Introducing the LRAD Sound Cannon

Introducing the LRAD Sound Cannon

By Max Blumenthal, Al-Akhbar English
18 November 11

Tested on Palestinians, perfected on #OWS protesters: Introducing the LRAD Sound Cannon.

Yesterday, the New York Police Department deployed a strange new weapon against the tens of thousands of demonstrators who converged downtown for the largest protest in Occupy Wall Street's two month history: the LRAD sound cannon. NYPD officers reportedly blasted Occupy protesters with rays from the LRAD cannon while they sang the American national anthem near Lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park (photos here), establishing an atmosphere of fear and intimidation that lasted throughout the evening.

Designed and manufactured by the San Diego-based LRAD Corporation, which was formerly known as the American Technology Corporation, the Long Range Acoustic Device sound weapon is the latest innovation in crowd suppression technology. It is portable and powerful, capable of transmitting a focused ray of 140 decibels of sound at a crowd of people, generating painful cranial vibrations so profound ear plugs become useless. According to LRAD promotional material, the sonic weapon "provides military personnel with a powerful, penetrating warning tone that can be followed by clear voice broadcasts in host nation languages to warn and shape the behavior of potential threats."

In June, LRAD sold $293,000 worth of its 100X and 500X sound canon systems to the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The contract was part of Israeli Army Commander Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi's investment in $35 million in suppression systems in anticipation of widespread unrest in the occupied West Bank that was to have been prompted by the Palestinian Authority's statehood bid at the United Nations.

more: http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/328-121/8476-introducing-the-lrad-sound-cannon

How did it work, I wonder.

Using it on people?

"As the blogger Ayesha Kazmi recently wrote to Occupy movement participants, "So welcome to the War on Terror. Your first lesson, if your views happen to counter the established narrative, expect to be dehumanised, then treated like a terrorist."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSMyY3_dmrM

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/24/g20-pittsburgh-protest-police

http://gizmodo.com/5369190/lrad-sound-cannon-used-on-pittsburgh-g20-protesters

Bystander Sues City of Pittsburgh Over Pain and Hearing Loss Caused by Use of Long Range Acoustic Device at G-20 Protest

http://www.aclupa.org/pressroom/bystandersuespittsburghove.htm

Who is authorizing this?

this thing should be made illegal to use in the USA immediately. the fact that that is not happening speaks volumes about what our government REALLY thinks of us.

about their use in Pittsburgh, as the youtube shows. There are a couple more out there of that as well.

traffic in its tracks.

Yeah that's enough to permanently damage your hearing, even with a short exposure. It's like a gunshot going off right next to your ear. All part of the "non lethal" weaponry right? OWS people might want to start handing out gun range ear muffs if they're going to be using this fucking thing against them.

It causes your whole fucking head to resonate. Perhaps some sort of sound-absorbing foam 'ski mask' would work?

....create an equally loud computer controlled sampling device designed to cancel-out the offending audio frequency(s)?

...besides RT (which had no images of its use) that it was employed. I don't doubt that it was there: http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/lrad-explains-sound-cannon-use-at-occupy-wall-street.php - just that it was used to drown out protestors singing the Star-Spangled Banner yesterday. If anyone has a credible source with first hand reports of this incident I'd accept it as fact.

they not only admit it - but defend it -- http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/lrad-explains-sound-cannon-use-at-occupy-wall-street.php

I saw that one because I checked DU too. The company that manufactures the device is defending its distribution. There is nothing in that article that says it was actually used yesterday as a sound cannon in either that report, the one from RT, and your OP which I suspect is echoing the RT crawl without anyone actually saying it was used. RT seems to have a really bad habit of just making shit up. They report bullshit propaganda. Their report on this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AA9jJMDBAQ

i don't know what your problem is but you're quite rude. would you like to deny that they hauled it out? whatever. i'm putting you on ignore - go do your own research. take your issues with RT somewhere else. take it up with the reporter or something - not out on me. goodbye.

I wasn't rude at all. I posted a link that questioned your OP account and demonstrated I had done my research on the claim. You don't like it and so you put me on ignore. I think my taking issue with a report that no one else could confirm is an entirely valid question. I think it's frankly rude to post demonstratively false news and expect no one to question it.

I apologize if you don't appreciate my brusk application of my journalistic training to public postings - I quite obviously posted and summarized what you posted in response. You didn't read my post. That's the just plain obvious.

I would be perfectly happy to condemn its use should they try to use it again - which the Pittsburgh Police Department did in 2009.

Maybe it's better we don't see each other since you seem to be repulsed by facts - and I try to deal in them.

Goodbye :hi:

And not as a weapon...

your vendetta against RT is out of place here - sources were listed - you're free to ignore them or say they don't live up to your high and mighty standard - whatever. your attitude is cocky and obnoxious.

I can't vouch for the rest of the article - but the idea they used it against protestors singing the national anthem is offensive and false. :)

the least, and NOT false.

Why do civilian police have these military weapons? Do YOU know, because since it was first reported at Oakland and I reported in one of my OPS as I watched the events there and a livestream reporter stated, with shock, that they believed the police were using one there.

Also reported in NY on Twitter by a protester who got a photo of the police setting it up. See photo:



Photo of Sound Cannon:



NYPD Using LRAD Sound Cannons Against Protesters



As I said, credible reporters from Oakland also saw these military 'non-lethal' weapons during the brutal attacks by the police there the night they nearly killed Scott Olsen.

Not to mention the fact that the Military is now 'deploying' units to the 'Homeland' armed with 'non-lethal' weapons to handle 'civil unrest'.

So I'm not sure what your point is, this is a disgrace and thankfully at last, more and more people are learning just how far this government has gotten out of control. Thanks to this movement, maybe something can be done about it, if it is not already too late.

Sid

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Sid

Like military grade earplugs, or just a flat solid object to reflect the sound back?
Once the masses find this out, this will be a very expensive albatross that law enforcement/military have "invested" in.

compunctions about wailing on one's fellow citizens

with the threats of intimidation on display (and the unmistakable examples as deployed in Pittsburgh). Quibbling about intent here seems to be part of the conditioning process some seem willing to help participate in.

Brrr....thankfully we are waking up and resisting.

doing crowd control in Pittsburgh with the jackboots advancing along side the unit. (see the last couple minutes to hear them commanding the protesters). Very sinister shit.

LRAD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=bX7gIim2dug

Someone in the comments section on youtube mentioned that Water Cannons were used in the 1960's against protesters. I Bet a water cannon would be affective against this thing. I wonder how water tight those electronics are?

LRAD 100X Water Immersion Demo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIOsKQqHLzY&feature=related

eom.

There is always oil and fire... :P (KIDDING!!)

Hey if you can afford it why not?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCPhNg_t9ZE

to disperse protesters. If my memory serves correctly, it was a subsonic frequency of 16 or 17 hz which causes the human sphincter muscle to relax. A shitty mess ensued.