Free Republic

On Earth, the sublimation of massive ice deposits at equatorial latitudes under cold and dry conditions in the absence of any liquid melt leads to the formation of spiked and bladed textures eroded into the surface of the ice.Known as penitentes, these sublimation-sculpted blades grow to between 3 to 16 feet (1-5 m) tall, but they are restricted to high-altitude tropical and subtropical conditions, such as in the Andes.Europa, however, has the perfect conditions necessary for penitentes to form more uniformly — its surface is dominated by ice.It has the thermal conditions needed for ice to sublime without melting; and...

Firing the Israeli Spike NLOS missile from a Colombian Arpia-4 helicopter, a variant of the UH-60 Black Hawk. Three weeks ago, US Army experts traveled to the Negev Desert to watch a test of the latest, longest-range version of Rafael’s Spike missile. Fired from an Israeli AH-64 Apache, the same gunship used by US attack helicopter squadrons, the Spike NLOS struck a target 20 miles away — four times the range of the standard US Hellfire. “The missile hit the target with maximum precision,” Moshe Elazar, head of Rafael land systems, proudly told Breaking Defense. While the US Army hasn’t...

**full title**Pressure on NBC exec to resign after revelation he dined with sex creep Harvey Weinstein before spiking exposeNBC News is coming under increasing criticism for its failure to investigate why its embattled president, Noah Oppenheim, spiked a bombshell story that would have been the first to expose Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein as a sexual predator. An NBC spokesperson says the network is not investigating the matter, despite new revelations that Oppenheim sat at small table with Weinstein at an exclusive New York gala in April, when [Noah] Oppenheim reportedly already knew that his reporter, celebrity scion Ronan Farrow, had...

Following Israel’s lightning Six-Day War victory over the Arabs, Israel’s military leaders determined that the time was ripe for the acquisition of a new tank to meet the challenges of the modern battlefield. The Soviets had begun supplying the Arabs with more modern T-62 tanks and Israel needed to maintain its qualitative edge. After conducting extensive tests and trials and examining alternatives, the Israelis determined that the British Chieftain tank, Britain’s own successor to the venerable Centurion, would be best suited for Israel’s needs. In 1968 Britain’s Ministry of Defense agreed to the sale but the following year, the British...

Recent photos of an Israeli Air Force (IAF) AH-64D equipped for the carriage of Rafael Spike missiles show that the indigenous precision-attack system is operational on the air arm’s attack helicopters. The photographs, taken by an AFM correspondent, have been cleared by the Israel Defense Forces censor, demonstrating that the Spike is now officially considered part of the Israeli AH-64D armoury. The missiles’ twin launcher is mounted on the right stub wing of AH-64D Saraf 743. The weapons carried may well be the Spike NLOS (Non Line Of Sight) that has already been integrated on several rotary-wing platforms, including the...

Spike LR II system. (photo credit:RAFAEL ADVANCED DEFENSE SYSTEMS) Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has unveiled its fifth-generation Spike multipurpose missile with a significant increase in range and lethality. According to a statement released Monday by the company, the Spike LR II “is an advanced multipurpose missile, weighing only 12.7 kg., and can be launched from any Spike launcher.” It has a range of 5.5 km. when fired from ground launchers and up to 10 km. when fired from a helicopter. The Spike LR II, which can be fired from vehicles, helicopters, ships and ground launchers, has advanced electro-optic seekers which...

Back in September, we noted that, in a surprisingly logical decision particularly for a state like California which is typically devoid of all reason, a court upheld the rights of Marin County (and it's taxpayers) to reduce final year salary levels utilized to calculate pension payments. The ruling was meant to protect taxpayers against "salary spiking," a practice whereby union employees artificially drive up their final year salary, by taking cash vacation payouts or 1x bonus payments for example, in an effort to game the annual pension payment they'll then receive in perpetuity. Now, according to Pension & Investments, a...

In 2011, the second episode of the BBC documentary series Bomb Squad showed a missile strike obliterating a team of Taliban fighters laying improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan. Afterwards, the film crew captured bomb disposal specialists discussing on the situation. “They got hit by an Exactor missile, I think, or Extractor missile?” one British soldier tells his comrades. “So there’s bits of Taliban spread liberally all over the area currently.” Curiously, at the time, the British military did not have an “Exactor” or “Extractor” missile officially in service. The BBC had caught a glimpse of a secret weapon. The United...

The IAF has completed modifications to its Apaches helicopters that will enable them to use Israeli—in addition to US-manufactured—missiles as part of a project which has been undertaken over the course of recent months. The modifications were presided over following a problem which arose during Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014 when US leaders delayed the delivery of US-made Hellfire missiles to Israel due to concerns that Israel would employ them in areas in Gaza containing population centers. Prior to the changes, Israel's Apaches' main offensive weapon was the Hellfires, rendering their use entirely at the mercy of...

India has opted to buy Israel's Spike anti-tank guided missile, a defence ministry source said on Saturday, rejecting a rival U.S. offer of Javelin missiles that Washington had lobbied hard to win. India will buy at least 8,000 Spike missiles and more than 300 launchers in a deal worth 32 billion rupees ($525 million), the source said after a meeting of India's Defence Acquisition Council. "National security is the paramount concern of the government," the source quoted Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, who also holds the finance portfolio, as telling the procurement panel. "All hurdles and bottlenecks in the procurement process...

(Reuters) - India has opted to buy Israel's Spike anti-tank guided missile, a defence ministry source said on Saturday, rejecting a rival U.S. offer of Javelin missiles that Washington had lobbied hard to win. India will buy at least 8,000 Spike missiles and more than 300 launchers in a deal worth 32 billion rupees ($525 million), the source said after a meeting of India's Defence Acquisition Council. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's five-month-old government wants to clear a backlog of defence orders and boost India's firepower, amid recent border tensions with China and heavy exchanges of fire with Pakistan across the...

NEW DELHI: Israel, better watch out! The US is going all out to shoot down the Israeli 'Spike' antitank guided missile (ATGM) with its own "Javelin" missile in the lucrative Indian arms market. Given the huge size of the Indian ATGM project, upwards of $3 billion, Israel is sure to strike back. But for now, the US seems to have gained the upper hand. After earlier being rebuffed by India for not agreeing to "full" transfer of technology (ToT), the US is now promising to not only "co-" the third-generation Javelin ATGMs, but also "co-develop" its fourth-generation version. "This is...

On November 11, the MoD's apex Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) debated whether to buy the Spike The United States is rising steadily up the list of India's top military suppliers. The ministry of defence (MoD) is finalising a decision to allow the FGM-148 Javelin missile, built by US companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, into a contest to supply the Indian Army with anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM). This is bad news for Israeli company, Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, whose Spike ATGM was poised to be awarded the contract for 8400 missiles for India's 350-odd infantry battalions, estimated to be worth Rs...

I did not think that racism would be eradicated at the exact moment he put his right hand on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible. I knew there would be people whose every waking moment would be committed to making sure that President Barack Hussein Obama does not have a second term. That’s their only goal in existence. Whatever he tries to do, they’ll try to block him, and that’s only going to get more intense as we get closer to the presidential election. Is it racism? Look, I can’t give you a number. But racism is interwoven with the very fabric of...

Veterans for a Strong America, a non-partisan veteran and military support group, is hitting President Obama for "spiking the football" on the one year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death. The group has published an advertisement showing Obama taking all the credit for the bin Laden killing while explaining that "real heroes don't take credit." The ad also slams former President Bill Clinton for saying if the raid had gone wrong, it would have been horrible for Obama rather than the Navy SEALs who risked their lives to kill bin Laden

In 1987, Florida passed the nation’s first “shall issue” concealed carry weapons law. Nearly one million permits have been issued since then, nearly double the number in any other state. The Department of Agriculture issues the permits. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam says there are currently more than 700,000 active permits. Putnam says he is not concerned that nearly one in every 20 Floridian has a license to carry a loaded gun in their car, or purse as they go about their daily business. “The fact that over the life of the program, only168 permit holders have had their permit revoked...

“Elderly couple abandons their home after address is posted on Twitter as that of George Zimmerman” read the headline of an article yesterday in the Orlando Sentinel. Spike Lee’s twitter account went into Radio Silence yesterday morning after it was revealed he mistakenly tweeted to over 247,000 twitter followers the address of an elderly Florida couple instead of George Zimmerman’s address, the man who shot Trayvon Martin. Mr. Lee’s tweet resulted in hate mail, strangers dropping by, and other disturbances that panicked the couple who then fled from their home for fear of their lives. It remains to be seen...

Filmmaker Spike Lee tweeted the wrong home address for George Zimmerman, the Sanford, Fla., man who many are claiming should be arrested for shooting and killing Trayvon Martin. The tweet could have potentially put the woman who actually lives at that address in danger. The Washington Times’ Kerry Picket went to the address that Lee tweeted as members of the New Black Panther Party were offering a $10,000 cash reward for Zimmerman’s capture, “dead or alive,” and others were demanding his arrest. “[T]he Edgewater Circle address Mr. Lee re-tweeted out is not part of the gated Retreat at Twin Lakes...

Yesterday, filmmaker Spike Lee apparently re-tweeted the home address of George Zimmerman--the Hispanic man who allegedly shot and killed black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida last month.

Director Spike Lee apparently retweeted the home address of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot Florida teen Trayvon Martin. Two messages were posted to Lee’s official Twitter account, one Friday and one Saturday, with a street address and the words “EVERYBODY REPOST THIS.” Both messages were still visible on Lee’s account Sunday morning. Lee has tweeted numerous times about Martin’s death.