Indirectly relating to firearms but directly concerned with our rights. I sympathize with the writer's experience but doubt the price we pay will be worth questionable security.
Jeff
Trading some questionable privacy for much-needed security http://www.phillyburbs.com/couriertimes/news/news/0204jonas.htm
JERRY JONAS
Trading some questionable privacy for much-needed security Most sports and movie buffs are probably familiar with the themes of two hit movies of the late 1970s.
Most sports and movie buffs are probably familiar with the themes of two hit movies of the late 1970s.
"Two-Minute Warning" told the story of a psychotic killer who fires a rifle into a crowd at a Sunday afternoon football game. "Black Sunday" was a frightening tale of a demented war veteran who commandeers the Goodyear Blimp at a Super Bowl and attempts to inflict mass terror on the fans.
At the time these films were produced, the story lines were exciting, but somewhat far-fetched. Most terrorism back then was something that only threatened other parts of the world, rarely involved Americans, and never occurred in the United States.
Today, all that has changed. The bombings of Pan Am Flight 103, New York's World Trade Center, the Marine Barracks in Lebanon, and the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania are all evidence that Americans are prime targets for international terrorists. The bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City by an American citizen proved that some terrorists are even home-grown. What could be a better target for any of these madmen than a stadium packed with 70,000 people and a sporting event like the Super Bowl? A news item in Wednesday's St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times revealed that, unknown to the fans at last Sunday's Super Bowl in Tampa, local and federal police were cooperating in a unique project designed to prevent just such a catastrophe.
As each individual passed through a turnstile, a carefully placed video camera focused on his or her face. Each image was then relayed to a system of computers that in less that a second compared it to thousands of digitized portraits of known criminals and suspected terrorists. The information was then relayed to police who stood by in the stadium's basement. The goal was to identify possible terrorists or even petty thieves and pickpockets so that police could swoop down on them before they could act.According to the Tampa police, at least 19 individuals with minor criminal histories were identified, but no suspected terrorists were observed.
Although video cameras are routinely used in banks, shopping malls, and convenience stores, the American Civil Liberties Union seems opposed to this Super Bowl-type surveillance.
"Not only is it going to rob us of our anonymity, but it's going to be used as a tool of law enforcement to round up 'the usual suspects' and to hassle people on the streets," said Barry Steinhardt, the ACLU's associate director.
So much for the ACLU.
Unfortunately, even the use of this modern technology will not identify all terrorists before they act. Some of them are merely unpredictable mentally sick individuals who commit random and senseless acts of violence.
In 1987, on the sidewalk outside Veterans Stadium, I became the victim of once such "sicko." Standing at a pay telephone, I detected the smell of a burning cigarette. Unknown to me, a small explosive device had been placed just under the phone, with its wick inserted into the cigarette. With no warning, the flame reached the wick and the device exploded, knocking me to the ground and breaking my glasses. A police officer who witnessed the incident helped me to my feet and informed me that my neck was bleeding. The officer insisted on driving me to the emergency room of a nearby hospital. Arriving there, I noticed that my thigh was beginning to ache, and my undershorts and trousers were soaked in blood. The examining physician quickly discovered that there was a piece of shrapnel from the explosive embedded in my thigh, and my face, neck, and arms (from my wrists to my shoulders) were singed with powder burns. It would be three weeks before the shrapnel worked its way out. Still, I was lucky. Since the heavy metal base of the telephone (which was badly warped) and my eyeglasses (which were destroyed) had absorbed much of the blast, my eyes had been spared. In addition to my physical injuries, my trousers, shirt and underwear were ruined. At the time, I would gladly have forsaken any questionable right to privacy for a video of the individual placing that explosive. Although too late to help me, identifying him might have prevented him from injuring others.
Jerry Jonas' column appears every Sunday. You can leave a message for Jerry at 215-949-0376, or write to him c/o Life Department, Bucks County Courier-Times, 8400 Rt. 13, Levittown, PA 19057; e-mail: jjonas@philly.infi.net.
Sunday, February 4, 2001
Jeff
Trading some questionable privacy for much-needed security http://www.phillyburbs.com/couriertimes/news/news/0204jonas.htm
JERRY JONAS
Trading some questionable privacy for much-needed security Most sports and movie buffs are probably familiar with the themes of two hit movies of the late 1970s.
Most sports and movie buffs are probably familiar with the themes of two hit movies of the late 1970s.
"Two-Minute Warning" told the story of a psychotic killer who fires a rifle into a crowd at a Sunday afternoon football game. "Black Sunday" was a frightening tale of a demented war veteran who commandeers the Goodyear Blimp at a Super Bowl and attempts to inflict mass terror on the fans.
At the time these films were produced, the story lines were exciting, but somewhat far-fetched. Most terrorism back then was something that only threatened other parts of the world, rarely involved Americans, and never occurred in the United States.
Today, all that has changed. The bombings of Pan Am Flight 103, New York's World Trade Center, the Marine Barracks in Lebanon, and the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania are all evidence that Americans are prime targets for international terrorists. The bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City by an American citizen proved that some terrorists are even home-grown. What could be a better target for any of these madmen than a stadium packed with 70,000 people and a sporting event like the Super Bowl? A news item in Wednesday's St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times revealed that, unknown to the fans at last Sunday's Super Bowl in Tampa, local and federal police were cooperating in a unique project designed to prevent just such a catastrophe.
As each individual passed through a turnstile, a carefully placed video camera focused on his or her face. Each image was then relayed to a system of computers that in less that a second compared it to thousands of digitized portraits of known criminals and suspected terrorists. The information was then relayed to police who stood by in the stadium's basement. The goal was to identify possible terrorists or even petty thieves and pickpockets so that police could swoop down on them before they could act.According to the Tampa police, at least 19 individuals with minor criminal histories were identified, but no suspected terrorists were observed.
Although video cameras are routinely used in banks, shopping malls, and convenience stores, the American Civil Liberties Union seems opposed to this Super Bowl-type surveillance.
"Not only is it going to rob us of our anonymity, but it's going to be used as a tool of law enforcement to round up 'the usual suspects' and to hassle people on the streets," said Barry Steinhardt, the ACLU's associate director.
So much for the ACLU.
Unfortunately, even the use of this modern technology will not identify all terrorists before they act. Some of them are merely unpredictable mentally sick individuals who commit random and senseless acts of violence.
In 1987, on the sidewalk outside Veterans Stadium, I became the victim of once such "sicko." Standing at a pay telephone, I detected the smell of a burning cigarette. Unknown to me, a small explosive device had been placed just under the phone, with its wick inserted into the cigarette. With no warning, the flame reached the wick and the device exploded, knocking me to the ground and breaking my glasses. A police officer who witnessed the incident helped me to my feet and informed me that my neck was bleeding. The officer insisted on driving me to the emergency room of a nearby hospital. Arriving there, I noticed that my thigh was beginning to ache, and my undershorts and trousers were soaked in blood. The examining physician quickly discovered that there was a piece of shrapnel from the explosive embedded in my thigh, and my face, neck, and arms (from my wrists to my shoulders) were singed with powder burns. It would be three weeks before the shrapnel worked its way out. Still, I was lucky. Since the heavy metal base of the telephone (which was badly warped) and my eyeglasses (which were destroyed) had absorbed much of the blast, my eyes had been spared. In addition to my physical injuries, my trousers, shirt and underwear were ruined. At the time, I would gladly have forsaken any questionable right to privacy for a video of the individual placing that explosive. Although too late to help me, identifying him might have prevented him from injuring others.
Jerry Jonas' column appears every Sunday. You can leave a message for Jerry at 215-949-0376, or write to him c/o Life Department, Bucks County Courier-Times, 8400 Rt. 13, Levittown, PA 19057; e-mail: jjonas@philly.infi.net.
Sunday, February 4, 2001
