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Sept. 5, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: What does 'doing the right thing' entail?

Caroline B. Glick: The master strategist

Sept. 4, 2008

Ron Kampeas: Biden, Palin take lead in clash on Mideast issues

Bruce Dancis: With humor as their weapon, the Three Stooges took on Hitler

Sept. 3, 2008

Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: Productive school years don't just happen

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Quick lamb stew serves up flavors of India

Sept. 2, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Costly Advice

Caroline B. Glick: Calling Israel's bluff

JWisdom: Wandering in Wonder by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

August 29, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: 20/20 sightlessness

Caroline B. Glick: When history is not repeated

JWisdom: Blessed or Cursed: It's Really Up to You by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

August 28, 2008

Steve Lipman: A Comeback for the 'Jewish Jordan'

Jeffrey Weiss: Researcher reports 'intriguing' diabetes breakthrough

August 27, 2008

Rabbi Zecharya Greenwald: Removing the perfectionist's mask

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Nunn: Summer harvest linguine

JWisdom:: The Missing Link in Spiritual Life by Rabbi David Aaron

August 26, 2008

Yaffa Ganz: Grandma gets lessons in staying cool

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: The Dems' 'soft' jihadist

JWisdom:: Today: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Plague of indifference

August 25, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: A friend is bearing a silly grudge from a supposed wrong. What recourse do I have?

Daniel Pipes: Barack Obama through Muslim Eyes

JWisdom:: The knowledge you need to overcome your insecurities by Malka Schulman

August 22, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: Life's essential ingredient

Caroline B. Glick: Dominos anyone?

JWisdom:: Actually, Do Sweat the Small Stuff! by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

August 21, 2008

Today in Biblical History by Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Popularization of Kabbalah: 20 Menachem-Av 1558 CE

Jonathan Rosenblum: Lessons from the Beyond

JWisdom: : The Olympian within is rooting for you -- yes, you! –- to go for the gold

August 20, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Misleading Platform Platitudes

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Chicken Salad with Asian Dressing

JWisdom: The Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith: America's Defense of the Jews --- Until WWII by Rabbi Nosson Scherman

August 19, 2008

Dennis Prager: If the Almighty doesn't exist

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Obama's Islamist problem has nothing to do with his upbringing

JWisdom: Think your life is messed up? by Rabbi David Aaron

August 18, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Business with Friends

Diana West: Roars About Russia, Bare Whispers About Islam

JWisdom: Relationship agony: The real cause by Malka Schulman

August 15, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: To love the Divine

Caroline B. Glick: Georgia, Israel, and the nature of man

JWisdom: The Truly Righteous Don't Demand Entitlements by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

August 14, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Confessions of broken spirit

Libby Lazewnik: The Numbers Game

JWisdom: Six Questions You'll Be Asked in Heaven? - Uh - Let's Just Take One for Now! by Gavriel Aryeh Sanders

August 13, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Georgia should be on their minds

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Go Greek: Pair flavorful lamb kebabs with a hearty salad

JWisdom: Human hybrids aren't science fiction by Rabbi David Aaron

August 12, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bless us

Daniel Pipes: The West's Islamist Infiltrators

JWisdom: From Sadness to Gladness: The Route from Tisha b'Av to Rosh Hashana by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

August 11, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: A Jewish view on fair pricing

Caroline B. Glick: Ignoring failure in Gaza

JWisdom: 'Communication' Is Not The Answer! by Malka Schulman

August 7, 2008

Rabbi David Gutterman: A Continuing Story With a Sustaining Goal

Rabbi Berel Wein: Mourning and morning

JWisdom: Yes, we are still in exile by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

August 6, 2008

David Ashenfelter: Government made military engineer's life a living hell because of his faith, Defense Department report documents

Jonathan Tobin: Speak the Truth; Defeat the Lies

JWisdom: Jewish Spirituality: Fusion or Confusion? by Rabbi David Aaron

August 5, 2008

Chris Leppek: Church/state wall beginning to crumble?

Paul Greenberg: Exit Olmert (no encore, please)

JWisdom: Serenity: Make the commitment by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin (Read by Gavriel Sanders)

August 4, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Am I taking advantage of another's psychological quirk?

Andrew Silow-Carroll: A black and a Jew walk into the White House…

JWisdom: The Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith: Edward R. Morrow visits the ‘living dead’ by Rabbi Nosson Scherman

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review

How a cruise missile works

By Marshall Brain

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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT) We hear about cruise missiles on the news all the time. At the beginning of a war, the United States has been known to launch a hundred or more Tomahawk cruise missiles. Cruise missiles can also be used one or two at a time. There is often speculation about the possibility of using a cruise missile to hit specific targets in enemy countries.

Which leads to the obvious question: what is a cruise missile? And why are they so popular?

If you want to put it as succinctly as possible, a cruise missile is a small, robotic jet airplane that can automatically deliver a bomb to its target. No human intervention is involved, even though the missile may fly more than 1,000 miles to the target. The Tomahawk cruise missile makes a great example, so let's look at the details of this flying robot.

A Tomahawk is basically a tube that is 20 feet long and 21 inches in diameter. It weighs 3,200 pounds at launch. For comparison, a 2006 Honda Civic is 14 feet long and weighs about 2,700 pounds. Unlike a Honda Civic, a Cruise Missile has two little wings that pop out once it launches, and it flies as fast as a jet airplane.

The launch is pretty spectacular. A cruise missile can launch from an airplane, the deck of a ship or the back of a truck. But the missile needs a big kick to get it moving. A 550-pound solid rocket engine gives it that kick. Once the rocket burns out, it falls away, the wings pop out and a little turbo fan engine in the back of the missile provides the power for flight.

Turbo fan engines are common - whenever you get on a commercial jet, it is a turbo fan engine that moves you through the sky. The thing that is unique about the turbo fan on a cruise missile is its size. It only weighs 145 pounds, but it can keep the missile flying at 550 mph.

There is a big fuel tank inside the cruise missile to hold the jet fuel for this engine. The tank can hold about 150 gallons. That gives the missile a range of more than 1,000 miles.

At the front of the missile is its robot brain. The brain can do four different things. First it has the ability to track its position using GPS signals, just like a car with a navigation system. Second, it has something called an IGS, or inertial guidance system. An IGS uses accelerometers and can track where the missile is whenever it accelerates or turns. Next is Tercom, or Terrain Contour Matching. This is a very detailed map of the hills and valleys along the missile's route. Tercom lets the missile hug the ground and stay below the radar. And finally there is DSMAC, a computerized eye. The missile can actually look for its target and match it with a picture in memory. DSMAC makes it easy for the missile to hit moving targets.

The other thing inside the cruise missile tube, of course, is the bomb. It weighs 500 to 600 pounds.

In other words, a cruise missile is a flying robot that can deliver a 600-pound bomb with pinpoint accuracy. Imagine launching one of these missiles from Washington, D.C., and having it hit a specific garage in Miami two hours later without any human help. That is the power of cruise missile technology.

The fascinating thing is that many other countries are now beginning to deploy their own cruise missiles. Russia, for example, is thought to have something called a Moskit missile. It flies at two times the speed of sound, skimming at an altitude of just a few meters above the surface of the ocean, and it carries a 750-pound bomb. If a U.S. aircraft carrier were to get hit by one of those, we might start looking at cruise missile technology in a whole new light.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

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