Free Republic

The maker of a drone that fires pepper spray bullets says it has received its first order for the machine. South Africa-based Desert Wolf told the BBC it had secured the sale of 25 units to a mining company after showing off the tech at a trade show in London. It is marketing the device as a "riot control copter" that can tackle crowds "without endangering the lives of security staff". But the International Trade Union Confederation is horrified by the idea. "This is a deeply disturbing and repugnant development and we are convinced that any reasonable government will move...

Robocop c. 1924

G20 protesters blasted by sonic cannon US police spark outrage by using wartime acoustic weapon to disperse G20 protesters in Pittsburgh Only a few hundreds protesters took to the streets of Pittsburgh to mark the opening day of the G20 summit of world leaders, but the police were taking no chances. Sonic weapons or long-range acoustic devices have been used by the US military overseas, notably against Somali pirates and Iraqi insurgen

Beware of the Brown Note. That's the word among some political activists as the Democratic National Convention nears. As legend has it, the Brown Note is an infrasonic frequency believed to resonate through human body parts and cause a loss of bowel control. Some protesters are convinced that Denver police will amplify such low frequencies to subdue them in August. "They'll bring out all the technologies they can get their hands on," says activist Ben Yager. "I wouldn't put anything past police in terms of crowd control." Sounds paranoid? Maybe. But Mayor John Hickenlooper's administration is only fueling conspiracy theories...