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Scientists have found evidence of a cosmic airburst event around 1650 BCE that devastated the ancient city of Tall el-Hammam in the southern Jordan Valley, causing extreme temperatures and depositing high concentrations of salt. This event, potentially inspiring the biblical tales of Sodom and Jericho’s destruction, might have also led to a mass abandonment of cities in the region during the “Late Bronze Age Gap.”In the Middle Bronze Age (about 3,600 years ago or roughly 1650 BCE), the city of Tall el-Hammam was ascendant. Located on high ground in the southern Jordan Valley, northeast of the Dead Sea, the settlement...

BILLUND, DENMARK—Hot on the heels of the company's new "Everyone is Awesome" playset and genderless blocks without male or female connectors, the LEGO group revealed its commemorative Pride Month playset: a new Sodom and Gomorrah set. The entirely flammable, destructible set includes dozens of pagan minifigs plus a bonus Lot and his wife, who is, of course, a pillar of salt. Children can press a button on the set and the whole thing explodes in flames, and they can even participate in the carnage using the included brimstone launcher. "Hooray! The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – An experienced archaeologist who has spent a decade searching for the ancient ruins of Sodom is now confident that his team has located the ill-fated biblical city and evidence of its sudden destruction. Dr. Steven Collins is a distinguished professor of Archaeology at Trinity Southwest University in Albuquerque and is also dean of the school’s College of Archaeology & Biblical History. In addition to writing dozens of scholarly books and journal articles, Collins frequently visits the Middle East, where he participates in ongoing archaeological research. Since 2005, Collins has led excavations in the southern Jordan Valley in...

​While the British Parliament was debating this week whether to join in airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, one weapon was mentioned repeatedly: Brimstone. In a 36-page report, Prime Minister David Cameron said, "The Brimstone missile which enables us to strike accurately with low collateral damage, therefore increasing the scope for strikes against specific ISIL targets—even the U.S. do not possess this capability." Indeed, Brimstone proved itself and its capability against tanks in Libya, to the point that the British paper The Telegraph called it the "British missile envied by the U.S." But if the Brimstone really is so great, then...

The British Army’s need for a future attack helicopter weapon system has led MBDA to begin promoting a potential candidate derived from its 50kg (110lb) Brimstone air-to-surface missile. Craig Hoyle/MBDA Displayed for the first time at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition in London, the concept builds on the existing dual-mode Brimstone, which is currently being used by the Royal Air Force’s Panavia Tornado GR4s to attack Islamic State targets in Iraq. An image of a potential combination shows a Boeing AH-64E Apache carrying a maximum load of 16 of the precision-strike weapons. Currently equipped with a dual-mode...

America was keen for Britain to join air strikes against Isil because of its unique Brimstone missile, according to Whitehall sources Tornado GR4s have fired at least five of the missiles to destroy heavily armed Isil pickup trucks Photo: MBDA Missile Systems When the United States asked the RAF to join air strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), Pentagon commanders had one particular weapon they wanted the British to bring. American defence chiefs had already seen the formidable Brimstone missile at work in Libya during the 2011 campaign against Col Muammar Gaddafi’s regime and wanted...

Navy Recognition has learned that the U.S. Navy is beginning environmental and integration analysis of the UK’s combat proven Dual Mode Brimstone missile for F/A-18 Super Hornets. This activity is funded and being managed by the US Navy. Additionally, two recent positive reports from committees of the U.S Congress have expanded the funding in Fiscal Year 2015 by $10M for Dual Mode Brimstone on F/A-18s and asked for the Secretary of Defense’s views on dual mode missile technology. This news is matched by the UK MOD funding BAE Systems 5M British Pounds to begin an integration analysis of Dual Mode...

Multi-role functionality has been a long time coming for the Eurofighter Typhoon. But the four-nation industrial consortium building the combat jet says the Phase 1 Enhancements (P1E) package that is now entering service represents a “paradigm shift” in capability. The commander of the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon force, Air Cmdr. Gary Waterfall, said the new package allows the RAF to drop 500-pound Paveway IV “smart” bombs “at the moment of our choosing, on targets of our choosing, with a multitude of fuse settings, impact angles and arrivals.” Laurie Hilditch, Eurofighter GmbH future capabilities manager, added, “The operator may...

Following doubts over the timeline for the integration of MBDA-developed Brimstone 2 missiles on the Royal Air Force’s Eurofighter Typhoons, the UK Ministry of Defence has contracted BAE Systems to study the possibility of accelerating the process. In February the National Audit Office released its Major Projects Report 2013, which claimed the integration of the air-to-surface Brimstone 2 on the Typhoon would not come to pass until 2021. This would result in a two year capability gap, following the retirement of the Panavia Tornado GR4 in 2019. The £5 million ($8.5 million) contract for an initial study will facilitate an...

UK held secret briefing for India on missiles in Libyan war Manchester, Oct 16, (PTI): At a time when NATO forces were destroying the bases of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Britain gave a secret presentation to the Indian Air Force (IAF) about the performance in the Libyan war of MBDA missiles, which have been offered to New Delhi. "A presentation was given to the Indian Air Force two months ago where senior officers including the present chief (Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne) were present, about the performance of the Brim Stone precision guided missile," Frank Morgan, a senior MBDA...

Interest Grows In Dual-Mode Brimstone Apr 19, 2011 By Robert Wall wall@aviationweek.com LONDON The operational success the U.K. Royal Air Force has had with MBDA’s dual-mode Brimstone is driving U.S. and French interest in the munition, says the RAF’s assistant chief of the air staff, Air Vice Marshal Baz North. The dual-mode weapon has been among the main munitions the RAF Tornado GR4 has been relying on during Libya operations. The initial discussions with the French have begun, although they are at an early stage. Still unclear is which French and U.S. platforms might launch the weapons. Dual-mode Brimstone is...

Dual-Mode Brimstone targeted at fast boat threat Tuesday, 22 February, 2011 European missile house MBDA (Hall 7 Stand A10) has unveiled plans for its Dual-Mode Brimstone (DMB) missile to take on an anti-surface warfare role to counter swarming fast inshore attack craft (FIAC) threats. An enhanced derivative of MBDA’s Brimstone anti-armour missile, DMB was conceived to meet a UK urgent operational requirement (UOR) for a high-precision close air support weapon to be used against both static and moving ground targets. MBDA met this requirement by developing a dual-mode seeker, combining millimetric wave (mmW) radar and semiactive laser (SAL) techniques, with...

VIDEO: New Precision Missile Takes Out The Taliban While Leaving Civilians Unharmed MATTHEW HICKLEY 26th September 2009 The Ministry of Defence has released the first cockpit footage of a new precision missile which can kill a Taliban fighter with such a small explosion that nearby civilians are unharmed. The Dual Mode Brimstone guided missile is shown blasting a gunman who has dug himself a firing position or 'murder hole' in the base of a thick mud walled compound in the heart of a village in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. Whereas the 1,000lb bombs commonly used in such air strikes would have...

BAE to develop unmanned aircraft with British Defense Ministry14 Jul, 2008, 2127 hrs IST, AGENCIES FARNBOROUGH: BAE Systems PLC said on Monday it will develop an unmanned aircraft that can drop laser-guided bombs and fire missiles in a program jointly funded by Britain's Ministry of Defense. BAE announced the plans for the propeller-powered vehicle, known as Mantis, at the Farnborough International Airshow, outside London, and displayed a full-size model on the tarmac. The deal with the Defense Ministry, which covers the first phase of development and flight testing only, is designed to demonstrate the potential of a large unmanned aircraft...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Demand for big-ticket manufactured goods plunged in August by the largest amount in seven months, with widespread weakness signaling a slowdown in the nation's industrial sector. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that orders for durable goods, everything from commercial jetliners to home appliances, fell by 4.9 percent in August, the biggest decline since a 6.1 percent fall in January. It was far larger than the 3.5 percent drop that economists had been expecting and resulted from across-the-board decreases in a number of categories. The concern is that the steep downturn in housing and turbulence in financial markets...

I am so tried of these movie stars showing up only at slect death row hearings tokie williams etc. that is fine that they oppose the death penalty but they only show up to further their carreer and at big names in the news small cases they are no where to be found.Sounds like a bunch of phonies to me and what are we to base their opionons on ours for?