killing us softly

"This is a ray gun that shoots either a beam of burning sensation at your victim, or else an invisible wave that induces horrible nausea.” — Paul's Ponderings

“[…] the controversy in Ferguson remains what it’s always been: A jarring and dispiriting reminder that the Declaration of Independence’s assertion of universal human equality (the 'promissory note,' as Martin Luther King Jr. once called it) remains, for millions of Americans, a debt unpaid. […]
     If we can combat the dual influences of a Ferguson elite that wants national attention to drift elsewhere; and a national media that dislikes policy and favors more watchable, clickable, shareable and fundamentally empty manifestations of the culture war — if we can do that, there’s hope that even though the killing of Michael Brown by Darren Wilson will always be an obscenity, it won’t have been entirely in vain. So let’s ignore those in American society who would rather debate the merits of trashing a bodega than the killing of a child, and let’s not listen to those who would use this opportunity to relitigate the civil rights movement, the Rodney King riots or the Trayvon Martin case. Let’s honor the wishes of Michael Brown’s parents and decline to ‘just make noise’ in favor of making ‘a difference.’”
— Elias Isquith, Salon
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“[…] But growth prospects for cop-cams are modest compared to non-lethal or 'soft-kill' weapons — a global market projected to reach $1.63 billion in 2014. While Taser’s stun gun is currently the most effective person-to-person immobilizer, various 'crowd-control' weapons have also found a home in police departments nationwide, thanks to the Pentagon’s combat surplus.
     The results of military R&D can be bizarre. There’s the LRAD acoustic cannon (used in Ferguson), which blasts intense sound waves that cause immediate headaches. A 'Ray Gun' shoots excruciatingly hot beams of electromagnetic radiation. And the infamous 'Puke Ray' emits flashing, multi-color light pulses that induce nausea. […]
     Stingray is a device that mimics a cell tower to indiscriminately trick nearby phones into transmitting metadata (location, call duration, etc.) and even call content. It’s one of the police’s latest ventures into NSA territory, to 'Collect It All, Know It All.' Police departments that use Stingrays must sign non-disclosure agreements with the Harris Corporation, Stingray’s manufacturer; so far 42 law enforcement agencies in 17 states use them, according to the ACLU. It complains that the police have tried to deliberately conceal the practice from judges during criminal investigations.
     The problem with Stingray — and similar devices that mass-compile data, such as license plate recognition, biometrics, predictive policing algorithms and drones — is its propensity to violate privacy rights, says Dave Maass, of the Electronic Freedom Foundation. Essential questions, like who can use them and on whom and when, are not discussed in courts or with the public, Maass says. Which just makes it easier for law enforcement to adopt early and often: “It’s easier for police to adopt new devices without asking permission, and then force legislators to take them away and risk looking ‘soft on crime,’
— Nathan Siegel, OZY
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