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Written by Scott Meadow
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Monday, 15 August 2005 (read 2387 times) |
The story didn't make much of a stir stateside when Reuters ran it on July 20th (off, I think the New Scientist coverage). A few overseas outlets covered it, but American press reaction was noticably quiet. Commondreams picked it up but only those wacky lefties read it. Life went on. Americans stuck another $45 worth of gas into their Suburbans and drove three blocks to pick up McDinner. Yawn.
But it may interest you to learn that the American government is planning on microwaving crowds as part of a brand new wave of "less lethal" crowd control weapons. Our troops (in Iraq to start with) will be firing a "95GHz microwave beam at rioters to cause heating and intolerable pain in less than five seconds." This could only be funny if the protesters were outside Orville Redenbacher's.
 Credit: Directed Energy Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory
The Pentagon classifies large vehicle mounted microwave weapons capable of cooking your brain in less than a minute "less lethal," implying, I suppose, "less lethal" than shooting you, because you could probably live a little bit with a hot cranium before suffering a horrible, painful death as your internal organs are cooked inside your body. I guess by this criteria, cyanide is "less lethal" too since it's less lethal than a RPG to the noggin, isn't it?
This story came to light because some wacky lefty group -- specifically Edward Hammond, the U.S. director of the Sunshine Project, "an organisation campaigning against the use of biological and non-lethal weapons" -- got the info from a FOIA request. (Check out their site: it's pretty amazing!)
Some details of the experiment should make you feel particularly warm and fuzzy:
"The experimenters banned glasses and contact lenses to prevent possible eye damage to the subjects, and in the second and third tests removed any metallic objects such as coins and keys to stop hot spots being created on the skin. They also checked the volunteers' clothes for certain seams, buttons and zips which might also cause hot spots. (from the New Scientist piece)"
Because naturally that's how random citizens standing in a crowd are going to be dressed and outfitted.
How you feeling now, Mr. Red States? Hmmm? Still glad you voted in this administration because they "shared" your "values"?
(Yeah I know it's impossible that military technology could possibly filter down into domestic crowd control, but let's throw all rationality to the wind and play "what if.")
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Monkey Pile 
