U.S. develops yet another tool for abusing civilians #2 · Tuesday June 3, 2008 by colin newell
Colonel Hymes of the Moody Air Force Base in Georgia U.S.A demonstrates the Active Denial System weapon by staging what CBS somewhat oddly called “a scenario soldiers might encounter in Iraq” — a handful of military volunteers, dressed as civilian protesters, who carried signs saying “peace not war” and threw objects at a small group of soldiers. A series of raygun blasts from half a mile away disrupted their chants and finally sent them running.
Watch the whole video and story and shake your head with me.
I am fully qualified to make this statement: This is no ray-gun. This is a microwave transmitter. Much like the mechanism that works inside a microwave oven, the Active Denial System, uses radio waves to heat peoples skin up – possible side effects include permanent damage to your eyes and changes to your DNA.
Shocked? You should be. Dismayed? I hope so.
Sure, it’s better than bullets. But why are we shooting people in phony wars anyway?
And people who carry signs that say Peace, not War!
We should not be zapping these folks – we should be electing them as leaders.
My original post
Your Daily Planet #2 · Thursday May 29, 2008 by colin newell
If I had a dollar for every absurd thing I have seen or heard this week, I would have… let’s see… 56$.
Still. If there are people from other Planets cruising our internet via a free wireless connection, I would just like to let them know…
…that we are not normally this kooky or illogical. Really.
But back to the silly files for a moment.
Dunkin’ Donuts has pulled an online advertisement featuring Rachael Ray after complaints that a fringed black-and-white scarf that the celebrity chef wore in the ad offers symbolic support for Muslim extremism and terrorism.
Uh-huh? Right. Critics, including right-wing want-to-be journalist Michelle Malkin who ejaculated: “The scarf wrapped around her looked like a kaffiyeh, the traditional Arab accessory.” Woo! Scary! Head-scarf! Obvious sign of terrorism, Woo!
A quick read of Michelle’s open comment system revealed that many readers thought she was out of her mind… as well as the readers that support her headline grabbing nonsense. I will add my sentiment to that list of comments, “Michelle, you are a dying breed of ignorant, fear-mongering web nobodies… enjoy your fleeting moments of whatever…”
In other news – Afraid of flying? Watch your facial expressions.
A prototype surveillance system being tested by the European Union would place cameras inside the back of every passenger seat to track the facial expressions of travelers and catch would-be terrorists and unruly fliers on the brink of “air rage.” link According to a report in New Scientist, the cameras would look for passengers sweating profusely or behaving in a nervous manner, but it would alert the crew only after detecting a combination of signs, rather than a single one.
Sweating. Nervous behavior. Gee. That describes, what, less than 1% of the flying population?
In an update to the Big Brother post: Lap-top, i-Pod, gadget searches to become routine in your daily air travels… There are numerous court challenges yet to be prepared and contemplated in Canada and the U.S.A. It seems our American constitution and Canadian charter of rights and freedoms still have some basic protective tenets built in – there has to be a reasonable expectation of privacy in your travels, there has to be a reasonable suspicion of guilt or potential guilt when fishing for data in your computer or personal electronic and ex-parte searches are still open to challenges, if not immediate in the airport objections to security staff rifling your stuff. Still, if you are an American returning to America or a Canadian transiting the American aviation infrastructure, there is a remote possibility that your laptop and all its contents will be confiscated – despite your protestations – with no promise of return.
If this upsets you, write your senator or member of parliament.
additional reading from the TSA themselves…
Dining in Victoria as good as it gets #1 · Monday May 26, 2008 by colin newell
To describe the restaurant, Brasserie L`ecole as unpretentious is like pontificating on the genuinely modest nature of the Dali Lama.
Shut up and eat already.
This is one of the reasons I find Eat magazine so amusing – whenever it appears on the stands that is.
They gush and genuflect on restaurants like Brasserie L`ecole, Cafe Brio and Zambri’s…
And others. They back slap. They self reward and worship.
It is a veritable love fest.
But I digress.
Brasserie L`ecole is a great restaurant with some amazing pluses, twists and turns in what should be a stuffy and boring French restaurant.
Starters: It appears that guests can order 2 glasses of wine from virtually any bottle in their cellar. Name one other restaurant in Victoria where this is an option?
We go for the Steak-Frites… Steak perfectly prepared served with a bassinet of skinny Belgian fries, anointed with salt, baptized with truffle oil and parmasan.
Expect to book 2 weeks in advance for a good seating during the dinner hour(s).
In this 1st in a marathon of local restaurant reviews, diner Colin Newell hopes to educate, entertain and reveal some of Victoria’s gems. Bon Appetit!
Big Brother Air travel rant #2 how long is your pocket knife · Sunday May 25, 2008 by colin newell
Long delays at Vancouver International Airport on Friday were the product of a traveler slipping through security screening with…
- A handgun?
- A grenade?
- A copy of the Koran?
- A copy of the Torah?
- A copy of Mad magazine?
- A bottle of mother’s milk?
Nope. Security staff spotted something on an X-ray machine around 10 a.m.
The passenger had already collected his bag and walked into the secure area of the domestic terminal.
At least 10 domestic flights were grounded for the next hour and a half while staff searched for the passenger and a knife.
What kind of knife? Steak knife? No. K-Bar knife? Hardly.
A pocket knife… probably 10cm long.
Woo! Scary!! Pocket knife! Woo!
Listen up folks. I am Ex Canadian Army and I can do more damage to the average human with a slice of stale pizza than a randomly selected civilian can do with a hunting knife.
So. Enough of these stupid security alerts at Airports.
Small statistic: The U.S. has spent billions on protecting us from terrorists in the U.S.A.
Ironically, bath tubs have killed 100 times more Americans since 9/11 than honest-to-goodness wild-eyed terrorists.
That’s right folks, bath tubs. You’ve seen them in bath rooms all over America… perhaps you have one in your own home. But do you really know what lies behind those porcelain surfaces, composite materials and space-age plastics?
I do: Mayhem, tears and death…
by slippage.
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