FW: "Non-Lethal Weapons": An Instrument of Social Control
Tony T-S
As threatened…
Tony
From: Global
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Sent: 23 September 2009 19:10
To: t...@iinet.net.au
Subject: "Non-Lethal
Weapons": An Instrument of Social Control
"Non-Lethal Weapons": An Instrument of Social Control
By Tom Burghardt
URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15298
Global Research, September 20, 2009
Although so-called
non-lethal weapons (NLWs) have been around for decades and range from CS gas to
pepper spray and from the low-tech water cannon to the Taser, their use by
military and police agencies world-wide are designed to ensure compliance from
hostile "natives."
And with ever-more devilish torture tools being dreamed up by the likes of the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Joint Non-Lethal
Weapons Program (JNLWP), it's a safe bet that
migration from the military to civilian law enforcement agencies will continue
at its current break-neck pace.
In this context, San Diego's East County Magazine and progressive Liberty One Radio reported, ironically enough on September 11, that the San Diego Sheriff's Department stationed a Long-Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) during recent town hall forums.
Manufactured by American Technology Corporation (ATC), the firm's LRAD 500-x is a dual-purpose device: a powerful hailer and a non-lethal weapon capable of producing ear-shattering sounds highly-damaging to their human targets.
ATC's technology has been deployed in Iraq as an "anti-insurgent weapon" and off the coast of Somalia to fight off desperate "pirates," that is, former Somali fishermen whose livelihood has been destroyed by over-fishing by foreign factory fleets and toxic dumping, including nuclear waste, by Western polluters.
No matter, time to break out the sonic blasters!
Developed for the U.S. Navy in the wake of the 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole, cruise ship Captain Michael Groves "successfully repelled pirates off the Somali coast using non-lethal weapons including an LRAD. Groves has since filed suit against Carnival Cruise Line, claiming he suffered permanent hearing loss as a result," East County Magazine reports.
The BBC noted in 2005 that the "shrill sound of an LRAD at its loudest sounds something like a domestic smoke alarm, ATC says, but at 150 decibels, it is the aural equivalent to standing 30m away from a roaring jet engine and can cause major hearing damage if misused."
According to ATC's web site, "LRAD resolves uncertain situations and potentially saves lives on both sides of the device by combining powerful voice commands and deterrent tones with focused acoustic output to clearly transmit highly intelligible instructions and warnings well beyond 500 meters."
While the defense establishment and their civilian counterparts dismiss concerns that acoustic weapons pose a danger to their targets, the Bradford Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project noted in 2006:
Juergen Altmann, who is conducting an independent scientific assessment of acoustic weapons, has warned that there is risk of hearing damage to people exposed to the beam at ranges of up to 100m. ... An added difficulty with ensuring no permanent damage is that some people are more susceptible to noise-induced hearing loss than others and hearing damage can occur at levels below the threshold for ear pain. A report from the US Army's 361st Psychological Operations Company gives an idea of the powerful effects of the LRAD: 'During distance tests at 100 meters, the sound was painful to listeners, even with hands held over the ears and ear plugs in'." (Neil Davison, Nick Lewer, Bradford Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project, Research Report No. 8, March 2006, pp. 33-34)
Far from being employed as a means to "reduce casualties," its actual use lends itself to the opposite effect. In Iraq, for example the U.S. Army's 361st Psychological Operations Company noted that "The LRAD has proven useful for clearing streets and rooftops during cordon and search, for disseminating command information, and for drawing out enemy snipers who are subsequently destroyed by our own snipers."
In a civilian setting, one can easily envisage groups of "rioters" being sonically blasted prior to street clearing operations by heavily-armed SWAT teams. Kevin Keenan, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union told East County Magazine:
"It's very concerning. It is fine for the Sheriff's Department to have new less-than-lethal weapons, but for their interactions with individuals these still-dangerous weapons need to be used only as substitutes for firearms. They can't be used as just another tool on the tool belt. As we've seen with tasers and pepper spray, these types of weapons are being used to subdue people even though they pose the risk of serious physical harm."
He added, "Even more concerning is having these weapons for public order policing. I can imagine no situation, or am not aware of any situation that's ever happened in San Diego County or is likely to happen that would justify using these weapons for public order policing to control a crowd. The main effect of having those weapons at public events is to chill people and chill free speech and free association." (Miriam Raftery, "Sonic Weapons Used in Iraq Positioned at Congressional Town Hall Meetings in San Diego County," East County Magazine, September 11, 2009)
I would add however, the purpose of these weapons is precisely to "chill free speech and free association," thus ensuring compliance to the whims of our capitalist masters.
Research into more "effective" low-cost acoustic NLWs are gathering steam. Wired reported September 1 that a "Tennessee lab primarily responsible for building components for nuclear weapons is branching off into the nonlethal weapons business."
Called the Banshee II, the weapon emits a piercing 144-decibel sound that is designed to be more than just annoying. "It also has a frequency-switching system that pumps your ear drums, so it sounds like there's a drum beating there," the inventor tells Knoxnews.com. "You physically feel it in your ear drum." (Sharon Weinberger, "Nuke Lab Builds 'Beating Drum' Sonic Blaster, Wired, September 1, 2009)
While such devices never caught on with the military its inventor, so-called nuke "gadget guru" Fariborz Bzorgi who works at the Y-12 nuclear plant in Tennessee "hopes the Banshee II could have broader applications for law enforcement."
No doubt they will. As Neil Davison, the author of the recently published "Non-Lethal" Weapons points out, military and police moves towards "effects-based" NLWs are consistent with requirements "for weapons with greater range, more precise delivery, and rheostatic effects from 'non-lethal' to 'lethal'." [“Set phasers to stun”? Star Trek has a lot to answer for – Tony]
Davison cites the LRAD and other acoustic devices as "the only new technologies that have emerged" in the last several years and pointedly notes that "all these weapons have emerged from the private sector."
That they have should hardly come as a surprise.
After all as Homeland Security Weekly reported in 2007, "homeland security spending is a massive and highly lucrative new market." With an expected growth rate between "eight and ten percent annually over the next five years" the publication claims that "the addressable U.S. market over the next five years will be in the range of approximately $140 billion, a 21 percent increase over our five-year estimate made in 2004."
As the Center for Investigative Reporting revealed, heimat grifting and massive waste go hand in hand:
• Cities and agencies bought things with grant money that would not make California a safer place. One county tried to use anti-terrorism funds for a lawnmower but it was blocked at the last minute. Another county succeeded in buying a big-screen television.
• Dozens of cities and agencies failed to keep adequate records on how they spent the money. In some cases, the poor record keeping resulted in thousands of dollars worth of overpayments to local agencies. In other cases, agencies were unable to find where they stored their own equipment.
• Communities repeatedly bought large and small-ticket items without seeking competitive bids. Federal procurement rules designed to protect the taxpayer weren't used on millions of dollars in new communications systems, night-vision goggles and bomb-disposal robots. (G.W. Schulz, "Homeland Security Marked by Waste, Lack of Oversight," Center for Investigative Reporting, September 11, 2009)
While schools go unfunded, infrastructure collapses and affordable health care for all is an unattainable pipe dream, police and intelligence agencies are having a field day--at our expense. Call it part of the "counterterrorism stimulus" package that our corporate security masters are hell-bent on shoving down our throats.
However you slice it, there's a lot of boodle to be had by enterprising defense and security grifters. Alongside current multibillion dollar outlays for "biodefense" and counterterrorism initiatives by a multitude of state and federal agencies, the development of ever more dubious "non-lethal" weapons, implements for compliance and control during the capitalist meltdown, will enjoy a steady growth curve long into the future.
Tom Burghardt is a researcher and activist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to publishing in Covert Action Quarterly and Global Research, an independent research and media group of writers, scholars, journalists and activists based in Montreal, his articles can be read on Dissident Voice, The Intelligence Daily, Pacific Free Press and the whistleblowing website Wikileaks. He is the editor of Police State America: U.S. Military "Civil Disturbance" Planning, distributed by AK Press.
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Organic Kitchen Gardening
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TIMC...@aol.com
As threatened…
Duncan Hewitt
When I was about 18 or so there used to be a series on Television, whereby people lived in a dome type city, and when people got old enough they were disposed of, this was in the future of course. In the meantime everyone lived in fear from 'big brother', no one knew who the leader was etc and then 2 humans escaped and discovered that unlike they were told while living in the dome 'Life was actually liveable on the outside - then they tried to, I think help others escape from this world in which everyone thought that if they left the city they would die from I think atmospheric pressure etc........the fear was rife amongst the city dwellers and if you did escape you were hunted down like an animal - life was strictly controlled - funnily enough it is now 40 years later and the TV series seems more realistic than ever.I don't know if anyone remembers that series but it was excellent........Lila Smith
www.windwand.co.nz
Taranaki Tourism Website
www.windwand.co.nz/organickitchengarden.htm
Organic Kitchen Gardening
Mob 021230 7962
06 7512942
122 Ngamotu Road
New Plymouth
New Zealand
----- Original Message -----From: Tony T-SSent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 2:20 PMSubject: [Monbiot] FW: "Non-Lethal Weapons": An Instrument of Social Control
As threatened…<image001.gif>Tony
Tom Burghardt is a researcher and activist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to publishing in Covert Action Quarterly and Global Research, an independent research and media group of writers, scholars, journalists and activists based in Montreal, his articles can be read on Dissident Voice, The Intelligence Daily, Pacific Free Press and the whistleblowing websiteWikileaks. He is the editor of Police State America: U.S. Military "Civil Disturbance" Planning, distributed by AK Press.
Please support Global Research
Global Research relies on the financial support of its readers.
Your endorsement is greatly appreciated
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre for Research on Globalization. The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements contained in this article.
To become a Member of Global Research
The CRG grants permission to cross-post original Global Research articles on community internet sites as long as the text & title are not modified. The source and the author's copyright must be displayed. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: crge...@yahoo.com
www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.
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The url address of this article is: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15298
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Lila Smith
V Wood
Subject: [Monbiot] Re: FW: "Non-Lethal Weapons": An Instrument of Social Control
Lila Smith
Karen Jemmett
Lila Smith
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Tony T-S
If I had to follow that regimen (sorry, regipeople!) the cat would inevitably eventually end up in the microwave. I usually go to bed some time after my brain has!
Oh, and yes, you can get wheat bags here – I gave my parents a couple last year. I think I got ‘em in the healthfood shop.
Tony
Version: 8.5.416 / Virus Database: 270.13.112/2391 - Release Date: 09/25/09 05:51:00
conch...@googlemail.com
State are deeply, deeply psychopathic.
Civilisation, which is founded upon the coercive and often violent
extraction of 'resources' from other land-bases to supply it's
'needs', which produces far more toxins than nutrients, and leaves
land degraded, denuded is psychopathic in that it rationalises this
constant expanding abuse cycle.
The bulk of discourse avoids this conclusion, and what I see is lots
of people (mostly middle class, 'educated' urbanites) trying to 'fix'
it, by appeals to the abusers, and by tinkering with the processes by
which 'Civilisation' grows.
Both will fail.
Ending Civilisation is about entering into a relationship with Earth,
with each other, with the biota (of which we are just one part) as
partners, feeding and nourishing each other (which is what all living
entities do in Nature - they all improve the habitat by being
themselves).
This starts with the personal, and can extend as we expand our field
of awareness, as we work with others. This work will only be complete
when the fundamentals of a healthy relationship, these being at base
mutuality, co-nurturing, honesty, gratitude are effectively driving
all human behaviour.
Ending Civilisation is about dismantling the psychosis, and then the
structures of that psychosis will naturally fall away. Ending
Civilisation is about consciously noticing the internalised values of
the Abuse System within ourselves and excising those values. Ending
Civilisation is about accepting our innate and natural values. Ending
Civilisation is all about honesty, transparency.
That this is possible is not only true for us, it is the basis of all
life.
A volcano could be classed as a natural trauma. Yes it is
destructive. And yet, it feeds more than it ever destroys.... in the
long term it adds to the abundance within the environment. Big time!
We do not need a similar level of trauma to wake us up - it's already
happening (my South American friends say to Europeans who start
talking about Apocalypse, New World Order etc etc "Don't Panic! It's
already happening!" and they laugh!).
We simply (not easy, yet simple) need to wake up, to sense our Earth,
our selves, each other. And follow those values.
We could easily grow our own food, work less for others profit, work
more for community cohesion, spend time enjoying being who we are and
basking in that relaxed state.
We could just as easily start to confront the psychosis evident in the
infrastructure of civilisation by de-constructing the various elements
of that psychosis. Instead of appealing to leaders, we confront them
with the result of their behaviour, we de-construct their
justifications and call them by their name - psychotic
rationalisations.
We need to engage our Wonders of Mindful Intention fearlessly.
http://dwylcorneilius.blogspot.com/2009/09/awards-medals-life-and-death-in-21st.html
My latest essay on the psychosis of Civilisation, with examples of
that psychosis.
V Wood
Ending Civilisation is about entering into a relationship with Earth,
with each other, with the biota (of which we are just one part) as
partners, feeding and nourishing each other (which is what all living
entities do in Nature - they all improve the habitat by being
themselves).
This starts with the personal, and can extend as we expand our field
of awareness, as we work with others. This work will only be complete
when the fundamentals of a healthy relationship, these being at base
mutuality, co-nurturing, honesty, gratitude are effectively driving
all human behaviour.
Ending Civilisation is about dismantling the psychosis, and then the
structures of that psychosis will naturally fall away. Ending
Civilisation is about consciously noticing the internalised values of
the Abuse System within ourselves and excising those values. Ending
Civilisation is about accepting our innate and natural values. Ending
Civilisation is all about honesty, transparency.
That this is possible is not only true for us, it is the basis of all
life.
I agree with with all this - starting with the personal, and spreading out - harmony with the natural processes.
Well-stated and so true.
Best
V
> Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:33:11 -0700
> Subject: [Monbiot] Re: goodnight have fun..........
Tony T-S
Yes, I thought so too! Thank you, Corneilius.
From:
monbiot...@googlegroups.com [mailto:monbiot...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of V Wood
Sent: 25 September 2009 12:43
To: Monbiot List
Subject: [Monbiot] Re: goodnight
have fun..........
<snip>
> </html
Lila Smith
www.windwand.co.nz
Taranaki Tourism Website
www.windwand.co.nz/organickitchengarden.htm
Organic Kitchen Gardening
Mob 021230 7962
06 7512942
122 Ngamotu Road
New Plymouth
New Zealand
----- Original Message -----From: Tony T-S
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TIMC...@aol.com
if the words spoken so honestly by the likes of Chavez or Fidel Castro over the years were spoken by Mr Brown..
Lila Smith
www.windwand.co.nz
Taranaki Tourism Website
www.windwand.co.nz/organickitchengarden.htm
Organic Kitchen Gardening
Mob 021230 7962
06 7512942
122 Ngamotu Road
New Plymouth
New Zealand
----- Original Message -----From: TIMC...@aol.com
Karen Jemmett
TIMC...@aol.com
I think I got ‘em in the healthfood shop.
Lila Smith
www.windwand.co.nz
Taranaki Tourism Website
www.windwand.co.nz/organickitchengarden.htm
Organic Kitchen Gardening
Mob 021230 7962
06 7512942
122 Ngamotu Road
New Plymouth
New Zealand
----- Original Message -----From: TIMC...@aol.comSent: Sunday, September 27, 2009 5:31 AMSubject: [Monbiot] Re: goodnight have fun..........
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
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TIMC...@aol.com
Tim have you ever thought about growing Celeriac