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Huge 'launch ring' to fling satellites into orbit 16:00 03 October 2006 NewScientist.com news service David Shiga A ring of superconducting magnets fires a projectile off a ramp at 8 kilometres per second, fast enough to reach orbit (Artist’s conception: J Fiske/LaunchPoint) A cone-shaped shell would protect the payload during its passage through the atmosphere into space, and includes a rocket at the back end to adjust its trajectory (Illustration: J Fiske/LaunchPoint Technologies) An enormous ring of superconducting magnets similar to a particle accelerator could fling satellites into space, or perhaps weapons around the world, suggest the findings of a...

LONDON (Reuters) - A UK firm is hoping a cell phones security system it has developed which sets off a high pitch scream, permanently locks the handset and wipes all data if stolen, will halt the spiraling rise in phone theft. The Remote XT technology, designed to make phones unusable, and therefore worthless if they are stolen, works by installing software onto the operating system of the phone which is then activated via a call to a call center once users realize their phone has been snatched or lost. The phone is then remotely disabled, all the data held on...

Greek archaeologists confirm authenticity of 'Theseus Ring' Aug 2, 2006, 15:44 GMT Athens - The long-lost 'Theseus Ring,' a gold ring found in the Plaka district of Athens in the 1950s and generally dismissed as a fake, has been identified by Greek archaeologists as a genuine 15th century BC artifact, reports said Wednesday. The Greek press had reported the discovery of a gold signet ring, with dimensions 2.7 x 1.8 cm dating from the Minoan period, and the National Archaeological Museum wanted to purchase it for 75,000 euros from the woman who owned it. There was a huge debate about...

Ok, I want to propose. I dont know how to go about a ring. I want something cheap but nice. She is the nicest, most understanding woman on the planet, but I dont want to look like a cheapskate. I am not that rich. going into my life savings for this. any freepers have any advice. I would like to propose on Canadian thankgiving in Oct. She lives in Toronto. plan to be moved in with her by Christmas *smile*

Sikh bracelets, but no Christian rings at school bans pupils from wearing 'purity rings' A group of teenage Christians have been banned by a secondary school from wearing "purity rings" as a symbol of their religious belief in chastity until marriage. At least one of the dozen pupils, who all attend the same girls' comprehensive in Horsham, West Sussex, is considering legal action against the Millais School for "a breach of human rights". Although the school allows Muslim and Sikh pupils to wear headscarves or kara bracelets as a means of religious expression, the purity ring - a small band...

ABOARD THE USS LAKE CHAMPLAIN, May 1, 2006 – There's a "ring of steel" around one of the most important economic targets in the world. A supertanker fills up at the Al Basra Oil Terminal in the Northern Arabian Gulf. Coalition forces are protecting the terminal from attack. Photo by Jim Garamone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. That's the way Royal Navy Cmdr. Steve Dainton, the captain of HMS St. Albans, described the coalition maritime protection around Iraqi oil terminals in the Northern Arabian Gulf. The terminals generate some $18,000 a second for Iraq as they pump crude...

Wanda Estrada's diamond ring spent almost a week at the bottom of a paper bag. Now it's back where it belongs: on her finger. A San Jose woman returned the ring Thursday afternoon to the See's Candies store in Saratoga, surprising Estrada with the three-diamond band she'd feared was gone for good. ``I'm on cloud nine now,'' Estrada said. ``I'm going to be smiling all day.'' Thea Sawyer said she was buying some Christmas gifts at See's last Friday, the same day Estrada noticed the ring had slipped off her finger. Estrada was sure it somehow dropped into a bag...

VIENNA, Austria - The mayor of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Austrian hometown on Tuesday begged the California governor to reconsider his decision to end ties to the city after locals assailed him for his death penalty stance. Siegfried Nagl, mayor of the southern city of Graz, said he dashed off a letter to Schwarzenegger pleading with him not to return a ring of honor bestowed on him by officials in his birthplace in 1999 and reassuring him that most residents still admire him. "I hope that very soon we'll hear you say, 'I'll be back,'" Nagl told the actor-turned-politician, one of Austria's...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Dec. 6, 2005) – Iraqi Police and Coalition Forces launched a raid in east Baghdad Dec. 4. to capture suspected members of a known terrorist ring. Within two hours, six suspects were arrested and are currently being processed into the Iraqi justice system. “We are continuing an aggressive campaign to capture the terrorists in our zone. The Iraqi Security Forces are doing most of the work and we stand ready to support them when ever necessary,” said Col. Joseph DiSalvo, commander of Coalition Forces in east Baghdad. During the raid, a patrol from 3rd Battalion, 7th...

Do any of my fellow freepers know how many bells for a Captain (USN)? It's for a retirement ceremony. I've searched the net with absolutely no luck. Thanks in advance.

Robert Spano is zooming along in his life as a conductor, the lights all turning green. Tonight in Symphony Hall, he conducts Mahler's monumental "Resurrection" Symphony and begins his fourth season as music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra — a partnership that increasingly draws national praise. Robert Spano (photo courtesy of the Atlanta Symphony) Spano comes off a summer at the Seattle Opera, where he led Wagner's four-opera, 16-hour Ring cycle. After more than two months of rehearsal, he led the cycle three times over three weeks — and calls it a life-changing experience. A sign of success: He's...

THIS THREAD IS INTENDED FOR READERS THAT HAVE COMPLETED THE BOOK! If you have not yet read the book, consider yourself warned: There will be spoilers on this thread. For my fellow FReepers who have no intention of reading the book but would like to discuss the more controversial issues related to the work, I am asking you as politely as I can: DO NOT HIJACK THIS THREAD. We are all members of this forum and as such, it is not up to me to disallow anyone from participating in the discussion. That is why I am asking you--please do...

(Branford-WTNH, July 21, 2005 6:55 PM) _ Oysters may give you pearls, but some clams in Branford deliver diamonds. A man who lost his wedding ring two years ago while digging for clams got a gift from the sea this week. Nearly forty years of marriage and Stewart and Mary Petri still hold hands. "When we go for a walk sometimes sure we do." For two years he's been without the wedding band she gave to him in 1967. He lost it digging for clams. "I was very depressed when I came back and ever more depressed to tell my...

DENVER (AP) - Federal authorities said Wednesday they had disrupted a far-flung ring that made counterfeit immigration and identification documents, and they hope to extradite the alleged leader from Mexico. Authorities said the fake Social Security cards, driver's licenses and other documents were so sophisticated that only a crime lab could distinguish them from the real thing. An indictment accuses Pedro Castorena-Ibarra of Guadalajara, Mexico, of overseeing cells in more than a dozen cities across the country. Cell leaders paid a "franchise fee" to get in on the operation, said Marcy Forman, director of investigations for U.S. Immigration and Customs...

I have recently stumbled across a universal truth. And unlike some little piggies who are always looking to patent or copyright their brainstorms, looking to profit from their inspirations, I am satisfied to share freely. Your sincere awe is all I seek, all I need. What I realized is that there are always two kinds of people. No matter what the issue is, no matter the subject under discussion, there are only two kinds of people. For instance, there are those who think dogs are superior to cats; those who think that, by and large, politicians are not a menace;...

My green arrow to turn back to the list of news threads knows no retreat. It won't turn back. If you can figure out what I mean...please help.

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- Was it a big misunderstanding, or simply a generous gift when Russian President Vladimir Putin made off with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's Super Bowl ring? Following a meeting of American business executives and Putin at Konstantinovsky Palace near St. Petersburg last Saturday, according to Russian news reports, Kraft showed his 4.94-carat, diamond-encrusted 2005 Super Bowl ring to the Russian president, who tried it on, then put it in his pocket and left. It was not immediately clear whether Kraft, whose business interests also include paper and packaging companies and venture capital investments, intended for...

One of the main culprits of the Watergate scandal, John Dean, who spent 4 months in prison, surfaced as a media hero. He has also surfaced as an expert on the alleged scandalous behavior of the Bush Administration. He wrote the book, Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush. But the facts, which have survived several challenges in court, indicate that Dean had a much bigger role in Watergate than reported by Woodward and Bernstein. The book Silent Coup argues that the Watergate break-ins were really meant to cover up embarrassing information about a call-girl ring whose...

ROME (AP) - Italian police raided the homes and offices of 186 suspected members of a child pornography ring - including three Roman Catholic priests and a local mayor - that downloaded pictures from an exclusive Web site, officials said Tuesday. The group downloaded photos and video of sex abuse against children, whose ages ranged from 4 to 8, from a Web site that could only be entered with a password, according to a police officer in the Sicilian town of Syracuse, where the investigation was based. The officer, who cited office policy that he could not be identified, said...

Here's the question about Stevie Flemmi: Is he going out as Joe Valachi, or as Joe Barboza? That is, is he an embittered old man lifting the lid on organized crime, or is he an imprisoned hit man using the government to settle all his old scores? Probably some of both. I know that all of the ex-FBI agents have denied they took cash from the serial killers, Stevie Flemmi and his partner, Whitey Bulger. But at least one or two of these feds have already been named by other witnesses, under oath. Kevin Weeks testified that Whitey used to...