Weapons of War Now Include Lightning Guns

An anonymous reader writes "The Washington Post is running a lengthy article today about Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems, an Indiana-based company that says its developed a nonlethal weapon that shoots lightning bolts. This article is an in-depth look at a company that's stirred up some controversy on Slashdot in the past. From the article: 'Lightning guns, heat rays, weapons that can make you hear the voice of God. This is what happens when the war on terror meets the entrepreneurial spirit.'"

Comments

The voice of god?

[Anonymous Coward]

Terrorist: alla! alalalalalallalalalal!
(lightning strikes)... .. .. (2 seconds later) BOOOM!

Re:I see

[hpa]

Karl Rove, of course.

Re:"dazzler" laser

[JhohannaVH]

Ya know what? When they (terrorists, islamic fundamentalists, and Chechnyans) stop beheading innocent people (particularly American Contractors pouring cement for schools, etc), and using children for human shields, then maybe the Geneva Convention can have some sway over what we do. Until then, VICTORY, NO MATTER THE MEASURE!

In case you soft-bellied, yellow-blooded snookems haven't missed it, THIS is a war we CANNOT afford to lose. Not the Americans, not the Britons, not the Morrocans, not the Egyptians, not the Iraqis, and NOT THE ISRAELIS!! These Islamic Fundamentalist morons would bomb all of us back into the Stone Ages as soon as look at us. And our religion, skin-tone, government, NOTHING, will stop them from wanting to convert or kill us all. Same fuckin' thing they have been wanting to do for 1400 years.

So unless you don't value your life, liberty, and safety in the world where you live, no matter the country or religion or location - take a look around and see if THEY honour the Geneva Convention, and what YOU would do to save the life and limb of your loved ones. We have many young soldiers over there giving their lives and their arms and legs and SOULS so that WE ALL can be FREE! And you all sit here in your comfort and deride us. Remember that the next time you hit Google.com.

Jho - pissed off at being the only one who cares about the guards on the wall who watch over us as we sleep. -- And screw my Karma rating too! :P

Re:Why? Why?

[billsoxs]

Why on earth are private companies (I won't even get started on governments) still developing weapons? This is incredibly sick.

Why is trying to stay alive sick? If someone is shooting at me I want a gun to fight back with. Better yet I want a better weapon then they have.

This is not sick, it is only simple human nature - the desire to stay alive.

Re:Aiming accuracy...

[_DangerousDwarf]

Wouldn't matter if an American soldier/pilot/whatever was aiming it.

Seriously, the American military has a big problem with friendly fire. Just ask the Canadians, British or whomever else the Americans have ever gone to war/battle with.

And I am not even counting the friendly fire incidents that have happened in response the Americans providing close air support to their allies.

I am talking about the Canadians killed why doing a training exercise, the British killed when their tank was mistaken for the enemy etc.

Anyway, it's late and I am ranting. At least these incidents would be non-lethal.

Re:which God?

[buckhead_buddy]

I'd guess this is the same amalagmated diety that people refer to when normally mixing U.S. government and religion since it's described as a "Lightning Gun" rather than "Lightning Deterrent" it sounds like something more patriotic and more protected by Amendment 2.

You know the diety in question, it's the one...

• whose documented creation stories and value of pi are both expressed as simple, whole, and rational, yet seemingly contradictory with observations of reality. Thus creating all sorts of controversy when brought up in legal settings.
• who insists on allowing free worship of what must be other fictional dieties, yet who often wins elections and votes by demanding that he is the only diety around. This is often as chaotic as when he insists that use of his name can create public indecency in speech yet demand it be added to the pledge of allegience out of reverence.
• who frequently turns factual debates about the death penalty and assisted suicide into tenaciously argued theological questions about whether this diety had a son, whether he was innocent, whether he was really executed, and whether his choosing not to stop an execution was really a form of suicide. Such questions often obscure facts and create a chaotic debate arena.
• who seemingly endorses both candidates during an election, yet who doesn't seem to involve himself afterwards in the details of actually running the government.

Moderators and Theologians Please Note: I'm not specifically referring to the diety who reset his creation with a blue sea of death after Ark-iving a small backup, and then creating a Mac OS X like special effect to remind people that it will never happen again. My comments were specifically meant to be about that amalgamated diety whose involvement in government issues causes more controversy than it solves: Loki.

Re:"dazzler" laser

[dfenstrate]

Of course they are. Geneva conventions (plural) cover all classes of participants in warfare, one of them is "non-uniformed" combatants (GC3) or alternatively civilians (GC4). There is no possibility of anyone in a war not to be covered by one of the Conventions. The "unlawful combatant" bullshit is wholly invented by the Bush Administration.

Except the part about how the Geneva Convention is a reciprical agreement between signatory states and those who abide by it, neither of which can be said to apply to any of the pieces of shit at gitmo.

Folks like you piss and whine whenever US troops scare someone with a damn dog or make them sweat a little under the interrogation light, but you're awfully fucking quiet when the same type of folks we hold prisoner in gitmo blow up an iraqi police station, or kill a few newly elected iraqi officials in broad daylight.