Massive Attack Research Articles

The Impact of Persistent Terrorism on Political Tolerance: Israel, 1980 to 2011

How do persistent terrorist attacks influence political tolerance, a willingness to extend basic liberties to one's enemies? Studies in the U.S. and elsewhere have produced a number of valuable insights into how citizens respond to singular, massive attacks like 9/11. But they are less useful for evaluating how chronic and persistent terrorist attacks erode support for democratic values over the long haul. Our study focuses on political tolerance levels in Israel across a turbulent 30-year period, from 1980 to 2011, which allows us to distinguish the short-term impact of hundreds of terrorist attacks from the long-term influence of democratic longevity on political tolerance. We find that the corrosive influence of terrorism on political tolerance is much more powerful among Israelis who identify with the Right, who have also become much more sensitive to terrorism over time. We discuss the implications of our findings for other democracies under threat from terrorism.

Massive Cyber-Attacks Patterns Implemented with BDI Agents

This paper treats the new phenomenon of cyber-war as a new form of human violence between states. The concept of cyber-attack is a particular form of cybernetic war and it is one expensive in terms of cost. We tried to achieve a uniform approach of technological and sociological type using BDI agents and thus making the step to addressing computational sociology of cyberspace. We present two patterns of massive type attacks applicable in cyber space using BDI agents. The approach using BDI agents turned to be flexible and capable to model complex forms of cyber bullying that can occur between two countries in future.

Effects of giant honey bee (Apis dorsata) venom on renal failure in rats (Rattus norvegicus)

In recent decades, massive attacks with several hundred bee stings causing severe injury and inducing acute renal failure have been reported in many countries including Thailand. However, there have been no studies of the effects of giant honey bee Apis dorsata stings on animal tissue. This study thus aimed to investigate the effects of A. dorsata venom on renal failure in male rats (Rattus norvegicus) using three dosages of venom prepared by dissolving the venom in .85% NaCl (normal saline): 30.0 μg/g body weight (high dose, HD); 20.0 μg/g body weight (low dose, LD); and .0 μg/g body weight for the control (CO). The rats were injected with 200 μl of each dose. After 24 h, renal tissues were collected and processed by paraffin technique, stained with periodic acid-Schiff’s reagent and Masson’s trichrome stain for histological structure analyses. The findings showed that Bowman’s space of HD rats was significantly narrower than those of LD and CO (F2 = 3.94, p ≤ .0201). Moreover, the percentage of destructural glomeruli of HD was significantly higher than those of LD and CO, these were 44.14 ± 2.41%, 29.65 ± 1.20%, and 10.76 ± 1.74%, respectively (F2 = 676.02, p ≤ .0001). In addition, the HD rats also showed the highest injury of brush borders of proximal convoluted tubules (F2,4 = 848.09, p ≤ .0001). The impaired tubular cell nuclei were observed in the dosed groups. These results indicate that experimental doses of bee venom can cause signs of renal failure in the rat model.

Community Resilience of Civilians at War: A New Perspective.

A new concept of community resilience pertaining to the community's post adversity strength to vulnerability ratio was associated with five determinants: individual resilience, national resilience, well-being, community size, and sense of coherence. The data was collected four months after Israel's war in the Gaza Strip in 2014. Participants were 251 adult civilians living in southern Israel who have recently been threatened by massive missile attacks, and 259 adults living in northern Israel, which has not been under missile fire recently. The investigated variables predicted community resilience, and their effects were mediated by sense of coherence. Results which were similar for both samples were discussed in terms of the nature of resilience and in terms of proximal and distal exposure to war.

Financing social security out of contributions: About origins, present discussions and prospects of a success story

AbstractIn writing the overture to an issue on contribution financed social security one cannot but speak of Bismarck; it must also address Beveridge who saw contributions, although in their design and role clearly differently from Bismarck, as one core revenue tool to finance his vision. Beveridge attributed to the private financial sector a prominent role in securing people against the negative effects on income of shocks and crises, while Bismarck did not. Beveridge's concept, when first published, had, and still has today, the most attractive charm of rigorously satisfying peoples' striving for equitable and inclusive societal solutions. Bismarck's concept intrinsically offers income security only to those who contribute, while the level of protection depends on the level of contributions paid (with the exception of health insurance). In reality, both concepts, where implemented, had to face the realities of socio‐economic and political developments: Beveridge's vision was achieved in respect of access to health services where his proposal, in its predominantly tax‐financed version, has since turned into a worldwide blueprint for health schemes; in its other components, it was not resilient enough to achieve the intended standards and now is replete with means‐tested (poor relief) elements. Bismarck's scheme has proven its potential to achieve “universality”, not necessarily by theoretical design but as a matter of fact, i.e. covering people from cradle to grave (like Beveridgean schemes). With globalization, schemes of both origins have had to face massive neoliberal attacks over the last three decades. Which of the approaches is best able to survive must be left an open question: in the current worldwide context of rapid change, both have weak and strong points, and whether a symbiosis of the two offers the answer to future challenges remains to be seen.

Essay On Being a Doctor: The Best Medicine at the End of Life.

I will never forget her eyes, sunken and dimly lit with the dying embers of hope. She was scared, exhausted, and wildly scanning the room filled with doctors, nurses, and hospice workers, looking for reassurance and any good news we could provide about her husband. Looking for a friend to say this was all a big misunderstanding. The young woman sat and waited for the emergency medical meeting to begin, desperate to know the prognosis. Just 3 days prior, her perfectly healthy 39-year-old husband suffered a massive heart attack and was rushed to Houston Methodist Hospital in an unconscious state, precariously positioned on a thin ledge between life and death. After multiple operations, he landed in Bed 1 of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit with all eyes on him. The medical team included cardiothoracic surgeons, cardiologists, pulmonologists, intensivists, and nephrologists who did everything possible to preserve life: two mechanical heart pumps, maximum doses of intravenous pressors, full ventilatory support, and continuous dialysis. But the patient was not getting better and remained in severe heart failure. Heightening the challenge of an end-of-life discussion, the young woman spoke little English. She and her husband emigrated only months earlier from Vietnam, and they had been in the midst of their happiest days. A new baby due in 8 weeks. A new business. At a time when the photo albums would be overflowing with life’s milestones, the young woman sat around a circle of strangers pleading for good news through a translator. After introductions were made, the young woman’s attention focused on the attending physician, and the meeting began. The attending spoke, “Thank you for meeting with our team today. As you know, your husband had a large heart attack, and we are doing everything we can to keep him alive. Unfortunately, his heart is failing and not showing signs of returning function.” We watched her as the translation was received. She leaned forward expectantly, not fully certain of the news, and her expression pleaded for more information. Her voice trembled as she struggled to say, “But he can recover....” A slight pause, and the attending continued. “I am sorry... but the chances are very low.” The room held its breath. “He is dying.” Her gaze dropped and the last flicker of light went from her eyes. No translation was needed for the immense pain she felt or the heavy cloud of silence encasing us all. No words could break through and interrupt the moment she was coming to understand her husband would die. The veil of secrecy had been lifted, and she was now confronting the horrible truth we all knew and shared. The question she had spent the last three days gnawing over had been answered, and she quietly sobbed. After a few minutes, she bravely collected herself and addressed the team. Armed now with expectations and an appreciation for the grim prognosis, she spoke freely and thanked everyone profusely for helping her husband and supporting her. She thirsted for more information and trusted the team with many more questions: how this could happen; how we were certain and if he had any chance of pulling through; how much time she had left with her husband and whether she could stay with him past visitation hours. The wall between family and medical team was demolished because of the shared understanding of prognosis, and different members of the team could answer her questions honestly and directly. The cardiologist informed her that no one could have predicted this tragic event in a healthy man this age. He thought there was less than a 5% chance of the heart surviving the week. The intensivist promised her that no one would ask her to leave her husband’s side at any time. The palliative care team offered their advice for getting family assistance, ways to break the news to her own family, and alternative perspectives regarding her new baby, which could be the blessing to help mend her broken heart. She was encouraged to sit by her husband now “to say everything in your heart, to say everything that needs to be said.” The young woman listened intently, noticeably calmer now by having more information and the near certainty of death. She signed a DNR order to avoid further suffering. She left the meeting and went to sit beside her husband, savoring the time E S S A Y O N B E I N G A D O C T O R

How Qatar is Its Own Worst Enemy

Qatar is proving to be its own worst enemy in achieving its soft power goals by embedding itself in the international community as a good citizen despite having put crucial blocks in place. Its failure to convincingly follow through on promises to reform its controversial migrant labour system could lead to world soccer body FIFA depriving it of the right to host the 2022 World Cup. Meanwhile, Qatar has been unable to convince even its allies that it is serious about its pledges to stop a flow of funds to jihadist organizations. Among Qatari nationals whom the US Treasury has categorized as specially designated terrorist is a historian religion and former head of the Qatar Football Association (QFA), who was awarded for his contribution to Qatari sports. Those allegations have allowed Qatar's detractors to further question the Gulf state's suitability as a World Cup host.Qatar's problems are compounded by its lack of a robust communications strategy that would enable it to respond to legitimate criticism and counter attacks by its detractors, some of whom have invested significant amounts in causing Qatar significant reputational damage and diplomatic and political capital. That lack dates back to Qatar's initial response to massive criticism and attacks almost immediately after it was awarded the World Cup in late 2010. Qatari officials argued at the time that they could not win the public relations battle and therefore would wait until the storm blew over (Multiple interviews with Qatari officials in the period from 2011 to 2014). They rejected the notion that failure to engage amounted to surrender of the battlefield, losing an opportunity to conquer the moral high ground, and allowing a wound to fester (Multiple interviews by the author with Qatari officials between 2011 and 2014).The problem was the storm did not subside. It got worse with Qatar currently battling public relations battles on numerous fronts: persistent challenges to the integrity of its World Cup bid; accusations of enforcing modern slavery on migrant workers employed on World Cup-related projects; doubts about its ability to host one of the world's foremost mega sporting events; charges of funding and supporting militant Islamist groups; and adopting a foreign policy that puts it at odds with its neighbours and at times with its most important allies.

Detecting and Preventing Sybil Attacks in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Message Authentication and Passing Method.

Wireless sensor networks are highly indispensable for securing network protection. Highly critical attacks of various kinds have been documented in wireless sensor network till now by many researchers. The Sybil attack is a massive destructive attack against the sensor network where numerous genuine identities with forged identities are used for getting an illegal entry into a network. Discerning the Sybil attack, sinkhole, and wormhole attack while multicasting is a tremendous job in wireless sensor network. Basically a Sybil attack means a node which pretends its identity to other nodes. Communication to an illegal node results in data loss and becomes dangerous in the network. The existing method Random Password Comparison has only a scheme which just verifies the node identities by analyzing the neighbors. A survey was done on a Sybil attack with the objective of resolving this problem. The survey has proposed a combined CAM-PVM (compare and match-position verification method) with MAP (message authentication and passing) for detecting, eliminating, and eventually preventing the entry of Sybil nodes in the network. We propose a scheme of assuring security for wireless sensor network, to deal with attacks of these kinds in unicasting and multicasting.

Aripiprazole induced extrapyramidal symptoms in two adolescents

Introduction: The use of aripiprazole (APZ) has increased in the pediatric population. Its pharmacological profile differs from other antipsychotics being generally considered to have a good safety and tolerability profile with a lower risk of metabolic adverse events and a low to moderate risk for extrapyramidal symptoms. Objective: Two adolescents with severe APZ induced extrapyramidal symptoms are presented. Outcomes (i.a. assessed with the global assessment of functioning scale, GAF) and other data were documented within an online patient-registry (www.tdm-kjp.de). Case 1: A 17-year-old female with schizoaffective disorder (GAF-score 5) was treated with APZ (GAF-score 40) for four weeks. After five days at the maximum dosage of 15 mg daily she developed rest tremor, stiffness, and akinesia. The APZ serum concentration was 456 ng/ml (recommended range for adults 150 – 500 ng/ml). After a single administration of 4 mg long acting biperiden (anticholinergic) symptoms immediately decreased. Under a reduced APZ dose of 12,5 mg (corresponding serum concentration of 407 ng/ml) and 2 mg biperiden daily the girl was discharged free of extrapyramidal symptoms with significantly improved clinical presentation (GAF-score 70). Case 2: A 16-year-old boy with paranoid schizophrenia (GAF-score 26) was treated with APZ after he had developed extrapyramidal symptoms under 10 mg haloperidol. Under concomitant medication with biperiden 8 mg daily APZ was increased up to a maximum of 30 mg daily (serum concentration 327 ng/ml; GAF-score 32) for 24 days. After biperiden was tapered off the patient developed a massive attack of extrapyramidal symptoms with cogwheel phenomenon, blepharospasm, dystonia, tremor, and ataxic gait. Symptoms remitted by administration of 4 mg biperiden orally and additional intravenous injection of 6 mg biperiden. Finally the adolescent was discharged after 23 weeks with 200 mg clozapine per day (GAF-score 39). Discussion: Few cases of APZ induced extrapyramidal symptoms in minors have been published. In the two patients presented APZ was approved for diagnosis and age, however due to the severity of illness administered in higher than the recommended dose of 10 mg daily (maximum 30 mg). If the claimed advantage, that APZ has a lower potential for developing extrapyramidal symptoms really exists, this advantage may disappear with higher dosages.

A Survey of Trends in Massive DDOS Attacks and Cloud-Based Mitigations

A Survey of Trends in Massive DDOS Attacks and Cloud-Based Mitigations

War rape survivors of the Second Congo War: A perspective from symbolic convergence theory

This paper examines actions and narratives of war rape survivors of the Second Congo War. The Second Congo War, which officially began in 1998, is an enduring armed struggle that involves more than fighting for mineral resources. It also involves massive attacks against women (i.e. by engaging in the systematic rape of women). The theoretical framework used in this analysis is symbolic convergence theory (SCT). Coined by Bormann [1972. “Fantasy and Rhetorical Vision: The Rhetorical Criticism of Social Reality.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 58: 396–407], SCT postulates that group consciousness is achieved when a group shares emotions, experiences, and stories. SCT regards group cohesion as a result of rhetorical visions by delivering a collective objective through fantasy themes, fantasy types, symbolic cues, and sagas. An important conclusion of this analysis is that, through various forms of symbolic convergence and fantasies, Congolese women are able to cope with the reality of war rape and ‘navigate’ (in the best way they can) in today's society. In other words, SCT helps to explain how rape survivors find ways to mitigate their own suffering.

European Labor: Political and Ideological Crisis in an Increasingly More Authoritarian European Union

Acute economic and political drama mark contemporary Europe. The terrible trauma of the financial crisis has been followed by a sovereign-debt disaster. In the countries most deeply affected, the people have been faced with massive attacks on public services, wages, pensions, trade unions, and social rights. The draconian austerity policies have pushed the situation in those countries from bad to worse, leading them into a deep depression.… Confronted with these multiple crises, the traditional labor movements appear perplexed and partly paralyzed. Social democracy is in political and ideological disarray and confusion, reflecting a deep crisis in these movements. On the one hand, social democrats have played a leading role in fierce attacks on trade unions and the welfare state in countries where they have been in power. On the other hand, other social democrats adopt statements and support appeals that sharply condemn the political course now followed by the European Union.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Massive attack by honeybees in a German shepherd dog: description of a fatal case and review of the literature.

In the present study, a fatal case caused by honeybee (Apis cerana) stings was documented in a female German shepherd dog that was presented at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan. Characteristic clinical signs included hematuria, hematemesis, incoordination and convulsions along with evidence of massive honeybee attack supported the diagnosis of envenomation. The dog was treated with dexamethasone and diphenhydramine, but it did not respond to therapy and died. This outcome could be avoided if we had a bee antivenom available for treating envenomated patients.

Farewell to the Sublime? Performance Criticism in the Age of Terrorism

The recent massive terrorist attacks committed by religious fundamentalists all over the world give the performing arts a reason for a new kind of self-criticism. From now on, it seems impossible that any performance could credibly manifest, let alone praise, the idea of self-sacrifice as an individual heroic act at any level of interpretation. The political resistance must disregard the possibility of terrorism at the imaginary level as well. If this quite obvious but intuitive conclusion is taken critically, its consequences for our way of considering Western performance aesthetics and performance practices are considerable. First, it raises doubts about the modernist and post-modern attempts during the second half of the last century to revive the sublime as an aesthetic category. To continue the criticism by James Elkins, who has suggested "the moratorium to the word" (2009), I would like to submit that "cryptoreligious" concept to a deconstruction, which focuses on its "dynamic" aspects. The deconstruction of the sublime in performance is directly linked to the capacityof performance practices to deal with their intrinsic anthropocentric presuppositions. Can we encounter, imagine and think a performing body otherwise than through sublime scenarios?

English

Cowpea is popular in Eastern Kenya where it is attractive to farmers because of its high economic value and the belief that it does not require many external inputs. Farmers are however discouraged to grow the crop in this region due to massive attack by a parasitic weed Alectra vogelii (Benth). Yield losses due to A. vogelii have being estimated to range from 50 to 100% in Mbeere, Kitui and Makueni districts. No single method however is available to farmers in these regions in control of the parasitic weed. Combining several control methods, as in the management of Striga spp in Western Kenya should be a sustainable option. Field studies were conducted in 2010 and 2011 at Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Kiboko farm to determine the response of 143 cowpea genotypes to Alectra infestation. The aim for the study was to identify resistant genotypes that could be used in breeding programme. Significant differences were observed amongst cowpea genotypes in days to first Alectra emergence, number of Alectra shoots emerged at 6, 8, 10 and 12 week after planting and grain yield. Cowpea genotypes Kir/Nya-005 and Mbe/Mach-022 showed complete resistance to Alectra while Ken-Kunde, M66 and K80 (all commercial varieties) supported the highest number of Alectra shoots. Grain yield loss in the three susceptible varieties was 80, 79 and 50% respectively. On the other hand, Sia/Cia-004, Mbe/Mach-014 and Kib-006 had high grain yields despite the high number of Alectra shoots present. There was a strong correlation (r = -0.57) between grain yield and number of Alectra shoots emerged at 12 weeks after planting. A significant negative (r = -0.37) correlation was also obtained between pod number per plant and number of emerged Alectra shoots at 12 weeks after planting. This negative correlation proves the high accumulation dry matter in the cowpea roots at the expense of the pods thus decreasing grain yield. This information showed that there is sufficient genetic variability in the cowpea genotypes studied, which can be exploited in breeding improved cowpea varieties for resistance to A. vogelii in Kenya. A great progress towards developing improved cowpea variety that meets farmer’s preferences with durable resistance to A. vogelii can be achieved if the genes from the resistant and tolerant local cowpea cultivars identified in this study could be introgressed into the adapted susceptible improved varieties. This will increase the potential impact of adoption of resistant cowpea varieties in the zones. Key words: Cowpea, Alectra vogelii, Resistance/tolerance and grain yield.

Production of the first effective hyperimmune equine serum antivenom against Africanized bees.

Victims of massive bee attacks become extremely ill, presenting symptoms ranging from dizziness and headache to acute renal failure and multiple organ failure that can lead to death. Previous attempts to develop specific antivenom to treat these victims have been unsuccessful. We herein report a F(ab)´2-based antivenom raised in horse as a potential new treatment for victims of multiple bee stings. The final product contains high specific IgG titers and is effective in neutralizing toxic effects, such as hemolysis, cytotoxicity and myotoxicity. The assessment of neutralization was revised and hemolysis, the primary toxic effect of these stings, was fully neutralized in vivo for the first time.

Representation and querying of unfair evaluations in social rating systems

Social rating systems are subject to unfair evaluations. Users may try to individually or collaboratively promote or demote a product. Detecting unfair evaluations, mainly massive collusive attacks as well as honest looking intelligent attacks, is still a real challenge for collusion detection systems. In this paper, we study the impact of unfair evaluations in online rating systems. First, we study the individual unfair evaluations and their impact on the reputation of people calculated by social rating systems. We then propose a method for detecting collaborative unfair evaluations, also known as collusion. The proposed model uses frequent itemset mining technique to detect the candidate collusion groups and sub-groups. We use several indicators to identify collusion groups and to estimate how destructive such colluding groups can be. The approaches presented in this paper have been implemented in prototype tools, and experimentally validated on synthetic and real-world datasets.

Borrowing from Mussolini: Nazi Germany's Colonial Aspirations in the Shadow of Italian Expansionism

Few topics have sparked more debate than the question of how colonialism related to Nazism. While the mainstream historiography on Nazi Germany for many years has denied the existence of any serious links between Hitler's expansionist policies and Germany's short-lived colonial empire, with the rise of postcolonial studies this view has come under massive attack. As scholars like Benjamin Madley and Jürgen Zimmerer have argued, the colonial crimes committed especially in Southwest Africa have to be seen as a sort of mental blueprint for the Nazi occupation of Eastern Europe. Astonishingly, this debate has remained stuck in the national paradigm. This paper offers a different, a more European perspective. It illuminates how the colonialism of Mussolini's Italy, Europe's first fascist dictatorship, was an inspirational force that appealed to Germany's postcolonial society as well as to Hitler himself. As will be argued, the Italian example was important mainly in three respects: first, Mussolini's policy of conquest was a significant driver of colonial desires within German society. Second, for Hitler enthusiasm for Italian colonialism was a means of consolidating his rule and legitimising his plans for the brutal conquest of Eastern Europe. Third, Fascist Italy's colonial empire served as a model when the Nazis started to develop far-reaching plans for a future German colonial empire in Africa. Thus it is argued that the history of Nazi Germany has to be understood in a transnational and imperial perspective.

After Oslo and Utøya: A Shift in the Balance Between Security and Liberty in Norway?

The article addresses the challenges a society faces to when trying to balance security and liberty after a terrorist attack. A main question is to what extent attitudes toward counterterror measures changed in Norway after the massive terror attacks in July 2011. A hypothesis that people will be more in favor of such measures after a terror attack is examined using data from two surveys—one conducted in 2006 and one in August 2011, with additional results from a survey in 2012. The Norwegian response after the 2011 attacks is compared to the response to the same questions in the United States shortly after 11 September 2001. A main finding is that in Norway, in contrast to the United States, levels of support for counterterror measures declined immediately after the attacks. The authors argue that this can be explained partly by the different levels of trust in the two countries, and partly by differences in the political executive's framing of the crisis. In 2012, support of counterterror measures in Norway has risen to pre-2011 levels. This is related to the changed discourse after the publication of the report from the 22 July Commission.

Trends in cyberspace: can governments keep up?

Whether carried out by individuals or states, cyberattacks are both growing in number and becoming more sophisticated. Since the attack on Estonian cyber infrastructure in 2007, many other examples of massive attacks have been reported. The use of spyware and malware—such as with Stuxnet, DuQu or Flames—to disrupt critical infrastructure has made headlines, questioning the ability of governments and private actors to respond to cyber threats. A broad array of potential threats poses a substantial challenge to existing governance structures, which are often behind the curve in comparison with the dynamically evolving cyberspace. Using existing literature and recent foresight studies, the article analyses the trends in the governance of cyberspace and their implications for governments and global regulatory regimes.