# Wednesday, July 09, 2008
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Son James sent an IM to me today with this link:

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 TaserĀ®. According to this promotional video found at the Lamperd Less Lethal, Inc. website, the bracelet would be worn by all airline passengers (video also shown below).

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 conversation with James then went something like this:

James:
  may be taken out of context or blown out of proportion depending on what sources you consider credible *shrug*
Joe:
  My bet is I could smuggle a knife through security and get out of the bracelet before I ever got on the plane.
James:
  oh yeah, there's all sorts of ways you could subvert the bracelet
  plus, the bad guys could figure out a way to set off the bracelets themselves, thus immobilizing any resistance!
Joe:
  And something that is going to immobilize a Sumo wrestler is probably going to kill an 80 year old little old lady with a heart problem.
James:
  yeah, basically the plan has FAIL written all over it
Joe:
  Another way to defeat the bracelet would be to wrap it in aluminum foil. You would disappear off of the location monitoring device and no radio or laser could trigger the shock.