Features
“Proof of Life” – New book about Syrian conflict tells spellbinding story of one man’s search for a young American who went missing in 2014
Review by BERNIE BELLAN The war in Syria which began in 2011 following upon earlier upheavals in the Arab world that were ignited by what became known as the Arab Spring has, by and large, vanished from the headlines of the world’s newspapers.
Once Russia intervened on the side of Bashar Al Assad in 2015, along with Iran and its Hezbollah acolytes, the tide was turned in favour of Assad. It is true that American troops, along with their various allies in Syria, were instrumental in ridding Syria of ISIS, but there were many more factions fighting the Assad regime than ISIS.
The complex world of what really amounted to inter-tribal warfare in Syria resulted in some of the most atrocious acts imaginable committed by all sides in the conflict, although when it came to the use of military hardware to massacre entire populations, Assad’s forces set new levels of barbarity in terms of the degree to which they were willing to gas, bomb, and murder innocent civilians throughout the conflict.
Within this nightmarish world, however, there were many individuals who not only did not suffer at all during the conflict – they actually thrived. Some were members of different militias who capitalized on capturing Western journalists and humanitarian workers in Syria, holding them for huge ransoms when they could.
We in the West were witness to the horrendous brutality that ISIS was capable of when it came to dealing with those captured Westerners – including their beheadings on a regular basis, but other groups were also willing to engage in equally savage treatment of innocent Westerners. In the cases of those other groups, however, the goal by and large was to trade Westerners for money.
Often captured journalists or humanitarian workers would be traded back and forth among groups. There were different reasons for the shuffling around of prisoners. For one, it made it almost impossible for anyone wanting to retrieve those prisoners to keep track of them. Secondly, at different times different groups placed different values on certain prisoners, depending on where they came from and with whom those groups were in a position to negotiate.
Into this hellish world stepped Daniel Levin, a Swiss-born Jew now living in the United States whose expertise is in negotiating with some of the world’s most unsavory characters. Levin is a lawyer by training and his legal negotiation skills were put to good use when he began working “with a European foundation and select individuals in Syria” in what became a project known as “Project Bistar”.
The purpose of Project Bistar, Levin explains in an incredibly fascinating new book (that is yet to be released for sale to the public) titled “Proof of Life”, was to mediate between the warring sides in the Syrian conflict, “in the hope of working quietly behind the scenes toward a negotiated settlement and, at a second stage, identifying young, next-generation individuals of the Alawite, Sunni, Druze, and Christian communities with leadership potential.”
Levin explains that, until 2015 when the Russians intervened on his side, Assad appeared amenable to a negotiated settlement, especially when rebel forces were inflicting terrible damage on his own forces.
With that as background information, in 2014 Levin found himself thrust into a situation totally unexpectedly in which his negotiating skills were put to a supreme test.
As a press release that was sent to me in January described it, “Daniel Levin was at his office one day when he got a call from an acquaintance with an urgent, cryptic request to meet in Paris. A young man had gone missing in Syria. No government, embassy, or intelligence agency would help. Could he? So begins a suspenseful, shocking, and at times brutal true story of one man’s search to find a missing person in Syria over eighteen tense days.”
Thus begins “Proof of Life: The Undercover Search for a Missing Person in Syria, where Arms, Drugs, and People Are for Sale“.
This lengthy preamble to my review of the book was necessary to provide some context for what the book is all about. Since the story that Levin tells – and the events which he describes are all true – although he has changed the names of most of the characters in order to protect the identities of individuals whose lives might be in danger, even years after the events which he describes.
Reading “Proof of Life” is like reading any well-written, fast paced thriller – except in this case, knowing that what you are reading really did happen will often leave you feeling physically ill when you realize the depths to which humans are capable of sinking to the present day. And I’m not just talking about the depravities of various armed groups around the world, many of which are Islamic it must be said (whether in the Middle East, Africa, the Philippines or any other of a number of areas in which offshoots of Al Qaeda or ISIS still hold sway).
Some of the most notorious characters in “Proof of Life” are not at all involved in actual fighting; instead they are the parasites who see opportunities in conflict situations to make vast sums of money supplying such commodities as drugs and women to the fighters.
It was within this dangerous and completely shadowy world that Levin found himself when he was asked to help obtain information about a young American by the name of Paul Blocher who had somehow entered into Syria sometime in 2014 – and disappeared.
As Levin describes it, he was contacted by an old friend who asked him for a favour, which was to use his various and very useful contacts throughout the region to do what he could to find out what happened to Blocher.
What follow sin the book is a complex series of encounters with some fascinating characters, most of whom are Arabs of varying nationalities, in locations including Ankara, Beirut, Washington, Amman, and Dubai, as Levin pursues a trail replete with scattered bits of information that bring him ever closer to the one character who he is certain can reveal what actually happened to Paul Blocher.
Throughout reading this book I couldn’t help thinking that Levin, who doesn’t at all hide his Jewish identity, was quite fearless in his willingness to seek out individuals whose reputations would leave just about anyone else terrified to even go anywhere near them, let alone try and arrange to meet them.
Given that he had been tasked with an assignment that very few individuals in the world would be capable of performing, as you read the very careful preparations he continually put in place prior to his meeting any of these dangerous individuals, although Levin doesn’t describe to any extent how he developed his unique expertise in negotiation and subterfuge, you can only marvel at the thinking he displayed at all times in planning his course of action.
At a certain point in the book though, the name of a drug known as “captagon” began to take on a prominent role in the story. I had to digress from reading “Proof of Life” to acquaint myself with just what Captagon is.
Captagon is a powerful amphetamine that is most popular in the Middle East, where it is both the recreational drug of choice in such countries as Saudi Arabia and the drug that was used by all sides during the Syrian conflict that, in the words of a BBC correspondent describing how Captagon is used in Syria,“gives people a euphoric feeling that they can take on the world and are relatively indomitable. [It] suppresses appetite and gives you a very long burst of energy, something like 18 to 24 hours.”
“Amphetamine use by fighters is commonplace, but I wondered if the specific properties of Captagon made it the perfect war drug.
“ ‘That depends on what your values are in the war,’ “ according to Max Kravits, a researcher who has spent years studying the use of Captagon in the Syrian conflict.
“ It is incredibly deteriorating and debilitating and it makes fighters take risks they otherwise wouldn’t take. But if your goal is simply to take said hill regardless of the human cost, it certainly seems to be doing the job.’ “
As Levin pursued his quest to find out what happened to Paul Blocher, he was led ever closer to the one man who, it is had become apparent from a variety of sources, would be able to tell Levin what happened to Blocher.
That man’s name was “Anas” and if you ever wanted to conjure up a more insidious villain you would be hard put to find anyone more absolutely evil than Anas. When Levin finally saw Anas for the first time – and he made sure that he was carefully hidden so that Anas did not see him, he was blown away by Anas’s physical appearance: A massive six foot five, so muscular that he said Anas’s wrist was as big as Levin’s thigh. (It turns out that Anas was a steroid junkie, which both explained his enormous physique and the almost constant bouts of rage to which he was prone.)
And, although you can’t help but fear for Levin as he entered into the proverbial lion’s den, knowing that this is a true account, the overriding question as he describes his eventual face to face encounter with Anas, was how was he going to pry information out of someone who, it turns out, was actually capable of killing his own child to exact revenge on a wife who dared to leave him.
“Proof of Life” was just recently published (in 2021, as a matter of fact) and the copy I was sent was a review copy. But, as I was reading this incredibly fascinating book (and I know I use that phrase all too often in describing books that I love), I kept thinking to myself: All right, we know that Israel is engaged in an ongoing war of sorts with Iran in Syria, as Iran uses Syria as its base for arming Hezbollah, and that threatens to turn into a major all–out war with Hezbollah, but what of the actual conflict in Syria itself between Assad and all those factions that were fighting his regime? Has it all quieted down or are we just not hearing about it any more?
Here’s the answer, as Daniel Levin writes in his postscript to “Proof of Life” (and again, it was just written in 2021):
“These days, conventional wisdom holds that the conflict in Syria has been decided. The war is over. Bashar al-Assad and his regime won with the help of Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah; the opposition, the Kurds, and ISIS were defeated. Sure, some nasty things did happen, but it’s time to move on and rebuild the country.
“Turns out, conventional wisdom is not particularly wise. This war is not over. The killings have not stopped. The chemical gassings, the cluster bombs, the executions, the torture, the human trafficking the annihilation of entire villages – they all continue. For millions of trapped Syrians, the nightmare never ends. A small group of privileged men connected to the regime through family or business have amassed unimaginable fortunes as they control the war economy, trading everything – food, medicine, fuel, heating, oil, drugs, weapons, prisoners, young girls – and looting the destroyed cities for scrap metal, copper, steel, and anything of value. Like in all war, the only ones left are a few extremely rich individuals and many extremely poor people. Everyone in between has been wiped out. Yes, the war economy is alive and well, and this war will last as long as that remains the case.”
The insights that Levin offers throughout this book – and what I just quoted is but one example of the level of knowledge that he brings forth about of what is really going on in Syria – may differ from commonly accepted wisdom about what has happened in Syria of late. Yet, Levin’s profound understanding of the Middle East left me with only one conclusion about the Arab world: It is a cruel jungle, often surrounded by a façade of material wealth that only disguises the fact that it is thoroughly tribal in nature – and an extremely dangerous world in which to set foot.
Lucky for the Israelis who are now establishing connections throughout much of the region – they know what they’re getting into. They’ve been operating in what is probably the most dangerous neighbourhood in the world for a very long time. I’m sure that Israel has a lot of Daniel Levins around who know how to negotiate their way through the metaphorical landmines into which Israel is now stepping.
“Proof of Life” is set to be released to the public in May 2021.
Features
Hacker and Fraud Prevention for Online Gambling Profiles
Safeguard your online casino & sports betting accounts from cyber threats
Follow these 10 vital steps to reinforce your online gambling profile by enabling two-factor authentication, using VPNs, unique passwords and more.
With the global online gambling market projected to reach over $100 billion by 2026, securing your online casino and sportsbook accounts is more critical than ever. As digital wallets swell with winnings so too does the motivation for cybercriminals to steal credentials and loot accounts.
#1. Activate Two-Factor Authentication
Topping the list is two-factor authentication (2FA) – requiring two credentials to login instead of one at FanDuel. Often this entails providing your password plus a one-time code sent via SMS or email.
Per an Oracle study, implementing 2FA would have thwarted 99% of historical cyber attacks that involved stolen credentials.
Most regulated online gambling sites offer 2FA, accessible under account settings. Turn it on immediately for stronger defense.
#2. Never Reuse or Recycle Passwords
A cardinal sin is recycling the same password across multiple sites or services. Once one account is breached, cyber thieves can access more accounts using that same password.
To avoid this, every account deserves a unique, strong password. For simplicity, utilize a password manager app to randomly generate and store site-specific passwords.
#3. Install a VPN for Public Wi-Fi Access
When playing online casino games on shared/open wireless networks, your data flows openly and risks interception. That’s where virtual private networks (VPNs) come in.
VPNs encrypt all network traffic to and from your device. This protects your gambling activity and account credentials from Wi-Fi eavesdroppers. VPNs also disguise your IP address.
Some top-rated services include NordVPN, ExpressVPN and CyberGhost.
#4. Keep Software Updated & Run Anti-Virus Scans
You must keep computers and mobile devices updated with the latest OS and security patches. Postponing critical updates leaves open dangerous holes that malware exploits.
Likewise run reputable anti-virus scans to catch viruses attempting to infiltrate systems and spy on login credentials for financial accounts.
#5. Verify the Security & Encryption of Sites
When signing up at online betting sites and casinos, verify the legitimacy of their security measures:
- Confirm the address starts with HTTPS, not HTTP
- Check that data transmissions are encrypted using at least 128-bit SSL
- Ensure site has proper licensing
- Review privacy policy for data storage and sharing
Reputable sites will display trust badges from companies like Norton and TrustE.
#6. Avoid Account Sharing
While tempting to give friends or relatives access to funded accounts, sharing login credentials is extremely risky. You lose control over deposits/withdrawals while exposing yourself to potential theft.
Instead, gift deposits to other player accounts or refer them to open their own secure accounts.
#7. Beware Account Takeover Scams
Exercise caution if contacted unexpectedly about unusual account activity. Savvy scammers will pretend a breach occurred to trick you into handing over your username and password.
If concerned about account integrity, directly access the site yourself and contact customer support – don’t click any links in unsolicited emails.
#8. Monitor Financial Statements
Carefully review online betting account and credit card statements to detect unauthorized transactions right away. Dispute unrecognized activity ASAP to limit losses.
For further vigilance, some banks offer real-time purchase alerts via email or SMS.
#9. Don’t Save Payment Info
Saving credit card or e-wallet details on gambling sites for faster future deposits also expedites withdrawals – by you and potentially hackers.
Instead, manually enter payment info each time to contain potential damage from any account infiltration.
#10. Create a Secure Email
A strong yet oft-overlooked defense is creating a secure email account strictly for gambling transactions. Keep it completely separate from your personal email to isolate threats.
Use a nickname, enable 2FA and establish a strong password using special characters, numbers, case changes and 15+ letters.
Table: Comparison of Top VPNs for Online Gambling Site Security
| VPN Service | Encryption Standard | Number of Server Locations | Allows P2P Traffic | Number of Simultaneous Connections | Money Back Guarantee |
| NordVPN | AES 256-bit | 5400+ | Yes | 6 | 30 days |
| ExpressVPN | AES 256-bit | 3000+ | Yes | 5 | 30 days |
| CyberGhost | AES 256-bit | 7400+ | Yes | 7 | 45 days |
Fortify Your Online Gambling Fortress
As online casinos and sportsbooks explode in popularity, no player is immune to the growing plague of cyber fraud and account theft.
Guard your profile by enabling two-factor authentication, setting strong passwords, installing critical software updates and more. Also research site security measures and payment options.
Features
Vital Role of True Randomness in Modern Computing
The critical need for true randomness in cryptography, simulations, and more
True randomness is essential for encryption, statistical sampling, simulations, and more computing applications to work effectively. We explore why.
The concept of randomness often evokes thoughts of unpredictability and chance occurrences. However in the world of computing, having access to true randomness is vital for many critical applications to function properly. Without the ability to generate random values and data, key aspects of modern technology simply would not work reliably.
In this article, we will explore what constitutes true randomness from a computational perspective, why it is crucially important, and some of the ways that software and hardware attempt to produce randomness reliably. Gaining insight into this topic highlights the dependence much of digital functionality has on the availability of non-deterministic, uniformly distributed random data.
What Makes Randomness “True”?
For data to be considered truly random from an information theory perspective, values must satisfy key mathematical and statistical qualities, for example at Lucky Seven Casino. True randomness implies meeting three core criteria:
- Uniform distribution — All potential values have an equal probability of occurring so that no bias exists towards certain numbers.
- Independence — The value at any position does not relate to or depends on values at other positions. Previous numbers do not influence future ones.
- Unpredictability — Knowing some values provides no useful information to predict other values. Guessing upcoming numbers is mathematically impossible.
Hence, true randomness requires generated data featuring high entropy (information density) with no observable patterns or correlations over any length or time period analyzed. Values must pass various statisticatests of randomness to qualify. True randomness exists only in specific natural phenomena scientists believe exhibit fundamental uncertainty such as radioactive decay. Computational methods can attempt to produce randomness but technically generate only an approximation usually called pseudo-randomness. However for many practical purposes, computationally generated randomness proves sufficient if it passes robust statistical testing.
Why True Randomness Matters Cryptography
Arguably, the area with the most crucial dependence on true randomness is cryptography. All modern encryption technologies require random number generation to ensure security. Encryption systems work by utilizing random numbers for:
- Key generation
- Initialization vectors
- Salts
- Nonces
- Padding
Any bias, predictability or correlation within random values used for the above purposes significantly compromises encryption protocols and introduces vulnerabilities. With trillions of dollars transferred online daily and vast amounts of sensitive data stored digitally, safeguarding cryptography requires high-quality random number generation rooted in solid entropy sources.
Simulations & Modeling
Outside of security, many more computing applications need randomness to operate correctly per their design intent. Monte Carlo simulations extensively utilize randomness to model complex real-world behaviors by running many iterations with differing random inputs. Financial analysis, climate modeling, nuclear reactions and molecular behavior represent common Monte Carlo simulation applications.
Games, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Gaming, AI and ML commonly incorporate randomness to increase variation, introduce unpredictability, and improve realism. For example, non-player characters in video games use randomness for movement, dialog and behavior to feel more lifelike and less robotic. AI/ML leverage randomness to train networks more thoroughly against a wider possibility space and build more resilient models less prone to biases.
Generating True Randomness via Hardware
Given the pervasive need for genuine randomness across computing, how do software and hardware reliably produce it? Most systems today use either specialized hardware random number generators or hybrid combinations of hardware and software.
Hardware options utilize the inherent randomness within low-level physical phenomena to produce entropy. Different techniques for generating randomness exist but most hardware implementations focus on three main sources:
- Thermal Noise
- Semiconductor Quantum Physics
- Chaotic Oscillator Outputs
| Generator Type | Description |
| Thermal Noise | Amplifies and extracts random electrical noise from resistor thermal vibrations |
| Quantum Physics | Leverages quantum mechanical properties like photon emission timing from LEDs/lasers |
| Chaotic Circuits | Uses unpredictable oscillator circuit outputs from chaos theory |
Semiconductor-based solutions can generate high bitrates up to 5Gbps using compact modern chip fabrication allowing extensive harvestingof entropy. However these sources derive from complex, random physical processes proving impossible to predict or fully model mathematically. This unpredictability provides excellent entropy quality unattainable via software algorithms alone.
Most general-purpose computers now integrate random number generators within CPUs allowing applications access to decent hardware-based random data. For the highest security use cases, dedicated standalone hardware random number generators exist exceeding >100Gbps speeds. Hence accessing genuine randomness is available today even on common computing devices.
Cryptographically Secure Pseudo-Random Number Generators
While hardware mechanisms utilize hard-to-predict physical phenomena to produce randomness, software solutions must take a different approach. Algorithmically-generated randomness cannot achieve true randomness from a physics perspective. However clever mathematical techniques like cyclical algorithms can generate randomness passing many statistical tests of randomness within their output bit length limits.
Cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generators (CSPRNG) serve as the premier software-based method for generating randomness. CSPRNGs work by repeatedly applying cryptographic primitives like hash or cipher functions on initial random seed values. This process produces a chain of output bits not reproducible without the original seed key. Leading CSPRNG algorithms include:
- Hash_DRBG
- HMAC_DRBG
- CTR_DRBG
Software libraries implement these CSPRNGs so developers can integrate quality randomness into applications with proper seeding. Seeding establishes the initial starting point for randomness generation using an entropy source like hardware random number generators or timing variability.
CSPRNGs allow the production of vast quantities of randomized data for any purpose needed. Compared to hardware mechanisms limited by physics on maximum speeds, algorithms scale boundlessly in the bits created as long as adequate computational power exists.
Yet key differences between software and hardware randomness remain. While CSPRNG outputs pass statistical testing and contain no observable patterns, their pseudo-randomness means given the same seed, the exact same value sequence will generate each time. Also, if a CSPRNG algorithm or implementation has flaws, adversaries could predict and exploit output resulting in compromised security. Still, with proper cryptographic design and regular reseeding, CSPRNGs provide quality randomness for most software needs.
Conclusion
From the above exploration, we see true randomness plays a pivotal role across computing – from cybersecurity to simulations and beyond. While no substitutes for true physically-derived entropy exist, modern hardware and hybrid hardware-software solutions provide abundant randomness for practical usage.
However as computing continues evolving with new technologies like quantum, ensuring high-quality randomness generation tackles emerging information security and system reliability challenges. Access to ample true randomness stands necessary now for current computing functionality and lays the foundation for future innovation.
Features
News from Israeli hotels
Introduction: The current wars in Gaza and Lebanon have had a disastrous effect on Israeli tourism. Recently we were contacted by a friend in the advertising business in Israel who asked us whether we would help to promote a couple of well-known Israeli hotels – who are hoping for a huge rebound in bookings once the wars come to an end.
Here is news about two leading Israeli hotels:
Mr. Roy Avidor is the new GM at The Ritz-Carlton, Herzliya.
We are delighted to welcome Roy Avidor as the new General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Herzliya!
Roy brings over a decade of leadership in the international hospitality industry, with a proven track record of operational excellence.
Most recently, Roy served as Director of Operations at the Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv, where he oversaw daily operations across multiple departments, always ensuring the highest standards of service. Prior to that, he held management positions at Celebrity Cruise Line and Isrotel Hotel Chain.
Roy’s extensive background in luxury hospitality, combined with his passion for service, makes him the perfect addition to our team and to his newest position as General Manager.
Boaz Elani Appointed General Manager of Sheraton Grand Hotel Tel Aviv
Boaz Elani has been named the new General Manager of the Sheraton Grand Hotel Tel Aviv, a prestigious property within the global luxury Marriott portfolio.
Bringing extensive expertise in luxury hospitality, Boaz most recently served as the General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Herzliya, also part of the Marriott group. During his three-year tenure, he successfully navigated the hotel through two major challenges: the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Israel. His steadfast dedication to exceptional service significantly enhanced guest satisfaction, solidifying the hotel’s reputation as a premier destination.
“I am honored by Marriott’s trust in me and thrilled to join the Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv team,” said Boaz. “This hotel holds a distinguished place as one of Israel’s finest and most iconic. Following its comprehensive renovation, we are committed to delivering unmatched experiences for our guests and continuing its tradition of excellence.”
The Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv, overlooking the Mediterranean, features 320 beautifully redesigned rooms, including premium, deluxe, and club accommodations, along with luxurious suites. Guests staying in club-level rooms enjoy exclusive access to the 18th-floor lounge, offering breathtaking sea views. The recent renovations incorporate modern aesthetics with natural, seaside-inspired materials, creating a serene and inviting ambiance.
The hotel boasts a range of world-class amenities, including a newly updated beachfront pool, a popular sushi bar open to both guests and the public, and a renowned gourmet breakfast. Its versatile meeting spaces and state-of-the-art conference halls have garnered international acclaim, earning it the 2024 World MICE Award for Best Event and Conference Hotel.
In line with Marriott’s global commitment to sustainability, the Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv has held Green Key Certification since 2014, highlighting its dedication to environmentally responsible practices.
With Boaz Elani at the helm, the Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv is poised to further elevate its status as a premier destination for both leisure and business travelers.
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