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Australian Pilot Stranded In Antarctica
mirio writes "Australian Jon Johanson is currently stranded in Antarctica at the US McMurdo outpost. He was attempting a flight from New Zealand to Argentina via the South Pole when he encountered a headwind that caused him to burn more fuel and divert to the base. Now both the Americans and the New Zealanders there are refusing to sell him fuel. Jon's story is amazing. He has flown his homebuilt RV-4 around the world three times and to the North Pole. You can read about his trips around the world here."
Being isolated from the rest of the world apparently blocks those penguin probers from grasping the reality of the situation. It's a Jerry Springer world here, and that guy just bought himself a backstage pass. If they'd just given him the damn fuel, we wouldn't be reading this on /. Everyday he stays there equates to ten more armchair quarterbacks coming to the conclusion that they could do it, yet not be so stupid as to go without extra fuel.
WTF does this have to do with a scientific research station run by SCIENTISTS? It aint an arm of the State Department just like a lone private flier isn't representing the AUS govt, and since you decided to dump on the US, why did you leave out NZ?
some people fly without enough fuel then need a small hand to get home. others start wars in iraq then bitch when people won't send billions of dollars and thousands of troops. which is worse?
>Every time I see a soldier who enlisted so he could defend his country,
>end up having to put his neck on the line,
Is that what the Americans are doing in Iraq then? Defending their country? I thought they were a foreign invading force. They've certainly killed a lot of children. At least skiers aren't making the world a more dangerous place.
How do illegal immigrants cost billions in taxpayer money? Certainly, it would cost far, far more money to police the border and actually locate and deport everyone who wasn't supposed to be here, in addition to turning the country into an orwelian nightmare to do it.
Perhaps, but you can enforce deportation laws without being 100% effective. It certainly costs the taxpayer money when they use our emergency rooms, and compel municipalities to pay for translator services because they think the trade-off results in a better situation for the city/town. The money that goes into education language support is money that isn't being spent educating legal residents.
Personally, I think the damage is much more subtle. You have a roving underclass of non-citizens that have no stake in regional or national interests of this country, and think the local populace should kowtow to them because of their numbers. I don't think hispanics are entitled to citizenship because its more structurally feasible for them to break the law, than say an Asian or African.
Illegal immigrants also contribute to the economy by doing jobs that Americans would frown upon, and by working more cheaply (say, three houses could be build with illegal labor, where one could be build with full-rate American labor).
Perhaps this is what the poster meant in terms of costing billions in taxpayers money. Those three houses that were built with illegal labor means there were citizens that don't have jobs because the illegal immigrants took those jobs. Why should citizens agree to poverty wages for their work because these illegal immigrants, who don't belong in this country, are willing to work for those wages?
Also, many illegals do in fact pay taxes, because their income is automatically withheld from their paychecks
Please explain how the IRS collects this withheld money, when these illegal immigrants don't have a social security number? Or should we feel better about them because they're giving more money to the employer breaking the law?
their kids even die for this country
Too bad. If one cop does something wrong in an arrest, we're supposed to let all the lawbreakers related to the perp to go free? The kid was probably a non-citizen who enlisted in the army. They get paid and get a shot at citizenship. The father was not a citizen. He does not have any privileges of citizenship. Would it have been my choice to take this action? No, but that doesn't change the fact that its an exceptional case, and I'm not about to agree to open borders because of it.
You can't make illegals pay for their stay in prison, and it doesn't necessarily help control crime to dump them back to where they came from. But being able to control immigration does allow a nation to be pickier about who comes in, and thus cut down on the opportunities for citizens to be robbed, raped, or murdered. Not to mention the potential terrorist, drug trafficker or plague carrier.
Oh, I get it, you're just stupid.
Oh I get it, you're either a liberal idiot or a wetback. (Just pointing out your level of intelligence and social grace.)
There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, General Electric, and Exxon
That's it. I have nothing more to say.
Come on, mod me way up, baby! You know calling this gimboid git what he is is about as insightful as you can get!
If a pion (n-) collides with a proton in the woods & noone is there to hear it, does lamdba decay into the source pa
The US goverment pays for search and rescue missions all the time. The Coast Guard provides services to anyone with a boat. The Parks department rescues hikers, climbers and skiers. They aren't required to have a 'rescue plan'.
This is about sending a message. And a very petty one at that. It's about exploration versus 'real' science. It will probably cost more to feed and house him than it would to replace 104 gallons of gas.
It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. -- Harry Truman