tkhayes

There is nothing in it for the DZ/DZO/S&TA/person to report something. Why would you?

It will not change - people naturally have sex, so we reproduce. Add that to our ability to master technology and dominate, in general, all things in the world, we will continue to grow until likely disease or other natural catastrophe. Used to be the population of the world would grow to 750M or so, then get wiped out by plague, back down to 250-300M. Since the industrial revolution, that has changed. So what will the new '750M' number be? Most articles I read say about 10-11B, so likely in our lifetimes... it will be interesting to see, and I hope I am one of the survivors.

I thought CBS was one of those liberal media outlets?

just because YOU might feel the need to 'verify it' is also not relevant. They happened. You can pick it apart and say it is this and that, and come up with all the excuses and plans you want. But while that is happening the insurance company just might close down your dropzone. I have no idea where they happened. I have no idea why they happened. i have no idea if it is a trend, or whatever. But I do know that my insurance policy is in jeopardy if we do not do something about it.

No I do not, and it is not relevant.

It's not heresay - it 16 incidents of tail strikes, 11 in the past year. There is no heresay. All the insurance company cares about is the numbers, that is true. We, as an industry are expected to do something about those numbers else reap the consequences. ditto - it is a problem of 16 stikes, 11 in the past year, apparently costing tens of thousands of dollars, perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to aircraft. THAT is how big the problem is. The same planes flown int eh USA are being flown around the world. It does not matter where they happen, it matters IF they happen. You can stop 'wondering' now.

Air Inc is the broker that pretty much exclusively provides hull insurance for skydiving aircraft in the USA. No Air Inc, no insurance, no industry, pretty much that simple. Bottom line is that insurance companies do have a great effect on our industry and we have no choice but to listen to them unless you want skydives that cost $75 each. Create policies all you want and tell people 'not to do it', but unless real action is taken, 'they' will ban the wing-suiting, not the DZO, and the DZO will follow suit because they have a huge mortgage on their airplane and they need the insurance. It was a heads up - and all of us turbine operators got the email from Air Inc. And we are paying attention to it. That does not mean we plan to ban anything, but we sure will be making sure the people on a wing-suit on our million dollar plus aircraft have a half clue what they are doing and have a plan to stick to it. And that they understand how serious WE are taking the issue. Now who wants to be strike #12?

well you understand my point. I don't even know the dude, but he would not be welcome here for any reason, unless of course he was bringing money to repay the people he ripped off here.

so what dropzone is allowing a guy, who scammed people out of tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars, to operate a rigging shop?

www.skydivecity.com at Z-Hills as well

At least they HAVE a system to go after misleading scumbags like that. Here in the USA, it is pretty much buyer beware, even if you do your homework and do the best you can to get the information you think you need. You can do a lot of homework and still get ripped off, don't look to any authority to make it any better for you, at least not here in FL.

The difference is, for one, that as a sport, we are actually doing something to make sure that safety IS implemented through education, training, recommendations and follow-ups. We do from time to STOP someone from killing themselves when we see poor canopy performance, and we screen people who should not be jumping what they have i.e. the 50 jump person with a 107 Katana. The firearm-laden society of the USA is doing no such equivalent. Instead of stopping the 50 jump wonder with the 107 Katana, we let them have the gun and then hope they don't do anything stupid with it. Chances are the 50 jump wonder will only hurt themselves. Chances are the guy with the gun will hurt someone else, or the gun itself will be used for something which it was never intended. (i.e. 10 times more likely that a gun in the home is used for a family suicide than to ever be used for a self defense purpose) Just for fun. Lets replace the word guns with "small canopies" or an other item or activity that you all care about personally. Now, let me propose we look at this problem the same way that the anti-gun camp approaches this. Lets let people who are either against small canopies or know nothing about their use and/or misuse come up with new restrictions governing your use of your small canopy. How's that sit with everyone?

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/18661869/chl http://www.drudge.com/news/159268/ccw-holder-shoots-own-butt No one mentions these stories.... there are still too many guns out there in the hands of idiots...

1993 or so, a tandem skydive that went bad, baglock-turned into partial cutaway to a main-reserve entanglement- to 1 1/2 canopies to a standup landing in the leas. glad that one worked out.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/08/28/ottawa-photographers-concern-trash-the-dress-photo-shoot.html And another candidate the other day...

fair enough - pretty much EVERYONE was on boar din 2001. Much less Democratic approval in 2006, but with the Republican majority, it was going to pass. Rendition and torture? Well GHWB started the rendition policies, used by all president's. Clinton used it too, but again vastly expanded by GWB, and torture too, not by Congressional approval, mostly just oval office policy with signing papers or whatever the fuck they invented to get around using the law. These are very dangerous things. but I call bullshit on the use of the 'dictator' comments about Obama, my rights, your rights, everyone's rights are about the same as they always were, unless you are on the terrorist watch list.... we seriously need to reel all that shit back in - there is a ton of legislation that could simply be repealed. It is buying us nothing and costing us a fortune - just one example: http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/21/justice/new-york-nypd-surveillance-no-leads/index.html I demand my money back.

I do not believe that either party wants to solve the immigration issue - they each could solve it almost overnight. It is too much of a 'goodie issue' for elections, keeps up the hype and rhetoric and is great for pointing fingers and making yourself look good and the other guy look bad. bottom line, immigration is a joke - everyone wants it fixed, no one will fix it. GWB wanted to do an amnesty program, so did everyone else - and now its BHO's turn to get blamed when Congress actually has the power to solve it. 5 million people marching on Washington with torches and pitchforks - Congressmen resigning & running for fear of their lives - a fantasy but it might actually bring some change.

maybe he was praying to Jebus by mistake.....Texas education system ain't that great perhaps... http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/public-education/why-does-texas-rank-last-in-high-school-diplomas/

There's been a bunch of requests for SPECIFIC examples of the erosion of 'freedoms' and such under Obama in this thread and so far not a single real example of it. Is anyone going to step up to that? GWB, Rove, Cheney, and Rumsfeld, the DHS and the Patriot Act did more damage to personal freedom in this country than has been done in the past 30 years. They authorized a war which had no foundation, causing the deaths of over 100,000 people. The began a ritual of rendition and torture and 'OK'd' it. They began spying on Americans within our borders. And the best people can come up with for BHO is a health care bill that makes you buy health insurance? What about support for gay marriage (an EXPANSION of freedoms), what about the fact that he has yet to (and probably never will) go near gun rights or laws against abortion (an expansion of freedoms). Yes he ain't no saint - and he left quite a few promises undone, Gitmo, and such, but really.... - your freedoms are now worse than they were in December 2008? Not specific to RonD here, but you people need your fucking heads examined.

arguably it's not, especially if you are the addict and in jail.... Yes ideal would be eternal bliss and happiness, but it ain't. So back to reality. people do drugs and abuse themselves. People smoke but the health insurance dollars I pay help pay for their treatment too. Some people drive poorly, some people do stupid things and drown, some people get abortions, some people want to shoot guns, The world did not end due to heroin or opium or crack or pot. more people die in Florida every day from PRESCRIPTION drugs than die from illegal drugs. the system is not working - stop 'running the system' and see what happens - it cannot possibly be any worse, and it certainly will NOT affect your life any more. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20093158-10391704.html

yes, given that we have tried YOUR apparent ideology and it is not working.

+1 we could try some parenting, but the 'parents' are in jail.....maybe if they were not actually in jail but in 'treatment', then they could spend some time on the parenting side of it. cycle in - cycle out - cycle in - cycle out.....it's fucking insane.... I smoked pot, a LOT of pot- I sold pot, a LOT of pot in my day. I also grew up and lost interest.

How addictive it is is not really relevant. Due to advancements in technology and modern society, it is readily available. Despite our best efforts, people still use it. Heroin as well. So I would rather regulate it and treat it for what it is, an ADDICTION, which you apparently agree with. Social programs/healthcare programs to treat it is WAY cheaper that judicial/prison programs to punish it. And it could be sold by private enterprise, creating jobs, taxed to pay for the treatment programs. Cigarettes do the same - they are addictive and they kill. Alcohol is addictive and it kills, neither is illegal. 99.9% of the sales are above board, and they are easily taxed and controlled. Open it ALL up. ALL drugs. What we are doing today is NOT working and is bankrupting the country, s well as destroying our social fabric already. Prisons are revolving doors and the punishment is not working either. Keep doing the same things? You will keep seeing the same results.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent every year in our prison system confining people that have a drug problem

I support legalization of crack