tunaplanet

As far as fact and myth go, it's debatable. Both sides have their version. You, nor me know the true facts. He could be innocent or guilty. We may never know. I do find his case very interesting and will follow it now. You knowing family members of the deceased are obviously biased.

Hey, let's argue the JFK case next

Who Is Mumia?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mumia Abu-Jamal is an award-winning Pennsylvania journalist who exposed police violence against minority communities. On death row since 1982, he was wrongfully sentenced for the shooting of a police officer. New evidence, including the recantation of a key eyewitness, new ballistic and forensic evidence and a confession from Arnold Beverly (one of the two killers of Officer Faulkner) points to his innocence! Mumia had no criminal record.

For the last 21 years, Abu-Jamal has been locked up 23 hours a day, denied contact visits with his family, had his confidential legal mail illegally opened by prison authorities, and put into punitive detention for writing his first of three books while in prison, Live From Death Row.

His case is currently on appeal before the Federal District Court in Philadelphia. Mumia's fight for a new trial has won the support of tens of thousands around the world, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, The European Parliament, Alice Walker, Paul Newman, Maya Angelou, Sister Helen Prejean, Danny Glover, Rage Against The Machine, the Detroit and San Francisco City Councils, Amnesty International, and many others. Mumia Abu-Jamal's fate rests with all those people who believe in every person's right to justice and a fair trial.

"I remain innocent. A court cannot make an innocent man guilty. Any ruling founded on injustice is not justice. The righteous fight for life, liberty, and for justice can only continue." Mumia Abu-Jamal , Oct. 31, 1998

Facts about Mumia's 1982 trial:

* The policeman was killed with a 44 caliber gun. Abu-Jamal's gun which he was licensed to carry as a night-time taxi driver, was a 38 caliber.

* The police never tested Abu-Jamal's gun to see if it had been recently fired. They never tested his hands to see if he had fired a gun. They have never shown Abu-Jamal 's gun to be the fatal weapon.

* No police officers present at Abu-Jamal's arrest claimed to have heard Jamal's "confession" until two months after it allegedly occurred. This was right after Abu-Jamal had filed police brutality charges.

* Abu-Jamal's doctor said that Abu-Jamal, who was unconscious, said nothing. He reported that a nurse found police with loaded guns pointed at Mumia as he lay unconscious in his hospital bed.

* William Singletary, a Vietnam veteran and local businessman, saw the whole incident and has testified that Abu-Jamal was not the shooter. However, the police forced him to change his story and intimidated him into leaving Philadelphia.

* Other key witnesses, such as Veronica Jones -- who now testifies in support of Abu-Jamal, were harassed into giving false testimony. Two prosecution witnesses were given special favors, including exemption from criminal prosecution, for their testimony.

Elements in an unfair trial:

* The Judge, Albert Sabo, sentenced more people to death than any other sitting judge in the US.

* The public defender didn't interview a single witness in preparation for the trial, and didn't have funds for defending a capital case.

* The prosecutor removed 11 qualified African Americans from the jury. He also argued for the death penalty because of Mumia's membership in the Black Panther Party, a practice later condemned as unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court.

* The racial bias of Philadelphia's courts has resulted in 120 people on death row, all but 13 non-white.

Well Ripper, as the old saying goes, there are two sides to every story. You will hardly find a unbiased version of the story from the man's own webpage.

I'll dig around and find out what the facts were concerning the case.

Have some more somewhere. Will throw them on when I find them.

Email me. Depending on my work schedule, I may be able to hook you up. I am a consultant for SWAT/Tact units around the state so I never know where I will be one week to the next. Let me check my schedule and see since I live in Clearwater.

Let's hear some of your favorite jokes. Always been a sucker for good humor.

Personally I would find out what bar he hangs out at and make sure I was there next time he is and.....

Let's just say in the Navy I got to know the MPs by name. I minored in bar brawling. No one was off limits.

That's been on the internet for a while but I get a chuckle everytime I see it.

Two things I would do (obviously check with your dentist to be 100% sure).

1) Buy one of those plastic mouth pieces boxers wear.

2) Put it in boiling water for about 1 minute, take it out put it in your mouth so it will form to your teeth. Once it does you are good to go.

Here are some of my favorite jokes. Enjoy.

---

Actual problems and solutions documented by Air Force pilots and their maintenance crew members.


Problem: "Left inside main tire almost needs replacement."

Solution: "Almost replaced left inside main tire."


Problem: "Test flight OK, except autoland very rough."

Solution: "Autoland not installed on this aircraft."


Problem: "The autopilot doesn't."

Signed off: "IT DOES NOW."


Problem: "Something loose in cockpit."

Solution: "Something tightened in cockpit."


Problem: "Evidence of hydraulic leak on right main landing gear."

Solution: "Evidence removed."


Problem: "DME volume unbelievably loud."

Solution: "Volume set to more believable level."


Problem: "Dead bugs on windshield."

Solution: "Live bugs on order."


Problem: "Autopilot in altitude hold mode produces a 200 fpm descent."

Solution: "Cannot reproduce problem on ground."


Problem: "IFF inoperative."

Solution: "IFF inoperative in OFF mode."


Problem: "Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick."

Solution: "That's what they're there for."


Problem: "Number three engine missing."

Solution: "Engine found on right wing after brief search."


Problem: "#2 Propeller seeping prop fluid"

Solution: "#2 Propeller seepage normal - #1 #3 and #4 propellers

lack normal seepage."


Problem: "Aircraft handles funny."

Solution: "Aircraft warned to straighten up, 'fly right' and be serious."


Problem: "Target Radar hums."

Solution: "Reprogrammed Target Radar with the words."

---

A D.I.'s Rules to Date His Daughter



Rule One:
If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure not picking anything up.


Rule Two:
You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.


Rule Three:
I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose his compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.


Rule Four:
I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.


Rule Five:
It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early."


Rule Six:
I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.


Rule Seven:
As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process that can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?


Rule Eight:
The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there are no parents, policemen, or nuns within eyesight. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which features chain saws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better.


Rule Nine:
Do not lie to me. On issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.


Rule Ten:
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

---

Good Advice
Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a US radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance.

The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a US resident, Jim, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as
well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend
the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other
specific laws and how to follow them.

1. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord-Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual cleanliness-Lev.15:19-24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and
female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
abomination-Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.


Your devoted fan,
Jim.

---

This is the transcript of an ACTUAL radio conversation of a U. S. naval ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October, 1995. Radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval Operations on 10-10-95.


Americans: "Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision."

Canadians: "Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision."

Americans: "This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, DIVERT YOUR course."

Canadians: "No. I say again, you divert YOUR course."

Americans: "This is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln, the second largest ship in the United States Atlantic Fleet. We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers, and numerous support vessels. I demand that you change your course 15 degrees north...that's one-five-degrees North, or counter-measures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship."


Canadians: "This is a lighthouse. Your call."

---

Scariest things ever said


1. A Private saying, "I learned this in Basic..."

2. A Sergeant saying, "Trust me, sir..."

3. A Second Lieutenant saying, "Based upon my experience..."

4. A Captain saying, "I was just thinking..."

5. A Warrant Officer chuckling, "Watch this shit..."

---

PHONE MENU AT THE MENTAL HEALTH INSTITUTE
It's your dime.


"Hello, and thank you for calling the Mental Health Institute................

If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly

If you have multiple personalities, press 2, 3 and 4.

If you suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, press 5 but do it
v-e-r-y- s-l-o-w-l-y and carefully.

If you are dyslexic, press 6. Now press 9. Now press 6. Now press 9. Now press 6.

If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be transferred to the mothership.

If you have short term memory loss, press 8. If you have short term memory loss, press 8. If you have short term memory loss, press 8.

If you have schizophrenia, listen very carefully and a small voice will tell you the number to press.

If you have a nervous disorder, fidget with the hash key until a representative comes on the line.

If you are co-dependent, ask someone to press a number for you.

If you are depressed, don't bother to press any numbers. No one will be able to help you anyway.

If you are paranoid, you don't need to press anything. We know who you are, we know what you want, and we know how to reach you.

If you suffer from low self-esteem, please hang up because all our operators are too busy to talk to you.

---

How to Interpret Performance Reports

Some of you might like to know what supervisors are really saying in all those glowing employee work performance evaluations they keeps cranking out.


AVERAGE: Not too bright.

EXCEPTIONALLY WELL QUALIFIED: Has committed no major blunders to date.

ACTIVE SOCIALLY: Drinks heavily.

ZEALOUS ATTITUDE: Opinionated.

CHARACTER ABOVE REPROACH: Still one step ahead of the law.

UNLIMITED POTENTIAL: Will stick with us until retirement.

QUICK THINKING: Offers plausible excuses for errors.

TAKES PRIDE IN WORK: Conceited.

TAKES ADVANTAGE OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO PROGRESS: Buys drinks for superiors.

INDIFFERENT TO INSTRUCTION: Knows more than superiors.

STERN DISCIPLINARIAN: A real jerk.

TACTFUL IN DEALING WITH SUPERIORS: Knows when to keep mouth shut.

APPROACHES DIFFICULT PROBLEMS WITH LOGIC: Finds someone else to do the job.

A KEEN ANALYST: Thoroughly confused.

NOT A DESK PERSON: Did not go to university.

EXPRESSES SELF WELL: Can string two sentences together.

SPENDS EXTRA HOURS ON THE JOB: Miserable home life.

CONSCIENTIOUS AND CAREFUL: Scared.

METICULOUS IN ATTENTION TO DETAIL: A nitpicker.

DEMONSTRATES QUALITIES OF LEADERSHIP: Has a loud voice.

JUDGMENT IS USUALLY SOUND: Lucky.

MAINTAINS PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE: A snob.

KEEN SENSE OF HUMOR: Knows lots of dirty jokes.

STRONG ADHERENCE TO PRINCIPLES: Stubborn.

GETS ALONG EXTREMELY WELL WITH SUPERIORS AND SUBORDINATES ALIKE: A coward.

SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE: Stupid.

OF GREAT VALUE TO THE ORGANIZATION: Turns in work on time.

IS UNUSUALLY LOYAL: Wanted by no-one else.

ALERT TO COMPANY DEVELOPMENTS: An office gossip.

REQUIRES WORK-VALUE ATTITUDINAL READJUSTMENT: Lazy and hard-headed.

HARD WORKER: Usually does it the hard way.

ENJOYS JOB: Needs more to do.

HAPPY: Paid too much.

WELL ORGANIZED: Needs more to do.

COMPETENT: Is still able to get work done if supervisor helps.

CONSULTS WITH SUPERVISOR OFTEN: Pain in the arse.

WILL GO FAR: Related to management.

SHOULD GO FAR: Please.

USES TIME EFFECTIVELY: Clock watcher.

VERY CREATIVE: Finds 5 reasons to do anything except original work.

USES RESOURCES WELL: Delegates everything.

DESERVES PROMOTION: (or anything else - just get him or her away from me!).

- Friendly fire - isn't.
- Recoilless rifles - aren't.
- Suppressive fires - won't.
- You are not Superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note.
- A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of telling you to slow down.
- If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.
- Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you.
- If at first you don't succeed, call in an airstrike.
- If you are forward of your position, your artillery will fall short.
- Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than yourself.
- Never go to bed with anyone crazier than yourself.
- Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
- If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
- The enemy diversion you're ignoring is their main attack.
- The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions: when they're ready. & when you're not.
- No OPLAN ever survives initial contact.
- There is no such thing as a perfect plan.
- Five second fuzes always burn three seconds.
- There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.
- A retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping.
- The important things are always simple; the simple are always hard.
- The easy way is always mined.
- Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy other people to shoot at.
- Don't look conspicuous; it draws fire. For this reason, it is not at all uncommon for aircraft carriers to be known as bomb magnets.
- Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.
- If you are short of everything but the enemy, you are in the combat zone.
- When you have secured the area, make sure the enemy knows it too.
- Incoming fire has the right of way.
- No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.
- No inspection ready unit has ever passed combat.
- If the enemy is within range, so are you.
- The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
- Things which must be shipped together as a set, aren't.
- Things that must work together, can't be carried to the field that way.
- Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support.
- Radar tends to fail at night and in bad weather, and especially during both.
- Anything you do can get you killed, including nothing.
- Make it too tough for the enemy to get in, and you won't be able to get out.
- Tracers work both ways.
- If you take more than your fair share of objectives, you will get more than your fair share of objectives to take.
- When both sides are convinced they're about to lose, they're both right.
- Professional soldiers are predictable; the world is full of dangerous amateurs.
- Military Intelligence is a contradiction.
- Fortify your front; you'll get your rear shot up.
- Weather ain't neutral.
- If you can't remember, the Claymore is pointed towards you.
- Air defense motto: shoot 'em down; sort 'em out on the ground.
- 'Flies high, it dies; low and slow, it'll go.
- The Cavalry doesn't always come to the rescue.
- Napalm is an area support weapon.
- Mines are equal opportunity weapons.
- B-52s are the ultimate close support weapon.
- Sniper's motto: reach out and touch someone.
- Killing for peace is like screwing for virginity.
- The one item you need is always in short supply.
- Interchangeable parts aren't.
- It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.
- When in doubt, empty your magazine.
- The side with the simplest uniforms wins.
- Combat will occur on the ground between two adjoining maps.
- If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you may have misjudged the situation.
- If two things are required to make something work, they will never be shipped together.
- Anything you do can get you shot, including nothing.
- Whenever you lose contact with the enemy, look behind you.
- The most dangerous thing in the combat zone is an officer with a map.
- The quartermaster has only two sizes, too large and too small.
- If you really need an officer in a hurry, take a nap.
- There is nothing more satisfying than having someone take a shot at you, and miss.
- If your sergeant can see you, so can the enemy.
- You'll only remember your hand grenades when the sound is too close to use them.
- Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
- Well .. It could be worse: It could be raining .. and we could be out in it.
- So he said, "Cheer up: it could be worse!" So we cheered up. And it got worse.
- The side with the simplest uniform wins...
- The spare batteries for the PRC-whatever your troops have been carrying are either nearly dead or for the wrong radio.
- The ping you heard was the antenna snapping off at 6 inches above the flexmount, while a fire mission was being called in on a battalion of hostiles who know your position.
- Why is it the CO sticks his head in your radio hooch to see if anything has come down from DIV when you are listening to the VOA broadcasting the baseball games?
- How come you are on one frequency when everyone else is on another?
- Why does your 500-watt VRC-26 (real old) not make it across 200 miles while a ham with 50 watts on the same MARS frequency can be heard from Stateside?
- Know why short RTOs have long whips on their radios? So someone can find them when they step in deep water.
- The enemy "Alway's" times his attack, to the second you drop your pant's in the Latrine!!
- The ammo you new "NOW"!! is on the "Next" airdrop!!


Phillip's Law:
Four-wheel-drive just means getting stuck in more inaccessible places.


Weatherwax's Postulate:
The degree to which you overreact to information will be in inverse proportion to its accuracy


Least Credible Sentences:
1. The check is in the mail.
2. The trucks will be on the drop zone.
3. Of course I'll respect you in the morning.
4. I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.



Brintnall's Second Law:
If you receive two contradictory orders, obey them both.



Pavlu's Rules for Economy in Decision Papers:
1. Refute the last established recommendation.
2. Add yours.
3. Pass the paper on.



Lackland's Laws:
1. Never be first.
2. Never be last.
3. Never volunteer for anything.



Rune's Rule:
If you don't care where you are, you ain't lost.



Hane's Law:
There is no limit to how bad things can get.

Welcome aboard. Glad to have you.

My pleasure.

Not exactly the welcoming committe are you all? Gentlemen asks a question and he's branded as a spy

Sure. The first one is under the "student" section, entitled "Fox Sports Stupid Student Tricks."

The other one is "Fox Sports AFF1 Collision."

Hope that helps.

I just saw the www.skydivingmovies.com last night for the first time. Pretty good stuff on there. Forget the name of it, but my favorite so far was the AFF 1 where the kid is kicking and flailing around as the to JMs try and keep him stable. The JM (in red) tackles him and eventually pulls the student's cord.

What a dumb-ass. He should have knocked the kid unconscious, then pulled. Sure that violates some rules somewhere though

Oh. then there was the genius who tried to pull his chest strap instead of the cord. Maybe they need to start handing out IQ tests before each jump.

I say you move to Quatamala in the middle of the night, marry a local with no teeth and a trick pelvic bone, have 13 children and pretend to no longer speak english if he one day tracks you down.

Cool story. Hooyah! Congrats.

Welcome. Nice to have you aboard.

The movie was laughable. Period. Then again, very few movies that have skydiving in it are realistic.

And don't forget Point Break where they freefall for 5 minutes, talking to each other the entire time. Must have been the same skydiving consultant from Drop Zone.

Sad to say (or is it), but I just last night watched the movie Drop Zone with Wesley Snipes.

Boy, I sure am glad they hired a skydiving consultant or that movie would have been so unrealistic.

/sarcasm off

My longest freefall was 10 minutes. I didn't have a chute so I jumped after my friend who did have one. Once I grabbed him we held a great, crystal clear conversation the entire free-fall. Once at 1,000 feet he pulled and I miraculously held on, both of us landing just in the nick of time...

Wait, that was in a movie I saw...never mind.

I say you jump with a blow-up doll and dress like the tin-man from the Wizard of Oz.

A lot of times if you purchase an AFF package it includes a logbook.

Yes, you need to document every jump.