Do articles like this do more to desensitize people to the "real" violence that is behind the ideology producing these weapons? Are the articles themselves a part of the violence? How do we begin to comprehend the levels of violence manifest today? -rg

Israel developing anti-militant "bionic hornet"

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=technologyNews&story
id=2006-11-17T082415Z_01_L1751091_RTRUKOC_0_US-MIDEAST-WEAPONS.xml&src=r
ss&rpc=22

Fri Nov 17, 2006 3:24 AM ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel is using nanotechnology to try to create
a robot no bigger than a hornet that would be able to chase, photograph
and kill its targets, an Israeli newspaper reported on Friday.

The flying robot, nicknamed the "bionic hornet", would be able to
navigate its way down narrow alleyways to target otherwise unreachable
enemies such as rocket launchers, the daily Yedioth Ahronoth said.

It is one of several weapons being developed by scientists to combat
militants, it said. Others include super gloves that would give the
user the strength of a "bionic man" and miniature sensors to detect
suicide bombers.

The research integrates nanotechnology into Israel's security
department and will find creative solutions to problems the army
has been unable to address, Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres told
Yedioth Ahronoth.

"The war in Lebanon proved that we need smaller weaponry. It's
illogical to send a plane worth $100 million against a suicidal
terrorist. So we are building futuristic weapons," Peres said.

The 34-day war in Lebanon ended with a U.N.-brokered ceasefire in
mid-August. The war killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians,
and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Prototypes for the new weapons are expected within three years,
he said.

(c) Reuters 2006. All rights reserved