https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2021/03/11/us-army-develops-laser-machinegun-firing-light-bullets/?

A new U.S. Army laser has more in common with Star Wars blasters than anything currently used by the military, firing a stream of bullet-like pulses of light that hit the target with explosive effects.

The U.S. Navy fielded its 30-kilowatt LaWS laser in 2014, and since then an arsenal of new lasers with 50, 100 and 150 kilowatts of power have been developed on aircraft, ships and ground vehicles. All of them produce a continuous beam that has to be maintained on the target until it melts or burns a hole.

The period waiting for the beam to do damage is known as ‘dwell time’ and is typically a matter of seconds. Obviously it presents a major targeting challenge, one reason why the preferred targets are drones and cruise missiles that do not take evasive action.

The U.S. Army’s Tactical Ultrashort Pulsed Laser for Army Platforms is different, producing a series of short but extremely powerful pulses rather than a continuous beam. To add to the sci-fi flavor, unlike invisible infrared lasers currently in use, the pulses may also be visible. The weapon will fire up to 50 pulses a second.

“Pulse trains [a rapid series of pulses] literally chew through target material,” noted a military presentation on weapon applications.

The rapid expansion of gas produced by ablation can also produce a powerful shockwave. This was previously explored in the Pulsed Energy Projectile, a U.S. Army project involving a chemical laser in the early 2000s which vaporised outer clothing to produce a stunning but non-harmful flash-bang effect. The idea was to create a long-range alternative to rubber bullets but was shelved because of the limitations of the chemical lasers of the time.

Rare earths new Biden buzzword

https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2020/11/20/mining-company-determined-to-restore-us-rare-earth-supply-chain

MP Materials, which operates the largest rare earth element mines in the Western Hemisphere, had a big week.

It was one of three companies on Nov. 17 to receive Defense Department grants intended to return rare earth production to the United States. The following day it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Pentagon awarded a Defense Production Act Title III grant worth $9.6 million to MP Materials so it can begin to refine the strategic minerals at its Mountain Pass, California, mine.

“This grant from the DoD is outstanding. It's humbling. And we're very proud of the fact that DoD is supporting us,” James Litinsky, the company's CEO, told National Defense in an interview.

On Sept. 30, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13817, which — among other items — seeks to return rare earth production to the United States and break China’s dominance over the supply chain.

Exactly who do these enviromental asshats work for

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/01/biden-takes-charge-on-climate-but-what-to-do-about-mining/

In a letter to congressional leaders, dozens of environmental groups and academics condemned provisions to boost mining in last summer’s COVID-19 relief bill, calling it “irresponsible to talk about weakening standards and increasing domestic mining when our national treasures are being divvied up in backroom deals, without public input.”

“The best way to ensure a reliable supply of these critical minerals is to maintain our alliances with nations that source these minerals, while promoting public and private sector investment in research, conservation, recycling, and substitution,” the letter argued. “Ultimately, securing our supply of critical minerals has little to do with domestic mining.”

This month, less than a week before Trump left office, the Bureau of Land Management approved the nation’s second-ever lithium mine, in an ecologically sensitive stretch of Nevada highlands. Two activists, Max Wilbert and Will Falk, are now camped at the site, hoping to block bulldozers from arriving.

>>13185987

All this money is going to disappear into the same "shovel ready" hole Obama dug

>>13186022

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/new-report-offers-road-map-for-getting-us-ukraine-bilateral-ties-back-on-track/

To mark the beginning of the Biden presidency, the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center recently published a new issue brief, Biden and Ukraine: A strategy for the new administration. The aim of this report is to provide a road map for how the Biden administration can get relations with Ukraine back on track while encouraging President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to commit to lasting reform in the country and engaging effectively in the peace process to end the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.

Ambassador John Herbst, director of the Eurasia Center, presented the report’s major findings at a virtual event on February 5 that featured participation from members of the US Congress, Ukrainian government policymakers, and a number of international experts on Ukraine. “The key reason this report is necessary is to put back on the right footing the very important US-Ukraine relationship which was thrown out of kilter during the Trump years,” explained Herbst.

https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/hans-bader/1400-person-covid-relief-worth-more-5000-person-debt-hike

Congress on Wednesday passed a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, which President Biden is expected to sign later this week.

On the bright side, this will trigger $1,400 payments to many people. On the downside, it will increase the national debt by more than $5,000 for every man, woman, and child in America, far more than the size of the payments ordinary Americans will receive.

The House of Representatives passed the package on a party-line 220-to-211 vote. The Senate passed the package on Saturday in a party-line 51-to-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.

Only "one percent" of the package goes to fighting the pandemic by vaccinating Americans, notes Senator Ben Sasse. The “‘COVID Relief Bill’ is mostly an expensive bundle of politically motivated giveways" that has "very little to do with the pandemic," reports Reason Magazine. It’s full of unrelated waste and favors for special-interest groups, according to the Foundation for Economic Education.

For example, prison inmates will get $1400 stimulus payments under the COVID relief bill. Senator Bill Cassidy objected to that, saying prisoners have “their living and medical expenses paid for by the taxpayer,” “don’t pay taxes,” and “can’t be unemployed.” Senator Tom Cotton noted that “Dylann Roof murdered nine people,” yet “he’ll be getting a $1,400 stimulus check as part of the Democrats’ ‘COVID relief’ bill.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/542704-house-approves-bill-tightening-background-checks-on-guns

The House on Thursday approved legislation aimed at strengthening background checks on firearm sales and transfers, a leading priority for Democratic lawmakers.

The Bipartisan Background Checks Act — spearheaded by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) — looks to “utilize the current background checks process” in an attempt to ensure individuals prohibited from possessing a gun are unable to obtain one.

The bill passed by a 237-203 vote with 8 Republicans backing the measure and one Democrat voting against.

The legislation would implement new background check requirements for gun transfers between private parties.

Under current law, unlicensed and private sellers are not required to conduct background checks for gun transfers despite licensed firearm dealers being required to do so.

The bill would require “a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer” to first take possession of the gun while a background check is being conducted.

While the bill faced pushback from a number of GOP lawmakers, three Republicans — Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) opted to cosponsor the bill.