Today’s Dispatch From Torture Nation
by digby
More freedom for you and me:
Everyone’s favourite stun gun manufacturer Taser has unveiled it’s latest loving piece of “non lethal” technology, The Taser Shockwave.
The new weapon is significantly different to the Tasers currently used by police in that it has six different electrified charges and is designed to target crowds rather than individuals.
The cartridges are tethered by 25-foot wires, which can be fired from a distance of up to 100 meters in a 20-degree arc. The “probes” on the end of the cartridges can pierce through clothing and skin, emitting 50,000 volts of electricity in the process.
“Full area coverage is provided to instantaneously incapacitate multiple personnel within that region” Taser explains.
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Clearly it is anticipated that these things will be used on sizable crowds, meaning an increased likelihood of indiscriminate targeting.
The Shockwave isn’t the only new development on Taser’s books either. The Extended-Range Electronic Projectile (XREP) is touted as the first electric shock weapon that can be fired from a normal gun, in this case a 12-gauge shotgun. It delivers a 20-second shock, compared with the default setting five-second shock of a traditional taser X26.
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Watch a demonstration:
Both the Taser Shockwave and the XREP are scheduled to go into full production by the end of this year.
Taser has been the subject of much controversy and outrage. One year ago the UN’s Committee Against Torture issued a statement on the TaserX26, which read: “The use of TaserX26 weapons, provoking extreme pain, constituted a form of torture, and that in certain cases it could also cause death, as shown by several reliable studies and by certain cases that had happened after practical use.”
These bleeding hearts don’t seem to understand that torture isn’t torture if it doesn’t leave a mark. It isn’t even illegal for police to put 50,0000 volts of electricity to anyone they choose at any time they choose, even when people are shackled or incapacitated. There are no limits. Police are almost never even reprimanded for tasering completely innocent people.
So, I would assume that any peaceful assembly which the authorities determine needs to be dispersed (at their total discretion) will be subject to weapons like these new ones. If a few protesters get trampled, well that’s the price they pay for failing to follow orders. And if citizens understand that they will likely suffer excruciating pain when they protest, maybe they’ll think twice about doing such unamerican things in the future. After all, the police have much better things to do than waste time dealing with political activities and people shouldn’t waste the taxpayers money on this stuff in the first place.
Maybe, if we’re lucky, we can end this silly political protest business once and for all with these modern advances in mass torture. I think that’s what we call freedom.
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