Awesome Weapons:: Pentagon holds off on using ray gun to keep order

Pentagon holds off on using ray gun to keep order::Perception of civilian torture feared

Here is the link to this AP article from the Gazette


WASHINGTON - Saddam Hussein had been gone a few weeks, and U.S. forces in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, were being called unwelcome invaders. One of the first big anti-U.S. protests of the war escalated into shootouts that left 18 Iraqis dead and 78 wounded. It would be a familiar scene in Iraq’s next few years: Crowds gather, insurgents mingle with civilians. Troops open fire, and innocents die. All the while, according to internal military correspondence obtained by The Associated Press, U.S. commanders were telling Washington that many civilian casualties could be avoided by using a nonlethal weapon developed during the past decade. Military leaders, including one at Air Force Space Command in Colorado Springs, repeatedly and urgently requested — and were denied — the device, which uses energy beams instead of bullets and lets troops break up crowds without firing a shot. It’s a ray gun that neither kills nor maims, but the Pentagon has refused to deploy it out of concern the weapon might be seen as a torture device. Perched on a Humvee or flatbed truck, the Active Denial System gives people hit by the invisible beam the sense their skin is on fire. They move out of the way quickly and without injury. On April 30, 2003, two days after the first Fallujah incident, Gene McCall, then the top scientist at Air Force Space Command, typed a two-sentence e-mail to Gen. Richard Myers, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman. “I am convinced that the tragedy at Fallujah would not have occurred if an Active Denial System had been there,” McCall told Myers, according to the e-mail obtained by AP. The system should become “an immediate priority,” McCall said. Myers referred McCall’s message to his staff, according to the e-mail chain. McCall, who retired from government in November 2003, is convinced the system would have saved lives in Iraq.
A few months after McCall’s message, in August 2003, Richard Natonski, a Marine Corps brigadier general who had just returned from Iraq, filed an “urgent” request with officials in Washington for the energybeam device. The device would minimize what Natonski described as the “CNN Effect” — the instantaneous relay of images depicting U.S. troops as aggressors.
A year later, Natonski, by then promoted to major general, again asked for the system, saying a compact and mobile version was “urgently needed,” particularly in urban settings. Natonski, now a three-star general, is the Marine Corps’ deputy commandant for plans, policies and operations. He did not respond to an interview request. In October 2004, the commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force “enthusiastically” endorsed Natonski’s request. Lt. Gen. James Amos said it was “critical” for Marines in Iraq to have the system. Senior officers in Iraq have continued to make the case. One December 2006 request noted that as U.S. forces are drawn down, the nonlethal weapon “will provide excellent means for economy of force.” The main reason the tool has been missing in action is public perception. With memories of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal still fresh, the Pentagon is reluctant to give troops a space-age device that could be misconstrued as a torture machine. “We want to just make sure that all the conditions are right, so when it is able to be deployed the system performs as predicted — that there isn’t any negative fallout,” said Col. Kirk Hymes, head of the Defense Department’s Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate.

Now- for all of the people who think that carry weapons on the ship is a bad idea- this sort of weapon could be the answer in the future- a non-lethal but extremely painful ray that could deter boarding terrorists and pirates. I think that science will be able to develop small scale versions of this technology within the next 5 years if the pentagon will ever approve of its use. A trial by fire in Iraq could send us into an era of non-lethal combat-- This could help keep our forces overseas out of trouble and it could also be essential in protecting ships.

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New Gadgets: Navigating Through Ice Just Got Easier

I got home from my day job today and got my new copy of Maritime Reporter and Engineering News (http://www.marinelink.com/) I tore through it as usual searching for strange news and gadgets. I saw something that I thought was truly useful in the gadget section- something I hadn't sen anywhere else yet- The Sigma S6 Ice Navigator. As a mariner who is no stranger to the frozen north, I have a real appreciation for this type of technology.

What we have here is a high resolution imaging device that can track up to 1,000 targets on the water- i.e. Big Ice Cubes. This will probably be outfitted on every ice-navigating vessel that can afford it. It is produced by Rutter Technology (http://www.ruttertech.com/).

Something else in the product section that I thought was cool was the SeaQuantum high performance coating- A self smoothing performance coating that reduces hull friction and fuel costs. Your ship may not be a race car- but you can squeeze a little more performance out of her by using something like this! This is made by Joten (http://www.jotun.no/)

In the communications arena we have the new OceanStar by Martek Marine Ltd. (http://www.martek-marine.com/) This will make the crew happy- it can pull in international television and high speed broadband internet. It sounds much better than the system that was installed on my last ship- where the signal kept dropping every time we made a turn or sharp roll. This should give you the clarity you want when you are in the middle of watching a great action movie!

There is a pretty good discussion going on over at gCaptain (www.gCaptain.com) about my last blog entry having to do with the Somalian pirate take-over of the Danish ship and self defense. I am a big advocate of guns and giving people the right to defend themselves. This is always a topic that gets people riled up- as there is no correct answer, it is all driven by personal experiences- it should be interesting. But don't be afraid to post a comment or two over here as well- I welcome your input!

Maritime News Around the Globe - July 23rd 2007

New Zealand Captain Fined For "Almost having an Accident"

The news hasn't been to crazy lately, but I found somethings that I thought were cool or weird. A ferry captain in New Zealand was fined $750 plus court costs for failure to report a 'near incident'. I found myself thinking about all of the near incidents I have had and was thinking about how much money that would add up to.

I am not really sure what rules govern the seas in New Zealand, but I think dragging a Ferry captain for getting too close to some rocks, but not actually hitting them is a little insane. When I was dredging we used to get right next to the rocks. I could have jumped off of the bridge wing and landed on the rocks. I would say that my number of near misses would range in the hundreds. That is if you go by the New Zealand Maritime standards. I guess it all depends on what you consider 'reportable' - but I probably would have blown this off too.

"The conviction was welcomed by MNZ general manager of maritime operations John Mansell said." I personally think that it is ridiculous and the nanny state crap needs to stop. Having the 'autorities' get involved when there was no accident is just crazy. There was no property damage, no loss of life and they are raking this poor captain over the coals.... no wonder it is getting hard to keep people in the business.

Here is the article so you can read the whole thing... this just blows my mind.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4138019a11.html

China Launches Maritime Satellite Mobile Phone Service
July 23, 2007
China Transportation Telecommunications, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Communications, has announced the launch of a maritime satellite mobile phone service in Beijing.
The service will enable users to make calls with a mobile phone in deserts, in the sea or on high mountains where a GSM or CDMA signal is unavailable. With a size close to that of common mobile phones, the maritime satellite mobile phone only weighs 210 grams. The mobile phone has all of the new functions of the latest mobile phones available for GSM or CDMA networks.
At present, only a few developed countries in the world have opened this service, according to Michael Butler, president and chief operation officer of Inmarsat. Yang Kongyi, director of CTT, has told local media that the service covers Asia and the most part of Africa and it is expected to cover the entire world by 2008. Repost of the article at chinatechnews:

http://www.chinatechnews.com/2007/07/23/5662-china-launches-maritime-satellite-mobile-phone-service/

Just another way that China is whooping our ass at the international shipping business. I wish that we could compete with them on the price point of products, but when you have an unlimited supply of labor that is extremely cheap- I guess that sets you apart from the competition. I think that the US should impose strong tariffs againt Chinese companies for the substandard labor standards- bordering on slavery- and for the problems we have had with chinese goods in this country in recent times. - I personally am very leary of any food products for myself or my pets that have been in contact with any chinese companies. (But it is hard to know which products get their supplies from china...)

Octopus helps unearth ancient pottery
Posted 20 minutes ago
South Korean archaeologists say they have discovered a sunken vessel packed with ancient pottery, in an exploration prompted by an octopus which attached its suckers to a plate.
The National Maritime Museum says the 12th-century wooden vessel was found buried in mud flats off Taean, south-west of Seoul. It says more than 2,000 pieces of 12th-century bowls, plates and other types of pottery were heaped inside the 7.7 metre vessel. "I believe the pottery might have been made for royals and the ruling elite of the Koryo Dynasty," which ruled the peninsula from 916 to 1392, museum head Seong Nack-Jun said. The exploration began in early June after shards of celadon pieces were found attached to the suckers of several webfoot octopuses, which a fisherman had netted. The museum has since retrieved about 540 pieces, which were scattered around the vessel.
-AFP

http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/24/1986867.htm?section=justin

And the Somali pirates are asking for $1.5mil for the return of the Danish ship and it's crew. The vessel Danica White with five crew members was hijacked on June 2, about 240 nautical miles off the Somali coast while heading to Kenya's Mombasa port to deliver construction material. "We were informed yesterday that the pirates are demanding $1,5-million (about R14-million) in order to release the vessel," said Andrew Mwangura of the Kenyan branch of the Seafarers' Assistance Programme. Three other vessels - one from Taiwan and two from South Korea - are also currently held by pirates off the coast of war-torn Somalia. Recently, a Panama-flagged cargo vessel was reported to have gone missing in Somali waters. The International Maritime Bureau said this year had seen at least seven pirate attacks off Somalia's 3 700km of unpatrolled coastline.

I would reccommend to anyone of my friends sailing in these waters or other hostile territories- to make sure you have some type of weapon with you on the vessel you sail on.

A Far Departure from Captain Jack Sparrow- The Reality of Pirates.

We all know about pirates of old- the swarthy guy with eye patch, the parrot, and wooden leg. These privateers may have been brigands and cutthroats, but they were known for having a code of honor and strong sense of democracy. The Hollywood pirates like Johnny Depp- prancing around and waving off danger. The movies show pirates in a way that is almost glamorous.



The modern world pirates are none of this. A perfect example would be off the coast of Somalia. These are thugs of the lowest order, mostly money hungry gangs and often connected to larger organized crime. These pirates have been known to kill crews for sport and often take hostages that are beaten severely until they can negotiate a price for their release. There was an excellent article in the Guardian about these Somali pirate gangs and the increase of attacks in the region. http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2100605,00.html



Take a look at the story. It is a good read.