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An egalimind: a type of hive mind in science fiction whose members share the same memories and thoughts, yet retain their individuality. #storytelling #makeyourownmachine #leaderless #swarmintelligence #etc

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half pasted from 'Anywhere or Not At All', the Philosophy of Contemporary Art - Peter Osborne

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Further options in the comments

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aesthetics (the visual or other perceptual experience - beauty and taste)

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the conceptual framework in which it was made

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anything that doesn't qualify as something else (science, language, technique, 'craft', etc) and/or doesn't qualify as of the 'everyday'

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it's a radically heterogenerous emperical totality of practices and works

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This manga is dialogue heavy and so is everything else the author worked on

Trigger warning: Sexual assault, abuse

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Masamune Endo, a high school student, likes Yuri Hanabuchi, a cafe clerk. He goes to the cafe and tries to ask for contact information, but he has been successfully evaded. One day, he helps Yuri from her ex-boyfriend who was being violent. The two decide to sign a "restricted lover contract" ...?

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#alltriggerwarningsapply

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I Love Mallory - Natural Born Killers (1994)

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Rescued baby hedgehog turns out to be hat bobble

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baby hedgehog was hat bobble, shelter still finds it cute.

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baby hedgehog was hat bobble, shelter still finds it cute.

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Rescued baby hedgehog turns out to be hat bobble

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A wildlife rescue was handed the ornamental tuft by a well-intentioned rescuer.

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WW2: Ghost Regiment of makes Inflatable Tanks

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WW2: Ghost Regiment of makes Inflatable Tanks

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A secretive US Army unit was honoured on Thursday, 80 years after their special effects saved tens of thousands of lives during World War Two. The group received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honour from the US Congress.

The BBC spoke to surviving veterans and their families to hear how these artists contributed to the war with creativity, not violence.

Video by Alexandra Ostasiewicz and Eva Artesona

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The 'Ghost Army' veterans who fooled the Nazis in WW2

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Members of the secretive military unit, which once used inflatable vehicles as a ruse, were honoured by Congress.

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German police find 'WW2 bomb' was big courgette

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German police find 'WW2 bomb' was big courgette

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A pensioner was alarmed by a monster courgette in his garden in south-west Germany.

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Ukraine War Factory: Plastic, wood, foam and metal are skilfully shaped into copies of weapons to fool Russian attackers

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Ukraine War Factory: Plastic, wood, foam and metal are skilfully shaped into copies of weapons to fool Russian attackers

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‘A psychological weapon’: inside a Ukrainian factory making decoy kit

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Plastic, wood, foam and metal are skilfully shaped into copies of weapons to fool Russian attackers

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Indian police have cleared a suspected Chinese spy pigeon and released it into the wild after eight months in detention, according to reports in the Press Trust of India.

The pigeon's ordeal began in May when it was captured near a port in Mumbai with two rings tied to its legs, carrying a message that was said to look like it was in Chinese, local media said. Police suspected it was involved in espionage and took it in, later sending it to Mumbai's Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit hospital for animals.

Eventually, it was revealed that the pigeon was an open-water racing bird from Taiwan that had escaped and made its way to India. With police permission, the bird was transferred to the Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, whose doctors set it free on Tuesday.

Mumbai police could not be reached for comment.

It is not the first time a bird has come under police suspicion in India.

In 2020, police in Indian-controlled Kashmir released a pigeon belonging to a Pakistani fisher after a probe found that the bird, which had flown across the heavily militarized border between the nuclear-armed nations, was not a spy.

In 2016, another pigeon was taken into custody after it was found with a note that threatened Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.

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Flight risk: suspected spy pigeon released after eight months in detention in India

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The pigeon was found last May with a message that was said to look like it contained Chinese characters

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“We are not rearming because we want war, destruction, or suffering. We are rearming right now to avoid war and in a world where the international order is being challenged,”

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“We are not rearming because we want war, destruction, or suffering. We are rearming right now to avoid war and in a world where the international order is being challenged,”

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1. 2 genders only in the Danish defence forces

2. arms for peace/escalating to de-escalate #militarisingpacifism #hotair

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The country scaled back its military capabilities after the Cold War ended but is reassessing the situation in a changed security climate.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen meets male conscripts in Jutland last week [File: Ritzau Scanpix/Mikkel Berg Pedersen via Reuters]

Denmark will call up women as well as men as it expands conscription to respond to Europe's changing security climate.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the revised policy was designed to increase the number of young people doing military service.

Keep reading

Conscripts will also be expected to serve more time in the military - 11 months, compared with four months at the moment.

"We are not rearming because we want war, destruction, or suffering. We are rearming right now to avoid war and in a world where the international order is being challenged," Frederiksen told reporters on Wednesday, indirectly referring to Russia's military moves in recent years and months.

Denmark, a founding member of the NATO alliance, also plans to boost its defence budget by 40.5 billion Danish crowns ($5.9bn) over the next five years. Frederiksen said defence spending would amount to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and in 2025, above NATO's target for member states.

The country scaled back its military capabilities after the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, but Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has reawakened concerns about security on the continent.

On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would send troops to its border with Finland, which joined NATO last year as a result of the Ukraine invasion, as Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo warned Moscow was gearing up for a "long conflict with the West".

The situation in Europe "has become more and more serious, and we have to take that into account when we look at future defence," Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said. "A broader basis for recruiting that includes all genders is needed," he said, adding it will create "a more versatile and more complete defence".

Denmark currently has as many as 9,000 professional soldiers in addition to 4,700 conscripts undergoing basic training, according to official figures.

The government wants to increase the number of conscripts by 300 to reach a total of 5,000. Under the revised draft, conscripts will first spend five months in basic training, followed by six months in operational service along with supplementary training.

The new system will require a change in the law, which Poulsen said would happen in 2025 and take effect in 2026.

Currently, all physically fit men over the age of 18 are called up for military service, which is decided according to a lottery system.

Neighbouring Sweden introduced a military draft for men and women in 2017 amid concerns about the security environment in Europe and around Sweden.

The Scandinavian country, which joined NATO this month, had previously abolished compulsory military service for men in 2010 because there were enough volunteers to meet its military needs. Women had not been required to do national service before the law was changed.

Norway introduced a law applying military conscription to both sexes in 2013.

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Denmark to conscript women into armed forces for first time

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The country scaled back its military after the Cold War but is reassessing the situation in a changed security climate.

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The opposite of camouflage...

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One of Germany's most feared and effective weapons during World War I was its fleet of submarines-known as U-boats-that roamed the Atlantic, sneaking up underwater on British merchant ships and destroying them with torpedoes. During the course of the war, they sank more than 5,700 vessels, killing more than 12,700 non-combatants in the process.

The British weren't sure what to do. Camouflage worked in land warfare, but it was another matter for an object as big as a cargo ship to blend into the ocean, especially when smoke was billowing from its stacks.

But a Royal Navy volunteer reserve lieutenant named Norman Wilkinson-a painter, graphic designer and newspaper illustrator in his civilian life-came up with a radical but ingenious solution: Instead of trying to hide ships, make them conspicuous.

By covering ships' hulls with startling stripes, swirls and irregular abstract shapes that brought to mind the Cubist paintings of Pablo Picasso or Georges Braque, one could momentarily confuse a German U-boat officer peering through a periscope. The patterns would make it more difficult to figure out the ship's size, speed, distance and direction.

Wilkinson's idea was a startling contrast to those of other camouflage theorists. American artist Abbott Thayer, for example, advocated painting ships white and concealing their smokestacks with canvas in an effort to make them blend into the ocean, according to Smithsonian.

Dazzle camouflage, as Wilkinson's concept came to be called, "appeared to be counter-intuitive," explains Roy R. Behrens, a professor of art and Distinguished Scholar at the University of Northern Iowa, who writes "Camoupedia," a blog that's a compendium of research on the art of camouflage. "For Wilkinson to come up with the ideas of redefining camouflage as high visibility as opposed to low visibility was pretty astonishing."

As Peter Forbes writes in his 2009 book Dazzled and Deceived: Mimicry and Camouflage, Wilkinson-who commanded an 80-foot motorboat used for minesweeping off the British coast-apparently was inspired during a weekend fishing trip in the Spring of 1917. When he returned to the Royal Navy's Devonport dockyard, he went straight to his superior officer with his idea.

"I knew it was utterly impossible to render a ship invisible," Wilkinson later recalled, according to Forbes' book. But it had occurred to him that if a black ship was broken up with white stripes it would visually confuse the enemy.

"The idea had precedent in nature, with the pattern disruption in the coloration of animals," Behrens says. As a study by British and Australian researchers nearly a century later would reveal, zebras' stripes seem to serve that purpose, turning a herd into what appears to be a chaotic mess of lines from a distance, and making it tougher for lions and other predators to intercept them.

As Behrens explains, when submerged, the Germans' only way of sighting a target was through the periscope, which they could only poke through the water for a fleeting moment because of the risk of being detected. They had to use that tiny bit of visual data to calculate where in the water to aim the torpedo, so that it would arrive at that spot at the same moment as the ship they were trying to sink.

Wilkinson's camouflage scheme was designed to interfere with those calculations, by making it difficult to tell which end of the ship was which, and where it was headed. With torpedoes, there wasn't much margin for error, so if the dazzle camouflage threw off the calculations by only a few degrees, that might be enough to cause a miss and save a British ship.

"It was exploiting the limited view of the periscope," Behrens explains.

An art-lover today might assume that dazzle camouflage was the brainchild of a cubist painter, not someone such as Wilkinson, a representational artist who liked to paint ships and seascapes. Claudia Covert, a special collections librarian at the Rhode Island School of Design and author of a 2007 article on Dazzle camouflage in Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, says that Wilkinson "was probably aware of these contemporary movements-Cubism, Futurism, and Vorticism. In fact, one of the Vorticist painters, Edward Wadsworth, oversaw ships being dazzled in Liverpool during the war."

Additionally, "you have to remember that Wilkinson was not only a seascape painter but also a poster designer," Behrens says. "So he had to work with abstract forms, colors and shapes."

Though the British Admiralty probably didn't include too many modern art enthusiasts, the losses from U-boat attacks were so devastating that they soon authorized Wilkinson to set up a camouflage unit at the Royal Academy in London. He recruited other artists, who were given Naval Reserve commissions, and they got to work.

SSPL/Getty Images

Wilkinson made models of ships on a revolving table and then viewed them through a periscope, using screens, lights and backgrounds to see how the dazzle paint schemes would look at various times of day and night. He used one of those models to impress a visitor, King George V, who stared through the periscope and guessed that the model ship was moving south-by-west, only to be surprised to discover that it was moving east-by-southeast.

By October 1917, British officials were sufficiently convinced of dazzle's effectiveness that they ordered that all merchant ships should get the special paint jobs, according to this 1999 article by Behrens.

At the request of the U.S. government, Wilkinson sailed across the Atlantic in March 1918 and met with Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt, and then helped to set up a camouflage unit headed by American impressionist painter Everett Warner.

By the end of the war, more than 2,300 British ships had been decorated with dazzle camouflage. How successful dazzle actually was in thwarting U-boat attacks isn't clear. As Forbes explains, a postwar commission concluded that it probably only provided a slight advantage.

"When the US Navy adopted Wilkinson's scheme for both merchant and fighting ships there is statistical evidence to support Wilkinson's technique," Forbes says. A total of 1,256 merchant and fighting ships, were camouflaged between March 1 and November 11, 1918. Ninety six ships over 2,500 tons were sunk; of these only 18 were camouflaged and all of them were merchant ships. "None of the camouflaged fighting ships were sunk," he says

"It's important to remember that ships didn't just rely upon dazzle camouflage for protection from U-boats," Behrens explains. "It was used in combination with tactics such as zig-zagging and traveling in convoys, in which the most vulnerable ships were kept in the center of the formation, surrounded by faster, more dangerous ships capable of destroying submarines." The synergy of those measures was "wonderfully effective," he says.

Dazzle camouflage was resurrected by the U.S. during World War II, and was used on the decks of ships as well, in an effort to confuse enemy aircraft. Today's electronic surveillance technology makes dazzle pretty much obsolete for protecting ships, but as Forbes points out, the concept of visually disruptive patterns is still used in military uniforms.

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The WWI 'Dazzle' Camouflage Strategy Was So Ridiculous It Was Genius

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One of Germany's most feared and effective weapons during World War I was its fleet of submarines-known as U-boats-that roamed the Atlantic, sneaking up underwater on British merchant ships and destroying them with torpedoes. During the course of the war, they sank more than 5,700 vessels, killing more than 12,700 non-combatants in the process.

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Seeing Double: The Fake Paris Of The First World War

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Read about the history behind Paris' twin city a clever ruse designed to save the French during World War One!

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A pigeon caught smuggling drugs at the Kuwait border. (Al-Rai)

A pigeon found in a Canadian prison yard with a tiny backpack filled with meth is carrying on a decades-long tradition of avian drug smuggling. The pigeon was captured at the Pacific Institution in Abbotsford, British Columbia, in late December, according to the CBC. John Randle, Pacific regional president of the Union for Canadian Correctional Officers, told the CBC the bird was in an inmate yard when officers on site noticed it had a tiny package on its back; that package contained 30 grams of meth. "They had to corner it," Randle said. "You can imagine how that would look, trying to catch a pigeon." He said they captured the bird after "a lengthy period of time," seized the drugs, and set it free. Corrections Canada is investigating the incident, according to media reports.

While prison staff, visitors, mail, and drones are more commonly used to get contraband into jail, pigeons also have a long history of transporting drugs-and also wearing tiny backpacks, apparently. A New York Times from Feb 2, 1930, noted that pigeons with capsules of drugs like cocaine tied to their legs were plaguing the southern border. Being surrounded by pigeons is undesirable at the best of times, even more so when they're participating in the drug trade. The Times reported that smugglers were raising their own homing pigeons, a breed that can travel great distances and still return to their home lofts. Pigeons can fly up to 700 miles a day, In 2017, a homing pigeon carrying 178 pills from Iraq to Kuwait in yes, another backpack, was trapped by Kuwaiti officials near customs, according to the publication . Conflicting news reports from the time said the pills were either or . according to the Pigeon Control Resource Center.

And lest we forget, "Narco Paloma," a pigeon busted smuggling weed and cocaine into La Reforma, a maximum security prison in Costa Rica in 2015, and then turned into The bird was turned over to a rehab center afterward-the kind for animals. Want the best of VICE News straight to your inbox? Sign up here.

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A Pigeon Was Caught in a Prison Yard With a Tiny Backpack of Meth

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Pigeons have a long history of transporting drugs-and also wearing tiny backpacks, apparently.

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movie about criminal youth in madrid

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plastic tablecloth, fuse with wax paper, iron

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Create Inflatable Sculpture with Nicole Banowetz

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The Terracotta Army refers to the thousands of life-size clay models of soldiers, horses, and chariots which were deposited around the grand mausoleum of Shi Huangdi, first emperor of China and founder of the Qin dynasty, located near Lishan in Shaanxi Province, central China. The purpose of the army was likely to act as guardian figures for the tomb or to serve their ruler in the next life. The site was discovered in 1974 CE, and the realistic army figures provide a unique insight into ancient Chinese warfare from weapons to armour or chariot mechanics to command structures. Shi Huangdi was desperate for immortality, and in the end, his terracotta army of over 7000 warriors, 600 horses, and 100 chariots has given him just that, at least in name and deed. The site of the mausoleum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site even if the inner tomb itself has yet to be excavated.

China's First Emperor

Shi Huangdi (also known as Shi Huangti) was the king of the Qin state, who unified China from 221 BCE and then founded the Qin dynasty. He ruled as China's first emperor until his death in 210 BCE. His reign was short but packed full of incidents, most of them infamous enough to earn Shi Huangdi a lasting reputation as a megalomaniac despot. The period saw the building of the Great Wall of China, the infamous Burning of the Books, where thousands of literary and philosophical works were destroyed, and the construction of a sumptuous royal palace. The emperor seems to have been especially keen on acquiring immortality, a quest no doubt given further motivation by his survival of three assassination attempts. Scientists were given the task of discovering life-prolonging elixirs, and young emissaries were sent across the Eastern Sea in search of the fabled Penglai, land of the immortals.

hundreds of thousands of workers were set the task of building the biggest tomb ever seen in China's history.

Failing in these endeavours to unnaturally prolong his life Shi Huangdi fell back on the age-old standby of autocratic rulers and had a huge mausoleum built instead. In fact, the whole massive project was begun in the early years of his reign as it required a prodigious amount of work to get it ready. An administrative district was established at the site with 30,000 families forcibly relocated there and given the task of building the biggest tomb ever seen in China's history or anyone else's. Eventually, no doubt as Huangdi realised time was running short, hundreds of thousands of forced labourers were sent to push the project to completion. One way or another, Shi Huangdi was going to be remembered long after his reign. The Terracotta Army seems to have achieved that goal.

Huangdi's Mausoleum

The mausoleum of Shi Huangdi, actually an entire multi- burial complex which covers an incredible 35 to 60 square kilometres, was discovered in 1974 CE buried at the foot of the artificial Mt. Li near Lishan (modern Lintong), 50 km east of the Qin capital Xianyang in Shaanxi Province, central China. The tomb itself remains unexcavated but its spectacular army of terracotta defenders has, in part, been revealed and already earned the site the title of "Greatest Tomb in the World". The tumulus of the buried tomb takes the form of a three-stepped pyramid, measures an impressive 1,640 metres in circumference, 350 metres along each side, and rising to a height of 60 metres. The whole is surrounded by a double wall.

Legend has it that the tomb contains vast riches but includes fiendish traps to ensure Huangdi rests forever in peace. The traps and the interior were described by the historian Sima Qian (146-86 BCE) in the following passage from his Shiji:

More than 700,000 convict labourers from the world were sent there. They dug through three springs, poured in liquid bronze, and secured the sarcophagus. Houses, officials, unusual and valuable things were moved in to fill it. He [Shi Huangdi] ordered artisans to make crossbows triggered by mechanisms. Anyone passing before them would be shot immediately. They used mercury to create rivers, the Jiang and the He, and the great seas, wherein the mercury was circulated mechanically. On the ceiling were celestial bodies and on the ground geographical features. (Shelach-Lavi, 318)

The floor map with its geographical models and painted universe ceiling were symbolic of the emperor's status as Son of Heaven and God's ruler on earth. Qian also notes that members of Huangdi's harem were entombed with their dead emperor and many craftsmen and labourers, too, in order to keep the fabulous wealth of Huangdi's grave goods a secret for all time.

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The Terracotta Warriors

To protect his tomb or perhaps even to ensure he had a handy bodyguard in the next life, Shi Huangdi went a whole lot better than his predecessors. Rulers in ancient China commonly had two or three statues to stand as guardians outside their tombs but Huangdi went for a whole army of them. The Terracotta Army is actually one of only four in all likelihood as that portion so far excavated - 1.5 km distant from the mausoleum - is on the eastern side and is probably duplicated on the other three sides of the tumulus. Even this one-quarter section has not been fully excavated with only three of its four pits having been fully explored by archaeologists.

The main pit of the four which contain the discovered army measures 230 x 62 metres and is 4 to 6 metres deep. It had around 6,000 slightly larger than life-size depictions of infantrymen (1.8-1.9 metres tall), chariots and horses. The pit, originally with wooden columns supporting a wood beam ceiling, is partitioned by 10 brick-lined corridors. The floor was made from compacted earth which was then paved with over 250,000 ceramic tiles. The second pit, which is slightly smaller and R-shaped, had some 1,400 figures in it. In keeping with an obvious attempt to recreate exactly a real army, pit 3, measuring 21 x 17 metres, contains commanders and resembles a command post in the field.

Besides infantry, the army includes 600 horses and almost 100 chariots which carry officers and riders and have either a two, three, or four-horse team. The soldiers were set in regular rows and are depicted in different postures - most are standing while some are crouching. Their mix and particular arrangement of officers (slightly taller than everyone else with their general being tallest of all), cavalry, crossbowmen, skirmishers, archers, charioteers, and grooms give the illusion of a complete battlefield army ready for action. There are light infantry units with archers positioned at the flanks and front, the heavy infantry behind them, while chariots bring up the rear with their officers, matching the troop deployments mentioned in ancient military treatises.

The scale of the enterprise must have required a huge quantity of firewood to fuel the pottery kilns that made the figures, not to mention the countless tons of clay from local deposits needed to make figures weighing up to 200 kilos each. Besides the breathtaking finished result, the undertaking was a triumph of organisation and planning.

Much effort was made to render each figure unique despite them all being made from a limited repertoire of assembled body parts made from moulds. These parts are 7.5 cm thick and consist of a head, torso, leg, another leg acting as a plinth, two arms and two hands. Faces and hair, in particular, were modified to give the illusion of a real army composed of unique individuals, even if in reality there are only eight types of torso and head. Hands, too, were modified with straight or bent fingers and changes in the angle of the thumb and wrist. The figures were not glazed but were lacquered to protect them and painted using bright colours - traces of red pigment remain on some figures. It is astonishing to reflect that all of this almost infinite variety and realism was never intended to be seen by anyone.

Each figure would have held a weapon of some sort, probably real ones such as swords, halberds, spears, bows and crossbows, but most of these have long since been stolen, valued as they would have been for their bronze. Those swords still in place had kept their sharp edges, and each was inscribed with their manufacturer and supervisor. The warriors have seven variations of Qin armour which is (in imitation) typically in the form of riveted or joined panels of leather or metal, a design and materials confirmed by rare archaeological finds elsewhere and in text descriptions and other art forms such as tomb-paintings elsewhere. Some infantry do not wear armour, and shields are another notable missing item, despite evidence of their use in Qin armies from other sources. They, too, may have been stolen in antiquity as some figures do appear to have been holding an item in each hand.

Other Artefacts

Other non-terracotta artefacts discovered at the site as archaeologists work their way ever-closer to the central tomb area include half-size bronze and wood chariots pulled by teams of four bronze horses, and bronze sculptures of birds, notably 3 very fine cranes, 20 swans, and 20 geese, all set up by a 60-metre long pond to recreate a river scene. There is a replica of a stable, foundations of temple structures, and pottery storage jars within a granary building. There is an armoury measuring 100 x 130 metres packed with hundreds of replicas of armour and helmets, each piece meticulously made from hundreds of small stone pieces. There are tombs of other royal family members and high-ranking officials and statues representing them, including one tomb of a court acrobat.

Then there is a long list of real objects, not simply models. These include 31 exotic birds and animals each buried in their own wood coffin, real horses (300 in one pit alone) and the skeletons of over one hundred humans with accompanying bronze plaques indicating they were labourers and convicts who died while working on the tomb. All of these items taken collectively, along with their particular layout and the idea of the map and sky of the inner tomb, were designed to demonstrate that China's first emperor ruled, if not the whole world, then certainly the central and most important part of it in Chinese eyes.

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The Terracotta Army refers to the thousands of life-size clay models of soldiers, horses, and chariots which were deposited around the grand mausoleum of Shi Huangdi, first emperor of China and founder...

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In the episode 'Europe' there is a part where the journalist joins a military reenactment of WW2. It might be interesting to see how people sort of 'cosplay' such a war

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Watch Dark Tourist | Netflix Official Site

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From a nuclear lake to a haunted forest, journalist David Farrier visits unusual -- and often macabre -- tourism spots around the world. Watch trailers & learn more.

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Some are known for 'exploding' to release their spores. I remember children kicking them to create the smoke effect of even thinking of them as 'bombs'

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A puffball is a member of any of several groups of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. The puffballs were previously treated as a taxonomic group called the Gasteromycetes or Gasteromycetidae, but they are now known to be a polyphyletic assemblage. The distinguishing feature of all puffballs is that they do not have an open cap with spore-bearing gills.

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Giant puffball. I remember people mistaking these things for bombs as well. (can't find exact stories so I might misremember, but might be a nice association)

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Calvatia gigantea, commonly known in English as the giant puffball, is a puffball mushroom commonly found in meadows, fields, and deciduous forests in late summer and autumn. It is found in temperate areas throughout the world.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, Calvatia gigantea can grow 20-50 centimeters wide and 20-50 cm high. First Nature explains that this fungus "can grow to 80 cm diameter and weigh several kilograms." A specimen weighing over 23 kilograms was recorded on Robinson-Superior Treaty Territory in what is currently known as Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

The inside of a mature giant puffball (which is inedible) is greenish brown. The interior of an immature puffball (which is edible) is white. The Lovesick Native Women's Association explains that an overripe puffball "will fall apart when touched or if cut open" and should be discarded.

Indeed, the fruiting body of a puffball mushroom develops within a few weeks and soon begins to decompose and rot (at which point it is dangerous to eat). Unlike most mushrooms, all the spores of the giant puffball are created inside the fruiting body; large specimens can easily contain several trillion spores. Spores are yellowish, smooth, and 3-5 μm in size.

Similar fungi

Giant puffballs resemble the earthball (Scleroderma citrinum). The latter are distinguished by a much firmer, elastic fruiting body, and having an interior that becomes dark purplish-black with white reticulation early in development. Scleroderma citrinum is poisonous and may cause mild intoxication.

The classification of this species has been revised in recent years. First Nature explains that "puffballs, earthballs, earthstars, stinkhorns and several other kinds of fungi were once thought to be related and were known as the gasteromycetes or 'stomach' fungi, because the fertile material develops inside spherical or pear-shaped fruitbodies." However, many mycologists now believe that "the gasteromycetes" do not share single ancestor; they are polyphyletic.

Today, some authors place the giant puffball and other members of genus in order Agaricales. The giant puffball has also been placed in two other genera, Lycoperdon and Langermannia, in years past. The current view is that the giant puffball is Calvatia.

The giant puffball is widespread and common in the UK. It is protected in parts of Poland and is of conservation concern in Norway.

Puffball mushrooms on sale at a market in England, showing slices uniform and white all the way through

The large white mushrooms are edible when young, as are all true puffballs, but can cause digestive upset if the spores have begun to form-as indicated by the color of the flesh being yellowish or greenish-brown instead of pure white.

Immature gilled species still contained within their universal veil can be lookalikes for puffballs. To distinguish puffballs from such poisonous fungi, they must be cut open; edible puffballs will have a solid white interior and have "no gills or other imperfections".

Puffballs are a known styptic and have long been used as wound dressing, either in powdered form or as slices 3 cm thick. Authors Hui-Yeng Y. Yap, Mohammad Farhan Ariffeen Rosli, et al. found evidence to suggest Calvatia gigantea was "traditionally used by American Indians, Nigerian and German folks" for this purpose. The authors, however, did not specify the preferred form of wound dressing (e.g., powdered or sliced).

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Calvatia gigantea , commonly known in English as the giant puffball, is a puffball mushroom commonly found in meadows, fields, and deciduous forests in late summer and autumn. It is found in temperate areas throughout the world. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, Calvatia gigantea can grow 20-50 centimeters wide and 20-50 cm high.

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Fake village with de highest flagpole... Winner of the farpissing contest 2022

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Uit Wikipedia, de vrije encyclopedie

Kijŏng-dong of Gijeong-dong is een dorp in de gedemilitariseerde zone tussen Noord- en Zuid-Korea en behoort tot Noord-Korea. Het ligt op twee kilometer van het Zuid-Koreaanse dorp Daeseong-dong.

Het is in Noord-Korea bekend als Vredesdorp en in Zuid-Korea als Propagandadorp. Van een afstand lijkt Kijŏng-dong een welvarend dorp, maar de algemene opinie is dat het fungeert als onderdeel van Noord-Koreaanse propaganda. Argumenten hiervoor zijn dat er in het dorp alleen soldaten wonen en dat de lichten 's nachts in veel huizen tegelijkertijd aan gaan. Het dorp wordt daarom ook wel een voorbeeld van een potemkin-dorp genoemd.

Bij de ingang van het dorp wappert een 270 kilo wegende Noord-Koreaanse vlag aan een 160 m hoge vrijstaande vlaggenmast. Deze vlaggenmast was eerst lager, maar toen een vlaggenmast in Daeseong-dong (vlak over de grens in Zuid-Korea) verhoogd werd, werd die van Kijŏng-dong ook verhoogd. Zodra het begint te regenen wordt de vlag naar beneden gehaald, waarschijnlijk omdat de constructie het gewicht van een natte vlag niet kan dragen. Eind jaren zeventig loofde de Zuid-Koreaanse president Chun Doo-hwan een half miljoen dollar uit voor degene die de vlag van de vlaggenmast van Kijŏng-dong haalt en bij de Zuid-Koreaanse presidentiële residentie afgeeft.

Op 1 september 2010 werd het record voor de hoogste vrijstaande vlaggenmast ter wereld verbroken door de vlaggenmast op het Nationale Vlagplein in Bakoe, Azerbeidzjan, een record dat nadien nog enkele keren werd verbeterd. Anno 2022 is de vlaggenmast van Kijŏng-dong de 5de grootste vlaggenmast ter wereld.

's Werelds op vier na hoogste vlaggenmast

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Uit Wikipedia, de vrije encyclopedie Kijŏng-dong of Gijeong-dong is een dorp in de gedemilitariseerde zone tussen Noord- en Zuid-Korea en behoort tot Noord-Korea. Het ligt op twee kilometer van het Zuid-Koreaanse dorp Daeseong-dong. Het is in Noord-Korea bekend als Vredesdorp en in Zuid-Korea als Propagandadorp.

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Potemkin village, in its original meaning, any of a number of fake villages designed to impress the Russian empress Catherine the Great. The term has also come to be used to describe an elaborate facade designed to hide an undesirable reality.

The phrase "Potemkin village" bears the name of Russian statesman and nobleman Grigory Potemkin. Potemkin served in the Russian army and was one of the lovers of Empress Catherine the Great. He planned and successfully executed the conquest of the agriculturally rich lands of Crimea from the Ottoman Empire in 1783; however, his plans for colonization of the area fell short due to budget, and the plans were scuttled. However, in 1787 the empress wanted to tour her holdings, and Potemkin needed to save face and his reputation. Legend has it that Potemkin arranged for fake pasteboard villages-complete with waving, happy peasants who had been moved in from central Russia, herds of farm animals, and fireworks-to be set up along the river. As Catherine's boat arrived she was greeted by throngs of grateful subjects; when her boat had passed, the "towns" were quickly dismantled and moved, along with the livestock and throngs of peasants, to a location farther downriver to await her sailing by. Thus, Potemkin created the appearance of a prosperous and happy population to hide his own insufficient execution of the colonization efforts.

Historians now believe that these events never took place. They may have been based on rumours that were picked up by Georg von Helbig, who wrote a biography on Potemkin and is credited with coining the term "Potemkin villages." Von Helbig records reports of bags of sand appearing as stand-ins for wheat, herds of animals being moved from location to location, and fake towns. The legend was repeated by Finnish politician Johan Albrecht Ehrenström and later by Astolphe, marquis de Custine, of France. The latter's book Russia in 1839 (1843) was very well known, but scholars of the 19th and 20th centuries determined that it was riddled with errors.

Despite the dubious nature of the origin story, the phrase "Potemkin village" has endured and is used to describe a situation in which an undesirable reality is hidden behind an impressive facade designed to deceive observers into thinking the reality is better than it actually is. The phrase is used in both the literal sense, to describe fake or otherwise deceptive buildings or settlements, as well as in the figurative sense, to describe situations or conditions.

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Potemkin village | Meaning, Origin, History, & Example

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Potemkin village, in its original meaning, any of a number of fake villages designed to impress the Russian empress Catherine the Great. The term has also come to be used to describe an elaborate facade designed to hide an undesirable reality. The phrase "Potemkin village" bears the name of Russian

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#BAUDRILLARD

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Eating light: Finnish startup begins making food ‘from air and solar power’

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Maker hopes solein, protein grown with CO2 and electricity, will cut environmental impact of farming

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Terwijl de wereld zich vergaapt aan ChatGPT en andere generatieve AI die tekst en plaatjes kan bedenken, gebruiken militairen dezelfde soort AI-modellen voor oorlogsvoering.

Je zou dit destructieve AI kunnen noemen: kunstmatige intelligentie die niet creëert maar vernietigt. Denk aan drones die zelf doelwitten zoeken, grootschalige verwerking van live data op en om het front, geweren die (bijna) vanzelf schieten of piloten die een stel onbemande vliegtuigen mee op sleeptouw nemen, als gehoorzame wingmen die nooit vragen stellen.

Door digitalisering van wapens verandert het slagveld in een efficiencyslag: wie heeft de slimste en de meest accurate algoritmes? Gaza en Oekraïne, de twee gewapende conflicten waarbij tienduizenden slachtoffers vallen, zijn hightech-oorlogen waarin technologiebedrijven en militaire organisaties experimenteren met nieuwe AI-toepassingen. In Oekraïne selecteren drones zelf hun doel, vertrouwend op herkenning aan de hand van een voorgeprogrammeerde lijst met militaire objecten. En door met AI data van sociale media te analyseren kunnen de Oekraïners zwakke plekken in het Russische leger vinden.

De wereld beleeft dankzij AI opnieuw een 'Oppenheimer-moment', denkt Alex Karp, de topman van Palantir. Hij was vorig jaar nog in Den Haag op een conferentie over 'verantwoord AI-gebruik in het militaire domein'. Zijn bedrijf ontwikkelt software voor onder meer opsporingsdiensten en militaire organisaties. Palantir gebruikt de Oekraïense oorlog om de algoritmes na vijf jaar ontwikkeling uit te proberen en te finetunen aan het front. „Je kunt deze dingen niet in een lab bouwen, je hebt ervaring op het slagveld nodig", aldus Karp. Hij is te herkennen aan zijn kruidige uitspraken en karakteristieke krullen, zorgvuldig gestileerd alsof er net iets in zijn handen ontploft is.

Met zijn verwijzing naar Oppenheimer, de Amerikaanse natuurkundige die de atoombom hielp ontwikkelen, stelt Karp de macht van AI-systemen gelijk met de slagkracht van een kernwapen. Hoe hightech het ook klinkt, AI-wapens zijn geen waarborg voor een schone of efficiënte oorlog. Het is de schaalvergroting van dood en verderf.

Lavender

Het morele dieptepunt van wapensystemen met AI lijkt de software die het Israëlische leger zou gebruiken om Hamasstrijders uit te schakelen in de Gazastrook. Volgens het Israëlische opinietijdschrift +927 Magazine maakte het Israëlische leger tijdens de eerste maand van de oorlog volop gebruik van een programma dat potentiële doelwitten aanwijst. Na een check door een menselijke beoordelaar worden de doelwitten vervolgens gebombardeerd. Een door The Guardian geciteerde officier vergeleek het met 'stempelwerk', waarbij hij binnen twintig seconden moest beslissen of een aanval terecht was. Doorslaggevend was daarbij vaak of het doelwit een man of een vrouw was.

Met Lavender, zoals dit systeem genoemd wordt, kon Israël vijftienduizend doelen bombarderen in 35 dagen tijd; bij eerdere conflicten ging het om vijftig doelen per jaar. Volgens het artikel gebruikte IDF, het Israëlische leger, nog een programma, met de bijnaam 'Where's Daddy?'. Deze software zou 37.000 doelwitten volgen en signaleren wanneer ze thuis bij hun gezin kwamen. Dat was het teken dat er een bom op hen afgevuurd kon worden.

De rekensommetjes zijn simpel en gruwelijk. In de regel zouden vijftien tot twintig burgerslachtoffers worden gemaakt voor elke minder belangrijke Hamasstrijder. Voor een tegenstander met een hogere rang zouden tot honderd onschuldige slachtoffers gerechtvaardigd zijn. Deze 'geautomatiseerde moordfabriek ' zou een accuratesse hebben van 90 procent - één op de tien doelwitten staat dus onterecht op de dodenlijst.

IDF ontkent het bestaan van het systeem niet, maar noemt het een „database met up-to-date informatielagen, die als hulpmiddel dient om doelwitten te identificeren". „Elke aanval wordt eerst beoordeeld op proportionaliteit", reageerde IDF. Volgens het leger is er „geen beleid om tienduizenden mensen in hun huizen te vermoorden".

Doping

Het verslag van +927 en The Guardian is gebaseerd op anonieme bronnen en kan niet geverifieerd worden. Maar volgens Jessica Dorsey past de methodiek in de strategie die het Israëlische leger al enkele jaren toepast. Dorsey is assistent professor aan de Universiteit Utrecht en doet onderzoek naar onbemande wapensystemen. „AI heeft op het slagveld hetzelfde effect als de manier waarop we kunstmatige intelligentie in het dagelijks leven gebruiken: het verhoogt de reactiesnelheid en de schaalgrootte."

Dorsey omschrijft AI als 'doping', als een middel om menselijke vermogens te versterken. „We kunnen de toevloed aan informatie zelf niet verwerken met onze eigen cognitieve vaardigheden en besteden de dataverwerking uit aan machines. Het nadeel van de AI-systemen is dat er een 'input' en een 'output' is, maar je hebt geen flauw idee wat daartussenin gebeurt."

Als mens is het moeilijk om je te verzetten tegen de beslissingen van een computer die toegang heeft tot meer data dan je zelf kunt bevatten. Die automation bias zit erin gebakken: 'we' hechten van nature veel waarde aan geautomatiseerde systemen, of het nou de aanwijzingen van een navigatie-app zijn of de suggesties van Netflix. In plaats van argwaan overheerst blind vertrouwen. Zelfs bij een geautomatiseerde dodenlijst die zo snel en op zo'n grote schaal wordt toegepast.

Geen terminator

Onnauwkeurige software is dodelijk in de dichtbevolkte Gazastrook (2,1 miljoen mensen op 365 vierkante kilometer). Ter vergelijking: als je alle inwoners van Utrecht en Den Haag naar Rotterdam en Amsterdam verhuist, wonen er 2,3 miljoen mensen op 370 vierkante kilometer. Stel je vervolgens voor dat ze elke dag bestookt worden met een dagelijkse regen raketten. „Wat ik zo triest vind, is dat er altijd iets vreselijks moet gebeuren voordat we iets gaan reguleren", zegt Dorsey. Over AI voor defensieve taken is weinig tot geen discussie: de luchtafweersystemen zitten bomvol AI-techniek die helpt levens te redden. Het gevaar zit 'm in de offensieve toepassingen. Net zoals er afspraken zijn over biologische en chemische wapens, moeten ook AI-wapens gereguleerd worden.

Tot nu toe was de aandacht van bijvoorbeeld de Verenigde Naties vooral gericht op volledig autonome wapensystemen. Dorsey: „Gebruik alsjeblieft niet het woord 'terminator', want zoiets wil niemand." De sciencefiction-clichés leiden volgens haar de aandacht af van het echte probleem: er zijn geen regels voor de militaire beslissystemen, er is geen zicht op wezenlijke, grondige menselijke beoordeling. Na de komst van ChatGPT haastten politici zich om AI in het dagelijks leven te reguleren. Maar nu is het tijd om de echte killer-apps te beteugelen.

Marc Hijink is redacteur technologie en schrijft hier iedere week over de achterkant van tech. Reageren? Neem contact op met Marc Hijink via LinkedIn.

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Een versie van dit artikel verscheen ook in de krant van 20 april 2024.

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In de hightech-oorlog speelt AI een twijfelachtige hoofdrol. Kunstmatige intelligentie helpt om doelwitten te selecteren en sneller toe te slaan, waarbij het hoge aantal onschuldige slachtoffers voor lief wordt genomen.

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fake weapons

town of light

vegeables resembling weapons (bomb)

mushrooms resembling weapons (mines, mushroom cloud, nuclear bomb)

animal inspired camouflage

things posing as other things

fake reality - potemkin village - pretending things are better than they are

conscription randomness/justice

cutoff age

uniforms

insignia

building site vgl. destruction site

AI in warfare - destructive use

cyberwarfare vs traditional warfare

beasts of no nation

INTERBELLUM:

WAR IS BAD

WAR IS REAL

DEFENCE IS IN ALL OUR INTEREST

ATTACK IS OUR BEST STRATEGY

WE MUST AVOID WAR AT ALL COST

OR WE UST LOOK GOOD WHEN WE GO DOWN

inflatables

sound

photography (large prints)

(3D) printing

map of Emmen

video

fabrics

bodies

build an army

conscription tombola

fake arsenal

insignia

war fantasies

portraits of 'conscriptees' fictional and romanticised

peace offering (lots of white flags)

a battle

an edition of a newspaper with the above

War room:

- all the above on cards (intro) + map of Emmen on the screen

- groups: 1. sketch weapons 2. sketch camouflage insignia + meanings 3. sketch conscription method 4. sketch war speech for video 5. sketch strategy on location 6. get AI to help us

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LOOK AT ALL THESE EXAMPLES

#MILITARISEDPACIFISM

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https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvpXGL0sPOs/?igsh=MWJ5bW91cXpuNzVwZQ==

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The British grave of the Unknown Warrior (often known as ‘The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior’) holds an unidentified member of the British armed forces killed on a European battlefield during the First World War.[1] He was given a state funeral and buried in Westminster Abbey, London on 11 November 1920, simultaneously with a similar interment of a French unknown soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in France, making both graves the first examples of a tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the first to honour the unknown dead of the First World War.

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Military inventions that we use every day

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Thanks to NATO for providing us with this list

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Military inventions that we use every day

When you hear the words 'military inventions', you probably think of battle tanks, gigantic warships, supersonic fighter jets and explosives that shake the earth. But some of the most significant military inventions are much less flashy but just as important - things that we use every day in the civilian world.

Our militaries have one paramount duty: to keep us safe from any threat. Over the years, countless inventors from NATO countries have created new technologies, big and small, that contribute to that ultimate goal. The spill-over effects of this innovation are all around us, and have laid the foundations of our modern world.

NATO has supported science and innovation for more than 70 years. The Alliance not only provides direct funding to researchers, but also maintains networks that bring together thousands of scientists from around the world to collaborate and build on each other's work.

Military innovation in science and technology has helped to create some of the most iconic and essential items in our streets, offices and homes. Here are seven of the most interesting inventions pioneered and popularised by NATO militaries that are now common in everyday life...

1 - The internet

The number one military invention that we use every day is how you're reading this right now: the Internet.

The Internet as we know it today started its life in 1969 as the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, or ARPANET. Created by scientists working for the US Department of Defense, its initial purpose was to link universities, government agencies and defence contractors throughout the United States, enabling exchanges of information and shared computing power. Computers at that time were gigantic machines with strict limitations to the operations that they could perform. Connecting them together enabled them to perform increasingly complex calculations at a faster speed.

One of the key features of ARPANET was its wide horizontal dispersal into a 'distributed network' of multiple nodes. In the Cold War context, it was important to build an information-sharing and computational system without a central command hub that could become a juicy target for adversaries. The very name 'Internet' comes from this spread-out structure: groups of interlinked computers (networks) were connected together to form larger clusters (internetworks).

The first message communicated through ARPANET was sent from a computer at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) to Stanford University outside of San Francisco in 1969. A computer engineer at UCLA attempted to access the Stanford network by typing 'LOGIN' - although the system crashed and only transmitted 'LO' to the Stanford end. Later, the two networks were successfully bridged, and other US networks were eventually added to the mix.

In 1973, ARPANET was connected to the Royal Radar Establishment in Norway and University College London in the United Kingdom, creating a transatlantic link between NATO Allies. This was also when the term 'Internet' was born.

The following year, computer scientists Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf (sometimes called the Fathers of the Internet) created a new way of exchanging data between networks, called Transmission-Control Protocol, and later Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). This allowed computers in different networks to speak the same language, and led to ARPANET spreading even more quickly around the world throughout the 1970s and 1980s, laying the foundations for the modern Internet.

In 1991, Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web while working at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland. Although we use the words 'Internet' and 'World Wide Web' interchangeably, they are in fact different. The Internet is the infrastructure of interlinked computer networks; the World Wide Web is the collection of documents and files (web pages, images, videos, etc.) that we access through the Internet.

The creation of the World Wide Web as a user-friendly interface that can be easily navigated by anyone led to the mass popularisation of the Internet for the general public. No longer were these networks limited to universities, tech companies and militaries. The 1990s and 2000s saw the development of more and more websites, the beginning of e-commerce and web-based companies, and the rise of social media. By the 2020s, more than half of the global population (over 4.5 billion people) was connected to the Internet.

The Internet has reshaped our world more than any other invention on this list. It was truly a global venture, with scientists from NATO Allies on either side of the Atlantic contributing to its development. With every innovation, it has become more and more central to our lives, changing the ways we travel, work, entertain ourselves and keep ourselves safe. It started its life as a military invention, but now it's safe to say that it includes the entire scope of the human experience - from declassified military documents to cat memes.

2 - GPS satellite navigation

Be honest - when was the last time you took a trip, or even went around your hometown, without using an app to find your way? Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) help us get from point A to point B using a constellation of satellites that was first set up by the US Department of Defense in the 1970s thanks to GPS (Global Positioning System) technology.

In 1978, the Department launched the first satellite in its Navigation System with Timing and Ranging (NAVSTAR). The system became fully operational in 1993, with 24 satellites orbiting the Earth at approximately 19,300 km up.

The NAVSTAR system was originally limited to the US military and selected allies. However, the US government decided to make GPS freely available to the whole world in 1983, after a tragic air incident. A Korean commercial airliner flying from New York to Seoul accidentally drifted from its intended route into prohibited Soviet airspace, where it was shot down by a Soviet fighter jet, killing everyone on board. This incident could have been avoided with more accurate navigation tools, and so GPS was released to the public and adopted in civilian aviation and many other fields.

In the 21st century, GPS has become so universal that it's easy to forget that it's a free service provided and maintained by the US military. Other countries have also launched satellites and developed their own systems, including Russia's GLOSNASS, China's BeiDou and the European Union's Galileo, all of which share free navigational data with the public to some degree.

With more and more satellites and space junk in Earth's orbit, the potential for disruption to the various GNSS networks becomes greater every year. Nonetheless, GSP will continue to be crucial to our movements, economies and lives for the foreseeable future - whether we're tracking the course of a missile or watching the path of our pizza delivery.

This animation shows how signals between multiple GPS satellites determine the precise coordinates of a single point on the Earth's surface. Image: Wikimedia Commons/User: Paulsava

3 - MICROWAVE OVENS

Microwave cooking was accidentally discovered during the course of a totally unrelated project for a military contractor just after the Second World War.

Radar technology had grown by leaps and bounds throughout the war, and it continued to be crucial in the emerging Cold War, when NATO radar installations constantly scanned the skies for planes or missile threats from the Soviet Union. In 1946, a scientist named Percy Spencer was working on a magnetron (a device that produces the vibrating electromagnetic waves that make radar possible) to increase the power levels that could be used in radar sets. One day, midway through his experiments, he put his hand into his pocket and discovered that the peanut cluster candy bar he had been saving for lunch had melted.

Curious to experiment more, Spencer concentrated the magnetron's electromagnetic waves on a raw egg - and it exploded in his face, covering him with goo. Undeterred, Spencer brought in some kernels of corn and made the first-ever microwave popcorn, which he shared with his office mates.

It didn't take long for Spencer and his company to develop a commercial microwave oven. The first model, called a 'Randarange', was released on the market in 1947, only a year after Spencer's initial discovery. But the machine was gigantic, heavy and too expensive for the average family to buy: almost two metres tall, over 340 kg and USD 5,000 (in 1947!). It would take another 20 years for the technology to be miniaturised and made affordable enough for the average family. By the end of the 1960s, over a million microwave ovens were sold every year, becoming the household fixture that we know and love today.

4 - DUCT TAPE

What's stronger, more durable and more versatile than duct tape? A mother's determination.

Vesta Stoudt worked in a munitions factory during the Second World War while her sons served in the United States Navy. At the time, the standard practice for packing artillery shells was to seal a box with paper tape, with a little bit of tape left as a tab at the end that troops could pull to open the box, and then dip the whole thing in wax to make it waterproof.

But the paper tabs were so flimsy that they would often rip off without breaking through the wax or pulling off the rest of the tape. This posed a great danger to troops. If the tabs didn't work, it would waste precious time in the midst of combat, possibly meaning the difference between life and death.

Stoudt proposed that they replace the wax and paper tape with a new type of water-resistant, cloth-based tape instead. She raised the issue with her supervisors and with government inspectors when they visited the factory. They told her that it was a good idea, but they never actually followed through with implementing the change. So she did what any determined mother would do and wrote a letter to the President.

"I have two sons out there some where, one in the Pacific Island the other one with the Atlantic Fleet. You have sons in the service also. We can't let them down by giving them a box of cartridges that takes a minute or more to open, the enemy taking their lives, that could have been saved had the box been taped with a strong cloth tape that can be opened in a split second... Please, Mr. President, do something about this at once; not tomorrow or soon, but now."
- from Vesta Stoudt's letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 10 February 1943

In her letter, Stoudt not only gave an impassioned plea and a detailed outline of her idea, but also provided drawings to illustrate her point.

President Roosevelt passed her letter along to the War Production Board, who wrote back to Stoudt a few weeks later: "The Ordnance Department has not only pressed the matter, but has now informed us that the change you have recommended has been approved with the comment that the idea is of exceptional merit."

Shortly thereafter, the new tape was developed and rolled out - and not just for ammunition crates. Soldiers found that they could use it to repair practically everything, from weapons to vehicles to holes in their boots. They took to calling it '100-mile-per-hour tape' because it would hold even when affixed to fast-moving vehicles or when exposed to extreme winds. It was also called 'duck tape' - yes, you read that right - because it was made from cotton duck cloth (a type of canvas fabric) and because of its water-resistant properties.

Duck tape eventually became 'duct tape' when it was introduced into the civilian market and used to patch up heating ducts during the post-war construction boom. It was also changed from its original army green colour to the distinctive silvery grey that we know today.

Vesta Stoudt did not invent duct tape (versions of which had existed since at least the beginning of the 20th century). But her idea and her persistence led to the development of the modern-day version and its wide-scale adoption during and after the war. It has since been used not only for military equipment and home repairs, but also to make countless wallets and prom dresses, to seal wounds and staunch bleeding, and even to help astronauts explore the Moon!

5 - CARGO PANTS

The original cargo pants (or cargo trousers) were introduced as part of the British Battle Dress Uniform in 1938. They featured one pocket on the side thigh and one on the front hip, providing storage and quick access to essential gear, from medical kits to ammunition.

During the Second World War, the cargo-pant concept migrated across the Atlantic, when Allied forces in the United States caught on and further innovated upon the idea. Cargo pants became a staple of US paratroopers in particular, who had to carry all of their gear with them as they jumped out of airplanes. The US version, sometimes called 'paratrooper pants', widened the pockets so that soldiers could carry maps, ration packs, radios - everything required for a long mission behind enemy lines. In his war diary, a German officer, rattled by the sudden appearance of paratroopers around his outpost in the night, described them as "devils in baggy pants".

Cargo pants entered the civilian world as demobilised troops went home after the war. They became popular with labourers, who stored their tools in easy-to-reach pockets, then with outdoor sport enthusiasts, like hunters and fishers. In the 1990s, they took off as a fashion trend, trickling up from hip-hop performers to high-fashion runways.

Cargo pants and shorts have become a curiously cross-demographic piece of apparel, existing at the peculiar nexus of dorky dads, ironically clad Gen Z youth, long-distance hikers, grease-stained mechanics and haute-couture fashionistas. To this day, they remain the indisputable king of pockets, whether they're carrying barbecue tongs, cell phones, granola bars, monkey wrenches or lipstick.

6 - SUPER GLUE

In 1942, during the Second World War, a young scientist named Harry Coover got a job as a research chemist for a defence contractor. His first assignment was to develop a material that could be used to make high-precision targeting sights for weapons. While experimenting with a variety of compounds, Coover created a substance that wouldn't work at all for the project - "the problem was, everything was sticking to everything!"

Technically called a synthesised cyanoacrylate, the super sticky substance was shelved away and duly forgotten. The government cancelled the defence contract.

Nearly a decade later, in 1951, Coover was leading a team on another research project, this time to develop temperature-resistant chemical coatings for fighter jet canopies. One of his research assistants, Fred Joyner, was going through a long list of potential compounds when he happened to test the previously shelved substance in his refractometer - accidentally gluing together its two lenses and ruining the USD 3,000 machine.

Joyner was mortified by his expensive mistake, but Coover immediately saw the commercial opportunity that he had previously overlooked. "Serendipity gave me a second chance," he later said in an interview after receiving the United States' National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

In 1956, Coover officially received a patent for "Alcohol-Catalyzed Cyanoacrylate Adhesive Compositions/Superglue". He went on to introduce his invention to the world on the TV gameshow "I've Got a Secret" in January 1959. Coover used a single drop of Super Glue to connect two pieces of metal together and lift the host - and himself - off the ground, to the cheers of the studio audience.
Coover and Garry Moore, host of "I've Got a Secret", demonstrate the remarkable strength of Super Glue. Footage: National Science & Technology Medals Foundation.
According to his daughter, Coover liked being known as 'Mr. Super Glue' and one of his proudest accomplishments was knowing that his invention was helping to save lives - medics started carrying bottles of Super Glue in spray form to treat wounded troops on the battlefield. The adhesive reacted with blood and skin, allowing medics to literally glue wounds closed, keeping soldiers from dying of blood loss before they could get to a hospital. A variation on the compound that was less irritating to the skin was eventually developed, and is now used by civilian paramedics around the world.

From sealing wounds and saving lives to reassembling broken knick-knacks, the only limit to Super Glue's applications seems to be the human imagination. As Dr Coover put it when receiving his medal, "It probably is the single material that has more uses than any other material that we have."

7 - AVIATOR SUNGLASSES

Aviator sunglasses were developed in the 1930s as a lighter, less cumbersome alternative to the fur-lined goggles worn by pilots in the early years of aviation (think of Snoopy's goggles from Charlie Brown comics). Those types of goggles were heavy and uncomfortable to wear, and could also fog up mid-flight, making it hard for pilots to see (which is a pretty fundamental part of flying a plane).

Once cockpits were completely encased with glass, it became less important to have bulky eyewear that could protect against the cold. But it was still necessary to shield pilots' eyes from the blinding sunlight in the upper atmosphere, which could decrease visibility and cause headaches during long flights.

So Colonel John Macready of the US Army Air Corps worked with a company to develop the first set of aviator sunglasses, called Ray-Bans because that's what they were for: banning the sun's rays from a pilot's eyes. Initially, they were much more expensive than regular sunglasses, and were only marketed to civilians as sporting equipment for fishers and golfers.

But the Second World War changed everything. Throughout the war, civilians back home saw thousands of pictures of pilots wearing the distinctive sunglasses. Even General Douglas MacArthur, one of the key commanders of US forces in the Pacific theatre, was shown wearing them while landing on a beach in the Philippines in 1944, a famous image of the war.

After the war, military styles continued to influence fashion trends. Aviators became hugely popular with Hollywood stars like Marlon Brando, and then with the wider civilian market. In the following decades, celebrities like Elvis Presley and Freddie Mercury maintained the status of aviators as iconic symbols of cool, and Tom Cruise popularised them in the 1986 hit movie Top Gun.

Aviators are still used by pilots around the world to this day. You have probably worn a pair yourself. After more than eight decades, the famous sunglasses have remained a fashion staple - classic, nostalgic and timeless all at once.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

We couldn't include everything on this list, so we'd like to shout-out a few honourable mentions that didn't quite make the cut. The list of everyday items that were invented or popularised by militaries is long, and includes:

canned food,

freeze drying,

frozen juice concentrate,

drones,

jet packs,

jet engines,

EpiPens,

blood transfusion,

blood banks,

weather radar,

stainless steel,

vegetarian sausages,

tea bags,

digital cameras,

night vision,

ambulances,

aerosol bug spray,

virtual reality,

synthetic rubber,

nylon and other synthetic fabrics,

jeeps,

penicillin,

walkie-talkies,

Silly Putty,

the Slinky,

T-shirts,

safety razors,

sanitary pads,

wristwatches and

computers.

Nobody knows what the next big innovation will be. But our armed forces will continue to experiment and invent, coming up with new ideas and new technologies that help maintain the basic security and stability of our societies - and, in some cases, when the stars align, become central pillars of our everyday lives.

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Military inventions that we use every day

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When you hear the words 'military inventions', you probably think of battle tanks, gigantic warships, supersonic fighter jets and explosives that shake the earth. But some of the most significant military inventions are much less flashy but just as important - things that we use every day in the civilian world.

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https://valentinbeinroth.com/works/freeze-revisited/
http://www.florianjenett.de/freeze-revisited/index.html

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America's Army was a series of first-person shooter video games developed and published by the U.S. Army, intended to inform, educate, and recruit prospective soldiers. Launched in 2002, the game was branded as a strategic communication device designed to allow Americans to virtually explore the Army at their own pace, and allowed them to determine whether becoming a soldier fits their interests and abilities. America's Army represents the first large-scale use of game technology by the U.S. government as a platform for strategic communication and recruitment, and the first use of game technology in support of U.S. Army recruiting.

The Windows version 1.0, subtitled Recon, was the first released version on July 4, 2002. As of January 2014 there had been over 41 versions and updates released including updates to America's Army: Proving Grounds, which was released in August 2013. All versions have been developed on the Unreal Engine. The game was financed by the U.S. government and distributed by free download. America's Army has also been used to deliver virtual military experiences to participants at air shows, amusement parks, and sporting events around the country.

America's Army had been expanded to include versions for Xbox, arcade, and mobile applications published through licensing arrangements.

In May 2022, official online functionality and support for the latest game in the series, America's Army: Proving Grounds, was withdrawn.

America's Army 2 game intro

America's Army is a multiplayer video game that enables players to act as soldiers in the U.S. Army in a round-based team tactical shooter with combat at squad-level and three fireteams. GameSpot admired the game's authenticity: "It's pretty realistic-you take one or two shots and you go limp, you take one more and you're done." Another game review described America's Army as "the most realistic portrayal of weapons and combat of any game".

America's Army promotes adherence to the U.S. Army's seven core values. To this extent, the game's main ranking system, "Honor", is named after one.

America's Army includes optional medical training designed to provide real-world information. In order to assume the role of combat lifesaver in the game, players must pass a virtual medical training course based on actual training that soldiers receive with regard to evaluating and prioritizing casualties, controlling bleeding, recognizing and treating shock, and administering aid when victims are not breathing. Two America's Army players have reported using the training they received in-game to save lives in emergency situations; one such account, by Paxton Galvanek, received national media attention.

The game also allows players to train to drive the HMMWV and qualify to use the CROWS system allowing in-game use of the Mk 19 grenade launcher and Browning M2. Training is also available for the Javelin missile as well as specialist training such as parachute training, which allows access to the Airborne missions, and Special Forces training which allows access to the Special Forces missions.

The round ends when one team completes the objective or eliminates the entire opposing team. In certain circumstances, such as when both teams are eliminated or both sides have not completed their objectives when time runs out, there will be a tie.

America's Army achieves a high realism level in terms of visual and acoustic representation of combat, firearm usage, and mechanics, but its critics have alleged that it fails to convey wartime conditions as accurately as it claims. "If you are going to join the Army, you know the risk", says player Bart Koscinski. "In this game, you might die eight times in 15 minutes. In real life, people know what they are getting themselves into."

America's Army 3 is a first-person shooter video game, the sequel to America's Army. In comparison to its previous versions, America's Army 3 was completely remade using Unreal Engine 3 and introduced a number of changes. Medical training is now compulsory, allowing all players to give basic IFAK treatment. While the original America's Army required the completion of training to play online, America's Army 3 allows one to jump into a game with limited capability, and training is required to unlock desired equipment and skills. Another feature is melee combat in battle using a rifle butt, allowing for stealthier close combat situations. America's Army 3 also removed jumping to eliminate the practice of unrealistic bunny hopping-type evasive maneuvers.[citation needed ] Players can climb onto or hurdle over low obstacles. America's Army 3 reorganizes the fire teams that players were grouped into; the Designated Marksman was made a member of one of the fire teams instead of being a separate two-man shooter/spotter element as would be more fitting of a sniper team.

In June 2011, the U.S. Army released an update to America's Army 3, which includes two new multiplayer maps, Shantytown and Stronghold, and a number of features including gameplay for "Every Soldier a Sensor". The ES2 gameplay in America's Army 3 brought awareness of the importance of every soldier being observant on every mission. During America's Army 3 gameplay, players are rewarded for observing and reporting back things that they came across during the mission that were suspicious or out of place. In December 2011, America's Army 3 introduced a new inventory item, the M106 Fast Obscurant Grenade (FOG), into gameplay. The release also provided a new game loader front end to easily create player accounts, view news, manuals, Personnel Jacket and player stats, launch a game server, and a link to the America's Army website.

America's Army: Proving Grounds is a first-person shooter video game, created using Unreal Engine 3. America's Army: Proving Grounds was released in open beta on August 29, 2013. The game brings back many features from previous America's Army games and stresses small unit tactical maneuvers and training to reflect the current day U.S. Army. As with previous versions, America's Army: Proving Grounds was designed with certain principles and ideals in mind including Army values, the Soldier's Creed, teamwork, training, and completing the objective. Gameplay scenarios include Battle Drill Exercises and Forward Line Operations. Battle Drill Exercises (BDX) is fast-paced and meant for small engagements of 6 vs. 6 players. BDX maps focus on the basic movements and maneuvers, allowing players to quickly learn how opposing forces play and adjust their strategy for future engagements. Forward Line Operations (FLO) are larger 12 vs. 12 mission-based exercises allowing players to use the skills learned in their Battle Drills to achieve success.

In America's Army: Proving Grounds, players can use weapons new to the series such as the Remington 870 MCS shotgun and M14 EBR-RI Designated Marksman Rifle, in addition to weapons like the M9 pistol, M4/M4A1 and the M249 light machine gun which had been in previous America's Army games. Gameplay features include situational awareness for spotting enemies, effects of weapon suppression, a supported fire system for steadying or resting weapons to help with aim, self-aid where players can stabilize themselves, the revival of incapacitated teammates, securing the enemy, and a more advanced hardcore mode. The game also features updated versions of the hospital and bridge.

Set in the fictional Republic of the Ostregals, players assume the role of an 11B Infantryman practicing combat maneuvers at Joint Training Center Griffin (aka The Proving Grounds) as well as a MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain) training environment quickly assembled using existing building infrastructure, Conex shipping containers, and local materials. This training is crucial to the player's success as part of the Long Range Combined Arms-Recon (LRCA-R) team, a full spectrum capable unit for doing special operations missions deep behind enemy lines.

Promotion outside E3 2003

Box art for the original game

America's Army's concept was conceived in 1999 by Colonel Casey Wardynski, the Army's chief economist and a professor at the United States Military Academy.[8] Wardynski envisioned "using computer game technology to provide the public a virtual soldier experience that was engaging, informative and entertaining".[15] America's Army was managed by two other U.S. Army officers serving with Wardynski at the Office of Economic and Manpower Analysis (OEMA): Major Chris Chambers and Major Brett Wilson. Wardynski approached Michael Zyda and Michael Capps at the Naval Postgraduate School's (NPS) MOVES Institute in Monterey, California, to make this video game vision a reality. Zyda and Capps took a unique approach for developing a major software project in the United States Department of Defense by assembling a team of professional game developers with experience developing major titles and creating a development studio on the campus of NPS. The project had a development budget of $5 million.[16]

The game was developed by Wardynski who recognized that a video game might be helpful to the U.S. Army in the strategic communication efforts by providing more information to prospective soldiers and to help reduce the number of recruits who wash out during the nine weeks of basic training.[8] The effort proved successful as more than 13 million players have registered America's Army accounts over the years, with more than 260 million hours played on the various titles.[17] One teenager was quoted saying the game "provides great information. This would probably spark an interest. I don't know how I would have found out so much some other way."[18]

America's Army developers licensed commercial game engine technology, specifically the Unreal game engine, as the foundation for its game. It was the first game to feature Unreal Engine 2. America's Army is intended to give a positive impression of the U.S. Army. In the official Frequently Asked Questions page the developers confirmed in a statement that one of the reasons people outside the United States can play the game is "We want the whole world to know how great the U.S. Army is."

Promotional material at E3 2006

America's Army is the first well-known overt use of computer games for political aims. Chris Chambers, the former deputy director of development for America's Army, admits it is a recruitment tool,[19] and Chris Morris of CNN/ Money states that "the Army readily admits [America's Army] is a propaganda device".[20] The game aims to become part of youth culture's consideration set as confirmed by Army Deputy Chief of Personnel Timothy Maude in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.[21]

America's Army and its official web page contain links to the "Go Army" recruitment website, another recruiting tool that, according to the Army Subcommittee Testimony from February 2000, has a higher chance of recruiting than "any other method of contact".[21] Guiding American players to the website is a major goal of the game and it was confirmed that twenty-eight percent of all visitors of America's Army's web page click through to this recruitment site. According to Colonel Wardynski, the game generated interest from other U.S. government agencies, including the Secret Service, resulting in the development of a training version for internal government use only.[22]

Since the shutdown of America's Army: Proving Grounds in 2022, the website of the game now redirects to the "Go Army" website.

On November 6, 2003, version 2.0 of America's Army was released, with the full title of America's Army: Special Forces. In a booklet produced by the MOVES Institute, an article by Wagner James Au explains that "the Department of Defense wants to double the number of Special Forces soldiers; consequently, orders trickled down the chain of command and found application in the current release of America's Army".[23]

As the game became more widely distributed, it generated additional media interest. In December 2003, The Boston Globe columnist said " America's Army isn't just a time-wasting shoot-'em-up. It's full of accurate information about military training and tactics, intended to prepare a new generation of potential recruits. Amidst all the shouting drill sergeants and whistling bullets, some real education is going on. America's Army is a 'serious game', part of a new wave of computer simulations that provide entertaining lessons about real-world activities."[24]

After the game proved successful, the lack of the Army's acknowledgment for the contribution by the U.S. Navy led to tension and political fights over the project.[25] Eventually, the project was withdrawn from the Naval Postgraduate School due to allegations of mismanagement in March 2004 and the development team was moved to two new locations.[13][26]

One month after taking over production, the army signed an exclusive long-term contract with Ubisoft to reach a wider and younger audience. America's Army: Rise of a Soldier, a different version of the game for the Xbox, was produced by Ubisoft in collaboration with the U.S. Army.[13] Despite a 10-year publishing deal, the control over all communication and advertising remains with the army.[27] The Xbox version was released in November 2005. It was also due to be released on the PlayStation 2, but was later canceled.[28] A version of the game was also made for mobile phones by Gameloft.

About this time America's Army 2.5 Assist started out as a fix for a no longer working server list for Mac OSX based computers.[29] It is still working today as America's Army 2.x deploy client that people can use to play the game.[30]

America's Army 3 trailer

It was announced in early 2008 that America's Army 3 would be released in "fall 2008". Due to technical issues and problems with software licenses, the game release was delayed and rescheduled for "some time in 2009". America's Army 3 entered beta testing in late 2008[31] and was released on June 17, 2009. Although America's Army 3 was an entirely new game created using the Unreal Engine 3, there were still several similarities between previous versions of America's Army, including similar training exercises. AA3 emphasized graphical performance and flexibility to cover a broader range of PCs as well as decreased size for the full version of the software.[32][33] The game also featured fictional weapons for the enemy, as opposed to the Soviet and Warsaw Pact based weapons used in the previous versions. Although the game had initial problems with online play, it worked well offline. A hotfix was launched shortly after the game's release which addressed several problems with the authorization servers not being able to register that players had completed training. Five days after release, players were once again able to play online.

One day after the launch, the civilian developer's team contracted until game release was dismissed.[34][35] Responsibility for the development of the game was passed on to the Army Game Studio, part of the AMRDEC Software Engineering Directorate at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The Army Game Studio houses the development and management staff for America's Army outreach products as well as numerous Military and Government applications.

Proving Grounds trailer

On August 28, 2012, the developers were taking suggestions for a new America's Army game, the fourth in America's Army series. The game, which is called America's Army: Proving Grounds,[36] was released in an open beta on Steam on August 29, 2013. During the open beta, the developers had been updating the game with new maps and features as the game evolved. The beta ended on October 1, 2015, with the full release of the game, introducing new features and a new look and feel.[37] America's Army: Proving Grounds brings back many features from previous games, and stresses small unit tactical maneuvers and training that reflects the current day army. The game includes a mission editor, a feature brought back from America's Army 2.

In August 2018, a developer confirmed that the Army was beginning development on America's Army 5 (or AAV).[38][39] Since the discontinuation of Proving Grounds, its development status is currently unknown.

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America's Army was a series of first-person shooter video games developed and published by the U.S. Army, intended to inform, educate, and recruit prospective soldiers. Launched in 2002, the game was branded as a strategic communication device designed to allow Americans to virtually explore the Army at their own pace, and allowed them to determine whether becoming a soldier fits their interests and abilities.

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Truth or Fake - ‘Arma 3’: This is video game footage, not the war in Gaza

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Truth or Fake - ‘Arma 3’: This is video game footage, not the war in Gaza

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Many videos claiming to show real footage of fighting on the ground in Gaza are in fact simulated video game footage from “Arma 3”. This highly realistic military video game has in the past been the…

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The pro-Palestinian US campus protests in maps, videos and photos

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A visual guide to the protest movement and the police response

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Beluga, believed to be former spy whale, befriends community in Norway

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Ukraine unveils AI-generated foreign ministry spokesperson. Shi’s creators are a team called the Game Changers who have also made virtual-reality content related to the war in Ukraine.

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Ukraine unveils AI-generated foreign ministry spokesperson. Shi’s creators are a team called the Game Changers who have also made virtual-reality content related to the war in Ukraine.

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Ukraine on Wednesday presented an AI-generated spokesperson called Victoria who will make official statements on behalf of its foreign ministry.

The ministry said it would "for the first time in history" use a digital spokesperson to read its statements, which will still be written by humans.

Dressed in a dark suit, the spokesperson introduced herself as Victoria Shi, a "digital person", in a presentation posted on social media. The figure gesticulates with her hands and moves her head as she speaks.

The foreign ministry's press service said that the statements given by Shi would not be generated by AI but "written and verified by real people".

"It's only the visual part that the AI helps us to generate," Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, said, adding that the new spokesperson was a "technological leap that no diplomatic service in the world has yet made".

The main reason for creating her was "saving time and resources" for diplomats, he said. Shi's creators are a team called the Game Changers who have also made virtual-reality content related to the war in Ukraine.

The spokesperson's name is based on the word "victory" and the Ukrainian phrase for artificial intelligence: shtuchniy intelekt.

Shi's appearance and voice are modelled on a real person: Rosalie Nombre, a singer and former contestant on Ukraine's version of the reality show The Bachelor. Nombre was born in the now Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. She has 54,000 followers on her Instagram account, which she uses to discuss stereotypes about mixed-race Ukrainians and those who grew up as Russian speakers.

The ministry said that Nombre took part free of charge. It stressed that Shi and Nombre "are two different people" and that only the AI figure will give official statements.

To avoid fakes, the statements will be accompanied by a QR code linking them to text versions on the ministry's website. Shi will comment on consular services, currently a controversial topic.

Ukraine last week suspended such services for men of fighting age living abroad, making it necessary for them to return to their country for administrative procedures and potentially face the draft.

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Ukraine unveils AI-generated foreign ministry spokesperson

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Victoria Shi is modelled on Rosalie Nombre, a singer and former contestant on Ukraine's version of the reality show The Bachelor

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Troepenverplaatsing: Het bondgenootschap houdt de grootste oefening sinds de Koude Oorlog. Nederlandse militairen rijden ervoor naar Litouwen.

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The Chinese army has debuted its latest weapon - a gun-toting robotic dog.

The mechanical canine, which has an automatic rifle on its back, was front and centre of recent joint military drills with Cambodia, according to footage from state broadcaster CCTV.

The dog was backed up by a similarly-armed quadcopter in the drills, which saw the machines paired with human soldiers in dry runs for urban assaults. "It can serve as a new member in our urban combat operations, replacing our human members to conduct reconnaissance and identify enemy and strike the target," Chen Wei, a Chinese soldier, said in the video.

While they may be technologically advanced, the killer robots are hardly sleek pieces of military hardware; both dog and drone appear to be off-the-shelf pieces of consumer technology with a conventional rifle literally bolted on top. The dog has the brandname of the Chinese company that built it, Unitree Robotics, clearly visible on the side.

Prices for the company's Go2 robot dog start at $1,600 (£1,300), according to Unitree's website. The company denied selling products to the Chinese military. It is unclear how the army procured the dog.

A Chinese soldier tests a robot dog before it's equipped with a machine gun. Cambodia and China on Thursday kicked off their annual Golden Dragon military exercise. Photograph: Heng Sinith/AP

The robot dog archetype was initially developed and made famous by Boston Dynamics, at one point a Google subsidiary. It has long had connections with the US military, with the initial version of its "robotic quadruped", BigDog, being developed as a potential mechanical pack animal for the army. But the company, which was sold by Google to Softbank in 2017, and then on to Hyundai in 2020, has always steered clear of actively weaponising its technology.

According to Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert, who spoke at the AI Seoul Summit last week, there are "around 1,500" of the company's "Spot" dogs around the world. "But recently there's just been a springing out of other robot companies building quite incredible robots," Raibert said. "It's very exciting to go from the research lab into commercialisation."

That "springing out" also means that Boston Dynamics' refusal to weaponise its technology is no longer preventing militaries and law enforcement from obtaining their own armed robots. In 2021, Ghost Robotics demonstrated a Vision 60 robot dog armed with a custom gun built by Sword International, and by 2023 the US Army confirmed it was actively exploring how to use such a system in the field. In 2022, China demonstrated another weapon-wearing robot - being carried and deposited in a training centre by a drone.

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But while the systems are robotic, they are not yet typically autonomous. The CCTV video shows the Go2 dog being controlled by a soldier with a handheld device. The concern for many observers is what happens if and when that human link is diminished, with AI systems able to act quicker and with lower latency than a human operator could.

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Meet the Chinese army's latest weapon: the gun-toting dog

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China shows off mechanical canine with automatic rifle on its back at joint military drills with Cambodia

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In een buitenwijk van het Tsjechische stadje Decin zit een kleine fabriek in de hal van een voormalige supermarkt. Verstopt achter de grijze gevel zitten naaisters voorovergebogen aan lange tafels met enorme lappen stof. Decin heeft een geschiedenis van textielindustrie. Met de naaimachines die hier nu ratelen worden geen jurken of gordijnen gemaakt, maar illusies.

De grijsgroene stof wordt verwerkt tot levensgrote, opblaasbare militaire systemen. Tanks, houwitsers, gevechtsvliegtuigen en luchtafweersystemen, allemaal gemaakt van synthetische zijde en in tien minuten op te blazen. De opblaaswapens zijn zo ontworpen dat de hete lucht die er doorheen stroomt ook op infraroodcamera's de juiste afdruk geeft. Het doel is dat de wapens 's nachts en overdag voor vijandige soldaten of overvliegende drones zelfs op enkele honderden meters niet van echt te onderscheiden zijn.

„De opblaasbare tanks worden gebruikt als lokaas", legt Vojtech Fresser uit. Fresser was in 2014 een van de oprichters van het bedrijf in Decin, dat Inflatech heet. „Het is een vorm van misleiding." De opblaaswapens moeten de vijand verwarren en uitlokken in de hoop dat ze kostbare munitie verspillen aan niks meer dan een uit de hand gelopen springkussen. Een opblaastank kost circa 30.000 euro, terwijl een echte Amerikaanse Abrams-tank meer dan 10 miljoen euro kost.

NAVO-landen

„Oorlog verandert, en de tactieken moeten meebewegen", stelt Fresser. De wereld lijkt het met hem eens te zijn. Nepwapens zijn populair en Inflatech produceert honderden opblaasbare wapens per jaar.

Fresser wil niet bevestigen dat de Inflatech-tanks ook in Oekraïne te vinden zijn, maar hij levert aan NAVO-landen en „dan is het niet heel moeilijk te bedenken waar het dichtstbijzijnde slagveld is". Eerder leek Fresser wel te bevestigen dat zijn bedrijf levert voor het front.

In 1943 richtten de Amerikanen een volledig aan misleiding gewijde eenheid op: The Ghost Army

Van de militaire schijnbewegingen van Napoleon tot het paard van Troje: misleiding is altijd een onderdeel geweest van oorlogsvoering. „Oorlogsvoering is de kunst van misleiding", schreef de Chinese militaire strateeg Sun Tzu al vijf eeuwen voor Christus in zijn wereldberoemde traktaat over de kunst van het oorlogvoeren.

De opblaastanks van Inflatech zijn evenmin een nieuw idee. In 1943 richtten de Amerikanen een volledig aan misleiding gewijde eenheid op: The Ghost Army. Dit legeronderdeel bestond niet uit soldaten, maar uit kunstenaars en moest elke andere eenheid kunnen imiteren. Net als de fabriek in Tsjechië bouwden de mannen van het spookleger opblaasbare tanks en maakten ze gebruik van uitgebreide geluidseffecten. Uit enorme luidsprekers schalde het rumoer van een leger: het geroezemoes van soldaten, het grommen van tanks en het schelden van officieren.

Een opblaastank kost circa 30.000 euro, terwijl een echte Amerikaanse Abrams-tank meer dan 10 miljoen euro kost.

Foto Michael Heitmann/dpa

Het was een show waarmee de 1.100 leden van het spookleger zich voor konden doen als 30.000 soldaten. In meer dan twintig operaties leidde het spookleger de vijand af van de ware plannen van de geallieerden. Het Amerikaanse leger schat zelf dat met schijnvertoningen in het laatste jaar van de oorlog zo'n 15.000 tot 30.000 levens zijn gered.

Brute kracht

Toch verdween misleiding in het Westen daarna uit de militaire doctrines. „Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog is er een fascinatie gekomen voor elkaar alleen maar fysiek vernietigen", legt generaal Han Bouwmeester uit. Hij is hoogleraar bij de Faculteit Militaire Wetenschappen en is zelf ook een product van de Koude Oorlog. „Ik ben midden jaren tachtig in Breda opgeleid. Toen waren we, onder leiding van de Amerikanen, gefascineerd door brute kracht. In de vier jaar van mijn opleiding hebben we het nooit over misleiding gehad."

Voor Bouwmeester was het dan ook een verrassing toen na de val van de Muur in 1989 een heel ander soort oorlog opkwam. In voormalig Joegoslavië en Afghanistan ervoer hij hoe kleinere groeperingen met minder geld uit noodzaak niet alleen gebruik maakten van granaten en kogels, maar ook van informatie.

Een leeggelopen opblaasbaar militair voertuig van Inflatech.

Foto Michael Heitmann/dpa

„De strijdkrachten zeiden A en ze deden B", herinnert Bouwmeester zich uit zijn tijd in Bosnië, waar hij in 1995 en 1996 op missie was. „En daar werd ik keihard mee geconfronteerd. Mijn verbazing was misschien een beetje naïef, maar dat was voor mij echt een game changer en ik heb mij ook vanaf dat moment altijd beziggehouden met de vraag wat beïnvloeding precies is en hoe dat informatiespel werkt."

Maskirovka

Het duurde echter nog jaren voordat misleiding echt weer op de militaire agenda terecht zou komen. Toen Rusland in 2014 de Krim annexeerde en er ineens soldaten zonder herkenningstekens opdoken op het schiereiland, de beruchte 'groene mannetjes', keken westerse strategen daar flink van op. „In tegenstelling tot het Westen is Rusland altijd blijven vasthouden aan de kunst van misleiding", zegt Bouwmeester, die promoveerde op Russische misleidingstactieken. „Er is zelfs een woord voor: maskirovka."

Maskirovka wordt vaak vertaald als 'de kleine maskerade' en is een veelomvattend begrip, legt de generaal uit. Er valt van alles onder, van simpele camouflagenetten tot schijnaanvallen, leugens en desinformatie. Bouwmeester: „Maskirovka gaat over alle manieren waarop je iets verbergt wat er wel is, of toont wat er niet is."

De terugkeer van Rusland op het militaire toneel heeft een herontdekking van misleiding ingeluid in het Westen. De slinger dreigde even volledig de andere kant op te gaan, stelt Bouwmeester. „Er was een paar jaar ineens zoveel aandacht voor desinformatie en hybride oorlogsvoering dat de fysieke klappen uit beeld verdwenen. Maar de huidige oorlog in Oekraïne heeft wel weer laten zien hoe fysiek een slagveld is." Misleiding gaat, behalve om nepnieuws en leugens, nog steeds om strategieën op het slagveld. Inmiddels zijn er berichten dat ook Rusland gebruik maakt van opblaasbare wapens in de strijd tegen Oekraïne.

Doctrine

Toen Inflatech-baas Fresser in 2014 bij de bank aanklopte voor een lening voor zijn bedrijf, dachten ze dat hij een grapje maakte. Maar inmiddels kan niemand meer om opblaaswapens heen. Door de oorlog in Oekraïne is defensie weer helemaal terug op de Europese agenda en de wereldwijde militaire uitgaven waren in 2023 hoger dan ooit. Fresser: „Er is steeds meer geld. En een deel van dat geld gaat naar deceptie en opblaasbare wapens."

De opblaastanks die in het Tsjechische Decin worden genaaid sluiten zo aan op een bredere trend. Generaal Bouwmeester: „Ik ben niet langer een eenling als het gaat om het belang van misleiding. Dat hoofdstuk is terug in onze doctrine."

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Hoe zijden opblaastanks ervoor zorgden dat misleiding terugkeerde in de westerse oorlogsvoering

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Opblaastanks: Door middel van misleiding kunnen legers zich groter maken dan ze zijn. Het concept was bij het Westen wat uit de gratie geraakt, maar is door de oorlog in Oekraïne weer terug.

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In een buitenwijk van het Tsjechische stadje Decin zit een kleine fabriek in de hal van een voormalige supermarkt. Verstopt achter de grijze gevel zitten naaisters voorovergebogen aan lange tafels met enorme lappen stof. Decin heeft een geschiedenis van textielindustrie. Met de naaimachines die hier nu ratelen worden geen jurken of gordijnen gemaakt, maar illusies.

De grijsgroene stof wordt verwerkt tot levensgrote, opblaasbare militaire systemen. Tanks, houwitsers, gevechtsvliegtuigen en luchtafweersystemen, allemaal gemaakt van synthetische zijde en in tien minuten op te blazen. De opblaaswapens zijn zo ontworpen dat de hete lucht die er doorheen stroomt ook op infraroodcamera's de juiste afdruk geeft. Het doel is dat de wapens 's nachts en overdag voor vijandige soldaten of overvliegende drones zelfs op enkele honderden meters niet van echt te onderscheiden zijn.

„De opblaasbare tanks worden gebruikt als lokaas", legt Vojtech Fresser uit. Fresser was in 2014 een van de oprichters van het bedrijf in Decin, dat Inflatech heet. „Het is een vorm van misleiding." De opblaaswapens moeten de vijand verwarren en uitlokken in de hoop dat ze kostbare munitie verspillen aan niks meer dan een uit de hand gelopen springkussen. Een opblaastank kost circa 30.000 euro, terwijl een echte Amerikaanse Abrams-tank meer dan 10 miljoen euro kost.

NAVO-landen

„Oorlog verandert, en de tactieken moeten meebewegen", stelt Fresser. De wereld lijkt het met hem eens te zijn. Nepwapens zijn populair en Inflatech produceert honderden opblaasbare wapens per jaar.

Fresser wil niet bevestigen dat de Inflatech-tanks ook in Oekraïne te vinden zijn, maar hij levert aan NAVO-landen en „dan is het niet heel moeilijk te bedenken waar het dichtstbijzijnde slagveld is". Eerder leek Fresser wel te bevestigen dat zijn bedrijf levert voor het front.

In 1943 richtten de Amerikanen een volledig aan misleiding gewijde eenheid op: The Ghost Army

Van de militaire schijnbewegingen van Napoleon tot het paard van Troje: misleiding is altijd een onderdeel geweest van oorlogsvoering. „Oorlogsvoering is de kunst van misleiding", schreef de Chinese militaire strateeg Sun Tzu al vijf eeuwen voor Christus in zijn wereldberoemde traktaat over de kunst van het oorlogvoeren.

De opblaastanks van Inflatech zijn evenmin een nieuw idee. In 1943 richtten de Amerikanen een volledig aan misleiding gewijde eenheid op: The Ghost Army. Dit legeronderdeel bestond niet uit soldaten, maar uit kunstenaars en moest elke andere eenheid kunnen imiteren. Net als de fabriek in Tsjechië bouwden de mannen van het spookleger opblaasbare tanks en maakten ze gebruik van uitgebreide geluidseffecten. Uit enorme luidsprekers schalde het rumoer van een leger: het geroezemoes van soldaten, het grommen van tanks en het schelden van officieren.

Een opblaastank kost circa 30.000 euro, terwijl een echte Amerikaanse Abrams-tank meer dan 10 miljoen euro kost.

Foto Michael Heitmann/dpa

Het was een show waarmee de 1.100 leden van het spookleger zich voor konden doen als 30.000 soldaten. In meer dan twintig operaties leidde het spookleger de vijand af van de ware plannen van de geallieerden. Het Amerikaanse leger schat zelf dat met schijnvertoningen in het laatste jaar van de oorlog zo'n 15.000 tot 30.000 levens zijn gered.

Brute kracht

Toch verdween misleiding in het Westen daarna uit de militaire doctrines. „Na de Tweede Wereldoorlog is er een fascinatie gekomen voor elkaar alleen maar fysiek vernietigen", legt generaal Han Bouwmeester uit. Hij is hoogleraar bij de Faculteit Militaire Wetenschappen en is zelf ook een product van de Koude Oorlog. „Ik ben midden jaren tachtig in Breda opgeleid. Toen waren we, onder leiding van de Amerikanen, gefascineerd door brute kracht. In de vier jaar van mijn opleiding hebben we het nooit over misleiding gehad."

Voor Bouwmeester was het dan ook een verrassing toen na de val van de Muur in 1989 een heel ander soort oorlog opkwam. In voormalig Joegoslavië en Afghanistan ervoer hij hoe kleinere groeperingen met minder geld uit noodzaak niet alleen gebruik maakten van granaten en kogels, maar ook van informatie.

Een leeggelopen opblaasbaar militair voertuig van Inflatech.

Foto Michael Heitmann/dpa

„De strijdkrachten zeiden A en ze deden B", herinnert Bouwmeester zich uit zijn tijd in Bosnië, waar hij in 1995 en 1996 op missie was. „En daar werd ik keihard mee geconfronteerd. Mijn verbazing was misschien een beetje naïef, maar dat was voor mij echt een game changer en ik heb mij ook vanaf dat moment altijd beziggehouden met de vraag wat beïnvloeding precies is en hoe dat informatiespel werkt."

Maskirovka

Het duurde echter nog jaren voordat misleiding echt weer op de militaire agenda terecht zou komen. Toen Rusland in 2014 de Krim annexeerde en er ineens soldaten zonder herkenningstekens opdoken op het schiereiland, de beruchte 'groene mannetjes', keken westerse strategen daar flink van op. „In tegenstelling tot het Westen is Rusland altijd blijven vasthouden aan de kunst van misleiding", zegt Bouwmeester, die promoveerde op Russische misleidingstactieken. „Er is zelfs een woord voor: maskirovka."

Maskirovka wordt vaak vertaald als 'de kleine maskerade' en is een veelomvattend begrip, legt de generaal uit. Er valt van alles onder, van simpele camouflagenetten tot schijnaanvallen, leugens en desinformatie. Bouwmeester: „Maskirovka gaat over alle manieren waarop je iets verbergt wat er wel is, of toont wat er niet is."

De terugkeer van Rusland op het militaire toneel heeft een herontdekking van misleiding ingeluid in het Westen. De slinger dreigde even volledig de andere kant op te gaan, stelt Bouwmeester. „Er was een paar jaar ineens zoveel aandacht voor desinformatie en hybride oorlogsvoering dat de fysieke klappen uit beeld verdwenen. Maar de huidige oorlog in Oekraïne heeft wel weer laten zien hoe fysiek een slagveld is." Misleiding gaat, behalve om nepnieuws en leugens, nog steeds om strategieën op het slagveld. Inmiddels zijn er berichten dat ook Rusland gebruik maakt van opblaasbare wapens in de strijd tegen Oekraïne.

Doctrine

Toen Inflatech-baas Fresser in 2014 bij de bank aanklopte voor een lening voor zijn bedrijf, dachten ze dat hij een grapje maakte. Maar inmiddels kan niemand meer om opblaaswapens heen. Door de oorlog in Oekraïne is defensie weer helemaal terug op de Europese agenda en de wereldwijde militaire uitgaven waren in 2023 hoger dan ooit. Fresser: „Er is steeds meer geld. En een deel van dat geld gaat naar deceptie en opblaasbare wapens."

De opblaastanks die in het Tsjechische Decin worden genaaid sluiten zo aan op een bredere trend. Generaal Bouwmeester: „Ik ben niet langer een eenling als het gaat om het belang van misleiding. Dat hoofdstuk is terug in onze doctrine."

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Hoe zijden opblaastanks ervoor zorgden dat misleiding terugkeerde in de westerse oorlogsvoering

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Opblaastanks: Door middel van misleiding kunnen legers zich groter maken dan ze zijn. Het concept was bij het Westen wat uit de gratie geraakt, maar is door de oorlog in Oekraïne weer terug.

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NAAIPATRONEN, GROTE PAPIEREN KAARTEN, 3D PUZZLE, CONSUMES MONEY, IT'S MAGIC, GROTE GOOCHELTRUUK, MISLEIDING/OMLEIDING VAN AANDACHT, verschillende soorten misleiding, NABOOTSEN (eerst kijken hoe het gaat (opnemen en analyseren bij jezelf hoe je iets doet) DE PERFECTE ILLUSIE GEBEURT ONOPGEMERKT, EEN FRONTLINIE IS GEEN THEATER (SB: jawel, letterlijk wel!), ELSWORTH KELLY, SOUNDSCAPES (RADIO WAS HET VERTREKPUNT), CREATE THE NATURAL DEBRIS THAT COMES WITH FAKING SOMETHING, HET ZIT IN DE DETAILS. NA DE TWEEDE WERELDOORLOG VERDWEEN MISLEIDING UIT DE BOEKEN, GEN. HAN BOUWMEESTER: FASCINATIE GEKOMEN ME ELKAAR FYSIEK VERNIETIGEN, MAAR JOEGOSLAVIE BLEEK EEN GEVECHT VAN WAARHEDEN, ZE ZEIDEN A EN ZE DEDEN B, NU KREEG IK IN BEELD DAT OORLOG VOEREN OOK EEN VORM IS VAN HEEL ONEERLIJK ZIJN TEGEN ELKAAR. MAAR JE KUNT OOK BEINVLOEDEN MET INFORMATIE, SLIM TEGEN SLIM OF LEUGEN TEGEN LEUGEN. GEVEOL DAT ER ERGENS EEN GORDIJN WORD TOVPENGESCHOVEN, EEN DOEKJE WORDT OPGETILD. !! paard van troje !! OORLOG ALS SCHIMMENSPEL, POST TRUTH. MASKIROVKA (RU) - DE KLEINE MASKERADE. ROOKGORDIJNEN. IK LIEG, JIJ WEET DAT IK LIEG EN IK WEET DAT JIJ WEET DAT IK LIEG, MAAR WE HOUDEN DIE WAARHEID TOCH IN STAND.

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Van de makers van NRC Vandaag: het verhaal van dit weekend. Welke levens gaan schuil achter de actualiteit? Over wie gaat het nieuws? En welke denkbeelden vormen de wereld van nu?

Deze zaterdag het verhaal van Mandula van den Berg, over misleiding in oorlogstijd.

Lang verdween het naar de marge, maar met de terugkeer van Rusland op geopolitiek niveau is het niet langer te negeren. Misleiding is terug op het strijdtoneel. Wat is de kracht van dit vergeten wapen?

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De kunst van misleiding in de oorlog van nu

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Van de makers van NRC Vandaag: het verhaal van dit weekend. Welke levens gaan schuil achter de actualiteit? Over wie gaat het nieuws? En welke denkbeelden vormen de wereld van nu?Deze zaterdag het verhaal van Mandula van den Berg, over misleiding in oorlogstijd.Lang verdween het naar de marge, maar met de terugkeer van Rusland op geopolitiek niveau is het niet langer te negeren.

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He Enlisted in Uncle Sam's Camouflage Unit

Minimalist great Ellsworth Kelly, best known for his hard-edge painting, entered into the war efforts of World War II in 1943. He requested to join the 603rd Engineers Camouflage Battalion, which filled its ranks with artists and was known as the Ghost Army.

Fine Art in War

In World War I, artists in the French military were the first to be assigned to a unit specifically designed to use art in combat. They created over seven million square yards of painted camouflage fabrics and nets that would be used for soldier uniforms and weapon concealment. The unit became known as the Camoufleurs, after the French word camoufleur, which means to veil or disguise.

By World War II, every country had expanded upon these artful military units, including the U.S. Army. American artists played a vital and dangerous role during WWII. Though the materials they used were far more advanced than those of World War I, they often required the artists to be in more dangerous positions than even the armed soldiers fighting at the fronts. These were the artist-soldiers of the Ghost Army.

Joining Up with the Ghost Army

The Ghost Army or the 603rd was a deception unit. It consisted of 1,100 men. They were called upon to practice visual, sonic, radio and atmospheric deception for the purpose of confusing and thwarting the enemy.

They used everything from inflatable trucks to sound trucks to fake radio transmissions and scripted pretense to mislead Axis forces about the directions and location of Allied forces.

Decoys and Deception

Kelly was one of many soldiers in the Ghost Army who created decoy devices and trompe-l'œil scenarios to deceive the enemy and hide military equipment and movements.

In addition to creating camouflage for hiding military equipment, the visual artists of the Ghost Army designed and created fake inflatable rubber tanks, jeeps, artillery, and at one point, even inflatable soldiers. Kelly also designed propaganda posters as well as actual camouflage patterns during his service with the 603rd.

The Ghost Army used their props, sound recordings and fake radio transmissions to impersonate other Allied Army units, manipulating the enemy's perceptions of where operations were being held.

They were often very close to the front lines, making themselves the target. Some were killed in action, having fooled the enemy into attacking their fake artillery and tanks. These units had little defensive means to protect themselves. Their story wasn't known until more than forty years after the end of World War II. A PBS documentary about them was produced in 2013.

The Artists of War

The artists of the Ghost Army were prolific. They used any spare moments to work in sketchbooks and on drawings and paintings that give us a window into their extraordinary lives.

Many went on to have successful post-war art and design careers. Ellsworth Kelly is the most famous visual artist that came out of the 603rd and, in many ways, it was his time with the battalion, painting and producing camouflage, that stands in as his basic art training.

Fashion designer Bill Blass was a member of the Ghost Army as was Arthur Singer of the well-known Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification illustrations was also with the Ghost Army. He also created one of the most best selling special issue postage stamp series, "Birds and Flowers of the Fifty States."

Others became art professors at prominent universities. Several worked in illustration, design or advertising.

The Ghost Army of World War II by Rick Beyer and Elizabeth Sayles (2015) contains images of the soldiers' sketches and watercolor paintings along with photographs from the war and maps of their operations - a remarkable story of the heroic, but secret work of the artists who served their country in The Ghost Army.

Please join us on The Artist's Road for more interesting articles, interviews with contemporary artists and step-by-step demonstrations.

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Modernist Ellsworth Kelly in the Ghost Army

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Ellsworth Kelly entered the WWII efforts as part of the 603rd Battalion known as the Ghost Army, which practiced artful deception against the Axis forces. Kelly was one of many soldiers in the Ghost Army who created decoy devices and trompe-l'œil scenarios to deceive the enemy and hide military equipment and movements.

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South Koreans faced a different type of retaliation this week when more than 150 white balloons were allegedly floated across the border by North Korea attached to bags of rubbish and faeces.

It came after the North Korean defence vice-minister, Kim Kang-il, warned that Pyongyang would retaliate in response to anti-North Korean leaflets flown across the border in the opposite direction.

It is not the first time faeces have been used in conflict or in protest actions.

Scythian arrows

The use of poo in warfare is believed to stretch as far back as the fifth century BC. The Scythians, who lived in a territory stretching across central Asia, used arrows dipped in poison made from a concoction of snake venom, human blood and dung or human faeces.

Poison that entered into a puncture wound would probably have caused shock or gangrene.

Chicken poop prison

Khuk Khi Kai, also known as the chicken poop prison, was built by French occupiers in Thailand in 1893 to imprison Thai resistance fighters.

At just 4.4 metres wide and 7 metres high, the prison was topped with a chicken coop from which dung would drop on to prisoners below.

Viet Cong's punji sticks

Punji sticks were a type of booby trap used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam war. Often made from sharpened wood or bamboo, and sometimes covered in animal venom, plant poison or faeces, the sticks were hidden and sometimes placed in pits in areas likely to be traversed by enemy troops or in preparation for an ambush.

Most troops wounded by punji sticks were kept out of combat for about the same amount of time as soldiers healing from minor gunshot wounds.

Russian patent for weapon of waste destruction

In 2009, a rather creative invention for soldiers needing to dispose of their waste while sealed inside vehicles during combat was granted a patent in Russia.

The idea involved encasing waste with explosives in artillery shells. "The gun charged with special projectile is targeted on a safety zone or on any enemy target," the patent states.

Cape Town's 2013 'poo wars'

Not quite a war, as the name suggests, but a protest. In 2013, residents of Cape Town, South Africa, protested against the local government for not doing enough to provide proper sanitation in townships. Authorities had provided portable toilets rather than permanent flushable ones. Protesters decided to use human waste from the toilets to get their point across, in an action that one researcher said "literally dragged the stench from the shantytowns to Cape Town's centres of political and economic power".

Protesters dumped bags of waste in government offices, and raw sewerage was thrown at the then opposition leader, Helen Zille. Protesters also dumped buckets of human waste at Cape Town international airport.

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From Scythia to South Korea: a potted history of poo in warfare

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Suspected North Korean balloons carrying faeces are latest example of dung or human waste being used in conflict

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Imagine commanding a strategic mission where every decision can sway the outcome from catastrophic failure to triumphant success. This pulsating heart of activity is not tucked away within military confines; it beats within the war room in project management. Intense, perhaps, but in the realm of project orchestration, such an environment is the crucible for molding triumph.

Within these walls, you are not a mere participant but the maestro of a meticulously coordinated symphony. A collaborative workspace unfolds, where thoughts converge, risks are tamed, and project strategy sessions evolve from abstract plans to concrete milestones.

Here, we'll navigate the intricacies of a war room's role in steering projects to their destined havens. Absorb insights on wielding this tactical advantage, ensuring every stakeholder and cross-functional team is in unwavering alignment.

By article's end, the veil will be lifted on enhancing team collaboration, refining communication plans, and constructing an arsenal of interactive project charts. Venture through the strategic sessions, SCRUM meetings, and real-time monitoring that define the anatomy of a project's nerve center.

Key takeaways

Origins and Modern Usage: Initially utilized by military leaders for strategizing, war rooms in project management are dedicated spaces for planning and executing large-scale projects, fostering intensive interaction and idea exchange among team members​

​Principles of Operation: A war room facilitates effective communication, involving all team members equally, and uses visual aids like whiteboards for brainstorming and strategy formulation. It is designed to be a dynamic space that supports quick decision-making and creative problem-solving rather than routine meetings​

​Project Planning and Execution: War rooms are particularly important for managing complex projects, providing a centralized location where project teams can focus on planning efficiently and preparing for project activities without external disruptions​

​Inclusivity and Visualization: The war room emphasizes equal participation and the use of visual tools to represent data and project metrics, ensuring that all team members have clarity on the project's progress and can contribute to its success​

What is a war room?

The term "war room" stems from the military efforts during the WW1 and WW2. The first war room was used in 1901, and it was located at military headquarters. The military leaders and strategists would meet in this war room, and they would discuss strategies on how to win the war.

The most well-known war room was used by Winston Churchill during World War 2. In modern-day London, you can find a museum dedicated to this very war room, where Churchill would meet with generals and military leaders to discuss the strategies and plan the tactics of how to beat the Germans during the war.

Since there have been no significant wars recently, the term war room has been borrowed for use in other areas. Most notably, in project management, which we will discuss here in this article. So, what is a war room in terms of project management? A war room is usually a single room within the business headquarters that contains whiteboards and computers to help the people plan a strategy.

In a project management war room, seeds of a good project are sewn, and it is often the place where agents and directors spend most of their time during the project. It is a place where project teams and agents meet and discuss project activities and combine ideas. A war room is especially important for bigger projects that require effective communication.

The bigger the project, the harder it is to manage all aspects of the project, which is where war rooms come into play. It is important during the planning phase to have effective conversations in order to push the project through and plan it efficiently. The war room acts as a place where ideas are gathered and a good place to brainstorm and produce new ideas so that the plan is without flaws. Executives and project teams will spend most of their time in the war room, preparing things for the next project.

How Does a War Room Work?

The basic principle of the war room is to gather all people responsible for carrying out the project in one room where they can communicate easier and gather thoughts together. Mostly, the war room is a physical room, but it can also be virtual or a combination of both. Whatever shape it is in, these are the main principles of a war room.

Effective Communication

Everyone in the room should be able to see and hear everything that is being discussed and have the freedom to contribute to the project. Every piece of information should be conveyed clearly.

Surface Area is Used

In every war room, there should be enough space to write, such as an interactive whiteboard, chalkboard, or walls. It should be the focal point of the room, somewhere where everyone can see and hear what is being said clearly.

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Everyone Should be Involved

The war room should be a place of equality where everyone has the ability to present their own ideas and thoughts on the project.

Additionally, it should be done in such a way that everyone can hear and see everything that is being discussed. This creates a feeling of accountability, dedication to the project, and equality among the members.

Visualization

The aspect of visualization is very important for war rooms. In addition to the surface area, the war room should contain lots of visual representations where different metrics or numbers are presented. This includes sticky notes, graphs, photos, wireframes, tables, user interface designs, and more. This is where data and information about the project should be presented clearly.

Variety

To cover all aspects of the projects, other people from other fields should sometimes be invited to present an alternative perspective.

A War Room is Not a Meeting Room

The purpose of the war room is creativity, not as a meeting room where directors meet. The war room should be for creative debates and not business debates.

Quick Decisions

Sometimes, the decision should be taken quickly to move the project forward. Other times, the decision should be considered over a longer period.

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Why is a War Room Good?

What is a war room, and what are the benefits that it brings? Here, we will cover just that.

Effective Communication

The biggest and most notable benefit of a war room is that it enables effective communication between members of the team.

Meeting people in a war room is more efficient than conveying ideas over the phone or through email. A lot of information might get lost in any other meeting situation, and it is better to meet in person.

The team can really focus on the project in person, eliminating all potential disturbing factors of all other types of communication, such as the telephone.

The Information Can Be Managed Easily

Another benefit of a war room is that visualization is much easier in the war room due to the technology and gadgets used there. Computers, whiteboards, and walls can be used as places where visual information is conveyed, which enables a much easier, more effective visualization of the data and facts that are in question.

Better Focus

When people are there for the sole purpose of pushing the project forward, there should always be more focus on the project.

In the war room, there are likely to be no other disturbances that would shift the focus of people in there, and the project is made the primary focus of the team.

Better Chemistry Between People

This is an aspect that cannot be neglected and is sometimes the decisive aspect of whether a project is successful or not.

The team can grow together and develop chemistry between them, which can increase the chances of success. The room works as one, and the focus of the people is on the same thing.

It allows members of the team to bond and creates a mutual understanding that would not have been possible if they were not in a war room.

Visual Data Is Easier to Manipulate

In a war room, there is likely to be plenty of visual data on display. This data is made in such a way that it is easy to manipulate and, consequently, much easier to understand.

If it was conveyed with words, it would likely not be as powerful as it is in its visual form.

What is the war room equipment?

A war room's equipment can vary depending on the project. A war room can be simple and inexpensive, or it could be a collection of high-tech equipment. The basic equipment is the same in both types of rooms. Larger companies are more likely to have a more expensive war room, while smaller companies can turn their offices into a war room with a few simple adjustments.

One of the most important things to remember about war rooms is that they must have enough space. Both types should have more than enough space on the walls to portray and visualize data and create a feeling of a war room. This can be done by simply rearranging the furniture within a room, or by putting equipment in a separate room. Some can be quite fancy, while others are primitive but still very effective.

So, what is war room equipment? What are the essential components of a good war room? One of the most important things is to have a place to draw and write. Ideally, it should be a whiteboard. For drawing, you will also need plenty of whiteboard markers of different colors, which will allow you to present things more clearly.

Next, you should have sticky notes in different colors. Sticky notes are a cheap but effective investment for your project. The important thing is also that the furniture is flexible - meaning that the furniture should be able to be used when needed; when you need to sit down and talk, chairs should be ready to be deployed. When you need more space, the furniture should be arranged so.

Printers, scanners, and copiers are very important pieces of equipment as well. You do not have to spend too much on a war room, but these gadgets can be very important.

Lastly, a war room should be an isolated room, away from external factors that may affect your team's productivity. The members should leave their phones out of the room. Keep the distraction level at a minimum.

Lanyards are typically worn around the neck and have long been associated with identifying individuals within an organization. A Custom Lanyard features team logos, colors or slogans as a visual representation of the team's identity. Each time a team member wears these lanyards, it increases the member's sense of team identity.

Hopefully, you now have a better idea of what is a war room and you will be able to get together a team to work effectively in one.

FAQs about what a war room is

What exactly is a war room in project management?

It's a dynamic centralized communication zone, tailored for intense project strategy sessions. It's where teams can rally, data converges, and decisions are fast-tracked. Tailored to adapt and respond in real-time, it's project management's headquarters for innovation and progress.

How does a war room enhance project management?

A war room amplifies efficiency and team collaboration. It acts as a beacon, guiding task force headquarters to a singular vision. Real-time project monitoring and decision-making are heightened, with every piece of data at one's fingertips. This collaborative workspace is the breeding ground for breakthroughs.

What are the must-have features in a war room?

A successful war room is stocked with interactive project charts, Agile sprint room amenities, and cutting-edge tech to streamline task management. Visual aids like Kanban boards and Gantt chart analysis tools are non-negotiable, enabling an eagle's view over project trajectories.

Who should be involved in a war room?

Inclusivity is key. Bring in a cross-functional team-from project leads to creative minds and technical specialists. A command center thrives on diversity, with stakeholders and team members melting into a single unit, committed to the project's success.

When should a project team utilize a war room?

Deploy a war room when stakes are high. Whether it's critical project lifecycle phases, or when crisis management is paramount, its utility skyrockets. It's the go-to during major milestones or when risk management strategies need a focused den for execution.

How does a war room facilitate crisis management?

In times of crisis, it morphs into a swift decision-making room. It's all-hands-on-deck; missteps have no place. As a crisis management hub, it's where situational analysis thrives, and where proactive countermeasures are deliberated upon and enacted with precision.

What differentiates a war room from regular meetings?

Juxtapose a war room with regular meetings and it's clear-urgency, interactivity, and collaboration are accentuated. Not just a room; it's a mission. Every strategic session here is deliberate, geared towards tangible advancements. Think of it as a summit for the intrepid and the proactive.

How can virtual technologies be integrated into a war room?

Immerse into the digital: virtual whiteboards, project management software, and live dashboards. These project management tools bridge distances, transforming traditional confines into a boundless collaborative workspace. The project dashboard becomes not just a tool, but a beacon of collaborative innovation.

What role does a war room play in Agile project management?

In Agile's rapid-fire domain, the war room is pivotal. It fosters the essence of Agile project management: iterative progress, SCRUM meetings, and continuous improvement. With walls papered in progress boards and windows into real-time metrics, Agile sprint rooms catalyze nimble navigations through project sprints.

How can one measure the success of a war room?

Success in a war room is a tapestry of engagement metrics and project reporting. Analyze team collaboration, decision impact, and problem resolution speed. When a war room starts to sculpt project outcomes for the better, hoisting efficiency and clarity, it's nailed its mission.

Conclusion

In sum, the essence of a war room in project management can be likened to a conductor's podium in the symphony of strategic delivery. The orchestrated hum of activity within its purview - a result of collaborative workspaces informed by real-time project monitoring - resonates with the rhythm of effective communication plans and the pulse of project status updates.

As the curtain falls on our exploration, the takeaways gleam with clarity. Here, the alignment of a cross-functional team, the meticulous sculpting of project visualization tools, and the foresight afforded by interactive project charts unite to elevate the project narrative to its climax. Revel in knowing that the centralized communication zone cultivated today, nourishes the seeds of tomorrow's successes.

Embrace the war room. Let it be the keystone in bridging project visions to reality, an edifice where the command center orchestrates agile sprint rooms and all project strategy sessions -a triumphant ode to the craft.

If you enjoyed reading this article on what is a war room, you should check out this one about the project management framework.

We also wrote about a few related subjects like project management books, project management principles, project management goals, project management metrics, IT project manager, Kanban app, gap analysis, project management skills, and project management methodologies.

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What Is a War Room and How to Use it in Project Management

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Take your project management skills to the next level with a War Room. Learn what it is, why it works, and how to create your own.

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„ Do ajé, do ajé. Onze missie, onze missie", schallen de stemmen van jonge rekruten over een stoffig veldje. Al exercerend vervolgen ze: „Een einde maken aan de dictatuur, dat is onze missie."

Op bevel van de trainer trekken ze met de kolf van hun houten geweren een cirkel rond hun zwartstoffen gymschoenen. Daarbinnen stampen ze verder onder de brandende zon. Zweet maakt donkere vlekken op hun T-shirts in camouflagekleuren. Over een paar dagen is de militaire spoedcursus van 45 dagen voor de 72 nieuwkomers voltooid. Ook elders in de jungle worden jongeren klaargestoomd voor de strijd.

Massaal melden ze zich aan bij gewapende verzetsgroepen sinds de Myanmarese junta begin februari de dienstplicht aankondigde. Volgens deze wet moeten mannen tussen de 18 tot 35 jaar en vrouwen tussen de 18 en 27 jaar minimaal twee jaar in het leger dienen.

Het is een noodmaatregel. De militante opstand die uit protest tegen de staatsgreep van 2021 op gang kwam, heeft zich steeds verder uitgebreid. Voor het eerst in de geschiedenis moet het leger van Myanmar op zo veel fronten tegelijk vechten dat het troepen tekortkomt.

Naast het exercitieveld wordt een vijftal rekruten alvast kortgeschoren. Allemaal hetzelfde kapsel voordat ze hun uniformen mogen dragen. Terwijl hij wacht op zijn beurt onder de tondeuse, vertelt een 31-jarige man die anoniem wil blijven: „Iedereen weet dat het leger onschuldige burgers doodt." Over zijn voorhoofd trekt een boze frons. „Ik wil vechten voor democratie en voor gerechtigheid."

Nieuwkomers krijgen een militaire spoedcursus van 45 dagen - met houten geweren.
Foto Ye Aung Thu

Hij werkte tot voor kort op een luchthaven. Al langere tijd twijfelde hij of hij zich zou aansluiten bij de gewapende opstand. De dreiging van de dienstplicht in het leger van de junta gaf hem het laatste zetje. Na vijf dagen overleg met zijn familie verliet hij zijn thuis. „Het stemt me hoopvol dat ik terug ga vechten", zegt hij. En met een schuchter lachje voegt hij eraan toe: „En natuurlijk ben ik ook een beetje bang".

Een man met Spider als nom de guerre zegt: „Sinds 2015 proefden we slechts een paar jaar van onze vrijheid. Voor die vrijheid strijd ik nu." Ook bij hem gaf de dreiging van de dienstplicht de doorslag. „Beter te vechten voor het verzet, dan voor de militairen."

Ministaat

De strijders in spe krijgen hun training in het gebied van de Karen, een etnische minderheid die al decennia vecht voor gelijke rechten en meer autonomie. Tegen alle onderdrukking in hebben de Karen in het oosten van Myanmar de macht over een ministaat met een eigen leger, scholen en ziekenhuizen. Net als enkele andere etnische groepen vormen ze sinds de coup een losse verzetscoalitie met de people's defence forces (pdf's), burgermilities van veelal jongeren uit de steden die drie jaar geleden de wapens opnamen. De pdf's kregen destijds training bij de Karen en andere minderheden. Inmiddels hebben ze eigen trainers om de nieuwkomers op te leiden.

Theorie bij militaire training.

Foto: Ye Aung Thu

Hazel, een frêle vrouw van eind twintig, is bij haar verzetsgroep mede verantwoordelijk voor de selectie van de nieuwkomers. Dankzij de satellieten van Starlink, onderdeel van Elon Musks ruimtevaartbedrijf SpaceX, zijn veel junglekampen verbonden met de rest van Myanmar. Ze vertelt hoe net na de aankondiging van de dienstplicht ruim vijfduizend aanmeldingen via internet binnenkwamen. De kandidaten worden gescreend. In online interviews en via referenties wordt geprobeerd uit te sluiten dat spionnen infiltreren. Daarna vertrekken ze via sluiproutes naar het verzet. „Uiteindelijk zullen we er tussen de zes- en achthonderd opnemen, meer kunnen we niet aan."

Commandant Dewa (veel Myanmarezen hebben één naam) komt de rekruten inspecteren. Met zijn tengere gestalte en de grote bril die zijn bleke gezicht domineert, lijkt hij niet op zijn plek in de militante omgeving. Maar politiek verzet zit in zijn genen. Hij werd geboren in 1988, terwijl zijn vader deelnam aan de landelijke protesten die dat jaar door de straten golfden. Zijn grootvader, een politicus uit de democratische oppositie, overleed eind jaren negentig in de gevangenis. Als geologiestudent werd Dewa zelf een van de leiders in de verboden studentenbond. In 2007 protesteerde hij tegen het bewind en werd hij - net als zijn vader - gearresteerd. Vijf jaar later kwamen ze tegelijkertijd vrij.

Na de staatsgreep van 2021 dook Dewa aanvankelijk onder in Yangon en zette hij ondergrondse cellen op die gewapend verzet begonnen. Een aantal maanden later vluchtte hij naar de jungle toen andere leiders uit dat netwerk werden opgepakt. „Het was een moeilijke beslissing om na drie generaties vreedzame tegenstand toch de wapens op te nemen, maar we hebben geen keuze", zegt hij. „Ik wil niet dat mijn kinderen opgroeien onder de onderdrukking die wij meemaakten. We zullen een beter land met een betere toekomst voor hen achterlaten."

Rechten van de Mens

Als een fluitje snerpt, gaan de rekruten in looppas naar een lange tafel van bamboe onder een dak van bladeren. Op het scherm voorin de geïmproviseerde barak verschijnt uitleg over de Universele Verklaring van de Rechten van de Mens en het belang van gedragscodes tijdens een oorlog. De meesten pennen in hun notitieboekjes, maar bij sommigen blijft de bladzij leeg. „We moeten voorkomen dat we worden zoals de vijand die we bestrijden", zegt de trainer over het lesprogramma.

De praktijk is heel wat weerbarstiger. Het regime heeft veruit de meeste wreedheden op zijn geweten. Maar ook uit enkele van de gewapende verzetsgroepen komen berichten over schendingen van mensenrechten. Sommigen van deze militaire leiders opereren als krijgsheren die aan niemand verantwoording afleggen.

Het scala aan groepen dat tegen het regime vecht heeft de afgelopen drie jaar steeds meer terrein veroverd. Buiten de grote steden en het centrale deel van Myanmar is het regime de controle voor een groot deel kwijt, al maakt het in de lucht met bommenwerpers, artillerie en drones de dienst uit. De militaire slagkracht van de junta komt vooral van de etnische legers die over decennia aan ervaring en soms eigen wapenfabrieken beschikken. Maar de burgermilities zijn de afgelopen drie jaar ook geprofessionaliseerd. In pick-ups navigeren ze zelfbewust over verharde wegen van Oost-Myanmar, waar de jungle plaatsmaakt voor dorpen en rijstvelden. Ze hebben dankzij privédonaties meer en zwaardere geweren kunnen kopen. Ook is er materieel buitgemaakt op het leger.

„Toch hebben we nog altijd een tekort aan wapens en munitie", vertelt commandant Soe Win van de strijdgroep die Garuda heet. Hij voert het bevel over driehonderd mensen en heeft daarnaast ook zo'n tweehonderd nieuwkomers onder zijn hoede. Zijn kamp, niet ver van de frontlinie, ademt discipline en ervaring. Hutjes van hout en bamboe staan verspreid van elkaar en goed verscholen onder de bomen. Enkele bunkers uitgegraven in het zand en afgedekt met boomstammen en zandzakken bieden bescherming tegen aanvallen vanuit de lucht. De grond is netjes aangeveegd.

Opnieuw strijden

Het verweerde gezicht van de 54-jarige commandant mist een oog. Een verwonding die hij opliep toen hij dertig jaar geleden tegen de militairen vocht. In 1988 sloot Soe Win zich aan bij een groep ex-studenten die de wapens opnam toen het leger demonstraties neersloeg. Nadat de guerrillastrijd in de loop der jaren gemarginaliseerd raakte, bouwde hij in 2003 een nieuw bestaan op in een westers land. Hij stichtte een gezin met drie kinderen en kreeg een baan als teamleider in een fabriek.

Maar toen na de staatsgreep de protesten zich door het hele land verspreidden en jongeren net als hij destijds tot gewapende strijd besloten, wist hij dat het moment gekomen was om terug te keren naar zijn vaderland. „Als ik aan mijn eigen kinderen en hun comfortabele leven denk, heb ik met hun leeftijdgenoten hier te doen. Maar ik ben ook trots op ze. Ik laat ze weten dat de toekomst op hun schouders rust."

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In Myanmar leidt dienstplicht van het leger ook tot aanwas voor verzetsgroepen

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Gevechtstraining: In Myanmar heeft de junta de dienstplicht ingevoerd. Sommige jonge mannen en vrouwen sloten zich in plaats daarvan aan bij gewapende verzetsgroepen.

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De overheid moet de inspraakprocedures voor de grootschalige uitbreidingsplannen van Defensie drastisch inperken, vindt Tweede Kamerlid Silvio Erkens (VVD). Volgens Erkens komt ander de paraatheid van de Nederlandse krijgsmacht in het geding. „Veel burgers hebben de houding: not in my back yard. Gezien de dreiging waarmee we te maken hebben, vind ik dat eigenlijk asociaal."

Sinds de grootschalige Russische invasie in Oekraïne heeft Defensie er vele miljarden bij gekregen om de krijgsmacht te versterken. Bij die versterking gaat het niet alleen om de aanschaf van materieel, maar ook om de training van personeel. Het ministerie is daarom op zoek naar nieuwe locaties om munitie op te slaan, manschappen te legeren en om te oefenen - ter land, ter zee en in de lucht. In december heeft demissionair staatssecretaris Christophe van der Maat (Defensie, VVD) de voorlopige plannen voor veertig locaties voorgelegd aan burgers en lokale besturen. Het gaat onder meer om munitieopslag in Groningen en Drenthe, een 'superkazerne' in de Flevopolder en nieuwe laagvlieggebieden bij de luchtmachtbases Leeuwarden en Volkel.

Die plannen, zo blijkt, hebben geleid tot een golf van bezwaarschriften. Afgelopen maand maakte Van der Maat bekend dat er ruim 2.200 'zienswijzen' waren ingediend tegen de voorstellen van Defensie. „Ongekend veel", zegt Silvio Erkens. Volgens Erkens dreigen de plannen enorme vertraging op te lopen, waardoor de krijgsmacht niet genoeg kan oefenen.

Het VVD-Kamerlid pleit er daarom voor de normale inspraakprocedures in deze dossiers drastisch te versnellen: „Het betekent dat er wel degelijk routes blijven om besluiten van de overheid aan te vechten, maar dat bijvoorbeeld de termijnen om een klacht in te dienen veel korter worden."

VVD-Kamerlid Silvio Erkens: „Zeggen dat militairen in het buitenland moeten oefenen, vind ik decadent."

Foto Merlijn Doomernik

Niet wandelen met de hond

Na het einde van de Koude Oorlog heeft Defensie een groot aantal kazernes en oefenterreinen gesloten en zijn grote oefeningen in Nederland zeldzaam geworden. Vanwege het gebrek aan ruimte oefent Defensie nu vaak in Duitsland, Litouwen en Polen.

Nu er meer geld is, heeft Defensie snel meer locaties nodig. „Als politici moeten we daarvoor onze nek uitsteken en zeggen: dit moet binnen drie jaar geregeld zijn", zegt Erkens. „Het ministerie wil het vrijwillige dienjaar [nu nog met enkele honderden vrijwilligers] voor 2028 uitbreiden naar drie- á vierduizend militairen. Dat is best snel: al die jongens en meiden moeten wel ergens eten, slapen en kunnen oefenen."

De toenemende behoefte aan terreinen in Nederland „kan inderdaad betekenen dat je in een natuurgebied op bepaalde tijden even niet kan wandelen met de hond", zegt Erkens.

Het VVD-Kamerlid verwijst naar de Crisis- en Herstelwet uit 2010, waarmee een groot aantal bouw- en infrastructurele projecten versneld zijn doorgevoerd, zonder de gebruikelijke inspraakprocedures. „Ik wil een steen in de vijver gooien. Als ik kijk naar het proces dat het demissionaire kabinet heeft ingezet dan gaat het allemaal te traag. NAVO-commandanten waarschuwen dat een Russische aanval op NAVO-grondgebied binnen vijf jaar een feit kan zijn."

Natuurbeheer én munitieopslag

Tijdens de parlementaire behandeling van de uitbreidingsplannen van Defensie wil Erkens per motie voorstellen de inspraakprocedures te verkorten. Of dat kan rekenen op de instemming van de rest van de coalitie, is nog ongewis. BBB-Kamerlid Gijs Tuinman stelde eerder vragen aan staatssecretaris Van der Maat over de geplande heropening van vliegbasis De Peel (bij Venray) in verband met de schadelijke gevolgen voor het regionale centrum voor paardentopsport dat zich daar bevindt. „Draagvlak en vertrouwen zijn belangrijk", laat Tuinman in een reactie weten, „anders wordt dit een juridische nachtmerrie." BBB is voorstander van het „versnellen" van de uitbreidingsplannen van Defensie, maar vindt dat niet dwang, maar innovatie voorop moet staan. „Bij multifuntioneel gebruik van de ruimte zou de opslag van munitie en natuurbeheer samen kunnen gaan", laat Tuinman weten.

VVD'er Erkens vindt dat het belang van Defensie op de eerste plaats staat. „De Nederlandse F-35's zouden een grote rol kunnen spelen bij het uitschakelen van de Russische luchtafweer. Als je van onze krijgsmacht vraagt dit soort risicovolle taken op zich te nemen dan moet ze goed kunnen trainen. Dan zeggen: ze moeten maar in het buitenland gaan oefenen, vind ik decadent. We hebben het letterlijk over de levens van onze mannen en vrouwen."

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VVD pleit voor minder inspraak bij Defensieplannen: 'Not in my backyard is eigenlijk asociaal'

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Krijgsmacht: Defensie heeft snel nieuwe locaties nodig. Inspraak mag zulke wensen niet te veel in de weg staan, vindt VVD-Kamerlid Silvio Erkens. De...

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Reduced to just their facades, the otherwise unremarkable buildings in Zacharie Gaudrillot-Roy’s photographs take on a surreal new quality. The eerie, sparsely populated pictures appear to play into the French photographer’s self-professed aim of creating “confusion between fiction and reality.”

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Reduced to just their facades, the otherwise unremarkable buildings in Zacharie Gaudrillot-Roy’s photographs take on a surreal new quality. The eerie, sparsely populated pictures appear to play into the French photographer’s self-professed aim of creating “confusion between fiction and reality.”

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Eerie photos reduce buildings to facades | CNN

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Zacharie Gaudrillot-Roy has spent a decade producing digitally manipulated images that “erase” the back of buildings in his series, “Façades.”

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„Vechten moet wel. De Derde Wereldoorlog komt eraan", zegt Rob Waldram op de vraag of hij wil vechten of zelfs sneuvelen voor Nederland. De 26-jarige student informatiekunde zit samen met andere studenten op een terras op het Utrecht Science Park. Maar, zo voegt hij toe: „Ik zou vechten voor mijn moeder, niet voor Nederland. Dus het liefst pas als de vijand aan de landsgrens staat. Alleen zijn tegen die tijd de NAVO-tanks waarschijnlijk op."

Waldram en andere studenten reageren desgevraagd op een peiling die dinsdag bekend werd. Daarin zegt 49 procent van de 4350 deelnemers 'ja' op de vraag of ze bereid zijn te 'vechten voor het vaderland'. Gaat het om vechten voor een ánder EU-land, dan is die bereidheid flink lager: minder dan 30 procent.

Veiligheid in Europa

De uitkomst staat in een onderzoek dat het Haags kennis- en opleidingsinstituut Clingendael deed aan de vooravond van de Europese verkiezingen. De meer dan vierduizend kiesgerechtigden werd gevraagd naar het belang dat ze hechten aan bepaalde thema's. Veiligheid in Europa scoort samen met migratie het hoogst , aldus Clingendael, hoger dan klimaatverandering of de opkomst van radicaal-rechtse partijen.

Kort voor de publicatie van de peiling kwam er ander nieuws met betrekking op de veiligheid in Europa. Maandag stuurde staatssecretaris Christophe van der Maat (VVD, Defensie) een brief naar de Tweede Kamer over mogelijke nieuwe maatregelen om het grote personeelstekort bij Defensie aan te vullen.

Hij mijdt suggesties richting herinvoering van de dienstplicht, zoals momenteel in het Verenigd Koninkrijk gebeurt. Maar de demissionair staatssecretaris spreekt wel over „maatregelen met een (gradueel) meer verplichtend karakter tussen vredestijd en oorlogstijd."

Gaten in de krijgsmacht

De overheid wil, als het echt nodig is, een dringend beroep kunnen doen op een deel van de bevolking om de grote gaten in de krijgsmacht te vullen. Momenteel zijn er zo'n 6.000 vacatures (op een totaal van 70.000 medewerkers). Deze gaten beperken verregaand de gevechtskracht van Nederland.

Mocht de Russische dreiging tegenover een NAVO-lidstaat (bijvoorbeeld de Baltische staten of Polen) sterk groeien, dan wil Defensie mannen en vrouwen uit niet-gevechtsfuncties kunnen overbrengen naar de gevechtstak. Daarbij gaat het om uiteenlopende functies als magazijnbeheerder, logistiek manager of IT-specialist. Met deze 'schaalbare krijgsmacht' wil Defensie voldoen aan afspraken die momenteel binnen de NAVO worden gemaakt voor een snelle troepenopbouw bij een Russische dreiging. De afspraken moeten begin volgend jaar ingaan.

Ik denk niet dat ze aan het front veel aan me hebben

Yosefien Goderie student

Door deze voorgenomen verschuiving zullen (nog) grotere gaten ontstaan bij ondersteunende diensten bij Defensie. Die moeten in zo'n geval snel worden gevuld door mensen uit de 'burgersamenleving' die daar soortgelijke functies uitoefenen. Vermoedelijk gaat het om vele duizenden werknemers.

„De kramp moet eraf", zei staatssecretaris Van der Maat maandagbij talkshow Op1, „dat we niet durven nadenken over een scenario (...) waarbij we een beroep moeten doen op onze jongeren om naar voren te stappen".

„Het moet heel bont worden voor ik bereid ben mijn leven te riskeren", zegt Aron Koppes (21). Hij is tweedejaars ICT-student aan de Hogeschool Utrecht. Als de overheid dwang toepast is hij wel van plan om mee te werken en zich als ICT-er in te zetten. Helemaal zonder 'kramp' gaat dat niet: hij wil dit alleen als nabije landen zoals Duitsland aangevallen worden. „En ik zou nog altijd liever werken in het bedrijfsleven."

Variërende bereidheid

De peiling van Clingendael is niet de enige die duidt op een verschuiving in het waardenpatronen. Pieter Paul Verheggen van Motivaction herkent het beeld. Zijn bureau doet al langer onderzoek naar de 'vecht- en sneuvelbereidheid' onder Nederlanders. Ook Verheggen ziet een toename. „Mensen hier hebben steeds sterker het gevoel dat hun democratie, hun manier van leven op het spel staat. Ze zijn bereid daar desnoods iets voor op te offeren."

Vroeger varieerde deze bereidheid met het nieuws over oorlogen of aanslagen, maar dat is nu minder het geval. Verheggen: „Dit waardepatroon is stabiel. Zou er morgen een wapenstilstand in Oekraïne komen en het oorlogsgeweld stoppen, dan nog blijft die gevechtsbereidheid. Er zijn teveel andere plekken in de wereld, denk aan Gaza of Israël, waar oorlog wordt gevoerd."

Verheggen, van huis uit psycholoog, zet wel twee kanttekeningen bij dit type onderzoeken. „Het gaat om een mindset, niet wat men werkelijk zou doen." En is er een groot verschil tussen „het vaderland dienen" achter een bureau of in de modder van het slagveld van Oost-Europa. Het eerste is aanmerkelijk populairder dan het tweede, een voorkeur waarmee de maandag aangekondigde aanpak van het kabinet rekening lijkt te houden.

Ook bij de studenten die zich op het Utrecht Science Park positief uitlaten over een toekomst bij Defensie, volgt al snel een 'ja,maar'. Zo heeft Yosefien Goderie (18), student interdisciplinaire sociale wetenschap aan de Universiteit Utrecht, de traditionele 'opkomstbrief' van Defensie nog niet uitgepakt. „Ik denk niet dat Nederland aan het front veel aan me heeft. Misschien dat ik, als het echt nodig is, wel in een andere rol iets kan betekenen." Mede-student Manou Kerkvliet (19) durft wel een stap verder te gaan. „Ik wilde vroeger militair arts worden. Als er noodzaak is doe ik dat graag alsnog." Grijnzend draait ze zich om naar haar tafelgenoten: „En als het moet dan sterf ik, ook voor mijn vriendinnen die niet durven."

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Steeds meer Nederlanders zijn bereid te vechten - en sneuvelen - voor Nederland

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Krijgsmacht: Defensie voert de druk op om te dienen bij de krijgsmacht. Jongeren reageren verdeeld. Ze dienen het land liever in een IT-functie achter het bureau dan in een loopgraaf in Oost-Europa. „Het moet heel bont worden voor ik bereid ben mijn leven te riskeren."

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The autumn cannot arrive soon enough for Dmytro, when his handlers have promised to get him out of Ukraine.

For the past month, the 31-year-old photographer from Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, has been holed up in his flat, rarely stepping outside, to avoid being conscripted into the army. "I want to leave the country. My mind can't take being trapped here any more," Dmytro said.

Since the start of the war, thousands of Ukrainian men have illegally crossed the Ukrainian border to dodge conscription, despite a nationwide ban prohibiting men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving.

Attempts to flee the country are expected to increase after Ukraine's recent adoption of new sweeping mobilisation measures, which allow the military to call up more soldiers and impose stricter penalties for draft evasion.

"I never thought about leaving until the mobilisation laws were introduced. But I can't stay in my flat forever," Dmytro said.

Through friends who had already fled, Dmytro obtained contacts and approached individuals online promising to facilitate his escape for a hefty fee, starting from €8,000 (£6,800).

"I am not made for war. I can't kill people, even if they are Russians. I won't last long on the front ... I want to build a family and see the world. I am not ready to die," he said.

Dmytro was unsure if he could trust the handlers, who had recently raised their prices to meet the growing demand, but said he saw no other options.

More than two years into Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion, Ukraine's armed forces are desperately short of soldiers.

A member of the Ukrainian forces and police officers checking the documents of a man in the centre of Kyiv last April. Photograph: Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images

Since the start of the war, hundreds of thousands of ordinary Ukrainians have volunteered to serve at the front, helping to maintain the country's independence and repel the initial attack.

Many of those initial soldiers are dead, wounded or simply exhausted, leaving the military to recruit among a more reluctant pool of men.

To fill the ranks, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, last April signed a controversial law that lowered the mobilisation age from 27 to 25. Under the new guidelines, draft evaders can lose their driving licence, have their bank accounts frozen and property seized.

Even before the latest mobilisation drive, more than 20,000 men are believed to have fled the country to avoid service, some of them swimming and drowning in attempting to cross Ukraine's mountainous western border into Romania.

In April, Andriy Demchenko, the head of the Ukrainian state border guard service, reported that at least 30 Ukrainian men had died attempting to cross, though the real number is probably much higher, as some bodies are very unlikely ever to be recovered.

As mobilisation officers roam the cities to draft men of military age, many such as Dmytro have hatched plans to leave, fearing they will not survive long on the frontlines.

Ukrainian border guards on patrol along the Ukraine-Moldova border in Odesa region. Photograph: Reuters

Since the war's beginning, the draft has been criticised as chaotic and tarnished by corruption. Ukraine has intensified its efforts to stop people fleeing across borders and evading the draft, highlighted by Zelenskiy's dismissal of all regional military recruitment chiefs in April. This dismissal followed reports of officers accepting bribes to exempt men from conscription.

But the practice appears to be hard for the authorities to root out.

Andrei, a 23-year-old IT worker from Odesa, shared with the Guardian a message he had received from a handler in late May with information on how he could leave the country. The detailed instructions outlined two escape pathways: one involved crossing the Moldovan border using a fake passport, while the other option would list Andrei as an artist, a category occasionally permitted to exit the country. Both schemes cost about €8,000, the handler wrote.

Last summer, Andrei had already attempted to cross the border into Moldova using a fake medical certificate that said he was unfit for service.

Schoolboys pass a poster calling on people to sign up for the army in Kyiv last September. Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters

That attempt failed when border patrol questioned the authenticity of the certificate. He was promptly taken to a conscription office, but was released after paying a bribe.

"The journey is only getting more difficult and border officials are less eager to take bribes. I don't think I will be this lucky a second time if things go wrong," he said.

Andrei said he was still considering the handler's offer, adding that the fee would be his life savings. "For now, I am on a self-imposed house arrest. I don't leave my flat at all," he said.

Some of his mobilised friends had already been deployed and killed, he said, which damaged his mental health.

There are no exact figures for how many men are hiding or planning to leave, but in big cities Telegram channels with thousands of members have sprung up where users report sightings of state representatives to help others avoid them.

Interviews with five men who were hiding at home to avoid conscription revealed a variety of reasons for doing it.

Many voiced their dread of perishing in a battle marked by gruesome trench fighting and a brutal death rate. Others mentioned their resistance to conscription because of what they perceived as inadequate training before being sent to the frontlines. Some chose to avoid mobilisation on complex family grounds.

Mykhailo, a gym instructor from Mariupol working in Kyiv, said his parents were still living in the coastal city that Russia occupied in the spring of 2022 after a brutal siege.

"My family in Mariupol will be in direct danger if the Russians find out that I am fighting," he said.

"I love my country and want to fight, but family comes first. It is a very difficult situation."

Mykhailo, like others, has been avoiding going out, ordering food at home and only venturing to his nearby gym.

"I recently missed my best friend's birthday because I was too afraid to leave. It's a very restricted life, to say the least," he remarked.

Mykhailo said several of his friends had already fled the country and he occasionally considered that option.

While overall support for the country's troops remain high and polls show that there is still a considerable number of men willing to be mobilised, Ukraine's conscription drive risks dividing Ukrainian society, already plagued by war fatigue.

Many Ukrainian soldiers at the front, or those who have returned after being injured, criticise draft dodging, arguing that the practice weakens their country's war effort as Russian forces make advances across multiple fronts.

Standing outside a cafe in Kyiv, leaning on a crutch, Roman, who was discharged from service after a shell hit his right leg, expressed his disappointment when hearing stories of men hiding or attempting to flee the country.

"I understand that people are scared, but we simply need new recruits to keep fighting," Roman said, requesting that his last name not be published.

"If not us, then who will protect this country?"
*Some names have been changed

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'I am not made for war': the men fleeing Ukraine to evade conscription

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As a new recruitment drive looms, some are turning to online handlers and forgers to escape the horror of war