New "Safety" Bracelet for Travelers a Real Shocker

Wow, heres a new way to control the traveling populace. I thought you might all find this interesting:

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 and 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

Orginal Article: Washington Times

I guess this would get the public used to the idea of personal electronic identification. The first step to the RFID Chip anyone?

I think that this is much ado about nothing.

For one thing, there would be a huge liability for the airlines if this were implemented and some flight attendant lit up a passenger for say, smoking in the restroom. That's but one example.

Next, the flying public would quickly become the conference call, take the bus, train, car, pack mule, hiking public and the airlines would be limited to offering services to the S&M crowd.

Third, one of the commenters on the blog has the perfect response to this allegation.

S&Tspokesman says:

The hypothetical use of the bracelet would have been for transporting already apprehended prisoners and detainees at prisons and border patrol facilities, and DHS was looking to see if there were potential air travel applications for apprehended suspects.

This concept was never funded or supported by the DHS or TSA and hasn’t even been discussed for two years. The letter circulating throughout the blogosphere from Paul Ruwaldt was not addressed to Lamberd and merely states the DHS was interested in learning more about the technology. Neither side followed up.

DHS/TSA does NOT support the asserted use and has not pursued the development of such technology.

July 8, 2008 at 5:08 p.m.

/5bwhna

This is the most logical explanation, as the American public would never stand for this kind of device to be used on their dime.

I can just see it now. People buy their ticket, pay extra to check a bag, have their taser bracelet attached by security personnel, stand in line for an hour, take off their shoes, walk through the medal detector, get called out for special screening, walk to the waiting area, board the plane and pay five dollars for four ounces of cola and a one ounce bag of salted peanuts, while the passenger in front of you reclines his seat back into your lap for a four hour flight.

Flying is already at the bottom of my list of desirable activities. How long do you think Americans would continue to fly under the circumstances described anywhere above?


[edit on 2008/7/9 by GradyPhilpott]