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UN torture expert accuses private firms of making ever more cruel instruments

52 points by isomorph 3y ago

sschueller 3y ago
Aren't "millimetre wave weapons" used for crowd control by some US police departments?. I recall seeing some 60 minutes style video about it a while back. It makes you skin feel like it's on fire.
- askiiart 3y ago
  From https://www.eetimes.com/millimeter-wave-energy-to-be-used-in-a-weapon/ https://www.eetimes.com/millimeter-wave-energy-to-be-used-in... (June 2001): “It works by heating the water molecules in the top 1/64-of-an-inch layer of the skin,” said Marine Corps spokesman Maj. David Andersen. According to reports, a 2-second burst from the system can heat the skin to a temperature of 130° F. Elsewhere, the AFRL describes the sensation as similar to touching an ordinary light bulb that has been left on for a while. “Unlike a light bulb, however,” says the AFRL fact sheet, “active-denial technology will not cause rapid burning, because of the shallow penetration of the beam and the low levels of energy used.” Edit (me, not the article): I'm not saying that this information is necessarily true, this is just some info I found that was at the top of the search results, from 22 years ago, that I put no effort into fact-checking with other sources. And I wouldn't be surprised if they're used for crowd control, but I don't know. But the second half of the parent comment seems to be accurate.
  - AtlasBarfed 3y ago
    What about the eyes? Does it blind you if it burns the top upper 1/64th of your eye tissue?
    - justinclift 3y ago
      Also sounds fairly problematic if they sweep the beam back and forth across people a bunch of times. After all the skin layers are gone, it's not like the beam will stop working... :/
- bhelkey 3y ago
  > Aren't "millimetre wave weapons" used for crowd control by some US police departments? The capital military police and the border patrol have both inquired about using these millimeter wave weapons. Both were rejected [1]. The weapons were considered but also rejected for use in Iraq and Afghanistan [2]. In 2010, a prison made news by installing such a weapon, a move opposed by the ACLU [3]. It is unclear if it was ever used. [1] https://www.npr.org/2020/09/16/913748800/military-police-leaders-weighed-deploying-heat-ray-against-d-c-protesters https://www.npr.org/2020/09/16/913748800/military-police-lea... [2] https://news.yahoo.com/the-secret-troubled-history-of-the-militarys-pain-ray-weapon-213829163.html https://news.yahoo.com/the-secret-troubled-history-of-the-mi... [3] https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/dont-let-militarys-deadly-pain-ray-machine-invade-la-county-jail#:~:text=Los%20Angeles%20County%20Jail%20has,them%20feel%20%E2%80%9Cintolerable%20heat.%E2%80%9D https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/dont-let-militar...
  - 3seashells 3y ago
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ra3EQNbbaxI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ra3EQNbbaxI
- 20after4 3y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg_aUOSLuRo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg_aUOSLuRo
blitzar 3y ago
[flagged]
- smegger001 3y ago
  But maybe we shouldn't enabled people that want to torture others by building them new and better torture implement.
  - blitzar 3y ago
    You got a licence for those pliers?
    - tekno45 3y ago
      There's a difference between a tool you used to torture someone and a tool someone made to torture someone "better"
jsndidneske 3y ago
Misleading title 100%
- masswerk 3y ago
  > “There’s a big responsibility on manufacturers to stop trying to find the most extreme forms of pain on individuals (…)” > Edwards said some of these items are being developed by companies looking “to make their mark in the industry”.

52 points by isomorph 3y ago

Aren't "millimetre wave weapons" used for crowd control by some US police departments?. I recall seeing some 60 minutes style video about it a while back. It makes you skin feel like it's on fire.

askiiart 3y ago
From https://www.eetimes.com/millimeter-wave-energy-to-be-used-in-a-weapon/ https://www.eetimes.com/millimeter-wave-energy-to-be-used-in... (June 2001): “It works by heating the water molecules in the top 1/64-of-an-inch layer of the skin,” said Marine Corps spokesman Maj. David Andersen. According to reports, a 2-second burst from the system can heat the skin to a temperature of 130° F. Elsewhere, the AFRL describes the sensation as similar to touching an ordinary light bulb that has been left on for a while. “Unlike a light bulb, however,” says the AFRL fact sheet, “active-denial technology will not cause rapid burning, because of the shallow penetration of the beam and the low levels of energy used.” Edit (me, not the article): I'm not saying that this information is necessarily true, this is just some info I found that was at the top of the search results, from 22 years ago, that I put no effort into fact-checking with other sources. And I wouldn't be surprised if they're used for crowd control, but I don't know. But the second half of the parent comment seems to be accurate.
- AtlasBarfed 3y ago
  What about the eyes? Does it blind you if it burns the top upper 1/64th of your eye tissue?
  - justinclift 3y ago
    Also sounds fairly problematic if they sweep the beam back and forth across people a bunch of times. After all the skin layers are gone, it's not like the beam will stop working... :/
bhelkey 3y ago
> Aren't "millimetre wave weapons" used for crowd control by some US police departments? The capital military police and the border patrol have both inquired about using these millimeter wave weapons. Both were rejected [1]. The weapons were considered but also rejected for use in Iraq and Afghanistan [2]. In 2010, a prison made news by installing such a weapon, a move opposed by the ACLU [3]. It is unclear if it was ever used. [1] https://www.npr.org/2020/09/16/913748800/military-police-leaders-weighed-deploying-heat-ray-against-d-c-protesters https://www.npr.org/2020/09/16/913748800/military-police-lea... [2] https://news.yahoo.com/the-secret-troubled-history-of-the-militarys-pain-ray-weapon-213829163.html https://news.yahoo.com/the-secret-troubled-history-of-the-mi... [3] https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/dont-let-militarys-deadly-pain-ray-machine-invade-la-county-jail#:~:text=Los%20Angeles%20County%20Jail%20has,them%20feel%20%E2%80%9Cintolerable%20heat.%E2%80%9D https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/dont-let-militar...
- 3seashells 3y ago
  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ra3EQNbbaxI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ra3EQNbbaxI
20after4 3y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg_aUOSLuRo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg_aUOSLuRo

blitzar 3y ago

[flagged]

smegger001 3y ago
But maybe we shouldn't enabled people that want to torture others by building them new and better torture implement.
- blitzar 3y ago
  You got a licence for those pliers?
  - tekno45 3y ago
    There's a difference between a tool you used to torture someone and a tool someone made to torture someone "better"

jsndidneske 3y ago

Misleading title 100%

masswerk 3y ago
> “There’s a big responsibility on manufacturers to stop trying to find the most extreme forms of pain on individuals (…)” > Edwards said some of these items are being developed by companies looking “to make their mark in the industry”.