Archiv: field tests / experiments / laboratory tests / door opener


14.03.2024 - 15:30 [ Times of Israel ]

US would support limited, pinpoint IDF op against high-value targets in Rafah — report

Two Israeli officials told Politico that the Israel Defense Forces is still developing a plan for protecting the civilians.

But unnamed US officials told Politico that in private meetings, top administration officials have told the Israelis that the US would back a strategy for “counterterrorism operations” in Rafah rather than the full-scale war waged elsewhere in Gaza.

30.01.2024 - 11:30 [ Reuters ]

Elon Musk‘s Neuralink implants brain chip in first human

The study uses a robot to surgically place a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant in a region of the brain that controls the intention to move, Neuralink said previously, adding that its initial goal is to enable people to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone.

30.01.2024 - 11:25 [ Futurism.com ]

Neuralink Is Now Recruiting Human Subjects

(20.09.2023)

It‘s only a tiny incremental step towards Musk‘s sweeping vision for his company‘s brain chip. In 2020, Musk promised Neuralink devices could solve numerous neurological conditions, including addiction or memory loss, or restore movement for people with spinal cord injuries. He‘s even promised that one day, a Neuralink brain chip could allow for human-to-human telepathy.

In short, despite Musk‘s grand ambitions, Neuralink still has a lot of work to do to catch up with its competitors — and isn‘t about to completely revolutionize the field just yet.

28.11.2023 - 19:44 [ New Yorker ]

The Gaza-ification of the West Bank

(November 1, 2023)

And also just to be very clear, everything that I’ve been describing, all of these various mechanisms that the state has been using, are backed by Israeli courts, and backed by the Israeli legal system. This is not some random phenomena that is happening uniquely to a single unlucky community far from the eyes of the state. On the contrary, this is part of an ongoing Israeli state project of trying to push, to cleanse, as many Palestinians out of Area C, using all available state mechanisms in order to accomplish this goal. (…)

There are checkpoints. There are threats. And all this goes on for years. And yet somehow you managed to stay on the land and make a living and try to raise a family under these conditions. And that in and of itself is horrific and criminal and appalling, and also happens in broad daylight. Everything I’ve been talking about now and describing has been documented for years already by Palestinian, Israeli, and international human-rights organizations. But Israel never relented and never stopped because, as I said, it’s part of the state’s goal to accomplish that. What has escalated in recent weeks is that you have repeated reports of masked men showing up in the middle of the night. Armed, masked men.

Maybe they are settlers, maybe they’re soldiers, maybe they’re a mix. And they openly threaten the people in the community and tell them that they have twenty-four hours to leave, and if you say otherwise we would wipe you out.

17.11.2023 - 07:20 [ Time Magazine ]

‘They Are Behaving in a Fascist Way:’ An Israeli-Arab Lawmaker on the Stifling of Anti-War Voices

(November 11, 2023)

We told the police that we are going to have this protest, that it’s going to be only leadership, that it’s not going to be a massive demonstration or something like this. The next day, when Barakeh was heading to Nazareth, they arrested him.

How do you interpret these crackdowns? Is this an attempt by the Israeli government to effectively criminalize expressions of Palestinian identity and solidarity?

Not only the Palestinian identity. I think that whatever they couldn’t pass through the judicial overhaul, they are passing now under the cover of the war.

26.10.2023 - 17:55 [ Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.socia / Twitter ]

Israel‘s Intelligence Ministry is marginal and not setting Israeli policy. But important to keep on the radar (in part because it‘s led by a Netanyahu party mate) that it‘s been internally circulating a plan for forced relocation of Gazans into Sinai.

26.10.2023 - 17:00 [ MondoWeiss.net ]

Israeli think tank lays out a blueprint for the complete ethnic cleansing of Gaza

(October 23, 2023)

On October 17, the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy published a position paper advocating for the “relocation and final settlement of the entire Gaza population.” The report advocates exploiting the current moment to accomplish a long-held Zionist goal of moving Palestinians off the land of historic Palestine. The report’s subtitle makes it clear: “There is at the moment a unique and rare opportunity to evacuate the whole Gaza Strip in coordination with the Egyptian government.”

The Misgav Institute is headed by former Netanyahu National Security Advisor Meir Ben Shabbat, who remains influential in Israeli security circles. The Institute’s former chairpersons and founding associates include Yoaz Hendel (chair 2012-19), a right-centrist who was Minister of Communications intermittently in the years 2020-22; Moshe Yaalon, former Defense Minister (note that both Hendel and Yaalon have become opposed to Netanyahu in the recent years); Moshe Arens, also former Defense Minister — and other top political personas.

17.08.2023 - 19:20 [ ABC News ]

Israel clinches largest-ever defense deal with Germany for $3.5 billion after securing US approval

Although Israel has long had close economic and military links with western European countries, the deal with Germany could draw the attention of Russia. Israel has maintained working relations with Russia throughout the war in Ukraine and has repeatedly rebuffed requests to sell arms to Kyiv for fear of antagonizing Moscow.

21.07.2023 - 15:09 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

This must be the end of Rishi Sunak’s green obsession

It was Sadiq Khan’s extension of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) to outer London that won it for the Tories. This diabolical scheme to penalise drivers of older cars and van-owning tradesmen in the outer suburbs has aroused a level of rage which must now be a lesson to all serious contenders in the general election. The ramifications go far beyond this single, apparently anomalous, success for the Conservatives.

21.07.2023 - 14:48 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

By-election results live: Scrap 2030 petrol car ban, Tories urge Sunak

Rishi Sunak has been urged to scrap the ban on new petrol and diesel cars scheduled for 2030 after a surprise Tory by-election win was driven by a green scheme revolt.

While the Tories fell to substantial defeats in the Selby and Ainsty and Somerton and Frome polls, their victory in Boris Johnson’s former constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip came after a campaign centred on opposing the expansion of Sadiq Khan’s ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez).

21.07.2023 - 14:26 [ Hillingdon.gov.uk ]

What is the Ultra Low Emission Zone?

If your vehicle doesn‘t meet the ULEZ emission standards and isn‘t exempt, you will be required to pay a £12.50 daily charge to drive inside the zone. This charge can amount to over £4,500 a year, per vehicle.

21.07.2023 - 14:20 [ iNews.co.uk ]

When does Ulez expand? How Sadiq Khan’s expansion of the zone helped to decide the Uxbridge by-election

Sadiq Khan’s controversial Ulez scheme has been described as the deciding factor in the Conservatives holding onto Boris Johnson’s old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

The cleaner-air levy has faced opposition since it was introduced 2019, with the intention of purifying London’s air. Drivers of more-polluting vehicles are subject to a £12.50 tax in the ultra low emission zone, in a move similar to the congestion charge.

11.07.2023 - 20:14 [ New York Times ]

U.S. Examines Whether Saudi Nuclear Program Could Lead to Bomb Effort

(Aug. 5, 2020)

Last week, the House Intelligence Committee, led by Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, included a provision in the intelligence budget authorization bill requiring the administration to submit a report about Saudi efforts since 2015 to develop a nuclear program, a clear indication that the committee suspects that some undeclared nuclear activity is going on.

The report, the provision stated, should include an assessment of “the state of nuclear cooperation between Saudi Arabia and any other country other than the United States, such as the People’s Republic of China or the Russian Federation.”

03.07.2023 - 19:10 [ Unlimited Hangout ]

SDG16: Part 1 — Building the Global Police State

(June 5, 2023)

There is no reason to believe that the SDG16’s pretensions to promote peace and justice and inclusivity will do anything for the world as a whole, much less anything to resolve the fundamental failings inherent in the UN’s scurrilous and disreputable system of alleged “global governance.”

You may wonder what Sustainable Development Goal 16—or this article about it—has to do with protecting the planet and its inhabitants from the predicted “climate disaster.” The answer is: nothing at all. But then, “climate change” is merely the proffered rationale that purportedly legitimises and lends urgency to sustainable development.

Establishing firm global governance—in effect, a world dictatorship—through the implementation of SDGs is the United Nations’ real objective. “Climate change” is just the excuse. Nothing demonstrates this more clearly than SDG16.9. And this is why we will exclusively focus on 16.9 in Part 2 of our exploration of SDG16.

25.06.2023 - 12:35 [ Times of Israel ]

Russia says military coordination with Israel in Syria will continue as usual

(27 February 2022)

Russia is a main player backing the Syrian government in a grinding civil war, while Israel has waged a years-long campaign of airstrikes aimed at pro-Iranian fighters located there and at preventing the transfer of Iranian-supplied weaponry.

“Our military officials discuss the practical issues of this substantively on a daily basis. This mechanism has proven to be useful and will continue to work,” the Russian embassy said in a statement to The Times of Israel.

25.06.2023 - 12:27 [ Jerusalem Post ]

‚Israel, Russia to coordinate in air, sea, and electromagnetic arena‘

(October 27, 2015)

In Russia, Eisenkot met with his Russian counterpart, General Valery Vasilevich Gerasimov – the first time chiefs of staff from Russia and Israel held a direct meeting in Moscow. Eisenkot also participated in part of the meeting held between Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Afterward, the two sides agreed to set up a joint working group led by the deputy chiefs of staff from each country.

07.06.2023 - 08:30 [ BalticWorlds.com ]

In Poland, COVID-19 exposes progressing societal militarization

(May 31, 2020)

As the lockdown unraveled, the disoriented Polish public swiftly learned from the media that the country is “at war with an invisible aggressor”, one that requires the Minister of Health to act like a “Commander in Chief” and puts the medical staff on the “front lines”. This military rhetoric was soon multiplied by media reports on the spike in Russian and Chinese “information warfare” against the European Union over COVID-19. Far from being purely discursive, this warlike response to the pandemic has also involved a wide deployment of close to ten thousand military personnel across the country. Already in March, the newly-founded Territorial Defense Forces (TDF) were mobilized for the first Polish comprehensive anti-crisis military operation after 1989.

07.06.2023 - 06:54 [ Reuters ]

Eyeing Russia nervously, Poles enrol in volunteer militias

(March 20, 2015)

The Polish government has kept its distance from the unofficial civilian militias but, with anxieties about Moscow’s intentions growing, the professional military is now looking for ways to harness the volunteer groups.

There are an estimated 120 such groups in Poland, with total membership around 10,000. Eight hundred members gathered on Friday in Warsaw at a meeting organised by the Defence Ministry, the first time they have been given official recognition.

13.05.2023 - 20:20 [ Washington Post ]

It’s time for Switzerland to ditch neutrality

(April 27, 2023)

As a Swiss diplomat in the United States in 1990, I adhered to this idea in our effort to reposition Switzerland after the end of the Cold War, arguing that “neutrality should remain a means of foreign policy only so long as it is better able than other concepts to serve the realization of national interests.”

Because of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the tightening relationship between Russia and China, the Swiss Confederation must ask itself: Does permanent neutrality benefit or harm our country?

04.05.2023 - 10:10 [ Techdirt.com ]

Cooper Davis Act: Another Attempt By Congress To Regulate That Which They Don’t Understand

In many ways, this is similar to the CyberTipline for CSAM that requires websites to report details if they come across child sexual abuse material. But, CSAM is strict liability content for which there is no 1st Amendment protection. Demanding that anything even remotely referencing an illegal drug transaction be sent to the DEA will sweep up a ton of perfectly protected speech.

Worse, it will lead to massive overreporting of useless leads. I’ve mentioned just recently that we get a ton of attempted spam comments here at Techdirt, over a million in just the last six months alone. A decent percentage of these appear to be pushing what are likely to be illegal drugs. Now, we catch the vast majority of these in the spam filter, and they never reach the site. And, I don’t think a mere spam comment alone would reach the level of knowledge necessary to trigger this law, but the point is that there’s potential that our lawyers would warn us that to protect ourselves from potentially ruinous liability for failing to report these spam messages to the DEA, they’d recommend we basically flood the DEA with a bunch of the spam messages we received just to avoid the risk of liability.

30.04.2023 - 11:09 [ New York Times ]

U.S. Examines Whether Saudi Nuclear Program Could Lead to Bomb Effort

(Aug. 5, 2020)

Last week, the House Intelligence Committee, led by Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, included a provision in the intelligence budget authorization bill requiring the administration to submit a report about Saudi efforts since 2015 to develop a nuclear program, a clear indication that the committee suspects that some undeclared nuclear activity is going on.

The report, the provision stated, should include an assessment of “the state of nuclear cooperation between Saudi Arabia and any other country other than the United States, such as the People’s Republic of China or the Russian Federation.”

27.04.2023 - 18:11 [ SecurityWeek.com ]

UK Introduces Mass Surveillance With Online Safety Bill

(30.03.2023)

The anomaly is that if the government can access the content, criminals and foreign governments will almost certainly be able to use the same backdoor. (…)

This law will already affect US firms. The real danger is its arguments may spread like a contagion to be used by other governments.

08.03.2023 - 17:59 [ United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) / Netzpolitik.org ]

Human rights implications of the development, use and transfer of new technologies in the context of counter-terrorism and countering and preventing violent extremism

The present report illuminates the ways in which counter-terrorism and security are frequently used to provide political and legal justifications for the adoption of high-risk and highly intrusive technologies on the basis of exceptional threats and with the promise of strictly limited application. The report demonstrates that such rationales and limitations rarely hold, and that the claim of exceptional use to respond to security crises is a chimera, when the reality is broad and wholesale use which lacks adequate human rights or rule of law restraints. Such technologies, including biometric, surveillance and drone technology, have serious negative impacts on the enjoyment of human rights across the globe. The Special Rapporteur highlights the human rights risks inherent in the development, deployment and transfer of such technologies internationally. She is also deeply concerned about the discriminatory elements built into the development and deployment of such technologies. Negative consequences include direct violations of non-derogable rights, the integrity of which is being undermined by
new technologies lacking any meaningful legal oversight, and impunity for both State and non-State actors whose use and transfer of such technologies involves systemic rights-violative practice.

30.11.2022 - 07:24 [ DefenseOne.com ]

Why the US Won’t Give Patriot Interceptors to Ukraine

(March 10, 2022)

“There‘s no discussion about putting a Patriot battery in Ukraine. In order to do that you have to put U.S. troops with it to operate it,” a senior defense official said Thursday.

30.11.2022 - 07:01 [ Visegrád 24 / Nitter ]

Asked about Poland’s idea to send German Patriot systems to Ukraine, Germany’s Defence Minister Lambrecht said the air defense system can only be transferred to Ukraine if all members approve. NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg says that it isn’t the case & it’s Germany‘s choice

(25.11.2022)

23.11.2022 - 14:49 [ Yahoo.com ]

Russia sees military coordination with Israel on Syria continuing

(February 26, 2022)

Following the 2015 Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war, Israel set up a „deconfliction mechanism“ with the big power to prevent them clashing inadvertently during Israeli strikes against Iranian deployments and arms transfers in the neighbouring Arab state.

„Our military officials discuss the practical issues of this substantively on a daily basis. This mechanism has proven to be useful and will continue to work,“ the Russian embassy in Israel said in a statement.

23.11.2022 - 14:42 [ Jerusalem Post ]

‚Israel, Russia to coordinate in air, sea, and electromagnetic arena‘

(October 27, 2015)

In Russia, Eisenkot met with his Russian counterpart, General Valery Vasilevich Gerasimov – the first time chiefs of staff from Russia and Israel held a direct meeting in Moscow. Eisenkot also participated in part of the meeting held between Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Afterward, the two sides agreed to set up a joint working group led by the deputy chiefs of staff from each country.

22.11.2022 - 14:59 [ RT.com ]

NATO assembly urges members to declare Russia ‘terrorist regime’

The resolution made a series of requests to NATO members, asking them to “state clearly that the Russian state under the current regime is a terrorist one,” and to “increase military, intelligence, financial, training and humanitarian support to Ukraine,” including by “accelerating” arms shipments.

The NATO bloc must “sustain this support for as long as it takes for Ukraine to prevail,” the resolution added, also asking that any existing restrictions on the “forward deployment” of Western forces along Russian borders be declared “null and void.”

22.11.2022 - 13:20 [ DefenseNews.com ]

Poland accepts Germany’s Patriot offer after fatal missile strike

Following the conversation, Błaszczak tweeted that “the German Defence Minister has confirmed her willingness to place Patriot launchers near the border” with Ukraine, and that the number of launchers, their variant, and time of delivery, among others, were to be further discussed by both allies.

Lambrecht has also offered to send the country’s Eurofighter Typhoon jets to help secure the Polish airspace.

24.10.2022 - 19:28 [ Jerusalem Post ]

‚Israel, Russia to coordinate in air, sea, and electromagnetic arena‘

(October 27, 2015)

In Russia, Eisenkot met with his Russian counterpart, General Valery Vasilevich Gerasimov – the first time chiefs of staff from Russia and Israel held a direct meeting in Moscow. Eisenkot also participated in part of the meeting held between Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Afterward, the two sides agreed to set up a joint working group led by the deputy chiefs of staff from each country.

06.08.2022 - 20:32 [ Yahoo.com ]

Russia sees military coordination with Israel on Syria continuing

(February 26, 2022)

Following the 2015 Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war, Israel set up a „deconfliction mechanism“ with the big power to prevent them clashing inadvertently during Israeli strikes against Iranian deployments and arms transfers in the neighbouring Arab state.

„Our military officials discuss the practical issues of this substantively on a daily basis. This mechanism has proven to be useful and will continue to work,“ the Russian embassy in Israel said in a statement.

19.07.2022 - 19:27 [ Yahoo.com ]

Russia sees military coordination with Israel on Syria continuing

(February 26, 2022)

Following the 2015 Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war, Israel set up a „deconfliction mechanism“ with the big power to prevent them clashing inadvertently during Israeli strikes against Iranian deployments and arms transfers in the neighbouring Arab state.

„Our military officials discuss the practical issues of this substantively on a daily basis. This mechanism has proven to be useful and will continue to work,“ the Russian embassy in Israel said in a statement.

19.07.2022 - 19:14 [ Jerusalem Post ]

‚Israel, Russia to coordinate in air, sea, and electromagnetic arena‘

(OCTOBER 27, 2015)

In Russia, Eisenkot met with his Russian counterpart, General Valery Vasilevich Gerasimov – the first time chiefs of staff from Russia and Israel held a direct meeting in Moscow. Eisenkot also participated in part of the meeting held between Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Afterward, the two sides agreed to set up a joint working group led by the deputy chiefs of staff from each country.

14.06.2022 - 06:47 [ Yahoo.com ]

Russia sees military coordination with Israel on Syria continuing

(February 26, 2022)

Following the 2015 Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war, Israel set up a „deconfliction mechanism“ with the big power to prevent them clashing inadvertently during Israeli strikes against Iranian deployments and arms transfers in the neighbouring Arab state.

„Our military officials discuss the practical issues of this substantively on a daily basis. This mechanism has proven to be useful and will continue to work,“ the Russian embassy in Israel said in a statement.

16.05.2022 - 18:47 [ Yahoo.com ]

Russia sees military coordination with Israel on Syria continuing

(February 26, 2022)

Following the 2015 Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war, Israel set up a „deconfliction mechanism“ with the big power to prevent them clashing inadvertently during Israeli strikes against Iranian deployments and arms transfers in the neighbouring Arab state.

„Our military officials discuss the practical issues of this substantively on a daily basis. This mechanism has proven to be useful and will continue to work,“ the Russian embassy in Israel said in a statement.

04.05.2022 - 15:25 [ Yahoo.com ]

Russia sees military coordination with Israel on Syria continuing

(February 26, 2022)

Following the 2015 Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war, Israel set up a „deconfliction mechanism“ with the big power to prevent them clashing inadvertently during Israeli strikes against Iranian deployments and arms transfers in the neighbouring Arab state.

„Our military officials discuss the practical issues of this substantively on a daily basis. This mechanism has proven to be useful and will continue to work,“ the Russian embassy in Israel said in a statement.

12.04.2022 - 15:33 [ AlArabiya.net ]

Russia sees military coordination with Israel on Syria continuing amid Ukraine crisis

(26 February ,2022)

Russia sees its military coordination with Israel over Syria continuing, the Russian embassy said on Saturday, after Moscow signaled displeasure with Israeli statements about the Ukraine crisis.

Following the 2015 Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war, Israel set up a “deconfliction mechanism” with the big power to prevent them clashing inadvertently during Israeli strikes against Iranian deployments and arms transfers in the neighboring Arab state.

10.03.2022 - 13:09 [ Alarabiya.net ]

Russia sees military coordination with Israel on Syria continuing amid Ukraine crisis

(26 February ,2022)

Russia sees its military coordination with Israel over Syria continuing, the Russian embassy said on Saturday, after Moscow signaled displeasure with Israeli statements about the Ukraine crisis.

Following the 2015 Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war, Israel set up a “deconfliction mechanism” with the big power to prevent them clashing inadvertently during Israeli strikes against Iranian deployments and arms transfers in the neighboring Arab state.

14.02.2022 - 06:11 [ Gale.com ]

The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil

In The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, Philip Zimbardo theorizes that people discount situational influences when judging the actions of others. In particular, he recounts in detail the events of the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE), which he designed and directed: He replicated a prison block in a Stanford building and assigned male undergraduate volunteers to act the part of guards and prisoners.

The experiment, which was originally planned for two weeks, grew so dangerously out of control that Zimbardo was forced to shut it down after less than a week.

Drawing on his experience as an expert witness for the court-martial hearings on Abu Ghraib, Zimbardo presents a body of research evidence to suggest that the military as well as the Bush administration fostered a situation that turned ordinary soldiers into torturers and abusers. Zimbardo also suggests, however, that the power of situations can be used to promote good behavior and turn ordinary people into heroes. The Lucifer Effect is at times unbalanced and disjointed but well worth reading to remind us that where we are may affect us as much as who we are.

04.08.2021 - 07:47 [ Fox News ]

Hannity slams New York City‘s vaccine passport protocol

„Nevermind medical privacy, your medical privacy, nevermind your doctor-patient confidentiality. Anyone who‘s vaccinated and is allowed to attend indoor activities will soon have to share their personal, medical documents with employees at every restaurant, every bar, every sporting event, every concert and other random strangers all across New York City.“

Along with vaccine requirements, NHI Director Dr. Francis Collins told CNN that parents should wear masks with their children in their own homes, sparking outrage.

04.08.2021 - 06:58 [ Chicago Tribune ]

Chicago won’t require vaccine passports like New York for now, but ‘we’ll be watching to see how this plays out,’ health commissioner says

Dr. Allison Arwady called New York’s move “appropriate” and praised Chicago businesses who independently implemented such a practice. But New York City was a lot less resistant at the idea of a vaccine passport than Chicago has been, she said.

21.07.2021 - 19:00 [ Times of Israel ]

Knesset fights Bennett’s proposal to let IDF and NSO Group track virus patients

(31 March 2020)

Earlier in the day, in a series of tweets, Bennett had floated the idea of giving the Israel Defense Forces’ elite Unit 8200, along with NSO, access to highly personal data of Israeli citizens that had been collected by the Shin Bet security service and Health Ministry as part of an already contentious mass surveillance program.