US DHS has expressed great interest in a so-called safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device

[Connonym]

:sigh: how far will we let them go before we say enough?

<snip>Make of this what you will, as the story comes from the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's church-owned Washington Times and may be more fiction than fact, but "a senior government official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expressed great interest in a so-called safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device, similar to that of a police Taser." Yes, the EMD Safety Bracelet from Lamperd Less Lethal is designed to make flying a fun experience once again. Just check out everything it can do:

* Take the place of an airline boarding pass.
* Contain personal information about the traveler.
* Be able to monitor the whereabouts of each passenger and his/her luggage.
* Shock the wearer on command, completely immobilizing him/her for several minutes.

http://consumerist.com/tag/department-of-homeland-security/?i=5022513&t=want-safe-skies-strap-this-remote+controlled-stun-device-to-yourself

[truthisfreedom]

1. Oh, I can hardly wait.

[rpannier]

2. This will be sold as something that will keep you safe from terrorists and crazy people

The public will quickly fall in line because "We must think of the safety of the children and ourselves."

People will get mistakenly shocked, some may die.
But, the public, at large, will decide it's a small price to pay for 'being safe'

[Liberal Veteran]

3. Oh man. I can see the headlines now: Airline hijacked by 6 guys with laptops.

[gateley]

4. EDIT - I stand corrected

I think this began on the website for the company that manufactures these items. It was (if I'm correct) part of the copy, mentioning that a member of DHOS had expressed an interest. It was a statement used to promote the product.

I think we should see if it's more than that before our blood pressure erupts. And big surprise that the Times ran with it.

I'll see if I can find what I'm talking about.

EDIT to add:


Here's the site of the manufacturer (it's really scary). Scroll to the bottom of the page and you'll see the bracelet. There are several pdf's listed. I opened one, and it IS from the Department of Homeland Security.

http://www.lamperdlesslethal.com/

[LakeSamish706]

5. It sounds like we are getting close to this....

"He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666"

[jody]

6. Looks perfect for K-12 and very efficient for colleges.

:sarcasm:

[kenny blankenship]

7. Why just for airplanes and airtravel? Won't we need protection from terrorists in shopping malls?

Amusement parks? Churches? Large televised sporting events? Voting booths and polling places? Large office towers -- don't forget that the two targets hit on 9/11 were two of the U.S.' largest office buildings. Smaller office complexes and hospitals could be next. But what about high school pep rallies and assemblies? What about school buses? Don't we and our children need to be safe from the terrorists in all these other places too?

Why would we ever want to take these anti terrorist bracelets off, I'd like to know?

[Liberal Veteran]

8. I want several in different styles to match my outfit or a pair like Wonder Womans...

...in case one of them thar terrasts gets off a shot before we all get zapped.

[kenny blankenship]

13. We could call them "Freedom Bracelets"

and you could order request that yours be issued to you with customized messages and color schemes- all of which is fine as long as you don't break the law by trying to take your freedom bracelet off in bed or the shower, or misuse your freedom to personalize your bracelet by saying something disrespectful to the President or the police on it.

[frog92969]

9. I thought this was a good idea

"Safety bracelet" = fend off attackers.

Then I read-
"Shock the wearer on command, completely immobilizing him/her for several minutes."
:wtf:
How the hell am I supposed to slip this bracelet on my attacker?!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. "The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave"

A conceit still believed by many.

[AndyTiedye]

11. Some Insulating Material Underneath Ought to Avoid any Shock Hazard

[Connonym]

12. yeah but if security is going to be slapping these on you before you get on a plane

don't you think they'd make sure it was tight enough you wouldn't be able to insulate under it? Have you ever been handcuffed? Those fuckers are on there tight enough to hurt. I can't see that they'd be more kind with this shit.

The thing about this that bothers me is that people I know, people who call themselves liberals and who I would consider to be reasonably intelligent are already buying into the notion of "if it makes us safer" and not objecting to strip searches at airports or even taking off your bloody shoes. Of course these are the same kinds of people who believe (naively I think) that if you don't do anything wrong you don't have anything to worry about. It scares the pants off me and makes me even more afraid for people who would be far more likely than me to be "profiled" God only knows what kind of shit they must go through. Some day we'll look back on that the way we look back on internment of Japanese Americans during WWII and hopefully we'll be just as embarrassed and contrite.

[Ichingcarpenter]

14. So my Story I found got some legs! Or should I say wrists?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3573721&mesg_id=3573721

[Connonym]

15. sorry, I was a bad citizen and didn't look far enough to see you had

previously posted this. I apologize. Going to give your thread a kick.