2013 November « Solomon Asch Center

Behind the Enemy News: issue salience in the Russo-Ukrainian War July 7, 2025 Matvei Makeev Marco Bastos a School of Information and Communication Studies, University College Dublin, Dublin, Irelandb Department of Media, Culture and Creative Industries, City St. George’s, University of London, London, UK
Conflict entrepreneurship and rural banditry in Nigeria fourth republic June 28, 2025 Adebajo Adeola Aderayo Atobatele Abolaji Jamiu Osikoya Adepelumi Funsho Goddy Uwa Osimen Bello Olaide Wasiu Dele-Dada Moyosoluwa a Department of Political Science, College of Social and Management Sciences, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode, Nigeriab Department of Political Science and International Relations, College of Leadership and Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeriac Department of Political Science, College of Arts, Management and Social Sciences, Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Nigeria
Neo-nazi terrorism and countercultural fascism: the origins and afterlife of James Mason’s siege April 26, 2025 John P. Hendry Department of Communication, Georgia State University
‘Unite against the parasites’: how do white supremacists exploit antisemitism to mobilize non-white groups? April 14, 2025 Ariel Koch a Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy, Reichman University institution, Herzliya, Israelb International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israelc Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism (ISGAP), New York City, USADr. Ariel Koch is a lecturer at the Lauder School of Government and a Research Fellow at both the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University and the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP). His research focuses on transnational extremist movements, hate groups, and violent digital subcultures, with particular emphasis on the convergence of diverse forms of violent extremism. Dr. Koch teaches undergraduate courses and regularly lectures to policymakers, security professionals, academic audiences, and educational institutions in Israel and internationally.
The base: an analysis of recruiting, vetting, and motivations of potential members March 28, 2025 Rebecca A. Wilson Katherine Kountz John P. Hendry Allison Betus Mor Yachin Dror Walter Michael Loadenthal Anthony F. Lemieux a Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USAb Department of Communication, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USAc Transcultural Conflict and Violence Initiative, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USAd School of Public and International Affairs, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Army Scores a Super-Stealthy Drone That Looks Like a Bird

In the U.S. military’s ongoing battle against insurgents and terrorists, radar stealth is less important than invisibility – or, in this case, disguise. Designed to look like a circling bird from a distance, this small drone model is designed to provide short-range surveillance without alerting the subjects.

Drone crew caught attempting to deliver smokes to prison inmates

As the article suggests, it’s only a matter of time before drones are a standard tool in the arsenal of criminals and terrorists. Perhaps building off the occasional success of helicopter prison breakouts, some would be smugglers in Georgia attempted to supply a prison with tobacco.

This 6-Foot, 330-Pound Robot May One Day Save Your Life

This humanoid robot is designed to have the same mobility as a human. While it lacks hands capable of truly grasping objects, this design still shows promise for search and rescue missions, as the title implies. The robot’s builder, Boston Dynamics, has previously achieved fame for its surprisingly stable, adaptive and rather creepy BigDog robots, […]

Which drone future will Americans choose?

This commentary attempts to look at drones in the context of nuclear proliferation. While drones certainly are more focused than a nuclear bomb, they are also far cheaper to obtain. While the fears stated may be exaggerated, privacy and proliferation will continue to be major concerns. The Asch Center also agrees with the author that […]

Drones in Culture: Blondie

The Blondie Comic strip for 24 Nov. 2013 has a hapless employee under constant monitoring by a miniature Predator drone. While the Predator design is clearly artistic license, this strip taps into a common worry about surveillance, lack of privacy, and the damping of free speech.

Chinese Stealth Drone Makes First Flight

China has been working towards this project since at least 2006, when the ‘Dark Sword’ project became public knowledge. The ‘Sharp Sword’ drone mentioned in this article appears designed as a mid- to long-range unmanned stealth bomber. Unlike the U.S. Reapers and Predators, the Sharp Sword is clearly designed for symmetric conflict.

Hackers’ guide to grounding drones

While Deer Creek, Colorado may have wanted to take down drones with shotguns and hunting rifles, there are more subtle methods that would probably be difficult to punish. GPS jammers and directed energy weapons can interfere with the electronics and navigation of drones, bringing them down with no noise and little trouble. While presented as […]

The Drones of the Future Won’t Kill, They’ll Take Selfies

Constantly recording personal drones maybe be more privacy invading than innocuous to some. Nevertheless, they are probably more acceptable to the public than the military and government drones. The Paparazzi drone in particular is interesting as it abandons the common (and perhaps somewhat menacing) quadrotor for a highly stylized design looks like a cartoon helicopter.

Balfour Beatty considers improving staff safety with drones and gamification

This large construction company is showing interest in using drones, both for monitoring large, chaotic work sites, and also for directly adding to a structure. It is perhaps not a surprise that this initiative was announced in Japan, a place that has long been willing to integrate robotics into society.

Drones in Culture: Colbert Report (13 Nov. 2013)

With his trademark sarcasm, Colbert covers drones. The Amnesty International/Human Rights Watch report on possible war crimes is touched on, followed by an investigation into Deer Trail, Colorado – the town that considered a ‘drone hunting license.’ Given Colbert’s popularity, both of these issues may be approaching common knowledge.

Published by the University of Texas Press the book features 100 of Hyman's photographs and six critical essays that depict and discuss the emotional aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks -- a time when people from all walks of life created and encountered memorials to those who were murdered. Vernacular art appeared almost everywhere—on walls, trees, playgrounds, vehicles, houses, tombstones, and even on bodies. This outpouring of grief and other acts of remembrance impelled photographer Jonathan Hyman to document and preserve these largely impermanent, spontaneous expressions. This book, a unique archive of 9/11 public memory, is the result of his compiling a collection of 20,000 photographs, along with field notes and personal interviews. For more information about the book or to purchase it, visit the book's page at Amazon or Facebook.

Sramana Majumdar

Exposure Index

Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict

Archives

Blogroll

Meta