The news is all about the Austin, Texas Bomber blowing himself up after being confronted this morning. They were making the statement, on the news, that the bomber didn't anticipate today being his last day on earth alive.
The thing that stands out to me, with this story, is just how advanced our technology, video availability and training has advanced law enforcement. There was a time that someone like this may have gone a long time without being found out but thankfully the authorities have brought a fairly quick end to this series of bombings. From what is initially being revealed it was the suspect's choice to go into a FedEx shipping center and ship a bomb. They said although he wore a wig and made attempts to conceal his appearance they were able to get enough information to center the investigation on one individual and then track him down.
It also brought to mind a movie that I saw years ago, that has been around for a while, called "Enemy of the State" with Gene Hackman and Will Smith. In that movie the Federal Government National Security Administration was able to tap into and reposition observation satellites, above earth, to track down movements of the folks they were trying to eliminate. What I'm wondering is just how advanced our technologies are today and do we have those very capabilities today to be able to pull up satellite video footage, zoom in/down and actually watch, and trace, movements of various people in various areas of the Nation or around Earth?
If those capabilities are available and even improved upon and enhanced it is both comforting and scary for privacy sake. At least if we have those capabilities, and you can be sure no one would be talking about having them if they do exist, then almost any major crime should be able to be solved in short order or at least narrowed in on.