How Do We Safeguard Against This?

[CuttingEdge100]

Recently, about a month ago I believe, a terrorist blew-himself up trying to kill a Saudi Prince in Jeddah, who was the head of Anti-Terrorism. He had hidden the explosives inside his body (He had basically inserted a cell-phone activate bomb into his rectum)

Here's a link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8276007.stm?ls

How on earth do you defend against this? More accurately, how do you defend against this in a manner that is not something out of Minority Report or George Orwell's works, and doesn't violate every aspect of our most basic of privacy?

Ideas?


(BTW: Would putting everybody through a full-body X-ray rather than just those who set off the metal-detectors be sufficient to deal with the problem? And moreover, would the radiation levels be safe for people who fly a lot and repeatedly go through such a machine?)


CuttingEdge100





CuttingEdge100

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, I think X-rays would be about the only way to spot something like this, unless we're going to do body cavity searches. But as you pointed out, the radiation would be unsafe for frequent flyers, and there will be people who can't have them anyway (pregnant women, etc.)

Honestly, I'm not sure how you would defend against this. Maybe we could find some way to detect subtle EM emissions from a person's body? That would catch things like this.

On the other hand, this is such a rare tactic that it may not be worth developing a host of countermeasures against it.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

The solution is obvious. We locate every terrorist on the planet and sew their rectum shut.

 

[Rii]

I'm afraid that our current notions of liberty and privacy won't survive another century of technological advancement. Imagine a world where any disaffected individual has the means to end the species. We wouldn't last a week.

 

[SeerSGB]

Recently, about a month ago I believe, a terrorist blew-himself up trying to kill a Saudi Prince in Jeddah, who was the head of Anti-Terrorism. He had hidden the explosives inside his body (He had basically inserted a cell-phone activate bomb into his rectum)

Here's a link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8276007.stm?ls

How on earth do you defend against this? More accurately, how do you defend against this in a manner that is not something out of Minority Report or George Orwell's works, and doesn't violate every aspect of our most basic of privacy?

Ideas?


(BTW: Would putting everybody through a full-body X-ray rather than just those who set off the metal-detectors be sufficient to deal with the problem? And moreover, would the radiation levels be safe for people who fly a lot and repeatedly go through such a machine?)


CuttingEdge100





CuttingEdge100

So terrorist are taking ideals from the Joker now? This is one of the Joker's tricks in Dark Knight: Cellphone bomb inside one of his henchmen. And that's gotta be one hell of a wrong number to dial.

Kidding aside: The only way would be to place cellphone and/or other singal suppressors in and around airports, tansit hubs, and govt. offices. ~shrug~ About the only way I can see of stopping remote detonated devices. But then they'll just go back to the old tried and true ways.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

How on earth do you defend against this?

A good pair of sneakers and a well-developed sense of danger.

Or, if that doesn't work for you, try an artificial nose programmed to detect the chemical traces of explosives material. Instead of a metal detector, rig it as an explosives detector. Or if that's too complicated, just invest some extra money in bomb-sniffing dogs.

Of course, in the end, any counter measures you can take will always be a few steps behind the terrorists (no puns intended). Mainly this is because terrorism--more accurately, in this case, assassination--is a tactic of sneakiness and creativity, and it's impossible to predict every possible method an assassin might use to try and kill you. The only way to safeguard is to have a coherent plan for what to do IF an assassin shows up, because usually you'll only have a handful of seconds to neutralize the threat before he takes a shot.

 

[CuttingEdge100]

MESSAGE DELETED BY CUTTINGEDGE100

 

[CuttingEdge100]

Rii,

That is a worry of mine. And I don't know of anyway this can be prevented.

The only consolation I suppose will be the fact that I'm not even sure mankind will be around in 100 years.


Newtype Alpha,

DFW is testing a type of CT technology which seems to be able to deal with the threat.

It is not feasable (or reasonable from a civil-rights stand point) to place these things everywhere or scan everybody every second of the day, however, the damage would not be too severe in most locations. On an airplane it doesn't take much to destroy the aircraft. An Air India 747 was blown to bits from only 4 sticks of TNT placed in the Cargo-hold...


Helen

 

[tharpdevenport]

Well, on top of asking them:

"Has anyone unknown to you besides yourself packed your bags?"
and
"Reason for visit?"

Maybe we need to start asking:

"Have you recently inserted any cellphone-activated bombs up your rectum?"

 

[Joshua Howard]

The answer clearly lies in social reformation rather than more safeguards. If everyone in America suddenly had a desire to kill their neighbors, our population would probably drop by more than 50% by tomorrow morning. It is not our regulation or lack of weapons that keeps us mostly safe; it is our respect for human life.

Ideas are more powerful than weapons, whether carried in the hand or hidden in the rectum. That is why the Muslim world fears the West. They know how to shoot and detonate, but they have no weapon powerful enough to keep increasing numbers of their young people from embracing reason rather than dogma and seeking peace.

A fire's smoke is blackest right before it goes out. Terrorism is the black smoke of a fire which has been raging for thousands of years and is, for the first time in history, running out of fuel.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

Ideas are more powerful than weapons, whether carried in the hand or hidden in the rectum.

I am extremely grateful to live in a country where I don't have to hide my ideas in my rectum.

 

[T'Girl]

The Israeli national airline EL AL are allowed to profile their passagers, they do detailed interviews/scans on only a few.

Last time I boarded a airplane in Japan, I was frisked by a very polite, attractive, smiling young woman. No one in the line seem to mind. No cavity search yet.

Maybe we can scan for power supplies, can scans pick up batteries?

 

[Mr. B]

I guess we'll just have to hope this method does not become popular. This guy only blew himself in half. The force of the blast was directed downward.

 

[Lindley]

"Our new friend just said all the security in the world can't stop a lone gunman dedicated to exchange his life for the target, and he is right. So you may as well live instead of being a prisoner."

-Captain John Sheridan, soon to be President John Sheridan, Babylon 5.

 

[Meredith]

Time to invent some tricorders that can scan for electrical devices.

 

[CuttingEdge100]

Lindley,

You make a very good point, and it's an attitude I myself hold. Absolute safety is not guaranteed and probably cannot be achieved without a complete loss of freedom and privacy.

However most people do not share this view, and over the past couple of years, the government has virtually positioned itself to capitalize on any disaster of any kind to justify increased surveillance power, and erosions of civil rights.


CuttingEdge100

 

[Shazam!]

That is why the Muslim world fears the West.

The 'Muslim World' does not fear the West.

 

[Shawnster]

We don't. We can't. Oh sure, we can safeguard against this particular tactic. Sadly, there will always be a new tactic.

The answer clearly lies in social reformation rather than more safeguards. If everyone in America suddenly had a desire to kill their neighbors, our population would probably drop by more than 50% by tomorrow morning. It is not our regulation or lack of weapons that keeps us mostly safe; it is our respect for human life.

Ideas are more powerful than weapons, whether carried in the hand or hidden in the rectum. That is why the Muslim world fears the West. They know how to shoot and detonate, but they have no weapon powerful enough to keep increasing numbers of their young people from embracing reason rather than dogma and seeking peace.

This is the only answer that will work. In order to prevent terrorism, you have to reach peoples hearts. Really, this is the only solution to any crime against humanity.

Government, laws and technology will never solve this problem. It has to come down to a time when no one will even want to commit such a crime.

A fire's smoke is blackest right before it goes out. Terrorism is the black smoke of a fire which has been raging for thousands of years and is, for the first time in history, running out of fuel.

I look forward to the time when terrorism completely runs out of fuel. That will not happen, though, as long as this current system of things is in place. As long as there is a human government of any kind there will always be someone or some group that disagrees with the ruling class. There will always be some nutjob that can outsmart the technology or those watching over us. Additionally there will always be those lunatics who, from time to time, simply like to watch the world burn.

Until you can reach their hearts this is simply going to continue to be a game of cat and mouse.

 

[Rii]

As long as there is a human government of any kind there will always be someone or some group that disagrees with the ruling class.

... and there'll be times when they're right.

See: United States of America, history of.

 

[Joshua Howard]

As long as there is a human government of any kind there will always be someone or some group that disagrees with the ruling class.

... and there'll be times when they're right.

See: United States of America, history of.

In that respect, Australia isn't exactly free of distain for government either.

Freedom is Anarchy with just enough organization to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to be lawless.