Re: [microsound] sonic pain stick/HSS

[Björn Eriksson <nowerik@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Also see http://www.atcsd.com/tl_hss.html
from the American Technology Company mentioned below, for "HyperSonic sound"
references. There is also a quite enjoyable video to look at! (counter
terrorism mentioned at 4:22...)

Don't miss the clip at 2:31-2:45
"It's actually what you can't hear - - that will blow you away!"

:)
/Björn Eriksson

----- Original Message -----
From: "graham miller" <grahammiller@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "microsound" <microsound@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2003 10:19 PM
Subject: Re: [microsound] sonic pain stick

> sounds like a kenny g concert:) they should just unleash him - operation
> g-force. hell hath no fury like smooth jazz.
>
> g(raham)
>
> Kim Cascone wrote:
>
> > Weapon of the Week
> > by George Smith
> >
> > The Sonic Pain Stick
> > Torture Gets Technical
> >
> > February 12 - 18, 2003
> >
> > New methods of American technical torture continue to roll off
> > private-sector assembly lines in the effort to aid the war on terror.
One of
> > the most aggressively pitched is a meter-long sonic pain stick marketed
to
> > the Department of Defense by the American Technology Corporation of San
> > Diego.
> >
> > In a recent full-court press to the media, the company gaily described
the
> > sonic baton's potential to agonize terrorists on airplanes, where flying
> > bullets wouldn't do. Intended for use at short range, the weapon
projects
> > sound intense enough to cause temporary loss of hearing, perhaps
nullifying
> > its effect, or possibly shattering the hijacker's eardrums. It would
also
> > probably agonize or rupture the hearing of everyone else in an enclosed
> > cabin, blocking the communication of useful commands like "Get that
> > terrorist bastard!"
> >
> > Department of Defense efforts at wielding sound waves to inflict
> > unpleasantness have yielded refreshingly poor results. According to
National
> > Defense News, the army set up a testing regimen to torture
animals?referred
> > to as "surrogates"?but was unable to reliably agonize them. As a result,
> > DoD's Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate stopped funding some research
in
> > the area.
> >
> > Other arms of the military?like the navy?remain interested in sonic guns
to
> > disable foreign ship crews, or at least to make them very angry.
> >
> > The soldiers, weirdos, sadists, and tinkerers enthusiastic about
acoustic
> > technology envision strapping the sonic pain stick to an M-16. While it
> > would be no good in situations where people can shoot back or even throw
> > rocks, it certainly could have its uses in rousting frightened women and
> > children from closets in an occupied Iraq.
> >
> > America's nonlethal-weapons scientists note that in our country, hearing
> > aids and surgery can mitigate damage to the outer and middle ear caused
by
> > such a weapon. However, mangling of the inner ear is permanent. But in
poor
> > or just bombed-flat foreign lands, access to health insurance to pay for
> > damage claims, hearing aids, and good surgeons may be hard to come by.
> > Nonlethal weaponeers are also vexed by the fact that once one's ears are
> > ruined, the sonic weapon loses its bite.
> >
> > American Technology Corporation is not alone in the arms race for
painful
> > sound. Scientific Applications & Research Associates, a Pentagon
contractor
> > also located in Southern California, is pushing its "Sonic Firehose," an
> > allegedly portable widget with the same glorious mission as the aural
agony
> > rod.
> >
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>
>
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