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> And yet this combination was effective in limiting the number of casualties in the recent Volgograd train station bombing It just shifted the site of the att

> And yet this combination was effective in limiting the number of casualties in the recent Volgograd train station bombing It just shifted the site of the attack to a new bottleneck: where everyone is in line to go through the metal detector (which many people also have pointed out is a ripe target for an attack in the post-TSA US).

codex 13y ago
That's the idea. There were more people waiting for trains inside the station than waiting in line at the metal detector. Russian officials claim that the barricades reduced casualties.
- magicalist 13y ago
  Well, I don't know the layout of the stations, nor do I have any real knowledge of explosives, so I can't really comment on if they actually helped (more than any normal wall or objects in a room), but if you look at the numbers, 14 and 17 fatalities (with about three times that injured) is near the high end of suicide bombings where the bomb is carried on a person. Suicide bombings in the middle east over the last 10 years, in comparison, have about a 1:3 ratio of bomber to victims. That's a mean, but the outliers tend to barely break 20. So it's difficult to believe that number was reduced by a large amount.
- gumby 13y ago
  <quote>Russian officials claim that the barricades reduced casualties.</quote> Yes they did, but according to this article they claim all sorts of things, much of which is not true: http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/30/powerlessness-and-pretense/ http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/30/powerlessness-a... Such as the identity of the bomber (she later posted on her FB page, "Nope, I'm still alive!"). Not that I'm trying to imply that Russian officials are particularly different in this regard!
monksy 13y ago
Metal detectors are no big deal. They're quick and they preserve your privacy. Those body scanners are a freaking mess.
- magicalist 13y ago
  I agree that metal detectors aren't invasive in a way that many other screening methods are. I was just pointing out that you can't put a metal detector in the way of reaching every grouping of people. There will always be targets.
venomsnake 13y ago
That was one of the reasons given in Cracked by some former Ben Gurion head of security. http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-reasons-tsa-sucks-a-security-experts-perspective/ http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-reasons-tsa-sucks-a-security-e... (yeah I know it is a cracked article, but this time it is different)

codex 13y ago

That's the idea. There were more people waiting for trains inside the station than waiting in line at the metal detector. Russian officials claim that the barricades reduced casualties.

magicalist 13y ago
Well, I don't know the layout of the stations, nor do I have any real knowledge of explosives, so I can't really comment on if they actually helped (more than any normal wall or objects in a room), but if you look at the numbers, 14 and 17 fatalities (with about three times that injured) is near the high end of suicide bombings where the bomb is carried on a person. Suicide bombings in the middle east over the last 10 years, in comparison, have about a 1:3 ratio of bomber to victims. That's a mean, but the outliers tend to barely break 20. So it's difficult to believe that number was reduced by a large amount.
gumby 13y ago
<quote>Russian officials claim that the barricades reduced casualties.</quote> Yes they did, but according to this article they claim all sorts of things, much of which is not true: http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/30/powerlessness-and-pretense/ http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/30/powerlessness-a... Such as the identity of the bomber (she later posted on her FB page, "Nope, I'm still alive!"). Not that I'm trying to imply that Russian officials are particularly different in this regard!

monksy 13y ago

Metal detectors are no big deal. They're quick and they preserve your privacy. Those body scanners are a freaking mess.

magicalist 13y ago
I agree that metal detectors aren't invasive in a way that many other screening methods are. I was just pointing out that you can't put a metal detector in the way of reaching every grouping of people. There will always be targets.

venomsnake 13y ago

That was one of the reasons given in Cracked by some former Ben Gurion head of security. http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-reasons-tsa-sucks-a-security-experts-perspective/ http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-reasons-tsa-sucks-a-security-e... (yeah I know it is a cracked article, but this time it is different)