Porn stars... what would we do without them, I ask you...? Sad thing is, when it coms to carnal fun, Osama is into goats and lil' girlz/boyz, not gerontophilia.
Cicciolina proudly displays her experienced bosom and her ego.
Italy's most famous porn star Cicciolina has offered herself to Osama Bin Laden.
Why not? Everybody else has had her...
The 55-year-old actress said it was about time somebody tackled the terrorist and claimed she could be just the woman for the job. Speaking at an erotic fair in Bucharest, Romania, Cicciolina said: "It is time someone did something about Bin Laden, and I am ready to do it. I am ready to make a deal, he can have me in exchange for an end to his tyranny. My breasts have only ever helped people while Bin Laden has killed thousands of innocent victims."
So he's to be rewarded with a pair of well-used honkers? I think he's out for more than that...
The blonde porn star, whose real name is Anna Ilona Staller, pointed out that Bin Laden could learn from Saddam Hussein's mistakes. In the 1990s she offered herself to Saddam Hussein if he gave up dictatorship of Iraq, and added that if he had taken up her offer "who knows what might have happened."
Not having a sense of humor, I'm still not too clear on what the advantage to Binny is of having the bosom of a 55-year-old Italian porn star over having the bosom of one of his 18-year-old Yemeni dancing girls.
#9
Hey, we're all talking about her, aren't we? When was the last time any of you even thought about Cicciolina, let alone had a conversation about her? Sheer genius, I tell you.
#10
It wasn't you Anna dear, it was the cross on your neck. They were drawn toward you but it repelled like it does vampires. And we were so close to world peace!
#17
Bin Ladens have their pick of young, virginal, beautiful women.
The magnate would send his private pilot all over the Middle East to pick up yet another bride. "Some were as young as 15 and were completely covered from head to toe," the pilot's widow recently recalled. "But they were all exceptionally beautiful."
Bin Laden's mother, Hamida, was not a Saudi or a Wahhabi, but a stunningly beautiful, cosmopolitan, educated 22-year-old daughter of a Syrian trader.
Posted by: john ||
04/12/2006 15:46 Comments ||
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#18
Well then, Binny sure takes over after his daddy in the looks department. Sheesh.
#19
WId traditional movie theaters and multiplexes losing sway to home theater systems and computerized households, the world wants to see how many Hollyweird thespians are gonna make the inevitable leap into competing with home internet porn, iff not leap into porn itself. The [future] difference between naked wimin on [future]home theater, and naked porn stars on the Net/Web, is .........WHAT, AGAIN???
Doctors at the Amal Hospital have warned about the high risks of consuming cologne in order to get the intoxicating effect of the alcohol, a local Arabic newspaper reported yesterday. "The cologne abuse cases are on the increase these days. It is the fifth most common form of drug abuse," Dr. Muhammad Shawesh, supervisor at the Amal Hospital in Jeddah, told Al-Watan newspaper.
The doctor explained that cologne is considerably worse than alcoholic beverages made for drinking. In some cases effects of drinking products that contain alcohol do not take effect until 10 to 30 hours after consumption causing symptoms such as vision impairment, total blindness, respiratory difficulties and death, said the doctor. In some Western countries, methanol is mixed with the ethanol in the cologne to discourage people from drinking it while our youths drink methanol directly, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/12/2006 00:00 ||
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"Honey, I better not find you staggering home with Drakkar Noir on your breath *ever* again."
#2
Initial symptoms of methanol poisoning may appear as soon as 12 hours post-ingestion, but usually develop 24 hours after ingestion. These may resemble ethanol intoxication and consist of drowsiness, confusion, and ataxia, as well as weakness, headache, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Collectively, these symptoms may mimic an alcohol hangover and are due to mild intoxication, caused by methanol itself.
As methanol metabolism proceeds, a severe anion gap metabolic acidosis will develop. Severe metabolic acidosis in conjunction with visual effects are the hallmark of methanol poisoning. Patients usually describe blurred or misty vision, double vision, or changes in color perception. There my be constricted visual field and, occasionally, total loss of vision. Characteristic visual dysfunctions include pupillary dilation and loss of pupillary reflex (Burkhart 1990; Suit 1990).
Further signs and symptoms may be shallow respiration, cyanosis, tachypnea, coma, seizures, electrolyte disturbances, and various hemodynamic changes including profound hypotension and cardiac arrest. There may be mild to profound loss of memory, confusion, and agitation, which may progress to stupor and coma as the severity of the acidosis increases (Suit 1990). In severe cases, death is possible. Surviving patients can be left with permanent blindness or with other neurological deficits (Jacobsen 1997).
#1
"He's a 21-year-old, he's just finished 12 months at Sandhurst which is pretty gruelling for anybody and he's doing what thousands of youngsters do when they graduate, whether it's from Sandhurst or whether it's from university," he added.
ASYLUM-SEEKERS who land on the Australian mainland will face deportation to offshore processing centres under tough new rules to be announced by the Howard Government today.
Expanding its controversial regulations that allow islands to be excised from Australia's migration zone, John Howard has decided that even those asylum-seekers who make it undetected to the mainland will be denied generous review process under Australian law.
The new rules, signed off by cabinet's National Security Committee yesterday, mean that any claim for asylum will be processed as if the applicant were in an overseas UN refugee camp, joining the worldwide queue.
The move is designed to stem the flow of asylum-seekers from Papua and mend relations with Jakarta.
Under current arrangements - brought in during the 2001 wave of Middle Eastern and south Asian asylum-seekers - if an asylum-seeker reaches an island it is not regarded as Australian territory for the purposes of migration law.
Future asylum-seekers could be sent to Australia's Christmas Island or the Australian-funded centre on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island for processing.
Until now if an asylum-seeker reached the mainland - as the 43 Papuans who arrived in January did - the law deemed them to be in Australia and the Government had to hear their claim according to Australian rules.
Last month, using these rules, the Department of Immigration issued temporary protection visas to 42 of the Papuans, sparking a diplomatic crisis between Australia and Indonesia.
Cabinet is believed to have gone for the idea because it is simple, will work effectively in the Papuan case and does not contravene Australia's international treaty obligations.
The change is likely to placate Indonesian concerns that Australia is treating Papuans more sympathetically than asylum-seekers from other nations.
Last month's decision to grant temporary protection visas to the Papuans sparked a diplomatic row with Jakarta, with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono calling the move "inappropriate and unrealistic".
He said last week relations with Canberra were entering a "difficult phase" and called for serious discussions on the future of the bilateral relationship.
The Howard Government has already tightened maritime surveillance of Australia's northern waters,. involving defence and customs aircraft and ships with a sharper focus on the Torres Strait.
Jennifer Pagonis, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva said last night that any changes by Canberra to its asylum-seeker processes should accord with international treaty obligations.
"The bottom line for us is that they uphold their international obligations," Ms Pagonis said. "We have to see what the review is going to entail and then we'll have a look at it."
Ms Pagonis said UNHCR representatives in Canberra would continue talking to the Government on refugee policy
In Washington, human rights advocacy group Refugees International warned that Australia's asylum-seeker review was threatening to violate the intent of the UN Refugee Convention and all the basic tenets of international refugee law.
"You just can't go around consulting countries of origin about whether asylum-seekers should be granted refugee status," said the group's Joel Charny. "Countries like Australia need to stand for the rule of law. If Australia and others are not willing to stand for the rule of law, even in the context of the war on terror, then we're all in big trouble."
Mr Charny predicted the Indonesian position on future Papuan asylum-seekers would be the same as it was in East Timor and the Indonesian province of Aceh.
"They would argue the situation in West Papua is calm and they are governing the province appropriately," he said.
"They would say there is nothing going on and if there is something going on, they're fighting terrorism."
Mr Charny said Australia's security interest in ensuring Jakarta remained committed to rooting out Indonesian-based terrorists could not justify the concessions being contemplated.
"I know the Australian-Indonesian relationship has been tension-filled over time, but we're at a low point if we have to violate international refugee law to maintain a common stance on the war on terror," he said.
"This is a pattern we are seeing. The war of terror in the US is being used to justify all kinds of things. The Attorney-General has even said we don't have to pay attention to the Geneva Convention in the context of the war on terror."
Romano Prodi, Itali's centre-left leader, has rejected the idea of forming a German-style "grand coalition" with his rival Silvio Berlusconi who was defeated in the general election. "We came into this election with a set coalition, and the electoral law has alloted us a number of seats in the Chamber (of Deputies) and in the Senate which will allow us to govern," Prodi told journalists on Tuesday outside his campaign headquarters in Rome.
Prodi's Union alliance won the weekend elections, taking control of both the chambers of parliament, according to full results released on Tuesday, but Berlusconi has so far refused to concede defeat. Berlusconi, prime minister since 2001, claimed that "a great many irregularities" might have marred results, and that a pivotal race for six Senate seats - representing Italians living abroad - could be invalidated. That vote had swung the upper chamber to Prodi with four of the six seats going his way.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/12/2006 00:00 ||
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French students have staged sporadic victory marches across the country, a day after President Jacques Chirac axed a hire-and-fire youth jobs law that had drawn millions onto the streets in protest. A few thousand students have marched across France - just a fraction of the estimated 1 million who had marched a week earlier to demand the withdrawal of the First Job Contract (CPE).
The CPE would have made it easier for employers to sack young workers. Parliament is due to start debating measures to help disadvantaged young people find work designed by the ruling Union for a Popular Movement to replace the CPE and end two months of crisis. Police say 2,300 people marched in Paris, compared with 700,000 last week before the Government u-turn. The lower turnout has been repeated in provincial towns across the country. "What's happening today is that there is some wavering ... but one should not conclude that our movement is dead," Anna Melun, of the main Unef students' union, said.
As CPE opponents vow to keep up their guard until Parliament votes through new measures for young workers, Education Minister Gilles de Robien says life at most of France's 84 universities is returning to normal. Some 3,400 people were arrested over five days of nationwide protests against the CPE in two months.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
SO now Paris and all Euro-Socialism can be as [happily] bankrupt as they are supposed to be, D*** YOU, iff not worse. ALL FRANCE AND EU IS VICTORIOUS - DARE, DARE, DARE I SAY, THE PROPS STAY ON THE CARRIER DE GAULLE AS IT APPROACHES AFGHANISTAN.
#3
#2 French students have staged sporadic victory marches
"Let them eat cake", said Chirac.
Posted by: 2b
"Or let them eat hummus before they face a fatal choice: embrace Islam or lose their heads!"--Unnamed Parisian Wahhabi cleric
Posted by: Humble pie ||
04/12/2006 9:38 Comments ||
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#4
9000 car-b-ques and millions in property damage later, and the country still has not bottomed out. Man, we're on a roll!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/12/2006 10:17 Comments ||
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#5
AP, wrong figures : the 2005 november Ramadan riots totaled 11 800 car BBQ (officially, which means 20 000+, since only insured initially torched vehicles are counted, while collaterally destroyed ones are ignored), 50 buildings (schools, police stations, warehouses,...), for a total of about 200 millions euros (that's what the insurances are gonna pay anyway, IIRC gvt will pay about 20 millions). Deathtoll was 2 to 8, according on how you count.
The CPE fun was much less drastic, it only meant a big loss of study time for the majority of non-striking students, and much less destructive; IIRC there was about 200 damaged cars during one Paris riot, for example, plus a few hundred (?) people getting their *ss kicked by the Youths(tm), while police stood by.
#7
The French youth celebrated their continuing unemployment by marching in the streets. I can understand a little of the students problem. There is nothing to strive for in France. What you get out of life is more or less determined by the station you were born into. Your life is nothing more than converting O2 into CO2 and food into excrement. You may, or more frequently may not, procreate. There is a reason why ennui is a French word. Life in France hasn't been worth a bucket of warm spit since Napoleon.
1) 35 hour work week
2) Six weeks+ / year of vacation
3) Lifetime employment
4) Early retirement w. Full Pension!
5) 100 EUD / hr minimum wage - coming soon!
Now they just need to get the rest of the planet to slack off.
The two top Republicans in Congress, confronted with internal party divisions as well as large public demonstrations, said Tuesday they intend to pass immigration legislation that does not subject illegal aliens to prosecution as felons.
A written statement by House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, did not say whether they would seek legislation subjecting illegal immigrants to misdemeanor prosecution or possibly a civil penalty such as a fine. "It remains our intent to produce a strong border security bill that will not make unlawful presence in the United States a felony," the two men said. An estimated 11 million men, women and children are in the United States illegally. The Republican-controlled House passed legislation late last year that is generally limited to border security measures. It makes illegal immigrants subject to felony prosecution. Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
04/12/2006 07:03 ||
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#1
Please define "guest worker." The word "guest" implies someone who has been invited, as in guest invitation,welcoming a guest, looking after one's guests, providing dinner for one's guests, etc. In Texas and in most states, if one is not a guest, then he is a trespasser. And trespassing is illegal. Please point me to the person who invited these fine "guests."
#2
If the GOP does not want to enforce even the existing laws against illegal aliens, then they need to be kicked out of office on their fat, overpaid, self-serving a$$es. This whole illegal alien issue, as well as the MSM, Congress, AND the President's actions in this affair, have totally angered and disgusted me. It gets my boiler pressure going too much.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/12/2006 10:22 Comments ||
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#3
Most of these "Republicans " have become pandering fat slobs on the take, just like the Demos before them. We desperately need alternative parties. The major parties continue to offer the voters nothing. Their only goal is to pocket as much cash as possible and stay on the gravy train as long as possible. Demo alternatives ? Hardly. Did you catch the bleating Hillary and that disgusting fat whale from Cape Cod pandering to the DC mob?
#5
Identity Theft and Assumption
Deterrence Act of 1998''
SEC. 3.(7) knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable State or local law.
Unfortunatly the loopholes in the section that lists "Factors for Consideration in Sentencing guidelines" allows immigration judges to charge as a misdemeanor, refer to state laws, or dismiss outright. Indviduals are rarely charged unless it is in conjunction with another crime.
#6
come on. The Dems are just as bad if not worse.
I watched the videos on the blogs on the immigrants and my heart went out to the Mexicans here in this country. Most of the immigrants here are just scared. They know that the status quo is going to change and they are frightened. Where will they go? What will they do? I would be too if I were them. Things have changed and they won't be the same in the future. It's got to be scary.
Forget these yahoos rounded up by ANSWER and LA RAZA. They are just idiots like the idiots that dress up in black and bring puppets to the ANSWER parades that demand we turn our governmenet over to ...hmmm....actually I'm not really sure what they want once from their revolution and I doubt they do either. Forget the losers in these parades. They are losers.
I just feel bad for the majority of the Mexicans here, the hardworking Mexicans who live and work here and are productive citizens. That's most of them.
What we need is a fair system that allows the good ones to become citizens, the bad ones to be shipped home and a big giant wall to enforce the process.
#7
Right 2b. I don't like the idea of making convicts out of workers and I don't like the idea of making voters out of illegals. They can stay, but never vote, unless they join the military.
Finally, Congress has to keep the paperwork out of the hands of the lawn care guy. That too.
Bill Clinton invoked Scripture and Al Gore warned of the looming calamity of climate change as the former president and vice president appeared onstage to honor an outgoing Democratic Party official.Democrats sentimental for a return of the Clinton-Gore political era saw their wish briefly fulfilled Monday night at a dinner for Democratic National Committee official Maureen White. The two did not appear onstage together, joining committee Chairman Howard Dean at different moments in the program. Gore was accompanied by his wife, Tipper Gore.
Speaking to the 500 donors who'd paid at least $1,000 to attend the dinner, Clinton urged the group to think of themselves as "values voters" whose concerns mirror those of most Americans. "We don't have to be afraid of our values," Clinton said, outlining a message he said Democrats need to convey when asked by skeptical voters what they stand for. "We believe in ... shared opportunities, shared responsibilities and shared participation in the community." And if there are any female Interns out there, we'll share them, too.
Clinton said Republicans "believe in concentrated wealth and power and using ideology to divide people." He said that with a straight face.
Mentioning the coming Easter Sunday holiday, he reminded the crowd that Democrats stand for one of the hallmarks of the New Testament - helping the poor. and soaking the taxpayers. Render unto Ceasar and all that. Other than that, religion can go take a hike.
In recent weeks, Clinton and other party leaders have sought to frame Democratic concerns in religious language. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Bill Clinton's wife, and Sen. John Kerry,(I fought in Vietnam) D-Mass., the party's 2004 presidential candidate, recently criticized a tough Republican-backed immigration bill as contrary to Christian beliefs. Horsepookey! It's got nothing to do with religion and they know it!
Republican National Committee spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt, in an e-mail, said later of Bill Clinton's remarks at the dinner: "Ironic choice of words given that the senator has increasingly used her bully pulpit to launch personal negative attacks rather than talk about ideas to better our country." Gore called on the crowd of donors to use their "moral imagination" to address the threat of global warming, estimating that only 10 years remain to make the global changes necessary to thwart a potential environmental catastrophe. You have to imagine there is a real calamity, just like I do.
Gore, who alomost stole narrowly lost the 2000 presidential election to Republican George W. Bush, did not cast his argument in partisan terms.
"Democrats need to push a political consensus," he said. Fat chance, Howlin Al.
Monday's event honoring White was expected to raise $1.3 million for the DNC, spokeswoman Karen Finney said. White, the DNC's longtime national finance chair, is retiring.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/12/2006 00:00 ||
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"Only ten years remain..." - ahhh, year 2016, right around the time frame when Russia-China, one or both of them, likely both vv SHanghai Coop, say war is not possible against America, and only America, but desired/preferred by them.
DAY AFTER TOMORROW says solar output is normal ergo we're doomed.
Posted by: Captain America ||
04/12/2006 0:32 Comments ||
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#3
and in the spirit of the Democratic Party, all of those who did not finish their $1000 dinners, had the left overs boxed up and well heeled guests gave the tasty scraps to the homeless who were sleeping outside in the gutters and on the grates showing their commitment to sharing.
The high court in India's financial capital, Mumbai (Bombay), has lifted a ban on dance bars, imposed last year by the state government. The court ruled that the ban was discriminatory and violated the right to equality. The court ruling has been welcomed by the city's out-of-work dancing girls.
But the BBC's Zubair Ahmed in Mumbai says the ruling is being seen as a big setback for the government. The government had said the bars were breeding grounds for crime and prostitution. The ban had affected more than 100,000 women who worked in some 1,400 bars across the state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital. More than half of them had become jobless overnight and many were forced into prostitution to survive. Following the court ruling, the bars can apply for licenses again.
The state government has been given eight weeks to appeal against the judgment in the Supreme Court. Bar owners and dance girls had bitterly protested against the ban, saying that the government was playing with their lives. They were particularly critical of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, RR Patil, who was instrumental in banning the bars. Mr Patil had argued that the bars had become a den of prostitution and that they were "a bad influence on young men".
The fully-clothed girls would dance to the tune of Bollywood numbers and clients often threw them money.
#1
Once the Jihadis visit these places, get their lap dances and drinks, they'll be fraught with deep guilt and shame. From there, they will proceed to blame the Jews, the USA, and women, and of course carry out the next logical act: murderous boomings of the dance bars.
#2
n a 260-page ruling, it held that the law was void as it imposed "an unreasonable restriction which was "not in the public interest". The ban, enforced from August 15 last year on grounds of "immorality and obscenity", was touted as one of the key achievements of the ruling Congress-NCP alliance.
A division bench of Justice F I Rebello and Justice Roshan Dalvi, hearing a bunch of public interest petitions by bar owners, bar girls, activists and NGOs challenging the government legislation, ruled that the ban violated fundamental rights and the constitutional right to equality of bar dancers and bar owners.
While the judges maintained that the law "did not violate the dancers or bar owners right to life or freedom of speech and expression", as claimed by the petitioners, they took exception to the fact that the state government was restricting dance performances only in dance bars, restaurants and permit rooms, while allowing hotels, clubs and discotheques to continue with these. They said the blanket ban on all types of dances in these places did not have any connection with the object of the ban which, according to the government, was "to prevent dances which are obscene, vulgar or immoral and derogatory to the dignity of women".
The judges said the governments justification for the ban on grounds that bar girls were exploited did not stand the test. "If women other than dancers can work in prohibited establishments and that does not amount to exploitation, we do not see why, when women dance to earn their livelihood, it becomes exploitation," said the judges.
Posted by: john ||
04/12/2006 16:06 Comments ||
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Jordan has barred five Egyptian Baptist priests from entering the country to attend Easter celebrations, well informed sources said on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear why the five Christian clergymen were sent back to Egypt. Reverend Nabih Abbasi, the leader of Jordan's tiny Baptist community said he was "shocked" by the decision to turn away the the Egyptian priests. Christians - mostly Catholic - make up just 3.4 percent of Jordan's mainly Muslim population of five million.
I presume they're "ministers," rather than "priests," but you know what they mean.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Certainly a new approach to... "beating the Baptists to the buffee."
#3
ministers, priests, Catholics, Mormons, Buddhists, whatever. It's difficult to get these distinctions right when translating since they all translates from just one word - infidel.
For a vision of war, it was almost elegant. The smoke and stink and deafening crack of munitions would be replaced by invisible beams of focused light. Modified 747 jets, equipped with laser weapons, would blast ballistic missiles while they were still hundreds of miles from striking our soil. Directed-energy cannons would intercept incoming rockets at the speed of light, heating up the explosives inside and causing them to burst apart in midair. And this wasnt some relic of Reagan-era Star Wars visionaries. These were modern plans, initiated barely a decade ago, that would be realized not in some far-off future, but soon. Out in the New Mexico desert at the White Sands Missile Range, the U.S. Armys Tactical High Energy Laser shot down dozens of Katyusha rockets and mortars. In 2004, Air Force contractors began test-firing the chemically powered beam weapon for a retrofitted 747, the Airborne Laser.
Then reality set in, and these recent efforts to wield battlefield lasers suddenly began looking as doomed as Star Wars. Generating the megawatts of laser power needed to detonate a missile required hundreds of gallons of toxic chemicalsethylene, nitrogen trifluoride. The weapons grew bulky. Worse, after a few shots, the lasers would have to be resupplied with a fresh batch of reactants. The logistics of hauling those toxins either through the air or across a battlefield made generals shiver. And questions lingered about how effectively the beams would penetrate dust and rain. Last year, the Army canceled its Tactical High Energy Laser project, and some think the wildly overbudget beam-firing 747 may be next to go.
But dont count laser weapons out yet. The ray-gun potential of weapons that fire with precision over tremendous distances is far too militarily appealing, particularly at a time when American soldiers are fighting guerrilla foes who melt quickly into the background. If I could reach into a crowd and take out one or two targets without a puff of dust or a crack of a rifleif I could fire for a long time, without ever having to reload, says Marine Corps Major General Bradley Lott, thats something the United States Marine Corps would be very, very interested in pursuing.
But if chemical lasers cant cut it, what will make beam warfare a reality? The answer is twofold. First, the Pentagon is slowly realizing that if it wants results, it has to lower its expectations. Shoot down mortars first, for example, then missiles. More important, however, is the reemergence of two technologies of the Star Wars pastsolid-state and free-electron lasersin the energized, promise-filled labs of two former colleagues who thought their dreams of laser triumph had died years ago.
Jumping to Light speed
Lasers all work in pretty much the same way: Excite certain kinds of atoms, and light particlesphotonsradiate out. Reflect that light back into the excited atoms, and more photons appear. But unlike with a lightbulb, which glows in every direction, this second batch of photons travels only in one direction and in lockstep with the first. And instead of shining in every part of the spectrum, laser light is all the same wavelength, which depends on the gain mediumthe type of atomsyou use to generate the beam. Shine enough of the focused light, and things start to burn.
The first laser experiments in the 1960s used ruby crystals as the gain medium. But solid-state lasers like these originally couldnt produce more than a few hundred watts of power. Thats fine for eye surgery. Knocking down a missileas the military first dreamed of doingtakes millions of watts of power, which is why researchers turned their efforts toward the ultimately failed chemically powered lasers.
There is another kind of laser, however, one that requires no bulky tubs of toxic chemicals, no crystalsno gain medium whatsoever to generate its beam. Its called a free-electron laser (FEL), and it uses a turbocharged stream of electrons to kick-start its reaction. This form of laser dominated the Star Wars national missile-defense program; it was the almost mythical beast that scientists George Neil and Bob Yamamoto toiled on together for defense contractor TRW.
It was hamstrung by high power expections. But both Neil, the projects chief scientist, and Yamamoto, a project engineer, were true believers. They thought that with enough research, a free-electron laser might really be able to stop a rogue missile. And the breakthroughs required in atomic physics, optics and superconductivity would have far-reaching benefits, even if an ICBM never got zapped. But after 10 years and half a billion dollars of investment, the free-electron laser in TRWs lab peaked out at a meager 11 wattsa tenth of what a lightbulb generates.
After several more years of executives continuing to promise 10, 20 megawatts of power, the Pentagon finally pulled the plug in 1989, and Star Wars went down in a flameout of legendary proportions. Neil particularly resented the way the reckless projections had doomed the program and turned his directed-energy ideas into a laughingstock. At scientific conferences for years afterward, Neil would advocate for reviving free-electron research. People thought we were insane and the technology was unfeasible, he says. And on the bare evidence, they were right.
Bob Yamamoto, meanwhile, stayed away from military projects for 15 years after the Star Wars fiasco. He went to work for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, TRWs partner in the free-electron laser, building magnets for high-energy physics experiments. The lab was close to Berkeley, California, where he had grown up and gone to college, so the shift gave him the chance to keep racing and rebuilding import carsToyotas and Datsunswith his old buddies. In the garage and at the lab, Yamamoto developed a reputation for making things that could be run hard. Because of this and his previous laser experience, he was tapped in 2003 to run Livermores $50-million Pentagon-funded solid-state laser project. The technology, once deemed so unfeasible, was being resurrected with more measured progress expectations. Yamamoto felt as comfortable with solid-state technology as he did with free-electron lasers, and it proved an intriguing reentry into the field. Directed-energy weapons, theyve been promised for more than 30 years, he says. I want to be the first on the block to say, We took care of it.
Under the GUN
The ammunition in Yamamotos new solid-state laser is a set of four-inch square transparent slabs tinged with the slightest hint of purple. Theyre exactly what youd expect to find powering the cannons on board the Enterprise or the Millennium Falcon.
A magazine of these see-through slabs isnt exactly infinite, though; for every 10 seconds they fire, they need at least a minute to cool off. But the slabsceramics infused with the element neodymium, the atoms that, when excited, produce the photons that eventually become the laser beamcan never be drained of their potency. And theyre a lot less hassle than bulky chemical tubs. Theyre a big reason why Yamamotos machine squeezes into a single 30-foot-long lab. Its not hard to imagine the whole thing packed into a small truck, knocking mortars out of the air. Ive been thinking about deployment for a long time, Yamamoto says.
A solid-state laser like his could now make it to a war zone in part because the bar for energy weapons has been lowered. Blasting an ICBM from 100 miles away requires megawatts of light. Solid-state lasers might never get that powerful. But heating up a mortar from a mile away until the explosives inside detonatethat takes only 100 kilowatts.
Yamamoto is getting close. He shows off dozens of blocks of carbon steel and aluminum, each two inches tall and an inch thick. On all of them are burn marks and holes. One block, marked 6-6-05, is almost completely warped by a pair of half-dollar-size depressions. A rope of formerly molten metal sticks out from the bottom. Can you believe that? Yamamoto asks, with a booming tenor and a big, boyish grin. He looks much younger than his 50 years. Its like shining a flashlight, and stuff is melting! Its ridiculous! The Livermore laser, pushed forward by larger gain-medium slabs and increased pulsing speeds, hit 45 kilowatts of power in March 2005. Thats more than triple what the laser could do three years before.
But theres a nervous tension at the lab the day I come to visit. Each of the slabs is surrounded by an array of 2,880 light-emitting diodes, like the ones in a clock radio. When they shine, they excite the atoms in the transluscent ceramic composites and begin the laser chain reaction. The problem is that the more the diodes glow, the more that temperature disparities degrade the quality of the beam. The infrared rayinvisible to the naked eyestarts to lose some of its quality. Which is bad, because the Pentagon wants to see a nice, tight beam, as well as a powerful one. And the Defense Departments team of testers is due here next Tuesday. The visit will largely determine whether the Livermore team will get the cash to make its next laser: a 100-kilowatt, weapons-grade machine.
So Yamamotos team is making last-minute adjustments to the adaptive opticsmirrors fitted with more than 200 actuators that bend them to compensate for distortions in the beam. Yamamoto is politely apologetic. Im sorry, but were under the gun, he says as our meeting draws to a close.
Wiggling through
George Neil isnt in such a hurry when I meet him a few days later. The thin, 58-year-old death race runnerhe recently finished a 78-mile ultramarathon through the Canadian Rockieshas been pushing for a free-electron laser for more than a quarter of a century. It will be another few years before hes got one as strong as Yamamotos solid-state machine. So he has some time to show me around his lab at the Department of Energys Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Virginia.
He opens a pair of magnetically sealed doors. Inside is a 240-foot-long jumble of copper piping, rubber hoses and steel tubes of a dozen different sizes. Almost all of it is designed to do one thing: generate massively powerful pulses of electrons, moving at 99.999 percent the speed of light. The electrons rush through precision-timed micro-wave fields, gathering strength and speed along the way. Then the electron beam is sent through a wiggler, a series of 29 magnets that bend the electron stream up and down. In the process, the electrons emit photonsand the laser chain reaction begins. This is Neils gain medium, his answer to Yamamotos slabs and the chemical lasers toxic gases, and it is by increasing the power and quality of this electron beam that Neil advances his technology.
The FELs tunability is what got the military interested in the first place. Most lasers lose strength as they move throughand get absorbed bythe atmosphere. A little rain only makes things worse. But an FEL could use whatever wavelength flows through the air the best. And theres no emptying the infinite magazine. No wonder Los Alamos National Laboratory associate director Doug Beason calls it lasers Holy Grail. But can anyone pull it off?
After Star Wars, ultramarathoner Neil bided his time and paced himself, waiting for the technology to catch up. For five years, he worked here at Jefferson lab on a giant particle accelerator. The labs director promised that he could build the FEL afterward. Finally, in 1995, when it came time to put the machine together, Neil and his team designed a new FEL that would produce a single kilowatt of lightnot the superstrength lasers promised back in the 80s. In 1999 they broke the record power levels of the Star Warsmodel FEL by 100-fold. In 2003 the new FEL hit 10 kilowatts, another record. I always believed the technology would get there, Neil says with a satisfied grin, if we took manageable steps with reasonable goals.
And now Neil has the militarys attention again. The Defense Department is investing $14 million a year in the machine. Theres talk of eventually equipping the Navys next generation of destroyers with free-electron lasers. Today the ships dont have the precision weaponry to stop rocket and small-boat attacks, like the kind Al Qaeda used against the U.S.S. Cole in 2000. A laser might be able to handle the job. And only a free-electron laser could be tuned to cut through the briny ocean air.
In December, Neil gets good news. The Navy has committed to the im-proved FEL in a big way: $180 million for an eight-year, multi-team effort. Theres many a challenge ahead, he writes, but at least we are started.
Yet Neils feelings are a little bittersweet. The results have come in for the Pentagons solid-state laser competition, tooand his old friend and colleague Bob Yamamoto lost out. The money to build a weapons-grade solid-state laser in the lab is going instead to a team at Northrop Grumman.
Northrops design wasnt all that different from Yamamotos, but instead of the four big see-through slabs at the core of Yamamotos machine, Northrop relies on several smaller crystals. Less energy is concentrated on individual crystals, so there are fewer imperfections in the beam. Im amazed how much power were getting out of a piece of glass the size of a stick of gum, says Northrop program manager Jeff Sollee, a 30-year directed-energy veteran, most recently with the defense contractors last big chemical-laser program, the Tactical High Energy Laser. The Pentagon has given Sollee 33 months to bring his machine to battlefield strength.
Yamamoto, meanwhile, continues to quietly tweak his laser, despite the Pentagons decision against him. Hes learned that, in this business, anything can happen. For now, were keeping an extremely low profile, he says. But were not done.
Noah Shachtman edits defensetech.org, a military-technology blog.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/12/2006 13:33 ||
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#1
But after 10 years and half a billion dollars of investment, the free-electron laser in TRWs lab peaked out at a meager 11 wattsa tenth of what a lightbulb generates.
*cough*bullsh!t*cough*. DO NOT compare incoherent light output (as with incandescent lightbulbs) with coherent laser output. The apparent brightness of a laser can be orders of magnitude greater than a similar wattage of incoherent light. Witness how your measley 5mW laser pointer appears to be as bright as your mini MagLite.
I dare the author to stare into that "meager 11 watts" worth of FEL beam. As the old optics laboratory sign says:
CAUTION: DO NOT STARE INTO LASER BEAM WITH REMAINING EYE
I contributed work for the original round of SDI. FELs (Free Electron Lasers) are a robust technology useful in many areas of subatomic research and defense. They represent one of the few DEWs (Directed Energy Weapons) with practical applications. E beams defocus too readily in atmospheric transmission and masers or other exotic beam types exhibit idiosyncrasies that are equally prohibitive.
If you want to see the sort of "slab" laser diodes mentioned in the article wiggling their little photonic booties, scroll down at the "Beyond NIF" page linked below. We're talking major lumens on the order of driving fusion reactions (i.e., inertial confinement, like Shiva Nova).
#2
When has the race-baiters ever been concerned with evidence or the rule of law (never mind 'innocent until proven guilty'....).
The sad thing is that this will make it all the harder for the victims in cases of real racism. (Which I think happens - to all races including whites).
BTW: why was the only black team member exempted from providing DNA? Isn't that 'profiling'? Racism?
#3
Though not mentioned by the media, hate crime hoaxes are quite common in America, especially on college campuses. The Los Angeles Times claims there have been over 20 phony hate crimes on college campuses from 1997-2005, but even that number seems low.
I don't know, I think we've reached an important milestone in America when phony hate crimes probably exceed real hate crimes (with the exception of hate crimes against women). For the last 10 years, or so, we still get race baiting losers crying wolf to get attention- but both blacks and whites - are deeply outraged by these stunts.
This incident is far more offensive and damaging in that it was a false cry of rape than a bogus cry of racism.
Most kids today(black and white) probably find it strange and amusing that in prior generations blacks and whites did not date or marry and will view this event entirely in terms of a rape, or bogus rape, rather than some sort of statement about race relations in America.
#5
I take offense at that comment. Unless she's claiming that they bathed her, washed her clothes and scrubbed under her nails, which she is not, this isn't rocket science Angie.
Maybe she was raped, but not by the members of the LaCross team. What's outrageous about this is that the ideal of innocent until proven guilty was trampled just because one girl screamed witch, and a school/government sanctioned witch hunt occurred.
I guess you missed that part about the upcoming election when noting the prosecutor didnt have the guts to ask the lynch mobs to go home.
Maybe someone did yell the n*word at her and maybe she was scared. But young women, white black and purple, can all probably relate similar incidents in life where drunken men hanging out of sorority homes made them feel threatened. Maybe they didnt use the n* word but slut, bitch, and whore can be scary too. Its not exactly a news flash to discover that many women, non-strippers, have been raped in jock dorms, but unfortunately for them, they dont get the benefit of demagogue race hustlers racing to the cameras, convicting every single player on the team.
The only one whose bigotry is showing here is your own.
Well, tough shit. Oh, was that offensive, too? My goodness me!
If she has injuries as described, then someone gave them to her. Maybe you're right; maybe she was raped by someone else. I agree that the lack of DNA sure is damned odd. I read that in a large percentage of rape cases, DNA is not found. I also read that if they so much as sneezed on her, DNA would be found. So I don't know what to think about that.
But by "the stupids" I mean:
Black people who insist that she must be telling the truth, because of the 400-year-old legacy of oppression and hatred that has been perpetrated blah blah blah...
Men who insist that she must by lying, because of the feminazi war against blah blah blah...
Women who insist that she must be telling the truth, because of the patriarchy blah blah blah...
Idiots who conclude that she was prolly lying because she's a stripper. 'Cause, you know, strippers are women who use their dirty bodies to lead poor, innocent men astray. (Yeah, I realize he was employing hyperbole, but still...)
The prosecutor, who's apparently prepared to kiss any ass, anytime, anywhere.
The dimwitted team member who wrote an email about skinning strippers.
Now, if you find yourself in any of those groups, feel free to have your doctor check you out for a case of the stupids. Otherwise, I probably wasn't talking about you.
I agreed with your comment. I just think that it's a little bit premature to conclude that it was all a hoax.
#7
Know what, Angie? I've got $50 that says you wouldn't have made that response to 2B's face. I suspect your second comment might have placed you in a position where you badly needed the attention of a good dentist.
Posted by: mac ||
04/12/2006 15:57 Comments ||
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#8
well ooookay then. I guess I misread your point. If it was your point to say that it is premature to smear her the Tawana Brawley label, then I agree. Jumping to that conclusion at this point makes as much sense as jumping to any of the many other un-substantiated conclusions being thrown around at this point.
#10
I'm a rich white lad with a bright future attending a prestigious southern school. I'm young and careless, but otherwise pretty smart. I know about STD's and HIV. I have a girl friend, or two..... and I need to rape and free-boink a black stripper at a party in front of 40 of my team mates and best friends.............? Yea right.
#11
Supposedly there is video showing the her dancing with the injuries she claimed to have suffered in the rape. if so, then I wonder if the the Duke jocks stiffed or robbed her and the rape claim is her way of getting revenge. Would explain why there is no DNA evidence (as of yet).
Posted by: ed ||
04/12/2006 16:09 Comments ||
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#12
Gah. I can't type.
Posted by: ed ||
04/12/2006 16:11 Comments ||
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#13
As a Duke grad, high scholl lacrosse player and uncle of a current Duke student, I've been watching this case pretty closely.
First off, the lacrosse team seems to have a reputation for being hard partyers and getting out of control. Rape out of control? Who knows at this point. The DNA evidence says probably not.
Lacrosse players (over generalizing I know) are a mix of cocky and thug. The cocky comes from the "cool factor" attached to the sport, especially today. The thug aspect comes from the fact that this is a violent sport where the guys are big and strong. They are used to using their muscle to get what they want. Of course, lots and lots of lacrosse players are really good guys too.
Pressler should have been fired as soon as word of the party came out. Forget the rape, the party alone, on top of all of the other stuff that team members had gotten into over the years, was a clear demonstration that he did not have control over his team and that they were repeatedly engaging in behavior that did not reflect well on the university.
The race card was pulled almost immediately by the media and has been amplified ever since. Seems to me that the ladies arrived at the party and did not perform, or did so for a few minutes only. The guys were pissed and some probably said some stupid things. Personally I don't feel sorry for them and think it is just another reason Pressler should be fired.
The lefties at Duke went into immediate hyperventilation mode. The DNA evidence won't matter to them. In their mind the players, the university and white people are guilty. They make the university look stupid. The university responding to these cranks makes the university look stupid. But hey, the university faculty and administration is made up mostly of left wing cranks so why should I be surprised.
I am also pissed, but not surprised, that the media treat NCCU and Duke as academic equals, and if they don't then they derisively refer to Duke as an elite institution, like having a bunch of really smart kids who worked their asses off in high school is some kind of bad thing.
Personally, I think something happened to this lady before she got to the house on Buchanan. She was there for a little while and then bolted, pissing off the lacrosse players in the process. I am highly suspicious a rape occurred, because of the DNA, the oddities around the 911 calls and the purported photos showing her drunk and with makrs on her prior to the party.
In the end the lacrosse team showed really lousy judgement holding this party in the first place. Firing the coach and canceling their season was definitely the right thing to do. If rape is proven, the guilty party/parties should spend a long time at the big house being someone's bitch.
2b -- Concur completely on your #8. I just thought Rantburg was an odd place to be playing the "I'm offended!" card. "Pull your head out of your ass", now that I'd expect at Rantburg.
Meantime, here's another odd tidbit to add to the pile.
#16
That link does add to the mystery and to your point that it's not just a hoax, Angie. Something bad did happen to her that night. It is a very strange sequence of events.
#18
prosecutor's up for contested re-election....anything else?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/12/2006 21:00 Comments ||
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#19
"I read that in a large percentage of rape cases, DNA is not found"
Thats doublespeak: saying they have no dna because they don't have anyone to compare the sample taken from the victim to; e.g. a rape where the attacker isnt' known to the victim and never is seen again. I have hear that argument before (in the court room.)
Posted by: Mark E. ||
04/12/2006 22:29 Comments ||
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Apparently they were a little unclear on the "cause and effect" thingy....
A manager at a Detroit meatpacking plant said Monday that 15 immigrant women were fired last month after attending a protest for immigrant rights. He said they had been told that they would be terminated if they missed work on the day of the protest.
But the workers and an activist working on their behalf said the women were given no such assurances. If the workers knew they would have been fired for attending the March 27 rally in Detroit, they never would have skipped the morning shift, said Elena Herrada, a Detroit activist who is trying to help the women get their jobs back.
An illegal ditches work and then complains of being fired. Will wonders never cease.
Herrada and about 20 union officials went Monday to Wolverine Packing Co. offices on Rivard to inquire about what happened. They were given a letter signed by general manager Jay Bonahoom, explaining why the workers were terminated.
Some of the Wolverine workers were illegal aliens undocumented, Herrada and one of the workers said, and wanted to march in the Detroit rally to show their support for immigrant rights. The next morning, when the women reported to work for their shifts as meat cutters, a supervisor told them to clean out their lockers and go home.
Bonahoom said that as far as Wolverine knows, the workers were documented, but an employment agency does the actual hiring. He said the workers had been told, "written and verbally," on the Friday before the protests that their attendance was mandatory on the day of the protest.
So there's a paper trail.
They were fired "for criminal stupidity standing up for their rights," Herrada said.
The fired workers were natives of Mexico and many had worked at the plant for several years. Most have children and are worried about supporting their families, Herrada said. Apparently not worried enough...
An inability to connect 'cause' and 'effect' is a worldwide problem ...
Many were employed by Minuteman Staffing. So when Wolverine wanted to fire the workers, the meatpacking company told Minuteman to let go of the workers, he said. A manager with Minuteman said he couldn't comment on the case. Think Immigration will crack down on Minuteman Staffing? Nah, me either.
But the workers say they were treated wrongly. "It was not fair," whined said Mercedes, a 31-year-old Detroit woman who attended the rally and was fired. "We went to fight for our rights." Mercedes is undocumented and asked that her last name not be used. Well, now she can fight for her rights all day long...
It's the French model, DB, you're supposed to get paid for fighting for your rights ...
"It was really unfair of a company to do that," said Edith Castillo, head of the Detroit-based Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development.
Posted by: Humble pie ||
04/12/2006 9:38 Comments ||
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#4
Sometimes I think we should adopt the Citizneship Standards of Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers. Only people who volunteer for federal service can become citizens and have the right to vote. "If you are not willing to support and defend a State then you are not entitled to protection by that State". Lazarus Long.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/12/2006 9:49 Comments ||
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#5
"We went to fight for our rights."
When dissected this logic is the foundation for the entire illegal immigration debate. This is why those that pander to the elite and special interest groups are reluctant to honestly discuss this issue. This is why that when confronted with facts that dont support their narrative: they instinctively resort to name-calling or spin the debate to economics, race, or some other anecdotal topic. Some argue that it cynical or paranoid to suggest that there is an ulterior motive at play. However, a reasonable question is; why would those that traditionally manipulate the masses for their own gain wish to grant additional rights? This is not about exclusionary laws nor is it about inalienable human dignity. This is about international rights that transcend national sovereignty.
#7
If the workers knew they would have been fired for attending the March 27 rally in Detroit, they never would have skipped the morning shift. Ok somebody tell me a job that you can just skip the morning shift and expect to still be employed when you decide to return? I wont even address the shear audacity of demanding rights in a country to which they illegally immigrated. I only hope the INS finds out their names and promptly returns these newly unemployed ILLEGAL immigrants to their home country.
I think its unfair some people believe they can ignore the law. I think it is unfair that some people can use color, race, national origin, gender or sexual preference to avoid complying with what the rest of society is suppose to obey. I think it is unfair that you get away with cheering your nationalism but mine is discounted. I think it is unfair to demand more of America than you demand of the rest of the countries of the world. I think is unfair to use perfection as the standard by which America is ajudged when no other mass culture in history has ever attained said standard.
You've demonstrated that it is not about 'fair' or justice or equality. You've demonstrated it is all about power.
#12
The argument for the illegal traffic is not much different then the arguments for slave trading and slavery. Move it back to 1858 and you could see similar arguments from the south.
#13
One thing you have to understand, they actually have an argument to stand on. It may not work in most cases, but they can make it. Very grey area in this case for a few reasons.
Temp / Contract Agency: Their rules aplly and if the customer says 'so and so is not working out' that is it.
Packing Company: They can warn and fuss all they want. But, if the employees claim they were protesting for their working environment / conditions there is nothing they can do.
Now we all know they were not protesting for working condition issues but for illegal alien rights. However, if they claim that it was working conditions, well all is up in the air.
Add a union, an activist, a paper trail, etc in the mix and this is going to be messy.
Anyway, point is they CAN skip work for a protest, but only if it is for a work / conditions protest.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Doctors at the Amal Hospital have warned about the high risks of consuming cologne in order to get the intoxicating effect of the alcohol, a local Arabic newspaper reported yesterday. "The cologne abuse cases are on the increase these days. It is the fifth most common form of drug abuse," Dr. Muhammad Shawesh, supervisor at the Amal Hospital in Jeddah, told Al-Watan newspaper.
French students have staged sporadic victory marches across the country, a day after President Jacques Chirac axed a hire-and-fire youth jobs law that had drawn millions onto the streets in protest. A few thousand students have marched across France - just a fraction of the estimated 1 million who had marched a week earlier to demand the withdrawal of the First Job Contract (CPE).
The two top Republicans in Congress, confronted with internal party divisions as well as large public demonstrations, said Tuesday they intend to pass immigration legislation that does not subject illegal aliens to prosecution as felons.
Bill Clinton invoked Scripture and Al Gore warned of the looming calamity of climate change as the former president and vice president appeared onstage to honor an outgoing Democratic Party official.Democrats sentimental for a return of the Clinton-Gore political era saw their wish briefly fulfilled Monday night at a dinner for Democratic National Committee official Maureen White. The two did not appear onstage together, joining committee Chairman Howard Dean at different moments in the program. Gore was accompanied by his wife, Tipper Gore.
The high court in India's financial capital, Mumbai (Bombay), has lifted a ban on dance bars, imposed last year by the state government. The court ruled that the ban was discriminatory and violated the right to equality. The court ruling has been welcomed by the city's out-of-work dancing girls.
Jordan has barred five Egyptian Baptist priests from entering the country to attend Easter celebrations, well informed sources said on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear why the five Christian clergymen were sent back to Egypt. Reverend Nabih Abbasi, the leader of Jordan's tiny Baptist community said he was "shocked" by the decision to turn away the the Egyptian priests. Christians - mostly Catholic - make up just 3.4 percent of Jordan's mainly Muslim population of five million.
