Life, Death and Iguanas: Aug 9, 2013

Friday, August 9, 2013

A Writer and His Deadline

Let’s face it—every writer needs a deadline. And so I tell you—it’s 11AM, I have spent an hour or two surfing for something interesting to write about. News flash—the world is in terrible shape.

Ooops—sorry. According to my friend Rafael, “terrible” along with words like “awful” and “horrible” are words to be avoided. Why? Because they carry a disproportionate emotional weight. You had a terrible day at the office? What happened—a coworker went postal, pulled out the semiautomatic, and shot up the office, leaving another coworker to die in your arms?

I considered briefly telling you about Wisconsin, in case you’ve missed my rants. And in fact, I even read up on something called a long range acoustic device (LRAD). I know about such a thing because I was on Facebook, looking at the following photo:

Beneath the photo was a reference to the LRAD, with the news that one had been used in the capitol yesterday. Right, so I trotted over to Wikipedia, and here’s what they say:

In 2004, Carl Gruenler, a former vice president of military and government operations for American Technology Corporation said that being within 100 metres (330 ft) of the LRAD is extremely painful, and that it was designed for use in short bursts at 300 metres (980 ft), to give targeted people a headache. He said that "you definitely don't want to be" within 100 m; and, that the device will cause permanent auditory damage.[3] LRAD officials deny such common uses, claiming that the device is not a weapon, rather it is a "directed-sound communications system", and that it can damage hearing at 15 metres (49 ft).

To be fair, there are many varieties of LRADs. And apparently, yesterday in the Wisconsin State Capitol it was a smaller version of the device that was used. But that begs the point—why use it at all? The rotunda, the location of the protest, is round and very echo-y. (Or maybe echophonous, as in cacophonous?) Actually, even a megaphone is overkill.

Well, as you can see in the video below, it’s a controversial device.

It’s become progressively more repressive, the police response to the protesters. First they couldn’t assemble—they had to get a permit. Then bystanders were threatened with arrest. Then people were informed—taking photos or video was not allowed. And now this—the use of a very nice tool to communicate with someone two miles away, but torture to anyone nearby.

As it happens, I am particularly sensitive to sound, and especially at this time. As I write, the street outside is being pounded with jackhammers, a portable generator is roaring away, and a large scooper is tossing chunks of asphalt into a truck. And this evening, a few short hours after the workers have left, the partier will have arrived, to start a street fair.

I wrote about it before; here’s what I said:

The United Nations and the European Court of Human Rights have banned the use of loud music in interrogations, but it is still being widely used. The term torture is sometimes used to describe the practice. While it is acknowledged by US interrogation experts that it causes discomfort, it has also been characterized by them as causing no "long term effects."[1]

Ya—enough! Would you like to see some totally wonderful art? Check out the Danish artist Peter Callesen….