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Pirates Thwarted by Sonic Weapon
Kristian Hermansen was one of dozens to submit a story about would be pirates attempting to take control of a cruise ship of the coast of Africa, only to be twarted by some sort of
sonic weapon known as an LRAD, or Long Range Acoustic Device.
And if it wasn't for you pesky kids and your LRAD, I would have gotten away with it too!
How many times are we going to have to read stories about music labels putting up false album tracks containing dreck such as Ashlee Simpson in place of Metallica? We get it, the labels don't like pirates....
I think it would be more effective than just giving them a headache.
Pirate:Argggg we've popped our pants. Run.
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
I imagine that the RIAA is calling the Navy about how it can get some sonic anti-piracy weapons of its own.
I find that most of the music put out by major labels these days is a painful enough torture, but hey, that's just me.
Slashdot: 24 hours behind every other site or your money back!
This is kind of like death metal to hippies!
Or may be Neil Diamond..
Global Warming is having a direct and measurable impact on the endangered pirate population according to The Flying Spaghetti Monster theory,s ter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_spaghetti_mon
"Global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct consequence of the decline in numbers of pirates since the 1800s. A graph showing the inverse correlation between the pirates and global temperatures was also provided. This component of the theory highlights the logical fallacy of correlation implying causation. "
I sure hope the pirates didn't record the noise made by the LRAD for sale as bootleg CDs on the asian market...
Didn't know Doctor Who was battling pirates now.
Wikipedia reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma_whore
Oddly enough, my wife has one of those built in.
A man without a God is like a fish without a bicycle.
No, "twarted" works if you say it with an Irish lilt.
Mekka.
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
Only to be thwarted by? From TFA, "The subsidiary of Carnival Corp. was investigating whether the weapon was successful in warding off the pirates, he said. The ship's captain also changed its course, shifted into high speed and headed out into the open sea to elude the pirates, who were in two small boats, he said. He had no further details."
I'm sure it certainly contributed, but they're not even sure it actually was the reason why the pirates weren't able to catch them.
We simply cannot afford to kill any pirates, since the worldwide decline in the number of pirates is clearly responsible for global warming.
All movements for social change begin as missions, evolve into businesses, and end up as rackets.
Pirates, man! I mean, a real actual honest-to-$deity story. On Slashdot. About pirates! I mean, PIRATES. The ones with hats. And parrots. I never thought I'd see the day.
High-speed Road Trip (18.000KPH)
I really was hoping that a LRAD was going to be a giant Airzooka.
Instead of the siren from a smoke detector, use a tape loop of my 20 month old crying becase we won't let her continue to throw things down our stair case. Or maybe some britanny spears really loud, or any boy band music at all (NYKOB for teh win).
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Looking at news.google.com one can find a bit more detail from more familiar sources:
a .pirates.sonic.ap/
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/11/07/somali
The 100 mile figure is that that's how far off the coast the cruise ship was --- the weapons used don't have near that sort of range.
William
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
Some suggest arming cruise ships. But being armed on the high seas itself, sadly, can be considered an act of hostility. For example, would we want armed boats anywhere in our vicinity .. even if they technically were in international waters? Only lightly armed? .. but they have to be long range enough to deter or eliminate threats.. correct? The problem is, which boats can be armed and not considered threats? And no you can't just go by flag or registration (which can be stolen/faked). Also you can't tell what people look like from a distance cause they can put makeup/disguise.
So a pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel and an active LRAD device on his crotch. The bartender says: "There's a steering wheel and an LRAD device on your crotch!" The pirate says: "Yar, I know! They're both driving me nuts!"
Oh yes. Pirates are as active as ever. Only nowadays they have machine guns and RPGs instead of blunderbusses and cannons...
Just read IMB's Weekly Piracy Report for an idea of how active and how dangerous modern pirates are.
"twarted"
Clearly, Cmdr Taco is the code name for former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien.
...this didn't result in anyone getting an Angry Pirate :D
Game dev and music blog
Timbers Shivered by Shivering Timbres
zork% mv *.asp
283 files eaten by a grue
It's application by the military and police is controversial because of ethical questions, but this seems an ideal use of this technology in private sector. Commercial ships at sea cannot use heavy weapons by international treaty. The Long Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, is a so-called "non-lethal weapon" developed after the 2000 attack on the USS Cole off Yemen as a way to keep operators of small boats from approaching U.S. warships. The 45-pound, dish-shaped device belongs to a developing arsenal of technologies intended not to kill but to deter. The sonic weapon, which measures 33 inches in diameter, can direct a high-pitched, piercing tone with a tight beam. Neither the LRAD's operators or others in the immediate area are affected. The LRAD's shrill tone can be as loud as about 150 decibels well beyond the threshold of pain. Inside 100 yards, you definitely don't want to be there. The device is currently being tested in regions of Baghdad, Fallujah, and other regions of Iraq as well as by police in New York City during protests of the 2004 Republican National Convention. It is based on "Hypersonic Sound" - a process called acoustic heterodyning. What makes acoustic heterodyning possible is that air molecules behave nonlinearly. Ultrasonic speakers create sound at more than 20,000 cycles per second, a rate high enough to keep in a focused beam and beyond the range of human hearing. Step into the beam and you hear the sound as if it were being generated inside your head. Reflect it off a surface and it sounds like it originated there. At 30,000 cycles, the sound can travel 150 yards without any distortion or loss of volume.
me? I think the parent post is hillarious. Military and cruise ships using 150 decibel brown noise weapons? Now that's an idea!
Reminds me of an old joke... Now this isn't the exact version, but its as close as I can remember...
Whenver the captain of an old spanish galleon was heading into battle, he always asked his assistant to fetch him his red pants so that if he were to be injured and bleed, his crewmen would not see the blood and lose hope. One day, they were heading into battle against a massively powerful enemy. The captain saw the assistant already going to fetch the red pants and shouted, "Stop! This time, get me my brown pants!"
Has anyone had a chance to play with one of these? (Or been played with by someone with one of these like at the 2004 republican convention in NYC? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LRAD)
Since it is just sound, and apparently high-frequency sound (thus relatively low-energy vs low-frequency sound) I wonder if something as simple as noise-cancellation headphones would provide significant protection against LRAD usage.
Will we see pirates wearing Bose noise-cancellation headphones and listening to pirated music while they pirate real ships now?
"It can be as loud as about 150 decibels..."
According to this decibal chart, that's somewhere between "jet at 100 feet" and "death of hearing tissue." I used to go to a summer camp near an air force base, and A-10 warthogs would frequently fly overhead. I doubt they were any closer than a few hundred feet, but they were still incredibly loud. It was near impossible to hear anyone speak/yell until the aircraft had passed. As for this weapon, my guess is that the pain of the sound it produces (while the most noticeable of the effects) is probably no more important than the fear and confusion it imbues.
The article seems to omit the fact that this is possible and effective against the pirates, because they play COUNTRY 'MUSIC' through this thing.
"Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell
A bit OT but fun to know...
Pirates do exist, and account for nearly $16b in losses annually. If you're interested in a career like Han Solo, piracy is an option.
Most pirates today work between Eritria and Mumbai. Seychelles is very casual about accepting boats without valid port histories. The pirate ships are often large yachts with fast ciggy boats for docking. Glocks and Kalishies are the norm. The dress is much like the old pirate look -- bandanas, beards, loose shirts, etc.
Pirate robbers make the news often, yet most pirates are smugglers (food, drugs, medicine and health equipment). Countries with US/UN embargoes pay well -- 400% over the white market rate.
Cuba was easy money until 9/11, now we have our Coast Guard pretending to fight terrorism but actually destroying the free market in smuggling.
Malaysia has a growing piracy need as the government gets more religious. Somalia and Sri Lanka both ignore the pirates like Seychelles.
Take a trip to Dubai or Seychelles. Hook up with the right crowd and you can make 6 figures easily.
Arrrrr!
Wikipedia says that most "lethal sonic weapons" are science fiction, although they note that underwater sonic weapons are definitely lethal. High powered sonar has killed fish and whales, and there is speculation that some whales may use sound to stun prey.
John
the firepower of this fully armed and operational cruise ship!
...including the L.A. Sheriff's Department's ultra-powerful sonic blaster, is here. nms
well, I'm guessing that, depending on where you are in the world, Rap music might be substituted.
Watch the Teaser Trailer for "The Lightning Thief" Her
In any event, we're told to just do whatever the pirates say, and don't try to act like a hero.
Pirates are a major concern from the horn of Africa to SE Asia.
Seaborne piracy against transport vessels remains a significant problem (with estimated worldwide losses of $13 to $16 billion USD per year)
More info can be obtained form Wikipedia.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
You don't hear much about them here in St. Louis, MO
That would be because there aren't many of them in St. Louis MO. I'm not sure, but it could be the lack of high seas. ;-)
But why is the rum gone?
But what if the pirates have these: Bose QuietComfort 2 Headphones ??
It's a freaking cruise ship, not a destroyer. Do Ma and Pa really want to spend their 50th wedding anniversary watching people getting slaughtered? Why does everyone on slashdot think life is just one big FPS?
...to stop using their terminology. It's not *piracy*, it's infring... hold on, wait a sec... this is about real pirates, you say?!? Can't ... I don't... how to proceed...
---
Something you left out from the wiki content:
"At maximum volume, it can emit a warning tone that is 151 decibels (1000 W/m) at 1 metre, a level that is very capable of permanently damaging hearing."
I'm not sure I'd call that "an ideal use of this technology in private sector" as you put it... ethical concerns don't just go away if you're "private sector".
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
Shuffleboard? Out. Pirates? In!
Arrr! Avast, me hearties!
Canada has also developed a sonic weapon. However, it's only been tested on relatively friendly crowds, who have often paid for the experience.
--You will rephrase your request for me to go to hell. Goto statements are not acceptable programming constructs
I can see it now - I want to burn a DVD a couple of HBO's Rome episodes and a high-pitch scream comes blaring out of my speakers to thwart myself, a pirate, from burning the disk.
Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. - Peter F. Drucker
Why bother with a non-lethal weapon? These folks doing the pirate stuff are not nice people. Why not mount a couple of .50 caliber machine guns on the cruise ship fore and aft and let the cruise ship crew have some target practice on the guys in the pirate zodiacs so that they will be less of a threat to the next boat or ship that comes by?
That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. The USS Cole was bombed by suicide bombers who piloted a boat straight at the ship and then blew themselves up.
A 150 decibel noise seems like a pretty minor convenience compared to blowing yourself up.
Furthermore- let's say the powerboat Good Times is headed towards the USS Paranoid is just a bunch of folks havin' a good time and not noticing the fact that they're bearing down on a warship (sounds strange given how dumb you'd have to be to do it, but people do leave the 'bridge' or controls of their boat quite often. They also tend to get drunk on their boats quite often too.)
With everyone on board unable to move or think because they're incapacitated with pain (and I presume inability to stand because of the inner ear getting wacked out)...don't you think it would be a tad bit difficult for anyone to get up to the controls and stop the boat or change course before it enters some abritrary "safety zone" and get blown into little fiberglass splinters by one of the Paranoid's deck guns?
God, the whole thing sounds like something crafted on HalfBakery.com. Nevermind that far as anyone can tell, the pirates were outrun, not knocked out by some sci-fi weapon...
Please help metamoderate.
"You know, I really hate it when that happens."
(Think Billy Crystial in SNL circa 1978 or thereabouts)
Anyone who uses Mythbusters as a real source of proof of something working versus not working either don't watch the show, or don't understand the things they're testing.
Its entertainment, not science. The fact that it could be used as a source to declare something an urban legend is a sign of the risk using Wikipedia as an authoritative source.
Hard to believe right? I am from the coastal city of Bosaso on the horn of Africa, and some of my relatives took pride in their high-seas piracy. I have always heard of illegal Japanese and Norwegian ships illegaly fishing in our shores, while Somalis, with not central government and coast guard, sat around in anger and frustration.
9 733&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/
This piracy started as a way to defend our coast-lines from illegal international fishing. Somalia hasn't had a government since 1990, and our fish resources became the loot of international fishing conglomerates. Others have used our coast to dump their waste, even nuclear waste.
After the fall of the Somali government, our coast guard's ships and vessels were looted by tribes. Some of our ships and boats were sold to illegal fishing companies, which didn't go far but stayed to fish in our waters! While other boats stayed in the hands of tribal leaders and warlords who used them for piracy and people smuggling to the middle east, although more often as a vehicle for products and trade with Yemen, our neighbor to the North.
It's funny how companies registered in Democratic developed nations, and pay their taxes there, are the ones looting our natural resources and using our sea and land to dump their waste.
http://gurukul.ucc.american.edu/ted/somalia.htm
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=24
http://somalinet.com/news/world/Somalia/1063
I wish the international community would deploy high-tech sonic weapons to defend us against real theives, not just pirates, blinded and deafended by greed.
- Mahammad Darwish
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity but they've always worked for me" - HST
Because of the Coast Guard. US waters are essentially free of pirates. Now I suppose that could depend on your definition, some peopel considder smugglers that use ships to be pirates and we do have drug smugglers that come in by sea, but in terms of pirates attacking ships it's essentially zero. The Coast Guard has a very active presence and there's little that can be done about them. An attack on a Coast Guard ship is an act of war and they then can (and will) scream to any navy ships in the area for support, and they navy will come and sink your ass (also some CG ships have reasonably large deck guns).
However in many areas of the world, particularly Africa but also South America and Asia to an extent, where there's not sucha powerful sea patrol, it's more common than you'd think.
(Wikipedia notes that "Sound levels of around 200 dB can cause death to humans").
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I'd like to test the effects of this when it's used to play Wayne Newton instead of the high piched sonic squeal. Although, there may not be much difference...
2 cents,
Queen B
HDGary secures my bank
I can't wait for the inevitable Slashdot article on how to make your own LRAD from a Pringles can.
Some links from my research: Hypersonic Sound: Popular Science http://www.prisonplanet.com/audios_the_next_big_th ing.html
Popular Mechanics
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/audio/1 279591.html (explains acoustic heterodyning)
Sorry - I've lost the link that said commercial ships at sea are not allowed to use heavy weapons by international treaty. It was in a story published on Sunday, March 6, 2004 by the Los Angeles Times but that factual tidbit was not from an authority anyway, and no source was provided for it.
Element of surprise and a sharp/blunt object would thoroughly put the balance of power in the hands of the civilians. Well, ideally. I keep forgetting we're a culture of fear now.
Anyone without body armor and their own heavy weaponry should be afraid of a bunch of cutthroats with AKs and RPGs. Those guys shot an RPG right into someone's cabin. The passengers might have strength in numbers, but three guys with 40-round magazines would be able to kill over 100 of them more or less immediately. I don't think the remaining couple hundred would so willing to join the frey.
No, the solution is aggressive defenses manned by the ship's crew, and proper weapons training, at least for the officers.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
The primary complaint is that due to the nature of their format, they are forced to reduce the myth until it is no longer meaningful. Just because they 'did' a myth doesn't mean they satisfied all possibilities. They have more than once 'disproved' myths that are known true, by rephrasing the myth until they were testing something with no meaning at all.
An example of this is the episode on the five second rule. They tested whether bacteria transfers in five seconds. What they should have tested, is whether there was harmful bacteria present. Yes, it transfers. Yes, the food is still most likely safe to eat, due to the lack of harmful bacteria.
Never confuse volume with power.
Haaaaaadoooken!
I've actually seen one of these on a US navy aircraft carrier. I was on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson when we were going through the Suez Canal, and one of the officers was showing off this device towards the forward end of the flight deck which looked like a speaker on a stand. It had a panel with a bunch of standard phrases and warnings and different languages to broadcast voice messages. It also had settings for unpleasant noises to ward the target off. He only demonstrated it with the volume turned down very low, but he basically said that with the volume turned up it's pretty painful.
In any event, we're told to just do whatever the pirates say, and don't try to act like a hero.
Screw that. That just encourages them to continue attacking. If people would fight back, maybe this would end.
I mean, look: These are the pirates - and their pirate "ship" - that attacked the cruise ship. The news is calling this a "speedboat". It looks like the ratty, $500 fishing boat the poor people down the street from me own.
Don't tell me you couldn't fend off these rascals with the appropriate weapons. I know I could. Sure, they've got machine guns and rocket fired grenandes. Big whoop. The ships they're attacking are huge. I mean, I'd sit on top of the ship and pick these twerps off with a high powered rifle before they even got close enough to launch their attacks. Or toss a few grenandes back at them. Get one in that boat and - poof - no more pirates.
Do this a few times and watch how fast the pirate problem disappears.
Most cruise ships do not have an armory, a few very well may but the next question then would be "is anyone trained to use the weapons?" Cruise lines generally don't like paying their crews very much, at least the folks one doesn't see, and I just can't see an investment in "security" when it is a relatively simple matter to change cruise routes. The last time a cruise ship was taken by pirates/terrorists was in 1985 when the Achille Lauro was "seajacked" by four terrorists. How can 4 guys take control of a cruise ship with over 400 people on board? It is amazing how easy it is to pacify tourists with a few AKs and some grenades. Shipping companies that transit areas of high pirate activity rarely arm their crews, but many opt for other defensive systems. These include, but are not limited to: electrified railings, audio weapons, and trained security personnel. Some areas, like the Straits of Malacca, have such a high rate of piracy that ship owners are hiring ex-military types as armed security. Maritime piracy is an interesting issue, the well organized gangs in South East Asia may have ties to elements of the Chinese military, or the government of Indonesia. Entire ships have "disappeared" only to be spotted undergoing a paint job and name change in a remote bay. Naturally this is not what the pirates were after in this case, they were out to take as much as they could as quickly as they could and then get off the ship.
Karma
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I don't know about your parents, but my Ma and Pa would be activly participating in the pirate shoot, and my Grandparents would be cheering.
Consider what the parent said. These are known pirates. They are known to commit such crimes as murder, torture, rape(if there's any females on the boat), kidnapping, etc...
Marine movement being what it is, it's mostly impossible for the authorities to track the pirates down after the fact, especially if they're based out of a consenting harbor. Which is a big part of the problem, as these people are often part of small, tight-knit towns/villages, thus the whole village will help cover up their activities.
Which would you rather have? A half hour of gunfire, or a three day run huddled in the middle of the boat? A group of pirates, dead, unable to pirate anymore, or a group that have learned some of what doesn't work, ready to try again next month?
If I'm on a cruise through any of these areas(and I include the caribbean), I know that I'd be far more able to relax if I know that the crew has some heavy weapons and know how to use them. Pirates are known to be at work in many areas of the world, and many people recommend having at least small arms available in yachts. It's like a mugging/kidnapping, if you submit to your attacker, rather than lessoning the damage you'll sustain, you simply make it easier for the evil men to do whatever they want to do to you.
I don't read AC A human right
Excuse me, but I believe the barbarians are the pirates attacking the cruise ship in the first place! It would be pathetic if you took the ramblings of a 14 year old Slashdotter who played too much Counter Strike to use as a stereotype for all Americans.
The more you know, the less you understand.
The article seems to omit the fact that this is possible and effective against the pirates, because they play COUNTRY 'MUSIC' through this thing.
That was the first model. The new enhanced (super-secret) model plays WESTERN too!
You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
Sir Peter Blakes problem was that he was on a yacht and he fought back at the wrong time. He had already lost before he began fighting. Being on a cruise ship with the pirates at a safe distance...totally different tactical situation.
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
No, no, playing Country music beamed at pirates, is torture. That is not allowed under the Geneva convention.
BTW, the Nairobi hospital in Kenia reported a large increase in Somalis with banana leaves stuck in their ears...
Oh well, what the hell...
To be honest, everyone I know with a yacht in deep waters already carries decent guns for protection. It is pretty easy to dump them if you're boarded by a coast guard or naval vessel.
I guess that you've never been boarded. I have. After that experience, I wouldn't take the chance of getting caught with an illegal gun. You're under constant surveillance from the momement they decide that your boat looks interesting. You might not have any idea that a cutter is approaching until it's right in front of you. They can come up real fast on a yacht puttering along at five knots.
You *might* have the opportunity to go below and dig out your illegal gun. You *might* have the opportunity to toss it out a port hole on the lee side of the boarding party. But don't count in it.
On the other hand, I've had friends who were attacked by pirates off the coast of Venezuela. It was a close call for them.
I suggest keeping plenty of flares stocked for a flaregun and travel in groups when possible...
The Company that makes LRAD technology is called American Technology Corporation.
Looks like they are losing money but small enough that something like this might cause the stock to jump!
Full disclosure: I'm in.
Watch and learn, kids. Next, the SPAM will start going out, touting the stock (not from me!). In a couple months, the bottom will drop out. But between now and then, there's money to be made.
Right. He engaged in hand to hand combat. Good way to get killed unless you're well trained.
When you're perched on a large ship, watching this dinky little "pirate ship" approach - for crying out loud, it was barely big enough to hold the four pirates - you totally have the tactical advantage. Unless you're not paying attention to your radar, you should see these fools coming a good long time before they're close enough to launch their attack, let alone board your ship.
If they've boarded your ship, everything changes, of course.