"You feel like you've been dipped in molten lava"
0 Comments Published by Tom Gara on Sunday, December 10 at Sunday, December 10, 2006.
Doubleplusgood! The new Pain Machines are working flawlessly!
The US Military has certified as "safe for use in Iraq" the new "Active Denial System", which, from the sound of it, shoots invisible rays of burning hot pain in the direction of crowds, who will do anything to get away from it after a few seconds of the excruciating burning sensations on their skin. Read all about it in Wired news...
The whole concept of non-lethal weapons for crowd control is theoretically good and practically awful. Obviously it would be better for police and soldiers to have an alternative to a gun when needing to subdue threatening people. The problem is, due to its lethality, using a gun tends to be a last resort kind of thing, and most responsible cops will only use their gun when all other options are gone. Once you put non-lethal weapons in their hands - tasers, stun guns, etc - it becomes much easier to justify their use in less dramatic circumstances.
Has somebody got a funny look in their eye? Some cocky youngster being a bit cheeky and need to learn a lesson in respecting authority? This is exactly what has happened in the States since cops and private security were given access to these kind of weapons. See this, or more scarily, check out this video of cops at the University of California repeatedly taser'ing a student in a library who refused to show his ID - and then threatening angry onlookers "you want to get some too?". Cops in Miami used tasers on a 12 year old girl and a 7 year old boy. And Amnesty International seems pretty pissed off by the whole situation.
I can see how the "Active Denial System" is a much better way for soldiers in Iraq to deal with angry rioting crowds - well better than a machine gun at least. But given the way American cops and private security (many of whom are much more experienced in their work than the average US soldier I suspect) have taken to using non lethal force on pretty much anyone who pisses them off, I don't think its hard to imagine the day when the average Iraqi experiences the sensation of being dipped in molten lava for the smallest of reasons. And I wouldn't want to be a Palestinian if the Israeli's ever get their hands on one.....
The US Military has certified as "safe for use in Iraq" the new "Active Denial System", which, from the sound of it, shoots invisible rays of burning hot pain in the direction of crowds, who will do anything to get away from it after a few seconds of the excruciating burning sensations on their skin. Read all about it in Wired news...
"The beam produces what experimenters call the "Goodbye effect," or "prompt and highly motivated escape behavior." In human tests, most subjects reached their pain threshold within 3 seconds, and none of the subjects could endure more than 5 seconds."Highly Motivated Escape Behavior" has to be up there with "Faith Based Melee" as one of the best neologisms of 2006.'It will repel you,' one test subject said. 'If hit by the beam, you will move out of it -- reflexively and quickly. You for sure will not be eager to experience it again.' "
The whole concept of non-lethal weapons for crowd control is theoretically good and practically awful. Obviously it would be better for police and soldiers to have an alternative to a gun when needing to subdue threatening people. The problem is, due to its lethality, using a gun tends to be a last resort kind of thing, and most responsible cops will only use their gun when all other options are gone. Once you put non-lethal weapons in their hands - tasers, stun guns, etc - it becomes much easier to justify their use in less dramatic circumstances.
Has somebody got a funny look in their eye? Some cocky youngster being a bit cheeky and need to learn a lesson in respecting authority? This is exactly what has happened in the States since cops and private security were given access to these kind of weapons. See this, or more scarily, check out this video of cops at the University of California repeatedly taser'ing a student in a library who refused to show his ID - and then threatening angry onlookers "you want to get some too?". Cops in Miami used tasers on a 12 year old girl and a 7 year old boy. And Amnesty International seems pretty pissed off by the whole situation.
I can see how the "Active Denial System" is a much better way for soldiers in Iraq to deal with angry rioting crowds - well better than a machine gun at least. But given the way American cops and private security (many of whom are much more experienced in their work than the average US soldier I suspect) have taken to using non lethal force on pretty much anyone who pisses them off, I don't think its hard to imagine the day when the average Iraqi experiences the sensation of being dipped in molten lava for the smallest of reasons. And I wouldn't want to be a Palestinian if the Israeli's ever get their hands on one.....
0 Responses to “"You feel like you've been dipped in molten lava"”
Post a Comment