*dupeof=http://www.videosift.com/video/Top-Gear-s-Captain-Slow-Gets-Really-High-U2-Spy-Plane

>> ^Mcboinkens:
>> ^Wingoguy:
Flying with a pilot wearing glasses would make me very nervous...

Why?


What if his glasses fall off in that helmet? What if they fog up?
I'm sure they're are many more reasons why the US military doesn't allow pilots to fly while wearing glasses. I don't know what this guy's deal is, but there is a waiver for everything.

>> ^blackout:
>> ^Wingoguy:
Flying with a pilot wearing glasses would make me very nervous...

I'm a helicopter pilot, I wear contacts. My vision has to pass the same standards as any other pilot. Actually I'm going tomorrow for my FAA required yearly flight physical.


I thought the Air Force required 20/20 or better vision of all their pilots? (i.e. no contacts or glasses, but laser surgery was ok)

Or is that just for fighter pilots?

>> ^Wingoguy:
Flying with a pilot wearing glasses would make me very nervous...


I'm a helicopter pilot, I wear contacts. My vision has to pass the same standards as any other pilot. Actually I'm going tomorrow for my FAA required yearly flight physical.

[redacted]

Your video, James May goes for a ride in a U-2 Spy Plane, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

>> ^rychan:
I think May's closing quote is right on. If we could get everyone to view things from this perspective it would change the world.

He shows his bias at the end. Not everyone who went to the moon would see the earth as "left over from the big bang". I don't think it would terribly world changing. Maybe for a few days after everyone landed. That's it.

It's somewhat of a dupe though: original.

Upvote for capri pants and cold war-era spy planes.

>> ^Mcboinkens:
The Kashmir entrance of the plane gave me goosebumps.
Also, I didn't think pilots could have glasses or contacts? Or is it just that they can't be colorblind?
Anyway, if we had this technology for spyplanes in the 50's, it makes you wonder what technology we don't know about now.


It's all satellite now.


I thought the guy in the chase car had to reach out his window to steady the wing so it could taxi?

Your video, Top Gear's James May Gets Really High - U2 Spy Plane., has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

>> ^Winstonfield_Pennypacker:
Katrina: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8az4CfEDpw
Prison abuse: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1875191
Economic downturn: http://ca.news.finance.yah
oo.com/s/01122008/2/biz-finance-bush-apologizes-financial-crisis-says-economy-recover.html
To a certain extent even the Iraq War: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Politics/story?id=6354012&page=1


I'm going to respond a little out of order.

On the economic collapse (downturn?!), you'll note that what he said was, "I'm sorry it's happening...." That's like saying, "I'm sorry your dog died." Of course he's sorry, but that is not the same as taking responsibility or apologizing.

I saw neither an apology nor any acceptance of responsibility for the failures in intelligence gathering about Iraq and WMDs (in the link you provide or anywhere else). In particular, much of the intelligence that was fed to the public and Congress before the war was cherry picked and outright manipulated from within the White House. AFAIK, he's never even acknowledged this, much less taken responsibility for it.

The utter incompetence of the federal (and local) response to the devastation in New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast after Katrina and Rita makes me almost too angry to respond. Suffice it to say that to this day, people are still fighting to get help that was promised. Completely insincere, and as such, not a real apology. (Even the words he uses in that clip are kind of weasely.)

On the prison abuse at Abu Ghraib. I might actually grant you this one. And I only asked for one verifiable quote. I was unaware that he had ever actually apologized to the people of Iraq, or specifically to the people that were abused and their families.
But again, it's somewhat insincere, because the very same practices were continued at Guantanamo for years after that. Another analogy - it's like saying to your neighbor, "I'm sorry my son beat up your son at school today," and then raping your other neighbor's wife later that night.

I can think of only one time when Bush ever came close to an admitting he was wrong and/or apologizing - the spy plane incident in China. Initially, he whipped out his dick for a pissing contest, risking an escalation of tensions to an unthinkable outcome. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed (Rice and Powell), and we got our people and plane back. But generally speaking, despite any expressions of remorse, Bush never publicly admitted when he was wrong. And he essentially never changed his policies, no matter how wrong they were shown to be.

Don't get me wrong - I won't apologize for Obama. The appointment of Geitner to Treasury and Lynn to Defense are inexcusable. That Killefer and Daschle have been forced to step aside, though, shows a willingness to admit when he's wrong. That gives me some hope that when he does make more serious mistakes in the future (which he surely will), he will be willing to change direction if it's warranted. And if I read them right, I think that's the basic sentiment of many of the preceding comments.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'military' to 'military, U2, spy, plane, air force, reconnaissance' - edited by MarineGunrock

Tags for this video have been changed from 'military' to 'military, U2, spy, plane, air force, reconnaissance' - edited by MarineGunrock

MachineGunrock: From my forum, "Drone is not a myrmecological term, which is to say it has no formal use in regard to ants. As an entomological term the word refers only to the males of honeybees. In non-entomological language as applied to humans, drone refers to the concept of a mindless, duty-bound laborer, and there is a military use of the term as an unpiloted spy plane. Neither has anything to do with the apiarist's meaning of the word, though the first is somewhat similar to the way workers in a social insect colony are viewed. Either way, you won't see the word drone used in any scientific, or even in well-written popular writing on ants."