Iatrogenic Allegations

***

(Saturn-Chronos-"Father Time": Image source)

 
Obama has a "Plan For Curbing Gun Violence" and it makes mention of an alliance (of sorts) between government investigative types and medical professionals (Sources: 1, 2, & 3). The plan prompts careful readers to raise a number of questions, among them questions as to the extent of the role envisioned for doctors.

Doctors and other mental health professionals play an important role in protecting the safety of their patients and the broader community by reporting direct and credible threats of violence to the authorities. But there is public confusion about whether federal law prohibits such reports about threats of violence. The Department of Health and Human Services is issuing a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits these reports in any way. ... Doctors and other health care providers also need to be able to ask about firearms in their patients’ homes and safe storage of those firearms, especially if their patients show signs of certain mental illnesses or if they have a young child or mentally ill family member at home. Some have incorrectly claimed that language in the Affordable Care Act prohibits doctors from asking their patients about guns and gun safety. (Source: "Now is the Time," p. 9, emphasis added.)

Several commentators have expressed concern. See, for example, here, here, and here. Others (see here) are ridiculing the worries as literally incredible. Antecedently, I am a bit wary of media "analyses" (for example, here).

So, in the interest of adjudicating between the (polar extremes of) contrary opinions, I offer the following as a bit of historical context.

***

 "The children, on the other hand, were systematically turned against their parents

 and taught to spy on them and report their deviations. 

The family had become in effect an extension of the Thought Police. 

It was a device by means of which everyone could be 

surrounded night and day by informers who knew him intimately."

~ George Orwell, 1984

(Source)

Doctors and teachers to act as 'informers' to target violent offenders BEFORE they strike under controversial new 'Minority Report' plans
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=515688&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490

Firefighters asked to report people who express discontent with the government
http://rawstory.com//printstory.php?story=8415

Business spies for FBI eyes
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2954.shtml

Beauty salon workers recruited as informants
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071223/ap_on_re_us/salons_vs_abuse

Spy Grid Part Of Consumer Technology
http://www.roguegovernment.com/news.php?id=8823

How Bankers Spy on You
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704865104575588803958385376.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsFifth

What Retailers Know About Us
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/110190/what-retailers-know-about-us?mod=bb-budgeting

Areva Adopts UWB-Location Tracking for Personnel Safety
http://www.rfidproductnews.com/reader/109/articles/index.php#msg4

Vast F.D.A. Effort Tracked E-Mails of Its Scientists
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/us/fda-surveillance-of-scientists-spread-to-outside-critics.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

"Telescreens are featured in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. They are television and security camera-like devices used by the ruling Party in Oceania to keep its subjects under constant surveillance..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescreen

How They're Watching You (Slideshow)
http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/21/privacy-surveillance-technology-oped-cx_res_1126privacy_slide_2.html

(Source)

CCTV boom has failed to slash crime, say police
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/may/06/ukcrime1

CCTV doesn't keep us safe, yet the cameras are everywhere
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jun/26/politics.ukcrime

Chicago links school cameras to 911 center
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northwest/chi-daley-cameras-07mar07,1,2664278.story

US doles out millions for street cameras
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/08/12/us_doles_out_millions_for_street_cameras/

School Spies on Students at Home via Webcam
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100220/ap_onYes, They're Watching Every Movehttp://www.courant.com/news/local/columnists/hc-rgreen0122.artjan22,0,6653886.column?coll=hc_home_xpromo _hi_te/us_laptops_spying_on_students/print

Talking Camera Tackles City Crime: Baltimore's New Surveillance Cameras Will Scold Wrong-Doers
AP / CBS News | Nov. 17, 2005
BALTIMORE - The city's newest breed of surveillance camera will do more than keep an eye on vandals, litterbugs and other miscreants. The cameras will also give the crooks a talking-to. Baltimore's Board of Estimates has approved five talking cameras - armed with motion detectors, a bright flash and a recorded warning, as part of an effort to curb quality-of-life crimes, especially illegal dumping. When the solar-powered cameras detect motion, they will issue a scolding: "Stop. This is a restricted area. It is illegal to dump trash or spray graffiti here. We have just taken your photograph. We will use this photograph to prosecute you. Leave the area now." ...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/17/tech/main1054526.shtml

Speed enforcement cameras
http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2009/06/24/madison/special_feature/doc4a422f098ce2d842549467.txt

New security camera can 'see' through clothes
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/16/camera.england/index.html

Scanners that see through clothing installed in US airports
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080610/ts_alt_afp/ustransportaviationsecurity

Lambert scanners pit security vs. privacy
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_bb009fc1-a12c-5de9-9d9b-f40e58461492.html

Surveillance Cameras Win Broad Support
http://abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=3422372&page=2

New York to fight terrorism with more street-corner cameras
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1006/p02s10-usgn.html

Cleveland increasing surveillance cameras on trains, buses
http://www.wtte28.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.oh/3ed6fff3-www.wtte28.com.shtml

West Virginia: Bill Turns Traffic Cameras into Spy Cameras
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/22/2218.asp

Dallas To Increase Number Of Surveillance Cameras
http://www.nbc5i.com/news/17482352/detail.html?rss=dfw&psp=news

DC's Video Surveillance System
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/25/AR2008042502746_pf.html

(Source)

No [evidence] airport security makes flying safer:study
Maggie Fox | Eric Walsh, Ed. | Thu Dec 20 | Reuters
WASHINGTON - Airport security lines can annoy passengers, but there is no
evidence that they make flying any safer...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071221/us_nm/security_airports_dc

Amtrak riders to see more cops, face random bag searches
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/02/18/2008-02-18_amtrak_riders_to_see_more_cops_face_rand.html

Have Cell Phones Become Personal Tracking Devices?
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2019239,00.html?xid=rss-fullnation-yahoo

Your cell phone is telling your secrets
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cell-phone-telling-secrets-040137177.html

Humans 'will be implanted with microchips'
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/735519/humans-will-be-implanted-with-microchips

U.S. School District to Begin Microchipping Students
http://www.naturalnews.com/023445.html

Texas school can force teenagers to wear locator chip: judge
http://news.yahoo.com/texas-school-force-teenager-wear-locator-chip-judge-021126100.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/09/us-usa-schools-privacy-idUSBRE90803J20130109

Judge: School can move girl in ID-tracking case
http://news.yahoo.com/judge-school-move-girl-id-tracking-case-224301429.html
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/judge-school-can-move-girl-id-tracking-case

All Airport Employees To Have Microchip Implants?
http://www.infowars.com/articles/bb/rfid_all_airport_employees_to_have_microchip_implants.htm

Hospitals tagging babies with electronic chips
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59690

Tracking Children
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20091004/ap_on_hi_te/us_kidnapped_girl_tracking_children

ACT to offer tracking of student performance from kindergarten on
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/03/12545565-act-to-offer-tracking-of-student-performance-from-kindergarten-on

New car purchases starting in June will have a mandatory black box installed
http://www.examiner.com/finance-examiner-in-national/new-car-purchases-starting-june-will-have-a-mandatory-black-box-installed

The Biometric Cataloging of Americans at Home
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8312

Police Swabbing Mouths During Traffic Stops In Serial Killer Hunt
http://www.local6.com/news/15232197/detail.html

(Source)

U.S. Terrorism Agency to Tap a Vast Database of Citizen
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324478304578171623040640006.html

Attorney General Secretly Granted Gov. Ability to Develop and Store Dossiers on Innocent Americans
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/12/gov-dossiers-on-us-citizens/

The Surveillance State Grows Another Tentacle
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/12/surveillance-state-grows-another-tentacle

DNA collection bill wins approval
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-dna0407,0,5838470.story

Clinton NSA Eavesdropped on U.S. Calls
 "During the 1990's under President Clinton, the National Security Agency monitored
millions of private phone calls placed by U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries
under a super secret program code-named Echelon. ... ...the NSA had been monitoring
private domestic telephone conversations on a much larger scale throughout the 1990s -
all of it done without a court order, let alone a catalyst like the 9/11 attacks. ..."
 http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/12/18/221452.shtml

Bush order allows domestic spying
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/politics/15cnd-program.html

Bush order allows domestic spying 

"Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretlyauthorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials. Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years..."
(JAMES RISEN and ERIC LICHTBLAU, New York Times, December 15, 2005)

Bush admits telecoms spied
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Oops_White_House_spokesman_admits_telecoms_0212.html

Bush orders NSA to snoop on US agencies
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/27/bush_nsa_internal/

Bush surveillance program was massive
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090711/ap_on_go_co/us_domestic_surveillance/print

Dems muscle through surveillance bill
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071010/ap_on_go_pr_wh/terrorist_surveillance

Senate Considers Adding Universal Wiretapping Amendments to Telecom Act
http://www.infowars.com/?p=1587

Senate Passes Bill to Expand Government’s Spying Powers
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/washington/12cnd-fisa.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

House passes new surveillance law
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080620/ap_on_go_co/terrorist_surveillance

Centers Tap Into Personal Databases
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/01/AR2008040103049_pf.html

Echelon spy network revealed:
Listening in to your phone calls and reading your emails
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/503224.stm

Britain, US in talks on international criminal database: police
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080115/pl_afp/usbritainaustraliacanadanewzealandpolicecrime

CIA plans massive expansion of spying on Americans
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/printer_8753.shtml

FBI Keeps Watch on Activists
Antiwar, other groups are monitored to curb violence, not because of ideology, agency says.
 DENVER - The FBI, while waging a highly publicized war against terrorism, has spent
resources gathering information on antiwar and environmental protesters and on
activists who feed vegetarian meals to the homeless, the agency's internal memos show. ...
(Nicholas Riccardi, LA Times, March 28 2006)

(Source)
ACLU Says FBI Spying on Religious, Protest Groups
 WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday accused the FBI and local
police of spying on political and faith-based groups and formally asked the government
for information about such FBI surveillance. ...

(Reuters, December 2, 2004)

FBI wants instant access to British identity data
http://www.guardian.co.uk/humanrights/story/0,,2241005,00.html

Pentagon closes controversial intelligence unit
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/_Pentagon_closes_controversial_intelligence_unit_0804.html

Pentagon will buy satellites to do more spying
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080701/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/spy_satellites

High-resolution satellite launched in California
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080907/ap_on_sc/satellite_launch

FBI's GPS tracking
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110303/ap_on_re_us/us_gps_tracking_warrants

Whistle-Blower: Feds Have a Backdoor Into Wireless Carrier
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/03/whistleblower-f.html

Feds want to require visitors' fingerprints
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080422/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/border_security

NSA Found Improperly Spying on Americans
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/15/justice-dept-nsa-improperly-spied-americans/

NSA just one of many federal agencies spying on Americans
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7904.shtml

TSA wants more information
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-25686330

(Source)

TSA plan to gather more data protested

"...may be more likely to experience delays, 

be subjected to additional screening (or) be denied transport..."
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2007-11-29-secure-flights_N.htm

Government ... to Turn Internet and Phone Systems into Permanent Spying Architecture
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/08/analysis-new-la.html

Drones over U.S. get OK by Congress
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/7/coming-to-a-sky-near-you/

NASA: Secret shuttle launch (X-37B spy vehicle)
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1211/Secret-shuttle-launch-US-military-s-X-37B-to-spy-on-Middle-East
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/atlas-5-rocket-launches-cape-canaveral/nTSTR/

(Source)
How Technology Can Help Trim Auto Insurance

M.P. McQueen | provided by The Wall Street Journal | Saturday, June 28, 2008
"Drivers who participate in these plans have devices installed in their cars that, depending on the technology used, can track the number of miles driven, the speed at which cars are driven and even how often and how hard the brakes are used. By allowing their habits behind the wheel to be monitored, drivers get lower insurance rates -- or pay higher premiums if they're lead-footed road hogs."
http://finance.yahoo.com/insurance/article/105317/How-Technology-Can-Help-Trim-Auto-Insurance

High-tech gear disables car if borrower misses payment
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20080331/tc_usatoday/hightechgeardisablescarifborrowermissespayment

Woman loses benefits over Facebook pics
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091122/ap_on_re_ca/cn_canada_facebook_insurance/print

Four states adopt 'no-smiles' policy for driver's licenses
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-05-25-licenses_N.htm

Wiretapping focus shifts to email, as firms move data overseas
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Wiretapping_focus_shifts_to_email_0307.html

AT&T and Other I.S.P.s May Be Getting Ready to Filter
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/att-and-other-isps-may-be-getting-ready-to-filter/index.html

RIAA chief calls for copyright filters on PCs: By deception or force if necessary
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/08/riaa_wants_filters_for_end_users/

Google Says Privacy Doesn't Exist, Get Used To Everyone Knowing Everything About You
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/07/google_says_pri.html;jsessionid=1WGWHXPQ2N2R0QSNDLPSKHSCJUNN2JVN

Microsoft's Censor-Bot
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5006025.ece?Submitted=true

(Source)

Some Web Firms Say They Track Behavior Without Explicit Consent
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/11/AR2008081102270_pf.html

Tax collectors now hitting social networks to track deadbeats
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/148083

Tennessee Woman Arrested for Facebook 'Poke'
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/tennessee-woman-arrested-facebook-poke/story?id=8807685

US drafting plan to allow government access to any email or Web search
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/US_drafting_plan_to_allow_government_0114.html

CIA is watching tweets, Facebook
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/cia-is-watching-tweets-facebook/2011/11/04/gIQAvyyllM_blog.html

Facebook: The New Look of Surveillance

http://www.alternet.org/story/72556/

Facebook founder called trusting users dumb f*cks
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/14/facebook_trust_dumb/

Calls for police oversight of online networking
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/47022377.html?cmpid=15585797

Is Twitter a Criminal Accomplice?
http://www.lemondrop.com/2009/06/17/is-twitter-a-criminal-accomplice

The government is reading your tweets
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/09/opinion/obeidallah-social-media/index.html

NYPD Battles Twitter for Identity of User
http://news.yahoo.com/nypd-battles-twitter-identity-user-promising-violence-just-144157398--abc-news-topstories.html

U.S. Spies Want to Find Terrorists in World of Warcraft
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/02/nations-spies-w.html

U.S. Spies Buy Stake in Firm That Monitors Blogs, Tweets
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/10/exclusive-us-spies-buy-stake-in-twitter-blog-monitoring-firm/

Printer dots raise privacy concerns

Thomas Frank | USA TODAY
"More manufacturers are outfitting greater numbers of laser printers with technology that leaves microscopic yellow dots on each printed page to identify the printer's serial number — and ultimately, you, says the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, one of the leading watchdogs of electronic privacy."
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/surveillance/2008-07-13-printer_N.htm?se=yahoorefer

No such thing as "deleted" on the Internet
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/142366

Federal Agents Urged to 'Friend' People on Social Networks, Memo Reveals
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/10/13/government-spying-social-networks/?test=latestnews

Break the law and your new 'friend' may be the FBI
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100316/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_feds_on_facebook/print

FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool
http://www.news.com/FBI-taps-cell-phone-mic-as-eavesdropping-tool/2100-1029_3-6140191.html

Remote activation of webcams
http://news.cnet.com/8301-19518_3-10457737-238.html

"...a website that tracks users' online activities..."
http://news.yahoo.com/friend-md-man-held-shooting-plot-gentle-giant-154103620.html

###

Code Name: "Jericho"

***

"And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it." ~ Joshua 6:26 (KJV)

Much is being made of the so-called Palestinian "rocket attacks" on the Israelis. The Huffington Post, for instance, writes that: "Palestinian militants barraged Israel with nearly 150 rockets on Thursday, killing three people..." (Source). The article goes on to quote Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as stating: "No government would tolerate a situation where nearly a fifth of its people live under a constant barrage of rockets and missile fire, and Israel will not tolerate this situation..." (Ibid.). Fox News describes the situation as one that forces "...Israel [to fend] off relentless rocket attacks from Gaza..." (Source). The rhetoric is fairly typical.

(Source)

The "Israeli Defense Force" (IDF) has widely disseminated a slickly produced cartoon purporting to depict the effective range of the "Fajr 5 - The Hamas Rocket that Threatens Millions of Israelis". This animated short film can be viewed on numerous websites (see, e.g., here and here). Along with the video, the IDF also updated its map (see above) representing the maximum range potentials for the various Palestinian rockets.

(Estimated ranges for Israel's "Jericho" missiles (1 &2); Edited image; Original map source)

Absent from such pictures of the Palestinian "threat" is any commensurate portrayal of Israeli capabilities. For example (and most obviously), while the IDF "Rocket Threat" diagram shows how deeply into Israel Palestinian rockets can penetrate, the question is never raised as to how far into Gaza Israeli missiles can reach. Of course, the reason for this is that the question is ridiculous. The Israelis can strike any point in Gaza (or any of the Occupied Territories) effortlessly and at will. The effective range of Israeli ballistic missiles is counted in hundreds and thousands of kilometers, as opposed to the tens of kilometers applicable to Palestinian equipment.* Using an online map, a child's compass, and a few crayons, I have attempted to make salient the contrasting ranges (see above).

(Source)

Range is not the only neglected contrast, however. A cursory Google search will quickly reveal several images that show the physical dimensions of the Palestinian rockets. The "Grad" rocket stands above the little cartoon person and is listed as having a diameter of "122 mm".

(Source)

As a first pass, we can compare the "Grad" against the Aerotech "Mirage" model rocket. The "Mirage's" length and diameter are given as "87" (221cm)" and "2.6" (6.7cm)", respectively. Hence, the "Mirage" is in the vicinity of the "Grad" in terms of length, but with about half the girth. (Additionally, the "Mirage," being after all a model rocket, is much lighter.)

(Note that "...the Jericho-2 is a Shavit minus the upper stage, which is replaced by a warhead" [Source: "Israel: How Far Can Its Missiles Fly?" The Risk Report, 1 (June 1995) 5, qtd. at: "Israel," The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) website, URL]; Image source)

As a second pass, we should now compare the entire Hamas rocket arsenal against the Israeli "Jericho" ("Shavit"). (The "Jericho"/"Shavit" arguably bear a similar relationship to one another as did the U.S. "Atlas," "Saturn," and "Titan" rockets. One military weapon history forum poster commented that "Saturn could have served as an ICBM ... just as Atlas and Titan both served as ICBMs and as space-launch rockets.") Besides a size disparity between Palestinian and Israeli rockets that is too obvious to warrant elaboration, it is also worth mentioning that the "Jericho-2 reportedly uses terminal guidance similar to the radar guidance in the American Pershing-2 missile, which would increase the missile's accuracy" (Source). By contrast, the "Qassam...rocket lacks a guidance system and is very inaccurate" (Source) and even the much ballyhooed "Fajr 5...rockets lack the precision of a guided missile. 'Fajr 5 is a rocket rather than a missile. It is not guided as such. That is how we differentiate it,' said Gareth Jennings, managing editor of IHS Jane's Missiles and Rockets" (Source). Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is reported as stating that: "None of the [Palestinian] rockets has any form of terminal guidance and lack accuracy" (Ibid.)

("Qassam" after impact; Source)

(Some of the rockets that have been recovered in Israel; Source)

I hasten to add that this lack of guidance for Palestinian rockets  does not necessarily mean that those rockets pose no danger whatsoever. For instance, it is quite true that a person could be badly injured or killed if directly impacted by a "Fajr 5." Even the comparatively miniscule "Qassam" rocket could kill a person by blunt force trauma if that rocket were, for example, to strike a person on the head as it fell to the ground. However, for the record, it is certainly worth noting that the Israeli missile capabilities are light years ahead of Palestinian efforts which are very plausibly construed as a sort of "guerilla" model rocketry.

(Impact crater of a "Qassam" rocket. Note the cracked asphalt and black discoloration on the street. Image source)

(Impact crater of an unspecified Israeli rocket. Note that the damage is much more extensive and that, post-impact, the culprit rocket is unavailable for inspection. Image source)

(Structural damage from a Palestinian rocket: "An Israeli police officer stands inside a damaged house after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza Strip landed in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012." Sources: 1 & 2)

(Structural damage from an Israeli missile: "Palestinians walk through the debris after an Israeli air strike on building in Gaza City, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012." Sources: 1 & 2)

If this appraisal seems unfair, I submit that one ought to examine the available evidence. (Admittedly, this is difficult because the Israelis are allowed both to conduct their weapons developments in virtual secrecy and, ostensibly when it suits their purposes, to prohibit reporters from entering Occupied zones.) One useful place to start such an investigation might be to draw a contrast of some of the relevant damage capabilities.

 (Source)

PBS displayed an image of Israelis taking "cover" during an imminent or occurring "rocket attack." I note both the semi-hunkered posture of the individual on small hill as well as the children sort of "duck-and-covering" at the hill's foot and I wonder: How would Palestinians fare against Israeli weapons with these tactics? A glance at the rubble in the image one above seems to give the obvious answer: Not well.

(The smallest, "Qassam"-style, rockets are likely shoulder launched; Image source)

(Stationary launchers; Image source)

 

(It seems reasonable to assume that the larger Palestinian "Grad" and "Fajr 5" rockets are launched something like the rocket shown here. Image source)

It may also be instructive to compare launch apparatuses. Many of the Palestinian rockets are manually launched. Larger rockets plausibly are set off from stationary tripod or mobile-mounted units.

("Iron Dome": "Israeli defense forces say their anti-rocket interceptor system has taken down most of the rockets fired at the country." Source Of course, the Israelis have better equipment in part because they possess two separate-but-related advantages over the Palestinians: U.S. support and money. To take just one example: "[E]ach interceptor missile costs $40,000 to $50,000...About three years ago, Israel received $204 million from the United States to help pay for the country’s third through sixth mobile units. In February, Israel again approached the Obama administration for urgent support for four more batteries. They received $70 million immediately, and an additional $610 million has been pledged over the next three years, according to a senior official in Israel’s missile defense organization." Source)

("Arrow" - one of many "joint U.S.-Israel Arrow Weapon System[s]": "The Arrow program is a joint venture by the Missile Defense Agency and the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The Arrow system is intended to provide Israel a contingency missile defense capability and provide the U.S. technical benefits." Sources: 1 & 2)

("Jericho ballistic missiles": Sources: 1 & 2)

Israeli launch equipment is military grade and much more sophisticated. As of this writing, an example "Jericho"/"Shavit" launch can be viewed, here. And, of course, this barely scratches the surface of the Israel's weapons capabilities - capabilities that include functional nuclear warheads. (See, e.g., here, here, here, and here.)

(Estimated military expenditures: Israel versus Palestine. Graph created by me, here.)

Yet another apparently relevant metric is the pertinent "allotments" for military expenditures. Something was said, above (and parenthetically), about the price tag for the Israeli "Iron Dome" anti-rocket missile system. In general, CIA's publication titled "The World Factbook" gives Israel's "Military expenditures" as "7.3% of GDP (2006)" (Source). Presently (that is, the most up-to-date number for 2011), Google, via the World Bank, gives "Israel's GDP" as "$242.93 Billion". Wikipedia gives it (again, currently) as between "$235.446 billion" and "$245.266 billion" (although, technically, the difference is accounted for in terms of the difference between "nominal" and "purchasing power parity" measures. Cf. Here.) The World Bank number for 2006 is roughly $145.48 Billion. In 2006, in-house Israeli military spending would have totaled around $10.6 Billion dollars. Holding the 7.3% rate fixed, current spending would be on the order of $17.73 Billion. Wikipedia gives the current number as $15.2 Billion. Neither "Palestine" nor "Occupied Territories" (including "Gaza" and "West Bank") appear to be listed by Wikipedia. Under "Gaza Strip" and "West Bank," the CIA's Factbook has "NA" for the category of "Military expenditures" (Sources: 1 & 2). In fact, "International aid of at least $1.14 billion" was required in the Occupied Territories of "West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004" in order to "[prevent] the complete collapse of the economy..." (Source).

(Israel has even repeatedly hindered humanitarian aid from reaching the Occupied Territories; cf. here and, more recently, here. Image source.)

In this brief overview I have tried to cast a comparison and contrast in terms of dollars and equipment. Other, more detailed studies have also included what I have neglected, namely, the more important category of the loss of human life. (For an introduction, see: here, here, here, here, here, and here.) But by virtually any reasonable standard, the Palestinians are out-gunned, out-spent, and without any sustained and meaningful support. And they live, after all, in Occupied Territories. As the Fox News article quoted in the introductory paragraph an anonymous poster, "What is happening in Palestine is oppression...They have no navy, no army, or air force. There is no 'war' in Gaza" (Source). As Michael Hoffman once put it (paraphrase), the heavy-handed military Israeli "retaliation" to Palestinian violence (which amounts, really, to collective punishment) is about as justified as would be a President-ordered U.S. military strike of Compton and Watts in response to gang violence. As was partially illustrated in the case of Apartheid South Africa, the Geneva Conventions do not foreclose on the possibility, justly, of "...peoples...fighting against colonial domination and alien occupation and against racist regimes in the exercise of their right of self-determination..." (Source).

* "Jericho is a general designation given to the Israeli ballistic missiles. ... Jericho I was first publicly identified as an operational short-range ballistic missile system in late 1971. It was 13.4 metres (44 ft) long, 0.8 m (2 ft 7 in) in diameter, weighing 6.5 tonnes (14,000 lb). It had a range of 500 km (310 mi) and a CEP of 1,000 m (3,300 ft), and it could carry a payload estimated at 400 kilograms (880 lb). It was intended to carry a nuclear warhead. ... However, due to Israel's ambiguity over its nuclear weapons program, the missile is classified as a ballistic missile. ... The Jericho II is 14.0 m long and 1.56 m wide, with a reported launch weight of 26,000 kg (although an alternative launch weight of 21,935 kg has been suggested). It has a 1,000 kg payload, capable of carrying a considerable amount of high explosives or a 1 MT yield nuclear warhead. ... The Jericho II forms the basis of the three-stage, 23 ton Shavit NEXT satellite launcher, first launched in 1988 from Palmachim. From the performance of Shavit it has been estimated that as a ballistic missile it has a maximum range of about 7,800 km with a 500 kg payload. ... It is estimated that the Jericho III is an ICBM which entered service in 2008. The Jericho III is believed to have a three-stage solid propellant and a payload of 1,000 to 1,300 kg. It is possible for the missile to be equipped with a single 750 kg nuclear warhead or two or three low yield MIRV warheads. It has an estimated launch weight of 30,000 kg and a length of 15.5 m with a width of 1.56 m. It may be similar to an upgraded and re-designed Shavit space launch vehicle, produced by Israel Aerospace Industries. It probably has longer first and second-stage motors. It is estimated that it has a range of 4,800 to 11,500 km [7] (2,982 to 7,180 miles)." (Source)

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On the name "Jericho":

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"Jericho ... is a Palestinian city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank. ... The city was occupied by Jordan from 1948 to 1967, and has been held under Israeli occupation since 1967; administrative control was handed over to the Palestinian Authority in 1994..." (Source).

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor claims that "Jericho (Yeriho)...[is t]he lowest (258 m below sea-level) and the oldest town on earth...Jericho opens many windows on the past..." (The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide [Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998], p. 288). Interestingly, the layout of Jericho apparently resembles a "theatre" (see image, above; from: Supra., p. 290).

(The "Mount of Temptation," Jericho; image source)

"The Mount of Temptation is said to be the hill in the Judean Desert where Jesus was tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:8). ... It is generally identified with Mount Quarantania, a mountain approximately 366 m (1 200 feet) high, located about 11 km (6.8 mi) north-west of the West Bank town of Jericho. According to the public domain Catholic Encyclopedia, Quarantania is 'a limestone peak on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho'. It is mentioned in a poem of the Temptation event by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. See Christus: A Mystery (I:1:2 Mount Quarantania). Atop the mount is the Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Temptation or 'Qarantal'. Above Qarantal, on top of the cliff, is a wall, that sits on the ruins of the Hasmonean (later Herodian) fortress, Dok – Dagon" (Source).

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In Talmudic Judaism, "Jericho" is a paradigmatic Ir Ha-Niddahat, that is, a "'subverted' or "apostate' city" ("...an extreme example of the Herem..."); "The destruction of Jericho and the ban against its rebuilding (Josh. 6:26) were taken as the model" (L.I.R., "Ir Ha-Niddahat," Encyclopaedia Judaica [Jerusalem: Keter, 1972], Vol. 8, p. 1470). (For more information, see: Michael Hoffman, Judaism Discovered.)

(Spinoza, under herem; image source)

"Herem" has a dual-meaning. On the one hand, it could designate something that "is proscribed because it is an abomination to God," while on the other hand it could pick out something that is actually "consecrated to Him" (H.H.C., "Herem," Encyclopaedia Judaica, op. cit., p. 343). It derives from an Aramaic word meaning at once "be forbidden, become sacred" and having associations with both with "holy precinct[s]" (haram) and "women's quarters" (harim, ibid.; cf.: harem). In any case, an "[e]xceptionally severe" example of a herem was the one pertaining to Jericho: "animals as well as human beings were put to the sword, the city was burned down, its spoliation banned, and its silver, gold, copper, and iron vessels dedicated to the sanctuary treasury (Josh. 6:17ff.)" (Ibid).

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In the 2008 movie, Iron Man, Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) tests his new "Jericho missile" in Afghanistan only to discover later that a key Stark Industries executive and friend, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) is in league with "terrorists" calling themselves the "Ten Rings" (see here).

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Finally, "Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States" (Source; cf. here).

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Essentially, then, the Israelis seem to have named a keystone of their missile arsenal after an ancient Palestinian town that, according to Judaism, can be wiped out with impunity since it is under a "curse." And yet, few people are remarking on this. I suppose no one would really notice if Hamas were firing off rockets with names like "Tel Aviv," "Jerusalem," or "Brooklyn."

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Most Credulous, Er...DANGEROUS Cities

Ray Taylor (Attorney and forensic pathology expert):

"In the United States we take science as gospel. The public perception is that faking science is rare. The truth is it happens all the time." (Source)

("F...B...I...", Did I spell that right?)

Michael Tonry (Professor of criminal law and public policy at the University of Minnesota and former President of the American Society of Criminology):

"These [most dangerous city type] rankings represent an irresponsible misuse of the [relevant crime] data and do  groundless harm to many communities. They also work against a key goal of our society, which is a better understanding of crime-related issues by both scientists and the public." (Source)

The FBI says: "The numbers are in!" for its so-called "Uniform Crime Report". And with this report, and the supposedly foundational numbers, come the annual "Most Dangerous City" rankings (For example, as reported here and here and here). But how useful are they, really? (Perhaps more importantly, to whom are they useful? More on that in a moment.)

(Source; St. Louis apparently came in at number 2 or number 3, depending upon which list one consults. Interestingly, the present day city of St. Louis sits atop the buried or obliterated remains of the ancient "Mound City" complex which today is - with few exceptions - largely confined to Cahokia, IL. See here and here. National Geographic states that the complex displays "...clear evidence of ritual human sacrifice. Archaeologists excavating Mound 72, as they labeled it, found the remains of 53 women and one very high status man, as well as the decapitated remains of four men who may have been on the wrong side of some sort of authority...". St. Louis, with its signature "Gateway Arch" is known as "the gateway to the West." In Egyptian myth, the land of the dead was sometimes called "the west".)

To begin with, some city leaders are "questioning the FBI numbers" themselves. Several municipalities are alleging that the FBI's number "paint a grossly inaccurate picture" of their respective cities. So there is some reason to think that some of the statistics are at least possibly unjustifiably high. (Source)

Other statistics are plausibly susceptible to an "equal but opposite" (so to speak) error, namely, being artificially or deceptively low. Consider assault. At least women's advocacy group suggests: "The numbers barely scratch the surface, because many assaults go unreported...". (Source)

Besides allegations of (sometimes ostensibly unaccountably) inaccurate data, the notion that the FBI's crime reporting is "uniform" has also been questioned. To illustrate, "...one police department may identify a crime as a burglary, while another may classify it as petty theft or mischief". (Source)

Or again, some worry that, taking rape as an example: "...the FBI statistics at that time counted only forcible rape, not other attacks such as date rape or sexual crimes against children." (Source)

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To be sure, the FBI has claimed that it's so-called "NATIONAL INCIDENT-BASED REPORTING SYSTEM (NIBRS)" at least sometimes ignores (what we might call) parochial classifications, and claims to be aimed at raw "incident" reports. (Source)

However, first, the FBI is on record admitting that significant inter-city difference do indeed exist. "Critics also complain that numbers don't tell the whole story because of differences among cities. 'You're not comparing apples and oranges; you're comparing watermelons and grapes,' said Rob Casey, who heads the FBI section that puts out the Uniform Crime Report that provides the data for the Quitno report." (Source: DAVID N. GOODMAN, Associated Press, Wire Report, 19 November 2007, Original url: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071119/ap_on_re_us/dangerous_cities)

(Come on! What's there not trust about the FBI?)

Second, as some municipal officials are quick to respond, "...there [is] no verification or audit from the FBI...". It appears, therefore, that there is neither specific oversight (from the bottom-up, municipal to federal direction) nor a statistical "appeals" process. (Source)

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I consider it especially noteworthy that the FBI itself has warned against the construction of rankings of any sort and, indeed, the FBI itself declines to produce any ranking of its own data. A relevant press release reads as follows.

"Caution against ranking: Each year when Crime in the United States is published, some entities use the figures to compile rankings of cities and counties. These rough rankings provide no insight into the numerous variables that mold crime in a particular town, city, county, state, tribal area, or region. Consequently, they lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting communities and their residents. Valid assessments are possible only with careful study and analysis of the range of unique conditions affecting each local law enforcement jurisdiction. The data user is, therefore, cautioned against comparing statistical data of individual reporting units from cities, metropolitan areas, states, or colleges or universities solely on the basis of their population coverage or student enrollment." (Source)

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In the face of the popular perception of the "if it bleeds, it leads" media's over-eagerness to sensationalize reporting (plausibly in order to drive up ratings), the FBI's warning strikes me as about as psychologically useless as a jury's instruction "to disregard damaging testimony that is stricken from the record" when said testimony can scarcely be stricken "from their minds" (Cf. Here)

(Edited from: Source)

Even putting aside the questionable the effectiveness of the FBI's "page six" "caveat lector" (compared with the "page one" "most dangerous cities" rankings), there are more serious worries. I will mention only two.

Number one, in previous years, supposedly uncorrectable and un-specifiable computer "glitches" skewed numbers. But, in light of the facts that there is no appeals process and that the psychological impressions made by the rankings can hardly be easily reversed once they have been left by a suitably sensationalized "news" report, one might be forgiven for wondering just how widespread such "glitches" are. (Source)

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As a parenthesis, I note that a similar constellation of issues is recognizable in computerized voting and the possibility of "black box" fraud. For, in "crime statistics" or in vote counting: "...a computer will only do what it's programmers and administrators tell it to do, whoever issues the commands gains ultimate control over how it receives, counts, and reports..." information. (See HERE)

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Number two, frankly, the FBI's record for accuracy is not exactly stellar (to put it diplomatically - which is probably more tact than is deserved).

"They said the guy's on the brink of a confession and they want me to fabricate a fingerprint report." (Quotation Source; Photo Source)

What's the big deal? Rankings are just rankings, right? Some are concerned, however, about the potential negative psychological impact that the "most dangerous city rankings" may have on a community - both in terms of that community's morale and in terms of potential tourism.

(The real "crime scene" is sometimes arguably the front page of a newspaper; photo source)

"'What I take exception to is the use of these statistics and the damage they inflict on a number of these cities,' said [ex Rochester, NY] Mayor Robert Duffy..." (Source)

And, tourism may not be the only area experiencing negative fallout from a bad "ranking". Speculatively, one might have reason to worry about such things as insurance company premiums and state and federal budget allotments. And all of this is, at least possibly, based on the precarious (at best) and unconscionable (at worst) manipulation of data, by way of arguably highly contrived and artificial "rankings" - a use of that data that the data collection organization itself (namely, the FBI) expressly (if weakly) warns against. When one considers also the potential for - and history of - error and fraud, I think that the "most dangerous cities rankings" might be better viewed as hardly more illuminating than similarly sensationalistic (if not fraudulent) lists such as of the "biggest party colleges" or the "best movies of the year". In other words, such lists arguably generate more heat than light. But in the present case, what is perhaps most palpable is the generated fear.

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Recall that I opened by posing the question: How *useful* are the numbers? Taking (or, at least, trying to take) on board all of the worries, suspicions, and criticisms, one might think that, after all, the numbers are indeed extremely useful. They generate fear. Cui bono?

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Noam Chomsky (Source):

"So the fear of drugs and the fear of crime is very much stimulated by state and business propaganda. The National Justice Commission repeatedly points out that crime in the United States, while sort of high, is not off the spectrum for industrialized societies. On the other hand, fear of crime is far beyond other societies, and mostly stimulated by various propaganda."

For more information, see:

http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/k/kelly-evidence.html

http://www.amazon.com/Tainting-Evidence-Inside-Scandals-Crime/dp/0743236416