In light of the recently foiled terrorist plot here in the UK, and the poorly thought-out implementation of precautions in response (they’re worried about liquids being mixed together as a weapon, but they’re pouring them all into big communal vats in the airports?), it’s both a relief and a frustration to find that there is already technology available that could detect the types of explosives alleged to be at the centre of the plot. A relief, because I don’t want to hear of more innocent people dying for the ideologies of others; a frustration, because the technology costs a fortune, takes a lot of time to use effectively, and throws up a lot of false positives.
3 thoughts on “Liquid Detection Tools”
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From your delico feed ..
Unfortunately, they cost a packet and don’t work so well. Maybe removing the things that incite terrorism (y’know, like imperialist foreign policies) might be the way to go instead? Just a thought.
Maybe. If that were the cause. It is certainly one of their greviences, but I don’t think just not going to the Middle East is going to stop them from wanting to blow us up.
If it could be done – one of the problems ‘they’ have with ‘us’ is our cultural imperialism. Which isn’t directed by anyone, and can’t be stopped short of drastically making over the entire West.
It’s a smaller world now; they’re simply going to have to get used to the fact there there are other ideologies in the world and they are as worthy of consideration as theirs.
I agree with your points, Brian; I’m an unashamed peacenik, and my del.icio.us tags reflect my personal views on the things I find on the web. I understand that there are no simple solutions to the current situation, as much as I wish there was.
Of course the Arab world must learn that theirs is not the only viewpoint with any validity; but equally there is little chance of that happening while the leaders of the West try to impose our values upon them with force or economic pressure. We’re very good at saying ‘live and let live’, but the actions that our governments take make us all appear to be hypocrites. This is the double-edged sword of democracy – when our elected leaders take action, we are seen as complicit in their decisions, whether we agree with them or not.
The ignorance of many Muslim people is exploited by their leaders in the same way that the ignorance of many Westerners is exploited; while the people on both sides of the equation are being sold convenient half-truths and spin by persons with vested interests in continued discord and conflict, the possibility of misunderstanding and resentment will surely only increase.
It is my belief that most Muslims who are anti-West only feel that way because they have been told by their leaders that we are the root of all their problems. It’s easy to instill hatred in people who don’t have enough to eat – everyone needs a scapegoat, and it’s easier to blame distant nebulous concepts than entertain the idea that your own leaders are using you as pawns. In this, I believe we have a lot more in common with many Muslims than we or they realise.
Nothing is ever simple, sad to say. I have no idea whether it will be possible to fix the mess the world is in before it gets worse. In no way whatsoever do I condone acts of terrorism – violence and murder does nothing to advance a political cause, and I would see the perpetrators of all such acts brought to justice. But likewise, I cannot condone the heavy-handed meddling in the affairs of others that our governments seem to find so necessary – if nothing else, it plays into the hands of the ideologues who would see the Muslim world rise up and destroy us, and serves only to confirm their claims that we wish to dismantle their way of life and replace it with our own.
The Muslim people are not the problem; nor are the people of the West. It is the politicians and the clerics on both sides that are the problem. I hope that the march of technology and communications can help the people of the world reach a better understanding of each other’s point of view, before those already secure from harm and poverty due to their positions of power lead us all into a perpetual conflict that will only ever kill those who have done nothing to deserve it.
Well said AA