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I just returned from a two month fellowship at Edinburgh University, accompanied by my family. The trip included talks in Germany, Italy and England. These side-trips required a lot of packing, and generated a lot of souvenirs, specifically snow globes to mark each place we visited.
This led to a problem when going through airport security, however. Snow globes count as liquids, and have to be included in those annoying little plastic bags; as a result, we had to find tiny snow globes to avoid the wrath of security agents. Failure to do so runs the risk of your bag being pulled aside to be searched, which–especially if transferring through Heathrow–can be an agonizingly long process.
As I sat and waited for the security guard to decide if my Florence snow globe was a secret bomb, I thought about how path dependence and security theater had combined to create this ridiculous situation.
Many may not remember why we have to take all liquids and gels out of their bags. It has to do with a specific disrupted terrorist plot. In 2006, British law enforcement discovered a group of al-Qaeda operatives were planning to board several transatlantic flights with the components of a bomb hidden in drink bottles. They would assemble the bomb during the flight and detonate. They arrested those involved, and authorities put in place the restrictions on carry-on liquids.
Other airport annoyances are also tied to disrupted plots. In late 2001, an al-Qaeda operative attempted to detonate a bomb that had been hidden in his shoe but it failed to go off. Passengers subdued him. Authorities then required everyone boarding a plane to take off their shoes.
Do government agents really think terrorists would fill a snow globe with explosive liquid?
And of course TSA only exists because of a tragically successful plot. Before 9/11, private companies handled airport security. Many experts believed the attack demonstrated the need for a central government agency, so the Transportation Security Administration was established, moving to the Department of Homeland Security in 2003.
We are stuck in a situation in which airline security is insufficient to prevent all threats, so authorities add another layer, which also proves insufficient, so they add another layer…
There are valid debates about some parts of airport security. Terrorists could always try the liquid plot again. Scanning machines may deter attempts to bring weapons onto planes. And terrorists could respond to any sort of loosened restriction by quickly targeting the vulnerability.
But there is little evidence current procedures are the result of constant threat assessment. Do government agencies really have evidence that terrorists continue to show interest in liquid plots? Hasn’t increased passenger and crew scrutiny decreased the likelihood of a successful shoe bombing (in fact, that’s how the shoe bombing was stopped)? Based on my time spent at DHS’s intelligence division, most security assessments are best guesses.
Too many people have internalized this as normal.
Additionally, there is little evidence that TSA is actually disrupting any plots. Tests of TSA’s airport screening effectiveness have found a 95% failure rate. Airline plots that were disrupted happened through surveillance or the quick action of bystanders.
And technology has changed. When we flew out of the excellent Fiumicino airport near Rome, we were told not to remove liquids from our bags. They had a machine that could scan them as part of the regular process. I don’t know how accurate that machine was, but it can’t be worse than the regular machines. Surely others could develop and use similar machines if the goal truly was a safe airport. Why is airport security technology frozen in 2006?
The restrictions on snow globes illustrate all of this. Do government agents really think that a terrorist would unscrew a snow globe, carefully save all the floating snow-stuff, fill it up with an explosive liquid and then rebuild it? Do they really think they’ll reverse this process on the plane? Or was it easier to just add snow globes to a list than to rationally think it through?
At first I thought this was just bureaucratic politics. TSA’s behavior seems irrational if we assume its priority is stopping terrorism. If its priority is maximizing its influence, however, these policies make perfect sense. The more responsibilities TSA has , and the less anyone is able to question them, the better. TSA is a massive bureaucracy that will fight to keep its authority. And no politician wants to open themselves to charges of being “soft on terrorism.”
But the snow globe made me think this is really path dependence. As Pierson defined it, path dependence is a “dynamic [process] involving positive feedback.” That is, once a policy is in place it becomes very difficult to change course. The policy creates institutions, incentives and political rewards that ensure it continues. At some point, people forget the initial point of the policy and stop thinking about it when they implement it.
Likewise, Mahoney and Thelen discussed the ways institutions change over time. I’d argue that what we’re seeing with TSA is a case of “drift.” TSA has failed to adapt to the current threat environment. Powerful veto players- TSA itself, public opinion on terrorism–prevent outright changes to TSA, but the government’s failure to ensure TSA is effectively countering terrorism means it has drifted away from that initial purpose.
How do we get out of this process? Often people point to an exogenous shock, but we’ve had those–in the form of continued terrorist threats–and that has only led to expanded security theater. Mahoney and Thelen discuss change agents, but they argue they’re constrained by the same factors that led to the drift in the first place.
I worry that too many people have internalized this as normal. People get annoyed, but they are annoyed during the entire air travel experience: how is this any different? So there will be no push to change these policies, and we will continue to waste massive amounts of taxpayer money and travelers’ time without actually decreasing the threat from terrorism.
Happy traveling!
Guest post by Patricia L. Sullivan
During her recent trip to Africa, US Vice President Kamala Harris announced a $100 million commitment over ten years to West African Nations to fend off the increasing threat of extremist groups. The announcement followed President Biden’s pledge of $55 billion to the continent for the next three years. While these promises reveal a US commitment to greater engagement with African states, the often-dodged question is whether citizens of these states will benefit. Will US security aid improve human security in fragile and conflict-affected African states? How is US security assistance likely to affect governance and state repression for citizens that often suffer at the hands of both extremist groups and their own security forces?
The empirical record is mixed. Between 2002 and 2019, the US spent almost $300 billion on security assistance and trained at least one million foreign military personnel. In some countries, such as Ukraine, these programs have improved both the capability and professionalism of the state’s armed forces. In others, they escalated human rights abuses and increased the risk of coups d’état. Take the example of Kenya—one of the largest recipients of US military training and equipment in East Africa. The state’s security forces have been found to engage in torture, extrajudicial killings, mass arrests, and forced disappearances. Or the Philippines, where President Duterte employed the country’s military—armed and trained by US aid programs—in a brutal war on drugs that took the lives of thousands of civilians.
Although some studies have found that security assistance can reduce civilian targeting by state security forces, there is mounting evidence that it often fuels human rights violations. Recent research suggests that the risk of civilian harm is greatest when donors transfer weapons to postconflict states or provide aid to states with fragmented, “coup-proofed” security forces. On the other hand, effective institutions to constrain executive power in recipient states, and the provision of some forms of “nonlethal” security assistance—like military education for officers and defense institution building—appear to mitigate the potential for civilian harm.
As the War on Terror spread from Afghanistan to the African continent, the US greatly expanded the use of security assistance—funding, weapons, equipment, and training provided to a state’s security sector by external actors—to build the capacity of weak states to take on the counterterrorism mission without sacrificing American troops in ground combat. According to data collected by the Security Assistance Monitor, funding to train and equip foreign security forces increased more than 300 percent in the ten years following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Over the past two decades, the US has provided security sector assistance to more than two-thirds of the sovereign states in the world. Between 2015 and 2020, $4.8 billion in security aid went to sub-Saharan Africa.
While the goal is to reduce the threat posed by violent non-state actors, Kristen Harkness at the University of St. Andrews points out that most aid went to “repressive, heavily coup-proofed authoritarian regimes,” even though boosting military capacity in non-democratic states can fuel grievances that drive recruitment to extremist groups and increase political violence.
When “lethal” aid—weapons, military equipment, and combat skills training—reaches countries that lack effective institutional constraints on executive power, as in many autocratic and anocratic regimes, the risk of extrajudicial killings at the hand of security forces spikes, according to data that follows low- and middle-income recipients of US security force assistance between 2002 and 2019.
In the absence of effective legislative or judicial constraints, leaders can use military aid to buy the loyalty of their security forces and incentivize compliance with orders to repress dissent. Of course, lethal aid also directly increases the capacity of state security forces to quell civilian threats to the regime with force. Security assistance signals that a foreign patron is invested in regime survival. While soldiers ordered to use deadly force against the civilian population might experience moral conflict, or fear facing consequences for targeting civilians if the regime is overthrown, foreign security aid increases the odds that repression will succeed, the regime will survive, and soldiers will be rewarded for their loyalty.
One way to avoid the risk that US assistance increases human rights violations is to provide aid only to countries with effective legislative and judicial institutions. But many regions where extremist groups are active would offer a limited menu. An alternative is providing safer forms of aid.
Separating “non-lethal” security aid—a broad category encompassing professional military education, security sector reform, defense institution-building, and a variety of other types of assistance—from “lethal” aid—which includes material aid, direct combat assistance, and combat training—reveals divergent effects on state violence. While increasing lethal aid significantly raises the risk of extrajudicial killing, non-lethal aid appears to have a dampening effect. The exception is authoritarian states in which leaders have created overlapping and competing security institutions to “coup-proof” their regime. In these states, all forms of security assistance are associated with civilian harm. In post-conflict countries, one study shows that while weapons transfers and military aid increase human rights abuses, levels of Official Development Assistance (ODA) are associated with improved human rights protections.
Moving forward, as the US promises a new wave of security assistance to African states, it has a choice. Considering the recipient country’s institutional context, the state of its security forces, and the type of military aid, can decrease the risk that those resources are used to commit human rights violations.
Patricia Lynn Sullivan is an associate professor in the Department of Public Policy and the Curriculum in Peace, War, and Defense at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Director of the Triangle Institute for Security Studies.
Stephen and Rae Ann Gruver said the funds from the verdict over their son’s death would help support the mission of the Max Gruver Foundation, an organization committed to ending hazing on college campuses.
Tucker Carlson's latest propaganda campaign whitewashed the right-wing domestic terrorists who assaulted 140 police officers and attempted to execute Vice President Mike Pence during their violent insurrection on January 6. He has focused on painting the insurrectionists as patriotic Americans who were simply exercising their right to protest. — Read the rest
When creating the OBJECT collection, Polish artist and maker Anna Bera was searching. Searching for a place where an object suddenly appears without justification, but whose existence is indisputable. The series was on display during the 19th edition of Collect in London as part of the Collect Open exhibition, the international fair’s platform for pioneering, thought-provoking craft installations by individual artists.
At Collect Open, Bera debuted the latest addition to OBJECT: a 2.6-meter tall sculpture, hand-carved from sycamore wood with a mirror made of polished steel. Its design, like the rest of the collection’s utility objects – the form of which does not reveal the functionality – plays with form. OBJECT is full of sculptures that may perform the function of mirrors, but then again may not. You may view it as something else entirely. This curiosity of function doesn’t make the pieces any less legitimate, even if all they do is simply exist.
mirror OBJECT CD N.2
mirror OBJECT CD N.2
mirror OBJECT CD N.2, detail
mirror OBJECT CD N.24
mirror OBJECT CD N.24, detail
mirror OBJECT CD N.24, detail
mirror OBJECT CD N.16
Anna Bera with mirror OBJECT CD N.16
mirror OBJECT CD N.16, detail
mirror OBJECT CD N.29
mirror OBJECT CD N.29
mirror OBJECT CD N.29, detail
mirror OBJECT CD N.30
mirror OBJECT CD N.30
mirror OBJECT CD N.1
mirror OBJECT CD N.1, detail
collection OBJECT
To learn more about Object, visit craftscouncil.org.uk.
Photos by Emilia Oksentowicz.
One of the most persistent critiques frequently lobbed at the modern era of filmmaking is that Hollywood is in the middle of a creativity crisis. The rise of mega blockbusters-with budgets starting at $200 million- and the success of the Marvel cinematic universe has created a false perception among disgruntled cinephiles and industry professionals alike that auteurs have suddenly become an endangered species in Tinseltown. — Read the rest
Here's a weirdly disturbing 10-minute film in the genre of "camcorder horror" or found footage horror, entitled "Teaching Jake about the Camcorder, Jan '97." It was written and directed by Brian David Gilbert, who also stars in the film.
The film shows a father teaching his son to use a camcorder, while the son is filming him. — Read the rest
Enlarge / Jose Hernandez and Beatriz Gonzalez, stepfather and mother of Nohemi Gonzalez, who died in a terrorist attack in Paris in 2015, arrive to speak to the press outside of the US Supreme Court following oral arguments in Gonzalez v. Google on February 21 in Washington, DC. (credit: Drew Angerer / Staff | Getty Images News)
Today, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments to decide whether Section 230 immunity shields online platforms from liabilities when relying on algorithms to make targeted recommendations. Many Section 230 defenders feared that the court might be eager to chip away at the statute’s protections, terrified that in the worst-case scenario, the Supreme Court could doom the Internet as we know it. However, it became clear that justices had grown increasingly concerned about the potential large-scale economic impact of making any decision that could lead to a crash of the digital economy or an avalanche of lawsuits over targeted recommendations.
The case before the court, Gonzalez v. Google, asks specifically whether Google should be held liable for allegedly violating federal law that prohibits aiding and abetting a terrorist organization by making targeted recommendations that promoted ISIS videos to YouTube users. If the court decides that Section 230 immunity does not apply, that single decision could impact how all online platforms recommend and organize content, Google and many others have argued.
“Congress was clear that Section 230 protects the ability of online services to organize content,” Halimah DeLaine Prado, Google's general counsel, told Ars in a statement. “Eroding these protections would fundamentally change how the Internet works, making it less open, less safe, and less helpful.”
Two of the biggest Nordic brands have united to bring us the BASTUA collection, launching globally in March 2023. The limited-edition series of 26 products, created by home furnishings giant IKEA and iconic printmaker Marimekko, brings together Nordic design and self-care rituals. From furniture to glassware to textiles, vibrant patterns reflect nature back at you.
“Collaborating with Marimekko was a natural choice for IKEA as we are both committed to enabling a better everyday life at home, and with the BASTUA collection, it begins with focusing on wellness first,” says Henrik Most, Creative Leader at IKEA. “The collaboration encapsulates the sensations of endless summers and the simple and aesthetic beauty of Nordic nature in furniture and accessories for the home.”
“BASTUA” describes a sauna in Småland, the region in southern Sweden where IKEA was founded. Self-care and Nordic sauna were the starting points of the collection that’s meant to be used when relaxing outdoors in warm weather or simply winding down at the end of a long day.
The launch of BASTUA marks the first time that Marimekko has designed prints exclusively for a brand collaboration. “Capturing the essence of Marimekko’s Finnish roots and its connection to the historic origins of sauna culture was a fundamental part of the design journey and the creation of the BASTUA prints,” says Rebekka Bay, Creative Director at Marimekko. When gathering inspiration from nature, the brand gravitated towards the large, decorative rhubarb leaves that are often found growing near saunas in Finland. You’ll find it throughout the collection, including on the ever-popular FRAKTA bag.
Within the BASTUA collection lies furniture, glassware, and textiles that include robes and towels – and even the first-ever sauna bucket – among other items. These are all things one might traditionally use when enjoying a sauna, or right before or after the ritual. You’ll find elements that can be used during a meal, a place to sit and feel grounded, and even a candle infused with the scents of elderflower, rhubarb, and sweet vanilla.
BASTUA’s furniture pieces are inspired by classic Nordic design. A side table offers a clever feature: the collection’s patterned trays fit perfectly on the top. You may even want to pull up the coordinating bench to enjoy a relaxing moment of Zen.
“Nordic furniture design has always been characterized by clean lines and simple constructions that focus on function” says Mikael Axelsson, Designer at IKEA. “The BASTUA side table is my take on this heritage, as it is made of birch veneer and with a high edge that keeps things in place.”
The BASTUA collection feels like a perfect partnership, neither pattern nor design overshadows the other. It’s a wonderful marriage between two brands that complement one another in harmony.
To learn more about BASTUA, visit ikea.com.
Enjoy this charming little horror-themed parody of the cute children's show, Peppa Pig, (at your own risk). The grotesque-looking pigs look as if they climbed out of the depths of hell. The artist nailed it. Take a look at an image of the real Peppa Pig right next to the creepy pigs for a good chuckle. — Read the rest
There's a Chuck E. Cheese family entertainment center for horror fans? Well, not really. Last November, Mixed-reality Artist Siriu$, also known as Cabel Adams, created virtual art for a "Chucky Cheese Pizza Arcade & Bowling," complete with a giant Chucky doll wielding a knife in one hand and a pepperoni pizza in the other. — Read the rest
This year, British designer Lee Broom had the honor of being invited by Maison&Objet to share his work in an exhibition that featured iconic pieces, fresh developments, and collaborations from some of Britain’s top designers. For the “British Capsule” Broom included his new Divine Inspiration collection of lighting, as well a selection of complementary furniture and decor.
“We are thrilled to be selected to join the British capsule at Maison&Objet. In the spirit of Maison’s theme ‘Take Care’, we are showing an edited selection of pieces that bring a sense of the comfort of the home combined with an element of spirituality and mysticism,” Broom declared.
Inspired by the light and shadows created by lancet windows found in church arches, the highlight of the exhibit is Broom’s four meter tall Hail light. The elongated aluminum elements and reeded glass lightbulbs are asymmetrically placed, while its impressive size adds to the drama.
Alongside Hail were the Vesper Duo lights. Dramatic in their own right, Vesper’s prolific design leans on the simple geometry of Brutalist sculpture and modernist cathedral lighting. (The shared inspiration between Hail and Vesper doesn’t go unnoticed.) Using extruded aluminum, the lighting’s rectangular cube-like shapes are joined together by illuminated spheres.
Broom’s portion of the exhibit resembles a dining room setup, using light greys and brushed silvers to create a modern calm. His round Musico Table and Musico Chairs make a statement with their hand-bent, twisted stainless-steel tubes. Two Fulcrum Candlesticks, made in Nero Marquina Marble, reside on each side of the booth. And reflecting it all back on the viewer is the Split Mirror hanging on the back wall. With a precisely cut vertical slice that’s shifted upward, it reveals an unexpected oak-trimmed view of the black frame.
Lee Broom
Hail Short 3-Light Chandelier, Silver
Hail Short 3-Light Chandelier, Silver
Hail Tall 3-Light Chandelier, Silver
Hail Tall 6-Light Chandelier, Silver
Vesper Duo, Silver
Fulcrum Candlesticks
Fulcrum Candlestick, Large
Fulcrum Candlestick, Small
Split Mirror
Split Mirror
To learn more, visit leebroom.com.
Why are national PID strategies having a moment, and why should you care? Find out in today's post by Alice Meadows.
The post Why PID Strategies Are Having A Moment — And Why You Should Care appeared first on The Scholarly Kitchen.
Around this time last year, I wrote about my love for The Department of Truth by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds, a sort of meta-level X-Files riff about conspiracy theories that literally bend reality. I deeply enjoyed Tynion's work on Detective Comics and tend to get a kick out his newsletter, but I hadn't read that much of his other work*, which until recently was largely DC Comics-based. — Read the rest
October is far behind us, but why not make a horror themed pie like this one in January? This horror pie is brought to life (or death) during the baking process when the red filling seeps into the face-shaped crust, resulting in a gory dessert-creature. — Read the rest
“I wanted to take an unexpected approach to exploring the idea of how lighting functions within the home, and to inspire people to consider new shapes and elements which blend into and highlight different types of interior spaces in new, bold, and artistic ways,” says Rotterdam-based designer Sabine Marcelis. Her 20-piece VARMBLIXT collection is a collaboration with IKEA that includes sculptural lighting objects, serveware, rugs, and more.
Each piece of lighting is designed to interact with both direct and indirect light, and align with IKEA’s hopes of shifting the perception of it in the home. Rather than simply being functional, lighting can be emotional in that it can transform the look, feel, and atmosphere of our spaces.
The four lighting pieces in the collection will become a permanent part of IKEA’s offerings. They include the VARMBLIXT LED pendant lamp, which features curved pipes of frosted white glass, and the VARMBLIXT LED wall mirror, designed with a semi-transparent glass panel and light strip. Both are sculptural objects when turned off, and a display of light engineering when illuminated.
“At home, I have mainly indirect lights, as I love the soft effect they give. I also have a lot of art objects that double as lighting, something I love because it blurs the boundaries of function and art,” said Marcelis. “It’s really a lost opportunity if you don’t think about the appeal of a lighting element when it’s in its ‘OFF’ mode – because a lot of the time a light might not be turned on, but you still need to live with it and have it be part of the interior.”
We find it to be a true sign of a successful collaboration when the designer features the products in their own space. “I have a donut lamp in my son’s room, which he loves, and the curved line in my living room high up on one of the structural columns,” Marcelis shared with us. “I love how it highlights the connection with the ceiling. I’m planning to mount them on all the columns to really add to this architectural feature.”
A motif that can be seen throughout Marcelis’ work – the infinite doughnut – finds its place as the VARMBLIXT LED lamp that can be wall-mounted or displayed on a table. You’ll also find two serveware sizes in orange and green in the same shape, alongside a beautiful set of glassware.
Marcelis admitted that, “Just yesterday I brought home a set of the champagne glasses and made some dry-January mocktails in them. I have to say, I’m very proud of how the glassware turned out. It’s a product category I have not worked on before, and it’s so satisfying to drink from something I have designed myself and directly interact with it on such a close level.”
With a focus on warm colors, VARMBLIXT includes two rugs inspired by the setting sun. The larger of the pair, made from 100% hand-tufted wool, features a sunset-like color gradient that fades from deep orange to amber yellow. An overlapping style adds extra interest while creating the illusion of depth.
Marcelis told us that she’s really learned how to get the maximum amount of effect with the least amount of materials/resources used through VARMBLIXT – and that was her aim all along. “To not solely rely on the lusciousness of materiality, but to strip everything back to essentials and with a singular gesture make it gain its desirability. The pieces needed to have my signature, but also be anonymous enough to be able to be applied in many different types of homes. It taught me more than ever that less is more.”
Sabine Marcelis
To learn more about the VARMBLIXT collection, which will launch in February 2023, visit https://about.ikea.com.
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