In the realm of REALLY FUCKING STUPID ideas......

[patgund]

This may just rank as one of the more assine ones I've heard of in a while.

Want some torture with your peanuts? (Washington Times)

"A senior government official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expressed great interest in a so-called safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device, similar to that of a police Taser®. According to this promotional video found at the Lamperd Less Lethal website, the bracelet would be worn by all airline passengers.

This bracelet would:

• take the place of an airline boarding pass
• contain personal information about the traveler
• be able to monitor the whereabouts of each passenger and his/her luggage
• shock the wearer on command, completely immobilizing him/her for several minutes
 
The Electronic ID Bracelet, as it’s referred to as, would be worn by every traveler “until they disembark the flight at their destination.”  Yes, you read that correctly. Every airline passenger would be tracked by a government-funded GPS, containing personal, private and confidential information, and that it would shock the customer worse than an electronic dog collar if he/she got out of line?

Comments

[peaseblossom03.livejournal.com]

Yeah, because I was just wondering what could be done to make air travel even LESS enjoyable.

[mama-hogswatch.livejournal.com]

Do you ever wonder if maybe there's a reason the government would prefer that people not travel?

[patgund.livejournal.com]

Easier to control a population that's less mobile. And between increasing costs and restrictions on air travel, gas prices for road travel, and decaying train infrastructure in the US, the population is less mobile now than before.

I've commented before that it seems almost every time I come back to the US, even if it's a quick trip over the border to BC, the customs people and border patrol all seem like they want to punish people for having left the United States.

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

I keep saying, they want to keep the cattle in their pens.

Well, as long as I'm being penned up, I might as well be comfortable, ergo the new house with the posh fixings. The TV room is what my Worldcon budget went to instead, for instance.

Oh, and changing your name, even with a good reason like divorce, also gets you treated like a criminal at a reputable bank like mine. Sigh.

Meanwhile, back at the original post... that sounds muchly like flight attendants' after-work bullshitting, more than a real proposition.

[firedrake-mor.livejournal.com]

rianfach had that problem at the grocery store she's been shopping at at least twice a week for 20 years. When she changed checking accounts after the divorce, she had to be "verified" through ten transactions before they'd let her write a check for more than the cost of the purchase again.

As for being "Penned Up": and sociologists wonder why we're increasingly inclined to "cocoon" ourselves in our own homes. As for kids playing outside? When it's 108 degrees, video games are a LOT more appealing. And, if we're penned in, our access to information is easier to control.

[firedrake-mor.livejournal.com]

Oh, HAIL no! Gee, and here I was hoping they'd be bracelets that would shock anyone who grabbed them and tried to use them as a hostage!

You've noticed that tendency among border guards, too, eh?

Oddly enough, the friendly TSA agents I ever found were in Birmingham, Alabama: friendly, courteous, personable . . . I wasn't sure they actually worked for the government.

[danceswthcobras.livejournal.com]

Um, yeah, because nothing could possibly malfunction and give somebody a heart attack when it goes to maximum voltage and won't shut off.

Welcome to Amerika, formerly the land of the free and the brave.

[electorprince.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a great idea, as long as those wearing the bracelets are under the age of 12.