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got the video? SOunds interesting "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

im surprised no one has asked for pictures of this guy for other reasons. Personally if i was jumping in the US i would want to know what he looks like so if i ever saw him, i'd make sure i was never anywhere close to getting on a load with him. It's actually gob smacking to me that people will readily know this guy, his behaviour and his outlook on life, and happily get on the same plane as him. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

omg someone pass the defibrillator! Jeffrey,i agree 100% "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

OK, ok, ok, just need to get this laughing under control. Whew, ok. Um, no. NYC is a good example of how big brother can happen. Their crime rates (city and state) have not been doing anything wonderful. Many other areas (with far fewer cops per capita) have done much better in reducing their crime rates. Understood. All I'm saying is if things keep going the way they are right now, you won't be able to say that in five or ten years. And your experience is underwhelming. Two whole yeras, huh? how can you say that the NYC crime rates have not "done anything wonderful"? http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/pdf/chfdept/cscity.pdf If you look at the 11 year change, and aren't amazed that murders are down over 71%, rape is down over 40% in the same period ('93-'04) well then i don't know what else i can say to you. You say it's big brother taking over, and i have a girlfriend from NYC who states none of her rights have been infringed, but she now feels safer than she ever did in her city. Personally i don't care if they crack down hard on things to get those kind of results, if honest and law abiding people from the city are enjoying a safer and better quality of life, then what's the problem there? I would have thought you would have been all in favour of more power to the law abiding, hard working citizen? PS regarding my underwhelming experience of living over there, remind me how long you have lived over here again? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

London Telegraph: Guns blow a hole in the argument THERE was much indignation yesterday about the claim by CBS News that Britain is riddled with crime. Believe it or not, Dan Rather is right. There are many more burglaries and thefts in Britain than America and, "contact" crime is higher. This includes assaults, robberies and rapes. The 1996 victimisation survey, conducted before big falls in American crime, showed the risk of contact crime as higher in England and Wales than anywhere else. The main reason for a much lower burglary rate in America is householders' propensity to shoot intruders. They do so without fear of being dragged before courts and jailed for life. The most recent crime statistics from Britain show that in 1998 there were 963 offences of violence against the person for every 100,000 people, while in America the rate was 566. The trend in America is down while in Britain, it is up - violent crime has risen more than 10 per cent. Source Article John you need to read what these articles say before you post them up. Quoting directly from the article listed as source: "Statistics can mask reality. Robberies in America are much more likely to be at gunpoint, which is one reason why the murder rate is much higher." "If American tourists coming to Britain are frightened of being murdered, a rare crime in any case, it is much less likely to happen in London than in any American city." "The trend in America is down while in Britain, as the latest crime figures will show next month, it is up. Violent crime has risen more than 10 per cent. Despite recent big falls in American murders, the rate remains the biggest difference between the two countries. Murder is the most likely cause of death in young men, who are 50 times more likely to be killed in Washington than in London, mainly because guns are so easy to obtain." Once again, my opinion is that while these instances are rare on both sides, we might be more in danger in being shoved or pushed, getting into a drunken brawl, or having a car window smashed over here. You are more likely to be shot over there. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

ok np. yeah i agree - good points. All in all, a really incredible situation that is just unbelieveable to me - but tragic at the same time. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

i'm confused - where did i imply it was anyone else's fault for her situation? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

N/A

LOL "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

my friend is packing there on weekends right now and i said i would come up with her one time. What's it like? She raves about the place but she isn't jumping. Aircraft? Time to altitude? How many lifts on a good day? Ticket prices? Bunkhouses any good? Much freeflying going on? etc etc blah di blah Thanks "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

there is a pic on the right hand page in the latest Mag, that has Greg Gasson midway through a deployment with his reserve PC seeminly coming out, and deploying around one of his rear risers if memory serves me right. It's advertising for something, can't rememebr what. Anyway, for anyone who has seen it, wtf is going on? PS will try and scan and post the pic later... "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

don't get me wrong Kennedy, i knwo the US has made leaps and bounds in addressing it's problems, with zero tolerance policing etc etc, look at NYC as an example of the good stuff that can happen. All i'm saying is that, on a crime by crime basis, what we tend to see is a far higher insidence of violent, mindless crime in the US than we do here in the UK. This is speaking from experience (26+ years living in London, approx 2 years living in Nor California a couple of years back). "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

that report is somewhat out of date don't you think John? (1981-1996). I don't think the UK is a small country (65 million people), it is made up of large, densely populated areas like the US. Sure, you could argue less people = less crime in general, but look at the nature of what is being reported across the UK in the newspaper, compared to the crime being reported today in the US. Of course, there will be more crimes being committed in the US, but look at the nature of the crimes....i would argue there are instances of far more violent episodes than what we are experiencing here. It's the nature of the crime you should focus on, rather than the numbers, which is what i was focusing on in my first post. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

nope just posting what happened to be classified as "Main Headline" news in the UK today from BBC and Guardian sites. i would love to take a toob to the Diana memorial "foutain" (see:water slide) "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Hopping off the bus, i was looking to the right to get a better view of this girl, put one leg either side of a road sign pole as i was walking and let my head make contact with the middle, just as i pulled up alongside her. Talk about wanting the ground to open and swallow you up "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

2 way tracking in Empuria with Nimmo from Babylon. Fun as hell, beautiful scenery, learnt loads too -perfect. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

i cannot fathom this....it's just too unreal. The woman actually had a family too living with her! How on EARTH do you go for a period of 2-5 years, seeing your mum/wife on the couch in the same spot, day in day out for that time period, not even getting up to go to the toilet, cleaning up her bodily waste for that period of time, and actually live like that? It absolutely boggles the mind. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

where on earth are you getting this stuff from? Even on a bad day here in the UK, we pale into insignificance with what the US will see on a bad day. Sure we might be experiencing more vehicular vandalism and "pushing and shoving" (yes, if you push and shove someone, without even laying a fist or kick on them, it is classified as a "violent crime" by the police. Meanwhile, let's see what's going on in your country today: Teenager bomb maker caught with 18 bombs at home/in car Louisiana serial killer convicted Father and 3 yr old son shot at by road rage nutcase Man kills wife's parents after arguements with her Gunman opens fire on pickup 12 year old reportedly raped by 3 men And let's not forget 4 charged with Xbox slayings (ok, this one was on the weekend, but it's ongoing so thought i would post it up) Meanwhile, some of the headlines for us today: War on litter/graffiti urged How to become a qualified wheel clamper Diana Memorial Fountain to reopen Arrests for minor offences proposed Grouse hunting season 'no so glorious' [url "http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3557506.stm" Kelloggs denies breakfast cereals unhealthy for children [/url] "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

yeah i know - we got lucky. The problem was, he wasn't right below me - he was off at an angle, but when he went HD, he actually floated up by presenting his back, and came at me from about a 60 degree angle (i stupidly thought because i was off his vertical axis, i would be safe ) Thanks - if we go up again together we will keep it nice and simple (i.e. head up the whole way) and certainly no bigger than a 3 way at this stage! He said on the ground he is not going to do any more HD until he has done some coached jumps with a very experienced guy on the dz. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

weird - even if you don't believe him, do you have to go to court and say that what he said is the truth? i.e. however improbable, you have to argue that he was thrown out of the car even though he was strapped in? PS whats the extent of the head injury? Doctors notes/hospital reports/photo etc? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Do you live on my street? As someone who has suffered 4 break in's to his car (2 resulting in smashed windows, 2 resulting in screwdrivered locks), and local hater kids keying 5 of the 7 available panels of my car to shreds in the last 8 months, i say good for you. (i now park a 5 min walk from my front door, on another street entirely) I don't want to see anyone hurt, especially kids, but i do want to start seeing people trying to catch the little sh*ts if they can, and making them responsible. As the others said, just be careful regarding liability! "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

is he going for much in the way of compensatory damages? It sounds like it from what you have mentioned (i.e. seems like a low impact crash). I could also be completely wrong however! Any witnesses? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

thats a soft loop. Im talking about the design of the pillow. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

LOL yup that's the 6th or 7th talking right there alright "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

thanks Kae, some very good advice. Much appreciated. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts