The latest weapon in the (kinder, gentler) arsenal of "soft fascism."
MCM Sonic Warfare Erupts in Pittsburgh, Honduras By David Hambling http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/09/sonic-warfare-erupts-in-pittsburgh-honduras/ Police in Pittsburgh are using sound blasters and other non-lethal weaponry to ward off protesters at the G-20 summit. The sonic weapon is the LRAD or Long Range Acoustic Device, a super loud-hailer deployed by U.S. forces and famously used to fight off pirates. According to the Guardian, LRAD is being used in two ways: as a megaphone to order protesters to disperse, and, when they disobey, as an "ear-splitting siren" to drive them away. This has happened repeatedly, with the crowd assembling again a few streets away. It's one of a number of controversial tactics being employed in the city; check out this video of a seeming "snatch-and-grab" arrest in the middle of a demonstration. The sonic weaponry appears to be having a much greater effect thousands of miles from Pittsburgh, in Honduras. A siege situation has developed in the capital Tegucigalpa, where ousted President Manuel Zelaya is holed up in the Brazilian Embassy. The security forces can't launch an assault, but they are stepping up the pressure with sound blasters and psychological warfare tactics. Forced into exile in a coup three months ago, Zelaya sneaked back into the country on Monday. He gave speeches to crowds of supporters from an embassy balcony, calling for a peaceful solution to the current crisis. Recognizing the risk of a popular response, the coup leaders sent in security forces to clear the area using tear gas and water cannon. According to the Guardian, twenty people were injured and at least 170 detained following the disturbance; the BBC say that at least one person died. The embassy is now surrounded. Water, electricity and telephone lines have been cut off. Embassy staff were permitted to leave, but access is now restricted. According to the BBC the embassy occupants have no soap, towels or fresh clothes and are surviving on biscuits. These are fairly routine methods of making the subjects of a siege feel isolated and uncomfortable, but an added dimension has been added by the use of noise. According to Reuters, a truck-mounted speaker was used "to blast the embassy with harsh sounds." The Guardian describes the speakers as being used to generate "high-pitched noise." The Miami Herald cites witness reports that "soldiers used a device that looked like a large satellite dish to emit a loud shrill noise." The device seems to have spooked Zelaya; in the Herald report, he claims that he is under attack by some sort of radiation weapon. This reminds me of someone I talked to who once told some protesters that the LRAD sonic blaster emitted radiation that would shrivel their testicles. He was impressed at how fast they got out of the way. The Herald quotes a police spokesman as saying that no such device is in use: "The only elements surrounding that embassy are police and military, and they have no such apparatus." The use of speakers in siege situation harks back to the situation in Panama in 1989 when President Noriega took refuge in the Vatican Embassy. U.S. forces blasted him with heavy rock music (which was eventually turned off after a complaint by the Pope). The idea is to cause sleep deprivation and increase the target's stress levels. The FBI used the same tactic at the Waco siege in 1993, but with a wider variety of sounds including the squeal of rabbits being killed. It was even proposed that they should use a Russian technique known as "acoustic psycho-correction," a form of subliminal messaging in which commands are hidden in white noise or other sound to influence the target's unconscious. However. The FBI was skeptical , and was concerned that the device might have unpredictable effects. Speakers are also used to subject detainees to constant music in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. The endless loop of Barney the Dinosaur received a lot of publicity, but interrogators also use Eminem, AC/DC and Bruce Springsteen. One theory has it that the music used contains hidden messages as a form of acoustic psycho-correction. Another is that the music itself is a form of "no touch torture." The political situation in Honduras remains in limbo. The interim government that forced Zelaya out has not won international recognition. The World Bank has suspended financial aid and EU countries have withdrawn their ambassadors. But equally there is little international pressure for the interim government to stand down. Zelaya has called in president Obama to apply sanctions, as Honduras relies on the U.S. for 75% of its trade, but there is no sign of this happening. Meanwhile, Zelaya is talking to the interim government , but they insist that this is not about returning him to power. They're probably hoping that if the siege continues long enough, and they keep the psychological pressure up on Zelaya, he will eventually cave in. ALSO: * Mercenaries, Sonic Blasters No Match for Pirates * Killer Drones to Get Sound System * US 'Sonic Blasters' Sold To China * Sonic Blaster Nails Me * British TV Boffins Battle Sonic Blaster * Admiral's 'Urgent' Plea: Pirate-Fighting Sonic Blasters * Sonic Blaster Deployed to Political Events, Beach Competition Š * Nuke Lab Builds 'Beating Drum' Sonic Blaster * I Was a Sonic Blaster Guinea Pig Tags: honduras, LRAD, zelaya * Post Comment | Permalink submit Digg Yahoo! Buzz Stumble ShareThis Comments (8) Sign in to comment Username: Password: Remember me Forgot your sign in information? Not a member? If you're not yet registered with Wired.com, join now so you can share your thoughts and opinions. It's fast and free. * Posted by: TheStandardDeviant | 09/25/09 | 1:25 pm * "Not so bad?" Wait until they turn it up to 11. Can any of the engineers here tell me if a pair of high-quality noice-canceling headphones that one wears on a firing range would be an effective countermeasure? Or would the LRAD eventually blow out its circuits? (I guess at 11 you would hear it from the inside out anyway, right?) * Posted by: TheStandardDeviant | 09/25/09 | 1:26 pm * /noise * Dagnabit. * Posted by: Cerejota | 09/25/09 | 1:30 pm * The Honduras thing is the same technique used in Panama to much effect against Noriega, and that led to ruggerized speakers being deployed with psyops units and to the development of LRAD. * The use of this technique provides a further hint about US involvement in the coup. Probably by rouge actors willing to destabilize the Obama Doctrine. * Posted by: lumberjack | 09/25/09 | 1:37 pm * So the thing works on land too; I didn't see a single pirate. * Posted by: xenoclone | 09/25/09 | 2:14 pm * Why are protesters at the G20 a bad thing worthy of disruption? * Posted by: csmuncyphoto | 09/25/09 | 2:41 pm * Just so you know, power at the embassy was turned back on shortly after it was cut off, according to an interview with Zelaya on CNN. * Posted by: csmuncyphoto | 09/25/09 | 2:44 pm * Another item to note; this is the first time (to my knowledge) that an LRAD's been directed at American citizens. When I first saw stories being written on these things, I figured it was only a matter of time before they would be used on protests and rallies in the states, rather than just as a bit of anti-pirate gear off the Somali coast. * Posted by: grimatongueworm | 09/25/09 | 4:53 pm * Great. Soon, they'll be using the ADS microwave beams against US Citizens. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/29/60minutes/main3891865.shtml Subscribe to WIRED Renew Give a Gift International Orders * Editor: Noah Shachtman | E-mail * Reporter: Nathan Hodge | E-mail * Reporter: Sharon Weinberger | E-mail * Reporter: David Axe | E-mail * Reporter: David Hambling | E-mail * Contributor: Nick Thompson | E-mail * Contributor: Jeffrey Lewis | E-mail * Contributor: Jason Sigger | E-mail * Contributor: Kris Alexander | E-mail * Contributor: Michael Tanji | E-mail * Contributor: Adam Rawnsley * Contributor: Katie Drummond | Email * Contributor: Michael Peck | Email Send us a tip * Iran's Secret Nuke Sites: Will the World Finally Get Serious? * Sonic Warfare Erupts in Pittsburgh, Honduras * Is Now the Time to Cut a Nuke Deal with Tehran? (Updated) * Iran Has a Secret Nuke Plant * Russia's Hookers-and-Hidden-Cameras Unit Strikes Again * Military Radical Calls for Cyberoffensives - Even Against America * Darpa Spy Cams to Find Threats in 'Weak Evidence' * Video: Pentagon's Cyborg Beetle Takes Flight * Five for Fighting 9/24/09 * CIA's Epic Fail Turns 60; Blown Soviet A-Bomb Case Still Stings * Danger Room Invalid Argument The Facebook Connect cross-domain receiver URL (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/09/sonic-warfare-erupts-in-pittsburgh-honduras/?fbc_channel=1) must have the application's Connect URL (http://www.facebook.com/) as a prefix. You can configure the Connect URL in the Application Settings Editor. Wired on Facebook Become a Fan Wired has 29,988 Fans John Danielle Sam Luca Steven Marta Mihai Bradley Michael Moff * Af/Pak * Air Force * Army and Marines * Bio * Bizarro * Blog Bidness * Chem * China * Crime and Homeland Security * DarpaWatch * Drones * Five for Fighting * Gadgets and Gear * Info War * Iraq * Israel * Lasers and Ray Guns * Less-lethal * Military Life * Miscellaneous * Navy * Nukes * Paper Pushers, Beltway Bandits, Politicians * Rogue States * Russia * Science! * Spies, Secrecy and Surveillance * Tactics, Strategy and Logistics * Terrorists, Guerillas, Pirates * Weapons and Ammo * Chem Bio & Nukes Africa Agony of A-Stan Ammo and Munitions Bizarro Blog Bidness Bomb Squad Cash Rules Everything Around Me Chem-Bio Cloak and Dagger Crazy Ivans DarpaWatch Drones Gadgets and Gear Ground Vehicles History Lesson Homeland Security Human Terrain Info War Iraq's Insanity Lasers and Ray Guns Less-lethal Mercs Missiles Money Money Money Mullah Menace Nukes Paper Pushers & Powerpoint Rangers Perils of Pakistan Planes Planes, Copters, Blimps Politricks Rogue States Sabras Science! Ships and Subs Space Strategery T is for Terror Video Fix War Update Wireless Placeshifter Play your TV anywhere on PC & Phone Save $70 with HAVA Wireless HD now! - www.MyHava.com/Save$70 Ads by Google * Subscription: Subscribe | Give a Gift | Renew | International | Questions | Change Address * Quick Links: Contact Us | Sign In/Register | Newsletter | RSS Feeds | Tech Jobs | Wired Mobile | FAQ | Site Map --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [email protected] OR go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
