Anti-globalization and Non-Lethal Weapons

I think I've found a great place for them to test crowd control with cutting edge non-lethal weapons.

Non-governmental organizations are discussing a boycott of the IMF and World Bank meetings in Singapore to protest the city-state's hardline stand against activists, organizers said.

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"We are still in the process of discussing it. We will make a decision by tomorrow afternoon or tomorrow night," said Lidy Nacpil, international coordinator of Jubilee South, one of the groups calling for the boycott.

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She said a boycott would apply to the official programme of seminars and meetings between the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and groups critical of the institutions' policies.

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Nacpil said the boycott would be a protest against the blacklisting by Singapore of 28 anti-globalisation activists even though they had been accredited by the IMF and World Bank. Police cited security reasons for the blacklist.

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Activists are also protesting against the Singapore government's refusal to waive a long-standing ban on outdoor protests during the IMF and World Bank event.

I wonder if it's too late for Singapore to contract the tests out for this event. They could then open up outdoor protests to everyone, and when the anarchists or others of the tinfoil-capped set starts wrecking the place they can turn the non-lethals on the crowd and see how they work.

I got the idea from Michael Wynne.

In what would appear to be a non-conventional approach, Air Force secretary Michael Wynne says non-lethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices should be used on American citizens in crowd-control situations before they are used on the battlefield.

According to Secretary Wynne, domestic use would make it easier to avoid questions in the international community over any possible safety concerns.

Wayne tells the AP, "If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation. (Because) if I hit somebody with a non-lethal weapon and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended, I think that I would be vilified in the world press."

The Air Force has funded research into non-lethal weapons, but the service isn't likely to spend more money on development until injury issues are reviewed by medical experts and resolved.

Non-lethal weapons can weaken people if they are hit with the beam, while some of the weapons can emit short, intense energy pulses that also disable some electronic devices.

So, using them in Singapore would be the next best thing. Then we can deploy them at the end of World-Series games, or collegiate football events that are known to get out of hand. These would be great proving grounds for military utilizations that could save troops lives in situations like Blackhawk Down.

Now you just have to figure out how serious I am in posting this.