Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Am I an Airline Passenger or Criminal Defendant?

Okay, this is so far out there, I seriously thought a lot of people were taken in a by a hoax until I went to the companie's web site and saw they issued a statement on this!

Lamperd Less Lethal is marketing a system of electric shock inducing bracelets they think all airline passengers should wear. Yep, if you got on a plane, you would have one of these little bracelets on that a flight attendant could activate and give you a pretty good shock, much like a Taser. Lamperd even has a fear mongering promotional video promoting the system (although it appears to be an older video, the update on their web site is dated July 8th, 2008 so they are still promoting this product).



Yeah, I can't see any problem with this can you? Flight attendants are highly trained law enforcement officers who would never accidentally shock someone. I imagine people with pacemakers and certain medical conditions would have to get waivers from wearing these (and terrorists are far too stupid to think of getting fake/forged medical papers...I bet the only people not wearing them on a targeted flight would be the terrorists!) Oh, and no chance someone could gain control of the system and use it in the hijacking. I have seen way too many "unhackable" systems hacked.

Another feature of the bracelet is the ability to track passengers in the airport. They will know what shops you visited, how long you were in the restroom, what restaurant you ate at and anything else about your movements from the time you check in to the time you leave your destination airport after your flight.

Fortunately, it looks like the TSA is not on board with this yet, but I will be keeping an eye on them.

The loss of liberty is a gradual process...first you are asked to wear one on a plane. Then you are asked to wear one in certain government buildings. Then...well, you get the idea.

Think I am going to develop an exclusionary medical condition real fast!

6 comments:

OrbsCorbs said...

They could shackle everyone to the airplane floor with chains, like slaves on Roman galleys. If you need to use the restroom, an armed guard escorts you.

Or just administer a general anesthetic to all airline passengers. They'd save $ on meals and other amenities, and they could stack people up like cordwood.

I can hardly wait for transporters to appear on the scene. With all the alien technology that the government has gleaned from crashed UFOs, you'd think we'd already be zapping here and there like crazy. I suspect a plot to suppress the technology in order to prop up the money-making-machine airline industry.

Anonymous said...

Oh for Pete's sake. This would never fly, no pun intended.

kkdither said...

That's just crazy talk. I'm not letting them zap me! I hear you lose total body function when you get zapped. I always have that "less-than-fresh" feeling already after a flight.

Orbs, your suggestion made me smile. I could use some general anesthetic when flying. (I don't do well through turbulence) They could just add it to the stale air. Not a total knock out though, just some happy gas.

OrbsCorbs said...

I've never flown - at least not in an airplane.

Another suggestion is to pass out handguns to all of the passengers. That'll even things up.

In all honesty, I think 9/11 ruined hijacking for terrorists. I assume there'll still be attempts, but I doubt you'd get an entire plane full of people to sit still for it again (at least not in this country). If you know that someone taking over the plane means certain death, why would you acquiesce? And people are SO pissed off at the inconveniences of airline security that they'd probably love to rip a would-be hijacker apart. I'd be more concerned about onboard bombs and attempts to shoot down planes.

hale-bopp said...

Orbs,the anesthetic idea has also been floated...again, I bet there would have to be medical exceptions and guess who would go after the fake documents go get those exceptions (apologies for "helping the terrorists" since they would never think of getting fake documents if I didn't suggest this tactic).

And you hit the nail on the head...a hijacking like 9/11 was a one shot deal. Even later in that day, when people knew what was going on, passengers aboard Flight 93 stood up and put a stop to it.

I am glad even TBV sees the insanity in this!

AvengingAngel said...

Can we just do it to whiny kids and obnoxious drunks? Please?

Alright, I know, its not a good idea.