Free Republic

Sheri L. Dew, CEO of Deseret Book, conducted a gospel forum on Monday evening, February 16, for those interested in leadership. The Aloha Center was packed with students eager to hear advice and counsel from the well-known author and youth speaker. Sister Dew began the discussion with a humorous. "Why aren't you at the beach; it's President's day?" Joking aside, Sister Dew told her audience: "You are the most unique gathering of young adults on the planet"; this was in reference to the diversity found on our small campus. She spoke of the great opportunity found in attending BYUH with...

Leaves and spiders' webs beaded with dew have inspired a low-tech solution for collecting fresh water. WatAir, an inverted pyramid made from elastic canvas, recycled polycarbonate, metal or glass, can reap dozens of litres of water a day from the air. The inexpensive solution could help bring clean drinking water to people in remote or polluted areas, its developers say. "The design has minimal special demands. It is low-tech and low-cost, and in fact can be even produced with local means," says Joseph Cory, a PhD candidate at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and an architect at Haifa's Geotectura Studio....

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) -- A laser technology weapon will be the first man-portable, non-lethal deterrent weapon intended for protecting troops and controlling hostile crowds. The weapon, developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate, employs a two-wavelength laser system and is a hand-held, single-operator system for troop and perimeter defense. The laser light used in the weapon temporarily impairs aggressors by illuminating or "dazzling" individuals, removing their ability to see the laser source.

Microwaving Saddam: New weapons likely to see combat Prototypes could paralyze Iraqi militarySpace-age warfare may be used in attack against Baghdad regimeEd Blanche Special to The Daily StarSaddam Hussein may be in for a shock - literally - after telling US President George W. Bush to do his worst in the looming war against Iraq. It seems possible that his command network will become the first target of high-power microwave (HPM) weapons, probably carried by cruise missiles or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These squirt pulses of high-frequency energy that can knock out electronic and communications systems in milliseconds, scrambling computer...