tkhayes

it is more about having the 'most' fuselage and surface available in the event of an emergency, as well as all the other protective issues already mentioned in the same event. Lose power at low altitude? The pilot does not want a huge hole in the side of the plane creating unneeded drag. But for a light load in a good Otter, it hardly makes any difference. Fully Loaded? Close the door - Hot in Florida in the summer? Sure it is. How many of you are wearing a dark or black jumpsuit? You still do, so close the door anyway for the first minute or so. Could argue about it all day long I guess. Does not make much sense to me to NOT give the pilot the max advantage during takeoff. TK

what did I read in the story? A bunch of people got up, moved around and chatted, and NOTHING happened. Apparently from the story, security WAS in place and if something suspicious had happened, sounds like the Air Marshalls who were on board would have stepped in (they are trained in what they are looking for) The suspicious acitvity obviously was checked out if agents were waiting to see these folks, and I would guess they were not concerned about explosives on board because I suspect these people had none I also suspect that the agencies overseeing security were pretty confident of that as well. Sounds to me like a story of large differences in cultures. I got on an airplane once with a bunch of UK soccer players. They were obnoxious, drunk, throwing things around and generally out of control - but that is what they do. except now I am soccer profiling I guess. TK

given the recent dilvusion of the CIA's pre-war intelligence, I do not put much weight into ANY of the so-called threats. I think they just like to keep us scared so we will do anything they say. More fear? More $$ for big corporations that ultimately get to raise prices and tighten security. All-in-all I am completely convinced that this is more and more about money and power, not about terrorism. Will we ever see green again? I doubt it. Have we had a terrorist attack since 9/11? No, TK

the ORIGINAL question was about invading Iraq and why? Diversed into N Korea, Venezula, Cuba, etc. No one has come up with reasons to invade them, plenty of why not to, My point exactly - Iraq is no different, we have/had no reason to be there, The threat is LESS than N. Korea, we apparently do NOT invade just for oil (Venzuela) and we do not invade just do dispose of dictators (Cuba). Part of the trouble with America - it never seems to admit when it is wrong. Might go a long way to say - hey, we invaded and there are no WMD's, now let's clean this up, do some rebuilding and get out. - you do not even need to apologize, just act. Instead now were are fighting "terrorists and insurgents" in a country that never had any to begin with and we treat them like they are the enemy. Maybe they just want their freakin' country back - you would do the same if some superpower invaded the USA just for resources, oil, or for no good reason. Would you consider YOURSELF a terrorist if you were hiding in the Tennessee hills picking off Russian invaders as they drove by? Time to leave Iraq - if we NEVER went there, the world would be the same as it was 3 years ago - only 10,000 Iraqi civilians would still be alive, and so would 850 US soldiers. And I would not be looking at a 200B debt for a war either - money we could be putting into finding Osama (or perhaps food, medicne and education in our own country) TK PS - what happened to finding him anyway?

I find that hard to believe. I found that I pay pretty much no taxes down here compared to what I paid in taxes in Canada, Income tax is a fraction of what Canadians pay (mostly duie to all these services that are being discussed) Real estate taxes might be higher, I do not know, but they sure are high depending on where you live. In Zephyrhills? Pretty low. Car insurance is higher Health care seems higher because we do not get a bill for it in Canada Sales taxes in Canada are MUCH higher, (except Alberta). Newfoundland pays almost 21% when it is all added up. Down here we pay for every service, everyone has their hand out to make a buck. It is the American way of life. I pay all the mortagage closing costs every time I get a loan - not because it costs money, but because they want to make a buck right up front. I pay title insurance, which almost never pays out (scam) Everyone sues everyone so insurance is much higher. A few examples of the differences. In Canada we do not have title insurance because the government keeps the real estate records. Mortgage closing costs are lower, but interest rates are a bit higher. More things are regulated in Canada, but I would not say that taxes are lower. Taxes are MUCH higher. But do you get more services for the money you spend? I do not know. Health care is definitely not 'free'. Canada has a government that cannot afford to pay for it and tries to keep the costs under control. Here you fight with your HMO because they cannot afford it and they try to keep the costs under control. same thing, different price. I prefer the US system, but I do not like the fact that half the country has no insurance - something wrong with a government that cannot take care of its own people, feed and educate them. TK

also see my original post about 'threats to our national security regarding Iraq. The threats were made up. that was my point - we were lied to. Saddam Hussein is no more a threat to US national security than Milosevic was/is. Or for that matter no more a threat than the leaders of Syria - but we do not invade Syria. I would take North Korea to be a bigger threat if you believe that WMD's are a problem - why are we no invading there? (again cause they got no oil) TK

Castro is a threat to our national security? Why? Kennedy solved the crisis in 1961-1962 whenever it was, that was a loooooooong time ago - I see no threat to the USA from Cuba. Sorry about the 'racist' language' but it is hard to display sarcasm in print. My experiences here in Zephyrhills, especially recently, lead me to believe that much of the USA is still very much racist and people still hold the beliefs that blacks are inferior, depsite what the law might say. TK

I will not name but I will quote the parachute manufacturer who recently said "God bless the war" War makes lots of businesses rich. Spending is reckless and never ending by the military and government as they justify any amounts of money for the cause, whether they can afford it or not. Ask Haliburton and their stockholders if it would be a good thing for the company to end the war in Iraq. You bet they support it. And so do many of the other manufacturers and suppliers that are sending & providing parts, supplies, equipment and whatever to the war effort. Ethically and socially, they might object, but when that big contract comes in, they are more than happy to sign on the dotted line without thinking about how many people may die because of their products and services. TK

geez, then we should also (or should have) boycott(ed) Columbia, Honduras, Panama, half the countries in South America and Haiti, For years, thousands of people ran from Haiti, but we did nothing - Baby Doc was ruthless, but we had no sanctions against Haiti all these years - so again - why Cuba? We do business with LOTS of dictatorships around the world - dictatorship does not necessarily mean we boycott them, nor does it necessarily mean that they are bad for their people. Cuba is a poor country with a poor government and little to offer its people. But it is still richer and probably less corrupt than Haiti has been for 30+ years. Yet we did nothing there. Back to my argument about why we dispose of a dictator in Iraq, when there are MANY worse in the world. (Cause they got oil and we don't like poor niggers.....) TK

Do the reason's really matter? I seem to remember a detailed presentation on WMD's. Which is/was wrong and still is today. To now say we are fighting terrorism? Hmm, there were no terrorists based in Iraq (of any significance) before the war, now we are fighting them every day. Was this a self-fulfilling prophecy? Saddam Hussein as a butcher and needs to be taken out of control? Sheesh - 800,000 Rwandans were killed in 100 days in the largest genocide in decades (1996). Genocide is regularly practiced in several other corners of the world, so if we want to 'save people form their leaders', the targets could have been better chosen. I have no idea why we went to war, just like I have no idea why we still hold a grudge against Cuba. I do know that the reasons are flimsy and wrong and we should be apologizing and getting out. Let me guess, - Iraq has oil, businessmen love war, our leaders love war, Rwanda has only poor black people, and (many) Americans are apparently dumb enough to be lead around like a horse following a carrot, believeing everything the gov't tells them. TK

If you are worried about flying solo without a radio, then you should ask to fly with a radio. If the staff refuses to give you one, then perhaps it is time for a different dropzone. I think people need one-on-one coaching, using a radio, until the student can prove that they can do it on their own. The radio is not necessarily a tool a 'tell' you what to do, but it can be used to walk you through various exercises, ask you questions during flight, make you think for yourself and teach you what you need. Too many DZ's are still kicking students off radio at Level 7-8 without making sure they are capable. Part of the reason so few learn how to fly parachutes properly and leading to the rise in canopy fatalities over the years. Stay on the radio. Ask instructors to coach you. Pay them if need be, you pay for aerial coaching and freefall coaching, pay for radio coaching. Use the resources at www.performancedesigns.com and read up on things. You are at a stage where you should be relaxed enough to think and grasp new information, even if you need coaching to accomplish that. good luck with it, but do not step there if you are not totally comfortable with it. TK

Should be a good weekend, I am just back from Finland and Canada, so in time to help with some events: July 3 - Sat Night we will try to do a night load for anyone that is interested, please let us know early int he day so we can get the load organzied BEFORE dark, else we may all be pissed and full of beer. July 4th - piggie roast (chickens too for those that do not like pork. Janine is making all the extras, food is free and TK & Paul will be smokin' the meat all day. Fireworks Sunday night in true Johnny Gates fashion. we will be blasting off high-intensity fireworks for the annual show. See you there, TK

might have something to do with someone running off with all the money and not paying any (or most) of the bills, when that was their job.....

just what I said - destabilization of the middle east just might be the good reason they need to 'protect themselves'. Especially if they think Iran and Syria are a threat, given that they have all these funky weapons. Hell we did it, looking for weapons that did not exist TK

we will never know if it is 'not pratical' or not, since the government continues to do it, and the world continues to be angry with us. My point is that it might very well be worth trying. Sure a few countries have soldiers over their, but you missed my point. Most countries do not extend their influence to the world, nor do they ask or demand that foreign governments allow them to open military outposts inside their borders. it is this sort of influence that gets groups/countries/people pissed at us. Would our 'way of life' really be threatened if we closed military bases in Korea, Germany and the Phillipines? I doubt it. We might actually have to be good neighbors instead. We will still buy our toasters from China and gas from the middle east. I fail to understand why American influence has be extended at such a high price for only a 'perceived' gain. There is no proof that we actually 'need' overseas bases. TK

I will take 1000 less dead American soldiers over 10,000 less dead Iraqi civilians. My point is that even if we save 100,000 Iraqi lives, it simply is NOT justification for what we are doing. When governments are bad, people die and are mistreated, then they rise up and smite the leaders, - the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Bolshevik uprisings, the Armenians, etc. History is full of it - maybe we should look at the numbers, pull out of Iraq and go to Central Africa where we will save many MORE lives - if that is your goal. How about this for a scenario? We tell Saudi Arabia that we are NOT going to buy any more of their oil until they clean up the middle east and this terrorism thing? We use our oil and Venezuelan oil and pay higher prices for it (funny we seem to be paying that now and for no good reason). Saudi Arabia loses billions and trillions of dollars per year. I think they would get off their ass and do something about it and we would not have to intervene at all - problem solved for us, no one dies at our end and we do not get accused by the world of being bullies. And the extra fuel cost probably runs less than the $200 billion dollars this war has cost us so far. Maybe then car makers actually get off their asses and start implementing some fuel-saving technologies that have been around for 20 years. TK

and as well, we were 'killing Iraqi civilians' with the UN sanctions that were imposed over 10 years. No one could get food, health care, etc. While on the outside the effect seems to be the right thing to do, the sanctions only hurt the weakest people in Iraq, the ones we are trying to save supposedly. I still agree with sanctions, but we also must take steps to ensure they 'hurt' the right people. Dictators never go hungry, never run out of money and never are without security etc. even when we impose sanctions. Since they generally do not care abut their own populations, most sanctions become ineffective at forcing the country to comply with international wishes. Best intentions but not such a great outcome. TK

that is pretty lame as justification for a war - in 1996 800,000 people in Rwanda were killed in 100 days and no one even noticed - so obviously the numbers of Iraqis we 'save' is not a good enough reason to go to war. But of course we use that excuse now that there are no WMD's found, and I doubt there ever will be. Do two wrongs make a right? Are we ever going to just admit that the war was a mistake and then go home, or are we going to try and banaid it to death? If you want to look at gencide as a reason to go to war, we should be invading dozens of other countries in the world. mistreatment happen sin a lot f places. While I do not agree with it and support efforts to quash it, i do not think invading is necessarily the right reason and certainly NOT in this case. TK

http://www.iraqbodycount.net/ that is one source, albeit biased, but most of their data comes form other good sources, just search on the keywords to find several sources of data.

perhaps sticking our noses into ANYONE's business is what is pissing them off. Name 20-30 countries in the world that do NOT poke around in foreign countries governments- Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Scotland, Finland, Poland, etc etc etc. Why is it that these countries do not seem to have half the world pissed off with them? Getting back to the source of the problem.... stop fucking around and sticking your arrogant nose into places where it does not belong might be a good start. We typically try to CONTROL everything in the world, power, business, economics and money, but mostly POWER. My guess is that is what is pissing them off. How about we stop affecting foreign governments, close all the foreign bases, take care of the people at home and mind our own business. TK

If the middle east is 'destabilized' then I doubt a military force of substantial enough organization or power could be put together to attack Israel. The Israelis are well defended and well practiced in that art. destabilization in the middle east might create concern for Israel, but I would expect that it would also give them justification to attack and expand their borders to control the area and the threat as they see fit TK

Placing yourself in a position of authority with awesome power, like the helicopter crew, places also some moral responsibility on you as well. 100-200 years ago, similar parallels could be drawn... "I just wanted to talk to him, but the nigger would not stop running, so I shot him" - it does not make it justified. We have killed more than 10,000 Iraqi civilians since the start of the war. That tells me that we have made 'many' mistakes like shown in the video - but for all I know, they could have been enemy fighters, it is not clear. But the point that we seem to regularly make that mistake is disturbing. How about this? If we were not in Iraq - we would have killed ZERO Iraqi civilians And we would not have any dead Amercan soldiers either. Those people in the video never would have been our enemy to shoot at in the first place, so we would not have been threatened by them and they would sitill be alive today. And if they really were civilians, I think it would be reasonable to say that they had mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, who probably did not agree (or get a chance to discuss) our 'justification' for the shooting. I bet they are all on our side now..... (sarcasm is sooo hard to put into print) TK

Being in Florida we usually say "Mickey Mouse will not risk HIS life for your entertainment, but we will" "So you are OK with a big gay guy strapped to your rear end?" "My New Year's resolution was for me to figure out those friggin' tandem landings if it kills me" "No really, I DO have more tandem malfunctions than anyone else I know" (Actually not a joke) "Don't show that video around too much OK? My parole officer does not know that I am here" TK

it points out even more problems with people's handling of things in skydiving. Slider up on landing means that they probably never checked their canopy, (obviously), never tried a practice flare, never did any turns past about 1/4 brakes, or the performance would/should have been noticed. Novices especially should be running through a rountine of checks when the parachute opens, just like first jump course - check canopy, check steering and practice flare to see if there are control problems with the parachute. too many people out there with the blinders on..... TK

Usually scattered afternoon thunderstorms, but we jump pretty much every day. Closed Tues/Wed, open other days, always a good weekend crowd with 15-20 loads a day. VERY HOT and HUMID hope to see you here TK