Non-Lethal Is Now Ok, What Is Going On?

I just hope they never get on the streets. It's bad enough with f**king idiotic kids with pointers - think what would happen with these? Like a long-range knife - no powder traces etc. Anyone could blind half-a-dozen people (without themselves being seen), then lob the evidence in a canal, or even down a drain.

Frightening.

That is what I mean but now imagine LEGAL use by riot police or something. You just following the missus doing your boring shopping and you happen to walk into a skirmish. I have been on the streets in London before when a so called peacefull protest or march goes bad. They start shining these around and nobody knows what will happen. You may be 2 streets down the line and still get a dose. No ballistics so no prosecution, you never find out which of the little hitlers did it.

Bad idea from every angle as far as I can (still) see.

Hmmm...

Sounds like it might be time to contact the patent office and register my handy dandy, 520 to 560 nm blocking, mirrorized "sun/peaceful protest/riot glasses".

With the optional nitrile skirt attachment, they are also good for the "old fashioned" CN, CS, capsaicin & Mace...

I'm still working on the rubber bullet thing...

If I understand, this is the "Photonic Disruptor" available from Wicked Lasers (thier web site seems to be hacked at the moment.) It is known as a Threat Assessment Laser Illuminator (TAL.) This is not the most paowerfull available from Wicked Lasers. They have also the Spyder and Spyder II, which are significantly stonger. Some sites note their application in medical as well as industrial and military applications. (TALs are used by US troops in Iraq and elsewhere. I suppose it is of no consequence that it might be a vaiolation of treaty. Just have the white house cousel write an exception. They are sold to law enforcement in US, as well. Other countries are less restrictive, apparently.)

You can see the Wicked Laser page on the Laser disruptor at the Google cache at:

The Syder is noted at bottom of the page. There is a review of Spyder here.

This is part of the advance of technology. Get used to it.

SH

I've just seen the entry in 'todays news'

It should be banned immediately.

They banned guns and knives remember! I don't think deaths by either has diminished significantly since the ban.

Banning does not work, it just means that NORMAL folk like you or me can't have them anymore. Criminal individuals don't care about the law, that's why we call them criminal.

Once invented and available it needs managing and that means we are on a losing streak as the societies are so out of joint that we have a large proportion of people that feel that they can decide what is good for them when clearly what they choose to do is not good for others.

If you ban the sale and/or manufacture it does make a huge difference. It stops casual ownership by loopy adolescents...like wot we was.

We all messed with air rifles (UK) ..if we'd had handguns freely available as in USA we'd probably have messed with them with vastly increased fatalities.

I agree you can't put a genii back in the bottle, but you can conceal the lamp!

Are criminal individuals really going to want these...?

Maybe it will enhance that 'next heist' presentation?

A hand gun or baseball bad is far more intimidating...which is the effect they generally want.

Depends on how cheap they are. You imagine some footy hooligan just wanting to play the arsehole they already are and either just fuck's your eyesight up or uses it to repel the oncoming police force at their next footy meeting.

I agree that you end up making it much more difficult. I would never trust the govn'mt to live by their own rule though. Bet they would still use them both in riot police and army.

Are criminal individuals really going to want these...?

A blinded victim can't make a visual identification, nor can they defend themselves by accurately pointing a gun, pepper-spray, or knife.

A hand gun or baseball ba[t] is far more intimidating...

An attacker might try a laser first, since this might avoid using a gun or knife (which probably carry more severe criminal penalties).

fair comment...

OK. I'm somewhat wired into the laser community, so I can tell you this...

I have 532nm (green) lasers over 350mw power, I have 808nm lasers over 50 Watts power, I even have a few YAGs over kilowatt power. They are out there, that's why the aviation industry is so afraid of them (with good reason).

However, the US DOD was messing around with IR lasers in the power range I designated, with the express purpose of permanently blinding the enemy. As soon as the International community got wind of this, they outlawed permanent blinding as a battlefield appropriate weapon, and the DOD backed off.

If you want to see what your average nerd can get a hold of, got to eBay and search on "industrial lasers." Mind you, most of these require 110V AC or 220V AC. These are not battery powered units that can fit on guns.

Good info, Vermin. I suspect that Dick Cheney has his hand (Haliburton) in the supply chain, so these devices can't be outlawed as long as that crew is in the White House. Next will come a modification of Puff the Magic Dragon, and instead of gattling guns, they will illuminate a constantly changing area with high intensity laser beams... the instinct is to look up to see what a plane, helicopter etc, or even a small pilotless drone is doing, and ZAP!

This comes from the same DOD and Executive branch that says water-boarding is not torture, and fired the sentor who three years ago checked it out on himself.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110607A.shtml

As the goverment so the people. Bush is trying hard to tried for war crimes.

Brad

A player in a football match yesterday complained that a green lazer was being shone at him from the crowd everytime he atteched the opposing goal.

This was on Match of the Day...it was Diddier Drogba (chelsea) he approached the 4th official on the touchline ...

Havn't heard any more about it....yet.

Del

There were a few instances here in the States of airline pilots being night blinded by 532nm (green) lasers. After the reports, they stopped happening.

It's my guess that these instances were innocent. These green lasers carry a long way and are much more powerful than red laser pointers. My green laser (in a box) is capable of bouncing off almost any cloud! I'm assuming some guy with a green laser pointer was curious whether it would bounce off the body of the plane, but when hearing what he did, probably felt pretty bad. It seemed also to have the effect of educating most others that shooting at aircraft was not a good idea.

Well, what do you know! People actually acting sensibly!!!

Re. Football match

A quick search found this

Looks like it's started ...