Old textbooks proposed as protective shields. One political candidate's idea is to reissue outdated textbooks and place them under desks so that students can use them defensively when a shooter opens fire. They actually stop most handgun bullets, although raise the specter of a passive bystander society.
posted by Brian B. on Oct 21, 2006 - 67 comments

Things are looking up for London. With the launch of LondonPrayer.net and with just a few quiet minutes alone, you can pray for a specific area of London and if we all get together, we can complete the 24/7 Shield of Prayer.
posted by Arch Stanton on Mar 10, 2005 - 23 comments

M.I.T. Physicist Says Pentagon Is Trying To Silence Him. (NYTimes, registration required) So, it appears that the Pentagon commissions a panel to "review" ("refute"?) a contrary assessment of antimissile technology, but when an unintended byproduct of that review is more criticism of said technology, they pull this little snow job? I guess we've heard this song before, but it's still laughable. Interesting comment from the Brass: "just because it is made public doesn't mean it's declassified." I guess he must mean "authorized", because for my money, that's exactly what it means.
posted by topolino on Jul 27, 2001 - 13 comments

A good explanation of why a missile defense shield should be pursued. Granted, the tech may not be up to the challenge yet, but that's no reason not to try to build it. And if, God forbid, someone was to launch a nuke this way, it would give us a chance of avoiding having to turn someone's country into a glass-covered parking lot.
posted by CRS on Feb 7, 2001 - 40 comments