Posted on 02/20/2007 5:08:51 AM PST by PurpleMan
"...We've just invented a weapon that fires a beam of searing pain.
"Three weeks ago, the U.S. armed forces tested it on volunteers at an Air Force base in Georgia. You can watch the video on a military Web site. Three colonels get zapped, along with an Associated Press reporter. The beam is invisible, but its effects are vivid. Two dozen airmen scatter. The AP guy shrieks and bolts out of the target zone. He says it felt like heat all over his body, as though his jacket were on fire.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
O.K. my peeps... What are the philsophical implications of a weapon's lethality significantly decreasing yet the use of it sigificantly increasing.
Other links here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1751053/posts and here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1656042/posts
Bookmark. This should be interesting...
Anything that can be used to disperse a crowd without leaving bloody bodies all around for television cameras is a good thing.
Especially if it is non-lethal.
Right now, a traffic accident in Iraq or Afghanistan could turn into an international incident if a humvee barreling down the road hits a kid. If the only way we have to disperse an angry mob is bullets, real or rubber, that is not good enough.
I'm not sure what you mean about philosophical implications. The less lethal "weapons" have always been the most used (such as harsh words, slaps). We only move up to the lethal stuff when we judge that we have to. I guess what you may mean is: if we had really more effective non-lethal weapons, would we use them a lot? Maybe we would find more uses for them. Personally, I've wondered for years about the possibility of a microwave room heating system. Just heating the meat in the room would probably save a lot of energy compared to heating the whole volume, but I'm not sure what effects being exposed to microwaves powerful enough to make your feel comfortably warm would be. This directed energy weapon probably works on microwaves, and it apparently is safe. If I were part of a crowd that the police wanted to disperse, I'd rather get hit with the heat ray than a water cannon or rubber bullets or maybe even tear gas.
Hey, I could use one of these for my kids!!
"What are the philsophical implications of a weapon's lethality significantly decreasing yet the use of it sigificantly increasing."
The real question is how hard a time our enemies will have duplicating the weapon. Imagine the effect on helicopter crews for example.
You're correct. I was just writing fast to elicite thought.
The question of "If we had really more effective non-lethal weapons, would we use them a lot?" begs the question of to what frequency and what limitations would be used?
Would they be used indiscrimately since they're non-lethal?
Would we use them on just criminals? How about when crowds "begin" to get out of control? College campus sport "celebrations"? What about non-violent protests that do not have "official permits"? Those that have some elements that get out of control that the non-lethals escalate the violence? yada, yada, yada.
Just trying to think out of the techno-wiz implications.
Excellent, more options for the Controllers to subdue the population.
Ever since Police got tasers they seem to use those for any reason. As we've all read about cases of people being tased for any infraction or perceived infraction. I expect this device to be minuturized enough to be mounted on a police car and used for the common traffic stop whether or not it's needed in a few years.
Your bad.
Think of the applications, if not cost prohibitive every mailman could be armed with one of these. I could use it to nail those people who try and peddle their watchtower magazines.
In today's news: Man in plane dispute shot with a Taser
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/v-printerfriendly/story/30373.html
I can also see a potential for use in interrogation. No marks, no permanent disfiguring evidence left on the detainees. The secret policemen are gonna love this one.
Wow,
Can I mount one on the front of my truck?
I loved the part about the AP reporter getting zapped. Perhaps Tony Snow should have this weapon to deal with the White House Press Corps.
Mount it discretely above your front door.
Will it replace our beebers?
another tool for the government to use against its citizens.
Set phasers on stun!
The dogs usually alert me to anyone coming on the property, I was thinking hitting them from a 2nd story window as they start up the front walk.
Your idea sound good too. ;-D
Nothing can replaced our beebers, get cereal!
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