can tell you that there are no miracles here. The power of prayer? Show me one amputaed limb grown back thru prayer, Christians wont even pray for that because they know there is zero chance. Sure they will pray for cancers and bad backs to go away because every now and then they do just that and go away on thier own, and then they chalk it up to God. Even if there was a God, I would want no part of him. Any God capable of doing or even allowing to happen to children the things I have seen done , I want nothing to do with him.