Don't forget to add the high zoom optical cameras for use in beach areas with high speed electronic transmission to police headquarters. That ought to double the price...
Lookie here, here is a new weapon to help spread democracy (and torture arabs). Soon they will use it over here, on us. I can't wait. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Pioneering 'heat wave' gun may be used in Iraq By Philip Sherwell in Quantico, Virginia and Jacqui Goddard Last Updated: 3:38pm GMT 17/11/2007 American commanders in Iraq are urging Pentagon chiefs to authorise the deployment of newly-developed heat wave guns to disperse angry crowds or violent rioters. But the plea for what senior army officers believe could prove a valuable alternative to traditional firepower in dangerous trouble-spots has so far gone unanswered. The ADS can target crowds from 750 metres away Washington fears a barrage of adverse publicity in the suspicious Muslim world and is concerned that critics will claim the invisible beam weapons were being used for torture. Now the US military directorate charged with developing non-lethal weapons, which has invested more than a decade developing the Active Denial System (ADS), has launched a concerted effort to convince both the public and its own bosses at the defence department of the device's merits. "With brand new technology like this, perception is everything," said Col Kirk Hymes, a former Marine artillery officer who heads the directorate. He added that tests were almost complete and the first ADS, also known as the Silent Guardian, could be deployed early next year if the Pentagon allows. The decision is so sensitive that it is expected to be made personally by the defence secretary, Robert Gates, who sent senior representatives to the demonstrations. advertisement Raytheon, the company contracted to manufacture the prototype, has also received interest from several undisclosed European countries. The machine displayed last week cost about $10 million to build, but the directorate believes that the ADS can be put into production for $2-$5 million (£1-2.5 million) per device. Col Hymes told observers at a demonstration that the system was a safe and effective alternative to plastic bullets, which can cause injury and sometimes death and are effective only up to 75 metres. The heatwave weapon can, by contrast, target troublemakers from 750 metres. It works by dispatching high-powered radio waves from a vehicle antenna, similar to a satellite television dish, causing the molecules in a target's skin to vibrate violently, creating a burning sensation. "We are pretty good at shouting and intimidating people and we have been perfecting the art of lethal warfare since Cain and Abel," he said. "But in places like Iraq we are re-learning that we need a response in the spectrum between shouting and shooting. The ADS provides this." But he added: "This is not something we want to roll out and deploy and surprise people. We know we need to educate the public." In fact the development of the weapon only became public after the Sunshine Project - a Texas-based group that campaigns against biological and chemical weapons - pushed for disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. The group's director, Edward Hammond, said: "If we are not prepared to use it as a crowd control technique on our own citizens, then we really shouldn't be using it in Iraq either." Marc Garlasco, a former Pentagon intelligence officer who is senior military analyst for the Human Rights Watch campaign group, was among those invited to feel the device's impact at a recent demonstration. He said: "If I had the option of being shot by a bullet or this, I would choose this - but still not enough is known about it. This is novel technology. We're talking about bringing science fiction into reality and it's critical to have open discussion." He added: "People understand what happens when you get shot with a gun, but with the "pain-ray" there's still uncertainty. When it's used, the military is going to have to deal with a public backlash because I'm sure there will be claims of medical problems by the people it's been used upon, real or not." "We are talking about young soldiers having this in their hands. If we upset the civilian population in Iraq, whether by killing, by torture or by misusing this, it will have a strategic effect on the US's ability to execute effective operations." Col Hymes said that all ADS operators were given a six-week training course that covered sophisticated crowd control techniques as well as handling the technology
Of course, the irony of a government body actually naming something an "active denial system" isn't lost on anyone.
The propaganda-speak in that article is laughable: "Washington fears a barrage of adverse publicity in the suspicious Muslim world " Suspicious? Gee I wonder why, let's review the facts: 1. Several countries have already been invaded and destroyed into permanent chaos. 2. Torture by the US is proven and widespread (Abu, anyone?) 3. Blackwater racist thugs shown to commit war crimes. And is there any doubt this new weapon will be used by the 'liberators' for torture? As if. As I always say, what red-blooded Israli or USA solider would not want to take the boots to any arab they can get their hands on.
TT2, you looking through a very narrow lense there. Nobody gives a crap about arabs, muslims or any of that ethnocentric stuff. New technology, for better or worse, is the way of the future, if you like it or not, someone will be the guinea pig, total control is the singular objective, always has been. Something effective, to 750 metres, which causes skin to feel like its burning? EXCELLENT, a mini-atomic /microwave weapon, every military strategists wet dream. If only, it could be delivered remotely, somehow..........
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,118664-page,1/article.html Government Uses Color Laser Printer Technology to Track Documents -- It's not only printers, almost any tech object has some tracking embeded in it, "Although the technology has existed for a long time, printer companies have not been required to notify customers of the feature."
Our "freedom" has to be one of the slickest, sickest hoxes ever. -------------------------------- Houston Police Secretly Test Surveillance Drone Stephen Dean Local 2 Houston Thursday, November 22, 2007 WALLER COUNTY, Texas -- Houston police started testing unmanned aircraft and the event was shrouded in secrecy, but it was captured on tape by Local 2 Investigates. Neighbors in rural Waller County said they thought a top-secret military venture was under way among the farmland and ranches, some 70 miles northwest of Houston. KPRC Local 2 Investigates had four hidden cameras aimed at a row of mysterious black trucks. Satellite dishes and a swirling radar added to the neighbors' suspense. Then, cameras were rolling as an unmanned aircraft was launched into the sky and operated by remote control. Houston police cars were surrounding the land with a roadblock in place to check each of the dignitaries arriving for the invitation-only event. The invitation spelled out, "NO MEDIA ALLOWED." HPD Chief Harold Hurtt attended, along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and dozens of officers from various police agencies in the Houston area. Few of the guests would comment as they left the test site. News Chopper 2 had a Local 2 Investigates team following the aircraft for more than one hour as it circled overhead. Its wings spanned 10 feet and it circled at an altitude of 1,500 feet. Operators from a private firm called Insitu, Inc. manned remote controls from inside the fleet of black trucks as the guests watched a live feed from the high-powered camera aboard the 40-pound aircraft. "I wasn't ready to publicize this," Executive Assistant Police Chief Martha Montalvo said. She and other department leaders hastily organized a news conference when they realized Local 2 Investigates had captured the entire event on camera. "We still haven't even decided how we were going to go forward on this task, so it seemed premature to me to announce this to the media," Montalvo said. "But since, obviously, the media found out about it, then I don't see any reason why just not go forward with what we have so far." Montalvo told reporters the unmanned aircraft would be used for "mobility" or traffic issues, evacuations during storms, homeland security, search and rescue, and also "tactical." She admitted that could include covert police actions and she said she was not ruling out someday using the drones for writing traffic tickets. A large number of the officers at the test site were assigned to the department's ticket-writing Radar Task Force. Capt. Tom Runyan insisted they were only there to provide "site security," even though KPRC cameras spotted those officers heavily participating in the test flight. Houston police contacted KPRC from the test site, claiming the entire airspace was restricted by the Federal Aviation Administration. Police even threatened action from the FAA if the Local 2 helicopter remained in the area. However, KPRC reported it had already checked with the FAA on numerous occasions and found no flight restrictions around the site, a point conceded by Montalvo. HPD leaders said they would address privacy and unlawful search questions later. South Texas College of Law professor Rocky Rhodes, who teaches the constitution and privacy issues, said, "One issue is going to be law enforcement using this and when, by using these drones, are they conducting a search in which they'd need probable cause or a warrant. If the drones are being used to get into private spaces and be able to view where the government cannot otherwise go, and to collect information that would not otherwise be able to collect, that's concerning to me." HPD Assistant Chief Vickie King said of the unmanned aircraft, "It's interesting that privacy doesn't occur or searches aren't an issue when you have a helicopter pilot over you and it would not be used in airspace other than what our helicopters are used in already." She admitted that police helicopters are not equipped with cameras nearly as powerful as the unmanned aircraft, but she downplayed any privacy concerns, saying news helicopters have powerful cameras as well. HPD stressed it is working with the FAA on reviewing the technical specifications, the airworthiness and hazards of flying unmanned aircraft in an urban setting. Future test flights are planned. The price tag for an unmanned aircraft ranges from $30,000 to $1 million each and HPD is hoping to begin law enforcement from the air by June of 2008 with these new aircraft
I love how they've really narrowed down and limited what they're going to use it for: ""mobility" or traffic issues, evacuations during storms, homeland security, search and rescue, and also "tactical." She admitted that could include covert police actions and she said she was not ruling out someday using the drones for writing traffic tickets. " Basically, that translates to "we'll use it anywhere and anytime we doggone well please and we'll make it pay for itself by writing about 1,000 extra traffic tickets each year for the department". Think how relatively cheap this thing is to fly. A half dozen captains can sit around at headquarters as it's flown over the school campuses for Babe - er, Tactical Search I meant to write - Control...
i so not think the a drone should be used within our borders without probable cause. this is sickening. The problem is I know when a lawyer brings the case - the supreme court can say you have no right to privacy in a public place. The gov't might even say they already do it from space. Where have all the real conservatives gone?