[DBrow]

Whiny article complaining about deployment of a less-than-lethal weapon that can be used to deliver important info, as well as high sound levels to disperse crowds.

While bound to be controversial just because the USA is using it, a sonic weapon probably does less damage than truncheons or rubber bullets, or even tear gas.

[SGCOS]

Sonic devices that can inflict pain

Kinda like Hillary at the podium, eh?

[mylife]

Its called an amplifier

[rocky88]

I wish they'd give these to the riot squads that are forced to show up at the so-called "peace protests!"

[COUNTrecount]

The Pentagon's Secret Scream- Sonic devices that can inflict pain

SOUTH POMFRET, Vt.

So Howard "The Scream" Dean finally has found honest work in Vermont

[teletech]

Marines arriving in Iraq this month as part of a massive troop rotation will bring with them a high-tech weapon never before used in combat - or in peacekeeping. The device is a powerful megaphone the size of a satellite dish that can deliver recorded warnings in Arabic and, on command, emit a piercing tone so excruciating to humans, its boosters say, that it causes crowds to disperse, clears buildings and repels intruders.

Sort of an electronic Hillary Clinton.

[per loin]

Will a tinfoil hat (double wrapped) thwart the weapon.

[Dead Dog]

"Say Hello to the Scream Extractor"

[beckysueb]

I can just hear the RATS whining about cruel punishment.

[AreaMan]

...on command, emit a piercing tone so excruciating to humans, its boosters say, that it causes crowds to disperse, clears buildings and repels intruders...

I thought that was the job of hip-hop/rap music.

[sbelew]

I have to admit, I'm concerned about these types of weapons - not so much in military applications abroad, but here at home.

Let's face it - crowd dispersal is just a stone's throw from losing your right to protest.

These weapons will shut you up & send you home in a hurry. And, since there are no casualties, there will be no headlines. Instant stifling of dissent.

In the past, a government had a couple of choices in dealing with legitimate protests. They could let the protest happen, or break out the thugs with bats & guns. The latter choice carried with it a stigma. Less-than-lethal weaponry does not carry the same stigma, and in my opinion this makes it MUCH more likely to be used.

Anyone wanna bet whether President Hillary Clinton would like to have a few of these to deal with pesky Freepers?

[alnitak]

Experiment IV, Kate Bush.



We were working secretly
For the military.
Our experiment in sound,
Was nearly ready to begin.
We only know in theory
What we are doing:
Music made for pleasure,
Music made to thrill.
It was music we were making here until


They told us
All they wanted
Was a sound that could kill someone
From a distance.
So we go ahead,
And the meters are over in the red.
It's a mistake in the making.


From the painful cry of mothers,
To the terrifying scream,
We recorded it and put it into our machine.


Then they told us
All they wanted
Was a sound that could kill someone
From a distance.
So we go ahead,
And the meters are over in the red.
It's a mistake in the making.


It could feel like falling in love.
It could feel so bad.
But it could feel so good.
It could sing you to sleep

?"I'll bet my mum's gonna give me a little toy instrument!"?

But that dream is your enemy.


We won't be there to be blamed.
We won't be there to snitch.
I just pray that someone there
Can hit the switch.


But they told us
All they wanted
Was a sound that could kill someone
From a distance.
So we go ahead,
And the meters are over in the red.
It's a mistake we've made.


Hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm hmm.
And the public are warned to stay off.

[antiRepublicrat]

laser ... devices - have not until now been fielded, held up by legal and ethical questions.

I've always wondered why it's considered ethical to blow a hole in a man the size of a coffee cup, but it's not ethical to simply blind him with a laser so he can't fight anymore. I know which fate I'd pick if I had a choice.

[Ribeye]

"The Pentagon's Secret Scream- Sonic devices that can inflict pain"
___________________________________________________
My wife and I have one of these.

He's two years old and we call him "Jack".
We've got a newer model due June 1st.

They're great and we wouldn't trade them for the world and everything in it.

[Stone Mountain]

Whiny article complaining about deployment of a less-than-lethal weapon that can be used to deliver important info, as well as high sound levels to disperse crowds.

It sounds like a great idea. The article makes a valid point that any kind of new weapon sill be scrutinized very closely. If it is that good, we should release the data that verifies this.

While bound to be controversial just because the USA is using it, a sonic weapon probably does less damage than truncheons or rubber bullets, or even tear gas.

You're probably right. That's why we should make this information public.

[q_an_a]

the article is whinning because it was origianlly written for the LA Times.

[wildbill]

IF it works even if you plug your ears, how do you deploy and use it without harming your own personnel.

Draft deaf people?

[clyde asbury]

Anyone remember Douglas Adams' band, Disaster Area ?

Their sound system was said to contravene most planets' strategic defense initiatives.

[Skooz]

Someone used this device on Capt. Kirk once. Or twice. Or three times.

[clyde asbury]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy notes that Disaster Area .. are generally held to be not only the loudest rock band in the Galaxy, but the loudest noise of any kind at all. Regular concert goers judge that the best sound balance is usually to be heard from within large concrete bunkers some thirty-seven miles from the actual stage, while the musicians themselves play their instruments by remote control from within a heavily insulated spaceship which stays in orbit around the planet - or more frequently around a completely different planet.
..
Many worlds have now banned their act altogether .. mostly because the band's public address system contravenes local strategic arms limitations treaties.
Douglas Adams
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

[moonman]

I need one of those for my car the next time a rapper punk pulls up next to me with his boom-box blaring.