> > Subject: SOUND CANNON IN PGH. USED ON PROTESTERS > > http://www.opednews.com/populum/link.php?id=98268 > Police Use Painful New Weapon on G20 Protesters > > By Allison Kilkenny, True/Slant Posted on September 28, 2009, Printed on > September 28, 2009 http://www.alternet.org/story/142921/ > Pittsburgh police demonstrated the latest in crowd control techniques on > protesters when they used "sound cannons" to blast the ears of citizens near > the G-20 meeting of world economic leaders. City officials said this was the > first time such sound blasters, also known as "sound weapons," were used > publicly. > Lavonnie Bickerstaff of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police uses benign language > like "sound amplifiers," and "long-range acoustic device" to explain the new > weapons in an attempt to sanitize what is essentially a painful weapon that > leaves no visible marks on its victims. The mob utilized a similar tactic on > snitches when they would beat everywhere except the face. If victims have no > outward bruises to show, the world is less likely to believe their stories of > assault and harassment. > Unlike aerosol hand-grenades, pepper spray, and rubber bullets (all > traditional methods of protest suppression also used at the G-20 protests,) > the damage from sound cannons is entirely internal, and can only be preserved > on video, but even then, the deafening noise cannot be fully appreciated > unless one hears it in person. > (Footage of the sound cannons in action can be seen/heard below. It¹s clear > from these videos that the extremely loud, high-pitched noise causes pain.) > The "long range acoustic device (LRAD)" is designed for long-range > communication and acts as an "unmistakable warning," according to the American > Technology Corporation (ATC,) which develops the instruments. "The LRAD > basically is the ability to communicate clearly from 300 meters to 3 > kilometers" (nearly 2 miles), said Robert Putnam of American Technology¹s > media and investor relations during an interview with MSNBC. "It¹s a focused > output. What distinguishes it from other communications tools out there is its > ability to be heard clearly and intelligibly at a distance, unlike bullhorns." > Except, police aren¹t trying to send a distress call to allies 2 miles away. > They¹re literally blasting this extreme decibel of noise directly into the > ears of protesters (or any unwitting citizens) standing mere feet from the > cannons. Depending on the mode of LRAD, it can blast a maximum sound of 145 to > 151 decibels equal to a gunshot within a 3-foot (one meter) range, > according to ATC. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that > permanent hearing loss can result from sounds at about 110 to 120 decibels in > short bursts or even just 75 decibels if exposure lasts for long periods. > But there is a volume knob, Putnam notes, so its output can be less than max, > purportedly to give us comfort in the knowledge that deafening citizens is > left to the discretion of power-hungry police. On the decibel scale, an > increase of 10 (say, from 70 to 80) means that a sound is 10 times more > intense. Normal traffic noise can reach 85 decibels, reports MSNBC, but these > sound cannons cannot be compared to standing beside a busy New York City road. > The BBC reported in 2005 that the "shrill sound of an LRAD at its loudest > sounds something like a domestic smoke alarm, ATC says, but at 150 decibels, > it is the aural equivalent to standing 30m away from a roaring jet engine and > can cause major hearing damage if misused." > This technology has been deployed in Iraq as an "anti-insurgent weapon," and > the sonic weaponry is also being used on protesters in Honduras. Seattle > Weekly reports that this weapon could easily be used as a torture tool if one > doesn¹t already think this is its only use. > Sonic weaponry is now being deployed domestically to put a chill on free > speech. We¹re told this is the "humane" way to deal with protesters, but it¹s > really just a convenient way to suppress citizens without the messy > aftereffects of having to explain bullet holes to reporters. A bunch of > protesters complaining about ruptured ear drums doesn¹t make for dramatic > news. > Footage of the sound cannons in action: > > > > > > > > > © 2009 True/Slant All rights reserved. View this story online at: > http://www.alternet.org/story/142921/ >
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