terrorism
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Mini-Nose scent detector sniffs out bombs, possibly liars
Ever dreamt of having a second, electronic, miniature nose that you could use to sniff out explosives, and maybe detect when your milk will go bad? We "sense" that you're at home shaking your head "no." Not a problem -- because some scientists in Israel have had that dream for you. Enter the Mini-Nose (no, seriously), a new technology developed by Herzliya-based Scent Detection Technologies Ltd., which effectively emulates the mammalian olfactory sense for trace and particle detection. The analyzer will be put into use by security organizations in Israel and the US, including (but not limited to) the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon. Apparently, the Mini-Nose works by utilizing a technology called High-Frequency Quartz Crystal Microbalance (HF-QCM), which sniffs trace levels of explosives with a lower cost and greater accuracy than existing technologies. "Our technology is portable, reliable, cost-effective and can also detect improvised explosives without the need for upgrades," says the company's Vice President of Business Development Doron Shalom, who then went on to ominously add that the device can also "smell fear."[Via ISRAEL21c]
France planning to 'triple' CCTV surveillance capacity
At least those residing in the UK can breathe a momentary sigh of relief, as it's not the only locale where the amount of surveillance drones is quickly approaching the number of citizens. Reportedly, French interior minister Michele Alliot-Marie recently announced that the government is planning to "triple" the existing CCTV surveillance capacities across the country, "with a view to curb the risks of terrorism and acts of violence." Beyond just bumping the amount of eyes scanning for troublemakers, she also suggested that the network of systems be more tightly connected in order to effectively "protect the French people and enable them to move freely without fearing for their lives or property." Of course, we're sure there's quite a few citizens who'd have beef with the whole "moving freely sans fear" tidbit, no?[Via The Raw Feed]
Smile, you're on Big Brother's in-plane camera!
The folks in the UK aren't laissez-faire about this Big Brother thing one bit, them and Germany are throwing £25 million (bout $49 million US) at the "problem" of monitoring airline passengers with small cameras and microphones in every single seat back to monitor for suspicious behavior. The system will be able to detect rapid eye movements, excessive blinking, twitches, whispers or other symptoms of somebody trying to conceal something, and check the data against individual passenger profiles for alerting the crew to a potential terrorist. Airlines and privacy advocates aren't terribly stoked about the idea, with the airlines saying it'll take 10 years to outfit planes with such systems and the money would be better spent "on preventing terrorists boarding aircraft in the first place." Privacy people figure that "it will put people off flying because they will feel uncomfortable." However, Catherine Neary, the project team leader assures that under the Data Protection Act, all audio and video recordings will be destroyed at the end of each flight. That makes it all better, right?[Via Smart Mobs]
Sept. 11's effect on the coin-op industry
Following up on yesterday's post on the decline of the American arcade, we stumbled across this little bit of soul-searching from Brad Brown, president of coin-op repair and sales shop Worldwide Video. Brown looks back at a rather gloomy 2002 Christmas letter in which he details how the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 have impacted the coin-op market. According to Brown, the attacks made "a tremendous amount of people want to stay home and entertain themselves," going out only to places that "do not require traveling long distances." Coin-op users in 2002 tended to leave the house only for "very specific events or events that usually include a multitude of activities along with 'we just happen to be there' coin-op game entertainment," Brown said. Years without an attack on American soil may have mitigated these effects, but these days Brown reflects that the "relative down cycle / blip upon our industry that has proven to last far longer and deeper than I would have anticipated." We don't doubt his first-hand experience, but we've also started noticing that those darn, impossible-to-beat Stacker machines are popping up all over the place, so maybe things are turning around. We'll put the question to you -- does the threat of terrorism make you less likely to seek out video game outside the comforts of your own home? [Via Insert Credit]
Culture of terror seeps into WoW
I believe it was George Jellinek who said, "The history of a people is found in its videogames." Err, wait, maybe that was something else. At any rate, it's true that the entertainment of a people reflects its culture, and so it might come as no surprise that twice in the past few days a couple of real-life mashups have appeared around the WoW community.First, MBAzeroth continues it's Daily Blink series with a story that the Alliance has actually invaded Canada. Apparently, the Horde insurgents found there pushed them over the line, and despite the protests of gamers, Katrina Prestor and her armies are taking over the Great White North.With good reason, maybe, because this forum post tells a mashup story of an Orc arrested on suspicion of creating a nuclear bomb. Talho reports that a 70 Orc was caught mining Uranium Ore (at a skill much higher than 375), and using tradeskill alts and Goblin Engineers to assemble a bomb outside Ironforge. The Chinese are even involved-- apparently they were assisting with farming materials for the weapon. President Bush, says Talho, has dispatched two 25-man PvP raids in retaliation.At a time when advertisements for a cartoon are causing bomb scares in Boston, it's interesting that the mood of our time is even seeping into this game we play.
EU trials continuous RFID monitoring in airports
If you thought toting an RFID-enabled passport was infringing on your so-called privacy, the European Union is going the extra mile to ensure you completely relinquish any remaining aspects of personal choice when you enter its airports. On a mission to "improve airport efficiency, security and passenger flow" (read: keep a constant eye on your every twitch), the EU is dropping €2 million ($2.5 million) on the Optag project, which allow airports to toss a newly-developed RFID tag around the necks of all incoming passengers. The tags, crafted by University College London's antennas and radar group, have an unusually long range -- "about 10 to 20 meters" -- and can pinpoint the location of whomever is donning them to "within one meter." Developed to ensure "a quicker stream of airport traffic," the chips are continuously monitored for deviant or suspicious behavior, and a network of "high definition cameras" (1080p?) are in place to track your every move. For those of you traveling through Hungary's Debrecen Airport, you should probably arrive prepared to rock a newfangled necklace for the duration of your stay, but try not to let that constant reminder of Big Brother's omnipotence get you down.
Face recognition system identifies terrorists so soldiers don't have to
It's not often that we come across new technology that physically makes us sick to write about, but when we do encounter such morally questionable tech, nine times out of ten it's something to do with facilitating the killing of other human beings. A small company specializing in visual image processing called ACAGI Inc., in partnership with researchers at the University of Maryland, has developed a portable face recognition system called the Image Acquisition and Exploitation Camera System which is intended to help soldiers recall faces in crowded areas. The system, which can run over video cameras in the gun barrel or on the soldier's helmet, will notify users when someone who was present previously turns up at the soldiers current location, which should help them identify trouble makers. In ACAGI CEO Peter Spatharis' own words: "If our system sees somebody it knows, it tells you, and it tells others so quick decisions can be made" -- and let's just say that those "quick decisions" he refers to aren't spur of the moment invitations to tea parties back at the barracks. Possibly the scariest "feature" of the face recognition system is that it can be hooked up to an existing hit list database of naughty people's mugs which can then be referenced against real world data from a camera. Just what we need: software telling us which people live and which ones die. Um, hasn't anyone ever heard of Skynet?[Via The Raw Feed]
Man suspected of terrorism due to PSP
With a powerful 333MHz processor, GPS and wi-fi capabilities, and tons of Japanese girl games, the PSP can be transformed into a mighty tool for terrorists to use. At least, that's what a police officer thought when he pulled over Robert from PSP 3D."I started laughing, I knew nothing better to do at the time; these people thought I was a terrorist. They probably thought I was using the electronic device to decrypt confidential passwords, try to detonate some sort of triggered bomb, or something along those lines."You can head over to PSP 3D for the rest of this John Grisham-like thriller. And remember, next time you want to play your PSP on the plane, the FBI might be watching you...[Thanks, Joe!]
Terrorist plot results in air ban of gadgets
As you may or may not have heard, this morning Scotland Yard announced 21 people were arrested in connection with a supposed terrorist plot to use liquid explosives onboard. The result was obviously arduous for travelers who suffered suspended flights and long lines -- certainly a better fate than the possible alternative -- but the collateral inconveniences were also rather interesting. Authorities banned bringing aboard liquids, gels, or lotions (aside from medicines and sustenance for small children), as well as effectively scrapping travelers' ability to carry on laptops, cameras, or cellphones until further notice. Pretty severe for those looking to get some work done or pass time on their flight, but anyone lucky enough to get on a plane in England today is probably more relieved than irritated. Just be sure these guys don't lose your luggage, ok?[Thanks, Cyrus]Update: For clarification, as far as we know gadgets are still allowed on American flights -- this precedent pertains primarily only to British and possibly some European flights.Update 2: Looks like things are loosening up a bit, and passengers can start carrying on a bit of baggage themselves. For more info peep the Beeb. Thanks Stewart.
Europeans working on anti-hijacking software
Even though air travel has gotten marginally safer since the tragedies of 9/11 -- thanks in part to fortified cockpits, increased air marshal presence, and a ban on toenail clippers -- it still doesn't seem impossible for a group of determined individuals to hijack a plane and turn it into a deadly missile. And should such a suicide-style attack happen again, the only surefire way of protecting targets on the ground would seem to be shooting the plane out of the air -- a nightmare scenario that no one wants to see. Well, soon airlines may have another, much safer option at their disposal in the form of a software platform being developed by a consortium of 30-odd European businesses and research institutes that would make an aircraft's systems completely unusable in the event of a cockpit breach -- control of the plane would be passed to officials on the ground -- even if one of the hijackers was among the 1337est of hackers. The $45 million program is being spearheaded by Airbus (already big fans of auto-pilot), Siemens, and the Technical University of Munich, with the first results of the collaboration scheduled to be revealed at an October conference in the UK. Here's to hoping that the group comes up with a working solution sooner rather than later, because this is one technology that just can't be deployed quickly enough.
