Well, this does sound a lot more efficient than fitting all those rioters with pain collars a al The Gamesters of Triskellion from Star Trek.

All kidding aside, this does seem more precisee and controllable than gas or clubs - if it's energy based we should be able to control the effect via the power output.

Oh, and first?

Shouldnt the comment read

" Shortly after Dr. Cooper stated 'Even if the use of temporary severe pain can be justified as a restraining measure, which I do not believe it can, the long-term physical and psychological effects are unknown,' he collapsed suddenly and mysteriously, screaming and writhing in what appeared to be great pain stemming from an unknown source.

When the sudden attack ceased he continued, 'Even if the use of temporary severe pain can be justified as a restraining measure, which I do not believe it can, the long-term physical and psychological effects are unknown.' before again suddenly collapsing to the floor.

Upon rising again he whimpered 'Uh, er, the Pentagon has my complete support in the War on Terror. Donald Rumsfeld for President. Dont call me again," before fleeing. "

There is a girl from Boston College (I think) that would be alive today if she and the crowd she was with ("celebrating" a Red Sox victory) had been restrained with this new gizmo rather than the non-lethal plastic bullet that was shot, incorrectly, by a police officer into her eye.

The guy doesn't like any weapon regardless of the purpose. I might be convinced to respect his honesty if he just said that instead of all the weasel speak.

Btw, I loved the "arms are for hugs" bit. ROFL!

"Querito" seems to do the trick, and "ploro" ("I whine") would work as well. The verb "queror", however, has the additional benefit, when being used to speak of birds, of meaning "to coo mournfully", which describes that effete Englishman better than anything else I can think of.

Ace,

Pure genius as usual. When are the universities going to knock on your door to come work for them and run their ethics departments? Certainly better than listening to the idiots who pass for scholarship in academia today, who obviously believe that hot water bag compresses, cold showers, and steam saunas should be condemned as Medieval torture devices in favor of things which, you know, might actually kill people as the torture devices. Keep it up Mate.

Subsunk

Ace,

It is to laugh.

Water.

And yes, I suspect you are correct, that the resistance to the bench research being turned into a law enforcement tool stems largely (but not exclusively) from the fact that the researchers in question oppose the particular police force (or military force) intent on using it.

History provides one clear example of scientists' ambivalence about their work, and that was the development of the A-bomb.

It is reported that after the bombing of Hiroshima, many of the scientists involved, including Einstein, regretted having ever helped to build the thing.

Whether or not the use of the A-bomb eventually saved more lives than it took is open to question.

A terrible moral calculus, this.

But it is instructive as to the consequences of our actions, and that for some, the clarity one finds in the academy or at the bench, is preferable to the vagaries and messiness of real-life and real-world problems, like war n'stuff.

Though it may make a good anti-riot weapon I've long advocated the shampoo method to make detainees talk. Just shove Mohammed's head into a dirty toilet repeatedly and let him decide exactly how much shit and urine he's willing to inhale for his 72 Virgins. Rinse and repeat until done.

I don't know WHY they waste money researching a long-distance pain-causing weapon when they can get the same results with a 100-foot tall poster of a naked Susan Estrich. Talk about a tactic that should be banned by Geneva...

Later,
bbeck

excellent post

brings to mind two quotes:

"You can't hug your children with nuclear arms!"

"What are we supossed to use, harsh language?"

I wonder what the idiot's response would have been if the American military created a Pleasure raygun?

Lauraw:
"I wonder what the idiot's response would have been if the American military created a Pleasure raygun?"

Don't talk about our toys that way! It is against Islamic Law to talk about such things in public!

Ace, I think your warporn sensibilities are slipping.

You missed the best part:

fire a laser pulse that generates a burst of expanding plasma when it hits something solid

It's a working fucking plasma rifle. How fucking cool is that? And we didn't even have to kill a covenant elite to get it.

/halo geek

Hysterically funny post, ACE.

It all falls from Abu Ghraib and anything other than soldiers waiting on insurgents or terrorists hand and foot is "torture, torture, torture!!!" The Euros and the liberal Dems thought it was a great angle to attack America with and make our soldiers less effective.

"Is everything in your cell comfy, Mr. Abdullah??? Care to tell us anything about where others in your group are planting bombs since your capture, just friend to friend? We lost another 3 soldiers and 22 Iraqi civilians to your group, and we are a little anxious to stop it...."

"The nerve of you to ask me these questions when you inflict daily humilations and yes, even torture on me. Your guards are ugly, even the females, except one who is actually too attractive...obviously deliberate torture since she has not been ordered to have sex with me. Your MREs suck. We require catered Halal food. No cable TV - and I need my Al Jazeeera martyr fix as well as seeing Babou, the comely Egyptian anchor, before I would consider saying anything about our glorious Jihad activities and the bomb factory location. Ah, but that was before yesterday...my tea arrived tepid and not sweetened to my taste...then before I could drink it...a fly flew in it. Then the attractive guard refused again to sexually service me and compounded her insolence by not complying with my demand to get fresh tea. Torture! Torture! I can't wait for the Red Crescent to arrive to discuss the horrors and indignities of my oppression, or for a delegation of any Democratic US Senators other than Clinton. The Hillary thing was here last week, made even the ugly female guards look good....but she laughed at my stories of torture....part of the new Centrist Hillary she said....she could give a shit about my troubles...she is triangulating some vote 4 years from now, she said"

"Oh, Abdullah! I am so sorry for your inconvenience. I will counsel the attractive guard on her insolence, but she still isn't obligated to have sex with you. Perhaps conjugal visits with your ....err... 4 wives???? can be arranged, if you tell us who is killing us."

As for the liberal Dems and Euros, they are playing with fire. Eventually we will have Islamoids launch a massive killing operation and find out that we had some ringleaders in custody before hand that knew all about the plot - but we were intimidated from aggressive questioning because of Teddy, Durbin, Leahy, Feingold, Boxer, & Co. and there will be hell to pay.

"Whether or not the use of the A-bomb eventually saved more lives than it took is open to question."

Not by anyone who can count.

"Brian Cooper, an expert in dental pain...."
I'm having Szell flashbacks. Is it safe? I'll probably wake up screaming tonight.

Anytime I think I'm about to lose my tenuous grasp on reality I read something like this and realize there are already so many people out there who have clearly fallen into the abyss of insanity (like the good doctor - can he prove he is a real doctor?), that I no longer feel obliged to finish the act and go truly insane.

Be kind to them, as they haven't a clue what they are doing...

Finally, I would like to point out that these scientists are first rate ninnies. They have no problem taking a paycheck for inventing these damn things, but they have real concern about what happens once their little doomsday machine leaves the lab.

IF they were so damned concerned about what would happen, why didn't they go work for some company to invent a longer lasting lightbulb instead of some new wizbang weapon that fries people's nuts off.

Geez....