Mine clearance is a pretty serious concern. Mines are often used in poor agricultrual countries, where the people need the land to survive. They often don't have the luxury of leaving a possibly mined field go fallow until professionals can clear it.
A reasonable idea would be to have enemy soldiers (Or preferably, enemy Generals) to get the mines they laid down back out of the ground for you. Even assuming you have the ones who laid them out, this would require a lot of cooperation on an undesirable job. It would also break the Geneva convention, since mine clearing is definitely work, and prisoners of war cannot be used for forced labor according to the Geneva Convention.
However, the Geneva Convention has allowances for relocation of prisoners.
By using portable structures to house the prisoners of war, two prison buildings can be set up on opposite sides of a mine field. Guards can then use extremely long chains to allow them to walk around the minefield while their chain-gang of prisoners walk through it.
If they reach the other side, the now vacant prison is shifted slightly, and the process can be repeated.
A good pair of binoculars should allow one to observe the terror in the eyes of prisoners if they are nearing known landmines. Relocation could then stop, and humanitarian mine-clearance methods would of course be used.-- ye_river_xiv, Dec 03 2009 The Third Geneva Convention http://en.wikisourc...eir_Arrival_in_Camp [DrBob, Dec 04 2009] How about children? http://www.matthias...ahmadinejads-demons[the children] marched in formation across minefields toward the enemy, clearing a path with their bodies [ldischler, Dec 04 2009] Tramplers http://en.wikipedia...iki/Penal_battalionThe Soviet version of exactly this was the "trampler". I think maybe they were less enthusiastic than the Iranian version. [bungston, Dec 04 2009] Wouldn't it be simpler just to ask them, even slightly interrogate them as to where the mines are?-- Germanicus, Dec 03 2009 oh for the days of well marked conventional mine fields. I think that you need to do a little more research on what the "mine problem" consists of these days.-- WcW, Dec 03 2009 //get the mines they laid down// Rather a massive assumption there. And yes, this would contravene the Geneva convention.-- DrBob, Dec 04 2009 How about mime clearance using enemy soldiers?. - imagines same scenario as described except the pesky public place mime artists are fleeing in every direction (impeded of course by their invisible glass boxes) as the chain tethered enemy soldiers advance on them with fixed bayonets.-- xenzag, Dec 04 2009 //It would also break the Geneva convention// Oops.-- swimswim, Dec 04 2009 Better them than me.-- MikeD, Dec 04 2009 Does nobody get the humor, here? It is ye river xiv, for gosh sakes?
(Okay, I don't get it either...) [=]-- Wily Peyote, Dec 04 2009 At tht time of the mad cow thing there was a serious suggestion to ship all of the potentially infected cows to graze on minefields rather than culling them.-- The_Saint, Dec 04 2009 This would be a funnier idea if it had not been done, many times.-- bungston, Dec 04 2009 //oh for the days of well marked conventional mine fields. //
Certainly, every mine clearance method has it's optimal use, and this one is not ideal for poorly marked minefields, mines in backwood trails, etc.
However, I mentioned that one problem is that mines are still used in poor agricultural areas, where the farmers don't have the luxury to leave a possibly mined field fallow.
In such situations as this, it is not the mine field that is well marked, but rather, it is the agricultural field into which mines were placed that is well marked. Rapidly clearing the agricultural field of mines allows the community to continue growing crops for subsistence.
While regular minesweeping methods might be needed to relocate the prisons themselves, the bulk of the field could be cleared using somewhat less energy-intensive methods.-- ye_river_xiv, Dec 08 2009 //oh for the days of well marked conventional mine fields. //
While regular minesweeping methods might be needed to relocate the prisons themselves, the bulk of the field could be cleared using somewhat less energy-intensive methods.-- ye_river_xiv, Dec 08 2009 I put that last anno through a few different languages using Google translate, in hopes of extracting some new perspective. The piece about singing was not obvious in the original. Here is what I got.
In this case there is no space of my best position, the mining sector is a good opening in agriculture. Will continue to grow crops for quick clean sector mining community survival.
The area itself is regularly a relatively low energy - you need to go to jail to sing in a clear and focused way.-- bungston, Dec 09 2009 Many a blues singer has.-- normzone, Dec 09 2009 random, halfbakery