Red_Skydiver

What does being a man mean to me? It doesn't mean anything to be honest... apart from the obvious dangly bits between the legs I don't see a differance between men and women.

It's kind of a daft question Skyrad Every man is a man..... why do you think any one of them would be more of a man than any other? We're individuals and by stipulating some "real man characteristics" and trying to live up to them you are actually taking away the one thing that makes you a man.... i.e. your own individuality! Everyone has different standards ...... and different women like different things about men.

Yawn, yawn, YAWN! The other day you started a thread stating that Englands homicides had soared. The annual crime figures actually show a 12% decrease. so now you try to attack us from another angle. Yes street robberies are up.... probably because people carry so much expensive stuff with them nowadays and it makes easy pickings. What we need are more police patrolling the streets on foot.

Actually, the Biblical claim is that we are created in God's image, and He is the creator. I thought the Bible stated He created us in his own image and made Adam from dirt and Eve from a spare rib..... "ashes to ashes, dust to dust".....

I saw the exhibition a few years ago in London. it was excellent, very educational. The feotuses were particulary good, it opens your eyes to what is normally hidden from view and gives you a deeper understanding. I'd recommend it to anyone. I can't see anything wrong with it so long as it is licenced.

People will vote because they are greedy (or needy)but they may be making uninformed decisions which isn't a good thing IMHO

I tried it and AI guessed it was a "warp core"..... what the hell is that?

The weather Gods are punishing the Scottish for no other reason than being Scottish (or living in Scotland in your case). The weather God overseeing AZ was obviously unaware of who you were but I've put him straight now On a serious note the atmosphere does filter out harmful UV rays .... so the more sky the rays travel through the least harm they do. This means the lower in altitude you are the greater protection you have - aircabin crew receive the equavelent radiation of 80,000 x-rays per year apparently. The atmosphere is also thicker at the equator and thinner at the poles so sunbathing up north could be more harmful.... however the solar beem at the equator is more concentrated and the higher latitudes receive the suns energy over a greater area so it's not as powerful......... how this answers your question I have no idea I suspect the sun rises earlier in Scotland than AZ as well as setting later so you would get more sunshine hours which might account for the sunburn. Did you wear a jumpsuit whilst in AZ that would have protected you? The humidity in Scotland would probably make you want to wear less clothes and expose more skin perhaps.

Doing something wrong with a 4" pocketknife would be brandishing it in a threatening manner at someone, committing robbery with it, etc. Walking down the street with it in your pocket because it's a common handy personal tool, is not doing something wrong. Do you not see any difference in these two uses of a pocketknife? Do you consider mere possession to be the same offense as aggravated robbery? Skydekker was trying to inform you that if someone carries a large knife with them in the UK it is illegal and therefore they have committed an offence regardless of whether you think it should be an offence or not - the fact remains that it is and so they HAVE done something wrong. As I have tried to point out to you already there is a culture difference between the USA and UK and so you cannot compare the two satisfactorily. If it was legal to carry what we now term offensive weapons in the UK many more people would carry them.... and use them. Our accident and emergency rooms are struggling to cope on Friday and Saturday nights as it is. If weapons were routinely carried instead of settling differences with a punch up we'd have many more stabbings and shootings. Come over to a typical town in the UK and go out at the weekend and sink 10 pints of Stella in a pub, then go to a club and then onto a takeaway. Witness what happens on a typical weekend night out and then see if you feel the same way about knives. (Edited for spelling mistake)

I realise the post quoted above was in reply to someone else and is quoted out of context here, however I feel I must point out a couple of things 1. Not all criminals ignore gun crime laws and do what they want (in refernce to weapons) and not all criminals have the desire to own a weapon. 2. getting back to your original post you referred to the tightening up of gun control legislation as a result of the Dunblane massacre. As far as I am aware there haven't been too many of those incidents since..... could this be a result of the legislation introduced? Perhaps. Remember the legislation introduced wasn't intended to reduce all gun crime (we know that wouldn't work), it was introduced to HELP prevent similar massacres as happened at Dunblane. As a nation we wanted less firearms on the streets.....that''s both legally held and illigally held firearms. Removing illlegal weapons is a tough job but we could do something about the legal stock of weapons .... so we did. Remember the weapons held legally in the UK at that time (and today) were not owned for self protection.... you wouldn't get a licence if that was the case.... and could be prosecuted if used in that way. I understand the weapon used to kill those young children was held legally but for some reason the bloke lost the plot and went on a killing spree. That's less likely to happen now - not impossible but less likely. I think it's important for everyone to acknowledge that the USA is different from the UK. We are two different nations with different backgrounds and cultures (and I'm not belittling USA here before anyone accuses me of anything as per earlier posts). We have different laws and legal infrastructure to work with so what works in one country will not necessarily work in another. If you are arguing for or against guns in the USA you cannot seriously quote data from the UK ..... especially if you refer to our legislation without really understanding the reasons it was introduced in the first place. The abundant ownership of guns in the USA may be the right thing for your country but please do not attack our nation (as your original post was interpreted) because our laws differ from yours. You really need to be comparing state laws and gun stats from the USA to get the answer you are all looking for surely?

Why do you think the US is perceived as a bully and hated?

And you're a great example of a European who criticiizes everything the US does, but you love our help whether it be money or military when you need it. I don't criticise everything the US does and I don't love your money or military help either. Don't know where you got that from. I responded to this thread to inform you how some people view America(ns)....thought some of you might want some help with that. I don't hate America.

I don't agree. I was never told not to care about what others thought of my actions or my words. In fact quite the opposite.

You thought you were safe before 9/11. I'm not sure you are any safer now. After all you (we) have pissed off one or two people as a result of the action you've (we've) taken. It's possible that you don't care who you have upset but I doubt it has made you any safer. I knew we werent safe before 9/11. The military had been downsized and pretty much ignored for 10 years. (thanks clinton) Everyone was getting complacent and security was lax.. We've killed many many many of the people that are "on a mission from god" to kill us. And we will continue to do so. We as a country are more vigilant and there are less people that are organizing to kill us... Mostly because they are dead. So we are safer.. Sorry princess. Firstly I'm not your princess. Secondly you haven't got figures to back up your claim but my guess is by the action we've taken we've alienated more people than before. That doesn't mean they all want to kill us however. But remember it only takes one person to kill - unless you get rid of them all the threat will always remain and the more you try to kill them off the more likely they are to attack you. So I don't think you are any safer, sorry cock.

boo f'ing hoo US > All Deal with it. edit to add: Who the hell cares what people in other countries think? Fuck 'em. You are a perfect example of someone who is dragging the reputation of the US down. You're a disgrace to your country.

hmmmm - not sure how that was taken.... I was just trying to emphasise that I don't judge you all by what I see on tv......

You're confusing most Americans with ones you see on TV. There is a difference. No I'm not. I judge Americans from those I see on tv (naturally), those I have met skydiving, met through work and American tourists I've bumped into and also from the postings on dz.com..... oh and also American friends. Other people I know do the same. I stand by my posting above. Edited to add: I am not saying all Americans have that attitude. I am saying that some Americans (I'm talking USA here) do appear to be arrogant .... even if it isn't their intention to be that way that is how it is often perceived. The posting I referred to was just one example of a good way to alienate non Americans.

True but words are very powerful. They can do as much harm as they do good, especially when the words are communicated to a different cultural group who may not fully understand the true meaning or intent behind them (and that works both ways). Unfortunately we don't always think before we speak. The internet doesn't help either as it's possible to self-publish without anyone editing your words. That is potentially very damaging.

I would say that when some country needs help, whether finacially, medically, or militarilly, we always seem to be the ones to step up to the plate. Even then, we are still despised. That makes us big dog on the block, and we get to call the shots. It's the natural law. You are despised because of the arrogant attitude that is often displayed by Americans. If you can help financially, medically, militarily or otherwise that is always gratefully received. It's the arrogance that we often hear such as your statement above that people dislike.

You are confusing law abiding Muslims with terrorists. There is a difference.

I like the pink ladies

I seem to remember pledges that we would rebuild Iraq after we won the war, rebuild hospitals, schools, the police force, their administration, their roads ... in fact the whole country was meant to be rebuilt and shown the way forward....... If I remember right Bush and Blair promised that didn't they? If so we should stick it out and do the job properly which means more troops if they are needed, more cash injection and expertise sent out there.

Islamic disease? It's exactly that sort of statement that makes "the rest of the world" hate America(ns). It's the aloof attitude that alienates many people and causes tension. Unfortunately Americans are often perceived as brash in your face bigots who don't give a damn about anyone else except Americans. What makes you say Islam is a disease?

Can't hear a damn thing.... I'm 35. I vote we introduce a law so all new music is published this way..... it's got to be a good thing

You thought you were safe before 9/11. I'm not sure you are any safer now. After all you (we) have pissed off one or two people as a result of the action you've (we've) taken. It's possible that you don't care who you have upset but I doubt it has made you any safer.