LRADS used on G20 Protesters

[khad]

http://gizmodo.com/5369190/lrad-sound-cannon-used-on-pittsburgh-g20-protesters



LRAD Sound Cannon Used on Pittsburgh G20 Protesters (http://gizmodo.com/5369190/lrad-sound-cannon-used-on-pittsburgh-g20-protesters)

By Danny Allen (http://gizmodo.com/people/DannyA/posts/), 6:06 AM (http://gizmodo.com/5369190/lrad-sound-cannon-used-on-pittsburgh-g20-protesters) on Mon Sep 28 2009,



http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2009/09/500x_LRAD.jpg (http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/09/LRAD.jpg)
I guess military tech (http://gizmodo.com/tag/military-tech/) always finds its way home. Pittsburgh city officials believe their police department's use of a Long Range Acoustic Device (http://gizmodo.com/tag/long-range-acoustic-device/) (LRAD) at last week's G20 protests was "the first time the sound cannon had been used publicly."

Police used the device to emit a painful shrill that forced demonstrators to cover their ears and withdraw while police threw tear gas and stun grenades. "Other law enforcement agencies will be watching to see how it was used," Pittsburgh's police bureau chief told the NY Times. "It served its purpose well."

Whether or not you think the protesters have a right to demonstrate or are anarchists without a permit to march, it's still pretty eye-opening to see tech like that used at home.

As a non-lethal weapon, sound canons have been mounted to vehicles by the U.S Army, installed on American warships to warn incoming vessels, defended private cruise ships against Somali pirates, and were at the ready (though not used) at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York.
But this is the first time LRAD has been used against U.S civilians. According to reports, 20 people were arrested, but there were no serious injuries. [New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/25/us/25pittsburgh.html?_r=2)]Do we believe the official line of this being the first instance of LRADs being used against the public? I don't for a second. Because I know for a fact that neocon puppet Saakashvili has been using US-supplied LRADs against his political opponents for a while now (this evidence is from 2007). The empire rewards Amerikkka with ample field data and market research.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/3line/georgianthugsusesonicgunsagainstpro.jpg

[ls]

The only similar(ish) thing I can tihnk of is the Mosquito (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mosquito).

It's all out of order, just another completely over the top way of attacking people.

[Red Rebel]

It was the first time it was used in the USA against American citizens.

[Pawn Power]

It was pretty funckin' loud. Also used by Honduran coup regime:

Honduran Coup Regime Mocks UN Security Council with Embassy Attacks (http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/3460/honduran-coup-regime-mocks-un-security-council-embassy-attacks)

[The Douche]

So........


What can we do about it? Earplugs help?

[ls]

So........


What can we do about it? Earplugs help?

Should do the trick. :cool:

[La Comédie Noire]

It actually didn't do anything to me, it was just really annoying.

[ellipsis]

So........


What can we do about it? Earplugs help?

I was wondering the same thing. Combined with noise dampening ear muffs (like the kind you use when using a chain saw etc.) I imagine that you would be set. Unfortunately unless a lot of people had them then you would soon be standing alone.:(

When I heard about it on revleft, I knew that Wired's Danger Room (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/09/sonic-warfare-erupts-in-pittsburgh-honduras/)would provide some insight. Apparently the Honduran military/coup leaders are trying using sound as psy-op against the Embassy where Zeyala is besieged, Waco/Noriega style.

[SurrogateofTime]

When I saw the last image, its a real revelation of the times we have entered... The face of Military Imperialism... Showing its face on its own soils... Now, to get back on topic, how effective is this weapon when it was used against the protesters?

[yuon]

So........


What can we do about it? Earplugs help?


Not really. There's something called bone conduction, and it actually accounts for around 70% of your hearing. Your skull literally conducts the sound to your inner ear. This is also why your voice always sounds weird when you hear a recording of it played back to you.[1] (http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1383419&cid=29550647)

Err. :scared:

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_conduction

[bcbm]

So........


What can we do about it? Earplugs help?

http://www.odt.co.nz/files/story/2009/08/french_riot_police_officers_walk_by_a_burning_car_ _1689603555.jpg

how well does it work when its on fire?

[Red Rebel]

It actually didn't do anything to me, it was just really annoying.


Yeah I though the same thing.

[Rjevan]

Not very surprising but still this shows quite clearly the bourgeois state's attitude towards people who have other opinions and views than those the ruling class wants them to have. They are treated like criminals and terrorists.
Maybe we should be grateful for this, I mean sure, we have freedom of speech, thought, etc. but they could also send protesters to Guantanamo II or simply start shooting into the demonstration... well, I guess it won't take all too long till we get into this phase.

[Uncle Ho]

Good. Police brutality is the greatest thing that can happen to this movement, as it chases off the bourgeoisie brats protesting to piss off mommy and daddy or impress that cute fauxalist chick who sits next to them in class, and it will serve to further radicalize the western left, which has been suffering from a distinct lack of fortitude since the death of men like Collins and Debs.

[ls]

Good. Police brutality is the greatest thing that can happen to this movement, as it chases off the bourgeoisie brats protesting to piss off mommy and daddy or impress that cute fauxalist chick who sits next to them in class, and it will serve to further radicalize the western left, which has been suffering from a distinct lack of fortitude since the death of men like Collins and Debs.

Yeah, of course I forgot. The police are great people helping the left movement rise and are in no way, nor ever have been complicit in the downfall of movements like the IWW's struggle or the Paris Commune. They just beat bourgeois radicals. That must have slipped my mind. :rolleyes:

[khad]

Yeah, of course I forgot. The police are great people helping the left movement rise and are in no way, nor ever have been complicit in the downfall of movements like the IWW's struggle or the Paris Commune. They just beat bourgeois radicals. That must have slipped my mind. :rolleyes:
I suspect he's a sockpuppet for that guy Red Icepick, who supports the troops because he believes American GIs to be the most oppressed people in the empire.

[Uncle Ho]

Yeah, of course I forgot. The police are great people helping the left movement rise and are in no way, nor ever have been complicit in the downfall of movements like the IWW's struggle or the Paris Commune. They just beat bourgeois radicals. That must have slipped my mind. :rolleyes:

Anyone too cowardly to fight back deserves to fail. Best separate the wheat from the chaff now.

[#FF0000]

Anyone too cowardly to fight back deserves to fail. Best separate the wheat from the chaff now.

Let me predict the general course of the rest of your replies to this thread.

1) I will make some remark about how you probably were never on the recieving end of a police stick yourself in your life.

2) You will regale me with some tale about how you took on the entire LAPD with one arm while you tore a copy of the Tokyo phonebook in half in the other hand between your index finger and thumb

3) I will remain skeptical

4) You will spout tankie-internet-tuff guy bullshit ad nauseum.

I read your moves like a chess master, so spare us, please. Instead, enjoy this (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Belarus-Minsk-Museum_of_GPW_Exhibition-5.jpg) picture of a Iosif Stalin class tank, with complimentary hand lotion on the bench over there. Have fun, sport.

[Uncle Ho]

No, I will respond simply with this:

"Remember, the storm is a good opportunity for the pine and the cypress to show their strength and their stability."

-Ho Chi Minh