Links for July 8, 2008
July 8, 2008 @ 7:09 pm | Filed under: Links
- Washington Times – “Want some torture with your peanuts?” by Aviation Security – This may be the only time you will ever see me link to the Washington Times. Creepiest thing I've read in a year of creepy news. HT: Daily KOS.
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Steph says:
That is EXTREMELY creepy! Weirder than anything Orwell envisioned.
On July 9, 2008 at 8:32 am
Beth says:
That’s appalling. Who would bother flying, anymore?
I mean, would you voluntarily wear one of those things? Or allow one to be placed on your child?
(I am addressing the metaphorical ‘you’)
On July 9, 2008 at 11:19 am
Melissa Wiley says:
I for one most certainly would not. No way.
I have to think the airline industry would balk at this, because surely they’d realize how many customers they would lose?
The ‘reassuring’ note from the bracelet’s manufacturer was almost comical. “Don’t worry! The shock function wouldn’t be turned on the whole time! The flight attendant would activate the bracelets in the event of a hijacking. I’m sure everyone feels happy about that thought, right? Right? And also the flight attendants will have laser wands to point at individual bracelets if, you know, someone gets difficult on a flight.”
Oh, well all right then, if the flight attendant gets to make the judgment call!
Not.
On July 9, 2008 at 11:28 am
Penny in VT says:
I have been thinking about this all day. Who do I vote for to make sure that not only does this NOT happen, but that our hard earned money STOPS paying for junk like this?
Seriously, can anyone be trusted anymore? (Present company excepted, of course!)
They better not be testing them on animals either. grrrrrr.
On July 9, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Susan Gaissert says:
In response to Penny above me, I plan to hope (there’s a committal phrase: “plan to hope”) that the Democratic nominee will be more likely to engage our enemies in conversation and therefore less likely to depend on electroshock as a means of communication. But, like you, I certainly can’t be sure of that. This “post 9-11” mentality has led to a lot of ugliness, and it has infected our political system so severely that it’s hard for me to plan to hope for much these days.
On July 9, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Carol says:
This does sound creepy, but I tend to believe the comment by S&Tspokesman that news & speculation has gone beyond reality. Maybe I’m being hopefully naive, but I do have a little more faith in people in general, even bureaucrats.
On July 9, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Melissa Wiley says:
Not to sound cynical–cynicism is not my general tendency–but any lingering remnants of faith I might have had in our elected officials were dispelled when they voted to grant the telecoms immunity for wiretapping. “We the People” had made it clear we did not support that action, but they went ahead and did it anyway.
If the airplane shock bracelet thing never comes to pass, and I do have a hard time imagining that it possibly could, it will be because the airlines balk at the notion for fear of losing business–i.e., it will be money that drives the decision, not wisdom.
That document from Paul Ruwaldt in the Dept of Homeland Security isn’t “news & speculation.” He’s a govt official seriously considering the possibilities. After expressing serious interest in the bracelet’s “potential uses” in such situations as “prisoner transportation, detainee control and the military security forces” as well as “a use to improve air security, on passenger planes,” he writes: “…most of the organizing for this project will happen within the next month, so I hope budgets will be set shortly thereafter, and then I will have a better idea on what we can do. I believe, once the extent of the funding is known and the budgets allocated, funding for the bracelet concept with the localized emitter/interrogator/restraint situations, will happen…To make it clear, we are interested in the mobile read/write emitter concept in conjunction with the immobilizing security bracelet, and look forward to receiving a written proposal.”
That letter references a meeting in July 2006. I wonder if the “project” ever got funding?
On July 10, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Activities Coordinator says:
Hey! Could we put those on elected officials?
I can see the instructions now…
“…to be placed on elected official immediately after inauguration, and to be worn by said official until they leave office. If elected official votes for some bonehead law, he or she will be jolted with electricity, causing temporary loss of consciousness…”
Think we could get them to approve that one?!?
On July 10, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Activities Coordinator says:
One second thought, how do we know if they’re conscious?
I need to stop. I really need to stop.
On July 10, 2008 at 6:48 pm