Slashdot Mirror
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.'"
first post!
Unreal Tournament 2004 is now becoming not so unreal, apparently.
This is what happens when the war on terror meets the entrepreneurial spirit.
Because we all know how effective giant lightning bolts are at seeking out a terrorist in a populated urban area...
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
id Software has done it again... bringing the gunz to the REAL front!
U.S.A! U.S.A!
When are we getting the sonic tanks from Dune? ;)
Sivaram Velauthapillai
Seeking the meaning of life... @slashdot of all places
I smell a new type of X-Games Competition.
weapons that can make you hear the voice of God
I demand to know who used this on our fearless leader, Mr. Bush.
The war on terror has now turned to Quake 3 deathmatch!!!!!!!!!!!
I was thinking about joining the army. I mean, its just like fps, but with better graphics. But what if I get lag out there??? I'm dead!!! I heard there isn't even respawn points in RL!" -fps-doug
I got nothin'
Because we dont want to loose the next war?
I thought that's what the original poster was afraid of, building weapons for loosing the next war.
Oh, wait, you meant "lose". Nevermind. It's amazing how a single letter in a common typo can so change the meaning of a sentence.
(Just in case you still don't understand: loose, v. tr., to let loose, release.)
are the frickin' sharks?!
I can't believe it hasn't been said yet. Shame on you all. =) /obscure?
The lead engineer was named Zeus?
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
Is any else as shocked as I am to hear this?
Embedded journalists have been trying to report that soldiers have been using IDDQD and IDKFA since April 2004, The Pentagon alleges that if the terrorists ever found out these codes it would "ruin the game", and has subsequently been stripping press reports of this information.
There is truth in humor.
Do we really need more weapons of war? I mean, in all seriousness. Doesn't the US spend as much on the military as most other nations' GNP combined? Whom are we supposed to be fighting?
Actually, it turns out that they are the same God, and all of those wars were mistakes. Sorry about that, folks.
...still rather have a BFG, though.
"I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." -- Warren Zevon
"And for the last time, stop playing with yourself!" "It is God."
If only Og was incorporated. He would have patented the process of smashing skulls with a rock. Humanity may be violent, but lawyers put fear into all but the strongest or most foolish of men. It would have brought about an age of peace and enlightenment. People don't kill people, rocks kill people.
Months ago I was watching some show about nonlethal weapons inventors and I thought about how cool they were. Then I thought about the situations they'd be used in. Time and time again police and national guardsmen abuse nonlethal weapons all over the world to suppress peaceful demonstrations. In future protests, expect to see sonic weapons, foam, all sorts of things aimed at crowds.
Now where we do really need nonlethal weapons is in Iraq, where children under the age of fifteen commonly shoot at our guys there. Our guys have nothing else to defend themselves with but guns, and I've heard about how demoralizing it can be for our troops to be forced to kill children (let alone the moral issues, and the fact that we're creating new "insurgents" by killing family members). And it's not like our military does not have nonlethal weapons, it just won't arm our guys with them for the obvious lunkhead reasons.
Rest assured these high tech toys will not be used on armed combatants, but on peaceful protesters.
'sokay, it's just a flesh wound...
Is Capitalism Good for the Poor?
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," er religious epiphany, er, no, magic.
You could've hired me.
"... weapons that can make you hear the voice of God."
Hmm. I think entirely too many people hear the voice of god already. That's largely why we think we need weapons.
=brian
People advertise nonlethal weapons as safer, compared to lethal weapons.
no comment necessary...
None of these are real reasons.
The real reason, is that the US needs to modernize. We need to take our military to the Xtreme.
This is only one in a number of changes that was obviously necessary to convert our military from a well disciplined fighting force into an Xtreme force.
Here are some of the others:
-The US army is changing it's name to "Rmee Xtreme!"
-War on Terror renamed to "Ultra-mega xtreme terror elimitation"
-Soldiers must now practice one-liners to go along when throwing grenades.
-Army camo replaced with "Xtreme metallic green"
-Soldiers are issued new, cooler names upon enlistment. For example, "Joe Smith" would become "Goe sMitH Xtreme!"
-Grenades are now going to be called "Ultra Xtreme Blastilators"
-There will be a new branch of the military: "X-treme Fighting Ninja Monkies"
-Periods (.) will be replaced with exclaimation points (!) on all official documents.
And, of course, all the weaponry will be replaced with new, Xtreme! weaponry, such as the one listed here.
Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
well lightning bolts are ok, but I prefer area of effect spells like fireball... unless you're talking chain lightning... oooh goody! goody!
Some degree of accuracy eh? :-D Reading the article, I find the guy manages to inadvertently zap himself with a lightning gun that has a useful range of about four feet. If he's dead set on using electricity, a projectile that releases an electric charge on impact sounds like a better idea to me. But hey, it only cost the US taxpayer a million bucks or so to find out lightning sucks as a weapon. IMHO that ranks right up there with the cow fart studies.
Excellent point my tin pot African warlord friend. I also think some of the specialized non-lethal weapons could be used for certain situations.
For instance I always have some loathsome loud protestors out the front of my palace screaming about grain supplies and water restrictions and I could just zap them with my mouth freezing ray. Then I'd address them with "Tell me, Zakawooni Tribe, what good is a protest when you are unable to speak, eat or drink?"
The newborn babies of the tribes would also be unable to eat their candy and thus making it all the more easier for my jackbooted thugs to steal from them. No crying either, which emboldens my withering black heart!
Said parking lot would also be self-lighting (at least for several years).
Time to burn some mod points. I wonder how low the liberal whiners here can mod me down.
S I G H.
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.
Ben
That has something to be said for my reflective tinfoil hat...
Oh well, what the hell...
Heavy marketing by bagel producers?
PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!! Have you ever BEEN there? It's a palace compared to where they come from! Jesus H. Christ. I cannot believe you guys actually believe everything you read. Muwahahaha. Hell, in our US Prisons, they aren't allowed to practice their own religion, but they are at Gitmo? And *I* paid for their prayer rugs, beads, and Korans.
And you want sexual abuse? I have been the victim of sexual abuse for 24 years of my 32 on this planet, and no one EVER tried to save me. Yeah, one of their own. I had to get out myself. So if a menstruating woman interrogating one of these fuckers is sexual abuse, I'll take that over being raped by family members for 20 years ANY FUCKING DAY OF MY LIFE!
Jho
Sorry man... the Internet pooped on me.
Isn't "hearing the voice of God" one of the primary causes of terrorist acts? It's hard to imagine the September 11th hijackers took the job because of the good dental plan...
I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
Left-click for the accurate ionized beam firing mode. Right-click for alternate fire -- spark spread.
Sounds like a weapon from UT2004.
Am I really the only one here who's wondering when they'll come out with the Blame Gun?
If you just took anything I said seriously, read it again.
I'm betting it is the one that said something about the other cheek. ;)
Anybody up for a round of Red Alert?
Tesla's patent has expired.