wolfriverjoe

Well, you could ignore it. Either with or without the 'ignore' function. But Rhys does get tiresome. Gotta wonder if he'll show back up as repeated sock puppets, like he did before.

I was trying to figure out how to work Dr Hook & the Medicine Show into it. Thank you.

I KNEW someone on here would know him.

Interesting article. It's from September, but it has some good info. It also has some predictions that didn't quite come true. One thing that has become crystal clear is how bad the corruption is/was. Virtually ALL the money intended for keeping the military functional was stolen. So the military is barely able to do anything. Let alone win a war. You have to wonder how far it goes. I know Putin had threatened to use nukes, but shut up. He then tried to pretend that Ukraine was going to set off a radiological device (dirty bomb), which nobody with half a brain believed. Did he shut up about nukes because he found out that the money intended to keep them operational had been stolen and the 'nuclear arsenal' was just a pile of radioactive junk? I don't know but it's plausible. I believe he stopped trying to pretend that Ukraine was going to use a dirty bomb because he was told in no uncertain terms that: A - Nobody in the west believed it was going to be Ukrainian, that it would be Russian (and they would likely be able to prove it from analysis of the residue) B - If Russia used nuclear material in any form that Russia would suffer severe consequences. I've read a variety of sources making a variety of claims. I both do and don't believe them. One was that if Russia used any sort of nuke, the entire Russian Navy would cease to exist. Every ship at sea sunk, every ship in port (along with the port facilities) destroyed. Not sure how plausible that is, but the Russian navy is a faint shadow of it's former Soviet self. It's becoming more and more clear that Russia has lost the war. They probably lost any chance of winning last summer when they failed to win in the first 3 or 4 months. The threats of nukes, and the attacks on civilian infrastructure just reinforce this. Putin isn't attacking the Ukrainian military because he really can't. So he bombs civilians.

On the cover of National Geographic. Is that person pictured someone who posts on here?

Anybody on here?

Oh piffle. You don't need NOAA to look foolish. You do it very well all by yourself.

According to the UN, the youngest age a child can be held accountable for a crime should be 12. The US did not sign on to that. NPR article about this - https://www.npr.org/2022/05/02/1093313589/states-juvenile-minimum-age-arrested-advocates-change

Semi-serious. And, as Bill pointed out, I forgot about Dresden (was tired). Most of the 'legitimate targets' were surrounded by civilians. Back then, most everyone live as close as possible to where they worked (few people had cars, so they walked to work). So the factories were surrounded by the workers and their families. Considering the accuracy of high level bombing in that time, the chances of hitting civilians was higher than the chances of hitting the actual target. And the people in charge knew this. Hiroshima had some 'token' military value. But... #1 - It was chosen in large part because it hadn't been targeted before. So it was largely undamaged. That let the bomb people get an accurate picture of how much damage that particular bomb caused. #2 - By targeting the center of the city, the 'military industries' that were on the outskirts were largely undamaged. It was probably legal at the time. I'm not sure it was every fully investigated (we won). One could argue that in Japan, at the time, there weren't any 'civilians'. Everyone was a subject of the Emperor, and most were planning on doing whatever it took to repel any US invasion. It probably wouldn't be legal today.

Meh. Nobody pooped on the floor, so it was at least 'sort of peaceful'. It sounds like the 'tantrum throwing toddlers' got almost all of what they demanded. Wow. Great way to teach them to behave like adults.

I was thinking more along the lines of the slave labor, many of whom died, that made the rockets. I'd consider the launching of them almost a legitimate act of war. Fun fact: The Allies never deliberately bombed civilian targets. But they sure missed a lot of valid military targets, factories mostly, that were in the middle of cities & towns, surrounded by civilians who were 'collateral damage'.

New Yorker's Andy Borowitz: Herschel Walker offers McCarthy a check for $700 to 'make it go away'. https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/herschel-walker-offers-kevin-mccarthy-seven-hundred-dollars-to-abort-his-speaker-bid?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Borowitz_01052023&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&bxid=5bea15f024c17c6adf1d7fc9&cndid=50703915&hasha=32862681d31d99e10afea4d948a23e60&hashb=a687c8127318ecae3c1d4351852d6ba64e61e8ff&hashc=11181dc95a9549dedbe794dd3c46ebb4ca7e3836af122e5371dd297dfb20d2ac&esrc=bounceX&utm_term=TNY_Borowitz&fbclid=IwAR3NR6jJYa67JvPfNqQhkdn_i-lGtrDso8RLPQDJqmILan0lYOTFKKvo8_0

Seen elsewhere: How many McCarthys does it take to screw in a lightbulb? He has to have a house first.

Pfft. Losers can get away with a lot of murders if they have knowledge that makes them valuable enough. Just ask Werner Von Braun.

Gonna guess there weren't any Muslims, Hindus or Sikhs in that crowd. Trump courted the Evangelical movement very hard. Those fools made up a huge percentage of his base. To pretend that there wasn't a common theme of a particular religion at the insurrection attempt is naive. I found this with a quick search: Prayers offered on Jan 6. By both lawmakers and attackers: https://religionnews.com/2022/01/06/jan-6-a-timeline-in-prayers/ As always, "God is on OUR side."

And they supported him wholeheartedly... While pretending Biden is suffering from dementia.

Ummmm... No. At this point, nothing he could do could 'improve his credibility.'

You sure care a lot about minors having gender reassignment surgery, THAT happens so rarely that it's a 'statistical zero'. Bill beat me to it: There are far, far, faaaaaaaar too many people who insist on making it their business. Usually dressed up in 'protecting the children' bullshit. Helpful hint: More members of the US Congress (both Senators & Representatives) have been caught pulling 'bathroom shenanigans' than trans people. Maybe, if the states wanted to really protect the children, they'd ban those people from bathrooms instead of insisting trans men & women use the 'wrong' one.

The minority being able to stop the majority from trampling their rights is enshrined in the Constitution (the Senate is an example, the need for super majorities for some things is another). But this isn't that. It's a bunch of spoiled, immature brats who want to screw everything up so that they can say "See? It doesn't work!!!" Maybe someone should remind them that they can't start 'investigating' things (you know, Hunter Biden, Hilary's E-mails, that sort of thing) until Congress is seated and committees are assigned. Which can't happen until a Speaker is picked.

Not exactly. Back in the late 80s, when airplanes went to 'glass cockpits' (CRT displays for the instrument panel), they did a bunch of research on what format the gauges should be. They found that analog (needle & dial) were read more quickly than digital. So they went with those. More recent studies have shown that it's dependent on what you have used the most (what you 'grew up with'). It's not that the original studies were incorrect, just that the subjects who participated in them were more familiar with the analog and read them faster/better. Many of the younger crowd grew up on digital displays and read those faster than analog. So it all depends on what you have the most experience with.

Do you expect any different from the guy that believes in 'nano-thermite'?

It may be recognized as a mistake now, but at the time it certainly wasn't. Back then, the anti-gun movement had suffered a series of major setbacks. The Rs had taken both houses of Congress in 96, in large part due to the Ds passing the Brady Bill and the "Assault Weapons" Bill. They had a long list of proposed gun control legislation that died then and there when the Ds lost control (look up "Brady Bill 2" to see how far they wanted to go). Without the power to legislate gun control, they tried a couple different 'end around' measures. One of those measures was to get guns declared a 'public health issue'. To get the CDC to find that they were a threat to public health and to regulate them in that way. Another was to file lawsuit after lawsuit against the gun manufacturers. None of the suit actually went anywhere, but the manufacturers had to spend a lot of money on lawyers to get the suits tossed. The plan was to bankrupt the manufacturers with those unsuccessful lawsuits. With the power of the gun lobby and R control of congress, the Dickey amendment and the 'Protection of Lawful Commerce' (lawsuit protection for the gun industry) were passed, and both of those measures were thwarted.

I don't know what more infuriating. The idiotic propaganda that is being spread by the 'alt-right'... Or the fact that so many fools fall for it.

Short answer: Yes, it's a common practice to have a fire, and for jumpers to sit around it, often (not always) drinking 'adult beverages', hanging out, swapping stories (often, but not always about jumping) and socializing. Longer answer: One of the coolest things about jumpers and jumping is the overall equality of the sport. It doesn't matter who you are, what you do for a living, how experienced you are, how old or young. If you have what it takes to gear up, get on the plane and jump out, you're "one of us". One of the places that becomes most apparent is 'around the bonfire' after jumping is done (another is weather hold shenanigans). You might end up sitting next to a 'new guy' who has yet to get through AFF. You might end up sitting next to a world record holder, who has multiple medals from national competition. The stories shared around the bonfire often start of with "No shit, there I was, thought I was gonna die". Not all are true. But there are LOADS of lessons that you can learn. Mostly learning what not to do. As Rob noted, 'beer dues' are often paid off around the bonfire. There are actual written 'beer rules'. Primary one is that anytime you accomplish something for the first time, you owe a case of beer. The idea is that you share those beers around the fire, and more experienced jumpers will ask 'what did you do', then share some stories of their 'firsts'. Beer for the bonfire is also 'paid' in fines for landing area violations. Somewhat of the same concept. It's a good way to get to know other jumpers around the DZ, people you will be jumping with if you are a regular at that DZ. It's a good way for people to get to know you. It doesn't matter if you drink or not. Personally, I don't drink anymore. But I still pay my 'beer fines', hang out around the fire, enjoy the company and stories, share a few of my own, and have a good time.

Nah. It's abundantly clear he buys the Fox crap about the "Crisis At The Border", which is a big bunch of bullshit.